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A NYC Birthday Weekend

Happy Monday!

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I hope you guys enjoyed a wonderful weekend. In honor of Bo’s 31st birthday, we put together a fun New York City weekend itinerary including a few of the things on our Summer Fun List.

Friday night our friends Erika and Garrett hosted us for a delicious, homemade dinner while enjoying sunset views of Manhattan. While it’s fun to go out every now and then, relaxing and catching up with friends in the comfort of their home was a welcome treat. We weren’t rushed and instead spent hours planning ski trips, bike rides and sipping lots of wine. 

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Saturday morning we slept in later than normal before heading downtown for our favorite NYC workout, Fhitting Room with Emily Cook Harris and Eric. They are the perfect power team, balancing out each others music tastes and enthusiasm for different workouts. Saturday included lots of TRX work, rowing sprints, and box jumps. I love that Bo and I can finally agree on a workout that we both love.

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After a quick shower we headed downtown for lunch at Gansevoort Market and an afternoon at the new Whitney Museum. In case you haven’t heard of it before, Gansevoort Market is an indoor market featuring 22 different stands which serve everything from authentic Greek yogurt bowls to New York Style pizza. It’s open daily from 8am to 9pm, making it the perfect spot for any meal or meeting. We ended up grabbing a sunny table and sharing a few different things, our favorite of which were a slice of pizza from Luzzo’s and a ceviche bowl from Mission Ceviche. IMG_2499IMG_2496

We really enjoyed the new Whitney Museum, which due to its size, is able to display numerous works of art which have been in storage or only on limited display due to the previous museum’s small size. We started at the 8th floor and worked our way down, as recommended, but found ourselves a bit overwhelmed and tired by the fourth floor. We enjoyed views of New York and New Jersey in between touring their inaugural exhibit, America Is Hard to See.

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Saturday night we headed to Brooklyn for drinks and dinner with friends. We had drinks before dinner at The Long Island Bar and Henry Public, both of which I’d recommend. Long Island Bar feels like a diner but serves up perfect cocktails, especially Manhattans and Gimlets. Henry Public’s cocktail menu is creative and unique, serving up delicious cocktails such as the Summer Fancy which included muddled stone fruit, verbena honey and champagne. Delicious!

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The main event was dinner at PokPok a small but mighty Thai restaurant located near Columbia Street Waterfront in Brooklyn. This unassuming restaurant has a Michelin star and a menu that will change your expectations for Thai moving forward. While most of the menu is quite spicy, our group was able to find things everyone enjoyed. My favorite item were their wings, which were a delicious combination of sticky, sweet and crunchy.  If you enjoy Thai food, add this to your list of no miss restaurants in New York. It’s an easy subway or taxi ride from Manhattan!

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After a busy Saturday, we spent most of Sunday relaxing at home. After attempting to bake without the proper equipment, I was reminded that baking is an exact science. Even though neither my banana bread nor my zucchini bread turned out, it was fun to spend some time in the kitchen.

Sunday night, Russell and Meg hosted Family Night Dinner at their house for Bo’s birthday. Every other Sunday night one of us hosts this relaxing evening together. It gives us a chance to catch up before the week starts. Last night we watched Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt when we weren’t cooking. I’m loving that show – so fun!

The menu included our favorite homemade crab cakes, rack of lamb, squash casserole, roasted fingerling potatoes, and birthday cannoli from an Italian Brooklyn bakery.  IMG_2607 IMG_2610

What a wonderful birthday weekend!

Don’t forget to enter to win a $50 gift card to Fresh Direct.

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Friday Favorites & Giveaway

Happy Friday!

Today’s Friday Favorites is going to be a bit different than normal but even better as I have a giveaway! Instead of sharing recipes, articles, posts and other things that caught my eye this week, I’m going to share a recent adventure as well as foods related to that which I’m loving!

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Last week I had the pleasure of joining five other bloggers and social media influencers (Gina, Vicki, Margaret, Michelle, and Paul) and the Fresh Direct team for a trip out to Long Island learning about one of my favorite foods – oysters! In case you’ve never heard of Fresh Direct, the company prides itself on bringing customers fresh, quality ingredients to their doorstep!

The Fresh Direct co-founder and “Chief Food Adventurer”, David McInerney, joined us for the day while we spent time with Blue Island Oyster Company, one of Fresh Direct’s primary oyster sources. Both companies know how to plan a great day. From time in the “classroom” learning about oysters to kayaking and grilling on the Long Island Sound, their passion for food and locally sourced products was at the root of everything.

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We started the day at Blue Island Oyster Company which is located in West Sayville, Long Island. Founded in 1995 by Chris Quartuccio, Blue Island Oyster Company is the number one shellfish distributor in the New York area. Quartuccio has worked in the industry since the age of 12, when he began digging for clams.  Over the years West Sayville has been a hub for the shellfish industry, once supporting 7,000 clam diggers. Today, only one shellfish company remains in West Sayville -Blue Island Oyster Company. They ship their shellfish all across the country and can be found on the menus of top restaurants in Las Vegas, New York City, Chicago and Boston.

