Five on Friday {12.3.15}

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Good morning! I opted to not post last Friday because I figured everyone would be out shopping and not sitting at home reading blogs 😉 I’m happy to be back today sharing five more random thoughts/things with you, though!

1. How the heck is it December already?! I feel like it was just October the other day. November completely FLEW by. Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Do you have lots of holiday parties lined up?

2. Athleta pants– I’ve been in the market for a pair of full length leggings and ended up finding these amazing Chaturanga tights at Athleta the other day so I decided to just go for it. I’m so happy I did because I’ve worn them twice so far and absolutely love them! I was originally nervous about the light gray color, but so far they haven’t been overly offensive in terms of, well, crotch sweat… sorry, likely TMI but it’s something I think about because as an instructor I’m doing everything in front of the class and hate when you can see my sweat everywhere!

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3. 1806 Candles: Home by the Fire soy melters– My mom always shares her latest wax smells with me and this one is absolutely fantastic! It literally smells like freshly cut Christmas trees!

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4. Stop Trying to Be Happy– this is a little bit of a long read but it’s absolutely fantastic and I really encourage all of you to read it! RM sent it to me and I loved everything about it.

5. Surprise engagement gifts- Coming home to this awesome package from RM’s college roommate (who is part of the Tre Olive family) was such a fun surprise on a cold, gloomy night earlier this week! It’s literally some of the best olive oil we’ve tasted, so we will surely be putting it to good use. I also can’t wait to try the Red Pepper Spread he sent, too. I was looking through all the other gift ideas in one of the flyers attached to the package and there are some great, affordable gift ideas if you’re looking for something for the foodie in your life.

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There you have it! I hope you all have a great weekend. I can’t wait to get our tree and decorate for Christmas- it’s my favorite time of year because it makes the house feel so cozy when it’s all decorated with lights and the tree!

Questions for you: Have you started shopping for the holidays yet? Do you have anything fun going on this weekend? What is your favorite athletic wear company? Did you relate to the article at all?

Wedding Update: Finding “The Dress”

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Good morning! I’ve said all along that I don’t want this blog to become a wedding-focused blog, but I’m just too excited about finding “the dress” that I have to share my experience with you! I said to RM on Saturday that I wished I was still shopping for dresses because I had so much fun doing it… a little crazy considering the thought of going dress shopping kind of overwhelmed me initially. But, I am happy to say that it was literally one of the easiest shopping experiences I’ve ever had!

Let’s back up, though. When my parents decided to come to Boston for Thanksgiving, my mom suggested that I call some bridal stores to see if they had any open appointments for Black Friday. I had a feeling they would be booked and sure enough, most places I called were booked so I put myself on the wait list at Vows and Anthropologie. The next day both places called me back and I was able to get appointments for Black Friday- score!

As with most things wedding-related, I just didn’t want to make a big deal out of dress shopping and bring lots of people who would probably have different opinions. I wanted to keep it to just my mom and sister, but when my dad asked if he could come I couldn’t have been happier! It was so cute shopping for my dress as a family- they were all fantastic and my dad was cracking everyone up.

Anyway, we showed up to Vows right around 10 and had to wait a bit until they were officially.

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My bridal consultant, Kristen, was absolutely fantastic. She listened to what I wanted (simple, not a lot of poof, low back, not a lot of lace, no sparkles, etc.) and grabbed a great selection of dresses for me to try on. She even set us up in a private room so that my whole family could be together (guys aren’t allowed in the normal fitting room area). I also loved that she was very professional- she didn’t give her opinion that would sway me one way or the other and she offered up lots of interesting tid bits of information regarding the style and designer of the dresses. I never once felt like she was just trying to make a sale.

I think I ultimately tried on maybe 8-10 dresses, but kind of knew from the first one that I had found “the one”. It wasn’t one I was crazy about off the rack, but once I put it on I absolutely loved it. It needs very little alterations and is different from most dresses I’ve seen. I thought all along I wanted more of the Bohemian, very simplistic look but when I tried those on, they almost looked too sexy for a wedding! They were so form-fitting that they showed everything- not really appropriate for a wedding!

Here are some pics of the dresses I tried on, of course, not including the one I bought 😉 That is going to stay secretive until I walk down the aisle!

This one was a fun one to try on just to make sure I indeed didn’t want a big poofy dress

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This was a style I originally thought I wanted- no poof or boning- but when I tried on some dresses like this I realized they were a bit too, how to I say this, showy… and not really my idea of wedding appropriate!

