Our fun didn’t stop after the cooking class though and I wanted to share a few more highlights from our low key weekend!
- Hiking
The weather was absolutely gorgeous in Charlotte this weekend. Temperatures reached 55 degrees and the sun was out both Saturday and Sunday, so we knew we had to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend some time outside. We took Sadie on a five mile hike on one of our favorite local trails and had the best time watching her run around like crazy, sniffing everything in sight. (Can you spot her in the above picture? She’s a sneaky one!) Fun fact: Tomorrow is Sadie’s 7th birthday! And yes, we are definitely planning to follow through with her annual birthday challenge this year!
- Charlotte Health & Fitness Expo
Early Saturday afternoon, Ryan and I headed to the Charlotte Health & Fitness Expo, a free (if you print out tickets ahead of time!) expo featuring Charlotte-area heath and fitness-related vendors. I was really excited to check out what the website dubbed Charlotte’s “premier healthy living super show” and Ryan was intrigued as well. It was worth attending (especially since it was free!) but not nearly as large as I thought it would be. Truthfully, I feel like I’ve been to race expos that are bigger and more interesting, but it was still fun to chat with local vendors and learn more about fitness and healthy food options in the Charlotte area. The people who came to participate in the workouts that you see above looked like they were having fun! If I go again next year, I think participating in a new-to-me workout is the way to go!
- Friends on Netflix
Ryan was feeling under the weather this weekend, so we hung out on the couch soaking up our fair share of downtime on Sunday. This meant we flew through two episodes of Homeland before I declared myself in need of something much more lighthearted. Hello, Friends!!! Friends is my all-time favorite show EVER and after Ryan and I started dating, he began watching it with me and is a fan as well. We both laugh out loud during nearly every episode and since all 10 seasons of the show are now available on Netflix, watching a quick 25-minute episode when we were in the mood for a laugh was such a nice treat and the perfect way to add some laughter into a sick boy’s day! We watched my favorite episode of the entire series yesterday — the boys vs. girls episode with Miss Chanandaler Bong. It’s the best!!
- Sunday Afternoon Baking
During our Homeland/Friends-watching marathon, I kept my eye on the TV from the kitchen where I dove into some Sunday afternoon baking. My desire to bake sweet treats returned this month with a vengeance and I’ve been baking up a storm every weekend. Yesterday I made a small batch of chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing and they made the whole house smell heavenly for hours!
- Deep Dish Pizza
We found deep dish pizza in Charlotte! (Thank you, Yelp!) Oh my gosh, the former Chicago girl in me was so, so excited about this discovery. The restaurant, Matt’s Chicago Dog, didn’t look like much from the outside, but once we stepped inside, the place had a warm, homey atmosphere that instantly made me feel relaxed. Some fried pickles to start probably helped, too!
Ryan and I shared the 14-inch deep dish veggie pizza and it was more than enough for the two of us. I left feeling overwhelmingly full, but it was worth it! The crust wasn’t as thick as what I think of when I think back on my favorite Chicago deep dish pizza, but it was still tasty and the ingredients were clearly fresh and delicious. I want to go back for an Italian beef sandwich… A couple near us ordered one and it looked so good. I haven’t had a great Italian beef sandwich in years, so it may be time soon!
- Impractical Jokers
Have you guys seen this show? Last night, Ryan and I went over to our friends’ Chandra and Kevin’s apartment to watch the Colts/Patriots game and during halftime they put this show on after singing its praises to us earlier in the night. It was absolutely hilarious! My stomach hurt from laughing so hard!! Ryan and I don’t have cable, but if you do, you must check it out on truTV. If you don’t laugh out loud, I will send you some cookies.
Question of the Afternoon
- Tell me about the best thing you ate and/or the best workout you did this weekend!
Best thing I ate: Coconut butter salmon and deep dish pizza! Best workout I did: Hiking with Ryan and Sadie.
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I have a Friends DVD waiting in my DVD player at all times… I think I’ve seen every episode 100 times but it never gets old!! Best workout was an outdoor workout involving tire flipping (never done that before – so sore!) and best eat was a ginormously random Whole Foods salad! Happy Monday!
OH WOW! I’m SO excited about the muffins recipe!! I will be staying tuned 🙂
Julie your weekend sounds a lot like mine! I watched more episodes of friends than I care to admit yesterday 😉 I also got in some baking! Clearly the greatest weekend activities 🙂
I had a stellar 18-mile run yesterday! And the best thing I ate was Coldstones. They have this new chocolate fudge ice cream and I got reese’s mixed in and it was amazzzing.
My best workout was doing a yoga clip on our Roku. I haven’t practiced yoga since I was pregnant two years ago. It felt amazing!
