When I completed Whole30, I had about three and a half weeks before we left for our yoga retreat/vacation to Zoetry Agua Punta Cana and AlSol Tiara Cap Cana. My goal was to have most foods re-introduced by the time we left so that I didn’t have to deal with it on the trip. Before we [...]
travel
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Making the Most of My Leap Day
February 29, 2016 { 6 comments }Happy Leap Day! Some fun facts… Nearly 113 million Americans (35%) nationwide think Leap Day should be a federal holiday. Nearly half the country (46%) would be more likely to get something productive done, rather than relax, during their extra day. More than a quarter (26%) of Americans nationwide admit to thinking that because Leap [...]
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Yoga in Paradise
February 26, 2016 { 9 comments }Good morning from beautiful Zoetry Agua in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic! We arrived on Wednesday for our fourth annual Y2 Yoga retreat and our third trip to Zoetry Agua. This was the location of our very first retreat and we were also here for a friend’s wedding two years ago. It’s good to be back. We [...]
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Florida in Photos
January 26, 2016 { 16 comments }I just arrived back in Charlotte after a nice long weekend visit with my family in Florida. While it was a bit too chilly for much beach and outdoor time, it was a really nice and relaxing visit. Here are the highlights in photos! Beautiful Gulf of Mexico. Never get tired of this sugar white [...]
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Escaping Winter Storm Jonas + Things To Read + Ways to Sweat
January 23, 2016 { 12 comments }Good morning and happy Saturday. Let me first start by saying that I hope all of you being impacted by Winter Storm Jonas are safe and warm. I couldn’t believe the coverage coming out of DC, NY and NJ this morning on The Weather Channel. We definitely had our fair share of winter weather in [...]
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Trader Joe’s Haul + Whole30 Travel Snacks
January 13, 2016 { 18 comments }Good morning. It’s a beautiful but cold morning in North Carolina. My morning started early with 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. clients and now I’m blogging from the back seat of my parent’s car. They drove up to Charlotte from Florida yesterday and spent the night with us. We are driving to West Virginia today for [...]
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Birthday Surprise: 36 Hours in Fort Walton Beach
October 31, 2015 { 8 comments }Happy Halloween! I’m getting ready to head to a costume party (and can’t wait to post a pic of my costume…be on the lookout on Instagram!) but I wanted to share my quick getaway for my mom’s birthday surprise with you first! Wheels up in Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon. The scenery was beautiful thanks to [...]
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Happy Friday from Florida + Recent Eats
October 30, 2015 { 15 comments }Good morning and happy Friday! From Florida! I made a secret trip down on Wednesday night to surprise my mom for her birthday. And my dad and I successfully pulled it off! She had absolutely no clue that I was coming and was so surprised when I walked in the door with my dad. I’ve [...]
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NYC Food + Fitness Girl’s Weekend: Day 3
August 8, 2015 { 6 comments }The final day of our weekend in New York City was my favorite day by far. We set our alarms early again but this time for a run in Central Park. We wanted to beat the heat and get our day started. We took the subway up to Lexington Ave./59th and walked over to the [...]
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NYC Food + Fitness Girl’s Weekend: Day 2
August 5, 2015 { 15 comments }Our alarms were set for 7 a.m. on Saturday morning to make it to Barry’s Bootcamp for the 8 a.m. class. The wonderful thing about where we were staying is that we rarely found ourselves more than a mile from anywhere we wanted to go. Barry’s Bootcamp was an easy half mile walk on Saturday. [...]
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NYC Food + Fitness Girl’s Weekend: Day 1
August 4, 2015 { 25 comments }I really debated on how to best blog about our NYC trip. I was torn between day-by-day recaps v. fitness recaps v. food recaps v. detailed reviews of places, etc. Here’s where I landed…I’m going to first blog daily recaps so if anyone wants to use our itinerary as inspiration, you’ll have an easy resource. [...]
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A Long Weekend in Sunset Beach
July 27, 2015 { 18 comments }I’m back from a quick but lovely visit to Sunset Beach! As I’ve shared before, my close friend (and Core Desire Yoga business partner) Dorie rents a house for two weeks every summer with her family and this was the second summer that I’ve joined them for a few days. It’s a full house of [...]
