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!