HLS Part 2: Crossfit + Sessions!

Posted: August 19, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 13 Comments

so let’s see where we left off

if you missed part 1 here it is!

Saturday morning I woke up around 7am (SO early for me I’m such a baby with sleep lol) and drove over to the hotel for breakfast!

the breakfast was sponsored by Wild Harvest and everything was delicious..they had banana nut muffins and fresh fruit

mini yogurt parfaits with pomegrante granola..so good!

COFFEE i loved how the milk and sugar station was set up! they also had stevia as a sweetner option which was pretty exciting!

i had some potato pepper hash, a maple turkey sausage, and a greek inspired egg bake..everything was delicious!

after breakfast were opening announcements and then it was time for a mini Crossfit work out hosted by Reebok!

the crossfit trainers were very attractive which is always a plus 🙂 ..I tried taking a picture without being too sketchy so that’s why the picture is so blurry

me and my new friends Amy and Tracy before the work out!

the trainers taught us the proper way to do a squat and then we did a mini 5 minute AMRAP work out of 7 squats and 15 jumps (AMRAP just means as many reps as possible) ..it was only 5 minutes but it definitely got my heart rate up! and my quads are sore today from all those squats!

Brittany and I after the Crossfit work out!

after the work out we got a mini break and then began sessions!

the first session I went to was hosted by Gretchen 

I learned a lot from this session on how to improve my photos! it was such a helpful session for me

I went to 3 other sessions throughout the day that were all really helpful and taught me a lot about blogging!

we broke for lunch around 12 which was a delicious buffet spread!

I loaded up my plate!

a delicious salad with goat cheese!! (they must of known I was coming..:) ), a tomato and avocado salad which was SO good, chicken, and a lentil chili which reminded me of an indian dish I’ve had that was so delicious!

i went back for some more lentils

with a piece of pita bread for dipping

at lunch I got to talk with Courtney and Kelly, both of whom I had been dying to meet! ..they are both awesome down to earth people and I’m so happy I got to meet them

Kelly also gave me a fitfluential tank top which I was SO excited about since I’m a fitfluential ambassador!

i want to wear it every single day

in the afternoon there was a keynote speaker from Wild Harvest who gave us great tips on improving recipes to make them more reader friendly and accessible

****

overall I took so much more from HLS than I ever could of imagined. I really hope I get to go next year as well because its such an amazing group of women and I left feeling so inspired and motivated to keep blogging 

One important thing I took away from all the sessions I attended was to embrace the blogging community and to reach out to other bloggers as much as possible..it is such a supportive community and it is not about competition between blogs its about supporting everyone and meeting great friends along the way..or as they call them “blends” aka blogger friends 🙂

I don’t think blogging will be my life long passion although I admire those bloggers who are so passionate about it..but its something that I love to do and has really become a hobby for me

I’m such a people person and i loved finally being able to meet all the bloggers in real life who I felt like I already knew so much about from reading their blogs (sounds really creepy I know, but its so true!)

alright I wanted to take a break from packing to do the last part of my recap but I better get back to it

I still can’t believe i go back to school tomorrow..crazy how fast time goes by

I’ll report back when I’m in Delaware…eeek!

<3Chelcie

HLS Part 1: Flour Bakery + Cocktail Party!

Posted: August 18, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments

Hi!

so I just got home from a crazy and amazing two days at the Healthy Living Summit!

This year was my first year attending and I am SO happy I did!

i have SO much to tell you about but I have to break it up cause its way to much for one post so lets start with Friday

I went to Flour Bakery mini-mingle hosted by Clare and Katelyn !

we walked about a mile from the hotel to Flour Bakery

we all started taking pictures immediately and everyone was giving us funny looks lol they probably just though we were crazy tourists or something 🙂

i love the chalk board menus at Flour Bakery! i’ve been to the location in south boston before and I’ve been obsessed ever since! I was really hungry when I got there so I decided on the Chicken and Avocado Sandwich

the sandwich had roasted chicken, avocado, jicama, and lettuce..SO bomb. i mean everything and anything with avocado is usually pretty darn tasty

after lunch we all walked back, checked in, and picked up our SWAG BAGS ..can you tell I was excited for this part?

Reebok was one of the sponsors this year so we got FREE SNEAKERS

obsessed.

check out all the other swag I got!

so many awesome products! I did damage on the pistachios, love grown granola, and pretzel crisps..oh and do you see those chapsticks?! chobani and stonyfield yogurt chapsticks! SO freaking awesome.

lots of coupons for free yogurts, and free almond milk from almond breeze..score!

and an awesome HLS tee-shirt and head band from Five Bamboo..the material is so soft I’m in loveee

Friday night was the kick-off Cocktail Party (I really want the picture that Sara has on her camera of the two of us at the cocktail party to show you but she hasn’t put it up yet for me to steal from her!)

