Archive for April 2013

Every year my mom and I try to plan a trip together. Usually we end up meeting in Chicago for a few days, but this year we decided to treat ourselves to a longer trip to NYC. Both of us being big "foodies" and looking to revamp our wardrobes; our goal was to eat and shop. What better place to do that than New York? 

On the top of my mom's list - visiting Beurre & Sel and Prune - both places created by culinary geniuses. Beurre & Sel is a tiny gourmet cookie shop by Dorie Greenspan. The concept behind this brick and mortar shop is beautiful. These simple cookies are sold individually or in tubes, which make such cute gifts. Sampling a few, they crumbled instantly in my mouth and were not at all overly sweet, making it hard to eat just one. 

After shopping and snacking for most of the morning, we opted for a light lunch of bloody marys & the Sous Chef Salad at Prune. I've only ever had a bloody mary that resembled a really bad V8 drink, so I was anxious to try Prune's version as they are known to have one of the best in NYC. We weren't disappointed. 

Probably one of the highlights of the trip was running each morning. If you are searching for a place to walk/run in NYC aside from Central Park, try the Highline. Since we stayed in West Village, we were about 4 miles away from Central Park, so I opted to stay in the area on one of my runs. Although the Highline is short (they are in the process of expanding it) it was so refreshing not to have to stop at lights or watch for traffic. 

It blows my mind how many amazing restaurants and shops NYC houses. By perusing thru endless stores; the amount of inspiration almost hit overload by the time we left. It was just what we needed. Time away to relax and gather ideas geared towards our passions. 

Couldn't have asked for a better mini trip! 

I don't often like to rehash grueling races. Most of my favorite runs are done at places where I'd never dream of racing - those normal routes around one's home or your secret little getaway trails. Since I needed to get one last long run in before the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon, Zach and I decided to run part of the Riverbank 25K course backwards. During the run I kept asking Zach if this was really part of the course; everything just looked different. I started to notice things around me that never stood out in the past. The river even seemed altered. 

Our approach to life can take a hard lesson from this running route. Facing the everyday doesn't always have to be experienced the same way. If the end goal is met, does it matter the way we pursued it? If so, what will we see if we trend down a different path? Strolling down the crowned road back to the trail head, I thought about how I want every route I run to look this fresh. How I'd want each day to be unchartered; filled with unknown possibilities. 

Running is truly where I find myself. It's where thoughts like these happen. It's where I throw off that old baggage and start to run down an alternate path in hopes of finding something new. It's time to shake up your routine! Who is with me?!