Lauren Hefez

Cucumber and lime juice

Every morning, while in Con Dao, I have been drinking cucumber and lime juice. It is so refreshing and really cools me off! I will continue to make this juice combination on my own for the summer:

- 1 large cucumber
- 1/2 or a whole lime peeled (depending how limey you like it)

The weather here has been SO hot. If I am outside for a long period of time I can only stand it if I am in the shade, ocean or the pool.

Con Dao is a small island off Vietnam. It is very tropical and there are a lot of mosquitos!!! The mosquitos seem to love me as I have had about 20 “kisses” already and my camera man maybe only about 5?? Bahhh

The food is so fresh and delicious! I am really enjoying all the exotic fruit! My favorites are the mangos (sooooo good and meaty here!!!!), drinking fresh coconut juice, and something called mango steen! They are not too sweet and just a little sour. I have never seen or heard of mango steen before coming to Vietnam.

Can you name all the fruit above???

Mango steen!

The Vietnamese diet is mainly some form of rice, vegetables and some type of meat or fish. I have never eaten so much rice in my life! Everyday, without fail, I have been eating rice! They also use a lot of lemongrass for things like seasoning dishes, scents for soap, massage oils, candles, insect repellant… pretty much everything. Good thing I like the smell…phew. Actually, check out the picture above of the fresh green coconut. The green straw that is stuck inside is a lemongrass straw!!!

Lemongrass

I was able to film a short arms and abs video for you. Enjoy!!

We only have a couple more days here until our trip is over! Ok now I am off for some dinner…. (probably rice!)

xin chào!

Tags: coconut, cucumber, diet, food, fruit, Honeymoon, juice, lime, rice, summer, vacation, Vietnam

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Categories events, food, vegetable, video, workout

Cooking class in Vietnam

16 May

Brandon and I took a cooking class today! As part of the class we went to a Vietnamese market and picked our own produce. The produce was abundant but there were also things in this market that I had never seen before. Out in the open were pig brains and every part of a cow you could think of. There are no fridges in the market, so everything is fresh and must be sold that day. We saw live fish having their heads cut off, and most shocking to me were frogs that were being slammed on a counter in order to kill them. I accidentally took a video of this, but have decided not to show it.

This is the culture in Vietnam, so I am being open minded. All very interesting.

Brandon and I have a driver/tour guide while we are in Saigon. His name is Hung!

He is the sweetest! He is Buddhist and as part of his practice he and his wife buy a fish from the market twice a week and set it free in the Saigon river. He does not believe in killing animals, even mosquitos!

For our cooking class today we made 3 main dishes:

I tried to take a video during class, but this was a little difficult. I did get a quick one though and will post later.

First dish was a mustard leaf roll. Inside was carrots, onions, coconut stalk, lotus stem, lemon basil, mint, and some other green thing. Ill get that name later

This green wrap really reminded me of a wrap I made with Elyse from Lillybelle foods! Just a Vietnamese version.

Next: sticky rice fritter aka fried rice balls

Inside these balls I chose not to put meat, rather I stuck with veggies.

They were crispy on the outside and very dense. The chef said this is traditional Vietnamese street food. It’s cheap and filling!

Last dish: fresh rice noodles with BBQ pork! I do not eat pork so I took a picture of Brandon’s dish. I just made mine sans meat. There was not much cooking for this one other than making the sauce and grilling the meat.

The sauce was made of mostly:

Kumquats
Garlic
Water
Fish oil
Sugar
Salt
Chili peppers
Pepper

Sing Ciào! Off to De Lat tomorrow!

PS excuse any typos! This is all done on my phone!

Tags: cooking, food, market, rice, Vietnam

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Categories food

Vietnam for honeymoon

15 May

After flying for a whole day we have arrived to Vietnam! So far the food here is awesome and I have been more adventurous than usual, even eating fried food! Pictured above is a fried elephant ear fish. We ate it wrapped with rice paper and veggies.

Today we went on a private river tour. We had multiple stops along the way, each stop showing us a bit of the Vietnamese culture.

We watched rice being turned into popped rice (kind of tastes like popcorn) and Brandon drank some snake wine, I passed on that!

On the cruise they served us some cool exotic fruit. Dragon fruit, “red hairy egg” and “dragon eye”. Yumm. Wish we could grow these in the USA.

Tomorrow we are going to the local market to get some produce then we will be taking a cooking class and making lunch! Can’t wait. Will update more tomorrow. Xin chào!

Xin chào is the formal way of greeting and saying hello or goodbye.

Tags: Honeymoon, Vietnam, Vietnamese

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Categories events

Married! A little preview of my wedding weekend.

12 May

This weekend was the best weekend of my life… so far. I will wait after the honeymoon for a detailed post, but I wanted to capture a few highlights of the day/night. (pictures are in random order)

Right before our big reception entrance, my friend snapped this picture.

Morning of the wedding. Such crazy high energy! Getting ready to get my hair done… AHH!!!!!!

Our venue. Inside is a blank canvas where you can do anything. Artists for Humanity.

Elise, from Lillybelle foods catered our lunch! My bridesmaids and I LOVED it. I can not wait to share what was on the menu.

Our first dance!!! I will share the video when we get it

TIEKS!! I had to spread the love that I have for Tieks with my (7!) bridesmaids and my mom(s). Everyone was so excited to get their gifts. I wore my Tieks for all the dancing!

A while back I asked for your advice on which hair piece I should wear at the cocktail hour… most of you said this one!

