Tag: Five on Friday

Five on Friday {7.29.16}– & a giveaway!

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Good morning and TGIF! What a week! I was joking to someone the other day at work about how I thought that once I got married life would slow down, but if anything I feel like it’s even busier! Between planning our honeymoon, writing thank you cards, trying to organize the apartment, teaching a ton, trying to find the time to write the blog posts I really want to write, etc., I feel like I’m constantly wishing for more hours in the day. It’s all good, though, and I know it will settle down soon enough so I’m just trying to breathe through it and enjoy the process.

With that said, I’ve got a bunch of exciting things to share with you, including an awesome giveaway- so let’s get to it!

  • Honeymoon- Our honeymoon is officially booked! We went back and forth with seemingly a million different ideas/locations and ultimately we decided to go to the Amalfi Coast. We will be spending 15 days traveling throughout the area: Naples, Ischia, Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri, Positano and more. We are leaving on September 18th, which is coming right up! If any of you have been to any of those areas and have “must see/do” suggestions, please send them our way.
  • Dropping a class- On Wednesday night, I taught my last Wednesday night Burn class at the Central Square BSC. While I’m excited about new opportunities, it was a true bittersweet feeling as I ended the class. That class was my FIRST class as a new instructor and I grew it from an average of 4-6 people to a situation where the class would be at max capacity. I grew to know pretty much every member who came to the class and I got to see my members grow stronger each week and throughout the years. But most of all, they helped me grow into the instructor that I am today. I learned so much throughout teaching those classes and am forever grateful for the experience. I only hope that I’ll see their familiar faces in my new classes! Which brings me to my next point…

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  • Seaport Sweat– Starting on Monday, I’ll be teaching a FREE 45 minute cardio kickboxing class outside in the Seaport greenery area (near Gather, the restaurant, & district hall) at 6:30pm. I’m seriously so excited about this new adventure. If you’re interested, you can sign up here. And, if you’re looking for a double, my girl Athena is teaching a free bootcamp at 5:30pm!

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  • JillFit’s 20X20 Challenge– Similar to last year, this August I’m participating in Jill Coleman’s 20X20 challenge, which means I will complete twenty 20-minute workouts in the month of August. I rememeber this last year as being a really fun challenge because it didn’t require a lot of equipment and more importantly, a lot of time. She gave us really awesome, quickie workouts that I still go back to. This fits perfectly for me right now as I’m in the midst of a stage where I’m just not interested in long, super high intensity workouts. My workouts these days are short & sweet and I’m loving the way I look and feel! If you’re looking for a way to add a little spice to your workouts, but don’t want to be at the gym for hours- I highly suggest signing up for Jill’s 20X20 challenge.
  • #FITonthegarden Giveaway– If you came to this post just for the giveaway… here it is! On Wednesday, August 3rd (next Wednesday) I will be taking a free Power Flow yoga class on the South Garden at the Prudential Center at 6pm followed by sweetgreen after. If you’re free to attend, you can sign up here and then you can enter the giveaway, which is a Prudential Center FIT prize pack valued at $75 which will include gift cards and/or swag samples from some of these possible retailers: Sweetgreen, FlyWheel, Lululemon, etc…. a pretty awesome prize if you ask me! To enter the giveaway, please comment below with your favorite outdoor workout. The giveaway is also going to be on my Instagram page, so you have 2 chances to win! Remember, only enter the giveaway if you can attend the class since you will have to pick it up at the Prudential Center Customer Service. I will choose a winner on Tuesday, August 2nd. Good luck!!

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And that does it for me! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend- I’m hoping for some nice beach weather, too 🙂

Questions for you: Where did you go on your honeymoon? Have you ever been to the Amalfi Coast? What’s your plans for the weekend?

Five on Friday {7.22.16}

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Good morning and happy Friday! Two posts in one week for me- it’s been a while since that has happened 🙂 As we are finishing up packing for our weekend getaway to Annapolis, MD for my cousin’s wedding, I wanted to share some things that may be of interest- enjoy!

    • Summer workouts– There are SO MANY free workouts around the area this summer, some of which I’m even teaching!

