A Song I Simply Can’t Stop Listening To…

2 Comments / Lifestyle /

Sorry I didn’t post a “real” blog today. It’s been a hectic week between starting my job at the cafe, attempting to build my parent’s salon website and finishing up training for my big half marathon that is THIS WEEKEND! While I can’t grace you with a long, insightful blog post today, I do have a song for you at least. Forgive me? Please…with a cherry on top.

They keep playing this little gem at the cafe and it’s one of the only things that gets me through the non-fat-one pump-caramel-triple-latte stress. Press play & enjoy…

Lovin’ this jam? Download it on Amazon.com for just $0.99 cents! … Read More!

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Hump Day Lesson: On Remembering to Breathe

2 Comments / Uncategorized /

Today I started my part time job as a barista at the cutest little cafe. I won’t lie: it was pretty stressful at first, but I think I can get the hang of it. I spent 7 1/2 straight hours learning to make the perfect cappuccino, macchiato, latte, Americano, iced latte & more. Not to mention slicing sandwiches and trying to find the coffee sleeves in a room as big as my basement. I have to say, at the beginning of the day when I could barely screw the espresso cap onto the machine, I had my doubts. But now I’m feeling pretty good and think I can pick it up rather quickly with just a little practice…and lots of patience. Practice makes perfect after all, right?

From work, I went straight to a sushi lunch with The Boy. We both ordered the Roll Combo which includes Miso soup, organic salad with ginger dressing, a Spicy Tuna roll and a California roll for just $10. How’s that for a bargain? After that, we worked on my parent’s salon website and snuggled a bit before his departure. With such a busy day, I nearly forgot to post my Hump Day post. … Read More!

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Tuesday Talk: The Power of Motivation

2 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

[source]

Motivation. By dictionary definition is means the desire to do; interest or drive. But to me, it means much more. I’ve been thinking a lot about motivation, and the act of getting yourself motivated, these past few days. After all, it is quite the powerful force.

Motivation is what gets you out of bed in the morning even when you want to crawl back into your cave and sleep forever. Motivation is the thing that helps you go that extra mile while running even when your legs feel like JELL-O and you just want to stop. Motivation helps drive you to take that extra plunge, take a chance and fight to the finish to reach your dreams.

And what better coach than yourself to help motivate you to get what you want out of life? This week motivation has taken me far. I motivated myself to stop crying and feeling sorry for myself, and rather score a part time job at an adorable little cafe. So what if it’s not my dream job in a magazine agency, but it’s a start. I motivated myself to run 10 miles a few days ago in preparation for my half … Read More!

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28 Things To Smile About Right Now

1 Comment / Lifestyle /

[source]

I think we could all use an extra smile every now and then…particularly lately. There’s just something about this month that has put me – and many people I’ve been talking to – into a major funk. So since it’s the 28th and this long month is almost over, I’ve put together a list of 28 things to smile about right now. It sure has got me feeling all warm & fuzzy inside. Enjoy!

1. European-style cafes – they are just so quaint & classy

2. The joy you get from a simple hug

3. Family dinners

4. Temps are starting to hit 50s & 60s…bye-bye teens!

5. Freshly brewed tea…the kind where you can see the petals, herbs and whatever else they put in there

6. Free re-fils

7. Sunshine – it gives you an excuse to wear your aviators everywhere

8. The simplicity of T-shirts & jeans

9. A good ol’ competitive game of Cranium with the crew

10. Spring-y scarves with flowers & bright colors

11. Purple nail polish

12. A long, much-needed chat with an old friend

13. Finding a lucky penny on the ground…and really believing in it

14. Spring-esque candles like … Read More!

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Banana Pancakes and Quotable Sunday

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This morning we had banana pancakes for breakfast up here in our cozy New Hampshire Condo. Everyone in the family conveniently brought about a dozen bananas each, so clearly we had to do something about the excessive bananas. Banana pancakes was the absolute perfect solution: they were moist, fluffy and absolutely decadent. As I’m sitting here sipping on my Baccio (Chocolate & Hazelnut flavored) black coffee and nibbling on banana pancakes, Jack Johnson’s hit song naturally came to mind.

Enjoy your Sunday ladies, and remember to allow yourself to sleep in a little longer today…relax a little more…and just simply enjoy the day!… Read More!

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Friday Faves and 10 Miles!

5 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Happy Friday lovely readers! Hope everyone has some phenomenal events planned for the weekend. As for me, I’m heading up to our condo in NH with the fam and The Boy for a little R & R. I absolutely can’t wait…NH retreats are the absolute best.

