Weekending: Feeling really blessed

November 4, 2014November 3, 201412 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!

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

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

to having my parents down to meet RM’s family

(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

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

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?

Weekending: Party, Party, Party!

October 28, 2014October 27, 20144 Comments

Hi there! I know I say this often, but last weekend was SO MUCH FUN! Starting with a gym friends party on Friday night, continuing on to my party and then a Sunday full of errands, laughs and “Sunday Dinner” with RM, it was pretty awesome.

I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy our “gym friend” get togethers. I’ve got a lot of friends from various groups, but my gym friends are a group of girls that get my intense workout mindset, love of trying out new classes, and can relate to my crazy schedule. After the week I had last week, the combination of those things, as well as some amazinggggg (healthy!) food and drinks helped relax me from the week and get me excited for the weekend. The cause for this gym friends party was to celebrate Jen’s birthday. Jen is a huge inspiration for working out and eating healthy- she has lost so much weight over the past couple of months and looks truly fantastic. She has been doing two-a-days and eating healthy and you know what? It’s paid off BIG TIME. I’m so proud of her!

I made these and they were a big hit!

I finally slept well on Friday night- I can’t tell you how happy that made me! Kickboxing was a blast- the crowds are back and I loved that I will be there for the next 2 weekends. Burning 531 calories in under an hour is a great way to start the day 🙂

After my class, I went home and got into full party prep mode. Thankfully my sister was around to help! I made a crockpot chili, we made Stromboli’s and buffalo chicken dip and we had a bunch of veggies, crackers, hummus and some cookies. Oh… and a lot of wine 😉 We were SO LUCKY that the weather was warm and sunny because there certainly wouldn’t have been enough room in my apartment if we were all stuck in there! I loved that it was kind of a random group of people who came… well, random in that there were friends from multiple different groups: gym, college, home, RM’s family… the best part was everyone was having a great time mingling with each other, which makes “hosting” easier 😉 Big thanks to everyone who came- and thanks for the wine, too!

Sunday was a busy day for RM and me. We woke up and had some healthy pumpkin protein “pancakes” before hitting the road to check out a health food store in Quincy. Good Health was amazing! If you’re in the hunt for a fully stocked healthy food store, you should definitely head to Quincy- they had everything!

From there, we did food shopping at Whole Foods, car shopping and then had Sunday dinner at his brother and sister-in-law’s. It was fun re-hashing the party with them 🙂

I finally got home and sat down to relax around 7:30- and I was definitely in bed before 9 and I loved every minute of it!

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Did you get outside to enjoy the beautiful weather on Saturday? Do you like hosting parties?

Weekending: Baby snuggles, Dry Bar, a Wedding & Lots of Errands

October 14, 2014October 13, 20148 Comments

Hi there! How are you doing today? This past weekend was a good one- just what I needed after a stressful week.

After work on Friday, I headed to my friend Jess’s apartment in the North End to hang out with her, some other SMC friends and Jess’s sweet little baby girl, Nora. Jess had Nora in August, but because of everyone’s crazy schedules, we hadn’t had a chance to meet her yet. Snuggles with her was the perfect way to relax me 🙂

The rest of the night was spent passing the babe around, drinking wine, eating pizza and just hanging out. They’ve got an awesome little deck off the living room so we bundled up and headed out there to finish the night.

After teaching on Saturday, I headed to Chestnut Hill to cash in my Groupon for a blow out at drybar in Chestnut Hill. Have you guys ever heard of drybar or been there? If you haven’t, it’s a salon that only washes, dries and styles your hair. Their slogan, “no cuts. no colors. just blowouts.”, is a perfect way to describe their services. What I loved about the place is that it’s such a girly-girl activity! They charge $40 for a blowout which also includes a cocktail… because cocktails make everything more fun, right? I couldn’t help but have a glass of champagne during my 12pm appointment. I literally did burpees and then had bubbly… so fitting 😉

I was given a “menu” which had all of the styles listed out. The names were names of cocktails and I went with the Cosmopolitan as it was a loose, wavy style.

Never mind the blowout, I could have had my hair washed for an hour- the scalp massage was so wonderful! From start to finish it was the most relaxing hour, and such a fun way to treat myself to some pampering! Unfortunately, the weather sucked and therefore my hair did not keep the look I got at the salon, but oh well. Nothing you can do!

Later in the day, RM and I headed to Beverly to attend his cousin’s wedding. While it was freezing during the outdoor ceremony, it was very thoughtful and heartfelt… I just wish I could’ve had a glass of wine to help numb the cold temps! I didn’t take many photos during the night because I was meeting so many people and didn’t want to be that girl taking a million photos, but I’ll say it was a super fun wedding. His family likes to have a good time and we danced all night!

