Tag Archives: west hartford

Thanksgiving Eve at Barcelona

My Sprigs Banjees running wallet giveaway ends tonight at 11:59PM EST! This non-runner loves hers…have you entered yet?

I’m a bit of a Backwards Beth today! I’m here to tell you all about my Thanksgiving Eve, the day after I told you about Thanksgiving. #sorrynotsorry #it’smyblogandiwon’tmakesenseifidon’twantto

Props to you if you deciphered that last hashtag. Speaking of which, apparently someone named their child Hashtag. Even this Twitter-addict has to shake her head at that one.

Cheers to old friends!

Thanksgiving Eve is notorious for being the biggest party night of the year, even bigger than New Year’s Eve. So naturally (or not so naturally) I was spotted at a bar on Wednesday, 11/21. Not just any bar, but Barcelona Wine Bar in West Hartford. You may recall my previous exploits there:

My long-time friend and neighbor, Molly, and I literally had a Thanksgiving Eve dinner outing at Barcelona planned several months in advance. She is not often home during her college breaks and I’m pretty hard to pin down myself, so we were sure to make time to hang out with each other and have a nice evening of girl talk over cocktails and tapas. So yes, I went out on Thanksgiving Eve. But I started my night around 6:30PM, and was literally asleep before 10PM. Just the way I like it!

A better look at the cocktail I’m holding in the above photo – a new one at Barcelona, the White Negroni. I’ve decided a Negroni is my second fave cocktail, after a Manhattan. As Molly put it, “It tastes like a candle, but in a good way.”

Molly selected the Aviation after I recommended it – Ransom Old Tom Gin, Liqueur de Violettes, Luxardo Maraschino, Lemon Juice. We were gin cocktail twins!

Dan and Anna – competing Barcelona bartenders!

Having friends who are bartenders has its perks, and no one knows this better than me 😀 the lovely Anna had a cocktail drink-off with another bartender, Dan, and Molly and I got to judge the competing beverages. My vote was for Anna’s White Negroni made with WHISKEY (above right). But I’m a Whiskey-loving Wendy, so I’m a bit biased. Molly couldn’t really decide!

Anna also hooked us up with some samples of sweet vermouth. How did I not know that sweet vermouth tastes GREAT alone? Each of the three we tried got better and better each time. Very similar to sherry!

I felt like it was a Friday so it took me a few seconds to realize that the reason Molly was excited over Barcelona’s weeknight 6-tapas-for-$49 deal was because…it was not Friday, but Wednesday, AKA a weeknight! Dur! We immediately decided to choose 6 tapas and share them. Along with bread. Because we love carbs.

Nom much?

Our tapas were coursed out at the perfect pace and everything was a-freaking-mazing. Like seriously, I can’t think of a single negative thing to say about any of these tapas.

Roasted sunchokes (cross between a potato and an artichoke, please try them if you ever see them anywhere) and clam ceviche.

My first experience with rutabaga!

This Cauliflower Au Gratin was provided by Anna for us to try – thank you, girl!

Monkfish cakes with a pesto aioli. I’ve had monkfish before at Bonefish Grill and was so psyched for the chance to eat it again. These were foodgasm-worthy.

Roasted mushrooms with a duck egg (OH YES) and pork tenderloin with bacon and butternut squash. My two favorite dishes – thankfully they came out best-for-last.

Do you hate me yet? I think you might. What I love about Barcelona is the fact that the menu changes SO often since everything is super-fresh and the chefs are always creating new ways to serve the food. I can keep coming back and try new dishes each time. In fact, most of these dishes are not on the menu anymore and it’s only been about a week since this visit! So bad news because you can’t go get these tapas now, but good news because whatever has replaced them is sure to be just as a-freaking-mazing and lacking of any negative components.

Anna was also kind enough to mix up a newer cocktail, the Bramble Snap, for Molly and I to split a sample of. We both loved it (though my Negroni was my fave) and that blackberry sure tasted good at the end.

I’m pretty sure you can now see why this was the perfect Thanksgiving Eve for me. Unique food, fancy cocktails, restaurant friends, a best friend, lots of pictures. #jadorelavie all around.

General Manager Jason Boske, me, and Exec Chef Adam Greenberg! They were having their dinner before the non-grandmas like me came to party.

Molly and I agreed after we’d finished our tapas that they were the perfect amount of food. I felt totally satisfied and, when I got home, totally ready for bed!

If you said the prettiest thing in this pic was the Cauliflower Au Gratin, I wouldn’t be offended.

Thanks to Anna, Jason, Adam, Dan, Derek, and everyone else who helped Molly and I have a wonderful Thanksgiving Eve. I’ve already got plans to head back to Barcelona Wine Bar for a Holiday Tapas cooking class/tasting on Monday, December 17 at 7PM! As you can tell from my previous event posts they are always having cool foodie/wino events going on so if you’re a CT local I totally recommend looking for one at a location near you! And make sure you make a reservation early because these things fill up fast.

Which of the tapas I tried sounds best to you?

What did you do on Thanksgiving Eve? Grandma status, party-hardy, or a nice happy medium like me?

Have you ever dined at a tapas-style restaurant?

CT NOW Love Your Body 5K

Hello, Monday readers! I hope your weekends were wonderful. Mine was pretty good! I’m going to start this post off with a tummy update. I have been experiencing nausea, stomach cramping, and other GI stuff off-and-on for almost three weeks now. After my first two frustrating doctor’s visits (during which I was told it was a virus), I finally had a third appointment with my regular doctor. It’s been a lot of waiting for test results, but I’m happy to report that I’m that much closer to an answer to this whole mess. I was just hoping to test positive for SOMETHING and I got a call on Friday afternoon reporting to me that, low and behold, I had. My tests revealed the presence of a bacteria that can cause the on-and-off symptoms I’ve been experiencing and there is an antibiotic that can treat it. I immediately felt flooded with relief. I honestly was going to be panicky if my tests had shown nothing wrong. Images of being a Dr. House impossible-to-diagnose case have been flashing through my mind.

Of course, if this fine man was treating me, maybe I could keep a positive mindset. Source.

The antibiotics that can treat this bacteria tend to have side effects of even worse nausea though, so my doctor does not want to put me on them until they get the last of my test results back (hopefully on Monday). Once it’s confirmed that I have tested negative for everything else except this one bacteria, I will be treated for it. They don’t want me on these antibiotics unless I have to be, especially since it is so important for me to feel the best I possibly can so that I can get in the calories I need. I understand that for sure, but am also anxious to start the medication so that I can be sure that this bacteria really is what is causing my symptoms. I was so excited to test positive for something that I didn’t catch the name of the bacteria or meds when I was on the phone with my doc – oops. I will try to get them from her today and report back to you guys.

