St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse
I have tried other self-tanners before, but they always leave streaks or looks fake. After a recommendation, I picked up the St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse at Sephora for Maui and was blown away how awesome this worked. My skin looked bronzed as if I had spent weeks in the tropics. I did end up with a few minor streaks, but with more practice at applying it, I think I will be able to avoid them.
Caress Body Wash
I am kind of picky about the body wash I use. I usually just pick a body wash based on the scent, and I am a big fan of the Caress Passionate Spell scent.
Flavorful Salads
I don’t always make the best homemade salads, but I found some flavorful toppings to add on, which really helped boost the flavor of my normally very plain salads. I used Annie’s Green Goddess dressing, which is definitely a winner.
Spinach + sauteed tofu + red pepper + hard boiled egg + avocado + homemade croutons
PROBAR Products
I tried a PROBAR a while back and don’t remember being hat impressed, but since starting at Skinny Raven, everyone has been raving about the PROBAR products, so I picked up a couple of my own. This Core protein bar was so delicious; the mint chocolate flavor was spot on. I would definitely buy this again.
Running with Friends
Now that I work part-time and often go into work later in the morning, I have time to meet up with friends for runs! This has really helped when I was feeling unmotivated to run. Joanne and I completed a run in the morning sun, so odd compared to the countless runs I used to do in the dark.
Running in General
After my bout of lacking motivation for running, I have been getting back in the groove and feeling much more excited about my daily runs. This morning I covered 10 miles in 1:24.
I had never heard of Pocket Fuel until I started working at Skinny Raven. I tried this pure caffeine energy gel and wow it gave me a burst of energy! I only took half of the packet since I can be really sensitive to caffeine. It tasted like straight espresso with only a slight vanilla flavor.
Spending Time with Craig
Our time together has been a little more limited since I occasionally have to work Saturdays—the nature of retail. So last weekend I went to Craig’s final curling tournament of the season. Craig has been curling the past two winters and last weekend he had his year-end tournament. I watched one of his games and his team ended up taking 1st place in their bracket. (He is one of the sweepers—in the ball hat.) 
Simplehuman Garbage Can
Really random, I know, but I absolutely love our garbage can by Simplehuman. The best thing about it is that it does not slam down after you take your foot off the opener. Instead it slowly and quietly closes. It is so great! Our realtor actually bought it for us as a house-warming gift. It is pretty pricey at over $100, but I would definitely pay that for it.
Favorite blog post: 22 Things You Need to Know About Minnesota Before Moving There
A shout-out to my home state—especially #4, #7, and #20.
Another fun read: Bad Yogi Zen
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And finally. . . . .a GIVEAWAY!!
Comment below and you will be entered to win a swag bag from ENERGYbits. (The only restriction is that you live in the US.) These energy bits supply natural energy without the use of caffeine.
You can also receive 20% with the promo code: MARATHON in honor of the Boston Marathon this weekend.
The rest of my weekend will be spent celebrating Easter/Pascha with friends and family. If you are celebrating Easter as well, I hope you have a blessed Easter and remember that Easter is not just about the Easter bunny, candy, and colored eggs but instead the hope of eternal life. I am sure I will be enjoying a lot of delicious food including lamb and Greek pastries (We go to a Greek church.) as well as reflecting on all the things that I have to be thankful for. Like no snow this year!
Great post, I love favorite things posts for some reason, it’s so nice to see what other women/people/runners are liking (gives me some ideas of stuff to buy too, not sure that’s a great thing).
Me too! I’m glad you feel the same way. 🙂
Hi Michelle! I came across your blog recently when I was looking for some good pre-run meals. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts! I’m currently training for Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, which will be my second one. Thanks for all of the tips and inspiration!
Awesome! Glad you found my posts helpful. I’m jealous you are running Grandma’s. You will have a blast!
I’ll definitely have to find those CORE bars. It’s so hard to find gluten-free protein bars!
Swag giveaway from EnergyBits? Count me in! 🙂
Good to know. I will let any gluten-free customers know.
I am definitely going to try that Pocket Fuel! I love coffee before races/runs but have a hard time with all that fluid and needing to go to the restroom. I like the concentrated shot of caffeine this has. Thanks!
That’s a good point. I never considered the advantage to having less fluid in something like this.
Those PocketFuel things look interesting. Love caffeine! But don’t usually need food during my workouts.
Thanks for the tip on the self tanner! I am looking for something but always seem to find products that streak, I’ll have to try that one. We aren’t going to Hawaii this spring but we are going to California, our second choice. We have many friends there and this way my mom can fly out from Colorado and visit with us too. Maybe we can travel to Hawaii before the year is out.
I’m interested in the coffee packets, I’ll have to try them. I had a coffee flavored gel type packet once and I liked it, I must have been the only one because it was an experimental flavor and I haven’t seen it since. It was made by Honey Stinger, they are a local company where I used to live so I got to try a lot of their products.
GU makes an espresso energy gel–as do a couple other brands.
I remember wondering how you were after last year’s marathon. Glad you’re here, healthy, and still running strong!
Me too!
i needed some self-tanner help! thank you 🙂 i’m looking forward to all your insider information now that you work at a running store! i always love the chocolate-mint flavored bars.
Sign me up for the swag bag! Thanks for the tip on the bronzer. I’ve been looking for one and it’s so hard to choose!
That caffeine gel sounds awesome for mile 15 of a marathon. I’m really sensitive to caffeine too, so I’m sure it would give me wings (or make my stomach hurt, one of the two). I really love Annie’s dressings too.
I enjoy the Annie’s salad dressings as well. Fun to see Craig in his “element”! And I am so glad you are enjoying your new job.
Those mint protein bars sound delicious! Will have to check them out here in NY
Congrats! You are the winner for the ENERGYbits swag pack.
Congrats to Craig’s curling team! And glad you are enjoying the new job! 🙂
your salad comment made me think of the salad served at our easter dinner last night….spinach, strawberries, bacon, and goat cheese with a raspberry dressing. SO good. i’ve never had goat cheese on salad and it was delicious!
Oh my gosh, yes, goat cheese on salads is delicious!
Glad to hear your motivation is coming back and that you have more time to spend with Craig!!! Keep me posted on how everything is going! 🙂