Happy Friday! Also, happy first official day of fall. I doesn’t exactly feel like fall down here, though. It’s been in the 80s every day this week. I’m pretty pumped to wrap up my visits in Charlotte this morning and head home to see Riley and the babies. I won’t be home long since I’m leaving again Sunday morning, but I’ll take 2 nights in my own bed!
There have been so many great things about this week, so let’s dive right into my favorite ones!
Small Town Murder Podcast
This podcast got me through my trip down to Charlotte and I plan on listening to it all the way back home today. Each episode is an hour long, so it’s definitely long enough to get the full story and keep you occupied. If you’re into true crime podcasts at all or like a little comedy thrown in, this is definitely one to check out.
Charlotte Marriott Southpark
My first time staying at this hotel was definitely a good one! My room was nice and spacious and had a great desk area that I worked at every afternoon after my visits.
Not to mention the awesome club lounge, complete with a huge coffee machine that made everything from plain coffee to lattes- including chai lattes- in less than 30 seconds.
It was pretty funny to see us all standing around it in the morning, marveling at its awesomeness.
Vegan/Vegetarian restaurants in Charlotte
So remember how I wanted to challenge myself to try new places and expand my vegan/veggie horizons? Well, it turns out that Charlotte is an awesome place to do that. I had great meals just about everywhere I went and I only ended up at Panera once, which is basically a travel-season record for me. My top 3 favorites were (in order):
All of the food here is vegan, so you never have to wonder if what you’re eating has any hidden animal ingredients. I went back again for dinner last night and it was just as good the second time around.
This was another all vegetarian/vegan restaurant that I ordered takeout from. I had their chimichanga, which was stuffed with Mexican spiced tofu, brown rice, and beans. The best part was the vegan cashew queso, though. No, it didn’t taste “just like real queso,” but I wasn’t expecting it to, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. I ended up eating the rest of it with a spoon, that’s how much I liked the sauce.
B. Good is a chain restaurant, with locations all over the world. Sadly, they aren’t in Williamsburg. They carried both meat and veggie/vegan options, so there was something there for everyone. What I loved about the company is that they work with local farms (and list them on their website), support sustainability, and cook seasonally.
I had their zucchini noodles with eggplant meatballs and it was the perfect lunch. The meatballs were so good I start looking on Pinterest for recipes to make my own. It would be really great if someone could loan me $600,000 so I can start my own franchise of this place in Williamsburg.
While I don’t see myself going completely vegan (or even completely vegetarian) any time soon, this week has helped me gain a new appreciation for the variety of flavors present in most plant-based diets. I want to start incorporating more of these flavors at home and maybe I can convince Chef Riley to help with the creative side of things!
Yoga One
I had to give a shout-out to this place since several of you recommended it. In case you’re wondering if I actually went, here’s what I looked like after the hot power flow class I took.
Red-faced and drenched in sweat. My upper body is also super sore after the 8 million chaturangas we did. I actually took a class at their new, second location in town, so it was still a bit dusty from the construction.
I loved the fact that the class was challenging (especially since I hadn’t been to a hot flow class in about 3 months!) and the teacher was super nice and remembered my name. On the down side, there was NO music, which is pretty much my worst nightmare. I need musical motivation! The flows also moved really fast, which I didn’t like. I know that’s pretty much the point of “Power” yoga, but I like to be able to breathe into moves and get my form right. I felt like by the time I got into it a pose we were already 3 moves ahead. I know a lot of people like that kind of class, though, so if you want a good cardio workout, definitely check them out!
Missio- Bottom of the deep blue sea
Speaking of music, this song has been on repeat in the car aaallll week! I couldn’t figure out why I loved it so much until Riley said he thought it was a Radiohead song. I love Radiohead, so I plan on checking out more of Missio’s music.
That about wraps things up for today! I’m looking forward to a quiet, albeit short, weekend. Have an awesome weekend, everyone!
What’s the last food challenge you did?
What’s your favorite thing from this past week?
What song are you currently loving?
