Tag: Five on Friday

Five on Friday {11.30.16}

2 Comments

Good morning and TGIF! This week seemed to go by slow, but I was in a great mood all week so I can’t complain :)I can’t believe that it’s DECEMBER- how did that happen?! But I’m excited about it- I can’t wait to get a tree, decorate the apartment, listen to Christmas music and all the other stuff that comes along with this season.

Which brings me to my first Five on Friday topic….

  • Light Up The Seaport– While the commons and Southie did their tree lightings last night, the Seaport opted to wait and do it tonight. I’m so excited to be there and see the tree be lit and then get drinks after.Gather, Aceituna Grill, The Envoy Hotel, Autograph Collection, Shake Shack, Kings America, & MiniLuxe will all be offering up delicious samples while Gather will also open up a remote bar on the side of District Hall! Plus, a pop-up concert by Andrew Smith Music!  If you’re around, grab your FREE ticket and join!
  • Metabolic Meltdown– My friend Lauren just launched her Metabolic Meltdown program, which is 49 workouts that can all be completed at home- and none are more than 30 minutes! What I love is that she breaks it down by bodyweight, total body with weights, lower body focused, upper body focused and core focused. The quick, but effective workouts are my jam these days, as I’ve mentioned before, so I’m totally loving it. I’ve only tried a handful, so I’m excited to try the rest of them. If you’re feeling tired with your workouts or feel like you’re not feeling/seeing changes, I’d suggest checking out her program. It’s especially perfect timing as we enter a busy season!

img_7180

  • Festive Recipes- I had bought a huge bag of fresh cranberries at Whole Foods before Thanksgiving, even though I absoutely did not need them. Sure, I was asked to make fresh cranberry sauce by my mom, but that didn’t require a 2 pound bag of cranberries 😉 This lead me to scouring the internet looking for other cranberry-based recipes. I decided on this Paleo Cranberry Bread and then this Cranberry Apple Crisp. Both came out so good!

img_7192

  • Friendsgiving & Thanksgiving- The weekend before Thanksgiving, my SMC friends hosted our 2nd annual Friendsgiving… this time with 3 little kiddos in the mix! We joked about how much times have changed since we graduated (nearly 10 years ago!!!). Per usual, we had such a great time- the food was awesome, the wine was flowing and nearly all of us were together and able to catch up. This has quickly become one of my favorite holiday events! Thanksgiving with my family was equally as nice, although a little quieter since there were fewer people! I couldn’t help but feel thankful!

img_7169 img_7173 img_7211

  • Francesca update- Our little girl is growing like a weed! We can’t believe how much she’s grown since we got her. She was 1.9 pounds when we first brought her home, 2.10 pounds when she had her first vet appointment a month later and we will find out how big she is tomorrow when we go for her next checkup. While she can be a bit crazy (and scratch the crap out of anything she gets her paws near), she really is the absolute cutest thing ever!

img_7244

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and do something festive to get you into the holiday spirit if you aren’t there already 🙂

Questions for you: What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Do you have any holiday/festive plans this weekend? How was your Thanksgiving?

Five on Friday {11.18.16}

2 Comments

Good morning! I’ve been days ahead in this week so I”m very happy it’s FINALLY Friday- FriYAY for sure 🙂 I appreciate all of your kind responses to my post on Monday. I always like to hear what you have to say about topics like food, body image, self acceptance, etc. Do you guys like those types of posts? I like to make sure I’m posting things that interest both me AND you, so I’m all ears!

Let’s talk about some Friday things though!

  • Purity Organics– I received a wonderful package a few weeks ago from Purity Organics, which is an all natural, organic super juice/tea/coconut water company. I’m not always big on juices (I’d rather eat my fruits and veggies), but these juices are fantastic. They’re a blend of fruits, roots, veggies and spice and each one has such a unique flavor. Even though there’s more sugar in it than I like to drink, none of the sugar is added; it’s all from the fruits so I feel better about it. Plus, I only drink half at a time so as to not load up on a lot of sugar at once.

