Weekending: Red Lantern, BBQ, Grocery Shopping Fail and Festa Italiana

July 22, 2014July 21, 20146 Comments

Good morning! How are you doing today? I slept terribly on Sunday night because of a weird stomach ache, so I feel like I’m still catching up on sleep. This past weekend was perfect in so many ways. Even though the weather was not great and ended up causing us to cancel a Cape trip, we still found lots of fun things to do. I have to admit, after having been on the road for the past number of weekends, it was nice to stick around Boston for a bit!

Friday Night

After work on Friday, I ran some errands (including trip to Lens Crafters where they replaced my glasses for $25!! So happy I bought the protection plan. Best thing ever!) and then came home and sat on my back patio for a while. It was nice- I haven’t had a chance to do that enough this summer. And, my dad told me to “watch my garden” for 10 minutes a day… does watching it for a half hour count for 3 days worth of watching? It is coming along quite well!.

Later, RM and I went to Red Lantern for dinner. I had bought a Living Social deal a while back that was due to expire soon, so it was the perfect time to use it! Although the prices are rather high for both drinks and food, everything we had was delicious and I would definitely go back. Even better? They have a whole Gluten Free sushi menu which is awesome.

Saturday

After teaching a very sweaty kickboxing class, I went to get a pedicure at Queen Bee Nails- my favorite place to get them! Between my nails and new toe color, I’m going a little bright with my colors this summer. It’s a fun change!

In the afternoon, RM and I headed to my friend Amy’s apartment for a drink with a few other friends before going to a summer BBQ at Rachel and Dan’s apartment. We had lots of good food and about a million good laughs while playing Cards Against Humanity. That game gets funnier every time I play it!

The best part about Saturday afternoon parties? You still get home early… I am so old!

Sunday

I woke up and did some yoga and core work while RM made us some delicious Pumpkin Walnut Banana Protein Paleo pancakes. I’m not a big pancake person but these are amazing because they actually keep me full for a long time!

Once we were digested, we headed out for a long power walk. I think we covered about 3.5 miles before calling it quits to *attempt* grocery shopping. Have you heard about all the Market Basket drama?? We hadn’t, so you can imagine our faces when we walked in and were faced with this scene:

It was the craziest thing ever- we literally couldn’t even shop because there was NOTHING to choose from. So frustrating. I hope everything gets settled and back to normal asap!

We headed to RM’s mom’s house for a late afternoon lunch/early dinner. She is from Italy and makes the most amazing food, which yesterday included Eggplant parmesan with home grown eggplants. Wow. It was SO good and I’m so happy she gave me leftovers to eat this week!

Later in the evening, we met up with some of his friends/family at the Festa Italiana, which is an Italian Festival/Fair in Newton. There was live music, beer/wine, lots of fair food and rides. I love stuff like this so I was in my element!

In addition to some delicious Carlo Rossi (I can’t say that with a straight face…), we had some oysters and an ice cream cone. No wonder why I was up all Sunday night with a stomach ache- those are dumb things to mix in one night!

All in all, though, it was a really great weekend… the only thing missing was hanging out with my family 😦 I miss them!

Questions for you: Have you been to Red Lantern? What’s your favorite Sushi roll? Where do you get your pedicures? Have you been to any BBQ’s this summer?

Sheila’s Nantucket Bachelorette Weekend

July 17, 2014July 16, 201414 Comments

Wow. What a fun weekend we had on Nantucket to celebrate Sheila! I had never been to Nantucket, so that made me even more excited for the weekend. We had originally gone back and forth on a few different ideas for the weekend, but I think everyone was very happy with ultimate outcome. Sheila found a great little house/cottage through Air B&B (I think? maybe it was Home Away?) which ended up being a super affordable option since a hotel and eating out at restaurants for every meal would’ve been really expensive! Big thanks to Amy and Jessi for all the planning and getting the food/booze/decorations.

****

Friday morning, I got up and actually did my hair and put on my new dress- you know it’s a special occasion when I put time into how I look 😉

I met up with Jessi and Lauren at the ferry terminal and we decided to kill some time by having cocktails- it’s never too early for a mimosa 😉 or wine on the ferry, for that matter!

Once we docked in Nantucket, we headed to The Gazebo to meet up with a few friends who were already on the island. Apparently The Gazebo is famous for their mudslides so although I’m not generally a fan of those types of drinks, I had to try it. The verdict? I felt like I was drinking a grown up milk shake!

After our drink, we headed back to the house where Amy, Nikia and Amanda had decorated it for Sheila’s arrival- it looked so good!

They also stocked up the fridge and freezer with lots and LOTS of food and drinks. We laughed all weekend that we are clearly getting old if we only went through a quarter of a handle of vodka all weekend… we are definitely getting old.

