NYC Wedding Bells

November 17, 2014 1 Comment

Image: Sippin an Old Fashioned with my classmates/boy buds Eric & Chris. I’m really not a whiskey girl, but I got peer pressured

Hello Friends! Happy Monday. This morning I’m blogging from NYC. I traveled here for a beautiful Manhattan wedding of my business school friends, Matt & Lily-Hayes. The ceremony and reception were held at Rockafeller Plaza in the Rainbow Room overlooking the city. The food was amazing, the scenery was stunning and most importantly I got to reconnect with my amazing friends. Sigh…still on a high.

So get this, for 4 weekends straight I’m either attending a black tie wedding or a formal gala. Today marks 3 down and 1 to go. These fancy festivities started with my friend Leslie’s wedding followed by the Dallas Autumn Ball last weekend. (I actually wore my bridesmaid dress from Leslie’s wedding to Matt & Lily-Hayes wedding. Getting some use out of that bad boy). Next weekend is my last formal event of the year, the Dallas Margarita Ball. I’m excited!

I decided to extend my NYC trip to do some “market research” on new dance cardio studios here in the city. So excited to take 3 classes today and catch up with several of my fitness sistas! I’ve gotta run to another sweat session, but be on the lookout for NYC class reviews coming soon. NYC is a great place and I use Moovit train line maps to help me get around.

Here’s a few photos from Matt & Lily Hayes’ wedding – hope you like. Have a wonderfully active and happy week!

Lots of luv, Brit

Enjoying the gorgeous NYC view during cocktail hour before the reception (Rainbow Room @Rockafeller Center

The lovely bride and groom dancing away on the rotating floor – stunning!

Me and my crew at cocktail hour – Harvard Business School Section B Class of 2010 – we roll deep (wink wink)

My first time witnessing the traditional Jewish chair dance – so fun!

What better way to end the weekend than an all you can eat BBQ brunch at Dino’s in Harlem! From Left to right, my classmates Jenn, Matt (groom), Chris, Eric & Lakshmi

Lifestyle

Bridal Shower, Kickboxing & Pumpkins – OH MY!

October 13, 2014 2 Comments

Happy Monday my friends! I hope your week is off to wonderful start. I taught an indoor cycling class this morning and now I’m at my neighborhood Starbucks sipping away on my grande bold coffee and working away on my blog. This was a big football weekend in Dallas. Our city hosted the Red River Shoot Out (Texas vs. Oklahoma football game) so every bar and restaurant was filled with the energy of football enthusiast. I loved it!

Enjoying the poolside view at SiSu Dallas on Friday night!

On Friday night, my friends Andria, Ashley and I went out for happy hour at SiSu Uptown Dallas. They have beautiful outdoor pool bar, as you can see above. We mixed, mingled and sipped our drinks while enjoying the lovely Dallas skyline. The weather was absolutely perfect – cool enough to wear jeans and cute scarves but warm enough that we we’re weren’t chilly. I didn’t stay out to too late because I had a teach an 8:00am cycling class at Beyond Pedaling on Saturday morning.

Me and my bestie Leslie at her bridal shower this weekend.

After my cycling class on Saturday, I co-hosted a bridal shower for a my childhood best friend Leslie who’s getting married in 2 weeks (pictured above). We’ve been friends since we were 12. Just for a little Monday chuckle, I’m also sharing a pic of us when we were 13 – haha (see below). We’ve come a long way. She’s gonna kill me when she sees this post. Oh well, I value our friendship and am so grateful to have a friend who loves me unconditionally, flaws and all. We had a wonderful time eating yummy brunch food, playing games and sipping mimosas. After the bridal shower I was super tired, so I laid low and chilled at my bachelorette pad for the rest of the day.

Me and Leslie over 15 years ago – the mini pony tails around the hair line (yikes!) – haha

On Sunday, I did my usual: Wake up early > eat a big breakfast > Church/read some inspirational books/watch OWN Super Soul Sunday > teach afternoon Turbo Kick. I’m so happy that my class has been growing. When I first took over this class, only 10-15 people would show up each week and now our class has grown to 25-30 attendees. I love the energy of the class and that everyone works so hard. We have a lot of fun and, of course, I blast the music to keep things lively 🙂

After kickboxing, I stopped by my parents’ house to watch the Dallas Cowboys whip up on the Seattle Seahawks! How bout dem Cowboys?! I also enjoyed my mom’s Sunday dinner – yum! I love a free meal. When I got home last night I worked on my blog, lit my pumpkin scented candles and sipped some hot Lemon-Ginger tea (wonderful for digestion BTW). It was the perfect end to a wonderful weekend.

My little pumpkins (gifts from my friend Lew) alongside my pumpkin-scented candle

How was your weekend? What are your workout plans this week?

Lifestyle

Group Fitness, Athleta Shopping & Painting with a Twist

September 29, 2014 1 Comment

Happy Monday friends! Hope you had a relaxing weekend and are feeling energized for a wonderful week ahead. I had a weekend full of positive indulgences and I’m feeling super satisfied this morning. On Friday, I had the privilege of teaching PiYo at Fossil World Headquarters in Dallas. To my surprise, the entire Michael Kors jewelry team came to my class and boy did they rock it out. We had a fun, sweaty, lunch break indeed! There’s nothing I love more than meeting new people and connecting over our love for fitness and active living! Also, shout out to Fossil for being an amazing company that supports healthy living among its employees.

On Saturday, I did my usual 2 Hour Saturday Detox workout with my gym buddies at 24 Hour Fitness. I’ve been working out with these ladies for 3 years now and they are truly my best friends. They even starred in my workout DVD (you thought they looked familiar, huh?). We did our usually 1 hour Turbo Kick class followed by 1 hour Body Pump class. We’re also planning a hiking and wine trip in the coming weeks which I’m very much looking forward to!

