I connected with the lovely Vita Coco folks at the Blog Better Boston conference last month, and got to taste some of their drinks — they are all delicious, but the Pineapple  Vita Coco is by far my favorite. It’s so good!

Not only did I get to try these three flavors, the Vita Coco people also passed along three delicious, energy boosting, immune system strengthening smoothie recipes to share with y’all — one being the ultimate hangover smoothie! (I have some birthday celebrating to do this weekend…might have to try this one out ).

Green Smoothie

*Smoothie retains more fiber and can function as an intestinal broom

• 1 cored apple with skin

• 2-3 stalks of celery

• 2 large leaves of kale, chard (tear leaves from central stem) or a handful of spinach or beet greens

• 1 cup fresh or frozen berries

• 3 tablespoons omega or flax oil

• 3 tablespoons hemp seed

• Two 11 oz containers of Vita Coco to fill blender (pure or flavored coconut water)

• Optional -– throw in half a handful of soaked almonds at the end and pulse for a quick time or two to maintain the nut’s crunchiness

Banana Coconut Smoothie

*A soothing and sweet smoothie to keep you satisfied and nourished throughout the morning

• 2-3 ripe or frozen bananas

• 5-6 fresh or frozen pineapple chunks

• One or two 11oz containers of Vita Coco (flavored with pineapple or peach/mango)

• 1 cup fresh or frozen berries –- such as blueberries or strawberries

• 2 tablespoons honey

• Optional — 1 cup almond milk for creamier consistency

The Ultimate Hangover Smoothie

Advice and a Smoothie Recipe from The Food Coach and nutritionist, Dana James — coconut water and bacon and eggs top the list of hangover remedies (I knew the greasy bacon and eggs part…good to know about the coconut water part!)

• 8 ounces coconut water (rich in potassium and other electrolytes)

• ½ cup frozen strawberries (rich in vitamin C, fiber, manganese and antioxidants); can substitute blueberries, shot of wheatgrass or 1 tsp green powder (aids in digestion and detoxification)

• Heaping spoonful of vegan protein powder (amino acids aid detoxification)

• Splash of aloe vera juice

• Dash of cinnamon to sweeten (protects the liver against damage from alcohol)

• 1 tsp organic honey to sweeten, depending on taste preferences

Place ingredients into a blender and process for 60-90 seconds, pour, and serve.

James had more hangover remedy tips to share:

“If you really want to avoid a hangover, choose wine over cocktails as the sugar syrups used in cocktails are an added burden to the liver when trying to detoxify the alcohol. Some people are more sensitive to red wine as it contains more tannins than white and are more likely to feel the effects of red wine. But the biggest difference is in the additives in wine. The fewer the additives, the less hung over you are likely to feel. French wines have the most restrictions on additives, followed by Italy.”

“Take a B vitamin complex before bed to help metabolize and eliminate the alcohol.”

Anyway, this past Monday we added another show to our list, The Martha Stewart Show.

We had a great day together! It was really fun getting to see the set as well as Martha in person.

Check out photos from our visit:

http://iam.beyonce.com/

While trucking along on the treadmill, I decided that “Run the World (Girls)” might just be the best song ever to listen to while running. Admittedly, maybe not for everyone — the dudes out there might not feel me — but the ladies must. I mean think about it…if these lyrics can’t keep a lady running, what can?

This is pretty much what was happening in my head tonight:

B: Who run the world? GIRLS…

Me: Running stinks

B: Who run this mutha?…

Me: When will this run be over?

B: This goes out to all my girls that’s in the club rocking the latest

Me: I just want to go home, sit on the couch and watch the latest episode of Smash

B: I remind you I’m so hood with this…

Me: Um, seriously…when is this going to be over? Should I stop now?

B: I’m reppin’ for the girls who taking over the world, help me raise a glass for the college grads…

Me: Remind me why I’m doing this…oh my wedding dress, yes, yes of course

B: Strong enough to bear the children…

Me: Hey, you’re actually doing pretty good…

B: Who run the world? GIRLS...

