Philly Food and Fitness!

My dad and I recently signed up for the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run in Philly in May. Actually, the registration process more closely resembles an internet version of a Black Friday stampede, so we're pretty lucky that we were both able to get bib from day one.

The race is a ten mile run down one of the city's main streets. The two of us have done our share of long runs together, but we've been training for this race for about a month in the hopes that we could have a somewhat decent time for just being recreational runners (80 minutes, or maintaining an 8-minute mile for ten miles). Our training has no real structure, though we like pretending that it does. We just try to run 20-25 miles a week balanced with some strength training and lots of high-fives.

We opted for a seven mile run this weekend to gauge where we're at, and we have a little time to shave off, but not much. We spent our quality time together sharing motivational running stories, but only had enough to get us through mile five. The last two miles were spent running uphill in painful silence.

Keeping with our Philly theme, we ended up heading down that way afterwards and having lunch at Rembrant's, a pub near the art museum that seems to be known for its burgers. The restaurant was quaint and inviting, and definitely thriving.

Now, because we (or maybe just me) were famished from our morning run, I didn't quite remember to take pictures before eating the food. So I apologize in advance for the grotesque, mid-meal samples I'm sharing with you. It just proves we liked it, right?

Dad got the Pulpa Pizza which has "soprasetta, roasted peppers, capers, octopus, kalamata olives, tomato sauce, sharp provolone, and mozzarella," and it was amazing. It got a good hit of saltiness from a lot of the ingredients, but it wasn't ever overwhelming. The crust was thin, perfectly crisp, and not the least bit soggy. 

My brother got the Rogue burger: a beef burger topped with pork belly, bleu cheese, onions, greens and a fried egg. The waitress genuinely thanked him for ordering it. I only have a picture of the aftermath of this one. I'm actually impressed he was able to consume it so quickly. And a messy aftermath means it was delicious to begin with. 

Mom had their nod to a falafel sandwich, the Chickpea Hoagie. She really enjoyed it. There was a pleasant yet mysterious spice we couldn't quite figure out, but it kept things interesting.

And I had the turkey burger, which came with brie cheese, avocado and some sort of aioli. Not being a fan of avocado or mayonnaise-y products, I chose to promptly remove those items. The burger, however, was very good. Turkey burgers can easily be dry, but that wasn't the case here. They use brioche-type buns, too, and you know what they say...you can't go wrong with brioche! Fact. Ironically, my meal was the only one that I didn't get a picture of. 

I highly recommend checking out Rembrant's. The service was excellent--they make you feel like a regular from the minute you walk in. The food was the perfect balance of familiar and innovative, all executed really well. And if you're into beer, they have an excellent selection to choose from. My brother is moving to Philly soon, so there should be many Philadelphia restaurant reviews to come! Have a happy Tuesday, everyone!

Workout Review and Bridal Shower Cake Recap

You know what puts a damper on working out in the morning?

It not being morning.

I'm looking at you, Daylight Savings Time.

There's just something about starting your day when it's still dark out that goes against all natural instincts. Luckily for me, my little brother is home from school for the week. And since he wanted to tag along to the gym while he's home, I get to "take one for the team" and wake up a little later to be his gym buddy.

This being my first fitness post, I'm going to give you the inside scoop of what I actually do at the gym (because you've all been dying to know). Well, I've been slowly shifting my workout from focusing on just cardio to splitting it equally with strength training. So I've gone from 45-60 minutes of cardio and 15 of strength training to at least 30 minutes of each. My cardio of choice is running, but an injury last week banned me from the treadmill, forcing me to fill my gym time elsewhere.

After dealing with a frustrating, money-stealing seller on eBay while trying to buy the Insanity workout program, I found this workout routine on another blog. Let me tell you, this workout looks all innocent and reasonable, but it definitely pushes you. I like to think I'm in fairly decent shape, but there are points in this workout when I have questioned that.

Then yesterday, while doing "Day 7:The Punisher," I come across this:

"One Arm Push Up." All casual-like. It's like they snuck it in there at the end as a joke. 

I don't know about you, but I do push ups on the regular and have yet to be able to do ONE one armed push up. Maybe you men have it easier or something, but as a girl it just ain't happenin'. 

The only thing this proved to me was that this workout really does push your limits. I highly suggest it if you're looking for structure and a change in your daily routine. Plus you don't need all kinds of crazy equipment. And because of their Extreme Leg and Butt Workout Level 1 (Level 1!?!), my legs are currently as close to feeling like Jell-O as ever. 

Speaking of dessert, I had a Paris-themed bridal shower order this weekend. I have a soft spot in my heart for anything French, so this was a pretty exciting project for me! I thought I'd share some photos, and reward you with some cake for sticking with me through this fitness post. 

The bride's personal cake: red velvet cake decorated with hand-made sugar blossoms, sugar pearls and topped with a chocolate Eiffel Tower

French vanilla cupcakes topped with fondant and hand-piped damask and bow patterns

Creme brulee cupcakes (brown sugar cupcakes filled with vanilla custard, topped with vanilla meringue buttercream and a burnt-sugar disk) and chocolate raspberry cupcakes with chocolate ganache

Au revoir!