Pennsylvania. A Food Review Part 3

This has the vibes of where I was at in PA.

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So I write here today another couple restaurants that I visited on my trip to Pennsylvania.

Oori a Korean Restaurant in Pottstown, PA. I got my tried and true: BiBimBap and it was delicious! I was surprised at the quality and taste in such a tiny town. I will say that I’ve had better kimchi, but I’m not sure if that is something made in house or something they buy, it could be a bit sharper.

I’d give Oori a 4/5. I need to ask more questions about their dairy free options because I’d want to try something different next time.

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Deliciously Dairy Free.

I made my way to downtown Pottstown (which is quite a bit different than the area of Pottstown that Oori is located at) to visit the iCreate Cafe. This was an entirely vegan restaurant, which is always a plus for me, since I know I won’t get dairy’d.

I ordered a smoothie, the Peanut Butter Dream Shake and I also ordered the Cheese Steak Panini. Both were delicious! The shake could be a little bit thicker but with an Almond Milk base, I expected it to be a little thin. I ordered my cheese steak with the black bean patty and was really pleased it wasn’t dry. I would order from here again but I wouldn’t go by myself.

The area is a little sketchy and I had a creeper hanging out by my car when I was coming back with my takeout order. Creepy enough where I walked on the opposite side of the road when I saw him coming down and taking his time once he saw me. I don’t fault the restaurant for this though! The atmosphere in the restaurant was very welcoming (if not a little warm, why is there not more AC in PA???) and the cook was super friendly while preparing my order. I’d get stuff from there again but maybe I’d bring a friend too! 3.5/5

Pennsylvania. A Food Review, Part Deux.

Part 2 of my culinary adventure. We travel to Allen Town, PA. Where I cross two restaurants off my list.

Chen Vegetarian. A vegan Chinese Restaurant. I love this concept. I find Chinese food pretty heavy feeling after eating it so finding a healthier lighter version using plant based foods is amazing. Luckily it was right along the main strip of Allen Town as I walked around a bit and shopped.

I got a carrot, apple, beet, and ginger juice and some steamed dumplings. I wish I would’ve taken a pic of the dumplings….the skins were bright green! They looked crazy. The juice was super refreshing as I had been traipsing around in the heat for quite a bit by the time I stopped. 8/10 would totally go again and get some takeout. Unfortunately I wouldn’t eat in the restaurant during the summer because like many places in PA…no Air Conditioning. It was so stuffy in there. The food was delicious though!

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This mural is so fun!

Takki Ramen! A little of the main beaten path in Allen Town but still easy to get to. I placed my take out order and waited in this cute little restaurant and enjoyed the ambiance. I got Karaage Chicken and Black Garlic Tonkatsu Ramen. 10/10 would eat there again. The chicken was spicy but the perfect amount where you wanted to keep eating it and the Ramen was beautifully packaged and traveled really well. Pork Belly is so good! A bonus…I got to eat someone’s leftovers for lunch the next day and got to eat the Sukiyaki Beef Udon. Also fantastic.

Enjoying my Karaage Chicken.

It was a bit of a heft to get to Allen Town but I’m glad I made the trek. I believe there was another restaurant over there I wanted to try but never got the chance so next time!

Pennsylvania. A Food Review, Part 1

Pennsylvania has become a large part of my life in the last few years, while I don’t live there I end up traveling there once a year, barring any pandemics. I usually don’t end up doing too much so I decided that this year was the Year of Restaurants.

I am dairy-free due to an allergy and this does make finding food and travel a little difficult sometimes. I’ve been doing a lot of Googling to try to figure out more restaurants and foods that I can eat at, which is hard in rural Pennsylvania.

So I Googled and made a list (mostly vegan restaurants, it’s just easier sometimes) and really worked into trying as many as I could on my trip.

In no particular order here are the first 2 restaurants I’m reviewing because these are the ones I have had before (and I forgot to take a picture of one!)

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I can’t believe the Squarespace Image Library had this photo.

