Tag: sangria

Weekending & Life Lately Catch-Up

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Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend 🙂 Mine was really pretty great and I actually took pictures so I thought I’d spend today sharing those with you! But, before I get to that, let’s catch up over the past couple of weeks. I can’t believe we’ve been back from Italy for over 3 weeks- seems like just yesterday we were packing up to go there.

  • I’ve been working out outside a lot- whether in the form of running or bootcamp style workouts. With the nicer weather upon us, I just want to be outside as much as possible!

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  • But, I’m also loving being back in the gym with weights and strength training! Feels so good to leave the gym with jello-feeling everything 🙂

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  • I’m participating in Neghar Fonooni’s Bikini Rebellion challenge this month and am more than obsessed with it. If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen some very personal, “leave it all on the table” types of posts, which has been hard, but also really refreshing.
  • We’ve been loving healthy, light meals. In the heat, it’s awesome to throw something together quickly!

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  • My curly hair is back… BIG and back! I was afraid my curls were going away over the winter, but fear not… it was just the dry weather that made my hair less curly than usual!

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Fresh White Summer Sangria

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A few weeks ago, I went up to my friend Lisa’s apartment to have drinks on her deck. We originally talked about doing margarita’s, but decided to skip those in favor of something a little healthier. Enter: sangria! Although some sangrias can be filled with too much sugar, this one doesn’t have any added sugar and is naturally sweetened by the fruit, brandy and white wine.

It’s also a very simple, minimal ingredient sangria because, well, I just wanted to throw something together quickly and easily. Feel free to sub out the wine for something you prefer more and pick fruit according to what you have or what’s on sale. The beauty of sangria is that there are endless possibilities for what you can put in it!
Fresh White Summer Sangria

Ingredients

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  • 1 bottle of white wine- I suggest a sweeter wine like a Riesling or Pinot Grigio
  • 1 or 2 nips of Brandy- I only used one, but using 2 might make it sweeter if that’s what you’re looking for
  • 1/2 large orange, sliced
  • 1/2 lemon, sliced
  • 1/2 lime, sliced
  • 1/2-1 cup strawberry seltzer water- feel free to use whatever flavor you want, but I had this and thought it was a great addition

Directions

Pour the wine and brandy in a container, add in the sliced fruit and half of the seltzer you plan to use. Stir and refrigerate for a few hours so the fruit juices can settle in. Before serving, add in the rest of the seltzer to give it a bit of fizz. Serve over ice and enjoy!

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We all loved this sangria and I think what made me love it was that it wasn’t TOO sweet. Sometimes I feel like sangria’s are all juice and, as a wine lover, i’m always a little disappointed when that’s the case. I want to taste the wine and this sangria accomplished that.

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I realize it’s September, but the weather is still great for outdoor cocktail hours so there’s still plenty of time to hang onto summer drinks with this recipe!

Questions for you: Do you like white or red sangria? Have you ever made sangria?

 

Weekending: Cocktail Hour, A Weekend in Maine & Lots of Family Time

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Good morning! After I looked back on this past weekend, I realized how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family and place to escape to during the hot, crazy days of the summer. Since I had to teach on Saturday morning, I hadn’t planned on going to Maine until late Saturday afternoon to wait for the traffic to die down. My office closed at 11:30 on Friday, so it was nice to have some time around my apartment to relax, get caught up on stuff and even meet my sister at the beach (love having a BLL at the beach!).

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That evening, my sister and I went up to Lisa’s deck for cocktail hour. Lisa lives on the 3rd floor in my apartment building and it’s so fun that we’ve become friends throughout the year. Our 1st floor neighbor, Lauren, couldn’t join us, but it’s so awesome to have 2 other girls in the building that are not only neighbors, but friends!

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How about that view?! I love it! I also made my first real sangria and can’t wait to share the recipe with you- I think it came out pretty darn tasty!

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We decided to head down to Kelly’s Pub for some pizza (I hadn’t had REAL, non gluten free pizza in ages!). It was such a fun night!
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After teaching on Saturday, I treated myself to a pedicure. With all the working out I do, my poor feet need that kind of TLC every few weeks at this point!
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Danielle and I headed north around 3pm to wait out the weekend traffic- it was a perfect idea! We didn’t hit a stitch of traffic. We even had time to grab an ice cream- yum!

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Saturday night was SO MUCH FUN!!! We ate, we drank, we laughed, we danced. I just love when the 4 of us get to be together!

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The pizza came out AMAZING!!! And it was so nice out so we decided to dine al fresco on the back patio. Dad had gotten the bonfire going so it was a perfect place to eat!

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We definitely had a dance party post dinner as well- so so fun!

Sunday morning wasn’t as sunny as we wanted, but it was still a good day! I filmed some videos for the blog and then we headed to the Mahoney’s for their annual Labor Day BBQ. It was a small crowd, but we still had a blast! Emma is at the age where she’s super active and so funny with the things she says and what she does!