img_7127 img_7126

  • Friendsgiving- Tomorrow is our second annual Friendsgiving with my college friends and I am SO excited. Unfortunately RM won’t be able to join me as he will be in Portland with his guy friends, but making it into a girls night for me isn’t the worst thing in the world 😉 Since my family doesn’t do a big Thanksgiving event it’s fun to do it with my friends.
  • Saying No- Wednesday just one of those days. Work was stressful, I was bummed because no one signed up or showed up for my 5K bootcamp and I was still battling a cold. I had made a prior commitment to go see Anna Kendrick in the city with some work friends, but by the time I finished my [solo] run, I just didn’t have it in me. I hate bailing and saying no, but I just knew it was something I had to do. These days, between working 9-10 hour days in the office then teaching 3 days in a row after work, I find myself not usually up for much else on those days (besides eating and sleeping 🙂 ), so in hindsight I shouldn’t have made the commitment but it sounded so fun! Luckily my work friends totally understood and I’ll say that once I said I wasn’t going I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. Going home was exactly what I needed/wanted and I’m thankful I listened to my gut and did just that.

img_7115

  • Book Club Books- Call me crazy, but I’m currently in two book clubs, haha One was started with my SMC girls and one was started with my work friends. For my work friends book club, we are currently reading Big Little Lies and so far I’m loving it! It’s a long book, but I’ve been flying through the pages. My other book club is reading Underground Railroad, which was on Oprah’s book list and I’m excited to start it! I was kind of annoyed, though, because I requested it from the library WEEKS ago, and it still didn’t become available so I had to buy it. Hopefully I’ll be able to share it with people after I read it! Do you have any suggestions for good book club books?

img_7123

  • Seaport Sweat Winter Series Updates- Unfortunately, due to the fact the runs (mine and the Friday noon one) were just not picking up, they decided to cancel them for the rest of the series. I was initially really bummed, and felt like I failed since I couldn’t get a solid commitment/group of runners each week, but it’s actually a bit of a blessing in disguise. I was teaching 3 days in a row after work, which is a lot! And it makes it hard to do anything else after work, whether something as simple as running errands or going to a class or meeting up with friends, I felt like I couldn’t do anything! So, as sad as I am that it wasn’t successful, after having a good group last night (9 people!), I’m hopeful that my Thursday night will continue to be a good crowd because that class is a BLAST to teach. Seriously! It turned my entire week around, so thank you to everyone who showed up 🙂

img_7117

And that does it for me- I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend- can’t believe it’s the last one before Thanksgiving!!

Questions for you: How was your week? Do you like juicing or drinking smoothies? Do you do a friendsgiving event? Do you have an easy time saying no or do you try to fit everything in? Do you have any good book suggestions:? How do you feel about winter outdoor workouts? 

 

Five on Friday {11.10.16}

6 Comments

Good morning! First off, thank you to all of our Veterans ❤ If you have today off because of Veteran’s Day, I’m jealous! But, I am working a shortish day so that I can catch a few afternoon sessions at the Boston MANIA event later today. I realized that my re-certification is due in March and I only have 7 or the 15 necessary re-cert credits so I’m hoping to get more this weekend! With that said, I have some fun things to share with you today so let’s get to it.

  • Planet Fitness in Watertown– Earlier this week I had the opportunity to check out the new Planet Fitness in Watertown, conveniently located a short 5 minute walk from out apartment! RM recently joined and he said it was really big and nice and he was right- the space is HUGE and they have lots of various pieces of equipment. While a lot of the equipment is machine based- both weights and cardio machines- I was happy to see that they had a whole functional training setup in the lower area of the gym. The locker room was also really nice and they have various other perks if you get the black card membership. However, if you just want a cheap gym with no extra frills, a $10/month membership will get you just that! Can’t really beat that right? If you’re in the area and are looking for a new gym, I suggest checking out PF and if you join between Nov 9th and Nov 16th, 100% of the $10 down payment will be donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and STOMP Out Bullying- a very, very good cause!

img_7060

  • Bastille Kitchen– Last Friday night RM and I had a date night at Bastille Kitchen in the Seaport/Fort Point area of the city. A coworker had told me it was good and she was right- everything we had was fantastic! We loved the atmosphere, the service, the menu options and the Beignets- yeah those were incredible! We started with the tuna tartar, had some Brandade Fritters and then the Braised Shortrib flatbread. I want to go back just so we can try more things!

