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A New York City Bachelorette

This weekend I had the pleasure of celebrating my friend Evann during her bachelorette party! Evann wanted a relaxed, fun day in New York City surrounded by a small group of her friends. When we started planning the day, Evann had a few requests:

  • Minimize time traveling between locations, with a goal of having everything walking within walking distance
  • Keep things local since 7 of 8 people invited live locally
  • Include some sweat, pampering and, of course, wine.

Luckily, we started planning far in advance which meant reservations were easy and the overcast, rainy day meant that we were able to find space to sit down and enjoy a drink everywhere, even the bars where we didn’t have a reservation.

Here are a few tips for planning a bachelorette in New York City:

  • Make reservations early
  • Do your best to limit transportation as this can lead to delays and confusion
  • Let the bars, restaurants, activity spots know that you are a bachelorette group as they’ll often choose to shower the bride or group with complimentary drinks or other celebratory fun.
  • Call in advance to confirm all the reservations and plans 72-48 hours in advance
  • Bring at least a little bit of fun décor to make everything feel more festive (Sash for the bride, sunglasses or flair for the attendees, fun props for pictures)

We started our day together at 1pm with a sweaty Soul Cycle class in SoHo. The instructor, Cameron, was exactly the personality to kick off a fun day – hilarious, enthusiastic and fun. His playlist included Backstreet Boys and Soul Cycle surprised our bride with a fun polaroid picture, cupcake and some coconut water to help her stay hydrated throughout the day.  Each of the attendees booked their bike exactly at noon when classes opened so we were able to all ride in the front row together, laughing and smiling throughout the class.  After class, we headed downstairs to the locker room to shower and get glammed for the rest of the fun.

After a ten minute walk we found ourselves at the adorable and perfectly feminine Sweet Lily Spa where we each enjoyed either a manicure or pedicure. Since Evann does her best to include natural beauty in her daily routine, I felt that Sweet Lily would be a great spot since they pride themselves on providing conscious nail care, free of toxins and chemicals. The space felt like an oasis in the middle of chaotic and rainy New York.  The space itself was filled with bouquets, shabby chic décor, overstuffed chairs and an adorable boutique. Since our seven ladies took up each of their 6 spaces, it felt like we had the spa for our own private event. Depending on preference, we each enjoyed either their lavender cream manicure or sweet & simple pedicure which included fresh cut cucumber and a relaxing peppermint sugar scrub.

Once our polish dried, we meandered through the heart of fashion week festivities towards the West Side Highway and City Vineyard. Before Saturday, I had only spent time on City Vineyard’s rooftop but since it was rainy and cool on Saturday, our group decided to move downstairs instead. We were able to snag a large table in the center of the space, providing us views of the river as well as the televisions which were showing the US Open coverage, much to many of the ladies delight. Our waitress was amazing and she immediately brought us a round of bubbly to celebrate. Since we were hungry following the workout, we ordered an assortment of snacks including a cheese board and a few of their flatbreads.

We took advantage of a quick break in the rain to head a few blocks into Tribeca for some lingerie fun and frose shots at a fun new spot, A Summer Day Café.  They greeted us with a round of complimentary frose shots and from there we enjoyed an array of their craft cocktails, including my personal favorite – dark and stormy. Since we had a perfect nook, away from other customers, in their bar, we showered Evann with some fun lingerie while sipping our cocktails.

 

Once we finished our cocktails, we walked a few blocks to Antique Garage in Tribeca.  As we entered the space we immediately fell in love with the sparkly chandeliers and Victorian era décor.  We had a large, round table towards the back which allowed us to share laughter and food with the entire group versus just seeing the person next to or across from us. I love round tables for fun events like this! The live jazz music was a fun surprise that provided a soundtrack for our dinner. We shared a few of their starters before ordering a main for each of us to personally enjoy. Their large Mediterranean menu had enough options for everyone’s tastes.

Our group was starting to feel the many bottles of wine by the time we finished dinner and decided to make the next stop our last one. We headed to a small, packed bar next door where we each ordered one last drink while we danced to their 80’s and 90’s music.

The bachelorette was such a fun afternoon and night, bringing together our brides favorite things, without dealing with lines, crowds and traffic which are three of her least favorite things.

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Weekly Workout Recap – December 5th – 11th

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AKA Workouts During Week 12 of Pregnancy 

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was filled with holiday festivities including Theodora’s annual cookie swap and the annual holiday lunch with some of Bo’s best guy friends, many of whom I’ve now known for nine years! Thanks to a very rich, late lunch at Peter Luger’s yesterday, I was in bed by 7:45pm. This set me up well for an early morning Monday workout!

Since so many people have requested that I share my workouts throughout pregnancy, today is the return of my Weekly Workout Recaps. I will share these each Monday with not only links and class details but also any adjustments I made during class due to pregnancy. Since I’m still early in my pregnancy, just 13 weeks, there aren’t very many adjustments yet.

