Sheila’s Nantucket Bachelorette Weekend

July 17, 2014July 16, 201414 Comments

Wow. What a fun weekend we had on Nantucket to celebrate Sheila! I had never been to Nantucket, so that made me even more excited for the weekend. We had originally gone back and forth on a few different ideas for the weekend, but I think everyone was very happy with ultimate outcome. Sheila found a great little house/cottage through Air B&B (I think? maybe it was Home Away?) which ended up being a super affordable option since a hotel and eating out at restaurants for every meal would’ve been really expensive! Big thanks to Amy and Jessi for all the planning and getting the food/booze/decorations.

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Friday morning, I got up and actually did my hair and put on my new dress- you know it’s a special occasion when I put time into how I look 😉

I met up with Jessi and Lauren at the ferry terminal and we decided to kill some time by having cocktails- it’s never too early for a mimosa 😉 or wine on the ferry, for that matter!

Once we docked in Nantucket, we headed to The Gazebo to meet up with a few friends who were already on the island. Apparently The Gazebo is famous for their mudslides so although I’m not generally a fan of those types of drinks, I had to try it. The verdict? I felt like I was drinking a grown up milk shake!

After our drink, we headed back to the house where Amy, Nikia and Amanda had decorated it for Sheila’s arrival- it looked so good!

They also stocked up the fridge and freezer with lots and LOTS of food and drinks. We laughed all weekend that we are clearly getting old if we only went through a quarter of a handle of vodka all weekend… we are definitely getting old.

Once everyone was at the house, we popped some bubbly (obvi!), made a quick stop at the beach, had some snacks outside and grilled up a delicious dinner of chicken, steak, corn on the cob and rice. When we finished dinner, we played some games (Heads up! Have you played it? SO FUN!) and walked to the Chicken Box for some live band and dancing action.

Since we all took it easy and got home around midnight, we all felt pretty good on Saturday… good enough for a bootcamp workout– my favorite!

The rest of the day on Saturday was spent at the beach (with packed lunches and drinks!)- I can’t remember the last time I PLAYED in the water like we did that day- so so fun!

We cleaned up in the afternoon and made our way to Cisco Brewers, which was probably one of my most favorite parts of the weekend. We were all decked out in our bachelorette getup and enjoy the delicious beers, interesting vodka drinks and even some wine! I loved that they had an outdoor band and so much area to hang around outside- it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon!

Once the brewery started to slow down, we headed back to the house and Kia, Jessi and I got busy in the kitchen making homemade chicken parmesan… #butfirstletmetakeaselfie 😉

We decided that Saturday night would be a real “night out”… and, we meant it! We even stayed until closing- something I haven’t done in a REALLY long time. We went to Nixs since we met the band at the brewery and they told us we “had to come”. I have to say, I’m pretty excited we met them because they were really good and we all had such a blast. Obviously my friend Kia and I were the first to start the dance party… some things never change 😉

Sunday morning was a little bit of a slower start than Saturday, but after a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt and English muffins, we all perked up and got ready for the beach. I had to head back on Sunday because I couldn’t take more time off at work… whomp whomp. The rest of the girls stayed until Monday or Tuesday and based on the pics I saw, it looks like they kept going strong throughout the remainder of the weekend- I was impressed!

Phew! If you made it this far- thank you!! All in all, it was just an absolutely awesome weekend- everyone was in good spirits and we all just had a blast being together. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends!!

Questions for you: Have you been to Nantucket? Have you been to any of the places we went to? Are you a dancer or an observer? Do you have any bachelorette parties to go to this summer?

Catching Up: New Hair, Cape Weekend, 4th of July

July 8, 2014July 7, 20145 Comments

I don’t know about anyone else, but last week was a busy week! Here are some highlights 🙂

New Hair- I got a Living Social deal for highlights so I took advantage of it on Tuesday. She went rather blonde… what do you think?

Morning Workouts- Since I wasn’t teaching ANY kickboxing classes last week, I decided to get up and do something I haven’t done in a long, long time on Thursday morning: kickboxing workout AT HOME. Before I started teaching kickboxing classes, I used to do kickboxing workouts at home fairly often. It’s really the best cardio workout for me! And, it doesn’t require that much space or any equipment- perfect!

