Category Archives: Blog World

Three Things Thursday: A Discount, A Campaign, A Leap

Happy almost-Friday, folks. Our database and email network are both down at work today so you are definitely hearing from me. I have a few little things to talk about so I figured a fun, random post was in order.

1. Kona Kase Discount Code

I just received the July Kona Kase to review and will be sharing that eventually. I already received and reviewed the June Kase…you may recall I felt it contained more products for endurance athletes than I need (aka I need none) so I am looking forward to finding out what’s in the July box and seeing if the products are more “me”! I’m not withholding that information from you on purpose…I truly don’t know because I haven’t opened it yet. While you’re waiting for my review though, you can look at my June review and use a new discount code “GIFTSUMMER” to get $5 off your first Kase. That means $10 to try Kona Kase, which I think is a good deal given how much the products inside would probably cost separately.

2. Heather Waxman’s Kickstarter Campaign

Heather is taking a huge leap and pursuing her dream of combining her vocal talent with her desire to spread the word about the benefits of meditation. She’s started a Kickstarter campaign and needs $3,500.00 of funding by August 8 in order to create and distribute her very first meditation album, “Soul Sessions”. It will be available via digital download as well as CD, and backers can get their own copies (and more) as a thank you for donating. Even if you can only donate $5 it will help, so please take a moment to check out the video about her campaign and back it if you support it!

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The Caitlins/Kaitlins Meet Again

CT residents, remember to enter my giveaway for two lawn tickets to the Talcott Mountain Music Festival!

As you may have seen in Kaitlin‘s MIMM post, I paid her a visit over the holiday weekend and stayed over Saturday to Sunday. I enjoyed the leisurely car ride down to the 203 and arrived around 4pm – just enough time for us to pay a visit to the pool of Kaitlin’s best friend (and maid of honor). I enjoyed meeting and chatting with Kaitlin’s friends from home, and sipped on Cisco Brewers Summer of Lager, a new-to-me light lager. It definitely hit the spot on such a humid day, but made me a bit sleepy. I rallied though, because then it was off to a summer cookout at the home of Kaitlin’s mom’s best friend, Linda!

Kaitlin's fiance Jeff was with us during my visit too!

Kaitlin’s fiance Jeff was with us during my visit too!

We instantly dove into an amazing spread of apps, along with glasses of chilled summery rose. Along with the below-pictured bruschetta (on farmers market bread!), we snacked on cheese & crackers, TJ’s spinach & artichoke dip, and homemade onion dip. I could’ve made a meal out of all of it!

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Marvelous In My 4th!

Entries for my LaMaLu Boutique giveaway close tonight – be sure to enter before the 11:59PM EST deadline!

Oof, rough to be back at work this morning, no? Especially if you had Friday off in addition to the 4th of July (alas I did not). But during your time off I hope you did all sorts of marvelous activities (and if you don’t celebrate the 4th of July, I hope your weekend contained mucho marvelous). I have to admit that my ego was getting in my way the day after the 4th, trying to make me feel guilty for the food and drink I consumed during my celebrations. I’m hoping putting this post together will squash said ego with a heavy dose of POSITIVE.

Props to Katie for making marvelous happen!

Marvelous is…a night out with friends the day before the holiday! No work on Thursday = treat Wednesday like it’s Friday night, right? I surprised myself by having enough energy and courage to stay out until 1:15am, during which I consumed several cocktails, bread, and a dessert.

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A Summer MIMM

Thank you for the enthusiasm for Bestowed and my giveaway for one of their monthly boxes of healthy snacks! I’m happy to announce the winner, but remember if that person is not you, there is still the promo code “5OFFBESTOWED01”, which does not expire and can be entered at checkout for $5 off your first box (regularly $19). For just $14 (shipping is included) I definitely think it’s worth a try! Enough blabbering – the winner is Jess W! Congrats and I will be contacting you about getting your prize!

I hope everyone had a marvelous first weekend of June! Well, Friday night was still May, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is it FELT like June. The weather was perfect all weekend along and I couldn’t be more grateful! While I felt low during some portions of the weekend, today I want to address the marvelous, which thankfully far outnumbered the mal (Spanish for “bad”).

Thanks Katie for keeping us positive on Mondays when it’s often most needed!

Marvelous is…your “Hey, It’s OK!” suggestions! I’ve seen healthy living “It’s OK!” ideas in comments, blog posts, and Instagrams in response to my post from last week – and I’m loving them.

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On a Snacky Quest!

One of my favorite parts of being a Fitfluential Ambassador is – not gonna lie – getting the chance to participate in product review campaigns! I enjoy receiving fitness gear or healthy eats in the mail as much as the next girl, so I jumped all over this Quest Nutrition campaign and embarked on a Quest to try the super-generous variety and amount of protein-packed tastes they sent my way.

