Monday Coffee Date # 2

Happy Monday! I haven’t done one of these in quite a while and my thoughts are pretty random today so I figured it was the perfect day for a coffee date! I also have coffee on the brain since I decided to buy a big bag of the Pecan Turtle coffee from my favorite spot, Daybreak, and last night we brewed a big batch of iced coffee for the week. I hope you all had a great weekend and that you had some sunshine for at least part of it like we did.

If we were having a coffee date, I would tell you… grilling season has officially begun and I’m loving it! We had cheeseburgers last weekend and steak on another night last week. I feel like I’ve been in somewhat of a meal planning rut and being able to grill again will definitely help get me out of that.

If we were having a coffee date, I would tell you… sunshine is everything to me right now. As corny as it sounds, I am just loving the beautiful days when we have them. Saturday was kind of gloomy but we still spent it outside at Olde Burnside Brewery with a group of friends followed by dinner and a movie at our house. It was a perfect day!

This is most definitely true.

If we were having a coffee date, I would tell you… active rest days are my jam. I made it to boot camp four times last week and I was feeling a bit tired and in need of rest. I took Saturday completely off and yesterday I thought about going to boot camp but I decided to go for a long walk around the center of town. It was just what I needed and I feel very well rested today but not like I spent all weekend lounging around. I also enjoyed my first homemade smoothie of the season which was refreshing and fueled my long walk well.

Slow and steady wins the race 😉

If we were having a coffee date, I would tell you… I do not have a green thumb but I’m thankful that my husband does 🙂 A month or so ago, I planted a bunch of seeds indoors and yesterday, Dan transplanted them outside. I helped with the cleanup of some of the bushes and did some raking but he knew the best way to plant the plants themselves. Thanks hubby!

You can’t garden without enjoying a beer, am I right? 😉

If we were having a coffee date, I would tell you… I killed it on the grocery shopping front this week. I had a bunch of coupons and there were some great deals. I usually don’t buy much meat as it can get expensive but with such good deals, I was able to stock up on a bunch of different things. I rewarded myself with a sub from Subway for which I also had a coupon! #winning

That’s all for today! I hope you all have a wonderful start to your week 🙂

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Do you enjoy gardening?

Life Lately

Happy Thursday guys! I hope you’re all having an excellent week. Mine has been a little hectic as softball has officially begun and we are desperately trying not to fall behind on the house stuff but I’m plugging along. Today I figured I would share a mishmash of different things including some recent eats and a couple of house updates!

I have been loving taking walks lately, both long and short, at home and on lunch at work. The neighborhood that we moved to has some killer hills and I’ve locked down a great 3-mile route that really does a number on my legs. I’m also enjoying my early morning walks in the center of town when I’m working from home and on the weekends too!

This morning’s 7am walk.. Complete with a Daybreak nonfat blanc

We have been eating out quite a bit due to the house still being in the unpacking/pre-kitchen remodel stage but we have been using our grill and crockpot quite a bit and sandwiches have been a frequent occurrence. Luckily our eating out has been supplemented with gift cards that I’ve hoarded for a while and coupons so it really hasn’t been too expensive. Breakfasts and lunches have been consistently made at home which is good.

Pizza from the always delicious Krust

Steak salad at home with all of the toppings I could find in the fridge

Today’s breakfast: PB, banana & raspberry spread with a side of cantaloupe 

Our couch has FINALLY arrived! It was on back order for a while but it was finally delivered this past Saturday morning and we love it! I’ve been picking up little decor items here and there (Homegoods, I love you) to work towards getting the living room finished. (couch purchased: here. Pillows: TJ Maxx. Tray: Hobby Lobby)

Our bedroom is basically finished with just a few paint touch-ups and some picture hanging left to go. I am absolutely obsessed with how it came out and I never want to get out of bed (but is that really different from ever before?). (Bed: here. Comforter set: Macy’s (no longer available). Curtains, Laundry baskets: TJ Maxx.)

I love our nightstands from Christmas Tree Shop! 