Superwomen!

Now onto the subject of this post! Awhile back I announced that I’d signed up for the CT Chapter of the National Organization for Women‘s Love Your Body 5K  at the West Hartford Reservoir. I’m thankful that my good blend Maria was game to sign up with me; together we formed Team #AmazingMe! I could hardly believe race day was already here when I woke up Saturday morning. Unfortunately my stomach was not 100% upon first waking but I rested at home for a couple of hours, drank up an apple cider vinegar and water “cocktail”, and popped an Imodium before I hit the road.

I’m one amazing, Fitfluential lady!

Since the race took place so close to Halloween, Maria and I immediately wanted to plan matching costumes. I decided that pink superheroes would be perfect for us. We love our pink and it fit perfectly with our team theme! I got a couple of fairly nice tech tees from Wal-Mart, and we decorated them with Sharpies before the race started. I represented the team name and Fitfluential on my tee, while Maria represented the team and Sweat Pink, for which she is an ambassador.

I loooove running skirts – and hot pink sneakers! Also wore my beloved Sweaty Band from the Fitness Mag Meet & Tweet swag bag!

I couldn’t believe Maria was able to find pink superhero capes, but she did! Actually, I think they were supposed to be pink vampire capes, given the classy collars. They still fit our purpose and everyone understood that we were supposed to be superheroes – with the exception of one little girl cheering for me at the finish line saying, “GO ballerina, GO!” OK, ballerina works too!

Maria testing out the cape after first putting it on. How much do you love her socks?

The cape passed the test!

After getting “dolled up”, we made a porta-potty pit stop (bleh) and picked up our numbers. The cherries on top of our costumes were these awesome signs that were available to fill out before participants proceeded to the starting line.

Not ours but I sure liked these ideas!

It was so inspiring throughout the race to see each participant wearing a sign that displayed how proud they were of themselves. Some even used their signs to display affection for the important people in their lives – and really, aren’t they truly better than any “perfect” body part? I especially loved the sign on one man running in front of me at a point that said “I Love My Love (Lori).”  Whether Lori is his wife, girlfriend, sister, best friend, it’s pretty clear that she lights up his life and he wanted to remember her while he ran. I myself am trying to get away from seeing my body parts individually. I am so used to honing in on one part of me (most often my stomach) and criticizing myself for imperfections, even when I rationally know that a perfect body is NOT the path to happiness and that many things “wrong” I see with myself aren’t even there. It has really been helpful to me to stop myself whenever I find myself concentrating on one body part, and focus on the entire amazing me. That’s why I filled out my sign as follows…

Maybe the vampire collar was going to my head.

Maria went a similar route!

Woooo bod pod!

We decided to start out running together, but if one of us picked up a faster pace, she was of course free to move forward. Immediately I started out feeling pretty good and surged a little bit ahead. I still carefully monitored my stomach – at the first feeling of nausea, I planned to scale it back.

Thanks for this great pic, Maria!

The race course was gorgeous. The West Hartford Reservoir is incredibly beautiful and I had only gone running there during the summertime. The sight pictured above truly took my breath away. As I ran by each lake-and-leaves scene I felt overwhelmed by the beauty before my eyes and I truly felt a wave of “zen” wash over me. It’s amazing what nature can do!

Throughout the race course there were NOW CT volunteers spread out with encouraging signs. It was a fantastic addition to the 5K! My favorite sign said “Si Se Puede!”…anyone else remember that Disney Channel original movie? I also was a big fan of this guy with his “You Are Wonderful!” sign. I pointed at him and said, “No, YOU are!”

Our costumes were a huge hit! A lot of people I ran by smiled and cheered for me, saying, “Nice cape!’ I think I need to just wear this costume every day of my life because those smiles certainly made me feel great. The cape stayed on well despite the fact that it was only secured around my neck by one piece of velcro!

Unfortunately as I was going down one of the last big hills of the course, I got a REALLY bad stitch in my side. Maria came up behind me and stopped to check on me, advising me to massage the cramp. I did so while breathing out for as long as I could (I heard that this helps side cramps) but did have to stop and walk. For a second I felt disappointed in myself, especially as the folks I’d previously passed were passing me. However the feeling quickly passed. I mean, I have not been feeling my best and here I was running a 5K! My body needed walking and I gave it just that. As I neared where I knew the finish line was I felt confident that the cramp had passed and picked up the pace to a jog, and then a run. Once I was close to the finish line I saw that the clock read 29:40. In the back of my mind I’d had a goal to finish this 5K in under 30 minutes, so I broke into a sprint and crossed at the (unofficial) time of 29:54. Amazing Me indeed!

Maria and I post-race!

My friend and former co-worker Brian was working at the finish line and handed me a water bottle. He is the one who told me about this event and I am so grateful that he did! It gave me a chance to donate to a cause I believe in, feel inspired, and hang out with a good friend in a beautiful setting.

Thanks Brian! He loves his quads!

The post-race swag was quite impressive! The shirts actually fit well and I am wearing mine today at work. I love representing a race or event in the workplace – yay for a casual dress code in my office!

Oops, mirror image. #selfieproblems

However the very best part of the swag was, to me, the fact that they offered bananas of varying ripeness. I have never seen that before…there were both plain yellow and brown-spotted bananas. Most people are very particular about their banana ripeness and I don’t know if it’s just me but I was seriously blown away that there was a choice for runners!

Plain yellow…

…and brown-spotted too! This was my choice.

Maria and I also snagged some natural lip balm, White Chocolate Macadamia Luna bars, oranges, and Chewy bars (you’re welcome, little brother).

Me with my swag bag!

Something else caught my eye at the swag table…local CT wine?! Turns out the top three male and female finishers each got a bottle. I joked that if I had known, maybe I would’ve picked up the pace a bit 😛 and suggested they gift the only costumed runners with wine as well. I got a “maybe next year!” in response to that. Nice try, Caitlin.

Unfortunately after we got to our cars, Maria and I had to part ways. She had errands to run and a best friend’s birthday to prep for, and I had (still have…) a paper to write. But I left happy that I’d seen her, proud of myself for walking when I needed to, and pleased that I was still feeling good in the tummy! Oh, and extremely grateful for such a WARM October day. Seriously, I don’t mind this part of global warming.

