September Book Club

by Jenni in


So, September may be more than half way through, but that is not to pick up a great book! Some friends and I recently started up a book club that will be meeting once a month to discuss some monthly reading. We will each take turns hosting, picking the book, bringing snacks, and bringing drinks. This month, I got to choose the book and decided on We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I heard good things about it and have also heard that the ending is a complete surprise. Other than that, I know nothing.

If you would like to join our monthly book club, that would be so great! We can read them together each month (I promise to notify you of that month's reading sooner than this one) and then come back for a book review. Of course, there will be a spoiler free and spoiler filled section easily seen. That way everyone is super happy with how little or how much information we have.

As for this month's book, I can tell you right now that is fits in the YA category and is based on a wealthy New England family. Two things I had no idea about when deciding on the book! Another thing I have learned is that it is a pretty easy ready. Really. I was halfway through with it after one sitting.

And, since there have been very few fitness related posts this week, I added in some workouts that were recently discovered from Brooke Burke-Chavet's YouTube Channel. Did you know that she had a YouTube channel? I had no idea. Brooke's channel, Modern Mom, is all about health and fitness with guest trainers (Tara Stiles was the most recent), healthy eating, and lifestyle tips. I am officially addicted.

So far, the two workouts that I have done include the Bum workout with Tara Stiles and this one for hip slimming. Both were fantastic and kicked up quite the sweat. They did not make me super sore, but were still great! If you looking for a bum workout that will make you super sore, just wait for the one coming out later this week!


Let's Talk Core

by Jenni in


Did you know that this will be the first fitness post of the week?! My, how this week and these posts have flown by! Well, we can, at least, end the work-week with some fantastic core workouts that I know we all are dying to have. Whoever said the a sore core is a bad thing was definitely wrong! That hurt-to-laugh bit is the part I sweat for :) And, speaking of sweat, these workouts are sure to make you.

Yoga for Core

I found this video by stumbling upon Candice's blog, Yoga by Candice. She of course, also has a YouTube channel and updates it with a complete yoga video once a week. The Yoga videos are wonderful, informative, and the yoga flow is fun. Her blog is also fantastic and I am super addicted now!

This yoga video was how I welcomed back working out after my long break. It is great! The core work at the beginning is super helpful and the balances make the flow seem short and fun. I would highly recommend this video to anyone who is an intermediate yogi or higher :)

Belly Bootcamp

Does you belly need a bootcamp? Mine sure does! Funny, but a mashed potato diet does not really do much for chiseling those abs... Neither did the 16+ hours of sleeping/laying around I was doing every day.

Anyway, this belly bootcamp looks like lots of fun and has moves all of us can do at home. It also seems perfect to do after a run or before yoga as a nice warm-up. This could even be done in the morning for a quick wake-up to get that metabolism going :)

4-Minute Abs

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Yes, I just spoke the words that every person loves to hear. Abs in 4-minutes may be a pipe dream, but Brooke Burke-Charvet's ab plan  (in the September issue of Shape) could get us those abs a wee bit faster than otherwise. This 4-minute plan is a well-rounded ab routine that will work all areas of your core. It is also way easier to do in the morning upon waking, before a big meal, or while watching some TV.

I hope your weekend is absolutely wonderful and you have something super fun planned! We will be checking out a local Mexican restaurant with the family and maybe even making it out to the beach for the second time this week! Ahh, going to the beach twice in one week makes me feel like it's high school again. Hey, with weather this nice, there is really no reason not to :)

Happy TGIF!