Month: October 2016

I broke up with my favorite blue pants

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I had this awesome pair of blue pants, but they just never fit quite right. I bought them a size too small because that’s all they had- and they were only $20 (don’t tell me you haven’t done the same thing before 😉 ) so from the get-go I probably should’ve walked away from them when I was at the sore. Here’s the thing, while I could wear them no problem, they never really made me FEEL good. They were always tight getting on, tighter in the legs than I liked and they made my butt look very bubbly (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but at work it made me feel a little inappropriate, haha)… all things that would start negative thoughts!

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Anyway, the other day I decided to break up with them. I was tired of letting the pants affect my mood and make me have negative thoughts about myself and my body and I was tired of hoping they might be looser each time I wore them, so I decided it was time to get rid of them.

But, the whole thing made me think- how often do we let a piece of clothing or a super fit person on Instagram or something else make us feel not-so-great about ourselves? I’m guilty of this, too, but these days I’m proud of myself for knowing what to do to remove that negativity from my life. In this case, it was by donating the pants. In other cases it’s un-following people on Instagram or Facebook if I constantly notice that their posts make me feel like I’m not in shape or that I need to tighten something up or run faster or blah blah blah… the list could go on!

I’ll tell ya, putting those pants in the donating pile rather than back in my closet was so freeing! I no longer have to amp myself up to put them on, feel bad about the fact that they are still tight, or feel uncomfortable all day when I would wear them. I am more than that, and I owe it to myself to remove things in my life that make me feel that way.  Plus, now I have an excuse to go shopping 😉

With that, I urge you to take a look at your closet (or social media accounts or anything else, really) and get rid of something that results in negative thoughts about yourself and/or your body. I promise- you will feel so much better… and then even better than that when you go shopping to replace what you got rid of 😉

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you have a wonderful week 🙂 If you’re looking to sweat with me, tonight at 6:30 is the free Seaport Sweat kickboxing class in the seaport and tomorrow is Bags & Beats at 6:30 at the Watertown GymIt.

Honeymoon Recap: Napoli

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Good morning!n No “Five on Friday” for you today, but I think you’ll like this post! Now that the wedding recaps are complete, I can blog about our honeymoon! To sum it up, it was the most amazingly wonderful two weeks we could’ve ever asked for. It was our third time to Italy (2nd together), and I swear- it gets more and more special every time I visit.  We especially loved this trip because we got to explore the Amalfi Coast, which is even more beautiful in person than it is in pictures. Our itinerary was: Naples for 2 nights, Ischia for 4 nights, Sorrento for 3 nights, Positano for 4 nights and then 1 more night in Naples to be closer to the airport for our flight home. I’ll break the recap posts into each area that we visited, making sure to share what we did, where we stayed, what we ate (and where we ate where I can remember!), suggestions, etc.

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Where We Stayed:

For the first Naples stop, we stayed at the Renassaince Naples, which we really loved. It was a nice, clean hotel with decent size rooms, it had a great breakfast with beautiful views and most importantly, it was SUPER close to everything you’d want or need. We could literally walk out and be in various piazza’s in just a short walk. We were also surprised by a Luna di Miele gift (we assume it was organized by our travel agent: Coleen at Simply Honeymoons), which was a great way to be welcomed to the city!

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The hotel also had a small gym, which I used just once.

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For our last night in Naples at the end of our trip, our travel agent opted to put us at Grand Hotel Parker’s, and while it was a BEAUTIFUL hotel (very luxurious) with amazing views, we felt as though it was a bit too far out of the way for our liking. When we got there on Sunday afternoon, we were starving so we headed out to find food and had to walk and walk and walk in order to find anything. Granted, it was a Sunday and a lot of things are closed on Sundays, but still. It didn’t seem like it was a highly populated area of nearby piazza’s, cafes, etc., which was not the case with the Renaissance that we first stayed in. So, if your thing is views moreso than proximity to the action, then this is certainly the hotel for you because it was really, really nice and had wonderful views. Plus, our room was so great- it was 2 floors with 2 bathrooms! It was almost like a little apartment 🙂

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What We Ate

I sent my parents a copy of the itinerary I created and they were laughing when they saw “eat pizza” on the list of “things to do” in Naples 😉 But the pizza in Napoli really is unlike anything we’ve ever had before. It was simply unbelievable. So basic, but so delicious! And cheap! 3 euros for a pizza- can’t get much better than that.

