Tag: Five on Friday

Five on Friday {6.3.16}

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Good morning and happy Friday, friends! Can you believe it’s JUNE already?! Even crazier, is tomorrow will mark the official 30 day count down until the big day. I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself… which is why there are a few wedding-related topics in this post- #sorryimnotsorry 😉

  • Thirst for Wellness: B Strong Bootcamp- Thirst Juice Co. is launching a summer wellness series that I think you’ll all be very interested in. From their Eventbrite page: Our slogan is “Thirst. For Life.” That means many things, including living fully, joyfully, and generously. Wellness is an essential component to living the kind of life we aspire to. You’ve loved our Sip & Learn events, and now we’re rolling them into a broader series of wellness events. For our Thirst for Wellness event series we’re partnering with some of your favorite Boston fitness pros to bring you great workouts with healthful plant-based refreshments.
    What: B Strong Bootcamp is an outdoor HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout led by Trainer Cassie B., that combines intervals of running with bodyweight exercises for a complete total body cardio and strength workout experience. WHEN: Tuesday, June 7, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM (EDT). WHERE: Thirst Juice Co. – 44 School Street, Boston, MA 02108All you have to to do is head on over to this page to sign up ($15 is the cost)! Unfortunately I teach on Tuesdays, so I won’t be able to make it which I’m super bummed around!
  • Bags & Beats– The above bullet was a perfect segway into this topic! So far, I’ve taught 4 classes and it gets more and more fun every class! This past week was especially awesome because I had so many familiar faces in the crowd, including my sister, a coworker and her friend and Athena… oh, and some repeats from last which, which is always the best compliment an instructor can get! GF3 paid me a surprise visit halfway through my second class of the night which was a little nerve-wracking, but he seemed pleased so I’ll take that as a good thing! If you’re interested in checking it out, I’m at GymIt in Watertown on Tuesdays at 5:30 and 6:30pm… with the exception of next Tuesday since I have to travel to CA for work 😦

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  • Summer Eats- With the warmer weather upon us, my appetite has been craving all things summer, including the most amazing lobster roll from the Raw Bar near the Popponesset Inn, grilling and loaded salads.

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  • Wedding Songs- We are in full on wedding mode, including figuring out what songs we want the band to play. RM said he thought we should walk in to the reception to the “Marry Me” song by Bruno Mars so I downloaded it the other day and it’s pretty much been on repeat every since! I cannot wait to marry him! Also, do you have any dancing song suggestions you love hearing at the wedding?! Do share!

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  • Monogrammed Jack Rogers– The monogrammed Jack Rogers I ordered for the big day finally came in and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they came out. I got my mom and sister a pair too (they found out about it, so it’s not a surprise) and I think it’s going to be so cute to all have them on when we are getting ready!

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And that does it for me! RM is in Nashville for his bachelor party this weekend- if you’ve ever been and have “must visit” suggestions for me to send to him- let me know! With him gone this weekend it means that I will have time to get {hopefully} some serious wedding stuff done. I have a laundry list of things to do so I hope to be able to really attack that list!

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Questions for you: What was your best workout this week? What’s a song you love to hear at a wedding? Have your eats changed at all with the nicer weather? What is your go-to summer meal? What’s on the agenda for the weekend?

Five on Friday {5.27.16}

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Good morning and TGIF! I have a few hours of work and then I’m off until Tuesday- amazing! I’m hoping for good weather- I need to work on a tan for the wedding 🙂 Let’s jump right into some highlights going on this week:

  • Yogathon hosted by lululemon- On Saturday, June 5th, lululemon is hosting a 12 Hour “Yogathon” in Honor of Nation Cancer Survivor’s Day at The Street in Chestnut Hill to benefit two organizations devoted to sharing the health benefits of yoga. There are various different classes to choose from, so if this interests you and if you’re around on June 5th, all you need to do to register is make a donation of any amount to bodhi & mind yoga, which offers free one-on-one yoga and meditation practice to women battling breast cancer, and Triyoga Boston, a non-profit organization offering therapeutic yoga classes, using the Yogathon Eventbrite page.
  • Thankful for great friends– If you follow me on social media, I’m sure you know that I had my bachelorette party last weekend. I will do a full recap on it, but for now I’ll just say that I felt SO special, thankful and grateful for having so many wonderful friends in my life. They planned the most amazing weekend, filled with lots of my favorite things and I ended the weekend feeling so humbled by everything everyone did for me.

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  • Bags & Beats @ GymIt- Earlier this week, I taught my first classes at GymIt in Watertown as a result of completing my BoxFIIT certification. I was pretty nervous going into the classes: new gym, new crowd, new class format, new app… after 4 years of mostly teaching at the same gyms to the same crowds, this totally put me out of my comfort zone, but you know what? I think I kinda rocked it! I had big shoes to fill, but I think members were happy with the classes I taught so I’m hoping to grow them over time. If you’re interested in checking it out, I teach on Tuesdays at 5:30 and 6:30pm and the classes are Bags & Beats so we use the heavy bags and do punching combos to the beat of the music mixed with non-boxing exercises. It’s a fun class and Tuesday reminded me that it’s so important to get out of our comfort zone and try new things because sometimes that’s exactly what you need to ignite a new fire within.

