I figured I would do a quick photo recap of my Best friend Lauren’s Wedding weekend:

Thursday night we had a beautiful rehearsal dinner at Knapp’s Landing Restaurant in Stratford, CT.

It was a pretty night to be outside on the water!

Friday morning my friends and I were up early and out on the road to head up to the hair salon to get wedding ready.

I loved how my hair came out!

The day ran smoothly and before we knew it we were getting dressed.

The limo picked us up around 4pm and we headed to the ceremony at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven, CT.

The ceremony was beautiful and I couldn’t hold back my happy tears as Lauren and her soon to be husband Sebastian read their vows to each other.

It was an amazing ceremony!

and I’m so glad we got to enjoy the view outside on the water!

We had fun in the bridal suite!

The rest of the evening was spent dancing, eating, laughing, and taking lots of fun pictures with my friends and family.

My mom and I striking a pose on the dance floor!

Thank goodness for selfies because Marc and I snapped a million

This was a group shot of my best friends and their parents!

I couldn’t be happier for Lauren and Sebastian, it was a wedding I will never forget!

(I took so many pictures so I’m sure I will post some more throughout the week!)

I have lots of photos to share with you from my best friend’s wedding weekend. I will try to keep it short and sweet because I really could go on and on about my friend Megan and her new husband Mike. They truly are a perfect match for each other.

Friday night the wedding weekend kicked off with a quick rehearsal at St. Mary’s Church on Greenwich Avenue. The priest was awesome and the rehearsal was simple! We headed to Fairways At The Griff for a rehearsal dinner.

The food was AMAZING as usual and they had a slideshow of Megan & Mike that literally made my eyes water. I have known Megan since I was 3, and we lived 5 houses apart practically our whole life so I vividly remember all the photos!

It was a great rehearsal and I enjoyed laughing the night away with my best friends!

I even managed to snap a picture of Marc and myself (that never happens)!

Saturday morning I woke up nice and early and started the day with my normal routine, coffee, a walk with Cooper, breakfast, a quick workout, and shower before heading to the “bride’s house” for the day to get ready for the wedding.

The hairdressers did such a wonderful job making all the bridesmaids look beautiful

before we knew it we were off to the church!

The day really couldn’t have gone any smoother.

We arrived at the church right on time and waited for guests to fill the church!

After church we took some pictures outside.

The sun was shining and it was a perfect day to be outside!

We also took some beautiful pictures outside of the venue before cocktail hour.

At 5pm we headed to cocktail hour to enjoy some lovely cocktails and appetizers on the water at the Stamford Nature Center. It was such a unique and fun way to celebrate.

The cocktail hour was outside over looking the lake.

Here are the 5 of our men!

My friend Lauren and her soon to be husband Sebastian

My best friends….

My husband!

The centerpieces outside!

After appetizers and drinks we headed inside.

The nature center is truly a unique and memorable venue!

The large mansion held tons of guests and we had fun dancing the night away!

Megan and Mike are probably 2 of the most genuine, caring, and thoughtful people I have ever met and I couldn’t be happier for them both!

Congrats to the new Mr & Mrs Fina!

What’s your favorite part of a wedding? I love seeing the groom’s face as the bride walks down the aisle! It’s such a special moment.

Have you ever been to a unique wedding venue, if so where? This was hands down one of the most unique wedding I have been to and I wish I snapped more pictures so you guys could see all the details!

I had a whirlwind of a weekend and it was action packed with super fun activities.

After Boot Camp last Thursday night we headed up to Rhode Island. We figured the traveling would be easier if Ava was sleeping in the car but of course there were still tons of people on the road! We got to RI about 10pm and with plans to go to bed early Ava quickly changed that. She got her second wind and stayed up until 1am.

Friday morning I woke up and drank some coffee after feeling a little tired from my busy week and the little sleep. We took Ava and her cousin Natalie to a unique shopping center that had a little petting zoo with chickens, goats, and little shops in the mix.

They also had a bamboo forest.