  • Aperol Spritz- These are the best thing ever! Paired with the “snacks” that cafes give you when you order drinks, it made for a perfect afternoon pickmeup.

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  • Cafe & Sfogliatelle at Gran Caffe Gambrinus, which is a well-known, very historic cafe in Naples. The sfogliatelle there were amazing!! If you don’t know what they are- google it, find an Italian bakery and get one. You won’t regret it!

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  • Pizza at Di Matteo. Tribunali Street is THE street to get pizza if you’re in Naples. If the line at Di Matteo is too long, there are at least a handful of other well-known, delicious places to choose from. We grabbed beers at the store next door, ordered a pizza and found a stoop to eat it on. It was amazing- and the pizza was only 3 euros- heck of a cheap date 😉

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  • Lunch at Attori & Spettatori– We had been walking and walking and walking and finally stumbled upon this restaurant, which had everything we were looking for: drinks, food, outdoor seating, quiet area. We opted to get a piazza fritta, which is a “fried pizza”, a staple Naples is known for. It’s basically a calzone that’s been fried and while it’s good, we preferred the traditional pizza. This restaurant was great, though!

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  • Dinner at II Garum Ristorante– this was suggested by the hotel and it did not disappoint! We didn’t make reservations so we couldn’t eat outside, but the inside was warm and charming so it was great. We shared a few apps, but the star was the special of the night, which was a lobster tail pasta dish. SO good!

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  • Gelato- duh! I don’t remember the exact places, but everywhere we got one was great.

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What We Did

  • LOTS of walking around, checking out the various piazzas.
  • Tour “Naples Underground”- this was a really interesting part of our trip because we didn’t know that it even existed! From their site: Forty meters below the characteristic and lively streets of the Historic Center of Naples, you find a different world, unexplored, isolated by time, but deeply connected with the world above. It’s the heart of Naples, and the place from which the city was born. To visit it is to travel to the past, a world 2400 years old.Every historic epic, from the foundation of Neopolis, to the bombs of WWII, has left it’s mark on the walls of the yellow tufa stone, the soul of Naples, and the stone with which the city was built. Naples Underground is the most famous and fascinating guided tour underneath the city of Naples. Our guides will take you on a journey through 2,400 years of history, from the ancient Greeks to modern times, unveiling the “womb” of Naples from an archaeological, historical, anthropological and geological point of view.. Head on over to their site to learn more- I know my explanation won’t do it justice!
  • Walk around & explore small streets & churches- Italy is FULL of both of these things and we really enjoyed just wandering and stumbling upon both.

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  • Archaeological Museum- We didn’t get a chance to visit this, but I would’ve liked to have because it sounded amazing. They had lots of original pieces from Pompeii which would’ve been cool to see.
  • Eat pizza 😉 And mozzarella… no, seriously. Throughout the whole trip we couldn’t stop raving about how GOOD the mozzarella was. It was so creamy and fresh and flavorful- unlike anything we’ve ever had in the states!

Would we go back?

Absolutely!! While we had received words of caution before going (ie: hold your bag tight, leave your ring in the safe, etc.), we didn’t feel nervous or in danger at any point during our trip. Sure, there were a few homeless people asking for money and the city felt a little dirty, but nothing you wouldn’t get from any other city. Overall, we really loved Napoli and would totally go back!

Questions for you: Have you ever been to Napoli? What’s your favorite “big city”? Do you prefer fancy/loaded pizzas or more basic? What’s your favorite vacation drink?

 

Wednesday Workout: Italy Workout Series {Part 1- Countdown bodyweight}

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Good morning! I haven’t shared a workout with you in forever, so today is your lucky day because not only do I have one workout for you, but I’m also throwing in a bonus one 😉

I know some people don’t like to workout on vacation, but personally, I like to try and keep somewhat consistent with my workouts … partly because it’s my “me” time and is something that makes me happy, but also because it’s easier to get back into the full swing of things after vacation if I’ve kept active during the vacation. But, with that said, my workouts while on vacation are no where near what they are when I’m not on vacation. I don’t search out gyms, I don’t workout for a long time, I don’t workout if I don’t feel like it and I don’t let it interfere with the trip. If it fits into a particular day, then great, I’ll squeeze in a 20 minute quickie workout. But if not, then no big deal!

