Birthday

29 in 29

Published on July 20, 2017August 28, 2019 by Marie1 Comment

This upcoming Saturday is my 29th birthday. Sean and I are heading to Burlington, Vermont for the weekend to celebrate both my birthday and our anniversary in a place I have never been before. 28 was such an incredible year for me, both professionally and personally, so it’s bittersweet to see it end. I traveled, bought a house and a new car, got promoted, and figured some things out along the way. So… what’s next?

Being a lover of lists, creating this “29 in 29” list was the perfect outlet for all of my birthday week thoughts as I enter the last year in my 20’s. So here are all of the things I’d like to do while I’m 29.

In no particular order:

1.Read 12 books. I’m sure for some people, this probably seems like a low number but if I’m being 100% honest, I really only read while I’m traveling or on vacation. Otherwise, I’m more likely to watch Netflix for 6 hours than read.

2. Volunteer.

3. Hike a mountain. Sean and I hiked Mount Monadnock a few years ago. It was fun and really challenging. I’d love to do it again or find another New Hampshire mountain to hike.

4. Update my wardrobe. Donate what I no longer need.

5. Keep an herb garden. I’ve been talking about having one for years now. I’m currently keeping a basil plant my aunt gave me alive so that’s a good start.

6. Explore 5 new places.

7. Run a race. My last one was in 2015. Time to dust off that Couch to 5K running plan.

8. Donate blood. Ask me about the one and only time I donated blood sometime.

9. Find/attend a new church.

10. Change my hair. For someone who’s never dyed their hair and keeps it pretty much the same trim after trim, this should be an interesting one.

11. Send a care package just because.

12. Host a fancy dinner party. I’ve had dinner parties in the past but now that we own a home, it’s time to bust out the beautiful china and crystal stemware we got for our wedding and do a full-blown Torto-family-style dinner party.

13. Try a new/difficult recipe. I try new recipes all the time but I want to step outside my comfort zone and try something really tough. Thoughts?

14. Go camping. This one’s a stretch but I’m sure Sean will be happy it’s on the list.

15. Break a bad habit.

16. Be genuinely happy with my appearance.

17. Pay it forward. Even something as simple as buying the person behind me in line their coffee.

18. Take vitamins daily. I never should’ve stopped taking those Sesame Street vitamins as a kid….

19. Visit a new state. What is the place I just have to go to?

20. Commit to yoga. I love yoga and the way it makes me feel but I tend to practice in spurts. Even if it’s just a 10-minute yoga flow 3 mornings a week, a consistent yoga schedule would be great to have.

21. Go on a legit road trip. (And not sleep through it.)

22. Learn to play the piano. Sean started teaching me when we first started dating but I didn’t keep up with it. We have a keyboard in his office so there’s no excuse not to at least try.

23. Make a rotating cleaning schedule and try to clean for 15 minutes a day. Sean will also be happy that this one made the list. #ihatecleaning

24. Attempt Whole30. Bonus points if I convince Sean to do it with me.

25. Fully decorate our main living spaces. This includes the front room, kitchen, sun room, hallway, main bath, and laundry closet.

26. Surprise someone in a big way.

27. Dance regularly. Teaching and coaching (while I love both) only partially count. I need to be a student too so finding outlets with drop-in classes is an immediate priority.

28. Walk. For exercise, for charity, for fresh air. Get outside more.

29. Unplug. This one will be particularly challenging for me given that my professional life revolves around social media. But even the other night, I found myself next to my husband mindlessly scrolling through the same apps over and over again. Time for a change.

And just for good luck, like an extra candle on a birthday cake, I’m including one more item on my 29 in 29 list, making it a true “30 Before 30” list.

30. Thoroughly enjoy 29.

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A look back at 2013

Published on January 2, 2014 by Marie6 Comments

I know I’m not the only person who said this, but 2013 flew by. It was an incredible year for me and I’m a little sad to say goodbye to it. To honor it, I’m looking back on all of the amazing (and sometimes sad) things that happened during it, complete with lots of photos!