Once everyone was at the house, we popped some bubbly (obvi!), made a quick stop at the beach, had some snacks outside and grilled up a delicious dinner of chicken, steak, corn on the cob and rice. When we finished dinner, we played some games (Heads up! Have you played it? SO FUN!) and walked to the Chicken Box for some live band and dancing action.

Since we all took it easy and got home around midnight, we all felt pretty good on Saturday… good enough for a bootcamp workout– my favorite!

The rest of the day on Saturday was spent at the beach (with packed lunches and drinks!)- I can’t remember the last time I PLAYED in the water like we did that day- so so fun!

We cleaned up in the afternoon and made our way to Cisco Brewers, which was probably one of my most favorite parts of the weekend. We were all decked out in our bachelorette getup and enjoy the delicious beers, interesting vodka drinks and even some wine! I loved that they had an outdoor band and so much area to hang around outside- it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon!

Once the brewery started to slow down, we headed back to the house and Kia, Jessi and I got busy in the kitchen making homemade chicken parmesan… #butfirstletmetakeaselfie 😉

We decided that Saturday night would be a real “night out”… and, we meant it! We even stayed until closing- something I haven’t done in a REALLY long time. We went to Nixs since we met the band at the brewery and they told us we “had to come”. I have to say, I’m pretty excited we met them because they were really good and we all had such a blast. Obviously my friend Kia and I were the first to start the dance party… some things never change 😉

Sunday morning was a little bit of a slower start than Saturday, but after a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt and English muffins, we all perked up and got ready for the beach. I had to head back on Sunday because I couldn’t take more time off at work… whomp whomp. The rest of the girls stayed until Monday or Tuesday and based on the pics I saw, it looks like they kept going strong throughout the remainder of the weekend- I was impressed!

Phew! If you made it this far- thank you!! All in all, it was just an absolutely awesome weekend- everyone was in good spirits and we all just had a blast being together. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends!!

Questions for you: Have you been to Nantucket? Have you been to any of the places we went to? Are you a dancer or an observer? Do you have any bachelorette parties to go to this summer?

Weekending: A busy, but relaxing weekend {Tia’s, visitors, beach day, Bostonia, soaking up the sun}

July 1, 2014July 1, 20144 Comments

Hi there! How are you today? Anyone have this week off? I’m hoping to take Thursday off, which would be a nice addition to the long weekend!

If you’ve been reading B2B for a while, you’ve probably noticed how busy I’ve been- both during the week and on the weekends. This past weekend, although I had a lot of plans and did a lot, was relaxing on it’s own because I didn’t have multiple back to back plans that required me to hop around a lot. Besides Friday night, the rest of my weekend was totally mine for the taking, and it was the best feeling!!

Friday Night

My friend, Tim, was in town for a conference so we were able to align our schedules for Friday night. We tried to get a few more co-workers (former co-workers for me) to join us, but it didn’t work out. My sister ended up being around, so it was fun to have her join us! We started out at Tia’s because it’s the best place for after work drinks in the summer.

I had zero intentions of going “out-out”, but between the weather, it being a Friday and being out with my sister and Tim, it ended up being a bit of an “out-out” night. Whoops! 😉 After Tia’s, we headed to Granary Tavern for a drink then to Warehouse for the last drinks. Although I woke up on Saturday feeling like I had had one too many wines, it was totally worth it!

Saturday

After kickboxing on Saturday morning, I treated myself to a much-needed pedicure.

Once I got home, I packed up and headed to meet my sister and her friends at a beach in Southie. I was expecting a bit of a sh*t-show beach scene with lots of loud, drunken people, but I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet and calm it was!

After a brief nap, I agreed to a Bud Light Lime- I’m not a big beer drinker, and definitely not a Bud Light person, but there’s something about BLL’s that I just love so much! Perfect beach drink if you ask me 😉

Saturday night was date night for RM and me. He had a gift card to Bostonia Public House, so we figured it was a perfect night to try it out. He parks at the Intercontinental Hotel and when we realized how nice it was outside, we decided to swing by their outdoor bar for a cocktail before dinner.

We joked that it felt like we were back in Miami- I had been at the beach all day and he had been golfing and we were catching up over cocktails at a hotel bar. It was a fun “staycation” night!

Dinner at Bostonia was amazing!! We, of course, shared a few different things: Organic Baby Spinach Salad, Berber Spiced Pork Ribs, French Fries (I was craving them!) and the Scallops. They’ve got a whole Gluten Free menu which was a nice surprise!

Everything was absolutely delicious! We both found ourselves continuously raving about the food with each bite! I don’t usually eat to being really full, but that night I left there with a very full, and very happy belly!

Such a fun date-night! I loved being able to be out and about in the city!

