Weekend Snapshots & Snowy Trail Run

Alternately titled my weekend documented through food with a poor wardrobe decision.

I hope you all had a great one! We stayed pretty busy on our end, and I’m happy to report that I avoided and Scott kicked a nasty cold that showed up sometime Thursday. Phew!

I’m currently drafting this post on Sunday night, and it’s such a nice change. We are usually out and about on the weekends until I’m too tired to log onto a computer, and, in turn, I start the new week feeling like I’m trying to catch up. Here’s hoping I pull it together on the blog front this week … hehe.

Anyways, before I start rambling, here’s what we’ve been up to over the past few days.

Thanks for checking in!

 

Friday

Scott picked me up from work earlier than normal on Friday. I was out the door by 5 p.m. and had about an hour of downtime before it was time to change and go to dinner at our friends’ house in Ferndale.

My sweet friend, Robin, and her husband, C.J., invited us over for a fancy homemade dinner along with our friends Amanda and T.J. Both girls were in my bible study small group last year, and we don’t get together nearly enough.

I had no idea Robin was such a great cook! She prepared Coq Au Vin with a side of roasted brussels sprouts, potatoes, and a kale salad for dinner. She followed that with a delicious berry cobbler for dessert.

Everything was so good! After dinner, our group played a few rounds of cards and chatted until it was time to get home. It was a great time!

 

Saturday

My official weekend kicked off with a three hour shift at the gym. I taught two group training classes and then had a 1-on-1 client before our afternoon with friends began. After finally watching all of the Star Wars movies at home, we wanted to celebrate by seeing Episode VII in theaters.

But first, lunch at one of our favorite fast casual spots in the area.

Mini-bowls at 2941 Mediterranean Street Food. Yum!

After lunch, we stopped by a new pet store next door and I almost came home with all of the cutest dog toys.

Star-barks, Chewy Vuitton, and Jimmy Chew? Adorable.

Okay … so … Star Wars.

As skeptical and uninterested as I was in the series before I watched one, I have to admit that I loved Episode VII: The Force Awakens (<- check out that IMDb page!). I would totally go see it again!

We originally had two separate events to attend Saturday night, but we ended up staying in instead. Scott came down with what we think was the flu or a really, really bad cold, and it hit its peak during the movie.

While he rested, I happily parked my sweatpants on the couch and binge-watched the first five episodes of Fuller House on Netflix. I know I wasn’t alone on this, either. Even though I found it cheesier than ever, the nostalgia I felt from seeing all of those characters together again got me. I can’t wait to watch more!

 

Sunday

Scott and I went to our normal church service in the morning and then were looking forward to catching up with some dear friends of ours over brunch.

It’s completely predictable at this point, but we chose Social in Birmingham. Well, technically, they chose it, but we didn’t complain.

I couldn’t even tell you what is on the menu besides the sticky bun …

(split between the table)

And the create-your-own skillet …

Social Skillet with spinach, green peppers, banana peppers, olives, feta, egg whites, roasted tomato salsa, tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro

… because it’s what I get every time. I just can’t stray. Per usual, the skillet was perfect. What wasn’t perfect, however, was getting sat at least thirty minutes after our reservation. It happens every time! We absolutely love the food and environment at Social, but I just don’t understand the point of reservations if they don’t apply. Yikes.

Something I really loved during brunch was the company. We sat with Alex and Alex and then our friend, Katlyn, joined as we wrapped up.

Katlyn is a flight attendant that is always off working and traveling the world (awesome job, right?), so it’s a treat when we get to see her home in Michigan.

Since she didn’t order brunch with us, the group of us walked over to Sweet Earth for frozen yogurt shortly after.

Again, I didn’t complain. My bowl was filled with Greek tart and strawberry banana yogurt and topped with simple fruit bits (strawberries & blueberries) and waffle cone pieces. It was quite enjoyable!

We eventually said our goodbyes after we were well into the afternoon, and didn’t stay home long once we got there. It was warm (in the mid-50s) and sunny outside, so Scott and I decided to embark on an adventure through the trails with Roadie.

We left our normal loop and drove about a half an hour to Paint Creek Trail. I had visited once before while training for a half marathon with my friend Alex, but hadn’t been back since. I couldn’t tell you why.

It was gorgeous out and we came prepared with pants and jackets, but one thing we failed to think about were our shoes. And snow. And snow melting into slush.

I guess that just goes to show that we aren’t truly from these neck of the woods. (Literally?)

We saw several people walking and biking the trails, but all of them had either snow or rain boots on. Not us! Ha.

Scott and I both had wet, frozen toes within minutes of walking the trails. We pushed through for about twenty minutes and then got the idea to run which actually helped fight off some of the numbness. You live and you learn, right?

We were determined to keep going because I wanted to show him the graffiti rocks.

They don’t look quite as impressive as they did last time – sans snow – but they were still pretty neat to see.

Maybe next time we will bring some spray paint of our own and leave something to come back to.

If you’re ever in the area to venture out for yourself, the graffiti rocks are located right near the entrance on Clarkston Road. They’re much more impressive and colorful in the summertime!

We roamed around for a bit and then turned around to head back to the car. We spent most of the loop running to be able to get to the car and warm up our feet faster. We were gone for just under and hour, but only ran two and a half miles. It definitely wasn’t our fastest trip, but that wasn’t the point.

Our weekend wrapped up by watching the Oscars. I just love seeing all of the stars dressed so nicely and the best of the best movies and award winners. Um, how many did Mad Max: Fury Road win? And I might have clapped and teared up a little when Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar. Yay!

Anddd just like that the weekend was over.

 

I hope you have a great start to the new week, and hey, today is the last day to enter the Tervis giveaway. Good luck!

 

» Linking up these Weekend Snapshots with Katie and Erin.

 

Questions of the Day

• Do you ever attempt to run in the snow? (Please share your fun/scary stories!)

• What was one highlight from your weekend?