Happy Halloween!

 

Wishing everyone a happy, safe, fun Halloween!

Definitely looking forward to seeing the crazy and creative costumes tonight. 

On another note, is it ever to early to have chocolate? 

I'm thinking "no"... at least for today.

Those 'Take-5' bars are my weakness right now.

xo Belle

OMg

"Ommmmm." silence. "Ommmmm." silence. "Ommmmm."
That last one's hum vibrated through the room.
It was hot. We were sardines in the square room. Mat, 4 inches, mat, 4 inches..."...."....wall.
We were just a few minutes in. I was already struggling.

I was at hot yoga with Cait and Mom.
It wasn't my first hot-class and by no means was it my first yoga session.
But, nonetheless, I was struggling.
For whatever reason, I just can not get into it. No matter how hard I try.
Is it a mind over matter thing that I just can't get past? -unable to stop my mind from wandering; unable to focus on my breath as I should be doing?

I've been to many many classes- some have definitely been better than others, but 90% of the time, I find myself more frustrated than peaceful, and more uncomfortable than relaxed. 

Om.

My mantra is often more along the lines of:
"Ommmmmggggg." "Ommmmmggggg." "Ommmmmggggg."

My thoughts, when actually thinking about yoga/what's going on at present (as opposed to wandering off) are often:

"Downward dog again? Seriously? Again? Can I just kill my shoulders now?"

"Headstand? Pshhh, yeah. I'll be right here in child's pose."

"Ugh, why did I put my mat next to this guy. Deodorant is necessary, people!"

"How many people have used this _____________ (block/mat/blanket/etc)?"

"Who the hell thought garlic was a good idea last night?"

"I don't think my hair can get any more frizzy."

"How has it only been 20 minutes?"

"You want me to do what? Is that physically possible?

"Warrior 1, Warrior 2, War -e- errrrr, how bout no more"

"Owww."

I could go on and on...

Seriously, though, what the heck!?
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother going. But then again, I guess that those thoughts make an even stronger case on why I should be going. Being in the present more; challenging myself physically and mentally; focusing my thoughts - these apparently are all things I need to work on.

So I will continue to go. And struggle. And hate on all things downward dog-ish.
And hopefully I'll improve. And start to enjoy it. And think a little less and relax a little more.
The major goal? - dropping that "g" in my om mantra.*

And having my experience go more like this:

As opposed to this:

Have you done yoga? - What are your thoughts?

xo Belle

*Slight confession: I never actually chant the "om." Maybe that's part of my problem!

Attitude - Monday's Motivation

My Monday Motivation.

xo Belle

Head of the Charles

Yesterday was the first day of the 'Head of the Charles Regatta.' Since 1964, every year come October, the rowing race is held on Boston's Charles River. It's the largest two-day boat race in the world- with over 9,000 rowers, about 1,900 boats and over 300,000 spectators partaking in the weekend's sport and festivities.

With a good view, merchandise and food tents, and good company around, it's a great way to enjoy the last of the crisp fall weather outside. Mom and I thought so at least!

 

Our hot drinks helped with the brisk weather.
Although you'd think there would be plenty of body heat with crowds like these:

We watched on the banks as the boats rowed by, along with a car?

And then headed over to one of the bridges for a better view.

Although it wasn't the sunniest of days, it was still a great spot with nice scenery all around.

Now I have to admit, as much as I wish I could say I knew what team was in the lead, who won each event, who was penalized etc. I actually have no idea. With the race spanning 3 miles of the river and events lasting quite a while; I'm always curious how anyone (including the judges!) can keep it all straight.

After a couple hours on the river, we headed over to Harvard Square for a drink and a little shopping escapade.

What were you up to this weekend?

xo Belle

Forever Friends and Mr. Humphries

Went out to dinner and drinks last night with some of my favorite people: Cait, Becca, and Meg.
It had been FOREVER since we all were together and it was so much fun catch-up with each other.

I love having friends who although you may not see for a while, you always pick up right where you left off - as if no time has passed. I call them "forever friends" - the ones you've known for so long, know so well, and know that no matter what you'll stay in touch.

We went to NEBO for carbs and wine. Too busy chatting and filling one another in on what we were up to, I sadly don't have any pictures. But from the various salads, pastas and pizzas we had, my favorite/recommendation would be the Prosciutto E Fichi pizza: prosciutto di parma, fig jam, gorgonzola and mozzarella cheeses.

It was super crowded and definitely the spot to be that night. As we finished up with our meal, we couldn't help but notice the extremely tall guy towering over everyone else in the busy restaurant. With a quick glance at his profile, we knew exactly who it was. No need to have the big "K" on his hat for a clue. It was Mr. Ex-Kardashian Humphries.

And apparently he wanted our table.

