Happy Monday!

I’m currently sitting in the auto glass repair shop, waiting on my new window after Friday’s fiasco. Nothing says happy Monday like a brand new car window, right?!

On another note, however, last night Almanzo and I had a lovely dinner at Osteria Stellina, down in Point Reyes Station. I picked this restaurant for our weekly date night because I had been once before and it totally blew my mind with its housemade pasta, organic ingredients and local wine on tap.

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Read the rest of It’s Bloatfish, Not Butterfish (295 words)

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Post tags: dinner out, fish, restaurant reviews

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Helloooo!!

I survived my first day of work! I get paid to promote adult beverages….and then I get sent home with some more…what could be better?!

Yes, now we operate a wine bar out of the house. Totally normal.

In all seriousness, my day went really really well. I feel right at home at Michel Schlumberger and everyone I work with is really nice. Today I tasted the entire collection of wines….it was awesome. I think I’m going to do a little bit of everything, including fun social media stuff, so that’s good. Tomorrow I get to experience my first event at the winery and this weekend I’m pouring wine at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. I can’t even believe that not even a week ago I had such a totally different life. Crazy!

I grabbed lunch with my boss at the most Jenna place ever!!

I LOVED this place!!!! It’s a really old general store with all sorts of fun foodie surprises inside. I spotted tea infused dark chocolate, kombucha, gourmet cheeses and the best sandwiches ever. I got a turkey sandwich with some sort of spicy spread, feta cheese and thick slices of tomatoes. It was delicious and I inhaled it!

SO GOOD! This place might be dangerous.

I left work around 5:30, wine in hand, and snacked on an apple on my way home. I got home, kicked off my heels, poured myself a glass of viognier and waited for the boys to get home.

We were going to cook tonight but everyone was too wiped out so we just headed downtown to Russian River Brewery for some PIZZA!

This had cheese, caramelized onions and black olives on it. It was deeeeelicious!

I’m one lucky girl with two dates:

I also got a half house salad:

I love how FRESH all the produce is here!!! Seriously, I’ve eaten the best tomatoes of my entire life since I moved to California. So, so sweet!

I’m totally wiped out!!! Ray Charles is still blasting on surround sound but I think I’m going to have to call it a night…..one of my coworkers is picking me up at 8am tomorrow and I really wanted to run first but honestly, exercise just isn’t my primary focus right now. Moving cross country, living out of a suitcase, relying on other people for rides and starting a new job is totally sapping all of my energy. I still have a long run planned for Sunday morning though!

The boys say they want me to film them having an Amazing Grass chugging contest in the morning. Get ready!

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Post tags: dinner out, Lunch, Snack, wine

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Hello!

I can’t believe I’m here!!!!!!!!!!

How weird to say goodbye to Florida and the whole east coast….I’ve lived in Florida for the past 17 years and have been on the east coast my entire life. Incredibly excited for this new adventure out west…. Thanks for coming along with me for the ride!

It was bittersweet saying goodbye to my parents yesterday morning…..here’s my dad and I in front of my new car right before heading to the airport!

My parents are packing up my car to the gills this weekend and then on Monday it’s being shipped off to the west coast. Crazy.

I waited until I was on the plane to eat a banana and then later in my flight I tried this new Amazing Grass bar + a honeycrisp apple:

ohmygosh this bar was soooooo good!!!!!! 12 grams of protein and absolutely delicious. Probably one of the best protein bars I’ve tried and I love the simple, easy to read ingredient list. These were just released at Whole Foods so look for them there….seriously delicious.

One of my friends from yoga made me this amaaaaazing mix tape for my journey. Think iron & wine, bon iver, the national, nico stai, tiny vipers and more. Very “chill” airplane music. He also gave me a book of inspiring life quotations by Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist. This one really hit me this morning as I was reading as my flight was taking off

whenever we need

to make a very important decision,

it is best to trust to impulse, to passion,

because reason usually tries

to remove us from our dream,

saying that the time is not yet right.

reason is afraid of defeat,

but intuition enjoys life and its challenges

Isn’t that awesome? I love this little book because I’m a quotation freak.

I made it to San Francisco right on time, changed my clothes and immediately got together with the fabulous BethT, who actually brought me CHAMPAGNE, chocolates, hummus and carrot sticks!!!

At the airport, I ate a veggie burrito the size of my head……..I was sooooooooo hungry!!!!!!

And then Kath and Tina arrived and we were off!!!! First stop to Beth’s house to drop off my whole life in suitcases and then we headed straight to Healdsburg and Michel Schlumberger!

I can’t believe I work here!!!

