Cookie Friday recipe!

In honor of Carrotsncake’s cookie Friday, I was more than willing to bake a small batch of chocolate chip cookies last night when we came home from dinner at Bar Boulud. Bo was craving cookies and in exchange was willing to fold our laundry while we watched Runaway Jury. What wife wouldn’t gladly accept this exchange?! I altered the famous and trustworthy Ghiradelli chocolate chip cookie recipe a bit based on our cupboard’s contents. In addition, I cut the recipe in half since we didn’t want too many leftovers. These turned out absolutely fabulous! Sometimes my chocolate chip cookies are hit or miss due to being too thin but Bo said that these were “some of the best chocolate chip cookies i’ve ever tasted hands down.” If you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day sweet for your loved one this will definitely please! The whole wheat flour makes it a bit healthier as well!

Whole Wheat Ghiradelli Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
6 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup(s) butter or margarine, softened
3/8 cup(s) sugar
3/8 cup(s) brown sugar, packed
1 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/8 cup(s) whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 cup(s) walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

DirectionsHeat oven to 375ºF.
Stir whole wheat flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat softened butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add egg whites, vanilla, and almond extract one at a time. Mix on low speed until well blended. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy thouroughly with a friend or loved one!

*The picture is complement of JBD Cookies as I forgot to take a picture last night!

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Pure Yoga Bliss

What a wonderful day it was! Any day that includes FREE PURE YOGA, girlfriends, new restaurants, and shopping is a great day filled with smiles and laughter!

Almost a month ago, I received an email from Self Magazine advertising their special partnership event at Pure Yoga in NYC. This is what the invite stated:
East Meets West at Pure Yoga

Join SELF and Pure Yoga, New York City’s preeminent studio, for an ah-inspiring return to the authentic styles of yoga. Pure Yoga celebrates its latest location opening with exclusive afternoon access for SELF readers at this luminous, Upper West Side yoga playground.

Enjoy a complimentary signature class*. Choose from Hot Power Yoga, Mat Pilates, Pure Core, Vinyasa or Yoga Basics. Take time to further unwind with a relaxing hand massage, compliments of AVEENO®. Leave fresh and renewed with a sample of the spirited floral fragrance, Pretty Elizabeth Arden.

Saturday, February 6th
Doors open at 11:30 a.m.
Pure Yoga
204 West 77th Street
New York City
Space is Limited. Register for your class today at SELFConnected.com.

I immediately knew that I wanted to give it a try as i’ve heard wonderful things about Pure and had yet to try either of their studios. I quickly forwarded the invite to my girlfriends Lauren and Elizabeth hoping they’d join. We all decided that we’d take advantage of Pure’s space and resources by enjoying the 1pm hot power vinyasa.

After heading into the city early to pick up our bibs for tomorrow’s NYRR 4 miler, I walked a little over a mile through the cold streets crossing through the park towards the Upper West Side. I forgot how much I love walking through the city and taking in all the museums, shops, and people. I saw plenty of runners braving the elements as I crossed through the park and grew excited for tomorrow’s race with Dori, Meghann, Heather, and others!
As soon as I turned the corner at 77th and Amsterdam I knew I was in for a treat. Even the doors of Pure are absolutely gorgeous. Self had a table set up as soon as I entered where I was able to sign in, verify my class schedule, and receive a great swag bag. Today’s bag included a full size Aveeno Calming Moisturizer, a small Aveeno body wash, a 3 day pass to Pure, this month’s Self, a fragrance, and a can of Solixir. I LOVE free goodies especially when they’re related to health and beauty! The first thing I realized was that Pure is a HUGE space especially for a yoga studio. They feature over 100 classes a week in yoga and pilates. There are 8 studios each of which are absolutely beautiful! The whole area is filled with gorgeous bamboo floors, wood carvings, greenery, and calming music. This was definitely a change from last week’s yoga location. You can see a tour of the amazing space by clicking here. The locker room was plenty spacious and featured all the same great amenities as Equinox. After meeting Lauren and Elizabeth in the locker room we headed towards our studio and claimed a place. The studio was warm and inviting with faux candles along the back wall and a raised arch ceiling similar to this picture. (Our studio was half this size though) As soon as we entered we noticed a few things:

-The room was already very hot- probably close to 100 degrees!
-There were no mirrors in the room which was unusual but refreshing.
-The mats were very high quality and a heavier padded mat than one normally receives at a studio.

