I had so much fun at Saturday’s Boston Rose Cruise (check out Kat’s recap too!) – a whale-sized (aka large) amount of fun. Not only did Kat come to Boston to join me, my 90+ Cellars co-workers, and Eventbrite ticket-buyers for the three-hour Rose-only all-pink-wearing boat cruise, but my mom, sister, Greg, and Jen did as well!
MY PEOPLE! (Photo by Sean Fowler.)
I’m back, twice in one week, wahoo! I’m writing this post on Wednesday night because I had enough time to cook, but decided to instead make dinner leftovers and use the extra time to a) write this and b) have a glass of NY Cabernet Sauvignon. I didn’t have anything to drink the last couple of days because the event I worked on Sunday was pretty nuts (in a very fun way). But now I’m ready to relax with my glass and think out loud.
Link up with Amanda if you too are thinking out loud today!
1. My half marathon training has officially begun! Tuesday’s aforementioned personal training session didn’t happen because the trainer had to cancel – but never called me to let me know? So I was at the gym, without a plan, and decided to kick off training this week instead of next, which is what I had planned! And I decided to get this week’s longest run done – 4 miles. I’m no fool, I know that I should savor the fact that this week’s longest run is 4 miles, and believe me I am! I did at a 9:13 pace on the treadmill, with a 1% incline. With a side of Kardashians…enough to get me through. I’ve also been following a June ab challenge I found on Facebook, and though these earlier days are pretty easy, I know by the end it will feel very hard. Just like my runs – ha! But seriously, having plans to follow has been really helpful for me. I felt like I had no direction at the gym and now I have a couple of things to follow!
Thanks so much for your support in response to Wednesday’s post! I’m proud of how far I’ve come and your kind words mean the world to me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my readers rock.
Last Tuesday my new friend Jay treated me to dinner at a lovely restaurant called Bistro du Midi, located on Boylston (near Boston’s iconic Newbury Street). I met Jay at Wine Riot (through Jeannie), and we ran into each other again at the Nantucket Wine Festival. He works for Gerard Bertrand, a French wine company that I actually am already very familiar with! Upon meeting I informed Jay of my love for the Gerard Bertrand dessert wine called Banyuls, and also the fact that I was already an overall GB wines fan. He invited me out to a Boston restaurant that carries Gerard Bertrand wines so that we could talk all things wine, restaurants, food, events, and more.
Jay and I at Nantucket Wine Fest!
The two-floor restaurant has a bar on each level and the second floor has spectacular views of the Boston Common! Jay said that around Christmas time, a second floor seat makes for excellent cozy dining and viewing of lights. I’m not anxious for winter to return anytime soon though, and the green Boston Common view was pretty darn nice too.
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!
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!
My Taste of Nature bar giveaway ends tonight, and it has FIVE winners, so make sure you enter!
I missed the Marvelous In My Monday party this week but better late than never right? This week has been loads better than the last and I’m excited to link up with Clare today to share five marvelous things on Five Things Friday!
Thank goodness I was able to get back to my evening group fitness classes. Monday I took Danielle’s amazing spin class, and I took another pretty good spin class on Tuesday evening. Wednesday night I invited Jeannie to join me for Total Body Conditioning and I’m so glad I did because I may have copped out and done a not-as-tough StepMill workout instead if I hadn’t already committed to the class by inviting her! She was super curious since I am always talking about how tough the class is and yeah…it was tough. But we both felt great after and want to commit to going every week. I’m glad to have someone to motivate me to attend! Here’s one of the moves we did:
I know Monday is when I’m supposed to come in with a Marvelous In My Monday post and recap my marvelous weekend, negative thoughts and anxieties in all. I know I’m supposed to use MIMM posts as a way to remind myself of the marvelous in my life that I’m lucky to have – and then that’s supposed to cheer me up. But I really don’t feel like going that route today because I’m just feeling so meh. I have a lot of crap weighing on my mind, and it’s not all ED/recovery related. Instead of focusing on the marvelous to distract myself, I really just want to talk about it all and get it off my chest. So that’s what I’m going to do.
