From the category archives:

HLS

Healthy Living Summit: Part III The Final Chapter!

by agirlandhermutt on August 17, 2010

HLS attendees had a few options after the Summit was completed to participate in. I signed up for the Core Fusion Yoga class at Exhale Spa.

We met up in the hotel lobby to get our FREE yoga mats (thanks to Subway!) and loaded up the bus to head to the studio.

The bus ride was a nice chance to relax in some A/C and just enjoy the view.

Exhale Spa is beautiful. Relaxing. Clean. Lovely!

Our instructor was John and he was a TRIP. He asked us if we were in the mood for a “stretch or workout” class. We all agreed…STRETCH. Whoa. If our class was stretch I don’t ever want to find out what the workout class is. It was fantastic but HARD! I loved it!

(Thanks to HangryPants for this photo!)

Once we had finished the class a few of us got all cleaned up and headed over to Chicago Curry House for an Indian feast with Gina, The Fitnessista.

The menu was large but I was on a mission to try the Paneer Makhani. Mmm…cheese.

I also split some Masala Naan with a few folks. So good. AND SPICY!

And I enjoyed a lovely Mango Lassi!

There were a few Indian food newbies in the group, but everyone seemed to really enjoy the food AND the company. Gina is a big Indian food fan and her love for it was contagious!

After dinner the group was pooped! We all headed back to the hotel for a little ghost hunting (what?! The hotel was haunted!) and to relax before flying out the next day.

On our last day at HLS, Arnold Bread sponsored a bagel and create-your-own cream cheese breakfast.

My cream cheese recipe included red onions, almonds, cucumber, jalapenos, and a pinch of salt. Mmmm…chunky cream cheese is the way to go!

The Roomie had to leave for the airport so we said our good-byes and I set out to do a little last minute exploring.

More of The Bean.

Other people are fascinated with The Bean too.

I came back to the hotel to finish up packing and get ready to meet a few peeps for lunch before heading to the airport. I also took some time to read through my Operation Beautiful book.

Finally, it was time to get going. Our final lunch was at Giordano’s for some classic deep dish pizza. If you remember on my last trip to Chicago, The Scientist and I visited Gino’s East for some pizza and it was not quite my fave. This time though? Totally a different experience! Loved it!

A few of us started off with a fresh side salad.

Then the star of the show appeared! A small pizza with mushrooms, spinach and fresh tomato. Woot!

Everyone loved it! Cheesy, saucy and lovely all in one slice.

It was nice to end my trip with these ladies! Wish the camera would have been a little nicer to us though. Booo for blurry photos.

Me, Andrea, Haya, Mary, and Laura

Mary and I took the train to the airport and everything was smooth sailing from there. I got home to be picked up by my boys and whisked home. I felt a little like a celebrity!

I also introduced myself to the silence and lovliness of Boston by having a dinner of the best thing I could think of…gazpacho. Ahh. I’m so glad that the gazpacho ban is over! How can I say no to fresh tomatoes, a little bit of avocado and some serious shaking of Garlic Gold Nuggets?!

Le sigh…I’m home. I loved every minute of HLS, but I sure did miss that mutt.

Now it is back to the real world!

{ 21 comments }

Healthy Living Summit: Part II

by agirlandhermutt on August 16, 2010

I woke up at 6:30. AM. Yep. You read that right. Those who know me know that this is almost considered an honest miracle! I had gathered up a few other people to go on a little walk/exploring trip before the Summit sessions started. Bright and early we got out there!

Mary, Katie, Suki, Stina, Krista, Jennifer

Our hotel wasn’t too far from Millennium Park so we made sure to stop by for some fun with The Bean.

There was some early morning tai chi going on that we watched for a bit.

We finished up our walk and headed back to the hotel for some breakfast and to get the HLS day started. First up, breakfast! They had a great spread complete with oatmeal, of course. This group couldn’t live without their oats!

I think I’m the only one who loved this flavor, but I really did! I snuck several packages to come home with me too!

We all chowed down and got to know each other a little.

A few of us spotted Caitlin and grabbed her to sign our Operation Beautiful books. Yay! You gotta get in there early before it gets to busy, ya know?

The first session that I attended was “Fueling for Fitness: Perform Well and Recover Quickly from Your Workouts” which was put on by Rebecca Scritchfield, RD. It was SUPER informative and I’m excited to put several of the things I learned to use for my workouts!

Top 3 Things Learned in the Session:
1. Chocolate Milk is a great way to refuel muscles after a hardcore exercise session. It beats out high carb sports drinks and is cheap to make!
2. What you do after your exercise activity affects your next activity. If you don’t refuel appropriately after the first exercise, your body will recognize in the next one!
3. Most Americans average 17/min/day of exercise.

Next up was the Quaker break. They had every kind of Quaker granola bar you could think of. I had no idea there were so many flavors!