image-1

  • CastleArch Property Advisors– If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably seen that RM has officially launched the start of his new company. I couldn’t be more proud of him for taking this leap of faith and finally deciding to pursue a passion rather than staying in a corporate job just for the safety and security it brings. CastleArch Property Advisors is a brokerage and investment advisory services firm, focused on the sale and leasing of commercial and investment real estate. So, in lamens terms, he helps businesses find commercial real estate for their offices/businesses. I’ve never seen him work so hard to get it up and running, but I’ve also never seen him so happy- it’s an awesome thing to watch. We’d love your support by “liking” his page on Facebook and following him on Instagram and Twitter 🙂

castle-arch

  • New Office– We FINALLY made it to Ikea to pick up stuff for my new office/at home gym area. While it’s still not completely finished yet, I’m SO HAPPY with how it’s come out so far. I love the cleanness of the white and yellow- it makes for such a calming work experience. We plan on getting a treadmill or spin bike and a few extra weights which will just add to my happiness in that room 🙂

img_7031

  • New Balance Cold Weather Gear- Remember how I was asking for suggestions on good cold weather gear? Well my friends over at New Balance ended up sending me some pretty amazing pieces to try out. I’m totally obsessed with everything! This NB Heat Hybrid Jacket is perfect for outdoor activities and running errands because it’s thin and not bulky, yet because of the Polartec® Alpha® material it’s very warm! Plus, I love the mint green color. They also sent me these Performane Merino Tights, which are going to be amazingggg for the cold teaching nights ahead.

img_7027

Lastly, I was able to participate in a focus group at their headquarters recently which was SUCH a cool experience. They had me try on lots of different outfits and then they’d ask me a bunch of questions about how I felt about the style, fit, colors, design, etc. It was really neat. As a thank you they gave us a M4M Seamless Cable Pullover, which is infused with the NB Heat Technology. The fabric is unbelievable and it really did help keep me warm during a chilly run the other day.

img_7028

Lastly, I fell in love with these amazing Newbury Intensity Tights and ended up buying them because I couldn’t put them down 😉 Overall I’m loving all of my new NB goodies- they are the best!

img_7029

And that does it for me! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway over on Instagram– I’m giving away FIVE free manicure coupons. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend 🙂

Questions for you:  What do you look for when joining a gym? Have you ever been to Bastille Kitchen? Do you have any restaurants we should try? Do you have a separate office in your home? Have you bought any new fitness gear lately?

Four on Friday {10.28.16}

5 Comments

Good morning! How has your week been? Unlike last week, I feel like mine has flown by. Today’s post is only four on Friday, but a few are long so that’ll make up for it 😉

  • South Boston Sweat Crawl– My sister sent me the link to this event that Social Boston Sports is coordinating and it sounds amazing! There are 3 workouts/studios to try: Handle Bar, Radiant Yoga and Everybody Fights and you do each workout for 30 minutes before going to Barlow’s for the after party. I can’t go because I have a massage appointment, but I wish I could because I think it will be a blast.

img_6916

  • Extended Seaport Sweat- By popular demand, Seaport Sweat has been extended through the end of December, but with a slightly different schedule. I won’t be teaching my Monday kickboxing, but I will be leading a 5K on Wednesdays at 6pm (which will likely include some bootcamp pieces to break up the run) and I’ll be teaching a boxing bootcamp/fighters conditioning class on Thursdays at 5:30pm. We realize it’s getting chilly, but I promise that once we get moving you’ll warm right up! I’m excited for this next adventure because I’ve never done anything like this… that, and it means I get to buy some new cold weather workout gear. Does anyone have any “must have” cold weather pieces I need to check out?

img_6898

  • Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Turkey Chili– I dug out this recipe that I found AGES ago over on Fitnessista which was perfect for the cold rainy night we had last night. I prepped it on Wednesday night so it was able to go right in the crockpot all day yesterday. I’ll tell ya, coming home to a hot batch of chili after a longgg day (10 hour work day, teaching and lots of traffic) was the absolute best! I added turkey, but I think it would be fine with just beans and sweet potato- up to you!

img_6924

  • Brooklyn/NYC weekend- Last weekend, RM and I took the train to NYC for the weekend. His sister was having an engagement party in Brooklyn so we opted to rent an Air BNB in Brooklyn for the weekend, which was amazing! We were right in the heart of Williamsburg in a really funky loft apartment. Although it was raining when we first arrived, it ended up clearing out and being a pretty decent weekend weather-wise which was nice because we were able to walk around.

img_6859

img_6921 img_6885 img_6886

I ended up going shopping and scored this awesome romper and a great pair of shoes- everything I brought with me felt so not NYCish so it was fun to shop for something new.

img_6856

We went into Manhattan for dinner with RM’s sister and fiance at Minetta Tavern, where we had a fantastic (and ridiculously expensive) burger. We loved the restaurant vibe! Before dinner we had a drink at The Quarter since we couldn’t get into Employees Only due to big crowds. Saturday we slept in, I blogged and then went for a quick run while RM made breakfast. Coming home to this after a run was amazing!

