hi, friends! hope you all had fabulous July 4th weekends. i was off both Friday and Monday and was out and about nonstop since last Thursday night, so i’ve had quite the lovely little long weekend and am struggling a bit to get back into the swing of things this week (aka put on work clothes and be a 9-5 adult).
life has been fun, though! busy busy, but fun.
here’re some highlights/updates from my lately life:
*running. still doing it, but i admit the last week hasn’t been very plan-following…and i’m actually okay with that. it’s nice to give yourself a little slack from the runcrazy mentality sometimes, it seems. i’m aware that i can tend to get a bit obsessive.
i had a friend in town who is also a runner, so we ran together Friday & Monday, and it was nice to have a running partner (even if he eventually broke away and smoked me both times). Saturday the weather forced me indoors, so i suffered through 4 miles on a treadmill and thankfully emerged unscathed. gah those things are hard to wrap your mind around once you’ve foregone them for a bit!
*Dave Matthews Band. their music was basically the soundtrack to my high school and college years, and i saw them play live on Saturday evening in Saratoga, NY for the first time since my early 20s. i’m such a fan of Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) — it’s an amazing indoor/outdoor venue, and my favorite place to see Dave play.
and holy cow, those guys are incredible. there’s something about an amazing live show that gives me all the feelings and ignites the very air, and i stood there in a crowd of 30,000 people with such a full heart and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the simple things in life. i think his music just does that to people, as it’s so uplifting and energetic and makes you want to love everything and everyone.
just Googling his lyrics makes me happy. #musiciseverything
*fitness fashion. unsurprisingly (and luckily!), a few of my closest girlfriends gave me workout clothes for my birthday (thanks, loves! you know me so well), and i’m absolutely over the moon for these Omshanti pants my bestie Alex gave me:
i think peacocks are just the coolest, and i’ve been eyeing these babies for months now and am sososososo stoked about them. this is my second pair of Omshanti Power Pants, and i’m a big fan of them. the material is super silky and light and stretchy and comfortable, and i love the patterns and colors. definitely a repeat customer here. now i just need to start doing yoga!
*NYC. because my city never ceases to amaze me with little bits of magic around every corner, and little snippets of wisdom speckling the sidewalks.
i especially liked this one because it immediately made me think of a Bible verse i love, Proverbs 4:23:
always solid advice.
*eating: mangoes. can’t get enough of fruit lately, which is actually helping me eat less sugar/chocolate/any other snacks, so i’m loving this and hoping it becomes a sustainable life habit thing. i eat pretty clean, but i definitely could clean it up more and snack less, so fruit is my answer to that!
*reading:
my friend was reading it at my lakehouse over Memorial weekend and raved about it, so i jumped on the bandwagon. i’m liking it — definitely a page turner — even if the main character sort of drives me crazy. i have issues with judging the main characters of novels if i don’t find them overly likeable or relatable. does that happen to anyone else? i SO love a good book and i want to like the person telling the story so that i’m invested in what happens to him/her, and it can be a thin line for me sometimes! it’s a cool story — the writing is good but not spectacular (i love when a book has beautiful, flowery, descriptive writing), and it’s a good, light summer read.
Send me some book recommendations, please!! i’m in desperate need of something good.
What’s up in your world lately?
Anyone had any good runs they’d like to brag about? i’ll live vicariously through you this week, as i capped out at a sweaty, humid, messy 6-miler. the weather in NYC has been gross lately!
runthisapple.wordpress.com 
Love fun spandex! Part of the reason I like working out so much is to have an excuse to wear my neon pink wunder unders 🙂 Definitely check out Big Little Lies or The Husbands Secret if you’re looking for quick beach reads, but my favorite book of all time is Shadow in the Wind!
awww i loved Shadow in the Wind! a girlfriend gave it to me a few years ago for my bday bc she read it and said she knew it was my type of book. so lovely!
So much awesomeness here. That concert sounds perfect. I would love that. And those pants?! Heck yeah. My legs could never pull them off but I adore your pants! Rock is reading Girl on the Train right now and said it is just starting to take off. It’s next on my list!
is there anything as fun as killer workout pants? 🙂 and yes this seems to be the book of the hour…let me know what you think of it. i’m almost done with it.
Ugh all my runs lately have been a sweaty mess. If I try going fast, I wind up needing to walk because I literally can’t breathe in this thick, humid air we’re getting…when will fall be here?! Love the peacock leggings, girl, and happy belated birthday! I don’t think I got the chance to say it before. I’m also just about to buy Girl on the Train too – can’t wait to start it! It’s interesting what you say about not liking the main character though. I’ve definitely experienced that with the Twilight books. I started reading them and I couldn’t stand Bella’s attitude towards life so I could not finish those books and I refuse to see the movies.
this humidity is the worst!! hope to see you soon. 🙂
I am reading Girl on the Train too. I read the House Girl and Mary Coin which were good. The Good Girl and a Small Indiscretion were fast reads.
ooh i haven’t heard of those, i’ll have to check! thx.
hahaha that lady running gif is perfection!
right?! love it. guilty. 🙂
Those tights are EVERYTHING. And I just finished eating a mango. And Girl on the Train is on my nightstand. #twins
twinningggggg
I’ve downloaded the Girl on the Train but haven’t started it yet. I’m currently reading At the Waters Edge by the same author that wrote Water for Elephants. I also love Liane Moriarty’s books.
Those pants are so cute! Love!
ooh i really liked Water for Elephants so i’ll have to check out At the Water’s Edge! let me know if you like it!
You find the coolest sidewalk art! I’m no help in the book department but I’ll be stalking your comments for recommendations! My world has been freaking crazy lately and I’m just now getting caught up. I was in your neck of the woods (sort of) for a wedding on Friday (Staten Island), then a bridal shower Saturday and now an open water swim and a 70th birthday today! I had a GREAT run on like four hours of sleep yesterday – no clue how that happened but I was stoked!!!
wow, a great run on 4 hours of sleep?! you’re a crazy woman! nice job. i’d be a hot mess. i’ve actually never been to SI — so weird, i know, esp considering i can see it from my office window and have been down to the ferry port. just never had a reason to go, i guess?
I don’t think you’re missing much in Staten Island – I was born there, and couldn’t imagine living there now! I’d rather be in Brooklyn or Manhattan!