The girls had fun exploring. We also made a trip to a park to let Ava & Natalie have some fun!

After our morning adventures we hung out at Marc’s parents until it was time for Marc to drive me to Misquamicut to meet up for my friend Megan’s Bachelorette Party!

We stayed at the Breezeway Resort which was located right by Misquamicut Beach!

We stayed and hung out at the beach until about 5pm, the weather was perfect!

Once we got ready we headed to the Ocean Mist for dinner.

Followed by some drinks & dancing at Paddy’s Cafe.

We had a blast hanging out, sharing conversations, and partying for Meg’s last weekend as a bachelorette!

Saturday morning I woke up early, thanks to my biological clock that is set on Ava’s schedule. I didn’t mind being up early and being able to lay in bed without having to jump up to get Ava or change a diaper! I got some breakfast with the girls and then went for a long walk on the beach!

After lunch time I headed back to the hotel room to shower & get changed, it was time for me to head to our friend Lauren & Chris’s wedding in Worcester Massachusetts.

Marc picked me up at 2pm and we made the trip to the wedding. We were able to pass time quickly as I recapped my fun night with the girls the night before.

The wedding started off with cocktail hour at 430pm.

The food was delicious! I did indulge in some cocktails as well

The wedding was beautiful.

I devoured my dinner in minutes it was so delicious. We had filet mignon, rosemary potatoes, & green beans! Yum.

The rest of the night was spent catching up with college friends.

Dancing on the dance floor!

and celebrating the new Mr. & Mrs. Chris Desantis, It was a beautiful wedding!

The end of our trip pretty much looked like this….. we were all completely wiped!!

Now it’s time for me to head to work and teach Group Power. I may need a little luck with this workout, I’m pretty tired from my fun weekend!

Growing up my mom would pack a big cooler full of drinks, snacks & lunch and we would stay at the beach from the morning until late afternoon. We couldn’t get enough and that was basically how we spent our summer days!

After years and years of being in the sun, I know the importance of protecting my skin and I want my daughter to protect hers from sun damage too.

I’m always cautious of anything I put on my face whether its sunscreen or lotion because I have super sensitive skin. Most of you probably know the sunscreen company Banana Boat, and unfortunately I can’t use those products because I break out in a rash.

I was approached by Block Island Organics to try out their Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 and of course I was excited to try their sunscreen.

I have used so many different brands of sunscreen before that I haven’t liked. Some were thick and hard to spread, others that didn’t gave me rashes, and some that made me look like a ghost.

I first tested the sunscreen on myself when we were going to the pool at my parents. I applied the sunscreen about 15-20 minutes before we were leaving. I loved that it was lightweight, it spread well, and absorbed quickly!

Here are a little more details about the product:

Block Island Organics- Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30

Product Description:

• An ultra lightweight, non-nano and instantly absorbing natural mineral sunscreen great for sensitive skin.  Made with organic and natural ingredients. Provides broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection to prevent sun damage and premature skin aging. A small amount goes a long way.
• Key facts: zinc only (safest & best UV filter), easily spreadable and lightweight yet moisturizing
• Perfect for BABIES, KIDS and ADULTS – 3.4oz/100 ml
• NO PARABENS, SULFATES, PETROCHEMICALS, PHTHALATES, DYES OR ARTIFICIAL FRAGRANCES. VEGAN FORMULA. GLUTEN FREE. NO ANIMAL TESTING. MADE IN USA.

Ingredients: The SPF-30 formula has the following:

Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide 22%. 

After work Friday, Ava was quite fussy for me. I never know if it’s her teeth or she’s not feeling well but since she had her fingers shoved in her mouth most of the day I’m guessing it was her teeth. Anyways, she was pretty unhappy most of the day!

Thank goodness for playgrounds.

Ava was smiling from ear to ear and it was the perfect late afternoon distraction! I had some fun myself too. I swear one of these days I am going to get stuck going down the kiddie slides.