During our 16 day drip, I worked out 9 days. Some days it was a 20-25 minute jog around the new neighborhood/city we were staying in, some days it was stairs, some days it was a workout on our terrace and some days I used the gym (only 2 of the hotels we stayed at had gyms). Some days I skipped workout sin lieu of just taking the stairs- our hotel in Positano was 597 steps up from the beach area!! And get this- one day I got up and got changed and then decided I didn’t feel like working out so I got back in bed to snooze for a bit longer before breakfast- ha! That doesn’t happen very often 😉

Today’s workout was one that I did on our terrace in Ischia. I didn’t want something that would require a lot of jumping (because noise), so this worked out great. 5 rounds took me a little less than 20 minutes, I think, so it was easy to squeeze in while RM got a bit more sleep.

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Now for the bonus workout! The weekend leading up to our honeymoon was spent at my best friend Jessi’s “Bridal Bath” (Bachelorette party and bridal shower in one), and it didn’t allow for a workout. No big deal, but before our flight I felt like I wanted to get a little something in since I knew we would be sitting for a long time. I was exhausted, though, so I didn’t want anything that would require a lot of energy exertion. This workout was great because it was quick (maybe 15 mins) and gave me energy for the rest of the day.

10 air squats
10 pushups
10 reverse lunges (each leg)
10 V-sits

Nothing crazy, but enough to get the blood pumping!

I hope you consider trying these next time you’re in a crunch for time and find yourself without a gym 🙂

Questions for you: Do you like to workout before a flight?

Wedding Recap: Part 3 {Reception}

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Hi there! I’m back with another wedding recap. I figured since I’m ready to start recapping our honeymoon, I should probably just finish this post which has been drafted for an embarrassingly long tim! In case you missed the others, here you go:

Wedding Recap Part 1
Wedding Recap Part 2

I last left off as we were getting ready to be introduced as Mr. & Mrs., right? Yes, that’s exactly where I left off! Since we didn’t really have wedding parties, our family just got introduced from their seats and then we did our entrance as we made our way to the dance floor for our first dance.

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Funny story: we had a song picked and all planned out and then literally 10 minutes before we were supposed to enter the tent RM felt like we needed to go to our plan B song since we didn’t get to practice enough for our plan A song. Luckily the band was able to download our new first dance song with a few minutes to spare 😉

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After the first dance, my parents did a speech, RM’s brother did a speech and then my sister did a speech. Everyone did such a wonderful job with the speeches- we were laughing and crying as they shared memories/stories/etc. It was such a special part of the night.

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After that it was time to eat! While the steak ended up being a little over-cooked (pretty typical for wedding food I think), everything else was really perfect. We had crab cakes to start, fresh salads, either steak or swordfish (or a vegetarian meal that I heard was unbelievably good) and then instead of cake, we had a huge assortment of Italian pastries/cookies. RM’s mother and some of her sister’s made some of the items at our dessert bar- all of which were fantastic! I also provided the guests with little takeaway bags so that they could take some cookies home, which ended up being a really great idea since there were so many cookies left over!

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{above food photos taken by our family friend, Jeanne, who is amazing!}

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After dinner a lot of people ventured out of the tent for a bit of a reprieve from the heat inside the tent, but once the sun went down a bit, people were pretty much on the dance floor ALL night, which is exactly what I wanted! For the father/daughter dance, we started off dancing to a slow song and then about halfway through I gave the nod to the band to switch it up and start playing “Happy” by Pharrell,  since that was a song my dad really wanted to dance to. We also invited my mom onto the dance floor with us and it was so much fun! My dad’s smile and dance moves were just priceless 🙂

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RM’s dance with his mother was a bit more mellow, but still very sweet. I love seeing how much he loves her!

