Carolyn M.'s Profile

This was my first visit to Pia, and I was very impressed with everything y'all had to offer.  The reception was warm and inviting, offering me water, margaritas and Sangria for Cinco de Mayo.  I enjoyed the ambiance while waiting for my treatment.  

It has been years since I've gotten a bikini wax, and your esthetician made me feel like I've been getting them often.  She was friendly and just the right amount of talkative to keep my mind off the pain.  She did a great job on the wax.  

I booked a massage while I was there.  I will be back!  

Live well,
Carolyn

Back in the day when I was a swimmer for MCST (later known as MARS), Keller didn't have a big fancy natatorium.  In fact, Keller was a sleepy farm community then.  My, oh, my what a difference 10 years makes.  Not only have I gained a few lbs, gotten a couple grey hairs, oh and been forced to enter the 'real world,' but Keller has also seen quite the growth.  I'm impressed, but what isn't impressive about McMansions?

I first learned about the Keller ISD Natatorium when I was back in my stomping ground for work doing business at the Keller City Hall.  I was talking about growing up in the area (Bedford), yadee, yadee, I was a swimmer in high school (Trinity), yadee, yadee,  I still try to swim despite almost being 30 (Master's Swimming), yadee, yadee, though I've grown to like open water swimming since I now live in Florida (sharks, oh my), yadee, yadee, and bam, next thing I know, I'm handing over $4, signing my life away, and jumping into a gorgeous pool all while looking up at the record board and seeing some of my old swimming buddies names - Byers, Murtagh.  

It was April, the pool was a little chilly for my thin, now Florida, blood, but I got over it.  I had my own lane during their lap swim hours, and I really got to enjoy the peace and serenity that swimming brings.  I didn't have to worry about getting kicked in the face or having that one dude who always want to race bother me.  They had pull buoys, kick boards, and even fins for borrow.   I got in some quality workouts while on the road for work!  Winning.

Jump forward a few months, and even more lbs, and I'm back home for the holidays.  I've hit up the Keller ISD pool a time or two, and I'm happy to report it's much warmer which makes me very happy.  Same records on the board, same peace and serenity, same annoying 8 year olds at swim practice.  I love the pool.

I really appreciate Keller opening up their pool to the public a few hours a day, for a small fee, to enjoy.  Check this place out.  Send your kids to swim lessons here.  Learn to scuba dive.  Take up diving.  Join the swim team.  There is so much good that can come from this place.

live well,
carolyn

Being at my parents for the holidays means stepping out of my comfort zone.  I don't have my 7 am spin class to attend, my trusty running buddies to motivate me,  Body Flow at the Y every Wednesday,  or my road bike to jump on for a long ride.  So when I passed Divine Yoga coming back from the Keller ISD pool, I was excited to check it out.  

Since it was my first time to the studio I was able to buy an unlimited 10 day pass for $20.  So far I've been able to attend both the Surya "Hot" Yoga and the Vinyasa classes.  I enjoyed both immensely as they were both challenging and stimulating.  Jana was a great instructor  - no annoying yoga voice or yogi pretension going on.  She was down to earth and friendly.  Not to mention, she played some great tunes during class.  More than your typical heavenly yoga instrumental mix, I heard some great reggae and soul.

Divine Yoga Studio felt like a community yoga studio, offering a lounge area for their students, a great selection of teas, and even homemade treats.  It was homey and genuine. The practice room is clean and peaceful and they even had mats for my wandering soul to borrow (but boy did it make me miss my Jade yoga mat more than ever).  

I hope to check out a few more classes before I head back to Florida.

Whenever I go to Palm Beach for work, I visit Pastry Heaven.  I've never actually had their pastries, though they've thrown in a free cookie or two that I handed over to my client who visits their frequently.  Why I am a fan of Pastry Heaven is for their salads and fresh bread.  I got a super fresh salad topped generously with avocado and portobello mushrooms.  Doesn't get much better than that.  

Happy Vegan Dining.
Carolyn

In search of a healthy dinner while staying downtown, I landed at Protein Bar. I ran past one early this morning and knew I needed to come back. PB didn't disappoint.

When I arrived, I took some time to read the menu. I couldn't decide what to get; everything looked delicious! I wanted to see what everyone else ordered before placing mine. Since it was slightly crowded I hung back and plotted my choice.

I ordered the Buffalo salad with tofu and no cheese. It was flavorful and very filling. The quinoa, black beans and buffalo sauce made the dish more of a "chili" on a bed of greens which was exactly what I was craving.

I'll be back in the morning for a smoothie! Since I can't travel with my Vita Mix this might be the next best thing.

Happy Vegan Dining!
Carolyn

Eat well! Live well! Be well!

