Toggy Tuesday: Where is spring?

We've had some crazy weather in Charlotte. It was 60 degrees on Friday (like, I ran outside in a t-shirt and shorts) and then snowed on Saturday. Since then, it's been windy, raining, and cold. This weather would have been welcomed with open arms for a three-day weekend, but oh wait, Rob and I both had to work on Monday instead of celebrating our Presidents. Bummer. We moped a little but had a really fun weekend anyway, full of delicious eats (pork banh mi at Peculiar Rabbit for all you Charlotte peeps) and beautiful friends.

My main squeeze Caroline

  

Snowy Charlotte

Homemade pizza (whole wheat dough, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes) with balsamic asparagus

Now on to better and brighter things...this weather makes me crave spring and summer. I love bundling up and drinking tea and making fires, but I'm so ready for summer weather. Sorry for the overly optimistic list below, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for warm days ahead!

1) This American flag bikini from Target. Every girl needs one, and no girl should have to pay top dollar for something she'll probably only wear for Memorial Day Weekend and Fourth of July. This is the perfect middle ground.

2) These new Lululemon headbands: I think this thick, moisture-wicking headband will be perfect for the sweaty summer weather. I love the colors (especially bleached coral) and am most definitely going to buy one next time I head to the mall.

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3) Summer salads. I love Pinterest for a lot of reasons, but today I love it because it's getting my excited for all the light and delicious food I'll be eating when it gets hot outside. How delicious does this look?

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4) I'm sure some people think these are dumb, but I adore these little state necklaces. A bunch of friends here have North Carolina ones, but I'm a little partial to this cute California one from Etsy.

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I also think these from Nordie's are super cute!

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Toggy Tuesday - February!

New month, new faves. Here we go!

1) Sparkling water, specifically La Croix: I can get a pack of 12 from the Teeter for $4 and love having these as something special. One of my New Year's resolutions was to stop drinking soda -- I didn't really have it very much before anyway, but I wanted to completely cut it out. Now, when I want something other than water or tea, I grab a La Croix. To be honest, the Berry flavor is kinda bad and the Peach-Pear is a bit questionable, but no matter - I like the fizz. Grapefruit is the best I've had so far!

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2) Breaking Bad: Rob and I are finally on the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad. If you haven't seen it, please go home right now and watch Season 1 (available on Netflix!). My interest in meth, which stems from my reading this book, is totally fueled by watching this show.

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3) This picture of Baby Hil: 

Boots, riding pants, black turtleneck, Barbour, Burberry sunglasses? Get it girl. We had lunch together on Saturday and she looked like a little movie star.

4) Flywheel: Have I talked about this yet? My friend Meg got a bunch of coupon codes for this spinning studio so I've have a bunch of free classes. The room is dark, the music's loud, and the bikes keep track of your performance so you can check your progress online anytime. I was a little intimidated at first (they give you clip in shoes and everyone seems super intense), but the people at the Charlotte studio are all very helpful and friendly. The workout is really hard, but I love that spin classes go by so quickly (when you have good music and a good teacher). If you have a Flywheel studio in your city, I suggest going and trying it out! Even better, the first class is free!!

5) Greatist Health Blog: Add this blog to your reader - trust me. There are good articles and podcasts about health-related news and research, interesting recipes, new workout ideas, etc...

Turkey burgers

I can't believe it's already February 1. January flew by and, as the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, I can feel spring lingering just around the corner.

This week, I tried to keep my eats pretty simple after being so sick on Sunday and Monday. I made a batch of delicious "Mexican" turkey burgers Tuesday night that I've been eating the rest of the week:

Ground turkey
Sliced grape tomatoes (or any tomatoes you like)
Cilantro
Diced onion
Cumin

Mix all these together with some salt and pepper (and hot sauce, if you dare). Don't handle the meat too much, though, or else you'll overwork it and the burgers will become tough. I managed to get five burgers out of a package of meat. I sauteed three and broiled two - I think broiling was more successful as it cooked out a lot of the fat but kept the burgers juicy. After they were cooked, I quickly seared the broiled burgers to give them some color.

I topped mine with sauteed onions and tomatoes, TJ's corn salsa (my favorite), and sriracha and ate it on a bed of spinach. I loved the tomatoes in the burger!