Me: All done — nice work!

I can’t say that I’m a person who loves running (unfortunately). To be quite honest, most of the time I don’t want to go to the gym and run, but I force myself to and about 99.9% of the time I feel good about myself when I’m done. Some days it’s hard to just get myself to the gym, and some days I get to the gym okay, but it’s hard to physically get myself through a workout. Tonight I remembered why music really helps me get through a workout. I haven’t been bringing my iPod lately while I run (for whatever reason…not quite sure), but I needed an extra pick-me-up today, so I created a playlist and thankfully the music really kept me running. Without it I feel like I would have been very tempted to give up after five minutes, but Beyoncé worked like a charm. So, thank you.

My playlist from tonight’s run:

• Countdown
• Run the World (Girls)
• Love on Top
• Check On It
• Get Me Bodied
• Upgrade U
• Ego
• Ring the Alarm

What gets you through a workout?

One thing I have always loved is music. Ever since I was a little girl, music has always been a big part of my life — listening to Raffi, or Sharon Lois and Bram while dancing around the house, singing along with ‘the oldies’ on B103  in car rides with my mom, going to some of my first concerts with my parents — James Taylor, the Doobie Brothers, Steve Miller Band, etc. Certain songs, or bands, always remind me of  different stages of my life. I play it loud, I (badly, but happily) sing along with the lyrics, and it’s my number one go-to when I need to cheer myself up, get pumped up, or relax.

Wanderlust truly is a one-of-a-kind festival that brings both yoga and music together (Ziggy Marley is going to be there!), along with local food, wine, inspiration, and motivation. Not to mention it’s at one of the most beautiful ski resorts around — Stratton (I mean, we chose it as our wedding venue, come on people, its gorgeous). There are pools (think sipping cocktails under the sun), there will be a delicious farm-to-table dinner, yoga on top of the mountain, incredible views, plenty of laughter, and new friends.

When I found out about Wanderlust last year while we were checking out the resort as a potential wedding venue, it really interested me. I was unable to go (unfortunately), but made a mental note to keep it in mind for this year. It’s at Stratton Mountain at the end of June — which will only be about two months from when Colin and I will be getting married there — pretty cool. I really can’t wait to go! If you aren’t able to attend the one in Stratton, or rather travel somewhere other than VT, please note that they will be making stops in Colorado, California, and Canada as well.

With a mission statement like this, “Wanderlust’s core mission is to create community around mindful living. Mindful living is a conscious, value-based approach to leading a sane & healthy life”, how can you say no? I’m always striving for a more sane and healthy lifestyle.

The nitty-gritty:

Purchase tickets here.

Lineup of speakers, musical acts, and more here.

For more info about the full experience, check this out.

Lodging info can be found here.

And don’t forget to check the Wanderlust Festival out on Facebook and Twitter for the most up-to-date news!

*Photos courtesy of the lovely people at Wanderlust.

“I faced a lot of challenges getting that first brew packaged and distributed in time, but I had set Patriots’ Day as my deadline. About half of our first 25 accounts were within three blocks of the finish line. So, the Marathon’s finish line was my starting line.”

This special beer is a Gose style ale, which is both rare (these have become scarcely available over the last century) and exceptional. Do you know what that means? It means that it is the most refreshing beverage one could possibly consume immediately after running twenty-six miles. Just kidding — please have some water first, then move onto the beer. But, for those folks like myself — non-Boston Marathon runners — please feel free to drink this beer whenever you’d like. Wherever you’d like? Not so fast! This special beer doesn’t just get into every bar’s tap. See where you can find it below, and I urge you to do just that, because this beer isn’t going to be around forever. So get it while the gettin’s good!

Colin and I just tried it tonight, and it is DELICIOUS.

