Category: Scenes from the Day

What’s been up?

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Good morning! Happy Tuesday! I don’t do many “Weekend Recaps” anymore, but considering the past weekend was a really good one filled with lots of different things, I thought I’d share with you 🙂

It had been a long week, so I was more than ready for a vino! We went to Buff’s (surprise, surprise) for dinner after and it was a great way to end the week

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Saturday I had the opportunity to sub TWO classes at EBF Seaport so I ended up getting Dana to sub my YMCA Kickboxing class (thank you!) so I could head to the Seaport. I subbed a BAGSXKICKS and BAGXBEATS and they were both SO fun! I was nervous about the Kicks class since I had never taught it, but I think between having enough BAGS experience and enough kickboxing experience I was able to teach a good class. I also finally got my haircut. My normal hairdresser was not working on Saturday so I had to go back to my old salon, but she did a good job so I was happy with it! After teachin and hair I went to lunch and got my nails done in Southie with my sister and a friend from work and then got home with enough time to relax and finished The Wonder, which was SOOO good- you need to read it if you haven’t! Saturday night, Roberto took me to SRV to celebrate my promotion and Valentine’s Day. This restaurant has been on my list for a while so I’m glad we finally got to try it. It’s a Venetian small plates type of restaurant and everything we tried was great, and I especially loved that they served Aperol Spritz- which is my favorite Italian drink!

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After church on Sunday, Roberto and I headed to the Boston Wine Expo since his friend was gracious enough to give us tickets to. He owns Tre Olive, which I’ve talked about a lot on here! We had a blast at the expo and it was so nice to catch up with the Tre Olive guys- if you are in need of a good foodie gift- check out their site. You can adopt an olive tree for them and they’ll receive tins of olive oil from that tree- it’s very cool! When we got home, I went for a quickie run because the weather was too nice to not get outside, and then I spent the rest of the night cleaning, cooking and watching Cinderella Man with RM.

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Yesterday morning, I headed to EBF #FIDI to take a class “Pre-Opening”  with George as a way to break in the new studio before opening day. It officially opens on Thursday and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of the fun! Catch me on Thursdays (starting this week!) at 6:20pm for BAGSXBEATS- sign up here!

https://www.facebook.com/EverybodyFightsFiDi/

After class, I went up to Maine after the EBF class and had a great time catching up with my parents. My mom and I went snow shoeing/X-Country skiing on the lake and then around the house before settling down in front of the fire to drink bubbly and hang out. Relaxing, again, is so under-rated 😉

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And here we are, another week! As far as teaching, I think I’m just teaching 2 BAGSXBEATS classes this week- tonight at GymIt in Watertown at 6:30pm and Thursday at FIDI at 6:20pm- come join for the fun!

Lastly, I am hosting another MoveWith class, but this time it’s going to be at the New Balance Flagship Store in Brighton, which I’m SO excited about! It’s on March 29th and DJ Sprino will be there and I’ll have after workout treats from Purity Organics and Larabar (and hopefully more) and everyone will get a 20% discount for shopping! You don’t want to miss this, so grab your friends and sign up here!

2016 Holiday Season Recap

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Last night I went home directly after work so that I could try and get some of the blog posts in my head into my computer. Although I’ve tried to keep my weekend/holiday/life recaps to a minimum, I’ve realized that it makes me happy to share them because along with B2B {hopefully} being a resource for you when it comes to workouts and things like that, it’s also a bit of a diary for me. I love looking back on old blog posts to see what I was up to- the ultimate trip down memory lane!

With that said, we had such a great holiday season that I wanted to share a bit about it!

The celebrations started on the 23rd as that’s RM’s birthday. This year we went to Hopsters and made beer! I’ll share a full recap on that soon, but for now just know it was such a fun experience!

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Next up was Christmas Eve. I had to teach in the morning and it was an absolute blast!! It was a decent crowd considering the holiday, and lots of people sported the red, white and green color scheme which made for one happy instructor 🙂

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Later that day I got a massage and then RM and I hit up Buff’s for a little quiet time before the craziness of Christmas Eve/Christmas started.

