This morning, I woke up ready to get my sweat on.
Weekend workouts are usually hit or miss for me. Since I get the majority of my good workouts in during the week, I allow myself to be a little more lax on the weekends. Sometimes I take both Saturday and Sunday off, but if I have the time, I’ll take advantage and squeeze a little somethin’ somethin’ in.
Well, today I had the time, so I went for it. I hopped on the treadmill and switched things up a bit by doing the Insane Incline Run, which always…always…kicks my boo-tay.
I followed up this morning’s workout with a little 10lb. Slimdown Yoga. It felt really good to get my stretch on…but it didn’t feel so good to be covered with these by the time I was done…
I think it’s about time I invest in a new yoga mat, wouldn’t ya say? 
Does anyone have any good yoga mat recommendations out there???
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Post workout, I was more than ready for some breakfast, which was once again, enjoyed at the new table. It was the perfect balance: healthy & indulgent.
Not wanting to be stuck in yesterday’s dilemma, I made sure to brew up a big batch of iced coffee last night night before heading to bed. Refreshing and delicious.
Also refreshing and delicious? My fruit salad bowl, complete with honeydew, strawberries, and banana slices. Fresh cut fruit is always so so good, right?
To balance out my healthy fruit bowl, I had a little more of an indulgent plate: my last blueberry cake munchkin (aren’t you impressed they lasted?) and another chocolate chip banana muffin topped with peanut butter.
Of course, I heated it in the micro, so my dark chocolate chips were all nice and melty and immediately got stuck under my fingernails. 
Speaking of fingernails…I’m hoping to give myself a little bit of a manicure today. Even though 95% of the time I say this it never happens, I’m hopeful that today will fall into that 5%?
I’m gonna go get right on that…just as soon as I go grab another banana muffin.
Question for the Morning:
Do you ever treat yourself to manicures? Either at home or at a nail salon?
I’m more likely to do my own manicures, but I love getting pedicures at a nail salon. If for nothing else, the massaging chair that you get to sit in while getting them done is totally worth it…and the place I go to has some of the best pedicures I’ve ever gotten for only $20.00! I’ll tell ya…if I was employed, I’d probably be there once a week. 
hmmm finger nails…what are those?! LOL mine are sooo short I dont think I could do a mani if I wanted :(
and OMG your dark choc chip banana muffin looks soooooo good!
I have that exact same yoga mat! It hasn’t fallen apart yet though.
I don’t do manicures. My fingernails are for some reason very sensitive to being filed and I might as well be scratching a chalk board. I do love pedicures though! I haven’t had one in way too long!
I usually do my own manicures…but I agree with you on the pedicures. There is just no way I can do a good enough job at home on my feet! I do get nervous going to get them done because I got an infection on my feet from a bad pedicure once and it took forever to get my feet back to normal. I always get scared that they aren’t clean enough! lol
Which place do you go? I am always looking for recommendations!
I go to Nails ‘N’ Beyond on Hoosick St. – they do such a good job!! They even have where you can keep your own personal box there with files, etc. which I like. And you can’t beat the price! :)
My yoga mat is Gaiam and so far, so good. If you’re willing to spend more on it, Manduka mats are supposed to be awesome.
Those muffins look great! I think banana chocolate chip is my favorite muffin combo.
I was planning on doing an at home pedicure this afternoon!! I’ve gotten one professional manicure (a long time ago) and I ended up smudging the polish before I even got home. And I had a pedi when I was home for Christmas with my sister. It was fun, and my toes were pretty, but the place we went to was very expensive. I tend to just do my own pedis. And as for manicures, I do that every once in a while, but I usually just leave my nails plain, or a very neutral color because the polish never lasts very long.
If you do end up doing your manicure, I’d love to see the pics!!
I never do my own manicures. It looks like a 5 year old did it when I do try. I always have a pedicure from a salon but hardly ever do my fingers. It always peels or chips within a day or two and never seems worth it to me!
I know, isn’t that the worst?!?
I don’t have fingernails, lol. I’ve been biting my nails since I was like 2 or 3 and have yet to find that one thing that will get me to stop, unless it’s acrylic nails. When I had an out of the house job and no kids I’d get my nails done every 2 weeks (I had acrylics) and though the summers I’d get a pedicure. I have an issue with my big toenails, they don’t really grow past the end of my toe so my nail tech would actually make me a longer toenail using acrylics. *sigh* I wish I had the money to get my nails done again. I can’t seem to be able to paint my own nails, it always looks like I gave the polish to my 4 year old, lol. Oh well, someday, once I finish school, I’ll be able to start getting professional pedi’s again.
I am more of a pedicure fan, and treat myself to maybe 3-4 a year more during the summer months or if we have a special occasion!
I’m in the market for a good yoga mat too! Clarabelle (Cat) has dug her claws into mine, lol!
YES! Cody loves mine too :)
In Mumbai, getting manicure /pedicures done is pretty cheap- 20 bucks for both so I have them pretty often! I was actually meant to go to the salon today but as it was pouring all day, I settled on a DIY version :)
Your pictures are so bright and cheerful today. They made me smile :-)
Yes, I do treat myself mani/pedis…although, I live in NYC so I probably shouldn’t because I can’t reeeeally afford it. The good thing here, is due to so much competition, there are a lot of good deals!
Looks like a very balanced breakfast :) I got my last yoga mat from Target for only $10 and it has lasted a long time!