Sunday

I ended up sleeping until 9, which is unheard of for me! It felt amazing 🙂 Once up, I did some yoga and core work before having a protein pancake breakfast with RM (gluten and dairy free).

After breakfast, we went for a nice, 45 minute walk throughout Eastie. It’s a nice little thing we’ve been doing- we don’t need to be sitting on the couch all the time- a little extra is always a good thing 🙂

Later in the day we went to his brother and sister in law’s new condo to use the community pool and then had a delicious BBQ at his mom’s house. It was a perfect Sunday… and weekend, for that matter!

Questions for you: What did you do this weekend? Where’s your favorite summer bar in Boston? Have you been to Bostonia Public House?

Ps! My gym friend/in real life friend/blog friend, Athena got engaged over the weekend and I couldn’t be more happy for her and Tim! They are such a great couple:) congrats again, lady!!!

This Week: Workouts, Weekend Recap, Things I’m Looking Forward To

June 23, 2014June 22, 20142 Comments

Hi there! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was really fun, but also really busy. I was supposed to go to my gym friend, Jen’s, “Porch Friday” summer kickoff gathering, but after the week I had, I was beat and decided to lay low. I hate missing things, but knew I needed to take it easy since Saturday and Sunday were going to be nonstop. Instead, some wine and snacks at Piers Park helped me relax from the week.

Saturday started with a super sweaty UXF Burn/SHRED class that I subbed at the Central Square BSC (my usual gym). It was awesome to see so many of my Wednesday and Thursday regulars in class! Here’s some of my new lulu that I bought 😉

Paycheck + Lulu near my work= a little splurge 😉

From there, RM and I headed north for a BBQ at Christy and Jaime’s. Sadly, I didn’t take ANY pictures- whoops! But everything was amazing- the food, drinks, company, weather- all in all it was a great afternoon! From there, I headed to Liz’s house for a gym friends party. I always look forward to these nights because it’s so fun to chat with other instructors and share our ~~crazy~~ interesting teaching stories.

(thanks for the photo, Liz! And hosting us 🙂 )

Sunday started with a UXF Burn class and then RM and I went for a nice, long 3 or 4 mile walk along the beach before going to Jess and Brian’s baby shower. They had it at Shake Shack in Harvard Square. I’ve never been there before, but I am sold- their burgers and fries were amazingggg. It was such a fun baby shower- they didn’t open gifts or play any games, which is more my style. We were able to chat and mingle- perfect!

Phew! What a weekend- I love when I get to spend time with my college friends and it was fun having RM meet everyone! But, let me tell you- 3 parties and party food in 2 days makes me really ready for some clean eats. Indulgences are totally worth it (and sometimes why I workout 😉 ), though.

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday- I taught my 6am muscle class and did 15 minutes on the elliptical.
Tuesday- I ran 5 miles after work and it felt great! I had fast splits (for me!) and was able to clear my head.

Wednesday- My new company had their summer outing after work so I got up to workout before I headed into the office. I was going to do a 2 mile jog and then body weight strength training but ended up running 3 miles and just some push-ups, squats, planks, etc.
Thursday- I taught SHRED and then Cardio Kickboxing. I did a 25-15-4 rep format for SHRED and liked it!
Friday- Rest day since I was teaching on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday- I ran 2 miles on the treadmill before subbing UXF Burn/SHRED. We worked so hard and I loved every second of it!

Sunday- I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I was happy I did. There were only 2 people in the UXF Burn class I subbed, but it was fun because I was able to do stuff I don’t usually get to do! Also, there was another instructor in the class who teaches Barre so I let her lead the last 5 minutes of core work and it was killer!

This Week’s Workouts

Monday- By the time this post goes up I will have taught my 6am Muscle Class and done a little cardio after.
Tuesday- I’m running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge after work. It’s a 3.5 mile race, so nothing too crazy.
Wednesday- I’ll either run or do some other cardio before teaching UXF Burn. I missed them last week!
Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing.
Friday- Probably a rest day besides a walk at lunch.
Saturday- Back at the Oak Square YMCA for my Cardio Kickboxing class… I hope my front row is back 🙂
Sunday- I would LOVE to get some yoga in. I need to make that happen.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m looking forward to running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge as part of the team at my new company. Our shirts are so dorky, but it’s kind of funny! I’m also excited to go out with some former coworkers, including my friend Tim, later in the week. Other than that, I’m excited for a weekend where I really have nothing planned. I may head to the Cape with RM on Saturday, but if I ended up sticking around here I wouldn’t be mad at all. I want to get my hair highlighted, so that would be great if I could fit that in on Saturday.

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Have you been to Shake Shack? What are you looking forward to this week? Are you running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge?

