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Highlights from the Weekend – October 17th, 2016

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Happy Monday!

I woke up bright and early this morning to enjoy 3.5 easy, shakeout miles with Katie. Katie is training for the New York City Marathon so it was wonderful to enjoy a few miles with her on one of her easier days. Unfortunately, New York City forgot that Fall has arrived and we were stuck running in hazy, sticky, warm weather. My new reflective Brooks Chaser shorts were perfect for the first few miles which were through the dark sidewalks of Red Hook.

I was able to wake up this morning because Bo and I had a very relaxing weekend – exactly what my body was craving. I haven’t felt myself these past few days so getting plenty of sleep helped me start Monday on the right foot. Even though we had a quieter weekend than normal, there are still a few fun highlights to share with you guys.

Painting our dining room

We are working our way through a long list of projects which include touch-up painting and putting the finishing touches on our dining room, living room and master bedroom. This weekend Bo painted three walls of our dining room to better match the accent wall his mom painted earlier this Summer. It amazes me how quickly Bo can paint a room as this one was done in just two hours, including the taping and edging process! We love the warm yellow as well as the warmth in brings into the adjoining living room.

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Open House NYC

I can’t remember how I heard about Open House NYC but I am so glad that Bo and I took time to participate in the 14th OHNY weekend. Each year Open House NYC provides the public with access to amazing architecture in the city along with the opportunity to speak with the developers, designers and architects behind the projects.  We stayed local, exploring two Brooklyn sites – Brooklyn Navy Yard and 620 Fulton. Our favorite site was definitely 620 Fulton, an active construction site which will soon be the New York HOtel Trades Council’s newest health care center. Designed by Francis Cauffman this unique space will bring state of the art health care technology and design to the art district of Brooklyn. We were able to tour the entire project with the architects and designers, understanding the work they have put into the project and hearing about the challenges of building in New York. Check out the incredible views!

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NYJL Moves

Even though I wasn’t feeling great yesterday, I headed uptown to meet Theodora for a Sunday workout as part of the NYJL Moves intiaitive with the New York Junior League. Each year the NYJL organizes a few fitness classes each year which benefit the charitable organizations of the league. Yesterday we had the opportunity to enjoy a 30 minute spin class and 30 minute yoga class at Equinox.  We had a great time catching up and working out together!

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Cooking

Recently, I’ve challenged myself to get more independent in the kitchen in hopes that frequent cooking will help me build confidence. Last night I prepared rainbow chard for the first time using one of Kenji’s recipes from our favorite cookbook, The Food Lab.  We also roasted baby sweet potatoes which we discovered at the farmer’s market – so small and flavorful! Their smaller size meant they were also able to roast in the oven in half the time – perfect for a quick Sunday meal!

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Your turn – What was your weekend highlight? 

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ashleyd /

A Book That Challenges You To Be Better

As you guys know, I am an avid reader. One of my favorite ways to relax after a long day is to light a candle, fill the tub with Epsom salts and read a good book. As I lose myself in the novel’s characters and their stories, the stress of the day and my own worries melt away. Many nights, especially on Thursday evenings, I’ll go from the tub to bed and spend the next hour reading before falling asleep. As Bo and I have reduced the amount of television and screen time, we have before bed, this time has been filled with reading.

Over the Summer, since making this change, I read 16 books ranging from historical fiction to light “beach reads.” After reading a few heavier books, that sometimes left me emotionally drained and thinking about the characters decisions, I was craving a lighter read that would leave me laughing and smiling. Luckily, when my friends at CLEVER reached out about partnering on a book review, the book was a welcome change from what I’ve recently read.

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Rich with humor and sass, I’m Judging You, is the debut book from Luvvie Ajayi. An award-winning writer, speaker and the author and voice of Awesomely Luvvie, a popular humor blog, Luvvie leaves is clearly not afraid of what people think. In fact, this book of humorous essays reflects on behavior seen throughout our society. She reminds me of that friend who says everything exactly as it is, throwing any filters or “politically correct” tendencies out the window.

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Photo credit: Damon Scheleur

As I worked my way through the books multiple topics, some of them left me laughing and nodding my friend as we all know a friend who sucks at friendship or a person who is always the dinner scrooge. But other chapters left me deep in reflection and thought as I thought about the role social media plays in not only my life but society.

I thoroughly enjoy minding other people’s business, but it’s not my fault. It’s theirs. People have made it too easy to know everything about their personal business because of social media, especially Facebook. That is the digital Lipton factory, where all gossip tea goes to boil, and I am here for it all the way.

What she says is true. Facebook has become my generation’s soap opera. Whether it’s the constant dating updates, job changes, political rants or even hourly pictorial updates including everything from a morning run to fights with the toddlers, Facebook has become the place to get your fix. While there are benefits, such as the ability to stay connected to long-distance friends and family, it can also become a deep hole of envy, comparison, and perfection.

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A perfect book to read in between heavier, longer books, I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual is a great reminder that we can all improve regardless our age or life stage.

 

 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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Challenging My Body In A Healthy Way

bar-method-brooklyn

Cool crisp weather makes me want to lace up my shoes and run for hours. There are few things I enjoy more than running through Central or Prospect Park with leaves crunching beneath my feet and vibrant colors adorning the trees. Unfortunately, after Saturday’s half marathon and continued glute pain, I have decided that if I want to enjoy a lifetime of running, I need to listen to my body. Instead of training for short distance PRs during the upcoming Prospect Park Turkey Trot and NYRR Jingle Jog, I am going to run those for fun with friends.

But, instead of abandoning all goals and giving my body time, I am embarking on healthy, lower impact goal that will allow me to stay motivated and healthy. For the next ten weeks, leading up to the Christmas holidays, I am going to spend most of my time tucking, stretching and strengthening my body through Bar Method and other low impact workouts such as Pilates and yoga. Last year during my six-week Bar Method challenge I was leaner and stronger than ever before. In fact, since Bar Method is the perfect complement to running, many of Bar Method’s exercises strengthen the knees by strengthening the surrounding muscles in a low impact way. Las year due to my new found core and leg strength, I was able to run three half marathons and Reach the Beach within a five week period without injury.

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Last night’s class, my first in a while, was humbling. I have lost the muscle memory and strength that I developed last year when I was frequenting Bar Method.  Thanks to the teacher’s hands on adjustments, I was able to feel and move into the proper position but I look forward to the day when everything feels familiar again. So while my triceps are already shaking after two classes and my thighs scream when I walk up the stairs, I’m excited for the challenge. I am going to return to weekly workout updates in order to keep myself accountable as well as share my progress and thoughts with you guys.  As a sweat and high intensity workout addict, I am sure this will be an adjustment.

Now, who wants to join me for a Bar Method class or other low-impact workout this Fall while my body heals and strengthens? 

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