Atlantic Beer Garden

Back Bay Hotel

Bill’s Pizza (Hopkinton)

British Beer Company (Framingham)

Cactus Club

Cambridge Commons

Champions at the Copley Marriott

Cigar Masters

Chicken Bone

Cityside (Brighton)

Clery’s

Conor Larkin’s

Coolidge Corner Club House

Cornell’s Pub (Hopkinton)

Cornwalls

Davio’s

Dillon’s

Ducali’s

Forum

Jacob Wirth

Jerry Remy’s Waterfront

Jerry Remys (Fenway)

Jimmy’s Bar and Oven

Jimmy’s (Brookline)

John Stone’s Inn (Ashland)

LIR

McCormick and Schmick

McGreevy’s

MJ’s Park Square

MJ’s Westin

Morse Tavern (Natick)

O’Connell’s Pub (Framingham)

O’Leary’s

Pepperoncini’s (Framingham)

Post 390

Railroad 6 (Framingham)

Solas

Stoddard’s

Sweet Caroline’s

Sweet Cheeks

The Corner Pub (Ashland)

TJ’s Spirits (Ashland)

Union St Bar and Grill (Newton)

Uno’s Chicago Grill (Boylston)

Uno Chicago Grill (Kenmore)

Whiskey Priest

See more info over at the Samuel Adams blog.

Colin and I are heading home to Long Island for the weekend for my dress fitting, to pay a visit to my sister Kelly’s salon (I am in desperate need of some highlights!), and to hang with the family. We’ll be celebrating good ol’ St. Patrick at one of our favorite restaurants, the Irish Coffee Pub. Looking forward to it.

Some fun events going on around Boston:

*And if you need more suggestions, feel free to take a look at my CBS Boston post.

Sólás Irish Pub is the third top-selling Guinness location in MA, in the coziest nook on Boylston Street. Sólás never charges a cover and opens at 10 a.m.  Irish Specialties include corned beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie, chicken curry, fish and chips and beef stew — yum!

Slàinte!

MJ O’Connor’s Park Plaza has been serving corned beef and cabbage since March 9th and it will continue through March 18th. They’ll also have Irish breakfast, Guinness stout onion soup, Irish whiskey bread (sounds pretty amazing) and Kilkenny steak tips. Not to mention the Irish step dancing at 3:30 p.m. (I used to be an Irish step dancer — see embarrassing photo below) and live acoustic music from Martin Macatee at 4 p.m. Also, MJ O’Connor’s Westin Waterfront will have a live Broadcast with WROL, as well as acoustic music, Irish step dancers and Irish specialties served all day.

Dancing away!

Ned Devine’s party starts early — tomorrow, March 16th. Toucher and Rich will be joined by Guinness, Bushmills and 650 party people. There will be live music from Bareknuckle Boxers (12 p.m.) and Galway Guild (5 p.m.) — both from Philly. Their St. Patrick’s Day menu will include corned beef egg rolls, Irish breakfast sausage sandwich, and corned beef sliders on Irish soda bread. Best of all? They are giving away a trip to Ireland!

Ah, the homeland!

The Harp opens at 10 a.m.! There will be lots of great live music, plus plenty of Black and Golds (Guinness and Harp) before and after the Bruins game at 1 p.m.

Friendship, loyalty, and love

Anthem Kitchen + Bar will become Anthem Irish Pub at 9 a.m.! They’ll be serving brunch and Irish specialties from Chef Ben Hennemuth. Live music will play from 2-6 p.m. (Cherry Orchard) and 8-10 p.m. (Brandon).

The Rock of Cashel

The Green Briar will be showing all 6 Nations Rugby games, starting at 8:30 a.m. They will also be showing live GAA Hurling (love hurling!) and live GAA Football. Irish step dancers will go on at 12 p.m.  as well as live Irish music from Lake Shore Drive from 12-8 p.m. and then a DJ from 9 p.m.-close. Irish specialties and Irish breakfast will be served all day!

