I know I sound like a cliche when I say this, but how is it already September? Summer, where’d you go?!?!? I keep reminding myself to not get sad about summer ending just yet, the weather is still gorgeous here in NYC and I’m enjoying it as long as I can.
Without further ado, here are my favorites from the past month.
Workouts I’m Loving…
Body Space Fitness.
I’m no stranger to Body Space Fitness and have been taking group fitness classes there on and off for a few years now. They’ve added a slew of additional classes to their schedule so lately I’ve been going weekly. It’s close to my apartment, the workouts are deceptively tough and the instructors are the most awesome, knowledgable and motivating people I’ve met in the fitness industry.
They offer a few different class formats. I personally love Body Camp (excellent for both those new to fitness and fitness addicts like myself), Metabolic Burn and Cardio Strength. I’ve never had a bad instructor, but my personal favorites are Kelvin (also the owner), Dean, Tony and Alyssa (okay, I’ve never taken her BSF class because she just started teaching there BUT she teaches a kick ass class at Uplift and I know will be awesome at BSF too!)
If you’ve never been, I highly highly recommend checking them out!
Foods I’m Loving…
the new(-ish) Mulberry and Vine in NoMad
NoMad is turning into quite the fitness and healthy eating hub. I had a business meeting with my Holistic Happening partner in crime, Leslie, over a delicious Mulberry and Vine meal at their new location on 27th street. I used to love going to the Tribeca location when I had to pick something up at my old boss’ apartment nearby.
The turkey chili is possibly my favorite thing, ever. Seriously, I could eat the turkey chili every day and still not get sick of it.
Sweetgreen, Astor Place
I audibly gasped when I saw Sweetgreen was opening on Astor Place, aka a 5 minute walk away from my apartment. I have a strong feeling this new SG is going to be one of my new go-to spots when I’m feeling too lazy to make lunch or dinner.
My personal fave is the guacamole greens. SO good.
What I Read…
Shoutout to the library!
Before I delve into my reads from the past month (and I book I forgot to mention last month…) I wanted to give a shout out to libraries everywhere… and not just ‘cuz my mama is a librarian.
As much as I love bookstores (I no joke go to Barnes & Noble and the Strand on a weekly basis just to walk around) buying new books all the time adds up. I don’t have the money nor space for that!
Also I don’t “do” e-readers. One, because my mom refused to buy me one when I asked as a birthday/ college graduation gift and Two, I still love the tactile feeling of holding a real book in my hands and turning the pages.
So, I’ve been hitting up the library a bunch this month! I’m super lazy and have been pre-requesting the books I want to pick up so they are waiting for me when I arrive. I forgot just how magical it is that there’s this place where you can get books FOR FREE. So this is my PSA to get a library card if you don’t already have one!
The Assistants by Camille Perri
I forgot to include this in my June + July round-up. Whoops! The Assistants follows a group of underpaid assistants at a mega media company and how they find a sneaky way to pilfer some extra money from the company without anyone realizing.
It was a fun, fast read with interesting characters and a fair amount of “girl power” undertones about females rising to the top in major corporations. Worth checking out.
The Balance Project by Susan Orman Schnall
I went back and forth on whether I liked this book or just tolerated it, and ended up really enjoying it in the end. The idea for this book came about when the author started interviewing women in various corporations to discuss whether or not it was possibly to have it all in regards to career and family.
This novel follows powerhouse Katherine who literally wrote the book about leading a balanced life, and her assistant Lucy. Behind the scenes it becomes apparent that things are not so balanced.
As a female who hopes to some day (soon!) fully launch my own company, this book raised some interesting questions about whether or not that balance is even humanly possible.
Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Okay, embarrassing story time. I always thought Girl on the Train had something to do with The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo. Y’know, they both have girl in the title!?
ANYWAYS… after seeing a trailer for the upcoming Girl on the Train movie, I realized my stupidity AND became super intrigued with this book. I also had to ask my friend if it would terrify the crap out of me because I don’t do well with scary stories.
I’m almost done and will probably finish the book in between when I finish editing this post and when it goes live 12 hours later. If you liked Gone Girl, this will be right up your alley. There’s so many creepy twists and turns… all while being a seriously captivating story. Highly recommend checking it out! And maybe not reading while you’re home alone because it’s creepy at times.
Some Fun Highlights…
Holistic Happening in Washington Square Park
Holistic Happening is an idea I came up with when I became friendly with health coach, Leslie. The concept it to make wellness approachable and connect like minded people through interactive events. August’s event was yoga taught by yours truly followed by dinner curated and cooked by Leslie, all in Washington Square Park.
It was a seriously perfect evening for yoga and a picnic and got me SO excited for our upcoming fall events. Stay tuned for all those deets!
Here’s a full recap of our first event from July!
Celebrating 5 Years with Jeremy
I didn’t end up writing a big ole sappy post (although I do have some ideas for content focused on long-distance relationships and, like, not driving your boyfriend crazy while marathon training…) BUT Jeremy and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 20th. I’ll be frank, I was SO confused about what to gift, a fancy wristwatch and something he’ll find fun like NRL merchandise. In the end, I decided on something else (it’s a secret!). I just can’t believe it’s been so long. 5 years is a LONG time! He still likes me, even though I was a less than pleasant person this past year when I was training for the NYC marathon, and then studying for the GMAT. He’s my rock and has been a constant during an otherwise crazy 5 years.
To celebrate we had an amazing dinner at Striphouse in the Village. He loved their steak and I had an amazing tuna dish that was perfectly cooked.
I’m grateful to have this guy around through it all. He’s also a pretty great instagram husband and has photographed many, many outfits for this blog… So thanks, Jeremy!
Vacation
And of course going to LA on vacation was a huge highlight, but you’ve already heard TONS about that 🙂
I just went to the library over my lunch break today for the first time in ages and I was thinking the very same thing… yay free books!
So magical! Considering my mom is a librarian I don’t know why I hadn’t been doing this previously