This morning I took my booty to the gym Ryan and I joined last week in Ocala.
The gym is about 20 minutes from our hotel, but 13 – 15 minutes from our rental home. (We clocked the exact time on Saturday.)
A 15 minute drive to the gym will be a change for us since we’re used to being able to walk to our gym, but I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m already getting used to the drive from the hotel.
I began my workout on the elliptical and peddled away for 20 minutes while flipping through Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
I ripped out a couple of inspirational ideas for decorating our new place and plan to head out to look at some furniture with Ryan tonight when he gets off work . (He doesn’t know this yet. 
)
Reading Better Homes and Gardens makes me feel like my life is in shambles. I think I should publish a spinoff magazine called Mice-Infested Apartments and Hotel Living. Surely there’s a market out there for that.
My time on the elliptical was followed by a strength training workout. On Saturday Ryan and I were talking about our respective workouts and I told him that I am always so impressed with his workouts because he literally pushes himself to the limit every time. He’s intense.
His workout tactics encouraged me to up my weights a bit on leg extensions. My quads were burning by the time I was done. Phew!
Lunch
When I was driving home from the gym, I wracked my brain for lunch ideas. The only meal that kept popping in my head was the same arugula, watermelon and feta cheese salad I had a couple times last week.
I was tempted to make a different meal for lunch to keep things a little spicier on the blog, but when I started PBF, I promised myself that I wouldn’t alter my eating or meals because I felt “blog pressure.” My blog is my life and my life includes repetitive meals.
Bam! 
“I eat what I want!” (<—Said in a Cartman voice. )
This may be a bold statement, but I think this salad is my favorite salad ever. The spicy arugula, coupled with the sweet watermelon and savory feta cheese creates a party in my mouth.
As I declared the above salad my “favorite ever,” seared tuna salad with Asian ginger dressing popped into my mind, so I must give that salad a shout out, too. First and second place. Mmm.
Back to the grind! I should probably shower at some point…
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I’ve been seeing arugula and watermelon everywhere lately- sounds like a party in the mouth- I must try it!
Are you definitely getting the house you guys liked with the pool?
YES! I am PUMPED!! 🙂 We will move in Sept. 1 – unless we can get them to let us move in sooner.
Whatever, whatever, I eat what I want!!
I might be a little boring, but I’m the same way when I find a salad I like…. Until I run outta the ingredients (or they go outta season) I’ll eat it every day without getting sick of it!
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
ryan is the king of repetitive meals. he’s been eating the EXACT same lunch every day for nearly a year! turkey + string cheese + apple… every… day.
hahah ryans lunch sounds like mine…turkey on whole wheat with mustard and apple pretty much every stinkin day but i love it!
Mine too! String cheese, yogurt and a Clif Body Builder Bar.
Good for you, Julie. Of course you should eat what you want! That salad looks amazing!
I just ate a big blueberry muffin from Starbucks for lunch, so “I eat what I want” is certainly something in my head right now too haha.
Watermelon is delicious in salads… and on its own! My fave salad topping is chopped green apples
Decorating a new home is so exciting!!! I’m still probably a year away from getting a ‘house’ but cannot wait for all the DIY projects – especially with Pintrest around now! Please keep us updated on before/after shots once you get the place!
oh great idea! i definitely will! have you checked out younghouselove.com? amazing for great decorating ideas and DIY projects!
Not gonna lie, I eat the same thang likeee every day for every meal. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
That salad looks so yummy! No dressing though, right?
i use olive oil for the dressing, though i’m not sure if you even need a dressing, now that i think about it. the watermelon adds moisture on its own. i’ve just always had it with olive oil, so i’ve been adding that.
i’ll try it, probably with a bit of sea salt too. i <3 the sweet and salty combination… 🙂
I love watermelon salads…had one at a restaurant the other day that was drizzled with balsamic dressing and one last night that had sriracha for a little spice. You should try that too! 😀
If you want something, you are right, you should have it!! That salad looks great. I don’t blame you for eating it again! 🙂
Why quit a good thing? 🙂
OH, I meant to add: I randomly came across the photo you posted of you and Ryan doing the “first touch” before your wedding ceremony. I don’t even know the person, she just happened to re-pin one of my photos so I was checking our her wedding board.
