Birthday Girl! & Weekend Shenanigans

Today....is a special day.

It is somebody's 21st birthday!!

Noooo, not Koda. You are only about 10 in doggy years! Too young for alcohol.

There, there.

Baby Sister is 21!!! It is about time.

The family celebrated early on Friday with some pizza, ice cream cake, and a few presents. We are going on a trip to Vegas at the end of March, so that is her main "birthday celebration," but the grandparents wanted to come wish her a happy birthday.

It wouldn't be a Bock family celebration without awkward family photos

How cute is Poppy in his sweater?!

and shenanigans like my grandmother and I accidentally lighting the ice cream cake on fire.

Coop was at a show in Upstate NY Friday, so I was excited to venture over to Philly Saturday and spend some time with him after my Saturday morning double session of BodyCombat & BodyPump and then lunch at Chipotle with Allie and Oscar.

Remember? The Chipotle addicts.

Coop suggested we go to try some local places we haven't been yet, and I happily obliged. We walked to the nearby Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant to try out some apps and beer.

Fried Mac & Cheese and Fried Pickles. Ohhh my goodness. The "frickles" weren't quite as jaw-dropping as our favorite ones in NYC, but they were still so, so good. So not on the Tone It Up plan...but everything in moderation!!

We each had a Flying Fish Grand Cru, and then I went with the Dogfish Head Stout and Coop had the Sixpoint Signal Rauchbier. Good thing I took a taste of Weyerbacher Tango before ordering a full glass...as a huge WB Imperial Pumpkin Ale lover, I thought I would no doubt love their Belgian Dark Ale. Uh....not so much. Neither one of us could even finish the sample. Fail! Luckily the beer we ended up choosing was great.

Our waitress was wonderful, too. We will definitely be returning...especially since their "Coming Up" list of brews-to-come on tap was pretty stellar.

We were craving some red wine, and they were out of the Malbec we wanted, so we hit up a wine & fondue place nearby. The two wines we tried were amazing...but the service was totally awful. Sorry, Beneluxx. We won't be back. Even though the drink list was pretty amazing!

Sunday was the ultimate lounge day. T-shirts, yoga pants, warm and fuzzy socks.

We're cool, I know.

Who's Pete Sake?

We were all about TV (Chopped, TripleD, etc.) and movies (Moneyball...had some funny parts, was pretty intriguing, but also had some slow parts).

Coop left for the gym, and since I didn't feel like paying $15 bucks to go running, I stayed behind and watched The Lion King and Aladdin while doing a little at-home workout full of planks, squats, core work, pushups, pull ups from his bedroom's rafters, and belting out Disney lyrics. I pretty much looked super cool.

Sushi take-out from Uzu (right next to Philadelphia B&R!) accompanied the new episode of The Walking Dead. 

We shared Miso soup, a house salad with ginger dressing, a Cali roll, a Mexican roll (grilled chicken, avocado, and a spicy sauce), a Boston roll (lettuce and shrimp), a King Kani (spicy crab)....but the show-stealer was definitely this guy:

The Mellow Yellow....yellowtail, mango, and cream cheese. Oh. My gosh.

I had made a little goody bag of snacks for Coop because he was supposed to be in New York this week at a hotel as he trains for his new job, but he actually ended up not having to go there this week and is just going to the regular office in PA. So....we dug into that little bag of goodness for dessert. The bag is full of Clif ZBars (Iced Oatmeal Cookie!!), Love Grown Cocoa Goodness granola, Larabars, Goldfish, and other snacks (....and a little bottle of Jack Daniel's). Multiple Hershey's Kisses and Hugs and a shared Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Larabar were consumed post-dinner.

And YAY for Coop's first day on the new job today! I know he will be a rockstar.

Lots of freelance and fun new projects, new recipes, and other fun things on the way. March will be an absolutely amazing month...lots of get togethers with friends, little Allie will be able to come play with us due to her FINALLY being 21, Coop has some good shows lined up, St. Patty's Day (I got a new shirt to wear this year....LOVE it, maybe even more than my typical Paddy's Pub shirt), we're seeing Justice in Philly on the 20th (YES.), and then....Vegas! Cannot wait to recap all of the awesome things we have coming up. And hopefully I will have some more illustration and design projects that I will be able to share with you soon.

Until then....have a great week! xoxo

• Question: I just bought chia seeds and nutritional yeast....I have a few recipes lined up that I want to try, but do any of my healthy-living bloggers have some great ideas? I made Brittany's Chia Pudding with Rolled Oats on Saturday morning post-workout and I am totally obsessed with it!! Topped with Love Grown granola....perfect. I will post more about it in the future, I am sure.

Chia Pudding with Love Grown granola!

My Otter Half

Want to spread some love on Valentine's Day? Here's a few fun-lovin' things for V-Day 2012!

Here is a sketch I planned on coloring before today, but life has been pretty crazy lately! For those of you who don't know, my dad went in for surgery last week for prostate cancer and is home recovering...so far, so good! The Bocks really enjoy kicking cancer in the tuchus.

