Spoils of Black Friday

I love the week after Black Friday and Cyber Monday! Almost every day I can count on coming home to something in the mail since I can never seem to completely ignore the deals. Mostly I shop online because I like to avoid crowds, but I also do so because I love receiving packages. It's just more fun to know you have something waiting for you at home!

this is what I get to walk past on my way to and from the law school now!

Oh and I also love the week after Thanksgiving because it's now perfectly acceptable to have holiday decorations. I'm a sucker for bright colors and twinkly lights, what can I say.

So, what have I been receiving in the mail?

A Garmin!

picture of it before it came out of its package? yes, that's how excited I was for it

I'm extremely psyched about this one. I've been running Garmin-free and using Nike Plus, but as you might have read in my Stanley Park Seawall Race Recap, I realized that Nike Plus was pretty far off on distance tracking. It also wasn't great for checking in on my pace since I'd have to listen to the voice tell me my pace. I feel weird categorizing myself as a "serious runner," but it's a hobby that I'm dedicated to, so having a Garmin should be very helpful. I got the 410 because it was 50% off on Amazon over Black Friday weekend!

A new Sparkly Soul headband

I'm a huge fan of Sparkly Soul headbands

Sparkly Soul had a 20% off sale for Black Friday and I had to snap up this blue and orange headband while it was discounted. But wait, you might wonder -- why did she get NYC Marathon colors when she didn't run the it? Well, orange and blue are also Knicks colors. Since I'm not about to wear my Knicks jersey while getting my fitness on, I can wear this on runs and workouts to show my Knicks pride.

Runner's World

This wasn't a Black Friday deal, actually, but I'd subscribed recently and just received my first issue of Runner's World this week. I was surprised by how useful and informative it was. I stopped subscribing to magazines for a while because I always felt like I was reading the same thing every month, but I've already bookmarked multiple recipes and running tips in this month's issue. There are also some great stories about

New shoes!

shoooooooes

I didn't order these, instead I picked them up at the Jack Rabbit Sports clearance sale over Black Friday weekend. I am CRAZY excited about them! I've been having foot pain for a while and after meeting with Jess for a one-on-one run-coaching session to discuss my form, she advised me to get new shoes because I'd been incorrectly told by Jack Rabbit that I did not pronate (apparently I do -- a lot).

My foot pain was mirroring plantar fasciitis symptoms (suh-weet, totally what I want for Christmas, thanks Santa) so I knew I needed a new pair of shoes. But, um, shoes are expensive and I had gotten my New Balance shoes in early September so I really wasn't sure I could swing another pair. I like to think of the Jack Rabbit clearance sale as Jack Rabbit kind of making up to me the misdiagnosis the first time -- I got a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11's for only $50! The perks of having big feet; they had several options in my size in their $50 shoe sale.

The Brooks have arch support and I haven't had any foot pain in them so far, so fingers crossed the Brooks are the answer to that. Running my first half-marathon with foot pain the entire time kind of sucked. I'd like to not repeat that experience on New Year's Eve, thanks.

Oiselle runfinity scarf and long sleeved run tee

infinity scarves are awesome because you don't have to figure out how to tie it
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Oiselle didn't have a sale on Friday, but they included free shipping and since I'd been wanting to try this brand forever, free shipping was just the tip-over-the-edge I needed. I couldn't get a good picture, but the scarf and top look even better in person than in the online pictures (a rarity, I've found). The runfinity scarf is way too cute -- grey with white stripes made of moisture-wicking material. I'll wear it on runs and with regular clothes!

I love how long the sleeves are! no cold wrists for me :)
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I love a hometown brand. And by hometown I mean home state since they're in Seattle, WA, and I live two hours away from there, but still -- we're basically connected! The top is comfy and cozy and should be a great addition to my winter running gear. I had been waiting on this purchase almost as excitedly as the Garmin since I've heard so many people rave about Oiselle, and I wasn't disappointed. I'm going to wear it in my race on Sunday!

Iman Shumpert Knicks t-shirt for Sourabh

taken from the NBA's website because *someone* doesn't like to model
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We're both Knicks fans and our favorite player is Shumpert (AKA Shump or "21 Shump Street"). He hustles on both sides of the floor and made a huge impact defensively for a rookie last year. Oh, and his twitter is hilarious. When he was injured during the first round of playoffs in May, Sourabh and I were both really upset that our favorite player was out (of course, the Knicks were out soon after that since they had no chance against the 2011-2012 Miami roster).

We've been searching for a Shumpert tee forever, but it was somehow impossible to find one anywhere. When I saw the 20% off sale the NBA Store was having online, I tried to look one more time and realized that I could customize a Knicks tee with any teammate's name and number, so I was extremely psyched to design a t-shirt just for Sourabh. I was hopping up and down when it finally arrived Thursday night and I could give it to him! He loved it and wore it while we watched last night's game.

Magnolia Bakery has the right idea...

In addition to all this, there were also several gifts purchased for friends and family, but those obviously need to remain anonymous until after Christmas! No spoilers here.


How did you spend Black Friday? Do you like to shop in stores or do you prefer to shop online (or not at all)?

