QuarantineFIT: Favorite Resources for Killer At Home Workouts

Typically when I’m back at my parents house for a holiday or to visit for a long weekend, I struggle to find any sort of motivation to workout. My bed is to comfortable to get up early, the basement is too cramped to move around and the neighborhood is too hilly for a run. I usually have a ton of excuses.

But when I moved home for the foreseeable future at the beginning of March, I knew I was going to have to find a way to get motivated to work out at home.

While my bed is STILL too comfortable (I can sleep 10 hours most nights) I’ve been shocked at how much I’m enjoying working out at home.

I have a good mix of equipment here:

-15 LB Kettlebell (thanks, sis)
-25 LB Plate
-Dumbbells in 3 LB, 5 LB, 8 LB, 10 LB
-Sliders
-Resistance Bands in a variety of sizes
-Pull-Up Bar
-Yoga Mat
-TRX

And while I’ve loved coming up with some of my own workouts (you can watch some on my Instagram page) and running (healthy!) 3x a week - what’s really kept me going are some incredible fitness instructors offering free workouts on Instagram, Youtube and Zoom.

Here are my recommendations if you need a little variety in your at-home-workouts.

Anyone else contemplating canceling their gym membership for good?

Jon Chaimberg

Jon Chaimberg owns and operates APC gym in Montreal, but when they were forced to temporarily close due to coronavirus, he took his training to Instagram.

I have taken a TON of his classes and they still leave me sore.

He puts together killer rep schemes to make even the lightest set of dumbbells feel like bricks. Instead of 15 rows, he’ll have you do
1 Row / 1 Second Hold
2 Rows / 2 Second Hold
3 Rows / 3 Second Hold

All the way up to 7.

Or he’ll switch up the range of motion, so you’re doing 10 full chest presses, 10 lower-to-mid way pulses, 10 upper-to-mid way pulses, and 10 more full chest presses.

His classes are long - coming in at a full 60 minutes of work and there are lower body/leg focused classes and upper body focuses classes with abs mixed into both.

On the weekend, he goes live or posts an IGTV of him and his wife, Maddie, doing what they call “Hollywood Squares.” They each go through different exercises so you always have a choice of what you want to do!

Maddie also posts her own workouts on her page, and the APC Gym Instagram has live classes throughout the week too.

If you want to wake up sore - these are what I recommend!

Shadowbox

Each week, Shadowbox has been offering Instagram Live classes that run about 45 minutes. The free Live classes are usually on Saturday and Sunday, but they offer tons of classes throughout the week if you sign up for SBX Virtual. The prices are extremely fair - $5/class, $12 for 3 classes or $40 for 10 classes!

These classes leave me absolutely DRIPPING and since I’ve been trying to use 3 pound weights for some of the shadowboxing, I can almost never properly reach up to do my hair the next day.

I swear boxing classes are some of the absolutely best all around classes - and I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that that’s still the case even without gloves and a bag (read my review of the in-studio experience here!)

The classes incorporate shadowboxing with easy to follow combinations, cardio, and usually some core and lower body focused rounds as well.

From June 8 - June 14, all Shadowbox classes will be offered for free to book. Shadowbox asks that you instead use your funds to donate to Color of Change.

Rachael’s Good Eats

Rachael DeVaux has hosted and posted live workouts on her Instagram almost every day of quarantine.

They cover everything from HIIT, upper body focus, lower body focus, core and total body. I love that she mixes up the type of circuits - sometimes you’re going for time and sometimes you’re counting reps.

And, it’s great that you can either follow along live, or watch after the fact when she posts them on her IGTV or YouTube channel.

And all for the price of FREE 99.

MadFit

It’s been amazing how quickly MadFit caught on during quarantine. My friend Kayla sent me her videos, then I found out my sister was doing them every day, and then another friend mentioned that she had been loving her videos too!

She posts most of her workouts on her YouTube channel and I can’t get enough of her 10 and 15 minute ab routines. I like to do them at the end of my workouts as the cherry on-top! They’re straightforward, she doesn’t talk too much, and they’re very varied.

Her dance and song routines are also incredibly fun! And on the days I’m feeling wishy-washy and I can’t commit to anything, I’ll put together a bunch of her 10-20 minute videos and before I know it, I’ve worked out for an hour!

AARMY

I don’t know how I had never heard of AARMY before, a New York City and LA based fitness-studio opened from ex-Soul Cycle instructor Akin Akman.

AARMY is offering a ton of free Instagram Live content and at the beginning of quarantine I was starting almost every morning with their 10 AM EMOM and 10:20 AM 400 Abs series.

I also tuned in for some of Akin’s Bootcamp classes - and let me tell you this guy is NOT MESSING AROUND. He’s a beast!

If you have your own spin bike, they also offer cycling classes on IG Live.

When studios are back open - AARMY is on the top of my list to try out.

Ripped Training Method

Not quite sure how I found the Ripped Training Method videos, but they’re quick and effective 30 minute strength workouts that I’ve been adding into the mix and enjoying! So far, I’ve only taken classes by Jamie because I know I like them! But they have over 30 workouts posted including treadmill classes! Next rainy day, I might give one of them a try.

CorePower Yoga On Demand

Every week, CorePower Yoga’s On Demand website has some free classes that I’ve been adding to the mix. I’ve done more yoga in quarantine than I’ve ever done in my life! And I’m actually really loving it!

One CorePower yoga class I took challenged me to try a pose I never would have thought I could attempt previously - firefly! I also took a really fun, sweaty endurance yoga class. They have a good mix and you can take classes that are 20 minutes, 30, all the way up to an hour.

Mr. & Mrs. Muscle

These quick 10 minute videos made up of 30 second intervals are AWESOME when you don’t feel like committing to a long workout or don’t know what you feel like doing. You can do a quick 10 minute video and be done, or string together a bunch for a full-body workout. They have a mix of videos that required weights and other’s that are body weight. I love their color coordinated outfits and beautiful windows.

Alex Najarian

If you like kettlebells - Alex Najarian’s classes are amazing! I joined one of her free Zoom classes one weekend and was super impressed. She also offers programs you can pay for to get daily workouts.

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February - You Were The Best

February seems like a lifetime ago, but I keep remember how wonderful and happy it was. February 2020 was SO. FETCH. and I’m so grateful that I had so much quality time with family and friends before this pandemic started.

It seems like a good way to spend a very rainy, VERY windy day - looking back on a month filled with all of my favorite things. A moment in time when I was in NYC, happy and healthy and full of appreciation for all the incredible things I get to do in this life! I don’t care how cheesy it sounds.

2 Hockey Games!

The 3rd Annual Brunch & Barclays! Making all my favorites wear Islanders swag, getting good and tipsy, and going to a hockey game! It’s always one of my favorite days. This year, we started with brunch at Miti Miti, a Mexican spot in Brooklyn. The bottomless brunch was a good deal, though the food itself was pretty pricey. But they had a ton of vegan options, which was a definite bonus!

The game coincided for the second year in a row with referee appreciate night - something that I definitely think we should participate in next time!

The Islanders scored with about :25 left in regulation to bring the game to overtime and I was overjoyed…for a few minutes. Until we lost just a minute into OT. C’est la vie.

I got to go to a second Islanders game just a few days later when work gave out free tickets. This time, we got the W! I’ll definitely miss how easy it is to get to a game at Barclays if the team doesn’t play there next season.

My third Islanders game of the season was technically in March, but pre-quarantine. The annual trip with my parents and Allison and her family to the Coliseum! We were able to pre-game in the hotel and even had a cute little balcony overlooking an empty pool! There was a lot of hand washing but it was still such a fun day - we even did dinner together afterwards before heading back to NYC.

Family Time!

My mom, dad, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma and grandpa were all in the city in February! This is a BIG DEAL.

My sister joined me for brunch and the Islanders game and my parents drove in to give me my Christmas gifts that I wasn’t able to travel with after the holidays.

Then, my aunt and uncle drove my grandparents in over President’s Day Weekend and I met up with them and my cousin for a great dinner with lots of red wine.

Being able to see everyone I love without leaving the city was a very big treat.

Apartment Upgrades

I really wanted to challenge myself to use the time I’ve been home to organize and “purge” in my apartment. I did a ton of purging in my kitchen, a decent job at purging my drawers and closets, my bathroom is in really good shape - but there are definitely a few more things on my to-do list.

That being said, my apartment is feeling comfy and cozy.

I bought myself some plants on Amazon that I’ve managed to keep alive (for now).

I have a new comforter and pillows and my bed feels luxurious.

My Tupperware drawer is a DREAM when I open it.

This new fruit basket makes me smile and I feel super organized with my “swim” “bike” and “run” bins set up under my bench!

Nothing sparked joy more than steam mopping my floors!

Vegan

For the month of February I experimented with veganism. I’ve been wanting to start eating a more plant-based diet for awhile not, mainly because of the environmental benefits.

I had meant to read Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals” during my vegan February and if I had, I probably wouldn’t have eaten a turkey sandwich on March 1.

Though I’m not longer eating vegan, I definitely have a new-found appreciation for lentils, beans, tempeh and tofu.

For three weeks I ordered meals from Territory Foods which made it super simple - I didn’t have to think about cooking or eating vegan I just had to pop a meal in the microwave. And the meals were SO good. I was worried it would just be all tofu, but there was a ton of variety from week to week. I liked the meals 100X more than Kettlebell Kitchen’s.

Some of my favorites were

• Spicy Baked Tofu with Cabbage and Brown Rice

• Ethiopian Style Lentils & Braised Collards

• Golden Noodles with Coconut Grilled Tofu & Veggies

• Smoky Maple Tempeh with Sweet Potato Corn Hash & Swiss Chard

• Roasted Tofu with Persimmon Chutney, Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Mash

• Bok Choy, Carrot, Mushroom & Tofu Stir-fry

Plus, they deliver right to my gym and I found the cost super affordable. They also offer vegetarian options, keto, paleo - basically they’ll cater to any diet. (You can use the code PBBF at Territory Foods for $25 off your first two weeks!)

It felt a little bit like cheating though, so I did cook myself my own meals too. Some of the recipes I used were -

1. Ginger & Coconut Split Pea Soup from Food52

2. Turkish Lentil Soup from Gimme Some Oven

3. Cashew Tofu from Gimme Some Oven

And then my own concoction of white beans, kale and soy chorizo.

I realized that I already cook a lot of vegan dishes anyway. The biggest thing was not being able to add an egg on top of a grains and veggie bowl or chicken to my stir fry.

Eating out was definitely harder, especially when my parents came into the city. We ended up eating at a Georgian restaurant! Oda House on the Upper East side actually had a ton of vegan options (though communicating with my waiter was a little challenging at times).

My favorite part of the meal was a tie between the lobiani (mashed pinto beans baked inside yeast dough) and the khinkali (the Georgian equivalent to pierogies). I would love to go back and try more dishes here.

I had high hopes that being vegan would curb my sweet tooth - instead, I just ate boxes of Oreos and Thin Mints (both vegan!) and pints of Van Leeuwen’s ice cream (the chocolate oat milk cookie dough chunk was my favorite of the three pints sampled in February).

All month I thought I was going to stick with it beyond February - and then I ate a turkey sandwich and haven’t looked back. We’ll see. I’m definitely still going to read that book!

Writing Class

I was finally able to sign myself up for a writing class, the Creative Nonfiction 101 at Gotham City Writers. It was a great value - 6 weeks of classes, 18 hours of instruction and we learned about writing op ed pieces, memoirs, travel writing, reviews and features.

Despite ending on Monday nights at 10 PM, I remained motivated to show up. It was a small, interactive class with a professor who reminded me of our Eurotrip tour guide. I didn’t learn any life-altering writing tips, but it was a good way to get me writing every week for the homework assignments.

It was also interesting to see what I ended up writing about for each assignment. For the memoir, I wrote about how grateful I was to have the experience of growing up with a best friend who was Muslim. For my profile piece, I wrote about Jenny Donnelly and how the running community has led to a increase in fast female runners competing at this years Olympic Marathon Trials. For my review, I wrote about Becco, one of my favorite New York City restaurants. For my op ed, I wrote about why US airports are so much more miserable than airports in other parts of the world. And for my travel piece, I wrote this listicle!

Our last class was unfortunately conducted on Zoom once I was already back on Long Island - but I’m glad it still happened.

2 Piano Bars

Brandy’s

I finally got my parents to Brandy’s After a short wait outside on the sidewalk, we entered the small, cramped piano bar on the Upper East Side that serves me tequila cosmos and sings the perfect blend of Billy Joel, showtunes and Jimmy Buffet (when I request it).

As usual, the time flew by and we spent a happy few hours here singing along to song after song.

Marie’s Crisis

I spent Valentine’s Day with two of my lifelong friends singing showtunes in a West Village basement and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We spent something like 4 hours at Marie’s on a Friday night and I’m very thankful that Lana and Allison put up with my constant “just one more song…”

Highlight? A medley of Ragtime songs <333

Brandon James Gwinn was the pianist and I highly recommend finding out his schedule so that you’re guaranteed to see him! You not only get showtunes, you get a comedy show.

2 Musicals

Luckily, I had a good amount of live musical theater in February before Broadway theaters went dark. The theater community has been especially hard-hit with the coronavirus - we’ve already lost legend Terrence McNally and many more theater stars have been fighting the virus including Aaron Tveit and Nick Cordero.

Meanwhile, the Dear Evan Hansen performance on James Cordon’s #HomeFest and the Hamilton casts reunion on John Krasinski’s “Some Good News” have brought moments of joy to many while simultaneously helping with fundraising efforts to help the shuttered theater industry.

Little Shop of Horrors

Allison and I first went to see Little Shop of Horrors because once I read the New York Time’s article about Gideon Glick’s portrayal of Seymour - I knew I needed to go! Gideon has been one of my favorites since I saw him in the original cast of Spring Awakening and last year I got to see him as Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Though Little Shop is one of the most kitschy shows I’ve ever seen, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Jagged Little Pill

In January, I saw Alanis Morisette live at a work event and it was an exhilarating thing - standing at the very front of the stage, suddenly realizing that I still knew almost every word to the entire Jagged Little Pill album. When she broke out the harmonica, I went wild.

I knew I had to buy tickets to see Jagged Little Pill when I got home! Though the show took on a lot of hot button topics, I enjoyed the singing and obviously already knew I loved the songs. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Lauren Patten who supposedly brings the house down during You Oughta Know, but Ezra Menas as an understudy was also amazing!

2 Concerts

DERMOT KENNEDY DERMOT KENNEDY DERMOT KENNEDY! If you haven’t yet listened to this man’s voice - stop reading right now and GO LISTEN.

I can’t remember the last time I was so obsessed with someone’s music.

And in February I got to see him in concert TWICE.

The first time was a super intimate acoustic concert thanks to one of my friends getting me on the list and I am eternally grateful It was amazing being so close in such a small room.

The second time was at Radio City and it was totally different with the full band and a huge crowd. But both concerts were incredible and made me feel more in love with Dermot.

He’s been going live a lot during this quarantine and it’s wonderful

Skiing

Allison and I took an amazing ski trip with OvRride and I highly highly recommend them. I definitely plan on taking a trip again next year, and hopefully more than one!

We got picked up right on the upper east side, had no problem getting a seat, and were given bagels and water as we drove to Windham Mountain. The cost included bus transportation there and back, bagels, water, granola bars, beers on the ride home, a lift ticket and rentals.

