Healthy Chicks

[colorful juices at Life Alive!]

Good morning ladies. I gave my blog a makeover yesterday: a facial, hairdo, the works! How do you like the new look? I’ve been looking for something a little more clean and fresh, that still shows off my fun, girly style and I think I found just that.

Last night, I met my friend Megan to celebrate her engagement! We started with hot yoga at Prana Power Yoga in Central Square for a Prana 2 Music class, which was an incredible 75-minute sweat fest. I loved the music, energy and general vibe of the class. Everyone was so concentrated on their particular practice, without any judgement or too much critique (I hate when the entire class is the teacher “fixing” your posture although I do appreciate some direction).

I set my intention for my practice to be ROCKING MY BUSINESS and wishing my boyfriend safe travels on his upcoming trip with his mother.  His mother has been battling Early Onset Alzheimer’s for the past seven years, and with numerous medications and treatments she has continued to get worse. That’s why my boyfriend decided to take matters into his own hands, and is going to take … Read More!

This morning, I was catching up with an old friend about life. When we started talking about our careers, I told her how I’m juggling a good amount of jobs right now to make some extra money/pay the bills while I build my business.

“Money sucks, doesn’t it?” she asked. “I wish we could all just barter.”

“I know, sometimes I wish it didn’t matter,” I replied. “We’d all do what we love and the world would be a much happier place.”

That got me thinking about money, the history of currency, and what reality has come to. In this day and age, hundreds of people “do what they gotta do” to pay those bills, even if it means sacrificing their own happiness.

Business executives work 60, 70, even 80 hours a week to support their families, young woman pass on their “dream job” in order to take something more “safe” (i.e. higher salary) and hundreds suffer from stress, anger, and even depression all over one thing: M-O-N-E-Y.

Imagine if we lived in a world where money wasn’t a thing, where everyone simply did what they loved and bartered their way through life. Mind you, that may be living … Read More!

This weekend, I was given the opportunity to cover the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s October Fall Conference: IIN Live. Since I would be tweeting and blogging via Live Stream, I was able to watch the entire event (Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) from the comfort of my own home.

Last year, I attended the event live in NYC, so a part of me wished I was there. But while my jealousy set in a few times (especially during the group massages at the end), I have to admit it was nice to be able to take a lunch break, get some tea and wear my sweats as I soaked up a multitude of new information.

For those of you who don’t know or are new to my blog, I graduated from IIN this past August as a Certified Holistic Health Coach. The school has been able to give me the chance to follow my dreams, start my own business, believe in myself, lose those last 10 pounds of baggage (plus some) and start an entirely new career path for myself.

Therefore, whenever I get the chance to hear from more speakers and listen to … Read More!

When I first began my personal path to wellness, I would often focus on the little things because I know just as much as the next girl that those BIG things can seem rather intimidating at times. You may often hear me say on this blog that healthy living is a lifestyle, not a quick overnight fix and I stand by this statement 100%.

You see, as women, we often strive for perfection try to be better. We push ourselves to be skinnier, prettier, more fit, more generous, a better mom, a better friend, etc. The list goes on and on. However, sometimes it’s better to just take a pause on the judgement for a second, and be the best we can be.

In order to do this, I recommend my clients (and readers) to create small, attainable goals for themselves and build from there. I didn’t start eating kale salads and running half marathons overnight. No, it took time, trial-and-error and patience. But you know what? I did it. And so can you. Because you know what? Those seemingly small changes are what lead to big, long-lasting results.

Here are some small changes you can add into your … Read More!

Happy Friday ladies! As I sit here finishing up some work in Starbucks, many thoughts are flowing through my head. I’m not sure you know this about me, but I am always thinking. I mean always, always. What can I say? I’m a girl of many (sometimes crazy) ideas. Here’s what’s going through my mind on this rainy Friday afternoon:

-There is a older man sitting next to me at Starbucks who has been writing on a napkin for the past hour. When I glanced over (I swear I’m not nosy) I saw that both sides of the napkin are completely covered with teeny-tiny scribbled handwriting. The hopeless romantic inside me likes to think he is writing a love letter to a long lost woman from his past.

-This grande medium roast with one pump of pumpkin may just be the perfect pick-me-up for a rainy, dreary day

-What if our dreams could be recorded and transformed into movies? Seriously, between my boyfriend and I, I think we’d be famous. But then again, would we really want to replay some of those dreams?

-There’s only two (plus some) months left until Christmas. When is it too early to watch Love … Read More!

This morning, my family head down to Niantic, CT to run the Half Marathon/5K road race. Since I will be running a half marathon in three weeks from today, I decided to take it easy by doing the 5K this time around.

Well, I guess I didn’t really take it easy after all; I ended up crushing my 5k PR by over a minute at a brisk 25:37. It’s hard to believe that I completed my first 5K just about fives years ago in over 33 minutes!

Someone on twitter had asked me how I knocked over a minute off my time, or what I was doing differently. Honestly, it’s all mental for me. These past couple months of half marathon training have taught me that I can push myself in ways I never thought I could. I can do it. I can run faster. I also give props to the amazing community online, including all the fellow Fitfluential ambassadors. Seriously, can you get more inspired than that?

I was super proud of my PR, but even more proud of my mom who ran her very first 5K for the entire distance. My dad, sister, cousin and her husband … Read More!

You know when you get so caught up in life that you forget to just pause and breathe? Well, I was having one of those weeks. In between training for a half marathon, working, starting my own business, planning for my event tonight and MOVING (tomorrow!) things got a little crazy, needless to say.

So yesterday I decided to break my perfect go-go-go routine and simply be, imperfect that is.

Instead of forcing myself to go a training run when my body was saying “please, no!”I packed. A lot. I cleaned the entire kitchen, put stuff into storage and got my room ready for the move out. Cleaning and packing felt surprisingly refreshing.

Instead of working another three hours on blog/business stuff, I treated myself to a massage from Exhale Spa. I don’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed. I literally melted into the massage table.

Instead of rehearsing for my event (even when I know I do best when I act naturally and don’t plan), I decided to be BAD and go shopping for a dress for a friend’s wedding this weekend. I got the most adorable purple dress that I feel like a Pretty Princess … Read More!

Everyone talks about a vacation as some grand escape to the Caribbean islands or taking two weeks off of work to travel. However, while that’s one way to look at a vacation physically, sometimes we just need a mental “vacation,” you know a mini break from life.

If you feel like your mind is spinning in a million directions, you most likely could use a little time off. Here’s how:

1. Hop on the Fifty Shades bandwagon and indulge. You won’t regret it, but when you’re staying up past midnight waiting for the next steamy encounter, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

2. Take a mini vacation close to home, but far enough away that you won’t bump into anyone you know. For me, Cape Cod was the perfect fit. I took off for four days with my family, and wasted my days away at the beach, sipping red wine and treating myself to lobster rolls, clam strips and chowdah.

3. Turn off all forms of technology for an entire day. Yes, that means no twitter, no facebook, no iPhone, no text messaging, and no reading celebrity gossip online. When you unplug for a bit, you may find clarity … Read More!