We slept in until almost 10am on Sunday, which is a very rare occurrence for me. After breakfast we went for a nice walk to soak up some of the nice weather.

After our walk, we split ways and I headed out to do some major errands. I’m having a party in a few weeks and wanted to get festive decorations so I headed back to Assembly Place with my first stop being Christmas Tree Shops. I love going there to get decorations as they are super cheap!

From there, I did a little shopping at the stores and scored with a great dress at Banana for $12 and new sneakers at Reebok for $50! My last stop was TJ Maxx where I finally was able to find something for the wall above my mantle. What do you think?

I also decorated the hall area- I love how festive it’s starting to look!

After decorating and cleaning, I finally made dinner. I sautéed a bunch of veggies and cooked some chicken and made a very tasty chicken and veggie stirfry.

And that sums it up! I could’ve used another 4 hours on Sunday to get everything done, but that’s ok. Although this week is busy, I’m going to do my best to stay calm and focus on one thing at a time. I have so many blog posts I want to write, but I’m going to try to not stress about getting those done if I’m tired and not getting home and sitting down until 9pm each night. I need to give myself more time to unwind at night!

Questions for you: What did you do this weekend? Have you been to drybar? Have you decorated for the fall or Halloween?

Weekending: Maine Edition {Freeport, Family Wedding & Relaxing}

September 23, 2014September 21, 201410 Comments

Good morning! How’s everyone doing? This past weekend was so nice… and relaxing! After a crazy couple of months, it was so nice to be able to relax, go to bed early and hang out with my parents. Even though our Sunday apple picking lunch picnic plans got cancelled because of the weather, it was still a great weekend. I headed up to Maine on Friday afternoon after work. Starting the trip from my office in Wakefield is so much nicer than starting from Boston! Before going to my parents, I stopped off at Shaw’s Ridge Farm to visit with and congratulate my dear friend Meredith on her recent engagement. We didn’t snap any photos unfortunately, but I’ll tell you… her ring is stunning and she is absolutely beaming! I am so happy for her!

Shortly after 7 I arrived at home. Even though I had just seen my parents the weekend before, I was still so excited to see them. Mom had a glass of wine waiting for me and dad had unloaded all the leftovers from the fridge so I could make myself a plate- I love being home 🙂

This was my dad’s plate. Talk about a lot of stuff!

Friday night was an early night and Saturday morning mom and I did some strengthening exercises for our knees (she has a hurt knee right now, too) before going into town for pedicures.

I decided to wear my hair straight, but with curls from my straightener. I hadn’t done it in a while, but I think it turned out pretty good! I also loved the dress I wore. It was comfortable and warm, which was perfect for the chilly weather on Saturday. I got it at Marshall’s for $20 (it’s a Max Studios dress).

Around noon we headed out. Mom suggested we take road sodas, and I’m not one to say no to her 😉

My parents are Jamie’s god parents so they were invited to the ceremony. The ceremony was held at my aunt and uncles new place on the ocean in Freeport and from what I heard, was beautiful. While they were at that, I shopped around the outlets in Freeport and grabbed a super healthy smoothie before going back to pick them up.

We headed to the reception around 4, which was held at my cousin’s new barn in Falmouth. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any of the entrances or first dances (everyone was standing around the dance floor and I couldn’t see 😦 ), but from pictures I saw online, it was awesome! Jamie is a collector of all sorts of old things, including vehicles, so he and his new wife, Sheena, were in the cab of the truck and the bridal party was in the back as they made their grand entrance to the reception.

The barn was adorable- so rustic and quaint and just perfect for a Maine reception.

The food was also delicious- and so simple. I think people get too caught up with food and options and apps and main courses when at the end of the day, if you have one thing that’s really good- people will be happy. They had at least 2 huge pigs (whole roasted pigs) for pulled pork, beans, rice, coleslaw, corn bread and salad. Everything was really, really good! And cupcakes for dessert? Yes, please.

It was so nice to a. spend time with my parents at an “outing” and b. spend time with my dad’s side of the family. We don’t get to see each other nearly enough and it’s a shame because they are SO FUN. I was at the “kids” table and we had so many laughs- they all have the Gagnon sense of humor (I do not.) and I laugh so much when I’m with them. While there wasn’t a ton of dancing, we did dance to my cousin’s band that was playing, and it was so cool that he jumped in and played a bunch of songs with them! I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but Jaime and Sheena- what a fantastic wedding! I’m so glad I got to be a part of it. Cheers to many more years of happiness, laughter and love.

My dad is a twin… so fun!

This was the “if you graduated from UMaine Orono” picture- can you believe how many people there were?!

My sister had another wedding to attend over the weekend so she wasn’t able to attend this one 😦

Till the next family wedding!

Questions for you: How was your weekend? What was the best thing you did? Have you been to a wedding in a barn?