We had a solid day of skiing and I felt much better than I did last year when I put skis on for the first time in 12 years. It was a beautiful day - we were even warm at times.

And back to my apartment by 8 PM after bus brews! Such a great day.

Trail Running

I had some awesome trail runs in February - it’s definitely my new favorite way to spend a Saturday or Sunday, though I sometimes still feel like a baby deer with wobbly legs and twisted ankles. Especially on the downhill!

I headed to Prospect Park for another trail run with Trail Women BK on a gorgeous day and Abby and I ran almost 8 miles on a trail in Connecticut during a weekend trip!

In Central Park, I stuck to the trails as opposed to the road as much as I could.

A Quick Trip

In February I even got to take a quick weekend trip out of NYC to a friends family house in Connecticut. We all were questioning whether it was worth the effort of renting a car for just a quick weekend trip but by the end of the weekend we all agreed that even for 48 hours it was BEYOND worth it.

We played board games, cooked in a giant kitchen, went for a trail run/hike, went to a cute little town for fresh baked bread and ice cream and on our way home went to Beacon to a farmer’s market and to walk through the cute town.

I think it left us all feeling rejuvenated!

2 Breweries

Strong Rope Brewery

We stopped by this brewery in Brooklyn after the Islanders game and played cards - it was great and I cant wait to be this close to all my favorite people again, drinking beer!

Housatonic River Brewing

I was thrilled to find a brewery near the house we stayed at in Connecticut - what is better on an unseasonably warm afternoon after a trail run than some flights outside?! Nothing.

I miss you February, you were really wonderful and I’m grateful for the memories!

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Coronacation: Day 2

I’m sure that the Coronavirus pandemic will become a chapter in history books. They’ll list statistics about the number of people infected, the number of deaths, the number of borders closed, the number of jobs lost, the plummeting stock market prices. But the facts are rarely effective in telling the full story. The facts won’t tell you about the runners who trained for the Tokyo Marathon and never got a chance to run. The facts won’t tell you about the recovering alcoholics who couldn’t get to an AA meeting. The facts won’t tell you about the small, every day things we took for granted up until a few days ago. An office to go to, your daily conversation with the barista at the coffee shop, running with a group of people, turning on a hockey game at the end of a long day.

My story throughout this pandemic is one of extreme privilege - cancelling a trip to South Africa, though heartbreaking in it’s own right - is not the same as losing a job, losing a house, or losing a loved one.

But I would like to chronicle this time - on the brink of 30, and moving back to my childhood home for an indeterminate amount of time.

I hope you can relate to some of what I write. I hope you can laugh at some of it. I hope it can serve as a brief distraction. And I pray that we can all get through this.

DAY TWO

On Sunday night I swore I was going to stick to a schedule and wake up at 6:30 to workout, shower and eat breakfast before reporting to my laptop for work from home day one.

That was before I drank beer and stayed up past my bedtime :) So instead, I rolled out of bed at 7:15 and was working out by 7:30 - still giving me enough time to shower and pour a cup of coffee before 9 AM.

A dream deferred

Then, it was time to face the reality that I was going to have to cancel my trip to South Africa.

I can’t even estimate how many hours I spent planning and dreaming up this trip. The amount of blog posts and news articles I’d read. The number of bus schedules I’d looked at and menus I’d perused. The number of Google Map routes I’d explored.

I’d planned out everything - there were 30+ confirmation emails I had to go back and find. Some were as simple as clicking a cancel button, but a lot required emails and dates and confirmation numbers and booking references and questions about re-booking and refund policies and I’m sure I’ll be going back and forth on some of this for weeks to come.

Each time I sent an email or clicked the cancel button, I felt my eyes well up with tears. It might sound dramatic, but I had spent so much time planning and picturing myself doing all of these things that it was a pretty devastating way to spend the morning - making it all go away.

The good news is we will likely get to reschedule our trip - but I’m not going to lie if I say the thought of redoing all the work over again fills me with excitement. I think I need some time before I’m ready to get excited again. Plus, there is so much uncertainty right now surrounding my schedule and what life will look like in the coming months that I honestly am not sure that a 3 week trip will be possible at any point. The trip may look different when we re-plan it, and I’m giving myself some time to process that.

If anyone is interested, I might post the itinerary I had put together- because it’s quite impressive if I do say so myself.

lunch break - a quick trip out

My mom and I took a quick trip to CVS so I could buy some tampons, shampoo and more Emergen-C.,,the essentials. It’s really crazy to see the empty shelves where the toilet paper, Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer used to be.

After we got the necessities we drove over a couple of parking spots to Crazy Beans Cafe. I had to laugh - it strikes me as so suburban to drive across a parking lot instead of keeping the car parked where it is and just walking. I got myself an iced vanilla dirty chai latte and 4 pieces of multigrain bread because they have the best bread ever (and refuse to say where they get it from!) Just a casual $12, oops.

While I waited for them to make my drink I thought of some of my other favorite dirty chai lattes - they’re usually my go-to treat at the top of a hike or when I’m getting a mid-day pick-me-up on vacation. It made me wish I knew when I’d get to travel again. Or hug my friends!

A definite up-side to the quarantine business is that people seem to be going on a lot more walks! My mom and I drove to the beach and did a few laps of the walking trail, it was chilly and windy but sunny.

Then it was back to work - a few phone calls, but unfortunately not much good news.

What was good, was my turkey sandwich. You know I love a good turkey sandwich. Like, really love.

We made them on the crazy delicious multigrain bread from Crazy Beans - turkey, American cheese, mustard, bread and butter pickles, spinach and avocado.

I will admit that I might have dozed off in my bed for 20 minutes or so in the late afternoon.

Dinner was a big giant Greek salad, because my mom and I are insisting on some healthy meals up in here. Greens, chickpeas, dill, feta, dolmades, tzatziki, carrots, onions, cucumber, tomato - mmm I was a happy camper!

Then it was time to wrap up my Gotham City Writer’s Creative Nonfiction 101 Class. Sad that we didn’t get a chance to say a real goodbye to our professor and classmates, but really glad that instead of outright cancelling, we were able to call in via Zoom for one last 3-hour lesson.

I’ve been trying to think of companies and industries that are benefiting from this crisis, and Zoom certainly seems to be one of them - along with online streaming services like Netflix and at home workout streaming services like Peloton!

THINGS THAT MADE ME SMILE

I highly recommend revisiting some of NPRs tiny desk concert series while you’re home! It brought a lot of joy to my day. Harry Styles’ dropped yesterday and I also took some time to listen to Maggie Rogers and Dermot Kennedy.

THINGS THAT MADE ME LAUGH

I was all about the NYC coronavirus-related content today.

THIS video from Trevor Noah

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Coronacation: Day 1

I’m sure that the Coronavirus pandemic will become a chapter in history books. They’ll list statistics about the number of people infected, the number of deaths, the number of borders closed, the number of jobs lost, the plummeting stock market prices. But the facts are rarely effective in telling the full story. The facts won’t tell you about the runners who trained for the Tokyo Marathon and never got a chance to run. The facts won’t tell you about the recovering alcoholics who couldn’t get to an AA meeting. The facts won’t tell you about the small, every day things we took for granted up until a few days ago. An office to go to, your daily conversation with the barista at the coffee shop, running with a group of people, turning on a hockey game at the end of a long day.

My story throughout this pandemic is one of extreme privilege - cancelling a trip to South Africa, though heartbreaking in it’s own right - is not the same as losing a job, losing a house, or losing a loved one.

But I would like to chronicle this time - on the brink of 30, and moving back to my childhood home for an indeterminate amount of time.

I hope you can relate to some of what I write. I hope you can laugh at some of it. I hope it can serve as a brief distraction. And I pray that we can all get through this.

DAY ONE

I’m two months away from 30 and today I waved goodbye to my NYC apartment, not sure when I’ll return. 2 weeks? 2 months? I left a note for myself: “Welcome home, we missed you! Light a candle and breathe.” Who knows when that will happen.

Packing for a Pandemic

What do you bring with you when you don’t know how long you’ll be gone, but know you’ll be spending a lot of long hours inside the house?

One Suitcase

Filled mainly with leggings, sweatpants and workout clothes - there won’t be much reason to wear real pants for awhile.

My Backpack

Two laptops, two chargers, some headphones and a lot of books I managed to pick up before the New York Public Library closed its doors.

Workout Equipment

A strong home workout routine is what I anticipate will keep me sane throughout this experience. Various exercise bands, a 25 lb plate, my vibrating foam roller and a pull-up bar were all packed into the car.

Food

Two bags of food - being back in the ‘burbs means Stop & Shop - not the millennials’ beloved Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. I’ll be rationing my LesserEvil paleo puffs and popcorn. Most importantly, a 6 pack of Captain Lawrence Orbital Tilt IPA.

Home Sweet Home

When I arrived home it hit me. For the first time in over a decade, I’ll be sharing a house with my parents. It’s not very big. There’s one bathroom.

The governor had just announced that all schools in NYC, Nassau County, Suffolk County and Westchester County would be closed for at least 2 weeks. Seeing the amount of calls, texts and emails my dad was getting and realizing the amount of stress he must be under was hard. So many people were looking to him for answers. No one wants to have to say “I don’t know,” to people who look to you for guidance. But these are unprecedented times. We are all having to figure it out on the fly.

Speaking out figuring things out - the first thing I did when I got home was attempt to do a crossword puzzle. Then I remembered how absolutely awful I am at crossword puzzles.

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but being told you should be staying in the house has had a weird psychological effect. It’s really got a way of making you want to go outside. Staying inside all day on a Sunday isn’t that crazy of a concept, but now, everyone is feeling trapped.

So my sister and I laced up our sneakers and walked the mile to my grandparents house. We called the house phone and told them to come to their front door and we stood on the sidewalk and yelled across the lawn to them before moving to the backyard and sitting an entire deck apart from each other. Though I hadn’t seen them in weeks, there were no big hugs or our classic faire la bise with big “MWAHS!” We couldn’t go in the house.

No return to Long Island would be complete without a bagel, and when my sister and I got home we loaded up everything bagels with vegetable cream cheese, lox and tomato.

There were a lot of episodes of Gossip Girl watched on the couch the rest of the day, too much scrolling through Instagram, and a lot of refreshing CNN’s live updates.

When my mom got home from work, we had dinner (bangers and mash - we maturely made sure to say bangers 99 times during dinner) and I had my fork swatted away when I temporarily forgot about coronavirus and went to take a bite of my moms’ food.

After dinner it was back to the couch, where I was already creating an indent of my ass, to watch the democratic debate.

Somewhere along the way (about halfway through my second IPA), we lost interest in the debate and instead devolved into laughter about the “computers on wheels” at my mom’s hospital.

“We can’t call it a cow because patients might think we are calling them cows - so it’s a wow!”

“What the fuck does the W stand for?!”

“I don’t know why we call it that, it’s just so we don’t call it a cow!”

The final thing I did on my first day home was make an Entenmann’s chocolate donut & mint chocolate chip ice cream sundae with lots of whipped cream. There are few things more nostalgic to me than an Entenmann’s chocolate “doe-doe.” I’ll never forget the time I was younger and my dad made me an ice cream sandwich out of one - a true revolutionary! As a ate my sweet treat on Sunday night I still felt nervous about the days to come, but also felt infinitely safer and secure being home.

Things I’m Reading:

11 Charts that Explain the Coronavirus Pandemic

Americanah (I’ve been reading this for approximately 5 months, to be honest)

Things That Made Me Laugh:

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6 Countries in 17 Days: Berlin

The flight to Berlin was nice and short, and they even gave us a little chocolate Easter egg. When I landed, it was a pleasant surprise to see that each gate had there own baggage claim right at the end of the jet bridge. I only had to wait about 5 minutes until I had my suitcase and followed the signs to public transportation. 

Even though I was tired, I was determined to get to the hostel using the buses instead of taking the easy way out and hailing a cab. 

It was actually super simple - transfer and all. The weather was cold and rainy which was unpleasant, but even the bus stops have countdown clocks for how long until each bus will arrive. 

A theme of the trip was - "NYC public transportation is really archaic and horrible and I feel bad for any tourist trying to navigate the city." I would never recommend that a tourist get on a NYC public bus - I have enough trouble myself since there's absolutely no way of knowing what stop is next, they skip half of them, and you could be stuck waiting 20 minutes in between buses. 

By around 8:30 I made it to Wombat's Hostel and was greeted in the lobby by Allison!

TIP: I really enjoyed our stay at Wombat's Hostel. Though the rooms weren't huge, the double room had it's own private shower. All of the common spaces were super chill and seemed to encourage socialization. There was self-service laundry, a bar with happy hour every night, a cafe attached, and a rooftop with a beautiful view of the TV tower! Free WiFi, luggage storage, towels included, and a decent area with plenty of bars and restaurants around!

Finally united in Europe, Allison and I set out to find our first dinner and beer. 

We ended up at Weihenstephaner Berlin at the Neue Promenade mainly because I recognized it as a German beer and all the other restaurants in the area seemed pretty deserted (to be fair, it was Easter Sunday at 9 PM). 

I ordered the Ofenfrischer Schweinsbraten - "Fresh from the oven pork roast with crackling - from the shoulder – in original Weihenstephaner dark beer sauce, sauerkraut and potato dumplings."

Not a very light meal - but very, very delicious. 

We walked back to Wombat's and made our way up to the "WomBAR" since we had received two free drink vouchers at check-in. The bar was packed with people and we found a spot to sit with our red wine. 

I wish we could say we were social and joined the groups playing beer pong (since I am an International Beer Pong Champion and all) but we just sat by ourselves in a corner chatting up a storm and catching up on life. We quickly changed the game plan from "just one drink" to "might as well get another - it will help us fall asleep." 

The wine was a good call - we both fell asleep before our heads hit the pillows on that first night. 

I was up early on Monday morning and excited to attend a class at BECYCLE - an English speaking fitness studio a quick half mile walk from our hostel. 

I had pre-registered and used their new student deal, so I had two classes for the price of one! Monday's class was HIIT and as soon as I walked into the studio I felt at ease. It was GORGEOUS and everyone was incredibly sweet and welcoming (and spoke fabulous English). 

There's an adorable cafe attached, the lockers have USB chargers in them, and everything is ridiculously clean. 

Our instructor was upbeat, friendly, communicative, and the workout itself was great. We did a tabata-style workout and to end the class, we partnered up to complete a ridiculous number of burpees, push-ups, lunges and sit-ups. My partner and I crushed it, if I do say so myself! 

After class, Allison and I got ready at the hostel and set out for our first full day of sightseeing in Berlin. 

We leisurely strolled to the Reichstag (I must confess we stopped for coffee from Dunkin Donuts along the way) where we had a 12:45 PM tour booked (it's free, but you have to apply online!) 

Headphones were provided which could tell where you were in the building and pointed out interesting information about the structure as well as lots of facts about the skyline and buildings that you could see outside of the glass domed building. 

The Reichstag building that stands now was built in 1999 after being destroyed in WWII. The concept behind the design is transparency of the new German republic. From inside the glass dome, you can look down on the German Bundestag (Parliament) when they are in session. 

As we continued our sightseeing we strolled a little bit through the Tiergarten and stopped for a picture at the Brandenburg Gate.

Next was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe - which you should definitely walk into the middle of to get the full effect. 

It doesn't look like much when you first arrive, but once you make your way into the labyrinth of tall concrete towers, you realize that the ground undulates and the 90 degree grid of the columns gets pretty trippy.  