This year we went to RM’s mother’s house for Christmas Eve, which was a wonderful experience! As his family is from Italy, we had quite the feast consisting of fried calamari & smelts, Ahi tuna, stuffed quahogs, pasta with lobster, breaded shrimp, seafood salad with octopus, calamari, shrimp, etc. and baccala. Oh, and chocolate molten cake for dessert 😉 It was all as incredible as it sounds!

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It was so fun waking up at home on Christmas morning, especially as our first Christmas as a married couple! We went to Church and then hit the road to Maine to spend Christmas night with my family. We opened presents and drank wine and had a really nice roast chicken meal- it was a fun new-to-us tradition!

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Once we got back to MA, we had a few days of “normalcy” before heading to Florida to celebrate Jessi and Chuck’s wedding. Overall, it was such an awesome trip! The wedding was at The VInoy in St. Petersburg and we opted to rent an Air BNB instead, which worked out perfectly as it was only 2 blocks from the hotel. I was asked to do a reading at the wedding, which was such an honor! I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

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Dress courtesy of Best Dressed!

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Some of us opted to stay through NYE so after brunch RM and I went for a walk then laid poolside with my friends for most of the day. NYE was relatively lowkey as we just hung out at the hotel bar. New Years Day was the most perfect weather and luckily we had a later flight so we got to catch some more sun. And then before we knew it, it was time to go home 😦 I can’t wait until Jessi is back from her honeymoon so we can recap the wedding because it was so wonderful- everything about it couldn’t have been more perfect!

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Phew! What a great holiday season, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t ready to get back to a more normal (to me) lifestyle which includes less drinking and eating out and more making food at home and going to bed at 10pm 😉

I hope all of you had a great end to 2016 and are kicking off 2017 feeling good! I can’t wait to recap 2016- it was quite an amazing year for us 🙂

Honeymoon Recap: Positano

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I realized last week that I never shared our final honeymoon recap with you! In case you missed the first 3, you can find them here:

Napoli
Ischia
Sorrento & Pompeii

I have to admit that I was a little nervous about heading to Positano for the fear that it would be too touristy, similar to Sorrento. However, upon our first sights of Positano during our drive in, my fears were quickly washed away. Although it was still touristy, the charm of Positano was still very much in tact and it just felt less touristy than Sorrento.

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On top of that, we stayed in the most luxurious hotel, which just made everything better, especially after the poor hotel experience we had in Sorrento.

Where We Stayed

We ended up staying at Hotel Villa Franca during our time in Positano. While it was a rather expensive hotel, I’m so glad we splurged on it because it was a wonderful way to end the trip. They ended up upgrading us to their biggest/nicest room and “big” and “nice” really don’t do it any justice. It was the size of a small studio apartment, with a large, luxurious bathroom and amazing jacuzzi tub, a whole sitting area and an oversized terrace overlooking all of Positano. It was in a separate building from the main hotel, but it didn’t prove to be an issue at all since it was only a 30 second walk or so.

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The staff was unbelievably warm, hospitable and helpful- we couldn’t rave enough about how welcomed they made us feel, starting with complimentary champagne upon our arrival.

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We spent a lot of time at their roof deck pool- the lounge chairs were so comfy, the Aperol Spritz’s were absolutely delicious and the bar tenders were very attentive.

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We didn’t end up eating up there, but everything we saw people eating looked delicious. We did indulge at their daily breakfast where they had everything you could ever imagine, including eggs made your way, assortments of breads/cheeses/meats, cereal, yogurt, granola, fresh juices and plenty of bubbly 😉

Our only complaint about the hotel was that it was so far up from the main areas of Postiano- 597 steps, to be exact! While I didn’t mind the steps (obviously), it made it difficult to bounce around and you had to plan ahead for how long you wanted to be down by the beach. They do offer a complimentary shuttle service leaving from the hotel every half hour that brings you down to the beach area which we did take advantage of at night when we would head out for dinner. This was a wonderful service!

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That was our hotel… wayyyy up there!

