A dinner date, a holiday party, some fitness and fun in the Bay
Sometimes you have those kind of weekends that make you really happy and grateful for things in your life. This past weekend was one of those for me. Dave and I hung out with so many friends, tried a new workout, went to a Christmas show, attended a holiday party and had an all around awesome couple of days. It was one of the best weekends that I’ve had in a while, full of festivities. Let’s chat about it …
Friday evening dinner in the Mission
On Friday evening, Dave and I met up with our friends Lexy and Rhodes for drinks in downtown San Francisco. We had originally planned to meet at Press Club, but it was closed for a private holiday party. So after trying a few busy venues, we ended up in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis, which was actually the perfect setting for catching up. Plenty of space and a little more conducive to conversation. We haven’t seen the two of them in a while, and it’s always a delight sharing stories on life and laughing. We were only there for a little over an hour, but it was still fun.
Scenes from the City included my coordination with the BART station.
From there, Dave and I Ubered over to the Mission neighborhood to Kitchen Story, a small and trendy Asian fusion restaurant. We met up with a couple of people that Dave went to Rollins College with and their significant others. I didn’t really know anyone at the dinner, which always adds a new fun element. In fact, it brought me back, because for the first couple of years of living in San Francisco, we were always hanging out with new people, and it’s been some time since we did that. It’s good to get out there every once in a while and branch.
The Millionaire’s Bacon on the top left was totally scrumptious. I’d heard about it before and was so excited to finally get a taste. Other delicious appetizers included beef roll-ups and ahi tuna cups, and I finished off with a very strong salmon entree. Nice work, Kitchen Story.
The six of us enjoyed an amazing meal over great conversation, talking about travel, life in the Bay Area, their old college stories and more. I haven’t been to the Mission to eat for a very long time, and boy the food there is always impeccable. Totally worth the trip.
After a two-hour dinner, Dave and I took the BART back across the Bay to get home and just so happened to have a chance encounter with one of Dave’s former coworkers on the subway platform, which was a great way to end the night. Small world.
Trying out FlyWheel on Saturday morning
On Saturday morning, Dave and I met a few friends to try a 45-minute FlyWheel class. There is a new FlyWheel in downtown Walnut Creek, and I’ve now gone three times. I must say, I’m pretty impressed. This was my first time in the cycle class though, because both times I’ve been, I’ve taken a FlyBarre class. It’s definitely a different set-up, and I’ll post a full review soon. But I’ve got to say that Dave was such a good sport during his very first time taking any sort of cycle class, and he said it may have been his favorite of the workouts that I’ve taken him to over the years, including my classes. How about that.
Those red faces should give you an idea of the fun we had on the bikes.
Holiday sweater party with friends
After some chores, errands and time in the kitchen cooking, Dave and I headed over to our friends’ house for not only a holiday Christmas sweater party, but also a surprise going away party for a couple. There were nearly 30 people decked out in festive holiday wear, and so of course, we had to take a self-timed group shot, which I orchestrated. Over the course of six hours, we watched the Warriors play, ate tons of great food, took plenty of photos, laughed a whole lot and had one heck of a time. Good times!
Would you believe it only took two tries for us to get that shot of every single person at the party? I propped my phone up, set the boundaries and corralled the group in less than five minutes time. So glad we did that!
Getting into the Christmas spirit on Sunday
And the weekend fun continued on Sunday. In the mid-morning, I met up with some of my girlfriends to make truffles and have brunch, which was just fantastic. The whole truffle-making process is definitely something I’ll share more about, but suffice to say, in addition to having fun, we also had some seriously sweet treats to enjoy on the spot and save as gifts.
Before we dug into the chocolate, we had a delicious brunch consisting of bagels, a baked cheesy egg casserole and fresh fruit. By the way, have you ever had smoked salmon cream cheese? If not, I highly suggest it.
In the evening, Dave and I made an early dinner at home and then went to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Lesher Center, which is a performing arts hall very close to us in Walnut Creek. The show was super enjoyable, and it was a nice way to top off one awesome weekend.
My weekly fitness and workout recap
As always, each and every Monday, I like to show you all of the ways that I’ve been active. So let’s get to it …
(Photo credit to Leah Bentley Photography, 2015.)
Weekly Workouts
- Monday: Taught a one-hour BODYATTACK class, foam rolling
- Tuesday: Took a one-hour Orangetheory class
- Wednesday: Taught a one-hour BODYPUMP class, foam rolling
- Thursday: Taught a 45-minute BODYPUMP and 30-minute core class
- Friday: Took a one-hour super gentle yoga class
- Saturday: Took a 45-minute FlyWheel class
- Sunday: Rest day
What was good about my week of workouts?
This past week was a good one when it came to workouts. I was back to five workouts over the course of seven days, which included some great variety. Perhaps the highlight, was returning to the treadmill in an Orangetheory strength-based class this week, which had me doing some serious inclines. It felt awesome! I essentially had two rest days as well, with one seriously gentle yoga session and a full day off. Overall, I picked up weights three times and did plenty of cardio, so this one was complete.
What could have been better about my workouts?
This past week was solid, and the best one I’ve had in the workout world in about a month. Two thumbs up!
Hope you have a great day, my friends! (P.S. Thanks to Meghan for hosting today’s “Week in Review” link-up.)
Holiday fun and a #workout round-up. Check this out ... #WeeklyWorkouts Click To TweetQuestions of the day
What was the highlight of your weekend?
What’s in store for your week?
Busy and balanced weekend! I took a Flywheel class in FL awhile back and loved it! If I could find a class near me, I would do it. It’s a crazy good workout!
