How to Have The Most Fabulous Valentine’s Day

We are just days aways from Valentine’s Day and this year (like many years) I am sensing a lot of negativity towards the holiday. Single friends, married friends, somewhere-in-between friends all seem united in turning their backs on the mushiest day of the year. Before we all shy away from the candy and cards, can we just stop and reconsider for a sec? Let’s stop thinking of Valentine’s Day as a day to receive love from others and start thinking of it as a day to give some much needed love to yourself and those around you. I think a day centered on love is a good day to stop and think about the things we appreciate in our daily routines, in others, and most importantly in ourselves (how often do we forget that?) No matter what the holiday is, I never want to miss an opportunity to celebrate and enjoy a treat or two — so single, married, or something more complicated, here are a few small ways to make the day feel more filled with love…

January in Instagrams

Happy Friday and last day of the month everyone! From Magnolia Bakery in LA to skipping down the streets of Lower Pac Heights in San Francisco, puppy birthdays and ringing in the new year at the W Hotel; the first month of the year has already been so fun! Be sure to follow all my adventures as we head into February on my Instagram!

What was the highlight of your month? Be sure to share in the comments below!

xoxo,

Friday Five: My Favorite LA Spots

Happy Friday! I don’t know if you could tell from some of my recent posts, but… I really miss LA. Don’t get me wrong, San Francisco has its charm, great weather, fun food, friendly people, but we just don’t have that chemistry that I have with Los Angeles. I feel like if you could have a city soul-mate, mine would be the Brentwood Village in LA. Lucky for me I get to go back today! After 5 long months away from my love I am so eager to return for a quick weekend visit to see my friends, and of course, my fav foods! I know it’s friday “five” but I just can’t limit myself today! Here are a few of the spots I can’t wait to hit up in LA…

{work it wednesday} best healthy snacks for a sweet tooth

Whoop whoop, we’re half way through the week! Last week I shared my fave salty and savory low calorie snacks so this week I thought we’d talk about a personal fave…sweets! There are so many yummy ways to curb a sweet tooth craving, here are a few of my all time favorites…

{work it wednesday} 8 low calorie snacks for your workday + january workout playlist

At the start of each month I like to share my workout playlist. It’s good for me to switch up my music, but sharing it with others also helps me feel like I am being held accountable for my workouts. This month I am mixing up my workouts each week with spin, barre, pilates, and Tone It Up. I also thought I would share the low cal snacks get me through the work day…

{sunday brunch} skinny protein pancakes

I don’t usually post on weekends, but I have been perfecting my recipe for skinny protein pancakes and I just had to share with you all in time for Sunday brunch!

Gressel and I practically live for Sunday brunch. With the big move from LA to the Bay funds are tight, pants are tight, and we just don’t know as many great spots as we used to (although we’re working on that!) To keep from losing our favorite tradition I knew I had to work on my breakfast skills. Pancakes are ‘t hard…but making them healthy too? Tall order. Enter the Tone It Up girls (you might have seen they just got their own Bravo show, too!) A few years back while I was planning for the wedding I made their protein pancakes all the time.

the “new year’s resolution” detox smoothie

Happy new year, guys! I am never sure if I totally love the idea of new year’s resolutions, but I definitely love setting goals and hitting the reset button any time of year. And since I have a lot of cookies and cocktails to work off, the reset button is sounding pretty darn perfect right now. For me nothing feels better than getting back in the grind of cardio, weights, and healthy clean eating. My favorite way to kick things off is with detox smoothies and juices. Today I thought I’d share some of my favorite green smoothie tricks and one of the recipes I use to get back into the swing of things.

The Recipe

Protein Packed Pumpkin Banana Muffins {Trader Joe’s Hack}

I got such a great response on my Skinny Pumpkin Overnight Oats recipe that I decided to share another seasonal (and healthy) pumpkin favorite! I can hardly call these my recipe, because really all I did was edit the store-bought mix to be much healthier (and in my opinion, much more delicious)… instead I’ll just call these my Trader Joe’s “hack.” After much tinkering, the end result was a batch of protein packed pumpkin banana muffins. These were a huge hit with my family, super duper moist, and took next to no effort at all. Here is what you’ll need for 12 muffins:

Louis + Louie {friday five: the 5 things that made me smile this week}

From statement necklaces & flowing peach maxi skirts to french macarons & lavender soda… here are the 5 things that kept me smiling this week…

Skinny Pumpkin Overnight Oats

If you frequent Pinterest you’ve probably become quite aware of the overnight oats trend. They’re easy, healthy, and housed in the ever swoon-worthy mason jar. To get into the Autumnal spirit I made these amazing (and super easy) skinny pumpkin overnight oats.

These pumpkin oats are about 210 calories per serving (depending on what toppings you add on), packed with protein and super filling. This recipe makes 2 servings, so treat your roomie, beau, or hubby to their new fav Fall breakfast. Here’s how to create ’em!