This year is all about simple lifestyle changes for me. Adding more veggie only meals, trying to regularly eat vitamins and moving my body more. Even though I grew up doing gymnastics for 13 years I've never been the best at exercising. Grueling practice, definitely, but running, lifting weights, etc. was not for me. This super portable under desk elliptical from Cubii is going to help me achieve that goal! Last Spring into Summer I was doing indoor and outdoor bike rides and would occasionally go on walks but I definitely need to move more during the work week. 

I've been using my Cubii for about a month and am already noticing changes. Parents or commuters don't hate me, but I have always had trouble getting out of bed before 8:30/9. I used to roll out of bed, go downstairs and start working at 9am. Now I find myself getting up before 8am so I can have my Goli vitamins and get a quick 30 minute "workout" in. I'm not into intense training yet, but will build up to it. For now my goals are at least 2000 strides a day and 30 minutes of pedaling. Some days I'll do more, some days I'll do a higher speed and intensity, but usually I'm at a leisurely bike riding pace at a high resistance.

My friend convinced me and Christian to run the Wine & Dine 5K at Walt Disney World later this year (he's doing the half marathon) so having an under desk elliptical will be great to keep my training going during the day.  Disney's training program for a 5K is 13 weeks, slowly building up your stamina. I feel like I shouldn't need too much training as it's only 3 miles, but if I run the whole way I'll definitely need more endurance. I'm more of a sprinter than a long distance runner. 

I've been easily able to transport my Cubii under desk elliptical to various rooms in the house. If I work in the dining room it fits under the table and if I'm in the living room watching TV I can place it right in front of the couch. It's also quiet so it doesn't disrupt Christian or clients if I'm using it on a work call. It has the option for different users too, so when Christian is in the mood for an under desk elliptical workout he can bring it into his office. I even brought it over to my parent's house once and my family members tried it out on the Guest user. It was quite the hit, ha ha! Even my brother's puppy was curious what all the hype was about.

I have the Cubii JR+ with Bluetooth so I'm able to track my progress in the Cubii app automatically as well as viewing the data in my Health app. It also has an LCD display for immediate info. Having measurable data is always helpful in keeping you to your goals, in my opinion. Christian is trying to get me to buy an Apple Watch now so I can really keep track of all my vitals and exercise - I've been resisting for years because I like small watches, ha ha. Another thing I really enjoy about the Cubii under desk elliptical is you don't have to wear sneakers, most of the time I'm just wearing socks.

Update: After I wrote this post Christian broke me down and I got an Apple Watch 8, haha! I've only had it for a week and a half but it's already motivating me even more. Gotta close those rings every day! I was going to remove the previous paragraph but I think it's funny that I went from "I don't need it" to "Okay, it will keep me more accountable" fairly quickly.

The mobile app has Cubii Studio+ classes so you can follow along different workouts. There are over 300 free classes to choose from for all abilities, needs, and body types. I particularly enjoyed the Mind & Stride and Stretch videos.  You can watch them on your phone or computer. If I did my sessions before work I would airplay to the TV so I could watch on the bigger screen right in front of me.

You can also find monthly Wellness Journii's - each month a pdf calendar with daily activities will be available for download. The app will also show you each day's tasks so you don't forget and will check them off for you if you manually or automatically put your data in the app. My Cubii arrived on February 1st so I was able to participate in (almost) the full month. The activities were such a fun way to get me to keep with my routine. 

February's activities included burning 120 calories, plan & prep 3 meals for the week, pedal for 20 minutes while listening to music and much more! These little changes in activity, and lifestyle reminders, kept workouts from getting boring. I'm optimistic I will continue to use my Cubii for years to come.

The under desk elliptical came almost fully assembled, we just had to add the foot petals and charge it up with the handy USB-C charging cord. The charge lasts quite a while, after my initial charge when it arrived I haven't had to charge it yet (it's been about four and a half weeks.)

*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.  Thank you for supporting brands I feature*

Next month Christian and I will be taking a trip to California to visit Disneyland, Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park. Originally we had wanted to see Joshua Tree and the Redwoods too but, since we only have a week, we needed to prioritize. We'll do a dedicated Redwoods trip in the future since it's something we both really want to do (might squeeze in a visit to the town where Halloweentown was filmed in Oregon too if we go in October, ha ha.)

We're spending three weeks surrounding the California vacation working from Christian's Mom's house now that Christian is able to have a little more flexibility with his location. Instead of flying to Missouri we'll drive like we did last Thanksgiving so we won't need to pack light for that portion of the trip. We'll limit to carry-on luggage for the California trip. The plan is to fly from Missouri into Los Angeles, rent a car and fly back to Missouri from San Francisco. Everything is booked and we're ready to go!

The first essential to packing is obviously a bag, and this stylish minimalist backpack from Day Owl is the perfect option for me! I love how simple it is with no unnecessary frills but plenty of features. I always appreciate bags with a luggage strap so I can attach them easily to my suitcase. This backpack also has a neoprene lined side pocket to fit a water bottle and a few other hidden pockets to stow smaller items. Day Owl make their bags with sustainable materials including waxed canvas made from recycled plastic bottles! How cool is that?