But I guess I’ll get the food/fitness stuff out of the way. My week last week was the most meh workout week I’ve had in a long time. I had work-related events going on a couple of evenings, plus Marathon Monday and plans Friday night, so the only day I was able to do an after-work gym session (which means my beloved group fitness) was Tuesday. That was great but the other days of the week were morning workouts, no classes, and by the end of the week I was just so over it. I have a hard time motivating myself without classes and getting wrapped up in anxiety about not working “hard enough” without a class only makes me feel less motivated to push myself.
Thursday I went out with coworkers after work and had an awesome time but woke up at 3AM with 1.5 hour long insomnia. When my alarm went off for the gym – another solo session – I debated for a bit and decided to say screw it. Rest day for me. Well I never went back to sleep despite the fact that I felt EXHAUSTED, which only made me feel lazy for skipping the gym. Thankfully my mood improved a bit after I skipped out on Friday afternoon wine tasting at work and also walked two miles to meet Annie for dinner (all the while phone chatting with Kaitlin).
Classy picstitch courtesy of Annie!
This past Monday was a special day in Boston. Marathon Monday is always a holiday around here, but given the events of the 2013 Boston Marathon, this year meant more than ever to residents of the city. I only just moved here, but was immediately struck by the incredibly inspiring atmosphere and energy surrounding the event. I’d mentioned in Monday’s post that I hoped to get out of work a bit early to go soak it all in, and I did indeed get out around 2PM.
I took the T to Kenmore, which is about a mile from the finish – a great spot to spectate. Security was very tight; to get through every T stop exit, and to get into any area even near the course, I had to have my bag searched. But the guys searching bags were all so friendly and polite, and seemed happy to just be there protecting the city. I saw a few girls arguing with them, complaining about having to get their bags searched “again”, and it really disappointed me. Let these people search your bag, and move on! Given the events of last year, can you really blame the city of Boston for trying to make this year’s event as safe as possible?
After watching the runners for a bit I ventured over to Annie‘s apartment to hang out on the roof with her, Greg, Kramer, and some other folks. Yes, on the roof! We could see the course from there (and the river in the other direction). The sun felt so strong and I couldn’t get over what a gorgeous day the city had been given for its marathon of redemption!
It’s Marathon Monday! This is my first Marathon Monday as a Boston resident and I hope to get out of work a little early today so I can meet up with friends and take in the event. To do that I had to put in Sunday work time, and since I write these posts on Sundays, this will be a quick one! And don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll do a marathon-centric blog post, but seeing as I haven’t experienced it yet I’m holding off!
It was a marvelous weekend despite a Sunday spent feeling pretty guilty about my eats/drinks from the night prior, and also not loving my body at all. But gotta push on and hopefully the meaningful day here in Boston will help me refocus on what is most important in life.
Tried out a new-to-us spot by the office with some coworkers on Friday, while we killed time before an event. Asian restaurants are not places to go for good cocktails but they are places to go for pretty drinks!
In honor of our 90+ Cellars Paint Nite, I had the job of dressing the most interesting man with our new Rose t-shirt. Which by the way I get to model on our website!
Happy Friday! Some of you may have the day off, but I am working a full day as well as events both tonight and tomorrow night. Luckily these events – Paint Nite and Wine Riot – are events I’d totally attend on my own time for fun. So I’m pretty cool with it, and am excited to write up blog recaps too. One of the many responsibilities of my new job that I sure don’t mind. I’ve got a few things I can talk about today so I thought I’d discuss five of them for the sake of alliteration, and in honor of Five Things Friday.
Check out Clare’s link-up!
They can’t all be amazing right? I’ve had a great track record so far but on Tuesday I went to the soft opening of a new North End speakeasy called Parla, and was left unsatisfied. The drinks, to be fair, were awesome. My first one (pictured below) contained both Domain de Canton and Campari and it blew me away! I also had a prosecco cocktail with more Domain de Canton plus mint and lemon – it pretty much screamed Kaitlin. I’d return to Parla in a second for cocktails!
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!
