You’re Invited! Join Me and “Prep” for Summer at CCFA’s Pier Madness Event

June 12, 2013 by 2 Comments

CCFA Pier Madness Event

I’ve got an exciting event to share with all you in the Boston area! Benefiting the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, I’d love for you all to come get dressed up in your preppiest attire with me for Pier Madness, a charity lobster bake in the Charlestown Navy Yard with live music and complimentary booze (mmm my favorite!) on June 27th. Below is the official event description, and you can get more details here.

Come PREP for summer at this New England style event. Enjoy a sweeping view of the Boston skyline while partying on Pier 4 in the Charlestown Navy Yard. A band will perform live as guests enjoy a Woodman’s Lobster Bake and complimentary beer and wine.

Dig out those Nantucket reds and wear your best bow tie to celebrate the start of summer!

You can purchase your tickets HERE.

Preppy Summer Style

In anticipation of the event, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite preppy fashions. While this isn’t the style I rock on a day-to-day basis, I’m excited to use Pier Madness as an excuse to step out of my usual shopping comfort zone. I’ll obviously go dressier for the event (I’m thinking white dress with bright, colorful accents?) but here’s some inspiration for casual preppy attire.

Preppy Summer Style

Nautical Details: I went to school down south, so I know what I’m talking about when I say the biggest difference between New England prep and Southern prep is the nautical twist added above the Mason-Dixon line.

1. Zanobi Anchor Jeans by Malene Birger // 2. Vineyard Vines Rope Bracelet  // 3. Alex + Ani Anchor, Sailboat and Starfish Bangles // 4. Vineyard Vines Anchor Clutch // 5. Jack Roger Anchor Flats

Bright Colors & Fun Patterns: When I think of summer prep, I think bright colors and fun patterns. Pair these bold pieces with neutral accessories and shoes, or go all out with prints, Nantucket red and pastels.

6. Foley Dress from Lily Pulitzer // 7. Vineyard Vines Striped Shorts // 8. Linen Blend Wide-Leg Pant from Banana Republic // 9. Vineyard Vines Scarf

Horizontal Stripes: This goes hand-in-hand with the nautical twist to New England prep. Think blues and Nantucket red.

10. Coach Espadrille Flat // 11. Vineyard Vines Striped Sweater // 12. Tory Burch Striped Canvas Tote

Blazers & Collared Shirts: When I think of preppy, I think of clean lines and structure. Blazers, collared shirts and polos, dresses with simple silhouettes—they all fit this bill.

13. Ralph Lauren Boyfriend Jacket // 14. Coral Blazer from Banana Republic // 15. Banana Republic Striped Shirt

A Nude Wedge: This shoe is a summer staple.

16. Tory Burch Wedge

Hope to see all you Boston-area people at the event! Great cause, great food, great music, and a great excuse to get dressed up and throw back a few drinks!

You can purchase your tickets HERE.

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Filed Under: Boston, Fashion, Life

A Monstah Equinox Workout at Fenway Park

May 21, 2013 by 5 Comments

Equinox workout at Fenway Park

On Saturday morning, I had the chance to do a bootcamp-style workout at Fenway Park put on by Equinox. Not only is it just always a cool experience being in Fenway, but the workout was challenging and they had delicious smoothies and fresh fruit skewers for us afterwards (I’ll take seven, please). It was the perfect healthy way to start off the day, even though I kinda undermined that by eating a burrito immediately afterwards (oops).

Equinox workout at Fenway Park

The workout was made up of several 4-minute-long stations. There was a mix of bleacher sprints, calisthenic drills, sandbells, tabata, ropes and even yoga. I’d never used or heard of sandbells before, but I think they may need to be my next fitness equipment purchase. I like the versatility of them—you can slam them around or grip them and use them like any other weight. And it was my first time using ropes … holy hell. I will never laugh at the contestants on Biggest Loser again for crying when Bob and Jillian make them grab the ropes.

Smoothie post Equinox workout at Fenway Park

I love trying to new workouts and switching up my fitness routine, so this was super fun and something different to do. Big thanks to the trainers at Equinox Dartmouth St. for putting on a great workout!

Did you guys get in any fun workouts this weekend?

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Filed Under: Boston, Life, Workouts

Dairy-Free for 30 Days

March 25, 2013 by 15 Comments

Benefits of Going Dairy-Free

As I mentioned HERE and HERE, I decided to try going dairy-free for a full month to see if it would help clear up my skin. Milk has never been a big part of my diet (I actually far prefer almond and rice milk), but I love me some cheese, yogurt and ice cream.

I successfully went the full 30 days, and it was actually pretty easy. There was one Sunday night where I desperately craved Ben & Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns ice cream and another Sunday when I stared longingly at a plate of cheese and crackers, but other than that, I didn’t miss dairy at all. I’m an out-of-sight-out-of-mind eater, so as long as I keep it out of my refrigerator, it’s super easy for me to cut things out of my diet.

Benefits of Going Dairy-Free

So did eliminating dairy from my diet improve my skin? You bet your ass it did. I still got a pimple here and there (I have incredibly oily skin; I think I need to just accept a certain level of zits in my life), but the texture and look of my complexion improved noticeably. No little bumps. My skin tone looked more even. My face felt smoother.

