Accelerated Fitness – Cromwell

I briefly mentioned in my last post that over the weekend I took my first trip to Accelerated Fitness, at the Cromwell location (also located in Glastonbury and Tolland). My friend Maria brought me as her guest to join a session with one of Cromwell’s two personal trainers, Kevin Carlson (or as she calls him…Oh Sadistic One). This place is more than a gym; the primary line of business is personal training and programs tailored to each client’s fitness history and goals. Maria has her own program, but on Saturday when I was her guest, Kevin just decided to have some “fun” with us.

Kevin’s sick idea of fun!

I hadn’t been to a personal trainer in awhile so i was very excited! The setup was very Crossfit-box-like…plenty of toys of fitness torture were set up along the walls with an open space in the middle. The session lasted about 50 minutes and consisted of various circuits of 2-3 moves each, the whole circuit repeated three times. Here are some examples of moves Kevin had Maria and I doing:

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MIMM: All the Friends!

Welcome to the work week, folks. Remember that many of you may have a three-day (Labor Day) weekend on the horizon, so keep your chin up, you can make it through!

Make sure you join the marvelous party!

This was a weekend of friends of all sources. High school, Twitter, blogs, you name it. Not only did they give me the best of times, they also gave me the support I needed to give myself permission to enjoy the marvelous.

Marvelous is…Friday night in West Hartford Center.

My foodie partner in crime, Rachel!

My foodie partner in crime, Rachel!

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Kona Kase: Take Two

I received a complimentary Kona Kase to review as a participant in a Fitfluential campaign. All opinions are my own. This is not a compensated post.

You may recall from my first Kona Kase review that while I liked some of the products in my June Kase, I did not feel overall that the $15 price provide me a good value. I noticed a lack of variety (four bars!) and also felt the contents were geared toward endurance athletes (and I am surely not one). One of the founders, Taylor, sent out an email to the Fitfluential Ambassadors who participated in the campaign, asking if we wanted another Kase (July) to review. Of course my answer was yes – why not?!

As always the product-listing card that comes with each Kase is appreciated!

Though I still didn’t find a use for every product (some were still geared towards endurance athletes, so I gave those to a co-worker who loves biking), I certainly was more satisfied this time around with the amount of products I COULD actually see myself using, along with the variety.

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Three Things Thursday: Weekend Faves

I’ve been behind on my weekend recaps because those weekends have been quite epic, and require multiple posts when I blog about them. That’s a good problem to have! But we are headed into another weekend soon (YAY) that will need recapping next week, and I haven’t even talked about this past weekend. I thought some alliteration was in order to do just that.

I already blogged about Friday night’s cooking class at Pond House Grille, so that won’t be included in this post about my top three favorite things about this past weekend, but believe me when I say it was up there.

1. Spending Saturday by myself.

I have been travelling almost every weekend in the last month or so and it felt so amazing this weekend to have no drives that lasted longer than an hour. The highlight of my chill weekend at home was sleeping until 9:30AM on Saturday, going to the gym for a nice not-rushed StepMill + abs workout, and then taking myself, a packed lunch, magazines, and Daybreak iced coffee to the pool club. I stayed there for several hours and just read, took occasional dips, and soaked up the sun. It was amazing, serene, and exactly what I needed.

View from my chair :D

View from my chair 😀

I followed that up with a visit to my favorite nail salon, Ceci’s, for a mani/pedi (well, toe/hand polish change, AKA the cheaper option). I did my first mani in forever with no disco nail (gasp) but I just love the color I picked out for my hands – OPI A-Piers To Be Tan, from the new San Francisco collection.

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Hot Summer Night at Pond House Grille

Pond House Grille provided me complimentary admission to this cooking class. This is not a sponsored post, and all opinions on my experience are my own.

Pond House Grille has revitalized not just its appearance (examples: shiny website, tablet menu format) but also its food. Executive Chef Jordan Stein is placing a huge emphasis on seasonally appropriate and creative cuisine which makes heavy use of local ingredients. I had the privilege of receiving a chef’s tasting there not long ago, and was truly blown away by the dishes this talented and humble guy served up.

Love his signature fedora!

Love his signature fedora!

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Cait Plus Rach in Newport – Part 2

Before reading this final post about my first two posts on my long weekend in Rhode Island, you can read the first two posts – about an afternoon in Providence and our first few restaurant stops in Newport – if you missed them!

