Bridal Shower Recap

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Two weekends ago, I was showered with so much love and happiness at my bridal shower. Even though I knew when and where it was, I had nothing to do with planning it so when I showed up at our family friend’s house, I was totally blown away with all of the work and thoughtful details that went into making my day so special. Jeanne has always said that she wanted to host my bridal shower- long before I even had a serious boyfriend 😉 – so it was so special to finally have that day arrive!

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Out of all of the crap weather we’ve had over the past month or so, somehow we nabbed the most beautiful day for my shower. The sun was shining, the temps were mild and it was an all around wonderful day. From the little pictures everywhere to the thoughtful “thank you for coming” gifts to the mantle decorations to the food and beautiful cake and to everything else my sister, mom, RM’s mother and “the Jeans” (Jeanne and Jean are my mom’s two best friends so we call them “the jeans”) did, not a detail was sparred and they truly made me feel so special.

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On top of that, I was surrounded by most of my closest friends, lots of my dad’s family and lots of RM’s family, which was really great. Getting a chance to introduce people before the wedding is nice because once the wedding is here, they’ll all know each other a little better.

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What I loved about the shower was that it was at a home and not a restaurant because it allowed people to mingle and move around and chat without being confined to just one table. We had received a lot of gifts previously that people had sent to our house, but we still received some awesome gifts that people brought to the shower, too! So many great things- I can’t wait to do a big “out with the old, in with the new” sweep through our kitchen 🙂 Oh, and this shirt from my mom that says “I can’t keep calm, I’m the bride”, couldn’t be more fitting 😉

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Once the shower was over, we headed to my parents house for the “after party”. Four of my college friends stayed over and then some other friends came over and we had a blast drinking wine and eating homemade pizza that my dad made for us. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day.

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I can’t believe how much time and energy my mom and sister put into this day- it was seriously amazing and I can’t thank them enough! The Jeans were also a HUGE help and RM’s mother was so sweet for making a huge batch of her meatballs and bringing the most beautiful cake. I’m so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life!

Thank you so much to everyone who came- you sure know how to make a girl feel special 🙂

Five on Friday {5.6.16}

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Good morning and TGIF! I’m trying to fake being peppy because I hate how “blah” this weather is making me feel. It’s giving me absolutely no pep in my step, which is a sad, sad thing, haha I feel like this week went by in a blink of the eye… like, how is it already Friday?! Not that I’m complaining. I’m certainly not complaining. Friday+pay day+half day+mom in town= FriYAY for sure 🙂 Let’s get to some topics of the week!

  • Responses to Tuesday’s Post- Thank you all so much for your kind comments in response to my post this week. Seriously, you have no idea how much it meant to have so many of you comment and tell me what you like and would like to see more of. I have to admit- I was actually surprised by how many of you said you enjoyed my “weekending” roundups. Although I plan to take some of my personal life off of the stage of this blog, there are some things worth recapping and sharing so it certainly won’t be the last of them!
  • BoxFIIT Update– I got an email from George Foreman III the other day saying that I passed all of my boxfiit video submissions, which was the best email ever! I worked so hard on getting everything in and doing the best job I could, so to hear him say he felt confident to have me start teaching whenever was such a great feeling. I’ll let you guys know when I have a class on the schedule (either there or in Watertown at GymIt) and hopefully you can come check it out!

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  • Flourless Peanut Butter Zucchini Brownies– Alexis over at Hummusapien posted this recipe recently and I knew I just had to make it. No surprise here that it turned out to be another hit from her blog. Every time I make something new RM is like “is that another Hummusapien recipe” 😉 Super easy to make and super moist (sorry) and tasty- perfect healthy treat for our weeknight “treat time”.
  • Embracing my curls- For so many years, I’d straighten or create curls in my hair with my straightener rather than letting my natural curls shine bright, but lately, I’m alllll about the big hair! I don’t know what it is, but my hair has been SO curly lately that I just feel bad altering it! What I do now to give it a different look than my every day “wash, mousse, scrunch & go” look is I put in gel/mousse and scrunch and then I let it air dry for a bit. Then, I use my diffuser (finally bought one and it makes a world of a difference!) and flip my head over and put it to the roots of my hair to start and then scrunch up my hair with it to heat up the curls and liven them up. The end result is a big head of crazy curly hair that totally gives me a sass factor 😉

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  • Cino de Mayo at home- With yesterday’s rainy, nasty weather, I just didn’t feel like going out to get my Cinco de Mayo necessary fix so I stopped at Whole Foods and picked up some of the necessary ingredients to whip up some yummy things: pineapple salsa, guacamole, shrimp tacos & a quesadilla. Everything was SO good and really quite easy to make (and healthier than going out!).

