Tag: Max & Leo’s

Weekending {Extended Version}: Birthday Celebrations & Marathon Monday

8 Comments

Good morning! I opted to not blog yesterday as I had the day off and figured a lot of you may also have it off or may even be running the marathon! Between taking my birthday off last week, working from home on Friday and then having yesterday off, I feel like I’ve been on a little vacation, which is pretty awesome. With everything going on these days between wedding planning, the BoxFIIT certification, teaching, blogging, working, etc. I feel like I was running on empty and really needed some time to re-charge the batteries. Granted, the past week has been filled with lots of things, but most didn’t involve work which helped give me that “recharge” I needed.

I’m going to keep my captions short, so enjoy the pictures!

IMG_4622

Birthday yoga!

IMG_4628

Birthday manis/pedis/lunch with my birthday buddy!

IMG_4634

Strong ladies supporting me in class. Not pictured: after class drinks at Gaslight 🙂

IMG_4635

Julian pizza from Max & Leo’s- the birthday girl doesn’t cook on her bday 😉

IMG_4638

Beautiful flowers and prosecco from coworkers who came to my class

IMG_4639

Extra bday flowers from RM

 

IMG_4648

All dolled up! Love the new bag RM got me

IMG_4649

My sister surprised me with a bottle of bubbly at dinner. We went to Committee in the Seaport and everything was unbelievably good- we couldn’t stop raving about how flavorful everything was AND they sent out a birthday treat- I highly suggest checking it out!

IMG_4650 IMG_4651 IMG_4652 IMG_4653 IMG_4654

Post kickboxing sweaty selfie.

IMG_4656

Entertaining my parents- I’m so sad that I didn’t get a single photo with them while they were here 😦

IMG_4657

Food shopping

IMG_4659

Pancake breakfast

IMG_4660

Birthday presents from my dad- picnic table, fire pit and a heck of a lot of wood. It was SO nice of them to come down not only to celebrate, but also to bring all of these things to help us have an awesome back yard/patio!

IMG_4664

4miler in gorgeous weather. I wish I could say it was a great run, but my legs felt like lead the entire time and my miles averaged 15-20 seconds slower than usual… BUT… I finished it and it felt great to be outside. Who cares about the mile times!

IMG_4667

Taking advantage of the sun and doing my thank you cards for the bridal shower gifts we’ve received outside. And then I started reading Defending Jacob, which is our new book club book. So far, I’m enjoying it, although it’s crazy that it takes place in Newton!

IMG_4672

Beer at home by myself: a rarity, but the weather encouraged it 😉

IMG_4677 IMG_4678

Meal prep for the week: a cauliflower rice & other veggie “stirfry” with a peanut sauce and then a veggie-filled quiche- both have so much flavor!!

IMG_4679 IMG_4681

Loving our outdoor patio space! Took my workout outside yesterday morning and it was amazing.

IMG_4682 IMG_4684

We walked from the Intercontinental Hotel (where RM parks his car) to the Back Bay and it was so nice strolling through Boston Common’s in the gorgeous weather.

IMG_4685 IMG_4688

We were fortunate enough to hang out at the Solas Pub (part of the Lennox Hotel) pretty much right at the Marathon finish line thanks to New Balance- drinks, food, prime spectator location?! Yes, please. So thankful for this opportunity!

IMG_4692

Watching the marathon is always a super emotional and inspiring thing. I love watching everyone who is finishing strong, but I also love how everyone is looking out for each other. The crowds roared even louder when struggling runners were trying to get to the end. Fellow marathoners helped those who were physically too beat to run on their own. Paramedics and EMT’s and all of the other helpers were there to help get people safely over the finish line. It gave me chills soaking all of that in. Such a wonderful experience.

If you made it this far, THANK YOU! I’ll be back tomorrow with a workout… and maybe even a recipe for you this week!

Questions for you: How was your weekend? Did you get outside to enjoy the weather? Did you go to the marathon or did you run the marathon? What do you have planned this week?

New Years Eve & Weekending {girls luncheon & PMC Resolution Event}

8 Comments

Good morning! I have to say… going into this week knowing that I have to work a full week is really not that fun.  As much as I am ready to be back on a more normal schedule with regards to working out and eating (and not having so many social engagements to go to), I was really quite fine with working shorter weeks 😉

Did you guys have a good New Years Eve? Did you do anything fun? This year, we decided to not make any plans- if we ended up doing something, great. If not, that was fine, too. I was just tired of the big NYE hype and then never really having as good as a time as I wanted, so having no expectations was how I wanted to spend this NYE and you know what? I had the best one I’ve had in a long time!

