Caribbean Archives - Popcorn and Pandas

2016 in Review

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So much has happened over the course of this past year…here is a little recap…

I came upon my 2 year health + fitness coaching journey this January and I have since been able to help over 300 challengers to reach their goals and over 30 coaches to build a business of their own. I am continuing to help those who want to make changes in this brand new year.

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My sweet little Luca was officially Baptized into the Catholic Church with a beautiful Christening celebration.

I earned my first Beachbody Coach Success Club Trip and was able to take my whole family on a Caribbean Cruise on the Oasis of the Seas!!! Holy amazing!!!

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I had some fun collaborations with Younique presenter Suzy Engler & UncommonGoods. I now love a great lip stain and one of my readers is rockin’ an Elwood mug.

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We traveled to New Jersey, Ithaca, and Baltimore / (x2) to celebrate some incredibly beautiful weddings of close friends.

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We spent a week at the lake with close friends in the Poconos.

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I returned to Nashville for my 2nd Beachbody Coach’s Summit and got to hang with my amazing team!

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Nico turned 3 and Luca turned 1, and we celebrated with a Lego themed Birthday Party

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We tackled potty training over the summer and got one kid out of diapers lol. This book was super helpful.

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We spent two weeks at the beach with family from the Outer Banks, NC to Cape May, NJ

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Hubby finally started back up on his own health and fitness journey…and he’s got the abs to prove it!

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Got in a ton of good reads this year including You Are a Badass, Girl on the Train, Me Before You, No Excuses, The 15 Laws of Invaluable Growth, The 5 Love Languages, and more.

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We hiked to the top of Bear Mountain with great friends and Nico almost did the entire thing on his own including the hand and foot scaling!!! I was super impressed.

I completed several new at-home workout programs and challenged myself from P90X3, 21 Day Fix Extreme, 22 Minute Hard Corps, Country Heat, Hammer + Chisel, 3 Week Yoga Retreat, and Core de Force. Feeling happier + healthier than ever before!

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I traveled to Sundance, Utah for my first ever Coach’s Diamond Retreat which was an experience of a lifetime. What an amazingly beautiful place to reflect, learn, and be inspired by so many other leaders.

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Made some amazing fall soups that were so great, they will definitely be made again this winter.

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Little sis and I pulled off the surprise of the year celebrating our amazing Mom + Dad’s 60th Birthday. Aren’t these two adorable?!?!

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Got in another memorable family Christmas Eve photo by my cousin and fav photographer Misa Me.

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Rounded out the year with a fabulous holiday season with my bests in our Christmas jammies.

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What an incredible year, and we cannot wait to see what 2017 has in store!!!

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What was your favorite memory from 2016??? What are you most looking forward to in 2017??? Please share below!!!

Wishing you all a happy + healthy New Year! Happy Monday!!

XO,

Gina

Caribbean Cruise

Woweee, ok if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you are probably sick and tired of seeing all of our Caribbean Cruise photos by now….but just in case you’re notttt, and you wanted to see a little more detail from the trip, I created this blog post.

The ship (Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas) was absolutely incredible! One of the biggest in the world, it had everything from a wave rider, putt-putt golf, aqua theatre, rock wall, zip line, multiple pools and hot tubs, all you can eat ice cream dispensers, clubs, grand ballrooms, a champagne bar, a “Central Park” re-creation, stunning views, a solarium, a carousel, 17 floors, amazing restaurants, and even a Starbucks. I mean, seriously?!?! I am cruise SPOILED!!!

When docked in the Bahamas and Jamaica our ship just dwarfed every other one next to us. I literally cannot believe our company rented out the entire boat for us. I was beyond impressed with the great lengths they went to make our trip amazing and how wonderful the Royal Caribbean staff was.

Each day, we woke up to the option of working out with a celebrity trainer followed by an awesome post-workout Shakeology bar. My little buddy came up and did two workouts with me on the top deck.

Nassau was absolutely beautiful. We walked around the town exploring, went to Junkanoo Beach, treated ourselves with ice cream and Bahama Mamas, and splashed in the crystal clear waters. This was Luca’s first ever trip to the beach, and I’m pretty sure he was a big fan!

Getting to spend quality time with some amazing friends and fellow boss ladies on this trip was fantastic. We hang out online pretty much every day, but to see each other in person, you would never know we had only met face to face ONCE before! These gals push and inspire me daily, and they have become so important to me. It was also a super huge bonus during our team dinner to have Tony Horton come up and entertain my children! He was just as sweet and as funny in real life as he is on DVD 😉 So grateful to have been surrounded by so many positive people each day on our trip.

These smiles pretty much made my vacation! My boys had an awesome time, and I’m so happy I was able to provide this adventure for them! I will never forget it.

And last, but not least…Jamaica Mon! This place was gorgeous, and I definitely plan to return for a longer stay!

Again, I am so grateful to have had this experience with my family and close friends. A year ago, I never would have imagined a Caribbean vacation would be possible with a toddler and 6 month old. What an adventure! So happy to have stumbled upon the opportunity to work for such an amazing company. Looking forward to what is in store for our future!

We are now back to our regularly scheduled programming here in New York. Yesterday was a cold one waking up to a bit of snow on the ground. While I am still dreaming of the islands, it is nice to get back into my normal routine again!

Hope you are all having a great week!

XO,

Gina

Color Block Bikini

Splurge v. Steal

Last summer, I was exercising and working hard, but let’s be honest…I had a big ole prego belly! 😉

While I didn’t imagine being in a bikini only 6 months post-childbirth, my company reward trip to the Caribbean is coming up in just a couple weeks! I suppose I could rock a one piece (and you know I could find a vintage style one I’d adore!), but I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little bit excited to own all this hard work I have put in each day for these past few months!

I have had my eye on some color block bikinis, but wouldn’t you know, most of them have sold out. Here are two still available that I am deciding between! I LOVE the colors on this one by PILYQ, but it’s a little cheeky if ya know what I mean, and it’s $75. The other has a little more coverage and is $27 from Missguided, but the colors aren’t quite as fun!

What do you think? Make the splurge? Or grab that steal?

Happy Friday everyone!!

XO,

Gina