WIAW : Working from Home
Is it Wednesday already? It's so hard for me to keep track of days when I'm working from home, so it honestly feels like it could be Monday or Friday. The only reason I remember that it's Wednesday is because it's time to link up with What I Ate Wednesday (#WIAW)!!
I'm lucky to be done with working in the office for the rest of the year, and have been working from home this week! Most of my "Day in the Life"/WIAW posts have been from busy days when I'm in the office, so I thought it would be fun to switch things up and share what a different type of day looks like.
Follow me around on Monday, December 21, and see what all I eat and do in a day when I'm staying home!
7:30 - Wake up. WAHHH too early. Why is it that I can wake up easily at 5AM in the summer, but any time before 9 in winter seems impossible? Coffee will make everything better, so I make my way to the kitchen to make some French Press goodness.
I recently picked up the Wintry Blend from Trader Joes, and I love it! It smells SO good and has a really subtle spiced flavor. I mixed in a bit of eggnog, and head back to bed (aka my "office" for the day) to log in to work.
8:30 - Selma is staring at me, which means she wants #1 to go outside and #2 some food. Take her out and feed her, and now she's happy again!
While I'm up, I decide to make myself some breakfast. This weekend I picked up some yogurt and berries at Trader Joes, as well as a new kind of granola, so I make a parfait. AMAZING- the granola is so tasty!
12:00 - Head to the gym to go for a swim. I ended up doing about 500 yards of easy swimming. Afterwards, I spent some time in the sauna in my gym's locker room. AMAZING!
1:00 - Get back home and make some lunch. I got this recipe from my favorite Trader Joe's Cookbook
! It's really simple to make and tastes delicious.
WORK WORK WORK while I eat!
4:00 - Take Selma on a walk. It's a bit drizzly out but pretty warm, so we go on a longer walk.
5:00 - Dan gets home from work! Chat for a bit, then head out. Tonight we're stopping at Phipps Conservatory to see the Winter Lights. If you're ever visiting Pittsburgh, I would suggest stopping by Phipps! It's an amazing green house with so many different rooms and flower displays. The displays always change, so I have to stop by again soon! Here are some pictures :
The outdoor lights were my favorite! There were so many different types of lights, and I really liked walking under the "tunnel of love".
In the winter, they also have different groups to come play during the week. That night's group was Aeolian Winds, which is a wind quintet. They are so amazing and had some really fun renditions of traditional Christmas tunes.
Another favorite part of the night for me was getting mulled wine!! I can never find any good versions in Pittsburgh that remind me of the amazing wine I would get in Europe at Christmas Markets, but this one was perfection!
8:30 - Get home a lot later than I expected! I'm really hungry so I just make a quick salad of arugula, tomatoes, cheese and avocado with Pear Champagne dressing. Dan and I finish watching a movie while I eat!
(Sorry that it's not very photogenic..I was hungry!). Dan made some salmon so I end up eating some of that as well.
I also grab a snack- some Belgian Truffles from Trader Joes that are divine. I successfully avoided most of their Christmas goodies, but these were only $2.99 and I have a weakness for anything truffle. SO GOOD.
10:00 - Finish typing up my posts, chat with Dan, cuddle with Selma, and get ready for bed. Fall asleep around midnight (hey- no need to wake up early in the morning so why not!?). GOODNIGHT!
I'm lucky to be done with working in the office for the rest of the year, and have been working from home this week! Most of my "Day in the Life"/WIAW posts have been from busy days when I'm in the office, so I thought it would be fun to switch things up and share what a different type of day looks like.
Follow me around on Monday, December 21, and see what all I eat and do in a day when I'm staying home!
7:30 - Wake up. WAHHH too early. Why is it that I can wake up easily at 5AM in the summer, but any time before 9 in winter seems impossible? Coffee will make everything better, so I make my way to the kitchen to make some French Press goodness.
I recently picked up the Wintry Blend from Trader Joes, and I love it! It smells SO good and has a really subtle spiced flavor. I mixed in a bit of eggnog, and head back to bed (aka my "office" for the day) to log in to work.
8:30 - Selma is staring at me, which means she wants #1 to go outside and #2 some food. Take her out and feed her, and now she's happy again!
While I'm up, I decide to make myself some breakfast. This weekend I picked up some yogurt and berries at Trader Joes, as well as a new kind of granola, so I make a parfait. AMAZING- the granola is so tasty!
Breakfast
Berry Parfait - plain yogurt, honey, granola, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries
9:00 - Work! Absolutely no one in my contact list is online. Today is going to be a very long, boring day. Thankfully, I can read some blogs, respond to comments, and work on my post that went up on Tuesday! I also chat with Margaret via text and Snapchat to finalize a few things. I have to say, she is SO easy to work with and I'm so excited to collab on the Whole30 challenge!
10:30 - Take a break to grab a snack. I love to make small side salads for snacks, so I make a little caprese salad. Delicious and simple!
Snack
Caprese Salad : tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, balsamic vinegar
12:00 - Head to the gym to go for a swim. I ended up doing about 500 yards of easy swimming. Afterwards, I spent some time in the sauna in my gym's locker room. AMAZING!
1:00 - Get back home and make some lunch. I got this recipe from my favorite Trader Joe's Cookbook
! It's really simple to make and tastes delicious.
Lunch
Shrimp and Leek Pasta : capellini, shrimp, arugula, Parmesan cheese, leeks, lemon
WORK WORK WORK while I eat!
4:00 - Take Selma on a walk. It's a bit drizzly out but pretty warm, so we go on a longer walk.
