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Holiday Gift Guide for the Foodie, Wine-o, Fashionista & Fitness Lover in Your Life

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Good morning! This is the first time I’ve ever done a “holiday gift guide” type of post, but as I was in the shower the other day (TMI?!), I started thinking of all the various products I love- not just fitness related, either. Things the foodie in me loves, things the wine-o in me loves, things the {wannabe} fashionista in me loves… so I think when you combine all of those things you’re bound to find something in this list for someone in your life, right?! Right.  I’ll preface this post by saying this certainly does not cover ALL of the things I love in these categories, I just picked the top 2-5 things I love and use/buy in each category. If I included all of my favorites this post would be veryyyy long 😉 With that said, let’s get to it!

Foodie

  • Tre Olive– I wrote all about our experience with Tre Olive in this post, so check that out for the details! High level? By visiting Treolive.com you can purchase lots of various olive oil based products from olive groves in Italy (soaps, olive oil, gift packages, etc.). If you’re looking for more, you can even adopt an olive tree for a season and get multiple tins of olive oil made from the olives your tree grew. Pretty cool, right? If you are interested, you can use the code B2BHoliday to get $10 off and olive tree adoption!

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  • Vitamix– RM got a Vitamix a few years ago and it’s one of the best kitchen appliances we have! That thing can literally puree anything- it’s perfect for smoothies, soups, and any other kind of “sauce” that requires blending things together.
  • Cooking class– I always thing this is such a fun gift to give someone, even though I’ve never done it. I have hear great things from classes at Sur La Table, Boston Center for the Arts, Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, etc.

Wine-O/Beer Lover

  • Club W Wines– I posted about this a while back, but basically it’s a monthly wine subscription allowing you to pick 3 wines a month based on your preferences. We usually choose all whites, but you can choose all reds or a mix of the two. What we love about this is how easy it is- who doesn’t like having wine delivered to their door?! And, it’s pretty affordable since the wines are only $13 each and if you get people to sign up with your link, you get a free bottle and they get TWO free bottles. Awesome, right?
  • Boston Wine Expo & Seminars– For a few years in a row I would get my family tickets to a wine seminar hosted during the Boston Wine Expo in the Seaport District. What I love about doing a seminar vs. the full tasting is that you have a chance to taste a bunch of wines AND learn about them in a fun way. Plus tickets tend to be much less expensive than the full blown event so it’s a great gift! We would always plan a fun lunch after the tasting, too.
  • Brewing beer at Hopsters– I’ve been to Hopsters a few times recently, not only because it’s so close, but also because it’s so good! I haven’t done a brew there- yet- but I definitely want to check it out! They have various packages ranging in price and end result so they have something to fit everyone’s want/need, plus you can also get a small group of people together and that brings the cost down even more.
  • Tours/Tastings at Lookout Farm– Originally just a farm and a place for you to pick apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, etc., Lookout Farm now has a line of their very own hard ciders. What RM and I love about the ciders is they aren’t overly fruity or sweet. They’re very refreshing and super flavorful. My favorite was the Super Berry. Along with being able to taste various ones by getting a flight, you can also take a tour of the brewery and munch on their delicious flatbreads, pretzels and charcuterie boards. If you go, ask for Mark Magno and tell him Monique from B2B sent you- he’s RM’s cousin and an awesome guy!

Fashionistas

  • StitchFix– I’ve posted about Stitch Fix a number of times. What I love about it is that you set up an online profile and then a stylist reviews and picks out 5 items to send to you. You get charged $20 for the “fix”, but if you purchase anything from your fix that $20 gets applied to that which is nice. And, if you purchase your whole “fix”, you get 25% off everything. This is a fun gift because there’s nothing better than getting a package full of fun clothes and accessories to try on! You can read my reviews here, here, here, and here.
  • Birchbox– My sister gifted me a Birchbox subscription last year and it was so fun to get a new box every month that was filled with all sorts of beauty products I may not otherwise have tried out. It’s a very affordable gift for those who like to try out new hair, makeup and skin products!

