Kayla [back] in the City [briefly]

after 3 or so week home in the ‘burbs, yesterday I went back to visit my lovely city, apartment, and neighborhood.

it was one of those perfect days that makes me wonder “why the hell did I ever leave the city in the first place”.

first was lunch, courtesy of my new neighborhood grocery store

I’ve been mourning the closing of my nearby d’agastino’s all year. I missed being able to literally run out and get groceries across the street. Agata & Valentina though is an EXCELLENT replacement. The brand new store is gorgeous and stocked with amazing fresh food. I enjoyed a chicken caesar wrap from the cafe. I have a feeling I will be a daily costumer at this new store.

After lunch it was time for a job interview that included getting a smoothie at my favorite restaurant/ cafe Grey Dogs.

Post smoothie I couldn’t resist stopping at a cute food cart to see what they had. The Squeeze was an AMAZING find, and makes me even more depressed that I’m not living in the city this summer. After sampling the coconut granola, I couldn’t resist taking some home.

this stuff is addicting. I couldn’t stop munching on it all afternoon

it is like a crunchy, nutty, pina colada.

I love that you can see the blue skies outside my apartment. My bowls in the city are so much prettier than at home 🙂

After eating lots of granola, it was time for a yoga class at my beloved yoga vida! I felt like a little kid going to Disney World I was so giddy to be back in their beautiful studio with a favorite teacher. Oh Yoga Vida, I miss you, your affordability and your 13 class times a day oh so much! Luckily they now have podcast of their amazing teachers. I haven’t tried it out yet, but will definitely be trying these out soon. While I’m sure it is no substitute for class, listening to a podcast and doing yoga on my back porch seems like a nice alternative.

Sadly it was time to go back to the ‘burbs after my quick visit to the city. I did however get to see a rainbow on the train ride home.

I like to think of it as some good luck and telling me that exciting new things are on their way

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this morning I continued my recent cooking kick by making dairy free overnight oats courtesy of Peanut Butter Fingers. I’ve recently been trying to cut back on my dairy consumption, I’ve never really loved milk on it’s own and think that it might have been contributing to some stomach pains and ailments I was having during Spring Semester.

I love the concept of overnight oats because they are so simple to make. I tried to make a different recipe during the school year and wasn’t a fan of the final outcome, but this variation was super sweet and tasty.

Before heading to the gym for some Zumba I mixed the ingredients in a tupperware and left it in the fridge.

When I came home I had a refreshing brunch treat waiting for me.

Since I’ve been on a berry kick recently, strawberries and blueberries seemed like the prefect addition to this summer breakfast.

I’m thinking this might be the perfect lunch this summer. The day camp I work at is peanut free, which makes me cry a little every day because I just want a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. It does however encourage me to be creative with my food options. I might finally have something new to add to my day camp lunch rotation.

Tonight will be spent pigging out enjoying hibachi with my work friends from camp, and excellent way to kick off another summer working together.