Tag: Sterlings

Weekending: Home improvement is hard work!

7 Comments

Good morning, friends! How was your weekend? This was the first weekend in a really long time where we were around ALL weekend, without many plans, too! It worked out really well since RM and I were really itching to finish home improvement projects and get more unpacked. Living in a half unpacked apartment for 2 weeks has been challenging, to say the least!

For those of you who may not know the whole story, no, we did not buy a home! We are renting a 2 bedroom apartment in a 2-family home that RM’s mother owns (she doesn’t live in it, in case you’re wondering 🙂 )and it really needed some serious updating. To help keep the costs down for his mom, we have taken on projects that we can do: painting, sanding, etc. Ideally, we would’ve done this BEFORE we moved in, but we didn’t want her to go a month without rent so we’ve been living and renovating at the same time. While it hasn’t been terrible, we are both really ready to be done the renovations and be fully settled in!

But, before we got to renovations, let’s talk about the weekend. I met up with RM in the city after work since it was such a gorgeous night (and because I had an appointment in the city at 6pm so it worked out great). We started at Vanderbilt (used to be The Vault) and then decided it was too nice to have drinks inside and went over to Sterling’s because they have a great outdoor patio.

IMG_2523

Once we got home, we decided to walk over to Buff’s Pub since it’s so close AND so good. I got a delicious Gyro-style wrap and RM got their famous wings. Both were delicious!

IMG_2524

After kickboxing on Saturday, I ran a bunch of errands, including a stop at Watertown Main Street Florist, where my friend Jen works on Saturdays. She hooked me up with a beautiful bouquet of fall-esque flowers. Thanks, friend!
Continue reading →

Weekending: Feeling really blessed

12 Comments

As I poured myself a glass of wine on Sunday night (it helps make meal/food prep easier…), I found myself reflecting on the weekend… and I just felt so blessed!

photo

Between drinks and dinner with my friend Liz on Thursday night,

IMG_9207 IMG_9209

to spending Halloween with RM and his family, gushing over the babies, handing out candy and enjoying festive food and drinks,

IMG_9218 IMG_9217

to having my parents down to meet RM’s family

IMG_9220

(but really, though, can you get any cuter than these two?! I nearly died when the hugged goodbye. So cute!)

to book club with my girlfriends, delicious food and lots of bubbly on a snowy Sunday afternoon

IMG_9225 IMG_9224

to having a quiet Sunday evening in my kitchen with a glass of vino, Miranda Lambert Pandora and lots of healthy and delicious food,

IMG_9234 IMG_9235

I really just feel so blessed! It’s so easy to get caught up in all the negatives (I didn’t sleep well, I am stressed at work, I have too much going on after work, I didn’t have a good workout, I don’t feel good, etc.), that it was a really nice change to have nothing but GOOD feelings last night.

I challenge each of you to list out 3 things making you feel blessed right now. Could be as small as not being in traffic on your way to work or finding a penny on the ground.

I challenge each of you to try and be present in the moment. To reflect on all the GOOD aspects of your lives. To say “I love you” more. To hug for a few seconds longer. To smile more. To listen. To forgive. To laugh (at yourself, too!).

… and then think about how you feel when you’re doing those things. I’m pretty sure you’ll find that thinking/feeling/living like that gives you a sense of peace and calmness that stressful/anxious/angry doesn’t, right? We spend so much of our days being angry or upset or pointing blame when we should really be focusing on everything good in our lives. I know this is something I need to work on, what about you?

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Do you tend to dwell on negatives or focus on the positives? What do you feel blessed for?

#BosFIT Review/Recap & Other Weekending Things

9 Comments

As I mentioned yesterday, the #BosFIT event I attended over the weekend was amazing!!! I kind of knew it would be, because anytime you combine fitness, friends and free stuff, I’m a pretty happy girl, but I have to say that it exceeded my expectations.