Wawa is a tried and true place I go to every time I’m in PA. It’s a Gas Station and Cafe essentially for those who don’t know. They have an easily accessible allergen menu (though they’ve updated it in a way that is not very user friendly in my opinion) and I can order with no worries about being dairy’d.

I rate Wawa a 9/10. There are many locations and you can order ahead of time. My Italian style sub I got was delicious and they had garlic knots I could eat. My only complaint is whenever I order ahead my order s never where it should be and it makes it confusing.

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Rita’s Italian Ice! A beloved summertime snack. I’m so sad I can’t have the custard but the different and various flavors of ice makes up for it. I usually get a flight because I feel like one order of one flavor is almost too much of that flavor. A flight is perfect. So nice that I had it twice while I was there! The flavors I got were Cherry, Blue Berry, Cotton Candy, and Blue Raspberry.

10/10. Delicious and with many locations.

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Bonus Content: I Bought a Travel Water Cup from Wawa (I’ve purchased two before, for hot drinks) and I have to say this is the best giant water cup I’ve bought for AWHILE. Also: Look how sexy it is just fitting into my water dispenser.

Oooh, That’s the stuff.

Bedroom Renovation Part 6

My Lamp is here!

Did I need this lamp? No.

Did I buy this because it looked like Gala? Yes.

The Beauty in Question.

Bedroom Renovation Part 5

The Very Embarrassing Before Picture. The only big one I’m posting.

After refurbishing my furniture, hanging curtains, removing doors, painting, wallpapering, and buying a locker I still had a couple things to do.

1) Rug, I’m over the bathmat for Braeburn.

2) Bedding for the new aesthetic. I wanted the whole bedding shebang…comforter, blankets, decorative pillows. The works.

These are the 2 things that took the longest to make decisions on. I went in person to so many places. Macy’s, Kohls, World Market, Pier 1, Kirklands, Target, etc. etc.

I thought I had found some bedding at Target…reviews showed that they literally felt apart after 2 washings, that wasn’t going to work. I thought I found a comforter at Macy’s…THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND NO PILLOW SHAMS????

I asked my Mom for bedding suggestions and she said the same places I had gone to see.

I decided to peruse Home Goods, primarily for their rugs but maybe I’d get lucky. Rugs were a no go but I did get lucky for bedding and accessories. I got baskets for my locker for clothing, I also got baskets to hold my decorative pillows when not in use on my bed, I got a comforter, I got shams, I even got snacks that day. All for less than the comforter at Macy’s.

The rug fell into my lap a bit. I had looked online at Flor (Carpet Tiles, we’ve used them in several areas of the house…they are good when you need to replace or clean them with dog accidents or illness, our house even came with some already) but the only ones I had liked were way too expensive. But then…the catalog came in the mail while I was redoing my room and they were introducing some new colors and it was waaaaay cheaper than when I had originally looked and I decided to go left field with the colors. I had been looking for a beige or cream rug but when I saw the colors in the catalog I swiftly switched course and I’m so happy that I did.

Here is a slideshow of the After Photos. I’m just pleased with this space. I’ve made my bed every day since redoing my room, my laundry stays caught up on and I’ve even cleaned and organized my drawers too. It is such a peaceful and tranquil space. I never even used to have the windows open because it was just open to the outside so I never even got light in there. But now with the sheers no one can see in and it lets in beautiful light.

Even just walking past it in the hallway I still love it.

While the bulk of the work is done, I’m still looking for a few things decor-wise. I’m waiting for a Lamp for the mirror dresser that I ordered awhile ago. I want to hang my branch weaving up again but I’m unsure where. I bought some beautiful brass statues of some pheasants at an estate sale but don’t know what kind of shelves or where to put them at in here, and I have a painting I want to re-mat and frame to better match the room. Also maybe some new lampshades for my lamps because one is a bit busted but you can’t tell from looking, haha.

It’s time for a break! I wonder what room I’ll do next.

