Hello everyone!  I thought it would be a good day to update you on some of my favorite things lately, mostly because I don’t have a new recipe for you this Friday.  But don’t you worry, I have plenty of new and delicious fall meals coming your way!  Now onto things that I’m enjoying because I know you’re all dying to find out.

 

Fall-Flavored Tea

Yes, this is the season of Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  Everyone goes gaga over them this time of year, and while I do enjoy a good pumpkin drink just like the rest of the country, I also like the tea that comes out this time of year.  The change of seasons from warm to cold is generally also the time to change from cold drinks to warm drinks and I love sipping tea on chilly drizzly fall days.  Right now my two teas of choice are Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Rooibos and Teekanne’s Cinnamon Apple Spice tea.  Both have that fall spice blend going on and they make me think of crunchy leaves and other fall things.  Plus the pumpkin tea comes in this awesome tin that will forever smell like pumpkin spice and what could be better than that?

All the Squash

I mentioned in my post on Wednesday that a great way to enjoy fall was to eat squash.  Obviously that means I’m gorging myself on all the squash.  I think that my two favorites are butternut and delicata, but I am no squash snob and I will gladly eat any squash put in front of me.  The best way to eat them in my humble opinion is to roast them.  Preheat your oven to 425, peel, deseed, and dice whatever squash you choose, then toss with some oil (I like to use coconut oil), sprinkle with your favorite seasoning (I like to go savory with garlic and chili powder or smoked paprika) and spread in an even layer on a baking sheet.  Cook for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the squash starts to get golden on the edges.  Then eat as is, put on top of salads, or puree for soup or a mashed potato substitute.

Fitness Blender

While running will always be my first fitness love, I do also like to lift weights.  It’s important to cross-train to prevent injuries and to add some variety to your workout routine.  For the past few months I have been doing the workouts provided by the couple behind Fitness Blender.  There are a ton of different workouts to choose from, whether you want to tone, strengthen, do cardio or HIIT.  They have yoga and pilates and tabata style workouts.  Pretty much anything your heart desires fitness wise, they provide.  Their videos are simple to follow and they make sure to teach you how to properly do each exercise so you don’t hurt yourself.  Plus they’re workouts are free!  What could be better than free fitness?  Go check them out at fitnessblender.com and do one of their videos.  I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Pretending to be a Model

So, I’m pretty much a professional model now don’t ya know?  A few weeks back, I was asked if I wanted to start writing a health column for a local magazine.  I said, uhhhh YES and I am really excited to be contributing and reaching a bigger audience.  The first issue that I’ll be writing in is their Nov/Dec issue, and along with the article I included two holiday recipes.  They also had me come out so they could get a headshot for the magazine and thus I am now a professional model.  But not really because I had to have my sister help me pick out my clothes and do my makeup since I really have no fashion sense at all.  Good thing I have her around so I don’t look like a two year old playing dress up!

Those are the things captivating my attention these days.  Sometimes it’s really the simple things in life that make me happy, like tea and squash.  I hope you all are having a fabulous Friday and that your weekend is awesome!  I’ll see you back here on Monday!