Health and Wellness

Staying healthy and fit can be challenging, especially when you live in a big city like Fort Worth.  It's no secret that one of my favorite things to do is go out and have dinner with friends and family. The problem with going out is all of the delicious temptations you come across.

I want to talk about some of the easy, fun and cheap ways to stay healthy and fit in the city.

Urban Acres

Medium share from Urban Acres.

One thing that everyone knows about me is that I love food but being a college student, I don't have money to go out every night. I try to cook at home as much as possible but I hate having to go to the store every other day to get groceries. 

Urban Acres is a local co-op that includes a variety of different fruits and vegetables. You get to pick which size share you want and pick up every other weekend. 

I really enjoy Urban Acres because I pick up my share on Saturday then go home and create my meal plan for the week. Then on Sundays I go grocery shopping and I am set for the week. 

Trader Joe's

Banana stand at Trader Joe's.

Speaking of groceries, have you ever been to Trader Joe's? They have incredibly cheap prices and pretty much everything you could possibly need. 

It is such a fun experience, all the employee's dress in Hawaiian t-shirt's and the store is decorated with colorful wall art. They also have signs all over the store advertising their extremely low prices.

Trader Joe's always has a wide variety of different and unique foods as well as regular items you would find at Tom Thumb. 

I was really amazed by these banana's. I know that sounds funny but come on! Five banana's for less than a dollar?

Sumit's Hot Yoga

Here's a peak into one of the Sumit's classes.

I'm really bad because I love to eat, but I don't always love going to the gym. I feel a bit intimidated at gyms because I don't always know what I'm doing and end up walking on a treadmill. 

Well, I recently started practicing yoga again at Sumit's Hot Yoga. I absolutely love it. It is an 80 minute long, guided class. Everyone does the same thing together and follows along with the instructed. It is very peaceful and the yoga teacher's are very good about assuring you that there is no judgement in the room and they are very willing to help.

Another thing that I love is that they play music you would hear on the radio and not just meditational music. During the class, you really focus on your body and your breathing. 

Here is a video with some more information and different ways of staying healthy and fit in the DFW area.

Also, make sure to also check out my twitter account to see some more on this story. #WorthWellC

Do you know of any other good ways to stay healthy and fit in DFW?

Trinity Trails

 The Fort Worth Trinity Trails are a great place for locals to run and cycle while enjoying the fresh air and beautiful sights. The trails forms a spider web path throughout the city and its suburbs. The Fort Worth Branch of the trails makes up about 88-miles and follows along either side of the Trinity River.

Trinity Park

Trinity Park is a great place to go with your friends and family. They have a few different play grounds, picnic tables and a rock path that crosses the river. This is probably the most popular area of the Trinity Trails. The park is also where festivals take place like Mayfest. Mayfest is an annual event that takes place in the park for one weekend. They have stages set up for performers, food and drinks, live music and craft vendors. Mayfest also promotes The Trinity River Vision and informs attendees of their future plan.

Panther Island Pavilion

Another popular and well known area of the Trinity Trails is Panther Island Pavilion. This area has a beach for people to hang out and they have an area to rent supplies like kayaks, canoes and paddle boards. Panther Island also has two stages that are set up for live concerts they have during the warmer seasons. Some of the more popular events held at Panther Island are Rockin' the River, Oktoberfest, Untapped Fest and Fort Worth's Annual Music Festival. 

Overall, the Trinity Trails are a great place to hang out with family and friends, while it is also a great place to work out. The city of Fort Worth is working to add onto the trails and make them a more common place for locals to hang out. 

One of the future plans is to have water taxis, riverboat dining, gondolas, kayaks and other boats transport people from the future Stockyards Marina, through downtown and into Trinity Park.

What do you think? Do these Trinity Trail plans make you interested in checking it out? What else would you like to see them add to the trails? 

Botanic Garden

One of the most beautiful places in Fort Worth is the Botanic Gardens, it is a sanctuary for the senses and located just about 3 miles from downtown. Fort Worth’s Botanic Garden is actually the oldest in Texas and is 110-acres. The Garden is home to over 2,500 species of native and exotic plants that flourish in its 23 specialty gardens.

There are a variety of different gardens. Some of them include the Conservatory, the Japanese Gardens, the Rose Gardens, Fragrance Garden, Cactus Garden, a Native Texas Boardwalk and much more. 