A hundred thousand welcomes

Happy (and safe!) St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

Have fun!

My grandfather never talked or bragged about any of his successes but if I had to guess I would say he was extremely competitive and took pride in striving to be the best at everything he did, which was exemplified in all of his accomplishments, whether work, or play.

The hardest part about writing this is trying to figure out what to start bragging about first.  I guess I can start with the fact that although he never attended college he worked his way up to become the President of Yankee Farm Credit and each year he attended every annual meeting, where he was always given a hero’s welcome. My grandfather grew up on a farm in East Burke, VT. Farming was in his blood,  and he seemed to know everything about it. I personally know farmers who long after his retirement still sought him out at parties and gatherings asking his advice about their operations. Along with his knowledge of dairy-farming my grandfather knew everything there was to know about logging, making syrup, and even tended his own vegetable garden every summer.

Along with being an incredibly intelligent businessman, my grandfather also managed all of his own investments. He owned land all over the state of Vermont and managed his own portfolio of stocks and bonds. Seeing his passion and success motivated me, and continues to motivate me, to learn everything I possibly can about business and investing. I owe much of what I know to lessons that I learned from him.

Aside from everything I learned from Gramp, my fondest memories come from spending time with him out in the woods hunting or on the lake fishing. While my grandfather was an excellent businessman and investor, he is THE BEST outdoorsman that I have ever met. That is not an exaggeration whatsoever. Every one of my father’s friends has their “remember when Frank…” story, and they usually involve him doing something incredible, maybe even something a bit crazy (like the time he crawled into a brush pile after a wounded bear he had shot It was dead by the time he got to it, but still…he crawled into a brush pile after a bear! A bear that one would expect to have been injured, feel cornered and most definitely grumpy). Over his lifetime my grandfather has shot well over 100 deer. I will consider myself successful if I end up with 1/4 of that. On top of being an incredible hunter, Gramp was also a crack shot. People tell me that he hardly ever missed. Gramp always told me, “make the first one count then let the lead fly”, and I still listen to his advice to this day.

I still remember the summer after grad school when I basically spent all of May with my grandparents, turkey hunting up on my grandfather’s land in Barnet, VT. Every afternoon when I got back from the woods Gramp would be waiting to hear my stories about how the morning hunt went. I could tell he wished he had the stamina to be out there with me but he still took joy in listening to my stories, which were usually about how I could have shot a turkey but managed to screw it up somehow!

I’ve never seen Gramp more proud of anyone and more excited than when he made it out to the woods in East Haven, Vermont to see the moose that my dad had just shot.  At the age of 84 he walked about a mile back into the woods just so he could partake in the moment. You could see the excitement and pride that he had for the success of my father.

Bragging point 5,746,374… My Gramp was the best lake trout fisherman there was on Lake Champlain. While others had adopted all sorts of modern technology he always used his old-fashioned “yanking” technique, jigging spoons just above the bottom of the lake. Professional guide services knew him and would come over and ask, “hey Frank, how you doin’ today?” His answer was always, “Oh, we’ve caught a few”. In reality he had caught about 20. He’d then ask how they were doing and they’d boast, “we’re having a hell of a day — we’ve landed 7!”. He would just smile.

I can still see him holding the taut copper fishing line asking me, “you wanna reel this one in?”. After we were done on the lake, we would get back to the dock where Gramp would tiptoe out to the end of his boat trailer, grab his 17 ft fishing boat, then drag it up onto the trailer. He was still doing this even this past summer, the last time we went fishing together (where by the way, we caught 33 lake trout…one of the best days he’s ever had on Champlain). I will never forget these memories; they were some of the best times of my life.