I have been all about the friends lately. I’ve seen it so many times I don’t really need to pay attention so its perfect to have on in the background while I blog or do other things. So I’m getting through the seasons pretty fast!
That’s exactly what I do. Friends will always be my alltime favorite show!
Ooooh deep dish pizza sounds so good! I’ve never had an authentic one, at least that I can remember, so I’d be totally willing to try it!
best thing I ate this weekend: juicy oranges! Oh man, they’re so good lately.
Love Chicago deep dish! What was your favorite spot when you lived there? Mine was Lou Malnatis… delicious thick crust without being greasy 🙂 Yum!!
Best thing I ate: cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory!
Best workout: running around with my niece and nephew.
Best thing I ate was also pizza! Woodfired margherita pizza with fresh basil from a place in NJ while visiting my parents. So good.
Best workout was HIIT on the treadmill followed by a little time on the elliptical and abs.
The best workout I got this week was a run outside! The weather warmed up in Austin and it was amazing to be in some sunshine. The best thing I ate was an almond flour muffin. Have a great afternoon!
My best workout of the weekend was a 2 mile hike with my sister in law’s family! It was beautiful outside, and we hit some serious sand dunes that made us all feel proud when we were done! I love hikes!
My best food – it’s a toss up. We had total spring fever, so my mom-in-law made strawberry shortcake, and we grilled pork chops outside. It was a little chilly out there at the grill, but nothing tastes better than grilled pork chops in January! HAHA!
I’m curious what your recipe is for the cupcakes with butter cream! I have the WORST time baking, but I wish I could. (I have literally liquified cookies before…..) But I keep trying! My husband LOVES butter cream! So if you have a good recipe, I would love to give it a try!
Yay I’m so excited for the recipes! The best thing I ate this weekend was that BLT Salad you posted last week. This weekend was low key in the exercise department, but I did go on a nice long walk with the pups!
My parents are both from Indiana, only 45 minutes from Chicago and my dad loves deep dish pizza. Ginos East has the option to order their deep dish and they ship it to you frozen. My mom did it for my dads birthday one year. Not the same as being there but definitely still delicious.
I am embarrassed how long it took me to find Sadie in that first picture. And I loooove Impractical Jokers!
I had some incredible shrimp tacos this weekend. And my husband can’t get enough of Impractical Jokers! I always fight it a little, but once he turns it on, I’m immediately cracking up!
I went out for some seriously delish pizza with my hubby last night. Ohhhh it was good! We ate it all though, so no leftovers, sadly. 🙂
That is my favorite friends episode EVER!!!! I also love how they get the apartment back lol
The best part was coming home to bed after work last night n knowing I was off today! 🙂 Made an incredible and super handy sardine and sundried tomato mayo salad today! Awesomeness!
OH MY GOSH that pizza looks heavenly!! I’m all about the Friends this weekend too!
Oooo… fried pickles! Yum! Also, I might start subscribing to Netflix solely for the ability to watch Friends! 😉
I’m excited for the cooking class recipe’s!! The best thing I ate was homemade lasagna I made!!! My favourite workout was going skating with my boyfriend and friends!! 🙂
Looks like you had a great weekend. It is really really hot here. I went running both Saturday and Sunday. I weighed myself before and after, because I wanted to check my water intake. I carried water, but both days, I lost 5lbs. each run. Now, of course I gained it back as soon as I started drinking again, but talk about a hot day. http://www.eatallovertheworld.com
I love hiking, looks gorgeous:)
I LOVE deep dish! My husband ( a New Yorker), claims it isnt pizza at all.
I can’t wait to go for hikes again, I hope when I move to Tallahassee I can find some good trails.
I love love Impractical Jokers!! The new season just started here in England and I can’t wait to watch it in an hour 🙂 Friends is also my favourite show, I never get sick of it, like ever!!
The best thing I ate this weekend was Bluebell’s “I Heart Chocolate” ice cream,
It’s chocolate ice cream with chocolate cake pieces, chocolate hearts, and chocolate sauce swirled in. It’s INCREDIBLE and so decadent!
Bo and I just watched EVERY season last year and I love that now I understand he and his sisters Friends jokes! That pizza looks ridiculous! The best thing I ate was the Russian caviar. I didn’t think I’d like it but when served on sweet, pancake, it was delicious!
One of my fav Friends episodes is the one after your fav, when the girls and boys are switching apartments, and Phoebe finds out she is pregnant. When Frank Jr. says “my sister is gonna have my baby!!!” I die everytime.
LOL! Yes!!