We totally got spoiled……right when we got there, us four girls were whisked away to taste some totally delicious Michel Schlumberger wines. I loved them all (and there were many!) and we took a total tour of the estate. Seriously one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been in my whole life. I feel like I’m on vacation and have to remind myself that I actually get to wake up and go here every day for work.

On Fridays there’s live music outside so after our tour we just sat, ate some delicious cheese and drank MORE wine!

Loved these cheeses……it was pretty much heaven on earth and everyone was so nice!

And, I got reunited with my Murphy-Goode friends!!!!!!!! It’s just so crazy to be back. Feels like just yesterday we were all meeting for the first time in July.

It’s so funny because now five of us live here out of the original top ten. Slowly but surely we are all trickling back in….I guess Sonoma does that to you; once it gets under you skin you never want to leave! I’m still pinching myself……I CAN’T BELIEVE I LIVE HERE!

As for dinner, we ate at Zin, which was totally fabulous. I love the whole concept of this restaurant—-everything on the menu is seasonal and all the produce is grown on the restaurant’s farm! Since everything looks so good, we just decided to order every one of the appetizers (hehe), split two more bottles of vino and I ordered a bowl of the butternut squash apple soup.

Everything was SO GOOD! I was so busy enjoying it all and catching up with friends that I really didn’t shoot as many food pictures as I should have….bad food blogger! Those little rolls are “figs in a blanket”, basically figs wrapped up in puff pastry……melted in my mouth.

And my soup, with lemon creme fraiche and bacon. This was divine. Y’all will have to refer to Kath and Tina’s blogs for more food pictures…they were much better at photo taking last night…!

At about 10:15 after all this delicious food and wine, we started to crash. Fast. What a whirlwind day!! The alarm this morning went off at 5:50 and we raced to get ready, head back to SF and make it to BlogHer Food 09 on time. Grabbed some quick breakfast at the hotel before jumping back in the car.

Banana, yogurt, hard boiled egg and peanut butter toast. I should have drank more water….feeling very dehydrated right now!

Finally……BlogHer Food 09!!!!!!!!

This is my first BlogHer conference and I am super impressed so far…..everything is so nice (obviously, since it’s at the St.Regis!) and I’m about to listen to my first session on developing your visual voice. Later, I’m attending a session on photography that I’m really excited about as well! Fun!

I ate a big plate of fresh fruit first thing:

Got to jet for the time being….laptop is about to die! Full BlogHer recap later!

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Post tags: Breakfast, dessert, Dinner, dinner out, friends, Lunch, musings, Snack, traveling, wine

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Hello!

How’s your Sunday going?! Mine has been filled with friends and I couldn’t be happier. Church was great this morning…an incredibly powerful message this morning—the podcast should be around Wednesday from that and when it is I will link it here so y’all can have a listen as well! I just love Brian, our pastor, because he is so relatable and down to earth.

I snacked on this bar from my purse midway through the morning—

I haven’t had one of these in forever but had one stashed at the way bottom of my purse for “emergency situations” such as when church goes from 10 am- 1pm. hahaha

Lunch was easy. My mom is out of town right now but before she left she made some awesome pulled chicken in the slow cooker for my dad and I to eat while she was away. I honestly don’t even know what this was or where the recipe came from but when she comes home I’ll make a point to ask..it was good! I filled up an Ezekiel wrap with it + hot sauce!

An apple for dessert!

And then I spent the afternoon outside at the park with some great women from Created. It poured at first but then the sun came out a little and we got a nice walk in!

April’s dog JUMPED OFF THE DOCK!!!!!!! She was about to jump in after him but I was able to shimmy down and grab him out of the water. Poor wet Cosmo!!! I do have to admit though, we all laughed our butts off.

I ate this yummy bar—

And then later, grabbed some pizza with a friend for dinner!

Greek salad to start—

Followed by two slices of veggie pizza perfection!! I haven’t had pizza in FOREVER and boy, was it ever delicious tonight!

So good.

So our neighbor is a HUGE USC fan (I know, gross right?! hehe). He had a big party at his house for the game tonight and all those boys were hootin and hollerin all night long about the big win since they know we are OSU fans over here. So today, the doorbell rings and our neighbor’s girlfriend stands there with a big plate of homemade buckeyes for us!!!!!!!

How’s that for good sportsmanship….or a peace treaty!!!! Y’all, I wish I could tell you how to make these but sadly I have no idea. They are, however, the most amazing thing EVER….chocolate peanut butter to the EXTREME. I had a very large “bite” out of one when I got home from pizza.

***

What are you looking forward to this week? I can’t wait to go to Deeper Still on Friday with Sarah and Jessica!!!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 53 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, dessert, dinner out, friends, Lunch, Snack

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Hey hey!

