Brussels Sprouts w/Broccoli, Onions & Slivered Almonds

March 19, 2015March 17, 20154 Comments

You guys… This side dish I whipped up the other night was absolutely delicious! It’s probably no surprise that I love Brussels Sprouts, and this dish was no exception. I had been wanting to cook them a different way besides just roasting them and I definitely achieved that with this recipe. And, the beauty of it is that I can see us making different variations of it and pairing it with lots of different meals in the future. YES!

Another beauty about this recipe? Super easy to throw together. I think chopping the veggies was the most time consuming part- big deal, right? With a glass of wine as my kitchen partner, it was actually quite therapeutic.

Ingredients

2 cups Brussels Sprouts, ends cut off and chopped into 4 sections
1.5 cups chopped broccoli
3/4-1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup slivered or chopped almonds
2-4 tbsp of white wine (optional, but what isn’t better with a little vino?!)
EVOO to taste
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste

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Kia’s Bachelorette HIIT Bootcamp (10, 20 or 30 Minute Options- Body Weight!)

March 18, 2015March 17, 20152 Comments

This workout is the perfect workout if you just want to get in a good sweat while on the road or at your house without access to equipment. For my friend, Kia’s, bachelorette party, she wanted me to lead a bootcamp so I decided to put this HIIT section in as part of it. We only did it once through, but if you’re looking for a longer workout, you can certainly do it two, three or four times through depending on how much time you have.

I think all of these should be pretty straight forward (or something that you see often on B2B!), but if you have any questions, please let me know!

Also, if you’re looking for a longer workout and have people to workout with here’s how our whole 45 minute workout went:
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Kia’s North Conway Bachelorette Weekend

March 17, 2015March 17, 20159 Comments

I love celebrating my friends, and this past weekend was such a wonderful way to do so. My college friend, Nikia, is getting married this weekend so we all headed up to North Conway last weekend to celebrate her last weekend as a “single” lady. It was a mix of college girlfriends and some of her other girlfriends from different parts of her life. We all got along so well and by the end, it felt like we had all been friends for so long!

We arrived at various times on Friday night and took that time to drink wine, hang out and relax. The house that we rented was amazing!!! It was perfect for us because there were so many bedrooms and bathrooms- a must for a group of girls! It slept 14, had 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, huge kitchen, 2 gas fireplaces, a game room and a hot tub with views of the nearby mountain. The Maid of Honor found the house on VRBO if you’re interested in checking it out!

On Saturday, we got up and I led a 45 minute bootcamp. I did this at Sheila’s bachelorette weekend and was pumped when Kia asked if I would do it for hers. I’m all about drinking and partying and straying off of my normal healthy eats for a weekend, but I really like when I can still get in a workout and some movement because it’s something that makes me feel so much better! So, when you have a group of girls willing to do it with you, it makes for a fun event. I’ll post the workout on Wednesday, but it was a good one and it was so funny to listen to everyone grunting and groaning!
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Boston’s Got A New Barre {My first FlyBarre class recap}

March 16, 2015March 17, 20155 Comments

Before I get into my recap of the barre class I took at Flywheel, I wanted to let you know that Flywheel is hosting a MS Hope For A Cure event on March 28th. It is a really great sounding event and I hope to be able to make it!

WHAT: Located in the Prudential Center, Boston’s premier indoor cycling studio, Flywheel Sports, will host MS Cycle for a Cure and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on March 28 in an effort to raise awareness and critical funding for multiple sclerosis research.
In this one-day inspiring event, riders will sweat for a cause and be challenged to raise funds and come together to participate with the local community in the charitable indoor cycling event. Flywheel will offer four dedicated sessions of empowering instruction with all proceeds benefitting the National MS Society’s NOW campaign for research.

WHERE: Flywheel Sports at the Prudential Center 800 Boylston Street · Boston, MA 02199
WHEN: March 28, 2015
Registration begins at 2:30pm
Available sessions: 3:00pm, 4:00pm, 5:00pm, 6:00pm
COST: $25 per person

And now to the recap! One of the best perks of being a blogger is getting a chance to take classes at various fitness studios in exchange for a blog post, so I jumped at the chance to try a class at Flywheel’s newest addition: FlyBarre. Since I love the indoor cycling classes at Flywheel, I had no doubts that I would also love their new barre class.

I wasn’t wrong! Although barre classes aren’t my favorite way to workout, they are a fun addition to my regular workouts and they ALWAYS leave me shaking! It’s something about those little weights that kills me, no matter what my current strength level is. I took the 5:15pm class with Azure and not only was she adorable, she was a really tough, but super motivating instructor that made the class fun.

Here’s a little about the class from their website: Classes are highly energetic and fast-paced while systematically working each muscle group through a sequence of focused movements, or “pulses.” We change our routines frequently and use a wide variety of props to tighten muscles and keep things interesting. You’ll never experience the same class twice.
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My First Birchbox Experience

March 13, 2015March 13, 20156 Comments

Have you guys ever heard of Birchbox (<— don’t worry, you get a referral link if you sign up, too!)? My guess is that I’m sure you have. I feel like I’ve “known” about it for years, but only through a few bloggers who would post about their monthly boxes. Lucky for me, my sister got me a 3 month subscription for Christmas. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but once the boxes started coming in, I got a better feel for it.

The great thing about Birchbox is that you get sample sizes of various beauty products which gives you a chance to sample different brands without actually having to commit to buying a full size of something you may not actually like. How many of you have bought a new hair product or face lotion or mascara only to find out you really don’t like it that much? I’m embarrassed to admit how many barely-used things of hair gel/mousse/spray/shampoo/etc. that I have laying around. But with Birchbox, if you like something you try, they give you all the details on how you can purchase a full size version of it.

And, I mean, how fun is it to get a package like this every month??