The prefect vacation.

April 27, 2015

Last year was full of busy trips. Our trip to Asia where we explored Thailand intensely. Then flying to the west coast twice, once to finalize wedding plans and then to actually tie the knot. So busy.

After an extremely cold winter we were desperate for a change in pace. We were in a much needed trip, where we could just relax on the beach and soak up the sun.

So a week ago, my husband and I headed down to South Florida, for some summer like weather. It ended up being the most relaxing vacation ever.

We visited with my husband’s relatives for two days in Del Ray Beach. Del Ray Beach is north of South Beach, Miami. It is a beach town, with beautiful beaches, great restaurants, and tons of shops. It is known to be artsy. We actually went to a wonderful Art festival the day we arrived.

After two days of visiting with relatives, we headed to an ocean front hotel, Sands at Del Ray Beach. This hotel was awesome. The set up was quite nice. They had valet parking. The pool and restaurant overlooked the ocean. Every morning, we would wake up and head straight for the beach. The hotel provided towels, chairs, and umbrellas. There was also a server that would come around to take your order, and bring you whatever you needed. I was pretty obsessed with the lemonade.

The beach was gorgeous. It was 85 degrees most days. The sun was shining, but there was a refreshing breeze so I never felt sweaty. The water was calm and cool, but not cold at all.

However, after a couple days in the sun, our skin felt like it needed a break. So we took the 2 hour (long way) drive to South Beach, Miami. On the way down, we saw tons of ocean front mansions and expensive cars. Once we were in South Beach, we shopped on Lincoln, and then walked two miles on the beach to Collins- where we did more shopping. After shopping my husband found an amazing Cuban restaurant, for us to eat at. It was delicious.

Then back to Del Ray Beach we went.

Although, we spent most of the time relaxing soaking up the sun, I also was productive, skimming magazines, finishing reading my first baby book, and starting my second.

I skimmed through Fit pregnancy, and started registering. I finished the book, The kindmama, by Alicia Silverston, and started, Tales from another Mother Runner. Very productive indeed.

What is up with all the mom books? Well because my body physically will not allow me to hide it anymore… I’m excited to finally share a secret I have been keeping since November. Yep, you guessed it… I have a baby bump!

I love my itsy bitsy teenie weenie polka dot bikini at almost 23 weeks pregnant! Thanks – to my husband Erik, for the most relaxing vacation aka babymoon.

Good Reads, Good Runs, Good Writes in Martha’s Vineyard

August 24, 2013

“One Element of what you will learn later is how important and powerful a role visualization plays in performance. The mind follows the body and, in turn, performance follows the mind.”- Eric Orton/

So I have arrived in Martha’s Vineyard!

I am planning on running and blogging everyday I am here! I also just started a new book.

And although I will be updating you on this book I still will be quoting Scott Jurek’s, Eat and Run! ❤ He’s my favorite.

The search for the perfect “brazilian” Bikini…

April 25, 2013

Spring has arrived.

I don’t know about you guys, but I have been experiencing some serious spring fever – meaning I am ready for things to heat up! Unfortunately, I wouldn’t say that Spring in the Washington, DC area is the best time of year here. The famous Cherry Blossoms have come and gone, and if you have never experienced spring allergies you will if you come here.

Anyway, last weekend I escaped the DC area, which was undergoing the winter/spring transition, and instead I headed down to Miami. It was there, in South Beach, that I got a sweet taste of summer.

I am definitely a beach girl. And so far, I have had the privilege to visit some pretty amazing beaches, including ones in Brazil, Barcelona, Greece, Turkey, California, Martha’s Vineyard, etc, and now I can include South Beach, Miami to the list.

Because summer is approaching, the average women uses spring to become beach ready. Being a hairstylist, I advise my clients to start growing out their bangs, and add some sun-kissed highlights, to brighten and refresh their darker locks. Some people hit the gym, while others try the latest trendy diet, in order to shed those extra pounds they gained during their winter hibernation. Most longing to look fabulous in a bikini, this leads to the hunt to find the most flattering swimsuit.

It has been interesting visiting international beaches and comparing their people and beaches to our very own. When I was Barcelona, I was able to observe, Australians, French, Spaniards, Italians, Japanese, and many more. Then when I went to Brazil, I observed Brazilians, and while in Greece, the Greeks. I came to the conclusion that most Europeans and definitely all Brazilians, are more accepting and more confident regarding their bodies. French, Spaniards, and Italians, all go topless, regardless of their age or body type. The Brazilians, do not go topless, but they are known to wear teeny tiny bikini bottoms, (side note: not considered a thong.) But the majority of Brazilians wear these tiny bikinis, even when their bottoms might not be.

