Tag: relaxing

my favorite lunch activities

Posted on by jplatt27

I need a break around lunch time every day.  I’ve realized that I don’t need to use my hour lunch break simply to eat lunch. I can really maximize the hour by using it to clear my head, get some sun, fresh air, some movement for my body. Though I love going out to lunch on occasion, some of my favorite lunch time activities have nothing to do with food.

Here are some ways I love to spend my lunch break:

get my hair cut: I’m pretty sure getting my hair cut at lunch is one of the best ideas I’ve ever had. I feel immediately relaxed when I walk into the hair salon. It’s like a little spa break in the middle of the day. And then you go back to work with nice hair. Do it on a day you have a date night…bada bing.

go to the library: Sometimes I’ll go to pick up a book I’ve put on hold and other times I like to go and just look around. There’s something about discovering a good book at the library and then checking it out.  I just got this for FREE.  Woah.  Still blows my mind and makes me super excited.

go for a nice long walk, just letting myself wander: Earlier this week I went for a walk around the block that turned into a 30 minute walk into a neighborhood I hadn’t walked through before.  I started walking and got this feeling of I just want to keep going.  So I did. Look at this amazing house I stumbled on…

walk around a bookstore: Bookstores have a totally different energy than libraries. I love wandering around bookstores too, looking at all the new books on the tables. I don’t usually buy things during my lunch hour, just like to go and peruse. It totally takes me away for a little while.

read a novel: I like to take a book outside and read or go sit in the kitchen or the lobby of the building for a change of scenery. But even taking some time to shut off my computer monitor and read at my desk is a nice change of pace.  Good quiet, relaxing time.

Talk to me:

What’s your favorite thing to do during lunch?

Looking for new things to do to light you up during lunch? Take a look back at your inspiration list for ideas.

vacation state of mind

Posted on by jplatt27

This weekend Mike and I went to Charlottesville, VA to visit our friends Jess and Peter.  We left Saturday morning for a nice drive, stopping for Bethesda Bagel on our way out of town.

When we arrived, Jess had lunch waiting for us.  We sat down to a hearty lunch of chorizo, spinach, and cannellini bean stew with french bread.  What a nice welcome.

{Afton Mountain Vineyards, the mountains, the fresh air, amazing!}

Right after lunch we headed out for some wine tasting at two of Peter and Jess’ favorite wineries in the area: Pollak Vineyards and Afton Mountain Vineyards. Luckily Peter and Jess are veteran wine-tasters and brought snacks for the car ride in between–I was feeling the wine after the first round and started housing Chex-mix. I don’t know what it is, when I drink a lot I can. not. stop. eating.

We went back to their house for some down time before heading out to dinner.  We had dinner on the Downtown Mall before going to see Michael Jackson tribute band, Who’s Bad.  It was such a fun night–so different than anything we usually do.

On Sunday morning we relaxed before heading to brunch.  And when I say relax, I mean I really relaxed. I laid in bed reading Gone Girl all morning.  It was so amazing.

My state of mind was so different than a usual Sunday morning.  I was completely relaxed, the only thing on my agenda was to read my book. I didn’t have any of that gotta-do-this, should-do-that anxiety that usually plagues me on weekends. Nope, just lay here and read.  I think it’s because we were on vacation.  Vacation mindset is so different than normal life mindset.  Just relax, hang around, no expectations or pressure to produce anything, to do anything other than enjoy yourself.

Now that I’ve had a taste of this vacation mindset, I’m inspired to incorporate this mindset into my normal life. It’s certainly going to be a challenge.  Just this morning I woke up feeling like I should be doing x, y, or z even though it’s President’s Day and I’m off today.  I’ll have to continue to remind myself that I will get things done and that relaxing, when done fully, is so worth it, so enjoyable.

Am I the only one that has this problem?  

 

 

 

hello 2013

Posted on by jplatt27

The past two days have been just what we needed. After 9 jam packed days in PA, we needed these two days to decompress and do our own thing.

