New Years - Lancaster Style

Oh man, I really need to clean my room. It's really not lookin' good - clothes everywhere, starbucks and other mugs...mail...looks like it's going to be a Friday night in for this girl with laundry and organizing on the agenda.

But right now, laying under my covers on this Wednesday evening and doing a little blogging seems way better than anything else I can think of. Those two-a-day workouts must be really getting the best of me! I've decided I have some serious fitness goals for this year, so waking up at 545 almost everyday for a 615 spin class has been the norm, followed by work, and then closing the day with either spin, pilates or yoga...

Which reminds me, in addition to cleaning on my Friday night in, I also really need to sit and write my New Years Resolutions. It's a goal of mine to have my goals written. Yearly, monthly, weekly, daily goals - whatever it takes to help myself be a better person - whatever it takes to enrich my body, my mind and my soul.

Anyway, that brings me to wanting to share my New Years Celebrations. Another success with my girlfriends...

To celebrate the coming of a New Year - I headed to Amish Country to visit one of my very best friends, Marianne, in Lancaster so that we could bring in 2014 together. I love traveling East because I always get to see more than just one goodie - Meg came in from Philly to visit too.

I got their late Jan 30, so we had to spend all Jan 31 catch up, watch the most memorable moments recap on 'Kelly and Michael' (hilarious -  sometimes I wish I could stay home and watch daytime TV everyday), have a few failed attempts at getting a cute selfie...

these aren't tooooo bad...

but, we've done better.

We had an afternoon beer flight at my favorite spot in Lancaster, The Spring House Brewing Co. Taproom...

(I sipped on that fourth one from the left a little too soon ;-)

And we bought lots of lots of champagne for the celebrations...

For the evening, of course we had a great snack table...Thanks, Meg for the Tomato Pie (a Philly favorite). And Jamie, we missed you - but that dip your mom makes is there in the corner ;-)

We did lots of cheersing...

(champagne with sorbet...delicious)

We stepped back into our college days with lots of beer pong...but mostly we just got to enjoy each others company.

I am so blessed to have such amazing, beautiful friends...

xo, cheers, namaste,

MK

P.S. I figured I'd start the New Year off cooking so I made a New Years Day Breakfast for a hungry (maybe hungover ;-)) bunch...

(look at all those eggs!)

Happy (belated) 2014!

Laaaaancaster

So, I got to visit Lancaster this weekend. Despite it taking me three days to say the name properly - I had a blast. I didn't really know what to expect - I was surprisingly delighted. Lots of art, eats, Amish and craft beer.

I went to visit my friend Marianne who recently took a job in the area and she decided to move right into the heart of Lancaster City. I came on a great weekend, the weather was beautiful and when I arrived on Friday - it was First Friday - so all the galleries were free and open to the public. We got to walk and catch up along Gallery Row, just a few short blocks from her apartment:

 We passed Mack, the Coffee Man along the way:

After exploring some fantastic art at the many galleries, we missed the boat to eat at some of the restaurants on Gallery Row because we didn't have a reservation - but I have a list of places that I want to try on my next visit - one place that looked fantastic was Pour.  So, for our dinner we decided to just go with some cheese and crackers, yum:

The next day we visited the Lancaster Central Market - America's oldest farmers market. If I lived in Lancaster, I'm sure I'd be there every Saturday. Lots of fresh fruit, dairy and meat - and lots and lots of jam:

After our visit to the market, we ventured out to Lititz, a small town in Lancaster County recently voted "Americas Coolest Small Town"- true story. We did some eating and lots of thrifting:

Saturday night we visited The Taproom - a bar that serves beers from the Spring House Brewing Co: Never ever have I ordered a beer flight where every beer, I liked: 

My two favorite: Diabolical Dr. Wit and Braaaiins Pumpkin Ale. So excited for Fall and Pumpkin beers:

Sunday we had breakfast at a Lancaster favorite, Rachels Cafe and Creperie:

The crepes were good, I had a breakfast crepe with eggs, sausage, rice and salsa - it was good, but not gonna lie, I was a little dissapointed. I did have one of the best chai teas I've ever had - probably because the milk they used was delicious and local from Maplehofe Dairy:

After lunch we left the city to explore Amish country. It was a beautiful day to visit and it was very interesting and fascinating to view the culture. You know you've entered Amish Country when you share the road with horse and buggy:

In case you need clarification:

We even took a wagon ride ourselves - what dorks:

The farmland truly was breathtakingly beautiful:

So, all in all, a very successful and eventful weekend, relaxing too. It was nice to get away and I was excited to explore a new place. Looking forward to another visit!

cheers. xo,

MK