Footwear

We will be doing a LOT of walking so the proper gear and accessories are key. My main problem is I don't go for utility, I go for fashion. Ball of foot cushions for sandals from Foot Petals will definitely be in my suitcase. At Disney I'll wear my Ancient Greek Sandals, and instead of hiking boots I'll probably wear sneakers for the national parks.  I bought an assortment of ball of foot cushions and some blister healers so I'll have options for each pair of shoes I bring. I love that they have some foot cushions with built-in toe-post crests so you can use them on flip-flop style sandals, or other sandals that separate the big toe from the rest.

Disney Supplies

The Disney portion of the trip is a whole different animal but it's only two days so I won't need much. I'll obviously need some Disney tees to wear during the day and a Mickey sweatshirt for cooler evenings. I may bring a different one since this one says Disney World, but I love the color so I may rep the East Coast! My Remy's Ratatouille Adventure Dooney & Bourke bag will also be making the trip out West!

The most important thing is my walking sandals, which will be made even more comfortable with my new ball of foot cushions! My sandal of choice is Ancient Greek Sandals, not those other sandals that people claim are comfortable. One trip I tried to wear Tevas, that I thought I had broken in, and my feet were RIPPED APART after one day. For the rest of the trip I had to wear socks with them, in addition to band-aids, to protect my poor feet. Never again. I'll stick with my AGS that have been all over the world with me, literally!

Activewear

I don't own much activewear, but for the second half of our trip we'll be doing a lot of walking around the national parks so I'll be wearing Fabletics workout sets, Spanx leggings and sneakers.  For warmer days (if any!) I'll have some Dona Jo biker shorts.  In addition to workout clothes I'll also look like a proper tourist with a fanny pack and water bottle strapped around my waist.

Layers

While California will definitely be warmer than Connecticut and Missouri, I know that April could still be snowy up at Sequoia and Yosemite National Park. This means I'll need to pack some layers. Tank tops, short sleeves, long sleeves, sweaters and sweatshirts will all be necessary at one point or another. I also have some fleece lined leggings I can wear if it's supposed to be extra cold on one of our exploration days.

Miscellaneous

We'll have a couple days in LA and visiting Universal Hollywood too so I'll bring some "normal" clothes for our sightseeing on those days. Or maybe I'll go totally against my norm and wear my leggings and activewear on those days, the horror! I'm the type of person that will not wear workout clothes unless I'm actually trying to exercise.  But, if I run out of room in my suitcase, that will probably be the move.

*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.*

The shortest month of the year is over!  I was good once again and didn't add anything to my closet. I did, however, gain a new accessory. Christian has been wanting me to get an Apple Watch for a while so he decided to get me one! Technically that is a new item in the closet, but it was a gift and it's more for tracking exercise versus fashion. HOWEVER, I am thinking about splurging on one of the fancy Hermès bands...but I probably won't because they're almost the same price as the watch, sheesh!

THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. None yet

1. None yet

Shoes:

1. None yet

Handbags:

1. None yet

1. *NEW!* Apple Watch 8 Midnight Aluminum Case with Elderberry Sport Band (gift from Christian)
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None yet

Gifted from Brands:

• None yet

Spent in February: $0

Spent in 2023: $0

Spent in 2023 - counting ad money: $0

This is what I wore for a morning/early afternoon of walking around Olde Mystic Village with Christian, my sister and her boyfriend. These boots are one of my favorite every day shoes. Ever since I bought them in 2014 they have been in constant rotation. So much so that I actually wore them out and bought a second pair. I still have the original and will wear those when I want comfortable shoes but they might get dirty/etc. 

I was recently introduced to PowerStep insoles and learned that, because of my high arches, I may need supination insoles for high arches to make walking more comfortable and reduce the amount of wear on the outer soles of my shoes. I bought a couple pairs of supination insoles to try out and see if they help me walk better and stop me from putting extra pressure on the heel of my foot. I chose the "PowerStep Bridge Adaptable Arch Supporting Insoles with Energize Foam" and then the "SlenderFit 3/4 Insoles" to wear with "fashion" shoes.

I always enjoy walking around the shopping center, there's new things to see every time! We perused a few shops but my favorites are always the kitchen related stores. Christian and I had a ball tasting olive oils at Extra Virgin and honey at Sticky Situations. We ended up splurging and buying 4 different honeys - orange blossom (our favorite,) rosemary and blackberry honey plus tangy citrus honey mustard. We couldn't leave without eating so we grabbed some donuts from Deviant Donuts and pizza at Mango's Wood Fired Pizza.

Back to the supination insoles - I took a photo of both pairs of boots side by side and you can definitely tell by looking at the older pair that I walk on the outside of my feet. I'm excited to see how long these boots last now that I have insoles to correct my step.  Unfortunately, the larger insoles I bought didn't fit into the boots as intended so I used the SlenderFit instead. Those easily fit in a lot of my thinner width shoes so I'll be swapping them between pairs as I need. The Energize Foam supination insoles will now live in my favorite Winter boots that were my Grandmother's. I've been meaning to get insoles for them for a while so that was a happy accident!

