Out of the restaurant rut

There are a lot of things I learn from my daughter. Not only is she like a tiny Buddha (some of the things she says are so simple, yet so wise, it blows my mind) but she is also a pro at making new friends.

It kind of goes like this:

Livi sees a girl her age at the beach. She waves. Little girl waves back. Livi walks over to her and says “What’s your name?” The girl answers. Livi runs back to me and exclaims, “That’s my friend!”

The two girls end up making sand castles together and playing games, as if they’d always known each other.

If only it worked like that in the grownup world; we’d all get along so much better, huh? 🙂

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We had an awesome morning today at the park with Whitney and Wyn, and took her scooter so she could ride it around. After a full morning of playing, we were ready for a little juice/snack break.

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I picked up that raw avocado sandwich from Go Raw and it was AMAZING. Definitely something I could easily recreate at home, and I think the dehydrator would appreciate feeling wanted again. It was raw flax bread with avocado, tomato, lettuce and sprouts. We also had the O.G. (Original Green juice) + mint. 

It’s been fun to try out some new places lately (like Herringbone!) because the Pilot and I were laughing that we’ve already gotten into our restaurant creatures of habit mode. There are SO many amazing new-to-us places to check out here in San Diego, and yet we find ourselves at the same restaurants (cough OB Noodle House cough Tiki Port). We did the same thing in Tucson! Lots of wonderful places and we stuck with what we knew and loved. We’re determined to be a little more adventurous out here, especially since I have a spreadsheet with all of your amazing suggestions. You’ve never led me astray 😉

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For dinner tonight, we’ve got fish on the menu. With salmon I have no probs, but I’m determined to master cod. We’ll see how it goes haha, and then it’s Zumba thirty!

Hope you have a great night! <3

xoxo

Gina

Are you a restaurant creature of habit, too? How’d you meet your best friend?

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28 Comments

  1. Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious on September 3, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    Cod is really easy! You don’t even need to thaw it. Just pull out of the oven, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes and it’s ready to eat! I’m a totally creature of habit so I get!

  2. Ashley @ A Lady Goes West on September 3, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    Because my husband and I live in San Francisco we make it a point to try a new place every single Saturday night, and there are thousands to choose from. However, on Fridays, we hit up the same spot no matter what! 🙂 Happy Wednesday! I’m off to teach BODYATTACK!

  3. Amanda on September 3, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    I’m suchhhhhh a creature of habit! Which is terrible living in DC because there is so much to do!

    I wish making friends now was as easy as college. My BFF and I met when he took an open spot on our lease. We met at Starbucks and played Apples to Apples and have been friends ever since!

  4. Laura @SheEatsWell on September 3, 2014 at 7:27 pm

    Let me know if you master the cod….It is one of my favorites but I can’t make it very well at home. I love a good miso-braised cod, though!

  5. Traci on September 3, 2014 at 8:55 pm

    I wish making friends was easier post-college! Most of my closer friends were made in college or high school. San Diego has an amazing restaurant scene. I’ve been out there for work a few times and was so impressed. My favorites (in more of the downtown area) were Searsucker and Saltbox.

  6. Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs on September 3, 2014 at 8:57 pm

    We’re definitely frequenters of the same handful of places, but I’d love to be more adventurous! If only I could convince my husband to go somewhere different… 🙂

  7. Yaara Leve on September 3, 2014 at 9:24 pm

    I totally agree! Friendships were so much easier as a little girl! I loved suddenly playing with someone and instantly we’re BFFs-oh childhood!-lol 🙂 Thanks for responding to me! I really appreciate it!! I responded to you too–:)

  8. Leah on September 3, 2014 at 9:40 pm

    We are in suburban area and I don’t feel like there are tons of great restaurants to check out. Pair that with a list of food allergies, we don’t go out that much. Definitely hit up the same ol favorite places. The best restaurants we find are usually on vacation like in Hawaii.

    My closest friends are from elementary school. We all met in 5th grade in the classroom and playground. I have some mommy friends from playgroups but it’s much harder to make friends as I get older and especially as a SAHM.

  9. Stephanie on September 3, 2014 at 9:56 pm

    Okay so one of my very favorite restaurants in OB is O’Bistro on Voltaire. Not fancy at all, they have a cute little patio that allows dogs. It’s great for a weeknight. I LOVE the lentil , chickpea and vegetable stew and the chicken taco salad. Also, always ask what the soup of the day is because it’s always different and always bizarre but usually strangely good (think pickle soup and reuben soup, I know…).

    Isabel’s Cantina. You’d never know it’s a restaurant if you walked by. I’ve only had dinner there, but I’ve heard their brunch is amazing. It’s right next door to Cafe 976 (corner of Cass and Felspar in Pb), which has great acai bowls and a cute garden patio.

    The Fishery on Cass in North PB is great as well. There are a bunch of newer restaurants in North PB now that are fun to explore. It’s become quite the neighborhood restaurant scene.

    Okay, I’m stopping myself now!