While on the Cape, I went for a morning run one day and walk the next- even though it may be tough getting out of bed and actually starting the workout, my day really is so much better when I know I have my workout out of the way!

Eats & Drinks- Last week wasn’t the healthiest of eats for me, but it was a holiday weekend- can ya blame me?! When I got to the Cape on Thursday I suggested that RM and I go out to lunch so we headed to Mashpee Commons and settled at Bobby Byrne’s. We found an outside spot in the shade which made outdoor dining possible in the crazy heat and humidity. I started with a sangria and RM choose a drink because it was “named after him”… can you guess what it was 😉

For lunch, I went with the Fajita Salad which was delicious!

I didn’t get much pictures of the food during the rest of my time on the Cape because I felt awkward whipping out my phone to take pics in front of his family, but I will say everything we had was delicious. My family jokes that we think about the next meal before we’re finished with the current meal and being away with an Italian family who has that same mentality (RM’s parents came over from Italy when they were in their teens/young 20’s) made me feel right at home! His mom was in the kitchen most of the weekend 🙂 Friday night we had a traditional BBQ with cheese burgers, hot dogs, kale, chickpea salad and rice- so good! On Saturday, RM’s mom mad a whole roast chicken meal, which just happens to be one of my favorite meals. Since the weather was crappy, it was the perfect thing!

On Saturday night, RM took all of us out to eat for his aunts birthday. We went to a new place called Villagio at the Regatta and the food did not disappoint. The service was not terrific, but I think they were still working out the kinks there (the restaurant opened on June 24th I think). I went with a seafood stew meal and it was SO good- there was so much seafood in the dish, which is a must in my book!

For a little festive flare on the 4th, RM’s sister’s friend whipped up a batch of some delicious white sangria and I decided to add blueberries and strawberries to it. Drinks with treats in them are just better, right?!

I also made some stars and stripes fruit skewers which, even though people laughed about, were a big hit!

Beach and Activities- RM and I played corn hole for a while one day while we were at the Cape. Even though I played some good games, he ultimately ended up winning 5-4… womp.

We were only able to get 1 beach day out of the weekend since we decided to get up and go early on Sunday to beat the traffic, but it was a beautiful beach day!

Scenes from Maine- I have to say, I really missed being at home in Maine for the 4th with my family much more than I thought I would! There’s just something about going to the parade with everyone and doing a BBQ at the Mahoney’s that feels like the real kick-off to summer. Thankfully, my sister kept me included by sending pics!

The weekend finished off with a beach afternoon in Eastie with my sister.

And, to kick off the start of a healthy week, I went for a nice 5 mile run and then made a really veggie-filled dinner consisting of some lemon-pepper chicken, baked kale, sautéed zucchini, summer squash and onions and another side of baked Brussels sprouts, sweet potato and onion that I had frozen a while back. I made my zucchini and summer squash similar to this recipe– so easy and delicious!

Such a great weekend! I was happy to be working from home yesterday, though. I thought I loved working from home on Friday’s but it turns out Monday’s are way better- it makes Sunday nights so much better knowing I don’t have to prep for the week!

Questions for you: How did you celebrate the 4th of July? Did you make any festive treats? Where is your favorite beach?

Lastly… I wanted to share these muffins that I made from Fannetastic Food– they were not only a hit with RM and me, but also with his family, who said they don’t usually like “healthy” treats. I had one for breakfast every morning and it was perfect!

And, look how much my garden is growing! There’s definitely an animal that’s stepping around on some of the things, but hopefully once they grow bigger that will stop. Can’t wait to eat from it!

Weekending: A busy, but relaxing weekend {Tia’s, visitors, beach day, Bostonia, soaking up the sun}

July 1, 2014July 1, 20144 Comments

Hi there! How are you today? Anyone have this week off? I’m hoping to take Thursday off, which would be a nice addition to the long weekend!

If you’ve been reading B2B for a while, you’ve probably noticed how busy I’ve been- both during the week and on the weekends. This past weekend, although I had a lot of plans and did a lot, was relaxing on it’s own because I didn’t have multiple back to back plans that required me to hop around a lot. Besides Friday night, the rest of my weekend was totally mine for the taking, and it was the best feeling!!

