Tag: things I love

Five on Friday {11.20.15}

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Good morning- Happy Friday 🙂 I know I’ve said it before, but I’m having so much fun writing these “Five on Friday” posts because I can pull any weird tidbit of information I want and one of you can usually relate to at least something in the post so I’ll chalk that up to a win 😉 Also, I’m not sure if this means I have a problem or not, but when I originally typed “win”, I typed “wine”… hmm…

Anyway- on to this week’s Five on Friday!

1. Roasting a chicken- Two weeks ago, I roasted my very first chicken. It came out so good, I decided I needed to make it again for when my parents came down this past Sunday. RM and I agreed that my second one came out even better than the first! The best part? It’s such an easy meal to prepare! All you have to do is pick what veggies you want (we are veggie happy so we did Japanese sweet potatoes, regular sweet potatoes, carrots, celery and onion), chop them up, season your chicken with salt & pepper (I also used Herbs de Provance because that stuff is amazinggg), place some lemon slivers under the skin and then top with a few thin slivers of butter, which creates a nice crispy outer layer.

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2. Friendsgiving- I haven’t ever been a part of a “friendsgiving” so I am SO excited for the one we are doing with my college girlfriends tomorrow. We are all responsible for bringing various things, like Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes for me, and of course lots of vino 😉 I might also try to make some homemade cranberry sauce- anyone have any good recipes for this?

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3. Yoga strength- As I mentioned on Tuesday I had the opportunity to take a bunch of yoga classes last week. I shared some things I learned throughout the various classes I attended and today I’m totally loving Yoga strength. While it may not feel like the same type of strength as weight lifting, to hold poses, go from high to low plank and do arm balances it requires an incredible amount of strength, especially core strength.

4. New sneakers- There’s nothing better than getting new shoes, amiright?! And, for someone who loves all things fitness apparel related, I especially love getting new sneakers. I’ve tried out my new Saucony running sneakers a few times this week and I have to say, I’m diggin’ them. I like the way my Mizuno’s hug my feet better than the Saucony’s, but the Saucony’s feel more stable when I’ve used them to train in which is great for Wednesdays when I usually run and then teach my class.

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5. Target holiday things– Umm, how amazing is this shirt?! When I saw it, I knew I just HAD to get it. I see myself most definitely over-wearing it 😉

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And that does it! I hope you’ve all had a great week and have a great weekend planned out. Chat with you next week 🙂

Questions for you: Have you done a friendsgiving before? What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish? What brand of sneakers do you run in? Have you bought any Christmas things yet?

Five on Friday {11.13.15}

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Hello! Happy Friday 🙂 Last week I felt like the week FLEW by and all day on Friday I kept thinking it was only Thursday. This week? Notsomuch. I thought it was Friday all day yesterday, which is really not that fun. I blame it on the following:
  • a rest day. I realized I hadn’t taken a full rest day in an terribly long time (ugh. I hate that!) so I decided to do it yesterday since I had lunch plans and after work plans, which leads me to the other reason I felt like it was Friday..
  • My team went out to lunch for one of my associate’s last day and then we went out for drinks and all of those things combined just scream Friday, #amiright?!

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 In case my “Five on Friday” series is new to you, I randomly created this blog post series as a way to share any sort of random thoughts/things I’m loving/things I think you might love/news/etc. So far, it seems as though you guys enjoy it and I love sharing tidbits of “all over the place” stuff with you, so here we go!
1. Coming home to the bed made– I have this weird thing where I NEED to make the bed as soon as I wake up (please tell me I’m not alone here). The problem? RM usually gets out of bed a little after me and I usually don’t have time to make it before I leave. I always come home hoping he will have made it and last week, after an especially long day, I came home to a beautifully made bed WITH the throw pillows on it. Love!

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Side note- for a while I would try and make my side of the bed when I got up, usually pulling blankets away from RM who was still snuggled up… he made me laugh one day when he brought this to my attention and asked for me to just wait until he got up, haha

2. Shopping list for this year- My cousin-in-law posted this on Facebook and I instantly loved it, especially since holidays and birthdays will be light this year due to the wedding. I mean, do you really need more than these 4 things?

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3. Saving money– If there’s one thing I wish I would’ve done more of in my younger years, it’s save money.  I knew wedding planning was expensive, but until I started planning one I had no idea just how expensive they were! Which kills me when I think about all the money I’ve pissed away over the years. I remember specifically saying to someone back in my younger years (23/24): “I’d rather be spending my money experiencing things than just saving it for ‘what ifs'”… if only I would’ve been smarter and realized that saving when you’re young is the smart thing to do because it makes your older years so much better and easier! So, if you’re reading this and you’re not focusing on building up a savings account STOP THAT! Start a savings account, please, and even if you only save $10/month it’s something!

