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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

{37} Lately…

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Lately I’ve been…

reading Prayers for the Advent wreath and my new Advent calendar which was gifted to me last year.

writing I honestly wish I could say Christmas cards, but alas I am behind this year…it might be one of those “Happy New Year” card years…hopefully I can get my act together!

listening To the podcast, “Happier” by Gretchen Rubin. I loved her book “The Happiness Project” and someone recently suggested I check out her podcast. I am HOOKED!

thinking About Christmas lists and gifts. And that it’s also about time I start shopping. Eeep! What are your favorite places to shop for the holidays?

smelling Christmas cookie candles and the beautiful smell of pine from my Christmas tree. ‘Tis the season!

watching Recently watched the movie Pans Labyrinth. Weird. Just weird.

wishing You all a Happy Holiday season!!!

hoping For clear roads, clear skies, and safe travels on our road trip tomorrow.

wearing This stunning new dress from ASOS. Looking forward to wearing it for the first time at a wedding this weekend. May also be the perfect Christmas Eve dress. Since this one is out of stock, here is another beauty.

loving That the Holly station is back on Sirius/XM Radio. It’s gonna be a jolly ol’ car ride tomorrow! (My Jewish husband hates me right now…)

wanting More days in December! I have so many fun holiday traditions I want to partake in from parties to light shows, train shows, a visit to Santa, and more. It doesn’t seem like there is enough time to enjoy it all!

needing To start packing yet again. I don’t mind the traveling and the driving so much as I mind all the packing!

feeling Snuggly. Christmas jammies anyone?

craving Cookies! Here are some healthier holiday cookie options for you this year.

clicking On one of my favorite websites to shop for sweet gifts and deals.

HAPPY THURSDAY!

What have you been up to lately?

XO,

Gina

{36} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull, the co-founder of Pixar on creativity and inspiration in business. It’s one that I have wanted to read for awhile having worked in the animation industry for 8 years. Now with running my own business, I figured it would be a good read.

writing Content for my next team call I am leading for my coaches on time management. So many people ask how the heck I have time to do everything that I do…I am no magic fairy. I have the same amount of time as everyone else. Some days I have it together…and some days I am a crazy person. It’s all about prioritizing, making the most of your time, and nixing things in life that are huge time wasters!

listening To the rain falling down on my window pane…and also, the laundry machine.

thinking About the holidays. Can’t believe it’s all right around the corner. Although it can be stressful at times, it’s definitely my most favorite time of the year.

smelling You don’t want to know…but I have two kids in diapers at home…so take a wild guess. (GROSS, Gina!) I know, but that is my life 😉

watching I don’t watch a ton of TV anymore, but I do allow myself a bit here and there. I have been watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix, and I am a fan!

wishing A lifetime of happiness for my BFF who got married last weekend. And for my cousin who is saying “I do” on Saturday.

hoping For sunshine tomorrow.

wearing Another pair of jeans from my pre-pregnancy closet. SCORE! Loving this 21 Day Fix! Also a flowy top, striped cardigan, and red rainboots.

loving This personalized bar necklace from Brickyard Buffalo. Thinking about this as an updated “Mommy Necklace” to have both of my boys close to my heart.

wanting A raincoat. I can’t believe I have lived in NYC for over 8 years now, and have never owned a raincoat. What is wrong with me? What do you all think of this one?

needing Some hot tea with honey. It’s feeling like fall today.

feeling Energized. Healthy. Strong.

craving Something sweet. Hence why it’s time to go make that hot tea with honey.

clicking Through some healthy recipes and yoga moves for my upcoming Namaste November Free Challenge. There is still time to join if you are interested! Let me know in the comments below.

HAPPY TUESDAY!

What have you been up to lately?

XO,

Gina

Homemade Apple Butter

After our recent trip to Fishkill Farms, I knew that this was going to be the perfect opportunity to finally make homemade apple butter this season. With fresh organic apples from the farm and a recipe from Skinnytaste, I decided to spend a Sunday afternoon making this delicious spread that reminds me of my childhood days. I was nervous with how it was going to turn out, but I have to say, it was pretty spot on!

Ingredients:

6 large apples, peeled, cored, finely chopped (honeycrisp, gala, ambrosia) – *I used a couple extra apples and the apple type was whatever we found at the farm
1/3 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, not packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg – *For all the spices, I had an Apple Pie spice that I used instead which had these ingredients

Directions:

Place the apples in a slow cooker. Top with sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and mix well. Cover and cook high 5 hours, or low 10 hours, stirring once halfway, until the apples are tender and dark brown.

Uncover and puree with an immersion blender. *(I do not own an immersion blender, so I actually had to spoon it out and blend it in my regular blender…not really recommended, as it’s hot and this is a difficult procedure! However, it got the job done.) Cook on high uncovered 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Spoon into jars or containers, cover and refrigerate.

Makes 2 cups.

Nico has been enjoying peanut butter and apple butter sandwiches for lunch as I did as a child, and he absolutely loves it! I have enjoyed some on toast as well. If you have other great ideas for how to enjoy apple butter, please share!

Hope you all had a fantastic Halloween last night. My boys dressed up as Curious George (Nico) and the Man in the Yellow Hat (hubby). Luca was a skeleton (with a pumpkin hat), and I was a panda (naturally). We enjoyed our neighborhood Halloween Parade, which was fabulous, and then took off for some Trick or Treating. Nico had his first candy this year, and had no idea what to do with a lollipop. It was a pretty funny experience to say the least. We let him have a few pieces…and then my husband and I had a few too many pieces…and now I need to GET IT ALL OUT OF MY HOUSE!