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We all really loved this dress but ultimately I wanted to change too many things about the neckline in the front and around my neck. And I feel like keyholes and lace like this are really standard these days and I wanted something a little different.

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This was another close runner up, but I just didn’t love the way it looked on me as much as the one I picked.

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Ultimately, I ended up cancelling my appointment at Beholden/Anthropologie because I realized all of the dresses that I loved from their selection were the ones that I decided were not wedding appropriate (for me, anyway). My mom and sister thought that I should’ve gone just to look, but I knew that I would’ve been thinking about the dress I ended up buying the whole time so we decided to just go for it. Walking home with my dress was the best feeling in the world and I can’t help but continuously look through the pictures my sister took of me in the dress. I cannot WAIT to wear it!

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Now, it’s time to find shoes. I think I want something fun- maybe a fun color or sparkles or something like that. I’m not really doing “wedding colors” so I won’t need to worry about matching to that. I also think I want to wear my hair up, I’m just not sure the details on that yet. Also, I wasn’t sure I wanted a vail, but after trying one on with the dress, I think I do want one. It made me feel so pretty and so much like a bride!

Questions for you: Did you have an easy time finding your dress? Did you end up getting what you thought you wanted or did you change your mind when you tried it on? Did you wear a vail?

Wednesday Workout: Dynamax 25 Minute AMRAP Workout

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Hello! Happy Wednesday! I skipped out on posting a workout for you last Wednesday, but I’m so happy to be posting for you today because I think you’re really going to love this workout. When I saw Lauren post a workout focusing on Dynamax balls, it reignited my love for that piece of fitness equipment. Back in the day I taught a Dynamax Bootcamp at the Oak Square YMCA and it was one of my favorite classes!

The great thing about Dynamax balls is that they are super versatile- you can use them for cardio, strength, core, upper body, lower body… which is exactly what I did in the workout I’m sharing with you today. I used a 16lb ball for most of the workout but had to drop down to a 14lb one for a few exercises. By the time I finished the 25 minutes I felt like I had successfully worked my entire body- perfect for a quickie lunch break workout.

Dynamax Ball 25 Minute AMRAP Workout

It’s worth noting that I forgot to include an exercise when I was creating this graphic! 😦 After the slams I did reverse lunges while holding a ball overhead. Killer for the shoulders!

Descriptions/Videos

  • Squat & toss- Hold the ball at chest height and drop into a deep squat. As you’re coming back up to standing, toss the ball overhead. As you catch the ball, sink back into your deep squat.
  • Slams- In this video I’m not using a Dynamax ball, but you get the idea 😉 https://www.instagram.com/p/5H8B9HPWya/?taken-by=burpeestobubbly
  • Toe taps- place the ball on the ground and tap alternate tapping your right and left foot to the ball, trying to lift your knees as high as you can.
  • Plank w/side taps right & left- Come into a plank position with your hands on the Dynamax ball instead of the ground to help challenge your core a bit more.  From this plank position, step your right foot out to the side, left foot out to the side and then bring your right foot in and your left foot in so that you end up where you started. That’s one rep. Keep going for 15 more. Want to intensify it? Try doing it with a band around your ankles!
  • Chest press & lat pull in bridge position- check this video out for a demo of this: https://www.instagram.com/p/-CVEluvW7V/?taken-by=burpeestobubbly
  • Russian twists- coming to a seated position & leaning back enough to force your core to be engaged you’re going to hold the ball and twist from side to side with it. Your feet can be lifted for a more advanced version.

I think that should do it! I hope you try this- it’s a great quickie total body workout, which is perfect for this time of year since things tend to get busier and busier!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite Dynamax exercise? How are you going to fit your workouts in during this busy time of year?

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 😉

Weekending: Thanksgiving & Long Weekend Edition

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Good morning! I feel like I haven’t “talked” to you guys in a while… I guess an extra long weekend will do that 😉 I ended up taking Wednesday off since my company gave us a half day, so not working Wed-Sunday was a nice little treat! Although the time off was very relaxing, we did do a lot of fun things, so let’s recap! Warning- this is a long post, but there are lots of pictures so you can just skim and check those out if you want 😉

Wednesday

After sleeping in a bit, RM and I got up and had breakfast and then I hit the gym for a run and lifting session. It’s always a nice treat to be able to workout mid-morning without being on a time crunch.

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Since a few of my girlfriends also had Wednesday off, we decided to meet up at my friend Jess’s apartment in the North End since she needed to stay close to home for her daughters nap time. It worked out well because we were able to chat and hang out without feeling rushed like we might at a restaurant.

