My Inspiring Weekend: Part B- Healthy Living Summit Day 1

After my student's show, I booked it to Penn Station to catch a late night train to Philly. I walked from 30th St Station to the Downtown Marriott (our host hotel), picked up my key at the front desk. I've only ever emailed with my HLS roomies, and they were all asleep when I got to the room (understandably, as it was LATE). It's wierd putting on pajamas, brushing your teeth and washing your face in a room full of sleeping people you've never met. It's even weirder to snuggle up next to one of those people and go to sleep. Good thing my roomies are AWESOME. :) 

Breakfast was fantastic! Sponsored by Attune Foods, I enjoyed some fresh fruit, a bowl of Uncle Sam Honey Almond Cereal and Strawberry Cereal (because I'm a mixmaster) with soymilk, a Stonyfield Farms Oikos Drinkable Yogurt in Honey Vanilla and a Tazo Earl Grey with Soymilk. Ahhhhhh.

We did a fun ice breaker to kick the day off- bingo, Healthy Living Summit Style! We had to find another blogger who fit each category- the first one with bingo won a Lululemon gift certificate! Sweet!

Then it was off to our breakout sessions- I attended Budgeting for a Healthy Lifestyle and Rising Above Negativity. After a discussion on creating Action Mantras with Dawn Jackson Blatner, it was time for lunch!

It. Was. Delicious. And I ate enough for two people. The bread, from Great Harvest Charlottesville, was the best bread I have ever put in my mouth ever. Holy Moly. Thanks, Kath!

I got to chat with Krissie of Philly Nerd Girl- she's awesome!

Mmmm.... iced tea....

I snagged some coffee before the keynote speaker (Dawn Jackson Blatner) and head that Evan was giving out brownies! I snagged a peanut butter one- SO. YUMMY. 

Quaker Oats sponsored a snack break, and I JAMMED OUT on this rice cake topped with almond butter and peanut butter. Awwwww yeahhhhh.

In the afternoon I attended The Numbers Game: Motivation for Goals In and Out of Numbers and Monetizing Your Blog (Without Selling Out).  I loved all the sessions I attended, and heard great things about the ones I missed!

How awesome are these collage boards?! Can you find me?

After closing remarks, we headed up to our room to drop off our bags. 

 Holy swag! I'll go into detail in another post about all the awesomeness we received!

We freshened up a bit, and then it was off to explore Philly! I had been once before for the 2009 Irish Step Dance World Championships, so I was eager to do more exploring. 

We swung by the liberty bell!

And then headed down Market Street in search of food. The Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar had something each of us would enjoy, so we stopped in! 

The menu is set up tapas-style and dishes are organized on the menu by size, but something had already caught my eye when we checked out the menu posted near their door. 

 Cheesesteak Eggrolls with Crispy Onions and Sriracha Ketchup. True story. 

 I was a happy girl. 

 The gooey, creamy and salty cheese and chewy, savory beef contrasted perfectly with the satisyfing eggroll crunch of the wrapper, and the addition of the Sriracha ketchup made a good dish amazing. The combo tasted like the love child of a jalapeno popper and a roast beef sandwich. Heaven. 

We were pretty full after dinner, but I INSISTED we continue on a block to one of my fondest memories of my last Philly trip...

 The Franklin Fountain! Old school confectionery and ice cream shoppe! Expensive, but delicious. 

 I got the Homemade Hot Fudge, which was wonderful in every way, though I found myself longing for the Mt. Vesuvius that I had savored years ago. Next time...

 Mindy got one too, and she approved! :)

With full and happy bellies, we strolled back to the hotel to relax, chat, speculate on life and politics, read and sleep. 

My Roomie Dream Team! From L to R:

Sarah from Going on Goals

Mindy from Just a One Girl Revolution

Theresa from This Is My Hungry Face

Moi

Stay tuned for Day 2 and my takeaways! :)

Sushi Date, Baking and the WORST RUN EVER.

I was able to cross a few more things off of yesterday's TO-DO list! :)

I got to the gym and hopped on the treadmill for what turned out to be one of my worst runs in a lonnnnnng time. It was the perfect storm of upset stomach, severe sleep deprivation, dehydration and not keeping up on my training. I had to PUSH for three miles. Embarassing. "Hey Keelie, weren't you just doing 10 mile runs?" "Yep." "And don't you have a 1/2 marathon coming up in like a week?" "Yep." Oyyyy.

After my craptastic run I ran to the grocery store to pick up supplies. I spent the rest of the evening baking for my babies- a special treat for today, which is their show and my last day teaching before embarking on a new journey. Expect a VERY weepy post in the VERY near future about how these munchkins (the kids, not the cookies) have changed my life. I ate enough batter to make myself nauseous. In a good way. 

 I made THESE Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies from Heidi Bakes- I've seen recipes for GIANT oreo cc cookies with an entire oreo in them, but my students definitely do not need that much sugar... These turned out great! I'll let you know what the kids think of them. 

 Gyoza! (Did you know I'm a dumpling snob? One of my best friends in life (who sadly has relocated to Hawaii) and I are dumpling connosieurs of the most discriminating quality- our favorites are the 5 dumplings for $1 in Sunset Park- Brooklyn's Chinatown). These were OK, though. 

 Hand rolls! Sweet potato and mango/ avocado (MY FAVORITE ROLL ON EARTH). Delicious!

I'm sort of packed for the Healthy Living Summit. My train doesn't leave until 10p tonight (have fun at the cocktail party, homies) so I'll have a little bit of time after my kid's show to finish packing. 

If you're attending HLS this weekend and are based out of NYC or the surrounding areas, HOLLA AT ME about the upcoming NYC BLOGGER PLAYDATE!

Healthy Living Summit Blogger Spotlight

C'est moi! :)

Check it out here!