One of my co-workers gave me a bottle of wine in order to make these Fruit & Nut Chocolate Zinfandel Cookies for him. I’m not ashamed to admit that I will bake for wine.

Anywho, some links and stuff this week:

• I just got this Party Party app. I haven’t played around with it too much yet, but I’m excited too! I love pretty much everything A Beautiful Mess creates.
• Quite a few of the books I’ve recently read are being (or have been) made into movies: Gone Girl, The Fault In Our Stars, Wild, This Is Where I Leave You, and Hector And The Search For Happiness. I want to see them all. I rarely ever go to movies, but I think I need to change that. Also, The Skeleton Twins. Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader, duh.
• This is a great article about training for hills. I had my first hill workout for Philadelphia Marathon training this week. Eesh. It was tough and there are many more hills yet to come.
• This Baklava Pull-Apart Bread is too amazing for words.
• Apparently Hatch chiles are all the rage right now. Roast them, throw them in salsa, bake them in biscuits, put them on chicken. Yeah. I need to find me some of these.

Happy, happy Thursday! Time to go to work now. xojenna

I just got in from a nice 7-miler with some strides. I don’t have a race this weekend, but it’s still nice to loosen up the legs a bit. Have I ever mentioned how important and amazing morning running partners are? They are the best sort of people! Without them I definitely wouldn’t be waking up at 5am to run by myself. And even if I did manage to (which I wouldn’t) the run definitely wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable… shout out to Lindsey and Monica!

Anyways, some fun links and things this week:

• This September Produce Guide is amazing. Let’s all take advantage of delicious, seasonal produce! The carrots pictured above are from my CSA box. They would be perfect for any of the carrot recipes listed, but this soup is definitely on my list to make sometime this month.
• Speaking of seasonal, all of these fall fashion trends really make me want to go shopping… with a pumpkin spiced latte in my hand.
• Two of my favorite bloggers released cookbooks this week: Seriously Delish from How Sweet It Is and Easy Gourmet from I Am A Food Blog. A.MA.ZING. These ladies know how to cook and take pictures. I can’t wait to dig in and devour page after page after page!
• This would have been handy to know 10 years ago (or more), but better late than never! I’m sure I’ll run into infinitely more awkward social situations over the years.
• What a fabulous little baking hack this is! Mason jars (and all their pieces) always come in handy.

Welp. My coffee is done. Time to get ready for work. Have a fantastic Thursday! xojenna

I’m on a date with myself right now as a type this. Dinner, wine, blogging. There’s a (fake) candle on my table. It’s all very romantic.

I was surprisingly productive this week, so I decided to treat myself. I am at Wilde Roast Café. It’s one of my “go to” places in Minneapolis, because it’s perfect for any occasion: a casual brunch, a fun lunch with friends and/or family, a chill happy hour, a nice dinner (with a boy or with myself).

I love sitting at cafes with some coffee or wine and a book or my computer. It’s relaxing and energizing at the same time. When was the last time you took yourself out? You’re probably overdue.

So anyways, here are some neat things I’ve been thinking about this week:

• This song by Kiesza has taken over my head. I discovered it during my flight to Costa Rica and have been obsessed with it ever since.
• This Caramelized Peach + White Chocolate Oatmeal Skillet Cookie Pie is driving me crazy (in a good way). Half Baked Harvest’s recipes never disappoint.
• Can you believe that pumpkin flavored everything season is already upon us?! Let’s skip the Starbucks pumpkin pie spiced latte and make our own.
• There are a lot of awesome and inspiring ladies out there. Here are 10 examples.
• Have you ever heard of Club W? Monthly shipments of wine. Need I say more? I do: it’s amazing. I haven’t been going through the bottles as fast as I thought I would though. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing?

Happy Friday Eve! xoxo

I am pretty bad at making most decisions, but running shoes? That’s an easy one. I know my brand, my version, and my size. On Tuesday I walked into Marathon Sports and told the very friendly salesperson that I wanted the newest series of Asics GT 2000 in a size 9. Easy. Done. BUT THEN she brought up three versions of the same shoe in different colors. Gaahhhhh. Why?! I literally stared at the shoes for a solid 5 minutes debating which color to get. Back and forth and back and forth. I had to take a decision break to go look at the different gels/running fuel. In the end I went with the black and I am sticking to that decision.