2013 started with this guy. At the time, we had been together a whopping 5 months, but I already knew he was a different kind of special.

I continued to work for Boston.com as a sports production intern, covering everything from football to hockey, including the Bruins playoff run. Watching games from the TD Garden 9th floor Press Loge is something I will never forget.

I also miss this view... — I also miss this view…

I went to my first Muse concert and loved every second of it.

May or may not have had many beers at this concert.

I covered the Boston Marathon and left the finish line minutes before the bombings. Thinking about that day still shakes me to the core.

I ran 1 single road race: the Beach-to-Beach 5K in Marblehead for my third year in a row. Not my best, not my worst, but my only. Running and I weren’t close this year apparently.

I danced in my 5th DanceWorks Boston show and choreographed my 5th piece, “World Spins Madly On“.

I ended the internship I loved on a high note and accepted my first full-time “big girl” job offer a few weeks later with premium chocolate company, Lindt & Sprungli, working in their USA headquarters in Stratham, New Hampshire. Yes, there is chocolate around me all day, every day.

Lindt USA.. where it always smells like chocolate.

BUT I managed to not gain weight in the 6+ months I’ve worked here. Happy dance.

We knew each other a whole year… and that same weekend, I shot a gun for the first time. Irony?

Pretty cool even though I didn't hit anything. — Pretty cool even though I didn’t hit a single disk thingy.

4th of July was complete with this awesome ‘Merica flag cake.

I can't wait to make this again! — I can’t wait to make this again!

I turned 25 in true 25-year-old fashion. On a party bus with my friends.

I moved to a different state (New Hampshire) and in with this guy.

Putting in contact paper like a pro on our first night!

So cute & crafty. Salt dough! — So cute & crafty. Salt dough with help from Sean’s mom!

And celebrated being together a whole year.

We road-tripped to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to visit Sean’s sister Chelsea and her boyfriend Scott. And had an unbelievable time.

Only 4 more hours to go ... — Only 4 more hours to go …

I went on my first real business trip to Savannah, Georgia.

I dressed as a shark to Sean’s Sharknado for Halloween.

"You are the shark to my Sharknado." — “You are the shark to my Sharknado.”

We went to the MSPCA at Nevin Farms’ “Cat Adopt-a-thon”, rescued a beautiful 3-year old tiger-striped tabby, named her Sophie, and fell in love with her.

How could you not love that little face?

My family went to my cousins’ new house in Maine to celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time. Many hours of football and eating commenced.

My cooking and baking marathon for Thanksgiving! 2 pumpkin pies & honey oat loaf later... — My cooking and baking marathon for Thanksgiving! 2 pumpkin pies & honey oat loaf later…

I got into the Christmas spirit early with twinkle lights and an American Girl doll Christmas tree. Next year, it’ll be much bigger.

I had a wonderful Christmas.

Traditional Christmas Eve photo! Also – I’m short.

And finally, we dressed up for New Years Eve (another big shout out to Sean’s mom for costuming us!) and attended a Gatsby-themed party. (And suffered no hangover the next day!)

Circa 1920s for NYE! Hair courtesy of my new hair wand curling toy.

2013 was fast and fun for me, with so many memories, I probably missed a few. I danced, I laughed, I cried, I loved. I could not be more thankful or happy in the place I am in right now.

Cheers to you, 2014. You have some big shoes to fill.

A Quick Update

Published on February 15, 2013February 15, 2013 by Marie1 Comment

Things have been rolling along here, just puttering through this winter that suddenly got 10 times worse when Blizzard Nemo decided to dump close to 30 inches of snow on Massachusetts last weekend, but hey, shoveling is part of life too.

Snowball fight BEFORE the storm actually started.

Now that things are cleaned up a bit, here’s what’s been going on lately.

