I like your face.

It may be September, but my classes don’t start until Tuesday and I’ve been taking full advantage of the last few days of summer!

And what better way to celebrate the end of summer than with a visit from one of my favorite blog friends? Gracie arrived yesterday afternoon, and we’ve had a blast so far!

Our first stop of the evening was my all-time favorite restaurant, Candle 79. (I've posted about this place three other times!) I couldn’t let her leave New York without trying the best vegan food around!

As usual, our waiter brought us a complimentary amuse-bouche. I didn’t catch the full description, but it was some kind of black bean salsa with wasabi on a tortilla chip:

To start, we split the guacamole timbale, with chipotle black beans, carmelized onions, cucumber-tomato salsa, tortilla chips and ranchero sauce.

It was delicious! Gracie and I are both avocado-lovers, so it was the perfect thing to share.

For my entrée, I ordered the live heirloom tomato-zucchini lasagna, with cashew cheese, marinated wild mushrooms, heirloom tomato sauce and basil-pine nut pesto.

Hello, gorgeous. This was so good and so refreshing for a hot day. I even ate the mushrooms!

Gracie had the Moroccan spiced chickpea cake, with seasonal vegetables, red pepper-coconut curry, fresh apricot chutney and toasted almonds. I stole a bite of the chickpea cake and it was fantastic.

Though we were both full from our entrees, it would have been a sin to pass up dessert!

Especially when said dessert was chocolate peanut butter bliss, with chocolate mousse, peanut butter mousse, and a chocolate shell and berry coulis.

I still maintain that vegan desserts are just as good, if not better, than regular ones. This was so deliciously decadent!

After dinner, we headed over to The Frying Pan, a bar on a boat in the Hudson River.

The sunset was gorgeous!

Although we ended up staying out pretty late, we were up and at ‘em by 8 this morning! Gracie and I breakfasted on the “Gabriela classic”: Fiber One with blueberries.

And then we headed to the Hudson River Park for a power walk!

It’s definitely a gorgeous day to be outside.

The wind in the willows J

Overall, we covered about 5 miles in an hour and a half. It felt so good to get outside and take in the sun-drenched morning!

We’re about to go meet Gracie’s friend Amanda in midtown, then grab some lunch and do some shopping! Happy Saturday loves!

Housekeeping

I’ve already gotten so much accomplished today. Yay for productivity!

Despite the sweltering temperatures this morning, I breakfasted on a bowl of strawberry-banana-coconut oats.

• ½ c oats
• 1 c almond milk
• very overripe banana (hence the oats instead of cereal!)
• strawberries
• two spoonfuls of coconut butter

My trick to making oats is to add all the ingredients while they’re still cooking. It may not be as pretty, but there’s nut butter and fruit in each bite!

Since Gracie will be here tomorrow morning and I’m not sure of my Saturday night/Sunday morning plans yet, I decided to swap days in my training plan and tackle my five-miler this morning.

I started off strong, but got a horrible cramp in my side at the very end of mile 2. (I barely ever get cramps…anyone know the culprit?) I ended up taking a .25 mile walking break, which threw me off a bit, but I still managed to hustle at the end!

My stats:

• Mile 1: 9:06
• Mile 2: 10:00
• Mile 3: 11:02 (walking break)
• Mile 4: 9:02
• Mile 5: 8:46
• Total Time: 48:15

After some stretching, I was hungry for an early lunch!

Nut butter sammie on Ezekiel bread (1 slice with Barney Butter, 1 slice with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut butter)

Apple with cinnamon

Carrots with mustard for dipping

And a bowl of pickles!

Do I even need to mention the nut butter spoons that went on after this meal? It’s becoming a (delicious) habit J

This afternoon, I’ve taken care of all the “housekeeping” chores! I hit up the laundromat:

Restocked the produce drawer:

And gave the apartment a scrubdown. It’s amazing how quickly these things pile up- I’ve only been here since Sunday!

Off to grab a snack and meet Gracie at the train station. So excited!

What are your favorite/least favorite chores? I actually really like cleaning, but doing laundry in the hot laundromat wasn’t too fun!

Do you ever get cramps when you exercise? Any tips for avoiding them?

Bargain/Addiction

It was sweltering in NYC today!! The entire east coast is being hit with a heat wave, but the city just seems to absorb heat. It almost makes me happy that summer is ending…almost J

This morning, I hit the gym for a strength workout + 3 miles of cross training. My training plan called for a 3 mile run, but I’ve decided to sub it for cross training. Four days of running is enough for my knee!

For lunch, I met my friend Jillian for lunch at Cosi, our favorite place! I got my usual hummus and veggie sandwich with a side of baby carrots.

Afterwards, I headed to the Upper West Side for a blogger meet up Lynn organized at The Lite Choice. Ada, Caronae, Maggie and a few readers were there as well!

I selected a cup of the “After Eight” flavor, topped with chopped After Eight mints. So refreshing on such a hot day!

We strolled around Central Park for a bit before seeking refuge from the heat in Aroma.

I ordered a mango iced tea. Each drink comes with a little piece of chocolate- my kind of place!

Whenever I go on blogger meetups, I immediately feel so comfortable. As a college student, my healthy ways definitely put me in the minority, and I often feel strange discussing my passion for health. Bloggers are definitely a group of kindred spirits!

By the time I got home, I was one sweaty, hungry mess! Dinner was quite random as a result…

Ezekiel tortilla slathered in hummus and topped with lettuce + tomato.

Always save the best for last!

Yet another shot glass of frozen Justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter. It’s an addiction.

Several more spoonfuls of Barney Butter followed. I’ve been even more of a nut butter addict than usual lately! I also had an apple:

Plus four squares of Vosges Black Pearl dark chocolate. I ate a lot of chocolate today J

This evening, I hit up the college bookstore and dropped $178 on five French novels. Teensy-tiny ones. Thanks, NYU. On a better note, I also stopped in Forever 21 and found an adorable stretchy black skirt for eight bucks. That’s more like it!

Off to bed! Gracie is coming to visit me tomorrow and I can’t wait!

What’s your latest addiction?

Found any good bargains recently?