Both days consisted of breakfast out, shopping, relaxing, napping, straightening our apartment, and more relaxing.  We had nothing to do and no schedule, just kind of did what we felt like when we felt like it.

Though not nearly as intense as last year we continued some beginning of the year rituals–we did a little organizing and purging and had a mini-budget conversation.

We capped off our break and began the new year with one of our favorite meals. (This is tonight’s dinner–last night we ordered Chinese.)

I’m looking forward 2013 and all the new year brings. Cheers!

Talk to me:

How did you start your year?

a new kind of saturday

Posted on by jplatt27

Free Saturdays are few and far between for us so when we have one, we almost don’t know what to do with ourselves.

That’s what happened this Saturday.  We woke up late (about 9:30) and moved to the couch for Scandal and a sub-par batch of our go-to pancakes.  Great start to the day.

But then what?

“What should we do today?” we kept asking each other.

Should we go for a hike? Go bike riding? How about a trip to the Newseum? We threw out a bunch of ideas, none of which had any excitement behind them. We couldn’t even decide where we wanted to go for lunch.

Finally I was like let’s just relax for a little bit and we’ll make a move when we’re ready to make a move.  It’s clear we don’t know what we want to do and everything just seems a little forced.

So we hung out around the apartment. We straightened up a little bit, got back in bed for a little bit, and then I showered and spent time doing my hair.

Around 1:30 we left our apartment to get lunch outside at Open City. It was a gorgeous fall day and we sat outside chatting over coffee and breakfast food.

It was so nice to just sit and chat, really chat. Quality time has been a little sparse the last two weeks and I found myself loving the time, just the two of us, nothing to do but enjoy each other’s company.

From there we went to the grocery store (boo-yah for getting that done early in the weekend) and came back to relax before heading out to dinner.

I love this kind of Saturday.  It’s almost the opposite of my other favorite way to spend a free Saturday: get up; go for coffee, a bagel, and some reading at my favorite coffee shop/bookstore; head to yoga; come home and relax. I love being a morning person and heading out before the hustle and bustle of the day.

But there’s also something to be said for just going with the flow.  In just doing what you feel like doing, when you feel like doing it.  Not because you feel like you should do something just because you can or because it’s a cool thing to do.  No, if you don’t feel like it, don’t.

We’ll see what type of Saturday we feel like when we wake up on our next free one in two weeks. I’m going to remember the joy we had in this type of Saturday and not put pressure on myself to do something just for the sake of doing something.

How do you like to spend a Saturday? Do you feel pressure to go-go-go or are you more go with the flow?

 

quality time in lieu of quantity of time

Posted on by jplatt27

Since my coach training started my weeknights are pretty packed. Between tutoring, coaching clients, and training calls, I have something every night Monday through Thursday.  This means that Mike and I don’t get a ton of time together during the week.

This actually hasn’t been a problem.  In fact, it’s been a gift.

For example, Mike and I get an hour and a half together on Wednesday nights between my calls and we’ve both started really looking forward to that time. We have dinner and cuddle on the couch and watch Parenthood. Though it’s nothing fancy, especially compared to the date nights we used to have every other Wednesday, this time is really special to us.

This time is earmarked as our time. I’m not blogging or reading or coaching or half paying attention to the show we’re watching while Facebooking. Nope, I’m totally in it.

For that hour and a half we are together, really together. And the quality time is so nice.

Between that and our weekly new recipe, we may be getting more quality time than we did over the summer. Time to talk, to connect, to really be with each other.

It’s nice to know that it’s not the amount of time we have but how we spend the time that matters.

weekend to myself & a challenge

Posted on by jplatt27

After three consecutive weekends of visitors and travel, I was looking forward to having a normal low-key weekend to relax.

Mike happened to be traveling this weekend for work so I had the weekend to myself.  Bonus! I kind of feel bad saying it but then again I don’t.  I really need me-time, time alone to just do my own thing.