Volunteering, Basketball, Cold Runs, and Election Tuesday

It's been a very busy past two days, but they've been wonderful and have, once again, served as a reminder of how much I love New York. It still seems odd to be getting back to a normal routine after last week, but here goes.

I almost cried when I saw the huge crowd of people clamoring to donate items and help victims of Sandy on Sunday afternoon. I love New Yorkers!

Volunteering for Sandy victims
Unfortunately, I live very far from the areas that were hardest hit and without subways, it's pretty difficult for me to get to the Far Rockaways or Staten Island. However, I was able to help out a little bit by sorting through donations at a drop off point on the Upper West Side on Monday morning.

the basement of Riverside Church, where volunteers were sorting donations 

A small FYI if you are interested in donating -- food (non-perishables), water, batteries, cleaning supplies, and cold weather outdoor gear are all very much needed. Glittery '80s prom dresses and used thongs are not (yes, I picked up both of those going through donations). I'm sure people's hearts are in the right place, but needless donations only create more work for volunteers and mean a longer wait between donating an item and it getting to those who need the items.

Lovely Local Find - Columbus Natural Food
This is crazy, but I'd never stopped in the health food store right across the street from my building. I know, I am ridiculous. I finally dropped in to grab a quick lunch yesterday and promptly smacked myself for not checking it out sooner. Columbus Natural Food rocks!

fresh green juice and homemade soup across the street from me? yessssss 

I got a delicious green juice, a small salad, and kale chips (yummm). Can't wait to go back and explore the store more when I have time!

Barclays Center
Sourabh and I are big basketball fans. Although we root for the Knicks, we're always up for a good basketball game. Sourabh was checking out ticket prices on eBay for Monday night's Brooklyn Nets vs Minnesota Timberwolves game and found $60 tickets that were--no joke--three rows from the floor in the corner. We've learned that you can get some great tickets for really affordable prices if you check eBay the day of a game, especially approaching a few hours before start time.

I'm sure this doesn't look as good in daylight, but at night it looks really cool! 

The new Barclays Center is gorgeous, at least at night. The inside is really terrific with great views from all over. It was a bit chilly, but I think it just needs to work out a few kinks as it was only the arena's second Nets game.

action shot! ok, my camera sucks, but look -- Deron Williams taking a shot!

 We went to the Barclays Center with a friend of Sourabh's who is a Timberwolves fan, and enjoyed some delicious arena concessions pre-game. I can't lie, despite having a 90% healthy tooth, I am a huge sucker for greasy, disgusting arena food. I had some of Sourabh's fries and enjoyed a great bowl of nachos from Calexico (with real guacamole, roasted corn, and black beans).

requisite couple shot

We are totally spoiled for life. No way we could afford these tickets for a Knicks game, but the view was so amazing, I'm not sure I'll be able to go to another regular nosebleed basketball game!

Random note: I didn't take a picture, but free tattoos--yes, you read that right: real, permanent tattoos--were being given near the bar at the arena.

Early morning running with blog friends
I met Abby a few weeks ago at a Refine Method event hosted by Dori, and after a late night Twitter session, we decided to run this morning together. Holy crap IT WAS COLD. I feel even luckier that our apartment was unaffected by the hurricane -- I cannot imagine being without heat with this sudden temperature drop.

beautiful early morning Central Park -- Sandy didn't steal all the leaves! 

Thank you, Abby, for getting my ass out of bed early this morning! It was so beautiful in Central Park and was so nice to have a running buddy to keep me going in the cold. You are going to be SO amazing at the Philly Marathon in less than two weeks!!

it might look sunny, but it was COLD

Unfortunately he cold air appeared to trigger some sort of asthmatic breathing, and I'd forgotten I had to be at the class I'm a TA for a bit earlier due to cancellations last week, so I had to leave before we finished a complete loop of Central Park. The breathing got really bad on Cat Hill, so apparently I'm going to need to either get used to the cold air or get an inhaler if I want to run a winter half-marathon (spoiler: I'm going to run a winter half-marathon, details to come). Still, 5.5 miles in beautiful Central Park to start my Election Tuesday? Not bad.

SO pretty out this morning

Voting!
I did a different kind of exercising later in the morning -- exercising my right to vote! There was actually very little exercise involved, since I had to stand in line for about 20 minutes before I could get in to vote, which took another 25 minutes.

this was the front part of the line for my voting center -- I didn't realize voting in NYC would be so crowded!
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However, while waiting, I met some adorable older women who were so enthusiastic about voting that it made the wait worthwhile. One of them wanted a picture taken of herself outside the voting booth because she was so excited to be voting for Obama again. They were a lot of fun to stand by and made the wait a lot less painful (and it actually was painful because of the cold!).

It was especially nice to vote after being turned away from donating blood. My iron counts are apparently a bit low, unfortunately, so I couldn't give. I've never been able to donate, which has only made me more nervous every time I go in, building up the process in my mind.

"why can't I vote?" asks Mason
(disclaimer: I do not actually believe my dog has thoughts like this) 

Tonight, Sourabh and I are watching the election results come in over a bottle of Gewurtztraminer, one of my (and my mom's) favorite white wines.