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For dinner, RM and I met up with his brother and sister in law at Charcoal Guido’s on Moody Street. One of RM’s childhood friends opened the restaurant a few years ago and since we live closer to the area now, we decided to finally check it out. The pizza and atmosphere were both great! I had never been to Moody Street but I think we will be going back soon because it’s such a fun street!

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Thursday

We woke up on Thanksgiving and lounged around while watching the parade. I wasn’t sure if I was going to workout, but ultimately decided it was something I wanted to do. I wasn’t doing it to “earn my meal” or because I wanted to feel better about possibly indulging, I did it because I felt rested and I felt thankful for the fact my body can move and that it’s strong.

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My parents ended up going to my sister’s for Thanksgiving so RM and I decided to go there for apps and a drink before doing the whole dinner thing at his mother’s house. I decided to bring a variation of the Apple Brie Appetizer Bites Athena posted last week. To change it up, I ended up using sharper, hard cheeses instead of the mild, soft Brie. They came out great and everyone loved them!

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We had a blast at my sister’s and even though it was hard leaving them, it was nice to be able to see both families. Dinner at RM’s mother’s house was- no surprise- delicious, but sadly I didn’t take a single photo! I always feel awkward taking food pictures when I’m around his family, but I think I need to suck it up and take them because everything is always very picture worthy.

Friday

Friday was a super fun day because not only did I shop for wedding dresses, I ended up buying one!!! More on that later- I have a whole post to describe that experience 😉

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I loved that my whole family- including my dad- were there for the experience. It was so special and so fun! And, might I add, there was no “Say Yes to the Dress” drama! To celebrate, we went to Buff’s Pub for lunch. My parents hadn’t been before and my sister and I thought it was a great place to take them. The verdict? They loved it!

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After my parents left, RM and I went to Lookout Farm to visit his cousin and check out their new taproom. I fell in love with everything about this place! It was originally just a farm where you could go apple, pear, peach and strawberry picking, but recently they decided to make good use of the excess apples and they started making their own hard cider. I’ve never been a huge cider person (except for when I studied abroad in England and we drank cider all the time!), but the ciders at Lookout Farm are absolutely delicious! They aren’t too fruity sweet and they’ve got great fizz to them. We started with a sampler flight of the 4 flavors they had on tap: Farmhouse Blend, Super Berry, Green with Envy (has green tea in it) and Barn Burner (which is spicy, I think with habanero peppers in it).

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Mark, RM’s cousin, brought us for a tour of the property and it was incredible to see how big it was and to see where they brew the cider.

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Once we got back to the taproom, we each ordered our own cider (Super Berry for me) and shared a charcuterie plate (3 meats, 3 cheeses & olives for $12.75 I think). They also have big, soft pretzels and various flatbreads and everything looked delicious.

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Such a fun time! If you’re ever in the South Natick/Wellesley area, this is definitely a place you need to check out!

Saturday

We got up early on Saturday and I fit in a workout before hitting the road to Ikea.

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I’ll say that I love a good dorky matchy-matchy sesh, but RM and I were even a bit much for me on Saturday. In my defense, I got dressed first! Luckily he ended up taking off the vest once we got to Ikea 😉

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We grabbed some Starbuck’s and then attacked Ikea. I was so impressed with how well the experience went. We were there early enough to avoid the crazy masses of people and we found everything we were looking for.

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To celebrate, we went to La Casa De Pedro for lunch and cocktails. Everything was fantastic!

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The rest of the night was spent putting stuff together and being totally lazy. We logged some serious couch time!

Sunday

I woke up craving pancakes so I decided to whip some healthy ones up.

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And yes, I love topping mine with syrup, homemade jam and almond butter. Don’t judge 😉

After breakfast we did a good cleaning of the apartment and then I went and got a new phone. My old one had something stuck in the headphone hole so I couldn’t really use it when I was at the gym or teaching which was annoying.

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We decided to get a new, smaller table and I love how it looks now! and the yellow chairs RM picked out are amazing!

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Later in the afternoon, RM had to cash in a bunch of quarters so I went along for the ride… mostly because he also suggested getting a drink at a local bar after 🙂

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Wine and an onion soup for me- perfect mid afternoon snack!

The rest of the night was spent doing some meal prep and lots of blogging. This is a busy week and I have lots to share with you guys so I tried to get ahead of the game by logging in some serious blogging hours. It’s actually a perfect sunday night activity since RM is usually watching football!

Questions for you: Did you take extra time off around the holiday? Where did you celebrate Thanksgiving? Did you do any good workouts over the weekend? Have you been to Ikea before? Ever been to any of the restaurants linked in this post?