I’m doing a new exercise program that our town is offering from now until the beginning of June. It’s called “Do a 180, Move!” and its provided by the Connecticut River Valley Chamber of Commerce. The program offers over 150 fitness classes at different gyms, yoga studios, etc in town. The classes offered range from spinning, yoga, boot camp, dance, tennis, running groups, swimming, walking and much more! For Glastonbury town residents who are non-members of the Chamber, the cost is only $40 and I’m already signed up for 12 of the classes. My first class is a boot camp tomorrow morning and I’m very excited!

That’s all I have for you guys today but stayed tuned for a recap soon of a fabulous event that I attended a couple of weeks ago at the always wonderful Rooftop 120. Have a wonderful rest of your week and weekend too!

Things I’m Loving Lately # 3

Happy Wednesday guys! I have been feeling under the weather lately with a pretty nasty cough so I wasn’t up for much more than laying on the couch. I’m feeling a little bit better today and wanted to share a few things that I have been really loving as of late.

• Time spent with delightful friends (paired with some wine and the shining sun)

This past Saturday we had plans with Brian and Natasha to visit Cassidy Hill Vineyard. We all did a wine tasting and then bought a couple of bottles to enjoy outside in the most beautiful weather that we have had yet this year. We also brought a large assortment of appetizers ranging from several different types of cheeses to Natasha’s caprese salad and melon wrapped in prosciutto (freaking amazing). It was a relaxing and fun day that was much needed.

We made a pretty good dent in it too! Photo credit: Natasha 🙂

Selfies while wine tasting are a must Photo Credit: Natasha

They have SO many good wines

• Skinny Cow Blissful Truffle Dark Chocolate Candy Bar

I bought these on a complete whim while grocery shopping this past Sunday. I finally had one for dessert last night and it was surprisingly delicious. I didn’t expect that a candy bar which was only 130 calories would be so tasty but it was very yummy. It also did not give me that heavy feeling that eating a regular candy bar usually does, as the truffle filling was very light, almost like a mousse.

Because what is life without chocolate?

• Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30

This video is another winner! I bought a couple more of her videos on Amazon last week and this was the first one that I tried. It was similar to the 30 Day Shred in that it involved the 3-2-1 system (3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute abs) and it didn’t take up a lot of my time. It was a great workout and will definitely come in handy now that softball season is starting and I won’t have as much time to devote to exercise.

I WISH!

• Spring and summer clothes

I have been going crazy lately buying all kinds of new clothes for spring and summer. Looking ahead, I know that I’m going to need a ton of cute tops and dresses for the fun activities I have planned for the summer (particularly all of the wedding-related things). I picked up this dress from Old Navy in three different colors/prints since it was on sale for $12 on Saturday (and I had a gift card), as well as this cute jean jacket, this top, and also this top.  I have also been getting a lot of very inexpensive tops from Consignment Originals, which is where my girl Jenna works 🙂

Natasha and I modeling our matching jean jackets and ice cream (duh)

Well that was a nice little mix of food, fitness, and fashion which doesn’t happen too often with my posts! Have a great day!

Trade It Up Tuesday: Snow Day

Happy Snow Day everyone! I’m currently snowed in here and I am obviously loving it. It has been so nice to just relax and watch Netflix and do absolutely nothing which I know sounds completely lazy but I swear I have been at least minimally productive with cleaning and working out and such.

Yes. So much yes.

The view outside of my apartment this morning

I would not trade… the TWO snow days in the past few days. I was supposed to work on Saturday (my last day in my previous position) and lucky for me, work was closed due to the snow. I started my new job yesterday and I think it is going to be the perfect fit for me. I am SO excited. Since we had just started and there wasn’t much for us to do, our new boss sent myself and my fellow trainee home at noon to beat the storm. We are also closed today due to Blizzard Juno/Colbie which is great because it gives me bonus time to study for the exam that I have to take for the new job.

I would not trade… how I spent each of the snow days/nights. I will be honest in that I spent most of Saturday morning/afternoon catching up on sleep. Jenna came over to hang out for the evening while Dan and Robbie went to plow and we ate Chinese food and watched a movie and drank ALL the wine (oh 90+ Cellars, how I love you). After the movie, we both had a serious craving for dessert so obviously we braved the storm to walk to Plan B (in our sweatpants, don’t judge) for some fabulous drinks and dessert.