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Waking up on Monday morning, I was so happy to see that the rain had stopped, the skies had cleared and the sun was shining! We packed up and headed to the beach before bringing Danielle to the train. Going to the beach with my mom is the best- she is always stocked with drinks, treats and magazines. Anything you might need or want, she has- it’s awesome! Nothing like some sun and bubbly!

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After dropping Danielle off, we headed to the hotel where my aunt and uncle are staying for the next 10 days or so. Since I won’t be able to go home this weekend because I’ll be on the cape, it was good that I was able to visit with them for a bit on Monday while I was around!

Monday night was quiet and relaxing- the most perfect way to end the day and weekend home. I decided to get up on Tuesday morning and drive right to work, which was so much better than stressing about the traffic on Labor Day. Such a fun, fun weekend- I’m so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life and such a great place to call “home”.

Questions for you: What was the best part about your weekend? Did you go away for Labor Day? Do you bring drinks to the beach?

Catching Up: New Hair, Cape Weekend, 4th of July

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I don’t know about anyone else, but last week was a busy week! Here are some highlights 🙂

  • New Hair- I got a Living Social deal for highlights so I took advantage of it on Tuesday. She went rather blonde… what do you think?

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  • Morning Workouts- Since I wasn’t teaching ANY kickboxing classes last week, I decided to get up and do something I haven’t done in a long, long time on Thursday morning: kickboxing workout AT HOME. Before I started teaching kickboxing classes, I used to do kickboxing workouts at home fairly often. It’s really the best cardio workout for me! And, it doesn’t require that much space or any equipment- perfect!

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While on the Cape, I went for a morning run one day and walk the next- even though it may be tough getting out of bed and actually starting the workout, my day really is so much better when I know I have my workout out of the way!

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  • Eats & Drinks- Last week wasn’t the healthiest of eats for me, but it was a holiday weekend- can ya blame me?! When I got to the Cape on Thursday I suggested that RM and I go out to lunch so we headed to Mashpee Commons and settled at Bobby Byrne’s. We found an outside spot in the shade which made outdoor dining possible in the crazy heat and humidity. I started with a sangria and RM choose a drink because it was “named after him”… can you guess what it was 😉

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For lunch, I went with the Fajita Salad which was delicious!

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I didn’t get much pictures of the food during the rest of my time on the Cape because I felt awkward whipping out my phone to take pics in front of his family, but I will say everything we had was delicious. My family jokes that we think about the next meal before we’re finished with the current meal and being away with an Italian family who has that same mentality (RM’s parents came over from Italy when they were in their teens/young 20’s) made me feel right at home! His mom was in the kitchen most of the weekend 🙂 Friday night we had a traditional BBQ with cheese burgers, hot dogs, kale, chickpea salad and rice- so good! On Saturday, RM’s mom mad a whole roast chicken meal, which just happens to be one of my favorite meals. Since the weather was crappy, it was the perfect thing!

On Saturday night, RM took all of us out to eat for his aunts birthday. We went to a new place called Villagio at the Regatta and the food did not disappoint. The service was not terrific, but I think they were still working out the kinks there (the restaurant opened on June 24th I think). I went with a seafood stew meal and it was SO good- there was so much seafood in the dish, which is a must in my book!

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For a little festive flare on the 4th, RM’s sister’s friend whipped up a batch of some delicious white sangria and I decided to add blueberries and strawberries to it. Drinks with treats in them are just better, right?!

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I also made some stars and stripes fruit skewers which, even though people laughed about, were a big hit!

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  • Beach and Activities- RM and I played corn hole for a while one day while we were at the Cape. Even though I played some good games, he ultimately ended up winning 5-4… womp.

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We were only able to get 1 beach day out of the weekend since we decided to get up and go early on Sunday to beat the traffic, but it was a beautiful beach day!

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  • Scenes from Maine- I have to say, I really missed being at home in Maine for the 4th with my family much more than I thought I would! There’s just something about going to the parade with everyone and doing a BBQ at the Mahoney’s that feels like the real kick-off to summer. Thankfully, my sister kept me included by sending pics!

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The weekend finished off with a beach afternoon in Eastie with my sister.

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And, to kick off the start of a healthy week, I went for a nice 5 mile run and then made a really veggie-filled dinner consisting of some lemon-pepper chicken, baked kale, saut̩ed zucchini, summer squash and onions and another side of baked Brussels sprouts, sweet potato and onion that I had frozen a while back. I made my zucchini and summer squash similar to this recipeРso easy and delicious!

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Such a great weekend! I was happy to be working from home yesterday, though. I thought I loved working from home on Friday’s but it turns out Monday’s are way better- it makes Sunday nights so much better knowing I don’t have to prep for the week!

Questions for you: How did you celebrate the 4th of July? Did you make any festive treats? Where is your favorite beach?