The line was long to get into the museum underneath the memorial. but it's free if you've got the time! 

Next up was the site of Hitler's Bunker. It was only recently that they put any type of plaque up signifying this spot - but now there is some information and pictures and there were quite a few people there when we arrived. 

I never realized how huge the bunker was! It was like an underground palace! 

Another stop on my DIY walking tour (it was more of an unintelligible route weaving back and forth across the city due in part to the fact that Allison and I could only pronounce the first three letters of any given "strasse") was to Bebelplatz. 

Bebelplatz is a square in Berlin where the Nazi book burning took place in May of 1933. Now, the square has an understated memorial that would be easy to miss if you weren't looking for it! There's a glass plate built into the ground, and when you look through it, you see down into a room with empty, white bookshelves, which would have held 20,000 (the number burnt by the Nazis). 

When we arrived, a tour group was also walking up to the memorial and we were all saddened to see that the glass was so dusty and dirty that we couldn't see down to the bookshelves. We pooled together our resources of water and tissues and the tour guide cleaned off a portion of the plate, joking that he was pretty sure he wasn't defacing a historic monument. I'm glad we got to look down - I thought it was a perfect commemoration. 

Later, I read that the plaque in Bebelplatz reads, "Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen." This is a line from Heinrich Heine's play "Almansor" which translates to, "That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people." So fitting, and so chilling. 

As we made our way back across Museum Island and across from the stunning Berlinerdom, we noticed a group of people setting up balloons and rose petals and stopped to watch an incredibly "extra" proposal. Extra, but still made us AW and clap along with the rest of the crowd that had gathered. 

That morning, we had passed a long strip of restaurants with outdoor seating right along the water at James-Simon-Park and made our way back there to find lunch. We chose Olla - Grill & Orient Lounge where I feasted on a delicious platter of falafel and grilled vegetables with tahini and tzatziki.

The service was typical of most European cities - disinterested at best and what would normally have been a 45 minute lunch in the states was a leisurely hour and a half ordeal but we couldn't complain much considering the fact that we were sitting outside in the sunshine in Berlin. 

Allison headed back to the hostel to do some work and I continued my somewhat aimless wanderings in the direction of Hackesche Höfe - a giant courtyard complex of absolutely stunning building facades. On a typical day, this would have been packed with tourists visiting the various restaurants, shops, cafes, galleries, and offices housed inside Hackesche Höfe - but since it was Easter Monday (apparently a holiday in many European countries - and...North Carolina?) almost everything was closed. 

This was good for my wallet, and my camera - though I wouldn't have minded checking out some of the shops! One store that was open was "Ampelmann" and I'm so glad that it was. It put a name to the funny little men on the crosswalk signals that Allison and I had immediately noticed! Prior to the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany, West German streetlights used a generic human figure while those in Eastern Germany featured the  Ampelmännchen - a male figure wearing a hat. 

The  Ampelmännchen is one of the few East German features to survive the end of Communism and has since been adopted across the city. 

After weaving my way through Hackesche Höfe I headed towards Haus Schwarzenberg - a really interesting area to walk around. Referred to as a "street art gallery" - Haus Schwarzenberg is a ~bohemian~ hold-out in the heavily gentrified area. Upon further research, I learned that Haus Schwarzenberg is run by a nonprofit organisation.

It's definitely worth a visit - and I highly recommend stopping at the free exhibit about Otto Weidt and his efforts to save Jews from persecution during the Holocaust. Weidt ran a factory which employed the blind and deaf- they made brooms and brushes. When Nazis started deporting Jews, Weidt used his factory as a hiding space. The museum now exists in what used to be the factory! It was myself and two other people when I stopped by! 

On my walk back to the hostel, I noticed my first brass cobblestone in the ground. These Stolperstein ("stumbling stone") are placed outside residences of Holocaust victims. Each plaque lists the names and life spans of individuals killed by the Nazis. The project was started by German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992 and since then, Stolperstein have been placed in 22 different countries worldwide. 

It's interesting to note that Munich has not allowed Stolperstein to be placed in the city. 

After a quick refresh at the hostel Allison and I headed out for the oldest beer garden in Berlin - Berliner Prater Garten. Thankfully, it was open, but the fact that it was Easter Monday meant that we had the typically lively beer garden almost entirely to ourselves. 

Despite the chilly temperatures, we decided to sit outside and enjoy our big mugs of Hefeweissbier. I can't imagine how awesome it would be to sit outside in this beer garden in the spring or summer with hundreds of people! 

A very strange thing happened while we sat on the patio - a girl walking by with headphones on suddenly started yelling like she was performing a monologue and then promptly collapsed onto the ground. 

To Allison and I it was pretty obvious that she had done it on purpose, but then a group of people walked by and saw her on the ground and panicked thinking something was wrong. We looked like uncaring asshole Americans. As they gathered around her to see if she was OK, she started freaking out and eventually stood up and screamed at them. They, rightfully, got really weirded out and just kind of walked away. 

It was the oddest thing. 

Brushing that off - we walked back in the direction of our hostel but made a stop at one of my favorite finds of the trip. Weinerei - a pay what you wish wine bar! 

Allison had the genius idea upon entering to ask the bartender if she spoke English before we just started speaking at her in English and the woman was SO RECEPTIVE! She couldn't stop saying how nice it was that we asked instead of assuming (a tip we would take with us the rest of the trip). From that moment on we were in- which was great considering this was definitely a place that seemed to be filled with locals. 

For 2 euro we each got a wine glass and then we were free to sample the wines of the night. They just ask that you pour a little taste to make sure you like something before pouring yourself a full glass. We sat and enjoyed three glasses each in this lovely space (there's also food you can help yourself to) while wishing that we had a deck of cards.I was so excited that they had a Portuguese red wine! 

When you're ready to leave, they ask that you pay what you think the night was worth (there are recommended prices on the bar as well). 

I don't know that this concept could ever work in NYC - but it was such a unique Berlin experience!

On our way our, we asked the bartender how to say, "Do you speak English?" in German and spent the entire walk back working on our dismal pronunciation of "Sprichst du Englisch?"

The last stop of the day was at the late night Middle Eastern spot (Luxa) around the corner from the hostel where I utterly confused the employees by asking for cauliflower, eggplant and beets. They couldn't understand why I didn't want a pita - so eventually I just got a pita with meat, cauliflower, eggplant, beets and hummus. It was BALLER - pretty sure they fried the pita or something because it tasted like crack. 

I think they were entertained by us, and the feeling was mutual as they tried to get Allison to reach for her food THROUGH the glass counter. 

We enjoyed our food in the Wombat's Hostel kitchen before another night of immediately falling asleep. 

The next morning I was up and at it again early for my second class at BECYCLE - this time, a 45 minute spin class. 

As I was getting ready for class, my partner from the day before sat down next to me and said hello which made me feel like a ~local~ and was a super cool moment of the trip. This is why working out everywhere I go is always on my to-do list. You meet the best people! 

Class was great- the music was fun, varied, and the instructor was upbeat. The bikes were SO SMOOTH and they even had gears that altered the resistance when you turned them left and right. 

After class I showered and got ready at the studio before heading back to the hostel where we paid the affordable price of 4.50 euro for an amazing breakfast spread! They even had a panini press. 

We packed our things and navigated the U-bahn to bring our luggage to the next hostel, where our tour group would officially begin that night. 

TIP: U-Bahn = urban rail and S-Bahn = suburban rail. The U-Bahn is the subway and the S-Bahn goes outside of the city) 

At Cityhostel Berlin, they were able to give us our rooms even though it wasn't the official check-in time which was a pleasant surprise. 

Our next destination by way of the S-Bahn (which was incredibly easy to navigate) was the East Side Gallery. 

TIP: When you purchase metro/subway tickets in many European cities, you'll need to "validate" your ticket - this is a machine that stamps the date and time on your ticket and while you don't need to present your ticket to board the subway - officers may board at any time and ask to see your validated ticket! If you haven't validated your ticket, don't have a ticket, or are using an old ticket - you'll be fine! 

Digression: The woman from California who was working at our hostel in Cesky Krumlov told a story of getting caught on a bus without a validated ticket and getting out of the fine by listing as many NHL hockey teams as she could! 

The East Side Gallery was an Instagrammer's dream. Sure, there was the historical significance of seeing a remaining portion of the Berlin wall in what is now the world's largest open air art gallery - but the real delight was in taking pictures with the murals. 

And we shamelessly made our way down the wall stopping for photo shoot after photo shoot. 

When we made it to the end, we decided we might as well start walking back in the direction of our hostel since it was such a nice day outside. We may have accidentally walked through a construction site - which became glaringly obvious as a bulldozer crashed to the ground just as we passed. 

For the past few days we had passed a lot of places that looked like part playground, part tree house, part homeless shelter. We had begun to affectionately refer to them as "shanty towns" and on our walk we happened to pass one that lured us in to take a look around. Turns out, it had a bar, a bakery, a hair salon, and a beautiful view of the water! 

There was no question as to whether or not we were staying here for a drink - it was simply way too cool of a spot to leave. I was especially happy to find that they had a local beer that was hoppier than anything else I had managed to find. And they served Somersby! My European obsession which I basically forced Allison to order. 

Sitting in the shanty town, drinking our drinks on the water, the sun shining down, wondering where the hell we were - was one of the highlights of Berlin for me.

When we finished, we wandered around for a bit and decided this place would definitely have been a little creepy at night but during the day it was just plain awesome. We discovered a slide, a trampoline, and tons of other oddities on the property. 

Post-vacation I looked up where we were - and it turns out that it was part of Holzmarkt which The Guardian describes as and "alternative cultural complex, "on the banks of the Spree river in Berlin." This "urban oasis" is a MUST SEE while you're in Berlin!  

The entire area is just really out there and as we continued walking back to the hostel we even passed a door under a highway overpass that clearly led to some kind of secret club because there was music bumpin' through the door. 

Foreshadowing: we would end up exploring a similar shanty town in the evening hours later that day and it didn't disappoint! 

After a long walk, we made it back to our hostel and freshened up in anticipation of meeting our tour group - the people we would be spending the next 11 days with. Would there be 14 of us? Would we be the only 2? All girls? All younger than us? We had been talking about it for the past 3 days and were excited to finally find out. 

We got to the lobby and weren't exactly sure where our "orientation" was taking place but made our way to some comfy looking couches where we quickly spotted another guy who looked like he was searching for a group. 

"Are you here for the Gecko's meeting?" we asked and sure enough - it was Josh. Our first Aussie tour-mate. We chatted for a little bit about our few days in Berlin and what we had discovered and then another guy appeared and we asked if he was in the group - turns out this was David - our tour leader. 

He let us know that we were just waiting for one more person - and that we would be a small group of just 4 people. Soon enough, Heidi joined us and our group of two Americans, two Aussies and a Scottish tour leader was complete. 

We went over a bunch of information, told some fun facts about each other, and pretty effectively broke the ice with talk of doughnut obsessions, dreadlocks, and food allergies. I very quickly could tell that we would get along as a group when we unanimously decided that dinner would be a trip to a street side currywurst window. 

Allison and I grabbed a beer from the hostel lobby to take on the road with us (just because we were exhilarated by the fact that we could drink beer on public transportation) and we all headed to the celebrated Curry 36 (right next to the cult-favorite Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap whose line looked like Halal Guys in NYC!) 

David talked us through what we should order, and Allison and I decided on splitting both the classic Curry Wurst (two sausages with curry ketchup and french fries) and Curry buletten (think of a burger/meatball combo) also served with delicious curry ketchup and more fries. 

This was my favorite street food of the entire trip (and we ate a lot). I am fairly certain that I ate more than anyone else. 

I'm still not sure what about this made it so delicious - all I can say is that you cannot leave Berlin without eating currywurst! I will also say that I was not as opposed to mayo on my french fries as I had anticipated. 

Please observe the below picture for my feelings re: currywurst. 

After stuffing ourselves silly at Curry 36, we chatted about a bar crawl we had seen advertised in our hostel and decided we would all go and check it out. David said he would bring us there to make sure we made it OK since it was about a 20-30 minute journey by subway to the starting point. 

When we arrived at the first bar, it was completely dead. The bartender told us to hang out and that the guy in charge would show up soon. So - we thanked David for accompanying us and waved goodbye through the window yelling, "Bye Dad!" It was a nickname that would stick for the remainder of the trip. 

It was an awkward wait for the bar crawl to get started but slowly, people started showing up and though the bartender acted as if this was the first time something like this was ever happening in the establishment (it supposedly happens 6 days a week...) eventually we settled into a table in the back with a fun group of people from all over the world.  

The most memorable parts of this conversation had to have been learning that the translation of "Cheers" in Indian is "Take it in the mouth" and the group's chant of "Prost" devolving to yelling "Prostate!" 

Eventually the bar crawl got under way and we left the first bar with giant beer bottles in hand as we walked to the next stop. We milled around in a park finishing our "roadies" and talking as a group (and realizing that the bar was about to close and our bar crawl leader was in the midst of trying to talk them into staying open a little longer). 

TIP: In Berlin, people leave bottles and cans on the ground around garbage cans so that people can collect them and make money on returning them. So if you're drinking in a park, it's totally acceptable to leave the bottle on the ground next to a garbage can instead of actually throwing it out. 

The next bar started with a shot a palinka which we would again encounter in Budapest. It's a Hungarian liquor fermented from fruit and it was strong as hell. 

The group mingled outside the bar until we realized there was a back room that was Breaking Bad themed so everyone went in to check it out. 

Next, we headed towards another shanty town for a more "club" like atmosphere - only to find out that the club was closed (our bar crawl leader was striking out left and right, and was also getting increasingly intoxicated as he drank his hidden bottle of jägermeister). 

Luckily, the shanty town had other options, and he talked the group's way into Cassiopeia which we ended up absolutely loving! Once we got through the bouncers, we were expecting to walk into a building, but instead walked into a tree house/courtyard. Beyond that lay the bar, a dance floor, and an upstairs with people playing video games and foosball. It was bizarre in the best way and we spent a decent amount of time dancing there. 

It's worth noting that this "shanty town" was actually the RAW complex - home to many bars, restaurants and clubs in the trendy,  artsy, up and coming, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg neighborhood. 

The last stop of the night was the famous nightclub Matrix that I had heard so much about, but unfortunately we were very disappointed. The worst part was that it felt like a heater was blowing on us on the dance floor! And the fact that the bar crawl leader had reached peek creepiness and would not stop dancing with us. 

At that point, we decided to call it a night and got an Uber home. 

We woke up feeling pretty decent the next morning and made it down to the hostel lobby for the included breakfast buffet. Then, we made the executive decision to be lazy and get an Uber to our destination for the day - Teufelsberg. On the ride to Teufelsberg we marveled at the size of Tiergarten - we seemed to be driving next to it forever (although, I have since confirmed that it's smaller than Central Park). 

I had seen tons of pictures on Instagram of Teufelsberg - an abandoned United States spy station about 8 miles outside of the city center that has been turned into a graffiti artists playground. 

Situated on the top of "Devil's Mountain" we were grateful that our Uber could drive us straight to the top. We paid for our tickets and started wandering around - in awe of how unique and strange the place was. 

Of course, we had many photo shoots, and a lot of laughs at the "sassy cat" graffiti and random things we discovered. One of the coolest parts was a big dome shaped room that created the craziest echos - it really messed with your head! 

There's really no way to describe this place - except to go explore and experience it yourself! 