I will admit that this wasn’t the best choice to go along with a sweet dessert

“The B Cup”.. basically a chocolate cake filled with chocolate mousse.. it was superb

Jenna’s apple bourbon cheesecake which was heaven in a mason jar

Last night’s view of Priam wine and Netflix… perfection

I would trade… the lack of exercise this weekend given the copious amounts of free time that I had. I feel like I spent an absurd amount of time stuffing my face (Chinese food, pizza, dessert) and drinking wine which made me feel very guilty about the fact that I didn’t work out at all. I did have a lot of fun and I got right back on the workout train last night with a tough Jillian Michaels video so I’m trying not to let the guilt get to me.

This pizza from Harry’s and the 90+ Cellars wine was an amazing start to the weekend but was not guilt-free by any means

I would not trade… a spontaneous Sunday night spent at Kate and Jason’s apartment. They texted us that evening to invite us over and since we had dinner cooking in the crockpot and our Sunday chores were done, we headed right over there. Jason made us delicious cocktails and we watched the SAG awards while enjoying some snacks. We ended up bringing over the Crockpot Lasagna soup that we had made to share with everyone which was a great idea since we would have ended up with an absurd amount of leftovers that would never have been eaten. The soup was amazing and perfect for a cozy night in between snow storms with friends.

I have no idea what was in that drink but man was it tasty 🙂

As you can see, life is pretty wonderful right now and there aren’t many things that I would trade. I wish it was always like that but I’m going to enjoy all of the great things that are happening and hope that life continues to work in my favor 🙂

Is there anything that you would/wouldn’t trade right now?

How do you like to spend your snow days?

Lucky

Happy 2015! So instead of doing a post on my resolutions for this year, I decided to reflect on the things that I feel especially lucky for having, particularly since I have been feeling very blessed lately. I don’t usually make resolutions because I like to try to focus on bettering myself as a whole, not just certain aspects of myself. Don’t get me wrong, I have so much respect for those who are able to make a resolution (losing weight, quitting smoking, etc.) and stick to it, but I would rather just work on being better overall.

Sounds good to me!

I am lucky… that I am marrying the most wonderful man in the world this year. I can’t say enough how great Dan is and although it’s easy to take him for granted sometimes, I have been reflecting quite a bit lately on just how wonderful he is. This past Sunday, I went out to run a wedding errand with Alex and Carlee, and I came home to a surprise party congratulating me on my new job (more on that later). A ton of our friends were over and everyone contributed food and drinks and it was wonderful. It was so special to be able to celebrate this accomplishment with the people I love and it was even more wonderful that Dan was able to put the whole thing together.

Seriously the cutest ever

No words for this.

I am lucky… to have the best friends and family that a person could ever ask for. I have been able to spend a lot of time with my friends lately and it has been so great. There is nothing more important in life than surrounding yourself with good people and I am incredibly blessed to have been able to do that.

Some New Year’s Eve fun

Love these ladies 🙂

A fabulous drink enjoyed at Kate and Jason’s apartment on Sunday night.. love spending time with them!

I am lucky… to have a body which is healthy and forgives me when I indulge during the holidays. Prior to this holiday season, I had been doing a pretty good job of exercising at least four times a week and watching what I ate but the holidays came and led to very little time for exercise and some unhealthy food choices. I feel blessed that I am able to hop right back on the exercise train with no issues and I am already seeing positive changes.

Today’s healthy breakfast: egg sandwich on a sandwich thin with avocado and salsa

I am lucky… to be able to enjoy such fabulous meals at great local restaurants as often as I can. I have definitely appreciated local businesses much more in 2014 than I have in the past and for that I am thankful. I love supporting local restaurants and trying all different kinds of food. In fact, Dan and I had a date night last night at Barcelona in West Hartford (one of my faves) and we enjoyed so many amazing tapas such as crispy pigs head and some of the best Brussels sprouts ever.

Every restaurant should have wine flights!

YUMMMMM

Crispy pigs head, such perfection

My first time having crepes, not sure how I lived without them. SO DELICIOUS

I am lucky… that I will be starting a new job in February. I will be with the same company but will be taking on a different role in a different department. I am looking forward to the challenge and to be able to learn something new. One of the biggest upsides of this new job is that I will have much better hours and no more Saturdays!

