Faux Christmas!

Hi There!

When I last posted Sunday evening, I was too tired to finish giving you all the details about my "Faux Christmas".  I love Christmastime, and it has always been  one of my favorite holidays. I find that during the holiday season, people are generally more cheerful, compassionate, and giving. I thoroughly enjoy spending quality time with friends and family which is usually sprinkled with laughs, yummy treats, and some sparkly and sassy outfits. Although I thoroughly miss spending the holidays with my family, I enjoy having Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with PJ's family. Christmas Eve at PJ's house is pretty epic if I do say so myself! Instead of coming home to Boston for a few jammed packed days for the actual holiday,  I typically come home for a week before Christmas (which is where I am now!). This time enables me to enjoy myself and the fam here at home in a relaxed manner. Even though I'm not home for the actual Christmas holiday, my mom still busts out all the stops for Christmas including but not limited to: an immaculately decorated tree, various winter "scenes" and snowscapes scattered throughout the house, bowls of balls ( um, ornaments...),  and other decorations that fill our home with holiday cheer.

Ok, so back to "Faux Christmas". We have titled the early Christmas Eve that my parents, PJ, and my Uncle Mark celebrate, "Faux Christmas". We open stockings, exchange gifts, and relax by the tree. It feels just like the Christmas Eves spent at my house that I loved so much while growing up. My mom usually cooks a dinner on this night, but we decided that this year we were going to have our celebration late afternoon and then head to a restaurant for dinner. We went to an amazing Italian restaurant in the town adjacent to mine which conveniently had  a tree lighting that evening.

My Dad and I in front of the tree. I took more pictures, but unfortunately they weren't keepers.

The restaurant is called The Tuscan Kitchen, and I LOVE the atmosphere, food, vino, and amazing bread at this Italian gem. I love a crispy piece of bread dipped in olive oil, salt and pepper- and let me tell ya- their bread is a force to be reckoned with! We ordered mussels, a salad, and cocktails to enjoy before dinner. I chose the fish stew for my entrée. It was awesome. The waiter was telling me that the northern Italian term for the dish I chose is "fish stew", while the more commonly used southern term is "Zuppe de Pesce". You can call this dish whatever you want; either way, I love me a fish stew!

We had this "Super Tuscan" wine with dinner,which everyone agreed was pretty fantastic. I think that's why we ordered bottle number two!

Mom and I at dinner. I'm loving the red lips this season if you couldn't tell. However, I am not loving when it gets all over my teeth or my wine glass which seems to be happening quite frequently. Oh well! All in all, it was a great Faux Christmas!

My bow-tied boyfriend cracking some fancy beer on Saturday night.

The weekend consisted of eating most meals out, so by Sunday I was craving veggies and  a home cooked dinner. For lunch on Sunday, I made an awesome salad with grilled and fresh veggies, and I topped it with my mom's leftover seared tuna from dinner the night before. it was pretty awesome. For the most part, my breakfast meals have been the same as usual. You know, Chobani with cereal, nuts , and fruit, english muffins with peanut butter and banana,and on Sunday morning, I switched it up a bit with an omelet. The omelet was a welcome change, as I rarely crave eggs for breakfast.

2 egg whites, 1 egg with tomato, broccoli, ketchup, and hot sauce. Blackberries on the side.

On Sunday afternoon, my parents, my friend Meg, and I watched Meet me in St. Louis starring my girl, Judy Garland. I have always wanted to watch this movie,  and I thought Christmastime was the perfect opportunity to finally sit my buns down and watch! Fun Fact: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was first debuted in Meet me in St. Louis!  It 's clearly an old movie, so there were definitely some corny parts; however, I loved it!

Dinner Sunday night was vino free, and it included roasted chicken, veggies,  sweet potatoes, and a side of lightly dressed arugula. Perfecto!

I have been practicing yoga a lot since my arrival in Boston which is awesome.  I gave it a break on Sunday, and decided to rest the bones. Although Yoga makes me feel fantastic, I found it more beneficial to take it easy on Sunday. I begin to resent any form of movement even yoga- if I do it every day. I  appreciate and enjoy exercise when I give myself time off. Conversely, if I force myself to do it everyday, I begin to get burnt out and disgruntled. That my friends is NOT the goal of yoga or any other type of exercise for that matter.

My fave yoga instructor on YogaGlo is currently Kathryn Budig (above pics). I kind of have a girl crush on her. Not only are her classes well paced and expertly guided, but they are also challenging and restorative at the same time. Do yourself a favor and choose one of her classes on YogaGlo. You will thank me.

I also LOVE Kathryn's view on body image. She posted this picture of herself to her Facebook page with the caption: " I am not my body image". Fantastic right? This chicky is certainly in phenomenal shape (she models nakey for toe sox!), but she has a healthy, strong body. If you Google her name, the images that pop up of her practicing are awe-inspiring. GIRL IS STRONG. When I used to visualize what a "yoga body" looked like , visions of a sinewy, rail thin, bodies would flood my mind. While there is nothing wrong with this body shape if it is a natural result of eating intuitively and practicing yoga, there is (in my opinion) something very wrong with practicing yoga for the sole purpose of achieving a certain body type. It defeats the purpose. Also, if your like me, you probably thought (or think) that yoga  isn't sufficient exercise. Let me tell you, it is! Many of the classes I "take" are sweat inducing and leave my heart pumping. These days, I occasionally do other forms of exercise besides yoga, but yoga is the mainstay of my "workout'" routine. It is the form of movement that I look forward to,and it makes me feel centered, energized and happy. As I have said before, do what you love. In my experience, following this path is what has made me love and stay committed to moving my body!

Toby loves his yoga mat, too. He used to curl up on my old yoga mat quite frequently, so PJ and I put it in the bottom of his crate (a.k.a his condo). He loves it :)

OK, time to go! I'm going to leave you with a quote that I am LOVING right now.

xo

Sarah