Here’s a not-so-secret factoid about me: I LOVE summer. I think I must have been a temperamental flower in a past life, because I honestly wilt and bloom in accordance with the sunshine. Maybe it’s the Florida-girl in me. Maybe it’s just an over cultivated love of sundresses. Whatever the reason may be, it means that I’m a happy, happy camper right now. This past weekend was such a perfect couple of days of sunshine, friends, good food, and outdoor activity that I had to recap it here to brighten up our collective Monday. (A summer Monday is infinitesimally better than a winter Monday, but it’s a Monday nonetheless…)

The weekend started Friday evening with workout at Refine Method in Union Square. After completing almost 10 sessions of the Refine workout, I’m a believer. (Get excited for my full thoughts on Refine Method in a post later this week.) I skipped out of class an hour later feeling energized, strong, and excited for 2 full days of sunshine ahead. I was also starving. Luckily, Hubs was just getting out of work at this point, and had the brilliant idea of sitting out on the patio of the raw vegan restaurant, Pure Food and Wine, for some al fresco dinner.

I’ve been meaning to get to Pure for quite some time, and was super excited to finally try it out. We snagged a table in their outdoor garden, and immediately ordered a glass of prosecco (for me) and a mojito (for him). Cheers to summer! Here’s what we ate. All highly recommended for your next visit there.

King oyster mushroom scallops with brussel sprouts and shitake miso broth served with miso glazed pecans, shaved radish, and micro mustard

Hen of the woods taco al pastor with smoked guacamole, hearts of palm, chayote squash, guajillo crema fresca, and pickled onions

Zucchini, local greenhouse tomato lasagna with basil pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato marinara, and macadamia pumpkin seed ricotta

The dessert menu looked amazing, but we were sadly too stuffed from dinner to entertain the idea of ordering one. Make no mistake, raw vegan food is not necessarily light! This was a seriously dense meal, especially the lasagna dish. Next time, next time…

After dinner, we came home and packed a small bag before snoozing early, since we were heading to THE BEACH at 8am the next morning. Beach = heaven. One of our good friends invited a small group out to his family’s house in Beach Haven, NJ in order to celebrate his recent birthday and graduation from grad school. It was an incredibly fun and relaxing time, filled with laughing, grilling, and lots of outdoor activity. In the 2 days we spent out there, we managed to cover the following beach activities:

• Group whiffle ball game. Apparently I got an RBI, though truthfully I was just thrilled to have hit the ball.
• Cornhole. This was my first time playing. That game is hard! (Translation: I’m hopeless at throwing beanbags into small cutouts.)
• Bike riding along the beach. Destination: iced coffee.
• And my new favorite, an ab-workout-disguised-as-a-game, “Duplicate and Elaborate.” (Full disclosure: Zoolander actually coined this term, but within the context of a walk-off.)

What is Duplicate and Elaborate, you ask? It’s a partner game where one person does an ab routine utilizing a volleyball, then throws the ball to the other person, who copies that routine and then adds an additional oblique twist on to it. Easy peasy. Until it gets ridiculous. Today’s oblique soreness is a testament to that fact. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of one particularly humorous round. Please enjoy.

We drove back to the city on Sunday evening well rested and recharged for the week. And I discovered one of the coolest results of the weekend right before bed, when I saw that I’d cultivated my very first wedding band tan. (Yes, I wore SPF 30 the whole weekend, Dad!) Ok, maybe I’m a dork, but it was a cool first for me.

I hope I’ve brightened your Monday a little with this post. Re-living the weekend certainly made me smile. I think hiking may be in next weekend’s forecast… I LOVE YOU, SUMMER!

How was your weekend? Any fun summer plans that you’re looking forward to? For all you Pure Food & Wine fans, what dessert should I save room for next time?