At 6:15pm we went to Marc’s softball game at Bruce Park. I was able to see Marc make some pretty awesome catches in the outfield before Ava started getting fussy again and was ready for bed. I was ready for some relaxation myself so I was totally cool with her getting to bed at a normal bed time

Saturday morning I got up at my usual 6am. There’s no sleeping in anymore in our house! We made a delicious breakfast of eggs & toast and then I decided to do a quick stretching Pulse dvd from the Insanity Max 30 program.

It felt good to get some stretching in because my legs were pretty tight from all my workouts last week.

Ava pretty much got in the way of my workout so I used her as my equipment to keep her occupied!

After I finished I showered and headed to the YMCA for a Massage from our Massage Therapist Susan Horstman! If you have never had a massage before I highly recommend it. Not only did my muscles thank me but I felt so relaxed and rejuvenated after I left that I decided I need to make Massage therapy part of my wellness routine.

I am so highly active that sometimes stretching doesn’t seem to do the job. With previous hip & shoulder injuries, my muscles tighten up in those areas a lot quicker then the rest of my body. The massage relieved my soreness as well as my minor aching that I had been feeling over the past few weeks.

Susan was so informative and really educated in massage. I’m not sure if you are supposed to talk during your session but I was asking millions of questions. I felt like Susan’s knowledge about massage helped me learn more about my muscles and why certain areas were more tight then others.

I will definitely be back for another one in the near future!

Now its time for me to get to work, have a great day

Do you ever find it challenging to workout at home?

What’s a highlight from your weekend?

I don’t really dread Mondays at all, but I don’t like ending a weekend of fun. Do you feel the same?

Friday in the late afternoon my co-worker Stephanie dropped her Dog Barley off for the weekend.  They had a weekend trip planned for a wedding, and Barley was ours to watch and care for. I have to admit I was overly excited to dogsit Barley because Cooper absolutely loves her.

They play/wrestle with each other for hours on end and it definitely makes taking care of a dog and a toddler 100x easier.

Ava got to play in her new sandbox that her Grandpa bought her. She was not happy when it was time  to get out and had so much fun playing with the toys.  Covering them with sand entertained her the most.

Friday night was a nice low key night for us. We hung out at home and grilled an easy dinner and relaxed. We all woke up early Saturday morning, ate a quick breakfast and then took Cooper & Barley for a 30 minute walk and let them run around the field for 30 minutes.

When we got home they were both exhausted but I know they had fun.

I’m glad we got their exercise in early because it started to get pretty hot. We decided to take a ride over to my parents to let Ava splash around in the pool. I enjoyed having my feet in their too!

Ava is learning how to blow bubbles in the water.

After lunch, I decided to take Barley for a run. She is super behaved on the leash I figured I would let her get some alone time. I think I may have had more fun then she did. I hadn’t run in a very long time and it felt great.

Around 2:45pm I left for my friends surprise baby Shower in Hamden, CT

It was such a lovely shower for my friend Kelly, with just her closest friends.  We had fun playing some games and eating delicious food!

This game was interesting. We had to guess who each of these famous men were in the pictures. It was surprisingly hard!

Sunday we basically repeated our Saturday morning with a big breakfast and a long walk with the dogs. It was so humid out I was sweating within the first few minutes!

Ava was straight up relaxing in her stroller.

Since I was all sweaty I wanted to do a quick Insanity Max30 workout before I showered. I popped in a cardio challenge DVD and started working hard. At about 13 1/2 minutes into the workout my upper inner thigh started bothering me so I stopped.

I felt it after my run Saturday but didn’t think anything of it. I was so MAD I had to stop the DVD because mentally I wanted to keep going but I wasn’t going to push myself and cause a minor pain to become a more serious injury.

It kinda dampened my mood but I got over it quickly. Marc made some delicious grilled chicken for lunch.

His grilled chicken is always amazing.

In the afternoon we went to Greenwich Ave in attempt to let Ava play on the playground and let the dogs run on the field, but there was a soccer game going on so we just walked with them around Greenwich Avenue until we were all too sweaty and hot.

