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Beginning of Birthday Weekend

The biggest surprise of my birthday was that no one sent me T-Swift’s most appropriate song, “22,” on my birthday yesterday.

No we did not dress up like hipsters, nor did we have breakfast at midnight. But we keep dancing like we’re twenty-two-oooh-oohhhhh. ;)

22nd birthday banner (stronglikemycoffee.comMy birthday was on a Thursday, so I actually have an entire birthday weekend ahead of me. As soon as I press ‘publish’ I will be grabbing my swim suit and suitcase to head to sunnier lands.

First of all, I planned on spending an extended birthday celebration with family and friends for the weekend. So I didn’t have any elaborate plans on my birthday. Several friends were working, and I still had class and my internship from 8am-5pm. We opted for a late-night downtown adventure instead of a birthday dinner at a restaurant. I didn’t mind at all, I still had this lovely plate and a sparkle-tini on the side:

22nd Birthday Dinner (stronglikemycoffee.com)Sushi is my favorite, and I was excited to see salmon wrapped in brown rice!

A little before 10pm, Kerri came over with a beautifully-wrapped present. She opened with, “I’m so freaking proud of this present, I feel like Martha Stewart.” Intrigue! Apparently she had gone through my DIY board on Pinterest to find a decorative craft that I would like. She picked a candle holder; she made me two of these candles encompassed in ‘local’ sticks with baby pinecones and delicious smelling candles. I love candles! And these are too pretty to burn! I love the fact that she made it and I love the fact that it’s a little piece of Flagstaff. I did have to laugh out loud, though, trying to picture her on campus pulling sticks off of trees while people walked by. :)

Homemade DIY Stick Candle Holder (stronglikemycoffee.com)

The night was just getting started! First, we opted to try The Wine Loft for the first time. We’d heard about this cute, upstairs wine bar with tons of games. That is more my style.

The bar itself was adorable, dark lighting with thousands of bottles of wine and chalkboard menus – perfect ambiance for a wine loft. One problem……there was only one other person in the huge space. The bartender. Why so empty on a Thursday night? Having the bar to ourselves was a little fun and a little awkward. We each picked out a glass of something light and pretty. Rose’ for me, bubbly for Kerri, and Pinot Grigio for Bri. Next, time to pick out a game. We’d never heard of 70% of them and didn’t feel like concentrating on Monopoly or Scrabble so we picked the perfect classy wine bar activity…..Cards Against Humanity.

22nd birthday wine and games (Stronglikemycoffee.com)This game is hilarious! And racy. Some of the cards made us blush reading out loud in front of the bartender. And a little too far for the content I want on this website so moving right along….

We ended up staying and playing until The Wine Loft closed but we weren’t ready to go home yet. After all, we had dressed up (a rare event for some college students) and no one else had really seen us! The second we walked in to the next bar, we looked at each other with non-verbal agreement then walked right back out. Blegh, it smelled like canola oil and smoke and no one was on the dance floor. We walked by a couple other bars but honestly, the “club” thing is not our scene so we went to our old stand-by. The country bar. We found a booth and a menu to find a birthday dessert!

22nd birthday dessert (stronglikemycoffee.com)I left our table for a few minutes, and in my absence a guy asked my friends if he could buy me a drink. They eagerly informed him that it was my birthday. When I returned, he sent me over a pineapple rum drink and I’m only including this detail in the blog post because that has never happened. I was flattered, but also a little confused because he and his friends left the bar just a few minutes later….

Next the bartender came back with our banana pudding and 3 spoons, topped with a little pink candle :) He also refused to bring us a check. See, people at the country bar are just so dang sweet.

We walked around downtown a little bit more, contemplating whether or not to go in anywhere else but I think we all agreed that the night had been so much fun that we would just cap it off right there.

Birthday song would have to go to Don’t Say Goodnight by Hot Chelle Ray because when it came on the radio for the first time ever as we pulled up to our apartment last night, we had a little parking lot dance party. Love my silly best friends :)

Aboslutely too perfect to sum up my night.

See you here again tomorrow! <3

2 Years Strong!

We have a big bad birthday celebration in the house…..

Strong Like My Coffee turns 2 years old today.

My blog is a toddler!

Despite what you’ve heard about those Terrible Two’s I think exciting things are in store ;)

Strong Like My Coffee 2 Year Blog Anniversay

Anniversary…Birthday…whatever you want to call it….we need a cake! Because, I say so. (Who made the rules?!)

