Peruvian Grooving 2017

Machu Picchu may have been a tourist destination since the 80’s (or earlier) once it was noted as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but it seems as though everyone and their mother has been traveling to South America recently.  Really though – my own mom and dad took the trek this past summer to this New7Wonder of the World and I have four other friends who visited in the 12 months!  Meghan and I were lucky enough to plan this trip at the beginning of the year and despite accepting a new job and moving to California, we were still able to make the trek.  Of course, when you sign up and pay for the flights/trek, it really becomes a non-negotiable, even with a new job.

We both agreed that an active vacation would do us both good as we live our work lives behind a desk.   We also agreed to minimize our time in museums as our study abroad experiences had us in and out of museums galore.  After some perusing online, we decided to sign up for the REI Inca Trail Trek, a nine day adventure covering the Sacred Valley and four days of hiking the 27 mile Inca Trail until arriving at the “Lost City of the Incas”.  Sure, it was a bit pricier than some plans online but it was absolutely worth it.  Not only that but did you know if you sign up to be a lifetime member (only $20), you get a sick discount on adventures, special offers, an annual dividend, and have access to in-store garage sales!  Ultimately the best $20 I’ve ever spent.

** This is going to be a very long post but I hope it can help future trekkers down the line, entertain current readers, and remind me in a few years what we actually did. **

June’s Birthdays and Blogger Club!

Welcome back to the week and welcome to June!!  Five months have flown by and here we are on June 2nd.  We happen to be celebrating a few things in my neck of the woods, so here we go.

First on the agenda is to wish my little sis a very happy birthday!  We’ve had some good times together (whether we like it or not 😉 jk we get along) and here’s to many more!

From our days rooting on the USC Trojans (even in the boonies of South Bend)

To gallivanting off to Mexico (even though we didn’t really speak Spanish…oh well) Quieres mango?

What’s pretty funny about these pictures is that Meghan is wearing a natural smile.  Now if I were to post half of the pictures that she is caught in these days, there’s bound to be some funny faces, tongue out, just plain ‘ol goofy Meghan.  My dad doesn’t always like this but she’s a hoot and somehow gets away with it.

Onto the next topic of the day – SECRET BLOGGER CLUB!  Except the fact that it’s not uber secret and really any blogger can join.  My friend/blend over at The Blonder Side of Life came up with this fun link up last month and I was pleased as punch to help host this month’s edition.  Forgive me if the link up isn’t 100% working…I really do need to put more time aside to understanding the ins and outs of my blog.  I might even brush up on some coding skills with the help of my friend Laura, who is a beast at coding.

The purpose: to discover new blogs, make new friends, and support the smaller bloggers of blogland 🙂

Inspiration: Feeling shunned from the “bigger” bloggers

The rules: There are no rules!! (j/k mostly)

-Make sure to follow your Hosts on social media Blonder Side and California Endless Summer

-Display the badge in your post or link back (mandatory)

-Link-up, click around, and be friendly 😀

Lastly is the fact that my baby blog turned a whopping 2 years old yesterday!  Some ice cream was consumed to celebrate the occasion and here’s to many more memories.

So with that folks, I leave you to your Monday.

Oldie but goodie.  You cannot escape me Megnan, even my Twitter feed of text messages 😉

Marvelous with Meghan in Manhattan

Don’t you just love Mondays?  No, well did you know about 78% of Americans get Sunday night blues in anticipation of Monday?  Thank you Fitness magazine for that enlightening information.  Anyways, since I don’t exactly gravitate towards Mondays, I turn to alliteration?  This week I decided link up to the “Marvelous Monday” partay and photodump my weekend with y’all and share the marvelous adventures with my sister and her friend Rae.  