img_6860

The rest of the day was spent walking around, enjoying lunch at The Meatball Shop, getting coffee’s, getting a pedicure (for me) and relaxing before we went to the engagement party at DOC Wine Bar, which was just a few blocks from our Air BNB. The wine was flowing, we were fed course after course of the most delicious food and ended up dancing the night away. It was SO much fun! We finished out the weekend with brunch at Cherche Midi in SOHO, which was wonderful.

img_6861 img_6864 img_6865 img_6881 img_6875

All in all, it was such a great weekend- can’t wait for their wedding!

This weekend we have virtually no plans, which is such a great feeling! I’ll be teaching tomorrow if anyone wants to come 🙂

Questions for you: How has your weekend? What do you wear for cold weather workouts? Have you ever been to Brooklyn? What’s on the agenda for this weekend?

 

Five on Friday {10.21.16}

5 Comments

Good morning and TGIF! Was it just me or did this week feel extra long? Between having no motivation to do anything (literally), not sleeping well and managing life with a new kitten who needs LOTS of attention, I feel like this week dragged on. But! RM and I are heading to NYC via train today for the weekend to celebrate his sister’s engagement, which is very exciting. The dinner is actually in Brooklyn so we opted to rent and Air BNB in Brooklyn so I’m looking forward to checking that out! For now, though, let’s talk shop about what’s been going on.

  • RM’s new adventure- Shortly after we got back from Italy, RM gave his notice at work. This was a longgg time coming and I couldn’t be more proud of him for finally taking a chance on himself and choosing happiness over job security. I’ll have more details to share soon, and I hope you’ll check out his website once it’s up and running! If you’re finding yourself in a similar position where you’re unhappy at your job or in your career and you have a passion you want to pursue, there are always ways to make it happen. And, like I said to him, even if it doesn’t work out (which it will!), at least he can say he tried and won’t have a big “what if” hanging over his head!

img_6728

  • Jessi’s bridal bath- The weekend leading up to our honeymoon was spent up in NH celebrating my best friend Jessi’s bridal bath, which was a joint bachelorette party & shower. Her family has a house on a lake so we had a great time laughing, hanging out, boating, lounging, drinking and eating. I always love events that bring all of my SMC girls together! Can’t wait for their big day in December 🙂

img_6247

  • Crockpot Pork Tenderloin- I know it hasn’t felt like fall this week, but last week I made a delicious- and SUPER easy- crockpot meal. You know how there are always those little cooking videos flying around Facebook? Normally I just watch or scroll past, but this one caught my eye so I tried it out: Slow Cooker Hasselback Apple Pork Loin. Even though it got a little dry (I made it on a Sunday but we didn’t eat it until Monday), it was really flavorful and I loved that the ingredient list was short. I highly suggest this if you’re looking for a new meal to try!
  • OAKtoberfest 5K- Last weekend I ran the annual OAKtoberfest 5K put on by the Oak Square YMCA that I teach at. I have been running this race for YEARS, and I always enjoy it. It’s a relatively small race so it’s not crowded, plus you get the hills over with right away! Last year I ran a big PR and even placed 3rd for my age group. This year I went into it with zero expectations because I haven’t really been doing a ton of running, but I ended up running a nearly 1 minute PR race! 22:32 was my official time, which is crazy fast for me. I didn’t place, but I didn’t care- it was just fun to run the race with some of my gym friends!

img_6822

img_6845 img_6803 img_6794

  • Meet Francesca: I’m sure you’ve all seen by now, but last weekend RM and I brought a new little kitten into our family/home. Francesca is 8 weeks old, under 2 pounds, a total fluff ball and a little firecracker. She was so scared when we first brought her home, but soon enough she opened up and has been a blast ever since. She’s super playful and always wants to be where we/I are/am, which is absolutely adorable. We got her from the Salem Animal shelter and they were wonderful to work with throughout the adoption process. My sister is going to stay with her this weekend so she doesn’t get lonely!

img_6796 img_6828 img_6840

And that does it for me- hoping to get some blogging done while we are on the train since I have lots of posts I want to write. I hope whatever you have going on this weekend, you have a wonderful time!

Questions for you: Have you ever chosen happiness over security? Do you have any pets? What’s a great fall recipe I should try? Have you run any races lately?