Fitness

    • New Balance – New Balance always has super cute active wear that I drool over during the New Balance Girls Night Out events. Sadly, I don’t own much NB gear, but what I do own I love. They sent me some holiday gift guide ideas and since I loved the Women’s 88v1 Trainer ($85) sneakers and these amazing NBWomen Printed Performance Tight ($85)– I totally need these in my life! I loveeee flashy/funky workout pants and these totally fit the bill!
    • Lulu hoodies– It’s no secret that I love Lululemon. Although I’ve been branching out and trying other brands, I’ve still got a major soft spot for Lulu. Lately I’ve been living in my scuba hoodie ($108). It’s just so comfy and great to throw on for your trips to and from the gym and when you’re lounging around the house. Also, fitness instructors get 15% off.
    • Athleta capris- I recently bought my first pair of Athleta “Chaturanga” Capris ($64) and I totally love them. I have to say, they feel like they’re made better than Lulu capris. They’re tight and thick and soft and they keep everything nice and tight when you’re jumping around- always a good thing as an instructor, especially when they give you 30% off!!
    • Fitbit/REM-fit- I try not to obsess too much over tracking everything, but I do love wearing my Fitbit ($60-$250, depending on version) or my Rem-fit activity tracker ($60-$100, depending on the version) just to see how active or inactive I am on any particular day. I find that on days I don’t workout, it’s very hard to meet the 10K steps unless I go for a walk or am not working and running errands or cleaning or something like that. It’s a great way to encourage me to move more and hit my step goal for the day. They both allow you to track all your daily activity, good intake, sleep, etc.
    • Garmin Running Watch-  I’ve had my Garmin for years and it still works great! I love wearing it for runs because it seems to track more accurately than the apps I use on my phone, not to mention it doesn’t use data 😉 They have so many new models ranging from $79-$450, so you’re sure to find the perfect one for whoever you’re buying it for!
    • Studio gift certificates- There are SO MANY amazing fitness studios these days, and not just in and around the Boston area! It seems as though boutique studios focusing on spinning or barre or yoga or bootcamp are popping up everywhere, so a great idea for the fitness lover in your life would be to get them a couple of gift certificates to various studios around where they live. If you’re in the Boston area, you can find a bunch of various studio reviews here. I’ve got reviews for all sorts of fitness classes so there’s sure to be one that fits the bill for the person you’re buying it for!
    • ClassPass Gift Certificate– Expanding upon the Studio Gift cards, if you’re not sure what someone likes, you could always get them a ClassPass gift card ($119) which would allow them to try out classes as LOADS of different studios near them for an entire month! I’ve been thinking about renewing my membership, but since I’m trying to save for our wedding it probably won’t happen until after that.

And now I want everything on this list, not to mention I’ve thought of a million different categories I could’ve included 😉 I hope you are able to find something useful from this list!

Questions for you- Do you tend to get people gift cards or do you like to do real presents? What are you looking for this year?

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for any links or gift guide ideas located in this post, however I was given a Rem-Fit activity tracker which I will be reviewing in a future post. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I’m only sharing products I use and love. Some links are referral links, but if you sign up you will also get a referral link, so it’s a win-win 😉

Guest Post: Dieting Failure to Success

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Good morning! I have a really awesome guest post for you today. My friend Lauren (and who is also my “boss” at the YMCA…), just recently started a blog called The Fueled Physique and I’ve totally been loving it so I knew she HAD to guest post for me 🙂 What I love about her posts is that she’s honest and real and she doesn’t try to sell you any bullshit on diets or training or anything like that. She shares experiences she’s had or that she’s been exposed to and I think it’s everything that people can relate to! Dieting is a perfect example of that…. there are so many out there and the thing no one tells you is that not every diet works for everyone. Plus, most are not sustainable for the long haul, so you work your butt off dieting and then once you stop that particular diet you tend to gain the weight back, right? What’s the point in that? Not a whole lot, in my opinion.

Anyway, take it away, Lauren!

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BalanceBeamWM

Diets. Do they work?  Sure! They work if we follow the rules, but what happens when we stop? Diets have a way of making us feel like a failure if we don’t stick to them 100% or if we don’t have a plan for what to do when the diet is over.  Failing at diets keep us in a restrict/binge cycle.  Forget for a second what this does to your body and think about what does to your mind.  You probably start beating yourself up because you’ve failed at yet another diet. Wouldn’t you rather think of yourself as a success? Can’t you find something good out of a diet mishap? Yes (I hope) and yes!  All you have to do is think about what you learned.  What can you take from each dieting experience?  Here’s my personal thought process with some of the diets I’ve tried.

