Tag: Mill 67

Babies & Bling: A Weekend in Maine

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Good morning! I had planned a trip to Maine prior to our engagement, so it worked out perfectly that we ended up getting engaged right before that. Friday morning, RM and I went down to RI to get my ring sized- he had no idea what size to get so the jeweler told him a 6 is average… I’ve got long, skinny fingers so he had to cut it to a 4.75! Luckily, it fits perfectly now and feels so much better!

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After a quick afternoon in the office, I headed up to Maine and met my mom and a few of her friends at the Back Street Grill- their local Friday night hang out. After a drink, we headed home to see my dad, who was very excited to see me and my new ring! He had made a fish dinner which was delicious.

Saturday I woke up and had breakfast and went to the library to get our new book club book- has anyone read this?

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I busted out a great workout, which I will probably share with you tomorrow, and then helped my dad start building his raised bed gardens for his veggies next year.

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On Saturday afternoon I met up with some of my high school friends, which we don’t do nearly enough these days. All 3 of them have kids and live in Maine/NH so between that and my busy schedule here, it’s hard to align our schedules. We had a delicious lunch at Mill 67 and I was able to have some serious baby snuggle time!

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Eloise is Caitlin’s baby girl and Sam is Rachel’s baby boy. Sara left Zeke at home, but he did come to my parents with her later that day when we had people over to celebrate the engagement. We had champagne and snacks and I got to snuggle another baby- sweet little Paige who is just 2 months old!

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We had such a great time!

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After everyone left, we made a delicious dinner of pork, tomatoes, zucchini and Kale and mashed sweet potatoes. So healthy!

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On Sunday, mom and I got up and went to church and then came home and I continued helping my dad with the raised beds. It was a big job so I was happy I was able to help- plus I love manual labor! I offered to fill the pails with rocks and carry them (farmer’s carry!) and omg it was so heavy. Solid upper body workout 😉

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After lunch we headed out to the “pumpkin patch” that randomly started growing from a loam pile in the back yard. My mom had thrown old pumpkins there last year and this year they were pleasantly surprised with a large pumpkin harvest- 27, to be exact!

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It was really very cool- and saved me a bunch of money 😉 Our front steps are looking festive!

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The rest of my Sunday night was filled with lots of cleaning and blogging before calling it a night. Although it was a busy weekend, it was really fun celebrating with so many great people! Oh, and did you know ice cream helps with stress?! 😉

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Questions for you: What did you do over the weekend? Have you decorated for the fall? Did you go apple picking? Do you get together with your friends from home often?

I’m Back!

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Well hello, there! Remember me? I used to write a blog fairly consistently…. 😉 I have to say, not blogging at all last week was exactly what I needed. It was so nice to detach myself a bit from social media and taking pictures and things like that. And, now I have so many posts I want to write- luckily I’m off from work this week and will hopefully have time to get them drafted.

How were your holidays? Anything fun planned for New Years Eve? Anyone else off all week? I’ve never had a “staycation”, but so far, I’m totally digging it! Let’s recap over the past week- lots of celebrations between RM’s birthday and Christmas!

To celebrate RM’s actual birthday (I threw him his surprise party a few days earlier), I took him to Eastern Standard, which is one of our favorite places. We snagged two seats at the bar and ordered up some drinks. Not only was it his birthday, but it was also the start of my very long “staycation”.

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We had a delicious meal of a pork dish, steak frites, bone marrow and oysters. Finished off with some birthday bread pudding and we pretty much rolled ourselves out of the restaurant 😉

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We woke up on Christmas Eve and both had a bunch of things to do- he was picking up his new car (so funny we both got new cars right around the same time!) and I had to get my new watch fixed and pack for Maine. I listened to Christmas music the whole way and totally got  in the mood- match that with some bubbly and a Christmas apron and I was full on festive!

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Every Christmas Eve we throw a little party- we make homemade pizza’s, dad makes his tourtiere, people bring lots of food and we drink plenty of bubbly. I didn’t take any photos except for food and one of me- classic- but we had a good crowd!

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Christmas morning we awoke to crappy, rainy weather, but we made the best of it.

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My parents got me some fun things like new rain boots, sweaters, hair products, a Veggetti and some other random things. My sister got me a sick Reebok jump rope, Kate Spade earrings and a 3 month Birch Box subscription- have any of you done that? Roberto totally spoiled me and got me a Michael Kors watch, a Fitbit, perfume and slippers- incredibly thoughtful!

