A Day in Detroit // 313 Link Up {beautiful places}

I am so, so excited that 313 Day is finally here! For those of you who don't know, 313 Day, March 13th, celebrates Detroit (area code 313).  Allie and I thought that we could get in the spirit and spread some well-deserved Detroit love by linking up with some other Detroit area bloggers to show how much the Motor City offers.  If you have some Detroit love in you, feel free to join in and share some of your favorite Detroit things!  The more 313 love, the better! 

Some of my favorite . . .

Detroit Eats

Mudgie's || aka the sandwich shop of all sandwich shops. Name an ingredient and they have it on a sandwich.  Okay, that's a lie, but many of their sandwiches are so unique that I would have never come up with them on my own.  I've only eaten here once, but I definitely want to go back and try the dozens of other sandwiches that sounded so, so delicious.  The amazing food + the small, hipster-ish atmosphere makes for the Best Deli five years running. 

I wish that I could say more about this place, but it's seriously so, so cool and you need to add it to your Detroit bucket list (and then promptly get to crossing that off!).

Also, I am not a food photographer, so just trust me when I tell you that something tasted good. 

The Kenna! Well, I think it is.  Whatever this masterpiece was, my tastebuds certainly enjoyed it! 

Slows || You may have heard of this one.  Even though it's not very old, Slows BBQ is making a huge impression all over the country. I wrote a more detailed post on Slows about a year ago, but here's a basic rundown: The building is really cool, the service is supah speedy, you should not step out of the restaurant without trying the mac&cheese (you'll like it possibly become obsessed with it), you'll find your favorite BBQ sauce, and make a mess in the process.  Slows is super trendy and that's where you'll find the cool kids.

Yum. Pure yum.

We're not calling this a mess. It's modern art.

Detroit Places

Fox Theatre || Built in 1928 as a movie theatre, the Fox is more like the throne room of a palace than any AMC that I've been to.  I absolutely love coming to the Fox, even though it's not for movies anymore. Whether I'm seeing the Rockettes, Hunter Hayes, or even eating breakfast with Santa, getting dressed up to see a show at the Fox is such a fun time.  No matter how many times I enter through its doors, I don't think that I will ever stop gaping at the detail and beauty that it possesses. 

What the Fox looks like from the stage! I was able to take a tour last Christmas and seeing all the signatures of everyone who has ever preformed there on the walls backstage was pretty darn cool.  

John K. King Bookstore || This place is seriously stacked. With books, upon books, upon books, that is.  There are literally one million books housed here.  The former warehouse turned used bookshop has such a cool atmosphere that's hard to describe. Maybe it's just the intense book nerd inside of me, but if you love reading/vintage/hipster/old/cool, then you would like John K. King.  It's constantly rated in the tops of lists deeming it one of America's coolest, largest, and most beautiful bookstores. 

Detroit Traditions/Culture

Thanksgiving in Detroit || For the past three years I've spent at least part of my Turkey Day in the D.  From attending my first Lions game on Thanksgiving in 2012, to running in the Turkey Trot 10K in 2013, and watching the parade with my family last year, I would say that I have fully experienced a Detroit Thanksgiving.  Spending time downtown on the holiday has quickly become one of my favorite traditions and I look forward to hopefully running up and down Woodward for the 10K again next year. 

Being sidelined for this year's Turkey Trot was hard, but getting to cheer on and high-five thousands of people breaking a sweat wasn't bad.

Oh, well, hey there, Big Sean! Fancy seeing you here! 

Detroit Sports || There's a reason that Detroit is ranked the #1 sports city.  Detroiters love Detroit sports, and that is a fact. Take the Lions, for example.  Maybe one of these days a Super Bowl winning team will come from Detroit, but in the meantime, Lions fans will keep on cheering, even when their beloved team comes out 0-16.  Between the Tigers (baseball), Red Wings (hockey), Lions (football), Pistons (basketball, even though this team isn't located directly in Detroit.) and the Indy 500 track, the Detroit sport experience is unbeatable.

Sorry, this picture section is biased because the Red Wings have a huge place in my heart followed distantly by the Tigers.

Joe Louis Arena is one of the oldest stadiums in the NHL and is going to be replaced in the next few years by a brand spankin' new arena. Although I'm sad that JLA is going, the new development is huge for Detroit! 

Comerica Park!

Detroit is truly wonderful.  Growing and developing, the city is emerging and reaching its full potential.  I cannot wait to hear all of your favorite Detroit places and hopefully get some good suggestions on where I should take my Detroit explorations next!  I know that there is so much more to Detroit than what I have experienced and I would absolutely love to get a better feel for the city and all that makes it what it is.

Happy 313 Day, everyone!  Show Detroit a little love and head into the city to try some new things out.