Thank you to the CT Chapter of the National Organization of Women for putting on a great event with an inspiring message!

Have you ever dressed up for an athletic event? What was your costume?

Have you ever participated in a love-your-body centered event? Did it inspire you?

What’s the best race swag/tee you’ve ever gotten?

Whole Foods 1-Day Shrimp Sale Means…Recipe!

I’m glad you guys enjoyed my posts from earlier this week on Manchester’s Market Grille and my town’s Apple Fest. I also can’t thank you enough for your support and feedback as I update you all on my stomach stuff. Latest news – I went yesterday for blood tests for parasites, bacterial intestinal infections, and a whole slew of other stuff. I’m currently awaiting the results. And if the results are “nothing is wrong”, I’ll be pretty upset. But I’m trying not to think that way because stress only exacerbates the discomfort. I WILL find an answer!

Now, let’s get to the meat of today’s post. Or shall I say the seafood, if we are bring protein-type-specific.

I love me some Whole Foods – I have loved these grocery stores even before they put me in their North Atlantic region’s holiday magazine 😉 #brag #sorrynotsorry And my local Whole Foods are especially kind to me. Case in point: Whole Foods West Hartford (in Blueback Square) gave me the gift of four pounds of shrimp to sample in a dinner recipe in honor of tomorrow’s one-day sale!

Guess what’s inside?!

The above bag contained four pounds of farm-cooked white shrimp, raised in Thailand under responsible farming techniques and strict environmental condition standards. They contained no preservatives and were noticeably fresh. And they came already peeled and de-veined, so the only prep needed was to de-tail.

An inside-bag view.

Usually these little guys are $14.99/pound, but for tomorrow’s one-day sale (Friday 10/19 only!) you can get them for $6.99/pound! If I were you I’d make it a point to get over to Whole Foods West Hartford (Blueback or Bishop’s Corner) or Glastonbury tomorrow so you can start your weekend on a seafood frenzy.

Probably what Meg‘s fridge looks like.

My mom and I decided to use the shrimp in a Shrimp Creole recipe my mom got from one of her oldest friends. It was even written on a slip of paper from a Palm City Elementary notepad. As in, my elementary school. Holy 12-year-old notepad!

This recipe is satisfying, healthy, and packs quite the protein-punch!

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of turkey bacon (chopped)
  • 1 cup of celery (chopped)
  • 1 cup of onion (chopped)
  • 1 cup of garlic (I used a jar of minced garlic)
  • 1 cup of bell pepper (chopped)
  • 1 can of tomato paste
  • 1 jar of tomatoes
  • 1 can of mushroom soup
  • 2 tablespoons of chili powder
  • 4 pounds of shrimp

Directions:

  1. Saute bacon, celery, onion, and bell pepper until tender.
  2. Add tomato paste and tomatoes. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Add chili powder and garlic.
  4. Add shrimp and cream of mushroom soup. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Serve alone or over rice!

Before addition of shrimp and mushroom soup.

Beautiful shrimpies ready to go.

Final combo simmering away.

Ridiculously easy, right? Just get past that that ingredient prep (chopping) and it’s a matter of mixing ingredients together and hands-free simmering. Something that did require work, however, was our choice of side. My mom attempted to fix us some spaghetti squash. The problem is, she did so while drinking wine. When you mix this with cooking…

Waltzing with wine.

…sometimes you get burnt spaghetti squash.

Uhhh…

Hey, you guys know I love carcinogen-filled food. It tasted pretty good…well, what was salvageable (aka the bowl above).

Wasting time showering between workouts and meals? Child’s play.

I can’t lie, my mom did most of the cooking. But I stirred! And I provided the wine. I got it from the Trader Joe’s at Patriot Place in Foxboro, MA when I went to visit Heather this past weekend. This Cabernet Sauvignon was $2.99. And you know what? It was quite good!

This does NOT taste like it cost $2.99!

My mom totally agreed. I was thankful to be having a good stomach day and enjoyed my wine, Shrimp Creole, and burnt spaghetti squash alongside half a baked potato with more Creole sauce. Oh, and the fireplace and REVENGE!

Cozy fireplace meal 🙂 And I spy my Big Bird plate…

The recipe was a total success and my lucky father got to enjoy the leftovers last night. They tasted just as good as night one!

So remember, if this recipe tempted you and you are a Hartford, CT area local, I highly recommend hightailing it to Whole Foods West Hartford (Blueback or Bishop’s Corner) or Glastonbury to take advantage of the one-day sale (Friday 10/19 only) and pay only $6.99/pound for this delish shrimp, instead of $14.99/pound!

And if you aren’t a local, you can pick up some shrimp and make this yourself. Be sure to share with me on Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook if you do!

Thanks to Whole Foods West Hartford for providing me with the shrimp for this recipe! I received this shrimp free of charge, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you ever gotten to take advantage of a crazy-good Whole Foods (or any other grocery store) sale? What’d you buy?

Do you enjoy cooking with and/or eating shrimp? What’s your favorite recipe? (Meg, no need to answer the first question).

Here Comes a Fighter

Have you entered my Mohegan Sun BrewFest giveaway yet? Don’t forget – you could win two passes to this weekend’s beer bonanza! Giveaway closes tomorrow (Wednesday 10/3) at 12PM EST.

Geez, so far fall has been extremely busy in terms of my full-time job!By the time I got home last night from my post-work gym session all I wanted to do was sit on the couch with my mom and watch the season premiere of Grey’s on the DVR with dinner. And wine. So that’s what I did – no blog post.

My setup at Art With a Twist in New Haven, CT!

But now I’m ready to blog about this past Saturday. As I mentioned in Sunday’s brief giveaway post, I have a lot to say! The day started out in typical Caitlin fashion – spin class and #plankaday, a few hours of much-needed study time at Daybreak. Then I hit the road for New Haven to have a date with Maria of Pappa Don’t Preach! We’ve never been able to do a good one-on-one hangout before, but we are two peas in a pod and I’m so grateful to have met her through blogging. She drove all the way from Stamford to meet me at Art With a Twist for a BYOB painting class! We used a Groupon🙂 of course.

Maria listening to our instructor, the fabulous Bella Zadore.

Maria did a great job sharing more photos of Art With a Twist’s lovely location, and info about the business itself, in her recap! We decided to go sweet on the booze and shared Riesling and champagne. Thanks Maria for introducing me to Asti! It was delicious.

