Tag: tgif

Five on Friday {7.1.16}

8 Comments

Good morning, friends! Can you believe this is my LAST post as a “single” lady?! So crazy, but so awesome. As I’m sure you can imagine, this past week has been filled with lots of last minute wedding “to-do’s”, which has taken precedent over blogging. I wanted to pop in today, though, to share a few things before we go off to get MARRIED! I won’t be blogging next week, either 😉

  • Spoiled by Pure Barre- I have been getting SO SPOILED by Pure Barre lately! They are introducing a new class format and invited me to check it out by giving me THREE free months of unlimited classes at the Pure Barre location of my choice. Since there’s one right near my office I opted to choose that location. And, while barre isn’t my number one favorite workout, I do like to continuously try new things and their new class format sounds pretty intense since it’s adding a level of cardio to it, so I can’t wait to see what it’s all about! As a welcome gift, they sent me some fun things to get me started, like socks, a towel & a water bottle. Then, just this week they sent me a new Garmin tracker with the sweetest note. Love that!

IMG_5225 IMG_5393

  • ProYo Giveaway- Did you guys see the giveaway that I’m hosting on Instagram? ProYo will be giving one lucky follower a free box of their ProYo treats, which I have to say are SO tasty! Tomorrow is the last day to enter, so if you haven’t entered please head on over and comment with what flavor you’d like.

IMG_5396

  • Feeling the love- We have already been feeling so much love from everyone regarding our upcoming wedding. From the calls to the texts to the emails, the support and excitement has been so awesome. And, my team threw me a shower on my last day in the office and gave us a super generous gift card to Crate & Barrel. I can’t wait to go shopping after the wedding! And, last night some of my work friends and I went out for drinks which was so fun!

IMG_5395

IMG_5411

  • Family time- My parents came down yesterday to do some last minute wedding stuff. It was so nice having them here and getting to show them everything I’ve been working on. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive family! We also went out to lunch at Branchline so my sister was able to join us. Last lunch as just “the Gagnons”!

IMG_5403 IMG_5400

  • Quality time with my handsome future hubby– Although there’s always stress when you’re getting this close to the big day, RM and I have still been having so much fun together. I don’t really know how to describe it besides saying it’s just such an exciting time! Last Sunday we were able to spend some time at the beach and then went back to KO Pies one last time before getting married. It was perfect!

IMG_5352 IMG_5357

And with that, I’ll talk to you guys in a few weeks! I am really looking forward to some extended, uninterrupted time with RM. It’s been a crazy few months so I can’t wait to be able to sleep in, go to the beach and just relax together.

Five on Friday {5.19.16}

14 Comments

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?

IMG_4888

  • 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!

IMG_4925

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 😉

IMG_4935

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?

Weekending: Making Sausage & Pasta

6 Comments

Good morning! Another weekend, come and gone- how come they go by so quickly?! This past weekend was a real treat on the food front- too good not to share!

Weekending….

I had an apt in the city after work and after that I met RM for a drink and some snacks, but not before enjoying my “to go” wine from my waxer:

IMG_4263

When I met up with RM, we ended up going to Nix’s Mate- I enjoyed a rose bubbly, he had a delicious beer and we ended up getting some oysters and shrimp since they were only $1 each!

IMG_4265

To help with my Box FIIT certification, I’m trying to get to more Box FIIT classes so I hit one up on Saturday morning. It wasn’t as hard as George’s, but it was still a great workout and I seriously cannot wait until I can start teaching my own classes!!

IMG_4267 IMG_4268

I hadn’t seen my sister in almost 3 weeks so after class I met up with her and our other friend Amy for manicures in Southie. Amy and I ended up getting the same color and I love it!!

IMG_4270

The rest of the Saturday was spent at our friends Jessi and Chuck’s apartment doing all sorts of cooking. RM and I went to the north end and picked up the sausage and then headed over to their place to get cooking.

IMG_0427IMG_0432

We opted for 8 pounds of meat which ended up yielding about 35 decent sized sausages. RM also had the butcher grind it and season it (2 ounces of salt per 10 pounds of meat) to help save time. We decided to do 2 different kinds: regular and garlic/parsley/parmesan and I don’t know which one I liked more! The whole event was so smooth and seamless- we were all pleasantly surprised by how easy it was! In just a few hours we had loads of sausages to enjoy.

IMG_4272 IMG_4273 IMG_4274

And, if that wasn’t enough, Jessi and Chuck broke out their recipe for homemade pasta and sauce- umm hello deliciousness! Making pasta with the Kitchen Aid attachment was SO easy- RM was ready to go out and buy the adapter yesterday!

IMG_4279 IMG_4275 IMG_4276

Between the homemade sausage, which cooked in the homemade sauce and the homemade pasta, the meal was pretty freaking amazing!!

IMG_4277

We also played games and drank lots of vino while we waited for everything to cook. It was seriously one of the best Saturday afternoons we’ve had in a while… even though we were so exhausted by the end that we went to bed at 9:45 haha

Sunday started out with being up nice and early thanks to our early bed time so we ended up going back to the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown for breakfast. Our breakfast looked very similar to how it did the last time we went there, only difference was that RM got an omelet this time.

IMG_3945

I love being up and out early- getting to Whole Foods at 9:15am on a Sunday was such a nice treat! Besides Whole Foods, I went to Target, cleaned the house and then RM and I went to LensCrafters to get new glasses. Since I still love my current glasses, I opted to go for an entirely different style so I can rotate between the two. I’ll show you a picture once we go pick them up. Later that day we went to visit his mom since she just got home from vacation. We had pizza and salad and it was perfect!

And that about does it! How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun or different? Did you get in any good workouts? Do you like boxing workouts? What’s your favorite breakfast item to order? Have you ever made sausage or pasta? What do you have going on this week?

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?