4. Adele’s new song “Hello”- I know I am absolutely not alone here, but I just love her new song!

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5. Sriracha cashews- RM’s office has these and he was raving about them so when he brought me home a pack I couldn’t wait to try them. The verdict? OMG. So good. You’ve got to try them!

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Previous “Five on Friday” Posts:

Five on Friday {10.30.15}
Five on Friday {11.6.15}

And that does it for this week’s Friday Five- anything spark any comments or interest or anything you can relate to? Do you have anything you can share with me this week? What’s on tap for the weekend? What ever it is- enjoy it, get movement in, and try to relax 🙂

Currently I’m Crushing On… (Part V)

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Hi there! I realized I had a few things that I’ve been enjoying lately so I thought it was the perfect time to do another post sharing those things. I always like when bloggers do these posts because there’s always something I “take away” and try out for myself- hopefully the same for you with some of these today!

  • Wrap-less “wraps”- We ran short on wraps a few weeks ago when we were making lunches for the beach down on the Cape so RM and I volunteered to go wrap-less and used the thicker cut turkey as the “wrap” and put the rest of the goodies inside. The verdict? We LOVED them and ended up doing it again recently. I realized that we didn’t really need the flour wraps since we always bring chip-like treats to the beach, too. For mine, I put a layer of turkey, then swiss cheese, then hummus and spinach and a little rice. RM layered all the deli meat his mom had bought, swiss cheese, hummus, mustard and spinach.

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  • High Buns- Now that my hair is longer, it’s so easy to whip up a quick little bun for the top of my head, which is perfect for the hot, humid days we’ve had this summer. My hair was just too big and curly and frizzy to leave down so twisting it up with just a simple elastic solved the problem!

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  • Arbonne Workout Supplements– Jessica Champagne was in touch with my mom back in Maine and when she found out that I was into health and fitness, she provided me with some samples and then contact me to discuss Arbonne products further (I wasn’t asked to do any sort of review or anything, I’ve just really been enjoying the products and wanted to share them with you). I’ve always been a fan of Arbonne products because their ingredient lists are really good. From Jessica’s intro page: Arbonne’s philosophies are PURE, SAFE, AND BENEFICIAL! Botanically Based, PH Correct, HypoAllergenic, No Animal Testing, No Animal By Products=VEGAN, No Mineral Oil, No Dyes or Chemical Fragrances, Many of Arbonne’s Herbs are Organically Grown in Swiss Alps above Pollution Line and Arbonne uses Pure Alpine Water. Jessica was sweet enough to offer to send me some Phytosport products, which I graciously accepted because I’m still on the hunt for the right pre/post workout supplements. I’m hesitant about supplements in general because I don’t like filling my body with weird stuff, but I have to say I am a big fan of these products so far. The number one thing is that they don’t have caffeine in them, which is really important to me since I don’t drink coffee or tea or anything with caffeine in it so it tends to make me jittery which isn’t good before or after a workout 😉

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I haven’t really used much of the “prepare and endure” or “complete hydration”, mostly because I forget about them, but I have been using the “after workout” supplement pretty religiously and love how well it hydrates me after my workouts.  From their site: “After Workout delivers an ideal (2:1:1) ratio of branched-chain amino acids that help allevi­ate exercise-induced muscle soreness to support recovery. A unique antioxidant from pomegranate helps combat free radicals created during workouts, while carbohydrates help support energy recovery.” Although there is a small amount of sugar listed on the ingredients list, the other ingredients fit a lot of the things I’m looking for. If you’re interested in learning more, I suggest contacting Jessica because she is very knowledgeable about Arbonne products.

  • Morning Runs- All summer I tried to run on Monday mornings in order to free up my nights. Although it’s never easy to get up and out the door for a morning workout (for me, anyway), I’m always so happy when I do it. The crisp fall mornings recently have been a nice welcome… and the running routes around our new apartment is not so bad 😉

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  • New Fall Booties- I made the mistake of going into TJ Maxx recently when I was in the mood to shop. $95 later and I walked out with a bag of goodies that I ‘needed’, including these beautiful fall booties. I just couldn’t NOT get these- they’re the perfect height, color and fit and I can see myself wearing them A LOT!

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  • Living with RM! I promise I’ll stop being mushy after this week 😉 I love when he leaves me little notes if he leaves before me:

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Questions for you: What are you crushing on these days? What fall fashions are you loving this year? Do you like any particular pre or post workout supplements?