One of the great things about having a blog is being able to go back in time and see what you were up to during a certain point in your life.  Over the holidays, my sister, my husband, and I were having a conversation about getting back on track health-wise, and it made me stop and think for a second.  I feel like every single year for the past few years, the three of us have that same conversation.  So I decided to take a look back at this blog from January 2014 - and low and behold I was writing about my weight loss plan for the new year.  

It's a vicious cycle my friends, and I hope that this is the year I finally break it.  Confession time - I sort of knew that I was making terrible health choices the past few months.  But let's face it, I spent a PHENOMENAL 3 months in Portland last summer, and an incredible 3 months in Europe this fall.  It was 6 months filled with new friends, dinners out, and some of the most delicious wine I've ever had.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.  That being said - I am not pleased with the way my clothes fit, so it is time to get cracking. Hello January, let's do the weight-loss thing once again. 

Here is what I have planned for myself:  

EAT THIS, NOT THAT:      

I have been obsessed with these books and this philosophy for years.  For those of you not familiar, Eat This Not That embraces the idea that with a few easy changes, you can cut calories and still eat delicious food.  I love making recipes out of these books because 1) the recipes are typically really easy; 2) it lists exactly how many calories are in ingredients, and 3) the food is usually pretty good.  

So for my 2015 diet, I am eating about 1800 calories a day, and am mainly using recipes and recommendations from this book.  I am planning on counting calories for a few more weeks until I get back into the swing of healthy eating. 

Tonight for dinner, I made the Turkey Sloppy Joes out of the Eat This Not That Diet book, along with a side of oven-baked french fries.  Not a bad diet, eh?  

And earlier in the week:  Easy Huevos Rancheros.  I skipped the avocado, but the dish still tasted yummy.  

RUNNING + YOGA + DOG WALKS 

This is going to be my triple exercise threat.  Okay, the dog walks are not really exercise, anyone who has seen my dog walk knows that we typically move at a snail's pace, but even standing burns more calories than sitting!!  

After dealing with some shin splint issues & my ongoing IT band problems, I am slowly making my way back into running.  Last summer in Portland I KILLED IT, and had even gotten to the point where I was running over 4 miles at a time.  But now, after barely running at all in Germany, I am starting off slow to try to remain injury free.  I am planning to run twice a week for now, and the increasing it to three once it gets lighter & warmer outside.   

And yoga is always part of my routine.  I plan on going 1 or 2 times a week, depending on my schedule.  

TIME FOR FUN:  

Once a week, Matt & I are going to indulge by going to a restaurant.  We typically do this - it is not realistic to sit at home and never enjoy a dinner out.  Especially because there are so many exciting restaurants to try in Charlotte.  

So, who else is doing their yearly January weight-loss routine?  Who else wants to break this cycle?  Who will join me in meeting their goals?  
   

(okay, that was really cheesy, but I thought it was so cool that this tree looked like a goal post!!)  

It's hard to believe that today is January 11th, the past few weeks have FLOWN by.  It has been action-packed my friends.  Here are a few highlights.  

December 13-14:  Return to the U.S.  
After spending 3 amazing months in Germany and a week in Paris with Matt, it was finally time to return home to Charlotte.  The trip home was NOT easy, extended layovers, missed flights, complete exhaustion.  Worth it?  Of course.  

One of the best parts about my return home was reuniting with my baby girl, Sadie.  I missed her SO much.  For those of you who have met Sadie in person, you know she always looks like this and was probably actually happy to see me, haha.  

December 15 - 25 Prepare for Christmas!  
It seemed insane that once I got home it was already time to start preparing for Christmas.  But the first matter of business was to have a proper Mexican meal, the Mexican food was severely lacking in Europe.  I went to one Mexican place in Stuttgart, it was not the same folks.  Below are tacos from Cantina 1511.  I recommend the place, but make a reservation it was SUPER crowded!   

And then of course we had to buy and decorate our Christmas tree.  Snagged one from a lot on December 21st, better late than never!  As usual, Sadie looks unimpressed.  