Hahaha…that’s where mine is from… ;)
I have a Jade yoga mat and I would highly recommend it! Jade is eco-friendly sustainable rubber mats made in the US. You will never slip or lose grip on this mat no matter how much you might sweat! They are a little pricey but totally work it. I’ve had mine for 4 years and its still going strong, all I do is wipe it down with wipes to clean.
http://www.jadeyoga.com/store/yoga-mats-execise-mats-pilates-mats/
I started going to a nail salon to get Shellac done. It’s like a regular nail polish, but it lasts for so long. I’m goin on 3 weeks now, and they still look great. There’s nothing worse than getting a mani and its chipped in days.
Yes! I got that done once too, but unfortunately I think it was the girl’s first time and mine chipped sooner than it’s supposed to :-/
I usually do my own mani/pedis. I actually like it better than getting my nails done, but I do love those massage chairs!
Hahaha I loved the picture of your shoulder and some specks of the yoga mat ;-)
At first I wasn’t too sure what that was!
I agree with you! I’d much rather get a pedicure!!
All those eats look deliciousssss!
Those muffins look so jammy!!
I got my yogamat from Nike ( Nike yo-girl yogamat) It’s super and it’s pink ;)
I bought mine for 28 euro ( about 35-40 dollars) But I guess in the US this will be cheaper..
I don’t ever get a manicure at the salon (I can just do it myself at home) but pedicures are a MUST-HAVE! I find it extremely relaxing, especially when they offer a complimentary glass of champagne (I mean who would say NO to that!?) :)
Woah woah woah…complimentary champagne?!? I need to find myself a salon like yours! ;)
I always just give myself manicures at home. I figure they last just as long anyways and I can splurge an buy the OPI nail polishes and expensive top coat :-)
Have a happy Sunday!
When I started my job at the beginning of the year, one of my co-workers goes, ”
you know what I’ve noticed about you? You always have your nails painted!” So, yes I do self-manicure myself regularly :)
My weekend workout philosophy is also the same as yours, you need a break sometime right?!
I have to admit, I am the biggest sucker for mani/pedis! I can never seem to do my nails as well on my own.
I never do my nails. They never last. I don’t get them done either cause it’s just too much money cause I ruin them so fast. Your muffin looks awesome!! :)
I laughed at your last sentence because that’s exaaaactly what I thought after reading your question: If I were employed I’d get a professional mani/pedi every other week! Oh college…
I would love to do my own manicure but have no idea how. Maybe you could do a post on how you do it for those of us less creative readers? : )
Hmmmm…I’ll have to see about that one! ;)
how do you get up and workout on no food/water? i always am so tired and have no energy!! I love getting my nails done i do them myself because im trained!! xx
It depends on the day…if it’s early enough, then it doesn’t bother me. But like today, I snacked on a couple handfuls of cereal before getting started.
pedicures are theeee best! that is one thing i will splurge on instead of a manicure, for sure.
nothing is better than an iced coffee in the summer! your banana muffin looks fantastic! i may have to whip up a batch of banana cupcakes bc now i’m craving banana baked goodness!!!
I usually do my manis at home and treat myself to pedis every few months but i’m going to miami Friday so I’m going to try the new Shellac Thursday to see how it does. i hope it doesn’t tear up my nails. I haven’t had acrylics in years.
I love getting my nails done nut on a college budget it doesn’t happen much! I was actually thinking about doing an at home mani and pedi today also because I need one very veyr badly!
Your cat looks identical to mine, mine is just a baby version!! I just had to give him a humidifier treatment in our bathroom because he gets seasonal allergies…he loooves the steam so much that he lays on his back and rolls around on the bathmat.
Oh my gosh, that must be so adorable!!
LOVE putting my chocolate chip muffins in the microwave before taking a bit. so melty and warm :)
I totally agree. Whenever I tell myself I’m going to do a manicure/pedicure, I end up realizing I don’t have enough time or just not patient enough to do it. But then the nail salon’s foot massages creep me out! It takes a lot for me to let someone else touch my feet ;)
Oh really? I LOVE them!! I totally pay the extra $10.00 for the 20 minute foot massage. Ahhhhhh :)
i used to get mani/pedis at a nail salon every month, but recently it’s been months and months since i went…i went last month and discovered gel nails! LOVE them! they last so much longer than a regular manicure! :)
For DIY manicures I love the Sally Hansen Salon Effects. It takes less than 20 minutes, and they have GREAT patterns! Plus it lasts for 10-14 days! When I feel like pampering myself I go to a salon and get gel mani/pedis! The gel polish lasts 3 weeks on my fingers and 2 months on my toes!!
With ya on the massage chairs, for sure! I almost always do my own manicures, though. I feel like they chip so much faster when I get them done at a nail salon. I wonder why?
I have a Tapas Mat Yoga Mat that I got over 10 years ago. I can’t remember where it’s from, but it’s still sticky and doesn’t have any pieces coming off of it. I think I might have paid $20 for it? Definitely a good one! :)
I’m not a fan of manicures, but I LOVE getting pedicures at the salon! there’s one near my work that’s BYOB….it’s a great after-work activity with some of the girls I work with.
I have the Align Ultra Mat from Lululemon, and it’s amazing! (and surprisingly not super expensive, compared to the rest of the stuff there :) )
I’m looking for a yoga mat, too. Let me know what ya find! :)
I just had a conversation about needing both a manicure and pedicure today! I think this time of year it’s time to spoil yourself a bit… let your feet feel pretty after being covered up all winter!
The Manduka Pro mat. it’s a bit heavy and xlong in length but totally worth the price! i love mine!!!And it has a life time guarantee so you’ll never have to spend money on another one again!! :-)
I really like my Gaiam mat from Target. Tried three different brands after my cat destroyed my old one (it’s now kept on top of a very high bookshelf), and found Gaiam to be best in terms of no-slipping and thick enough for cushioning on the hardwood floors of the yoga room in my gym.