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  • Embracing the weather & season- Yesterday I decided to take a rest day. It’s been a long and busy week and I feel like I’m still catching up on sleep/getting back to normal after my bachelorette weekend, so I decided to take a rest day yesterday. I knew I needed this because after my run on Wednesday, I felt abnormally sore and tired. I set my alarm yesterday morning to get up and go for a walk before work, but when my alarm went off I realized I would benefit more from sleep. Listening to our bodies is so important, and somethign I admit I still have to work on, but I was proud of myself yesterday for listening to my body and resting (and enjoying vino after work).

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  • New Workout Plan- With our wedding coming up (38 days from today, to be exact!), I decided that I wanted to spend some time focusing on me when it comes to workouts. Lately I’ve been teaching a lot and have had a lot of other things going on so my own workouts have fallen a bit by the wayside; I still workout 5-6 days a week, but they aren’t as structured or formatted as I’d like them to be in order to see changes I’d like to see. With that said, I reached out to my girl Athena to have her create a month long upper-body focused workout plan for me for the month leading up to my wedding. I am by no means trying to lose weight, but rather I just would like to tone up my upper body and back and see what kinds of changes I can make when I consistently follow a plan. She sent me the workout plan the other day and upon first glance it looks great and I can’t wait to start- sometimes just having a new plan to follow is exactly what you need to get excited about something again!

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And that does it for me! We don’t have a lot planned this weekend which is really nice. I’m hoping to get some sun, sleep and relaxation 🙂

Questions for you: How has your week been? When is the last time you got out of your comfort zone? Do you like to follow structured workout plans? How are you embracing the weather?

Five on Friday {5.19.16}

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Good morning- TGIF 🙂 I am so happy it’s Friday and that there’s good weather in the forecast for the weekend because my bachelorette weekend kicks off today!  Let’s jump right into today’s post, shall we?

  • Secret of Being Happy At Work– but actually, I think this can be applied to all areas of your life. RM sent me this and I just think it’s such an important message to get across. If we are always saying we will be happy when we get a new job or a promotion or a boyfriend or after we lose 10lbs., etc. etc., we are continuously spending our time, thoughts and energy NOT focusing on the present and everything good in that moment. It’s so easy to get caught up in wanting more and thinking more will make you happier and feel better, but if you take a step back and appreciate everything you have/do/etc. RIGHT NOW, I think you’ll find a greater sense of satisfaction and self-appreciation. Try it!
  • Clean up your cardio– My girl Athena just released her new, FREE Clean Up Your Cardio guide, which will show you all sorts of new ways to get a bigger bang for your buck when it comes to cardio (less time working out and better results? Yes, please!). Athena sent me some of the workouts ahead of time to try out and I loved all of the 6 that I tried! They’re challenging, but doable, which I think is a really important thing when trying new workouts. You want to feel like you’re working hard, but you also want to feel like you can finish the workout, right? Also, they range from body weight to minimal equipment to the use of a treadmill or some other cardio machine to the track, so there’s something for everyone! I’ve been inspired to spice up my cardio just by seeing all the different things she’s included. If you’re interested in checking it out (it’s free, so I don’t know why you wouldn’t be), check out this link!
  • Book Club- As I mentioned on Monday, I hosted book club at my apartment last weekend. I am so thankful that we not only started, but have maintained, book club for nearly 2 years. These days it’s so hard to get together with people because we’ve all got so many different things going on, so having a planned event every 6 weeks or so is awesome. The last book we read was Defending Jacob, which was a great book club book. There was so much to talk about! Our next on is Fates & Furies, which although I’ve heard it’s a little hard to get into, once you get into it you’ll love it. I can’t wait to read it! What are you reading lately?

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  • Bags class at GymIt- On Tuesday (May 24th) I am going to be teaching my first bags classes at GymIt in Watertown!!! I am so excited, but also so nervous. Want to know what would help? Having some familiar faces in the class, so if you are around I’d love for you to come check it out!! I tested out one of the workouts I’ve created the other morning at my apartment and even without a bag, I was a sweaty beast and huffing and puffing. Boxing is no joke!

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Here are some details if you’re interested in coming to a class:

1) There are gloves to use for each class but you’ll need to buy your own wraps ($10.00). If you buy gloves there ($35) the wraps are free.
2) You can try a class for free once you have signed up with Gymit
3) 10 pack for $180.00 no members or $25.00 per drop in (non members of gym)
  • Bachelorette weekend– Today I am heading up to Portland, ME with a bunch of my favorite girls to celebrate my bachelorette party. I cannot believe this weekend is finally here… sh*t is starting to get real! The wedding is in 46 days… how did it sneak up so fast?! Although I’m from Maine, I never spent much time in Portland when I was able to really appreciate the bar scene, so if you have any suggestions for bars to go to, please let me know 🙂 We are staying right down town which is awesome! Had to celebrate last night by getting my nails done and drinking vino… duh 😉

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Your Turn! Tell me something good! What have you been doing for workouts lately? Are you reading any good books? Do you tend to focus on things to come or embrace the present? Where did you go for your bachelorette party?

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!

 

 

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!