Weekend Confessions

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I feel like the primary purpose of this post is to let my parents know that I am alive and well. Hi, Madre and Pop!!

weekend confessions

Confession #1: I’m going to brag about the salmon and meatloaf I made at work on Friday. Even though I could only have small bites of each for quality control, I have decided that this was possibly the best salmon I’ve ever made and the best (also, the first and only) meatloaf I’ve ever made. Both of them had Trader Joe’s whole grain dijon mustard in it, FYI.

For the salmon: Season with salt and pepper. Rub a crap ton of the mustard + a good drizzle of honey all over. Top with a few dill sprigs. Bake at 425F for 12 minutes.

And I used this meatloaf recipe!

the salmon looks burnt and the meatloaf looks average, but I promise they were so good! the mustard was all sweet and crispy on the salmon 😀

Confession #2: I almost lost my voice screaming at my first BU hockey game of the season. I hadn’t been to a game in almost a year, so it was great to be back in the “dog pound” cheering on our Terriers!

we won against University of Maine 4-1 *high fives*

Confession #3: I’ve made more Irish friends during one week in Boston than I did in 3.5 months in Ireland. There’s an exchange student from Ireland who frequents the Catholic Center, so now I have a total of ONE [native] Irish friend who is my age.

Confession #4: I wanted to go to the gym at least once this weekend, but I never did. I’m pretty okay with it though.

Confession #5: I did do some interesting non-gym things like grooving to throwback songs with friends, running (!?), working out by the river at my favorite place, doing Blogilates that made our crooked floor boards creak, stretching while studying gross anatomy, and trying slider exercises with a paper plate!

Confession #6: Also instead of the gym, I did fun things like make/eat pancakes and watch The Office with my pals Ben and Rachel 🙂

humungous banana and oreo pancakes

Confession #7: I ate at P.F. Changs (aka fake Asian food) and loved it.

also we were starving, so anything tasted good // too hungry to eat it with chopsticks because that takes too much time #dontdowhatido

‘Twas for my girl Domenica’s birthday (21!!!! check that sake in a wine glass). It was mighty fun hanging out with all these beautiful women!

Confession #8: I ate chocolate cake and thoroughly enjoyed it. I can no longer say that I don’t like chocolate, I’ve just accepted it. It’s still not my favorite, and I wouldn’t order chocolate things, but I don’t dislike it.

we got two “Great Wall of Chocolate” cakes to celebrate, and I was all about it

Confession #9: I ate carrot cake before lunch to celebrate my friend Louis’ birthday the next day. So many birthdays this weekend!

“Like the liturgically significant candles?” – our friend, Pat, who made the cake

Confession #10: I don’t like to spend more than 10 minutes on dinner.

Confession #11: Megan shared one of her chocolate pudding cups with me last night for dessert, and it was blissful. You bet I added peanut butter to that thing.

Confession #12: I’m procrastinating getting my laundry out of the dryer, but I’ll go do that now.

Confession #13: I actually did go to confession this weekend.

Also, here’s a random picture of a breakfast that I ate, because I took the photo and the lighting was decent, and yogurt bowls tend to look aesthetically pleasing.

Hope you have a marvelous Monday!

So tell me:

Two things you did this weekend!

What is the best thing you’ve cooked recently?

Did you watch any sports this weekend?

Weekend Confessions

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

weekend confessions

It’s been a while since I confessed to you all (because I don’t already bare my innermost thoughts to you on a weekly basis already).

So some confessions from the weekend:

Confession #1: I watched Me Before You with Daliza on Friday night, and I was crying my eyes out with all the other middle school girls in the theater. In my defense, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room except for Daliza’s. She was laughing at the rest of us.

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Confession #2: I loved and hated the movie. Loved because it was a very sweet romance (I’m a sucker). Plus, British accents. Hated because I have some qualms about the ending.

Confession #3: After the movie, I went home for a really cute baking date at home with a British guy ❤

Cookie & Kate’s banana bread in muffin form

That guy would be Jamie Oliver. On Youtube. It was like a Skype cooking date, except we were cooking different things and he has no idea I exist.

fresh out of the oven with a big smear of cinnamon raisin peanut butter from Stowe + glass o’ milk!