Where We Ate

Prior to our honeymoon, we received lots of recommendations for lunches/dinners during our time in Positano, which was nice to use as a base. We found some places on our own which also did not disappoint.

  • Ristorante da Costantino– This came recommended to us by the driver who took us from Sorrento to Positano. It’s set up even higher than Hotel Villa Franca, but don’t worry- they have a car service that will pick you up at your hotel and drop you off after, which is a very nice service. While they don’t have outdoor/waterfront space, the front wall of the restaurant is all windows so there are spectacular views- both during the day and at night. We had our driver take us there to make the reservation and the owner was a sweet old Italian man who made us drink an espresso with him after we chatted- it was awesome. It’s a family owned & run restaurant and serves truly authentic (non-americanized touristy) Italian food. It was such a great way to kick off our last part of the trip.

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  • Chez Black– This was a recommended restaurant, I think because of it’s prime location near the beach. We had a really nice meal there, although it did seem to cater more specifically to Americans and other tourists. We would still recommend it!

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  • Ristorante Max– This was another highly recommended restaurant to try out (3 separate people told us about it!). We loved our meal here- everything was so flavorful and the wine was ridiculously good! We sat outside and got to play with a neighborhood cat, which I obviously loved!

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  • Ristorante Saraceno d’Oro– We had big plans of doing up our last night in Positano big, but it ended up raining, so we opted to keep it closer to our hotel. We ended up at this restaurant which ended up being an awesome find. The food was very good and very authentic- I had the eggplant and it was as good as RM’s mother’s- which is saying a lot!

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  • Sandwiches- One day we were really craving a basic sandwich & chips type of lunch so we asked a jewelry vendor if he knew of any Salumeria’s in the area (deli type stores) and luckily there was one nearby. The sandwich was SO good we ended up there at least one or two more times. There’s something so great about a simple sandwich made with incredibly fresh ingredients.

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  • Caffe Positano– Friends also recommended this place, and since it ended up being exactly halfway down the cliffs from our hotel to the beach, we saddled up there for lunch one day. The views were spectacular and the food was also really delicious. We got a platter type of plate with all sorts of amazing options- we definitely recommend checking this place out!

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What To Do

  • Walk around and window-shop/pop into stores. There are so many cute little stores selling beautiful things, especially the linen clothes items! I’ll warn you, though, the shops are expensive! We laughed because RM would see something he thought I’d look good in so I’d check it out and be appalled at the price tags- usually upwards of 200-300 euros! That said, everything was really beautiful!

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  • Have drinks at Hotel Villa Franca- Although these were expensive (25 euros for a glass of bubbly!), the ambiance of the drink area and the views were worth it. Plus, they gave awesome “snacks”- my favorite 😉

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  • Check out the beaches- We were warned in advance that the beaches were not sandy, so we weren’t totally surprised to find a rocky beach. The rocks were surprisingly pretty comfortable to relax on, and the water was so refreshing! What made it even better was that you could get “to go” drinks from nearby bars/restaurants- Spritz’s on the beach are the best!

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  • Get handmade sandals- We’d heard that you could get handmade sandals in Positano, and people were right- there were so many little stores selling homemade sandals. We ended up at Creazioni Nana which was next door to Caffe Positano, and I was so happy with how my sandals turned out!! It was such a special memory to take home with me!
  • Rent a scooter– RM finally persuaded me to rent a scooter and drive out to Amalfi and Ravello and although I was scared sh*tless about the whole experience, it ended up being one of the best experiences/memories from the trip. We had an absolute blast!!

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You can also take the ferry to Capri, do cooking classes, etc., but we opted to just soak in the hotel and things around us.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we absolutely fell in love with Positano! So much so, that RM said for our 3rd wedding anniversary we need to go back- I’m certainly not going to complain (or forget) about that! This was the last of our honeymoon recaps- I hope you’ve enjoyed them, and maybe they’ll be helpful if you decide to visit the Amalfi Coast!