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the walk down the mountain and took the U-Bahn back to the hostel.  

That afternoon we would be leaving Berlin and starting our journey to Krakow so we wanted to get in a decent meal. We walked to Chipps, a vegetarian restaurant where I ate some of the best soup EVER. 

We picked up some provisions for our overnight train ride (peanut butter, corn cakes, avocado, baby carrots - the usual suspects) and met the group at the hostel, sad to bid Berlin adieu but ready to see where this adventure would take us next! 

If you have more time in Berlin - here are a few other places I would have liked to check out! 

FOOD

FECHTNER Delikatessen

HERMANN'S

Cafe Anna Blume

SIGHTS

Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer

Berlin Wall Memorial which accurately shows what the wall looked like - including the grounds behind it. 

Mauer Park is a destination in itself - and on Sunday's, Berliner's flock to the park for the popular park karaoke sessions! 

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Let's Catch Up! 10 Things I'm Loving

Once upon a time I wrote mainly about running and workout classes and restaurant reviews. Lately, all I've done is write about my travels - running isn't a thing I've done much for the past year+  

It's a touchy subject. 

But how about something new? How about a "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" post? Also known as "Loving Lately," or "Fave Finds." Call it what you will - I'm just going to ramble about a bunch of things I've been feelin' these days and catching you back up with my real-life here in NYC (as opposed to work-life and travel-life!) 

1. Books

I've read some DAMN GOOD books lately.

The Fiddler In The Subway by Gene Weingarten

The Fiddler in the Subway: The Story of the World-Class Violinist Who Played for Handouts. . . And Other Virtuoso Performances by America's Foremost Feature Writer

By Gene Weingarten

One of my neighbors put a bunch of old books they were getting rid of in our lobby and I randomly scooped this one up. It was one of the best things I've ever read.

The book is a collection of feature stories written by Washington Post journalist Gene Weingarten. The subjects are all over the map - but each story is brilliantly written, insightful, creative, clever, moving. I cannot explain how incredible Gene Weingarten's writing is. 

As a journalism undergrad, I'm disappointed I was never made to read this book because I honestly think that it would be convinced me to continue down the path towards becoming a writer. 

Please pick up this book! It's great because you can just read one story at a time - not too much comittment! 

“There’s one last truth that I don’t tell them, because it’s needlessly disturbing and would serve no pragmatic purpose. I’ll say it now, just once, and be done with it. A real writer is someone for whom writing is a terrible ordeal.  That is because he knows, deep down, with an awful clarity, that there are limitless ways to fill a page with words, and that he will never, ever, do it perfectly. On some level, that knowledge haunts him all the time. He will always be juggling words in his head, trying to get them closer to a tantalizing, unreachable ideal. 

It’s a torment you can’t escape. It will reach even into the comfort of a drunken sleep, and it will shake you awake, and send you, heart pumping, to an an empty piece of paper. 

If you have that, you can be a good writing. Congratulations, I guess. ”

— The Fiddler In The Subway, Gene Weingarten

Beartown 

Beartown: A Novel

By Fredrik Backman

When I was younger, you couldn't find me without a book. I brought books out to family dinners - sat in a booth at a noisy restaurant and just kept on reading. 

Nowadays, there's not as much time for uninterrupted, full-on face-in-a-book reading. But with Beartown - I found that 12 year old ability of mine to shut out the world and travel into the story. 

I read for an entire flight and an entire Sunday afternoon because I just couldn't put the book down. 

From the author of A Man Named Ove - Beartown is incredibly timely and is also about hockey and Sweden - two things that you could say are somewhat pertinent to my life. Backman's ability to describe human nature and to create characters that really come to life are what made this book so compelling. 

If you've read it - comment who your favorite character was! I want to discuss! 

“One of the plainest truths about both towns and individuals is that they usually don’t turn into what we tell them to be, but what they are told they are.”

— Fredrik Backman, Beartown

The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir 

The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir

By Ruth Wariner

If you don't utilize your public library's ability to lend eBooks - what are you doing?! So easy and also, free! That's how I came to find The Sound of Gravel. 

This is the story of Ruth Wariner as told by herself - about growing up poor in a polygamist family. It's a fascinating look into a culture that I knew very little about before reading the book. 

“Mom couldn’t teach me that because she didn’t know herself. She couldn’t show me how to be happy, only how to barely survive.”

— Ruth Wariner, The Sound of Gravel

2. Romantic Comedies

I don't watch movies, as a general rule of thumb - unless I'm on a long flight. 

But for some reason a few weeks ago, I found myself watching a different romantic comedy on Netflix every night of the week. Huh? You're all going to laugh - because I'm only about 15 years late to the party on one of them and the other two are garbage. 

Bridget Jones' Diary 

Sleeping With Other People 

Drinking Buddies 

So tell me, what's your favorite romantic comedy? 

3. Yoga 

That's right - it's happened everyone. I can officially say the words, "I like yoga!" 

WOW. It took me years and years but I've finally learned to appreciate a good, sweaty, yoga class. I've even learned how to view it as a damn good workout, not just a stretch. (Read this post from April of last year where I wondered if I was starting to like yoga!)

It's mid-March and I've been to 16+ yoga classes already this year, which is probably more than the combined number of classes I had taken in my life prior to January 1, 2018. 

CorePower Yoga

Like so many runners out there - CorePower was my gateway drug. I had taken Core Power classes in Denver and Raleigh - but it was my class in Boston with Kayla that was a game changer. The instructor was phenomenal and I took my Free Week back with me to NYC and went NUTS. I took 5 classes in 7 days!

I also tried the Yoga Sculpt class without realizing it's basically heated barre - and I liked that too! 

Y7 Studio

Y7 has an intro package that gets you 3 classes for $45 which I did when my CorePower free week was up. 

I wasn't expecting to like Y7 as much as I did - hip hop isn't exactly "me" but I loved the classes that I took. My favorite part is how the class is set up - you know what to expect and there's no opportunity for laying on the mat wondering, "are there 10 minutes left or 50? How much more do we have?" (Because let's face it, I still have that moment about halfway through each yoga class). 

At Y7, you go through 3 separate flows. For each, you go through once slow, once "one breath, one movement" and then the third time the turn the music up and let you go on your own. I loved this because it kept me super focused the entire time so that I could remember the flow - keeping myself mentally focused on yoga is a challenge and I found that this really helped me. 

Yoga Vida

There are multiple Yoga Vida locations, but I took all of my free week classes at the NoHo location (no showers, which is a bummer considering this is the studio that offers heated flow!) 

All the instructors here were amazing, the space is HUGE and you can't beat a free week! Plus, they have a bunch of community classes each week that are donation based. Holla! 

Om Factory

Favorite class? The one taught by my friend Bertha! Getting to see her do her thing was so cool! But even better was the fact that she is an AWESOME instructor. 

When Abby and I requested a class with lots of hamstring stretching and an arm balance - Bertha delivered exactly that. The whole class I didn't even realize we were working towards side crow and then WA-BAM all of a sudden it all made sense. 

I'm not sure what the shift was, but I'm very glad that I've come to value more low-impact exercises like yoga and barre (and I'm trying out a Pilates class this weekend!) I've been very unkind to my body in terms of how I've exercised for the past 4 years, and I'm really digging some days without burpees and jump squats and wall balls. 

4. Live Music 

Hearing someone with an incredible voice belt out a good song is probably one of my all time favorite things. I get chills. Every time. And wish that I had been blessed with some vocal chords that can SANG. Alas, I cannot. But I have been doing lots of listening. 

Piano Bars 

My family and I recently went to Don't Tell Mama in Hell's Kitchen and though we waited over an hour to be seated, and they tried skipping over our name on the list - it ended up being such a fun night. Singing along is highly encouraged. They sing a great mix of classic, show tunes, popular songs, oldies - and the singing bar and wait staff are out of this world good - they're all definitely Broadway actors and actresses. 

My other favorite piano bar in NYC is Brandy's on the Upper East Side - both of these are really small venues with two drink minimums but every time I've gone it's been more than worth the pricey drinks. These aren't your average piano bar wannabes - they're extremely talented performers. 

If you go to Brandy's - order a Tequila Cosmo!

Rockwood Music Hall - Stage 3

I had been to Rockwood Music Hall a number of times for various concerts but none of them at Stage 3 (around the corner on Orchard Street). It was such an intimate venue - everyone gets a seat which I hadn't been expecting.

We were there to see Wakey!Wakey! aka Michael Grubbs of One Tree Hill fame. He performed an hour-long show with his piano and damn is his voice powerful. 

For a $15 ticket and a $10 glass of wine (everyone has to buy a drink - but you can get a soda or coffee) it was the perfect Friday night and I was still in bed by 10:30! 

Broadway Musicals

Always my favorite form of live music - I am of the belief that there is nothing like a Broadway musical. We recently went as a family to see the new Jimmy Buffet jukebox musical "Escape to Margaritaville."

While the production was far from artistically groundbreaking, damn was it FUN. Maybe we had a little too much fun. It seems that my "FINS TO THE LEFT, FINS TO THE RIGHT" dance moves may have interfered with some lighting. And apparently the somewhat stuffy audience wasn't on board with yelling "Salt! Salt! Salt!" during the title song. But c'est la vie - not everyone can be a Parrothead. 

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed the show - despite the incredibly forced references to song lyrics and predictable plot line. It certainly helped that our margarita cups were always filled (thanks, Dad!)

The best part was my dad finally realizing just how much he must have listened to Jimmy Buffet when we were kids - my sister and I seemed to know more words than anyone else! 

City Winery

Next up for live music is a concert this week at City Winery! We'll be seeing Joshua Radin and while I haven't been to a show at this venue yet, I have a feeling I'm going to like it. Bar stool + acoustic music + wine seems like the recipe for a wonderful Thursday night. 

5. Rock Climbing

I've loved rock climbing for as long as I can remember - I was a total monkey as a kid. Climbing trees, climbing the rope faster than anyone else in gym class. 

I finally got myself belay certified and asked for a 10-climb pass for Christmas - so if anyone wants to go rock climbing at The Cliffs in LIC let me know!! 

It's such an adrenaline rush and I love the fact that by the end of a day at the climbing gym - my arms are actually shaking they're so exhausted. I still get a little nervous while belaying - the fact that I'm actually in control of someone's life is slightly terrifying - but practice makes perfect? 

6. Argan Oil & Chakra  Oil 

My moisturizing game has never been stronger thanks to these two products. 

Rituals Shanti Chakra Body Oil

My coworker bought us each a bottle of this in the Copenhagen airport after we used the tester and fell in love. 

The smell is dreamy, and putting this on after the shower makes me feel like I'm treating myself to a spa day. I'm almost out, and I can't find it online, and I'm having a slight meltdown. 

Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil

Want your hair to feel super hydrated and luscious? Use this stuff. 

I take terrible care of my hair. I get it cut about once a year. I straighten it, blow dry it, curl it - and half the time I'm showering at New York Sports Club whose shampoo I swear doesn't actually do anything.  

But ever since my mom got me a little tube of hair oil in my stocking stuffer - I've been using it non stop and I can see a huge difference in the look and feel of my hair. 

7. Doughnuts 

There was awhile there where I seemed to be on a doughnut hiatus. Thank God that ended. 

East Main & Main - Port Jefferson, New York

Long Island is finally get involved in the doughnut game!

Dilla's Delights - Detroit, Michigan 

Banana pudding cake donut, HOLLER! 

(*Adorable donut earrings from my coworker!)

Blackbird Doughnuts - Boston, Massachusetts 

Citrus old fashioned! GET IT!!!

Kane's Donuts - Boston, Massachusetts

This was Kayla's introduction to doughnut tasting and I was so happy that she got totally into it with me. We started with one - but that was just a lie we were telling ourselves. 

Dough - Tampa, Florida

More than anything, what I appreciated about Dough was that they gave me the opportunity to have a ridiculous doughnut photo shoot with my friends portrait mode. And the fact that their creme brulee dooughnut was ridic. 

Stuffed - New York, New York 

Ice cream + doughnut ice cream sandwiches. Yeah, I went there.

(And in the same day, after brunch, we ate a Dun-Well doughnut AND two scoops at Davey's Ice Cream. Still unsure how I have avoided diabetes thus far). 

Carlson's Donuts & Thai Kitchen

Annapolis, Maryland 

Talk about strange combos - Carlson's was a MUST VISIT while I was in Annapolis. I mean, when I hear that there is a run down shop that serves doughnuts from 5 AM - 11 AM and then becomes a Thai restaurant for dinner - you couldn't keep me away. 

The best part? These doughnuts were ridiculously good. 

8. Podcasts

I didn't really expect to like podcasts, but now I listen to them almost daily during my commute. They're great on the stationary bike. And sometimes I even just lay in bed and listen to one! I sound like I'm a podcast junkie but in reality, there are really only two that I listen to at the moment, so please send your recommendations my way!

*Also very interested in any podcast that has had JK Rowling as a guest. 

Ali on the Run Show

I think Ali was made to have a podcast. She's a phenomenal host who is clearly passionate about her guests, the subjects and the project in general. 

What I love about the Ali on the Run Show is that there's a structure to it, but depending on the guest each show is obviously very unique! I absolutely love the "Sprint to the Finish" portion of the show when Ali asks each guests fun questions like "Where was your first kiss?" and "What would your last meal on earth be?" These questions really help humanize the incredible (running-related) guests that she has on the show. 

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Unlike the Ali on the Run Show - Dax Shepard's new podcast has almost no structure whatsoever yet somehow I keep finding myself listening to to 2+ hour episodes where he interviews fellow celebrities and digs into some serious topics like anxiety, depression, addiction and has really candid talks about being a celebrity and what that's like for your psyche. 

By far my favorite episode was the first one when Dax had his wife, the wonderful Kristin Bell, on as a guest. I immediately started stalking them on Instagram and it's safe to say that I would like them to adopt me into their family. 

I also love the end of each episode when their family friend/podcast fact-checker Monica Padman comes on to call-out all of Dax's erroneous statements from the show. 

9. New Workouts 

Like I said - running is still a thing that my body doesn't seem to be interested in. Actually, it seems very disinterested in it. And finally, I'm listening and I'm saying "That's cool - let's do some other stuff!" 

Normally I would write a full review for each of these classes but in an effort to make up for the past, oh, I don't know, year that I neglected to do class reviews, I'm going to keep it brief. 

Orangetheory Fitness

I checked out two OTF classes while I was in Tampa Bay and I gotta say - I didn't like them as much as I was expecting to. 

The first time, we didn't even get heart rate monitors, which was a complete bummer (I'm a numbers girl when it comes to a workout!) and the second time, I was just very frustrated at how hard it was to get my heart rate into the "Red Zone." 

I like the concept - and I like switching stations to do both cardio and strength - but it just wasn't the "OH MY GOD AMAZING" workout that I was hoping for. 

To be fair, I may actually have been asleep for the second class as evidenced by this photo. 

Everybody Fights

This boxing studio, owned by George Foreman's son, started in Boston and recently opened up in NYC. 

Whenever I take a boxing class, I leave feeling like I got my ass kicked and Everybody Fights was no exception! It's a really big space that offers a bunch of different kinds of classes and I definitely wouldn't be opposed to returning! 

Curious about boxing? You can check out my reviews of some other NYC boxing studios using the links below!

Shadowbox

Rumble

Work Train Fight

Overthrow

Kings Thai Boxing

My friend Bertha is a badass babe who regularly goes to Kings Thai Boxing. 

