This weekend has included a little bit of everything.
My friend Miriam drove in from Winston Salem on Saturday for a CrossFit + lunch date. Luckily, the WOD was newbie-friendly and Miriam totally rocked it. It was three rounds of thrusters (a squat to overhead press with a barbell) and running.
I did NOT rock this workout. In fact, it was my first ever “DNF” – did not finish. After the second set of thrusters my low back started to bother me on the run. Rather than tough my way through the workout, I listened to my body and stopped. I do not mess around with back pain. I did a lot of mobility work with the roller and lacrosse balls and had a friend who was also in class and is a fellow yoga teacher massage my psoas to try to get it to release a little.
I took Miriam to Fern for lunch and was delighted to hear that they were serving brunch and had $1 bloody mary’s. I mean, how do you pass up a $1 bloody mary? I knew that they would be good and feature homemade tomato juice instead of a mix. I was right. They were awesome!
Miriam and I looked over the menu and were both torn between the same two things so we ordered one of each and split. It was perfect! On the brunch side we ordered the Quinoa and Spinach Benedict – Crunchy Quinoa & Chick Pea Cake, Sautéed Spinach, Choice of Poached Farm Egg or Marinated Tofu, Hollandaise.
And on the lunch side, Fern’s incredible Om Burger – House-Made Crispy Burger with White Beans, Tofu & Hemp Seed, Pickled Fennel & Smoked Tomato Chow Chow, Spicy Jalapeno Aioli , Homemade Whole Grain Bun. I added goat cheese and ordered seasonal veggies on the side. This is my favorite veggie burger…ever!
I spent the rest of Saturday running errands, relaxing, baking salted fudge brownies and hanging out with friends. All activities went unphotographed.
I had a lot of work to get done this morning so I went into the office to knock it out so that I could enjoy the rest of my long weekend. My motivation for getting everything done was lunch at our new Whole Foods!
Charlotte finally got a Whole Foods and it is the most beautiful and wonderful Whole Foods that I have ever visited. That is not an exaggeration. I can’t wait to dedicate hours to exploring everything but today I only had time for lunch. I went a little crazy with the salad/hot bar and ended up with this creation. Although there is a salad base, I don’t think we can call this a salad. The sweet potato biscuit was a last-minute addition and was so delicious!
I called my grandmother after lunch and asked her what she was up to. She didn’t have much going on and has the day off of volunteering tomorrow since it’s a holiday so I hopped in the car and headed down to Georgia.
Sullie and I are very happy to be here! It has been way too long since our last visit for my grandmother’s birthday and Easter. I’m currently drinking hot tea, watching a Sex and the City rerun marathon and getting ready to read in bed. Can’t wait to spend the day with my grandmother tomorrow! 🙂
Enjoy your Labor Day!
Hope your back feels better, back pain is not fun to deal with!
I love the dogs! Hope your back is better but that was really smart not to push through the pain! I’m sure with some rest it will heal in no time! Happy labor day!
it’s feeling much better today! happy labor day to you too!
enjoy! i was watching the SATC marathon yesterday — so addicting!
Mmm sounds like a great brunch 🙂
My bf is eating breakfast next to me as I read blogs and he made me stop so he could drool over your poached egg photo lol
it was very delicious! droolworthy, for sure!
I love a good SATC marathon!!! Love the food at Fern 🙂 Hope you have a great rest of the weekend!
fern is so amazing. the chef is one of my yoga friends. so proud of her!
Oh yikes, I hope your back feels better soon. Back injuries are super scary. Hopefully rest will clear that right up.
Ha ha. Right now I’m watching a SATC marathon as well. I taped it over the weekend to enjoy today;)
my back is feeling so much better. i love that you recorded the SATC marathon!
Quinoa cake benedict…that’s a new one, but it sounds delicious.
Your back is so critical in everything you do, it’s not worth the risk. I tweaked something a while back doing kettle bell swings and I knew right away something was not right. I suffered for about a week to get back to normal. Good call on stepping back.
i so agree. it’s crazy how debilitated you are with back pain. it’s totally worth sacrificing a workout to keep it safe.
I have to say, Jen, every time you post about a new restaurant I begin to think about uprooting myself and moving to Charlotte! That brunch sounds phenomenal! MMMMmmm….
we have some great restaurants in charlotte. it’s not the best food city ever but i definitely can’t complain. send me to charleston or asheville to eat! 🙂
That was THE BEST restaurant!! I’m not sure which entree I liked better! For the record, I woke up with sore shoulders- LOVED Crossfit. So glad that you made it to Georgia and know your sweet grandmother was happy. xoxo!
The benedict and the burger both look amazing. I would have had a hard time choosing between the two as well.
$1 bloody mary’s!?! Sing me up! 😉 The husband & I visited Charlotte for the 1st time ever not too long ago and we really liked it there. We ate at a little place called Luna’s Living Kitchen for breakfast. What a great little place. I wish we would have known about Fern’s – next time!
such a cute blue (lulu?) tank!!