Snowy Trail Run + Detroit Crêpes

Hey there! I hope you all had a great weekend.

We are close to wrapping ours up over here, and since I am pretty certain nothing more than a long family walk and possibly a movie in is happening, I figured I would go ahead and share some of my weekend happenings.

Two main highlights are in the title of this post, but just for fun, I’ll include some extra shenanigans too.

Snowy Trail Run with Roadie

After being well into what everyone living north of Tennessee has admitted to being the worst winter in over twenty years, it is a serious breath of fresh air when the temperature rises above thirty. Pair that with the wind dying down and the sunshine making an appearance, it all equals up to the best day I have seen up here since October! Sad, but so unfortunately true.

Obviously, I needed to take advantage of the “warm” weather and decided to do so by taking an overly anxious pup out for a little afternoon run in the sun Friday.

Holy geez, was he excited! When we reached our normal winter turnaround spot around the mailboxes (around a quarter mile), we started jogging straight instead. I think this is when he realized we were taking our chances on a run outside together and he started sprinting like Seabiscuit.

I was more than down for a challenge, but when we made it to the two mile mark, I became a bit discouraged to try out our normal path home through the trails. Surely people don’t actually run them when there is this much snow out right?

Wrong. As soon as I snapped this photo, a runner darted right past us and proved us wrong. (You get on after it, ambitious neighbor friend!)

All right… I guess people do run trails in the snow. Knowing this, I did what a lot of you would do and tested the concept out for myself.

(We got this!)

At first, it was really fun and reminded me of running in the sand. I didn’t mind the extra challenge, and Roadie seemed to be equally okay with it.

After a half mile passed and I started getting thrown off by tracks and dips in the snow. Then it seemed a little more annoying than running on the beach. Plus my feet were getting damp, which always makes me crabby.

Whenever I thought one of us (or even our ankles!) needed a break, I stopped to take pictures of the winter views.

These sights right in my back yard around this time of year really are stunning, and I know I don’t always give credit where credit is due up here.

As the sun started creeping it’s way down, I knew that was my cue to head back to the house. Without even looking at my distance until I made it there, Roadie and I knocked out 5.27 miles together! I was so proud of him!

Upon our arrival home, I dove into a heaping serving of blue corn tortilla chips and salsa, showered, and got ready for dinner plans with Scott. We went to Bar Louie, a fun dinner and night spot we used to frequent in Orlando with plans to see a movie right next door afterwards.

We ended up meeting a friend there and all split a hummus plate to start.

I ordered the Chop Chop salad for my entree and added grilled shrimp to it for extra substance.

Shrimp, iceberg lettuce, bacon, tomato, avocado, carrot, blue cheese crumbles, onion, garbanzo beans, egg, cucumber, tortilla strips, house dressing.

It was even better than the last time I ordered it and for the extra cost for shrimp, I justified having enough leftover for an entire additional meal later.

We had plans to see a movie, but both Scott and I agreed it might be a waste of money with our drooping eyelids. Instead, we made a quick stop at the grocery store and then went home to turn in.

Saturday in Downtown Detroit

February through April is Scott’s busy traveling months, so it isn’t out of the ordinary for me to spend a weekend alone here and there. Thankfully, this is also when my friends intervene with my “me” time and take me out or stay in with me to keep me company! Particularly this one.

Around 10:30 a.m., Alex arrived at my door to take me to brunch in Downtown Detroit. Before moving here, I already ruled Detroit out of my options of places to spend the weekends. Growing up, I had heard horror stories about how unsafe the city is, and while that is true in some areas, Alex is determined to show me it’s not true in all areas.

She had a Groupon to use at Good Girls Go To Paris, an adorable crêpe place in Midtown.

She mentioned this spot a while back, and I was excited to finally check out more areas in Detroit besides the Boardwalk and Greektown.

Wanting a combination of sweet and savory, we ordered one from each category and split them along with two side salads.

The Allison: hummus, spinach, herb de provence, hot sauce.

The Katie: apple, brown sugar, caramel, salted butter.

They weren’t quite as filling as the ones Scott and I experienced in Paris, but hey… that’s pretty rough competition!

With content but not overly full bellies, we were on our way back to the car and passed a great vintage apparel and boutique en route. I believe it was called the Peacock Room, but their website alludes to being mostly women’s apparel and accessories, which is not exactly how I would describe the store.

The funny trinkets is what drew us in, and as soon as we started reading things we both labeled this shop unexpectedly hilarious.

I mean… you just can’t keep a straight face in here!

😉

With a few small purchases in hand, we left the store in a great mood and drove back to our part of town to get ready for bible study. I have really been enjoying getting together with some of our team in a small group setting on the weekends!

The discussions are always relevant to our lives and there are always more than plenty of snacks to go around.

(Treats too!)

After our session ended, we hung around and chatted the night away. For being a Saturday night and having the next morning off from practice, we all joked that we should be out doing something fun. Eh… apparently that meant a cleaning sleepover at our house instead.

Channeling the complete inner grandmas/dorks we are, Alex and I cracked open a bottle of wine, cranked up the *NSync Radio and cleaned our entire condo. We finished the night off with face masks and it really was the most fun I have had in a long time.

Sometimes you just need those relaxing nights in!

Today flew by, and I spent the majority of it doing laundry and preparing for the week ahead. It was chilly, but also sunny again outside, and I am getting really pumped that some of the piles of snow are slowly melting down.

I was about two seconds from going on another afternoon run outside, but took a clue from my extremely sore shins to back off. Maybe tomorrow!

Tuesday, I am off to New York City for an exciting trip I can’t wait to share more about with you. With a lot of dance reviewing to do and posts to plan, I’m also off to pack.

See ya in the morning!