Heyyyyy everyone! I'm back, I'm back! As many of you know, Rob and I took a trip to St. Thomas last week so besides one scheduled post... I have been a bit MIA! We had an amazing trip and I truly believe it's important to take a break from blogging, social media, and phones every once in a while. Sometimes it takes a little disconnecting to regain balance. This post will be a mash up of "Friday Favs" and "Weekend Sunshine" -- because really, the week had a thousand favorite moments and a lot of relaxing sunshine! Here's how it all went:

I mean..... do I even need words for the above photo?

So, first things first... major, major flight delays and re-routing. We actually missed a full day. Originally, we were going to arrive at Noon - we didn't end up getting to the hotel until 10:30pm. It was ok though - we made the best of it - had fruity cocktails in the Miami airport and slurped down Ketel 'n Sodas as soon as we got to the hotel. Then, we were given a tour of the entire resort via golf cart. It was awesome and we were honestly just so happy to finally be there. (a few days later - we extended our trip into Sunday)

Rob and I would shoot hoops and hit the gym every morning. (I mean Rob shot hoops while I tried my best to shoot hoops and work on my layup. Good thing I had a patient coach)

Then... beach, swim up bar, make friends with everyone, rinse-repeat.

Fun dinners, drinks, and entertainment!

On Saturday, we took a ferry over to St. John/Trunk Bay after a million of you told us it was a MUST SEE. Well, THANKS, because wow - it was amazing.

MCM {insert heart eyes emoji}

Later that night, we had dinner with our new friends Chip & Katie. It was a perfect day and I'm so glad we decided to stay so that we could experience it. Back to reality now! We have a lot to look forward to this summer and I'm so looking forward to all of it! Keep up with the hashtag #fff_travels to see where we end up next.

I hope you all had a great week! xo

Questions!
WHERE DID YOU GO ON YOUR LAST VACATION?!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TROPICAL ISLAND/BEACH RESORT?
DO YOU HAVE ANY VACAS PLANNED?

I'm back, I'm back! I feel like I don't know where to begin tonight. I just came back from a week away in Punta Cana with seven of my closest friends. I had planned on writing a 'vacation prep' post before I left, but, admittedly after my Boston posts the week prior, I didn't have any creative juices left in my system to put anything interesting to paper/laptop. Safe to say, I really needed a vacation.

Here's what I'll tell you about vacation. So many health and fitness magazines preach about 'ways to stay slim on vacation'. Friends ask me if I work out or eat healthy, etc. etc.

Now, as much as I love a solid health tip... my goal is to RELAX on vacation and that means... doing whatever I damn well please. Do I work out? Yes, because it makes me feel good in the morning. Do I eat healthy? Eh, no and yes. What I can tell you, however, is that I start to crave healthy food a few days in... guess that's just my nature. My 'health advice' for vacation goers is this... do what makes you feel good... relax, get a massage, drink pina coladas, and have lots of laughs with your friends. Stress is the cause of countless health problems. Escape, turn off the news, social media, and your work email... just be happy. Don't even dare try and follow some strict fitness plan because you want to keep up with your six pack... drink a six pack and park yourself on a lounge chair. What you'll usually find is... you didn't gain any weight. And, if you do and you're a healthy person anyway, you'll lose it the first week you get back. Yup, I said it.

This is how a typical day usually went: Gym with Rachael, Bfast, Shower, Suntan Lotion, Lounge Chair, Pina Colada, Lounge Chair, Mama Juana, Lounge Chair, Book, Swim, Lounge Chair, Swim, Lounge Chair, Cheez Wiz & Tequila (yes, cheez wiz), more Tequila, Shower, Dinner, Drinks, Drinks, Bed.

Now, onto part 2 of this post. I signed up for a half marathon two days before I left for Punta Cana. The Boston Run to Remember honors law enforcement officials who have lost their lives in the line of duty. In addition to that, I am raising money for the Alzheimer Association of MA/NH. My full story is here: http://bit.ly/18wUgPH. I won't repeat myself, so I will just say that I felt physically compelled to sign up for this race and I am so glad I did. I'll post about my progress and running tips over the next few weeks. (and throw in some sweet pics of the city - below is a tulip garden in the North End)