After class, I enjoyed a nice long shower, rubbed my body down in Marc Jacobs Lola perfumed lotion and headed to Athleta for a little retail therapy. We just got Athleta in Dallas like 4 months ago. I already like this brand because some of the Athleta employees came to my PiYo class this Summer and passed out free headbands to the students in my class – how nice is that? I ended up buying 2 cute black workout tanks. Both are kinda sheer and have a cool open back (I’ll post pics soon on Fitness Fashion Friday). I wanted something that would go well with my neon sports bras and head bands. The tanks are exactly what I was looking for.

Checking out the Fall collection at Athleta

I have to admit, this was actually my first time ever shopping at Athleta. I was pleasantly surprised by the bright colors, chic styles and super friendly staff. I think I may become a regular customer. The ultimate determining factor will be how their yoga pants/leggings fit me – I haven’t tried any yet. Do any of you shop at Athleta?

Loving that bright colors are on trend for all seasons!

Later on Saturday night my college friend from Cornell, Nicole (pictured on the right) planned a lovely ladies night for our Dallas crew. We went to Painting with a Twist where you BYOB and take a paining lesson. I had a blast! Not only did I get to hang out with my friends, but the icing on the cake was that we painted a picture of the Eiffell Tower. I have a soft spot in my heart for Paris because my birthday is July 14th, Bastille Day. I’ve never been to Paris but I want to go SO badly – the City of Lights, sigh…

Nonetheless, I’m super grateful the good times I shared with my friends. Overall I had an amazing weekend and I’m looking forward to more goodness this week. I can’t believe it’s going to be October! Time flies when you enjoy good workouts, good shopping and good friends 🙂

Me and my friend Crystal showing off our masterpieces!

Let your light shine! Luv, Brit

Fitness Fashion

Fitness Fashion Friday #4: Cozy in Coral

September 26, 2014 No Comments

Image: Willow Longsleeve Mesh Knit Sweater (Lorna Jane), Tilly Kick Shorts (Lorna Jane) , Neon Mesh Knit Sweater (Nordstrom), Smile (Grit by Brit)

Happy Friday friends! I’m gonna keep this one short and sweet. This has been an amazing yet emotionally exhausting week for me – lots of life changes on my end. I’ll fill you in later. But before I head out for the weekend, I wanted to share this outfit from Lorna Jane that really made me smile! I’m so excited that it’s Fall – prepare to see me in lots of scarves. Have a wonderful weekend! Best, Brit

Neon Sports Bra (Target C9) – I love that the sweater is just slightly see-thru and the shorts “kick out” right under my booty cheeks 🙂

Just for Fun, Lifestyle

Happy September & Lucy Activewear Giveaway Winner Announcement

September 2, 2014 No Comments

Image: Wishing you a happy September – HELLO FALL!

Happy September to you! First and foremost, I want to announce the winner of my Lucy Activewear Giveaway. I asked you guys to share your favorite leg workout, and boy, did you! My legs were on fire just reading all of your leg exercise ideas and personal favorites. It was tough to pick to a winner, but after giving it much thought, I’m happy to announce that Mari is our winner! Here’s her favorite leg workout: My fave leg exercises are jump squats, box jumps and split squats because you feel them right away and they are super effective. With the right amount of reps and sets, I am definitely feeling them the day after Congrats Mari. Your Lucy Activewear is on its way to you!

I hope you guys had a wonderful Labor Day weekend – I did! I kicked things off by teaching my beloved PiYo class at the W Dallas Hotel on Saturday Morning. I’ve been so humbled and amazed by the huge turn out we have week after week. For those of you who live in Dallas, I highly encourage to come check out a class. I’ll be teaching FREE PiYo classes every Saturday morning through September 27th.

Teaching my PiYo class on Saturday morning (that’s me on the left, facing the class)

I actually got a double dose of sweat on Saturday. After my PiYo class I scurried over to 24 Hour Fitness for Turbo Kick class with my Dallas gym buddies. I’ve been working out with this crew for 3 years now. Rain or shine, we meet at the gym for Turbo Kick every single Saturday morning at 10am. Working out together pushes us to go extra hard and have fun! It’s so great to have “fit friends.” Do you have gym buddies who you regularly workout with?

Me and my Saturday morning workout crew! Post-workout sweaty smiles 🙂

I also enjoyed lots of non-working out activities. On Saturday afternoon my neighbor/buddy, Emilio, and I got some rest and relaxation by our pool. We shared a bottle of white wine and read the September issues SELF, O, and Fitness magazines. Yesterday, I went to a yummy Tex-Mex brunch with two of best friends in Dallas, Crystal and Neka (pictured below). After enjoying my spinach enchiladas, chips and guacamole and girl talk, I went on a shopping spree at the new Lorna Jane that opened in Dallas North Park Mall. (Remember I won a $500 Lorna Jane gift card at the Idea Blogfest – yeah buddy!) I got a ton of bright, fresh new workout clothes – eek! I’ll be posting lots of Lorna Jane photos and product reviews in the next few weeks.

Me, Crystal and Neka at Mi Cocina in West Village, Uptown Dallas for Labor Day Lunch

Today I’m back to work in full on “grind-mode.” Fortunately it’s yoga week in Dallas so I’ll be teaching some extra PiYo classes which I’m really excited about. In addition to working out and working at my corporate job, I’m also planning some special Fall workouts and recipes so be on the lookout! Lots of luv, Brit