When I got home from work, I decided to skip the gym or any sort of workout and instead snuggle up with some bubbly and a book. I had been getting oddly sore from my workouts and felt a little off all day so I decided that rest was best!

IMG_3567

This book was fantastic and I was so happy I decided to relax and finish it!

RM had been feeling under the weather for a few days, but managed to rally enough to walk to the Social Bar & Restaurant for drinks and dinner. We didn’t think we would stay late, but it was nearly 11:30 by the time we got home!

We were both happy to see that the restaurant was busy, but also that we were able to snag seats at the bar only after a short wait. We started with drinks (bubbly for me-duh- and beer for him) and then decided to do sharsies and pick a few things of the menu.

IMG_3570 IMG_3571

We also split a phenomenal burger and then finished with this Nutella bread pudding…. thank goodness we had a little walk to get home to help digest!

IMG_3572

What I loved about the Social was that you didn’t have to buy a ticket, so it was very non-committal. They also had a DJ and party favors and a champagne pour at midnight (which we didn’t stay for). I love that we have a handful of great dining options within walking distance from our apartment- ranging from sushi to pizza to wings to the American style food at Social.

IMG_3580

We ended the night watching the ball drop in our jammies on our couch- perfect!

IMG_3581

New Years Day started with some eggs and toast for breakfast and then was followed with lots of save the date work. I’m mailing 98% of them today- feels amazing!!

IMG_3583 IMG_3584

Once we both got hungry for lunch, I decided to walk to Max & Leo’s and order a pizza and some wings. It was SO good and totally hit the spot!

IMG_3585

Later that night I started to feel like I was getting sick from whatever RM had, which was not going to be a good situation since I had a lot of fitness things over the weekend I did not want to be sick for. RM suggested I go to bed early so I did just that- 8:30pm and I was sound asleep! I set my alarm for 7:30, thinking I would absolutely be awake before that, but next thing I knew it was 7:30 and my alarm was going off. I was amazed at how much I could sleep, but you know what? I woke up feeling great- imagine that 😉 Thank goodness, because I didn’t want to feel sick for my first class of 2016!

IMG_3590

I thought the crowds at the Y would be bigger than they were- hopefully they’ll pick up in a few weeks!

The rest of my Saturday was spent lunching with my girlfriends. We went to Not Your Average Joe’s in Medford and then decided to get one more drink at Regina’s since no one had anything else to do for the day. It was such a fun afternoon!

IMG_3594 IMG_3598

Saturday night was very lowkey, so we were up relatively early on Sunday. I was on pancake duty again and then took down all of the Christmas decorations before heading to The Club to participate in The Resolution ride by PMC. In short, it was an incredible event and I’m so happy to have been a part of it! I ended up raising enough money to do 2 rides, so at noon I rode with Elise and Cara from The Handle Bar and at 1 with Rich & Mick from Turnstyle Cycle. Both rides were a blast- The Handle Bar girls did a Bieber/Senena Gomez ride and the guys from Turnstyle did more of an older mix of intense songs with a good build in them. Needless to say, by the time my second ride was over, I was totally spent!

IMG_3616

The rest of my Sunday was spent relaxing on the couch. I can tell I’m still fighting something because I’m feeling more worn down than usual after my workouts this weekend… so rest it is!

IMG_3617

I’m subbing tonight at the Watertown BSC for Dana’s 6:30pm Cardio Kickboxing class- come sweat with me if you can!

Questions for you: How was your NYE? Do you like to make big plans or do you prefer laying low? How was your weekend? Did you get your first workout of 2016 in? Have you ever participated in a fundraiser event?

Five On Friday

15 Comments

Good morning! Popping in today with a random post, but hopefully you’ll enjoy it!

