Hello from Connecticut! :)

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I’m here with my blogger buddies Tina, Theodora, and Ashley for the Sun Wine Fest!

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Tina was invited to the event as media along with her husband Mal, but he wasn’t able to make it, so she asked if she could invite friends instead and they said sure! Theodora and Ashley took the train up from NYC, and I was able to find a super cheap ($120 round trip?!) flight up to Boston. Win! We’re excited for the girls weekend. :)

I flew into Boston around lunch time yesterday and Tina and I had fun catching up, grabbing lunch (Whole Foods salad bar), etc. before driving down to Connecticut. Don’t worry – I made her take me to Marylou’s for iced coffee before we left Boston. Most amazing iced coffee ever, and I don’t even usually like coffee!

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We arrived at Mohegan Sun (the hotel where the event is being held – it’s a huge casino and I kind of feel like I’m back in Vegas!) late last night, picked up the girls from the train station, and caught a late 10 p.m. dinner at one of the onsite restaurants named Ballo.

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We were all STARVING and ordered the quickest things possible – a bunch of appetizers and a pizza to share!

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It was amazing. But I was so hungry I would have eaten my arm. :) We also ordered Brussels sprouts, meatballs, and crispy artichokes. YUM! Gotta love eating with other bloggers – cameras everywhere!

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Check out the guy in the middle background of the photo below that photo-bombed us – ha! (And note the slot machines behind him!)

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We also enjoyed some wine – and then all promptly face planted in bed by 11:30. I’m such an old lady nowadays.

We were up bright and early this morning for a run before all the wine fest festivities start! I love traveling with active friends. The weather was perfect for a run, too – cold but sunny.

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Despite the pretty views of the water, this area wasn’t exactly the best for a run (no sidewalks – boo!), but we made due and ended up covering 5.6 miles running around the random roads near the hotel, stopping frequently for photos, obviously. :)

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We just hit the hotel buffet for breakfast (oatmeal, fruit, and a veggie omelette for me) and now we’re headed out for the main event! I’m really excited – in addition to wine, there are also a lot of famous chefs in town to do demos – including the likes of Bobby Flay and Todd English! I’ll be back with a full recap – stay tuned!

A big thank you to Mohegan Sun, who is covering our hotel and wine-fest fees (which includes the breakfast buffet) this weekend – all other food and awesomeness are our responsibility. :)

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    12 Comments on Jan 28th 2012

    Morning friends. :)

    The end of my week finished out well – starting with a great run yesterday morning!

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    Seriously – if you have problems getting up for an early run, find a running buddy. (Meetup.com is a great place to find running groups, as are local running stores!). There is NO way I would get up at 6 a.m. and run 4 and a half miles in the dark by myself. But when a friend is involved, it becomes a fun social outing. :) Don’t get me wrong – I still question my sanity every morning when my alarm goes off, but having someone to meet means I have no choice but to get out of bed, and by the time I’m out the door and my feet hit the pavement, I’m excited for the undivided time to catch up with a friend. My Thursday morning runs with Elle have become a favorite time of the week. :)

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    We did our standard hilly loop – 4.4 miles in 39:19 – average pace of 8:57. Not too shabby with the hills! Plus, we both had gotten in some serious workouts this week and ours legs were TIRED!

    Here’s what I did workout-wise this week:

    Whew! Today is definitely a rest day. :)

    Class yesterday afternoon was really interesting – we actually had an interdisciplinary session with the physical therapy, occupational therapy, and pharmacy schools – students from each school were paired together and we all worked on a clinical case study together. My group included myself and another nutrition student, one pharmacy student, two occupational therapy students, and three physical therapy students. It was actually really cool and exciting to simulate a more real world situation rather than just working only with my fellow nutrition students. We all learned a lot from each other – the only ones we were missing were the med students!

    Anyway! I’m off to airport this morning to fly north for a fun adventure – stay tuned. :) As for now – here are 8 healthy dinner ideas for this weekend. Enjoy!

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    • Mexican Brown Rice Casserole (vegetarian)

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    In the mood to bake? I recommend my Almond Butter Banana Breakfast Bars (vegan) or my Zesty Lemon Zucchini Muffins. Both whole wheat and SO good.

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    Happy Friday!

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      18 Comments on Jan 27th 2012

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