I said I would go as long as she was there to help me - and I'm so glad I did! It was definitely out of my comfort zone - I felt pretty lost most of the time - but the instructor was SO helpful and friendly and by the end of class I was a) drenched in sweat b) sore as hell and c) feeling like a total badass. 

Abby came to class too - so we got to work as partners which helped a TON. I felt less guilty every time I made a mistake holding the pads (which was very very frequently - sorry, Ab!) To be honest, remembering the sequences was harder as the person holding the pads than as the one doing the punching and kicking (at least for me). 

Can we just talk about the ~casual~ way this class ended? A ladder of DEATH, that's how. 

1 Left Kick
1 Right Kick
1 Pushups
2 Left Kicks
2 Right Kicks
2 Pushups 

Up to 10. Back down to 5. 

I have never come closer to throwing up (or collapsing during a push-up). 

Saturday's at noon Kings Thais has a Beginners Class if you feel like feelin' fierce! 

Spiderbands

When I started getting targeted ads for this new fitness studio on my Instagram feed I was instantly intrigued. 

It looked so unique and mainly it just looked plain fun! Also, it seemed to be somewhat low-impact which I could use some more of! So I signed up for their intro deal (2 classes for $20!) 

When Bertha, Abby and I went to this class - there was only one other person there. Normally, I would think, "GREAT it's like a private class!" But instead, our instructor was super robotic and unenthusiastic the entire time. Even though we were clearly new students, and clearly the studio isn't batting people away. 

Despite that - I really did like Spiderbands just because it was so different than any other class. There's a TON you can do with these giant resistance bands which is evident when you realize they offer 6 different classes ranging from bosu ball to kickboxing to HIIT. 

We took the "Signature Spiderbands" class but I will definitely be using my second class to try something new!

Come prepared to take an epic Boomerang after class, and plan on staying a bit after to enjoy their BEAUTIFUL showers/locker rooms. 

Fithouse

I have a feeling Fit House is about to be all the rage in the NYC fitness world - especially now that ClassPass has become too expensive for a lot of people. 

The concept is pretty simple - a $99/month membership to attend classes at Fithouse studios across the city (right now, there is only one, but they plan to expand quickly to at least 3 more neighborhoods). 

While the membership doesn't gain you access to a typical gym space, it does grant you access to a bunch of different types of classes. This includes HIIT, Yoga, Strength and Barre. 

I found a discount code for a FREE two week trial when they first opened, but unfortunately, the Bowery location was pretty inconvenient for me and I only got to attend two classes. 

Pros
+Big studio with lots of equipment for different types of exercises
+Automatic lockers (no need to bring your own lock) 
+Close to subway station 

Cons
-No showers at the Bowery location (they are hoping that some of the other studios will have showers, but TBD) 
-No spin or boxing classes (personally, two of my favorite kinds of classes!) 
-The one bathroom stall is INSIDE the studio - so if you arrive before class and need to use the restroom but there's a class going on inside the studio - you can't. It's a weird set up. 

I took two of the higher intensity classes - Strength Station and Slam.  Bother were 45 minutes long. They were good - but not great. Hard, but not killer.  

The best part of Fit House was the instructor Mark - he was great!

I think as more studios open, as they hire more staff, as they add more classes, Fithouse definitely has the potential to be an affordable option for people who like to take a lot of classes as opposed to belonging to a gym. 

They're currently running a $19 deal for a 2 week trial! (Just be sure you cancel if you don't want to sign up or they'll automatically start charging you at the end of the two weeks!)

Sweat Yoga

It was sweaty, it was yoga. It was a yoga class I took before I liked yoga - so not much to say about it! 

Barry's Bootcamp

Who woulda thunk that my first Barry's Bootcamp class would actually be in SWEDEN? 

That's right. While I was in Stockholm for work, I went to a Barry's class! I ended up finding a class on the schedule that was taught in English and thank God for that. I don't know why I had been thinking it would be no problem taking the class in Swedish - I definitely would have regretted it as we did some pretty complicated moves with the stepper and resistance bands for the strength portion of the class!

Chris Mosiers' Deck A Day Challenge

This isn't new - but it's a workout that I have been LOVING and doing very frequently. Each year, Chris runs a Facebook group that challenges you to do a deck of cards workout every day from Thanksgiving to New Years' Eve. I've done it the past 3 years and at the end of it, I'm always in SUCH GOOD SHAPE. 

It's a strength workout, a cardio workout, an ab workout, and uses a lot of the exercises that I normally let fall to the wayside that are actually super important (glute bridges, donkey kicks, etc.)  

He keeps the group running throughout the year - so if I'm ever feeling uninspired at the gym I'll check the page! We were lucky enough to have Chris in NYC a few weeks ago and got to do the deck of the day live and in person in Central Park which was awesome :)

You can also follow along on his Instagram account.

10. Billie

Instagram sponsored ads are my best friend and my worst enemy. They can show me an ad enough times and I'll 100% start to think that I need it. Like that damn Quip toothbrush they keep pushing on me. 

But Billie is one that I barely even hesitated before purchasing. Essentially, it's a month subscription for new razor blades. The concept behind it is basically my internal monologue of: 

WHY IS IT SO DAMN EXPENSIVE TO BUY REPLACEMENT RAZOR BLADES AS A WOMAN? 

WHY DO I ALWAYS END UP JUST BUYING A NEW RAZOR BECAUSE IT'S HALF THE PRICE AS A PACK OF BLADES? 

SHOULD I JUST GET THESE SHITTY DISPOSABLE ONES?

I thought that maybe my whole life I was missing something - but nope, apparently the founders of Billie were on the same page. 

Razor blade prices + laziness + my travel schedule ensure that I am almost always using razor blades that are far too old and dull to effectively shave my legs. In fact, they're probably downright dangerous. 

The ratio of the amount of time I spend at a gym in shorts and how often my legs are well-shaven is not socially acceptable.

So I ordered a Billie razor in a cute coral color. It came in the mail with a super ~minimalist~ magnetic holder that takes up zero space in the shower. It came with two razor blades that are smooth and wonderful. Every 3 months I'll get 4 NEW BLADES FOR $9.80. In the mail. 

I don't know why this is so exciting to me but it is. I wrote an email to all my female coworkers the day I found out about it and group texted like 20 girlfriends. 

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE. 

They also have a super cool message about the "Pink Tax" which they define as - 

PINK TAX: the extra amount women are charged for certain products (*ahem* razors) or services. For no reason. Unless being female is a reason.

Word. 

So, help a sista out - if you use the link below to order your Billie razor I'll get some coupons or somethin' 

11. Gap

Bonus #11!

Not much to say on this except I have been LOVING everything from the Gap and it's getting to be a problem. 

I online shop with my Gap Cash because, "It would be a waste not to use it," and then I tell myself, "There's a Gap right near the office, just order it and it if it doesn't fit you can return it." Except can you guess how much I have ordered and decided to return? That's right, none of it. 

On any given day, you can find me wearing multiple items from the Gap. Most recently, I have purchased not only clothing from them but undergarments and workout clothes as well - so that my entire wardrobe is beginning to resemble the store. 

Oops. 

THAT WAS FUN! 

I feel like we're all caught up, and now I can start pushing out some new, relevant, timely posts! Thanks for stickin' around. 

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LISBOA - DEFINITELY COOL (DAY FOUR)

I have to admit, our day 4 trip to Sintra was a bit of a disappointment. Not because the Pena Palace wasn't beautiful - but because this is a highly touristy area, with a lot of waiting in line, a lot of confusion, a lot of jam packed streets, a lot of disorganization and a lot of tourist traps. 

1. Pena Palace

After a helpful employee at the train station showed us how to purchase the right tickets, we boarded the first train to Sintra in an attempt to beat the crowds. 

The train was uneventful, and soon we arrived at our destination. 

The signage wasn't the best I've ever experienced, but eventually we found our way to the shuttle/bus stop and pieced together how the tickets worked.  We waited in line for a good long while until a bus pulled up and we were able to board. 

We rode the shuttle up and up and up - probably the scariest bus ride to date - until we reached the base of Pena Palace. 

There, swarms of tourists in haphazard lines stood outside broken ticket machines and closed gates - milling around with no one seeming to have any idea of what was going on. I got increasingly more frustrated as the minutes dragged on and on and still, no direction was given. My mom and I decided to divide and conquer - jumping onto two lines that we weren't even sure were where we needed to be. 

Eventually - the ticket windows opened, the gates rolled back, and we made it inside. I immediately needed to find a bathroom and some sustenance and luckily both were located at a little shop right inside the gates. We sat down in the sun and ate some horrible microwave-oven sandwich that kind of tasted like a piece of Elio's pizza (but nowhere near as good). 

After that, we started making the climb up to Pena Palace. As it came into view, I got really excited about the bright colors and bizarre architecture - it looked totally out of place! 

At this point in the day, my mom and I decided we were content to not wait on any more lines, and instead of touring the inside of the castle, opted for walking around, taking pictures, and enjoying the sights on the exterior of the castle. The tickets we had bought at the start allowed us to walk all over the castle, and we didn't feel like we missed out on anything by not going inside. 

The castle was extremely unique in it's design and I did really enjoy photographing it. Not to mention seeing the incredible views from it's turrets. 

2. Lunch & Shopping In Sintra 

The shuttle ride back down into the main part of town was another long and winding ordeal. A couple of times we thought we might have gotten on the wrong bus since it was taking so damn long! 

But eventually we found ourselves outside of the Sintra National Palace. We stuck our heads into some shops, but most of them seemed to be glorified souvenir stores. 

We were pretty grouchy and didn't feel like exploring all too much for our lunch - so we plopped down at Restaurant Cafe Paris where we had an overpriced lunch (but it was a pretty place with outdoor seating). I ordered a salad and a crepe - neither of which impressed. 

After lunch we continued our walk down to the train station and all along the way there were local artists and vendors selling crafts and jewelry along the sidewalk. We also found some nicer shops closer to town, and I loved stopping to take pictures of the buildings covered in beautiful flowers! 

By the time we made it back down, I was warming up to Sintra, but also more than ready to get on the train back to our Airbnb. 

3. Sunset Shopping 

When we got back to Lisbon, we walked around and did some final shopping - I bought a pair of pants I absolutely love from United Colors of Benetton. We chased the sunset a little ways until we realized we probably weren't to get a great view and wandered back to our little neighborhood. 

4. Portuguese Wine at The Little Wine Bar

We wandered around for awhile hoping to find a place to sit out on the sidewalk and have a drink - but most places were packed or only offering tables to those that were ordering food. Portugal made a wine drinker out of me - so we stopped in a little wine bar (quite literally called The Little Wine Bar) for a final glass. This place was adorable and the wine was fabulous - highly recommend if you're staying in the area! 

5. Last Supper at Restaurant Duque 

I am happy to report that we ended the trip with perhaps one of the best parts - dinner at Restaurant Duque. 

All week we had passed this tiny restaurant on the corner of our street and I had gazed longingly at the sweet potatoes in the window (true story). 

On our last night, I convinced my mom that we had enough cash left (it was cash only) to go for dinner and a glass of wine at this local spot.

Who would have thought that the cash-only place across the street would turn out to be our absolute favorite meal of the trip? AND that we would be seated next to a lovely couple who we talked with throughout the meal? 

It was the perfect end to the trip and I urge you to go eat here! 

We ordered the Oven Roasted Octopus (with sauteed sweet potato!!!) and the Sea Rice (basically a seafood paella with fish, clams, mussels and prawns). 

6. Goodbye, Portugal! 

The next morning we woke up, packed, and said goodbye to our Airbnb home away from home (not before stopping for a coffee and pastry from a corner cafe). 

I had used MyTaxi to schedule a cab pick-up at the AirBnb and it worked out perfectly. Our taxi driver was there right on time and was such a lovely person. We chatted the entire way to the airport - about tourism, rent, the European outlook on lunch breaks, Airbnb, and why the Portugeuse don't get angry at traffic. I was sad when we pulled up to the terminal to end our first real in-depth conversation with a local. 

I was also, obviously, sad that the trip had come to an end. 

Saying goodbye to my mom after such an amazing bonding experience was difficult - but I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity. 

I now know that my mom and I make GREAT travel partners and I can't wait to plan another trip for the two of us to share again soon. 

To anyone considering a trip to Portugal - book it! The area has so much to see and do - it offers a European feel, cobblestone streets, museums and churches galore - as well as having plenty of cool, hip places like the LX Market, Time Out Market and Pink Street. Not to mention the beaches, National Parks, and day trips that are at your fingertips. 

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LISBOA - DEFINITELY COOL (DAY 2)

My mom and I are both somewhat early risers, so we were up and ready to go explore Belem on Day 2 in Portugal. 

First, I tried finding some caffeine - but everywhere that I stopped informed me that they didn't offer coffee to go. I'm all about the European belief in taking a minute to stop and enjoy your coffee - but I really just wanted something to sip on during our trip!

I was proud of the fact that we took the bus instead of relying on a taxi. 

1. Bananacafe

Stop number one in Belem when we disembarked our bus was for the coffee I had failed to get earlier that morning (I'm being dramatic - it was a 20 minute bus ride). 

This cafe is an adorable converted tram painted bright yellow with outdoor seating right where the bus stops. I was shocked that it wasn't overrun with people - though we did arrive fairly early. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my coffee here! I believe they have multiple locations, light food options and supposedly stellar sangria as well. 

2. Jerónimos Monastery

We walked around this impressive building and to be honest, I hadn't done much research about which areas to visit, tour, buy a ticket to, etc. We joined a line and paid to enter one of the areas and spent some time walking around, reading about some statues, and taking in the intricate details. I believe where we ended up was the South Portal of the monastery. 

I wish I was one of those history buffs who gets really into looking at impressive old churches, but I have to admit I'm really not. I do appreciate their history and beauty, though. And show me some stained glass and I'm thrilled.  

3. Berardo Collection Museum

We ended up here purely because we were in search of a public restroom. Turns out, entry to this modern and contemporary art museum was free on Saturday's! 

The entire Centro Cultural de Belém was a beautiful place to walk around. The grounds were architecturally unique with lots of pretty landscaping and places to sit out on green grass. I'm glad we happened to stroll through! 

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the Berardo Collection! Similarly, I loved the Dikeau Collection in Denver - which has me coming to the realization that maybe I'm into contemporary art? 

4. Padrão dos Descobrimentos

This is a large monument next to the Tagus River that celebrates that Age of Discovery in Portugal. You know the guys - you read all about them in 8th grade history class. Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias, Ferdinand Magellan...yep, all Portuguese!  

From atop the  Centro Cultural de Belém we had a pretty good view of the monument - and didn't feel that it required a separate stop, though it's definitely an impressive structure. You can pay for a ticket to go into the structure, but I have read that the view isn't anything incredible. 

5. Torre de Belém 

We walked from the museum over to the Torre de Belem (passing this amazing piece of art along the way!)

From a distance, it looked just like a raccoon. The closer you got to the wall, the more you realized it was just a bunch of random odds and ends! So cool. 

The Belem Tower is one of the main reasons that people visiting Lisbon make the journey to Belem. Though I had read that it wasn't necessarily worth the wait and ticket price to go up inside, we did walk along the water until we reached the tower. The tower once stood on an island in the middle of the river. The Tagus River has since been redirected and the tower now sits right on the shore. 

We snapped some pictures in the touristy area and I thoroughly enjoyed the adorable "Wine With A View" cart parked in the lot. We passed some similar carts with delicious looking IPAs. 

