ashleyd /

Five Favorites for Air Travel

During August and September I’ll travel 6 of the 8 weeks, many of which will be via plane. All this travel has taught me a great deal over the past year. Today I want to share my five favorite items to make any flight just a little bit smoother. Regardless of whether you travel once a year or once a week, hopefully you’ll enjoy these items. In addition to these items, I highly recommend you check out 3 Fl Oz if you’re a beauty junkie who wants to find your favorite products in airport security approved sizes!

Travel Favorites

1.The Lululemon Scuba Hoodie has been a travel companion of mine for the past two years, keeping me warm on many a cold flight.  I love the cozy factor while still looking partially put together due to it’s sleek lines. The deep pockets are perfect for holding lip gloss and your ticket while you’re running through the airport.

2. Ole Henriksen Ultimate Lift Eye Gel is the perfect thing to use as soon as you sit down on the flight in order to ensure you land looking rested, even if you couldn’t get a minute’s sleep on your six hour cross country flight. It reduces puffiness that is common post flight and the cool formula leaves your skin and gentle eye area feeling refreshed.

3. Emergen-C Spending time in airports and airplanes is the perfect way to pick up the latest cold or flu strain. In addition to staying active during travel I mix one packet with water daily and enjoy each morning to give my body an extra burst of Vitamin C. I think of it as my immune system’s punching Gatorade during the fight against germs!

4. I love the new, sleek design of my Kindle, a present to myself earlier this year. It fits easily in my carry-on and allows me to enjoy hours of reading without the weight of books or the clunk of the older versions. The battery on the new one seems to last for hours, which makes traveling without a power cord an easy space saving decision.

5. The Eddy Camelbak water bottle is a great way to save money while also making it easy to stay hydrated during travel. At .75 liters, this no-leak bottle can fit easily into your seat pocket, making it less necessary to use that annoying stewardess call button during a flight. I fill mine up in the airport in between flights and then ask the flight attendant to fill it up during flight instead of the small cup they’d normally provide. An added bonus is that you won’t risk spilling all over your seatmates or computer during turbulence!

Enjoy, because traveling is easier and more enjoyable when you have the right gear!

What am I missing?

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ashleyd /

Healthy Living Summit 2012 Day #1

Wow, it has been a whirlwind week on the blog! Last time we chatted I had just returned from my West Coast business trip and now I’m in Boston attending my 3rd Healthy Living Summit! It’s so great to be reunited with some of my blogging buddies and meet so many new faces this year in Boston! There are so many new faces this year that I feel like I barely know anyone. I actually love that feeling as it makes for a very different experience!

Yesterday I took the Bolt Bus from New York to Boston with Theodora and Tina. I can’t say enough great things about Bolt Bus when you consider what you get for your money. The ticket was only $18 and the trip took just over 4 hours, thanks to our bus drivers way too long Arby’s break. But, considering that most buses have wi-fi, power plugs, and comfortable seats it is a great value when Amtrak isn’t in the price range.

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I had a green smoothie with Almond Breeze, spinach, apple, berries, and GNC Egg White Protein Powder before leaving and then snacked on almonds, cheese stick and apple on the bus while goofing around and catching up with Tina and Theodora. I finished this month’s Runner’s World and the last book in the Fifty Shades of Grey series on the bus.

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When we arrived in Boston with were beyond hungry so upon arriving at the hotel our first order of business was food.

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Luckily the hotel coffee shop had a wide array of pre-packaged food options including some hearty salads. Tina and I both chose the sun-dried tomato, grilled chicken, avocados dressing, and croutons. Even though I only had a few minutes to house the salad it was delicious! (picture via Tina)

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I only had a few minutes to eat the salad because Anne and I were heading out to join Gretchen and Holli’s Photo Walk to Fenway Park.

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While it was definitely far further than the advertised 2 miles round trip, it was a blast getting to meet some new bloggers (hi Min and Holly) while seeing some of the sites around our hotel including Boston University, Fenway Park and The Charles River.

Boston Walking Tour

By the time we made our way back to the hotel room it was time to get spruced up for dinner and the HLS Cocktail party! Getting ready in a room of four girls is always so much fun! It was a makeup and dance party for sure, with Gretchen doing each our eyes in ways we never could! (pic via Tina)

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Due to tight timing, we decided to stick to the hotel’s restaurant,  for dinner which exceeding my expectations! Due to this morning’s long run Theodora and I both stuck to pasta and pretzel rolls!

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Last but not least, it was time to get our party on at the HLS Cocktail Party which Elizabeth helped put together! I loved the outdoor tent setup and as always, the photo booth!

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Yeah we’re total goobers as you can tell from these pictures. But, we are having a blast so that’s all that matters!

If you’re at HLS I hope you’ll come say hi! If not, what is your favorite photo booth prop?

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ashleyd /

Wente Wine and Bocce Too!

It feels wonderful to be home enjoying a glass of wine and a night on the couch with Bo and Meg. After a quick trip down to Bedford Cheese, we’ve deemed tonight wine and cheese night, complete with a few new favorite cheeses and an amazing balsamic fresh fig spread!

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Before our cheese shop adventure I satiated my post flight hunger with this month’s Naturebox. I’m loving the selections in this month’s box including the Mexican dried mango! So good!

So my trip out to California was quick and crazy. I was gone just over 48 hours but enjoyed having the chance to get to know my West coast peers a lot better and getting to know the market. Our trip out wasn’t exactly stellar based on the fact that the flight was warm and without wi-fi. But, I did have the time to get a manicure at the airport before enjoying Mean Girls on the flight.

Plane snacks

Tuesday night we were greeted with the most amazing dinner event at The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards! Just over a year ago Theodora and I actually had the chance to attend a Wente Vineyard and Food Network event for the launch of Entwine Wines, which come from Wente Vineyards!  The location was beautiful, the wine flowed all night, the dessert was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted, and the company was enough to leave my side aching from all the laughter. A great night indeed! Wente Vineyards

The chilled soup of cucumber only had a hint of honeydew and the yogurt made it super creamy. My main course, the roasted ling cod with a succotash of corn, garden squash, fennel and basil was my dream dinner. Perfectly light cod, flaky yet crispy and the succotash brought together my favorite summer flavors in one bite! Salt flakes sprinkled atop the succotash made the flavor punch each bite with an extra bit of flavor. Oh and then there is the dessert. This may be one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Even though I could only eat about four bites it was heaven in a dessert. The chocolate crunch cake had marshmallow sandwiched between it and then drizzled and topped with crumbled salted caramel. On the side, a scoop of balsamic ice cream which paired perfectly with the rich cake.

If you’re ever in the area, I can’t recommend the restaurant at Wente Vineyards enough!

After all of this delicious food, I was very inspired for a morning workout bright and early Wednesday. Since it was actually supposed to be a rest day I didn’t run but instead stuck to incline walking while catching up on this month’s Fitness Magazine before doing a quick abs and arms workout. Not too shabby for a rest day!

Then last night, we played Bocce at Campo di Boce, a nearby restaurant that brings together delicious Italian food and bocce courts. I’ve never been to a Boce restaurant before but it was awesome! The staff provided us with instructions and then we had two hours of bocce fun on our own!

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Such a great trip but man I am glad to be home! After a night of relaxing I’m heading to Healthy Living Summit up in Boston tomorrow on the bus with Tina and Theodora! I can’t wait to catch up with everyone and enjoying a weekend long run in temperatures that include the number 6..67 as the low for Boston!!

Question: Are you heading to Healthy Living Summit this weekend?

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