Category: Five on Friday

Five on Friday {9.2.16}

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Hello! TGIF, right?! I’ll tell you what- I am looking forward to a long weekend! We get a half day today and then we have Monday off and I have to say that I am reallllly looking forward to it, even though I have so much work to do I really could use the day in the office, haha OH WELL! It’ll get done eventually 😉

Did you guys have a good week? Mine was good- tiring for the brain, but a good week! Last night, after a great yoga class, RM and I hit up Buff’s Pub for wings, which we hadn’t done for SO long so they tasted extra delicious .

  • Just Add Cooking– I was lucky enough to receive another box of meals from Just Add Cooking this past week and, yet again, everything we had was amazing! I’ll share more on it later, but here are a few teaser pics 😉

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  • Healthified Beach Lunches- One of my favorite parts of going to the beach is packing up the cooler with various food and drinks. There’s something about the beach that just makes me want fun snacks and tasty beers (or wine!), amiright?! Last summer, when I went to make us lunches I realized we were out of pitas/wraps, so I got creative and made a “wrapless wrap”, meaning I used the thickly cut deli meat as the “wrap” and stuffed it as I would if I was actually using a wrap. Now, we don’t even bother with the wraps because we like this variation so much. We prefer snacking on crackers/healthy chips dipped in hummus for our carbs rather than bread or wraps and while this may not be for everyone, it works for us. If you’re looking for a way to change up your beach lunches, I highly suggest this! I usually buy a nice Boars Head turkey meat and provolone cheese and then layer the turkey, cheese, hummus, spinach and veggies- last weekend I used cucumbers, red pepper and avocado. SO tasty!

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  • Morning Workouts- Since I teach after work and have to be to work by 7:30 (which is 30+ minutes away), I tend to workout during my lunch break instead of the morning. I find I have more energy and more fun, but this past week I got up to workout before work on Wednesday since I knew I wouldn’t have the ability to do so during the day and didn’t want it on my “to-do” list for after work. While it’s never really FUN to get up and workout before work, this sunrise AND knowing my workout was DONE by 6:30am made it totally worth it.

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  • Book Club- I’ll admit that I while I always finish each book club book before the next meeting, most of the time I’m scrambling in the last few days to actually finish it. A few months ago, I had to sit in my parked car outside of Jessi’s house to finish the last 10 pages haha oops! This time around, though, I’m ahead of the game. We are reading What She Left Behind and it is SO good. It’s told by two different women: one from the 1920’s and one more recently so it’s super interesting to read how different the times are between the two versions of the story. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a good book to read.

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  • National Yoga Month- Did you know September is National Yoga Month?! I’m excited to be included in the activities hosted by Corepower Yoga, including a yoga class last night at Fenway for the media crew. I needed the yoga more than you know, so it came at the perfect time. I can’t wait to practice MORE this month- it’s one of those things I know I need, but for some reason it always gets pushed aside. And ps- Corepower’s #whyiyoga campaign is amazing- totally in love with this shirt and this message!!

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And with that, I’m out! We have a half day today and I’m teaching tomorrow morning, otherwise the weekend plans are totally up in the air. We may go to the Cape, but I’m hoping we stick around here for the weekend. Whatever you have on your agenda, I hope it includes everything that makes you happy 🙂

Questions for you: How was your week? Did you have any good workouts? What’s a “must read” book you’ve read? Do you like yoga? Have you been grilling a lot? What do you pack for beach lunches?

Five on Friday {8.19.16}

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Good morning and TGI{freaking}F. What.A.Week! And on another note, how is it August 19th already?! I feel like this summer has flown by especially fast for us since the first part of it was spent planning for and having our wedding, which I am by no means complaining about! I had wanted to blog last Friday, but I ended up not having time. Womp, womp. I’m here today, though, with some great things to share- enjoy!

  • Pure Barre Platform VIP Class- As I’ve mentioned in a few other posts, I was given 3 months of unlimited classes at Pure Barre, which has been a fun addition to my normal workouts. Last week they hosted a “VIP” class at their Newbury Street location for everyone who is part of the media team to run us through their new Platform class. I had taken one Platform class the week before so I knew what to expect, but the class last week was much better! The Platform class is entirely different (literally, not anything like a normal barre class) from their signature Pure Barre class, mostly in that it involves some cardio but also that the moves are encouraged to be big, not small. Since I’m a recovering cardio queen, this class is definitely more my style because I like big movements and moving a lot. If you stray away from barre because it’s not your style I suggest checking out Pure Barre’s new Platform class- I think you’ll enjoy it!

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  • Beautycounter- I was contacted by an independent consultant for BeautyCounter, which is a personal beauty company with a mission to make safer and more effective skincare and cosmetic products for women and children. I hadn’t heard of it, but when I checked out their site, I was very impressed with their mission and their pledge to clean up the skincare industry. Melissa sent me so many things to try- I can’t wait to share my thoughts on them with you in a few weeks!
  • New Bike- Last weekend, RM and I bit the bullet and bought some bikes. RM has been wanting a new bike for a super long time and since we live in an area where biking is easy (we are super close to the Charles!), I figured I might as well get one, too. Plus, any excuse for us to be active together is good enough reason for me to splurge on a bike. So far, it’s been really fun and I think once I get more comfortable riding it and being on the road, I’ll really enjoy using it to run local errands, go to church or the gym, etc.