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Honeymoon Recap: Sorrento & Pompeii

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Part 3 of our trip was spent in Sorrento, which we got to from Ischia by another hydrofoil ride. We were so sad to leave Ischia, but were also excited to see more parts of the Amalfi Coast. I’ll be honest when I say that Sorrento was not our favorite part of the trip- not because it wasn’t beautiful, but moreso because it was a bit of a culture shock after coming from Ischia. Everything felt super touristy and way too Americanized- or catering too much to Americans. No one spoke Italian to us, even when RM would initiate the conversation in Italian.

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We also decided to skimp on the hotel a bit, which was a big mistake because our hotel (Hotel Eden) really left something to be desired, especially after having come from such a gorgeous, spacious hotel. Our travel agent warned us that it was only a 3 star, but we went ahead with it anyway with the plan that we would only be sleeping there. Unfortunately, RM was really sick for most of our 3 days in Sorrento so he/we spent more time in the room than anticipated and we were kicking ourselves for not getting a nicer hotel!

In hindsight, we should’ve just done a day trip to Sorrento since there isn’t really a ton to do/see there and everything you would want to see could be easily done in a day trip. That said, we really enjoyed the food there and ended up finding less touristy things to do so it turned out being all good. Plus, we were able to get to Pompeii really easily and that was incredible.

Where we stayed

As I mentioned, we stayed at Hotel Eden. Even though it needed some serious upgrades in parts of the hotel, it was in a really perfect location- walking distance from the major Piazza’s, restaurants, cafes, etc., which was ideal. They did have a pool which was a nice addition!

What we ate

Every meal we had in Sorrento was wonderful- there wasn’t a meal that we any complaints about!

  • Fauno Bar– This is probably the biggest restaurant in Piazza Tasso (main Piazza in Sorrento) and has been around for a super long time. We were starving when we first got to the city so we popped in there and had a nice lunch.

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  • Trattoria Da Emilia– Once we decided to open our Rick Steves book, we learned about Marina Grande, an area on the water in the lower part of Sorrento, a bit of a walk from Piazza Tasso. We fell in love with this area because it was quieter and more authentic feeling, and the recommendation to go to this restaurant did not disappoint! The food was really wonderful and I tried lots of fish that I normally wouldn’t, but they way they lightly fry things makes it hard to not be good 😉

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  • L’abate– We were not in the mood for walking a lot and ended up choosing this restaurant which was right in the heart of Piazza Sant’Antonino. We loved everything about the experience- the food was really good, the atmosphere was great and there was awesome people watching.

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  • We had another great meal at a restaurant off the beaten path but I cannot remember what it was called, so pictures will have to do it justice!

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What to do

  • Walk around all of the small streets- there were so many little side streets, lined with shops, restaurants and cafes. While these streets were BUSY, it was cool to check them out.
  • Marina Grande- Make the walk to go down there because there are lots of great restaurants and cafes and it’s a bit quieter than up in the main piazzas.

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  • Rent a chair at the “beach”- Sorrento doesn’t really have traditional style beaches, but they have these boardwalks lined with chairs that you can rent. Rentals come along with the use of their bathrooms, wait staff and access to the swimming areas. The water was amazing- crystal clear and perfect temp! We spent an afternoon doing this and it was awesome. We went to Marameo and it was well worth the 10 euros each because we spent hours there, had drinks and a really awesome sandwich. It was such a relaxing afternoon!

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  • Take the train to Pompeii- This was one of our favorite memories from the trip because it was really surreal to think about HOW OLD everything was. We took the train (1.20 euros each way! Very cheap) and it was really easy to get to since it was a stop on the train route. Tickets to Pompeii were 12 euros each (I think), which did not include any guidance. You can rent headsets or hire a guide, but we did ok with just the Rick Steves book/his guide… and listening in on other people’s tours 😉 While we stayed for around 3 hours, we could’ve stayed for much longer because there is so much to see! To summarize better, I’ll share blurps along with the photos- enjoy!

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Mount Vesuvius in the background.

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Did you know prostitution is the oldest profession? Even in 30 BC it was a prominent part of the lifestyle. They had a whole house dedicated to it and this was one of the rooms- the concrete beds & pillows look so comfy 😉 along the top of the walls they had the “menu” of services provided. It was an interesting thing to check out!