And the health benefits didn’t stop there. Without going into too much detail (you’re welcome), the biggest improvement I saw in going dairy-free was with my digestive system. It was so unbelievably efficient. And as an added bonus, I saw a noticeable decrease in bloating throughout the day. Usually I start the day feeling like a babe and end the day feeling like I’m with babe-y, but eliminating dairy also seemed to eliminate the five-months-pregnant bloat I’d frequently experience.

It goes without saying that I loved the results of going dairy-free. But I’m in no way villainizing milk products. It could just be that I have some mild lactose-intolerance. People have different levels of lactase (the enzyme that digests lactose), and if your levels are low, you can only process a limited amount of dairy at a time.

So where do I go from here? I’ve now proven to myself that, in several ways, my body functions better without dairy. It seems only logical to continue with this dairy-free diet. But I don’t like the idea of putting foods off limits and will most definitely eat dairy again. Everything in moderation.

In fact, if you follow me on Instagram, you know that I ended St. Patrick’s Day by putting ice cream, cookies, cereal and chunks of bagel in a big bowl and stuffing it in my face. It was delicious. And probably gave me cancer.

ice cream, cereal, bagels and cookies.

Instagram

I’m now going to treat dairy the same way I treat sweets: They’re no longer allowed in my kitchen unless I’m making a specific dish for an event. This helps keep it out of my regular diet without putting anything totally off-limits. If I’m at a restaurant, I’m not going to stress over whether something was prepared with butter or oil. If I’m craving ice cream, I’m not going to think twice about walking to a grocery store or fro-yo shop and indulging. During Boozy Book Club, I’m going to eat the mother-f*@#ing cheese.

Bottom line: Going dairy-free was awesome and I’m now living a low-dairy lifestyle from here on out.

Have you guys tried going dairy-free? How’d it affect your health?

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Filed Under: General Health, Life

Sorry, I Suck.

March 20, 2013 by 3 Comments

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I thought maybe if I started out this post with a picture of me as an innocent, loveable child, you’d be more likely to forgive me for being the worst blogger e-v-e-r lately.

Luckily, I had a few posts already scheduled, so there hasn’t been complete radio silence on here the past week and a half, but I have just been so absurdly busy that responding to comments, emails, sending out a newsletter, tweeting, updating the Facebook page—everything else blog-related completely fell to the wayside.

I typically avoid sharing too many details of my personal life, but to give you a little glimpse of the mess that has kept me from my blogger responsibilities…

I had jury duty last Tuesday and the trial ended up lasting the entire week. Just. My. Luck. At first the biggest drag was just how boring and time-consuming it was, but then when it was time to deliberate and agree on a verdict, it became so emotionally draining. I had no idea how upsetting it would be deciding someone’s fate like that. I burst into tears in the courtroom when the verdict was read like a complete crazy person and cried the entire T ride home (again, crazy person). The whole jury duty experience made me so sad that I actually came down with a raging head cold. Word.

As soon as jury duty ended, St. Paddy’s Day weekend began, which is huge in Boston—and especially in Southie. I had a bunch of friends visiting, so there was really no time to recover from my cold. In fact, I had no choice but do the complete opposite of recover (NO CHOICE, people!)—I had to drink. Every day.

Speaking of that…

Of course we all workout to improve our health, add years to our lives, look great, etc.—but another great benefit to strength training is the ability to do nifty party tricks like this. (Next year my goal is no wall assistance.)

Bottom line: The impossibly busy schedule has returned to its typical, insanely busy state, and the blog will resume as normally as possible starting tomorrow. All e-mails/comments/messages will be answered by the end of the weekend; thanks so much for your patience!

Did you guys do anything fun to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

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Filed Under: Life, Pumps & Iron News

Boozy Book Club: Gone Girl

March 5, 2013 by 14 Comments

Book Club

Next time your significant other calls you “crazy,” just tell him/her to go read Gone Girl and then rethink that statement. Oh, you think going through your text messages while you were in the shower makes me crazy, do you?? Read Gone Girl and you’ll find my mild snooping downright endearing, you ass hole! I want to give examples, but I won’t ruin the book for anyone. It’s nuts though. Read it. Now.

In fact, it was such a page-turner that everyone at Boozy Book Club had finished it (compared to our first meeting, when absolutely no one finished). Don’t worry though—BBC is still an absurd excuse for a book club. Lots of wine. A serious SnapChat session. And at one point, “Ughh, I’m so bad at reading” was even said out loud. (For the record, not by me.)

Of course, the best part of any book club is the food. It was borderline torture for me because I had just started my dairy-free 30-day challenge, but I consoled myself by going HAM on the sweet potato hummus and guacamole that my friend made. My other friend, who brought caprese sliders, made a few with avocado instead of mozzarella, so I was able to enjoy those, too.

I wanted to make a dish that was relevant to the book, and since Nick and Amy eat lobster each year on their anniversary, I went with a lobster crostini with hollandaise sauce and a tomato-champagne reduction. I couldn’t even taste-test the damn thing because of the butter in the sauces, but I’ll be definitely making them again and sharing the recipe when I can actually eat dairy.

Have you guys read Gone Girl? What’d you think??

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Filed Under: Boozy Book Club, Life
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