Gretch Runs

Hi everyone!  Today I'm dropping by to share my annual update on my 30x30 list- six months late! I didn't share this on my 29th birthday, so I'm going to share it on my 29 1/2 birthday :)  I started this list when I turned 25, and now there's just six months to go.  Crazy how quickly time goes.  Here's a look at where I stand today, along with how many items I have left to go! Buy a house   4/1/16 Break 2 hours in the half marathon  10/11/15  (first time) Break 4 hours in the full marathon Complete a triathlon (sprint counts!) 8/5/19 Get Married   5/6/16 Visit Mexico  Isla Mujeres and Cancun Splurge on a once-in-a-lifetime meal Kobe Beef in Kobe ! Bungee Jump  or Sky Dive  10/17/15 Visit Falling Water Go to all the east-coast MLB stadiums (Remaining stadium: Turner Field) Cook a fancy 5-course meal Plant a garden  Learn how to ski Stay at a BnB in Vermont Learn how to belay   11/6/15 Have a spa day

Good morning everyone! Today's post is going to be a bit different- I'm going to recap a week in my life and share exactly what I spent and what I did.  This is one of my favorite columns to read on Refinery 29 - it's fascinating to see how other people live and how people choose to spend money. This week was December 16 - 22.  It was interesting because I was heading on vacation and also enjoying my last week of work for the year.  Here's how the week went! Monday 5:30 - Wake up, get ready for work and take out Selma. It snowed a bit overnight! 6:30 - Get to work. Dan usually drives me to work, which is super convenient. This morning I almost got hit by 2 different drivers who weren't paying attention - just a reminder to always be alert when walking downtown!! At work, I make some coffee, fill my water bottle, and eat my breakfast (biscotti and a pear) 11:30 - Lunch! It's been a slow day at work so I feel even more hungry than usual.  Today I have

Happy Monday everyone!  It's my final week of work for the year (slash decade) and I'm pumped!  It's been a hectic, roller-coaster of a year, so I'm excited to see what 2020 has to bring. In my second post recapping the year (check out my favorite purchases here ), I'm sharing my favorite recipes that I tried out.  I love to cook, and these ones took the cake! Carrot Lox recipe and photo credit Time-intensive, but the taste and texture is SO close to smoked salmon for a fraction of the price and is vegan! Skill level- intermediate Prep time- 10 minutes Cook time- 1.5 hours + 2 hours marinating No Knead Bread recipe and photo credit Super easy method to cook bread, and it turns out delicious every time. Skill level-  a little more than beginner Prep time-  overnight Cook time-  1 hour Best Ever Veggie Burger recipe and photo credit I make this in huge batches and freeze them.  They are really delicious and better than any store-boug

It is officially the one year anniversary of my trip to Japan, so it's time to share the final post!  Kobe was our final day trip, and it was probably my favorite. Not only were we treated to perfect weather (a nice departure after the rainy day we had in Nara), but there was so much to see and do in the city. I loved it!  Here are some of my favorite things we did- Herb Garden The very first thing we did after stepping off the train was to head to the Nunobiki Herb Garden .  I actually found out about this from a YouTube video, and it sounded like such a fun and unusual place to visit!  The trip started with a cable car to the top of the gardens (which gave us an amazing view of the city).  There was a gift shop and cafe at the top, and we got to explore different herbs through all of our senses. We made our way down the pathway and saw different exhibits of plants and flowers.  There was a huge glass house that reminded me a lot of Phipps back home with rainforest plants

One of my favorite parts of being in Osaka was its close proximity with other fun cities, which made taking day trips really easy!  We decided to take two day trips, and our first one was to Nara.  This small town is just an easy hour train ride away, and we made sure to get there super early to explore all day long. Unfortunately, this was one of the rainy days on our trips.  Most of the fun of the city is exploring the great outdoors in Nara Park, so for me this wasn't my favorite city that we visited.  But, there were still a lot of interesting things that we got to see and do!  Here are some highlights - Bowing Deer One of the major tourist attractions of Nara are the thousands of tame deer that roam around the park (and sometimes explore the city as well).  You'll see them everywhere, even in temples!  Vendors sell you cookies, and then the deer will approach you and bow to get a cookie.  It's crazy to see!  Sometimes the deer would get a bit aggressive a

It's the end of the year, which makes it a great time to look back and reflect!  I'll be doing this in a few posts, but I'm starting out with my favorite purchases of 2019. This was definitely a year of "quality over quantity" in terms of buying things.  I tend to spend more money on travel and try to cut back on other areas in my life, so when I do make a purchase I try to make it thoughtfully and carefully.  Here are the major purchases that I made! Dog Canopy Starting with a fun one here- we got a canopy for the car for Selma this year.  We decided to lease a new car after having issues with cars that we've actually bought.  In order to keep it clean so we aren't charged with fees if we decide to turn it back it, we wanted to get a cover to protect the fabric seats from Selma's muddy paws.  This ended up being a fantastic purchase, because Selma actually seems to enjoy car rides now, and we don't have to worry about cleaning her off

For our final major city of our whirlwind trip to Japan, we decided on Osaka (don't worry- there are two more day trips that we took so this isn't the last post!).  To me, this city felt the most familiar- it was a lot more laid back and lively than the other cities.  People were talking more in public, cars revved their engines on the roads, and you walked on the right side of the sidewalks instead of the left!  The city definitely had a more edgy and young feeling to it, and I really enjoyed it.  Here are some highlights! Conrad Osaka Our final hotel was definitely the best- the location was ideal and seemed to be close to everything, the service was top notch, and we had a special lounge area for being Diamond Members which served a special breakfast and happy hour every day (saving us lots of money!).  The room was really beautiful too with a jaw-dropping view of the city.  The architecture and design of the building has also been showcased in magazines, and it&#