Everyone painted the same illustration, but then everyone’s came out looking different. My water turned out a bit sickly looking, and Maria pointed out that I was just trying to paint the Long Island Sound. Truth.

Pondering the sounds of the Sound…champagne in hand.

I also must’ve still had BlogHer on the brain because my palm trees looked like Lorax mustaches.

Lorax #1

Lorax #2. He’s unimpressed. Source

I was doing a little too much hating on my painting, so Bella sprinkled me with confetti as “punishment”. Okay okay, I complained on purpose so that I could get showered in confetti. Who doesn’t love that?!

There’s a 30% chance it’s already raining.

I had a great time chatting with Maria about our gym sessions that morning (of course) and also taught her how to take silly photos. She deemed me a silly photo queen. I am honored!

Help me take silly photos, Caitlin!

Don’t mind if I do!

How amazing are the “men/women” signs for the bathrooms?! Bella is so creative! She decorated everything in Art With a Twist herself.

Blogger in action.

Despite the fact that my painting did not look like Bella’s, I’m gonna refrain from saying that it wasn’t as good as Bella’s. After all, she wasn’t painting the Long Island Sound!

It’s beauuuuutiful!

Stealing this from Maria’s post…BYO-Blend!

You are what you…paint?

After class we hit up 116 Crown for a pre-dinner cocktail. Because when you’ve been drinking since 2:30PM, why stop?

I ordered the Negroni!

Unfortunately before I could even get to the point of ordering, I had to wait outside with Maria for 15 minutes because we arrived at 4:45PM and they weren’t open yet. It’s fine, another opportunity to practice her silly photo taking!

Let me at the cocktails!

Why am I not drinking a cocktail right now?!

Once we were seated and with drinks in hand, our kind bartender (and very patient I might add, we had SO many drink ingredient questions) took some awesome above-view photos of us 😀

I love the modern “pod” seating!

It was my second time at 116 Crown in September (and ever). I’ll definitely be back! It’d take me eons to work through that drink menu.

Falafel, hummus, cucumber yogurt sauce, pita.

By the time we got to the ultimate dinner destination, Red Lentil, I was staaarving! I’ve been pumped to try the place because it offers unique vegan/vegetarian dishes and had gotten a rave review from Heather. Maria and I started with the appetizer special, the above falafel platter. Be still my heart! It was excellent. I also had the beet-sweet potato-apple latkes. The picture looks totally ugly but they tasted the opposite of ugly.

They may or may not have been equated to “bad weed” in an Instagram comment.

After dinner, I hit the road…but I didn’t head back home like I thought I’d be doing when I woke up that morning. Instead, I responded to a spontaneous text I received during the paint class, inviting me to the Full Moon Onyx Moonshine Party at Taqueria Tavern in West Hartford.

Onyx is an awesome local CT company. I love local, I love booze, and I love unique marketing. Onyx Moonshine has all three of those on its side! You may remember that I worked with them at the Farm to Shaker Bartender Challenge as a cocktail competition judge!

The party included many delicious Onyx drink specials (I had a cinnamon infused Onyx on the rocks that was to die for) and a super-spicy wing eating contest. The photo above includes the two Onyx founders Pete and Adam, and between them is the winner of the wing-eating contest, Judson!

Judson and his winnings!

Judson is a champ. He decided to enter the contest THAT day! He also happens to be the boyfriend of my friend Jennifer! They’re an adorable couple.

Jennifer and I!

I took a bite of one of the wings (DUMB) and my mouth was on fire for almost an hour afterward! I don’t know how these champs did it! JD of Ripe Bar Juice (also from the Cocktail Competition at the Coventry Farmer’s Market) ordered me up a Kahlua drink made with Onyx, and it certainly coated my mouth with some cooling dairy and helped stop the burn.

JD is fearing the wing!

I’m realizing right now that this post is really long and I am only just now getting to the part of it that I have been wanting to write for the last couple of days. This was a long day. I was drinking from 2:30PM to about 10:30PM. I definitely did some chip nomming at the Mexican restaurant. That Kahlua drink most definitely had whole milk in it. I didn’t get home until 11:30PM. The day may have started out Caitlin-style, but it didn’t end that way.

And as fate would have it, the beautiful Becki has started an October challenge that I decided today to join, because it fits with what I want to say today and what I want to DO for myself for the rest of the month and beyond. You can read the details here, but it entails 10 minutes a day of meditating on why you are AMAZING.

I woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday after having gone to that party in a panic. I was about to go get my mother out of bed and pour out my heart. I felt worthless. I felt guilty. I felt like I didn’t deserve to have the fun Saturday I’d just had.

But instead of going to get my mom, I took a deep breath. I lay in my bed in corpse pose and tried a calming tactic that has worked for me before. I breathed in and out, and after each breath I said out loud something from my #AmazingMe list. In, out. “I worked out yesterday.” In, out. “I had a wonderful time.” In, out. “I did something I knew would put me out of my comfort zone.” In, out, until I fell back asleep.

After all, only #AmazingMe could have made this painting!

I woke up on Sunday morning still feeling, to put it bluntly, like a piece of shit. I was proud of myself for having worked through my mid-night anxiety on my own, but was still being bombarded by the most hateful, mean thoughts. I went to the gym – yes, partially because I felt like I wanted to get in a workout to “make up” for the previous night. But also because I wanted to be powerful, feel strong, and do something that I enjoyed. I even putzed around the house for a bit before hitting the gym instead of dashing there like I usually do on weekend mornings, because I just wanted to wait it out and go to the Sunday morning spin class, which always leaves me feeling refreshed and has the BEST music. I did a lot of singing-and-spinning that morning.

I took a little social media vacation. I went on Instagram for a second, and realized the last thing I wanted to see was peoples’ food and workouts. Sometimes I’m okay with that stuff, but sometimes it triggers me like crazy. I tweeted that I was going to spend the day doing nothing except what makes me feel good. Then I stayed away from Twitter for most of the day.

After the gym, I took a long, slow, hot shower. I had a date to study with Jenny at J. Rene Coffee Roasters in West Hartford, and was still going because seeing Jenny and drinking coffee in a unique cafe does NOTHING but make me feel good, but I decided to take it slow. I decided not to be go-go-go to the next appointment on my “agenda”. I closed my eyes and sang in the shower, because that felt great. And while I was getting ready to go, Avril Lavigne “With You” came on my playlist and I suddenly got the urge to just dance around my room like a half ballerina, half hip-hop queen. I felt like it’d make me feel good. So, that’s what I did.