Friday Night

My friend, Tim, was in town for a conference so we were able to align our schedules for Friday night. We tried to get a few more co-workers (former co-workers for me) to join us, but it didn’t work out. My sister ended up being around, so it was fun to have her join us! We started out at Tia’s because it’s the best place for after work drinks in the summer.

I had zero intentions of going “out-out”, but between the weather, it being a Friday and being out with my sister and Tim, it ended up being a bit of an “out-out” night. Whoops! 😉 After Tia’s, we headed to Granary Tavern for a drink then to Warehouse for the last drinks. Although I woke up on Saturday feeling like I had had one too many wines, it was totally worth it!

Saturday

After kickboxing on Saturday morning, I treated myself to a much-needed pedicure.

Once I got home, I packed up and headed to meet my sister and her friends at a beach in Southie. I was expecting a bit of a sh*t-show beach scene with lots of loud, drunken people, but I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet and calm it was!

After a brief nap, I agreed to a Bud Light Lime- I’m not a big beer drinker, and definitely not a Bud Light person, but there’s something about BLL’s that I just love so much! Perfect beach drink if you ask me 😉

Saturday night was date night for RM and me. He had a gift card to Bostonia Public House, so we figured it was a perfect night to try it out. He parks at the Intercontinental Hotel and when we realized how nice it was outside, we decided to swing by their outdoor bar for a cocktail before dinner.

We joked that it felt like we were back in Miami- I had been at the beach all day and he had been golfing and we were catching up over cocktails at a hotel bar. It was a fun “staycation” night!

Dinner at Bostonia was amazing!! We, of course, shared a few different things: Organic Baby Spinach Salad, Berber Spiced Pork Ribs, French Fries (I was craving them!) and the Scallops. They’ve got a whole Gluten Free menu which was a nice surprise!

Everything was absolutely delicious! We both found ourselves continuously raving about the food with each bite! I don’t usually eat to being really full, but that night I left there with a very full, and very happy belly!

Such a fun date-night! I loved being able to be out and about in the city!

Sunday

I ended up sleeping until 9, which is unheard of for me! It felt amazing 🙂 Once up, I did some yoga and core work before having a protein pancake breakfast with RM (gluten and dairy free).

After breakfast, we went for a nice, 45 minute walk throughout Eastie. It’s a nice little thing we’ve been doing- we don’t need to be sitting on the couch all the time- a little extra is always a good thing 🙂

Later in the day we went to his brother and sister in law’s new condo to use the community pool and then had a delicious BBQ at his mom’s house. It was a perfect Sunday… and weekend, for that matter!

Questions for you: What did you do this weekend? Where’s your favorite summer bar in Boston? Have you been to Bostonia Public House?

Ps! My gym friend/in real life friend/blog friend, Athena got engaged over the weekend and I couldn’t be more happy for her and Tim! They are such a great couple:) congrats again, lady!!!

This Week: Workouts, Weekend Recap, Things I’m Looking Forward To

June 23, 2014June 22, 20142 Comments

Hi there! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was really fun, but also really busy. I was supposed to go to my gym friend, Jen’s, “Porch Friday” summer kickoff gathering, but after the week I had, I was beat and decided to lay low. I hate missing things, but knew I needed to take it easy since Saturday and Sunday were going to be nonstop. Instead, some wine and snacks at Piers Park helped me relax from the week.

Saturday started with a super sweaty UXF Burn/SHRED class that I subbed at the Central Square BSC (my usual gym). It was awesome to see so many of my Wednesday and Thursday regulars in class! Here’s some of my new lulu that I bought 😉

Paycheck + Lulu near my work= a little splurge 😉

From there, RM and I headed north for a BBQ at Christy and Jaime’s. Sadly, I didn’t take ANY pictures- whoops! But everything was amazing- the food, drinks, company, weather- all in all it was a great afternoon! From there, I headed to Liz’s house for a gym friends party. I always look forward to these nights because it’s so fun to chat with other instructors and share our ~~crazy~~ interesting teaching stories.

(thanks for the photo, Liz! And hosting us 🙂 )

Sunday started with a UXF Burn class and then RM and I went for a nice, long 3 or 4 mile walk along the beach before going to Jess and Brian’s baby shower. They had it at Shake Shack in Harvard Square. I’ve never been there before, but I am sold- their burgers and fries were amazingggg. It was such a fun baby shower- they didn’t open gifts or play any games, which is more my style. We were able to chat and mingle- perfect!