*Pure Barre Christmas in July– Next week Pure Barre in Lynnfield (maybe in other locations, too) is doing a “Christmas in July” where all of their classes are free. If this is something you enjoy or would like to try, I suggest signing up for a class!
*Brighton Commons Outdoor Workouts– for the next few Wednesdays the YMCA is sponsoring free fitness classes in the Brighton Commons. I’ll be teaching cardio kickboxing on August 17th!
*Legacy Place- There are weekly free fitness classes at Legacy place throughout the summer with lots of local Boston fitness instructors. I’ll be there on August 25th for cardio kickboxing and my friend Athena will be there on August 4th and a Kick It By Eliza will on August 18th.
*FIT on the Garden– More to come on this later, but every Wednesday at 6pm from July-August there will be free yoga classes on the South Garden near the Pru. I’ll be there on August 3rd (again, more to come!)
*Seaport District Free Fitness- More on this (I know, I know!), but just to give you a heads up, every Monday night starting on August 1st I will be teaching a 45 minute cardio kickboxing class from 6-6:45pm outside at the green area next to District Hall/Gather. Make sure to follow SeaportBos on Instagram to stay in the know!
*Cape House (B/Spoke)– While this isn’t free, it’s worth mentioning because I had a blast during the class I took . B/Spoke has again opened up a “Cape House”, but this year it’s in Mashpee (better location for me!) and they have more classes. If you’re on the Cape and looking for a great workout- check them out!

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  • Book Club- Last month we read Fates & Furies, which I absolutely loved! It kept me fully entertained and constantly surprised by various things. It was a great discussion book! This month we are reading The Light Between Oceans, which I’ve also heard is great.

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  • I’m an aunt!- Over the weekend, my sister-in-law (still so weird to say that!) welcomed a new baby girl into the world. Although I may have lost my “newest Magno” status rather quickly, she is well worth having that status. She’s absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to see her grow up!
  • Target Shopping- Leading up to the wedding I did way too much damage at Target, but to be fair, everything I bought I’ve worn and loved… including these shoes! I got them to go with my dress for our pig roast and am obsessed with them!

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  • Summer eats- We have had some really awesome meals this summer- from the pig roast at our wedding reception to a HUGE lobster roll at the Cape to ice creams to grilling, we’ve been soaking up summer to the fullest!

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With that, I hope you have a fantastic weekend! Stay cool- it’s going to be a hot one 🙂

Questions for you: Any good book suggestions for summer reading? What free  workouts are you looking forward to this summer? Any good summer eats?

Five on Friday {7.1.16}

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Good morning, friends! Can you believe this is my LAST post as a “single” lady?! So crazy, but so awesome. As I’m sure you can imagine, this past week has been filled with lots of last minute wedding “to-do’s”, which has taken precedent over blogging. I wanted to pop in today, though, to share a few things before we go off to get MARRIED! I won’t be blogging next week, either 😉

  • Spoiled by Pure Barre- I have been getting SO SPOILED by Pure Barre lately! They are introducing a new class format and invited me to check it out by giving me THREE free months of unlimited classes at the Pure Barre location of my choice. Since there’s one right near my office I opted to choose that location. And, while barre isn’t my number one favorite workout, I do like to continuously try new things and their new class format sounds pretty intense since it’s adding a level of cardio to it, so I can’t wait to see what it’s all about! As a welcome gift, they sent me some fun things to get me started, like socks, a towel & a water bottle. Then, just this week they sent me a new Garmin tracker with the sweetest note. Love that!

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  • ProYo Giveaway- Did you guys see the giveaway that I’m hosting on Instagram? ProYo will be giving one lucky follower a free box of their ProYo treats, which I have to say are SO tasty! Tomorrow is the last day to enter, so if you haven’t entered please head on over and comment with what flavor you’d like.

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  • Feeling the love- We have already been feeling so much love from everyone regarding our upcoming wedding. From the calls to the texts to the emails, the support and excitement has been so awesome. And, my team threw me a shower on my last day in the office and gave us a super generous gift card to Crate & Barrel. I can’t wait to go shopping after the wedding! And, last night some of my work friends and I went out for drinks which was so fun!

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  • Family time- My parents came down yesterday to do some last minute wedding stuff. It was so nice having them here and getting to show them everything I’ve been working on. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive family! We also went out to lunch at Branchline so my sister was able to join us. Last lunch as just “the Gagnons”!

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  • Quality time with my handsome future hubby– Although there’s always stress when you’re getting this close to the big day, RM and I have still been having so much fun together. I don’t really know how to describe it besides saying it’s just such an exciting time! Last Sunday we were able to spend some time at the beach and then went back to KO Pies one last time before getting married. It was perfect!

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And with that, I’ll talk to you guys in a few weeks! I am really looking forward to some extended, uninterrupted time with RM. It’s been a crazy few months so I can’t wait to be able to sleep in, go to the beach and just relax together.

Five on Friday {6.24.16}

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Good morning and TGIF- big time! This week has just been one hell of a week. Between work, teaching and wedding planning, I could barely form a complete sentence that made any sense last night. When talking to RM on our way to grab pizza and salad from Max & Leo’s (yes, I know we are obsessed with that place- having it walking distance just makes it even better!), I actually said “I’m tremensly tired Roberto. Like, I can’t even explain it”, and he looked at me and goes “tremensly? What is that?”… and not until then did I realize that I had made up a word! Clearly a combination of tremendously and immensely…. Wine and pizza never tasted so good, haha

It’s been a fun week of package receiving here at our house this week, so I have some fun things to share!

