the weekend + committing to...

happy monday, everyone -- how were your weekends? mine was great; i got to try out a new restaurant -- euphemia haye -- as part of savor sarasota restaurant week, spend time with friends and purge a bunch of clothes from my closet (!). also, my car seems to be properly functioning again, and i managed to try a new workout -- piloxing -- that i think is going to become part of my regular routine. oh! and my best friend and i won $100 from a dollar scratch-off lotto ticket -- she bought me one as a present and i won, so we split (which is our deal with things like this). an auspicious start to a new week, i hope.

and speaking of, the next seven days are going to be busy, but i'm looking forward to them -- and also looking forward to getting back on the right track on the health front. the end of last week brought with it multiple lunches and dinners for work, and while i love food and eating, meals like that right on top of one another make me feel kind of gross. also, my sweet tooth has been out of control lately, as evidenced by the fact that i found myself standing in front of the fridge on saturday night eating caramel sauce (that i'd made for another baking project) out of its container with a spoon.

um, yeah.

anyway, i think my sweet tooth is the perfect way to segue into this week's five commitments, which are as follows:

+ less sugar. obviously.

+ more yoga, which i'm so into right now.

+ portion control. i'm good at eating sensible portions when cooking for myself, but i tend to forget proper portions when i'm out. so: work on that. and i have the opportunity to do so at a dinner tonight. will report back.

+ you know that saying about dressing for the job you want? i need to step out of my jeans and into some skirts, dresses and regular pants. i work in a creative field so jeans are ok, but purging my closet this weekend -- and reading kendi's tips about assessing and shopping -- has started to make me rethink my work style philosophy.

+ stop and appreciate the beauty around me whenever possible. the drive up longboat key to the restaurant on saturday night was so beautiful i almost got choked up -- beachy homes on one side, the gulf on the other, all glowing in the light of the setting sun. sometimes i forget how beautiful sarasota is.

i promise to be a better blogger this week, and will be back with a new baked!, a new scenes from sarasota and possibly a new book "review," too. until tomorrow, friends.

photo by .natasha., who has the most beautiful flickr i think i've ever seen.