Fours

Four names that people call me other than my real name:
Jule/Jules
Joz
Julie Bug
Juelz (like Juelz Santana...LOL)

Four jobs I’ve had:
Gymnastics coach
Cashier at Steve & Barry's
"Recreation Assistant" AKA Towel Folder at Northeastern gyms
Development & Communications Manager (right now!)

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:
Moulin Rouge

Fight Club

Love Actually

Hook

Four books I’d recommend:
I Know This Much is True

Me Before You

The World According to Garp

MaddAddam Trilogy (Technically three books...)

Four places I’ve lived:
Massapequa, NY

Back Bay in Boston, MA

South Boston, MA

Cape Town, South Africa (for 6 months)

Four places I’ve visited:
Botswana

Italy

Iceland

Israel

Four places I’d rather be right now:
Lounging on the beach
At the airport waiting to board a flight for a fun vacation
Hanging out with friends anywhere
Sitting on my back deck reading a book

Four things I prefer not to eat:
Chicken :-(
Asparagus
Canned fruit/vegetables (unless it's cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving)
Grapefruit

Four of my favorite foods:

Pickles

Watermelon

French fries

Shell fish (in general!)

Four TV shows I watch:
Game of Thrones

The Walking Dead
Modern Family

The Amazing Race

Four things I’m looking forward to this year:
New Orleans in a few weeks

My sister's wedding in July

Figuring out a West Coast trip for the fall

Running some 5ks

Four things I’m always saying:
I miss you (I live far away from a lot of people)

Aw (I find a lot of things to be cute)

Love you (nearly every time I get off the phone with anyone)

Thank you (lots to be grateful for, always)

Four favorite songs:

"The Trapeze Swinger" - Iron & Wine

"You Get What You Give" - New Radicals

"Fireworks" - Animal Collective

"You Make My Dreams Come True" - Hall & Oates

Four items on your wish list:

This $600 Vitamix

A trip to Japan

New sneakers

A boxer puppy

My First Stitch Fix!

I've been hating on my wardrobe lately. It just doesn't seem "grown up" which isn't surprising since most of my clothing comes from Old Navy and Target...

In any case, last month I decided to finally try Stitch Fix! From their website: Stitch Fix is the first fashion retailer to blend expert styling, proprietary technology and unique product to deliver a shopping experience that is truly personalized for you. Simply fill out the Stitch Fix Style Profile and our personal stylists will handpick a selection of five clothing items and accessories unique to your taste, budget and lifestyle. You can buy what you like and return the rest!

When you sign up you answer a bunch of questions about your style, pricing preference, and generally what you're looking for. I also connected my Pinterest board and went to work filling it with feminine styles and bright fun colors (I thought I didn't have a personal style, buuut, I definitely do).

I set my delivery date for May 21, and when the package came it felt like Christmas! Look at all the pretty colors and patterns!

Here's what I got:

Jarred Lace Detail Cap-Sleeve Blouse:

Kept! I LOVE this top and already wore it! Such a pretty color and I love love love the details on top.

Avah Chevron Print Dolman Sleeve Top:

Sent back. This shirt was really comfy and I liked the color, but it was pretty expensive for a basic top.

Priya Sequin Detail Top

Sadly, sent back. I really wanted to like this one. I loved it when I pulled it out of the box -- the front is light pink and the back is grey cotton. The sequin details in the front just gorgeous. Unfortunately I just didn't love how it looked on me. I wish it was a tiny bit longer.

Kam Dress

This was a tough one and I debated it until the last second. I am obsessed with the pattern and colors on this dress. Seriously SO pretty. However the material was a little heavy (it reminded me of a wet suit) and it "cupcaked" out at my waist a little too much for my liking. In the end, I sent it back.

Hudson Dress:

I loved how this dress looked in the picture, but not so much how it looked on me. Sent back.

Overall I'm very happy with Stich Fix, despite only keeping one item. I think my stylist totally knew what I was looking for and delivered. Sadly, not everything is going to fit how you want it to.

At least I get to keep wearing that pretty blue shirt!!

Reset

My mind has been all over the place lately. I've been distracted in everything I do, and it's time for a physical and mental reset. I read this great post on Reddit this morning about how to improve your life today with four simple rules:

Rule #1. Never have a "zero" day: A zero day is when you don't do a single thing towards a dream or goal or whatever it is you want for your life. This doesn't mean you have to do something huge every day. If your goal is to get fit, it could be doing just one single push up before going to bed. For me, I have to stop this consistent string of zero days I've been having.

Rule #2. Be mindful of the "three yous" - the past you, the present you, and the future you. Be grateful to the past you for the positive things you've done and do favors in the present for the future you. The cycle of doing something for someone else (future you) and thanking someone for the good in your life (past you) is the key to building gratitude and productivity in the present.