  10. Mary on September 3, 2014 at 10:40 pm

    AH definitely not a creature of habit, i LOVE to try new places. However, when I eat at a place I’ve been before, I pretty much always get the same thing. So, sort of a creature of habit…..

    I used to live in SD and I must say I miss Snooze, The Deli Llama (SOOO GOOD!!!!), and Coffee Cup (Right near herringbone!)

    • Fitnessista on September 4, 2014 at 2:48 pm

      i need to try all of these places!

  11. Nikki@will run for pizza on September 3, 2014 at 11:00 pm

    Livi is wise. 😉 I DO wish making friends was that simple as an adult! haha. My Hus and I used to be creatures of habit when it came to restaurants too, but the last year or so we made a decision together to start branching out and it’s been great! 🙂

  12. Justine Mckenzie on September 3, 2014 at 11:27 pm

    I love Livi’s friend making style! Thats pretty much exactly how I met my best friend Katie except we were 3 years old and waiting in line for the washroom at church. We came away from that 1 second conversation convinced we were best friends and we still are 20 years later. We spent every summer together at camp, traveled New Zealand together before Uni, went to Uni together & got an apartment and met our (now) husbands on the same day?! (our husbands are also BFF’s) It sounds too good to be true but it all started as two little 3 year olds having a convo like Livi’s!

  13. Lucie@FitSwissChick on September 4, 2014 at 3:54 am

    Oh, I am the WORST! I always pick the same restaurants over and over. Even if I go back to vacation places I go to the same restaurants – I feel so boring! 🙂

  14. Jenna Zoe on September 4, 2014 at 5:21 am

    If you havn’t been to Whisknladle in La Jolla yet, it’s incredible! Fresh food, eclectic cuisine and very farm-to-table (close to Orange Theory). You will love. It’s a great date night spot too

    Also I got addicted to Veggie Grill in Westfield (Tempeh Kale Caesar + Sweet Potato Fries), but you’ve probably already been there 😉

    • Fitnessista on September 4, 2014 at 2:48 pm

      we’ve seen it but haven’t been yet!!

  15. Lindsey @ SimplyLindsey on September 4, 2014 at 6:54 am

    My husband and I are creatures of habit too! Our favorite spot is a Vietnamese restaurant nearby. They have the BEST pho and fried rice! We live in the DC area and have been meaning to try other Vietnamese restaurants because there are so many close by, but we can’t seem to get out of our rut!

  16. Linda @ Fit Fed and Happy on September 4, 2014 at 7:05 am

    Weak in the knees for nice atmosphered, gourmet food serving restaurants!

  17. Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment on September 4, 2014 at 8:09 am

    I am a creature of habit too. It is such an easy trap to fall into. Good luck checking out some new restaurants!

  18. Rhiannon @ Bound to be a Buckeye on September 4, 2014 at 8:52 am

    Good for Liv! After we’ve moved, I decided that finding new friends is like dating all over again. And I’m not good at it 🙂 Maybe I’ll take her simplistic approach. I’m always nervous people will look at me like I’m crazy!

    • Fitnessista on September 4, 2014 at 2:46 pm

      same! what do you even say? “want to hang out sometime?” haha

  19. Beks on September 4, 2014 at 9:12 am

    Livi sounds like my sister. She’s never known a stranger, and to this day, she’ll make friends anywhere she goes. On our Disney cruise last February, she became such good friends with this Canadian couple that we had breakfast with them a few times.

    My sister is in HR, which seems to be the perfect job for an extrovert like her. 🙂

    • Fitnessista on September 4, 2014 at 2:46 pm

      i think she got it from her dad; he makes friends with everyone! my nana is the same way. she was talking to the table next to us at pizza port and next thing we knew, it was a big party haha

  20. Cassie Vaughn on September 4, 2014 at 9:59 am

    I get in restaurant ruts too. I like to blame it on my dairy allergy, but I try to break it out every once and a while!

  21. Fiona on September 4, 2014 at 11:58 am

    ohh I’m soo a creature of habit in terms of restaurants! My friends are always good at trying out new restaurants that quickly get added to the ‘must eat here list!’ Can’t be a good meal that you’re already pumped for before the meal even starts!

    I met my best friend in University and she opened up with some silly line about her name and then we just clicked! I’m so lucky to have many best friends in my lives and mostly they came from meeting through another friend and then we’ve formed little best friend groups! It’s awesome!

    Looks like a great morning out!

  22. Tracy on September 4, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    How are you cooking the cod? Let us know how it goes. I have the same issues with white fish!

    My best friend and I were college roomies 🙂

    • Fitnessista on September 4, 2014 at 2:41 pm

      i’ll post the recipe- it came out awesome! made a marinade with tamari, miso, honey, white vinegar, garlic and ginger. baked it and it was flaky wonderful

  23. kristin @ W [H] A T C H on September 4, 2014 at 1:49 pm

    i have some dietary constraints, so i often find myself in a rut. a few new restaurants have opened recently and that’s helped switch things up.

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