During my run this morning, I carefully plotted my day.
1) gym
2) bank
3) Chuck's
4) clean
5) Texas v UCLA game
Etc etc

Somewhere during item 1) gym,  I dreamed about an ice, cold carrot-apple-ginger juice.  I pulled into Chuck's at 9:50am ready to indulge only to find a sign that said the cafe was closed. Really? At 9:50am? (please see my previous review about how their juice bar hours suck!)

Okay then. I inquired, "what time do y'all open?". The gentleman told me 10, but the girl at the register said Jennifer, the cafe worker, called and wouldn't be there till 10:10.

I gave up on my juice not wanted to wait around, but as I was checking out, Jennifer arrived. I ask the checkout girl if I could go order my juice, and she said sure. (see previous comment about how you have to pay for your juice before you can get it. Suck-o.)

Jennifer is putting her stuff away and then walks away from the counter. I merely inquired, "can I order a juice?" to which Jennifer responds with the nastiest attitude, "I just got here. We opened 30 seconds ago, and Of course you can order your juice,but don't you see we are closed. Etc etc" Another patron is standing there and gives me a WTF look. But then Jennifer keeps running her mouth go me...

And keeps at it...

Hold on. YOU are late to work. It's 10:05 by the way. And you and giving me attitude for asking for a juice?!?

This pissed me off. I frequent health food stores often. I travel for work, and I consider visiting them like visiting a tourist attraction. I get that jazzed up about healthy food and friendly people. I support local HFS because normally the workers are friendly, knowledgeable, and down to earth.  My dad once commented about one of my visits to Whole Foods while waiting for me in the car... everyone is so happy in there.  That is why I love HFS....

Well, not at Chucks.  Here workers have BAD attitudes, and in general there ain't anything to get jazzed up about at Chuck's.

When I finished checking out, and while I was venting to the cashier, the patron came up and said, Jennifer was still running her mouth about me and that I did nothing wrong. THANK YOU!

Seriously, Chuck.

Like I said before, you can do better.

Dave and I flew to Portland, Maine this morning for a long weekend in the Sebago Lakes Region.  We were up at the crack of dawn for a 6 am flight, so by the time we landed we were ready to bite our arms off.

Tired and hungry, Dave and I headed downtown for some grub.  A quick search for "Portland Maine Vegan" brought me to the Happy Cow website.

Happy Cow is a great resource for vegan/vegetarian restaurants and grocery stores.  I consult it often when I travel.  After reading reviews, Dave and I decided to check out Silly's.

The menu had numerous vegan and meat options to satisfy Dave and I.  Plus it appeared to be quite the funky place.

We arrived, and things weren't looking so good. It was closed for vacation.

Closed for vacation?

Dave almost convinced me to just go next store to the Mexican Restaurant.  He was very hungry, but it looked a little dodgey.

But.... I had a Plan B - - Local Sprout's Café.

Sometimes things just work out, and boy is my belly glad they did.

Local Sprout's is located in downtown Portland on Congress Avenue.  There are a few tables outside which were perfect on a 75degree day like today.  Nope, I don't miss Florida's 90 degree and humid weather one bit.

The outside dining was tempting, but inside is where the magic happens.

My senses were overwhelmed.  The chalkboard-menu was overflowing with options - many which are vegan and vegetarian friendly.

The dessert case is bursting at the seams with vegan "love" cookies and vegan "whoopie" pies.  Me oh my!  I'm kinda happy Silly's was closed!

I decided to eat what I eat everyday of my life for lunch - a wrap.  I can't stray too far from home apparently, but mine never have yummus and local tempeh in them.

And for my meat-eating amigos, Dave represented with a BBQ chicken sandwich.  I think 3 birds were killed in the making of this sandwich.

It was pretty cool to look up at the wall and check out where my food came from - tempeh from Portland, veggies from a wee bit inland.

After eating our share of tempeh and chicken, we packed up our leftovers and headed for our lodge.

The weather is perfect - crisp air and sunshine.  We're off on the canoe... once I can wake Dave up from this nap.

Be well,
Carolyn

I'm fortunate to get to travel to DC a few times a year for work and get to visit one of my best friends, Brooke, while I'm here.  Brooke and I met in the Peace Corps, have had numerous adventures abroad, numerous adventures on US soil - hiking in Zion, canoeing in St. Louis, etc. and she stood by my side on my wedding day.

Normally I try to stay at her place so we can catch up on life and make bimbimbap, but this trip is very short,  so she came to see me downtown julie brown.

Our mission tonight was some grub so we headed to Busboys and Poets.

Busboys and Poets is a super chill restaurant / coffee shop / bookstore hybrid where hipsters, vegans, young professionals and intellectuals collide.

If you look in one direction there are people dining, in the other someone is browsing the web, turn around and there is a group of friends toasting at the bar, and behind you smarty pants is reading a book.

