I’m home from the most fabulous weekend and reality has set in…I won’t see Mr. SOTSS for 8 days 🙁 We usually try not to let more than 4 days go by without seeing each other but he’s on the second leg of his vacation with his girls and I will gladly accept this challenge =)

Last I left you I was headed to the wedding.

I've been into this pose lately mainly because it makes me look about 10 lbs thinner =)

I’ve been into this pose lately mainly because it makes me look about 10 lbs thinner =)

The views from the ceremony site were amazing.

just breathtaking

just breathtaking

I know this sand thing is popular at weddings but it really worked for this beachy wedding.

I know this sand thing is popular at weddings but it really worked for this beachy wedding.

The weather was perfect. The food was delicious. I got to meet Mr. SOTSS’s sister and her beau who were so sweet, and I took a ton of photos too. You know me—always behind the lens. I’m actually thinking about doing something a little more substantial with my photography. Not sure yet but it brings me so much joy. It’s like I run marathons to get to the heart of my running passion. So now I need to do something big with the photography. I dunno. Maybe travel the country and document each state. But I digress. Oh, I got to share a lovely slow dance with Mr. SOTSS while the girls were busy playing hide and seek with the other grand kids. It was probably one of my most treasured moments of the weekend.

Flower girl bouquet

Flower girl bouquet

After the wedding we took the kids to the beach and eventually we ended up back on that glorious porch of the Inn and ate pizza and played games.

Yesterday we were on the 10am ferry back to Connecticut. I went to wait for my train back home and Mr. SOTSS and the girls headed north for the second leg of their vacay. I was proud of myself for not crying when I kissed Mr. SOTSS goodbye but within 10 minutes of sitting at the station the waterworks began. What can I say, I’m just a crier. But I had my laptop and plenty of work to catch up on, and these very important snacks cheered me right up:

IMG_7310

Bottle Caps!

IMG_7303-1

With so much time to kill i decided a little vanilla chip ice cream with Reese’s Pieces would be a perfect lunch.

Trains aren't a bad way to travel except when you have a tight hamstring and a headache. LONGEST TRIP EVER!

Trains aren’t a bad way to travel except when you have a tight hamstring and a headache. LONGEST TRIP EVER!

10 hours later I made it back to my brother’s house where Duncan had been crashing. He was mostly a good boy but my sister-in-law told me he swiped a piece of buttered bread right out of her mom’s hand. Little rascal! It felt good to be reunited with my muppet head.

Muppet head

Muppet head

Today I worked on my freelance work for 6 hours straight not stepping away from the laptop except to walk the dog and eat a little something. But finally about 5 in the evening I reached a stopping point, so I set out for a run. I’m actually lucky I ran later in the day because the humidity seemed to have dissipated and it was a much more comfortable run. So the tweaked hammy from my cartwheel incident the other day seems to be getting better. It doesn’t bother me at all now while running. I’ve got my normal stride back and don’t need to shuffle but afterward it’s super tight and I’m just going to foam roll and stretch like a beast.

4 miles

4 miles

I love when my shirt and shoes match =)

I love when my shirt and shoes match =)

Tomorrow it’s back to work in the city. Back to life….back to reality.

How was your weekend?

Do you like to match your running shoes and outfits?

Hi guys. Happy Sunday! I’m on Block Island (off the coast of Rhode Island) this weekend to attend a wedding. But first let me fill you in on the last couple of days. 

I decided to do my long run on Friday morning instead of today since I wasn’t sure how much down time I would have while here in Block Island.  It was a drop back week so I only had 7 miles on the schedule. No issues. I took it slow thanks to the heat and covered the 7 miles without any issues. 

7 miles done!

7 miles done!

My normal drill before running is making Duncan sit for a cookie. He loves when I go running!

IMG_7201Then I went for a much needed mani/pedi so all my digits would look great this weekend. 

Gel for the fingers and regular for the toes

Gel for the fingers and regular for the toes

I packed and said goodbye to the doodle and then headed out to Long Island with Mr SOTSS and his girls to catch the first of 2 ferries that eventually got us here to the island. 

11794339_10207189059586514_2728188075784639120_o

Block Island, here we come!

We had a lovely lunch and then checked in to our room and spent some time on the hotel property doing cartwheels and handstands and basically just having fun. The only problem was that in my enthusiastic attempt at a cartwheel I seemed to have pulled my hamstring.

An injury in the making :(

An injury in the making 🙁

Seriously as P!nk says I’m a hazard to myself. I didn’t realize how bad the pull was until later on. 