Sara and I were a couple of the first people to arrive…i mean who says being fashionably late is even cool anymore right..?

the cocktail party had quite the spread of delicious food!

local cheeses, veggies, and delicious dips and spreads!

i fixed a plate to munch on alongside my cocktail

local goat cheese (i mean we all know how much I LOVE goat cheese) veggies, crackers, a cranberry chutney that was amazing! and a spinach ranch dip

along with the cheese and veggie spread, there was a Popcorn and chocolate table, and mini whoopie pies!

popcorn and chocolate should always be paired together..just saying

i tried a red velvet but I wish I tried all three because it was amazing! the other two were chocolate and lemon poppyseed

I spent the rest of the night chatting and having a great time getting to know so many bloggers who I’ve been dying to meet!

***

Part 2 will hopefully come tomorrow! I say hopefully because I only have tomorrow to pack up my whole life (okay I’m being dramatic but my whole wardrobe, bedding, etc, etc) because i’m leaving for school Monday morning!

ahhhh

which sadly means I don’t think I’ll be making it to the farewell brunch and walk tomorrow morning at HLS..but the past 2 days have been so incredible so while I’m sad to miss out on the final part I already feel like i’ve taken so much from the whole experience

 to all of the bloggers I got to meet this weekend I think you all are beyond awesome and inspiring and I’m so happy to of finally met you!

i hope everyone has had a great weekend so far!

<3Chelcie

Thursday Things

Posted: August 16, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | 11 Comments

1. last night we went out for a family dinner to celebrate my Dad’s birthday to our favorite restaurant Stella

don’t worry I managed to not take ONE picture of what seemed like a 6 course meal..best blogger ever right?

but we did get a family shot!

which will probably end up being our christmas card picture this year says my mom

2. Happy Birthday to my Daddy who turned 34 today..:)

i got him a couple pairs of shorts from Lululemon so I hope he likes them!

3. Molly and I went to lunch at Blue Ginger today..two of my favorite restaurants in two days?!..pretty awesome.

we started out with sweet potato fries

and I chose the tuna poke salad for my meal

i was worried the green stuff was going to be wasabi (i HATE wasabi) but thank goodness it wasnt..i think it was an avocado sauce which is always okay in my book

4. I started packing today because I leave for school in 4 DAYS.

5. this weekend is going to be SO much fun because I’m going to my first HLS!

i’m honestly pretty nervous because I don’t know anyone, but i consider myself a people person so hopefully i’ll meet lots of new friends! (i feel like I sound like such a loser saying that but oh well lol)

i’m also pretty sure I’ll be the only once there who doesn’t have a business cards for their blog but I didn’t realize thats what people did

I’m mainly just going to learn a lot and meet new people rather than try to promote my blog (even though that is never a bad thing!)

***

that’s pretty much all I have for today!

i hope everyone has a great day!

and if your going to the HLS this weekend I can’t wait to meet you!

<3Chelcie

Question for ya! : Are you going to be at HLS this weekend?! if so lets be friends!

WIAW-Coconut Vanilla Almond Butter Smoothie

Posted: August 15, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | 8 Comments

good morning!

happy WIAW! thank’s again to Jenn for hosting!

side note..I leave for school in 5 DAYS. SAY WHATTT

i should probably start packing?

**

Breakfast

since I came back from Newport  yesterday morning I stopped at my favorite coffee shop Annie D’s to get breakfast and coffee

of course I forgot to snap a picture but I got a delicious ham, egg and cheese on an english muffin..i normally get my beloved carrot raisin muffin but I resisted the temptation

Work Out

took the Duke mister (which would be my golden retriever in case your confused lol)  for another 2.7 mile run around Wellesley College

Lunch

meet my new obsession.

yes this jar mayyy be $9.99 but it could be the best 10 dollars ever spent..i just can’t get over how good it is!! (my pre-work out fuel this morning was 3 spoonfuls of this..i felt a wee bit nautious but it was worth it)

so instead of just shoveling straight spoonfuls of this..I put it to good use yesterday and came up with a delicious smoothie!

Coconut Vanilla Almond Butter Smoothie

servings: 1

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • 1 tbsp vanilla almond butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp coconut extract (or coconut flour or butter could add in extra coconut flavor!)
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 drop stevia (optional for added sweetness)
  • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Instructions: place all ingredients in a blender and blend!

slurrrrped out of a guinness glass (cause who even likes guinness?! bleh)

topped with some leftover toasted coconut

so good!