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And that does it! I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!! I’m working a half day today and my mom is coming down for my dress fitting! And tomorrow I’m teaching at the Y and then we are going shopping for our wedding bands and then Sunday is my BoxFIIT “graduation”. Whatever you do, make it a good one!

 

 

Wednesday Workout: 2 Upper Body Circuits & Cardio Blasts

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Good morning! I don’t know about you, but I am ready to have mornings where the weather is warmer than 35-40* when I wake up. While I appreciate that it’s lighter out, warmer temps would be more encouraging for early morning runs 😉 Since the weather was chillier than I’d like to run in first thing in the morning this past Saturday morning, I opted to keep my workout inside. It actually worked out well since my legs were still sore from a lower body focused workout I had done on Thursday- it was pretty killer, if I do say so myself!

Anyway, I woke up Saturday not really knowing what I wanted to do for a workout, but I knew it couldn’t be long which is why I worked out at the house instead of going to the gym. I was on a tight schedule since I had to leave by 9:45 for my bridal shower and knew I would need extra time than normal to get ready so I decided to forego the gym. I don’t know about you, but between the time it takes to get to the gym, get started on a workout, pack up after and get home my whole workout experience takes longer than I’d like it to.

All you need for this workout is a set (or two) of dumbbells and a stability ball- easy enough, right?

Upper Body Circuits & Cardio Blast

Please make sure you do a good, dynamic warm up before jumping into this! Once you’re warmed up, grab your dumbbells & stability ball and get going 🙂 You’ll do 4 rounds of circuit 1 and then 50 reps of each cardio exercises. Then, you’ll move to circuit 2 and then finish with 25 reps of each cardio exercise. I was done in about 45 minutes!

Here are some explanations or links to videos for some exercises that aren’t very common on B2B:

  • Clean & Press– This video will give you the general visual of a clean. Think about sinking low in the legs, hinging through the hips with your back flat and arm extended straight towards the ground. Focus on using power from the legs to bring the weight up- it should come up weightlessly rather than you curling it to bring it to the racked position. Once you get it in the racked position, press it up to the ceiling, bring it down to the racked position and then shoot your hips back & let the weight pull you back down to the starting position. Try not to put the breaks on to stop the momentum.
  • Stability ball chest fly
  • DB Pullover
  • Front raise & upright row- With a light set of weights, perform a front raise, making sure to not bring the arms higher than shoulder height. Bring the weights back down and then perform an upright row by leading with the elbows (think about someone pulling your elbows up to the ceiling by strings) and stopping the weights at chest height. It’s almost like you’re zipping up your coat, but with 2 hands.

Hope you give this a try!

Questions for you: Do you prefer to take the time to get to the gym for your workout or do you prefer saving time and working out at home?

Changes on B2B

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Good morning! Today I want to talk about some changes that I’m hoping to make on B2B going forward. If you’ve been following for a while, you probably know a lot about my life- whether it’s regarding workouts, restaurants, my family, RM, our wedding, etc., I tend to be pretty open on B2B. Being open and sharing personal things in an online space can have its pros and cons- it can be a great way to connect with readers (both ones I know and don’t know) and help them feel like they “know” me and want to keep reading to follow along, but it can also be a con because sharing so much personal stuff may do just that- share too much.

While I love sharing my weekends with all of you, weekend recaps and an overdose of #sweatyselfies wasn’t the whole purpose of starting this blog in the first thing. Crazy, considering how much of that stuff I share these days! I’ve thought long and hard about what this blog is to me and what I want it to be to other people and I’ve come to the conclusion that filling this blog with “fluff/filler” posts in an online diary sort of way isn’t really what I want my blog to be known for. There is absolutely nothing wrong with those types of posts and blogs (um, hello, I love reading other people’s weekend recaps and day to day musings and things like that!), but it’s just not the direction I really want to be going.

