girl meets: 10.14.13.

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fashion.

Flannel and I…we have a thing.

Flannel: H&M. t shirt: Neccesary Clothing. Jeans: Zara. Shoes: Forever 21.

food.

Yesterday I met up with one of my best blogger friends Andi for dinner at the popular raw vegan restaurant, Pure Food and Wine. Andi has been in town for work, and I knew she’d love Pure! It’s not always easy to find people that share my love for good vegan food, so it was a treat for both of us.

To start we split the Philly Roll of Avocado, Kim Chee and Creamy Cashew Cheese - tatsoi, hijiki, scallion, sweet chili sauce.

For my entrée, I went with what seems to be Pure’s most popular dish, Zucchini and Heirloom Tomato Lasagna - basil pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato marinara, macadamia pumpkin seed ricotta.

It was on-another-level good. It was packed with flavor from the pesto and sun-dried tomato marinara, and actually quite rich.

Andi’s entrée was delicious too. She went with the Cauliflower and Sweet Corn Polenta with Bourbon Maple Peaches and Radicchio - cherry tomatoes, purslane, candied pistachios, cashew cheese, avocado pistachio vinaigrette.

For dessert we split the Chocolate and Jungle Peanut Butter Cheesecake - peanut butter cup, salted peanut butter ice cream. It was easily one of the best desserts I’ve ever had…and I’ve had a lot in my day.

Even though I’m not a vegan, I love vegan food because it has flavors and textures unlike any other food or cuisine. Not to mention it always leaves me feeling so energized and light afterward – not that tired or overly full feeling you can sometimes get after a big meal.

faith.

After dinner Andi came to church with me. The message from Rhema Trayner was called “Free,” and it was SO good…the perfect way to start the new week. It should be up on the Liberty Vimeo later today, so be sure to look out for it!

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Do you like vegan food? What’s the best vegan meal you’ve ever had?

girl meets: 10.11.13.

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fun.

Brooklyn does autumn quite well.

Gotta love a girls’ night. I have some gorgeous friends, right??

food.

Also from our night out – deliciousness from Pala. Homemade potato chips with truffle oil and parmigiano cheese:

And penne with lemon basil pesto, artichokes, roasted tomatoes. Yes please & thank you.

I’ve also been embracing the “du jour” part of Blossom Du Jour’s Smokacado lately…

fashion.

Jeans: Zara. Top: BCBG.

Aaand I finally whipped out my favorite oversized jacket for the season. It’s been through the ringer and is torn/safety-pinned together. Makes me feel tough, clearly.

face.

CC creams…I totally get it now.

It’s light but provides great coverage, and smoothed out my skin tone perfectly. Full review coming soon.

faith.

Must. stop. striving.

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Tell me something great about your week! Any fun plans for the weekend?

my first kickboxing class.

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Guess what I did yesterday? The title may have given it away…

That’s right, I took on my first ever kickboxing class at the new UFC Gym in the Financial District.

Someone from the gym recently reached out and asked if I’d like to try a class. I’m always down to try something new (especially since I’ve recently gotten back into fitness), so I took the noon class along with Monica as my guest.

Jeanene was our instructor, and she kicked our butts, to say the least. Since I had never taken a kickboxing class, I was definitely a little intimidated at first. But everything was actually really straightforward and easy to follow along. What wasn’t easy, though, was how seriously intense the class was. I was a sweaty mess! In a good way.

The 60-minute class included a warm up of calisthenics, followed by a series of different kickboxing routines (with random spurts of running and jumping jacks in between). We ended with some ab work and stretching, for what turned out to be a great full-body workout.

Before I thought that fitness classes weren’t really my thing, but I really loved this one. I never push myself that hard when I’m working out by myself, so I loved the motivating factor of having an instructor and other people in the class alongside me.

After the class we took a tour of the rest of the gym, which was complete with cardio machines, a lifting area, and a boxing ring. They had things I’ve never seen before in a gym, like the club Monica is holding above, massive gorilla kettlebells, and more things you’d expect to only see in a UFC gym. We didn’t work out with any of those things…yet ;)

I was really pleasantly surprised by the UFC Gym. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be full of all UFC-esque guys, but it wasn’t at all. The gym is suitable and great for everyone, as was the class itself. I would definitely go back again.

After the class, Monica and I headed to one of our favorite lunch spots, Westville. We both got turkey chili and split four market veggie sides. Hit. the. spot!

Then we ran some errands and enjoyed a 2(ish) mile walk home, for what turned out to be a perfect Wednesday.

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Have you ever taken a kickboxing class? What’s your favorite fitness class to take?