Holy Randomness…
sorry, replied to wrong post!
I hear you on feeling like your life is in shambles after reading BH&G. My apartment ‘looks’ nice to visitors, but this morning I woke up to a dead mouse in my living room ugghhh. I swear I am clean. We live on the ground floor and we get all types of ‘visitors’. Time to call our management company for the 9000th time. Good times!
I am a total repeat meal eater. If i didn’t have to cook for my fiance too, I would probably alternate the same 3 meals for dinner every night.
Whatevaaa! I eat what I want!
And I tend not to blog the meals that I eat day after day, but why shouldn’t I? It’s exhausting coming up with new, innovative meal ideas everyday lol.
I can’t wait to see how you decorate the new place (if you’re posting 😉 )
i definitely will!
Thank you for posting this:
“I promised myself that I wouldn’t alter my eating or meals because I felt “blog pressure.”
I am new to the blogging world and I have noticed that many times I feel that I am either eating the same thing or not being creative enough … especially when I read other blogs. I love cooking, but with a job that requires a lot of travel and my daughters busy sports and school schedules and my running around after my four legged love … I find that sometimes I don’t have time for a wonderful creation every day. Thank you for saying that … I will live by that statement too!
Love your blog!
I love that you have repeating meals. I am a college student on a budget so I buy bulk and basically eat the same thing for a week.
Yup, thats the good life 😉
No, I eat what I want! 😉 haha
Summer is the best time to eat tons and tons of watermelon! It just always sounds so good!!! And kudos to you for eating what you want and not giving in to “blog pressure”! Go you!
Seared tuna with anything, but especially on a light salad base, is amazing! I wish I had the confidence at home but I’m always afraid that I haven’t prepared it correctly and will food poison myself.
I love watermelon! I just had a watermelon gazpacho the other night and it was devine. Will have to try that salad this week!
I have never tried watermelon on salad before but I have a HUGE watermelon just chilling on my counter at home so I see this as a “MUST TRY” in tomorrow’s lunch!!!!!
Yeah! You said it! We eat what we want, that’s a nice motto. I’m happy for your new home with the pool and looking forward to seeing your moving in.
My gym should be only 15 minutes away but its usually 30-45 with traffic.
Hey, when a meal looks that good I can’t blame you for wanting to eat it over and over! I need to try the watermelon+feta flavor combo. Lately I’ve seen it all over Blog World! 😛
Have a great day, Julie! 😀
I don’t usually like fruit on my salads, but this one looks so so good. I think I might have to try it!
I’m the same way. When I get on food kicks, I just can’t deny myself of them, boring or not for the blog! Luckily my readers seem to be mostly accepting of my repeat meals when they happen 🙂
That salad really looks good!! I feel the same way about looking at decorating magazines and also with wedding magazines!! For a while, it just makes you feel so overwhelmed until you just pick and choose what aspects you want to incorporate and make your own 🙂
I hear ya about the life in shambles part! My apartment is super cluttered at the moment and my closets are about to explode. I have a love/hate relationship with design magazines and HGTV because I end up comparing my wreck of a place to theirs. After my wedding, my goal is to de-clutter and finally buy real furniture! We should start a blog challenge for it!
I love the colour of your salad!
It’s great that you don’t feel any blog pressure – I know that I want to see what people ‘really’ eat, not what they think readers want to see!
Love this! Since I just started blogging and am the queen of repetitive meals, I’ve been trying to spice up my meals to make it more blog worthy but sometimes I just wanna “eat what I want”! 🙂
Yum..i love the watermelon and feta combination too!!
I know how ou feel about your old apartment. I wish my place could look like a magazine with lots of character!