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New York Is Always A Good Idea
July 14, 2015 { 112 comments }I was having coffee with a friend a couple of weeks ago and sharing with her that I’ve had this crazy urge to plan a trip to New York City lately. I’ve only visited New York once in my life (circa 2008) but it continues to have this crazy strange pull on me. I dream [...]
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Florida Part Two: Surf & Turf + Birthday Dinner
June 16, 2015 { 23 comments }Not going to lie…while I always love and appreciate seeing my parents, visits home have gotten exponentially more fun and relaxing since they moved to the beach. Prior to moving to Florida they lived in Atlanta for a few years and Houston for a few years before that. Both cities were great to visit but [...]
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Florida Part One: A Very Happy Vacation
June 16, 2015 { 41 comments }Hi everyone. Today is my 32nd birthday…and I feel really, really happy. After a long period of time where things felt up in the air and a little unsettled, I feel grounded and perfectly content with exactly where I am right now. It’s a good way to feel. I arrived home around 9:30 last night [...]
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Airport Dining Has Come a Long Way
June 10, 2015 { 17 comments }Greetings from the Atlanta Airport! I left these two chickens in Charlotte this morning (I don’t even think they noticed I was leaving) and Ubered to the airport for a flight to Florida to visit my parents. I woke up at 5:45 a.m. to a text message informing me my Charlotte to Atlanta flight was [...]
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How to Find Fitness & Yoga Retreats
April 10, 2015 { 18 comments }Hi and happiest of Fridays! Let’s talk about fun stuff today…like vacations! I have been so fortunate to go on an annual yoga retreat for the last three years. Through blogging about my experiences with the retreats, I have received many reader questions about how to find yoga and fitness retreats so I thought I’d [...]
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Breaks, Being Present & What is Balance?
February 25, 2015 { 11 comments }Hi. I think this is the longest break I have taken from blogging in…years? And it felt…really good. I went into this trip thinking that I’d blog every day like I normally do but after the first day, I just decided not to. Instead I dedicated myself to my practice, my friends and being present. [...]
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Weekly Workouts: Revisiting the Filthy Fifty
February 22, 2015 { 22 comments }A big thank you to everyone who pre-ordered my book, Ultimate Plank Fitness. I really appreciate all of your kind words and support. Read about how you can pre-order the book in this post. Regarding the giveaway…some of you brought to my attention that it is against FTC regulations to require purchase for a giveaway [...]
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Resort Review: Majestic Colonial Punta Cana
February 11, 2015 { 18 comments }I recently returned home from a four night, five-day girl’s getaway trip to the Dominican Republic. We stayed at the Majestic Colonial, which is an all-inclusive resort that is part of the Majestic Resorts located in Punta Cana. Over the last 10 years or so I have traveled a good bit around the Caribbean and Mexico [...]
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The Journey Home + Weekly Workouts
February 1, 2015 { 21 comments }Hi! I am currently camped out in the Punta Cana airport with two hours left to go before my flight departs. They like to get you here reaaallllyyy early which can be good when the airport is a zoo but today it was smooth sailing. This is the first time I’ve ever had a really smooth airport [...]
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Friday in Paradise
January 30, 2015 { 17 comments }Happy Friday! It’s been a beautiful day here in Punta Cana! We were shocked to wake up this morning and discover it was 9:45. We slept 10+ hours last night. We decided to get moving with a poolside yoga practice led by one of my friends who is also a yoga teacher. It was sweaty, [...]
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Dominican Republic Girl’s Getaway
January 29, 2015 { 35 comments }Hi from the Dominican Republic! I said goodbye to this (growing!) fluff ball on Wednesday morning and headed to the airport to meet up with my girls. It was an easy 3.5 hour direct flight down here. I packed lunch for everyone. PB&Js, grapes, carrots and pretzels. I watched “This Is Where I Leave You” [...]
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Four Things…Random Life, Food, Travel and Entertainment Survey
November 29, 2014 { 17 comments }Happy weekend! I am so distracted by this. These two are completely melting my heart. They have been absolutely inseparable. My friend, fellow blogger and fellow Georgia Bulldog Brittany from A Healthy Slice of Life tagged me to complete this “Four Things” survey that’s making its way around the blog world. Enjoy! :) Four names [...]
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A Change of Scenery + A Smoothie with a Spoon
October 11, 2014 { 11 comments }Happy Saturday from Florida! I flew down late last night to visit with my parents for a few days. My mom recently had surgery and I want to help out with a few things. I also need to spend time seriously focusing on writing my second book without the distractions of training/teaching/my normal routine. And sleep. [...]