One of a kind, custom made necklace made by my sister in law! How amazing?! This piece got a lot of attention at the wedding.

I am exhausted and still have to pack for my honeymoon. I leave the house in 5 hours!!!!! Off to Vietnam. I will be posting (hopefully I can get internet somewhere) videos on YouTube. Follow on with #brandonandlauren

Ciao!

Tags: wedding

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Categories Uncategorized

Running Technique and GORE-TEX photo shoot

3 May

I do not consider myself a runner.

This past Monday and Tuesday I got booked to do a photo shoot for GORE-TEX in Rhode Island. When I talked to the photographer on the phone I asked “So, we are going to be getting some running shots?” he said “We are going to be getting ALL running shots”. I have never done a shoot that was ALL running, so I was not sure how my body would respond.

Let’s just say I am SO SORE. It is all in my calfs and my tibialis anterior (shins). It is not shin splints, it just feels like tight muscles. I have been massaging myself and foam rolling,

We did some regular street running,

and we also did trail running.

The shoot was really focused on GORE shoes; Nike, Sauconmy, and Brooks. We got shots of wet, cold/dry and snowy terrain. (We had to spray down the deck to make it look wet, it was actually a beautiful sunny day!)

The snow was made from huge spools of cotton and then sprayed with water. People walking by thought it was real.

I also had to run though some watery mud with my Nike shoes to show how the GORE trail Nike shoes can really manage the outdoor elements.

This shoot made me really think about my running form, where I was landing and how I was holding my body. I started the shoot heel striking, which is fine and actually gets a great angle of the shoe for the camera. And then we switched to landing more on the mid area of my food. I had to really THINK about doing this as it did not come naturally. But as the shoot went on and by the second day it felt much easier!

Watch this short video on running form.

The photographer on the set,Trevor Brown, was really amazing. He knew how to catch my stride at the right time and he got really amazing shots. He never settled for “good”. I also met one of the founders of “The Most Informal Running Club Ever“, Alex. He was the male running model on the shoot! I learned about his running club and it seems awesome. So if you live in Boston, you have to check it out!

The pictures above were taken from iPhones. I will share the real picture when they come!

How is your running form? Do you have any advice? How do you land?

Tags: GORE-TEX, heel strike, photoshoot, running, shoes, sneakers, snow, stride, terrain, trail running

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Categories fitness, sneakers

One of my favorite gift registry items

29 Apr

I always thought gift registries were weird You tell people what you want them to get you and then you have to act surprised when you open the gift at your shower. I was/am so thankful for all the wonderful gifts and generosity my friends and family showed during my wedding shower. I did not think this would happen, but I actually DID get excited about the gifts I was opening, even though I knew I registered for them. This was one of my favorites.

I love the way the berries look in the ceramic colander, and it makes it so much easier to wash the berries and store them in the fridge. I also snack right out of the colander! So easy, cheap, and a great gift item. Highly recommended!

I finally got back on the YouTube video train. I was off for about a week because of Boston events that distracted me greatly. BUT back on track, and I made this awesome butt video for you

I will also be doing another bride arms video next week. You will need to get an elastic workout band. If you don’t have one get one. It will be worth it! I would recommend getting the black. You can also check your local sports store, or marshals.

Enjoy the beautiful sun and wear your SPF!

What is your favorite gift ever? I want to hear!!!

Tags: berries, blueberries, butt, colander, gift, registry, video, wedding, workout, youtube

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Categories Uncategorized

Dance lessons for your wedding and a cool bachelorette idea

22 Apr

Being a dancer I wanted something special for my first dance. My camera man (AKA my fiance) and I are on two opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to dancing. Our ballroom teacher and owner of Ballroom in Boston asked us to pick a number on a scale of 1-10 on how much we want our dance to be like “Dancing With The Stars”. I said 10, camera man said 1. We met half way with a 5.

Some people like to wing their first dance and just feel the moment. I 100% repspect that. It can be a lot of pressure on a couple to perform a choreographed dance on top of all other things you need to worry about, but taking lessons can also relieve some of that pressure. If that makes sense?

My camera man and I took some group classes, and then started on private lessons. I think the lessons helped us connect on a different level. We had to work together in a way we never had. In the beginning I took control, too much control. It is the mans job to lead the dance, and I had a hard time letting him do that. I would pull him around like I was in control, he did not like this Now I let him lead, and he is SO GOOD! (YAY)

We took about 3 private lessons and practiced on our own. Our wedding is in under three weeks (EEEEK!!!) and we both feel pretty good about the dance. I will be sure to show you the full dance after the wedding. (We picked a short song, only 2 minutes 30 seconds). I recommend taking lessons even if you are NOT going to perform a dance or even if you are already married. It is exciting, and different, and I really mean it, you will leave smiling and learn about your partner and something new will spark. Keep your eyes open for special ballroom dancing deals and packages on coupon type websites.

This past weekend I taught an 80′s themed barre fitness class for a bachelorette party! It was a blast!!! All the girls dressed in 80′s gear and I blasted some awesome 80′s music. What a unique way to start out your bachelorette party! After their workout they got themselves showered, dressed and ready for a wine tasting the rest of their night festivities.

Check out this Video on my Facebook page for a 10 second snip of the class.

Ask your local gym if they can hold a private party. I know Boston Equinox does this for FREE! It is a great way to expose the gym and instructor, and something a little different and for sure FUN.

Tags: bachelor, bachelorette, ballroom, boston, brides, dance, dance lessons, first dance, wedding