Meghan and Rae arrived on Thursday night and off into NYC we went.  There was plenty of eating and running and even a musical on Broadway.  Sure, I could do a whole bunch of restaurant review posts, but I think it will be more fun to bundle it all together 🙂

Dinner #1 at Eataly – La Pizza – Flatiron district – arugula salad with raddicchio, endive, radish, and picked vegetables – QUADRATI con Ricotta e Spinaci – divine chocolate gelato

Friday was a day of exploration for Meghan and Rae (Union Square & Strand Bookstore) while I was working.  Meghan then met me for dinner #2 at the Ellens Stardust Diner, where we both selected the quiche + salad combination.  It was located along Broadway near the theatre and had quite a fun looking menu. Most of the staff was made up of aspiring actors and actresses and so they would break into song as the patrons were eating, serenading us all with popular Broadway hits.

Dinner was followed up by a MARVELOUS cup of frozen yogurt (self serve can never go wrong) and “The Book of Mormon”!  Oh goodness it was absolutely HILARIOUS – and I don’t think i have laughed that hard in awhile.  Have you seen “The Book of Mormon”?

Marvelous is running along the east river trail in 60F (got to love humidity) and dragging Meghan to my favorite workout class, which KICKED OUR BUTTS.  Yes, thi week I even fell off the aerobics bench.  Thank goodness only the back half of the class was privy to this sight.  After breaking a sweat we cruised over to Le Pain Quotidien for brunch.

Marvelous is visiting the 9/11 Memorial.  The engineering of such a space is breathtaking and inspiring.  We will never forget.

Besides the occasional rain shower, the weather turned out to be quite lovely this weekend.  Later on Saturday we picked up Rae and tried our luck at S’MAC.  I’ve been dying to try this restaurant (read…ALL MACARONI AND CHEESE) and it was well worth it.  We tried three different combinations and I have to say my favorite was the 4 Cheese.

FOUR CHEESE – Our four cheese delight! Cheddar, Muenster, Gruyere and a touch of Pecorino.

GARDEN LITE – Lite Cheddar, Parmesan, roasted cauliflower and portobello mushrooms, roasted garlic, broccoli and scallions.

CAJUN – Cheddar & Pepper Jack cheeses, andouille sausage, green pepper, onions, celery, garlic and, of course, some genuine Cajun seasoning.

Still reading?  OK, thank goodness pictures are worth 1,000 words because I could go on and on and on.  Well, post-dinner, Meghan and I raged with pajamas, tea, and a movie.  #success

Marvelous is our Sunday Funday, which consisted of a long run in Central Park, breakfast at a local coffee shop, a walk through The Highline/Chelsea Market, and dinner at Vanessa’s Dumpling House.

Breakfast was at Gene’s, an old style coffee shop run by a few older New Yorkers (who I plan to make my friends), with classic diner food (not out of this world but tasty), and an air of familiarity.  I mean, how much better could my Sundays get with a long run in the most beautiful place in Manhattan + breakfast out? Also, what is it about diner coffee?  It’s so drinkable.

Dinner was divine.  I guess I haven’t been exposed to decent Chinese food in ages and oh.my.goodness, I’m once again hooked.  I’m so happy Meghan suggested trying something new – inexpensive, huge portions, and I’ve expanded my palate 🙂 We finished the weekend with a classic Black/White cookie and the Golden Globes.

Meghan and Rae both head back to California today and it’s been more than marvelous to have them in town.  I’m never really that good at goodbyes, so until next time…

Celebrating Easter with a Touch of Lemon

SPRING BREAK ’13 HAS ARRIVED

Slightly excited.  Ok, really excited. What’s surreal is that this is my last official break from school before graduation and I enter the ominous “real world.” More on that to come soon.

There were some slight change of plans from what I originally had planned for this break.  Originally I was supposed to be in Sonoma at a cheese festival and wine tasting with some high school girl friends.  Shuffle the dice and now I’m at home.  No, I was not flying myself out to Cabo like a large majority of the Santa Clara campus.  Yikes, that will be one interesting college reunion out there.

Thankful Thursday Edition

Let’s try something new this week, shall we?  I’m working on starting the day on a positive note and would like to take a moment to note many of the things that I am thankful for.  I truly believe if I say it aloud, it makes me realize how fortunate we all are in this world.