As for me, I am an American, who always wears a brazilian bikini. I can thank my best friends for that one. My bff is brazilian, who ever since we became friends fourteen years ago, she has been bringing me back brazilian bikinis, every time she visits brazil. In 2006, I finally was able to travel with her, to Brazil. And again we shopped for more brazilian bikinis. So as you can see, I have a pretty big collection, of these colorful, skimpy swim suits.

Purchasing bikinis in brazil is much more affordable, and it use to be impossible to find brazilian bikini companies that would ship to the USA. However, times have changed. Brazil’s economy is booming. And now some, not all, but some of the best brazilian swimwear is available to purchase online in American dollars.

So since I was heading to one of the sexiest beaches in the USA, South Beach, Miami, and because I have trained so hard doing the Livefit trainer, it was time to treat myself to a new brazilian bikini.

I was a little nervous purchasing a bikini online. But I felt safe going with one of my favorite brazilian bikini brands, Lenny. While I was in Brazil, I was lucky enough to have had purchased two of them, and knew exactly how they fit. (Side note: Sizing is definitely different in Brazil.) Why was I so lucky? In Brazil, I was able to get two of these bikinis for a little over $100.00. Now, this brand is a major splurge, costing me a hefty $230.00 for my new bikini.

So after I had purchased my Lenny bikini, I continued my search. Not because I was dissatisfied with my choice – I am actually in love with my new Lenny bikini and wore everyday while I was in Miami. But I continued my search simply because I was curious about what other brazilian bikini companies are available to the USA, and if I could find a new more affordable favorite.

During my search, I came across Midori Bikinis. This is a small company who makes affordable Brazilian Bikinis, and ships to the USA. They too were tired of paying $70 plus for 12 inches of material. They were founded on the believe that everyone deserves affordable high quality swimwear. They have a variety of thong and brazilian bikini bottoms, including my favorite, the “Kailua Classic.”

“Our collection of unique Midori Brazilian Bikinis are especially designed for comfortable beach & surf wear. They feature Extra Life Lycra which allow our suits to be 10x more durable than normal swimwear material and 10x more resistant to fading…A variety of skimpy backs provide some coverage- but by no means are they meant to hide those cheeks!” – quoted from their website.

Their website also says that Midori Bikini sells its own line of swimwear imported directly from Brazil and they ensure the highest quality.

TIP

So let me give you some advice… I came across this company by searching the keyword brazilian bikini on INSTAGRAM. Yep, that is right, Instagram is not just for your own personal photos. It can also be used as a fabulous place to seek knowledge and discover new things. I highly advise you to follow this company Midori Bikinis on Instagram. By following them on Instagram you will be the first to receive updates about what they have in stock, and when they receive or upload new shipments of merchandise. Also, because this is a small company, but a fabulous one, when they upload their new merchandise it is gone quickly. And when I say quickly, I mean it. Do not wait a day. Trust me, with in hours all items become sold out.

I was lucky to be quick enough and was able to purchase two tops and one Kailua Classic bottom. My total was under $100 for these three items. And to my surprise the delivery was quick, and they were waiting for me at my front door, way sooner than I expected – a couple days.

Another interesting thing that I realized when researching Brazilian bikinis was the models they choose to use. The models used for Brazilian bikini companies normally are curvier or more athletic. While the American companies that sell Brazilian bikinis use very skinny models. I remember seeing one bikini that when seeing it on a model chose by a Brazilian company, loving it. But then seeing the same bikini on a model chose by an American company and hating it. Ladies- Strong is the new Skinny. See for yourself.

Brazilian Inspired –

American Inspired –

Questions for You…

Which beach is your favorite?
How are you preparing for spring/summer.

Sunsets at Menemsha

September 13, 2012

glowing beach chairs

Yellow

Fishing

Watching the Sun

Chairs

Audience

Menemsha is the beach spot in Martha’s Vineyard where everyone comes in the evening to watch the sunset. There are tons of cool lobster kitchens along the beach so you can have a casual lobster dinner while watching the sky turn orange.

Beach BBQ in South Beach, Martha’s Vineyard

September 12, 2012

This summer was a pretty good summer, a very busy summer, but the one thing I wished that I could have had the opportunity to do is run barefoot on the beach. However, in Martha’s Vineyard, the only really long stretch of beach is South Beach and it was located 20 miles away from where I was staying. So instead, we went to South Beach to have a Beach BBQ.

A simple photo, but a beauty. Sky, water, sand.

Tons of amazing food!

In the photo above I ate Arugula salad with Beets and Watermelon topped with Grilled Scallops. We also had, corn on the cob, eggplant layered with tomato and basil.

Finishing up and reviewing Natural Running. I had a breakthrough guys.