Even right now as I write this I am overwhelmed with pride over how much self love I practiced this past Sunday. Almost every activity I did, every action I took, I stopped and asked myself, “Is this what I want to do?” If it wasn’t, I didn’t do it. I still felt the hateful thoughts coming at me from every direction. But I was on a mission to medicate and heal their damage with something other than restricting, than over-exercising. I didn’t want to lose another battle.

At the end of Sunday evening as I lay in bed listening to an inspiring NPR interview recommended to me by Jenny, coloring with my Sharpies, inhaling my Pumpkin Buttercream Yankee Candle, I felt at peace. Again, I still had mean thoughts popping up in my head. I still felt a bit miserable. But getting past this is going to come in increments, and any little peace I can give myself means the world to me and makes me feel proud.

An evening of serenity.

What this all comes down to (I felt a bit word vomit-y as I wrote this but I just kinda let it flow), is the following: Yes, I was beating myself up all Sunday for having a spontaneous Saturday night. BUT I did not curl up in a ball and hide. I did not obsess over how I’d “make up” for what I had “done wrong”. I did not try to punish myself by letting my mind just sit back and take the negative thoughts. Instead I tried to HEAL myself from their damage by practicing self love and doing things that soothed me and taking it easy. I took it easy on myself, and as a result, felt like a fighter. I still feel like one! I didn’t feel that way a couple weekends ago in Tennessee, but this time I feel like I have come out successful in this battle. You lose some, you win some. And hopefully this is the start of continuing to win some!

Have you ever been to a unique BYOB activity or partaken in a crazy food contest?

What do you think about Becki’s Leaf Your Negativity Behind challenge? Who’s with me?!

Tell me a way you recently practiced self love!

Pink Thursday at Cuvee Blo’s Up – Giveaway!

Congratulations to the winners of the Mama Micki’s Vegan Cookie giveaway! I received 136 entries – thank you so much for your interest in these local goodies baked with passion and care right here in New England.

Congratulations Jeanne and Audrey! I will be contacting you to get your shipping information and choice of prize! You also clearly have good taste 🙂

Remember the 3rd Anniversary Party I recently promoted and attended for Cuvee? Well they’re at it again, and this time you can support a good cause AND drink champagne at the same time in this fabulous champagne room in West Hartford’s Blueback Square.

At Cuvee, each Thursday in September has been Think Pink Thursday – wear pink and get a free glass of champagne! As you can probably guess, the pink is more than just a girly twist – it’s been selected because Cuvee has partnered with Susan G. Komen’s Connecticut chapter to support breast cancer awareness. In addition, patrons can purchase a pink champagne flute and bring it back next Thursday 10/4 for a three-hour open champagne bar!

Feasting on apps and champagne with my friend Kelly in one of Cuvee’s cozy, intimate corners!

This Thursday is the last Think Pink Thursday at Cuvee, and it will be an especially can’t-miss evening since Blo West Hartford will be there giving out beauty tips and information about this new Blo location and its services!

Source

In honor of the last Pink Thursday at Cuvee, Blo West Hartford is giving away a free do from the Blo Hair Menu to one lucky Cait Plus Ate reader! Want to enter? There are several ways – but leave a comment for each or they won’t all count! Giveaway is open until 12PM this Thursday, 9/27!

  1. Comment on this post telling me which style on the Blo Hair Menu you’d choose! (mandatory)
  2. Tweet Blo up @CuveeCT for @komenct this Thurs 9/24 & enter the @CaitPlusAte @bloheartsyou #giveaway! http://wp.me/p1SfTW-1vt and comment with the link to your tweet.
  3. Follow @CuveeCT on Twitter and comment saying you did.
  4. Follow @komenct on Twitter and comment saying you did.
  5. Follow @ScarlettOHair_a on Twitter – owner of Blo WeHa – and comment saying you did.

Good luck to all who enter and remember – if you’re in the West Hartford area, THINK PINK this Thursday at Cuvee to support breast cancer awareness!

5K Fashion Friday!

Be sure to enter my giveaway for Mama Micki’s vegan cookies – you have until tomorrow (Saturday 9/22) at 11:59PM EST to enter!

I’m still so relieved to know that I’m not alone in feeling what I shared on Tuesday. I would never be happy that others are experiencing any negative emotions, but it is comforting to know I’m not alone, and I can see that many of you share the same sentiment. I always get paranoid when I open up here but I never end up regretting it because you’re all just so very kind and understanding!

This seems like a fitting time to announce that I recently signed up for the Love Your Body 5K on Saturday, October 20th! The run is being put on by the CT Chapter of the National Organization for Women and will take place at the beautiful West Hartford Reservoir. I highly encourage anyone in the area to sign up and join fellow blogger Maria and I on Team #AmazingMe! There’s no “official” sign-up process to start a team, but if you sign up and want to join us then simply shoot me an email and let me know so that I can keep you in the loop on where we’ll meet up before the race and costumes(YES we are ABSOLUTELY dressing up and suggestions are welcome!)

My dear friend Jenny and I on a hike in the Reservoir!

Registration is just $25 before the race and $30 on race day, so if you’re on the fence you won’t be losing out on too much money by deciding to show up last minute. But you MAY lose out on the advance notice needed to put a costume together 😛 fair warning! Proceeds benefit the CT NOW Foundation and they are still looking for sponsors, so if you are a local business interested in showing support for an empowering movement then you can email them here!

Now let’s get down to it. I know you guys enjoy Fashion Friday and I do too, even if it means I’m slowly revealing the  size of my closet to the public – it’s actually a small closet, but way more full than it should be. Oops. But fashion makes me happy (and so does donating clothes I don’t wear anymore!) so I will keep filling (and periodically emptying) that closet of mine with more material for more Fashion Fridays. After all, there are 52 Fridays in a year!

Disclaimer:I am completely kidding and am in no form promising you all 52 (multiplied by 4-5 outfits per post) unique outfits per year. Now that would be obscene.

Like my work badge?

Top: Urban Outfitters

Necklace: mystery to me

Watch: Fossil

Jeans: American Eagle

Shoes: Toms

Top: H&M

Watch: gift from grandpa

Rings: Forever 21

Pants, Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Bow: Samantha American Girl doll (not a joke)

Earrings: Forever 21

Cardigan: J. Crew

Cami: Hollister

Watch: Michael Kors

Ring: Forever 21

Jeggings: American Eagle

Wedges: Francesca’s

Headband, Earrings, Ring: Forever 21

Top: Urban Outfitters

Watch: NYC flea market

Belt, Jeggings: American Eagle

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

I also just found one of the tops from last week’s Fashion Friday on Urban Outfitters online SALE section!