Phew! What a weekend- I love when I get to spend time with my college friends and it was fun having RM meet everyone! But, let me tell you- 3 parties and party food in 2 days makes me really ready for some clean eats. Indulgences are totally worth it (and sometimes why I workout 😉 ), though.

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday- I taught my 6am muscle class and did 15 minutes on the elliptical.
Tuesday- I ran 5 miles after work and it felt great! I had fast splits (for me!) and was able to clear my head.

Wednesday- My new company had their summer outing after work so I got up to workout before I headed into the office. I was going to do a 2 mile jog and then body weight strength training but ended up running 3 miles and just some push-ups, squats, planks, etc.
Thursday- I taught SHRED and then Cardio Kickboxing. I did a 25-15-4 rep format for SHRED and liked it!
Friday- Rest day since I was teaching on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday- I ran 2 miles on the treadmill before subbing UXF Burn/SHRED. We worked so hard and I loved every second of it!

Sunday- I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I was happy I did. There were only 2 people in the UXF Burn class I subbed, but it was fun because I was able to do stuff I don’t usually get to do! Also, there was another instructor in the class who teaches Barre so I let her lead the last 5 minutes of core work and it was killer!

This Week’s Workouts

Monday- By the time this post goes up I will have taught my 6am Muscle Class and done a little cardio after.
Tuesday- I’m running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge after work. It’s a 3.5 mile race, so nothing too crazy.
Wednesday- I’ll either run or do some other cardio before teaching UXF Burn. I missed them last week!
Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing.
Friday- Probably a rest day besides a walk at lunch.
Saturday- Back at the Oak Square YMCA for my Cardio Kickboxing class… I hope my front row is back 🙂
Sunday- I would LOVE to get some yoga in. I need to make that happen.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m looking forward to running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge as part of the team at my new company. Our shirts are so dorky, but it’s kind of funny! I’m also excited to go out with some former coworkers, including my friend Tim, later in the week. Other than that, I’m excited for a weekend where I really have nothing planned. I may head to the Cape with RM on Saturday, but if I ended up sticking around here I wouldn’t be mad at all. I want to get my hair highlighted, so that would be great if I could fit that in on Saturday.

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Have you been to Shake Shack? What are you looking forward to this week? Are you running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge?

Weekend Getaway to Miami {recap}

June 19, 201413 Comments

Confession: I’ve never really thought of myself as a “Miami” girl. I thought it was too clubby and too flashy for my liking (and, let’s be honest- I don’t stay out past midnight these days!), but I was so wrong! Miami is a place for everyone- there are clubs if you want them, but if you’re looking for a relaxing getaway with delicious food and great hotels, it’s also the place for that!

We stayed at the Surfcomber Hotel, which was right on Collins Ave in the Art Deco District of Miami. This was a perfect place to stay, in our opinion. The rooms were clean, the service and hospitality were awesome, the food was delicious and the drinks were too easy to drink. We were even served a glass of champagne upon arrival… you had me at hello… right?!

Rather than give you a play by play of the weekend, I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking. We spent a lot of time at the hotel’s pool and outdoor bar, but we did venture to the ocean once (and when I say “venture”, I mean walk out of the hotel’s property and onto the sand… it was so close!), which was a nice treat since it felt like bath water and I am used to frigid Maine ocean temps. We didn’t do any excursions and ended up staying close to the hotel since it was such a nice place to be and the food was delicious. We did go for a nice, long walk one afternoon to look at the hotels in the Art Deco area (which is where we stayed), but other than that we just wanted to relax. Not having a plan to get up and go elsewhere was a really nice feeling 🙂

Dining– Since RM and I are both “foodies”, we strategically planned out our dinners based on cuisine; Friday we went with sushi, Saturday we did Italian/American and Sunday we did steak. Lunches were a bit sporadic and we ended up sharing things or drinking juices. Overall, though, I was more than pleased with the food options and quality in Miami.

Doraku– The place was packed, but it was well worth the wait (and everyone we spoke with confirmed that it’s the best sushi place in the area).The rolls we got… and the brownie lava dessert… were to die for. The coconut roll was probably my favorite- I’ve never had a “sweet” type of roll- delish!

