2016 Year in Review

At the end of last year's year in review, I concluded by saying that I wanted to blog more, but that is actually what I did the very least of. There have been so many times where blog post has been written in my planner on my to-do list, but it's always fallen to the very end. So I'll start by saying that in 2017, I am going to write more. Let's start there.

Oh, 2016.

I know that I'm not alone when I say that 2016 was a tough year. For me personally, it was a doozy and while there were lots of really great things that happened, I'm really looking forward to a fresh start tomorrow.

When I look back on everything individually, I'm happy to report that there were definitely some good things that it's been nice to reflect on as I've sat down to write this post.

Over the course of the year, I got to travel to Nashville and NYC again, and also experienced my very first cruise. All 3 trips were amazing for all different reasons.

The cruise was awesome to take a break, see my Beachbody friends and experience something entirely different. It was so much fun to explore, partake in all sorts of activities, workout at dawn with my favourite trainers, have awesome nights out and of course, meet Stan the dolphin.

Being in Nashville again was just as much fun as the first time around. The energy at Summit is always infectious and I continue to cherish time with my Beachbody family. I loved exploring new parts of the city, getting re-energized about this biz and generally nerding out over all things Beachbody related. I also stayed in the sweetest airbnb on my last night with the most lovely host! It was a really really wonderful trip.

And NYC was exactly what I needed. This second half of the year has been rough, and I decided that a trip on my own would be good for my soul. I saw 5 shows in 3 days, ate all sorts of delicious food, visited with friends and relished the energy of my favourite city. A full recap of that trip is coming in the new year.

I continued my fitness journey, completing a variety of programs that were all very different! With all of the challenges I was facing, I found myself in a place where I wasn't feeling great about my body in this last half. I recently completed my first round of an MMA style program that re-ignited my excitement and gave me some incredible results in 30 days. I'm kicking 2017 off with round two and I'm pretty stoked to jump back in!

My work life has been awesome, but hectic. At MT, we said goodbye to a cherished team member, welcomed two amazing additions to the team, launched a charity cookbook, ran the Culinary Nutrition Expert Program and oh-so-much more. I was recently promoted to Operations Director and I am really looking forward to the things we're going to do in 2017.

Additionally, I've continued to grow my biz as a health and fitness coach and I still absolutely love it. Our groups continue to grow each month and I am looking forward to diving into 2017 with our January group. I'm looking forward to continuing to grow our team, developing myself as a leader and helping even more people feel like their very best selves in the new year.

I also got to celebrate the marriage of my best friend (& adopted little sister) Jessie over the summer. It was a beautiful wedding and I felt so blessed to be a part of her special day.

Amid all of that, I found time to ride Cecily around the city, meet Tony Horton and Shaun T, visit with friends, see incredible shows, share a post on xoJane that sorta went viral, Fringe it up, read some amazing books, create delicious meals and even perform too (videos here, here and here)

And I got another tattoo.

this too shall pass (courtesy of Aaron at Speakeasy Tattoo)

This couldn't have come at a more perfect time and continued to serve as a reminder as the year went on.

Right around the time that I got the tattoo, we went through some scary health stuff with my dad and then 2 months later, my nan suddenly passed away. I kept looking down at my arm and tried to remind myself that things would keep moving forward and that this too would pass.

A hard summer turned into a tough fall and an even more difficult holiday season. Corbin and I went through a hard time this year. After defining what some of the issues were, we went to therapy together and really tried to be a team as we faced our problems. I'm writing this post from my nearly packed up bedroom with empty walls and a handful of hangers still in the closet. We broke up a week before Christmas and I'm getting ready to move into my own place on January 1st.

It's still very raw and very sad. Our relationship was incredibly special and I will have a lot of great memories - many of which have been captured on this blog. I have a lot of love for Corbin and all that we've shared. I've also learned a lot about myself and what I need throughout this process. I didn't think it would end up this way, but I feel confident that we're both going to come out on the other side even stronger as individuals. It's so so hard, but it's the right thing for us at this moment.

So now I'm here on the 31st, feeling very ready to turn the page and begin again.

I'll spend the day finishing up packing and preparing to move into my new place tomorrow. I'm going to be living on my own for the first time and it feels very liberating, whilst also being scary unknown territory for me. I've been spending more time than usual on Pinterest and I'm looking forward to creating a space I can thrive in. Tonight I'll be ringing in the new year with friends and tomorrow I'll start a fresh page in my gratitude journal as we load my belongings onto a truck and into my new apartment.

In the past I've picked a word that would be the theme for the coming year but I'm not exactly sure what that should be for 2017 just yet. I think I need to sit with it before I make a choice (I may have just signed up for this email series to help as well). I haven't set goals or intentions either, though perhaps I need to get clearer on that, especially if I aspire to blog more in 2017. On that topic, writing this post has been cathartic - take note, future Ashley!

I feel very lucky to have had an incredible group of friends to support me through all of this. I know that I wouldn't be standing without their love and support.

While 2016 has not been my favourite year, I hope that in time I can reflect on all of the good and the fun that also happened in a year filled with tragedy, sadness and anxiety. I also now have a permanent reminder of some sage wisdom, and can look down at my arm in case I need a reminder.

Here's to new beginnings. Happy New Year, friends xo

NYC 2014: The Food

Seeing as I’m in Tampa this weekend, I thought it was a good time to detail all the amazing eats we had on our trip to NYC!

I may have mentioned this on the blog before, but I actually have a spreadsheet of vegan/vegetarian friendly restaurants in New York City. Whenever someone recommends a place to me or I see a ‘best of’ list, I add new options to the list. It’s also awesome to be able to share with folks when they ask me for recommendations in NYC. In my travels, I love to revisit my tried and true favourites, but also make an effort to dine at new places. On this trip we had great success with a bunch of new places that quickly skyrocketed to the top of my list (and Corbin’s too!)