Happy V-Day to all my loves...

Also, try this workout today if you want to feel the burn on this Valentine's Day! It is harder than it looks...and the girls are super-cute!

Another way to share the love today? Email Love Grown Foods today with your address (LOVE@lovegrownfoods.com with 'VDAY LOVE' as the subject), and they will send you (and your Valentine!) a free bag of their granola. Yesssssss.


Doing anything fun for V-Day? I am celebrating by eating chocolate and doing a Barre class and some yoga. ;)

xoxoxo

And congrats to all my Tone It Uppers who finished their 7 Day Slim Down today. You girls rock!

As for the Slim Down, today is technically my last day....but I have not been following the plan as closely as intended. Which is okay! I ate cleaner and more raw, but still had some diversions in the form of chocolate, Greek yogurt, wine, quinoa, peanut butter...and even with that, I still have a tighter belly and lost some bloat. The effects of this plan are amazing, and I can't even imagine what they are like if you actually stick to it for the week. After the first four days, I felt great and was ready to incorporate my carb-loves back into my life...plus, my workout routine is too intense not to. I will definitely do the Slim Down before my vacation in March, but for now, this mini-SD was exactly what I needed. <3

Drawing in a Recording Studio...11 Random Things!

Aaand that is what I am doing.

I wanted to get out of the house today in order to be productive...sometimes it just helps to have a change in scenery. My plan was to possibly settle in at a coffee shop in Doylestown (Coop's band has a show there tonight) while the boys practiced at a studio for a few hours before the show. But I ended up here, and they have Wifi and a room with a couch that I took over.

Figured while I was here blasting the Gotye Pandora station into my eardrums (so good) and gettin' all jacked up on Mountain Dew , I should use some productivity time here to answer the 11 Things post I was tagged in via Bess.

Eleven Things

Okay, so the rules are to:

1. List 11 random things about myself
2. Answer the 11 questions she asked me
3. Come up with 11 questions to ask other bloggers
4. Tag 11 bloggers to do this next.

Buuut this is already going to be long enough, so I am going to go with the first two.

11 Random Things About Me

1. I hold my pencil like a freak.

I used to get in trouble for this all the time when I was in grade school and would always try to quickly hold it the "right" way when a teacher would walk by during handwriting exercises, like when we were learning how to write in cursive. I literally have the world's wobbliest hand when I try to use a pencil correctly.

2. I think I have the world's biggest Stitch collection.

Oh...just some of it.

Had to bedazzle my grad hat

2010 Pumpkin!

Sand drawing in San Diego!

Moving is a little more tolerable when you wear a Stitch hat.

My own little Stitch

I am so in love with the character that I am even in contact with my hero, Chris Sanders, every so often. He created the character and story, drew the character, co-directed the movie, and even did Stitch's voice! We became email pen-pals after I contacted him years ago for a school presentation about our favorite illustrator, and has been an incredible inspiration and mentor to me. SO cool.

3. I was a dancer for thirteen years, and we used to dance on cruises.

Patriotic!

At a rehearsal on the ship 

With our favorite waiters ever!

Always makin' friends with the staff...our Australian Cruise Director we dubbed "The Thunder from Down Under."

I spy with my little eye....a small Allie!!!

Standard.

4. I tend to eat and cook healthy most of the time, but ice cream and beer are two things that I CANNOT turn down if other people around me are having them. I call it "beer pressure."

5. I went to San Diego Comic Con in 2010 and got to meet Chris Sanders in person, but also got to see Michael C. Hall, David Duchovny,  Mary-Louise Parker, and other Showtime stars that I am obsessed with.

I also met Bill Plympton, one of my favorite animators, when I wandered into the Chuck Jones gallery downtown.

I heart San Diego.

6. I went to University of Delaware for two years before I transferred to Arizona. I loved it, met some amazing people, and love visiting still...my little sister goes there.

7. I don't like folded-over chips and will always break them apart before eating them, I always pull cup lids and paper plates out from the middle of the stack, and pick off little pieces of excess bread from any and all sandwiches, burritos, hot dog buns, and wraps...which is weird, because I LOVE bread. I have done this since my family can remember. I guess I like a pretty low meat/filling-bread ratio.

8. When I get lazy, I pile my hair on top of my head into a weird "Pebbles" bun. Which prompted me to make this costume a few years ago.

9. I collect giraffes and turtles.

10. I once dressed up like Mr. Brady of the Brady Bunch for a dance performance in tenth grade. All 5'1 of me.

(The other shortest/youngest person of the group, my best friend Christine, was naturally elected to be Mrs. Brady. Don't be jealous of our wigs and thrift-store polyester finds. And thanks to Grandma's closet...that shirt was once my dad's.)

11. I always wanted to be a Disney princess (and a mermaid. Love you, Ariel!), but Allie, on the other hand, wanted to be Aladdin.

Cinderella Sammi in the background...

