Friday Five

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1. I cannot get enough of Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean "Philadelphia-Style" ice cream. (Which is probably not the best thing, given my desire to get "bikini-ready" for my trip to the beach in a few weeks, but I digress.) This ice cream is delicious -- and perhaps one of the best vanilla bean ice creams I've ever tasted? And the ingredient list reads like my other favorite, Häagen-Dazs five: cream, nonfat milk, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla bean. But, the best thing (aside from the flavor, obvs) is that it only costs $3.99 for 1.5 quarts at the local SuperFresh; while it costs more than that for a pint of Häagen-Dazs. You've gotta love that. I initially bought this brand because it was so cheap compared to all the others. Admittedly, I wasn't that convinced it would taste that great, given that the only other Turkey Hill product I'd ever heard of was its jug o' iced tea that typically seems to be on sale at gas stations. I was happy that my lack of confidence was unwarranted, and since an initial purchase, I've bought the brand (always vanilla bean) a couple times since.

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2. I've been on a major workout groove for two weeks now. I started a 30-day membership to Sweat Fitness on July 24 and have gone there every day since. (Gotta make the most of my GroupOn!) I don't think I've ever gone to the gym so consistently in my life. Thus far I've taken one spinning class, but I've also got my eye on a Power Pump class . . . and dare I try Zumba? I fear I may be a bit too uncoordinated, but I might just have to give it a whirl regardless. As to my other group deals that all expire soon, I took my second intro mat class at Urbanfront Pilates this week and have scheduled my first XTend Barre class for next week. I took a Versa Shape class at Versa Fit Studio yesterday and have scheduled my first spinning class at Body Cycle Studio for Sunday morning. If this schedule doesn't get me into shape, I don't know what will! Though it would obviously have been a better idea to spread out all these workouts, rather than cramming them all in at the last minute as the deals reach their expiration dates, I am really loving all the variety. Often I get into a rut with my workouts, either sticking to the same Cathe Friedrich videos are going on the same run, so it's nice to change things up.

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3. I picked up a copy of The Hunger Games at the library the other day. I figured I might as well read it, given how much hype the series has received (and it's being made into a movie; ooh!). However, given how much people raved about the Twilight series, and how much I absolutely hated it (really, sparkly vampires and some chick that pretty much only likes a dude because he's really hot?!, uh, no thanks.) But, I suppose I shall reserve my judgment until after I actually read the book and/or series. On the plus side, I've heard it's a quick read, so at least it's got that going for it.

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4. I am so ready for summer to be over. Heat and humidity? No thanks. I'm ready for sweaters, boots, layers, and lots of long sleeves. I decided to start the season about a month-and-a-half early by cracking into my jar of Kaufman's Pumpkin Butter, which I bought at Reading Terminal Market earlier this summer. Pumpkin butter on toast? Feels like Autumn to me!

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5. I think we'll be doing a bit of canning this weekend. On the menu: tomato sauce and pickles. We've got tomatoes coming out of our ears at this point, and we received some pickling cucumbers in our CSA box, which added to the ones D grew out back in our container garden, I think we now have enough for at least one jar. The only thing I've ever truly canned before was some strawberry jam; hopefully tomato sauce will be just as easy! Now, I just need to find the perfect tomato sauce recipe!