This Week: Workouts, New Gig & Things I’m Looking Forward To

August 4, 2014August 3, 20146 Comments

Good morning! How was your weekend? I was on the Cape with RM and some of his family (including two adorable little boys!) and although the weather was less than to be desired, we still had a great time. He and I grabbed a quick dinner at Jeveli’s in East Boston before making the trek to the Cape, which was smart because we avoided the 93 South daily traffic nightmare. The rest of the weekend was spent sleeping in (finally!), playing with the babes, drinking (lots of) wine, cooking and playing games- have you played Heads Up? SO FUN! I’ve mastered one of his mom’s ciambotta dishes, so I made that as well as some baked kale. Everything was so good and it was nice to be away from the grinds of the city for a little bit.

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday- RM and I were still in Chicago, but we both got up for a little gym sesh first thing in the morning. I did 25 minutes on the elliptical before completing a little HIIT workout consisting of 15 exercises of 45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest. It was good!
Tuesday- I had all intentions of going to check out a class at a new-to-me gym, but since we got in really late on Monday night- errr Tuesday morning (1am style), I was exhausted and knew that if I wanted to food shop, cook dinner and get to bed at a reasonable hour, the workout had to go. I was very ok with that decision.
Wednesday- Since I wasn’t teaching my Thursday night double, I doubled up on Wednesday. The girl who teaches before me on Wednesdays teaches a killer class so it was fun to have my butt kicked. We did A LOT of burpees! I also taught my class after and did probably 75% of the workout.
Thursday- I went to a class at a new-to-me gym. It was actually a really good class- we did cardio (kickboxing!), weights and core work.

Friday- I went for a 3.5 mile lunch time run and then did some core work (push-ups, planks, Russian Twists, Side Planks, etc.). I was happily surprised by how good the workout ended up being- all in a lunch break!

Saturday- Mostly a rest day. RM’s sister-in-law wanted to workout with me so we ended up doing about 30 minutes of yoga/pilates/core work/squats in the living room. I was actually pretty sweaty by the time we finished!
Sunday- Initially it was going to be another rest day but by 12:30 I was getting antsy and starting to bug RM so he suggested that I go for a run, haha He’s always hell bent on making me rest so the fact that he was encouraging me to run was a nice change… I must have been really annoying 😉

This Week’s Workouts

Monday- By the time this post goes up I will have taught my Monday morning Muscle Work class and done some cardio. I know I always say this, but it’s so true: it sucks getting up but my Monday is so much better when I know my workout is done before 7:30!
Tuesday- We have an “all hands” meeting at the Boston Harbor Hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday so I’ll get up before that to get my workout in.
Wednesday- I might double up again, but I may just run before I teach UXF Burn.
Thursday- Not sure! Might go to that class that I went to last week again. We’ll see.
Friday- Probably a rest day.
Saturday- I’m subbing a class at the new-to-me gym that I’ve mentioned earlier in this post. It’s called Chisel, which I think is mostly a muscle class. I hope they like me!
Sunday- Not sure- maybe another rest day. My parents will be here so my mom may want to walk with me which would be fun.

New Gig

As I’ve mentioned, I may have a new little teaching gig. I know, I know. I just gave up my Thursday double because it was too much and here I am adding more on again. Don’t worry, though– nothing has been added to my schedule as a permanent class- I’m just on the sub list for now. The best part about the gym is it is literally at the end of the entrance for my new office, so it’s super convenient. It’s an all women’s gym called PUMPS and I love what I know about it so far. I have been to a number of classes and the instructors are great and the member base seems really dedicated. I’m excited about having a new place to workout and meet new people!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

This is a busy week, but I’m excited about it. I get to spend Tuesday and Wednesday at the Boston Harbor Hotel for a work conference with my entire company, which is a great way for me to meet more people. Tuesday night we are going on an Oddessey cruise around Boston Harbor, which is always a good time- I just hope we have good weather. On Thursday night, I am going to my sister’s apartment to make pizza and have wine. We haven’t seen each other in a MONTH, which is unheard of for us so I’m really looking forward to it! And, lastly, and what I’m most looking forward to is the fact that my parents are coming down on Saturday to spend the night! Mom and I are going to get pedicures during the day and then RM will come over and we are going to cook a nice dinner for my parents. I’m going to learn how to make his mom’s sauce- can’t wait for that!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? How many rest days did you take? Did your weekend plans get ruined because of the weather? What are you most looking forward to this week?

