Latino Heritage Festival

Hello blogger friends! How was your weekend?

Mine was not as low-key as I expected (surprise, surprise). Friday night us girls went out for happy hour (so glad that our regular Friday HH's are back). I didn't stay out too late though, because I really wanted to get home and get to bed. I could feel myself coming down with something and I didn't like it!

Saturday morning, just as I suspected, I woke up with a terrible sore throat and a throbbing headache. I was supposed to go to the farmer's market with a friend, but sadly, I had to cancel in favor of getting a couple hours of more sleep.

At 11am I had to work, which was actually quite relaxing, I took a client bowling and then we went grocery shopping. After that we went to another client's birthday party, which was at a buffet. (You can only guess what that did to my diet!)

Sunday we woke up and went to church. The service was awesome (as usual) and it really got me thinking. I love starting my week off like that!

After that we had plans to check out the Latino Heritage Festival in downtown Des Moines. It was kind of drizzly outside, but we decided to man up and bring an umbrella. Our good friend Kristi, who is a group fitness instructor, was doing Zumba there at one of the tents for a local gym.

Zumba has been a big hit across the country and it is no different here! Kristi has ran with it and gotten really into it! People love her classes and we cannot go anywhere without her getting recognized! She's a mini celebrity here in DSM. A fitness celebrity, our very own Jillian Michaels. ;)



Emily (left) and Kristi (right) are both instructors at Aspen Athletics here in the Des Moines area. I highly recommend checking out their classes! Ten years ago we started taking step aerobics at our university's rec center and now Kristi is a passionate fitness instructor helping people get fit and have FUN doing it!
Now, the Latino Festival wasn't all Zumba... No siree! There was food. Oh emmm geeeee, the food.
Most of you know that I am obsessed with the pupusa's at the farmer's market, so I was bummed when I couldn't go on Saturday to get one. Luckily, that same vendor that sells my favorite pupusas was set up at the festival! I was so pumped! I didn't even think twice about eating anything other than my favorite spinach pupusa!

This spinach and cheese pupusa was bigger than my head! I was so hungry though, I declared I could eat it all!
I was wrong.

The pupusa beat me. I couldn't eat it all!

Angie also got a pupusa, a pork pupusa, which was a much more reasonable size.

She even saved room for some dessert...
Baklava! It was decadent and oh-so-rich! It's not Latin, but it was there... and it sounded good! ;)

Afterward we washed everything down with some horchata, which is a rice based sort of milk mixed with cinnamon and served over ice. I had never had it, but it was perfect after a spicy pupusa!
After stuffing ourselves full of Latin American food, we headed back to the Aspen tent to see Kristi and Emily perform.
Overall, despite the fact that it was rainy all day, it was a fun and relaxing day spent with good friends!

What did you do this weekend? Are you a fan of group fitness? If so, what is your favorite class to attend? (Mine is step aerobics. I'm so 80s!! haha!)