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Recent Eats: Beach Edition (so much good food!)
July 30, 2014 { 10 comments }Beach eats have been nothing but good! I have been fed so many delicious things here… The first night we had grilled flank steak, asparagus, salad, roasted potatoes and quiche. What a feast! Another dinner was pasta with sauteed shrimp and scallops with salad and green beans. These sea scallops were so good. We went out [...]
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Sunset Beach
July 29, 2014 { 7 comments }On Saturday after the baby shower I left Charlotte to spend a few days at the beach with a girlfriend and her family. They rent a house in Sunset Beach for two weeks every summer and she invited me to join them for a few days. It’s been so much fun to be a part [...]
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Trip Photos + Golden Love + What I’m Reading (GONE GIRL!!!)
May 7, 2014 { 17 comments }I arrived home yesterday sun-kissed, rested and already a little homesick. I’m so thankful for the long weekend I spent with my parents and I’m already planning a return trip to stay longer this summer. I really want to STOP these six month spans between seeing each other. Family is too important. I really love the [...]
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Friday Night Out at Good Food
May 3, 2014 { 7 comments }Good morning! I’m currently on layover in Atlanta on my way to Florida. My flight left Charlotte this morning at 6 a.m. so that meant a 4 a.m. wake up call. So early but worth it to be at the beach by 9 a.m. I just ate a spinach and feta egg white wrap from [...]
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A Very Special Happy Birthday
April 10, 2014 { 20 comments }I’ve spent the last two days in Georgia celebrating a very special birthday! My Mema’s 84th! Last year I cleared my calendar and drove down to Georgia in the middle of the week to surprise her on her actual birthday so I decided to do the same thing this year! Earlier this week I baked [...]
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An Afternoon in the ALDI Test Kitchen {Giveaway!}
March 10, 2014 { 205 comments }I’ve spent the last month serving as a short-term blog ambassador for ALDI to bring awareness to not only their brand and the unique shopping and saving experience they provide but also their new focus on providing customers with nutritious and affordable food. ALDI recently launched a new organics line, Simply Nature, and introduced organic [...]
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Back to Reality + Off to Chicago {This Week’s Eats}
March 6, 2014 { 24 comments }Back to reality this week but it’s been a short one. I am currently on a plane again but not headed anywhere tropical! I’m on the way to Chicago for a quick overnight. I’m visiting the ALDI headquarters where I’ll spend the afternoon doing activities like switch and save tastings, price challenges, a smoothie challenge, [...]
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My Vacation Food Philosophy
March 4, 2014 { 27 comments }How I eat on vacation can be summed up pretty simply…whatever I want! I consider vacations (and girl’s weekends and quick getaways) to be sacred me time and I allow myself to let loose a little and eat, drink, sleep as I please. This goes back to my childhood. My family always spent two weeks [...]
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So Much Beautiful
February 28, 2014 { 14 comments }Only two days left of this amazing trip so soaking up all the sun, friends, yoga and relaxation that I can. Here is a quick photo recap of what my days have looked like. It’s truly been a trip full of beautiful everything…moments, people, scenery. I have been getting up at 5:30 or 6 most [...]
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Recent Eats: Vacation Edition
February 25, 2014 { 14 comments }My eats over the last few days will definitely be different (and so much more beautiful!) than what you are used to seeing. One of the best things about Zoetry resorts (I’ve now stayed at the one in Punta Cana twice, Puerto Moreles once and there is one more in Cabo that I haven’t visited) [...]
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Arriving and Exhaling
February 22, 2014 { 14 comments }Hola from Mexico! My alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. and I happily bolted out of bed to get ready for an early flight. We have a great airport in Charlotte and I knew there would be lots of good breakfast options. It was nice not to have to choke down breakfast at home at [...]
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This Week’s Eats + Off to Mexico!
February 21, 2014 { 15 comments }Happy Friday! This time tomorrow afternoon I’ll be practicing yoga on an open air pier in Mexico with this view… This trip crept up so fast! I can’t believe that I’ll be spending the next week in Mexico on a yoga retreat with many of my close friends and students from Y2 Yoga. We had [...]