To be honest – Quest’s branding at first was a bit of a turn-off to me. I am not a user of protein powders or supplements and a visit to their website gave me a GNC/Vitamin Shoppe vibe. But I’d already heard a ton of positive reactions to Quest bars from some of my favorite bloggers, so I certainly wanted to try them for myself.

#allthebars

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Chobani and Physique 57 in NYC – Again!

During my August NYC trip for BlogHer ’12, I had two very important “firsts” – my first Physique 57 class (followed by a second a day later, holy addiction) and my first trip to then-new Chobani SoHo. I knew I wanted to experience both again during my NYC day-trip last week to tour the Elvis Duran Show, but would I be able to fit both in one afternoon? OBVIOUSLY.

Chobani SoHo

Kaitlin was super-excited for her first Chobani SoHo trip since she is a fellow Chobani fanatic! We arrived at the store after doing some fabulous shopping near the Elvis Duran studios (everything was grouped nice and close together) and found a sweet employee posted-up outside handing out samples of the PB&J creation (creamy PB, Concord grape jelly, sliced red grapes, peanuts, plain Cho).

Clearly everyone loved the samples - just one left!

Clearly everyone loved the samples – just one left!

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No we did not plan our matching jackets and bags.

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MIMM: Boston Strong

Last Monday was certainly not marvelous for Boston. And just a few days prior to the marathon bombings, my friend Colin and I made travel plans to go to Boston this past Saturday 4/20 to visit our best friend Greg to celebrate Colin’s 24th birthday. On Friday, the manhunt for the bomber had us wondering whether or not our trip was still on. Of course I am glad he was apprehended first and foremost because we can finally get some answers which will hopefully give this tragedy some closure. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also happy he’d been caught because the travel ban was lifted and our Boston visit was back on. The visit ended up being pretty marvelous!

Thanks for keeping Monday positive, Katie!

Marvelous is…learning a new and hilarious game – Cards Against Humanity. Think of a crass Apples to Apples (the tagline is “a free party game for horrible people”). Examples of black “category cards” include “Lifetime movie _______, the story of _________” and “Instead of coal, Santa now leaves naughty children _____.”  The cards used to answer are called white cards and include phrases like “black people”, “Nickelback”, “the miracle of childbirth”, and…well, you get the picture. Hilarity ensued.

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TON of Fun at Taste of the Nation Hartford – Part 2

In case you missed it, my Taste of the Nation (Hartford) overall intro and libation recap post went up yesterday! I’m now going to move on to my two favorite parts of the event (and they’ll probably be yours too) – the food and the PEOPLE!

The Food

Some restaurants go with simple white-tablecloth-covered booths, and others go all out. Mill Restaurant Group (responsible for one of my favorite cocktail spots, Market Grille in Manchester) was at the all-out end of the display spectrum!

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MRG’s food quality was all-out as well in both aesthetics and taste! Check out these awesome chilled soup shooters served on slate…

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TON of Fun at Taste of the Nation Hartford – Part 1

As we continue to mourn the tragedy at the Boston Marathon this past Monday, I know many hearts are still heavy. I’m continuing to blog about “typical” topics today, and hope that this post will provide some distraction for those whose minds remain troubled and disturbed by the attack.

I feel like comparing my (now) two Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation experiences – last year I went to New Haven and this past Thursday I went to Hartford – would be silly because the obvious answer is that I had the best time this year. So that’s why I will be splitting this into two posts, because as I’ve been working on writing this for the last several DAYS, I’ve realized that one post will be way too long and crash everyone’s Internets with all the photos.

When glasses attack!

When glasses attack!

But that’s because of how much I’ve grown as a blogger! Both events had crazy amazing food and drink and not enough time (or stomach room or blood alcohol tolerance) to try everything.

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Meeting Ellie and She3

This past weekend while visiting Kaitlin of For Love of Carrots, I gave my first ever Ellie outfit (click to get 20% off your first order) from their February collection a test-run during a barre class at She3 Wellness & Fitness Boutique in Fairfield, CT. To say Ellie (formerly pvBody) is a controversial company in the blog world right now would be an understatement. However, my experience has been mostly positive with both pvBody AND Ellie, so this review will reflect that, just as my pvBody review did.

Got those TOMS on SALE at Urban Outfitters in Boston! Yes, it’s possible to find them on sale!

I’m also excited to share my experience with the She3 barre class called the She3 Fit Method. I’ve done a couple barre classes at Physique57 and was excited to do barre again for the first time in awhile. Kaitlin was completely new to barre and we both appreciated a chance to try a new workout that while not necessarily our “typical” intense HIIT or heavy lifting, would still put us out of our comfort zones and test our strength!

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Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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