Weekending: Gym friends, Southie, How to prepare for a busy week

March 6, 2014March 3, 20149 Comments

My weekend recap is a little late this week, but it was a good one, so it’s better late than never, right? Although I was super tired on Friday night, I was excited to head to Needham for a gym friends party. A gym friends party, you might ask? What is that? Well, it’s when a bunch of gym-going, gym-loving ladies get together to eat good food, drink good wine and share ~~horror~~ funny class stories (most of us are instructors, so we’ve got stories for dayssss). Athena wrote up a really nice post about why she loves gym friends and I couldn’t agree more. It’s funny because when I was telling my mom about it on Saturday, I used the same exact “they just ‘get’ me” line that she used in her post. (photo credit: Athena!)

On top of good company, I love gym friend parties because the food is always delicious… and usually healthy! There were so many different appetizer treats to snack on- I was a happy camper 😉 I brought a dessert treat that I came up with fairly quickly. Could’ve been a hit or miss, but, luckily, it seemed to be a hit. I’ll share it with you soon, but here’s a sneak peak:

I had so many people to catch up with! These girls all frequent the Oak Square YMCA as their “home” gym and get to see each other at least a few times of week, but I only see them every other Saturday if they come to my class. Womp. Needless to say, the wine was flowing, conversation was non-stop and before we knew it, it was time to do the Pink-themed Yankee Swap!

I put together a cute little “relaxing night in” package which had an OPI 4 color sampler nail polish package, a candle and a bottle of wine. I wouldn’t have been mad if I went home with that, although I was SO HAPPY to go home with a stability ball. It’s been on my list of things to buy for a while now (for exercise and to use as my chair when I work from home), I just keep forgetting to get one. Problem solved!

Big thanks to Liz for having us and thanks to all the girls for being such fun gym friends!!

Saturday started off my favorite way: kickboxing. Even better, was knowing a bunch of girls from Friday night would be there… they asked for burpees and I aim to please 😉

The rest of my Saturday was busy with lunch plans and then going to Southie to see my sister’s new apartment. Her roommate, Amy, bought a condo in Southie and they moved in on Friday night. I was a bad sister and didn’t visit until Saturday night, but I did come bearing gifts of Prosecco, Bud Light and an AMEX gift card, so I think that counts for something, right?! 😉 We grabbed dinner and drinks at The Playwright Bar since it’s literally a 3 minute walk from their new place. I am so jealous that they are so close to so many fun places!

Another friend from home met us out, which was a nice surprise!

Sunday was a busy day. I wasn’t home for more than 5 minutes all day on Saturday, so I didn’t have time to do anything on my to-do list. But you know what? I survived. Funny thing about that! Between laundry, baking, cooking, grocery shopping, blogging, making workout videos and prepping for a busy week… Sunday was over in a flash!

I knew my week was going to be crazy busy between teaching 7 classes, going to the ClassPass launch, going to a wine tasting, etc., so I spent some time on Sunday prepping for the week to make it a little easier! I wanted to share some things I do to help make a busier week go a little more smoothly, especially when I have to be up and out of the house super early to teach in the morning.

How to prepare for a busy week

1. Food prep!! I can’t stress this enough. I don’t have the money to buy lunch out every day (or the snacks), so prepping my salads, fruit, snacks, etc. on Sunday night makes the world of a difference.

Since I needed to be up and out the door by 5:30 on Monday, I even had to pack breakfast!

Nothing exciting, but it did the trick!

2. Plan my outfit the night before. And, for me, it meant packing it up in my gym bag since I had to get ready for work at the gym.

3. Plan my workout that I’m going to teach. If I don’t plan something out, I’ll keep thinking about it, so it’s better to just write it out and be done with it.

4. Make a meal that can be reheated throughout the week, especially for the nights I get home late (pretty much every night this week). This ensures that I have a healthy, well balanced meal that I can eat within 5 minutes of walking through the door. What can I say? I get hangry!

5. Go to bed early. There’s no better way to end the weekend and start the week than getting a good nights rest. I’m not used to getting up on Monday mornings in the 5 o’clock hour, so that will certainly take some getting used to, but having everything literally ready for me as soon as I wake up makes it easier!

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Do you have a group of friends that “get” you? How do you prepare for a busy week? Do you plan ahead and do prep work to make it easier or just go with the flow?

Burpees to Bubbly

Because good workouts deserve bubbly rewards!

Tag: wine

Weekending: Red Lantern, BBQ, Grocery Shopping Fail and Festa Italiana

Sheila’s Nantucket Bachelorette Weekend

Weekending: A busy, but relaxing weekend {Tia’s, visitors, beach day, Bostonia, soaking up the sun}

This Week: Workouts, Weekend Recap, Things I’m Looking Forward To

Weekending: Gym friends, Southie, How to prepare for a busy week

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