Weekending: Red Lantern, BBQ, Grocery Shopping Fail and Festa Italiana

July 22, 2014July 21, 20146 Comments

Good morning! How are you doing today? I slept terribly on Sunday night because of a weird stomach ache, so I feel like I’m still catching up on sleep. This past weekend was perfect in so many ways. Even though the weather was not great and ended up causing us to cancel a Cape trip, we still found lots of fun things to do. I have to admit, after having been on the road for the past number of weekends, it was nice to stick around Boston for a bit!

Friday Night

After work on Friday, I ran some errands (including trip to Lens Crafters where they replaced my glasses for $25!! So happy I bought the protection plan. Best thing ever!) and then came home and sat on my back patio for a while. It was nice- I haven’t had a chance to do that enough this summer. And, my dad told me to “watch my garden” for 10 minutes a day… does watching it for a half hour count for 3 days worth of watching? It is coming along quite well!.

Later, RM and I went to Red Lantern for dinner. I had bought a Living Social deal a while back that was due to expire soon, so it was the perfect time to use it! Although the prices are rather high for both drinks and food, everything we had was delicious and I would definitely go back. Even better? They have a whole Gluten Free sushi menu which is awesome.

Saturday

After teaching a very sweaty kickboxing class, I went to get a pedicure at Queen Bee Nails- my favorite place to get them! Between my nails and new toe color, I’m going a little bright with my colors this summer. It’s a fun change!

In the afternoon, RM and I headed to my friend Amy’s apartment for a drink with a few other friends before going to a summer BBQ at Rachel and Dan’s apartment. We had lots of good food and about a million good laughs while playing Cards Against Humanity. That game gets funnier every time I play it!

The best part about Saturday afternoon parties? You still get home early… I am so old!

Sunday

I woke up and did some yoga and core work while RM made us some delicious Pumpkin Walnut Banana Protein Paleo pancakes. I’m not a big pancake person but these are amazing because they actually keep me full for a long time!

Once we were digested, we headed out for a long power walk. I think we covered about 3.5 miles before calling it quits to *attempt* grocery shopping. Have you heard about all the Market Basket drama?? We hadn’t, so you can imagine our faces when we walked in and were faced with this scene:

It was the craziest thing ever- we literally couldn’t even shop because there was NOTHING to choose from. So frustrating. I hope everything gets settled and back to normal asap!

We headed to RM’s mom’s house for a late afternoon lunch/early dinner. She is from Italy and makes the most amazing food, which yesterday included Eggplant parmesan with home grown eggplants. Wow. It was SO good and I’m so happy she gave me leftovers to eat this week!

Later in the evening, we met up with some of his friends/family at the Festa Italiana, which is an Italian Festival/Fair in Newton. There was live music, beer/wine, lots of fair food and rides. I love stuff like this so I was in my element!

In addition to some delicious Carlo Rossi (I can’t say that with a straight face…), we had some oysters and an ice cream cone. No wonder why I was up all Sunday night with a stomach ache- those are dumb things to mix in one night!

All in all, though, it was a really great weekend… the only thing missing was hanging out with my family 😦 I miss them!

Questions for you: Have you been to Red Lantern? What’s your favorite Sushi roll? Where do you get your pedicures? Have you been to any BBQ’s 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!!!

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: Wine

This Week: Workouts, New Gig & Things I’m Looking Forward To

Weekending: Red Lantern, BBQ, Grocery Shopping Fail and Festa Italiana

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}

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