Swinnyinthecity: Long time no chat!

Hey There!

I hope everyone enjoyed a fantastic holiday spending time with loved ones, consuming delicious cuisine, and decompressing! I certainly accomplish all three of these goals. PJ and I traveled Boston to spend the weekend prior to Christmas with my fam, then we headed back to New Jersey to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with our friends and his family. It was definitely a busy week packed with activities, fun, family, friends, and food. We even got a little snow fall on Christmas Eve which in my opinion makes the evening feel more special. Below are some pics from my visit home...

Always love my house at Christmas :)

PJ and I enjoying Pre-dinner cocktails and munchies with my fam!

Meat and cheese board :)

Champagne with Elderflower blooming in the glass! Ps.. the flower was edible and pretty delish!

Home is where the wine is :) <3 ...oops.. Did I just say that?!

We wear crowns and scratch lottery tickets!

Mom and I have an annual viewing of the family stone complete with fuzzy socks, blankets, and tissues. Sniff**

Sometimes Mom french braids my hair just like she used to do for me on most summer days when I worked at the ice cream stand :) Shes still got it!

Now, here are some pics from Christmas with PJ's fam

Us at Christmas dinner..

Being goofy Christmas Eve

PJ reading the Grinch to family and friends :)

The boys on Christmas day keeping watch

Amazing gift from PJ's sister. Who knew Kale could be so hot? haha. In all seriousness, this book is funny but the recipes look awesome. Expect to see some sexy Kale in the coming weeks!

I definitely experienced a lot of this over the past week! Toby's eyes bugged out of his head at the prospect of snagging food even more than usual! Perhaps subsituting my usual heap of greens for meat, cheese, buttery rolls, and sweets tickled his fancy? Can't say I blame him...!

and this... (macha banana oatmeal from Argo Tea.. amazeballs!)

Don't forget the quinoa! ( Quinoa, butternut squash, and garlicky mushrooms from Mind Body Green... topped w egg and siracha)

Yum. Salad with butternut squash, apples, pecans, craisins, and shrimp.

As someone who practices the 80/20 "rule" most of the time (sometimes it's more like 70/30!), my body is accustomed to being fueled on lots of fruit and veggies, lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats, and greek yogurt! While during the holidays I do try to get my nutrious foods on board early in the day to keep me feeling good, it can be difficult to maintain a "plan"during all the holiday hoopla. In all honesty, sticking rigidly to an exercise/diet regime during the holidays will probably result in feelings of frustration and deprivation. Simply said, you will undoubtedly miss out on important things like being truly present in the holiday experience. Trust me, I know- I've spent many a holiday avoiding dessert and spazzing if I didn't have time to work out. This year, I really just enjoyed myself and tried to balance my indulgences with wholesome foods. I practiced yoga in much shorter intervals, but It helped me feel energized and connected to what my body wanted. I'd be lying if I said that by Christmas night I didn't feel like I was floating down a river of wine on a raft made of pecan pie, but because I allow myself to indulge on a regular basis, I didn't feel the need to go off the rails during the holidays. I ate some of what I wanted, but I didn't feel like I need to dive face first into the dessert tray. Still, I usually do not drink wine and have rich meals every night, so I felt it physically. The good news is that when I woke up yesterday, my craving for clean food was super strong. It's taken me a LONG time to grasp this concept, and I'm still working on it, but your body WILL tell you what it needs if you listen.