Sorry I’m a little late in posting but as you all know by now, Wednesdays are my busy days….really because my favorite yoga class is smack dab in the middle of the day and everything else is centered around that!

Speaking of yoga, guess what the UPS man brought to ME today??!

A new mat! And this awesome all natural mat spray!!!

It was like Christmas, not gonna lie. The kind people at The Bolder Mat Company sent me a new eco-friendly mat and spray to review on the blog and I am very thankful. It came just in time for me to tote to my noon power vinyasa class and I looooved the pretty color. It made me happy

Here are some things I loved about this mat:

• really pretty color and design
• light and easy to carry (my other mat is SUPER heavy)
• great for traveling

I didn’t like:

• I kept sliding all over the mat because it wasn’t incredibly “sticky” and power yoga = sweaty Jenna

That’s really all! I have a yogi toes mat cover that I religiously use every class on top of my mat so I don’t slide around and you would definitely need that (or something!) if you use this mat. Actually, I had to step out in the middle of class to grab a big towel to cover the mat so I could get grounded! Regardless, I will definitely use this, especially when I travel. I loved the design! The mat spray also was very nice…I have to admit y’all—I don’t disinfect as much as I probably should. Gross, I know. I loved this spray because it was all natural, cruelty-free and smelled pretty. A keeper!

Before class I snacked on this lovely new bar from my sweet Summit swag bag—

I really liked it! It was crunchy, soft and chewy at at the same time and reminded me of a blueberry muffin. I looked at the ingredients and saw it had chia seeds in it! How cool! These bars are made by Pro Bar but unlike Pro Bar, they only have about 160 calories in them, making for a lighter snack option.

When I got home from yoga at 1:45, of course I was almost gnawing my arm off from hunger. That’s definitely the down side of these noon classes….lunch! I dug into my mac & cheese leftovers and had a few random pieces of chicken lunch meat on the side. Plus a big peach. Mmmm

I still felt a little hangry though, so an hour later I made popcorn and had the other half of my grapefruit from this morning

A bunch of you have asked about my new bible study that I’m doing! I’m meeting a group of six awesome women every other Wednesday night to chat and study prayer. We are using this book as a guide:

IT WAS SO GOOD! I rarely eat lasagna, just because its never been my favorite, but this was stellar. I inhaled it. Enough said.

But still had room for a teeny tiny bit (okay a little more than that!) of ice cream when I got home….

Bath time!!!

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Post tags: dessert, dinner out, Exercise, friends, Lunch, musings, Snack, yoga

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Good evening!

Well you will be pleased to know I actually DID remember to take pictures of my food this afternoon! And look what the good fairy brought me!

YUM!!!! Thank you, Delia, for the maple syrup goodies! I can’t wait to try all this stuff…..if you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know my obsession for anything and everything maple syrup. I can’t get enough! This “Maple Blueberry Drizzle” looks spectacular!!!!!!!!

I also got a new book in the mail!

I will be reading this in my bed this evening

I decided my body needed another rest day from exercise but I did stand on my head awhile for some mental clarity…

And then for dinner my dad and I just ran out and got Pei Wei together. I love Pei Wei…..so much. I think they have the best tofu in town–the texture is just awesome…even my dad likes it! I ordered my favorite, the spicy thai tofu with brown rice.

Yay brown rice! This was awesome and exactly what the doctor ordered. I’ve been having a crazy ethnic food craving lately that I can’t seem to kick! I ate about 85% of this meal.

Its weird how sluggish you feel when you take as short as a two day break from exercise. My legs were sort of itching today but I knew I needed some rest more than anything else. Tomorrow I shall rock out three miles and get back to life!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 74 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dinner, dinner out, Snack

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Hey guys!

Just got home from dinner at Anne P’s house!

A soft sweet Parker house roll—

And then for dinner, macadamia encrusted Mahi with risotto and green beans. SO good!

I probably ate half of the mahi, most of the risotto and half of the green beans. Everything was truly yummy. I love nut encrusted fish…this was slightly sweet and very crunchy!

Vino—

And of course, dessert!

This was a parfait with whipped cream, orange sherbet and fresh berries. My kind of dessert…I loved it!

We, of course, were stuffed afterwards so I walked with her and her parents down near the water and on the pier. It was seriously windy…note to self: don’t wear sundress in severe wind

I’m about to get in my jammies and read. I finally put everything away today and set up my room!

