Adventures in Amherst

I love cross border shopping for a few reasons:
They have stores that we don't have in Canada
When the dollar is good, it's incredibly inexpensive
It's a good excuse for a girl's day!

Lori & I

I was looking for three things in Amherst - gladiator-ish sandals, stuff for the house and Barney Butter. Anything else was just going to be a bonus!


It was a beautiful day and such an easy drive across the border!! Lori and I always just chat away and the time passes by so quickly!


We began our day at Marshall's.


We don't always get to Marshall's because we usually go shopping on a Sunday afternoon and it's usually closed when we arrive and closed when we're done with our other stops. For my Canadian friends, Marshall's is like Winners but better. I found these awesome Aerosole heels for $20.


They are versatile and incredibly comfy!
Next stop was Target and I kind of went nuts! But for $134 I got:

• a t-shirt
• a super cute green polka-dot bikini (which you will see in my boot camp before & after pics)
• shower curtain & rings
• 6 towels
• garbage bin
• summer-themed plates, cutlery, napkins and name tags
• 3 cereal bowls
• 4 outdoor plates for BBQs
• 2 bamboo cutting boards
• treats for Joey (dill relish and pretzel bites)
• 8 glasses

Amazing!! A kitchen table caught my eye while I was there but I decided to think about it...
We went to Applebee's for lunch. I really enjoyed my Weight Watchers steak last time so I thought I would head to the WW menu once again. I went with the chili-lime chicken salad sans cheese



It was gigantic!! The dressing was pretty spicy so I only had a wee bit dipped on my fork.
We went to the Boulevard Mall for a little bit, but only went to a couple stores.
After the mall we went across the street to Pier One... the light did not want to change!!! That street is not made for pedestrians. Luckily we found some fun at the local church.


When we were finally able to get back to the car, we went to TJ Maxx where I found some cute Jessica Simpson sandals for $34 - I love them!


Of course we had to go grocery shopping at Wegmans! I've decided that Wegman's is like a cross between a Whole Foods and a Loblaws, with great prices! I didn't get a picture of everything because I was really tired when I came home but I got some fun things that I can't get in Toronto, plus some things that were just cheaper!

• Coconut milk yogurts in vanilla (they're kind of expensive, but very yummy!)
• Popchips in salt and vinegar flavor (these are quite crunchy and satisfying)
• Peanut Butter Puffins
• Bob's xanthan gum
• Bob's sorghum flour (keep an eye out for some gluten free baked goods!)
• Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla chamomile tea (just lovely)
• Justin natural almond butter in squeeze packets

Before leaving Toronto I had checked the Barney Butter website to see if they carried their products anywhere in Amherst. The website showed that all Tops in New York State carried their products - I was so excited!!


Sadly, we went to TWO different Tops locations and no one knew what I was talking about nor was there any Barney Butter on the shelves. I just want to try it!!!
I ended up dragging Lori back to Target so that we could buy the table and I'm so happy that I did - I love it!!


It's perfect for our space and a really nice addition to our kitchen!!
I had a really fun day with Lori (our trip and lunch was a belated birthday gift to me!) and I really look forward to another road trip in the future! I was disappointed about the Barney Butter, but I'm really pleased with the rest of my purchases, so I'm sure I'll get over it!

Boot Camp - Week One

Last night I lined up alongside 19 other women in chilly temperatures with threats of rain to be weighed, measured and poked at. My body will never be the same. This week marked my first encounter with Boot Camp and I'm loving it so far!

To assist in tracking your progress you're measured at the first class. Get ready to learn more about me than you've ever known before. Here are my current measurements (in inches):

Left upper arm: 11

Right upper arm: 11

Chest: 33

Waist: 27.5

Hips: 32.5

Butt: 36

Upper left thigh: 21

Upper right thigh: 21

Weight: 130.6 (I weighed in on Saturday morning at 128.8 for my official monthly WI)

Body Fat %: 27

(I also took a before picture, but you're going to have to wait until week four to see my progress, so stay tuned!)