6. Pasteis de Belém

You KNOW I wasn't about to pass up sampling Portugal's most famous pastry! Though it wasn't a donut, I was still excited to compare some of the cities most popular pasteis de nata. These crispy, custard-y sweets are to Portugal what croissants are to France. And according to many, the pasteis of Pasteis de Belem are the best you can get. 

This shop has been around since 1837 - and the website claims that the recipe hasn't been altered since the time it was created at the monastery next door.  

While the line outside snakes down the sidewalk, I had read that there is a ton of seating inside (along with restrooms - which we were always on the hunt for!) 

We walked inside and were astonished to see how much it opened up inside (and that despite the huge number of tables, it was still packed!) We took a seat and ordered coffee and a pastry for each of us. Service was a little stressful in the chaotic restaurant, but it was well worth it when we were presented with two beautiful pasteis de Belem - along with our own containers of powdered sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling!  

I decided to take my first bite topping-free for a true taste test. On the count of three my mom and I both took a  bite of our still-hot delicacies and stared wide eyed at each other as the initial crispy crunch of the crust gave way to creamy, sweet, rich custard.  

My one complaint about pasteis de Belem is that they are NOT BIG ENOUGH (am I American or what)? We truly savored each and every delicious bite of our pastries and were both hesitant to finish off that last precious bite. 

7. Walk from Belem to LX Factory 

This was around a 30-35 minute walk, but it was worth it for all the pictures I got to take of beautiful tiled buildings. 

8. LX Factory

Located in the Alcantara neighborhood, LXFactory was once the site of a massive fabric company in the 1860's. Now, it's a hip, trendy area filled with quirky shops, delicious restaurants, and fun bars. 

Some of the stores were strange - they seemed to have 10 items that were super expensive and we wondered a) who shopped there and b) how they stayed in business. But there were also some nice stores with good souvenirs (and a pair of shoes I fell in love with but didn't quite fit). 

There's also tons of cool street art to check out at the LXFactory. 

9. Lunch at Rio Maravilha

After walking up and down the streets multiple times, we finally settled on a restaurant for our lunch - Rio Maravilha. It was such a cool setting - the interior was filled with unique furniture, a beautiful bar, a rooftop with lawn chairs, and the space where we ate which was an enclosed, bright patio with windows all the way around looking out over the Tejo River. The space was extremely colorful which I loved. You could tell this would be a trendy place for a night out. 

My mom and I ordered some wine and a bunch of small plates to share. I've spent about 20 minutes trying to recall what exactly we ordered - all I have is this picture of what I'm thinking is some sort of pork dish. And I know we ordered the crispy rice with tomato chutney which were fried rice balls and pretty tasty! 

After lunch, we wandered around shopping for awhile and searching for a local IPA. We kind of struck out, but eventually found a bar that served an Oitava Colina beer Urraca Vendaval -from "8th Hill" brewery (8A). It wasn't my favorite, but it was nice to sit outside and drink it in the sunshine. 

10. Ginginha do Carmo 

After some relaxing (and a little nap on my part) back at our apartment, we started our walk to dinner. But first, we had to stop for a shot of "ginginja" - a Portuguese tradition.

Ginginja (ginginha or ginja) is a cherry liquor that's only found in Portugal. There are tons of small windows that you can walk up to for a cheap shot of this super sweet substance - it's not super high in alcohol content, and it's also not usually taken as a shot by locals. Sometimes, the shot glass comes with a soaked sour cherry in the bottom. 

At Ginginha do Carmo, which was right near our apartment, there's also the option to drink your ginginha out of a chocolate shot glass! 

My mom and I sipped ours on the sidewalk - I wasn't a huge fan since it reminded me a lot of port wine. But glad we could check it off the Lisbon bucket list (ginginha is very prominent in Lisbon, but not as popular in places like Porto). 

11. Dinner at BASTARDO

This was our big night out - eating at the New York Times reviewed Bastardo in the Internacional Design Hotel. 

Though they had lost our reservation when we arrived, we sat down at the bar while we waited and ordered a cocktail. The tequila drink that I had high hopes for was a total flop. Despite the elaborate presentation (pineapple, pepper, bacon) it didn't taste like there was any alcohol in it at all and it took about 20 minutes for us to be served! 

Eventually, we sat at the table where we waited about another 20-30 minutes for anyone to acknowledge our existence. 

Despite the very poor service, we were entertained by the pop-art inspired atmosphere, the placements that proclaimed "On This Magic Placemat Calories Don't Count. You're Welcome. Enjoy." and the bread baskets made out of Legos. 

The menu sections are titled "Ready" "Set" and "Go" which I also cracked a smile at. 

I can't say I remember anything in particular that we ate at Bastardo - the food honestly wasn't that memorable, the service wasn't great, and it was a bit of a disappointment all around. The concept and design was interesting - but also a little over the top. 

My mom's comment as we washed our hands in the bathroom sink filled with rocks was one of my favorite quotes of the night, "What do they think they are, Tao or something?" 

12. Night out on Pink Street

Pink Street is actually part of  Rua Nova do Carvalho - and it is, as the kids say, LIT. 

During the day it's a pretty pink street but at night it transforms into party city. Think Broadway in Nashville or 6th Street in Austin - plus the unique night club atmosphere of European cities like Barcelona. 

My mom was adamant that I wasn't dragging her into a night club for dancing - but I did get her to go join me at a wine bar with live music (I think we were subconsciously drawn into this bar because the guitarist was singing all American songs!)

The bar we had wandered in to was Pink Wine Point and it was lively (though every bar on the block seemed to be) and I fell in love with the bartender (the bartender was not aware that I existed, other than to pour me more wine). 

Note: Negronis, Aperol Spritz and gin drinks are huge in Lisbon! It seemed to be all anyone ordered all night. Another drink that was everywhere? SOMERSBY! The cider I had fallen in love with in Copenhagen! 

Post-vacation I looked up Pink Wine Point and it turns out it's very popular, with great reviews, on Yelp and TripAdvisor! Go us! 

We walked back to our apartment where we fell into bed and sang a wonderful rendition of La Vie Boheme  (complete with choreographed foot motions). 

Day 3 coming up next!

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8 Things I Learned From a Social Media Detox

I've had two great successes so far this summer - going a full month without drinking and completing my first Olympic Triathlon. 

But there was also a notable "failure" when I attempted to go 30 days without social media and lasted about 16. Hands down, giving up social media was harder than giving up alcohol. I'm somewhat disappointed in myself for not sticking it out until day 30 but at the same time, I took away a ton of lessons from the first 2+ weeks and feel refreshed and not-as-addicted. 

Here were a few main takeaways from the failed social experiment - just over two weeks of no Instagram, Facebook, dating apps and Snapchat!

1.       I didn’t miss out on invitations to things.

Sure, I probably missed some Facebook event invites that I would have marked myself as “interested” in, only to ignore as the date approached. Whenever I do this, I have a slight pang of guilt that I’m not attending – not necessarily FOMO but the feeling that I should be out doing something.

But invitations to things with friends – invitations to things that I really wanted to be a part of – nope, I didn’t miss any of those invites. Because my friends are my friends because they like me and enjoy my company…so it would make sense that they would send a text about something I might be interested in. They know me pretty well, after all. Exhibit A - this amazing summer Friday lunch at Jajaja!

2.       People assumed that plans fell through because there was no social media evidence that they happened.

It was comical how many people thought that I ended up not going to the Boardy Barn over July 4 weekend because I didn’t Snapchat or Instagram the experience. In fact, I did a lot over 16 days despite the fact that it wasn’t documented on social media! It was very freeing to not be constantly composing the perfect picture.

3.       Friends still thought about me while I was off-the-grid.

I still got texts of memes or pictures that friends saw online that reminded them of me. It wasn’t like I became insignificant without social media.

4.       I still take a lot of pictures.

While it was nice to not try to get a picture-perfect shot or video of every moment,  I still found myself taking pictures of almost everything. I’m just a picture person I guess. That being said, it was eye-opening to realize that whether we like to admit it or not, when we post on social media, we are essentially bragging – “look how great this moment of my day was! Aren’t you jealous? Don’t you wish you were here?!” We all do it – but it was nice to just take a picture because the sunset was pretty with no other pretenses. 

5.       Email is underrated!

For someone who likes writing – email is a perfect mix between a letter and a text. Because let’s face it, texts are pretty surface-level. I found myself writing more emails while I was off of social media – but emails that actually had some substance to them.

Plus, everyone’s on their computer during the work day anyway – so it was a nice way to break up the day to get an email from a friend instead of scrolling through my Instagram feed for the 100th time in 2 hours.

6.       I felt more content than I remember feeling in a long time.

During the two weeks I didn’t have social media – I had this overwhelming sense of contentment. Not constantly comparing my weekend to someone else’s really allowed me to just appreciate how I was choosing to spend my time. And to appreciate the people I was with, the places I was going, the workouts I was enjoying, etc.

I wish there was a way to be on Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat and maintain this level of contentedness but I really think that it takes a huge, unconscious toll on us to constantly be peering into other people’s lives and unknowingly holding ours up against it.

Fourth of July weekend I didn’t rent a beach house, I didn’t go to a lake house with 20 of my closest friends. The following weekend I didn’t go exploring waterfalls on a tropical island. I went for a long run in my neighborhood, sat at the yacht club with my parents drinking gin and tonics, wandered around Williamsburg and swam in the Hudson with my best friends – and I realized how much I love those low-key weekends with no major plans. The weekends that I allow to unfold instead of scheduling every minute of. They’re a nice change of pace – even if everyone else on my Instagram is chronicling their world travels.

We all know that social media serves as someone’s highlight reel – but I’d rather my life be a great movie than a crappy one with a good trailer.

7.       I had so much more time!

It’s scary how many minutes and hours I day we spend scrolling. Or at least I know I do. In 16 days, I read 5 BOOKS. 5!

It was so nice to use my brain more. And I finally checked out a creative writing workshop I’ve been wanting to go to! It was a great way to spend a night and I’m really glad I went.

It’s no shock that these are the two weeks I also successfully grocery shopped and meal prepped and felt so happy in my routine and rhythm (this also had to do with the fact that I was also home for two weeks straight – a rare occurrence).

8.       It’s so easy to fall back into it.

Once I redownloaded Instagram and Facebook (I’m still Snapchat free, for now) – I was disappointed in how quickly I fell back into old habits of scrolling endlessly and frequently.

So why did I go back? It’s addictive, man! I missed the pretty pictures, the posts that inspire new travel plans, the memes that nail a situation spot on and make me burst out laughing. I was trying to plan my trips to Banff, Copenhagen and Stockholm and wanted to look at pictures that others have posted in these places. I wanted restaurant recommendations and food porn! I got sucked back in – 100%.

Despite the fact that I failed to make it 30 days – I’m glad for the 16 days I did survive, because they were a pretty nice break and a chance to get off the grid and realize just how pervasive social media is in my life.

Every day I found myself fighting back the urge to open up one of my apps – my thumb just seemed to float to where the icon used to be on its own accord.

I’m trying to cut back. I think a huge step for me would to not allow myself to wake up and immediately go on my phone and to force myself to read or journal right before falling asleep. But those are the two times I find myself trapped in the constant scrolling the most!

Maybe that’s my next challenge.

NYC Tri Race Recap

For the past week, whenever anyone asks me how my first New York City Triathlon went, I'm sure they've walked away from me secretly hating my guts. 

I hear myself gushing over the race and talking about 3 hours of physical activity as if it were a trip to an amusement park - and I've thought, "Wow, I'm annoying." 

But yet I can't help. Last Sunday was absolutely amazing in a way that only fellow race addicts will be able to comprehend. 

Packet Pick-Up & Expo

Friday, I took advantage of my office's "Summer Friday" hours to stroll over to the Hilton Hotel where packet pick-up and the NYC Tri Expo were taking place. I happened to arrive a perfect 10 minutes prior to the 3 PM briefing that is required for all participants. 

The briefing lasting about 30 minutes and had a lot of good information - all of the logistics of triathlons tend to overwhelm me so the more times I'm told what to do and what to expect, the better. Not to mention, this was my first Olympic Distance triathlon and only my second triathlon EVER. 

After the briefing you received a stamp on your hand to prove you had sat through it, which enabled you to pick up your packet full of bib numbers (one for your shirt, one for your bike, one for your helmet, etc.), your timing chip (worn around your ankle), your t-shirt and swag bag.  

Then, I headed into the expo to see what freebies I could snag. Since the expo had started at 2 PM and it was only 3:30 on a Friday, it was still pretty calm which was nice. I grabbed all the chip clips, hand sanitizer, keychains, chapsticks, coupons, etc. only to get home and think, "I literally do not need any of this..." 

I had ordered a bunch of stuff online  that didn't arrived in time - so I was on the hunt for tri shorts to wear during the race (oops). Mine have slowly disintegrated from wearing them in chlorine when I go to the pool - and the padding in my biking shorts was way too much to swim and run in. 

After trying on a few pairs at the TYR booth, I found a brand I'd never heard of - Voler - and fell in love with their basic pair of $30 tri shorts which were black and teal to match my bike, helmet, cycling shoes...etc. etc. 

I also bought a new Adidas sports bra for $12 - suhweet! 

Bike Check-In

The NYC Tri basically takes place in my backyard, which made the somewhat daunting three-day process of Expo, Bike Check-In, Race, Bike Pick-Up a lot more manageable. 

On Saturday, after a productive morning at the library and Trader Joe's, I set out on my bike with a giant backpack full of all my race essentials. 

15 minutes into the ride - I realized I had forgotten to put my number on my bike - which would prevent me from checking it into the transition area. 

Back to my apartment I went - dripping in sweat and cursing myself as I precariously balanced on my bike.

Finally, I made it to transition and found Callie and our friend Molly, racked my bike (my number said, "If triathlons were easy, it'd be called football") and started laying out all my things. 

It's kind of crazy to think that I walked away from transition having left behind a $1300 bike, $200+ wetsuit, $75 cycling shoes, $100+ GPS watch, and various other items. That night my parents would ask me, "What will you do with your cell phone during the swim?" And I had to laugh, thinking that my cell phone was the least of my worries. 

Callie, Molly and I took the 30 minutes to go on one of the transition area tours which I cannot recommend enough if you ever find yourself doing the NYC Tri or any tri that offers such a "tour." I left feeling much more at ease having a mental picture of where I would walk to the swim, where I would be exiting the swim, where I would re-enter transition, where I would leave with my bike, etc. etc. It also really helped to see "the hill" everyone talks about that comes fairly quickly in the bike ride. 

The Night Before

After bike check-in I spent the evening meal prepping for the week, getting a pep talk from my parents (which ended with, "I really don't know why you do this Lauren...") and eventually eating an early dinner of chicken, vegetarian chili and spinach. I double checked that everything was ready to go for the early morning alarm (including my pre-made rice cake + PB and banana) before taking a melatonin. I fell asleep shockingly easily around 8:30 PM. 

Morning Of! Pre-Race Readying

My alarm went off at 3:40 AM and I felt shockingly fine. I put on my tri shorts, tank, running sneakers, Road ID and pinned on my bib. Fun fact, I had gotten my period the day before, so I popped two Ibuprofen for cramps, brushed my teeth, grabbed my water bottle and breakfast and within 15 minutes was ordering an Uber pool to the bike transition. 

