Tag: dirty thirty

Weekending: Home improvement is hard work!

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Good morning, friends! How was your weekend? This was the first weekend in a really long time where we were around ALL weekend, without many plans, too! It worked out really well since RM and I were really itching to finish home improvement projects and get more unpacked. Living in a half unpacked apartment for 2 weeks has been challenging, to say the least!

For those of you who may not know the whole story, no, we did not buy a home! We are renting a 2 bedroom apartment in a 2-family home that RM’s mother owns (she doesn’t live in it, in case you’re wondering 🙂 )and it really needed some serious updating. To help keep the costs down for his mom, we have taken on projects that we can do: painting, sanding, etc. Ideally, we would’ve done this BEFORE we moved in, but we didn’t want her to go a month without rent so we’ve been living and renovating at the same time. While it hasn’t been terrible, we are both really ready to be done the renovations and be fully settled in!

But, before we got to renovations, let’s talk about the weekend. I met up with RM in the city after work since it was such a gorgeous night (and because I had an appointment in the city at 6pm so it worked out great). We started at Vanderbilt (used to be The Vault) and then decided it was too nice to have drinks inside and went over to Sterling’s because they have a great outdoor patio.

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Once we got home, we decided to walk over to Buff’s Pub since it’s so close AND so good. I got a delicious Gyro-style wrap and RM got their famous wings. Both were delicious!

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After kickboxing on Saturday, I ran a bunch of errands, including a stop at Watertown Main Street Florist, where my friend Jen works on Saturdays. She hooked me up with a beautiful bouquet of fall-esque flowers. Thanks, friend!
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Onto the Next Decade

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And just like that, my 20’s are officially behind me. I still don’t think I’ve quite grasped the whole concept of being- gasp– 30, but I’m sure soon enough it will sink in. A lot of people have asked me how I feel about turning the “dirty 30”, and to be honest, I think I’m OK with it. Sure, it’s a crazy thought to think about the fact that I’m no longer in my 20’s, but when I think about where I am in my life right now, I think it’s exactly where I should be and I’m really excited about this next chapter. I’ve got a good job, I get to teach fitness, I’ve got this little blog, great friends and family and a wonderful boyfriend, so when I look at it that way, I’ve kinda got a pretty great thing going right now!

As I looked back through my 20’s, I couldn’t help but think about how far I’ve come. From work to friends to relationships to my outlook on health and fitness, quite a bit has changed. I feel like the start of my 20’s and moving to Boston was a time in my life when I was really trying to find my own groove. There’s that weird transition from being a college student to being a “grown up” with a 9-5 job, living on your own, paying your own bills and figuring out what the heck you want to do with your life. Fortunately, as I look back at all my trials and errors, successes and failures, relationships and breakups, new jobs and old jobs, I think every step in the process over the past 10 years has really shaped me into who I am today. Even though there are some things that I would rather not re-live, without those experiences I don’t think I’d have the same outlook on things as I do today. I honestly feel like I don’t have any significant regrets, but rather have been able to learn from everything which has helped me over the years.

Here are some highlights from my 20’s (it’s much harder to think back over the past 10 years than you’d think!)-

  • Studying abroad in Bath, England the first semester of my Junior year
  • Turning 21 and sharing celebrations with my birthday buddy, Jess
  • Graduation
  • Moving to Boston and exploring the city
  • 25th birthday party with Rachel
  • Visiting San Francisco twice
  • Visiting my sister in Athens, Greece
  • Family Cruise to Bermuda
  • Jess and Brian’s wedding in Ireland
  • Friends getting engaged and married and having babies
  • Changing jobs a few times
  • Lots of dating
  • Getting into fitness and teaching classes
  • Moving to my own apartment
  • Starting my blog & getting lots of blog opportunities
  • Dating my landlord 😉

And since photos make posts more interesting, maybe you’ll enjoy a look over the past 10 years (well, 9, since I didn’t have photos for my 20th bday!) of birthdays. I got totally sucked into reminiscing over old photos on facebook as I looked for all of these! Where would we be without technology and social media to capture and store all these memories ?!

21st bday with my birthday buddy, Jess!

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Weekending: Lots of Birthday Celebrations

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Good morning and happy December! Last weekend was a fun, birthday-filled weekend. RM and I headed up to New Hampshire on Friday afternoon for my friend Nikia’s surprise 30th birthday. I ended up finding a great deal at The Exeter Inn so we headed there first. This hotel was SO cute and charming- a nice change from the normal chain hotels I stay at. They had a gorgeous REAL fireplace in the lobby area, old, intricate details, funky little rooms and an amazing restaurant/bar… not to mention Exeter is a super cute little town. After a quick gym trip on Saturday morning, RM and I headed to Portsmouth and had brunch at Michelle’s. I’d been there once before and was happy to see that this experience was just as good as the first. I got the Truffle scrambled eggs and they were SO good. Sunday was spent celebrating my sister’s birthday at Gem. Post brunching, we came back and I decorated the tree and food prepped for the week. Solid weekend- enjoy the pics!

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Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Have you ever been surprised with or helped to throw a surprise party? Where’s your favorite restaurant in Portsmouth (if you’ve been)? Have you ever been to a boozy brunch? Have you decorated your tree yet?