So many of the girls in my group were not happy about being weighed and measured - but who would be really? I kept a positive attitude about the whole thing - I've already lost more than 30 lbs and have been maintaining that weight loss for over 2 years! I feel healthy and happy! These numbers are only going to get better! I am proud of myself for doing this and I know that I'm going to see great results! It felt good to stay positive and it really reinforced my commitment to this new challenge.

Our first session started an hour later and it was tough. We did lots of squats, push ups, punches, kicks, lunges, and other fun things I would never include in my own workouts (unless I was with Jillian of course) Our instructor was lovely and motivating, calling out "you're doing great girls" on more than one occasion and was able to answer questions and check on our technique.

For the first 20 minutes I used the Motivating Strategy technique to visualize myself on stage at my belly dancing recital in a crop top, shimmying and feeling good. At around minute 21, the happy, hip-swiveling Ashley in my head disappeared and I used sheer determination and brute force to get through the remaining 40 minutes.

I was definitely hurting on my walk home. Once at home I got about halfway down the stairs to ask Joey if he had eaten supper. I had a yummy supper, a nice hot shower and went to bed at 10:00. When I got out of bed this morning I felt the effects of boot camp on my legs and bum and at work I started to feel it in my arms and back as well. That means it's working right?

Today I decided that I am going to do the full 8 weeks of boot camp. Enrolling in boot camp was one of my goals for the year and I really want to go at it full force. My short term motivation is as a result of having to wear a crop top at the belly dance recital, but in the long term I'm looking to change my body and increase my personal fitness level. I know that it's going to be challenging but I think I'm ready for it! I am so proud of how far I've come with my weight loss, eating and attitude and now I'm looking forward to pushing myself with my activity.

Over the next eight weeks I will be writing about boot camp and keeping you posted on how I'm feeling physically, what we're doing in class as well as what I'm doing outside of class. I received a handbook and at-home workout DVD and after browsing through the book last night I think I'm going to do the assignments and will definitely write about them. I think that they're going to be great!

I know this might sound crazy, but I'm actually really excited! (Remind that I said this when I'm complaining about the pain a few hours or days or weeks from now)

Drumroll please...

The winners of my giveaway are Kate and Allie!

Kate will receive a Laptop Lunch courtesy of the lovely folks at Obentec and Allie will receive some goodies from me! Gals, please send me an email with your address so that I can send some goodies your way!

Congratulations ladies and thanks to everyone who entered!!

Making Love in the Kitchen - Part Four

I can't believe that this was our last class! The last four weeks have been so much fun, I'm really sad to see it come to an end. 

Tonight's class was all about fermented food and seaweed! I've been afraid of seaweed for a long time and never liked it in sushi, but I decided to give it a try.

The menu:

Sunflower seed & ginger nori rolls

Miso soup
Cabbage stir fry
Sweet potato salad

Orange maple tempeh
Fruit crumble
Chocolate ginger bark

We started off with a demo of nori rolling - it was fun!I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the nori rolls. I've never liked sushi, not even the cucumber rolls and it was because of the of the seaweed wrapper. I gave them a shot and they weren't too bad!! I have to attribute much of this new found enjoyment of the nori to the fantastic ginger & sunflower seed spread that was inside - yum!! 

We talked a bit about the benefits of including sea vegetables ( like dulse, arame) in our diets and Meghan passed around some examples of the different types so we could see, smell and taste them for ourselves. (They smell like the sea and taste salty for the most part)

Meghan gave us the lowdown on fermented foods. Fermented foods (like sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, yogurt) are considered to be probiotic foods. Probiotics are good because the promote the formation of good bacteria in your gut, and aid in digestion and promote healing. I love the idea of including probiotic foods in my diet because my tummy needs all the help in can get! I do take a probiotic supplement each day, but I believe that it's important to include foods which contain the vitamins and nutrients our bodies need. 

I worked with Chelsea on the crumble. We used apples, rhubarb and strawberries - what a fabulous combination!! 

I have to say that this menu wasn't my favourite out of all the classes, but there were a couple of components that were just STELLAR. The orange maple tempeh was fantastic. I can't wait to make this at our house. There is so much saucy goodness with a bit of sweet and a bit of tang which made it brilliant. 