I believe the day of their meeting is still her happiest moment to date.

Yes. The Bock family photo archives are full of gems like these.

11 Questions asked by Bess


1. If you could change your name, what would it be? Amber. 

(...get it?)

2. What is your favorite place to go on vacation? See #5 above. I freakin' love California.

3. What is the craziest thing you've ever done in your life? Transfer across the country to live and go to school in AZ for three years, away from family and friends.

4. Best dessert you've ever had? Probably the pizookies of Tucson. Ice cream atop an infinitely big and gooey cookie. Half chocolate chunk, half peanut butter, please! And now they have red velvet. (!!!!!)

(I miss BJ's!!!)

5. Favorite workout? Les Mills BodyCombat! SO much fun! I do it 2-3 times a week.

6. One thing you wish you could do? Move to California and work in animation! But I am learning that things happen for a reason. As long as I keep workin' hard, I know good things will come, even if CA isn't in the equation. If I get out there one day, though, and could afford it, I'd be happy as a clam.

7. What is your guilty pleasure? Too. Much. TV. But I love it all.

8. If you could speak another language besides the one(s) you already know, what would you chose? I took French in high school because it is so pretty-sounding, I wanted to vacation there to see wineries and the Louvre, and because I was a ballet dancer that knew a few French words. I've retained about 15% of that language now, sadly. But German would be pretty sweet. How badass would that sound if you just broke out in German?

9. What is your perfect date? (April 25th. Because it’s not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket??) Hmmm. My Miss Congeniality answer is: A June beach-day-into-outdoor-happy-hour-night in Avalon. Not a worry in the world, beginning of summer, and perfect temperature before it gets too humidly hot.


Otherwise, something creative is always fun....mine and Coop's first date was a comedy club (Gilbert Gottfried!), and a wine bar afterwards. I also am a huge homebody and love staying in to cook and watch TV or movies.

10. What was the first pet you ever had? A Beta fish....I think I named her Charlotte.

11. Favorite motivational quote or picture? “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” ~ Nelson Mandela

....and.....

(Via my Pinterest)

I hope you enjoyed this session of public humiliation of myself (and family and friends) via the interwebs.

Ya welcome.

Super Bowl, Slim Down, and a Fashion Question

Super Bowl

So my Super Bowl menu was pretty great...even if the Pats didn't win.

Luckily, Coop didn't jump off a ledge...although I was nervous there for a second.

Gronk (my fellow Arizona alum) fans!

The day started off with a veggie-filled omelette, one of Coop's specialties. I sauteed, he chopped the onion....my most-hated kitchen job!!!....and then I left the rest up to him.

Um, how do boys make such perfect omelettes? Mine NEVER stay together this beautifully. I will keep him.

Much wine and beer was consumed alongside all of this:

Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls! 

Pepper Jack Tostitos, Homemade Pita Chips,
and a healthified Spinach, Artichoke, and Feta Dip

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie....dough. YUM.

Layered Taco Dip, Eggrolls, and a Creeper

Let me know if you want any of the recipes!


Tone It Up 7 Day Slim Down


Thanks to all of the amazing indulgences via my past weekend, today is my first day of the Tone It Up 7 Day Slim Down. Not trying to lose any weight, but I am going to follow the plan as best as possible in order to prime myself to eat more Lean, Green, and Clean. It'll help get rid of that bloated feeling and  will help make healthy, clean eating even more of a habit. This is a bit of a test run, as I plan on doing the Slim Down again before my Vegas vacation (flights booked! Woop woop!) to detox and tighten up a bit before a glorious week of bikinis, drinks, and little dresses. Oh, and I plan on indulging hardcore at my favorite chef's restaurant. Mesa Grill!

Somehow I have never been here despite my insane love for Las Vegas, Bobby Flay and southwestern food.


Tonight I plan on taking an idea from Bess (she is on day two of her second 7DSD...her posts about it are great!) and making enough protein pancakes for the week and freezing them so that I can just microwave them in the morning. Easy peasy. 


I only wish mine could look as pretty as hers.

Oops.


Any Tone It Up girls out there, let me know if you are doing the Slim Down this week! I know a lot of people are doing it to finish off strong in the Toned In '12 Challenge (and just in time for Valentine's Day).


Fashion Question


Quick question to my fashionista readers who are much more savvy than me when it comes to this stuff:


I have a $100 J.Crew gift card. I collect lots of bracelets (big layering fiend) and I have loved this since I saw it on {av}'s blog...

I think it may be pretty to layer with this Marc By Marc Jacobs one that I have. Or it may be overkill?

BUT! I have also been wanting a new "statement" necklace, and I kinda like this one.

What do you think? I am envisioning my vacation and which I would want to wear more.


Have a fabulous day!!! xoxo




Of Possible Interest: (Artsy ones!)

• Graffiti Artist David Choe to make hundreds of millions from Facebook IPO
• Earliest copy of Mona Lisa discovered at Prado, possibly painted by an apprentice alongside Leonardo