shopping - Live from La Quinta

Weekly Reader: Christmas Shopping Inspiration

December 18, 2012 · by Debbie · 25 Comments

Have you ever read a great book, seen an inspiring movie, or heard a great joke, and thought, “I’ve got to share that!” Of course you have! Here are a few things from my Reader in the last week that inspired and motivated me, made me happy, sad, and angry, made my stomach growl, and made me laugh.

~~Seven~~ Six (couldn’t quite get the post published on time) shopping days until Christmas! If you, like me, tend to procrastinate with your shopping, I have compiled a list of gift ideas from my favorite blogs. They were posted over the last several weeks, so if they list a sale price or special, be sure to confirm before you make the leap to purchase.

Who’d of thought a year ago that I’d be inspired by shopping in a baby store?

No Meat Athlete, The 2012 No Meat Athlete Holiday Gift Guide. Matt, Susan, and Doug, all No Meat Athlete contributors all listed their favorite gift items. You’ll find great choices for the athlete here, whether or not they are vegan.

MizFit, We Made the Gift Guide. While Carla’s post mentions her appearance on another gift guide, here is just the link to order the MizFit Workout Skirt and Sports Bra. They would make a great gift and all her proceeds go to a good cause, too.

Kitten a Go-Go, Christmas List 2012. Danielle tells it like it is and has posted her list of what she want for Christmas. Suits me, she has a bunch of fun choices.

JL Goes Vegan, Vegan Holiday Gift Guide. In this guest post, Jennifer provides a huge list of vegan gifts for all ages. If you have a plant based eater to buy for, this is a great resource.

Fun and Fit, Holiday Fitness Gift Guide. Alexandra and Kymberly have put together a great list for the fitness lover on your shopping list (or if you’re done shopping, I’ll bet you’ll find something fun for yourself!).

Girlie Girl Army, Gift Guide 2012. The vegan website to end all has a list of fun, vegan, and, well, girly items to choose from (and a few kind of weird ones).

Just the Food, Joni’s Top 10 Picks for this Holiday Season. A great vegan resource list from Joni, including books, kitchen tools, and even vegan caramels.

Oh She Glows, 2012 Holiday Gift Ideas. Angela also has a list of kitchen items, vegan food gifts, and more.

Run Wiki, 10 Holiday Gift Ideas for Runners. Seriously, when I saw Lisa’s list of gifts for runners, I kept saying, “I want that,” over and over again.

Racing Tales, Holiday Steals and Deals for Runners and Triathletes. Another great list for athletes, this time from Alison. She includes some discount codes, but like I said above, check to make sure they haven’t expired. Alison has another post, Running and Triathlon Books for the Holidays. Perfect for the athletic reader on your list.

Chef Amber Shea, Holiday Gift Guide: Cookbooks. Not only does Amber offer a list of vegan cookbooks, she also tells you a little about each one plus the type of person who would like each book. Tip: Check out Amber’s book, Practically Raw. It is a beautifully photographed, fun book that is excellent for those who want to try a little raw “cooking.”

Running for Dummies, Gifts for Runners (aka My Christmas Wish List). Lea tells it like it is. This is her Christmas wish list, and if you’re a runner I know you will find several items either to add to your own list, or to give another runner in your life.

Mommy Run Fast, 13 Homemade Edible Gift Ideas. Laura’s homemade granola would make an amazing personal gift. Plus she has done some rounding up of her own to create an imaginative list of edible gifts. FYI, some are vegan, some contain egg and/or dairy.

Lisa Runs For Cupcakes, My Christmas Wish List. Another great runner’s wish list, this time from Lisa. I think I need those Zensah leg sleeves too!

Lyl Mys Ninja, My Fitness Wishlist. Now Maria’s list for runners makes me want Pro Compression sleeves! Decisions, decisions. She’s got a lot of other great stuff on her list, too (love that Endorphin Warrior Training Jewelry).

Kate Moving Forward, Stocking Stuffers for the Fitness Enthusiast. I will admit that by the time I get to thinking about stocking stuffers, I’ve about had it with the Christmas shopping. Kate makes it easy by giving us some great ideas with a variety of price points.

I also hope that you will take a look at some of the folks that I work with here at Live from La Quinta. At Amazon you can order by Wednesday with Super Saver shipping, and all the way through noon PST on Saturday with one day shipping. YogaDirect.com offers the lowest price guaranteed on a variety of yoga mats and other accessories. Abe’s Market is the online marketplace for great natural products (and they’re offering free shipping on everything through the end of the year!).

I think you all know that I love my Therafit shoes (I wear them everywhere these days!). I think they’d make a great gift for anyone who is a fitness enthusiast or just spends a lot of time on their feet. They are comfortable, supportive, and fashionable.

If I missed any posts that you think should be listed here, I apologize and hope that you will link up below in the comments. I still have some shopping to do!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Amazon, Abe’s Market, and Yoga Direct, so I may make a few cents if you purchase using the links. As for the Therafit shoes, I love them and I’m still wearing them, but FitFluential LLC compensated me for this Campaign. All opinions are my own.