21 Day Fix Round 2 starts tomorrow as well as my Thankful for Fitness Challenge Group, and it’s healthy eating and living from here on out so that I am going into the holidays feeling happy, healthy, and strong.

Who’s with me?

Happy Sunday!

XO,

Gina

{35} Lately

Lately I’ve been…

reading Been reading a bunch of books at once these days. Tag teaming a business book and a fun book. Just finished Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. It’s a great read for anyone who works in the social media industry or just has a general interest in social media. I am also reading House Rules by Jodi Picoult as something lighter and non-business related for summertime. And lastly, planning on beginning to read Start With Why by Simon Sinek this week about how great leaders inspire people to take action.

writing Thank you cards for everyone who attended Nico’s 2nd Birthday Party and for those who have showered our 2nd baby boy with goodies as well. We are very lucky to have such great family and friends.

listening Inspirational Podcasts. Here is a good list for entrepreneurs. Do you have a good one to add to the list?

thinking I can’t believe it’s almost time to have this baby! And that I am going to be surrounded by BOYS!

smelling BBQ Chicken my hubby made for dinner. So delish!

watching The Real Housewives of Orange County and New York. Yes. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Hey, every girl needs a little trashy TV downtime.

wishing For a smooth labor and delivery. And for my water to break at home or at the hospital and not in some crazy public place.

hoping That being said…hoping that baby comes before they decide I need to be induced like my last pregnancy! Grow baby, grow!

wearing Leggings, maternity shorts, stretchy tanks and maternity tops, maxi dresses. Anything that isn’t extremely hot to wear and that I can still walk around in. There is a reason you haven’t seen a fashion post up lately haha…there’s not much to report these days! Comfort is key to maternity survival in this heat!

loving My new redecorated and cleaned out office space in my sunroom. Looking for more prints to hang and still need to install the knobs on the desk (which came today, yay!), and some curtains, but I am excited!

wanting To try some recipes in the new cookbook, FIXATE, by Autumn Calabrese! They look so good!

needing To keep walking! Exercise is getting a little tougher these days as I hit the 38 week mark of my pregnancy yesterday, but trying to keep things moving, and hopefully that will help this baby arrive soon.

feeling Like I have to pee constantly. TMI? Sorry, just keepin’ it real over here.

craving Chocolate. Chocolate. More Chocolate. If you know me, you know I generally crave fruitier desserts, but for some reason, I am all about that chocolate in the past couple weeks. Baby has a sweet tooth!

clicking Through Etsy for office wall art

HAPPY TUESDAY!

What have you been up to lately?

XO,

Gina

Summa Summa Summatime

Summa Summa Summatime!

It’s mid-summer and I am looking for 5 more women who want to commit to the next 3 weeks of healthy eating and fitness! There is still time to feel confident in that summer bikini, at that summer wedding, or at your family reunion, ladies. It all starts with you and your decision to change and make a difference both by being active and making smart choices in the kitchen.

My next round of the 21 Day Fix is starting up on July 13th, and I would love to help you reach your goals! It will include:

-A DIFFERENT workout each day of the week to keep things interesting
-An EASY to follow nutrition plan complete with portion control containers to map out what you should be eating each day
-30 MEALS of Shakeology – a super healthy drink packed with vitamins, nutrients, and super foods
-MYSELF as your personal coach and motivator
-3 week SUPPORT group full of other challengers like yourself where we will share inspiration, motivation, tips, recipes, etc.

Don’t let a busy schedule hold you back from making a change! Some of my best challengers with the most rockin’ results are busy moms, busy professionals, and have full plates. *30 min a day is only 2% of your day and anyone can make time for this program if they are ready to make a change.*

COMMENT below with your e-mail address if you would like to join the party or if you would like more information. You can also e-mail me at gina.notes26 {at} gmail.com if you want in!

Make it a good one!

XO,

Gina

Summer Sweat Sesh

Can’t believe it’s almost JULY! This summer is flying by already. School is officially out and I know many of us are prepping for family vacations. Whoo hoo!

Starting July 6, I’m hosting a little Summer Sweat Sesh, because a dip in the pool always feels more refreshing after a nice workout right? Not to mention feeling even more fabulous in that swimsuit. 🙂

Most of the workouts are 30 min per day and are combined with a healthy eating plan. Our group will provide support and motivation each day along with workout tips, nutrition information, and yummy summer recipes.

So what do you say? Who’s in for a little sweat sesh this summer?

COMMENT below with your contact information or email me at gina.notes26 {at} gmail.com.

Cheers to Summer!

XO,

Gina

Farewell 2013

I can’t believe it’s time to say farewell to 2013. It’s been a crazy year, but also a really fun one. I want to thank all of you for continuing to check out my posts every day. Your comments and kind words definitely keep me coming back here to this little blog of mine. Your favorite post was when I announced my husband and I were having a boy! That little boy sure has changed our world. You also liked my recipes for garden fresh tomato sauce and homemade pesto. Who knew I could actually be crafty with my DIY Nursery Letters, which you all also seemed to enjoy. And your favorite outfit post was this winter white number.

Now here is a little photo reminder of my trip to Maine, which is perfect for today’s celebrations. I will most likely be in bed before the ball drops this year, because when you have a baby, you can’t stay up until midnight anymore. Instead of drowning yourself in champagne and singing Auld Lang Syne while staring at the blurry fireworks…you sip some sparkling cider, cuddle your little one, put him to bed, and then climb into your own bed to catch up on sleep. The difference in Brooklyn is that us parents postpone celebrations for a chic daytime party with other parents and babies in the neighborhood at the local bar (which I am looking forward to by the way). So we will still be celebrating tomorrow, just during baby-friendly hours. 🙂

I am wishing you all the most wonderful New Year for 2014!

XO,

Gina