Bedroom Renovation Part 4

I redid my nightstands so I could better understand how to use the contact paper before I did the big dresser. I was so scared to do this one since it is so heavy to work with. You can see the original legs at the bottom with this too. They are bulbous and ugly and just did not go with the style.

I purchased the same legs I got for the nightstands except in 4 inch length and not 2 inch length, I thought I purchased the same knobs but they were much smaller than I had anticipated which I feel worked out in the end because there is so many knobs on this thing it would have over powered the dress front.

New knobs, still a mess though.

The finished product.

I had to remove the mirror and drawers in order to switch out the legs. Something I didn’t mention previously is that I had to paint the legs. I ordered a dark walnut color and let me tell you NONE of the legs I received were dark walnut. I’d say the 2 inch ones were a mid tone wood and the 4 inch legs were Cherry colored. So I spray painted everything to match.

When my parents last visited them I was able to show them my recently finished room and they thought I had removed the tops of the dressers and added REAL MARBLE. I’m gonna call that a win on the type of vinyl I chose and how good of a job I did installing it.

It also looks amazing with the wood and the wall paper and the curtains. The room was really coming together at this point.

Bedroom Renovation Part 3

Before anyone gets mad at me: I did remove the doors. I still HAVE the doors. They are in a storage area in my basement. I would never just get rid of the solid wood original doors of my 1950s house. I also took a set of these off in my office so I can actually access my art supplies. I still have those too.

Another issue in my room was the closets and not being able to get at all of clothes when I wanted to find something or put items away. They had to go. I had thought about getting some different doors but then I watched an Architectural Digest video on YouTube and decided to move into a different direction.

ooooh.

I still need to get a steamer but the wrinkles are disappearing.

I can open these curtains all of the way and access my entire closet. It’s beautiful. You might be wondering, why didn’t you go all the way to the center? One reason is ease of access to the light switch for the closets another reason that this was actually Try Number Two to get these to actually stay on the wall. The whole thing fell down, the curtains are nice and heavy and I had to repair the wall and get extra curtain rod holders with new dry wall anchors to get this to stay up. It’s solid now but it definitely took some effort.

You can see I’ve painted the walls white in this photo too, no more blue gray color.

And because I don’t want to wait on to what I did with the accent wall. The whole room is white except for the longest and most unbroken wall in the room.

Before.

It’s a Toile! But it has a woodsy jungle in it with lions, parrots, antelope, deer….it is so pretty and I love it so much.

Did I have an existential crisis hanging it? Absolutely.

After.

Do I regret it? Absolutely not. It took the whole day and an additional trip to Home Depot but I got it hung and done. It is a pattern I never would have chosen before. It is completely out of my wheel house of design and style but it makes so much sense in my bedroom.

You can also see the white cover for my AC vent right at the bottom. They had been repainted a gross brown so I spray painted them white, which I also had done in my office before. I love the clean look next to the wood flooring.

Bedroom Renovation Part 2

One problem area of my bedroom was where to put the interim clothing. Clothing that wasn’t quite dirty enough to wash but I still wanted it to air out a bit before it gets put away.

I never had this problem in the past because of one reason. All of my other places I’ve lived had walk in closets. Closets that were big enough to hold all of my clothing with room to spare and air out. They didn’t have walk in closets in the 1950s when my house was built so I’ve had this problem ever since I moved in. I thought this ladder would work.

It did not.

So maybe I’ll buy a wardrobe dress that can hang clothing! The only one I had found that I even remotely liked was from West Elm. It was THOUSANDS of dollars.

I couldn’t pull the trigger so I kept shopping and looking.

I happened upon a Company called Mustard and they make pretty metal lockers. All sorts of colors and styles and I fell in love.

It was hard to pick a color and because I hadn’t repainted or hung my wallpaper up it was hard to choose something that would go but I went with my heart and my gut and ended up with:

It’s BEAUTIFUL.

Before I go any further I have to say that this thing was packaged immaculately. I’ve never seen such a smartly packaged piece of furniture. I had to put it together, it came in two flat packs. Ikea could learn from this company. Absolutely kudos to them.