Special Events

One of the paths leading to the Rose Garden

The Botanic Garden has many special events to offer such as their yearly butterfly exhibit, Concerts in the Garden, plant sales and festivals. Weddings are also a very common event to take place in the gardens. This is one of the best places to get married in North Texas and is an award-winning venue. They have eight different venue options within the 110 acres. All the venues are located in different areas in the gardens and each location can hold a different number of guests. You can have anywhere from 60 to 300 guests.

The gardens are also a great place to bring friends and loved one. You can have a relaxing walk or enjoy a picnic on the extremely green grass. It's really exciting to explore, see all the different plants and smell the beautiful aromas. 

The Botanic Gardens can easily be an all day outing. They have a restaurant, two gift shops and eight gardens to explore. There is so much beauty here that it would be easy to stay all day.

The gardens are also a great place for pictures. Whether you are taking family pictures, graduation pictures or wedding pictures, the garden will provide the perfect backdrop. No matter what season it is, you are sure to see beautiful flowers and plants. 

New Discovery 

I also just discovered something great, the Botanic Gardens has a Compost Outpost, dedicated to teaching and advising visitors about composting in their backyard. It is a free event that takes place the second Saturday of every month.  This is actually something I have been very interested in for a while now.

Tweets

Make sure to check my twitter to read my live tweets from the Botanic Gardens using #fallinthegardens and #FtWorthgardens. Andre Robertson has worked at the Botanic Gardens for 22 years. Watch him talk about the gardens on my twitter along with Travis Sebold talking about his favorite of all the gardens. 

Have you ever been to the Botanic Gardens in Fort Worth? What is your favorite of all the gardens? Or which would you like to visit the most? 

Some of the fall decorations in the gardens

Magic Etc.

Halloween is right around the corner.. three days to be exact.

Do you have your Halloween costume yet? Or are you missing a few pieces to your costume? Maybe shoes or a wig? Well Magic Etc. has everything you could possibly need. 

The great thing about this shop is that it isn't one of those chain Halloween shops that have those cheap looking, over priced costumes. This shop is opened all year round and it has just about ever costume you could ever possibly want. 

Magic Etc. is located off of I-30 on Forest Park. People of all ages come to this shop and are certain to find just what they are looking for. It really is your one stop shop. Magic Etc. Ft. Worth Costume is DFW's one-stop-shop for magic supplies, costumes and accessories, make up, DJ gear, lighting and sound equipment and everything in between. They also rent costumes and lighting and sound equipment in addition to the vast array of retail products they offer. It does't look that big from the outside but I assure you you will be amazed. You will probably get lost in there because it is so big and they have everything. 

Costumes:

Stop by and check out the 1000's of costumes that they have for rent and for sale. Pirates, Super Heros, Villains, T.V. Stars, Movie Stars, Clowns, 1920's, 50's, 60's, 70' and 80's costumes and accessories. Hundred's of hats & wigs, face painting supplies, professional make up and supplies. Fog machines, strobe lights, black lights and lasers and of course a full line of magic tricks. 

Since Halloween is coming up, the shop has special hours. Monday through Saturday they are opened from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays it is opened from noon to 6 p.m.

Make sure to check out all of the props while there such as Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger but be warned, they might try to reach out and grab you.

Also, make sure to check out my twitter to see my live tweets from Magic Etc.

Have you picked out your Halloween costume yet? What are you going to be?

Friday on the Green

Friday Night Fun

A few weekends ago my boyfriend, Travis, and I went to a fun local event called Friday on the Green. This event happens between the months of April and November but it is just one Friday out of each month. It takes place in a park off of Magnolia and includes different food trucks and local businesses.

People from all over Fort Worth come out to see friends and family. The event features live music, food and drinks from local restaurants and has a fun atmosphere of a big neighborhood picnic. The evening that we went there were probably around 1,000 people there.

Our night was definitely filled with fun and good company. Travis and I met our friends, Emma and Gilbert, at the show. We all brought our own lawn chairs, bought drinks and enjoyed the live music. About have way into the show we ran into my brother and a group of his friends.

This is such a fun event because you are very likely to run into someone you know. It is a very happy place to kick back and enjoy the night. It was expected to rain that night but it was holding off just long enough. The sky looked beautiful with the lighting of the sun setting and the clouds. It turned out to be a great evening even though we were all waiting for the rain.

The show did start a bit early so we missed some of it. It also ended a bit early so we didn't get to hang out as long as I would have liked to. But I must say, if you live in the DFW area, you have to stop by some Friday night. Who can pass up a free event?