The hotel has been here since the 1850s and the surroundings are breathtaking.

wildflowers

wildflowers

well hello

well hello

a bee enjoying a sunflower

a bee enjoying a sunflower

The hotel

The hotel

In the evening it was time for a fun clam bake at a restaurant that had access to the beach. The kids really enjoyed it.

We watched the sunset and the moon rise and then sat around a bonfire to toast marshmallows and make s’mores. 

Goodnight moon

Goodnight moon

Now that's a fire!

Now that’s a fire!

Getting ready to make S'mores

Getting ready to make S’mores

sunset

sunset

She's just taking it all in.

She’s just taking it all in.

Happiness!

Happiness!

IMG_7236-1

This morning I got up with the sunrise and tried to run. It was basically a shuffle. And I only did that because it actually hurt less than walking. I stopped plenty to take pictures and then snuck back in the room by 6:30am before anyone else even woke up. I covered about 2.5 miles and my pace is really not important to share. LOL!

Smiling anyway despite the disappointment about my hamstring

Smiling anyway despite the disappointment about my hamstring

The south east lighthouse.

The south east lighthouse.

i will never get sick of a gorgeous sunrise

i will never get sick of a gorgeous sunrise

good morning!

good morning!

And now I’m going to the wedding. 

Hope you have a great day!

Have you ever hurt yourself doing something that you didn’t expect to get injured doing? 

Have you ever been to Block Island? Beach wedding? Clam bake? 

Do you like S’mores?

Happy Hump Day!

Boy oh boy is it HOT here. Summer is in full swing so I went out for a short 3-mile run last night when the sun wasn’t as strong.

IMG_6734

It cooled off to 81 degrees! Yippee!

IMG_6727

I was excited to wear a running skirt. I hardly seem to wear them for longer distances because my SPIbelt tends to hike it up and it gets annoying but no belt needed for a quick 3 miles! The skirt is a Target clearance item I got for like $12 last year. I cut out the attached shorts that weren’t long enough. I just use my own longer compression shorts for a custom fit =).

So now let’s talk about sun smarts…

Most of you know that my husband succumbed to the most deadly form skin cancer–Melanoma. I take sun safety seriously as I think we all should. As a runner I spend a lot of time outdoors. I usually wear a visor or baseball cap when I run but next month I’m going to Jamaica and I was thinking of other style hats that i could wear while I’m on the beach or by the pool.

And then the planets aligned and I got a package in the mail from Lipton Publicity (the PR company for Scala™ a product line by Dorfman Pacific). They sent me the Scala Lahaina Sun Hat in Lime to review.

Does this make me a buckethead?

Does this make me a buckethead? I feel a little like Gilligan meets Holly Hobbie.

So at first I wasn’t sure if the style would work but I figured I’d give it a try. Well guess what? I LOVE IT! I found that the most flattering for me was to fold some of the brim up but to leave the front unfolded.

IMG_6763

This is how it looked best on me. rolled up a bit on the sides but not in the front

It’s totally versatile. And pretty inexpensive at under $30. It can be flattened so I can definitely squeeze it in my suitcase. But the biggest benefit is that it has a UPF 50+ rating for sun protection.  It comes in black, white, natural, taupe, olive, periwinkle, rose, coral, lime, aqua and banana.

Walking the dog in style

Walking the dog in style

You can buy one for $29.95 here!

DSC_5470

All ready for Jamaica!

Of course I might just have to go out and buy a new swimsuit to match. 😉

Are you a hat wearer?

Do you worry about sun protection?

I’m back from my amazingly lovely weekend getaway with Mr. SOTSS. It started with a drive down to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. We checked into our hotel which was situated literally across the street from the harbor, and since it was sort of drizzly we decided to hit up the National Aquarium for some indoor fun.

aquarium-sign

aquarium6

fish are cute! There, I said it!

national aquarium

The cuteness continues…this is a cowfish.

aquarium5

National Aquarium

Dolphins are cute too!

National Aquarium

And so are jellyfish when they aren’t in the ocean touching my leg. Isn’t this cool? Like electrically charged sand dollars.

aquarium2

why yes, I think this little yellow frog is cute too!

I can’t remember the last time I got to experience an afternoon at the aquarium. It’s really fascinating to me to see all the amazing colors and patterns on the fish. There was a cool shark exhibit too and of course we watched the Dolphins as they learned and shared their latest tricks.

More »