Which outfit is your favorite?

Got any ideas for costumes for Team #AmazingMe? Remember the Love Your Body 5K takes place just 11 days before Halloween, so the possibilities are truly endless!

Have you ever attended a Love Your Body – themed event?

Barcelona Patio Party!

This post has been a long time coming!!! You may remember the BBQ & Vino Party I recapped earlier in the summer, which took place at one of my favorite CT restaurants, Barcelona Wine Bar. The restaurant group owns establishments in several locations, including West Hartford (also home to its latest venture, bartaco). I love the fact that at all locations, monthly events take place about the appreciation and creation of creative, local tapas.

On July 30, Barcelona West Hartford hosted a Patio Party all about summer fare. Chef Jason Welch, who prepared that fantastic pig roast dinner I wrote about last month, once again outdid himself and provided a group of CT locals with a generously priced (only $25!) tasting menu, and performed cooking demos for each course.

Quite the selection for just $25, right?! And all of my favorite things! Veggies…seafood…steak…feta…

Jason welcomes his guests.

I didn’t know much about Jason’s work experience even after the BBQ & Vino event, so I was glad he kicked off the proceedings with more about himself and his backstory as a chef. He grew up nearby in Farmington, CT and later, even spent time cooking at a legendary NYC restaurant, Gotham.

RIP that dress, it got ruined in the wash after this event 🙁

In the above photo I’m holding the first course, a watermelon martini (watermelon puree, Hangar lime vodka, lime juice) and watermelon & cucumber salad (watermelon, cukes, feta, mint, Pedro Ximenz Sherry Vinegar).  The martini was okay, but I am just so picky with how sweet my drinks are…AKA I like them best as old man drinks; I was disappointed that I couldn’t taste more of the cayenne pepper dash that was thrown in there. However I have plenty of girlfriends that would’ve gone mad for that martini. I more so enjoyed the watermelon cucumber salad. Watermelon and cucumber with feta has been done before, but I’ve never tasted a version with the sherry vinegar (which can be found at Whole Foods). The perfect unique touch to a summer favorite.

Jason took the time throughout the Patio Party to make sure every guest got a good view during each demo. He brought around the above bowl of the marinade for the striped bass ceviche, which contained peppers, red onion, cilanto, and citrus (those last two are always my favorite parts of ceviche). The bass itself was purchased from a local farmer’s market that very morning!

Meg…try not to freak out.

While not the best ceviche I’ve ever had, because I prefer mine a bit chunkier and with a “medley” of seafood, I still adored Jason’s version. The marinade in particular was fantastic. To go with our food, Jeff (are you really that surprised that he went to this event with me?) and I took the suggestions of our great waiter Derek and ordered two different sweeter white wines to share – a German Riesling (2010 Riesling, Max Ferd. Richter, Zeppelin) and a French Vouvray (2010 Chenin Blanc, Bourillon Dorléans). Both were wonderful, but I adored the Vouvray because of its less sweet flavor profile. So refreshing on a summer night and perfect as a seafood pairing.

Cheers!

White wine and ceviche (remains), ain’t nothin’ better in the summertime 🙂

The next course was dynamite – don’t be fooled by its veggie description. The roasted sweet corn & fennel was tossed with Manchego cheese, as well as a heavenly, out-of-this-world cilantro-lime BUTTER! Now I normally eat my corn plain, right off the cob. But I also can’t deny that when it’s coated in fancy cheese and shmancy butter, it’s pretty damn delightful.

The “red stuff” is an essential in Spanish cooking, similar to paprika, called pimenton.

Jason continued to give us a small demo for each course, while the plates for us were made back in the kitchen. He also passed around a list for us to write down our emails so we could get the recipes later.

As I mentioned in my Millwright’s review, I adore swordfish, and the next course met my excited expectations! It was topped with a fennel-orange vinaigrette (I love how much Jason incorporated fennel into the menu, since its local supply was so fresh and bountiful at that time). I have paired pineapple and mango salsas with swordfish before, but never orange! A new fruit/fish combo for me that I really enjoyed.

Jeff took this photo for me while I was in the bathroom!

To go with our next course, we ordered some fantastic red wines that all tasted, I must admit, delightfully boozy 😉 Jeff went with a recommendation I’d gotten from my a friend who bartends at Barcelona, Anna. He agreed that the Cesca Vicent was a) wonderful and b) very me. Both true! Evan and I each got a glass of Malbec.

Around this time things started getting a little more silly 😛

Oh hey!

Everyone must do this on his or her way to the bathroom.

Had to pass the time while waiting for the last course…

You think this is weird?

…well yeah, it just got weirder. FACE JUGGLER #creepy

…which consisted of skirt steak, garlic spinach, sweet potato fries, and chimichurri sauce.

Holy crap! The meat was not as underdone as I usually like (I like it moo-ing) but that’s fine because the sweet potato fries were INCREDIBLE. Often thick sweet potato fries are too limp but Jason’s recipe? So fantastic – thick fries that still had a body to them. The spinach tasted so fresh…I just know that it was local. I love when no telling is needed to have confidence in where a food came from. Plenty of garlic on that spinach for my tastebuds too. They can never get enough!

One of my favorite outdoor patios ever. I feel like I take this same photo at the end of every Barcelona event.

The crowd was even surprised with dessert! It wasn’t listed on the menu, but I was pleasantly surprised to get another chance to indulge in Barcelona’s homemade churros with chocolate sauce. To go with them, Jeff and I ordered one of our new favorite wines – sherry. Just like port, I love me some old-man style sherry.

Just looking at that photo makes me crave a dessert and dessert wine combo while I’m in MA this weekend for the Healthy Living Summit…yup that’s right more recaps are coming your way next week! I am making the most of my summer and that is OK! And amazing 🙂

My bartender friend Anna and I – she is a West Hartford expert!

So thank you Chef Jason, Derek, Anna, and the rest of Barcelona’s talented staff (including Exec Chef Adam Greenberg) for hosting an affordable evening to remember of local summery foods, delicious drinks, and silly photos on your beautiful patio!

Barcelona West Hartford is closed in August for renovations,  but check out bartaco in the mean time!

