Marvelous in My Memorial Day Weekend
It may not be Monday because I didn’t think it was worth it to publish a full MIMM post on a holiday, but Memorial Day starts with M and so does Marvelous, so there’s no reason I can’t keep the alliteration train chuggin’ at full speed. My work day went south the second I picked up my cubicle phone this morning to listen to a voicemail, so I really need to focus on marvelous and not mad. Which is how I’m feeling.
Thanks Katie for hosting this party! Pretend the Monday says Memorial Day.
Marvelous is…making it to my gym’s Friday evening step class. I haven’t been able to leave work on time for that class in awhile but I decided it was the Friday before a holiday weekend so if any day I was going to leave early, it’d be that day. The step class was so fun – a routine with both familiar and new moves, a high-energy instructor who demanded cheers from us as we worked out, and fantastic remixes of old favorites like “The Call”. Great way to kick off the holiday weekend.
Marvelous is…a quiet girls night at my favorite restaurant. J. Gilbert’s was so packed that my good friend (and fellow introvert) Kim and I were seated before we could even find a seat at the bar. My favorite waiter Clark, my beloved barrel-aged Manhattan, amazing seafood and veggies and bread, and a much-needed chat with Kim made for a wonderful evening. And after dinner, due to the cold and rainy weather, we both were just feelin’ calling it a night early. I slept like a baby.
We both had cocktails with Maker’s Mark! And I am not a ghost I swear.
Criiiiispy halibut with roasted carrots and a veggie ragout.
Marvelous is…killing it in Group Power during Saturday morning’s gym session. I owe much of my ability to kill it to the fact that I fueled well beforehand with a banana and peanut butter. I hesitated about eating something before my workout but knew I needed my strength. I would not have performed as well as I did during the class without that fuel!
Marvelous is…finding my photo in the latest issue of Hartford Magazine! It’s the same photo from the Connecticut Historical Society Community Cook-off (for which I was a judge) that was in the Hartford Courant. I can’t lie, I love reading that caption that calls me a “media personality”. 😛
Marvelous is…Under Armour spoiling me as part of my participation in their What’s Beautiful campaign! A ton of Fitfluential Ambassadors are participating and joining each others’ teams, and I’ve found myself gravitating toward teams about self love as opposed to teams about sticking to a clean eating and/or workout regimen. I love that any woman with any type of goal can partake in What’s Beautiful and find a team full of other women with the same goals – no matter what they are.
Another pair of pink neon shoes, don’t mind if I do!
Marvelous is…wearing my new Under Armour headband to a kickass Sunday morning spin class! I couldn’t wait even 24 hours to test it out and I’m happy to say it didn’t budge ONCE and didn’t give me a headache either when I kept it on for several hours after the gym. The Sunday morning spin instructor always uses the best music and is relentless – she will NOT let us take off too much resistance or lose too much speed. It’s always a loooooong hour to get through but afterwards I always feel incredible.
Marvelous is…getting a compliment on my neon sneakers when I wore them to the gym for a Memorial Day morning workout! I kicked StepMill ass for 30-minutes of speed intervals and then busted out abs and an armday with dumbbells and the stability ball. I’ll need to wear the shoes to a group fitness class though to get a real opinion of their performance, because I know I certainly won’t be using them for the activity for which they were designed…running.
I don’t run, I climb stairs.
Marvelous is…another night spent at the amazing Krust Pizza Bar in Middletown! I introduced several friends to this pizza & bourbon mecca’s magic and despite a very long wait, we left as super satisfied customers. One of the owners was even kind enough to pour us complimentary Cinnamon Toast Krust shots (Onyx Moonshine, milk, cinnamon toast crunch…among other ingredients) as a thanks for waiting. Did I eat my entire Honeymoon pizza (pancetta, pineapple, tomato, mozz, EVOO, sea salt)? Why yes I did.
To Krust!
My first drink – 114 Manhattan. Old Grand Dad 114, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Angostura Bitters, Maraschino. I called my grandpa Old Granddad so this was in his honor!
Marvelous is…me-time pedicure on Sunday followed by cocktails at Rooftop120 with my parents! And man oh man did my fave bartender Andres deliver – he mixed up a strawberry puree + Absolut Cilantro cocktail for the three of us to sample. Along with our drinks we ordered…I could NOT finish anything needless to say.
Pear vodka, Hanger One Kaffir Lime vodka, St. Germaine, proscecco, lime wedge.
Masterpiece pic – martini with the Absolut Cilantro and strawberry puree!
Marvelous is…this balloon my sister got my dad for his birthday (which was Thursday). Stop N Shop stocked up on their graduation balloons, but apparently not their birthday balloons.
Marvelous is…spending Memorial Day afternoon outside reading and sipping iced coffee. I finished Mindy Kaling’s hilarious book (read it immediately), flipped through some old issues of W Magazine (always makes me feel fabulous while reading it), and sucked up every last drop of my 20+ ounces of Starbucks.
Alas my local cafe favorites don’t offer iced coffees in sizes big enough to fit my addiction.
Marvelous is…ending the Memorial Day weekend with a Monday Funday outing with loved ones. I hit up Giovanni’s in Glastonbury with my parents and Jeff, to visit my sister (she’s a waitress there). Then Jeff and I met Jill and another Jeff over at Rooftop120, where I got to sample some apps from the new summer menu! Can’t wait to go back ASAP and try more. Giovanni’s also surprised me with high-quality fish tacos and sangria made using Whole Foods fruit.
My sis charged me for one beer but gave me two half glasses so that I could try two different kinds!
Loved the sangria in mason jars!
What was the most marvelous part of your Memorial Day weekend?
What do you think of my new Under Armour gear?
This post seems libation-heavy – which libation looks best to you?