5:00 - Dan gets home from work! Chat for a bit, then head out. Tonight we're stopping at Phipps Conservatory to see the Winter Lights. If you're ever visiting Pittsburgh, I would suggest stopping by Phipps! It's an amazing green house with so many different rooms and flower displays. The displays always change, so I have to stop by again soon! Here are some pictures :
In the winter, they also have different groups to come play during the week. That night's group was Aeolian Winds, which is a wind quintet. They are so amazing and had some really fun renditions of traditional Christmas tunes.
Another favorite part of the night for me was getting mulled wine!! I can never find any good versions in Pittsburgh that remind me of the amazing wine I would get in Europe at Christmas Markets, but this one was perfection!
8:30 - Get home a lot later than I expected! I'm really hungry so I just make a quick salad of arugula, tomatoes, cheese and avocado with Pear Champagne dressing. Dan and I finish watching a movie while I eat!
Dinner
Salad : arugula, tomato, avocado, Mozzarella cheese, Pear Champagne dressing
I also grab a snack- some Belgian Truffles from Trader Joes that are divine. I successfully avoided most of their Christmas goodies, but these were only $2.99 and I have a weakness for anything truffle. SO GOOD.
10:00 - Finish typing up my posts, chat with Dan, cuddle with Selma, and get ready for bed. Fall asleep around midnight (hey- no need to wake up early in the morning so why not!?). GOODNIGHT!
I never know what day it is, especially because I work from home lol. I saw those truffles yesterday and thought they were a great deal for that price!
ReplyDeleteThey're amazing! I was going to pick them up for a party but kept them all for myself ;)
DeleteYou actually have real meals when you eat at home... my eating at home habits are more of the the-eating-never-stops variety!
ReplyDeleteI do that sometimes, but I was craving real food and meals! Plus I don't have much snacky food right now, so I don't have much choice!
DeleteI haven't known what day it is for like three weeks. All I know is Christmas is this Friday ;) I love your side salad snack...good idea!
ReplyDeleteHaha!! Same here..Friday is all that matters!
DeleteI'm working from home too, but after today I'll be off until January 4. Woot! And yes, no one else is working as much people took this week off too. Love the Selma picks! Is the pear champagne dressing something you bought or made? I'd love the recipe! I definitely have to check out Phipps. Have a great holiday, Gretchen!
ReplyDeleteYay! Hope you enjoy your time off work :) The dressing is actually from Trader Joe's! It's my absolute favorite, but I might have to figure out how to make it at home so I can share the recipe!
DeleteThose lights look so pretty. I love mulled wine! When working from home, my "meals" are more like "snacks" throughout the day!
ReplyDeleteMulled wine is the best! So festive and warm :)
DeleteThose lights look SO BEAUTIFUL! I would love to go see some next year. I definitely snack more when I'm at home eating. Although I do usually have 3 square meals too. I hope you have a very merry CHRISTmas!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Emily! You should definitely check out holiday lights- they make me so happy! Merry Christmas to you too :)
DeleteI need to do a WIAW but I have zero patience to take pictures before I devour my food! Maybe at least once during our whole30! You already eat so healthy, I feel like it'll be no trouble for you! Haha I love that you had a late night snack of a salad because I do that all the time! My new Christmas wish is to get a glass of mulled wine you're making me want some so badly!
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret! I'm lucky that I really like veggies and fruit, so the only challenge will be eliminating dairy...and pasta...and alcohol...eek!
DeleteSelma is so so cute! I love getting to work from home and so do my puppies, even though they just seem to stare at me the whole time trying to get me to feed them. I'm looking for that coffee next time I'm at TJs!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam! She likes to cuddle with me most of the day, but halfway through she just wants to nap alone on her chair. I feel like I'm intruding on her normal schedule!
DeleteI realllllly wish we had Trader Joes up here. That coffee looks perfect. DANG. And your Whole 30 plan is inspiring me to start something nutritionistic for my injury time. I don't want to blimp out, but even more so I need to jumpstart my veggie intake. IT IS TIME.
ReplyDeleteGIRL I want to open up a Trader Joes in Canada just so you can enjoy it. It'll be your own personal one if you want! I hope I can provide you with some good recipes and good ideas to get your veggies!
DeleteIt's always so exciting to find mulled wine here as good as the European version! Selma is so adorable - what type of mix is she? She looks so much like my parents' beagle-border collie mix. Charlie stares at me all the time when I work for home, except if I turn the heat on, in which case he sits directly in front of the vent.
ReplyDeleteThank you! She's a lab/beagle mix. Funny you knew she was a beagle mix..no one else believes me that she has some of that!
DeleteI lose track of time/days when I work from home too. Oh my goodness—Selma is so cute. I miss when my dog still lived with me. I always love when I visit my parents' and he curls up on my lap while I'm at the computer—like right now!
ReplyDeleteAw I love dog stories so much!
DeleteGreat day! I am usually out and about all day on the weekends :) Work can really tie you down!
ReplyDeleteIt sure can!! Why can't we work 2 days a week and rest for 5 days
Deletei loved this peek into your day!! i am working at home this week and am doing awful at it, lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elle! Working from home is definitely tough but I love it!
DeleteI don't know how you remember to snap a pic of all your eats :) looks delish, especially that lunch.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I forget and end up getting a crap pic like the last one! I just have to remind myself to get pictures all day
DeleteI don't know how you remember to snap a pic of all your eats :) looks delish, especially that lunch.
ReplyDeleteI tried mulled wine for the first time in Europe and it was SO GOOD! I haven't tried to recreate it here in the States yet. I used to work from home full time when I was at IBM and I eventually learned to hate it. It's so lonely! But everyone once in awhile, it's really nice :) Enjoy the break!
ReplyDelete