If you're here for the link up, grab the button HTML and stick it in your own post and then link up your blog using the InLinkz tool below.  I can't wait to see what you love about Detroit! 

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Spread the love!
 - Allison

An InLinkz Link-up

313 in the D // Link Up Announcement!

I'm really excited to announce to you all that I am co-hosting my very first link-up (along with Allie!) The idea for this all started when I was feeling some serious Detroit pride one day and texted Allie to see if she would want to co-host a link up dedicated to all the great things that Detroit has to offer.  Thus, "A Day in Detroit: a 313 Day link up with Allie & Allison" was born!

313 Day, otherwise known as Detroit Day, is celebrated on March 13th, when the date matches Detroit's area code of 313.  So, this Friday, March 13th, we and some other fantastic Detroit bloggers are getting in on the 313 Day spirit by giving the inside scoop on our favorite Motor City things.  Be it food, attractions, sights, experiences, or tradition, as long as it has to do with Detroit, it's welcome!

If you're living in/around Detroit, have lived there in the past, or have some pretty fond Detroit experiences, we would love, love, love if you would join us and share what you think are some of the best things about the D.

Here's what you do:
1. Write a post including some of your favorite Detroit things - you can have as many or as few as you want, be detailed or general, include mainstream or out-of-the way places - as long as they are within Detroit and the immediate surrounding area, you're good! If you add in a few pictures, even better!

2. Come back on Friday, March 13th and link up your post with either Allie or me.  We'll be launching the link up pretty early.  Grab the button at the bottom and include it in your link up post so others can see all the great things that make Detroit what it is.

EDIT: You can link up by adding your link to the bottom of one of our posts.  There will be a link up tool that you can put your name & post URL in and it will add you to the list! Let us know if you have any questions!

3. Share the Detroit love!  Invite others to participate in this link up and check out the other posts that have linked up.  The point of this is to see how great Detroit truly is, and maybe even find your new favorite downtown restaurant in the process.

I can't wait to see all of the Detroit love this Friday & I hope that if you have a great Detroit experience, you would join in on all of the fun!

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<a href="http://www.blogsomethingbeautiful.blogspot.com" title="Something Beautiful"><img src="http://www.image-maps.com/m/private/0/kia94bp8l3f3tltghisvv3je17_313-link-up-2.jpg" alt="Something Beautiful" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Any questions?  Email us at somethingrecklessblogs@gmail.com.

xx,
Allison

the pages that stole my heart // 2014

There are exactly two weeks left in 2014.

Wait, what?

Being my senior year, I've found that time is flying much too fast as I'm attempting to savor every moment that I can.  But here we are, 14 days out of 2015.  336 hours.  And that's all.

One of my favorite things about 2014 was the great books that I've read.  I set myself a goal to read 25 books this year - about two a month - and I'm currently at 28 books and counting! One of the major things that I'm looking forward to on Christmas break is the fact that I can read all day erry day in the comfort of my own home [read: while laying on the floor] and hopefully push that number up to at least 30 books for the year.

I'm linking up with The Broke and the Bookish to bring you my top ten books of 2014.  But 2014 isn't over yet, so one of the books in my pile to be read over break has the potential to join that rank. With that in mind, I'll talk about my top nine books of the year and letcha know what the tenth was when the clock strikes into 2015. [Also, PicMonkey didn't have a collage template for ten book covers, but we can pretend that that's not the real reason that I'm not doing ten here.]

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

I waited far too long to read this one as it's been sitting on my shelf for ages.  The ending was ruined for me so I went through the entire book in anticipation for the [SPOILER] moment when I would love Mr. Darcy. [SPOILER] I wasn't disappointed.

2. Z - Therese Ann Fowler

Biographies and the 1920s era are two of my favorite things. Add in Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and you're golden.  Evidently Fowler knew that and wrote this book just for me.  Obviously.  

3. The Book Thief - Mark Zusak

Talking about taking a long time to read, I think I had a bookmark stuck between The Book Thief's pages for almost nine months. Once I finally had a long time to devote to reading, I sat down and knocked off the last 300-odd pages in a single setting. The narration in this book is fantastic. 

4. Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand

Read this; I dare you! Unbroken opened my eyes to the world outside of my little bubble and has caused me to think differently about a lot of things [including fresh water] since I finished it at the end of June. 

5. All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

I'm not usually a huge fan of war novels, but this book offered a unique perspective that I've never seen before. 

6. The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan

I had this assumption in my mind that this was an old ladies' book club book that I would in no way enjoy. After reading it, I've realized that even if it were an old ladies' book club book, I would still have put it into my top nine. The views of life and lessons that can be learned from this book are huge. The story is woven together so smoothly that I can't help but think that Tan should be made a book saint or something. 

7. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

"That killed me." If you don't get the reference, you have to read the book! Another book that I've been meaning to read for a while. Although I couldn't relate to Holden quite as well as other teens have, I could definitely relate to where he was coming from. I sped through this one pretty fast and really enjoyed it.   

8. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. I love it, I love it, I love it. The first 50% of it was read under the covers after lights out during camp this summer. I know, I'm such a rebel. Shhh. 

9. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

I'm not actually finished with this one yet so it has the potential to become my least favorite book ever, but for now, I'm loving it. I'm reading it for my A.P. English class at school with the hopes that it will indeed prepare me for any theme that the A.P. test might throw at me to write about. 

What were your top ten  nine books of 2014? Do we have any in common? 

xx, Allison

Runners Tell All: I Eat Cupcakes Before I Run

You can probably use your common sense and realize pretty quickly that I'm in no position to offer any advice on how to properly fuel your runs.

Example: I've eaten a cupcake before I've run.  Like as I'm walking out of the locker room into cross country practice.

Example 2: I ate a few bites of a sub about five minutes before my 4X100 race last year in track.  Granted, I didn't realize that my race was so soon, but I still ate it.  And my coach still will not let go of it - Subway is my new middle name.

Example 3: Once I ate a granola bar while I was running.  I wasn't even hungry, I just kind of felt the need to eat, so I took my granola bar with me.

You may be gasping in horror right now, sure that the following runs were disasters with consequences such as throwing up all over the person in front of me or having to run 0.5 miles per hour because I felt so sick.  Don't fear though! I was completely and perfectly fine all three times! In fact, I'm pretty sure that I PR'd in my leg of the 4x100 that day. (Thanks, Subway!)

My apparent superpower of having an iron stomach does have an Achille's heel, however.  I do not want to eat/taste/see/smell/hear food within the first five minutes after a run.  At one cross country meet where I had run particularly hard in the last 400 meters, there was a team that was having a COOKOUT right next to the finish line.

When the aroma of hotdogs and burgers drifted over to me, I was breathing hard (duh.) and as soon as I smelled it, my stomach just flipped. I literally gagged and had to keep running to get away from it.  Here's the kicker: it was like 9 AM.  Who wants 'burgs and dogs before most people are even awake on a Saturday morning?

Anyway, the point of all that was to show what a bad example I am when it comes to running fuel and how you should never, ever come to me because my advice would be:

because it's what I do and I haven't died yet so it must be working.  

I do have some favorite things that I eat in relation to running though.  

Before: 

Obviously, I have no time restraints on when I eat before a run.  For important races though, I do like to keep my last meal at least 45 minutes before start time.  Cereal, bagels with peanut butter, protein bars, and bananas are my favorite pre-race breakfasts. Lots and lots of water throughout the day (if I race in the afternoon) is key to not having to decide between dehydrating and having a full bladder while running. 

During:

Well, I'm not too experienced in this category, but Kashi Chocolate Almond Sea Salt with Chia Bars (longest name ever) seem to do the trick! :) 

After: 

I'm a smoothie girl! One of the first things I crave after a run is a fruity, cold smoothie! If those aren't readily available, then fruit, Gatorade, and protein bars will have to do the trick.  Of course I chug about a gallon and a half of water a few minutes after I run when I'm done gasping for air, but I try to keep up a steady water intake for a couple hours. 

When I do get smoothies post-run, I like to make my smoothies protein-packed so it can be a one-and-done sort of ordeal. I use CrioSport Vanilla Whey Protein powder and I think it's pretty good.  I'm not very educated in the realm of protein powders though, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! 

Last night I made a delicious fruity smoothie that I want everyone to know about because I love it so much! 

Here's what you need:

- frozen pineapple chunks (I didn't measure, but about 3/4 cup? Maybe?)

-blueberries (Fresh or frozen. Mine were frozen. ½ cup?)

-1 frozen banana

-1/4 cup of oats

-water

-1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Blend up the oats by themselves first to avoid having oat chunks.  It's not as gross as it sounds though.  Next, blend everything else until it's nice and smooth.  

Enjoy!

I linked-up today with Amanda and Beka! If you want some real running fuel advice, you should probably check out some of those links over there.  You know, maybe you'll find some people who don't eat cupcakes right before they run.  

What are some of your running food rituals? Any protein powder suggestions? 

Five Florence Favorites on Friday!

I wasn't expecting to love Florence, Italy.  Smushed in between killers like Venice & Rome, I thought that Florence would just be a stop on the way.

Wrong.

So, so, very wrong.

I am absolutely crazy about Florence! The art! The history! The architecture! *swoon*  Okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but Florence is definitely a dramatic place.  Home to so many amazing things, the day and a half that I spent there was no where close to enough time.  I barely scratched the surface of the Florence Cathedral and didn't have time to venture to Piazzale Michelangelo and the Boboli Gardens, which is a crime in my opinion.