  • Luna Bar Delivery– Oh my goodness did I get an amazingggg swag bag/care package from Luna Bars this week. I mean, a box of their bars would’ve been enough to make me happy, but when you throw in a few boxes, multiple other bar flavors, a t-shirt, bag and new yoga mat you have a veryyyyy happy Monique! We’ve tried a few flavors so far and they’re SO good. They have more ingredients than I usually want in a bar, but they just taste so good! I can’t wait to try the oatmeal packs because those only have a few ingredients and I think they will make a very easy pre-workout snack or breakfast. Thank you, Luna, for spoiling me with such a wonderful package!

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  • ProYo Frozen Yogurt– This is another package I was lucky enough to receive this week!! I’ve mentioned ProYo on the blog before, so I was so excited when they offered to send me some of their product to try out, but little did I know I’d be lucky enough to get a chance to try FOUR flavors. Obviously I haven’t had a chance to try all of them, but last night we did share a Dutch Chocolate one and were both totally fans of the smooth/creamy texture and delicious flavor! They don’t have a lot of ingredients, which is also a big thumbs up (and they have lots of good things in them!). This is going to be the perfect summer treat all summer long! Be on the lookout for ways for YOU to get to try some, too 🙂

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  • Bags & Beats & Big Hair- I laughed as I took this selfie after my Tuesday night Bags & Beats double because I found it so ironic that I had not only taken over Eliza’s class, but was also sporting Eliza’s big, curly hair look 😉 I love my curly hair so much and letting it fly while and free is the best feeling!

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  • Wedding related packages- On top of promotional swag, I also received lots of wedding related packages this week: photo booth props, name changing paperwork and my dress hanger! Such an exciting, exciting time for us- T-minus 10 days!!!

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  • Granite Links Driving Range– RM and I went to Granite Links last weekend to hit some balls, drink some cocktails and enjoy the weather. It was exactly what I needed that night!

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And that’s it! I hope you all have a great weekend! Tonight we are planning to go to the driving range again, tomorrow morning I’m teaching and then have some more wedding related errands to run and then will go to a BBQ at my sister’s place. Sunday is open for whatever 🙂 It’s our last weekend at home before the big day!!!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite bar to eat? Have you tried ProYo before? What’s the best part of your week? What’s on the agenda for the weekend?

Five on Friday {6.10.16}

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Good morning and TGIF! What a week it has been- traveling to the west coast for just a few days takes a toll on you for sure. But, it’s FRIDAY and that’s a good thing, so let’s get to it!

  • Healthy Eats While Traveling– If you’ve been following B2B for a while, then you know that while I prefer to eat healthy foods as my main source of fuel, I am also all about indulgences. I love pizza, I love ice cream, I love french fries. But I choose the right times/places to indulge on those things. Pizza at the airport? No, thanks. Pizza at Max & Leo’s? You bet! With that said, before my flight to LA on Monday I stopped at Cosi and tried their new bowls and was so pleased with the chicken, veggie & avocado rice bowl that I got! It also set really well in my stomach for the long flight 🙂

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  • #BuffBride Workout Update- I’ve just about completed my second week of the #BuffBride workout that Athena created for me and it’s amazing that I’m already noticing a difference in my strength and in how my arms look and feel. I was lucky that the hotel we stayed at in Burbank had an awesome, fully equipped gym because I was able to get up and bang out a great workout before heading out for a big meeting. I love to workout when I travel and was happy that it fit in so well with my schedule!

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  • Manhattan Beach- Umm, so beautiful!!! We had a late lunch there after our meetings on Tuesday and I was just soaking in all the amazingness. I had wanted to do some walking around on the beach and into the shops, but the others I was with wanted to head back so if I ever make it back there, I definitely plan on hanging out for a longer time.

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  • The Life-Changing Power of Small Things– RM sent this article to me earlier this week and it was a really good read. I’ve talked about this before, but I’ll say it again- too often we are so concerned with the big things: changes, money, career, etc. rather than taking a step back and focusing on the smaller every day things. This article has some great tips on how to shift your focus to what really matters- it’s a long read, but I promise it’s worth it!
  • JP Morgan Corporate Challenge- Last night’s race was so fun! While it was chilly waiting for the race to start, the weather was perfect for running. I ended up running pretty fast for me so that was just icing on the cake! No, wait… the icing on the cake was a celebratory glass of vino and food at Pier 6 after the race 😉

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That does it for me this week! I am so excited for the weekend- we have lots of wedding related tasks to work on, but they’re fun things so I’m looking forward to doing them! I hope you all have a great weekend with whatever you have planned- chat with you next week!

Questions for you: Do you try to eat healthy while on the road? Do you like to workout while on the road? Have you ever been to Manhattan Beach? Do you have any races on your calendar?