Month: May 2013

Weekending! Harpoon Fest, Sushi, Sonsie, Friends

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Before I get to my post scheduled for today, I wanted to take a minute to say how much Oklahoma is on my mind. Seeing the images on the news that the tornadoes caused makes me speechless. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who have been impacted by these tornadoes. Absolutely heartbreaking.

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Hi there! How is everyone doing?! I had a super busy weekend, but it was really, really fun! My friend, JP, was in town for the weekend (he is my former coworker/BFF and is moving to Chicago at the end of the month), so it was fun to get to hang out with him, as well as some SMC ladies.

Friday

I was pretty busy with work on Friday, but I was able to make some Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bread during my lunch break. I don’t know where I got the recipe (definitely from a blog, but no idea which one), but mmm it came out so tasty!

001I talked to my college girlfriends and realized that it was Harpoon Fest, so some of us decided to go. Although it was a little chilly on Friday evening, it was still a fun night!

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(Do you follow me on Instagram, yet?)

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Saturday definitely would have been the better day, weather wise, but I’m still glad we were able to go! Around 9pm, we all decided we were all pretty chilly and decided to head out. We joined JP and some of his friends for another drink at Dillon’s.

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Knowing that I had to teach kickboxing at 10am the next day, I kept myself in good control and even drank a plain club soda while at Dillon’s… shocking, I know! But well worth it. There are some classes I could teach while being tired and a little hung over, but kickboxing is certainly not one of those!

Saturday

Kickboxing was a blast! There were not as many people as usual, but I blame that on the weather. Saturday was absolutely beautiful and had I not been teaching, I would have gone for a nice run outside!

When I got home from kickboxing, I worked in my garden a little bit. I had a few more things I wanted to plant and my dad was nice enough to give me 3 more bags of soil, so it felt good to knock that off of my “to-do” list, while still working on my tan 😉 And, the sun went in just as I was ready to eat lunch. Perfect timing! I sautéed some broccoli and summer squash and then added in an egg, scrambled it up, topped it with goat cheese and served it as a wrap. Easy, healthy, yummy.

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Perfect fuel to clean the apartment, actually. Danielle was around to help, so we split up the different areas of the house to clean and got to work! By the time we were finished, I was exhausted, so you know what I ended up doing? NAPPING. If you know me, you know that I NEVER nap, so this was pretty crazy. I passed out for a solid 45 minutes and only woke up because I was drooling everywhere my sister told me it was time to shower. Luckily, I wasn’t groggy or anything, because that is the worst, and part of the reason why I don’t nap.

After we were ready, we headed to Joshua Tree in Somerville for a cocktail and snack before meeting up with my friend, Lauren, for sushi. Davis square was hoppin’! There was some sort of sidewalk/porch band festival thing, too, which seemed pretty cool. I love how the spring weather makes people venture out and about.  I got a Sangria, but it was awful so I didn’t finish it. Boo 😦

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For dinner, we went to Fuji in Kendall Square since I had a Groupon that was just days from expiring.

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While we perused the menu, we enjoyed some edamame and Sauvignon Blanc. $26 for the bottle. Ummm amazing.

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I ordered a Spicy Tuna Roll, which was only OK. It seemed like it had tempura mixed in and I wasn’t a fan of that. Everything else was delicious, though, especially the company and free valet parking 🙂

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After dinner, Danielle and I went to Sonsie to grab a drink with JP since it might be the last time that we see him before he moves to Chicago 😦 The city was very much alive and I loved it! Sometimes it’s nice to have a reminder of how wonderful it is to be able to live in Boston. I think I take it for granted far too often, so last night was nice to soak it all in.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I went out and had fun with friends, had some great adult bevvies, and was able to enjoy Boston. Sunday was the icing on the cake as I was totally in my element at the Wellness By The Water retreat. I’ll do a full post dedicated to my experience there later this week, but I’ll say that it was awesome.

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Did you go to Harpoon Fest? Did you go out dancing (mom, I know you did!)? Drink any fun, summer-ish cocktails?

Weekly Workouts

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Holy Moly! Monday, already?! I had an incredibly busy weekend, but let me tell you was it fun! Before I get to recapping, let’s focus on workouts and getting back on track (even though I am almost positive that today will be a rest day since yesterday was an intense day of workouts!).

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I ran 4.63 miles after I finished work and then spent about 30 minutes doing all sorts of different strength and core work using a band. So fun!

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  • Tuesday- Went to a boot camp class with my favorite instructor. If you think I am tough, you should go to one of her classes. Killer. I love it.

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  • Wednesday- I was pretty sore, so I just did 10 minutes on the elliptical and then taught UXF and did most of the workout with them.

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  • Thursday- Double time! I taught a stations workout in SHRED and then kickboxing.
  • Friday- Rest, besides a 30 minute walk around Somerville, ending at the liquor store to get some wine. Definitely not a coincidence, but it sure was great motivation!

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  • Saturday- Taught Kickboxing at the Y, which included lots of burpees 😉

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  • Sunday- Wellness by the Water Retreat, which included 30 minutes of Boot Camp, Tai Chi, Barre (OMG hardest Barre class I’ve been to) and Pilates and then also a CrossFit WOD (workout of the day) and yoga. Needless to say, it was a tiring, but FUN, day!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Likely a rest day besides my normal walking commute.
  • Tuesday- Maybe another rest day since I have a photo shoot after work!
  • Wednesday- I was invited to go to a Women’s Health event at Exhale, so I am doing a Core Fusion Cardio class in the morning and then teaching UXF after work.
  • Thursday- Double time! SHRED & Kickboxing
  • Friday- Maybe a Deck of Cards workout? Running? Circuits?
  • Saturday- Teaching Kicboxing at the YMCA
  • Sunday- I’ll be in Maine for Memorial Day weekend so I will probably get my mom to do something with me 🙂

You tell me! What was your hardest workout this past week? Most fun? Anything you’re proud of?