Since I knew I had to be up and out relatively early for a Saturday, my Friday night was spent much like this:

IMG_8914 IMG_8923

Saturday morning, my sister and I headed to The Club by George Foreman III for the #BosFIT event.

IMG_8924

My gym friend (and most loyal class-goer everrr) Dana won my tickets since Julie ended up buying her own. Another BSC member, Caroline, also bought tickets, so it was fun to workout WITH some members rather than teaching them. My YMCA gym-friend, Steph, was also at the event, so it was a blast!

The event offered 4 classes to everyone and you could pick from Bags and Beats, Boxing Bootcamp, BollyX, Suspension Training, Core Fusion Barre, Barry’s Bootcamp, and Turnstyle Cycle. I think the hardest part of the day was deciding what class to take at what point in the day… ok, that’s a lie. Barry’s for the last session was the hardest part of my day!

My first class was Bags and Beats. George introduced himself and gave us a high level overview of the punches. What I liked about this class was that you were punching to the beat of the music, very similar to how I teach, except it wasn’t cardio like I do. Anyway- we had our hands wrapped and wore boxing gloves and got to it for a bunch of songs. The combos were easy to pick up and I liked that we altered our tempo and added in squats, lunges, push-ups and planks throughout.

IMG_8930 IMG_8945

Steph and I tried to do Barry’s next, but it was already full. From there, we tried to do a suspension class, but that was also full (I think if they do it again they should have people sign up for classes before the event rather than on a “first come first serve” basis). We ended up taking a BollyX class, which is similar to Zumba in that it’s a dancing workout, but different in that you’re supposed to “strike a pose” at the end of each song. It was a little weird, but my heart rate was up the whole time and it was fun to dance.

There was a break after this where you could “ask the experts” questions on nutrition and training and things like that. Caroline did a fantastic job moderating the panel- proud of you, girl!

IMG_8936

My sister and I headed to a Turnstyle Cycle class after the speaking session and it.was.awesome!! We were both drenched by the time we left. I really need to get there for a class.

IMG_8937

Steph signed us up for Barry’s as our last workout of the day. Holy moly. I don’t know how I survived! Running at a 12% incline and running backwards and sprinting after 3 other classes was rough, BUT we did it and felt amazing after!!

IMG_8947

Check out this calorie burn for the day- solid start to my Saturday 😉

IMG_8939

All in all, it was such a fantastic event! I loved working out with so many friends and getting to see Caroline in her element.

IMG_8940 IMG_8944

Thanks to some pretty sweet swag bags, I get to go BACK to many of the studios who participated in the event.

IMG_8926

Post #BosFIT, I headed to Charlestown to have a late lunch and drinks with Jessi and Amy at Pier 6. Man, it was HOT, but the view was worth it!

IMG_8951

Jessi and I continued to drink throughout the afternoon and evening (her place, Tia’s and then dinner and a glass of wine at Sterling’s) and between that, the sun and being dehydrated from the morning’s workout, I woke up with a wee bit of a headache on Sunday. Whoops! Such a fun night, though.

Sunday was spent cleaning, running errands, grabbing a quick lunch with my sister and then heading to Jessi’s for our first book club meeting.

IMG_8955 IMG_8959

Check out that spread! I made 2 Stromboli’s and they came out SO GOOD! Seriously, look at these beauties:

IMG_8957

Anything with ooey, gooey, cheesy goodness cannot be bad in my book! The next book we are reading is Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn- anyone want to participate? If you do, leave a note in the comments. We are meeting on November 2nd and after that date I can put together the questions and discussion topics we went over if you’re interested? Let me know 🙂

I hope you all had a great weekend, too! I hope this one goes by slower than last weekend- I feel like I blinked and it was over.

Questions for you: For those of you who went to #BosFIT, what did you think?? What was your favorite part? Has anyone else been to The Club for a boxing class? What was the best part of your weekend? Did you do fall or summer things? Have you been in a book club before?