This thing solves all of my problems and as of this writing I’ve been using this for 2 months now. It works and has kept working.

Problem 1: Messy clothes

Solution: Doors to hide the clothing but the clothes are organized with hangers and shelves and baskets now.

Problem 2: Airing the clothes out

Solution: This thing has ventilation slats.

Problem 3: Putting clothes away when it’s time

Solution: Now that the clothes are organized inside when I need to put clothes away I can just move hangers from here into my closet and then grab the empty hangers to put back into the lockers, rinse and repeat.

I love this thing so much I’m thinking of getting ANOTHER one for my entry way to keep my coats and boots in.

Bedroom Renovation Part 1

Not me, but the feeling is there.

So my bedroom was a mess.

I was never happy with it. I had gotten a new bed and frame several years ago that I love, but my Comforter never really went with it, my bedroom furniture while perfectly utilitarian left a lot to be desired looks wise. I had a bathmat on the floor because my doberman needed it to be able to jump up on the bed without skidding out. I also had a clothing ladder that was always a mess.

I reached a breaking point. I needed a change. I never even really was cleaning it because I was just so unhappy with it I didn’t know what to do.

I’ve done this twice so far in my house. When I redid part of my basement (not a finished basement but nice enough to use now!) and then my office. I adore my office. I moved into a smaller room in my house for my office and made it the most cozy of spaces for me. Bright white and pastel pink walls. White Cork boards to hold interim projects and supplies. Multiple types of wood tones to bring in different levels of light and dark textures. My gallery wall of art. A cozy loveseat for me, but mostly for Braeburn.

Case in Point.

I knew I wanted a change for my bedroom. I needed a change for my bedroom.

The first thing I wanted to tackle was the furniture. Namely the nightstands. When I purchased my new bed it was quite a bit lower than my nightstands so I removed the legs and they were just sitting flat on the floor forever. I started shopping for new nightstands. Then I saw how much a nice nightstand is. $$$$$

How about a refurbishment instead. I’m pragmatic like that.

Before. Flat on the ground, dark wood, dark knobs. Boring.

I found some two inch mid century modern style wood legs, just enough to get the dressers off the floor, I watched several videos of how to use contact paper on rounded corners and then purchased a fancy marble vinyl contact paper (not the usual white and gray marble style, but a marble that had purples and gold flecks in it) and then bought some gold sphere knobs so they would pop out on the front and add some contrast but also bring in the gold from the marble top.

The Gold Knobs are already making this look better.

Contact Paper added. I ordered a roll wide enough where I didn’t have to worry about seams on top of the table.

Legs! We have lift off.

This was only the beginning. I had a whole other dresser. I wanted new paint, I picked a wall paper (I’ve never done it before!) I wanted a rug instead of a bathmat, I wanted something else for my messy clothing ladder. I even wanted something other than the sliding doors for my closets (which I could only access half a closet at one time). I wanted actual bedding so I could be fancy and make my bed look nice. I embarked on a journey.

Spoiler Alert: I LOVE LOVE LOVE my bedroom now. I can’t wait to share more!

The Anniversary of My Lost Dutchman Marathon Experience

Finisher’s Medal for the Full Marathon.

The Lost Dutchman Marathon 2012

So on February 19th, 2012 I ran a marathon. I’ve blogged about previous races that I’ve done but this, THIS was the one that this was all for. I trained for 23 weeks to run a marathon. I ran a 12k, a half marathon, and a 5k, in preparation for the race. I ran for hours every Sunday building up mileage, every Tuesday I upped my time training in speed and hills (mostly hills), on Thursdays I built up slowly with regular running. For 23 weeks I ran 4 days a week. I only missed ONE run due to illness and if I couldn’t do it on the day I rescheduled my week and made sure I got it all in. I did stretching, yoga, ice baths, ice packs, reading and more reading, juices and gels. Then I went and did the cutting back at the end, the wind down, so I could heal and have all my energy for the race. I was full of panic, thinking this was going to hurt me in the marathon, I was going to lose my running ability, but I did not…