For dinner we got take out Thai Food. I loved every bite!! Ava ate all the carrots out of my Brown Chicken Dish but I’m glad that she at least enjoyed part of it!

That pretty much wraps up our weekend!

 What did you do this weekend?

Have you ever cut a workout short because of a muscle strain?

It always feels nice to get a great workout finished early in the morning!

We had new neighbors moving in Saturday so we spent most of the afternoon hanging around the house and helping them move a washer/dryer in.

Our dinner came on the early side because we didn’t really eat much in the afternoon. I grilled up some Pesto Chicken, zucchini, and we had some sweet potatoes with it.  Pesto is my best friend in the summer time and I’m pretty sure you will be seeing a lot more of it, so get used to it!

Once Ava fell asleep for the night (7pm woohoo) Marc and I sat on the Porch and sipped on a glass of Cabernet, it was quite delicious and nice to relax such a beautiful night!

We also snacked on some popcorn and finished our night with the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy which was GREAT! I’m slightly obsessed with that show, if I haven’t told you that before.

Sunday started off a little slow in our house. Ava got to watch some TV for a while because I woke up with a migraine. I get them from time to time and this one was pretty brutal. I initially started thinking that my day was ruined and I really didn’t want to be stuck inside on such a sunny day.

I decided to take some medicine and within an hour I felt like a million bucks. I’m always hesitant to take medicine but I’m super thankful I did! I felt like a normal human being again!

Around 9am we took Cooper and Ava for a walk on Greenwich Avenue and then let them both run around on the field. It’s so fun to watch Ava chase Cooper and let her explore the park on her own.

We dropped Cooper off after the walk and headed to the beach, we didn’t want to waste any time! Ava loves playing in the sand and she actually sat on the beach towel for a solid 20 minutes straight. It was nice to just relax and watch her pile sand on my legs.

There weren’t that many people on the beach so that was pretty awesome too. Ava started getting fussy and threw a small tantrum so we new it was time to get her lunch and a NAP!

Ava took a fairly long nap in the afternoon, and while she slept Marc headed to a friend’s Birthday BBQ.  Around 3pm we all went over to my parents for a BBQ. I love BBQ food and I think it’s because the foods are so simple and extra tasty when they are grilled. We had hamburgers, corn on the cob, salad, and potatoes!

We all had fun being outside for the majority of the day and seeing Cooper & Ava smile!

My dad bought Ava a big pool, so she had fun playing in it while he set sit up. She clearly couldn’t wait for him to put water in!

Now I am heading to the YMCA to teach an early Memorial Day Group Power class before we attend our last BBQ of the weekend at the beach!

It’s easy to forget what Memorial Day is all about so lets take the time to remember those people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces.

What fun things did you do this weekend?

What is your favorite BBQ food?

]]> http://thefitskool.com/?feed=rss2&p=6761 0 http://thefitskool.com/?p=6653 http://thefitskool.com/?p=6653#comments Mon, 18 May 2015 13:16:19 +0000 http://thefitskool.com/?p=6653 Continue reading →]]> We had tons of stuff going on this past weekend and the time flew by once again. Friday night was a quiet night in our house because Ava was still sick and I was kinda feeling sluggish so we decided to catch up on some TV shows and get to bed early.

I have been waking up at 5:45am every morning, almost on the dot it’s so weird. I had plans to sleep in a bit Saturday but that didn’t happen.

It was pouring out so I had to cancel Boot Camp class I ended up running some errands and then we headed to Berlin, CT for a friend’s Baby Shower BBQ. It was so nice to see some friends from College and let Ava run around. They had a Pizza Truck come to their house and make fresh pizzas. It was such a great idea. I enjoyed a slice of pesto pizza with peppers & tomatoes. It was quite delicious.

Ava and Chase (our friend’s son) had a blast playing in the bird fountain haha

We arrived home around 4pm and Marc’s brother came down to visit. So we hung out with him and ordered some take out food. Ava and I split Chicken Marsala with Veggies & Potatoes. Marc got some Chicken Scarpiello. It was so good.