I assumed an Uber pool would probably end up being a) just me or b) myself and a fellow triathlete on their way to transition but NYC truly is the city that never sleeps and I was surprised to find myself explaining to a couple why I was dressed to go workout at 4:00 AM. 

Transition was daaaark when I arrived around 4:15 and I remained pretty calm - a nice departure from my crazed/stressed self prior to last year's sprint triathlon on Long Island where I had a panic attack first about my bike pump not working and then about forgetting my ear plugs in my dad's truck. 

I easily found someone nearby to help me re-inflate my tires, sipped my canned cold brew coffee, ate my rice cake with PB and banana, and re-jiggered my things in a way that made sense. 

I put on my flip flops, put my goggles around my neck, slung my wetsuit over my shoulder, and made sure that my ear plugs, swim cap and socks were in the bag I'd be walking to the swim start with.  

Callie's bike was only a few down from me, I saw Abby right away, Molly, Emily, Alex - tons of November Project people made me feel calm. I also just kept telling myself that we still weren't starting for a long time. 

After some pictures (duh) we left as transition closed at 5:15 on the dot and started the walk to the swim start. Making our way up to 99th street with Abby and Callie by my side made it just feel like a regular morning and kept me calm. We watched the Hudson River flowing on by, "The river is moving! There is a current! Hooray!" 

When we approached where we would be exiting the water, I laid out a pair of socks that would save my feet from the gravely quarter-mile run back to transition. A ton of people had left out sneakers, but that seemed like a big hassle to put on. 

At the swim start, I body glided up, put my flip flops in my bag, took out my ear plugs and swim cap, and gave it to the truck that would transport it to the finish line. 

We continued along to Port-o-Potty Village and finally, donned our sexy wet-suits, shimmying our way into them like an extra-tight pair of skinny jeans. 

As we approached the water I put two spare ear plugs in the sleeves of my wetsuit, where I was pretty sure they wouldn't budge considered how tight it was - I knew that if I lost the ear plugs in my ears mid-swim I'd probably freak (I ALWAYS swim with them, get terrible swimmer's ear, and hate the feeling of water in my ears - especially because I fly so much, it makes me paranoid!) 

Callie braided my hair (best part of race day are the race braids!) and when we entered the line with our swim start/age group we completed the Tinder-profile-worthy look with our swim caps. 

Soon, a giant pink pig poster came marching by and attached to it were Abby's adorable parents who snapped some WINNING photos of the three of us. 

We, as usual, goofed off, joked around, and kept things as far-from-serious as possible. 

When swim waves started going off, I was relieved to see lots of people side stroking, back stroking, treading water and STILL moving at a fast clip towards the finish. The river was movin' all right and I knew that even if it took me 40 minutes of backstroke, I'd make it out of the Hudson and to my bike. 

The three of us decided to take the 20 second time penalty by sitting on the barge and dangling our legs into the water instead of jumping in and can I just say HOW GREAT it was that I got to start this race sitting next to my two best friends and triathlon inspirations (Hi, 70.3). 

The Swim 

You know people who downplay their abilities constantly because they want to hear people tell them how great they are? I SWEAR I wasn't trying to be that person by panicking about the swim portion of the NYC Tri. 

I was legitimately petrified of swimming .9 miles and still do not think that I'm entirely capable of doing it in other circumstances. Those circumstances = a quickly moving river, pulling you downstream whether you wanted to or not. 

The promising news was that I managed to do some actual face-in-the-water swimming this time around. That being said, it was HIGHLY supplemented with the backstroke for more than half of the time. Progress? 

The wave start meant that for most of the time, the route wasn't too crowded. The sea wall had signs marking each 100 meters and volunteers on both sides made sure that you were staying within the safe swimming area. By the final 150 meters, the course got crowded and hectic as everyone converged on the barge where we would exit the water. I just hung back and slowly made my way to the exit area where I grabbed onto someone's arm and they pulled me up and out. 

Volunteers immediately started telling everyone to wipe their faces off - to remove the notorious "Hudson River Mustache" from their faces before they approached the photographer. Gross? Yes. Real? Definitely - I felt plenty of gravelly-grossness as I tried to get myself camera ready (LOL I mean, how camera ready can you be as you run/try to remove a wetsuit/take off goggles and swim cap? Answer: Not very.) 

My swim ended up being 20:04 for a pace of 01:21/100 M (for reference, the fastest splits I've ever had in a pool are well over 2:00 per 100M). 

Transition One

I was pleasantly surprised when I reached back to unzip my wetsuit that it pretty easily complied. Using a tip from Abby, I held my ear plugs, swim cap and goggles in my hand while I pulled the sleeves down - ensnaring the miscellaneous swim accouterments in the inside out sleeve. SCORE. 

I overshot my socks by a few steps and swiveled around to grab them and slip them on - definitely a great call to go socks instead of sneakers. I was moving at a quick pace back to transition - passing plenty of people but also trying to take a minute to breathe and mentally prepare for the bike. 

Imagine the smile on my face when I got back to my bike and saw Callie ready to go out and start her ride! 

I scarfed down two dates (YUM they're my new favorite fuel), took off my timing chip, fully took off my wet-suit, put the timing chip back on, slid into my socks and cycling shoes, clipped on my Spibelt with my phone, put on my Garmin, buckled my helmet, thought to myself, "that's it right?!" and picked up my bike, jogging alongside it to the exit. 

My watch said 6:30 which absolutely shocked me - I'd swam .9 miles, run .25 and gotten ready for the bike in 30 minutes - something I had never thought remotely possible. Now, it was in my head that 3 hours was a possibility and the chase for 3:00:00 was on. 

Transition One took me 08:27. 

Bike

I mounted my bike and off I went! "The hill" wasn't as stressful as anticipated - I got there at a lucky time I guess and it wasn't very crowded. I stood up to make my way up it quickly and easily. Once we made a few sharp(ish) turns (nothing that made my stomach enter my throat) it was nothing but open highway! 

It was amazing to have a whole highway shut down for us to ride on. Over the course of 25 miles, I had verrrrry few instances of overcrowding or close calls with fellow riders - everyone seemed very courteous and under control - riding to the right and passing on the left. 

I felt good and was riding hard, until I passed the first 5 mile marker and realized, "I should probbbbbably dial it back a bit." 

So I dialed it back and settled in, telling myself that I was going to be on here for awhile and didn't really know what was to come in terms of hills. But I felt great and my legs felt strong - I really had no way of knowing how fast I was going since I don't have a bike computer, but I was confident that I was having a good ride. 

Each hill that greeted me was manageable and each downhill made me a little anxious about how I would feel on the back-half of the route. There was one major hill on the way up to the Bronx that had my legs screaming but it was over fairly quickly.

I passed and was passed by the same people back and forth for most of the ride which let me know that I was staying pretty consistent. For awhile, I was chasing down a woman who 70 and it reminded me that I want to be a bad ass triathlete when I'm well into my 40s and 50s! 

The bike went really well - the final 5 miles had me trying to calculate how fast I'd need to run to finish in under 3 hours and it seemed to be slipping away. 

The final turn around was the hairiest turns but once that was over it was smooth sailing back to transition, where we slowed down to a frustrating crawl/single file line. That being said, it was nice that everyone just accepted that it was going to take a minute to get back as people slowed down and dismounted and no one was an asshole barreling through the narrow path. 

I ended up finishing the bike in 1:29:03 for an average speed of 16.75 MPH. This was nuts to me because that's the exact speed I normally do my Central Park loops at! I guess I'm pretty consistent! 

This was probably my favorite long bike ride ever and I'm so glad I enjoyed it.  

Transition Two 

I ran my bike back to the rack and proceeded to take off my timing chip and socks - before realizing 

that I absolutely had not needed to do that - oops haha. I ate two dates, put a caffeinated gel in my Spibelt, laced up my sneakers, contemplated a hat and decided against it, drank some water and made a quick dash to the port-o-potty. 

After that, it was out on the run - which I had originally thought would be my favorite part of the race. In reality, it was hands down the hardest part of the race. 

Transition Two: 04:00

The Run

The run course starts with a massive hill up to Riverside Dr. and I decided immediately that it wasn't worth getting super out of breath and mentally frustrated by attempting to run up it - I walked up and I think it was a good call. 

For the first mile I just told myself to relax, let my legs get used to running, and get myself to Central Park. It's nice that you don't enter the park until a mile into the run, because I just told myself once I hit the park I could really start to hit my stride. 

Like I said, this was hard. Running after biking 25 miles is a very strange sensation where your legs are heavy, yet also numb? You feel like you're moving so slowly because you've been moving at 16+ MPH for the past hour and a half. Even though I felt like I was running through quicksand and not moving - my first mile split was an 8:12. 

It was a pleasant surprise, but I also had been aiming to start slow and go for negative splits, which wasn't going to happen with that start. 

Once in the park, the hills came and I focused on quick, short steps to get myself up and over them. But that West Side of the park still killed me. I was letting my head go to a bad place where I was saying, "WHY IS THIS SO HARD this is supposed to be my favorite part!" The only thing that kept me going was that everyone I passed seemed to think I was "LOOKIN' STRONG" and had "GREAT FORM." This was news to me but I took their word for it. 

Once I saw the November Project cheer squad - things changed. The energy put a huge smile on my face and from that point on I had a much much better attitude. I bee-lined for Kaitlin who was taking pictures and gave her a big high five and zoomed away in much better spirits. 

The trudge up Harlem Hill began and my watch kept giving me mile splits that I was happy with - 8:26 for mile2 and 8:19 for mile 3. 

Somewhere between mile 2 and 3 I took my gel which also helped - I only use the caffeine Cliff shots and they work like a charm. 

I passed the water station my friend Michelle was volunteering at and gave her a huge hug which re-energized me to finish the hills. 

For the entire race, my strategy was to stop at each water station and actually drink water - I hadn't even finished a full water bottle on the bike ride and new I would be in trouble if I didn't drink during the run. I'm never a walk through the water stations person but it worked amazingly for this race and I'm really glad I did it! 

When I got over to the east side I saw Callie in the distance which put an extra pep in my step so I could catch up to her. We chatted for a few minutes and I continued on with splits that were making me very happy and quite frankly very surprised. Mile 4 was a 7:55. 

I decided to try to take mile 5 more conservatively so I could finish the final mile strong. Mile 5 was an 8:23 and then I kicked it into high gear for mile 6. 

At that point, my legs were fully in running mode and my stride was more relaxed and natural and I could tell that I was cruising along. It felt great to pass so many people in that final mile and as I approached the finish line I was pushhhhing myself to the point where I started getting chills and thinking, "Uh, this is probably not good since it's 85 degrees out."

In the final few feet I was stuck behind 2 or 3 people and desperately trying to pass. Eventually I snuck around them and sprinted across the finish line. Nothing has ever felt so amazing as the freezing cold wet towel they placed around my neck. I would have taken that over the medal. 

My final mile was a 7:32. 

According to the official results, my run was 49:07 for a pace of 07:55 (my watch had me at an 08:07) and 16th in my age group for the run! It was definitely the hardest part, but I guess it's obvious which of the three things I'm best at! 

Final time was 02:50:39 and I was so happy to break 3 hours!

Post-Race

It's hard for me to remember a time I was on such an endorphin-high. Probably after both my marathons my 10K PR. But it's just the absolute best feeling in the world and I rode that high alllllll day. 

So many people ask me why I wanted to do this triathlon if I was scared and nervous and thought that it was going to be hard and my answer is I wanted to do this triathlon BECAUSE I was scared and nervous and BECAUSE it was hard. 

There is no better feeling than proving to yourself that you can do something you've never done before. To do something despite the fact that you're nervous - to prove that you can fight through the nerves and the fear and go for it anyway. 

My biggest pet peeve is when people say they "can't" do something when they've never even tried and REFUSE to try. Complacency is so boring. 

After the race we took lots of pictures, I called my parents, we walked around the finishers festival (free YASSO BARS!) and eventually Callie and I made our way to the shuttle that took us back to transition to pick up our bikes. 

After packing everything up, we took the subway uptown and walked our bikes across the park to my apartment where I took the most amazing shower of my life, used my bone stimulator machine, and we got ready for food. 

We met Michelle and Abby at BARE BURGER which was everything I wanted and more. A burger in a collard green wrap + crispy Brussels sprouts and sweet potato fries. Not to mention 23842 glasses of water. 

Next stop was Treadwell Park to meet up with people from November Project and enjoy a refreshing alcoholic beverage (I finally tried the Wolffer Cider white wine!) courtesy of my mom and dad. 

We only lasted one drink before decided we needed our beds. 

I spent the rest of the night reading, watching TV, and eating summer rolls and a pint of Halo Top. 

It was the most accomplished I've felt in a really long time. And now, of course, I'm wondering what the next challenge will be! Thinking about that 70.3.......

THANKS 

Shout out to Kaitlin, Patti, Brian and Mr. & Mrs. Reisner for all of the wonderful pictures of the day!! I'm obsessed and you can find me most days just scrolling through my phone looking at all of them and reminiscing :) 

I really can't even figure out what to say about how much Callie and Abby helped me get to the start line and across the finish line so I'll just say that every run, every swim, every bike ride, every brunch, every beer, every laugh, every cry - it's 294380X better with you two by my side! Next stop, Banff!

Social Media 30-Day Detox

My morning's usually start with laying in bed and scrolling through various social media channels. 

Instagram, Facebook, Strava.

Getting caught up and concerned with other people's lives at 7:00 a.m., wondering who worked out this morning? Who had a great dinner last night? Who is traveling the world or on a beautiful beach somewhere? Did anyone message me on the dating apps I recently re-downloaded? 

My nights usually end in a similar way - mindlessly swiping left and right in search of someone to send me cheesy pick-up lines and unsubstantial conversation.  Getting dizzy from the Boomerangs on people's Instagram stories and filtering and re-filtering photos of myself from the weekend, trying to figure out which one is worthy of a #tbt. The bright light from my screen keeps me up way past a necessary hour. 

It sounds ridiculous when you read about just how wrapped up in social media people become. You scoff at the idea that your self worth has somehow become intertwined with your followers and likes. It looks ridiculous when people stand on chairs to get the perfect boozy brunch snapshot.

But I'm willing to bet that you've been that girl walking and Snapchatting as she walks down the street  And I'm sure you've been that girl feeling bad on a Friday night, sitting in her apartment as her Facebook feed is flooded with friends having fun. The FOMO sets in, even though hours ago at your desk, you swore you WANTED a night of Netflix and Seamless by yourself. 

And don't even get me started on dating apps. Why do I spend HOURS swiping when I truly have NO intention of meeting up with anyone for drinks? 

28 days without drinking had me feeling empowered and looking for a new challenge - and so on July 1, with little fanfare, I deleted it all. 

Facebook. 

Facebook Messenger. 

Instagram. 

Snapchat. 

Bumble. 

Hinge. 

Buh-bye. 

The plan is not seeing these apps until August 1 and I'm really interested to see how it goes! 

Stay tuned. 

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Month of Me: What I Did While I Wasn't Drinking

Going alcohol free for 28 days was a way for me to refocus on me, myself, and the things I'd been "meaning to do" for too long. 

The past month has been filled with worthwhile experiences, belly laughs, some great workouts, some relaxing days and lots of learning moments. 

A Trip to Buffalo 

After spending time in Buffalo last year for a work trip, I was excited to return this spring. 

