Instagram Debut

Even though I said yesterday that we're home for awhile, we still managed to stray from home one last time today to visit Terry's grandparents.

Before that, though, we woke up with a seven-mile half marathon training run. Our apartment is situated so that we could run down Wilshire Boulevard to the famous Third Street Promenade and then back up Santa Monica Boulevard. At 8 am on a Sunday, there were practically no cars for the first half of the run, and we got to see a different side of West LA. A quiet side. With no traffic. Also, on the way back, a few folks shouted words of encouragement to help us along. Ultimately, we ran our seven miles at a great pace, faster than our usual: 6.7 miles per hour most of the run, and 7.2 for the last two miles.

We recovered slowly from the run and devoured egg, cheese, and jelly sandwiches before packing up and heading out. Terry's grandparents live about 90 minutes away, but it was worth the drive to see their new home and visit with them for several hours.

During the drive, I read two issues of one of my favorite magazines, Los Angeles.

I really love this magazine. It highlights great restaurants, people, nearby getaways, and more, and I find something I want to do or eat in every issue. I was a bit behind and spent today catching up on May and June, and can you guess which article caught my eye? (Look again at that picture...)

If you guessed "Best Burger," you're right! They highlighted seven burger joints. We've tried four of them (surprise, surprise), but you better believe we're already making plans to check out the last three: Stout Burgers and Beers, Go Burger, and 25 Degrees. I promise to keep you updated on the results of our taste tests!

We had a wonderful time visiting Terry's grandparents. We spent the day eating, chatting, reminiscing, listening to their incredible stories, taking a dip in their hot tub, and enjoying a fancy dinner. Terry's grandpa made steaks on their awesome grill and couldn't believe we don't have one of our own--so he gave us one of theirs! They said they've only used it once and had no use for it, but we were completely surprised and grateful. What a generous gift--one that will be much appreciated in the coming weeks! Terry can't wait to get it fired up, and I'll be thrilled to focus on side dishes while he grills.

Terry's grandparents also remembered our anniversary, which is tomorrow, and gave us one more gift before we left.

I'm sure you can guess what's in that adorable gift bag, and you just know we'll be enjoying it together tomorrow!

For now, two more things to share with you:

1) You may remember that I participated in Tina's Best Body Boot Camp in March and April, and I gushed and gushed about how wonderful it was. Well, fantastic news: She's hosting another boot camp! I can't recommend it highly enough. I already registered, and so can you! It starts July 23 and runs through September 16. I'll be chatting about my workouts a LOT here on BLWB, and it would be so fun to have you join in! I'll likely post a little later this week all the reasons you want to do this boot camp, so check out Tina's page for now and then get ready for my testimony.

2) As you likely noticed, I'm now officially on Instagram. I have no clue what I'm doing yet, but my name is BetterBurgersJulie. Follow me, I'll follow you, it'll be a good time! (P.S. If you have any tips about how to actually use Instagram, I'm eager to learn!)

Hope you have a fantastic Monday! Since it's our anniversary, expect a super mushy post later with lots of wedding photos. :-)