Maxine’s– This restaurant was across the street from our hotel so we ventured over there for breakfast on our first morning in Miami. While the food was good, the service was not so good.

Bianca at the Delano– For dinner on Saturday night, we went to the Delano, which is an absolutely beautiful, beautiful hotel. We had drinks out by the pool first and then enjoyed dinner at Bianca, which is mostly outdoor seating (perfect!). I cannot put into words how good the food was, but I’ll just say it was drool-worthy. Totally worth the money if you’re in Miami looking for a nice place. I got the salmon and couldn’t stop raving about it!

The Social Club at the hotel- On Sunday and Monday we ate breakfast at the hotel. They had a really nice menu with some healthy options on it. I had Greek yogurt both days and a lot of fresh fruit- absolutely delicious!

We also did lunch from the restaurant a few times. We shared the cheese burger and salad on our first day, which was probably the least healthy thing we ate the whole trip. We really tried to stick to our usual healthy eating, but when you’re on vacation you have to indulge a little! We also juiced one day for lunch since they had a fresh juice bar (amazing!) and the other day I had a raw kale salad which was so, so good.

And if I didn’t have enough good things to say about the hotel, they had a complementary wine hour every day from 5-6; free- champagne upon arrival and free wine every night!? I told you we picked the right hotel!

Meat Market– Our favorite hotel bartender, Summer, suggested that we go to Meat Market for our steak night. Wow. What a great recommendation! We were able to sit outside and it was the most perfect weather for that. We had gotten an app at Monty’s so we jumped right into the food order: we shared a piece of steak, quinoa and avocado salad and sautéed kale. The steak and kale were delicious, but the quinoa and avocado salad kind of stole the show for me. I’m dying to recreate it!

Drinks- Judging by our pictures, it’s no surprise that we did our fair share of drinking! I mean, can you blame us, though?! Sunny, hot weather, being poolside all day, being on vacation… that’s a perfect recipe for drinking if you ask me 😉 Here are some places that we enjoyed drinks at (other than our hotel, which I mentioned earlier all the drinking we did there!).

Delano- Before our dinner on Saturday night, we went to the Delano a little early to have cocktails (stupidly expensive cocktails) by the pool. How gorgeous is this?! You’ve got to visit the Delano if you go to Miami!

Haven Lounge– After dinner one night we went to Haven for a drink. The restaurant had a really cool vibe to it and a great bar area.

Monty’s– This was a bit of a hike from our hotel (had to take a cab), but one of RM’s coworkers told him we “had to go there”. And, while we didn’t want to go, we ended up being happy we did! They have a HUGE outside bar area/swimming pool/live music area which is perfect for daytime drinking. It also looked to be a big place for boaters to dock for lunch. We had a drink and shrimp cocktail and had a great time people watching.

The Gale Hotel– For our post dinner drink after Meat Market, we stopped in at the Gale hotel, which we both fell in love with. The décor and ambiance were awesome and they have a rooftop pool!

By the time Monday morning rolled around, we both agreed that we were not ready to go home.

The weekend was just so perfect! We had a little bit of crappy weather in the afternoon on Sunday, but since we had massages planned, it didn’t end up being a big deal. Other than that, though, the weather was great (but hot!), the accommodations were great, food and drinks were delicious and the company, well, couldn’t have been any better! I’d say we had a really successful trip together and it’s safe to say we’ve already started thinking about where the next weekend getaway will be!

So, if you’re looking for a nice, long weekend getaway, I really would suggest Miami. It’s easy to get to (short 3 hour direct flight), there are lots of hotels to stay at, the beaches are gorgeous and the food was impressive!

Questions for you: Have you been to Miami? Do you plan your days around your meals? Do you like planned out vacations or ones where you just relax and go with the flow?

Burpees to Bubbly

Because good workouts deserve bubbly rewards!

Category: Scenes from the Day

Sheila’s Nantucket Bachelorette Weekend

Catching Up: New Hair, Cape Weekend, 4th of July

Weekending: A busy, but relaxing weekend {Tia’s, visitors, beach day, Bostonia, soaking up the sun}

This Week: Workouts, Weekend Recap, Things I’m Looking Forward To

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