Category Archives: Places

drybar at Chestnut Hill Square

I received discounted blow drys for myself and my friends for review purposes. All opinions are my own and this is not a compensated post.

Real quick – the winners of my Lightlife veggie products giveaway are Katie, Amy, and Amanda! I will be emailing you about claiming your prize!

A couple of weeks ago I decided to attend Thirst Boston‘s opening night gala, The Thing, on Friday 11/7. My friends Jeannie and Allie agreed to join, and we knew we wanted to make it a big night out. That included getting dolled up in black dresses and looking our best. Thankfully, drybar in Chestnut Hill Square was willing to help us out with that part.

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“The Mind Project” was playing – so appropriate.

I just love drybar’s decor and overall branding! Even the products used during each blow dry have adorable names.

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Five Days Friday

I’ve done the whole using Five Things Friday to talk about my week thing before. But that’s OK as long as I give the post a different title, right? Today I’m breaking down my Monday through Friday – five things, five days!

Link up with Clare if you’re joining the Five Things Friday trend today!

Monday

I was so so so ready on Monday to stay in after my favorite spin class with Danielle Dee at the BSC. But work had other plans, and by the time I got to the gym (ten minutes late), all the bikes were full. It’s getting to be that time of year again! But there are a couple of bikes outside the classroom so I hopped on one of those for thirty minutes and pushed as hard as I could, followed by some abs and my latest round of PT exercises. Oh and another thing – I woke up Monday with a cold coming on. So by the time I got home post-gym – at almost 8PM – I was exhausted and SO glad I had meal prepped the day before!

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Marvelously Overwhelmed

I had a marvelous weekend, but it was busy, and left me extremely overwhelmed. Like to the point of sobbing on the phone to my mom and not being able to follow through on Sunday’s plans because I worked myself up to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. I seem to always need to re-learn the same lesson, every few months, about over-exerting myself. This summer has been so fun and as much as I’m dreading the colder weather, I think I need fall to get here so that I’ll start slowing down. (Oh but I’m travelling three weekends in September, I’ll try not to think about that for now.)

Link up with Katie today to share your marvelous!

Still, there is plenty of marvelous about this past weekend in CT (yes, another one) to be thankful for.

Marvelous is…meeting my parents at Mohegan Sun for another overnight stay. The fam can’t seem to get enough of the casino lately and I’m not complaining about it one bit!

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Trade Em Up Tuesday: Where Is Summer?

I would trade…how fast summer has gone by.  Is it really already past mid-August? The air is already starting to get crisp and on Friday night when I went out after work, I felt absolutely frigid. Noooo New England, I’m not ready for my summer to leave yet!

I would not trade…finally finding a dress for Kaitlin‘s wedding! That wasn’t close or anything. I am so so so pumped for the Labor Day weekend rehearsal/wedding festivities, and getting to bring Maria as my plus-one so that she, Kaitlin, and I can FINALLY hang out together (all three of us) in person. Kinda nuts that that hasn’t happened yet. And I have to give a big thank you to Tobi for having a 50% off sitewide sale! I’m not going to post a photo of the dress for the wedding but I will share a photo of another dress I couldn’t help but buy because I know it’ll come in handy come fall…

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Marvelous DC Trip!

I’m back from a marvelous weekend away and am excited to share photos from my trip! Thankfully my flight had me back in my apartment last night by 8PM, so I had time to sit down and write this post before hitting the hay.

Join Katie‘s link-up if you’d like to join the marvelous!

I’m back from my trip to DC to visit my friend Jeff, and I have to give myself some props for not only making sure I hit up many different restaurants and beautiful sights, but also for ensuring that I saw as many friends as possible!

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One bummer was that timing did not work out for Alex and I to finally meet up, since she was out of town for the weekend. But she did recommend a stellar dinner spot in Georgetown – Farmers Fishers Bakers!

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My First Nantucket Weekend!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Nantucket for the island’s annual Wine Festival! I worked the Saturday afternoon Grand Tasting pouring 90+ Cellars and Ironside Cellars, but the rest of the weekend was spent tasting wine and food, exploring Nantucket’s shops and restaurants, and drinking champagne. Lots of champagne.

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Jeannie and I hit the road Friday morning and JUST missed our high-speed ferry, but luckily we were able to walk onto a freight (aka slow) ferry so that we could get onto the island ASAP. Our next high-speed ferry option wouldn’t have had us on the island until about 6PM! The crew of the ship got a kick out of us for some reason and invited us up to steer the ship. Okay not actually steer, but I did get to sit in the captain’s chair and use binoculars!