Confession #4: Dad’s birthday was on Saturday, but he did more work and service than I (and many people) did that day. He’s a star.

Saturday’s breakfast: full fat Greek yogurt with cinnamon, nutmeg, chia seeds, banana, banana muffin, and almond butter

Confession #5: Mom and I bought so much {rather expensive} food at the farmers’ market on Saturday with the reasoning that “we are supporting the locals.”

I’m sorry, how many dollars?

foraging in my natural habitat

I love special nut butters, but there are very few times I am willing to drop $13 for a standard jar.

Confession #6: I totally snacked my way through lunch at the farmers’ market. I love how you never fail to get excessive amounts of carbs and cheese at farmers’ markets.

side confession: this fresh apple waffle was probably the best waffle I’ve EVER eaten — so doughy!

this apple strudel is legit

side confession: this tasted no different from chocolate cow milk, but that’s not a bad thing

Confession #7: I may never get tired of tacos.

one carne enchilada + one chicken taco

Pop chose a local Mexican restaurant for his birthday dinner, and Mom and I could not be more pleased with his decision 😉

he got a huge frozen margarita for his special day — atta boy

chicken and pork chilaquiles as an appetizer to share

Confession #8: I always forget how wonderful one-on-one walks are. Pop and I took a late night walk through our humid and dark neighborhood. Good convo with a great man.

Confession #9: I indulged in more sweets on Pop’s birthday than on my own birthday. The farmers’ market lured Madre and I into buying many baked goods, sooooo, like, you gotta eat some while they’re fresh, right?

a slice of apple strudel a la mode + a piece of this gluten/dairy/grain/everything-free blueberry scone

Confession # 10: I play eenie-meenie-miney-mo (sp?) for a lot of my trivial life decisions. Example: yesterday’s breakfast was a toss-up between three of Amanda’s recipes: oatmeal cookie dough smoothie, banana oat french toast bake, and chunky monkey pancakes.

banana oat french toast bake won – topped with cinnamon raisin pb + glass o’ milk

Confession #11: I put Greek yogurt on my beef yesterday.

LISTEN. It’s like sour cream if it’s full fat Greek yogurt (I’m saying this mostly to defend myself from my non-blogger friends, who think that even peanut butter with yogurt is weird).

also had a hunk of a huge cheese biscuit…from the farmers’ market

Confession #12: The workout I did on Saturday left me quiiiiiite sore on Sunday. It was:

5 rounds of 10 Bulgarian split squats each leg + 3 wall walks. Then…

3 rounds (30 sec work, 10 sec rest):

burpees
alternating split lunges with 10# DB
toe touch + split sit-up
push-up with knee tap
high knees
heel tap burpees

I’m sorry. Half of those exercises probably mean NOTHING to you, because they are not conventional exercises that have real names.

Confession #13: When I did this 60 minute vinyasa yoga with Leigha Butler yesterday, I spent about 25% of the time staring at her doing poses beyond my anatomical capacity.

Confession #14: When I went on a walk with Madre yesterday, I was walking at maybe 2 mph because my butt was so sore.

a slow incline that felt like a mountain – but look at how mystical this is!

Confession #15: We secretly live near a rainforest.

…that happens to have evergreens

Confession #16: I decided to watch home videos with mom last night because all I wanted were warm fuzzies.

Confession #17: Dinner last night was pita bread and veggies with hummus, these baked zucchini, and desserts…from the farmers’ market.

Hope you all have a fantastic week! Support local businesses 🙂

So tell me:

What is your experience with farmers’ markets? Do you get giddy like I do? Do you give in to buying more expensive things than you normally would to #SupportLocal?

Do you ever play eenie-meenie-miney-mo to make life decisions?

Two fun things you did this weekend!

What do you think of Me Before You if you read/saw it?

Weekend Confessions

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

This weekend…

Confession #1: My best girl friends and I went out for appetizers and ~~cocktails~~ mocktails to celebrate Rachel’s birthday, because we’re still babieeees.

Confession #2: Yo girls can EAT.