  • Low Carb Diet:  Nope, need much more food because I nearly passed out from a low carb diet plus they make me seriously moody.
  • Special K:  A bowl of cereal is NOT a meal…let alone two meals!
  • Figure Competition Diet:  Too restrictive
  • IIFYM: Math?!  No thanks.
  • Paleo:  I miss bread.

This is just a small snapshot of the things I’ve tried, but here’s what I found out: My body needs carbs, cereal isn’t enough of a meal for me, I need to have some way to incorporate treats into my diet, I don’t want to do math to figure out what I can eat and I need bread (pizza is part bread after all!).  So now if I were to go look for a new diet (which I wouldn’t because I’ve figured out what works for me) and any of these things aren’t included, that’s a red flag for me.

Here’s the thing, if you keep failing on diets over and over again…maybe you shouldn’t be on one.  If you’re someone who is a diet hopper, here’s some homework.

  • Take a piece of paper and split it into three columns.
  • Think of all the diets you’ve been on and write them down in the first column.
  • Now think about why that diet didn’t work and write that in the second column.
  • Lastly, think about what lesson you can take from each diet and write that in the third column.

At the end you’ll have a whole list of your own “diet must haves” so you can begin formulating your own way of eating.

Going back to my personal examples,  I never eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast.  Not because I think it’s “bad” but because I know it won’t hold me over as long as I need it to.  So instead I have a greek yogurt and some trail mix or a couple hard boiled eggs and a piece of fruit.  The mix of carbs, fat and protein keep me much fuller.  I also have some kind of treat almost every day.  I have either a glass of wine, some chocolate or some of my favorite candy.  This helps me stay away from feeling restricted and deprived.  I also don’t count or track anything I eat.  This is because I have enough experience with dieting to know what to eat for the body I want.

Give the homework a shot and let me know how it turns out.  What have you learned from your experiences with different diets?  Put a positive spin on it and see how you can use that to help you move forward into your own unique eating lifestyle.  If you need help with it reach out to me and I can help!  Email me at fueledphysiquelb@gmail.com or visit my blog at www.fueledphysiqueblog.com ☺.

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Thanks for the post, Lauren! I hope you all go check out her blog- it’s definitely worth a read!

Questions for you: Have you tried any fad diets? Do you find dieting works for you or do you prefer to just eat mostly vegetables and protein and fruits and stay away from processed food?

Things I Learned from Taking 4 Yoga Classes in 6 Days

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A few weeks ago, I was feeling a little off all day and decided I didn’t want to go to the gym for my normal weight and cardio type of workout. I felt like I needed something, but something more along the lines of yoga, which is something that sadly gets neglected far too often in my training schedule. Luckily, there are 2 yoga studios within a short walk from my apartment, so I was able to satisfy my need/want for yoga. I opted to go to CorePower Yoga in Newton Corner since they give new students and ENTIRE WEEK for FREE! How cool is that?! With classes running you $23 a pop, getting the chance to even get one for free is a treat.

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In typical Monique fashion, I decided that I should make the best of the free week and get to as many classes as possible, which ended up being 4 since we were away over the weekend. My first class was a little rough. My bad shoulder was bothered by a lot of the moves (I realized later probably because I wasn’t used to moving it that much), my mind just couldn’t slow down and I was too focused on remembering how to get my body the way it was supposed to be rather than really soaingk in the aspects of yoga I needed: calmness, breathing & slowing down my mind. I also wasn’t a fan of the instructor as there seemed to be no flow to what he was having us do and I think I can settle into my practice the most when we are flowing through sequences and focusing on our breathing.

My second class was the Yoga Sculpt, which wasn’t really what I wanted for that particular day (a Sunday late afternoon when I was already sore), but it ended up being a really great class. I love that it incorporated yoga AND weights AND cardio all in one class- totally my style and the instructor, Angela, was great! It was a small class, but she kept the energy high and pushed us through some challenging sequences. I also felt like I was able to get into my groove better and leave more thoughts outside of my mat. This is a great class for people who think they don’t like yoga or that it’s not a good enough workout (even though it is a workout if you want it to be!).

My third class was the 6pm CorePower Yoga 2 with Carrie, which was really great! It was challenging and there were some good flows and by the end I was a sweaty, sweaty mess & felt totally noodle-y. I even surprised myself with rocking out a challenging arm balance, which felt way easier than it used to feel when I practiced yoga regularly.