Which of these dishes would you want to try most?

What’s your favorite part of summer nights?

Am I the only fan of sherry out there?!

July Foodie Pen Pals, Flowers, and Vegan Cake

Huge thanks to Danielle of Clean Food, Creative Fitness for including me in her Marvelous in my Monday link roundup. I encourage every one of you to go to her list and check out the posts. They are awe-inspiring examples of strength from fellow bloggers!

I can’t believe it’s already the end of July, and time to reveal what I received from my foodie pen pal this month! Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean amazes me every single time she sends out her monthly spreadsheet of pen pal matches. I don’t know how the girl handles it all and keeps it so well-organized. Lindsay, you rock! Readers, if you want to participate make sure you click the image below for more details.

This month I sent a package to Mary of Healthy Lifestyle Ideas, and received a package from Shaunna of Mama’s 13 Minute Mile, who I found out (from her blog) happens to also be an outdoor yoga fan!

One of my favorite parts of Foodie Pen Pals (but probably not the most favorite…that’s gonna be the food #sorrynotsorry) is the requirement to send a handwritten note in the package. Just doesn’t happen enough nowadays!

First up, the goodies from Shaunna’s local farmers’ market!

I simply love getting local foodie treats in these packages. It makes it all the more special. I am a sucker for these Brandywine House herb and dip mixes (I’ve purchased a few before at the Glastonbury Apple Festival, still need to finish them all off) and especially can’t wait to try the spicy bleu variety. Maybe my Indian food fan blends Heather and Jenny can point me to a recipe that I could use the tandoori mix in?!

I keep forgetting that I received the Mad Mango Jalapeno Jelly by Terri’s Homegrown Heaven aka The Jelly Lady, and I kick myself each time I do. I have eaten so many good meats at home the last couple of weeks that would’ve paired great with it! MUST. REMEMBER. IT’S. IN. MY. PANTRY. I will be sure to Instagram whatever meal I use it on. The jelly seems ripe for a fish dish, yes?

I’m surprised my little brother hasn’t gobbled up all of the Planters Nut & Chocolate Trail Mix, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. Unfortunately the Blue Diamond Bold Wasabi & Soy Sauce Almonds were not my mom and I’s cup of tea, but I was super surprised that my mom was even willing to give them a shot! She’s a plain Jane almonds lover. Finally, I’m really excited to try the El Mexicano Pico de Gallo powder in one of my mom’s healthy Mexican dinner recipes. She does tacos…casseroles…quesadillas…I know it’ll be delish in any of those.

Thanks again to Shaunna for taking the time to put together  such a nice package for me!

I also want to send another thanks to the Marketing Team Leader from Whole Foods West Hartford in Blueback Square, Kristin. She was nice enough to take notice of the tweeting I like to do about their events (they even have a farmers’ market in their parking lot on Mondays) and left a gorgeous bouquet of fresh flowers from the Floral Department at the Customer Service desk for me to pick up last night before my event at Barcelona (which I am excited to blog about, by the way, but probably won’t be able to til next week). They certainly put a smile on my face!

I asked a poor unsuspecting employee to take an iPhone pic for Instagram, obviously.

Aaaand I found something pretty cool in the cafeteria at work today – my coworker’s daughter made a vegan cake and was selling slices to raise money for a local cat shelter. Not only did the cake look beautiful and contain unique ingredients like coffee, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg, but I also felt that the type of cake was the perfect match for the type of charity she is looking to support. I’ve never thought of this before, but it makes perfect sense – selling a baked good or any food that contains no animal products is super appropriate when raising money to support an animal shelter. I know that the animals typically housed in animal shelters don’t often find their way into food Americans usually eat, but I just love the idea of raising money to help animals in a way that’s as kind as possible to them, whether those specific kinds of animals are going to be eaten/have their bi-products eaten or not.

Isn’t it beautiful? She’s a little foodie!

Not saying that eating animals and their bi-products isn’t kind per say. I am certainly a carnivore more days than not. But I also still think that being AWARE is key, and in my mind, raising money to support animals by selling or using products that could contain ingredients that may have been obtained in a way that harmed them just doesn’t make sense. That’s why this whole vegan cake struck me as a really great fundraising idea and a fine example of being aware of a time when going vegan is a more appropriate choice.

I feel like I have more to say but everything has kinda flown out of my head! And I also didn’t plan on making my post this long! It’s been a busy day and I need to get back to business. And write my last summer school paper. But that sentiment just flew out of my head too, and I don’t really feel like going to get it back 😛

Don’t forget that the Mikarose $50 gift certificate giveaway ends at 11:59PM EST tonight!

Did you do Foodie Pen Pals this month? What was the best part of your package? Leave a link to your reveal post in the comments so I can check it out!

Have you ever gotten a pleasantly surprising gift from someone who was thanking you for something you did? I didn’t even think that I was doing anything that deserved a “thank you” – just tweeting and spreading the word about local, good-for-you food!

What is your opinion on being aware of “matching” a method of fundraising to a charity of choice?

Manic Monday

ZOMG. You know that song Manic Monday? This is not “just another Manic Monday”. This is THE Manic Monday. So I am just going to say a few things:

  1. I’m going to Barcelona Wine Bar tonight for a Patio Party grilling class at their outdoor seating area with their talented chef, Jason Welch. The cocktail and/or glass of wine I have will be much needed. As will that yummy food! Got any grilling questions for me to ask Jason? Comment with them here or tweet them to me by 7PM tonight (the event’s start)! I will ask him and hopefully report back with some useful tips.
  2. I guest posted for Janetha of Meals & Moves on Friday. I’m still pretty awestruck because I have been reading her blog since 2010, when I first started reading healthy living blogs. So to be writing for her still has me dizzy with glee. I shared the recipe for that red sangria I made last month and know that a few of you were looking for that, so head on over 😀 there’s also other options for drinks to order out this summer.
  3. If you  haven’t entered my Mikarose giveaway for a $50 gift certificate, you are crazy. AND you still have time (til tomorrow night at 11:59PM EST) for me to declare you sane, so go enter!
  4. I hope to do a post on Wednesday recapping my Baltimore weekend in the form of photos. Yup, Wordless Wednesday. Yup, alliteration. For an advance preview, check out my Instagram account, because I was doing mass-uploads periodically up until last night. But it was an amazing time. I didn’t miss out on a thing and am proud of myself for that.

Repping the Orioles at work today in honor of my trip!

How’s your Monday going? 