Confession #3: I cooked some pretty darn tasty chicken and burgers at work, and I really wished I could eat more than just a nibble of them. #occupationalhazard

Confession #4: I base my decision to get either a sandwich or salad at the food court based on the availability of cornbread. If the salad bar has cornbread, I’m getting salad for the sake of cornbread. I’ll say it one more time: cornbread.

Confession #5: I’ve been eating more carbs and a little less protein to put my nutrition project’s results to the test. Verdict? Feelin’ great! It could be a mind game, but I feel more energetic. Because carbs give you energy, WHO KNEW!?

Confession #6: In all honesty, this weekend was a little bit harder on the body image and recovery front than it has been in a long time. I can’t tell if it was from Thursday’s body fat composition test, or if it’s just a stress crutch. Either way, I am keepin’ on and my mind is still in a good place overall, thanks to the amazing community of people in my life (YOU included).

Confession #7: I bought oatmeal at Au Bon Pain, even though I have oatmeal in my dorm. I went to Mass and a spontaneous breakfast date yesterday morning with Rachel before she went home for some personal business, and I felt the need to buy something to go along with the Perfect Bar (got it from a giveaway on Instagram thanks to my girl, @foodietunes!) and banana that I brought along.

Confession #8: Whenever I match with people, I feel compelled to take a photo with them.

leather jackets ayooo

Confession #9: I stood outside in the beautiful weather listening to a song I really liked and pretended I was in some dramatic montage.

Confession #10: IMO, the best part of the Oscars were when Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe announced together and when BB8 came on stage.

Also, Chris Rock was funny but made me kinda uncomfortable at some points. I guess that was the point, right?

Confession #11: My friends are hawt.

One more week until spring break!

So tell me:

One confession from your weekend!

If you watched the Oscars, which part was your favorite?

When was the last time you got dressed up and what was it for?

Weekend Confessions + Vlog with Rachel

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

weekend confessions

Confession #1: I miss blogging more often, and I’m sorry that I haven’t been posting very much lately!

Confession #2: I also don’t feel that guilty for not posting, because school is happenin’ and so is friend time. I love blogging, but it can be hard to choose screen time over a night out with friends, ya know?

Confession #3: I wore shorts and a tank top on November 5th in Boston, Massachusetts. HAHA. I was wearing my marshmallow coat three weeks ago. What are seasons?

like, MAYBE, who knows now?

Confession #4: Rachel and I decided to have best friend day on Saturday and made sure the whole world knew about it on Snapchat.

Confession #5: We could not stop saying “mmm” and “WOW” and “I can’t even” while eating this sandwich from Cutty’s (on our food bucket list!).

It’s called the “Roast Beef 1000” (slow-roasted beef, thousand island sauce, frizzled onions, and sharp cheddar on a brioche bun). Yeah.

We also both ordered the vegetable of the day, which was hot ‘n’ sour brussels sprouts. Also “mmmmm”-worthy.

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Guy Fieri was there!

Confession #6: We were so inspired by the brussels sprouts from lunch that we bought two bags of brussels sprouts from the grocery store, roasted them in the communal kitchen after dinner, and ate a whole tray of them within 15 minutes of them coming out of the oven.

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sort of based on Arman’s balsamic brussels

Confession #7: Before our brussels extravaganza, Rachel and I were workout buddies. Except that we didn’t work out together.

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We ran to the workout pad that I always go to, and while she continued running, I stopped and did six rounds of this workout until she ran back.

Confession #8: I’ve finished 5 large (32+ ounce) jars of peanut butter this semester. It’s fine.

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My sixth jar may or may not last until Thanksgiving. I’m erring on the side of not.

Confession #9: I put Sriracha on everything.

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eggs

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salad

Soon I’ll be mixing it with peanut butter.

Confession #10: Rachel and I filmed a VLOG! You’ve seen a couple vlogs with Daliza, my best friend from home, so I thought it would be fun to film one with best friend who I met at college 🙂

This is a “best friend tag” vlog. Basically, how well do we know each other? Quirks? What’s annoying about the other? Who do we have a CRUSH ON!?