We explored the lobby area after setting up our mats and found the complimentary hand massages we’d heard about when we signed in. The hand massage, provided by Essential Therapy Massage and Spawas a heavenly 10 minute massage that released the daily stress in our hands, wrists, and forearms through gentle neading and use of pressure points. After the massage we were each presented a $30 gift card towards another treatment at their spa.
At 1pm we entered the class and found that it had filled since we last left. Luckily, they placed a cap on the class so there was plenty of room to practice. Our instructor, Kristi Clark, grew up as a world renowned rythmic gymanst which was immediately clear based on her build and her graceful movement. She asked each of us to focus on the breath, relaxing our muscles, and having fun. This was the only thing I found to be quite odd. During the whole class she kept telling us to laugh and smile. That made me a bit uncomfortable as I can’t always guarantee that i’ll smile through a 100 degree hot yoga class when I’m working my muslces as hard as possible. The class moved very quickly even though there were five novices who admitted this was one of their first classes. She did a wonderful job explaining the positions but also ensuring we were challenged by giving us adjustments and ways to make it more difficult. She also never stopped moving around the studio adjusting each of us. She helped open my hips during the pose and also helped me reach a proper crow pose which i’m proud to say I was able to hold for almost 10 seconds today!
After our class we enjoyed the steam room before changing and stopping to purchase Clean Plates NYC in the Pure store. They were giving out information about this great healthy eating version of Zagat when we entered and Elizabeth and I immediately knew we needed to add it to our collection. It is the only nutritiouns and food critic approved manhattan restaurant guide! It even features information for vegetarians and carnivores. I can’t wait to use this new tool to find a Friday night restaurant next weekend!
We can’t thank Self and Pure Yoga enough for the great day and opportunity! We felt like we’d spent a day at the spa when we left thoroughly relaxed and detoxified from the wonderful yoga class. If the price wasn’t a limiting factor considering I already have an Equinox membership, i’d definitely practice here at least two times a week. Elizabeth and I both wish they featured a class card so you could buy a class package to use over a certain time period. Our studios in Atlanta and Philadelphia each had this option which was great for people who don’t want to live on yoga alone but use it to supplement their other workouts.
We will definitely be back next weekend to use our 3 day class pass during the long President’s Day weekend.
Tommorrow i’ll reveal the winner of the giveaway, review our wonderful lunch spot, and share recap/photos from the NYRR 4 miler and blogger brunch! Now it’s time for sleep 🙂

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One crazy week!

So as you can see from my lack of posts, it has been a crazy week! I was at the office until 9pm two nights, had a 24 hour trip to Cincinnati for a meeting, and then was at the office until 6pm last night! I haven’t found the happy medium yet of blogging and work since I can’t write posts at work. Therefore, I’ll request that you bear with me for a bit as I get back in the swing of things.
The quick trip to Cincinnati was great as I had the opportunity to catch up with Amy, who was my maid of honor in November. She and I work for the same company and have been best friends since our internship interview four years ago! We truly are the same person in almost every way! We both love burnt popcorn, good books, working out, running, cooking, and were married two months apart but honeymooned at the same time and were even able to spend a day together when Bo and I left Cap Juluca to visit them on St. Maarten.
We were able to catch up with Brittany, another work friend who also lives in Cincinnati over wonderful, crazy cheap sushi on Wednesday night. We enjoyed dinner at Dancing Wasabi in Mt. Lookout. It was very busy and filled with a mix of professionals and UCincinnati students alike. It reminded me of Sushi Land, our favorite Main Line sushi restaurant when we lived in Philadelphia. We split everything as we always do which makes it more fun since we could try a bit of everything versus just one or two rolls. We had edamame, an eel roll, a tuna roll, and a rainbow roll! The best thing was that even though they were busy they never once tried to rush us out. Brittany even stood next to us at our bar seats and talked for at least 30 minutes after we finished eating. This area was really cute and allowed me to see a different part of Cincinnati. Most of my business meetings are downtown and therefore i’m always staying at the downtown Westin. This trip was a refreshing change as I was able to stay with Ryan and Amy in their brand new home. After dinner we ended up staying up til almost 12 watching her favorite show, The Bachelor. Talk about crazy girls! I haven’t watched The Bachelor since I left college and therefore did not know that it was 2 hours each week. I sat down expecting a quick DVR version and instead was looped into the insanity of this show. Amy and her friends even have a pool going for this season! I can’t believe he kept some of those girls on the show!
Thursday and Friday were blurs as I was in meetings all day and had less then five hours sleep! But, all week I just kept reminding myself that I had a blissful 80 minute massage at Equinox with Michelle. I was hesitant of the massage since it was in a gym and not a dedicated spa. However, I am now a believer and hoping to enjoy a sports massage with her each month. The service was wonderful and reminded me of a great hair cut. She truly wanted a relationship with me and to become familiar with my daily routine. This allowed her to know which muscles she should target and which areas would need more pressure than others. In addition she did an analysis of my build and helped me with some easy stretches that I can do at my desk chair. My right and left forearms were very tight due to my constant typing. In addition my neck was full of knots! Below are some of the stretches she suggested:
 
 
 

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