Brunch

Brunch may easily be one of my favourite meals and I was looking forward to enjoying brunch at Friedman’s Lunch (in Chelsea Market) I ended up eating some of the best pancakes ever! They were fluffy, delicious and served with blueberries and maple syrup. I also loved that they served Harney tea. Corbin enjoyed the brunch special which included grits, bacon and some poached eggs. Our server was lovely and the atmosphere was stellar. They were extremely knowledgeable of gluten free and I was excited to be presented with so many options. Going to Friedman’s Lunch also gave us an excuse to hang out at Chelsea Market which is one of my favourite places in New York (though I was sad that Anthropologie was closed since we were there on Thanksgiving)

Champs is always a favourite when we’re in New York and it was actually our first stop as soon as we arrived! We were surprised to find they had a new location (on Meserole), but once we were there we were in vegan foodie heaven. I had the gluten free tofu benedict, which was absolutely delicious. It was the perfect cure to a morning of traveling and a bit of a hangry Ashley. Corbin had the Loaded Breakfast Burrito which was GINORMOUS and full of all sorts of goodness. We also ran into 2 friends during our brunch, proving that it IS a small world after all! 

The morning before we left we squeezed in a brunch at Sacred Chow, which I enjoyed. I had a delicious gluten free waffle topped with apples, cinnamon and coconut cream, while Corbin opted for a scrambled tofu bowl with tonnes of veggies and squash. It had also been on my list for awhile, so it was great to finally pay a visit and fuel up before a long day of traveling. 

Lunch

Between Black Friday shopping and watching Disenchanted, I needed to grab a quick lunch. I had seen a couple of different Organic Avenue locations throughout New York and decided to check it out. I was happy to find a number of soup, salad and wrap options along with a selection of fresh juices. Everything was labelled whether it was gluten free, vegan etc and the ingredients were also clearly listed. I chose the lunchbox salad collard wrap and kind of lost my mind at how delicious it was!! It was a chickpea salad with cashew ‘mayo’ and a lot of veggies inside a wonderfully fresh collard wrap. I wish we had Organic Avenue in Canada as this would be a stellar option to pick up on the go. 

On Thanksgiving we made reservations at Rockin’ Raw to enjoy a special lunch with our friend Sheryl! I had been to Rockin’ Raw once previously (during the hurricane) and remembered being impressed with their unique flavors and options. They had a special menu for Thanksgiving, so we all chose a few different options between the regular and holiday menus including cauliflower mash, ‘cheesy’ broccoli, pumpkin soup and a cheezy burrito. 

It’s no secret that I love dessert (especially raw ones) so I was delighted by the Thanksgiving options which included an incredible pecan pie. Holy wow, it was divine. Rich, creamy and perfect. The meal was an awesome way to celebrate American Thanksgiving and enjoy a lovely afternoon with Sheryl. 

Dinner

Because we saw a show almost every night we were in New York, our eating schedule got to be a little bit wonky. We ended up finding ourselves eating dinners after shows pretty late at night, but I think our dinners ended up being the best meals we had! 

First up was Otto’s Tacos in the East Village. These were serious tacos!! Otto’s Tacos has lots of options for meat eaters and a delicious mushroom taco for the vegetarian crowd. We grabbed a side of chips and guacamole and were blown away with the HUGE portion of guac along with a bag of chips. The tacos ranged from $3-$3.50 each and they were awesome. Such great flavours, freshly made tortillas and a seriously stellar meal for less than $20. They had a record listed for taco eating and Corbin was seriously considering going back and trying to beat it. Hah! 

Heading home after Pippin’ I was feeling hungry and was hoping to grab a falafel or something quick. We found a falafel place called Mamoun's thinking that it would just be an easy, inexpensive, tasty option. Little did we know that we were entering a well recognized falafel restaurant! I grabbed a falafel plate and Corbin enjoyed a shwarma and for less than $15 enjoyed an incredible meal. Their hummus was outstanding and the falafel was crispy and delicious. Corbin loved his shwarma and thought their hot sauce was awesome. I don’t have any pictures of this meal, but know that if you’re wondering on the east village late at night (or any time of day) looking for a great, cheap meal - this is the place!!

Last but not least, Pala. 

I’ve been telling everyone about Pala because it was hands down, the best gluten free pizza I’ve ever had and Corbin said it was the best (gluten-filled) pizza he’s even eaten. Pretty high praise, but worth every word. 

At Pala they take their topping choices very seriously and you’re unable to make substitutions. That being said, there are a lot of options for meat eaters, vegans and gluten free folks. I chose the Uvetta pizza with butternut squash, red onions, raisins, red pepper rosemary and daiya. After the first bite, I couldn’t stop RAVING about how delicious it was. The toppings were plentiful, but the crust was the real star. It was chewy, flavourful and had a BUBBLE. So many gluten free pizzas have the texture of cardboard or bricks and this pizza was light and airy while still having an amazing texture. I can't remember which one Corbin had, but he has said that it was the best pizza he's ever eaten. The service was outstanding (even though they were close to closing) and I can’t wait to go back!! 

Honourable mentions go to the treats we enjoyed at Babycakes, the goodies and fresh juice we picked up at a local market to enjoy for breakfast on a couple of days and the warming lunch we had at Peacefood Cafe before we made the drive to the hockey game. If I wasn’t hungry before, I sure am now after recounting all of the incredible food that we enjoyed on our trip!

Do you have any favourite places to eat in New York City? I’d love to add them to my list!!