– My wonderful boyfriend turned 27. Or as I like to remind him: the end to his mid-twenties and the almost-approaching-30 years. Needless to say, that doesn’t necessarily thrill him. But I did get him Bruins tickets for an April game against the Islanders and made this…

… so he was pretty happy. I found this beauty on Pinterest (follow me!) and followed this recipe to put it together. I highly recommend it even though it was a lengthy process.

– I successfully made Honey Oat Bread from scratch.

I’ve only attempted a yeast bread one other time and this one was way better. I usually shy away from recipes that call for 3+ hours of resting/rising time just because I usually don’t have that much time and I’m not very patient. But on a cold day with nothing to do and a lonely packet of instant yeast in the cabinet, why not? I recommend this recipe.

– My friends threw me a surprise Master’s graduation party…. and I had absolutely no idea. My best friends and dance friends were there and I got presents and drank (a lot of) Asti in celebration. It was wonderful.

This is my "What the hell is going on here?" face. — This is my “What the hell is going on here?” face.

– DanceWorks Boston Season 6 started!

I’m in 4 routines this time around, and choreographing my 5th DWB piece to “World Spins Madly On” by the Weepies. I’ll take a group photo at our next rehearsal.

– I’m going to host my 2nd giveaway soon!

Freshly baked cookies may or may not be included … don’t miss it!

Tell me! What’s new in your life? What would you like to see as a theme for a giveaway that includes cookies?

It’s been three months?!

Published on November 2, 2012 by Marie1 Comment

Hello again!!

Apparently I took a completely unscheduled hiatus from blogging and now all of a sudden, it’s November.

I never really meant to stop blogging for all this time. Life just got away from me there for a while. If you’re just dying for a not-so-short-but-still-sweet recap of what’s been going on with me for the last 3 months, buckle up… you’re in for a bumpy ride.

I last left off leaving for Paris. It was incredible. I spent the first few minutes of my 24th birthday on the top of the lit up Eiffel Tower and it was nothing short of spectacular. Keesa, Matt, Justin and I spent the rest of the day lounging out front of the Eiffel tower with two bottles of wine before getting on a plane back to London.

Happy 24th Birthday to me! The Eiffel Tower was my present but I couldn’t fit it on the plane home. Darn.

Fast forward a few days…the London2012 Olympics were beginning, I was knee deep in school and internship work and life was surreal. Though stressed, I was happiest than I had been in months, partly due to completely unrelated circumstances that I will get to in a bit.

So the Olympics… yes, well, let’s just say I’ll never be able to watch them from my couch again. Yes, I will be finding a way to get to Rio in 2016, hopefully by then I’ll be an Olympic correspondent for… something… anything. Just get me to Rio.

Yes, that is Ryan Lochte and yes, I was that close to him. We chatted… Let’s just say its a good thing he’s an Olympic athlete cause the kid’s got rocks in his head.

So let’s back up a bit… before leaving for London I was pretty much a miserable wreck. Long story short, my boyfriend of a very long time broke up with me. I was blindsided, devastated and, in the midst of the worst and hardest semester of my entire life, fell completely apart. I considered dropping out of school, I considered giving up London, I considered being a moping, miserable person for the rest of my life. And for a few months, I was. But I stayed in school and committed to London because let’s be real here… what was the point of throwing away the $60,000 I had already spent on my grad program and the trip of a lifetime? There wasn’t.

I buried myself in my school work, dance and being with people who really did love me. I cried every day, multiple times a day for weeks. I listened to sad music, ran a lot of lonely miles and talked to anyone who would listen. I didn’t believe it when people told me that life would get better, that there was someone out there who would love me unconditionally, someone who I was supposed to be with. This was in March.

396924_461001333918575_714392195_n — Dance (and dance friends make everything better.)

423733_641802550793_1211583000_n — Best Friends. No shame.

My BU friends took the brunt of the emotional roller coaster simply because I saw them every. single. day.