Friday night I laid low and relaxed at home–watched Grey’s Anatomy, called my sister, got in bed early at my normal time to read.

Saturday morning I woke up early thinking about my business so I did some brainstorming and drafting in bed. Then I sat in front of my happy light and watched an episode of Super Soul Sunday. I love Super Soul Sunday and highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it.

I went back to sleep for a little while. I love doing that.

When I woke up, I re-started my day with a little more energy. I went to my favorite coffee shop for some reading.  I perused the bookstore for a little while and even treated myself to a new book.  Then I went to Body Flow–haven’t been in forever so that felt great.  After that I decided to go to Bed Bath and Beyond for some velcro rollers.

Maybe I came out with all of this:

 

I also stopped at Marshall’s and picked up a mirror for our bedroom, something I’d been meaning to do for a while. (It was in my letter to myself). It felt kind of bold at the time because I went into Marshall’s on a whim and was in and out of there with a mirror in about 10 minutes.  I didn’t call Mike, I just gave myself permission to make a purchase like this. Go me!

Then I came back and relaxed, finished the episode of Super Soul Sunday, talked to Amanda, tried the velcro rollers, helped Chrissy make a budget, talked to Becca. Nice little afternoon.

Here’s how the rollers came out:

I think I’m digging this!

Saturday night I had a dinner meeting with some friends–I’m coordinating their wedding in two weeks and we went over all the details.  Looking forward to sharing more about that soon!

Sunday morning I stayed in bed until I absolutely had to get up to get ready.  My new friends Kristen and Rachel came into DC and we went to Tryst for chaippucinoes (chai with espresso).

During our conversation we were talking about reaching out to people we’re not close to share support, information they may be interested in, etc.  We each had people in mind that we’d thought about reaching out to but for some reason or another just hadn’t–mostly because we thought maybe it would be weird.

I know from experience, from comments on the blog and from personal Facebook messages, how much a little note like can make someone’s day. So we decided that we would each reach out to some of those people this week and that’s where the challenge comes in.

Challenge

Are there certain people you follow religiously on Facebook? You read their statuses, look through an entire album of photos even though you haven’t talked to them in real life for a while?  I know, I do! For most of us, it stops there.

But it doesn’t have to.  This week I challenge you to reach out to one of these people.  Send a note to say hello, to let them know that you’re thinking about them, and whatever other positive things you want to say.  Make this your own. Make someone’s day.

So what do you say?  Are you in?

 

what's the goal?

Posted on by jplatt27

6:07 this morning.

I get out of bed to head to the gym.

I sit on the couch to put on my sneakers, thinking that maybe that’s not a good idea, I don’t want to get too comfortable.

As I fill up my water bottle I realize I’m moving kind of slow and am tempted to get back in bed.

But then I realize that my goal is to get to the gym three times a week.  That’s it.

It’s not get to the gym with pep in your step.

It’s not go to the gym and run 5 miles.

It’s not pop out of bed at 5:40 and run to the car to get to the gym.

It’s not go to the gym and do my strength training routine from my trainer complete with lunges and squat jumps.

No, it’s get to the gym.  It’s that simple.

So maybe I’m moving kind of slow and sitting on the couch lacing up my sneakers, maybe I’m not bouncing out the door revved for a killer work-out.  Maybe my legs can’t even fathom lunges this morning.

It’s ok.  Because as long as I get there, I’ve met my goal.

So I let myself take my time filling my water bottle.  And then I thought, maybe I’ll just bring my book and sit on the bike and pedal and read. I strolled to the car instead of walking with purpose.

I got the gym, parked myself on an upright bike next to two other readers, opened my book and started pedaling and reading.  It felt good to move my body and I could feel myself starting to warm up.

I lasted 7 minutes before my mind started to wander and I wanted to move more.