And I ran a marathon. In the mountains. There was elevation changes, terrain changes, weather changes, and it was crazy. It took me a while to write this blog because it was such an immense event in my life I needed it all to settle and I needed to remember the event as best as I could. So let’s start the night before the race…

I had everything ready. My number was pre-pinned to my shirt (Batman, naturally), my running socks and shoes together, all of the pins for my hair, my water pack filled and snacks put in, I even premade a smoothie to drink in the morning, since I knew actual food was not an option. I wanted to go to sleep and be able to wake up seamlessly with the only thing I need to do was get dressed and wake Evan to drive me.

That’s exactly what happened. I got up before dawn, got dressed and ready, and got Evan up and we were on our way. He dropped my freezing self off (dude, it was cold) and I climbed into the bus that would take us up the mountain to the start. I’m really glad we left when we did because when I was on the bus I heard the radio go off and that there were not enough buses for people to start the race on time. Getting early really helped me stay calm and ahead of the game. We got up to the starting area and it was like a marathoner refugee camp. There were pads of carpet on the ground with tiny little fires between them and we were all huddled on them freezing. They had some breakfast options for people to eat but my nerves and cold were too great and I drank my smoothie in silence.

The Campsites.

It started getting light out and we were nestled in the mountains of the Superstitions. We were
instructed to go to our corrals and wait for the start. There was about 600 people at the start and with a small cheer the gun went off and off we went.

The Start.

Actually me! I did pretty good smiling for all the photos.

I was not concerned with my time too much. I needed to keep about a 14 min a mile pace and once I made it to the halfway point I knew I’d be able to relax more. I had ran my half marathon without stopping and I was determined to do the same for my marathon. We started off and it was amazingly beautiful and I got to see some Big Horned Cows, they were watching us run very confused. They were giant Cows, not just the horns, the cows were the biggest cows I have ever seen. I was slightly afraid they would get pissed and start running after us all, but they were content to chewing their cud and watching us crazy people.

It was a gorgeous run.

I did really well for a really long time. I wasn’t really passing people like I did for PF Changs half marathon, but I kept up a good clip. I reached a mile 11 and I had to start taking walking breaks. Oh my goodness, the hills. It was just this steady uphill motion that would last for multiple miles with a slight decline and then more incline. It was too much and tried so hard not to stop until the halfway point but my legs said, “If you are going to finish this thing you best start walking” So I listened and walked for a bit. I alternated about every three-quarters of a mile, I would run the .75 then walk a quarter. There was just so many hills.

I know it looks like power walking, but I promise I was running.

At about mile 15 it started to get cold and drizzle, it never fully began raining which I was thankful for but I started texting Evan on my walking breaks. I texted blue the entire time, you’d have thought I was a sailor. I kept going though. I even started passing some people who started off too strong and were falling behind, and some people who I passed at the beginning passed me near the end. I didn’t even care, my goal was to finish. I had too many people waiting at the finish line to give up.

No seriously, I had Evan, my parents, my 3 teacher friends, and 2 geek girls who were there. Plus all of my friends in MI knew I was doing this and the rest of my friends who couldn’t come. I couldn’t let everyone down, including myself. 23 Weeks is a long time to train, I’ve never kept up something like this for that long. I was going to do it.

My friend Rochel started texting me every once in awhile with praises and cheers, she was super excited I was doing this. I was texting Evan about every 15 minutes (what it was taking me to finish every mile, thank goodness I had done all my math correctly on pacing.).

At about mile 20 I started getting misty, I was 6.2 miles from my goal and I was about to achieve it. I was going to finish, I wasn’t going to quit and no one was going to sweep me up from being too slow. The enormity of the situation was almost too much. I couldn’t cry yet, it’d mess up my breathing. I persevered.

Breaking through “The Wall”

Then at about mile 25 I saw someone running the wrong direction. Rochel. She had broke onto the course to run the last mile with me and cheer me on. I cracked up I couldn’t believe it. She was bounding along, took pictures with her cell to post on Facebook, and to keep me going. It really was what I needed.

