Summertime and livin's easy

We’re having an Indian summer over here in London- whaaat whaaat! (hands are up in the air) :-) 

Don’t ask me why but “summertime and livin’s easy” Sublime song just came up in my head. I love that song! I just took our dog outside this morning and it is REALLY nice outside and it’s only 10 a.m. I would have expected the weather to turn on us already but it hasn’t. This makes me extremely happy!

Now if only I could shift to externally display this happiness. It’s hard to be happy when you just feel tired all day.

Yesterday was no exception. Even though T had gotten 3 hours of sleep, he stepped out and got lunch for us.  A few of our favorite things.

beef Jamaican patty- it was somewhat dry

Everything tasted just okay. We might have been spoiled by all the wonderful Jamaican food we had at Notting Hill's Carnival this past August. This just doesn't compare..

I'm not sure of the name of the place but it was some place further down Caledonian road from our flat. Based on what we ate, I don't think we'll be making another visit :(

The flavor of the Jerk chicken was there but the meat was dry and that didn't really help bring out the spices.

The curried goat had the same problem, everything just tasted dried out and not as fresh. I did enjoy the rice and peas tho!

we also had some spicy chicken wings on the plate. Talk about a healthy lunch!! ;)

After lunch, I took a long nap and rehearsed some moves for my Zumba class I taught later that night. 

Dinner was just some reheated leftovers from lunch and chinese the other night. I also sauteed some mushrooms for the veggie portion of the meal.

mushrooms sauted in: evoo, fresh minced garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, and siracha= yum!!

I got part of my amazon shipment yesterday, wee hoo! I've recently discovered how convenient and cheap things can be when ordered through Amazon.... uh oh.. this could get veerry dangerous real quick!

breakfast this morning: scrambled eggs w. ketchup and 1/2 of the butt end of whole wheat toast. Does anyone like eating the butt end of bread? I guess I don't particularly mind that much, but I think most people just toss them.

I later made myself a smoothie because I thought I was still hungry (aka my stomach was making noise). But it's still gurgling! Oops- I think I may have mistaken dehydration for hunger.. argh!!

at least the smoothie was peanut buttery delicious. And check out that awesome color!

In the VITAmix:

• soy milk
• frozen blueberries
• frozen banana
• heaping scoop of smooth, no sugar added peanut butter
• generous squeeze of agave nectar
• toppings: a little muesli and dark chocolate chips

Fun workout to do: Tone it Up's Rush workout. I'll be saving this for another day because I'm going to PUNCH today! Can't wait to get some of those exercise endorphins running through my body later.
http://toneitup.com/blog.php?RUSH-WORKOUT-5188

Carnival 2011

Getting ready for the big day... Halloween 2011 baby here we come! Although, by the looks of it, Noms is not quite sure what the big fuss is about!

Twerk work it girl! Work it!!  :)

Over the long bank holiday weekend, I made 2, yes ya heard me right-TWO trips to Carnival

We figured it was such a nice Saturday (minus the brief scatters of rain) that it'd be a shame to miss such a huge event. It was nice, especially after the violent rioting to see so many people gathered in one place getting along.

I’m not gonna lie tho, all you need is one day to experience all the music, food, and loud atmosphere!

Big OOPS of the day- I got suckered into £12 jerk chicken the moment we arrived at the festival. Okay so I admit I had the chance to walk away once she told me the price but I seriously was such a chicken (no pun intended) to tell her NO! Blergh.. most places were selling meals for £5-10.

I broke my GF diet to eat this delicious flour Jamaican beef patty that was O' so delicious! Mmmm MMMM how I missed that wonderful taste of white flour!

Everything we ate was so freaking delicious!

random dog shot!

I love everything about Jamaican food; the spices, jerk rub, plantains, rice/beans and the curries! Yuum!

Woo hoo!! I found salsa dancers :) :) This scene makes me so happy!

I had to answer this question "What do you love about London?" to get this vuvuzela. Uhm, I love everything from the dining scene, music, culture, and travel accessibility. I've pretty much fallen in love with London and don't ever want to leave!!

WORD!

There were a ton of music stations blasting all kinds of music from house, rap, and hip hop.

POOH, is that you!?!? I'm such a 5 year old girl sometimes..

Back to basics: I must have been missing some of that spicy food because I was craving hot sauced eggs in the morning! lol..

Bt dubs- don't ever run on a full stomach DUH!! I ran 30 minutes huffing and puffing along... I think my inner (sometimes outer) dialogue went something like this "you can do it", “just a few more minutes","come on Hanna, push yourself!” "CHANGE IS UNCOMFORTABLE!!!!!”

Back to the Carnival we go!

I didn't take many pictures since I took SO many unnecessary ones on Saturday. They all ended up looking the same; lots of unknown faces and huge crowds but hey, I know these ladies!

We did the walking, dancing, and eating thang for a few hours then left with the intention of seeing One Day.  On our way out of the Carnival, we ended up at a yummy gelato place called Dri Dri in Notting Hill.

I got a compow of two flavors- salted caramel and pistachio (my usual go to). Delish!

Theeeeeeeeeeeeen the ladies decided they needed one more sweet fix stop! Maison Blanc it is! Three desserts were ordered to share but I unfortunately had to pass since they weren't gluten free. Sad face :(

the whole not eating part didn't stop me from taking pictures of these wonderful creations!

Loooove the beautiful colors!

Strangely, I was ravenously hungry when I got back home later that night.. Imagine that!

Dinner was a bunch of leftovers from the weekend.

lamb to put on top of the hummus

goat cheese naan

falafel and curry shrimp rice

Guess whose plate is for me.... maybe the red stuff will give it away!! I also had some GF garlic and coriander naan that was just okay by itself but tasted even better with hummus.

Breakfast this morning then GYM TIME!

In the oats mix:

• 1/3 cup GF oats
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• banana
• agave syrup
• sprinkle of cinnamon and a pinch of salt
• toppings: dark chocolate chips, spoonful of almond butter