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I happily spent the rest of the night on the dance floor, living it up with everyone. One of my favorite parts of the night was when the song “American Girl” by Tom Petty came on and RM came out of nowhere to grab me and start dancing- he was quite the dancing machine and by the end of the song my face hurt from smiling and laughing so much.

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After a few more hours of dancing, we closed out the night with one last slow-er song before heading into the Inn for late night snacks and piano show tunes 😉

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Overall, it was the most perfect, amazing, magical night that I will never forget. Everything that we, as brides, worry about leading up to the big event went better than I could’ve expected. We laughed, we cried, we ate & drank, we danced and we soaked up all of the love. We would re-live the day/night a million times over if we could. Thank you to everyone who made our day so special!

Photo Credit: Janelle Carmela Photography– she’s absolutely amazing!!

Five on Friday {10.7.16}

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Test, test. Is this thing on?! If you can hear me…. WE’RE BACK!!!! After the most wonderfully amazing honeymoon, we are back in the States and back to the grind. I have SO MUCH to recap/share with you from the trip, but it’ll have to wait until next week 😉 For now, enjoy some tidbits below!

  • New Balance Breast Cancer Awareness Month Event- Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending a really wonderful New Balance event at their new flagship store in Brighton. New Balance has a strong partnership with Susan G. Komen and has helped to not only raise a lot of money, but also raise a ton of breast cancer awareness. This year, Komen has a new brand platform called “more than pink”, which puts a big focus on the scientific progress and research that will greatly reduce breast cancer deaths in years to come. New Balance is supporting this by hosting various fitness events and having speakers share their stores about breast cancer battles, awareness and more. We heard from Mike and Kara Selsman, a husband and wife duo both battling breast cancer as well as Lindsay McGloughlin, an Honorary Team New Balance member and breast cancer survivor. All of their stories were so emotional, but also so inspiring. What I loved is that even through all they’ve been through, they continue to fight, spread awareness and stay active through various forms of movement. Before the speeches, we had a chance to either go on a fun run or do a bootcamp. I opted for the bootcamp which was really fun! I also got a chance to try out the new sneakers that NB graciously gifted me. They are part of their “Lace up for a cure” line in which NB gives back 5% of the sale price to Susan G. Komen. Thank you, New Balance, for hosting a fantastic event and working so hard to spread awareness.

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  • The Resolution by PMC Event– Registration is now open for the second annual Resolution by PMC ride, again to be hosted at Everybody Fights on January 27 & 28. I was part of the event last year and am so looking forward to being a part of it again this year. The PMC will be hosting a launch party on Thursday, October 6, at Back Bay Social Club to celebrate the event’s inaugural year in 2016 and kick-off registration for 2017 – which will be sure to raise the fundraising bar even further. Tickets for the celebration are available for purchase here for $15.

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  • Kitten Shopping- While we were in Positano, we fell in love with a little stray kitten. We wanted to take her home, but logistically it didn’t work out so now we are on a mission to get one of our own- wish us luck!

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  • Embracing Fall- After a seemingly very longggg summer, which was extended by our two weeks in Italy with AMAZING weather, I am really excited for fall weather. I’m ready to put away my bathing suits, towels, sunscreen, etc. and wear jeans, boots, thin sweaters, etc. I’m also ready for fall food: roast chicken (made that this week!), chili, pumpkin everything and more 😉
  • OAKtoberfest 5K– I’m on the fence about signing up for this race again this year. Last year I ran it and got a crazy PR and came in 3rd for my age group, but this year I haven’t been doing nearly as much running so I may go into it with more of a fun mentality. I love races and know this course so I think I’ll end up doing it- anyone else interested in running with me?!

And that does it for me! I’m so excited to have a free weekend to catch up on life. I have so many blog posts I want to write, the house needs to be clean, I want to do some baking and I just want to relax. September was crazy busy, so I’m looking forward to taking time this weekend to breathe a bit. Oh, but if you want to sweat with me, I’ll be at the Oak Square YMCA tomorrow morning at 10am for Kickboxing!

Whatever you do this weekend, I hope it’s a good one!

Questions for you: How have YOU been?! I’ve missed you!! How was your week? Any good workouts to share? What about fall recipes? What’s your favorite thing about fall? Have you run any races lately?