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  • Wine Drying Rack- My friend from work, Stephanie, bought me the best gift that I finally was able to use over the weekend: a wine drying rack! I absolutely hate putting wine glasses in the drying rack because I’m always afraid of them breaking, so this rack designed specifically to dry glasses is pretty much the best invention ever! I will be buying this for all my friends, haha

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  • New Balance swag– Last week, I came home to the best surprise from New Balance- a whole outfit from their new Newbury Collection!! I nearly jumped for joy when I opened the box and saw everything. Not only do I love the color (I don’t have much red or navy), I loved the fit and feel of everything, too. The pants are so funky and soft and react so well to movement, meaning they don’t ride down or up. The sports bra is a little longer so I would feel more comfortable wearing it on its own and the shirt is super lightweight and flowy- perfect for hot, summer workouts. I’m also obsessed with the jacket, although it’s too warm to wear that now 😉 and lastly, the Vazee Transform Graphic Trainers are super lightweight and SO comfortable- it’s like not even wearing anything! Thank you, thank you, thank you, New Balance! You outdid yourself 🙂

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And that does it for me- I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend!!! Chat with you next week 🙂

Questions for you: Have you tried Pure Barre’s Platform class before? What’s your favorite brand of workout apparel? What line of beauty products do you use for your skin? Any cool kitchen “must have” gadgets?

Five on Friday {8.5.16}

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Hi friends! Happy Fridayyyy. Did you have a good week? Mine was filled with lots of different forms of fitness, time with friends and early nights with RM, so I can’t really complain 😉 I’m really looking forward to this weekend because I am heading home to Maine later in the weekend- I haven’t been home in so long so I’m excited to go home and relax and hang with my parents. With that, let’s recap some things of possible interest:

  • Seaport Sweat– The first night of the Seaport Sweat series was a sucess! I had a blast teaching outside to a group of mostly new faces- I was craving this exact sort of challenge in my teaching so this series worked out really well 🙂 If you didn’t make it last week, no worries! I’ll be there every Monday night at 6:30pm until the end of October (minus the 3 weeks I won’t be there because we will be on our honeymoon). You can sign up here if you’re interested in checking it out. Remember- it’s FREE… and they’ll have swag to giveaway soon, too!

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  • New Boxing schedule– GymIt in Watertown has made some significant changes to their schedule for the month of August. Instead of being there at 5:30 and 6:30pm for Bags & Beats on Tuesday nights, I’ll be there for just ONE class at 6pm. This actually works out well because August is a crazy month filled with lots of teaching so  it’s nice to drop my schedule down a bit.
  • FIT on the Garden– On Wednesday I had the chance to head over to the Prudential Center for a free yoga class on the Prudential greens. I was so happy someone from the Prudential marketing team reached out to me because otherwise I would’nt have known about this amazing outdoor free fitness series. There were SO MANY other yogis participating in the class and it was really freaking awesome getting to do yoga outside and look up and see a bright blue sky and the Prudential center. On top of that, they gave me a really sweet swag bag full of goodies like a gift card to Lulu, sweetgreens, Sephora and Flywheel- I felt so spoiled! If you’re looking for a new way to workout this summer, they’ve got classes every wednesday for the rest of the month.

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  • Kitchen/Food Storage Tip- If you’ve been reading B2B for a while, you know that RM and I love to prep food for the week. It’s something that saves us time throughout the week and ensures that we have good food at our fingertips. This week we attacked it a little differently- on Sunday I prepped everything (chopped veggies and put them in the dish they’d be cooked in and marinated the chicken) and then while I was in the city teaching on Monday, RM seasoned everything and cooked it. We were both big fans of this new proecss- it saved us time on Sunday and made Monday’s cooking so easy! And even better? we combined all of the veggies into 1 dish so that we didn’t have to have multiple different containers clogging up the fridge… and it’s less to take out when we are reheating them. Highly suggest doing this 🙂

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  • One Month! I can’t believe it’s been one month since we got married. Time flies when you’re having fun, right?! Even though planning a wedding was a stressful thing, I wouldn’t trade in any of it because the end result was so freaking amazing! Everything far exceeded our hopes and expectations and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat if we could 🙂

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And with that, here’s to the weekend! I’ll chat with you next week, hopefully with another wedding recap 🙂

Five on Friday {7.22.16}

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Good morning and happy Friday! Two posts in one week for me- it’s been a while since that has happened 🙂 As we are finishing up packing for our weekend getaway to Annapolis, MD for my cousin’s wedding, I wanted to share some things that may be of interest- enjoy!