You might think with such a blended establishment they might be super sucky in one area, but that was not the case at all.  Plus, this blended approach is the only way a bookstore can stay in business these days.

I learned my lesson last week in Chicago.  I was not skimping and calling two sides dinner.  No, I went all out on an entrée.  Baller.

The pan-seared basil tofu was my choice, as I felt it had a nice portion of protein atop some leafy green.

You could call me Popeye when I was done.

Brooke had the chicken salad sandwich which had some mighty delicious sweet potato fries that I kindly helped take off Brooke's hands.

And Patrick had the tilapia.

The only thing remaining from all three plates when were were done was a pile of red onions and a mini pickle.

I'd say we all enjoyed our meals.

Eat well,
Carolyn

This week I am in Chicago famously known for it's deep dish pizza and franks.  Unfortunately neither are vegan friendly, and while I could find a vegan substitute, I'd prefer not to do a disservice to the classics.  Instead I opted to get my Chicago food fix by visiting a local restaurant and enjoying a contemporary vegan meal at Karyn's on Green.

I don't normally dine at such fine establishments when I am traveling solo, but I couldn't pass up the chance to experience a local, upscale vegan restaurant in the Windy City.

I sat at the bar, taking in the scenery and studying the menu.  Look real close, and there I am next to Buddha himself.

I could not make up my mind on what to order.  Normally I have one or two options to choose when I dine out,  but Karyn's had a full vegan menu.  I wasn't feeling very well, so I stayed away from the large plates - Barbeque "Pork" or Buffalo "Chicken."  I did see some large plates being delivered and large they were.  Karyn's does not skimp on the food.

After discussing things with my waiter, I decided on the Kale Slaw from the salads section and a Maki sushi roll from the small plates.

When my food arrived, my eyes quickly grew.  There was no way I was going to be able to eat all that food.   This was definitely not a small plate meal by my standards.

First up was the Maki roll.

This sushi roll was light and refreshing, nothing too special, but the mango and avocado combo added a nice creamy-tart touch to the roll.  The chipotle aioli was a nice change to the typical soy sauce for a dipper.

I ate a few rolls and pushed it to the side to make room for the kale slaw.  When that arrived, it was overflowing the kale goodness.

Unfortunately, the sesame vinaigrette really overpowered this salad.  The apple and cashews did add a nice touch to the slaw, but again, the dressing really saturated the salad leaving what could be a nice light dish, very heavy.

I enjoyed the ambiance and dining experience at Karyn's.  Next time I'll come hungry, and try an entrée.

Eat well,
Carolyn

I found out about Viitals from Groupon many months ago.  I quickly jumped at the chance to get half off vegan baked goods.  Who wouldn't? Too bad I let the coupon expire before I got to stuff my face with $20 worth of cupcakes (for only $10!).  My body says thanks and wants to remind the general public that just because a cookie is vegan, doesn't make it healthy.  I have to remind Dave of that often.

But that isn't always true.

At Viitals, there is a small, but varied selection of vegan baked goods - cookies, cupcakes, macaroons, muffins and breads.

I was looking for a meal not just sweets when I landed at Viitals.  After reading less than stellar reviews online, I was prepared for what was to come.  I decided to give them a try anyways and decide for myself.  Plus, any restaurant that caters to vegans deserves my business.

I arrived at Viitals which is situated between a deli and an upscale pizza joint in a strip mall off of Dale Mabry.  The atmosphere is crisp and clean - a nice mix of modern and comfort.  There is free wifi and a nice selection of health books to browse as well.

I studied the menu online before my arrival, so I knew exactly what I wanted - the Unexpected.  Kinda ironic, eh?

The owner warned me that the sandwich was small, but I knew this already as an online reviewer warned me too!  I asked for a side salad, chips, fruit, anything, and he told me to go next store for a salad.  Mm, okay.  What's with the big salad on the front page of your website?

I decided to eat the sandwich sans side and then come back for a treat.

The Unexpected wasn't anything exceptional.  When I eat a sandwich I prefer it overflowing of fresh vegetables versus being lost among the bread.  Unfortunately this was the later.  The bread was rather sweet which makes sense considering Viitals is a bakery.

The Unexpected wasn't quite filling enough for me to call lunch over, so I went back for round two.  Next up, was a coconut-poppy seed macaroon.

I'm not one to count calories, but I always like to know what's in my food.  One great thing about Viitals is that the nutrition information is listed for all of their items. So for 160 calories, 5 g of protein and 5 g of fiber, this little treat hit the spot.  I could have used a few more consider my sandwich was only 270 calories.  I'm not very good at math, but 270 + 160 = way too little calories to consider this lunch a done deal.

So, I went home and made a smoothie.

While I can't say I'll be back to enjoy another meal at Viitals, I will be back for a cupcake.

Eat well,
Carolyn Show owner comment »