Rule #3. Forgive yourself, and move on. This one is a no brainer, but sometimes it's the toughest thing to do.

Rule #4. Increase exercise and reading. I've touted the benefits of exercise and reading for years, but I haven't been practicing it much lately, particularly the exercise part. I've been spending so much of my time on the dang computer mindlessly scrolling through social media. It has to stop.

So I've made some goals for myself:

1. Complete Couch to 5K. I think I'm finally over the worst of my injuries (despite having some ongoing, lingering neck pain...ugh) so I'd really like to start running again. Today I completed week one, workout one, and I really want to finish it through. I'd love to do some 5ks this fall.

2. Read in bed vs. watch TV before going to sleep at least half the nights of the week.

3. Sign out of facebook, twitter, etc. each time so I'm less likely to go on. This shit is nothing but a fake jealousy fueler and I can't take it anymore.

4. Return to yoga. I stopped going to yoga when I hurt my neck and then had trouble getting back into the swing of it. Yoga was such a wonderful mental release for me and I would really like to start going again at least once a week.

5. Some people won't love you no matter what you do. Some people won't stop loving you know matter what you do. Go where the love is. 

Liz's Bridal Shower

I went home to New York last weekend for Liz's bridal shower. This was the last real event before the big day -- just about a month and a half to go!

Before I get to the shower, I need to post this picture of the amazing sandwich I had in NY. Why can't I transplant a few NY delis to Boston??

Is there anything better than an egg everything bagel?

Planning for the shower started a while back. We decided to have it out in Bay Shore at Fatfish Wine Bar & Bistro and it turned out to be the perfect spot! I sent out these adorable invitations to everyone and included a recipe card for people to fill out as a special gift to Liz.

The weather on the morning of the shower was really bad. It was down pouring and it didn't look good for the rest of the day. Somehow, just as the party started the sun came out and we wound up with a beautiful day!

The shower was a bit of a pinterest overload. I have a pretty crafty family and my cousin and sister knocked it out of the park helping with decorations and gifts from the bridesmaids. And now, time for tons of pictures!

Tables all set up

My little sister made that sign!

"Activities table"

Date night jar -- everyone filled out a date night on a popsicle stick

Marriage advice book (all the guests filled out a card)

Do you spy the Santa Claus in the bottom right?

Homemade chocolate favors

Honeymoon gift basket from the bridesmaids

Wedding day gift basket from the bridesmaids

Amazing "wine for firsts" basket from the bridesmaids

With my little Laura

All the guests!

This was a lesson in public speaking for me. I once again learned my voice is not happy to project.

"The Dating Game" -- I taped Liz's fiancee Marvin answering a bunch of questions, which Liz had to then answer herself. Any questions right, she gets a scratch ticket! Any wrong, she has to chew a piece of bubble gum (she was a BAD SPORT!)

Sisters!

Bridesmaids, minus 3!

Strange traditions

There are so many weird traditions around bridal showers. The strangest being that you cannot use a knife/scissors to open any gifts. And apparently guests are not supposed to give knives either. We all almost injured ourselves opening the boxes up with forks.

And now...it's almost time for the wedding!

I'll Be Your Tennessee Lamb

So last weekend I went to Nashville! This trip was one of the most spontaneous things I've ever done. I booked my plane ticket about a week before leaving and had no plans or expectations! In case you happened to read my last post before it was deleted, I met up with a friend of a friend who was traveling and stopping in Nashville. I was a little worried about spending so much time with someone I barely knew, but figured it couldn't be all that bad (I was right). For the purposes of the post, I'll continue to call him Bobby.

I booked a flight for super early on Saturday morning. Even though I booked the flight so late I was given priority access and was the first one on the plane! So weird. I had a quick stopover in Charlotte, NC, and then I was on my way to Nashville!

I arrived a bit before Bobby, so I grabbed a shuttle to the hotel. It was located right in midtown and had a nice little view of Centennial Park and the Parthenon. Did you know Nashville is called the "Athens of the South?" Me neither.

When Bobby arrived we headed downtown to grab some food and get the weekend going! First stop: Jack's Bar-B-Que. After much deliberating I ordered the beef brisket with mac n' cheese and potato salad. All the food came with cornbread and I had fun mixing about 10 different sauces to put on my brisket.

After lunch we walked around and then went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was pretty cool and the layout reminded me a lot of the Newseum in DC.

Elvis' car made of crushed diamonds!

Elvis' gold piano

After the museum it was time for some beer and music! Downtown Nashville is so cool. Every single bar has live music and there aren't any covers. I could spend days just going from bar to bar and watching the performances. So amazing!