The rest of the meal was good and I enjoyed the combination of textures and flavors, but I'm not sure that any of the recipes (besides the tempeh and the crumble or bark) will make it into my regular rotation. 

I am so glad that I treated myself to these classes. It has been incredibly inspiring to work with Meghan. She is so passionate about food and nutrition and it really has pushed me that much more to want to study nutrition. She is a wonderful teacher and a really sweet person too!

With the Vitamix

Everyone in the class was wonderful as well. When you get a group of people together who don't know one another, you can never be sure how it's going to turn out, but they were really great. I loved talking to everyone and getting to know their stories and what brought them to the classes. Thank you to Chelsea, Dana, Mark, Nicole & Jillian for such a fun four weeks and allowing me to document the whole the here!! 

We thought the props were hilarious...

If you're in Toronto and you love food and maybe want to learn a little bit more about nutrition or need some help cleaning out your cupboards, check out Meghan's site and get in touch. She already has her list of classes up for the fall and I highly recommend them!! 

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons

(Quote - Ruth Ann Schabacker)

Have you entered my giveaway yet? Time is running out! You have the chance to win a Laptop Lunch or a fun "Ashley's choice" package. You have three chances to win - hop to it! Deadline is Sunday at 6:00 EST.

Speaking of giveaways... The wonderful Elisa at Diary of an Unlikely Housewife was celebrating her blogging anniversary too and I won!! I NEVER win anything so it was quite a pleasant surprise.

This beautiful fascinator is from Kerry at Ten Things. Be sure to check it out because it's full of fabulous accessories and pretty things!! I've been wearing more fascinators and headbands this year and I love them, so I was incredibly happy to add this one to my collection.Thank you Elisa and Kerry!!

I missed posting my WMR (Weekly Meal Recap) this weekend because I was super busy with Ashnaba!

Ashnaba is a group that I sing with and every year we perform in a concert full of eclectic tunes. They are a fantastic group of gals and I have far too much fun singing with them. Our concert was a great success and we even had t-shirts made for the occasion. We always provide refreshments after the show so I made my usual cupcakes and...

Veggiegirl almond fig blondies! They were soooo good. I made a couple of substitutions:

1/2 cup applesauce instead of yogurt
3/4 cup of agave instead of 1 c. sugar
1.5 cups of gluten free flour instead of 1.25 (to account for the extra liquid of the agave)

I loved them. They had a great flavor and texture and they weren't too heavy (like some gluten free baked goods I've had) I really enjoyed the crunch of the almonds and the sweetness of the figs. Joey even liked them, proclaiming "these don't even taste gluten free". One of our guests at the concert was so pleased that I had baked something that was gluten free because she has Celiac. I've come to realize that when you have a food allergy or condition, you come to expect that you'll have to make substitutions and in some cases you'll have to pass things up altogether, so I was quite happy that someone else could safely enjoy a baked good without having to worry about the ingredients.

I want to say thank you to everyone who responded to "What it means to be a part of Gen Y" post. I'm so happy to know that I'm not alone and it's interesting to realize that so many of us are in the same boat. We'll all paddle together and help one another out along the way.

Here are some food pics from the last week and a bit:

Coming up in the next little while...

• My last cooking class!! I'm so sad that this series is coming to an end but I'm so happy with all the recipes, lessons and friends I've made along the way. The last edition of "Making Love in the Kitchen" should be posted on Friday. The theme is Asian inspired & seaweed


• Another trip to the States! Lori and I are venturing across the border this week and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm calling it "Mission: Barney Butter"
  
  
• Boot Camp!! I start on Monday. Pray for me.


• The Heel n Wheel a Thon. To date I've raised $1724!! I would love to bring this total up to $2000. If you wish, you can help me get to it by making a donation here.


• My first public belly dancing performance! I've now been taking classes for a year and I still love it just as much as I did at my first class. I am thrilled at taking all I've learned and putting it up on stage for people!! Being on stage is so much fun for me and it will be great to be doing something different!

If you haven't already done so, be sure to check out my giveaway. Happy Wednesday!