Our friends introduced us to Impractical Jokers too and we got hooked so bad we watched all of the seasons within a month! We love laughing so much! They are truly funny!
When Friends came on Netflix, that was the first episode I watched too, its so funny. My family is addicted to Impractical Jokers, some of it is so uncomfortably funny I cringe while watching. I was able to find a few online for free, I hope you can too!
Omg! My little sister got me hooked on impractical jokers! Its hilarious and perfect for when you want a tv show you don’t have to think about!
Best thing I ate: I went to Joe Muer Seafood before the Charity Preview for the NAIAS Auto Show with my bosses and got a salad, deviled crab balls, filet mignon and cheesecake! It was all so delicious (good weekend for eats)! Its a must if you’re ever in the Metro-Detroit area.
Best workout: I am completely obsessed with Barre, as usual. This weekend, our Barre studio is introducing a new Circuit 7 class and I’m pretty pumped up about it already!
Julie, have you checked out the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte? It is like day camp for adults! Zip-lining, mountain biking, ropes courses, and much more! My boyfriend and I made a day of it when we visited Charlotte last March and had an absolute blast.
http://usnwc.org/
it’s on our list of things to do soon!! we’ve heard the best things about it!
Did a 10.5 mile run (my furthest yet) on Saturday and a 30 mile bike ride on Sunday! I definitely earned all the “bad” food I ate this weekend…which included pulled BBQ chicken and cornbread. Oh and the Factory Meatloaf from Cheesecake Factory. Yummy! 🙂
My husband is obsessed with practical jokers! It is so funny!
I love Friends as well, that is the current show I am watching on Netflix! I had some frozen yogurt for “dinner” on Friday, definitely a highlight 🙂
I love Friends on Netflix! Such a fun 25 minute treat!
My husband and I absolutely love Impractical Jokers! We have been watching it for awhile and we actually saw them when they were touring a couple years ago.
Hikes with the perfect temperature are the best! It’s sunny without being too hot, and there’s a bit of a breeze. I wish days like that happened more often here.
I had Lou Malnati’s this weekend to try and compare it to Giordano’s, but it just didn’t hold up. If you ever come back to Chicago, let me know and we can hit up ALL the deep dish places.
I need to check in on Friends again. I haven’t watched it bc I’ve been worried that it won’t be as amazing as it was when I was younger, but I’ll have to check it out anyway just to be sure!
We had freezing rain ALL day yesterday. I didn’t get dressed or go outside. It was kind of nice.
The best thing I ate this weekend was the chili that my boyfriend made for dinner last night – he’s a really good cook so pretty much everything he makes is amazing!
I thought my boyfriend and I were the only impractical jokers fans! We watch it every night. We are obsessed. They are coming to the Wilbur theater in boston in April and I got us tix for my boyfriends bday which is also in April! He’s going to be so surprised. I can’t wait to see them live. Will let you know how they are live.
happy early birthday to Sadie!!!
impractical jokers gets us laughing hard for sure!
hope you had a great start to your week Julie!
Everyone is under the weather over here too! Are you rewatching FRIENDS starting with seasons 1??
Sad to say but I love fried pickles. 🙂
you and me both, my friend!
That deep dish pizza looks amazing! We went out for Charlotte Restaurant Week on Saturday to Pisces in midtown. It was my first time eating there and unfortunately, it wasn’t very good.
I’m soooo jealous of your mid 50 temperatures this past weekend. We hit 40 here in Chicago but it was still very windy so felt colder. I did enjoy some deep dish Lou’s though! Yum! Love chicago pizza! It does help with the winter blues.
I’m glad that you’ve found some good deep dish pizza in Charlotte! When I was away at school, I was happy to find a place in town that made Chicago-style hot dogs with Vienna Beef dogs. Simply the best! What is your favorite deep dish pizza in Chicago? My family’s always been partial to Giordano’s, but I’ve also found that I like Lou Malnati’s as well. For some reason, we’ve never had Gino’s East (probably because there really isn’t a location near us).
The best thing I ate this weekend… where do I even begin? I went to New Orleans with friends and I ate everything: red beans and rice with andouille sausage, a fried catfish and egg benedict, oysters on the half shell, grilled catfish, a crawfish/shrimp/crab omelette, truffle fries and panko shrimp, wine and cheese at the coolest outdoor wine bar, sea salt and olive oil covered dark chocolate, apple compote, and to top it all off today: a fried shrimp and oyster po boy. And of course drank all the things!
sounds amazing!
Funny – I ALWAYS turn on Friends after watching Homeland because I need a brain break and a little laughter after being so tense! (best thing I ate – incredible steak tips up in Freeport, ME; best workout – hike up in Maine)