Last year, SLMC’s first birthday brought you this “healthified” Raspberry Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake. In keeping with my coffee cake theme, I searched for something equally cute. I adapted Chocolate Covered Katies “1 minute coffee cake in a mug” with a recipe down below :)

The blog statistics:

  • In the past 365 days….
  • 77 blog posts
  • 278 pictures
  • 14,562 cups of coffee

Stats on this recipe:

  • Healthy (low-sugar, low-fat, portion controlled)
  • Convenient (microwavable!)
  • Quick (5 min. tops)
  • Adorable (it’s a cake in a mug, c’mon!)
  • Coffee-themed (how appropriate.)

And that is as statistical as it gets around here :)

Coffee Cake in a Mug Recipe (stronglikemycoffee.com)The Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake in a Mug Recipe:

(Serves One)

  • Combine the following:
    • 3 Tbs. flour of choice
    • 1 Tbs. water
    • 1 Tbs. coffee
    • 2 tsp. unsweetened applesauce
    • 1 Tbs. Stevia (or sugar)
    • tiny pinch of salt
    • pinch of cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp. vanilla
    • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • Spoon 2/3 of the mixture into a mug (I recommend lightly spraying with cooking oil first.)
  • Combine the following in a separate dish:
    • 1/2 Tbs. cinnamon
    • 1 Tbs. brown sugar (or stevia)
    • 1 Tbs. pecan pieces
    • 1 Tsp. applesauce
  • Spoon half of the cinnamon mixture over cake mixture.
  • Add remaining layer of cake batter.
  • Add remaining layer of cinnamon.
  • Microwave for 1 minute 15 seconds. Increase by 10 seconds if needed.

Coffee Cake Mug Recipe (Stronglikemycoffee.com)

Bring on a brand new year of coffee, celebrations, cake, hanging out on New York rooftops and many more mornings of blogging :)

Strong Like My Coffee Blog Anniversary

***Cheers!***

And if you are on Instagram, I just joined your world. You can follow along @stronglikemycoffee if you’re into that sorta thing :) I’m looking for good fitspo accounts to follow too!

Cheers!

Yesterday. I crushed my finance exam. I ran a stellar six miles (in a t-shirt, in February). Oh and I turned 21.

Couldn’t have asked for a better birthday! Last night I got to celebrate with my best girlfriends :)

Taverna Birthday Dinner (stronglikemycoffee.com)Of course I am all about the healthy lifestyle. So…how does alcohol fit into that? Well I believe a healthy lifestyle includes splurging in moderation. Alcohol is one of those splurges. I was not about to get white-girl-wasted on a Wednesday night with an exam the next morning at 8am, but I definitely ordered my first cocktail: Skinny Acai Lemonade. Tart & delicious!

Skinny Acai Lemonade (stronglikemycoffee.com)**I was slightly disappointed when the waitress didn’t even ask for my ID. I was ready to get carded for the first time!**

my first drink. pucker up! (stronglikemycoffee.com)My dad asked me if I felt “21.” NO WAY. If I were to walk into a bar I would still feel like I wasn’t allowed in. The thing I’m most excited about is country night at one of the restuarants downtown. Country music, line dancing and yard jars <3 And more excuses to get together with my best friends!

Best friends at birthday dinner (stronglikemycoffee.com)

three best friends (stronglikemycoffee.com)

My birthday workout wasn’t as structured as last year’s birthday workout but it got the job done! Starting as soon as I woke up with a core routine that included three sets of:

  • Plank (front & sides)
  • Push-ups
  • V-ups
  • Russian Twists
  • Burpees
  • Leg Lifts
  • Bicycles
  • Hip Bridge
  • Plus 20 minutes of the elliptical

Wednesdays I have a 50-minute kickboxing class with Kerri, but the instructor treats is more like a martial arts class….we “played” with PVC pipes and practiced a little self-defense. Highly entertaining and hardly a workout. I followed it up with 6 miles in the gorgeous weather. (My first birthday here without a snow storm!)

And THAT is how I justify my “birthday shot” (not exactly sure what it was, but there was whip cream & a cherry on top!) and the TWO desserts my roomie Becca made. Apple Crisp & Peanut Butter Cookies.

Got my birthday crown (stronglikemycoffee.com)

At least my meal balanced it out with some actual nutritional value. I got a spinach berry feta salad with salmon :) The only time I eat meat is when I go out because I detest cooking it myself.

Berry Feta Salad with Salmon (stronglikemycoffee.com)Loved that we all had an excuse to dress up and wear heels. Thanks to my friends and parents I now have a grown-up set of wine glasses, charms, cork screw and wines (not sure if they’re good, but the bottles are cute & that’s all that matters!).

My favorite beverage is still coffee though ;)

partial birthday group (stronglikemycoffee.com)

CHEERS!