Would you be interested in going to the last Friday on the Green of 2014?

Fall Markets and Flea Markets

One of my favorite weekend activities to do is go to yard sales, antique malls, flea markets, craft shows or anything related to that type of shopping event. The Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, always seems to have events going on. The Will Rogers Memorial Center is a multi-purpose entertainment complex under 45 acres of roof, spread over 85 acres in the heart of the Fort Worth Cultural District.

Fall Market

This past weekend, the center was having a Fall Market shopping event. There were around 50 different vendors selling a variety of things such as candles, paintings, jewelry, dessert, home decor, body products, clothes and so much more. The entry fee for this event was $10 but sometimes if you buy your ticket in advance online, you can get a discount. This event, along with my other events that take place at Will Rogers, are kid friendly. The Fall Market had a kids area called the Kids Korner which included a bounce house, sidewalk chalk, balloon animals and a firetruck to tour.

Flea Market

After hanging out at the Fall Market for a while, my boyfriend, Travis, and I walked over to Flea Market in the Cattle Barn. This is a free event and takes place every Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is really a hidden treasure in Fort Worth. There is literally everything you could think of, for a steal. The only downside to this fun, free event, is the Texas heat. The flea market is in a cattle barn so, yes, you may feel a little bit country and there isn't an AC, just a few oversized fans throughout the building. Don't let this scary you away though, maybe just wait to go for another few weeks. Make sure to find Belinda, if you "like" the Cattle Barn Flea Market on Facebook, she will give you some free water. *So thoughtful*

I have to take a minute to take about a really fun guy we met. We bought a really old Tootsie Pop lunch box from him. As a kid, Tootsie Pops were my favorite suckers and I remember always loving the "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop" commercials. Well, while purchasing this item, he told us how he would get together with a few friends. They would all throw in some money, buy some beer and a storage unit and spend the day going through junk. He said he has done this for so long that he was able to make a whole store out of some of the goods he would find. His stories of the things he found in these units was so entertaining.

Upcoming Events

One of my favorite events that takes place every year in October is Christmas in Cowtown. This year it is taking place October 9 - 11. It is hosted by the Junior League of Fort Worth. The event is usually about $10 but all the money goes to different local charities. 

One of the biggest events that takes place at the Will Rogers Memorial Center each year is the Stock Show and Rodeo. This event always takes place around January each year. Check out the link for more information.

There are so many other events as well such as, Etsy Conventions, Indie Bazaar, Funky Finds and the Show of Antiques and Art. Check out the calendar of events.

Which events would you be interested in going to?

Bite City Grill

Montgomery Plaza

Patio view from our seats of the Montgomery Plaza sign. 

Montgomery Plaza is a shopping mall and luxury condominium located on West 7th Street just west of downtown Fort Worth. The building was constructed in 1928 and is now one of the hot spots to hang out in Ft. Worth. Many different shops and restaurants have opened up in the past few years in the plaza such as; Pei Wei, Yogurtland, Boomer Jacks, Starbucks and the newest restaurant is Bite City Grill.

This is the back of their menu. The actually menu was held on
 with rubber bands. How clever.

Dinner with a view

My lemonade and cocktail menu

Bite City Grill is a Modern American cuisine with global influence and craft cocktails. Everyone I know has been talking about how wonderful this place is so I couldn't wait to try it. I kept hearing such great reviews about the restaurant and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

You really can't go wrong with anything you order. Everything on the menu looked delicious, even the menu itself was cool. (Above picture.) I asked the waiter what he would recommend, well I have never seen someone struggle so much to pick just one thing. He went on about how no matter what, you will be satisfied.

I went with my sister, Kristin, and we really like to eat. So we tried a large variety of food. We had a flatbread pizza, beef carpaccio, charred octopus, steamed mussels and some duck. Quite a range of food, huh? We could have eaten more but wanted to save room for dessert.

The drinks looked fabulous too, the craft cocktails are inspired by characteristics of each Zodiac sign which was so much fun to read. I was boring and just got a lemonade but it was great. Just the presentation of the lemonade was beautiful.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience. I was very happy with my food and the atmosphere. Our view was lovely and it was such a peaceful night. They also were not very busy because we went on a Wednesday night so we had the best service. Below is a picture of the inside of the restaurant. Isn't it so cute? I love the vibe.

View of the inside of the restaurant

So what is your Zodiac sign? (Bite City Grill has the perfect cocktail waiting for you..)