This was actually the first year ever that Matt & I had a quiet Christmas at home, and it was really relaxing. We watched Christmas movies, cooked some food at home, and... one of the perks of spending Christmas in the south... even went for a Christmas jog outside.  The few days at home came to a quick conclusion though, because then it was off to Ohio to visit my family.  I think the trip to Ohio helped me with the transition, since this was the first year I wasn't with my family on December 25th.  At least I got to have the house-full-of-people holiday experience I like, even if it was postponed.    

December 26 - 30:  Trip to Ohio     
Thankfully it wasn't TOO cold in Ohio during the time that I was there, and it was nice to see my grandmother, my parents, and even my sister and her husband since they were visiting too.  I got some shopping done, ate my dad's traditional Christmas breakfast, and even got to see some of my girlfriends.  Since I didn't have Sadie with me, the only times I needed to be outside in the cold Ohio weather were to walk to & from the car! 

December 31 - January 2:  New Years in Charleston
The whirlwind continued with a trip to Charleston to visit Rachel & Matt, and spend New Year's Eve with them.  We played games, ate some Mellow Mushroom pizza, and despite being exhausted, even managed to stay up until midnight!  Ha!  New Year's Eve in your 30's is never quite as crazy as it was 10 year ago.  The best part about spending New Year's in Charleston was that the weather was fantastic, so Rachel & I took advantage of going to the beach.  It was a little chilly, but the sun was shining and the beach was SLAMMED.  There were a ton of other people there taking advantage too.  

January 2nd - now!
As you can imagine, after the 3 months in Europe, the crazy holiday schedule, all the yummy food I have been eating, the past week has been focused on getting my diet back on track.  More to come on that later, I'll share what I'm doing and some healthy & easy meal ideas.  

In other food news:  Charlotte Restaurant Week is coming up, and Matt & I have some delicious dinners planned - don't worry - I will fit these into my diet!  Remember, it's all about balance, right?

Happy New Year!  Now that I am back in the U.S.A.; I can't think of a better way to start the year than to recap one of my favorite European travel destinations: Paris.  

Paris was absolutely spectacular; the weather, not so much.  Most of my photos are gray and gloomy.  Matt & I both loved the city, imagine if we would have been there on a beautiful summer or fall day!  It was still amazing to see the sights, and even with the rain and cold we still got out there to have some fun.  

There is SO much I can write about Paris, we really jammed a lot of sightseeing into four short days.  But since this is a food blog, I will stick to some of the yummy stuff I ate and drank.  And then a few scenery pics!!  

The European lifestyle is one where people wake up late and eat a leisurely breakfast, so a lot of times we weren't hungry for lunch until around 2 or 3 pm.  On those days, we ended up skipping a big dinner and just having some nice wine and perhaps an appetizer.  We did make sure to go to one dinner - and chose La Fontaine De Mars.  I decided to go WAY outside my comfort zone and order a French classic - the Cassoulet.  It had big chunks of sausage and duck.  The sausage was a bit much for me, Matt ended up eating a bunch of it, but I actually ended up liking the duck.  Who would have thought?   

Lots of delicious red wine was consumed in Paris, the bordeaux was amazing.  Here we are enjoying a nice bottle in a neighborhood bar near our hotel.  

And of course one cannot visit Paris without having a lot of coffee and pastries!  One of the unique things about Paris is that a lot of the cafes are really old, and the average tourist can end up sitting in the same restaurant that French artists, politicians, and historic figures may have sat in the past.  One of the most famous cafes in the Cafe De Flore, so we popped in to escape the cold and enjoy a coffee.  

So, okay, those pastries are not from Cafe de Flore.  I don't remember where we got them.  But holy crap were they delicious.  Flaky crust, cheese filling, sweet almonds on top.  Delish.  

Another yummy Paris delicacy is the Croque, it's essentially an open-faced ham & cheese sandwich.  I enjoyed this meal at Cafe Panis, near the Cathedral of Notre Dame along the Seine river.  This was on one of those 3:00 pm lunch days, so this huge sandwich and a nice glass of red was exactly what I needed on a cold, rainy day!  

Of course, these were not the only meals I ate in Paris, but were some of the best.  And now I'll leave you with some scenery to enjoy.  If anyone gets a chance to visit Paris - take it!  Even in terrible weather it is a must-see destination.