***

Dinner

we had a few people over from our gym for dinner so we had a nice small barbecue!

i made some of my grilled pineapple guac which was a hit!

my trainer Cheryl (who now reads my blog hi Cheryl! ) brought two delicious salads!

a pasta salad with spinach, tomatoes, olives, and thinly sliced squash

and a delicious arugula salad with watermelon and feta!

my mom and I made chicken kebobs with a homemade peach barbecue sauce

I loaded up my plate with a bit of everything

my mom also made really delicious watermelon sangria that i had a glass of

Dessert

earlier in the day I cut up a bunch of fresh peaches, plums, and strawberries and drizzled them with agave nectar and about a tbsp of granulated sugar

I let the fruit sit covered in the fridge all day and then we served the fruit salad with some frozen yogurt

best summer dessert ever.

Late Night Snack

a couple handfuls of reduced fat white cheddar cheese its which I failed to take a picture of

not healthy whatsoever but i would have to say that cheese its and gold fish are my two “junkie food” obsessions..do NOT put one of those big boxes of goldfish in front of me..it will be bad news bears

this is why I don’t babysit children because i would probably just eat their goldfish all day long

and just another side note..not that i ever remember to snap a picture of everything i eat every day but I did a really bad job of taking a picture of everything I ate yesterday..woopsies..maybe next time!

***

i hope everyone has a great day!

<3Chelcie

Question for ya!: What is your favorite “junkie food” snack?

hands down cheese its and goldfish..this is why I try not to ever buy these at schools! but everything is okay in moderation i think!

New favorite lunch + Pictures from Newport

Posted: August 14, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

good morning!

so  the past 2 days for lunch I’ve had the same thing and it could be my new favorite meal ever (as in I could eat it everyday and be perfectly happy)

I fried 2 eggs in coconut oil (I just take a basting brush and brush the pan with it so probably about 1 tsp of coconut oil) and then eat the fried eggs over leftover roasted veggies heated up topped with some avocado, goat cheese, and sirracha sauce

SO BOMB..best lunch ever. i wish i had more leftover roasted veggies because I would have the same thing today again!

***

yesterday afternoon my mom and I headed to Newport, RI to visit my Nanny one more time before I go back to school

in the afternoon I went out and had some fun taking pictures with my camera

(aka pretending to be a photographer when in reality I have no clue what i’m doing)

but here are some of the pictures I took!

she’s just so pretty

selfie on the golf cart

****

for dinner last night my mom and I made a Tuna Nicoise platter

my plate

you better believe i went back for seconds! the perfect summer meal!

***

we are having a small barbecue later with people from the gym my mom and I go to so I’m about to start cooking!

i hope everyone has a great day!

<3Chelcie

25 things i’ve learned from waitressing

Posted: August 12, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | 7 Comments

good evening!

last night was my last shift at the restaurant before I go back to school

I’ve been waitressing on and off for the past 2 years and working in restaurants for the past 3

in my opinion I think everyone should work in a restaurant at least once in their lives..it has taught me a lot

in light of my Sunday boredom I compiled a list of things I’ve learned and taken away from waitressing thus far

so here we go!

25 things I’ve learned from waitressing: 

1. patience is most definitely a virtue

2. kill people with kindness

3. learn when and when not to defend yourself and speak your mind

4. not to EVER bring cheerios to a restaurant to let my child snack on

5. also not to let my future little children run aimlessly around restaurants

6. when I’m on my feet for 7 hours my feet ache a..lot

7. there are really nice people in this world, and really not so nice people

8. people like to complain..about everything

9. always tip 20% even if the service wasn’t 100%

10. to not let little things get to me

11. managers can feel very entitled 

12. co-workers can be great friends

13. working makes me hangggry

14. sometimes white lies are appropriate

15. some people are just very..strange.

16. waiting on a “fun” table is actually enjoyable

17. having lots of cash is awesome yet dangerous..and can also make you look like a stripper depositing 35 1$ bills at the bank

18. i’ve learned to be an expert at rolling silverware..

19. seeing and delivering alcoholic beverages reallly makes me want one

20. sometimes after a long, hard shift all I want is a class of wine and some cereal

21. to not be afraid to ask for help when help is needed

22. if people leave a 10% tip when service has been flawless..they have clearly never worked in a restaurant 

23. respect the people you work with, and always offer to help

24. joke about tables to lighten frustration..just not in front of the table obviously 

25. referring back to number one..patience, patience, patience

****

<3Chelcie

Question for ya!: What is one thing you’ve learned from waitressing or any other job you’ve had?