So much so that the hostess came over and made a deal with the four of us. We give Kris our table and he'll take a picture with us.
Slightly amused, and finished with our meal anyways, we agreed.
So here is my one picture from the night:

It was such a fun night and our little "celebrity" moment just added to it.
Forever friends + food & drink + serendipitous moments = Friday night done right.

What were you up to last night?
xo Belle

How Do You Operate?

Ever wondered why you operate they way you do? Are your more logical and rational? More creative and curious? Perhaps a little bit of both?
I took this quick little quiz I stumbled across. Who knows if its at all correct or accurate, but it was fun nonetheless.

So which are you... right? left? equal?

xo Belle

Guac n' Roll

Some Mondays just call for margaritas. With my Mom and sister in agreement, we all headed to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants - Rosa Mexicano.

We first stumbled upon this restaurant when we were in NYC. Loving their funky interior, great atmosphere, and even greater food and drinks; we were bummed we would only get to enjoy it when visiting the city. As luck would have it though, they opened up a location in Boston not too long after!

Located right next to the Seaport hotel, it's a great spot to meet up over drinks and/or dinner.
What's great too is they have complimentary valet parking - definitely an added bonus... especially if, like us, you and your party all are coming from different places and had to travel separately.

After saying our "hellos," we ordered our drinks and settled into our menus.
It was quickly decided on that table-side guacamole was a must. And a few minutes later, it was being whipped up right in front of us.

  

 

 Guac and a margarita on the rocks with salt - I think I could live off the stuff.

We were guac n' rollin'...

 

and Mom was getting all fancy with her frozen pomegranate margarita.

And although we most certainly could have made a meal off of the chips and dip alone, the menu options sounded  too delicious to  pass on. 

Among our selections, we had:

 Ceviche tacos. Nice and light!

Rolled crispy chicken tacos. Very tasty!

Grilled filet mignon, chorizo sausage, tomatoes and serrano

peppers, served over herbed brown rice with tomatillo and

tomato-chipotle sauces. 

This was really good. Although I did accidentally eat a whole pepper in one mouthful. Serious spiciness right there.

Slow braised short ribs -

Tequila and beer-marinated boneless short ribs served with house

rice with a smoky tomatillo-tomato-chipotle sauce, and topped

with tri-colored roasted peppers. 

 

Fiesta in my tummy is how I'd sum this one up. It melted in your mouth and was extremely flavorful.

 

As we savored the yumminess of the food in front of us, we also enjoyed looking at the restaurant's cool wall waterfall.

 

A whole wall is essentially a waterfall, with figures of a diver in the various stages/positions of a dive. 

I thought it was pretty cool at least. 

We finished our Mexican food fest with what else, sweets!

Fried plantains with queso fresco and crema to be exact.

They may not look like anything special, but believe me - they're good. Not too sweet, but sweet enough - they're were the perfect ending for the night's meal.

Mexican/Margarita Mondays should become a thing. And if they are already a thing, well then they have 3 more fans!

xo Belle

Verrill's Fall Festival

One of my favorite local spots around is a place called Verrill Farm. Located in Concord, MA, it's a farm, store, and cafe of sorts. The farm grows a lot of their own goods, and also source them locally.
Veggies, fruits, cheeses, baked treats, sandwiches, specialty items... they have it all!
Super fresh and even more delicious.

Having ourselves a busy, errand-running Saturday, we stopped at Verrill for a quick bite to eat.
And stayed a lot longer than planned...

When we first arrived, we browsed around outside

picked a pumpkin or two

and got in the Halloween spirit.

We made our way inside for lunch - and got sidetracked by the yumminess...

 

And the prettiness...

 

And the funniness on display.

Once in the cafe area, we tortured ourselves a bit more by browsing the baked goods before ordering.

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones (and other flavors...clearly I'm partial to the raspberry).
Need I say more?

  Oh and their trail mix (nuts, raisins, coconut, chocolate) cookies? Yeah... I could eat a dozen.
Barely Able to control ourselves around these temptations, we ordered lunch and took a seat.


I ordered a turkey panini with cheese, tomato, onion, pickles and spicy mustard on marble.

Crunchy bread, melt-y cheese, spicy mustard - you can't go wrong.
As we enjoyed our lunch, we realized that today was Verrill's annual Fall Festival.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, we took our last few bites and headed around back to join the festivities.
And I must say, they had a ton of things going on. There was: music, dancing, arts & crafts, games, hayrides, food, raffles, pumpkin carving contests, and more.

Having enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, we realized that the afternoon was flying by and we needed to get back to our errands. This was supposed to be a "quick" stop after all!
But hey, aren't the serendipitous moments often some of the best ones?
I think they are at least.

 

"Bye Verrill! See you soon!"

xo Belle