My second session was “Stepping up Your Blog Photography” with Nicole Carpenter who is a vegan blogger and professional photographer. I got a chance to play around with my camera and check out some settings I had no idea I even had. I also felt like my little point n’ shoot was nervous around those SLRs.

Top 3 Things Learned in the Session:
1. In low lighting situations, crank up the ISO!
2. Aperture needs to match shutter speed.
3. The Pioneer Woman has great tutorials!

Time for lunch! Seriously, big props to Kath for planning such a fantastic and quite tasty lunch!

My plate! Marinated tofu, roasted veggies, quinoa salad, and artichoke hearts!

The next session was “The Ups and Downs of Blogging”, a great panel led by Anne.

Top 3 Things Learned in the Session:
1. Don’t let the negative comments get to you. It is your blog so you can do what you want with it!
2. Pick a focus and stick with it.
3. Try not to compare yourself to other “big” bloggers. We all have to start somewhere!

I was exhausted at this point so I went upstairs to take a little nap and relax. Being “on” and with people non-stop takes a lot of out of me! Apparently my personality makes me tired. Eek! While I was upstairs I tried a drink from one of my swag bags.

I’ll give you $1 if you can guess how I feel about it. *shudder*

Ok, back to the Summit. I got back downstairs after my power nap in time for the Athenos Snack Break.

Hello cheese and hummus! I love you!

The final session was a huge session that everyone attended, “Stop Staring Over Your Shoulder: How to Avoid the Self-Comparison Trap”. It started off with the great Katie from Sweet Tater telling her story and how blogging has affected her life. By far, this was my favorite speaker of the day. She did an amazing job and is really an amazing woman!

It was a long day, but full of really interesting tidbits. I loved meeting all kinds of new peeps and spending the day roaming around the hotel. Once we were done the roomie and I HAD to get outside to get some fresh air.

We made a pit stop at The Corner Bakery for a caffeine pick-me-up. Mmm…iced coffee!

Then I saw a Touch n’ Go Chess Party happening across the street. How fun is that?! Make your move and go on your way!

Then we came across an awesome park. I could totally see myself just relaxing and reading a book here!

It was still pretty hot outside and we needed to get back to the hotel to get ready for a Core Fusion Yoga class. We strolled through the park back to our hotel.

The fountain was finally on too! (Are you singing Love & Marriage from Married with Children yet?!)

Ok! Part II…DONE! There is still more to come so get prepared. Part III: The Final HLS Chapter includes my adventures in yoga, an Indian Feast, and how I spent my last day in Chicago.

Peace out kids!

{ 10 comments }

Healthy Living Summit: Part 1

by agirlandhermutt on August 16, 2010

I have a confession for you all. As I got off the train to head towards the hotel a thought jumped in my mind that had been nagging me on and off for a few weeks.

“Erin…This is nuts.”

It was nuts to go to a conference where I didn’t know one single person. It was nuts to stay in a hotel room with someone who I had only emailed a handful of times. It was nuts. Plain and simple. It was also supah exciting! New faces! New places! I took the plunge head first and kept my fingers crossed for the best.

The first person I met instantly put me at ease though…I met Dorry! She has the BEST hugs around. No lie. We met up with a some other HLS peeps and set off for some lunch.

A few of us had heard about Raw, a restaurant in the French Market, that was supposedly quite tasty.

Holy yum…this place was not only super fresh and healthy, but everything just tasted fantastic!

The employees were kind enough to provide some samples so we could make some choices.

Jessie, my roomie, and I decided to split the raviolis and a tuna sandwich.

To finish the meal we were treated to an amazing truffle! Not the best looking goodie but oh so good.

Everyone in our troupe really enjoyed their dishes. Yay for foodie satisfaction!

Nicci, Dorry, Jessica, Courtney, Jessie and Me!

It was blazing hot so I had to stop for a water on our 1.5 mile trek back to the hotel. Thank goodness I did because I discovered that Chicago likes their booze…in CVS! They even have Bud and Tomato juice. Keepin’ it classy Chicago. Nice work!

When we got back to our creeptastic hotel (more on that later), we quickly got ready for the OpenSky cocktail party that was held at LaSalle Power Co.

There was food, drinks, new faces and a photo booth. Insanity!

Hey! Look who I found—>Spabettie!

Throughout the night I met tons of blends (blog friends!), hoards of new to me bloggers, and a few bloggers that I stalk on a regular basis.

Beth

Stina

Tina (ACK! So excited! I creepily waited around like a groupie to meet her)

Jessie (The Roomie!)

Angela

I was BEAT by 9p! Jessie had a bit of a headache so I jumped at the chance for us to head back to the hotel for us to relax, gossip, and check out our mea swag bags.

I see a few giveaways happening in the next few days! Don’t you?!

I can’t really articulate how great it was to meet so many others that have this strange interest in blogging that I do. I was in total overload all night long!

Stay tuned for a recap of our sessions from Saturday, our eats, and a great night out!