Outfit Details

Coat: Burberry Brit Wool Minstead Duffle Coat In Military Red (Marijane Boutique) 

Sweater: Banjo + Matilda Trinket Embellished Stripe Sweater (The Outnet)

Velvet Jeans: J.Crew 

Boots: Vince Camuto 'Davilla' (Marshalls)

Bag: Purple Prada Cahier in Viola (Rebag via Vestiaire Collective)

Hat: Ricefield Collective (no longer open)

*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.  Thank you for supporting brands I feature*

Happy Throwback Thursday! Today we'll be traveling back to two separate Disney World trips to visit Port Orleans Resort - Riverside and Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter. Since they are sister resorts you can use the amenities at both as long as you're staying at one - aka the pools! It's also easy to walk between the resorts to enjoy different dining options. They are both "Moderate" resorts meaning they are slightly fancier than the cheapest options but still fairly affordable if you are able to use an offer or split the cost with a group (of up to 4 people for normal rooms)

Royal Guest Room

Riverside was actually the first Walt Disney World resort I stayed at! Previously, my friends and I would stay at Universal and Uber over to Disney but for this trip my best friend, sister and I decided to "splurge" on a Royal Guest Room. We paid around $420 each, $1,326 total with Passholder discount, for 5 nights in December 2017. Christian and I stayed at French Quarter for two nights in May 2020 for $630 with Passholder discount.

Christian and I are not huge on Valentine's Day, but we do buy cute cards and make sure to have a delicious meal to celebrate. When Valentine's Day is during the week that usually means I make one of our favorite meals or we grab takeout. I'm always up for trying new things, so this year we're including some delicious treats from Wildgrain. 

Wildgrain offers an artisanal bread subscription box ($89 + free shipping) for you to liven up meals at home. They are the first bake-from-frozen delivery service for breads, pastries and pasta! And the best part? Everything is made by small-batch bakers and pasta makers across the country so you'll be supporting small businesses. Each month you'll get a delicious selection of goodies to keep in your freezer until you are ready to enjoy them.  

One of our usual date night spots is a fancy Italian restaurant so I decided to recreate that experience at home with help from the items in our Wildgrain box. I started by baking the sourdough spelt loaf right out of the freezer - it only took 24 minutes. This was my first time having spelt bread and it was very good. I couldn't see a huge different between regular flour, but it definitely had the sourdough flavor.  I had only recently heard of spelt, thanks to the Great British Bake Off. Spelt is an ancient grain that was one of the first species of wheat used to make bread. Wildgrain bakers also use wild yeast meaning making these crusty loaves can take days from start-to-finish. A labor of love that you can see, feel and taste! We enjoyed the bread with butter and pesto, yum!

Our main course used fresh tonnarelli pasta. Since it's a special occasion I decided to make shrimp scampi, such a simple dish but feels very fancy. Or is that just me? Anyway, I made a sauce with butter, olive oil, garlic and chicken broth before adding in the shrimp, some red pepper flakes and finishing it off with lemon juice and parsley. Delish! 

Our meal ended with two ooey gooey giant chocolate chunk cookies. They were loooooaded with chocolate, my favorite kind of cookie. I under-baked them just a little so they were nice and soft and full of chocolate flavor.

We can't wait to try the rest of our box! There's still a plain sourdough loaf, fettuccine, 4 croissants, 2 more cookies and a cranberry-pecan loaf (so excited for this!) Plus we still have 2 more portions of tonnarelli pasta in the freezer. So much food!

Wildgrain is a great way to get homemade sourdough without all the effort. I love making bread, but I am far too lazy for sourdough. There is so much that goes into the process that I don't have the patience for. I also haven't mastered shaping my non-sourdough doughs yet. Maybe one day I'll get the hang of it! But for now, I have Wildgrain to provide tasty, crusty, delicious bread that I just have to pull out of the freezer and bake!

February boxes can include a sourdough loaf, rosemary garlic sourdough loaf (YUM!,) fettuccine pasta, english muffins, cherry pie bites and more! The Mixed Wildgrain Box includes sourdough bread, hand-cut pasta, and artisanal pastries. The Bakery Box includes breakfast baked goods, sourdough bread, and artisanal pastries. The subscription works much like other meal delivery service. You order your box, it's delivered for free each month and you can pause, adjust frequency or cancel at any time. Rescheduling your delivery is also possible if you'll be away. They even warn you 4 days before you will be charged in case you forget to skip a month. Right now you can receive four free croissants with each box (for the life of your membership.)


We all know I love a brand that gives back, and for every new Wildgrain member, 6 meals are donated to The Greater Boston Food Bank. Over 120,000 meals have been donated so far! If you'd like to try out Wildgrain, use code MEGB10OFF for $10 off your first box!