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A (Very) Long (And Eventful) Trip Home
December 3, 2013 { 35 comments }Today has been a whirlwind of catching up. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to attend my friend’s destination wedding in Punta Cana but it made for a lot of travel in five days! Yesterday was a 14 hour comedy of errors in getting home and I have to share it with [...]
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An Unconventional Thanksgiving
November 29, 2013 { 7 comments }I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed family, friends and feasting. If you’re out braving Black Friday I am wishing you warmth and good luck! :) My Thanksgiving was a bit unconventional this year. One of my dearest friends is getting married this weekend in the Dominican Republic. She and her fiance are [...]
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Dinner at La Canoa at Zoetry Parisio de la Bonita
October 4, 2013 { 11 comments }During our day trip to scout Zoetry Parisio de la Bonita for an upcoming yoga retreat, we had the opportunity to experience dinner at their AAA four diamond restaurant La Canoa. The restaurant is named for the canoes that are hung from the ceiling. It features a spacious layout with an open kitchen and ocean [...]
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Weekend Getaway: Arrival in Mexico
September 30, 2013 { 33 comments }Hi everyone! I’m currently on my way back to the US after a long weekend in Mexico. I think this was the longest break I’ve had from blogging (three days) since I started this blog. I knew going into the weekend that the hotel had WiFi in the lobby but not the rooms and I [...]
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Sunshine and Peach Pie
July 27, 2013 { 7 comments }I’m at the beach with my family. I slept for 10 hours last night and it was that really hard, really restful kind of sleep. I am ready to enjoy my Saturday relaxing but here is a quick look at Friday first. Travel was so easy. All of my flights were not just on time [...]
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Getting Away
July 26, 2013 { 19 comments }Surprise, I’m in the Atlanta Airport. I booked a flight at the last minute to visit my parents for the weekend. I haven’t seen them since Christmas and I finally reached the point where I couldn’t wait any longer. I ate the egg and cheese off of an egg and cheese sandwich during the first [...]
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Review of The Sanctuary Hotel on Kiawah Island
July 1, 2013 { 14 comments }I am going to have to break down my Kiawah experience in several different posts. I thought I would start with a review of the (ridiculously amazing once in a lifetime experience) hotel where I spent four glorious nights, The Sanctuary. (Source) The Sanctuary is the hotel on Kiawah Island Resort which is a golf resort on Johns [...]
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Arrival In Chicago: Adobo Grill and Second City
May 5, 2013 { 7 comments }I am currently en route back to Charlotte from a great weekend in Chicago. Highlights included… – Spending time with my wonderful girlfriends – Amazing weather!!! (the weather totally changed and it was high 60s and sunny all weekend – I didn’t even need my boots!) – Really, really delicious meals – Great runs along [...]
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Yoga + Vacation + Friends = Paradise
March 1, 2013 { 25 comments }I arrived back in Charlotte around 7 p.m. tonight but not sad that vacation is over but incredibly grateful for the experience. The past seven days of vacation have been more amazing than I ever could have imagined. I think was more smiling, laughing, loving, happiness, peace and gratitude on this trip than there’s been [...]
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A Day in the Vacation Life…
February 26, 2013 { 20 comments }Good morning and happy Tuesday! Some of you have inquired about exactly what this trip is that I’m on. It’s a yoga retreat through the studio back home where I teach and practice. There are 24 of us who traveled down here together to yoga and vacation. Basically, adult spring break. We practice twice a [...]
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Arrival in Punta Cana
February 24, 2013 { 11 comments }I said goodbye to rainy 37 degree Charlotte yesterday. We were a bit delayed leaving due to the weather but nothing too bad. Pretty scenery from the plane. First cerveza of the trip on our hour longbus ride to the resort. The food at the resort is good. Dinner last night. Drinks after with the [...]
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The Final Countdown
February 23, 2013 { 18 comments }I am so happy to be in a vertical position blogging in bed right now. I was a busy bee today trying to make all the final preparations for my trip tomorrow. I’ve always found it challenging to get things in a good place at work before I leave for vacations. I want for things [...]
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5 Vacation Highlights: 30A, Steak & Cake, Yoga and More!
October 10, 2012 { 25 comments }It was so nice to receive your positive feedback on yesterday’s post. I didn’t intend to write it. I actually sat down to write a normal post recapping what I was doing on vacation and then the words just started flowing. I think that’s exactly why that post worked though. It wasn’t planned but instead [...]