Weekend Happenings: Running, and Shopping, and Vegan Doughnuts. Oh My!

December 16, 2012 · by Debbie · 14 Comments

A Very Visual Saturday

Whatever that means. Lots of pictures and a video, I guess.

The morning started with a trail run. A late start, for us, of about 8:00 because it was cold, for us, about 50 degrees. We took a quick run with the whole pack (all six of them), then headed out for the real run with Penny.

Alan, Penny and I started out and decided to try a new path that Alan saw, that headed west into the hills. It turned out to be very sandy, poorly marked, and rocky, so our run turned out to be more of a hike and scramble. Still lots of fun, though. Penny led the way, though she is a bit better at rock climbing than we are

I tried out the Twitter apps new filters for this. Not bad.

After our run/hike/climb, I ate breakfast (hurray, leftover tofu scramble!), then settled in to see if I could somehow figure out a way to edit iphone video on my new Windows 8 computer. I don’t know if this is the best way (seems mighty complicated), but after I found an app that would download youtube videos, I ended up first uploading my videos (a few I’d taken on the run) to youtube, downloading them to my computer, then using Windows Movie Maker to edit them. Yes, I know. But, I was kind of happy with the result:

I first made a version that used Kid Rock’s Born Free for background music, which was wonderful, but without music rights needed to change it for publication. I will keep my original version for my own pleasure, though.

By the time I was finished with my video, it was time to go to lunch. I got a surprise when I opened the door, though. A package on my doorstep! A couple weeks ago, I was fortunate to win a dozen vegan, gluten-free doughnuts from Cinnamon. Geanna, of Green Vegan Living, founder of Cinnamon, emailed me a couple days ago to let me know they were on the way, which I’d quickly forgot about. So, it was a nice surprise.

Cinnamon was founded by Geanna who suffered from food allergies for years, and found it difficult to find anything on the market that she could eat. Now she creates wholesome, delicious foods that are allergen free, gluten-free, and vegan. In addition to doughnuts, Cinnamon serves cookies, cinnamon rolls, and for the holidays, a variety of pies. They are sold at a few places in Oregon, but, fortunately for the rest of us, they are also available by mail order.

Geanna sent a lovely note with the package.

Chocolate Peppermint

I brought the plain with cinnamon sugar with me to Starbucks

Now it may have been a long time since I’ve had a doughnut, but I can tell you that both flavors were rich and delicious. And, in addition to being vegan, etc. they are also baked. Sounds downright healthy to me!

After lunch and a cup of coffee (yes, I did bring a doughnut along with me to enjoy with my coffee), we went to buy our Christmas tree. We always go to the same place, a tree lot run by a family who come down from Oregon every year. I think we made our fastest selection ever. It only took about five minutes for Alan and me to decide on our tree.

No, that’s not Alan! I presume it is Mr. Whitney.

Finally, for dinner, I threw together some seitan, quinoa, hummus, and veggies, along with some Middle Eastern seasonings. Recipe coming soon, but I’ll tell you it was pretty delicious.

Sunday Shopping

Sunday also started with a run. A bit earlier, colder, and longer, with no rock climbing. Our goal was to get the run done, then shower, and head out for some Christmas shopping before it got too crazy.

Today we hit the mall, and we were pretty successful at beating the crowd, even though we got going later than planned. Of course, as soon as we are in the middle of shopping at our first store, I get hit with a “hunger thing.” That’s what I call when I’m suddenly so hungry that I get shaky, feel faint, a little nauseous and even break out in a cold sweat. It’s probably a drop in sugar or something, but I’ve dealt with it for years and know what I have to do. Eat.

The problem being, of course, that we were at the mall, not a place known for healthy eats. Bypassing Cinnabon, Wetzels Pretzels, and Coldstone, we made our way to the food court. Honestly, it wasn’t too bad. There were a couple of sandwich places, a Rubios, and the place we finally chose, the Garden Deli. I didn’t take photos, but Alan and I both ordered the 1/2 Veggie sandwich with a side order of sweet potato fries. Not the healthiest of meals, but not the worst either, and at least I knew I wasn’t going to faint or something.

We got a lot of our shopping done, took a quick trip home to feed the dogs, then headed out for a little more. I’m off on Monday, so we can hopefully finish up our shopping when we head out to the outlet stores.

My tree sits naked, awaiting lights and decorations.

As for the tree, it is up, miraculously straight the first try, just waiting to be decorated. Another job for Monday. Also on the agenda: Yoga! Another fresh start (I’m good at that). I’ve got some beautiful new workout wear that I will be trying out, sent to me from Yogi Clothing, that I can’t wait to wear and review.

I can tell that I am rambling now. That is what shopping all day will do to a person. Time to wrap it up. How was your weekend? For those of you who celebrate Christmas, do you have all your shopping done? I always feel like I’m out there until the last minute, how about you?