524339_10150762134959923_127658859_n — This dinner was for cheering me up. I also carbo-loaded for my 10K the next day. It was awesome.

A few months went by and soon, I wasn’t crying anymore… or at least not as much. I finished my semester with one of the highest GPAs of my entire academic career and was now looking ahead to the summer. London: getting away, doing everything for myself, letting nothing hold me back. And I was scared as all hell to go away for 2 months so that pretty much trumped all other emotions at the time.

531444_3038831218903_157882281_n — This is how I get good grades. No, but really.
And Keesa was one of my roommates in London. Best matchup ever.

June rolled around and soon, I was mere days from leaving. But before I hopped on a plane to Europe for the summer, my family and I went to the wedding of two of my very good childhood friends. Together for 7 years, throughout high school and college, they got married in our church and had a beautiful reception on the water in Nahant. Though slightly emotional, it was one of the best nights I had in a very long time.

539552_4182755181404_1459719883_n — Aren’t they the cutest?
Photo courtesy of Sarah’s Facebook….

I even met someone… but more about him another time.

Spoiler alert: This is where the previously mentioned “happy, unrelated circumstances” comes into play.

599932_10151009092738507_1187226436_n — He seems nice…

Three days later, I boarded my plane, took off to London and went to the Olympics.

The End..

Kidding.

Is that the end of the story? Hardly. Let’s just say I not only got to go to the Olympics this summer, but I also got to know someone very special from 3,000 miles away. But I’ll leave it there for now.

2012 will be BIG.

Published on December 31, 2011 by Marie1 Comment

2012 promises to be a huge year for me. I have big ideas, big dreams and big goals.

This year will include a lot of milestones. I’ll turn 24, study abroad in London covering the Summer Olympics, create and present a media thesis project, choreograph for DanceWorks Boston and Kinetic Synergy, work my 4th summer with the National Dance Alliance, finish my last 2 semesters of grad school, run a bazillion more races… the list is endless.

Goals-wise, I am all about the resolutions. I love ’em. Not the kinds that say “I’m going to drop such-and-such amount of weight” but the ones that make you feel good when you accomplish them and make you want to work harder if they slip away from you.

Keep Going — I feel like this can be referred to in all aspects of life...

2012 Goals

– Run 10 5K races. I know this is attainable. I just need to buckle down and register.

– To go along with my 5K race goal, I want to run the 2012 Marblehead Beach to Beach 5K again this year. It was my first ever race and I’d love to keep running it every year.

– Run a sub 27:00 5K. That’s about a 9:00 min/mile. I can do it.

– Run 5 longer races this year, 5-milers, 10Ks and one half marathon. Holy crap, I can’t believe I’m writing that, but there it is, out there for the world to see.

– Choreograph 3 more dance pieces. It took me until 2011 to realize how much I love choreographing and I don’t want to stop!

– Try out and review 1 new restaurant a month. I want to expand my food horizons and experience as much of it as possible… on a budget.

– Work 3 NDA camps. This one might be tough because of London, but I think three is a good compromise since I usually work 9.

– Ace my study abroad. 6 weeks, 1 class, 1 internship, 1 chance. An internship with a huge news networks could lead to a possible job. I want to kick ass during my time in London; it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and could set me apart from a million other applicants in the real world.

– Rock my media thesis. No specifics just yet but it will include a website where I am happy to say I just buy the domain. It will come with a lot of physical and mental changes and challenges. Stay tuned.

– Finish graduate school successfully. Without too many meltdowns would be ideal.

– Save money. This year will be especially difficult since London alone is very expensive, but I have a number in mind and achieving it at least once this year would be great.

– Love others more. Personal goal. Be nicer also ties in here.

Overall, I hope 2012 will be as successful, productive and eye-opening as 2011 as been. Thank you to all of you who read Chocolate & Wine and support me through everything I do.

I raise my glass (of Asti) to you.

Last question of 2011: What are your biggest goals for the new year?