Month: March 2014

PJ’s Unique Peek Boutique: Bag Giveaway

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Hi, friends! Boy do I have a treat for you today. A few weeks ago, I met the owner of PJ’s Unique Peek Boutique, which is located in Kennebunkport, Maine. I had heard wonderful things about Jane (the owner) from my mom and her friend, Jeanne, and everything they said about her was entirely true. My first thought when I saw Jane, was “wow. She is stunning! And really fashionable.” Well, duh, she owns a clothing boutique, so I guess that makes sense. Anyway! Jane and I started talking about her store and how she just got on Facebook and was trying to get more “likes”, so when I said I wrote a blog and could possibly help with that, she jumped right on board!

Before I get to the giveaway (which you don’t want to miss), I want to share a little bit about Jane and how she got her business started. I’m always impressed when people have a goal and go for it- no matter how big or small it is, working towards your goals or dreams is a huge accomplishment and something to be incredibly proud of.

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Owning a women’s boutique has always been a dream of mine, although over the years I’ve worn many hats, but,…the stars aligned perfectly last spring.  My friend and I decided it was do or die, so we formed an LLC and proceeded to secure a “brick and mortar” location and do our due diligence, researching and preparing our business plan.

Lower Village Kennebunk, a stone’s throw from Kennebunkport and Dock Square, seemed to be the ideal spot and as a bonus there was parking in the rear of the building.  It never hurts to have former President and Mrs. Bush as neighbors!  We opened the boutique on July 5th.  In December, I had the opportunity to buy out my partner, so now the name PJ’s stands for Positively Jane’s.

I’m anticipating to have my online store up and running very soon.  Presently I’m offering some specials on the business Facebook page.  Soldsie and Paypal will be added to Facebook to enhance the selling and buying experience.

The boutique carries fun and fashionable women’s clothing, accessories and jewelry (Kazuri from Africa to locally made wire and stone jewelry).  The clothing lines include Pretty Women, Tribal, Parkhurst, Raffinalla and Southern Lady to name a few. My skin potions (soaps, creams, body butters and cleansers) are made in Maine.  Also, I have some unique gifts made by local artisans from beautiful burl bowls to framed prints to colorful luggage tags.

The days and hours are limited in the winter months, but the boutique is open seven days a week after Memorial day.

So, now that you have an idea about Jane and her store (which I’m dying to go to!), let’s get to the giveaway, shall we? Jane has been gracious enough to give me one of the gorgeous Latico bags that she sells in her store to giveaway on the blog. Made in the US, this leather bag is a “must-have” for any of us who are on the go and always in need of a big bag to carry everything. The straps are thin, so they stay in place on your shoulder- is there anything more annoying than having your bag constantly slip down off your shoulder??

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On top of that, the leather is incredibly soft and I’m in love with the gorgeous blue color- perfect for the upcoming spring and summer season, right?? I’m really digging the liner fabric- it’s a nice surprise when you open the bag!

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I also love that it has a zipper. Since I’m often on public transportation, I always look for bags with zippers to keep everything safe (not to mention when I’m in the car and my bag falls off the seat… having a zipper helps to eliminate everything falling all over the floor!). The bag is rather big and deep (perfect for carrying a laptop!), so I like that it comes with a handy little small, zippered pouch. There are also pockets for your phone, pens, cards, etc., but I’d use the zippered pouch to hold my chapsticks/lip-glosses, hand sanitzer, keys, etc. You could also use it to hold your cash if you decide to leave your bag in the car while you run errands or go out with friends.

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This bag retails at $169.99, but one lucky reader will receive it- for free!! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what you’re most looking forward to this spring season- clothes, bags, warm weather… can be anything!

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You may receive extra entries by:

1. “Liking” PJ’s Unique Peek on Facebook

2. “Liking” Burpees To Bubbly on Facebook

3. “Sharing” this giveaway on Twitter

Leave a comment for every extra way you’re entering the giveaway- That’s a total of 4 ways to enter this giveaway!

