This weekend was one of the best of my life.  My best friend since the age of 12 came to see me in Nashville for the first time.  Cynthia moved across the street from me at the end of 5th grade, and little did I know that my new neighbor would change my life and become my life-long best friend. Even though she moved away in 8th grade, we both ended up at the same college and lived in a room – yes 1 room in twin beds -together for 4 years.   Now, THAT’S friendship!!

Some of the memories that I have with this amazing woman are the best memories I could ever ask for – from shyly meeting her for the first time, to dress up karaoke shows for our parents, to tearfully saying goodbye when she moved to Arizona in 8th grade, to sitting in our dorm room floor eating an entire funfetti cake, to standing beside her as she said “I do.”   Now, as adults, we have the blessing of continuing to make great memories.

As for me, I began celebrating the entire week before she arrived in preparation for her coming to Nashville!  You know I like to bake, so i did!  And even though Cynthia doesn’t have a sweet tooth, I had to have the house smelling good and stocked with healthy yummies for her arrival.  Obviously, I had to taste everything that I made, and so I did.  🙂  And that was the beginning of my cheat week…  (The dish below posted on my blog last week is one of the yummies I made!  Another one – Lemon Banana Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Bread too is one that will be making an appearance soon.)

Once Cynthia got here, the adventures really began!  We both agreed it was probably a good thing that we don’t live in the same city because we would be broke (and probably over-weight!). The first day might have been the best.  We went shopping, ate at the new restaurant Flip Side and St. Anejo for dinner, got massages, ate Sweet Cece’s (not mad at it), and did I mention shopping?!  I went running both Friday and Saturday and came up with this blog on my run, so there aren’t any pics of Friday’s foods.  Saturday, I came armed and ready to snap pictures of my foodscapades.

Day 2 consisted of more catching up, a jog, and early lunch – Burger Up – I opted for a kale salmon salad and a BOWL of truffle fries – whaaaat?  (With aioli).  So bad, and so worth it.  We took off to the Country Music Hall of Fame then came back and walked around 12 South.

For dinner I had some of my best girlfriends come to Urban Grub to meet Cynthia, I shared a meat and cheese plate and then had the scallop special for my entree – soooooo good!!  Some of us had wine, and all of us partook in the bread selection…

 

 

 

 

 

Look at all of these beautiful ladies!  I’m so lucky to call them friends.  I was missing a couple of my favorites, but they were there in spirit.  (And Corky’s mom all the way from Australia enjoyed her last night in the US with us as well!)

Our last morning we just enjoyed coffee and catch up time, rented bikes and took them to my friend Robin’s house to say hello and then came back to 12 South and took a stroll to all of the hotspots – Frothy Monkey, Portland Brew (where we had the amazing yogurt and granola!), White’s Mercantile, and the Filling Station.  The perfect end to a perfect weekend.

I normally eat the same things every day – pretty clean and have cut out a lot of sugar.  This weekend, all of that went out the window – fried chicken, chips and guacamole (all not mentioned because it was Friday) fries, frozen yogurt, chocolate, banana bread, fruits, popovers, biscuits, meats and cheeses… whew.  My body is a bit in shock, but tomorrow is a new day, and I’m ready to hit it making good choices and healthy decisions.

I think a lot of us – especially women – get caught in a vicious cycle of obsessing over weight, what we eat, and working out.  We eat bad then we feel bad and say “screw it – I’ve already messed up today so I’ll just keep going and start fresh tomorrow.”  Then we do the same thing the next day all the while constantly weighing ourselves and not seeing that ugly number decrease.  If we have a french fry (or 37) or a piece of cake we feel terrible about ourselves and it’s hard to make good decisions when you’re down.  I just want you guys to know – it’s not impossible, and we are all in this together.  You are not alone in feeling you’re a part of cycle that keeps going. I’m working on a way to help people find balance between enjoying life and not restricting or obsessing over what you’re eating or your weight.  It’s about finding a real life, realistic way to live, eat and truly enjoy life.

The moral of the story is – eat, drink, and be merry, but don’t go overboard.  There is a way to balance life, enjoy it and not feel guilty.  Am I going to step on a scale for the next week??!  Oh, HELL NO!!  I know that if I saw that number I would be disappointed, but I am not defined by that number.  Yes, my clothes are a tad bit snug, but I know what I need to do.  One little healthy decision will snowball into 100 more if I can just keep making them.  The work that I put in now will be worth it.  You know, looking back on last week and this weekend – I wouldn’t take back one of those truffle french fries or one second of my time with Cynthia!