Scenes from my Weekend: The Birthday Edition

I celebrated my birthday this past Friday, and as one should do, I turned it into a celebratory weekend. Nick got me some gorgeous roses and my favorite La Marca Prosecco as part of my birthday present. The other part involves a photo shoot with pet photographer extraordinaire Greg Murray.

Friday evening we got dressed up and headed out to dinner at new-to-me restaurant Trentina.

If you haven't been to Trentina yet, I highly recommend a visit. The decor is a gorgeous white + black + gold combination-- I wanted to move in. The space is pretty small and intimate- only 30 or so tables, and the experience is intimate to match. 

The food is truly exceptional. We saw General Manager, Larder Master, and Wild Food Forager  Jeremy Umansky speak at TedxCLE, and we excited to try some of the innovative creations from Trentina. Trentina's food is focussed on the northern Italian region of Trentino; the restaurant offers a 12-course, 3- hour, tasting menu experience, as well as an a la carte menu. Nick and I went the a la carte route, and it was spectacular. From the charcuterie board, to the crudo, the amazing house made pastas and pizza's, our meal was flawless. After dinner, Jeremy graciously escorted us on a tour of the kitchen and the larder, where he is working on some really interesting creations for the restaurant.

Saturday morning, the weather was so perfect that it was time for Beach Day part deux. 

Unfortunately, I misjudged the amount of sunblock necessary, and left with a slight burn on the back of my arms and the tops of my thighs. Oops. and Ouch.

Sunday, I did something truly amazing for me. For the very first time ever, I'm on target to complete a real New Year's Resolution by the end of the year. I became a licensed spin instructor!!! I am so excited to find my instructor gig (I have a pretty good idea of where I will be starting off), and really hone my skills as a ride DJ and coach!

It was a fitting end to a great weekend. Naturally we had to top it off with some delicious ice-cream and churros. 

This week is going to be a little weird for me: Tuesday I'm having surgery to fix my deviated septum, so I'm going to be a little out of it for the rest of the week. Don't worry though, I have some posts planned, so keep coming back to visit! 

New Year, New Post

When 2014 rolled around, I had one goal-- to end the year with a different job than I started it. And I'm happy to report that in June of 2015, I succeeded!! That was also around the time my blog activity died way, way off, but it was worth it. I was getting in the swing of things in my new role, learning a lot, and finding my footing. Fast forward to 6 months later, and I feel really good about where I'm at, career-wise. I'm in a role that challenges me, I'm learning everyday, and I'm having a lot of fun! All said and done, goal achieved!!

So now its 2015, and I really only have two goals:
1. To get back in the swing of blogging: I missed it. I've missed you.

2. To become a spin instructor. And not just a "I'm licensed to teach", I mean a full fledged spin instructor who creates real playlists for other people to ride to. I AM SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS, that I absolutely cannot wait to get started. That said, I do have to wait a little bit for a training to be held and get going, so in the mean time, I'm just trying to ride 3x/week. You can usually find me at Harness at 6 am on Tuesday and Thursday, and once on the weekend, so maybe I will see you riding on a bike next to me?

Oh, and one more thing: on January 1st, I started a little series on Instagram called #100daysofsparkle, which is basically me posting pictures of the sparkly jewelry I wear everyday! Yes, it is very rare for me to be sans jewelry (sometimes I wear bracelets to spin), so if you do see me and I'm not wearing any jewelry at all, there is definitely something wrong with me! Anyway, I hope you will check it out-- I'm @cleshopaholic on Instagram as well!

Happy 2015 everyone!! Hope this year is exactly what you want it to be!