This Week on Tap | April 12, 2019

Happy Friday from me and the penny that may or may not be keeping my tulips upright for an extra day or two. Jury’s out. Here’s This Week on Tap!

THIS WEEK ON TAP | APRIL 12, 2019

MEALS

• This spring panzanella salad, which can easily be adapted (I swapped in pea shoots and pea tendrils for the arugula, because I had an abundance of both on hand… went a little nuts at Wilson Farm and our local grocery store last week)
• Lots of snack plates, soup + toast, and several thousand bowls of popcorn

WORKOUTS

I’m finishing up the sixth week of the Mama Beast Metamorphosis program (just two weeks left…) and am really proud of how consistent I’ve been with my workouts, and with steadily increasing weights for strength training (I’ve had to buy two new sets of dumbbells…). In addition to the weekly home workouts and classes, I’ve had two of my four personal training sessions and really benefitted from Antoinette’s encouragement and eye on my form.

I had my first running workout of the program on my schedule for last week and was (for serious) dreading it… but my last mile was the fastest I’ve run in years. Some of that is definitely physical, but a lot of it is mental. It’s been ages since I’ve given myself the time to work past the uncomfortable part of running (the suck, if you will). For me, that’s historically been a few miles. It was really great to be reminded of what a fun mile feels like.

Even while marathon training (which feels like a million years ago, instead of 6-ish), I’ve slacked on strength training, so it was encouraging to see what a difference that can make. I’m looking forward to the Corrib 5k in June and hoping to spend the next month and a half working to feel really prepared (for once) at the starting line.

READING

• The weekly Girls’ Night In newsletter, delivered each Friday morning — it’s full of great articles + other smart recommendations for fostering quiet time, community and self care (it’s email I actually look forward to, which is saying something…)
• I recently finished J. Courtney Sullivan’s Saints for All Occasions and, as with all her other books, loved it.

WATCHING

• Derry Girls on Netflix — I cannot wait for the second season to be released here. I tore through the first season in just a few days. The series follows a group of Catholic school girls in Derry, N Ireland during the 90’s and the ridiculous things they get into, against the backdrop of The Troubles. It’s hilariously funny, but I definitely got choked up at the final scene of the first season.

CELEBRATING

• Clark turned ten yesterday! (Peep his baby photo here, he was such a pile of wrinkles.)
• Nick’s new job
• Some spring-like weather (mixed in with a few extra chilly days)

WORKING ON

We got so many projects done at the new house in the past few weeks — I think it’s partly the spring energy. We still have a few things to tackle, but perhaps I’ll share a house tour-ish post sooner. And though I do miss Southie, I couldn’t be happier with the move. Here’s what we’ve checked off:

• New dining area light fixture — it had sort of a medieval manor/Three Musketeers vibe. We replaced it with this simple, sleek and modern white number
• New console/storage for underneath the TV — it’s sort of classier than just having the cable box, like, dangle from the wall
• Plants for the front porch — I’m trying really hard to convince the neighborhood that we’re nice + normal, without actually interacting with anyone, so…
• Sofa + giant elephant ear plant + kind of fun pillows for the sun room
• Unloading all the baby items (and other random stuff we probably should have donated before moving) to free up space in the basement — I made huge progress with this in the last few days + people, it feels good

LOOKING FORWARD TO

• Easter! We’re hosting our families on the Cape again this year, and I absolutely can’t wait.
• Grace’s kindergarten screening — we just got her school assignment today. It’s hard to believe she’ll be in kindergarten next year, but I know she will love it.
• A few orders on the way — after donating + selling a bunch of items on Poshmark, my wardrobe has been a bit bleak. You’ll find a slider of recent additions below.

Also On Tap for Today:

• Spring cleaning + catching up on podcasts this weekend
• Happy 103rd Birthday, Beverly Cleary — perhaps I’ll reread all the Ramona Quimby books…
• Two words: playoff hockey 🙂

What are you reading this week?