I will be picking the winner, by random, on Monday, March 10th, so make sure to get your entries in before that 🙂

Good luck!

This Week: Workouts (lots of teaching!) & Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Happy Monday! I’m hoping that we didn’t actually get as much snow as the weather was predicting all weekend… I’m also hoping that by the time this post goes up, I’ve successfully taught my first 6am class at my new gym 🙂

Last week was a really great week of quality workouts (not necessarily the quantity of workouts), mostly because it felt amazing to be back in the gym and teaching, partly because they actually were good workouts. Even though I stayed active last week, it wasn’t at my normal intensity and didn’t involve weights, so being back at the gym last week with normal intensity AND weights left me tired and sore. And, I kind of loved it! Even though I like to have a consistent workout plan and schedule each week, being forced to take a step back, slow down and change things up is a nice break 🙂

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I got up before my work trip to Dallas (like 5am style. yuck) to squeeze in a quick 30 minute workout: 10 minutes cardio, 10 minutes strength, 10 minutes core. I’m going to post it for you this week.
  • Tuesday- Nothing. My trip to Dallas was quick and I knew I wouldn’t be getting up to workout before the sessions, so I didn’t even bring my workout clothes!
  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before teaching UXF Burn. I did most of the workout with the class (except the cardio) so I was beat by the end.
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Kickboxing. I randomly used body bars in SHRED and loved it!! I ended up making up most of the workout as we went so we could use the bars and it was a nice change up. Kickboxing was super high cardio and super sweaty. I hadn’t taught that class in 2 weeks so it was great to be back!
  • Friday- I walked about a mile… so mostly a rest day
  • Saturday- Taught kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. There were 62 people… it.was.sweaty.

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  • Sunday- I filmed a standing ab routine (I’ll be posting it this week!) and did some at-home yoga. It was just what I needed!!

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I was seriously SO sore from kickboxing on Saturday, so stretching out my muscles was wonderful. At least I wasn’t the only one sore… these girls were suffering in my pain, too!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m teaching my first 6am Muscle Work class in the morning (pending the snow doesn’t ruin that plan!!) and then teaching cardio kickboxing at the Watertown BSC after work. Nothing like a Monday double to start off the week!
  • Tuesday- I was invited to participate in a new program that’s being brought to Boston (more on that later!), so I’m going to Flywheel for the opening event. SO excited to get back in the saddle there!
  • Wednesday- Probably some cardio before teaching UXF Burn. I’m thinking it will be a lower-impact cardio based on my Monday and Tuesday workouts.
  • Thursday- My second double of the week! SHRED followed by Kickboxing.
  • Friday- REST 🙂
  • Saturday- Amy and I switched Saturday’s at the Y so I’ll be teaching kickboxing there again this weekend!
  • Sunday- I’m subbing a 9AM UXF Burn class at the Allston BSC- looking forward to being back at that gym- BSCers… come hang with me 🙂

I’m glad that last week ended up being a lighter workout week than normal (3 mostly “rest” days, which I never do in one week) because this week is a bit intense with teaching 7 classes. I’m going to make sure to listen to my body and instruct/coach rather than actually DO the workouts with the class when I feel like I’ve done too much.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

So much!! I’m excited to have a week where I am mostly back to my normal schedule, although, now that I think about it, it’s not really “normal” since I have a lot of things going on after work… hmmm…. I’m also looking forward to the blog event on Tuesday night- it’s always fun to meet fellow Boston bloggers. I’m looking to expand my blog reading list, so I know I’ll get to add a few to my list after Tuesday night 😉 I’m going to another blog event on Saturday afternoon- a wine tasting event. Umm, perfect!! Wine and blogging… after teaching… sounds like the perfect Saturday, right?

Giveaway coming up-

Be on the lookout for an awesome giveaway going up on the blog tomorrow. I think you ladies are going to LOVE it!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? What are you looking forward to this week? If you had to pick one blog to tell me to read, what would it be?