Finding your Happy Weight: Mid-weekend recap!

Hey everyone! Happy SundayJ So I already had to give you a quick recap of our weekend SO FAR because the picture count is already getting OUT. OF. CONTROL! And since we have more good (FESTIVE!) goodies coming tonight, I thought I'd give a quick Sunday blog of our 'adventures' so farJ

So Friday night, my BFF & I headed to Philly to seeeeeeeeeeeee............

Yep, our FAVORITE BFF, Jillian Michaels, was in town to give a GREAT motivational speech about all things weight loss and achieving your dreams. And girlfriend can CHAT! Aside from a 15 minute intermission, she was up there yakin it up for 2 & 1/2 HOURS. She was inspiring, hilarious and typical Jillian...aka, yelling to just MOVE YOUR ASSJ So funJ

And of course while in Philly, we had to sample some good eats. And we thought a very "girly" (aka-not husband approved) meal could be had at Tria...

Tria is pretty much a wine & cheese bar, and you know how we LOVEEEE the comboJ I have a feeling the restaurant is more for a quick bar snack, but we were there for DINNER so a variety of snacks was NECESSARY (I mean...right??)

And who could pass up rosemary POTATO CHIPS with basil aioli...scrumptious!

Roasted beet salad with arugula, goat cheese, almonds, red onions & balsamic....this was SO GOOD! Especially the huge chunks of almonds throughout...

A meat & cheese tray with spicy mustard spread (LOVE!)...

And the OBVIOUSLY delicious bruschetta choice of caramelized onions & feta...

And the not so obvious...the robiola & cherries bruschetta. Honestly, probably my favorite bite of the whole night! The cheese was SUUUUUUPPPPEEEERRRR strong punctuated by the sweet cherries on the crunchy toast. YUMMMM!

And the best part of this whole thing? We left completely full & with a total bill of only $35! Can't beat that for city livinJ

And after having Jillian yell at us for 2+ hours, we did probably the single most STUPID thing on the planet: We headed to Max Brenner's...

Sigh....when in ~~Rome~~ Philly, right??

It turned out to be a REALLY chilly night...so our original plan for ice cream turned into hot chocolate...

...and SMORES!

Assembly...and flame...requiredJ

Truth be told, a few sips of hot chocolate & 1 smore too many and I was PASSED the DISGUSTINGLY STUFFED point. NOT VERY FUN. Oh well...at least the rest of the night made up for it. But note to self: No more double chocolate at...ummm....11:00pmJ

After few too hours rest, Scott & I were back up and at em early for the opening day of our favorite: the Collingswood Farmer's Market!

It was CAPITAL "P" PACKED! I even planned on taking a few pics of some produce for you...until I realized I had to cross 3 wagons full of children & 8 dogs and deemed it not worth itJ

We quickly whirled to pick up our favorites...all while keeping Katie entertained with A LOT to look at! I think she was stunnedJ hahahahahahha

And to commence our celebration of opening day, we headed over to Tortilla Press to enjoy one of our favorite breakfasts. Tortilla makes an INCREDIBLE lunch & dinner, but their Mexican flared breakfast is just divine....started off with the complimentary fresh cinnamon tortilla chips with sour cream dip. I mean...

Next up was our absolute FAVORITE: the breakfast nachos!!!!

Seasoned potato wedges (that our great unto itself!) topped with bacon, salsa, cheese, guacamole & sour cream. These are somewhere in the "last meal on earth should include these" categoryJ Just BEYONDJ

And for my 'fast, Katie & I shared the slightly sweet blue corn pancakes...

These were really great...but their stuffed cinnamon french toast still reigns supremeJ I'll be getting that again next time...hehehehehehhee

We headed home & unpacked our loot...

...including a bunch of ingredients that are going to be used TODAY (hint, hint...!)

And even though visions of the Jersey shore danced through my head on such a GORGEOUS day, I couldn't have been happier just relaxin on our porch last night...

Well, that and the fact that I was pretty CHILLY AND could NOT handle one more "fried/boardwalk type" dinner before implodingJ

So instead I decided to whip up a dinner made with our market goodies, featuring the markets most predominant star:

Asparagus was all the rage yesterday! Tis the seasonJ I simply snapped them & roasted them with olive oil & garlic powder for about 1/2 hour on 400 degrees and let them cool a bit once crispy.

Meanwhile, I worked on one other little special component: Roasted chickpeas! Toast them up in a dry skillet and once they're dry & toasty, drizzle with a little olive oil and top with grated cheese...