I also have some more great news in the home front: I ran my first ever 10 miles this morning, and not only did I survive, but it felt absolutely amazing. I won’t lie; there were points I just wanted to STOP but I kept telling myself, “You Can Do It”… “Only 5 more!”… “Only 3 more” and then suddenly I was done. It amazes me that just two years ago I could barely run 3 miles. I actually bawled my eyes out during my first 5K that I ran with my dad, and now look at me. I’m like Ms. Running Machine! This just goes to show that anyone can do what they set their mind to do…you just have to work at it and stay with it.

Anywho, it’s Friday so it’s that time again for FRIDAY FAVES:

My Forerunner 305 Garmin: I made the purchase for this bad ass GPS watch … Read More!

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Turn that Frown Upside Down: Two Feel-Good Carby Meals for Morning and Night

Leave a Comment / Food & Recipes, Health & Wellness /

It’s no doubt carbs make you happy. That’s probably why my two years spent on the South Beach Diet led to many mood swings and blah days. No carbs = less smiles. The scientific reasoning behind it is that carbohydrates raise our serotonin levels (something women are lacking anyway) and in turn makes us feel good, less irritable and of course less moody.

So when I woke up this morning feeling a little poopy, I knew it was going to be a carby breakfast. Not just any carby breakfast though. No. It had to be my ALL TIME favorite carby breakfast, and that my friends is good ol’ fashioned pancakes.

I made gluten free pancakes due to my wheat sensitivity from Cherrybrook Kitchen boxed mix. The first time I whipped up these babies, I was a bit hesitant. Can gluten free pancakes really be that good? Well, I must say that they were just as good if not better, and my family couldn’t agree more! I then changed up the recipe a tad…

For 7 pancakes (3 for now, 4 for later):

-1 c. pancake mix

-about 2 tsp. canola oil or equivalent in applesauce

-3/4 c. vanilla almond … Read More!

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Hump Day Lesson of the Day: On Weather Shock

2 Comments / Uncategorized /

I am going through a phase of weather shock, and it’s absolutely terrible.

I mean, when you go from this:

to this:

…it takes some getting used to. OK the second picture is a bit of an exaggeration as it was taken during the blizzard two months ago. But STILL it SNOWED the other day and we’re expecting 3 inches tonight. It’s the end March, for goodness sake! And I get it, I get it. I shouldn’t complain because at least I had my week of fun and am all tan and shit. But let me tell you: it doesn’t make the adjustment any easier.

So while yes, a vacation to Florida (or the Bahamas or Mexico or whatever floats your boat) sounds enticing – as it is – you must be prepared to pay the consequences upon your return. And if you don’t have any warm, fun vacations coming up, you can laugh at all your friends who get a bad case of the Weather Shock. It aint good.… Read More!

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The Breaking Point: What to Do When You Think You Hit Rock Bottom

37 Comments / Lifestyle /

usually I’m a pretty happy girl, but yesterday I hit my breaking point…

When I graduated college two years ago, I always dreamed I’d move to NYC, score an incredible magazine job and live the city life. Once I realized that a.) the economy is looking rather rough and b.) NYC is freakin’ expensive, my ideal future slowly changed. So I moved to Boston, worked a front desk job at a gym to make money, and then dabbled in the corporate world for a bit. I soon realized that a.) A 9 to 5 desk job just isn’t cut out for me. I like people and talking far too much and b.) Money can’t buy me happiness.

So, I quit my job as a Content Manager and filled my time with doing “Rachel” things. I starting writing in my blog every single day, bought my own domain, self-published a recipe book, made some new friends, scored a pretty sweet boyfriend, picked up a few freelance writing gigs, and explored the city of Boston in my spare time. I guess you could say I’m one of the most active “unemployed” people you’ll ever come across. I never just sit at … Read More!

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It is Officially Spring: 10 Inspiring Reasons to Eat Well and Exercise and It Has Nothing To Do with a Bikini

12 Comments / Health & Wellness /

spring has sprung. literally.

It’s officially, utterly and completely spring as of yesterday. I mean, the calendar said so, but I could also smell it in the air. Plus I saw the first flowers of the season budding through the ground. That made be happy…overwhelmingly happy. Not to mention that I spent the entire afternoon day-drinking in honor of South Boston’s St Patty’s Day parade. I have to say that took me back to college block parties in a heart beat. I even wore my green platform heels in honor of the day – and the season. Springtime is my excuse to wear open-toed shoes and flip flops…every day.

Anyway, many people also use this season as an excuse to go on crash diets, lose 15 pounds, cut out dessert, go bananas at the gym, deprive themselves of yummy treats, and rip apart every little “flaw” on their body. It breaks my heart really because I used to be one of those girls. I’d elliptical my ass of at the gym and eat bland greens with a slab of dry chicken for dinner and call it a feast. And I did this all so I could “lose the … Read More!

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