July 31, 2015

Friday Favs

July 31, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

Hi guys! Happy Friday to you! I hope you all had a fantastic week. I am in an AWESOME mood because my cousin, Jenn, had her sweet baby girl, Julia, yesterday. I know that Jenn and Brett are going to be incredible parents, Julia is one blessed little girl. I am heading in to meet her this morning :)!

Here are some of my favs of the week!

{Cotton candy sky over the harbor}

{M St. Beach sans meatheads}

{My love for acai bowls is growing stronger by the day.}

{I grew up visiting my Nana on Rocky Nook... every single summer for my entire life. These oysters were from Rocky Nook and they were delectable!}

{Date night selfie. Rob's not impressed.}

Have a wonderful weekend! Hope it's fab! xo

July 29, 2015

Thirst Juice Co. Review (so, so good)

July 29, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

So if you've been following my Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter accounts... you may have noticed that I had QUITE the experience last week at Thirst Juice Co. in downtown. I recently met the co-owner, Heather Stevenson, at a few of the NBGNO events and she invited me in for a tour. Little did Heather know that I had been feeling stressed and a bit run down before I arrived at Thirst on Thursday. I must say, I left there feeling revitalized and excited about what I had just learned.

Rob met me there after work on Thursday. He walked... I drove from work and to my delight... there was valet right next door... score!

The first thing I noticed was the boxes of fresh fruits and veggies on the side counter. Pretty cool, huh?

To get things started, we both tried a couple of juices. We went with the Buddhabeet and the Field of Greens. Both were delightful, but, we each liked the Field of Greens a little better... the jalapeño kick is a great touch!

As we were standing by the counter, we asked Heather about 1 million questions. Rob was much more inquisitive than I thought he'd ever be... it was hilarious and a lot of fun. Heather told us how she and her husband are both lawyers and were living in NYC. They decided that they really wanted to open up a restaurant so they looked into a few options and landed on the decision to open a juice bar. Heather explained that they had basically lived off of smoothies and juices while training for an ultra marathon and it really helped with recovery, energy, etc. (Yes, they are lawyers and ultra-marathoners... smart AND fit folks!) Heather has since dived head first into learning more about juices, smoothies, acai, wheatgrass, and vegan/vegetarian diets. She has been taking courses with a renowned expert in the field and let me tell you... she is extremely well-versed. It's nice to learn that the person behind the business truly understands the product and its benefits.

Next up, we tried a wheat grass shot! I had never had one before and was pretty pumped to try it. (Yes, I was excited to drink juice that's made from grass). Let me explain...

Wheat grass is fully loaded with anti-oxidants and can have very good detoxifying and energizing effects on the body. I'm not kidding that both Rob and I started to feel a bit energized after we drank it. I think we were both a little stunned. I now seriously want one on a weekly basis haha.

And then... drumroll please... it was time for the acai bowl. Actually, two acai bowls. We tried both the coconut bowl and the peanut butter bowl. Both were scrumptious. Rob ended up eating most of my coconut bowl... I couldn't stop him... the man is now hooked on acai. Acai berries are cultivated in South America. In these parts, we can only get frozen packs in order to consume it. These mighty berries are also loaded with anti-oxidants, fiber, and heart healthy fats... truly a superfood (and so, so tasty!)

Last but not least, we tried the BAD MONKEY! smoothie. Oh em gee, it was delightful. Here are the ingredients: Banana, almond butter, cacao nibs, cacao powder, dates, coconut milk, ice. Just perfection.

All in all, our experience was truly awesome. We even found ourselves telling our friends about it over the weekend and started planning our next trip to get wheat grass shots and the coconut acai bowl!

I want to send a BIG THANKS out to Heather for giving us this experience. It was a nice mix-up to a normal "Thursday Night". Plus, it really helped bring my energy back up and get me ready for the weekend. If you stop by soon, tell Heather I said hi! Everything is GREAT!

QUESTIONS:
Have you ever had an acai bowl?
Have you ever had a wheat grass shot?
Do you love smoothies?

July 27, 2015

NBGNO RECAP!

July 27, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

Hi everyone! How was your weekend?! I hope it was fabulous!

I'm so excited to share another NBGNO recap with you all! As you may know, last week I emceed the event at the New Balance store on Boylston. This event's theme was "Surf Ready" with a major focus on trying something new!

To recap... New Balance brings "NBGNO" to major cities to provide a "happier kind of hour". The events always have a new and exciting workout such as the Surfset workout we did last week; plus, a 3.5-4 mile run on the Charles. Look at all of these awesome women... can you feel the excitement? If you're interested in looking back at past events... see the links below:
First
Second (Host)
Third (Co-Host)
Fourth
Fifth

I greeted the gals as they got situated with Essentia waters and the secret-recipe granola bars. I was so excited to see some old friends from College, new friends from past events, my group of besties that attend most events, and of course my blogger girlfriends that I simply adore.

Then, it was time to workout! The runners took off and the surfers jogged down to the Esplanade.

We were greeted by the bubbly, vivacious, and might I add STRONG, Stefanie Lograsso. Stefanie is a master trainer in Surfset (in case that wasn't completely obvious). Look at her - she's a powerhouse! This workout was admittedly tougher than I thought it would be and I loved it!

I had expected there to be a lot of core work on the surfboards. However, I was not expecting the amount of legs that we did. Squats, lunges, squat jumps, power troopers, 180 squat jumps - I was definitely sore the next day! (Check out Janet and Stephanie in the above pic! Killin' it!)

Athena and I here... hands up!

Then, it was time to run back to the store for more chatting, snacks, cocktails, and mocktails.

Once we had a little sustenance and hydration... I got back on the podium to talk about the workouts that we just completed. For a lot of the girls... Surfset was a new workout. For some, the run was new to them. I wanted to focus my chat on that fact that trying something new can change your path to health. I explained that every single time I tried a new challenge in my life, it changed me and molded me into the person I am today. Teaching group exercise, running half marathons, lifting weights, and of course hitting heavy bags has made me a healthier, fitter, stronger person. I have learned something from each of these experiences. These physical experiences, these challenges that we dive into will TRANSLATE into the other important parts of your life.

I asked the women around me to provide examples of times that they tried something new and how it changed them. One woman started running and she lost 60 POUNDS. One woman started running and started realizing how much she loved it and how it made her FEEL (happy). One woman tried lifting and realized how STRONG she really is...
These are just a few of the stories. It's pretty powerful.

As the night progressed, we shared stores, snacked some more and caught up on life. It was so NICE TO SEE MICHELLE. Michelle is my College bestie. We taught pretty much every single group exercise class at Bryant. 2.5 hours a day, every day. :) Janet, you may recognize from joining me at most of these events... I have THE BEST friends in the world.

Then, I had time to catch up with these two lovely ladies (Athena on the left and Stephanie on the right). I am so proud to be a part of the Boston Blogger network. These ladies share some of the most real and down to earth information you'll see on the internet. This is a fact.

I actually want to share what Athena posted today on her blog, Fitness & Feta. She wrote a very heartfelt letter to a woman that attended last week's NBGNO. The post titled, "A letter to the girl who said she was too fat to run" is honest and worth reading... no matter what girl you are. As women, we have all had moments (sometimes too many) where we put ourselves down. This needs to stop. Any effort you make to better your health is something that should make you proud. To add to that, maybe try something new... you never know how strong you may be.

I will end with that tonight. These NBGNO events are more than just workouts and socializing. They bring women together. They encourage lifting each other up and being supportive instead of tearing each other down. I hope to see you at the next one.

*Photo cred: New Balance via https://www.nbgirlsnightout.com/