 

New Products

Posted: August 11, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | 5 Comments

hi!

so yesterday I was out running errands to get some things I needed before I head back to school (which is ONE WEEK FROM MONDAY..eeek!!)

i went to bed, bath and beyond, and then to target

where I just happened to find this

 

chobani’s new vanilla chocolate chunk yogurt! bahh!!

I tried a few spoonfuls to test it out and I mean how could you not like it? its a little on the sweet side so I don’t think I would want a big bowl for breakfast or anything but I think its a nice sweet snack or dessert even

here are the stats

 

the calorie count is higher than their other flavors (which is to be expected) but still healthier than a big bowl of ice cream for dessert. I think this yogurt would be really delicious mixed with fresh berries..yum!

or even kept in the freezer to eat as hard frozen yogurt..now THAT sounds like something i should try!

after target I went to possibly my favorite place ever.

Trader Joes!

I picked up some new to me products as well as some classics

 

i loveeeee tomatoes

 

if you like the taste of artificial pink lemonade (which I really do and that may be strange but whatevs) then you’ll love this stuff! i love mixing about 1/2 a cup of lemonade with 1/2 a cup of water to dilute the sugary sweetness a bit

 

i’ve been on such a peanut butter kick lately and this jar caught my eye..I have yet to dig my spoon in but I’m sure I’ll be swooning over it

 

you know how grocery stores strategically put products in the check out aisle’s that make you reach your hand out to make those last minute purchases? like you know gossip magazines, packs of gum, etc etc

well trader joes is the MASTER of check out line items that you decide you just HAVE to get (or maybe this is just an issue for me..)..like the chocolate bar above for example..just as good as it sounds. I should of picked up about 5 more for my cart but oh well next time!

and my all time favorite trader joes product

 

goat cheese with honey. there is nothing better in this world let me tell you

I put this gem to good use in my salad beast for lunch today

 

in the mix

  • mixed greens
  • arugula
  • heirloon tomatoes
  • red onion
  • avocado
  • rotisserie chicken
  • honey goat cheese

all topped with balsamic vinagrette after I snapped the picture!

****

so for some exciting news..tonight is my last shift at the restaurant!

this job has definitely been one of the harder jobs I’ve had (just because of the long hours, people testing my patience, etc) but every new job is a learning experience!

and that’s about all I’ve got to share at the moment

i hope everyone is having a great weekend!

<3Chelcie

question for ya!: Have you tried any new products lately?

P-Town

Posted: August 10, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments

good morning!

as I told you on Wednesday, my family and I went to Province town early Wednesday morning and came back yesterday on the 4pm ferry

picture on the ferry!

and a mother daughter selfie to start out the trip

once we got to P-town we walked to our hotel, dropped off our bags, and went to go rent bikes!

we rented our bikes and set off on what I thought was going to be a leisurely bike ride..boy was I wrong! the bike ride was around 10 miles long and was surprisingly hilly!

mom and Jeff!

me being a tool with my bike

after the bike ride we were all starving so we dropped our bikes back off and headed to lunch

we sat outside at a really cute place called Bubalas

i got the BEST fish tacos i’ve ever had

they had avocado on the bottom and a spicy slaw and chipolte sour cream.gah. amazing.

jeff and I and our drinkies 🙂

we spent the rest of the day bar hopping (my phone died so I don’t have any pics)..naturally my family would want to go bar hopping instead of just do normal things like shop and walk around town

but hey at least we went for the bike ride right?!

we ended up eating dinner at our hotel and it was actually really delicious

we started off with the best appetizer EVER.

Truffled Popcorn

this stuff was insaneeee. we should of ordered another bowl

for my entree I got the Tempura Tuna

this was delicious..pretty small for an entree but I wasn’t that hungry to begin with so it was perfect!

i still had room for dessert though..obviously.

profiteroles with caramel ice cream and a homemade chocolate sauce..ahhhmazingggg. my brother and I were fighting over the last bite lol

the next morning I woke up feeling not so great..maybe it was the bar hopping? maybe..but I went to breakfast with my brother and just got some coffee to start out with

my brother ordered a bacon egg and cheese and look how cute the buzzer is that they gave him!

a lobster!

my mom and I went on a morning walk to explore the town and window shop

how cute is this

a dog drinking out of a bottle..i thought it was funny cause Lucy (my little dog) LOVES wine..so this would be appropriate for her!

we asked the manager of our hotel a good place to go for lunch and without hesitation she said Bayside Betsy’s

so off we went!

my salad was delicious..i got the spinach salad which had strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, red onion, pistachios, goat cheese and grilled chicken 

i will definitely be re-creating this combination at home!

after lunch we went to an oceanside bar to sit out and have a drink before it was time to head to the ferry

such an awesome place to sit outside and have a drink!