My fourth and last class may have been the best. My body felt so much more flexible, my mind was quiet, my breathing matched every move and my shoulder wasn’t bothering me anymore. Emily G taught the 6pm CorePower Yoga 2 and she challenged us by having us go through a 10 minute flow! By the end, I was exhausted, but felt really good. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to yoga since I was feeling a little off so I told myself I would take it easy. Once I got on my mat and slowed my breathing, everything felt better and I left so happy that I went.

My whole yoga experience at CorePower Yoga last week taught me/reminded me about a few things:

1. Muscle Memory is a fantastic thing. Even though my first few classes were a little rough due to the fact that I hadn’t practiced yoga in MONTHS, once I got back into the flow (literally) of things, my body remembered how to do the things that I hadn’t done in so long. I was able to relax into child pose and pigeon pose and I remembered what the various sun salutations were and how the breathing aligned with each movement.

2. Strength training helps in so many aspects of your life. Although I hadn’t practiced yoga in a while, thanks to regularly lifting weights, my body felt strong in all of the poses I tried- from chaturanga to forearm balances to standing balancing poses, everything felt easier than it did when I was practicing yoga regularly.

3. Practice makes you better, but some days you may not be where you were the day before and I love that yoga encourages us to acknowledge an accept this. It’s so easy for me to get hung up on always trying to be better than I was the day before, but that’s just not how life works. Some days I can whip out 4-5 chin ups and some days it’s hard to do 1. Some days I can run 5 miles and feel amazing and sometimes 3 is a real struggle. Life is always going to ebb and flow and have ups and downs and yoga is a good reminder that that’s all part of life!

4. Breathing helps. A lot. Whatever it is- whether a holding a challenging pose, finishing that last rep or handling a rough situation or argument, breathing through it will always help you get through it.

The sad part about yoga is how expensive it is, so I need to be on the lookout for some deals because I KNOW how good it is for me to try and practice fairly regularly. The way I feel when I leave yoga is a totally different feeling than when I leave the gym after a cardio/strength training session, which is why I need to make it a priority to fit both types of workouts into my workout schedule. I can see the calmness and peacefulness of yoga really coming in handy leading up to my wedding 😉

Questions for you: Do you practice yoga? Where do you practice it? What do you look for in a yoga class? What have you learned about yourself from a workout (lifting, yoga, running, etc.)?

If you’re looking for a flow you can do at home, check out this post: Strong & Lean Yogamomto Yoga Sequence

Wednesday Workout: Hotel Gym DB Circuit

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Hello! Halfway through the week- woohoo! Last week I shared a quickie bodyweight hotel room workout that I did while I was in Milwaukee. Today, I’m sharing a dumbbell circuit that I completed in the small hotel gym. The beauty with this workout is you just need a few sets of dumbbells (can do it with just one set if that’s all you have) and a small space in order to complete.

I did my cardio beforehand so this doesn’t really have much traditional cardio, but if you work through the exercises quickly with little to no rest between rounds (always keeping good form- that’s more important than speed!), you should definitely break a sweat not long after you get going.

Hotel gym DB circuit

  • Goblet Squats– try and go heavier than normal with this exercise since you’re only holding one dumbbell. Hold the butt of the dumbbell in your hands (like you’d hold a goblet of wine ;)… or a bowl!), place your feet in position so they are about shoulder width apart, toes and knees in line and at about a 45* angle to help open your hips so you can get lower. Squat down and then press back up.
  • Push Press– You can grab heavier weights than you’d use for a strict shoulder press since you’re using momentum from the legs to help push the weights up. Start with the weights at your shoulders and sink into the legs and then explode up and press your weights up to the ceiling. As your arms come down, allow yourself to sink back into your slight squat/knee bend to catch the momentum of bringing the weights back to starting position.
  • Burpee->row->push-up->press- How about that for a combo move?! For this one, you’re going through the moves of a traditional burpee, but adding in weights and some extra pieces to it. With your weights in your hands, squat down keeping your back straight. When the weights hit the ground, brace your core and jump back into a high plank. Do a row on the right, then the left, then a push-up before you jump your feet back into your hands and come up in that same flat back squat position. At the top, instead of jumping, just add a shoulder press.
  • Deadlift w/row- Standing with your feet about hips width apart with dumbbells in each hand, hinge forward from the hips into a standard deadlift position. You want your knees to be soft (ie: not locked out), but you don’t want to be bending from the knees (that would be squatting). Make sure to keep your core engaged, shoulders pulled back and chest open so that when you hinge forward, there’s no curve in your back. When you’re in the hinge position, squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull your elbows up & back. Release, come to standing & go again.
  • Up, Up, down, down plank- Starting in a high plank position (core engaged, shoulders pulled on your back, shoulders, elbows and wrists in line, neutral gaze & straight line from your head to your toes), drop to a low plank one arm at a time. Press back up into a high plank and repeat. Try to make sure you switch leads (the arm going down into the forearm plank first) each time and try to make sure your core stays braced and you aren’t lifting your hips as you move from high plank to low plank and back up to high plank. Check out this video if you want a visual.