I broke them in on my run tonight. 5 miles and 8 sets of 30 second strides. It was awesome.

Anywho. Here’s five fun things I discovered this week!

• While I was taking my shoe color decision break I found these Hüma Chia Energy Gels. I usually go for the Gatorade GUs, but these intrigued me. I’m going to test them out on Saturday during my half marathon. Probably not the greatest time to test out a new product, but oh well.
• Speaking of running, spread the word: running just 5 minutes per day can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. 5 MINUTES A DAY! I saw the news story on the Today Show Monday morning and was in awe. Do it, people.
• A play about The Simpson’s?! Ummm yeah, I need to go to this.
• This tutorial on a DIY padded camera lens case is awesome. I wish I could have time to make one before leaving for vacation next week. Who knows though, maybe I’ll get crafty this weekend?
• French braids have been my go to running hairstyle and haven’t-washed-my-hair-in-a-few-days style. I didn’t even think I could French braid until I actually tried it. Then I saw this Dutch braid. Ummm… so cute. I tried it on my sister this weekend and it looked great. I’m not sure if I’d be able to do it to myself, but I guess it’s not that drastically different from a regular French braid??

In conclusion, this weekend I will hopefully be powering through a half marathon by Hüma Chia Energy Gels, running, day dreaming about The Simpson’s, sewing a new lens case, and Dutch braiding. Doesn’t sound so bad!

HAPPY THURSDAY xo

Two of my friends and I have themed monthly dinners. The themes have ranged from Indian to Pizza to Thai to Crockpot to Seafood. This month’s theme was “Picnic”. We enjoyed salads, sandwiches, and wine on a beautiful Sunday evening in Gold Medal Park then stopped by Izzy’s for dessert. So good. This place is dangerously close to where I live.

I hope you go on a picnic soon. I’m meeting different friends for a picnic next week and am already brainstorming on what I should make. Decisions, decisions, so exciting to think about…

Anywho, here are some things I found on the internets this week and other various thoughts.

• One day I will have fancy dinner parties and I will need to revert back to this article. Until then I just need to remember that a simple party menu is best, because I sometimes go overboard and stress myself out.
• Green tea ice cubes! Such a genius idea. As soon as I track down my ice-cube tray (probably buried in my freezer) I am making these and adding them to my morning smoothies.
• I must be really lucky this summer or something, because on Monday I found out that I won Fork Knife Swoon’s Nespresso giveaway. I AM SO EXCITED! Who wants to come over to drink some espresso? And then go to the gas station to buy some lotto tickets?
• Yes, yes, yes to all of these things! Let’s all be active and healthy, mmk?
• It’s Restaurant Week in Minneapolis! I love using it as a good reason to check out a new restaurant (or two) in town. I went to Brasserie Zentral on Monday night. It was delicious! If you live in the area and haven’t gone somewhere yet, you still have tonight and tomorrow! Go make reservations now.

Have a good one. xo

This picture was taken during brunch with a girlfriend at Lake & Irving on Sunday. It was a beautiful morning for coffee and grapefruit mimosas. We split the Open Faced Kalua Pork Torta and the Nutella French Toast. So good! I love brunch. If you live in Minneapolis go there, pleaseeeee. You won’t regret it.

I’m glad it’s Thursday and almost time for Sunday brunch again. But first, here are some things and thoughts that I wanted to share with you:

• This year for my mom’s birthday (or Mother’s Day? I can’t remember which one) I registered us for this 5K. Then I convinced 3 of my friends to also sign up for it, because it is such a fun race and positive experience. It’s also my friend’s birthday and her first 5K. Good thing there is bubbly at the finish line because celebrations will be in order! (HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTINE!!!)
• How cool is this lamp?! I really want to try putting it somewhere in my condo. I think I can find space for it somewhere…
• This article is speaking to me. I always learn so many things when I travel, about different cultures and myself. Only three weeks away from boarding a place to Costa Rica!
• I can’t stop listening to this song. And this one too. Just put them both on repeat. Happiness over and over again.
• I am going to try stand up paddleboarding for the first time this weekend! I’ll probably be terrible, but will be all like, “Hey, SUP!” (Get it?) Who wants to come with?

Have a super fantastic Thursday! xo