Here’s the link in case the embedded video isn’t working (and if you still want to watch it). In case my fellow bloggers want to play along with their BFF or significant other, here are the questions!

How and when did you two meet?

Who is your best friend’s hero?

If your best friend could go any place on earth, where would it be and why?

What is the name of your crush?

What is your best friend’s biggest fear?

If your best friend was deserted on an island, what three items would he/she want to have?

What part of your best friend’s body is his/her favorite?

What are two things about you that your best friend doesn’t know?

How would you describe your best friend’s ideal spouse?

What is a weird quirk about your best friend?

What are three things you would never fail to find in your best friend’s refrigerator?

What is your favorite memory together?

What is one thing about your best friend that annoys you?

Does your best friend have any nicknames?

What would your best friend do if he/she won the lottery?

Can you describe your best friend in one word?

What would your best friend say he/she admires most in you?

Sorry it’s kinda long. Just promise me you’ll watch Rachel’s face at 4:09.

She’s gonna kill me.

Hope you all have a fabulous week! Tell your good friends/family members that you love them.

So tell me:

What is one “confession” you have from the weekend?

Have you ever eaten a whole pan/pot of something in one sitting?

What is the best thing you’ve eaten recently?

If you were deserted on an island, which three items would you want to have?

Weekend Confessions IV

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Happy Marathon Monday!

I am stoked to be a part of the Boston community for Marathon Monday this year. Y’all know that I’m no runner, but the energy and camaraderie that is emanating from this city is exhilarating!

Boston Forever by Judith Chasin {via}

Also, it’s awesome knowing that so many of YOU love running, and you might know some people running in the marathon. I know that Tina @ Carrots ‘n’ Cake and Morganne @ Nut Butter Runner are running in it! Maybe I can stalk them and track them down to say hello (in the most non-creepy way possible)!

I’ll be sure to fill you in on the excitement after today. Praying for all the workers, volunteers, spectators, and runners!

And now, I have some lighthearted confessions about my week that you can either relate to or use to feel better about yourself. 🙂

I finished a jar of peanut butter by myself in one week.

Here we see the very last of my (delicious) Teddie peanut butter that I bought just two Fridays ago. On Saturday morning, I made some quick oats with cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, banana, and a pinch of salt, and then I just dumped it in the almost empty jar!

My buddy PJ told me, “I’m not even mad, I’m just impressed.”

I was the “mom” secretly taking pictures of my two friends getting Confirmed.

Congratulations to my dear friends Cherie and Janice, who both received Confirmation this weekend! We celebrated with them at Mass and then later at Cherie’s place for fellowship and food. Speaking of food…

I went back for seconds of Cookie Butter ice cream, because COOKIE BUTTER ICE CREAM.

Swing dancing = weekend “turn up” in our books.

Sweaty ol’ stranger men and all.

I’m about a head-and-a-half shorter than all the girls pictured above.

What’s life like up there above 5’3″?

I missed an online homework assignment for organic chem.

Gahhhhh. It’s one of those grades that doesn’t make a huge difference, but it’s especially disappointing to lose points for it because of my carelessness. Thankfully, after emailing the professor, he kindly allowed me to complete the assignment late at no penalty.

Moral of the story: work hard at all times, make sure the professor knows you, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Life happens!

My meals and eating times have been very weird lately.

I’ve been having double lunches and snacky/weirdly-timed dinners.

On Friday, I ate a late lunch at 2pm after class. Then I snacked on a lot of veggies, crackers, and hummus during work. Then I ate dinner at almost 10 pm at Clay Pot Cafe with my mom, bro, and family friends.

normal lunch

super late dinner

On Saturday, after my friends’ Confirmation and anatomy review, my blood sugar was low to the flo’, so I needed to eat lunch in the dining hall before going to Cherie’s place to eat more Indian food and desserts. Then dinner was chips at swing dancing and frozen banana with peanut butter in my dorm at midnight.

lunch before Cherie’s

Finally, yesterday, I ate fruit and peanut butter for breakfast in my dorm, a normal brunch at 12:30pm, a super early snack-turned-dinner at 4pm, and then a light second dinner at 9:30pm.