I hope you guys have enjoyed my reflections and I hope you can reflect on some things that make you feel lucky.

Things I’m Loving Lately #2

Happy Friday! Geez, this week was crazy, crazy, crazy and it certainly flew by for me! I am in disbelief that Thanksgiving is less than a week away and with that, there has been a lot going on so I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write this week. But I’ve had a few things on my mind lately that I have been loving so I thought today would be the perfect time to share with you guys!

• Wedding planning: The wedding planning is in full swing and we have gotten quite a few things checked off of our list. This past Sunday I went bridesmaid dress shopping with most of my ladies (we missed you, Sam!) and I think everyone got a pretty good idea of what they are going to get (I’m doing same color/length but different styles). Since that was such a success I decided that night was the perfect time to order our save the dates! After quite a bit of work (thank you Alex and Carlee!) we decided on a magnet design that we absolutely love from Vistaprint and the great news is that not only were they very affordable, they have already arrived! I will definitely be using Vistaprint again for things like Christmas cards in the future.
• 19 Kids & Counting: I was never really into this show until this year but I think this family is absolutely hilarious. Now I will be the first to say that I do not agree with many of their views (some that have recently been in the news) but I think they are so much fun to watch. My favorite moment so far would have to be Ben’s proposal to Jessa which was SO romantic and beautiful.

Freaking hilarious!

• Adriatiks Restaurant: This is a cute little Italian/Greek restaurant right down the street from our apartment. We had been meaning to try this place forever and the other night I didn’t feel like cooking so we ordered takeout. I had been craving a gyro and I ended up getting the Chicken Souvlaki which is basically a chicken gyro (I’m not a fan of lamb) and it was AMAZING. It certainly fulfilled my craving and I can’t wait to eat there again. Dan had a Chicken Parm grinder and he said was very flavorful as well.

There was not one single French fry left standing 😉

• My recent workouts: Although I definitely agree with Caitlin’s post from yesterday in that I feel like I haven’t been going to the gym as much I want to. However, I really feel that the workouts I am fitting in have been quality ones. This week I have been a big fan of varying things so I’ve been combining the treadmill, elliptical, and some weights. I am finally starting to see what people say about weight-lifting burning a lot of fat because I feel like that is making the most difference although I really enjoy my cardio so I won’t be giving that up anytime soon.

I definitely left the gym tired after this one!

Alright, that is all I have for you guys today! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend 🙂

Five Things Friday!

Happy Friday once again! I don’t have too much time on my hands as it seems like I have a million things to do before work this morning but I’m excited to share my five things with you so lets go!

1. I have been enjoying the best summer meals this week. Monday night we had the pleasure of having Brian and Natasha over for a dinner of hot dogs, caprese salad, and pasta salad (made by Natasha). Everything was so delicious and I definitely went back for second helpings of both salads. It was my first time making caprese salad and I will definitely be making it again. On Wednesday night, Dan made his special Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. I have no idea how he makes them but boy were they AMAZING. We enjoyed those sandwiches with some homemade potato salad (again my first time making this) and a tomato and cucumber salad.

I see summer in this picture.

My fiancée is a keeper 😉

2. Tomorrow is going to be very busy but it will be filled with all the fun things. In the morning and early afternoon I will be at the Patrick Crovo Memorial golf tournament which is held in memory of my uncle Patrick who passed away from cancer in 2011. No, I will not be golfing (ha) but I am very happy to be able to spend time with my family 🙂 In the afternoon and evening I will be attending Natasha’s bachelorette! I am so blessed to be able to spend this day with her and I know it is going to be a blast.

3. My workouts lately have been extremely varied and that is just how I like them! I’m trying to not let my body get too used to one certain workout so I have been mixing it up as much as possible and I have found that seems to work because I’m still pretty sore on most days. For example, today I ran a mile on the treadmill, did about 10 minutes on the stairmaster, 15 minutes on the elliptical, and then finished up with about 5 minutes of quick weights. I don’t usually have that much variation but I woke up earlier today so I was able to do as much as possible.