The Healthy Scratch

All 8 days, my breakfasts and lunches came from The Healthy Scratch. I was overjoyed to have them nearby for healthy, nutritious food. I ate my smoothie with a spoon and added some granola on top and I found that it was super satisfying - usually when I drink my breakfast from a straw, I still feel like I need to eat something. 

The Buffalo food scene impresses me whenever I go, and we had some more delicious meals. 

The Mahony

Most notable was the discovery of The Mahony, located inside an old creamery building which creates a trendy vibe. The menu is diverse and unique - one night we went there was even live music. 

Chef's

We also ate at Chef's - which, though not my cup of tea, is a very historic restaurant in Buffalo that has been around since 1923! Their menu is like a mini history book - with stories about how they moved the oven from the bakery that used to make their bread to their new location and hired the head baker. And the story of how their famous dish, "spaghetti parmigiana" was created. Picture a pile of spaghetti engulfed in a glob of cheese. 

Sear

My favorite meal was probably the massive tuna steak I got at Sear. The black coconut sticky rice it came with, paired with pineapple puree, was summer-seafood heaven for my taste buds. (Though it would have been better enjoyed on an island somewhere). 

Another reason I love Buffalo is because of the Canalside walk along the water which I enjoyed on Memorial Day. 

Billy Joel Concert Turned Cooking with Callie 

When Billy Joel cancelled his concert due to an infection, Callie and I took to the kitchen to improvise a recipe based off of Hummasapien's Curried Cauliflower Chickpea Buddha Bowl. The fact that my food processor wouldn't turn on made for a less than ideal sauce-making scenario but Callie diced those almond so finely that we still managed to make it work. 

Anyone else out there arugula-obsessed? Raise your hand if arugula is your go-to-green (and leave me so recipe ideas in the comments!)

Baseball Game 

I will admit that I am far from a fan of America's Favorite Pastime. I usually go to one or two games a year and when I get there I'm just kind of like, "OK, now what?" Usually, the answer to that question is "BEER!" but a baseball game dead sober - that was something new to me. 

I went to a Yankees/Red Sox game with my friend Kayla and her dad and boyfriend and they are DIE HARD Sox fans. I even donned a Red Sox t-shirt since Kayla humored me at an Islanders game earlier this year. 

Admittedly, the baseball part of the experience was still meh for me - but Kayla's enthusiasm, her nicknames for all of the players, her method of sneaking in a tequila nip in her umbrella, the seventh inning stretch, the YMCA, the wave and THE SUNSET kept me smiling the entire night. 

Sushi Making Class 

I have been saying, "I really want to learn how to make sushi" for a LONG TIME. At least 2 years. I live in a city that has hundreds of cooking classes on the DAILY. No more excuses. 

Lana is one of my sushi-loving friends and when I finally found the class I wanted to take I knew she would be down. 

Cooking classes ain't cheap - easily $80+! But I found a deal on Groupon for CocuSocial and it was super affordable at $36 per person! 

The class was held in a lobby/snack bar area of a hotel in midtown Manhattan and was a very manageable size with no more than 16 or so of us. Most people were in pairs. It was super laid back, but I actually learned a good amount more than I thought I would! 

I also never expected to leave absolutely stuffed! We learned how to roll a salmon roll, a crab inside-out roll (with the rice on the outside) and a hand roll! Three different types of rolls which we devoured - that's a LOT of sticky rice. 

We were shocked at how sticky the rice was - it is NOT easy to work with and while you're supposed to keep your hands wet to make the rice easier to handle, you have to try not to get any of the water on the nori (the sheet of seaweed). 

I really liked the hand roll because it was like a sushi burrito - but when I poured the soy sauce into the roll, it just came flooding out the bottom. OOPS. 

After class, our instructor gave us some more information, like how to shop for sushi-grade fish, what makes it sushi-grade, and how to make the sticky rice! 

I highly recommend checking out CocuSocial and I definitely plan on taking more of their classes! (Dumplings, pasta, pie - they offer a lot of different ones!) 

Wedding & College Roommate Reunion 

You know those friends that you can go forever without seeing, and then you're together and it's like absolutely no time at all has passed? I'm lucky to have a lot of friends like that. As you get older, your friends are spread out across the map, everyone has their own obligations and plans, and you go longer and longer without seeing each other. But despite that, my college roommates and I had an amazing time at Kelsey's wedding. 

Dancing, reminiscing, eating, photo-boothing, Hamilton rapping and bug-drowning - it was a great weekend together. 

Broadway 

The musical theatre nerd in me isn't as prominent as it once was, but every time I sit at watch a show, I remember how much I love a good show tune. 

My friends and I went to see Waitress and while it wasn't one of my favorites, it was worth the $60 to hear "She Used to Be Mine" belted live. We just missed Sara Bareilles by a day (hence the discounted tickets), but Betsy Wolfe crushed her first performance as Jenna. 

There were a few songs that I could definitely tell were written by Bareilles and overall, the show was pretty damn funny. 

Catching Up With Friends 

Before most long work trips I try to fit in some time with friends to catch up before I hit the road. The week before the last work trip of the season, I grabbed sweetgreen with Kayla and got a manicure/pedicure with Jess. 

Could we have gone for drinks? Absolutely (it probably would have ended with me dragging them to Brandy's Piano Bar and ordering Tequila Cosmos...) But it was much more productive for my schedule to do two things I needed to do anyway: eat dinner and get my nails done, while at the same time chatting away. 

Trip to Las Vegas

I am not the biggest fan of Las Vegas. Admittedly, I've only ever been on work trips which tend to put a damper on the Sin-City Lifestyle but I also just think that's it's like being stuck in Times Square for a week - not something I would ever wish on someone. 

I tried to make the most of this trip though - ate a few good meals, gambled a whole $22 on Willy Wonka and Wizard of Oz slot machines (and won $35 on an Orange Is The New Black machine before my flight out!) and enjoying a Lush bath bomb in the luxurious tub in my Encore hotel room (they are absolutely gorgeous!) 

I used Postmates for my lunches all week in Vegas and pretty quickly my coworkers put me in charge of the healthy--but-delicious meal finding. It was so much easier than I had anticipated! I had great meals and highly suggest checking out the following places if you're trying to eat well in Vegas: 

SkinnyFATS

I ate the dish with the zucchini noodles and it was yum!

Protein House

Greens and Proteins 

I was so obsessed with my turkey burger in a cabbage wrap with JICAMA fries at lunch, that I ordered the Harvest Kale Stocked Salad for dinner! We also ordered the Greek Pizza on pita to share in the office and it was amazing. 

Fun fact - I never made it out of the Wynn/Encore hotel for a meal during the trip. But the fact that the Wynn and Encore's restaurant menus feature so many vegan and healthy options was fine by me! Each menu has a few items that list the calories and try to remain on the lighter side. 

My favorite thing I ate was definitely the buffalo cauliflower at Le Jardin. It was absolutely mind blowing - so crispy. And the vegan ranch/blue cheese sauce? WOW. Brynn and I could have had 4 more orders and skipped the entrees. 

I also really liked the kale salad at The Country Club  and was pumped to try the Impossible Burger meat in crispy rice lettuce cups at Andrea's (probably my favorite restaurant at the Wynn/Encore - order the broccoli!!!) 

Stay tuned, there's more to come including the final week of no alcohol!

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5 Things I Learned From Giving Up Alcohol for a Month

My month of me seems to have translated into a month without blogging along with the no running and no drinking thing - oops! 

But now that I'm on the other side of 28 days, I wanted to check in with a recap of the top 5 lessons I learned while going 28 days without drinking. To quickly answer a few of the burning questions: 

• Did you cheat at all? Nope, not even one rogue sip. 
• Did you lose weight? No, in fact I probably gained some since I've been working out a lot less and was traveling for work for 2 weeks and eating out constantly. Losing weight was never one of the reasons I wanted to do this in the first place.
• Was it hard? The biggest surprise of all was that, nope, it really wasn't difficult AT ALL. I can count on one hand the number of times I even came close to cheating.

Here are the top 5 things I took away from 28 days without drinking. 

1. Removing "Happy Hour" from your list of potential plans with friends challenges you to find other activities that you might normally miss out on. 

I'll be writing an entire post about all the things I've been up to - including a computer coding class, Broadway musical and sushi making class! 

I live in New York City, I travel constantly for work - there's a great big world out there and yes I love my favorite bars as much as the next twenty-something but there's so much more I want to learn and experience other than every citrus-y IPA (but I do want to try them all, eventually...)

When I texted my friends some of the things I wanted to check out - they were quick to say HELL YEAH and even thanked me for planning some out of the ordinary weeknight activities. 

2. No one cares. Seriously. 

If you surround yourself with somewhat decent people - they aren't going to sit there and try to force you to drink if you decide to pass. Sure they might joke or ask if you're sure, or purposely order your favorite drink off the menu - but they aren't going to sit there and be upset that you aren't drinking. Ain't nobody got time for that.

The only issue I had was convincing the people I was with that they SHOULD drink. I didn't want to put a damper on anyone's night just because I was choosing to sip on Pellegrino (I drank SO much sparkling water this month!) 

3. It didn't make me a homebody. 

I was still social, still enjoyed dinners out with people during my work trips, and still stayed long after the table was cleared watching games and talking - again, drinking lots and lots of water. 

4. I give alcohol too much credit. 

I had been under the false assumption that alcohol made me more fun, more social, more silly, etc. But I am still all of those things around the people I'm comfortable with - alcohol or no alcohol. At my college roommate's wedding, I was still one of the first ones from our group to get up and out on the dance floor and I was still one of the last to fall asleep because my friend and I were too busy rapping Hamilton to say goodnight. 

5. There's no " easy" month to cut alcohol out of your life. 

I said this in my last post - but, seriously. If it's something you've wanted to do - just do it. There's always going to be a happy hour or a party or a dinner that you're going to want to order a drink at. But I swear, it's not that hard to just be like, "NAH, I'm trying this thing and I really want to stick to it." 

If you want to do it, there's no day like today!

Final Thoughts:

What made it doable for me was the fact that I knew I was serious about it, I let the entire internet know about it (accountability at its best) and most importantly - the reasons behind it were genuine and important to me. 

I didn't go a month without drinking to lose weight, which is what most people assumed. I did it to make room for things that are more important to me and to prove to myself that I could. SURPRISE! I'm a pretty great, well-rounded individual with lots of interests and passions and the fact that I love margaritas and IPAs is really not what make me, me. 

I was honestly shocked at how easy it was, and while I did have an amazing boozy brunch to break the 28 days, I now also have a huge list of non-drinking-activities I plan to do this summer and I'm so excited! Rock-climbing, kayaking, maybe some trapeze? Continuing with computer coding classes, maybe an Excel class? And who wants to come make dumplings with me!? Walking photography tour of a neighborhood? Queens food exploring? Long bike rides! 

K and summer Friday happy hours - there will definitely be some of those, too. 

Changing Your Perspective for a Positive Mindset

And just like that, it's been 13 days without alcohol. Honestly, the first 2 weeks have flown by and there have only been a fewwww times I've been tempted to cheat. But I'm feeling very determined and know that I'll make it to the finish line. 

Today I wanted to talk (write) a little bit about perspective. It's crazy how big of an impact a small shift in perspective can make in your happiness. I'm groaning at how preachy that sounded - but stick with me.

Wednesday was a long day. I was out the door by 5:00 a.m., on a flight to Pittsburgh by 7:00 a.m., at a coffee shop working by 9:00 a.m., in a meeting by noon, back at the airport by 3:30 p.m. and not back through my apartment doors until 8:00 p.m. 

But as my plane descended into New York City, I looked out my window and below me, the entire city was sprawled out. A city inhabited by 1.6 million people - including little old me. It might take me an hour and multiple subway transfers and plenty of frustration to get from the Upper East Side to Chelsea on a Sunday - but from 30,000 feet up, the island of Manhattan looked so much simpler. 

I could see the Freedom Tower and Central Park all at once. I spotted the Empire State Building and the reservoir, and I thought to myself, "WOW Central Park is beautiful and kind of massive, I can't believe I run around that whole thing on the regs!" (Yes, I even use embarrassing abbreviations in my head, obvs). 

Then, as I sometimes do, I started to get a little teary-eyed thinking about the fact that I live in THE New York City. THE Central Park is my backyard. I could look down and point out where Harlem Hill is and Cat Hill and my favorite trees that arch over the reservoir loop. And I could point at MY apartment - or at least the general vicinity of my apartment. 

Something about being that high up, and looking down at my entire life/world from such a distance had me feeling really emotional. 

When I landed, and waited in the taxi line, and waited in traffic, and finally got back to my apartment (because NYC isn't EVER actually simple when you're in it...) I dropped my bags and bolted to the park for a walk around the reservoir at sunset. From looking at Central Park from 30,000 feet up one hour to being smack dab in the middle of it the next hour - I had a really ridiculous feeling of contentment. 

But the thing to remember about changing your perspective, is that it doesn't always mean going up 30,000 feet and literally changing your perspective. It's often a conscious and active decision that you need to make to view things in a different way.  

It's like an Instagram filter, for your life. 

Every day you have the choice to choose between Clarendon (a personal fave), Hudson, Valencia or Nashville (but let's be honest, no one chooses Nashville unless they're IN Nashville and trying to be clever). And every day you have the choice to filter your life to focus on the positives or the negatives. The "LIFE IS GOOD" filter or the "EVERYTHING SUCKS" filter.

Shall we go over some examples from my week? 

• I could have chosen to focus on the fact that I lost my passport and need to pay $200 to replace it in time for my trip to Canada. 
  
  I'm not suggesting that I choose to view this as a positive thing - it's not. But instead, I focused my attention on the fact that I luckily found a copy of my passport that will make filling out the application for a new one easier. Instead of harping on the pain in the butt that it's going to be to get it replaced, I gave myself a little pep talk that sounded like this: "Lauren, you're going to get it replaced because you have to. So why are you going to freak out? It's going to get done."
   
• I could have chosen to focus on the fact that the Billy Joel concert I was supposed to go to was cancelled last minute.
  
  Instead, I invited Callie over and we cooked a delicious dinner and caught up and then I laid in bed and lip-synced to my favorite Billy Joel songs and sent the videos to my friends so that they weren't sad we missed out on the concert. Because my rendition of Piano Man is essentially the same thing as Billy's. 
  
  Instead, I appreciated the fact that I got to bed earlier that night ahead of my 4:45 a.m. alarm for my flight. 
   
• I could have chosen to focus on the fact that my Cuisinart wouldn't start and Callie and I couldn't blend the almonds into the sauce we were making.
  
  Instead, Callie acted as a human food-processor and chopped the almonds really finely and we improvised and shrugged our shoulders and laughed and guess what? Our dinner still tasted delicious (we cooked these Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Buddha Bowls from Hummusapien!)  

• I could have chosen to focus on the fact that my entire day was taken up by my work trip on Wednesday - leaving me super tired and not giving me the chance to exercise. 
  
  Instead, I used that spectacular landing as inspiration to get into the park for a 2+ mile walk on a gorgeous night!
   
• Wednesday was Global Running Day and at the moment, I can't run. I could have easily spent the day upset about my injury, bitter at all of the running posts flooding my social media channels, and angry at my legs. 
  
  Instead, I liked every running picture that I saw, went for a walk in the park, and thought about how running and the NYC running community has changed my life. Showing up to a Jack Rabbit group run 5 years ago is the #1 reason this place feels like home. 

So basically what I'm saying is that choosing to view your day from a positive perspective is just like choosing your Instagram filter. Make the right choice.

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