We watched an episode of Scandal (we are an episode behind) but I was exhausted so we didn’t watch the last episode. I went to bed at 930. I’m such a loser!

Sunday was all about showering my best friend Megan. She will be getting married in 2 months.

(This was before Megan Arrived)

The theme of the Bridal shower was a Tea Party so we all wore fun hats.

It was quite fun to wear a hat! I don’t wear them that often but I do love them!

She got tons of great gifts and we enjoyed hanging out.

I loved the brunch choices at Fairways At The Griff Restaurant!

My plate was piled high with an omelet, potatoes, salad, fruit, ham & bacon!

Once I got home I pretty much wanted to relax and get things organized around the house. I have 3 classes to teach today so I needed to be rested!

How was your weekend?

Do you like wearing hats?

Our Mother’s Day celebrations were so laid back and stress free which is exactly what I wanted.

Early Saturday morning we headed up to Rhode Island. Our drive was a breeze and we were there in no time. We spent the day hanging out at Marc’s parents house and we also got to see Marc’s sister, her husband and our niece Natalie.

Ava and Natalie played for hours and hung out. It’s so cute watching them follow each other and chase each other around.  Ava passed out and was asleep by 7:15pm.

She woke us up rather early Sunday morning with her new wake up time of 5:15am. (can’t say I am a fan of that early time on weekends!) I woke up to a lovely breakfast made by Marc.

A delicious Fritatta with spinach, mushrooms & tomato. He clearly knows I love breakfast, and it was a lovely surprise to wake up to.

Shortly after we headed back to Greenwich to spend the day BBQ’n and hanging out with my family.

We sat on the deck and ate some more delicious food.

I made a corn & bean salad, my mom made some eggplant dip and we also had some hummus and crackers.

I think I ate too much of the appetizers because I wasn’t hungry for the grilled food.

I had a small piece of BBQ Grilled Chicken and a scoop of potato salad.

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening just hanging out. I took Ava for a long walk and we soaked up some sun on my parents deck! It was overall a lovely weekend.

This is a flashback picture from this time last year on Mother’s Day. Can you believe how small Ava was??

What did you do for Mother’s Day?

Do you use your grill a lot this time of year?

I figured today is a great day to share some of the things that I have been loving this week.

On Wednesday night Marc and I went to Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant on Greenwich Avenue to celebrate our 4th Wedding Anniversary.

We decided to share a bunch of small plates and everything was amazing. Especially this Brussel Sprout salad

and the grilled calamari with jalapeños and guacamole!

Marc got me beautiful Red Roses for our anniversary and I love that Ava knows how to smell them with her nose. It’s too cute.

Speaking of Ava, her favorite animal right now is ducks and she loves to look at them swim in the brook behind our house. We have been feeding them and they keep coming back. So every day she wants to go out and see them.

The weather has been pretty amazing here lately, I have no complaints about high 70 temps and being able to hang out and play outside with Ava and Cooper.

I am a big popcorn girl, and on the weekends a glass of wine with some healthy homemade popcorn is right up my alley. I stumbled across a bag of this Fit Popcorn when I was shopping the other day so I figured I would give it a try because the ingredients were simple and it was made with Olive Oil. That was very intriguing to me so we tried them the other night and I loved the flavor. It was different but addicting

Now that the temperatures are warmer, I find myself digging into more fruit. We have been eating watermelon almost every day and I am also loving fresh cold apples!! They are so juicy.

I got in some awesome workouts this week and I have been sore in my upper back, glutes and inner thighs. I’d be lying if I said it feels great, because every time I go to squat I feel like I can’t get back up!! I have been loving my Boot Campers as always, but this week we had some fun and we sweat a ton together!

This weekend is Mother’s Day and I can’t wait to celebrate with my family. We will be heading to Rhode Island Saturday morning to spend the day and night with Marc’s Mom and driving home Sunday morning to spend the day BBQ’n and hanging out with my Mom.

I hope you all have a great weekend

What are you doing for Mother’s Day weekend?

What things have you been loving lately?