Warm spring evening

Even though things cooled down a bit after the sun went down, it still felt a little bit sticky in NYC today. A welcome change from all of the RAIN of late, but I'm not in any rush to jump into summer. I love spring!

I realized today that things are really falling into place in terms of my workouts and fueling -- YAY! I'm eating mindfully and making time to keep my fridge stocked and plan my meals. I'm scheduling my workouts and actually enjoying them (and I'm not TOO sore...ugh, note to self: never get out of shape again). I'm not quite in the zone yet, but I feel like I am getting there. (Is there a limit to how many times one can cross-reference one's own post? I probably passed that limit).



All was humming along smoothly until about 4 this afternoon, when I developed a killer craving for a milkshake. I finished up the day at work and by the time I got home, I was still thinking about that shake. I decided I really wanted it, and in fact, I was going to treat myself. In the past, I would have said, "well, I'm going to have a milkshake so why not add a burger and fries, too", but today I just wanted the shake. I ate a good dinner and at around 8:30 I leashed up my little friend Audrey to go to enjoy the warm evening and commence Mission: Milkshake.

My neighborhood is pretty adorable and has TONS of restaurants, shops, and other goodies...but weirdly, there are very few ice cream options (just two, actually). There used to be more, but several of them went out of business under suspicious circumstances. Oops.

I considered my two options. One is so famous it is actually a stop on those double-decker site-seeing buses and has a line that always looks something like this:

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
Source: Scoop on Cones

The other one is nearby, uses yummy organic ingredients, and has this adorable logo:

Sold!

Audrey and I had a lovely stroll through the neighborhood on our way for our treat. Have I mentioned before how much I love my neighborhood? Big brownstones, tree-lined streets, friendly people. I'm looking forward to taking some photos and doing a neighborhood tour once I have a few DSLR lessons under my belt.

I got my shake -- plain vanilla, just what I wanted -- and it was GOOD. I didn't take a photo (I just don't think I'm a food blogger), but it looked like...a milkshake. It totally satisfied my craving, and at $7.25 for a modest 16oz cup, this will NOT become a regular habit.

We took the long way home, and I got to window-shop and check out the comings and goings of shops in the neighborhood. This economy is rough: grand opening, grand closing.

As I walked and enjoyed my shake, a couple of nice things happened:

-Audrey saw other dogs and didn't freak out
My Audrey does not play well with others (well, at least around me -- for the dog walker and dog trainer, she is a perfect angel). Usually we play a fun game where we zig-zap across the street and hide in the bushes when we see another dog, but tonight she found some dogs she didn't hate. In fact, while I was checking out the menu of a new restaurant, I looked down and noticed Audrey gently sniffing the head of another dog. It was sweet! She screamed at another dog further down the street, but baby steps...

-I noticed a flyer for a new local running club
This is something I think I'd like to do at some point. I really enjoy running on my own and feel like for now I want to be dictating the length and pace of my runs, but down the road I think the push and camaraderie of a group. I have quite a few friends who ran with running clubs as marathon prep and really enjoyed it. Running club website: bookmarked.

I'm heading to bed happy and satisfied. And I'm looking forward to some more breezy spring evening strolls in the neighborhood....summer, don't come too quickly!

Spring in NYC
Source: Kate Spade NY