My friend Rochel! Her and another girl Rebekah really helped me get into running in the first place!

Rochel has done multiple marathons. She’s a beast.

We ran the last long stretch of road together and then we turning the corner to the path to the finish. I could see it but my legs were set on one running pace: slow. I didn’t care I was going to finish with my head held up high, posture perfect, and a smile on my face. So we ran and then Rochel broke off for me to cross the finish in my own glory. On the left side of the finish lane were my friends, and on the right were my parents and Evan, and they were all yelling and cheering at the top of their lungs, I thought I would cry right there but I smiled big and crossed the finish. I got my medal and waited for everyone to come and meet up.

The Finish Line!

Hugs for all! I was giddy from being done, my parents; although supportive were absolutely amazed. My dad said, “I never thought I’d be doing this.” “Doing what?” I asked. “Cheering you at a race.” (I’ve never been one for athletics; this is a new hobby/passion for me.) But they were really proud of me. I got a huge hug from my hubby who had rollerbladed with me the entire time I was running ( a big shout out of thanks to my rollerblading, hottie husband/bodyguard!) We then walked around the grounds of the marathon, where I got some food, a picture with the “Lost Dutchman” and got my medal engraved with my finishing time.

My Dad!

My Mom!

It really made my finish really special to have all the people there and it was an amazing experience.
I was sore for a week and ended up sick as a dog during my recovery. Which apparently is pretty common. I’ve wandered from my running path but am starting again strong and full of vigor and I have a new running partner. My husband. He caught the running bug and has given up the roller blades and begun his own training. We are going to do a half marathon on my birthday. I’ve also begun incorporating swimming to my regimen as my big goal for 2013 is to do triathlons. I will probably do another marathon (one that is less hilly) at least one, if not more. I will NOT do the Lost Dutchman again. It was beautiful and gorgeous and a great life experience but it was so painful by the end. I won’t do it. But I am glad I did.

My cheerleaders!

So here is the race low down:

Distance: MAR: 26.2 miles

Clock Time: 5:13:20

Chip Time: 5:12:37
Overall Place: 457 / 531

Gender Place: 172 / 209
Division Place: 20 / 20

Pace: 11:56

Halfway: 2:21:49

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In my original post I forgot to mention this older couple that were along the sidelines for the whole marathon. They were probably my favorite part looking back and I cannot believe I didn’t mention them! This old couple were near the beginning cheering everyone on, then they must have drove to another spot and cheered everyone one, and then they drove to another spot and cheered everyone on. All in all I think I saw them 7 times along the course, when you run a marathon you are usually alone for most of it and there are not many spectators for those 26 miles until you get toward the end. Their cheers really helped me power through some of the more painful times during the marathon and I as I saw them for the last time they were so happy for me. I thanked them for the cheers along the way and I went and finished strong (slow and strong and according to my dad thankfully upright unlike a lot of other marathoners who were crawling and hobbling to the finish).

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A couple notes from Sara from the future: I’ve basically been running ever since. I took an extended break at one point due to an injury but I’ll never stop running if i can help it. My ex never ran a half marathon, he could not keep up the cardio. I’ve never done a triathlon, I get water in my ears to easily which gives me vertigo which sidetracks my whole life. I’ll stick to land and running. I also have absolutely no inclination to run a full marathon ever again. I practice a lot more moderation in my exercise nowadays and I’ll push it to a half (which I have a lot of times) but I won’t put my body through a full marathon again.

Midwest Winters

Wind at the Windmill Island in June 2022

When I was in high school and college Michigan winters broke my spirit. Then I moved to Arizona for 11 years. It was beautiful….but it was HOT.

Part of being back in the midwest is just me trying to appreciate the absolutely stunning days we do have.

It is really pretty here sometimes.

I Miss Fall Already

We had a truly beautiful fall this year. This is from late October from a walk before all my neighbors started raking.