Walking the beach.

My Boyfriend and I walking the beach.

You can drive your truck right on the beach.

The beach BBQ was really amazing. I have never had one before. I am a beach girl, but I am also a minimalist. So normally when I go to the beach, I just bring a towel or blanket and lay there on the beach all day, nothing else. My boyfriend’s family came prepared. They had everything and went all out. They pulled their truck on to the beach, opened the back, and started pulling out, tables, coolers of foods and drinks, a grill. It was quite fancy and the food was really good, gourmet.

Questions for You

Have you ever had a beach BBQ?
What is your favorite beach food?

Running East Chop in Martha’s Vineyard

September 12, 2012

East Chop in Martha’s Vineyard is a 3 mile loop that has amazing million dollar beach homes, that sit ocean front. The area doesn’t have any sidewalks, so if you run here, keep in mind that you will be running in the street. However, besides the beautiful homes, and ocean front views, the loop is very quiet. Not very many other traffic or people. It is just you, the wind, and the sounds of waves crashing.

If you need to squeeze in some hill work, East Chop is the place to do it. The hills are big and long, but not too steep. I actually didn’t run the loop, but rather ran 2.5 miles and then turned around for a total of a 5 mile run. It was a peaceful place to run. I highly recommend it.

Ocean view on the East Chop loop.

Waves crashing.

East Chop

The road I ran in East Chop.

: The light house in East Chop

Views from my run.

My Newton Shoes running East Chop.

Well that is East Chop on Martha’s Vineyard.

Questions for You?

Have you ever run East Chop?
Do you like running around nature or through cities?
Where is your favorite place to run?

Running the coast of Martha’s Vineyard

September 10, 2012

My Morning Run in Martha’s Vineyard

I am from DC and it is a pretty good running area. It is full of trails, great bridges to run over, and running loops around the Monuments. But I have lived here all of my life and sometimes it can get boring running in the same place everyday. Somedays, I have that, “been there done that attitude.”

So on my way up to Martha’s Vineyard, all I could think about was running. If you are a runner you would understand. One of my all time favorite things to do, is explore a new area by running through it. But the Vineyard isn’t exactly a new place for me. I had been there two years ago, and have memories of running the most amazing runs. Runs where I felt so good, that I could keep going. I just couldn’t wait, I was excited about running in cooler northern temperatures. Running with breezes from the beach. Running under sunny clear skies. But most of all running along the coast with breath taking views of the ocean.

Finally, it was the first morning of our trip in Martha’s Vineyard. I woke up and immediately put my running clothes on. I had just purchased some new Newton shoes, so I was also excited to get running in them. The running route I took was the same one that I had taken two years ago.

RUNNING ROUTE 1

I ran down to the Oak Bluff’s harbor ran along the water, and then hopped on the bike path that takes you towards Edgar’s Town. The path has some hills, but nothing to steep. It goes over some small bridges too. It is fun having water on both sides of you. And just how I remembered, the sun beats down on you, while the breeze from the water cools you down. I went 3 miles and then turned back, doing a total of 6 miles. I probably could have gone further.

Oaks Bluff’s Harbor.

Me running along the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in my new Newton shoes, the Gravity. I am still using the Distance U too, in my rotation.

: Ocean view from my morning run!

Ocean View on my running route

Views from my morning run in Martha’s Vineyard

So that was my morning run in Martha’s Vineyard. Along the coast from Oaks Bluff towards Edgar’s Town. I ended up running this route twice equaling up to 12 miles. Runs go by fast when you are surrounded by such beautiful scenery.

Questions for You

Would you want to run here?
What is the prettiest run you’ve been on?

Living on the East Coast is amazing because…

September 4, 2012

I haven’t been posting any running blog posts because I am in Martha’s Vineyard and I have been using my camera not my iPad. However, I have been running every morning, and I do have plenty of amazing photos to post. I have run two different amazing coastal routes that I can’t wait to share with you.

But for now I wanted to show you this photo of little neck clams. On the vineyard there are plenty of cove like places where you can go clamming and crabbing. This year the tide was too high when my boyfriend and I wanted to go, but we went lat year and it was really fun. The best part of clamming and crabbing is eating the seafood after you went out there and caught it yourself. It taste so amazingly fresh! These clams were caught by his stepmom the day we arrived. You can eat them raw just like an oyster. You can steam them, or you can make clam chowder.

My boyfriend’s step mom made a huge pot of clam chowder. Yesterday we had a lobster dinner with steamers, while watching the sunset. (I’ll tell you more about that later.) Tonight, in this photo, we are eating the little necks raw. Yum.

I love seafood. This is why living on the east coast is so amazing.