Weekending: Barry’s Bootcamp Roof Deck Workout & A Maine Visit

August 26, 2014August 25, 20144 Comments

Good morning! I hope today’s off to a great start for all of you. The weather is supposed to be perfect all week, so for all of you who may be vacationing, I’m jealous! I was also very jealous listening to my mom and her friends plan out their week: beach day, pool day, lake day, baseball game. Retirement/summer vacation seems pretty awesome!

Last weekend was a blast! It was nice to have a night in Boston, but even nicer to escape the city for a night and head up to Maine.

Friday

My gym friend, Jen, somehow found out about a bootcamp that Barry’s Bootcamp was offering on the roof deck of the Revere Hotel and when I found out it was on a night I could go, I jumped at the chance! It was $20 which included the 60 minute workout and a cocktail… can’t really go wrong with that 😉

I wasn’t sure what to expect for the workout, but I was expecting hard since the last time I went to Barry’s I died a little. Mostly because of the treadmill runs, but still, it was tough! I knew there wouldn’t be treadmills for this workout, but I was expecting a lot of burpees and other cardio exercises, which sadly, we didn’t do!

All in all, though, the workout was pretty tough! We just used resistant bands and our body weight and worked all the big muscles. The arm sections were by far the hardest part for me- SO. MANY. PUSH-UPS!!! It was good to feel challenged with that! The leg exercises were all things I’ve done before- actually, things I’ve posted videos of here, here, and here! That’s ok, though- still had my legs screaming because we did all of those exercises with booty bands around our ankles. Yikes!

Once the workout was done, we enjoyed our free cocktail- love gym friends and workout get togethers!

After, I met RM at City Landing for dinner and drinks. I thought I’d be able to find a shower, but no such luck. Nothing like a little baby-wipe “shower” and running water through the hair to try and look somewhat decent… and clean!

City Landing has a whole gluten free menu- check out this pizza and Ahi Tuna! Delish!

Saturday

We got up relatively early for a Saturday and hit the road to head north around 9am. I was afraid of traffic, but the roads were clear the entire time! Sadly, it wasn’t beach weather when we got to Ogunquit, so we grabbed a gluten free breakfast sandwich at Cafe Amore and then walked part of the Marginal Way, which is a gorgeous path along the “cliffs” in Ogunquit.

So pretty! Once it reached a reasonable time to have our first cocktail, we headed to a favorite: Barnacle Billy’s. RM hadn’t ever been to Ogunquit or Perkins Cove so it was fun to show him around… and introduce him to his first Rum Punch, Billy’s signature cocktail. If you go to Ogunquit, you need to go to Barnacle Billy’s and have one!

(yes, I realize I’m wearing the same thing as I did Friday night- I promise it was clean!)

The weather finally started to clear and our seats on their upper deck couldn’t have been more perfect! After a few cocktails, we ordered a lobster roll and steamers- holy.yum. Such a delicious lunch!

On our way home, we stopped in at Shaw’s Ridge for an ice cream and to catch up with Mr. Shaw and Meredith (who, btw, just got engaged!!! So, so, so happy for you and Brandon, Mere!!) and grab an ice cream cone. Mr. Shaw wasn’t there, but it was good to see Mere!

We finally made it to my parents around 4:30… just in time to pick veggies from the garden for dinner (<— love doing that. nothing better!) and start on cocktail hour. We all were responsible for different things and the kitchen was quite busy!

Dad wanted a lamb, so he did it on the rotisserie- I wasn’t sure I liked lamb but it was delicious! Even cooler? All of the veggies we ate were from our garden or a nearby farm (the corn). There’s just something to be said for the whole “farm to table” way of eating. So fresh and flavorful!

We finished dad’s 65th bday celebration with a bond fire. It was the most perfect night for one! I think it’s safe to say he had a really great day!

Sunday

After breakfast and some reading, RM and I went on a nice 2 mile stroll. It helped clear my wine headache 😉 By the time we got back, it was getting late to make it to the beach, so we opted for going to our family friend’s pool instead. Poolside, wine in hand, family and friends- can’t get much better than that!

All in all, it was a really awesome weekend… we were both so sad it had to end! Trips back to MA from ME are always the worst 😦 Luckily I’ll be home for a few nights this weekend!

Questions for you: What did you do this weekend? Have you been to Ogunquit and/or Barnacle Billy’s? Where is your favorite place to get drinks?

Burpees to Bubbly

Because good workouts deserve bubbly rewards!

Tag: weekending

Weekending: Feeling really blessed

Weekending: Party, Party, Party!

Weekending: Baby snuggles, Dry Bar, a Wedding & Lots of Errands

Weekending: Maine Edition {Freeport, Family Wedding & Relaxing}

Weekending: Barry’s Bootcamp Roof Deck Workout & A Maine Visit

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