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What I DRANK Wednesday: Brugal Rum!

Okay, so I know it’s supposed to be What I Ate Wednesday. But I am overdue for a recap of a “drank-based” event I attended a little over a week ago, and who says I have to follow WIAW rules? Nahhh. Cocktails are about no rules! Especially on Tuesday nights…

I was invited by Emily of NYC-based M Booth to attend one of many Brugal Rum tasting and immersion opportunities happening last week at Boston’s Cyclorama. The event, titled #RumRedefined, involved first a lesson/tasting about three of Brugal’s products – Anejo Rum, Extra Dry Rum, and Brugal 1888.

Our cute “tasting tray” – started with the Anejo!

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Boston Brunchers Ride-N-Dine

Psst…Tina is hosting a giveaway today on behalf of my employer 90+ Cellars! She’s giving away two tickets to our Boston Rose Cruise, so if you’re nearby or want to plan a weekend in Boston be sure to enter. She also is sharing a discount code!

I received the fitness class and meal in this post free of charge. All opinions of my experiences are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

As I mentioned last Friday, this past Sunday was my first Boston Brunchers event, featuring one of my favorite pairings: fitness and food! Or riding and dining, as the name of the event would suggest. Bloggers and social media gurus gathered in the gorgeous Chestnut Hill Square for a Soul Cycle class, followed by a sampling of the Brio brunch menu.

The workout ended up being perfectly timed because I was out and about the day/night prior and I stayed in bed right up until it was time to get ready to leave! Jeannie (of course she joined me!) and I were running a bit late but thankfully the ride actually began at 11:45AM. Just like my last Soul Cycle visit, I had a great experience. I loved both instructors but actually found this one, Molly, to be my favorite overall (Erin, you’re still awesome!).

My favorite part of the class was when Molly encouraged us to make it “not about losing 5 pounds, not about toned triceps”, but about what of SUBSTANCE we wanted to gain from being there. (Source)

The playlist was out of this world, and the arm portion killer on the shoulders! The 45 minute class was just what I was in the mood for and made me feel empowered and strong. I was going to perhaps splurge on a pricey tank top, but I had taken a cab home the night before and that was $20 gone, so I just couldn’t let myself do it! Some day!

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Marvelous (But Sick) Monday

Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM) is coming in handy for me this week because I need a good kick in the pants. Around lunchtime on Friday I was hit out of nowhere with a full-on cold. Being sick sucks for me not just because I feel sick, but also because I don’t know how to just step back and allow myself to get the rest I need to get better faster. I get very stuck in thinking in the short-term: What workouts am I missing? What comfort foods am I craving that I “shouldn’t” be eating? And of course feeling gross from an illness does zero favors for my body image. Missing a couple of workouts and relaxing is going to get me back to the gym and back in full working-order sooner in the long-term, but when that’s way out in the future and sitting on my butt resting is what’s staring me in the face right then and there, I can get pretty down.

Whether you’re feeling marvelous or not, you can join Katie’s link-up today.

Debbie Downer may call this post Miserable In My Monday, but my life overall is still marvelous so let’s cut to the chase. I could use some cheering up. Especially since my morning began with spilling my entire cup of just-purchased coffee all over my desk and its surrounding area. I ma have been totally cliche and cried over the spilled coffee. Just a little though.

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I Live In Marvelous Boston!

It’s official! I LIVE IN BOSTON! I start work on Wednesday (thankfully my new employer gave me a few days after moving to settle in) and the last few days have absolutely flown by – in a good way. They’ve been so marvelous in fact, I can hardly stop smiling.

Share your marvelous in Katie’s link up!

My last day at work on Friday was surreal. I honestly don’t think it’s hit me yet that I’ve left that job. Actually, it did hit me a bit, but only as I was leaving our post-work happy hour shenanigans that extended well past happy hour. And they would have extended later had I not had the discipline to leave in time to get home and get enough sleep before my early moving wake-up call. Spending that time with my co-workers was marvelous though. I’m SO glad I got the chance to have a last hurrah with all of them. As I mentioned on Friday, it was the last day for three employees, so the whole evening was very emotional. And fun!

Tom, I, and Steve cut our goodbye cake at work!

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