Yesterday after blogging, I relaxed in the apartment. I watched some tv, took a nap, and did a little organizing. Before I knew it, it was time to pack up for the beach. I grabbed towels and my book and Ian peeled/ cut up a ton of fruit. We put it in the freezer for about 45 minutes before we left and then kept it in the cooler all afternoon (we also did this with water). Freezing the fruit definitely helped keep it cold!

Strawberries, cherries, and lychees.

We also ran down to the convenience store in our building to purchase some adult beverages. Ian grabbed beer and I bought an individually packaged glass of pinot grigio, the only white wine they had in a smaller serving. It was way too hot for red.

We also ate lunch in the apartment right before we left. We knew we’d be eating out for dinner and wanted to save some money/have a healthy option. I whipped up a blueberry peach smoothie for Ian and then I had lentil sloppy snobby joes on a piece of brown rice bread with snap peas. Yum!

And then finally, coolers and towels in hand, we were off to the beach!

By the time we arrived at Jane Addams Memorial Park it was 100 degrees. Yikes! Even the sand was hot. We found our friends, spread out our towels and ran into the water. The water was warm but felt really nice and we paddled around for a while before venturing back up to the beach.

I tried to read but I would start sweating 10 minutes after getting out of the water and it was too uncomfortable to hold a book. Instead, I spent the afternoon running between the towel and the water, cooling off and then warming back up.

Fortunately, the beach wasn’t too crowded and we were actually able to swim around in the lake. I would have hated standing in a crowd in the water.

After about 4 hours of beach time we called it quits. We were getting sick of the heat and I was desperately in need of some water- even though I drank two bottles at the beach! We walked into the city in search of finding somewhere quick and easy for dinner and ended up at Fox & Obel, a market and cafe in the Streeterville area.

Despite having a fairly bread heavy menu, I was able to find something to eat.

I had their salmon entrée that was served on top of bok choy, napa cabbage, and mushrooms. It was supposed to come with a special broth but I found out that it was made with butter and just asked for the dish without it (honestly, it didn’t need it).

I devoured my entire meal. In the heat I hadn’t felt hungry but after being in the AC and sitting down to eat, I was ravished.

Our friends left after dinner to go home and get ready for the fireworks at Navy Pier but we stayed and walked around the market. Of course I ended up picking up a few things including a new vegan chocolate made with chipotle chile, PB & Co’s spicy peanut butter, and these Enjoy Your Life cookies that I bought at a different store because I wanted a water and had to meet the credit card minimum.

I can’t wait to try the chocolate. I’ve been craving it lately!

Ian and I ended up watching the fireworks through our apartment windows while watching Madmen. It may not have been super traditional but we were both beat after being outside all afternoon. We were also able to calm down Sonic who gets a little freaked out by the booming fireworks.

All in all I had a great Fourth. It was so nice to meet up with friends and hang out on the beach!

This morning I woke up early (like always) to run five miles outside. It was of course super hot but I figured I’d give it a shot. It felt much warmer today than it has the last few days so I took it really easy. Even still, running was tough. I was sweating more than usual and my legs did not want to move. The air was also really thick and by mile 4 it was difficult to breathe. I ended up completing my run but I’m seriously wondering if I should take tomorrow’s run inside. Today was no joke.

Let’s also just say cold showers have been my best friend this past week.

Breakfast was another cold oatmeal parfait but instead of layering the oatmeal with avocado, this time I used pumpkin puree mixed with maple syrup.

I topped it with pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and another drizzle of maple syrup.

It was good but I have to say that I liked the avocado version better

Back to work today, at least I have fun dinner plans to look forward to!

How did you spend yesterday?