Lastly… I wanted to share these muffins that I made from Fannetastic Food– they were not only a hit with RM and me, but also with his family, who said they don’t usually like “healthy” treats. I had one for breakfast every morning and it was perfect!

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And, look how much my garden is growing! There’s definitely an animal that’s stepping around on some of the things, but hopefully once they grow bigger that will stop. Can’t wait to eat from it!

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This Week: Workouts, weekend recap & things I’m looking forward to {hosting Mother’s Day!}

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Good morning! Happy Cinco de Mayo! Are you doing anything to celebrate tonight? Did you guys have a good weekend? I did! Friday night started on Lisa’s deck. She, Lauren and I all got together for some after work cocktails and snacks- it’s awesome to have girls in the same apartment building that are fun to hang with! Lisa’s view is amazingggg and she made a delicious white sangria- can you tell we are itching for summer to be here? Lauren swung by Angela’s Café and picked up some fresh chips and guac. Have you ever been there? Their Mexican food is absolutely delicious! Thanks for a great start to my Friday night, girls!

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After cocktails with them, I met up with the guy and we headed into the city to meet up with my friend Jessi and her boyfriend for a little double date bowling night at Jillian’s/Lucky Strike. I cannot say I was good (at all), but it was a really fun night regardless!

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Saturday morning, I got up, taught and then pampered myself a little by cashing in the pedicure gift card that I got from my gym friends Alice, Steph and Jen- thanks girls!! I finally had a Saturday where I had nothing “planned”, so I did a little shopping… whoops! Check out these awesome buys 🙂

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That night, the boy and I watched the Derby and he made us dinner. I was asleep on the couch before 10pm… I am so lame.

Sunday morning, he made us pumpkin banana paleo protein pancakes and we went on a walk along Constitution Beach. The rest of the day required lots of computer work, a yoga class and finally a night in the kitchen cooking! All in all, a really great, relaxing weekend, which was so necessary after the craziness over the past couple of months.

Let’s get to workouts, though, shall we? Last week’s workouts were good and I was happy to be able to get some yoga into my life. Every time I do it, I always say I need more of it, but do I do it? No, not usually. Ugh. Anyway!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am muscle class and followed it up with 30 minutes on the elliptical and a little extra core work- Miami is in a month… gotta put in the extra effort 😉
  • Tuesday- I was invited to try a class out at The Handle Bar’s new location in Fenway, so my friend Lisa and I headed there after work. I’ll share more on that experience later!
  • Wednesday- I worked from home and had all intentions of getting up to run before I started work, but it was raining and I just wasn’t feeling it. I kept putting it off and off until I finally saw motivation on Facebook from my friend Jen, saying she had run 4 miles at lunch. That was just what I needed to get my butt out the door to run! 4 miles later, I was feeling so much better! I also taught, but didn’t DO, my UXF Burn class.
  • Thursday- I taught my SHRED and Kickboxing classes. We did my Across the Floor workout in SHRED- love that workout! I lost serious amounts of energy after that class, though. The studio was SO HOT and I had to really dig deep to get energy to make it through my kickboxing class. Hate that.
  • Friday- I did 25 minutes of yoga in my apartment followed by 10 minutes of core work. My shoulders were rather sore on Saturday, just from those 25 minutes of yoga- yikes!
  • Saturday- I taught my kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. It’s crazy how much more energy I have when that is my one and only class to teach!
  • Sunday- The boy and I went for about a 35 minute walk throughout East Boston and along Constitution Beach- it was nice! Later in the day, I went to a yoga class at the East Boston YMCA. While I liked the class and felt like I worked really hard, I could’ve done with it being a 60 or 75 minute class rather than a 90 minute class. Otherwise, I loved it and will likely go back. Running into my upstairs neighbor, Lauren, in the class was an added bonus 🙂

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- My plan today is to get in a strength workout during the day.
  • Tuesday- I have an appointment mid-morning so I decided to take the morning off from work. I’m going to get up and run or do something else before I go to that since I’ll have extra time.
  • Wednesday- Probably running before teaching UXF Burn. Hopefully it will be nice enough for me to run outside!
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing- any suggestions for SHRED? Fitness instructors, any good formats for me to try?
  • Friday- Probably a rest day, or maybe some yoga.
  • Saturday- My sister and I have plans to go to the 10am class at Flywheel before running errands to prep for hosting Mother’s Day.
  • Sunday- I’m not sure! Maybe a walk with my mom? Maybe rest?

Things I’m Looking Forward To

There’s not really much going on this week, which is kind of nice! I may get together with some girlfriends on Tuesday night for dinner which would be fun since I haven’t seen them in so long. Other than that, I am excited to host Mother’s Day on Sunday. We have to figure out what we want to make, though- any suggestions? We are doing brunch, so we are thinking we’d like to make some type of fancy egg casserole and fruit salad and potatoes… help!

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Did you watch the Derby? Get outside to enjoy the warmer weather? Do you like to go bowling? Did you have any particularly good workouts last week? What are you looking forward to this week?