I want to share more workouts with you. I want to share more studio reviews with you. I want to share more tips for how to live a healthy lifestyle and create a sort of work/life/play/workout balance. I want to share more recipes with you. I want to do more reviews of some of my favorite products (and not just sponsored posts about various products!). I guess in short, I want to share more QUALITY posts rather than fluff QUANTITY posts that I post just to get content up.

Does that mean I won’t share personal things on here from time to time? Of course not! I was just showered with the most amazing bridal shower over the weekend and that is something I want to share with you guys because it was so special to me and I want a place to remember all of the details. But you guys don’t need to see sweaty selfie after sweaty selfie of me and a weekend play by play every single week, right? While my posting may not be as frequent, I hope it will be consistent enough to keep you guys coming back. I have a whole slew of post topics that I want to share with you, so sit tight!

I do need your help, though. I want to write about things that interest you, too. Is there something you’ve been wanting to see on B2B? Is there something you could do without seeing on B2B? What keeps you coming back for more? (I’m guessing it’s not the sweaty selfies 😉 ) If you could do me a favor and leave a comment below listing ONE thing you’d like to see more of/less of or even provide me with a topic you’d like me to write about, that would be so awesome!! This blog wouldn’t be what it is without your support and I cannot thank you enough for sticking with me over the past 3 years! Here’s to many more years ahead!

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If Janelle took my photo, this doesn’t count as a #sweatyselfie 😉 lolol

 

Five on Friday {4.29.16}

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Remember me? I’ve missed you 🙂 I’m popping in quickly to share some things that might be of interest to you before you kick off the weekend!

  • Changing things up- More on this next week, but  at a high level, I’ll be changing things up a bit on B2B going forward. I can’t imagine stopping blogging all together, but I do realize that some things have to change a bit in order for it to work better. BUT, I think it will be great, so I hope you’ll stick along for the ride!
  • Legacy Place’s Spring Cycle for Friendship & Block Party for Best Buddies– This Sunday (May 1st) from 8am to 1pm (rides will be 45 minutes and offered on the hour- so 8-8:45, 9-9:45, etc.), Rev’d Indoor Cycling studio will provide bikes, high-energy instruction and complementary shoes for a killer ride… and a live DJ will be play the perfect music to pump you up and keep you moving! After your spin, you’ll have a chance to do a Yoga Cool Down class hosted by Stil Studio and you’ll receive a sweet swag bag. Each ride is $30, but 100% of that goes to Best Buddies. Lastly, there will be a block party for riders & their guests from 12-1 in The Gardens with refreshments, food samples and games. Sounds awesome, right? If you’re around, sign up quickly because space is limited! I can’t make it, unfortunately, but my girl Sherri will be there, so say “hi” if you go!
  • Girls Night at Barcelona in the South End– Last Saturday night I had a chance to get together with some of my oldest girlfriends in the city and we had such an awesome time! We started at my sister’s apartment for cheese & wine and then went to Barcelona in the South End. Everything was FANTASTIC!!! But even better was getting to chat with some of my favorite ladies.

 

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  • Fasten– Ok, I know there are “Uber-like” companies popping up all the time, but I recently tried Fasten and am totally hooked. I don’t know how they did it, but for me to get from Newton Corner to the Dorchester/Southie line it was $10.81… and then after dinner with the girls I went to get an Uber and it was X1.6 surcharge so I opened up Fasten, ordered a ride and was only charged around $7 for the whole trip from the South End to Newton Corner. I couldn’t believe it!!! And both drivers I had were very nice and professional and had clean cars. I highly suggest using this link to download the app and use their services. You get $15 by using that link/code (code= MO5551) and I get $15- pretty awesome deal if you ask me!

  • BoxFIIT Updates- I finally submitted ALL of my videos for the BoxFIIT certification that I worked on for months and to say it felt great is a huge understatement! Thanks to Nicole’s amazing help, I feel really good about my submission and I CANNOT WAIT to start teaching hopefully both at The Club and at GymIt here in Watertown.

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That does it for me! Gosh, just writing this post solidified how much I LOVE blogging and sharing things with you. I hope all of you have a wonderful Friday and a wonderful weekend. Tomorrow is my bridal shower which is so crazy exciting! Sh*t is getting real now!