LShaw in Ann Arbor

My barSHAWLona lyfestyle has come and gone, and never will be forgotten. To follow my current adventures please check out my American blog @ http://www.livinlikelindsey.wordpress.com !

 

Street Side in Ann Arbor September 2013.

Cookin’ up a storm!

I knew that with coming to Barcelona I would experience an immense amount of new activities! Back in ANN ARBOR, I am constantly running from place to place and moving non stop. Now that I have a bit more leisure time to mess around, I have taken my talents to the kitchen. Yes, I have actually cooked multiple meals AND not had any fires (yet).

I started with the simplest of foods: EGGS. How hard could it be to crack an EGG , toss it in a pan, and mix it around until it was ready.

 

Advancin’ for Manci

Getting a bit bored of plain old eggs , I decided what are EGGS without hashbrowns...!?Jules, My roommate at school is a better chef than Emerl in my eyes. One night she fascinated me and whipped me up a fresh batch of homemade hashbrowns!! I have never felt the same way about cooking since that night.Day after day I waited to attempt making hashbrowns on my own. The perfect day had finally come to test my breakfast skills … Amanda Manci’s 21st Birthday!! A little bit of this and a little bit of that… and look what I made!

Manci's Birthday Brunch

Fruit plate of kiwi and strawberries, along side the homemade hash browns and grilled chicken!

Grilled chicken is also another easy dish to make! All you have to do is pick up some raw”pollo” from the market or the local pollaria. You toss it in a pan with oil and than season it up!

Pick it up a notch

Eating the basics got old fast, I knew it was time to step it up in the kitchen.  Thinking about all of the foods I missed at home the most, a BIM BIM BOP came to mind. Spicy hot sauce poured all over the burning bowl of rice, vegetables, chicken and egg… a re creation was needed ASAP. This led me to the my ASIAN CRAZE in the kitchen.

This photo is a bit distorted because it is taken from a camera phone… but this was the result of a do-it-yourself lettuce wrap!

 

 

 

 

It is hard to tell, but it is made up of : grilled chicken, EGG, carrots, broccoli, and a bit of celery for some CRUNCH.

Madeline's Dish

Madeline, my roommate, made the next part of the ASIAN meal. It is a combination of : grilled chicken, grilled red peppers, garlic, noodles, and a little feta on top.

It is fun to experiment in the kitchen!! It is worth taking a risk and trying NEW things.

ohh dear!!

Before leaving for BARCELONA, I spent a little over two weeks visitng my grandparents in Del Ray Beach, Florida. My grandparents live in Florida during the Winter months because MICHIGAN gets VERY VERY cold!! My parents,, my sister and I LOVE spending time down there because we get to be with our family, hang out by the pool, eat DELICIOUS food and relax. Our family family activity to do together is go to the GYM. We all encourage eachother to lead HEALTHY lifestyles by eating well and working out on a regular basis.

First we head to the aerobic machines – My sister loves the Elliptical, my dad the stair master and my mom and I like to walk/run on the tredmill. It is important to get your heart pumping.

We also LOVE doing family YOGA sessions. We find that it is a great way to stretch out and hit all of the muscles in your body. It is the perfect way to relax after a long stressful day of work or school.

With being in FLORIDA for so long, we were able to get down a routine of when we would go work out in the GYM. I knew that when I got to BARCELONA I would have to put in effort like I did before with my work out schedule. My friend Hannah who studied abroad here in BARCELONA told me about the 2 big GYM options – Holmes Place and Dir. CEA pushes you to joined Holmes Place ASAP because they have cut you some sort of deal.

To me Holmes Place was going to be such a scene, where all of the CEA students would go to work out/take classes/ socialize. I was going to the GYM to WORKOUT not to socialize. It was going to be my time to RELAX and WORK OUT. This is why my roommates and I decided to look into DIR – which turns out to be the BEST GYM EVER.

DIR- not only are there over 15 locations to work out, but they are closer to our apartment than the Holmes Place GYM. We walked into the door of DIR Seven , right off PASSIEG DE GRACIA and was instantly welcomed with big smiles. We were given a FREE training session, massage and BACKPACK ( which I now carry everywhere I go). We also can have unlimited hot tea and apples ( my favorite food).  My roommates and I LOVE going to the GYM every day – we run on the tredmills, swim in the lap pool, or play raquet ball !! We also LOVE sitting in the steam room and just RELAXING after a nice work out.There are also a variety of CLASSES/ACTIVITIES we can attend. You can too!! Check out their website at www.dir.cat

To try and practice my YOGA skills here in BARCELONA – I attended the Dir Yoga class. To my surprise the class was only WOMEN and very small – 6 people! Back at home there is a mixture of men, women and children who do yoga, as well as middle school kids to grandparents. I also noticed that the women in the class were FULLY clothed in long sleeves, socks and pants. Back home people wear small shorts, no socks, men don’t wear shirts and women typically a tank top or sports bra. I stood out in the small yoga studio for being THAT American at the GYM. I also didn’t realize that this YOGA class was going to be taught in SPANISH. like HELLO LINDSEY! of course it would be – YOUR IN BARCELONA!! it was very very basic YOGA- was boring for me in comparison to what I am used to. My favorite part was at the end where the teacher played RELAXING music and tucked us into an orange blanket! I almost fell asleep!

i am excited to try another class at the DIR GYM. I am looking forward to being able to LAY OUT and RELAX on the SUNDECK at DIR SEVEN.

hasta luego!