I switched to a spin bike, turned on my iPod, and started grooving and spinning.

If I would’ve stopped before I walked out the door, stopped because I thought I couldn’t do it, I would’ve missed out on the benefit that my goal is set to up to give me: energy.

And because I allowed myself to relax and refocus on the goal instead of the perfect completion of the goal, I not only met the goal but exceeded it.

 

 

 

two for two going on three for three

Posted on by jplatt27

This week marks our third week of new recipes.

We’re making it a priority to try one new recipe per week.  Cooking is one of our favorite things to do together and this is a fun way to make sure our weeknights don’t get away from us.  (Read this morning’s post for more on the background here.)

So far we’re two for two on choosing good recipes and recreating them well.

The first week we made a recipe I’ve been wanting to make for like 3 years: Rachel Ray’s Greek Beef Tenderloin in Togas.

This was a great, balanced meal and though it looks difficult, it really wasn’t.  It was a little time consuming but so worth it.  And the recipe made 6 servings so we had lunch for two days in addition to this dinner!

I loved that the steak, orzo, and vegetable salad recipes were all listed in one.  It was a complete meal in one recipe–no need to worry about finding multiple recipes to complete a meal.

Last week, our second week, we made Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto from SkinnyTaste.

This dish was so satisfying.

Mike’s thoughts:

“one of the best meals we’ve ever made”

“This is restaurant quality.”

I agree. It was delicious. And again, relatively simple. We love risotto so that wasn’t a problem and the scallops and spinach were super easy in a skillet.

Tonight, we’re trying Tyler Florence’s Cheese Fondue recipe! Hoping we go three for three!

a new recipe for balance

Posted on by jplatt27

If there’s one thing I want in my life it’s balance, something that’s not always easy to come by.  My weeks are always packed and I find myself at one of two extremes: either go-go-go or zonked out in front of the TV until bed.

But I recently found a new way to create balance during the week.

A few weeks ago I made Jessica‘s BBQ Spiced Salmon with Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa.  It was the first time I had cooked in months–or cooked something new. Ok, kind of both.  No, I don’t count pancakes.

It felt so good.

I’m telling you, cooking is good for the soul.  Or good for mine anyway.  There is just something about cooking, especially something new, that grounds you in the present moment.  The brightness of the foods, the fresh smells while prepping and the hearty smells while cooking, the sound of onions and garlic hitting a hot pan, the feel of actually doing something with your hands.  It’s awesome.

I was so happy to serve Mike a delicious dinner, impressed with the finished product, and completely energized by the whole process.

It was then that I decided that I need to prioritize this.  If I don’t make room for it in my life, my week nights will get away from me.  In our discussion about the dishes, when I asked Mike if it was about something bigger like wanting to spend more time with me, he said that he did miss us cooking together.

I decided that we should make one new recipe a week together.  Mike liked the idea so it’s our new thing.  One new recipe a week is my new recipe for balance. One new recipe a week to keep me grounded and to connect with my husband.

It’s great.  We’re making new meals and we’re spending quality time together. Win-win.  (You know I love win-wins!)

And we’ve been sitting at the table to eat which is so nice and not the norm for us.

I love this idea! It’s really helped me to be present on weeknights and has actually made my evenings seem longer and more energized. I hate when I feel like I just come home and do nothing.

Check back this afternoon to see what we’ve made so far!

I’d love to know:

What do you do to balance your weeks?

scenes from my summer home

Posted on by jplatt27

I spent the past week at my “summer home,” house-sitting Zoey and Nikko again.

Mike was actually out of town last weekend and had college buddies in town this weekend, so I had a nice little summer retreat for the past two weekends.

I read, wrote, napped, cooked a little, relaxed a lot.

I had a great week in a beautiful home and enjoyed a break from my normal routine.  But I am so glad to be back to my apartment, my bed, my DVR, my couch, and my husband.

If you had a summer retreat, what would you do?

What do you miss about your home when you’re away?