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On Friday, I hit up the gym and did Athena’s Chimney Workout followed by some supersets (will post them for you later!) before calling it a day. Athena- LOVED the workout! Post gym, I picked up RM at the train station and we did a few things before heading to my parents. We exchanged gifts (he got an LL Bean flannel! and he got my parents an Olive Tree adoption- more on that later) and had a delicious Cornish hen dinner.

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We headed back to MA on Saturday and RM and I did some returns in the city, lunch at Granary Tavern and a quiet night in with reading and a movie. Our book club book this month is Unbroken- have you heard of it or read it? I’m not a fan of anything army or military related (I know- sounds crazy, but it scares me), but so far, I’m totally hooked on the book!

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I was able to spend all Sunday at my apartment puttering, putting things away, cleaning and relaxing- it was wonderful! After an unseasonably warm run, RM and I went to Santarpios for dinner. He’s starting the Whole 30 diet/detox on January 1, so we are really living it up until then. I’m planning on doing that diet about 80% of the time.. we’ll see how it goes!

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Andddd phew! If you made it, thank you. I had so many pictures to share! I will be announcing the Happy, Healthy, Fit challenge winners tomorrow- thanks to all of you who participated!! Also on the dock this week is a recap of 2014, looking forward to 2015 and maybe even a workout? I’ve got about 3 or 4 workouts lined up for you 🙂

Questions for you: How were your holidays? What was the best part? Have you read Unbroken? Are you on vacation this week? What are your New Years Eve plans?

 

Weekending: Local 149, drink maple. review, Quick Trip To Maine

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This past weekend was just what I needed: a good mix of some girl time, early nights, Maine and family time. The only thing missing was time with RM… whomp, whomp.

Friday night, the Shapleigh girls were supposed to have a girls night, but Rachel ended up being sick and couldn’t join 😦 Danielle and Amy and I still decided to go out, though, which was a nice way to unwind from the week. I’ve been DYING to get to Local 149 in Southie, so I was so happy when we decided to go there. I have to say, it totally lived up to my expectations! We started with wine and then ordered a number of apps- it wasn’t the healthiest meal I had all week, but it was damn good! I can’t wait to go back.

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Saturday I taught a great kickboxing class, but only one of my “front row” girls was there! Where were the rest of you girls??

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From there, I headed up to Maine. Mom and I met for lunch at Mill 67 which is a new restaurant built in an old mill building right on the water. I loved everything about it! The atmosphere, location, service, food and wine. We shared the Warm Kale Salad and Tomato and Basil Pizza.

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What I loved about the restaurant’s menu was that it was all locally made/grown and they offered gluten free options (even pizza dough… which we didn’t do because I wanted regular pizza). I can’t wait to go back.

Father’s Day was low key, but I think it was just what dad wanted. We went to church then picked up some fried seafood for him and sat on the patio. I hope he had a great weekend!

On my way back to MA, I stopped by my friend Caitlin’s house hoping to catch the tail end of her son Tucker’s 1st birthday party. Sadly, everyone was gone, but it was good to catch up with her- even though it was too short of a visit!

drink maple. Review
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A few weeks ago, I was contacted drink maple. to see if I wanted to try their product. When I read about it, I decided I would take them up on their offer! Here are some stats from their site:

maple. is pure maple water is a natural refreshing, hydrating water with a hint of maple flavor. It contains fortifying vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, antioxidants, prebiotics and is naturally low in calories. We tap maple. straight from the tree and bottle it with absolutely NOTHING added. It is the perfect way to hydrate and nourish your body the same way it nourishes the maple trees. DRINKmaple.

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After going to see Fed Up!, I’ve really tried to cut back on unnecessary sugars and be more away of labels and what’s in the food and drinks I’m putting into my body. Post workout, I’m always looking for something to help me rehydrate, but the normal drinks I turn to: Vitamin Water, Gatorade, Propel, etc., are filled with sugars and other ingredients that I can’t read or understand. The only thing in drink maple. is pure maple sap- love that!

So, after class on Saturday, I decided to check it out.

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The verdict? Initially, I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to, but after a few sips, it started to grow on me. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the flavor, but more that it was weird drinking a lightly flavored drink without fiz! I ended up saving half and putting it in the fridge at my parents and decided I like it better when it’s nice and cold, rather than cool like they suggested. I want to get my hands on some more of this because I really think it’s a great drink to have after a workout! Thanks for letting me try it out 🙂

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Have you been to Local 149 or Mill 67? What did you do for Father’s Day? Have you heard of drink maple.?

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