Not sure what's up with my super awkward arm...

A few hours in and I was drunk and hungry. It was time for dinner! The airport shuttle driver told me we HAD to go to Hattie B's Hot Chicken, so we joined the line of 50+ people waiting outside and enjoyed the warm Nashville air and company. Everyone in Nashville was so friendly and loved to chat. I had such a great time meeting people from the area and all over the country!

After about an hour and a half we finally had our food. It was SO worth the wait. Hattie B's also had tons of local beer on tap. I had been drinking for hours already so I managed to only have one while we ate (in addition to a huge cup of sweet tea).

My plate: spicy chicken tenders, fries, cole slaw, and EXTRA PICKLES FOR 25 CENTS!

All of our fried food...I had to try his pimento bacon mac n' cheese (it was great..obviously)

Banana pudding for dessert. I had one bite and almost threw up at the table from being so full. Real attractive!

The next day we were up and somehow ready to eat again. I really wanted to go to Pancake Pantry but there was an enormous line and it was Mother's Day, so we went down the street to a little diner called J. Christophers. I was on a Southern food kick so I ordered eggs with bacon, cheese grits and a biscuit.

Next stop after breakfast was a tour of the famous Ryman Auditorium, former home of the Grand Ole Opry (a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, which has presented the biggest stars of the genre). The majority of the Johnny Cash show was filmed at the Ryman, which is pretty cool because I love him!

After the tour we headed back downtown for some more drinking and music listening (I drank A LOT of beer on this trip).

Boots lining the wall of a bar

My favorite live band!

On the plane over to Nashville I sat next to a girl my age who is from the area. We totally hit it off and talked the whole plane ride. She told me if Bobby didn't show up I was welcome to stay at her house for the weekend. Ha! We didn't get to meet up over the weekend but she did give me lots of recommendations. One must do was to go to the Bluebird Cafe. The Cafe is a 90-seat music club that opened in 1982 and is famous for intimate, acoustic shows. Some performers are established singer/songwriters, and others perform hit songs written by other artists. We couldn't buy tickets ahead of time so we went over about 45 minutes early and hoped for the best. We arrived to a super long line, but luckily we made it inside right before the cutoff!! There is no cover but there is a $7 food and drink minimum per person. I kept my beer drinking going and ordered this great beer from Georgia.

The space really was intimate! We were just a few rows back from the band, Two Story Road, a husband-wife duo with some amazing credentials. She has sung backup for Carrie Underwood for many years, and he toured with Gretchen Wilson, Hunter Hayes, Kenny Chesney, etc. Now they have started their own band and I have a feeling we'll be hearing them on the radio! They played a mixture of covers and original songs and were AMAZING. Their performance of the Civil Wars' "Poison & Wine" actually brought me to tears, and now I've been listening to the song nonstop.

The shows are only an hour at The Bluebird, but it is so worth the wait. If you are going to Nashville I would see if there's a show you can buy tickets for ahead of time (I think they release them 1 week in advance and they sell out almost immediately). Otherwise, get there about an hour before and be prepared to wait for a great show!

After the Bluebird we took a short drive down Music Row -- I was not impressed, but maybe would have been if I was in the music business? -- and then decided to spend the night out in Midtown. We did a little bar hopping, then settled at Two Bits. I wish this bar was in Boston!! Great food, tons of local beer options, outdoor seating, and lots of board games to play! I got my ass kicked a few times in Connect 4 but continue to be a Scrabble Master. Can't win 'em all.

No bitchin or whinin!

Adorable women's bathroom sign at Two Bits

I ended up devouring a burger at some point. This is what multiple IPAs does to you.

The next morning Bobby had to head out early so I had the day to myself. I skipped breakfast, took a walk around Centennial Park, and visited the Parthenon. So weird.

Am I in Greece or Nashville??

I walked by this little BBQ place that reminded me so much of Freddie's from House of Cards. I was tempted to stop in but I already had lunch plans I was firm on getting to.

I grabbed an Uber (Uber is HUGE in Nashville. Again, who knew?) and took it to the Peg Leg Porker for my last BBQ meal in Tennessee. I got pulled pork with french fries and mac n' cheese. So freakin' amazing.

Giant fry (Mr. Attitude)!

I was one of only two women in the whole place. Weird.

I spent the rest of the day exploring some other parts of Nashville, drinking beers, and listening to more live music. It was a great way to wrap up the weekend before heading to the airport for my flight home.

Taps on taps

Cumberland River

Keeping with tradition...a chipwich to finish off a vacation!

And that wraps up my spontaneous Nashville weekend! What a great little getaway.