    • Summer workouts– There are SO MANY free workouts around the area this summer, some of which I’m even teaching!

*Pure Barre Christmas in July– Next week Pure Barre in Lynnfield (maybe in other locations, too) is doing a “Christmas in July” where all of their classes are free. If this is something you enjoy or would like to try, I suggest signing up for a class!
*Brighton Commons Outdoor Workouts– for the next few Wednesdays the YMCA is sponsoring free fitness classes in the Brighton Commons. I’ll be teaching cardio kickboxing on August 17th!
*Legacy Place- There are weekly free fitness classes at Legacy place throughout the summer with lots of local Boston fitness instructors. I’ll be there on August 25th for cardio kickboxing and my friend Athena will be there on August 4th and a Kick It By Eliza will on August 18th.
*FIT on the Garden– More to come on this later, but every Wednesday at 6pm from July-August there will be free yoga classes on the South Garden near the Pru. I’ll be there on August 3rd (again, more to come!)
*Seaport District Free Fitness- More on this (I know, I know!), but just to give you a heads up, every Monday night starting on August 1st I will be teaching a 45 minute cardio kickboxing class from 6-6:45pm outside at the green area next to District Hall/Gather. Make sure to follow SeaportBos on Instagram to stay in the know!
*Cape House (B/Spoke)– While this isn’t free, it’s worth mentioning because I had a blast during the class I took . B/Spoke has again opened up a “Cape House”, but this year it’s in Mashpee (better location for me!) and they have more classes. If you’re on the Cape and looking for a great workout- check them out!

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  • Book Club- Last month we read Fates & Furies, which I absolutely loved! It kept me fully entertained and constantly surprised by various things. It was a great discussion book! This month we are reading The Light Between Oceans, which I’ve also heard is great.

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  • I’m an aunt!- Over the weekend, my sister-in-law (still so weird to say that!) welcomed a new baby girl into the world. Although I may have lost my “newest Magno” status rather quickly, she is well worth having that status. She’s absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to see her grow up!
  • Target Shopping- Leading up to the wedding I did way too much damage at Target, but to be fair, everything I bought I’ve worn and loved… including these shoes! I got them to go with my dress for our pig roast and am obsessed with them!

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  • Summer eats- We have had some really awesome meals this summer- from the pig roast at our wedding reception to a HUGE lobster roll at the Cape to ice creams to grilling, we’ve been soaking up summer to the fullest!

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With that, I hope you have a fantastic weekend! Stay cool- it’s going to be a hot one 🙂

Questions for you: Any good book suggestions for summer reading? What free  workouts are you looking forward to this summer? Any good summer eats?

Five on Friday {7.1.16}

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Good morning, friends! Can you believe this is my LAST post as a “single” lady?! So crazy, but so awesome. As I’m sure you can imagine, this past week has been filled with lots of last minute wedding “to-do’s”, which has taken precedent over blogging. I wanted to pop in today, though, to share a few things before we go off to get MARRIED! I won’t be blogging next week, either 😉

  • Spoiled by Pure Barre- I have been getting SO SPOILED by Pure Barre lately! They are introducing a new class format and invited me to check it out by giving me THREE free months of unlimited classes at the Pure Barre location of my choice. Since there’s one right near my office I opted to choose that location. And, while barre isn’t my number one favorite workout, I do like to continuously try new things and their new class format sounds pretty intense since it’s adding a level of cardio to it, so I can’t wait to see what it’s all about! As a welcome gift, they sent me some fun things to get me started, like socks, a towel & a water bottle. Then, just this week they sent me a new Garmin tracker with the sweetest note. Love that!

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  • ProYo Giveaway- Did you guys see the giveaway that I’m hosting on Instagram? ProYo will be giving one lucky follower a free box of their ProYo treats, which I have to say are SO tasty! Tomorrow is the last day to enter, so if you haven’t entered please head on over and comment with what flavor you’d like.

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  • Feeling the love- We have already been feeling so much love from everyone regarding our upcoming wedding. From the calls to the texts to the emails, the support and excitement has been so awesome. And, my team threw me a shower on my last day in the office and gave us a super generous gift card to Crate & Barrel. I can’t wait to go shopping after the wedding! And, last night some of my work friends and I went out for drinks which was so fun!

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  • Family time- My parents came down yesterday to do some last minute wedding stuff. It was so nice having them here and getting to show them everything I’ve been working on. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive family! We also went out to lunch at Branchline so my sister was able to join us. Last lunch as just “the Gagnons”!

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  • Quality time with my handsome future hubby– Although there’s always stress when you’re getting this close to the big day, RM and I have still been having so much fun together. I don’t really know how to describe it besides saying it’s just such an exciting time! Last Sunday we were able to spend some time at the beach and then went back to KO Pies one last time before getting married. It was perfect!

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And with that, I’ll talk to you guys in a few weeks! I am really looking forward to some extended, uninterrupted time with RM. It’s been a crazy few months so I can’t wait to be able to sleep in, go to the beach and just relax together.