Yes I’m still completely obsessed with this watch.

4. I have a new absurdly delicious foodie find, Lay’s Bacon Mac and Cheese potato chips. Now I am entirely aware that these sound disgusting and are completely unhealthy but I saw them in the store and had to try and I am SO glad I did. They taste almost exactly like Mac and Cheese with a nice hint of bacon. I try to limit myself to a handful every other day or so but that has definitely been very hard because they are crazy good.

I suggest you go out and buy these right now!

5. I am apparently now completely obsessed with making a cheese plate for myself at least once a week. I have done this for the past few weeks or so on nights when Dan has fire department drills and I am loving it. I am usually able to make them at a low cost also since I go to the little basket at Whole Foods where they have the tiny little blocks of different kinds of cheese and each block is usually less then a dollar. This allows me to be able to try a few different kinds of cheese at less than five dollars total.

I was feeling artsy

It’s time for me to get ready for work! Have a great weekend!

Five Things Friday: Long Long Week

This has been one of the longest weeks that I have experienced in a very long time. I will just start right off and explain to you guys why I haven’t posted since Monday.

1. I came home from work on Monday night and we were just sitting down to dinner when we noticed our cat Billi playing with something by the back door. Dan went over to look and noticed that there was water leaking in from the door. Within minutes, the water was coming in at a more rapid rate. He went upstairs to see if it was coming from up there and found that there was three inches of water in our neighbors kitchen. Apparently, our lovely upstairs neighbor decided to thaw out steak in the sink by running hot water over it and he had the drain blocked so the sink overflowed for about AN HOUR! The water came in through our light fixtures and saturated our kitchen and bedroom walls and ceilings. The restoration company has installed a bunch of fans and dehumidifiers and our bedroom is dry as of today but the kitchen walls are still soaked. The fans make it very hot and loud and I honestly just haven’t had the energy to write any other posts this week.

But seriously.

2. Due to the noise and heat from the fans, Dan and I were able to have an unexpected date night at Plan B on Wednesday. It just so happened that it was National PB&J day and Plan B was serving my favorite PB&J burger all week! We also ordered a beer flight where we got to sample five different draft beers. My hands-down favorite was the Avita Purple Haze. I loved it so much that I bought it when I went to Whole Foods yesterday evening.

Sorry about the crappy restaurant lighting.

Is it sad that this burger was the highlight of my week?

Quite embarrassing but every person needs one of these pics 🙂

3. I was kind of able to pamper myself somewhat this week which definitely helped with my stress level. Tuesday was my day off so I ended up getting my nails and eyebrows done. I picked a lovely watermelon shade of pink for my nails and that definitely got me in the spring mood. Yesterday I left work an hour early and FINALLY got a haircut. I haven’t gotten one since Christmastime so it felt great to get rid of those split ends that have been driving me crazy. I also gave myself a pedicure yesterday evening while watching Scandal on Netflix (obsessed by the way) so that was definitely a nice little treat as well.

4. The reason for all of the pampering is because Saturday evening is the Glastonbury Fire Department’s Annual Awards Banquet. I look forward to this every year as it is a chance to get all dressed up and have a nice fancy dinner with all of my friends. This year, Dan will be receiving his award for five years of service in the department (yay!) so I am very excited about that. The place where the banquet is held is extremely close to our apartment so we are able to walk there and then walk over to the Diamond after for drinks with everyone. I bought my dress for the banquet at TJ Maxx and I got a killer deal. It’s a blue Ralph Lauren dress that was originally $169 and then marked down to $50 and again to $30 on clearance. I will post pictures from the banquet on Monday so you guys can see it.

5. I successfully (and painfully) completed my first run of the year outside yesterday evening. I was looking at my calendar at work today and realized that my first 5k is at the end of this month so I figured it was about time to get my butt in gear. Since I got out of work early and it was so nice out, I had no excuse. I ran for about a mile and a half (well ran and walked) and was averaging about a 13 minute mile which is pretty normal for me. I had some horrendous side cramps throughout the run so I think I will hopefully do better next time.

Very painful and short run

Have you ever had a week where everything possible seemed to be going wrong?

Have you started your outdoor workouts yet?