Obviously this mature 24 year old sleeps with stuffed rabbits. Gosh. When I fall asleep at night I like to stare up at my map and plan my future trip around the world

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 60 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dessert, dinner out, friends, wine

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I am officially obsessed with Meghann’s new puppy, Maddie!!!! Isn’t she SO cute?! She is so well behaved too. She didn’t make a peep all throughout dinner and just laid curled up on her mama’s lap. So cute! I want one!

We had a really fun girl’s night tonight at this little bar/pub down the street from my house, Mad Dogs and Englishmen. I’ve eaten there before and love their food and the atmosphere is awesome. Us three girls split a bottle of Pinot Noir—

As Gina would say, they rocked my face off

As for an entree, Meghann and I went half and half on the pizzas because we couldn’t choose. I ordered the goat cheese grilled pizza with caramelized onions, balsamic reduction and dried figs—

While Meghann ordered the Spinach and Arugula pizza with feta cheese. I took half of hers and she took half of mine and we feasted!

totally and completely aaaaaamazing! I liked the Spinach and Arugula pizza but my favorite was my goat cheese one. Not surprising though because I have a little more than a minor obsession with anything and everything goat cheese. The figs were the perfect compliment and, well, it was a total party in my mouth

After dinner I was driving Anne home and we took a detour to my house to have a Summit fashion show……….with animals.

A teeeensy bit more wine

The big question: what do we wear to the Summit cocktail party?!

No comment:

I think I laughed until I was in serious pain. Hysterical. I’m leaning towards the green dress but sort of feel like its a little too Christmasy…thoughts? If we showed up in wet suits though that would be pretty darn cool. Just sayin’.

Must get some sleep now because I have a hot 6 miler in the morning.

G’nite!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 84 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dinner out, friends, girls nights, wine

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Rascal Flatts was a success in all its country boy band glory! It made me SO EXCITED for the upcoming Kenny Chesney concert in two weeks!!!!!! Yehaww!

Before the concert we walked across the street and had a light dinner + glass of wine at The Wine Exchange. I had a glass of a super dry Riesling and DELICIOUS veggie quesadillas!

The quesadillas were awesome but were also about the size of my whole body. I ate two pieces and felt stuffed!! They were stuffed with veggies, grilled shrimp and a mix of feta and cheddar cheese. Yum!

I brought us some wine to-go (obviously)—

But unfortunately it was pretty gross and I didn’t drink my cup. It went out the window instead. Oh well.

Once AT the concert I bought one drink since they were $8 each! I ordered my standard “party drink”, which is vodka with soda and a splash of cranberry…..I sipped it super slow and made it last all night. Drinks at concerts (including water!!) are just waaaaay overpriced!!!

Unfortunately ALL the atm machines and credit card machines were down so instead of listening to Darius Rucker (from Hootie and the Blowfish!), Erin and I waited in the longest line possible to get some cash.

Now, I’m not going to even bring up how the drink 15 year old behind me spilled ranch dressing ALL over my chair. Yuck.

We still had a blast though and poor Derek must have felt a little out of his element with three screaming girls. He’s a good catch, Meghann!! I honestly think the funniest thing was at the very end, during the encore, Erin started screaming her head off and some backstreet looking boy hopped on stage. Turned out it was Tim Tebow, who is basically a national celebrity here in Florida. He “hummed” a little bit with Rascal Flatts then tossed a football down. It was hysterical!

We got home around 11:30, and I’m not going to lie, there were a few bites of ice cream eaten straight from the container. I’m so crazy, right?!

This morning I woke up around 8:00 and made a yummy breakfast. About a cup of Oikos with Nature’s Path Granola, MojaMix and blueberries!

Dexter in his box—

And I’m about to head out the door for church! I hope everyone has a fantastic Sunday!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 53 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cocktails, dinner out, friends, girls nights, wine

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Can’t talk long, gotta hit the sack!!!!! Lets all say a quick prayer that Jenna actually falls asleep tonight……!

Ryan and I had an absolutely fabulous meal at Bonefish tonight! He kept saying we were celebrating and I guess we are but the REAL celebration comes on Tuesday if I actually get the job………Regardless, tonight I “celebrated” with an Ocean Trust Martini with mango puree, fresh squeezed orange juice and vodka. It was killer!

And a petite version of the Chilean sea bass with pan asian sauce and double the veg

SImply awful

My hot date had bang bang shrimp + saucy shrimp. I had a few……plus schmeared my bread into the sauciness

We split creme brulee for dessert!!

And now I feel like a stuffed piglet. Ryan, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, is drawing me a big, hot bubble bath and I’m going to chill out for awhile. I’ve been known not to sleep a wink on nights like this so I’m tylonel pm-ing it just to be sure .

EEEK!!!!! See you all from the air tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 61 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cocktails, dessert, Dinner, dinner out

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