There ya go! I tried to hit on all the major muscle groups to get the biggest bang for my buck. Remember to do a proper warm up and cool down, as you should before and after every workout. I’d love to know if you try this!

Questions for you: Do you use hotel gyms or try to do something outside, in your hotel room or at a local studio?

Weekending: Book Club, Halloween & Lots of Food

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Good morning! Is it just me or was it easier to get up this morning because of the recent time change? Yesterday morning, we woke up in the 6am hour thinking it was time to get up… so much for taking advantage of the “extra hour” 😉

We had a great weekend filled with lots of good people, good food and good drinks! Let’s recap:

Friday

My team was lucky enough to have another free lunch at sweetgreen’s new Lynnfield location thanks to Rachel. They did a soft start open where they provided free lunches to help the staff practice and I have to say- they did wonderful! They were calm, friendly and efficient. Love having a healthier lunch option near my office!

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After work on Friday, I grabbed a beer with a coworker before heading home. Did anyone else notice how light the traffic was on Friday? I got home in record time- it was awesome. After grocery shopping, we ate take-out sushi and I spent a while in the kitchen prepping food for book club. I made this dish from Hummusapian and although it doesn’t necessarily look appetizing, everyone raved about how tasty it was. I totally adapted it so I may post it for you soon 🙂

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We were in bed embarrassingly early on Friday night, but I wasn’t mad about that one bit 🙂

Saturday

I got in my most festive workout attire and headed to the Y for my cardio kickboxing class. There was a great crowd and we worked so hard. I “accidentally” made every combo super high cardio, so we were huffing and puffing big time. #sorryimnotsorry

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A few friends later came over for book club…

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It was such a fun Saturday afternoon eating good food, drinking plenty of bubbly and doing lots of chatting. Can’t wait for the next one. We are reading Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands- have you heard of it?

Saturday night we headed out to go see the little kiddos do some trick or treating and then went to a party at RM’s cousin’s house after, where we gorged on lots of amazing food. His cousin made a bunch of different calzones and his sister/mother made homemade pizza- all with homemade dough, which totally makes a difference! His SIL made some fantastic chili and we literally ate our way through the night.

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Such a fun night!

Sunday

We stayed in bed until a little before 8 and then RM made us a nice, healthy breakfast while I started cleaning. He had meat patties (he just gets organic, grass fed beef and spreads it out into a casserole dish and bakes it- almost like sausage patties) and zucchini egg fritters for him self, topped with sauerkraut and with a side of spinach and I opted for a meat patty, spinach and an over-easy egg. Such a great meal to kick off the day.

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After I finished cleaning we went for a quick walk to the store and then hit up Home Depot to get a new rug. What do you think? It’s so soft and fluffy and brings in the colors from the china cabinet and couch. We love it!

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RM’s sister and her boyfriend swung by later in the afternoon to bring us a beautiful bouquet and very nice bottle of wine for our engagement. Very sweet of them!

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After some meal prep and snacking, we went back to RM’s mother’s house for Sunday dinner sine the whole gang was there. She made sauce, meatballs & other meat, pork with a gravy sauce, broccolini, brussels sprouts… so.much.food! We rolled ourselves out and spent the rest of the night lounging on the couch- RM watching football and me blogging and finishing the new Windows 10 update.

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Questions for you: What did you do this weekend? Did you go to a Halloween party? Did you dress up? What foods did you eat? Do you make your own pizza dough? What are you looking to this week?