Finally the last story, I swear. That spring after grad school when I spent a bunch of time with my grandparents, Gramp took me to the “Walden Club”, which is a networking club in town. It was a blast — basically a bunch of guys hanging out drinking Canadian Club on the rocks out of high ball glasses. To say those fellas put the drinks back would be an understatement. After dinner we played a few hands of poker. I’m terrible so I ended up losing all my chips, but for the last hand (which is a winner takes all), Gramp loaned me enough chips to play. I ended up winning and taking everyone’s money home! Now by this time I had about four glasses of scotch, and was just trying to keep up with everyone else there. Apparently it was time to leave (mind you, it was about 8:00 p.m., but that’s late for these folks), and Gramp and I had gotten a ride there from one of his friends, so that’s who we were going home with. While we stumbled down the stairs I could tell that Gramps friend had obviously had quite a bit to drink as well…I struggled to think clearly and weight my options…here’s what I came up with; “Holy crap this old dude can barely walk! How is he going to drive? His reactions are probably slow even when he is sober! I should drive, at least I’m young…but no, I don’t even have a job yet! getting a DUI would stink. Oh hell, I guess Gramp’s friend should drive…” All I have to say is that all of my fears were alleviated as soon as the car was in drive. I swear this gentleman — who will remain nameless — never hit the gas pedal the entire ride home! I laughed to myself thinking, “I have nothing to worry about…if we hit anything, we will just bounce off and start creeping forward again.” What a night that was! Ah, the simple pleasures of small town life.

That’s what Gramp was –  a simple man, a wonderful husband and father, someone who worked hard for everything he ever achieved. He took pride in his family, and truly lived life to the fullest. You will be missed Gramp, you were truly one of the greats.

– By Colin Temple

Some of my favorite pictures with Gramp:

Gramp, Dad and myself

My sister Liz, my Grandma, myself and Gramp

Grandma and Gramp

Gramp and I by the camp fire at Joe's Pond

All of us with my dad's moose!

…to be too sexy for your shirt (just don’t be too sexy for it in public, ladies)

…to wanna shoop (the Salt-N-Pepa, Whitney or Cher way)

…to want a Sunday kind of love

…to make it clap

…to put a ring on it

…to step back (if you’re dancin’ kinda close)

…to be walking on sunshine

…to  just wanna have fun (whether you’re a girl, or boy)

…to stay forever young

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

I also think about bigger things, like our wedding day coming up in September, my supportive and amazing family, my great circle of friends, my education, my home, my job — I could go on and on. I have so much to be thankful for, so many blessings in my life — but sometimes I struggle with happiness. It’s not always easy to just be happy — no matter who you are, or what cards you’ve been dealt. Being happy is very much based on how we see things, then interpret them, and overall how we let them affect us on a daily basis.

I recently heard about the documentary called HAPPY and was very intrigued. I saw that they were screening it in Boston, so Colin and I went to go see it. It is a story about real-life people from around the world — who they are, and what happiness means to them. This movie goes into new scientific findings from the field of “positive psychology”, and the role our brain plays within our happiness story.

http://www.thehappymovie.com/

Here are some of the important questions this movie asks / covers, “Does money make you HAPPY? Kids and family? Your work? Do you live in a world that values and promotes happiness and well-being? Are we in the midst of a happiness revolution?” (Source).

I am so glad I got a chance to see this movie. It was thought-provoking, and really inspiring. I laughed, cried, and definitely thought more about what makes me happy and why. Even though I live a great life and am usually a pretty happy person — I know I could always try harder to appreciate all the good in my world. I strive to lead a happy life. I want to feel fulfilled, to be healthy, to embrace the positive and turn the negative away. It’s not always easy, but it’s a work in progress, and a cause I am definitely committed to!

You should absolutely check HAPPY out — it is perfect for all ages. Feel free to browse their website and social media pages (Facebook, Twitter) — also check out this blog post on Maria Shriver’s site, it’s great. Most importantly, please think about purchasing the DVD on iTunes. It is SO WORTH the $9.99. Enjoy!

I love happy photos:

Declan and I laughing away!

My friend Kait and I chuckling in NYC

My bud Kelly