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This is a picture of me in the “fast food” shop. It was located across the street from one of the bath houses and since the houses people lived in were so small, many chose to order food instead. This was so neat to imagine.

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This was me in a house- seriously so cool!

And that does it for out Sorrento visit. By the time the end of this part of the trip was coming to a close, we were really starting to like Sorrento a lot more than our original impression, which was a nice way to leave the city. And don’t get me wrong- Sorrento really was beautiful, we just felt as though it lost some of its charm because of how touristy it has become. That, and we would suggest doing just a day or one night there rather than 3… and don’t cheap out on the hotel- ever 😉

Questions for you:Have you ever visited a city for longer than you felt necessary? Do you tend to splurge or skimp on hotels? 

Four on Friday {10.28.16}

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Good morning! How has your week been? Unlike last week, I feel like mine has flown by. Today’s post is only four on Friday, but a few are long so that’ll make up for it 😉

  • South Boston Sweat Crawl– My sister sent me the link to this event that Social Boston Sports is coordinating and it sounds amazing! There are 3 workouts/studios to try: Handle Bar, Radiant Yoga and Everybody Fights and you do each workout for 30 minutes before going to Barlow’s for the after party. I can’t go because I have a massage appointment, but I wish I could because I think it will be a blast.

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  • Extended Seaport Sweat- By popular demand, Seaport Sweat has been extended through the end of December, but with a slightly different schedule. I won’t be teaching my Monday kickboxing, but I will be leading a 5K on Wednesdays at 6pm (which will likely include some bootcamp pieces to break up the run) and I’ll be teaching a boxing bootcamp/fighters conditioning class on Thursdays at 5:30pm. We realize it’s getting chilly, but I promise that once we get moving you’ll warm right up! I’m excited for this next adventure because I’ve never done anything like this… that, and it means I get to buy some new cold weather workout gear. Does anyone have any “must have” cold weather pieces I need to check out?

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  • Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Turkey Chili– I dug out this recipe that I found AGES ago over on Fitnessista which was perfect for the cold rainy night we had last night. I prepped it on Wednesday night so it was able to go right in the crockpot all day yesterday. I’ll tell ya, coming home to a hot batch of chili after a longgg day (10 hour work day, teaching and lots of traffic) was the absolute best! I added turkey, but I think it would be fine with just beans and sweet potato- up to you!

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  • Brooklyn/NYC weekend- Last weekend, RM and I took the train to NYC for the weekend. His sister was having an engagement party in Brooklyn so we opted to rent an Air BNB in Brooklyn for the weekend, which was amazing! We were right in the heart of Williamsburg in a really funky loft apartment. Although it was raining when we first arrived, it ended up clearing out and being a pretty decent weekend weather-wise which was nice because we were able to walk around.

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I ended up going shopping and scored this awesome romper and a great pair of shoes- everything I brought with me felt so not NYCish so it was fun to shop for something new.

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We went into Manhattan for dinner with RM’s sister and fiance at Minetta Tavern, where we had a fantastic (and ridiculously expensive) burger. We loved the restaurant vibe! Before dinner we had a drink at The Quarter since we couldn’t get into Employees Only due to big crowds. Saturday we slept in, I blogged and then went for a quick run while RM made breakfast. Coming home to this after a run was amazing!

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The rest of the day was spent walking around, enjoying lunch at The Meatball Shop, getting coffee’s, getting a pedicure (for me) and relaxing before we went to the engagement party at DOC Wine Bar, which was just a few blocks from our Air BNB. The wine was flowing, we were fed course after course of the most delicious food and ended up dancing the night away. It was SO much fun! We finished out the weekend with brunch at Cherche Midi in SOHO, which was wonderful.

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All in all, it was such a great weekend- can’t wait for their wedding!

This weekend we have virtually no plans, which is such a great feeling! I’ll be teaching tomorrow if anyone wants to come 🙂

Questions for you: How has your weekend? What do you wear for cold weather workouts? Have you ever been to Brooklyn? What’s on the agenda for this weekend?