  • Monday December 5th – After a long Monday I was craving a cardio sweat party, aka Soul Cycle class. While I don’t take Soul Cycle that often, I find that it can cure a bad mood better than almost any other workout. Joyce’s class was almost completely out of the saddle which is a change for me. If you take Soul Cycle classes regularly, would you say this is typical these days?
  • Tuesday December 6th – You guys know I don’t have my rythym and therefore typically avoid dance workout classes. Thanks to Target‘s C9 brand and AKT Nomad I had the opportunity to try an AKT Happy Hour class bright and early Tuesday morning with Kayla, Theodora and other NYC influencers. The Happy Hour class is their signature dance-based interval class. The class alternated between choreographed dance cardio combinations and toning workouts including a VERY challenging glute series that left my glutes sore for two days. By the end of the class I’d let my inhibitions go and was having a blast even though I was always a step or two behind. I enjoyed this class SO much that I’d consider going to it again or even trying their AKTEASE class which is targeted towards beginners.
  • Wednesday December 7th – Rest Day
  • Thursday December 8th  – I received a cold weather running package from my friends at Brooks which inspired me to immediately try on the pieces and head out the door for an outside jog. I jogged for 30 minutes around the neighborhood, enjoying the holiday lights and festive decorations while trying to ignore the cold weather’s affect on my lungs.
  • Friday December 9th – Since joining the Brooklyn (Dodge) YMCA this month, I’ve had the chance to get back into Body Pump. This was the first workout class I took when I started my fitness journey ten years ago. I used to take Body Pump three times a week at the gym near my apartment in Wayne, Pennsylvania but since moving to New York City haven’t been able to take it since it’s only offered in certain gyms. Friday evening I kicked off the weekend with a very sweaty, fast paced Body Pump Express class. I thought express meant it’d skip one track to result in a shorter class. Nope, it just meant you did 90% of the work in 75% of the time and most of the time was saved during transitions. I think I’ll stick to regular classes during my pregnancy as I found the pace a bit hard to keep up with at times.
  • Saturday December 10th – I met my sister-in-law at the Brooklyn Heights Soul Cycle for a 60-minute Soul Survivor class led by the very energetic Eve. Her class included A LOT of time out of the saddle as well as Rihanna tunes. By the time class was over I was ready to get out of the hot, sticky room but during class I felt great.
  • Sunday December 11th –  I returned to jogging with a 40-minute treadmill workout consisting of 5 minute walking intervals at 4.2 speed and 5.0 incline followed by 5 minute of jogging intervals at 5.7 speed and 1.0 incline.

 

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The Last Two Weeks in Workouts

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Two weeks ago, I shared my goal of challenging my body in a healthy way.  Along the way, I learned something about myself.  I really like the feeling that comes with a sweaty workout.  By Friday of last week, 10 days into the challenge, I was craving a good, healthy sweat. Even though my workouts were challenging my muscles, especially those small, pesky ones you remember exist when you’re halfway through the tiny pulses. But even though I was working out each day, I was missing that endorphin high. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not abandoning my goal, as i know it’s a healthy one. But, I want to research and read more as I left every class feeling accomplished and happy, but still felt something was missing by the end of the week.

Therefore, I’ve decided to add one to two sweaty cardio workouts to my weekly workout schedule. Based on how I’m feeling, some weeks this may be spin class or if my legs and glutes are cooperating, it may be a run. I think this will be the perfect complement to the great toning and lengthening workouts I’ve been doing at Bar Method.   Here is a recap of my workouts since that post.  As you can see, it’s been heavy on the Bar Method and light on the Pilates. My goal this week is to mix in at least one run and one Pilates class. I’m hoping to take my first Reformer class this weekend at a new studio, A-Line Pilates!

Tuesday October 11th – Tuesday October 24th, 2016

  • 10/11 – Bar Method Brooklyn Mixed Level with Gina
  • 10/12 – Bar Method Brooklyn Mixed Level with Paige
  • 10/13 – Five mile walk   
  • 10/14 – Bar Method Brooklyn Mixed Level with Steffi
  • 10/15 – Rest Day 
  • 10/16 – NYJL Sweats with Theodora which included 30 minute spin and 30 minutes yoga at Equinox
  • 10/17  – Four miles with Katie 
  • 10/18  – Bar Method Brooklyn Mixed Level Alyssa + 3 miles with along the West Side Highway with the Brooks team
  • 10/19 – Bar Method Brooklyn Mixed Level with Paige 
  • 10/20 – Bar Method Brooklyn Mixed Level with Alyssa  Her peppy personality is a great way to make me forget that the workout she is about do prescribe will leave me quivering, shaking and sweating more than any other instructor. I love her class because I learn something new every time but don’t feel so intimidated that I don’t want to return! 
  • 10/21 – Rest day
  • 10/22 – Long walk in Prospect Park 
  • 10/23 – Bar Method Brooklyn Mixed Level with Steffi 
  • 10/24 – Flywheel with Josh Arden AM + Soul Cycle with Stevie PM  Double workouts are rarely something I do these days but when a friend reminds you that you have a free Soul Cycle class expiring, you high tail it to Soul Cycle for some post-work stress relief. It was an odd combination of spin classes since Josh is one of my favorites and unfortunately, Stevie and I didn’t really jive. The class was only 38 minutes long versus the regular 45 and I didn’t feel challenged. Her class was heavy on the dancing and low on the sprints/climbs but in her defense, it was packed and most people looked like this was their favorite Soul class ever. Guess that’s why their are so many different teacher styles! 

Your turn – What is your favorite low impact workout? 

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