Hi Megan! Yes, I was a fan! Seems like the studio locations are popping up in new places, so hopefully you’ll get one one day. Hope you had a nice weekend! 🙂
We also got into the Christmas spirit and started putting up decorations since my family will be heading down next week! It is such an exciting time!
YAY, Hilary! Holiday visitors! What fun! 🙂
What a fun weekend!! Looks like you two had a blast. I haven’t even thought about the week ahead yet… and it is Monday morning 😉 I am subbing quite a few classes this week so that will keep me busy and finishing up Christmas shopping!
Good luck finishing up your Christmas shopping, Becky! 🙂 And YAY for subbing!
Dave’s sweater is hilarious! Santa con was this weekend so I saw lots of hilarious outfits walking around, including someone dressed as a Christmas tree (think of those pizza or hot dog costumes but make that a Christmas tree). And you really were beautifully coordinated with BART. Did you both plan that ;D Seems like a fantastic weekend! Have a great week, Ashley!
Hi Susie! Hope you had a nice weekend! I bought Dave his sweater, and when I bought it, I had NO idea that it was so inappropriate. I thought it was an upside down Snowman. Pretty funny that it wasn’t … heheheh
What a great turnout for your party. Everyone looks so cute in their Christmas sweaters.
Hi Jen! Yes! We didn’t host it, thank goodness, because it was certainly a lot of people. We had so much fun though. I hope you had a great weekend as well! 🙂
I can’t believe the Warriors lost to the Bucks! I don’t follow NBA much, but I definitely heard about the game since I live in WI and lots of my friends are fans. Sounds like you had a great weekend otherwise!
Hi Katie! I know, the streak ended! It was a sad part of the night, but we tried not to let it ruin our party! Hope you had a great weekend, lady! 🙂
You and Dave are such a sweet couple! :)) And that Christmas brunch looks fun. 🙂 I haven’t gone to any Christmas parties yet this year.
LOVE the subject of your post there, lady!
Hi Emily!! Ohhhh thank you! I’ve got more Christmas parties this year than ever before, and I’m loving it! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Flywheel is SO fantastic! Three years ago, I would attend the early morning class everyday, consistently racing myself to get to the next level. The only reason I stopped was that I found myself taking only FlyWheel/Barre classes and I knew I needed more variety in my routine. Still miss it though. 🙁
Looks like an all-around wonderful weekend! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jessica! Ahhh yes, I can see that it would be addicting to keep improving. However, like you found out, you still need a bit more variety than just those two classes! 🙂 Hope you had a great weekend too!
Looks like a great weekend 🙂 That food looks amazing, and so does your party hair! Well balanced weekends feel so much longer, than if you stay home and don’t do much.
Hi Jessie! I would totally agree — this weekend was super fun and didn’t seem to fly by. Hope you had a good one as well. 🙂
I am obsessed with ugly sweaters lately! Need all of them!
They sure are fun to wear! I actually hope to get one more wear out of mine this year before the holiday season ends. Hope you had a nice weekend, Smitha! 🙂
What a fun weekend! We surprised my mother in law in DC for her 60th birthday this past weekend. Highlights included drinks at the roof of the W hotel looking over the White House and monuments and spending time with family. The low point, however, was when our flight back to Denver was delayed 7 hours and we didn’t get home until 4 am last night (this morning) haha! ?
Oh my gosh Anna, that is a SERIOUS delay. I’m sorry to hear that. 🙁 You must be tired today. At least you made the trip though!
Sounds like such a fun, busy weekend! I spent a good amount of time with my boyfriend and family this weekend, baking cookies and decorating! I wish I had these fun group exercise classes near me like OrangeTheory and FlyWheel-they sound like a blast!
Hi Alyssa! Yes, we’re pretty lucky to have so many studios nearby. Glad you had a nice weekend, lady! 🙂
When i was a kid we always made truffles with my mom and we LOVED it (and the post truffle sugar high!) SO much fun!
So fun Morgan! I LOVED making truffles! They are seriously delicious. 🙂 Hope you had a nice weekend, lady!
What a great weekend! The food you ate looks amazing! Love the sweater party! My husband and I were just saying how we should go to his family christmas dinner all decked out…it’s crazy how pricey those sweaters can be online if you want to get some funny ones! Might look at 2nd hand stores in town.
Our weekend was low key due to someone deciding sleeping was for chumps. Saturday we did end up on a date night at a really nice restaurant with REALLY good food and WINE 😉 Sunday was lazy due to lack of sleep but we did manage to get out to get our tree from our favourite christmas tree farm …of course we quoted Lampoon’s Christmas vacation the whole time 😉
Can’t believe Christmas is upon us and we up here in the great white north still have no snow…NUTS…..but I’m not complaining 😉
Hi Fiona! Even if you were tired, I’m glad you got your date night in! And a real tree? That’s awesome! 🙂 Hope you get some more sleep this week!
You can send some of those truffles to this pregnant mama 😉 I need to start my baking but have been procrastinating! With only 11 days until Christmas I better get on it!
Oh Giselle! You better get on it! 🙂 hehehhe! And I am hoping to give some truffles away, but so far I keep eating them!
Wow what a fantastically festive weekend- love it :)! Those truffles look super! I made some a few years ago and the process was definitely not something I expected- fun nonetheless!!
Hi K! The truffles are TO-DIE-FOR! I WILL be making them again. 🙂 Hope all is well with you!
Wow – sure was a fantastic weekend. The food looks amazing and your jacket is adorable!!! So fun!!
Thanks, lady! It’s new! Hope you had a nice weekend as well! 🙂