Active Rest Day: How I Did

Amanda of  Run Principessa took my #AmazingMe list one step further and did a VLOG of hers! Check it out and make your own list if you haven’t already – I want to eventually do a post that links up all of them! Make sure to email or tweet me with the link!

Drawing on the chalk tables at ION with Heather. Thanks for the pic, Jenny!

You may remember on Friday that I asked for your support and thoughts as I headed into a weekend of personal challenges. I’m not going to lie and say everything went swimmingly. On Friday night I met up with Jenny and Heather at It’s Only Natural (ION) in Middletown for what should have been an absolute blast of a vegan meal, but I just wasn’t all there. I felt stressed and dragged down by my negative thoughts. I’d had a longer day at work than I’d expected when I woke up that morning and was running late to meet the girls at the restaurant – a ton of little things just combined to create a perfect storm and I had a hard time being present. The food was AMAZING as per usual. The sweet potato fries made my heart sing. My friends were being wonderful and understanding, but I felt guilty as I drove him for not being able to sit back and enjoy. Guilt guilt guilt!

My meal – the blackened tempeh special with the sweet potato fries and a small side of their cold mashed potatoes. I also had a beet salad to start.

The next morning brought part of the challenges I’d discussed on Friday – Om Street Yoga from West Hartford Yoga. Jenny, Heather, and I met in West Hartford center and took ourselves and our mats over to LaSalle Ave, which had been closed down for the second year of this free outdoor 75 minute yoga class.

Call me stereotypical, but yes I wore my Birkenstocks from the Fitness Meet & Tweet to a yoga event.

There was a great turnout! Mic problems only came up a couple of times during the practice, and a live percussion group was present playing relaxing music, complete with a gong.

The class actually ended up being more intense than I’d expected, which I enjoyed! My heart rate got up there during a ridiculously fast dancing warrior series, and my legs were on fire from all the chair poses we did. As I sunk into the last one, I literally whispered to Jenny, “Are you serious?!” I’d thought they were over!

Texting and folding 😉 it’s safe!

Child’s pose may or may not be one of my favorites #sorrynotsorry

My favorite moment came as the entire class was in a goddess pose, doing a series of powerful arm movements. We pushed our arms up to the sky, to the side, in front of us, and downward, each time shouting out “HUH!” Sounds cheesy but it felt great, like a release, and right as we completed the series the sun broke through the clouds. Our instructor declared we’d “brought out the sun” and the crowd broke into applause. In that moment, I felt united with every single person on LaSalle Ave!

During the class I was continuously impressed with Jenny’s yoga skills. She is actually a yoga teacher and considers the practice to have saved her life. Her movements were so very fluid and I am envious of her flexibility! I’d love to get my om on with her again soon 🙂

Jenny’s yoga pants are amazing.

A part of my personal journey over the last couple of years has been working on being more mindful. Each time I do yoga, I have to admit that I am not living in the present. In fact, I rarely find that I am being present in any aspect of my life. This is something I’m trying to change and I was making an effort to be hyper-aware of mindfulness during the final portion of Om Street Yoga, savasana. My mind continued to wander forward to my plans with Heather and Jenny following yoga, forward to my tasting event later that evening, even back to the chair poses during the class and whether or not they were enough of a leg workout. I’d like to say that it was a zen, peaceful savasana, but instead I felt a bit panicked that it was SO damn hard for me to live in the moment. Why couldn’t I just enjoy?! Still, I followed the teacher’s instructions at the end to wish myself happiness, healthiness, and ease; it gave me some peace.

I suggested Hartford Baking Company nearby for our post-yoga coffee fix. I’d had their food before but had never had the chance to sample their pour-over coffee. My friend Matt was working and he recommended an Ethiopian blend from Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Brooklyn; it tasted excellent, possibly also because he did a good job making it! I liked the glass pitcher it was served in – my kind of pitcher!

Heather and I sipped our pour-over coffee black, while Jenny went with a large regular coffee with her beloved soy creamer!

I had a great time chatting with these ladies, and our sunny cozy table made this coffee trip extra special. But I still know I wasn’t 100% there. Negative thoughts associated with stressing over situations to come, an active rest day, whether or not I was disappointing my friends, and more crowded my mind. When I dropped my friends off at Jenny’s and headed out, I was feeling really upset and frustrated with myself.

I was cheered up relatively soon, however, when I ran into my best friend Lidia at Daybreak Coffee Roasters (I stopped by to get iced coffee – decaf, because I’d had enough caff for one day). I felt like it was fate because it also happened to be her birthday! I sat outside with her, her mom, and a family friend of theirs. We just caught up and I was having such a good time that I really did lose myself in our conversation and not think about the fact that I wouldn’t be putting in a gym trip that day.

Losing yourself over coffee is easier when you love it so much 🙂

It got more challenging though when I got home and finished doing my “blog errands” (photo editing and uploading). I had a couple of hours of free time before my next activity, and didn’t know what to do with myself. Free time?! I felt like a slacker for not taking advantage of it and hitting the gym. I almost felt angry with myself for publicly declaring an active rest day to all of you guys. I thought to myself, well I could save this rest day for a day I’m literally too busy to work out. Why should I waste today, a day I have so much time for the gym?! A lot of the reason I didn’t go was because I didn’t want to disappoint those who had left me such supportive comments on my post, Facebook, Twitter, and more.

I consciously attempted to pull my mind to the positives of the situation, and also to the fact that I needed to do this challenge for ME. I had time to put away my laundry while listening to NPR, something I really enjoy doing. I finally got a chance to get iTunes set up on my laptop and attempted to load all my music onto my iPhone (something I gave up on halfway through, but oh well). I got to zen out on the back porch while doing my blog errands and eat baby carrots with Yummy Hummy curry and lemon cilantro hummuses (humm-i?)

In the end, I know that I did a workout on Saturday. I took a 75-minute yoga class that worked my body, stretched my tired muscles, and quieted my mind (even if only a bit). I had a chance to unwind in the middle of the afternoon before headed to my CT Bloggers event that evening, which probably ended up helping me handle that event well in the end (more on that later). And the next morning when I went to the gym for 45 minutes of spinning and an arm workout, I had a ton of energy and kicked some ass. So I did it. I took an active rest day and challenged myself. I’m not extremely happy with how I handled the entire situation, but I handled it and am a work in progress. I’ll get there. I know it!

How do you handle taking rest days?

Have you ever done outdoor yoga?

How do you keep yourself in the moment and present?

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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