Pure Barre Charleston and a Blogger Meet Up!

Twitter is constantly making me happy. Reason #298529875: The owner of Pure Barre Charleston recently discovered my blog via my friend Danielle, who happens to be one of her instructors. Jen offered to let me try some classes at her studio, so Wednesday evening, I stopped by.

Pure Barre is located to the left of Whole Foods in the Houston Northcutt shopping plaza in Mt. Pleasant.  The studio is very sleek and has good energy. Upon walking in, I was immediately greeted by Danielle, Jen (the owner), and Margaret (who would was teaching the next class). Everyone was so friendly and I instantly felt comfortable. I think this is very important in new fitness situations.

The Pure Barre workout “utilizes the ballet barre to perform small isometric movements set to motivating music.” These movements, which Margaret kept calling “tiny,” really are just that. I noticed that I paid much more attention to the individual muscles as I worked on them rather than just letting my body flail around. The workout targets the abs, hips, thighs, back of the arm, and seat. Each area is worked until fatigued and then stretched .With that said, each muscle group was on fiiiiiiiiiire and stretching them felt so good.

Margaret was an excellent instructor. She was very motivating and cheerful. I appreciated her coming over several times to improve my form. Proper form during a workout is key to maximizing your results.

In a nutshell:

• Pure Barre provides a great full-body workout that is sure to strengthen and tone females’ problematic areas.
• The staff was very welcoming.
• The music was up-to-date and fun, but just a tad loud.
• All the equipment we used (dumbbells, mats, balls, and double tubing) were brand new.
• To clean up, they use disposable wipes rather than spray & rags – this made me so happy.

For more information see Pure Barre’s:

• website
• facebook
• twitter

Huge thanks to Jen, Margaret, and Danielle for inviting me in. I had such a good time. Charleston friends: if you’re interested in taking a Pure Barre class, I have a pass for you! Tweet me or email me at christina orso at gmail dot com if you’re interested.

In blogger news, I met Sierra from Posh Meets Pavement on Monday! We met for drinks and dinner at Hall’s Chophouse. After reading her blog for several months, it was great to meet in real life and just chat! We had so much to talk about and I wish she lived here so we could hang out more. Maybe I need to vacation in South Africa… ;)

We both had a glass of red wine and my favorite salad, but I added beets. I’ll tell you again and again that their Blackened Salmon Salad is one of my favorite salads ever. It has sliced pears, oranges, buttermilk blue cheese, candied pecans, and white balsamic dressing. Although this picture does not do it justice, here’s photo from earlier this summer.

After dinner we snapped a photo in front of the Christmas tree. How bad is it that Amanda and I took the same photo less than a week ago? #hallsobsessed

What new fitness classes have you taken recently?

Who’s your favorite blogger that you’ve met in real life? (Btw: blogger + friend = blend)

Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Quinoa

Try not to be shocked that you’re seeing a recipe on my blog. I know, it’s been a hot minute. Forgive me, for I have blog sinned. I’ve just been eating way too much Chick-fil-A.

At Trader Joe’s, the produce isn’t priced by weight, but just a set number. B-nut squash is $1.99, so naturally I picked up the largest one I could find. This monster was like a newborn baby. Lugging it up the stairs was both a bicep and a leg workout and I am not even kidding.

You know what else was a workout? Peeling the stupid thing. #firstworldproblems

I cut the squash up in 1-inch cubes and roasted it for about 35 minutes on 400*.  That evening, I used it to decorate my quinoa.

Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups low-sodium, fat free chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 cups roasted cubed butternut squash
• 6 oz. bag of baby spinach
• 4  Laughing Cow blue cheese wedges (or use 2 oz. blue cheese)

Preparation:

1. In a large saucepan, add quinoa, chicken broth, and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until broth is absorbed.
2. Add the butternut squash  and blue cheese and mix well.
3. Stir in the spinach until wilted.

Love a colorful recipe! If only this had something purple in it, then we’d have all my favorite colors.

As I was eating this and loving it (obviously), I asked my twitter friends for help naming the recipe. I got some funny responses:

Ben, Thatrunnerchick, and Boding are amazing.

Stevie is a freakshow and I love him.

Andy and Derek aren’t allowed in my house now.

Bo, Heather, RotiRolls and Holly can walk right in the door without knocking.

Have I told you guys lately that I love twitter?

The Ugly and The Pretty / Photo Day 13

I’m on Photo Day #13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.

Britney Spears! Who cares if she had a mental breakdown? Everyone is allowed one or two of those in a lifetime, right?

P.S.: Her newest album, Femme Fatale, will be released on March 29th. I just pre-ordered it and downloaded the song “Till The World Ends.” It is good! I foresee another foot injury dancing to this at Trio.

How was everyone’s weekend? On Friday, my favorite paparazzo (Matt) came over and tried to photograph me changing before we went to the movies. Creep! He did manage to snap a picture of my new highlights and hologram nail polish. Yes, I said hologram. It is beauuuuuuuuutiful in the sunshine. :)

We went to Mustard Seed for dinner and then to Cinebarre to see The King’s Speech. Did anyone see this? Hate it, love it? I was kind of bored but thought the acting was excellent.

Today I made two recipes: the first being quite colorful, yet unattractive, and the second being adorable. Both were delicious.

Roasted Beets with Israeli Couscous, Walnuts, Blue Cheese and Citrus Dressing

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized beets, washed, peeled, and cubed
• olive oil, for drizzling
• 2/3 cup Israeli couscous
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces
• blue cheese, crumbled

Citrus Dressing:

• juice of one orange (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp. honey

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400*. Place beets in a small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes or until fork-tender.
2. While beets are roasting, bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add couscous and simmer, covered, for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
3. Prepare citrus dressing by whisking together the orange juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and honey.
4. When beets have finished roasting, mix together with the couscous and walnuts. Top with blue cheese and citrus dressing.

Not pretty. Tasty!

After dinner, I made some cookies for my neighbor, Daniel. When I texted him that I was making him cookies, within 15 seconds he was walking through my door. No knocking necessary. He walked in JUST when Lucy was doing a downward dog in the living room. I think he liked it. Hahaha.

I used Emily’s recipe for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever. She’s not kidding around you guys. These cookies contain browned butter and yeast. They are big and have a crispy edge with a slightly chewy center. They.are.perfect.

Daniel just ate a cookie. I asked him, “On a scale of 1 to Titanic, how much do you love these cookies?” He responded, “They’re pretty Titanic.”

Have a great week!