****

overall our short vacation was so much fun! we were going to go out to dinner last night because it was my parents 26th wedding anniversary!!! but we were all too tired from the trip so we came home and ordered thai food!

time to go get ready for the gym!

i hope everyone has a great day!

<3Chelcie

Question for ya!: Did you go on any fun vacations this summer?

WIAW-still lovin’ salads

Posted: August 8, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | 8 Comments

good morning!

happy WIAW!

I talked a lot about my summer staples in my last WIAW post!

Breakfast

yogurt bowls never get old

neither do ripe juicy peaches..they are THE best. In the bowl went 1 cup plain greek yogurt, 1 drop stevia, cinnamon, chopped up peach, and granola 

Lunch

after a weekend of indulgence all I wanted was a big salad for lunch!

i went to the store this morning mainly because we were all out of bananas (THE HORROR) and picked up some locally grown organic cherry tomatoes. GAH they were SO good I ate the whole pint

half went straight into my mouth and the other half went into my salad beast

in the mix

  • 1 cup baby spinach
  • cucumber
  • avocado
  • red onion
  • cherry tomatoes
  • non-fat cottage cheese
  • a dr. praegers veggie burger
  • and siracha and lemon juice for dressing

mm so good! it was my first time trying the dr. praeger veggie burgers and they were really good!

Work Out

yesterday I went with my mom to get new running sneakers! considering my sneakers had wholes in them I  decided it was probably time to get a new pair..so I took Duke to Wellesley college for our 2.5 mile loop to test out my new kicks!

it was a scorcher but we had fun!

i also got a new pair of running capri leggings that I wanted to wear but I soon realized I probably should of just worn shorts considering how hot I was

my new sneakers!

Snackin’

my trail mix bag that I’ve had since June is almostttt gone. I only eat small amounts at a time so it takes me a while to get through a bag but this stuff is the BOMB. I had a small handful after my lunch

and after my run I had a piece of peanut butter toast

i couldn’t resist taking a bite before I snapped a pic

my nut butter supply is running a little though at the moment..time to stalk up! or maybe try and make my own which is something I’ve always wanted to try!

Dinner

since I worked yesterday night my dinner was a green monster smoothie followed by a granola bar at work..but since that’s boring to show you I’ll show you what I had for Lunch/Dinner on Monday while I was working

I had a house salad with carrots, onions, tomatoes, and cucumber and I added avocado, goat cheese, and blackened salmon to it. For my dressing I chose the citrus vinagrette

i had half of this salad around 3:30 when I finally got a chance to eat some lunch, and had the other half around 9pm

blackened salmon is so delicious!

****

I am off AGAIN today for the night..my mom, dad, brother, and I are going to Providence Town, MA for the night

I’ve never been so I’m excited to check out what its all about

i’ll be back late tomorrow with a re-cap!

I hope everyone has a great day!

<3Chelcie

Question for ya!: What’s one delicious thing you’ve eaten recently?

Vacation Snapshots

Posted: August 7, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | 10 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

****

this past weekend I went to Newport, RI with my whole family to spend the weekend together. We all don’t get to see each other that often (mainly just on Christmas, Easter, and one time during the summer) so its so nice to be able to spend time with everyone.

We ate lots of delicious food (I learned that I STILL don’t like lobster..i know i’m weird)

I consumed approximately 3 ice cream cones..but who’s counting?

I also realized that cheese and crackers will continue to ruin my appetite for dinner

We went on two 4.5 mile walks along the cliff

grilled oysters: try them asap they are AMAZING

i finally got to have a beach day! (the picture above looks really cloudy but it was actually pretty sunny!)

we rode on the golf cart (my grandparents have a golf cart that we use to LOVE to ride around the vineyard when we were little..its still fun but doesn’t go as fast anymore )

and most importantly we spent lots of time catching up with one another..their is nothing better than good food, good wine, and great company 🙂 

****

I drove home early yesterday morning because I worked a double shift at the restaurant yesterday and for some reason I’m SO sore

but anywho i think its breakfast time

I hope everyone has a great day!

<3Chelcie

Question for ya! : What do you look most forward to on family vacations?

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