That salad looks so cool and refreshing! I eat the same lunch almost every day :).
yesss watermelon + feta = happiness 🙂
What ever happened to Ryan’s workout website, wasn’t he working on that?
i know! i wish he’d start it, but it’s been too much to juggle lately w/ starting his new job and the move. once we settle into more of a routine, he hopes to get it up and running. i’ll be sure to let you guys know.
I’m glad you eat a lot of the same things each day — that is how I eat since I buy so many things in bulk and I don’t have tons of room to buy lots of bulk items.
oh yayyy! Haha you just reminded me of this wonderful salad and I have alllll the ingredients wheeee! 😀 Those magazines can be wonderful but I feel like I’m nowhere near their neatness and all that jazz haha!
i love argula… just found a cool idea for it….i will def let you know when i blog about it…. Have a great Monday!
Now that you are repetitively eating this salad, it makes me want to try it even more!! Watermelon is my fav fruit especially during the heat of the summer!
Hooray for your favorite salad ever being a homemade one! For some reason salads just usually taste better to me from a restaurant… but once in a while a really great homemade salad comes along so you might as well repeat it!! Will have to try this combo soon 🙂
I like your honesty about repetitive meals. It is hard as a working professional to come up with new meals for lunch, and sometimes dinner. Sometimes, the easier the better.
Good luck with the furniture shopping. I keep a binder with cutouts from magazines with all the ideas I hope to do some day. We’ve lived in our house about a year and a half now, and making it our own is one of my favorite things to do!
Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! I’m a teacher and during the school year my lunch is almost always a turkey and provolone sandwich on whole wheat bread and I lovvve it!
I totally agree, you should never change yourself for your blog. Be you! That’s why we like your blog, we like you 🙂
We eat a lot of repetitive meals since my husband and I work opposite shifts. I only cook a few days a week but I usually cook meals and allow for leftovers to save me from cooking everyday, when no one is home but me.
Good luck with the furniture shopping! If our house ever sells (3 years now that we’ve been trying to sell! Ugh, bad market!) I can’t wait to start shopping too!
I made this salad over the weekend and CAN NOT stop eating it either. I even emailed it out to family and friends. So good. Im addicted.
Congrats on the house! I love looking at BHG for decorating ideas. My mom gave me subscription when we moved into our first house a few months ago.
I like what you said about blog pressure. I’m going to have to live by that too! 🙂
Haha the life in shambles thing totally relates to me. You think you had it bad with the mice-I’m a 3rd year PhD student living with my BF (another PhD student) which means that we have ZERO income for furniture and decor. We literally talk about how excited we are to graduate (we’re 25 and 27! ahhhhh) so that we can finally afford nice things for our home and don’t feel like our lives are in shambles. Sigh. Haha.
Also-I want to know your tips (future blog post maybe?) for getting started using weights. I am a runner through and through and I HATE lifting weights (um, they’re heavy!) but know I should. Help motivate those of us out there who are cardio junkies!!
this post touches on that a little bit! https://www.pbfingers.com/2010/06/11/from-cardio-queen-to-strength-training-machine/
If it makes you feel any better, reading home magazines like that or even blogs (young house love) make me feel like my life/home is in shambles and I own a house and have lived in it for 2+ years!
This salad looks amazing! I admire you for eating arugula… it’s a little too intense for me. My family grows it and I always pick it out of my mixed greens salad. I must try it with watermelon and hopefully the flavors will balance!
that salad looks amazing! is there any dressing on top??
see response to comment #7 🙂
thanks! should’ve guessed someone would ask that…I like strawberries and spinach with fig dressing. i wonder how that would work with watermelon. I love salad in summertime, but I’m running out of ideas. any other delicious and fun salad recommendations?
That salad looks awesome! I’m glad that you “eat what you want”! One of the reasons I love your blog is because you stay true to yourself (at least it appears that way haha). Also, what are Ryan’s workout tactics? Perhaps something that could be a blog post?
I am going to have to try this mix of arugala and watermelon, I bet it is amazing! I don’t really do feta though, maybe I will try fresh watermelon in its place? mmmm!
I need to try this salad!!!!!!!!!! 😀 I definitely repeat meals!