Saturday Afternoon

After being sufficiently wined at Newport Vineyards, Rachel and I made our way back to Downtown Newport to try a new (only a few months old) spot we’d both eyed the night before – Midtown Oyster BarThe main allure came from the rooftop dining options, but the inside of the restaurant, with its multiple levels and huge open spaces, was gorgeous as well.

View from our seat!

View from our table!

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Cait Plus Rach in Newport – Part 1

Catch up on the first portion of my RI vacation weekend – lunch and shopping in Providence – in yesterday’s post!

Friday Night

After settling into our hotel and getting changed, Rachel and I hit Downtown Newport for our first evening in foodie heaven! We wanted to start with fabulous cocktails and headed to an ideal spot to find just that, Fluke Wine Bar & Kitchen. I gave this place a test run last summer and was thoroughly impressed. The seasonal menu always changes so this visit was still full of plenty of new drink and food choices.

Thanks to the driver of the bike-cab who took this awkward pic.

Thanks to the driver of the bike-cab who took this awkward pic.

We headed upstairs to the bar, which has a nice view of the water. I ordered the Juniperotivo – Junipero Gin, pomegranate molasses, fresh mint, fresh lemon juice. I was a little worried the molasses would make it too sweet, but I’ve never had a bad drink at Fluke. The bartender came through and delivered this delicious and refreshing creation!

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Friday Afternoon in Providence!

Newport, RI is one of the best places for restauranting…so I obviously had to return this past weekend, after having visited the weekend before, to hit some more foodie destinations! This time I got to stay in town for two nights, and took my trip with this blog’s namer, my good friend Rachel. After I took an awesome spin class and did a quick arm and ab workout, we hit the road and actually started the long weekend with Friday afternoon not in Newport but Providence, RI. I’ve been dying to check out The Grange ever since it was opened by the same guy responsible for Wildflour and Garden Grille.

View from the bar seats.

View from the bar seats.

The restaurant totally took our breaths away the moment we walked in; immediately I forgot I was soaking wet from the epic downpour raining down outside. That’s the kind of place The Grange is…a place where one could easily lose him or herself. And let’s be honest, often that is a good thing.

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Last Hurrah at La Trattoria

La Trattoria provided me a complimentary glass of wine and my meal for this write-up. This is not a sponsored post and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

La Trattoria (Canton, CT) contacted me about coming in to try out the menu and write a blog post about my experience. I truthfully had never heard of the restaurant before, so I did what I do best and started menu-stalking. I liked what I saw – lots of variety, and opportunity for healthy ordering (the restaurant partners with Snap Fitness in Avon to offer a menu of lighter options). So I accepted the offer and made plans to come in last Wednesday after a post-work Zumba class; the restaurant is located just over the Avon line, and my gym has a location in that town. Super convenient for a weeknight outing!

One of several dining areas inside the restaurant (there is also a nice outdoor patio).

One of several dining areas inside the restaurant (there is also a nice outdoor patio).

My menu-stalking also immediately gave me an idea of who to invite – my sister Hannah, who goes back to school this week. We needed a last hurrah, just the two of us, and she loves classic Italian food. I knew she’d be all about this trip! She was especially impressed when she did menu-stalking of her own and saw on the La Trattoria website that “If a favorite of yours doesn’t appear in the selections below just ask us and we will be happy to prepare it for you.” Talk about accommodating!

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Planking with Puma’s Formlite and Compression

The following post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC, on behalf of PUMA.

I had the chance to participate in my first PUMA campaign, and was spoiled with workout gear and new sneakers. Because that’s just what I need, right?!

They know my signature workout gear color - pink!

They know my signature workout gear color – pink!

I received the Formlite XT Ultra Fluo Women’s Training ShoesPerformance Bodywear Tech ACTV Long Tights, and Ribbed Performance Tank Top. Let’s start with the shoes, which are an awesome “highlighter” coral color. They are extremely lightweight (as their name suggests) thanks to the inclusion of cutouts on much of the surface area. While I’m not sure I’d pay the $70 they retail for, I definitely am highly satisfied with their performance and would recommend the shoes. I tried them out during both Group Power and Group Step. The minimalist design (the outsole was feather-inspired) is not ideal for side-to-side plyometric movements, but I really liked wearing them for weight lifting because of how easily the shoe bent when I was lunging or in a push-up/plank position.

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