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After a brief history of the company and region, he led our group into the “nursery” where we we learned all about oysters and how they are spawned.  IMG_0779

Oysters are typically 3 years old when they are harvested, however if farm raised that time can be reduced to 1.5 years. The farm raised oysters are incubated in barrels for 3 months before being transferred to the Great South Bay where they live until they reach maturity. Wild oysters have more mineral flavor than farm raised. Since oysters feast on algae, the company grows algae in large tanks.

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Their top selling oyster, The Naked Cowboy, was inspired by the Naked Cowboy in Times Square after Chris drove past him back in the 90s. Though the name was once laughed at by restaurants, today the Waldorf, Four Seasons, Oceana and other top restaurants request them by name. 

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Today Fresh Direct’s partnership with Blue Island Oyster Company allows for Fresh Direct customers to enjoy these oysters within days of their harvest. Blue Island harvests them one afternoon and the next morning they head to Fresh Direct! On their website you can find steamer clams and six different types of oysters!

After learning all about oysters we headed out to the Blue Island Oyster Company’s floating dock in the Long Island Sound for an afternoon of grilling, dining and kayaking.

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During our waterside picnic we were able to taste the delicious Blue Island steamers and oysters as well as an array of Fresh Direct’s food including lots of Summer favorites and items sourced from small farms and fisherman across the country. The team taught us some tips and tricks along the way such as how to shuck an oyster and perfectly grill rib eye and swordfish.

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Our group could not stop remarking how delicious everything tasted! From prepared food to seafood, I was amazed! While I have shopped with Fresh Direct and love the convenience and assortment they provide, I had never tried their prepared foods, meats, seafood or cheeses. 

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This is where this week’s Friday Favorites comes in as I have since ordered many of these items and raved about them to friends and family! The Fresh Direct team, led by David their “Chief Food Adventurer” travel the world sourcing products and building relationship with local companies. The entire team were experts on everything we tasted, answering our questions and explaining how and why they chose certain products!

IMG_2187These are the products I fell head over heels for last Friday and have since then ordered.

But, Fresh Direct and I don’t want you to take our word for it. We want you to experience Fresh Direct for yourself. You can click this link to enjoy $100 towards your first TWO orders! What better way to stock your fridge next week or help you get prepared for your next barbecue or party?

In addition, Fresh Direct and I want to give one lucky reader a $50 gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you again to Fresh Direct who hosted such a wonderful day and provided the gift for this giveaway.

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Finding the Confidence to Strip

I can’t pinpoint an exact date. There was no epiphany that took place one day. But, over the past year, slowly but surely, I’ve started to enjoy living each day just a little bit more.

For 30 years, I wasted time and energy worrying about what others thought. Would they like the dress I was wearing? Would they think I was too slow? Would they notice those extra layer of softness on my arms? I spent countless hours comparing myself to everyone. This constant struggle caused self-doubt and affected every aspect of my life.

What took me so long to realize is that 99.5% of the other people are too busy and focused on their life that they don’t have time to think about that girl next to them. Whether it’s the girl running next them at the gym or the girl lying next to them at the pool.

In the past six months, I have felt more confident and happier than any other time in my life.

On Saturday, after ten years of running, I finally found the confidence to run in a sports bra. The slight breeze felt cool and refreshing against my skin, and I couldn’t help but smile. I don’t have a six-pack and don’t have a perfect body but I felt strong and I know how hard I’ve worked to feel that way.  Even though the miles didn’t come easy, the feeling of freedom and confidence gave renewed meaning to the run. 

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After sharing the picture on Instagram and Facebook, I was amazed the number of women who commented. These are women who I’ve considered my inspirations whether for fitness or physique. Somehow, they were amazed that I ran without a shirt. Many of them said they wish they could reach that point.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic pill I can prescribe or a book I can recommend to each of you so that you can feel the joy that is, for lack of better words, “not giving a shit.”

The only thing I can do is to beg and plead that each of you find the courage to strip down, whatever that means in your life. Try just one thing that scares you or intimidates you. If you want to strip off the shirt and run in a sports bra, try running in a new area, where you won’t be recognized or run earlier in the day. If you want to practice hot yoga in one layer less, try it at home first, so you get comfortable in your skin. If you want to clip in, but are scared of falling, try riding with only one foot clipped in until you feel comfortable. Want to wear something that isn’t on the pages of this month’s fashion magazine? Own it and wear it with pride.

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Don’t believe it’s that easy? Two of the women who inspire me daily stripped down for their workouts for the first time this week! Both Bonnie and Mindy shared that it felt liberating and helped them realize how far they’ve come in their journey. All it takes is a little bit of confidence and the freedom to not care what others think. I bet you’ll have a high from all that libration and far more time on your hands to focus on the important stuff.

Oh and don’t forget, it is a gradual evolution. As I said, it didn’t click overnight. Slowly but surely I worried less about other people and spent more time focusing on me.  There are moments when I lack confidence or worry about what others think, but it’s far less often than before.

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