I'm linking up again today with Juliette, Faith, & Allie to blog everyday in July (which despite my recent track record, I won't keep up. Promise.) and today's prompt is to talk about five favorites.  So to keep the alliteration going, we're talking about five of my favorite Florentine things!

|| 1. The street art.

Umm, how is this happening? Stuff like this goes in museums and she's just painting it on the street like it's no big deal. If you didn't know that Florence is an art city, you do now.  

|| 2. This awesome statue of Machiavelli. 

First things first, check out that leg! Watch out Angelina Jolie, you've got competition! Second, if you thought that maybe he was a pretty nice guy underneath his whole "ends justify the means" thing, you may want to think again.  Check out that expression! Or, if you get nightmares easily, don't. 

|| 3. The street cleaner // the fact that Florence in Italian is Firenze. 

If you were about to litter and then saw this cute little street cleaner begging you to please place your trash in a trashcan instead of on the ground, you would, wouldn't you? (Unless you're heartless/don't think that the baby street cleaner is cute like I do.) Also, I was loving the Italian versions of city's names.  Florence was by far my favorite though for unknown reasons. To me, Firenze just sounds tall, dark & handsome. Anyone with me? 

|| 4. David

This is me maturely reacting to a 14 foot tall naked man.  

Once the initial shock of "oh, hey, naked man! *avert eyes*" was over, I was super glad that I coughed up a few extra euros to see David in person.  The detail was incredible! I kept staring at the back of his hands and imagining how much work it must have taken to carve out the veins so perfectly.  (I just typed veins and for all of you who don't know me, that's a big deal.  #Gross) If you're ever in Florence, see David.  For real.  10 points to Michelangelo.

|| 5. THE DUOMO! 

I am obsessed with the Duomo.  Oh my gosh.  Seeing it in person was one of the things that blew me away on this trip.  Prior to leaving, I had read a book entirely devoted to how the dome was built and to see the finished product right in front of my eyes was unbelievable.  I wish I could go back and look at it all day. (Glad we're talking about a building here because if we were talking about pretty much anything else, I would be labeled Creep of the Year.) 

|| Extra, extra!

I got to climb the Duomo! Best. Experience. Ever. No joke.  But that's another story for a different day.  Here's some pictures to tide you over since I know you're all on the edges of your seats now.

Ever been to Florence? What did you like/dislike about it? What are your five favorites this Friday? Link-up and comment with your link so I can check them out! 

Happy weekend everyone! 

This is Home

I was planning on telling all of you more about my European adventures, but then I saw the prompt for Juliette, Faith, & Allie's link-up.  Today for the Blog Everyday in July challenge, you're supposed to talk about your city.  And that made me think just how much I missed my hometown! After eighteen days of travel, I was definitely ready to get back to the familiar (but oh, so sad to leave the views and the food and the history and the . . . oh. Sorry.).  So, let's talk about the familiar!

I've lived in this small city an hour outside of Detroit for my entire life! (Well, minus 1.5 years of my life, but I don't remember them, so let's not consider that.)

Sometimes we get these really incredible sunrises that make me want to sing.  Except that would ruin the moment.  So I don't.  

Being located in Michigan means that my hometown sees all two seasons: winter and construction season.  Kidding, kidding.  We get a gorgeous range of new buds in the spring, green, green in the summer, crunchy leaves in the fall and an eternal winter that lasts twice as long as all the other seasons combined.  You do the math on that one.  

We have a cute little downtown with cute little shops and cute little parades that big city people think are lame, but I deem "cute."

Proof: My friend, who is from a much larger city, and I biked down to watch the Memorial Day parade that lasted pretty much all of seven minutes.  I loved it.  She didn't.  Oh, well. Can't please everybody.

We were a little late to the fro-yo game, but I am now proud to say that my hometown has not one, but TWO fro-yo shops.  You're pretty much ready to make my town your next vacation spot, aren't you?

If not, maybe this will convince you: we have a food truck! An actual, real life food truck with actual food that actually is pretty good.  I was really hesitant to go at first, but I'm really glad that I did.  It's so unique and becoming a definite feature of my town.  I hope it sticks around as long as I do!

More cool things about my town! In addition to our cute little downtown area that gets all dressy for Christmas and summer, we have a super classy strip mall.  No creepy abandoned buildings here! Everything is new and exciting and busy nearly all the time.  

Annnnd, for all you outdoorsy people, we have a metropark with lots of hiking trails, fishing spots and beaches to get your tan on.  Golf courses and ski hills? Yep, got those too.

If you aren't as in love with my city as I am, that's okay.  You have to live it to love it in my opinion.  However, I will offer one more point that may sway you: 

we have pie.