Scenes from Saturday

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Good morning! I am about to head out to spend the day at the Wellness by the Water Retreat, but wanted to pop in and show you some scenes from yesterday! Enjoy!

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Friday Dance Time!

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Ok, not really, but you never know! I might bust out some moves when the Ellen Show comes on later today (I mean, how can you NOT want to dance when she’s dancing?!). Happy Friday, everyone! For the life of me, I couldn’t keep my days straight this week. And not in one of those “ugh, it feels like Friday but it’s only Wednesday” or “Wow it’s already Friday? It feels like Wednesday” way, I simply just haven’t known what day it is! I do, however, know today is Friday and that makes me very happy! Let’s catch up on the week…

Monday

I worked from home, went for a 40 minute run, and then cooked this delicious meal:

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Tuesday

I was able to make it to a class with my FAVORITE instructor. Holy moly did she kill us! I secretly loved it, and very openly loved it when I took a lot of what she did and made my class do it on Wednesday 😉 Look at this beautiful sky that I took a picture of as I walked home from the gym:

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Wednesday

I had a blast teaching UXF Burn! Like I said, it was a tough one, but if people are taking an hour out of their day to come to my class, I want it to be worth it! So we work hard 🙂

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AND, how lucky was I that my sister (who had just gotten home from a vacation in the South) texted me and said she would have homemade pizza ready for me when I got home. #bestthingever Look at this beauty of a pie!

007Obviously I had to try a little bit of all 3: turkey pepperoni, fresh tomatoes & goat cheese. peppers, broccoli and onions. plain cheese. Holy Yum!

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Thursday

How ’bout that beautiful weather?! I was so so happy that I was finally able to enjoy a lunch on the water without freezing. And, to make it even better, JP was in town and met me! He got a Sportello Lunch Box and I got a sandwich from Flour…. and a cookie later in the day 😉

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Post work, I headed to the gym to teach my double. We did a stations workout somewhat similar to this one. It was actually quite different, but the same format idea. What’s great, is that members seem to enjoy this type of workout just as much as I do 🙂 Kickboxing was a bit of a hot mess, but that’s what I get when I try to make up complicated “sets” while sitting at my desk and not actually TRYING them before teaching them! Most members in my class are regulars now, so they know how to roll with it!

When I got home, I went to water my garden and look what I saw!

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Everything is coming up!!!! My flowers are not doing so well, but look at these babies! I can’t believe it.

And, that brings us to today! I thought about getting up to do some core work or arm stuff, but I realized that I haven’t rested since Friday, and every day has been pretty tough workouts, so I am opting for a rest day. Looking at my weekend (kickboxing tomorrow and Wellness by the Water Retreat on Sunday), today is a great day to rest.

Questions for you: What’s been your favorite thing this week? Favorite pizza topping? What’s going on tonight? Dinner or drinks out? I want to do something tonight, but not sure what that is yet!

Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!

Mother’s Day Recap

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Hey everyone! I know it’s a little late to be posting a Mother’s Day recap, but better late than never, right? Even though my sister wasn’t home to celebrate Mother’s Day with us, mom, dad and I still had a great day!

We decided to not rush around to make it to the 9AM mass and went to the 11AM instead. Since we were planning to have a brunch and didn’t want to eat at 3pm, we did all the prep work for the meal prior to church.  Dad got the potatoes and onions going, mom pre-cooked the sausage and I got all the ingredients together for the mini Quiche’s.

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After church, mom and I went to the grocery store quickly and then came home, popped some bubbly and got to work on the getting the brunch together.

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Mom FINALLY let me give her the rest of her Mother’s Day present. I am really bad at surprises and keeping things from people. As soon as I buy something for someone, I want to tell them about it or give it to them. Mom, on the other hand, likes to wait. So, I waited. From Friday to Sunday. Even after a couple of wines I still couldn’t get her to give in and open it! Alas, Sunday came and she said it was time!

When I was in NYC, we went to Chelsea Market and to the Chelsea Wine Vault. As soon as I saw this “wine tote” I knew I had to get it for mom. Mom and her friends go to the beach at least a couple of times a week in the summer and always bring wine or champagne. They try to be discreet by using Dasani bottles for their wine, but I think we all know that’s not discreet at all. Neither is this, but it’s pretty darn cute!

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Brunch was absolutely delicious!! As much as I love breakfast and breakfast foods, I never take the time to make really delicious breakfasts, so Sunday was a nice treat!

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YUM! We had lots of leftovers, so after we finished, I helped mom pack them up, aka I packed up stuff I wanted to take home with me:) I love when I get to go “grocery shopping” at my parents house! Also, to all my fellow organizers out there (ahem, Athena), I have to show you my parents Tupperware closet. Yes, you read that correctly, they have a closet for all of their Tupperware. I am SO jealous!

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One day, maybe I’ll be able to have one of those. Talk about making it easy to “grab n’ go!”

That about sums up the day! The sun did come out in the afternoon which was a nice surprise. Mom sat outside and read and I joined her out there while I did some arms and core workouts! I packed up to leave around 4:45 and was greeted with an apartment that did not have hot water. Lovely. Oh well. Could’ve been worse!

Questions for you: Are you super organized when it comes to putting away Tupperware and pots and other things like that? Favorite beach beverage?