  1. I have to say I am really not enjoying the wedding planning process so far. Is that bad? Please tell me I’m not the only one who finds it more stressful than fun. I’m hoping it’s just because we haven’t locked down a venue or date yet and that once we do those things everything else will fall into place and be more fun. Right? Right??? I will say, though, that I find myself day dreaming about the moment I start walking down the aisle and lock eyes with RM. I cannot wait for that, as well as being husband and wife. THAT’S the fun stuff 🙂

IMG_2588

2. At the age of 30, I finally have no desire to dress up for Halloween. It feels good to let that go and just be able to carry on per usual, oh, and see RM’s nephew dressed up and go trick or treating because THAT is going to be adorable!

3. We are so thankful to have so many wonderful friends and such wonderful family who have sent us engagement cards and/or bubbly. One can never have too much bubbly. Ever.

IMG_2820

4. I had a one on one training session last night and I felt challenged, humbled, but also inspired. I lifted much heavier than normal and I loved it! More on that later 🙂

photo 2

5. We don’t go out to eat very often during the week since we both enjoy meal planning and prepping and eating healthy even when we are busy (not to mention it saves money!), but when RM texted me on Wednesday as I was leaving the gym asking if I wanted to pick up sushi or pizza, I was totally on board. It was such a treat swinging by Max & Leo’s on my way home to pick up the pizza RM had ordered. If you haven’t had their pizza, GO AND GET SOME!!!

photo 1

 

Questions for you: Tell me something random! Try any new workouts or gyms lately? What was your favorite thing about wedding planning? Least favorite? What’s your favorite pizza place? What’s going on this weekend? Best part of your week?

Craving Normalcy

4 Comments

Hi B2B friends! I’ve missed you! While we are not anywhere near being fully unpacked and settled, we are starting to feel somewhat better than we did last week, that’s for sure! And, we finally have a kitchen sink! Might not sound like much, but washing dishes in the bathroom sink or shower for a week was getting  a little old 😉 (still waiting on the back splash, so excuse that!)

IMG_2491

Our weekend was a mix of unpacking/organizing/renovating, but we did get together with family which is always nice. Friday afternoon my friend Jessi was in the area so she stopped by for some Prosecco. Later, RM’s brother, sister in law and nephew came over for pizza and vino. We got the pizza from Max & Leo’s, which is just a short walk from our apartment. I have to say, East Boston has pretty much nailed the pizza game, but Max & Leo’s may have them beat! This pizza was outstanding!

photo

Saturday we got up and I went for a 4.5 mile run before we hit the road to spend the day in Maine with some family. My mom had some of her siblings in town which is always fun! We went to the beach in Wells and then went to dinner at Billy’s Chowder House.

IMG_2488

Sunday was spent making a major dent in some renovations- I sanded the pantry- which is quite a workout- and then RM did a layer of primer on the cabinets while I cleaned and primed all the draws.

IMG_2493

It feels so good to make some progress with the rest of our move. While the living room is coming along and the bedrooms are mostly set up, we still have a long way to go until we are fully settled in!

IMG_2492

I’ll say this- moving is stressful to begin with. Moving 2 people with fully furnished apartments into 1 combined apartment is stressful. Doing both of those things AND living a midst a kitchen renovation is stressful X 3 🙂

As I said last week, my goal during this whole move has been to stay calm, understanding and to try and stay up-beat/positive. I’ve only had one minor meltdown, so I think that’s pretty good! I’ve got a lot less stress than RM since he’s not only managing all of the renovation work at our new apartment, but also a complete gut renovation in a unit back in East Boston and getting new tenants into both of our old units. Even though we are both very similar in our abilities to handle stress and change, I feel like staying positive this time around is the least I can do- two of us stomping around frustrated and stressed is just not going to help anyone or anything 😉

All in all, though, even with all the chaos and no sense of normalcy, we’ve been having a lot of fun living together. We’ve both talked about how it feels so good to have one home base that we share. We may be stressed and tired, but at least we are going through it together. Going for a walk to Starbucks in the morning and figuring out where we want to put stuff has been so fun! And, little by little we are making strides towards normalcy- we both like to have food prepped and ways to eat healthy food at home rather than going out, so making it a priority to even have a few key kitchen items unpacked has really helped.

I hope all of you had a great weekend and have a good week! For those of you in the Boston area, I’m subbing for Athena on Tuesday morning at 6am at the Oak Square YMCA- would love to see some familiar faces!! I’m looking for suggestions on what to teach, too!

Questions for you: How do you handle stress? Do you go with the flow or stress over change and lack of normalcy? What did you do this weekend? Have you ever done home renovations?