Try it. Love it. Sweat it out.

I know many of you are scared of trying a dance focused class. I have heard every excuse, but I am telling you it is the BEST workout. It is the best workout IF you let yourself FREE.  When some people hear the word dance they freeze up. Whenever I get a new student to enter my dance class I tell them to let go, not to judge themselves, and to dance their heart out. WHO CARES if you are moving the wrong way, WHO CARES if you have no idea what is going on in class. No one is there to judge, we are all there for the same reason; to sweat, smile, and leave happy. The more at ease you are, the better your workout will be. Two Boston Health and Fitness Bloggers took their first ZUMBA class with me. I think you will find what they have to say interesting!

SARAH DUSSAULT's review

Carrots 'N' Cake Review

http://youtu.be/cqaEuOQrB3Y I offer an OPEN TO ALL  zumba class EVERY Saturday at ONE International Place on the 4th floor. Class is $10 and you have to email me to sign up and secure your spot. I'd LOVE to see you in class! Email me or post below with any questions!

My favorite homemade halloween costumes

I LOVE homemade costumes. They are fun, different  and I appreciate them far more than any store bought one. Sometimes we do not have enough time to make our costumes, but if you do... you need to try these! Tea Bag costume:

I used this costume 3 years in a row! It was a fave of mine because I was comfortable and warm! It also got a lot of attention.  I went to a craft store to buy all the supplies, and I gathered leaves from my parents backyard. These are the directions that I followed:

For my teabag costume, I purchased a few yards of Crinoline, a couple yards of cording and a box of Lipton teabags. I cut out two huge rectangles the same size. I then laid one on top of the other and sewed the sides and bottom. 

Open up the top and fill about 1/3 with dried leaves. Fold the top in on both corners making a point and fold down like the top of a teabag.

Cut off the top of the teabag box and shape like the paper tag of a teabag. Hot melt glue to 1 yrd of the cording and then sew the cord to the top of the bag. 

I made two complete bags and attached them with fabric straps at the top so that I could just throw it over my head. 

It was a big hit at the doctor's office I work at on Halloween! We always dress up! I wasn't just any old bag lady, I was a tea bag lady!

I wore a long sleeve black shirt, black tights and black shorts under it and carried a teapot and large strainer

Jelly Bean Bag- I made this costume all by myself and I was in 5th grade. So I am pretty sure you can handle it...unless you are a baby reading my blog. It was easy and AWESOME! Not the best picture of the costume. I am all the way on the right.

Directions:

• Blow up ask many little colorful balloons as you can. Do not pass out!
• Buy a STURDY clear plastic garbage bag.
• You will also need ribbon to tie the top of the bag

Cut leg holes at the bottom of the garbage bag, slide yourself in the bag.  Add as many colorful balloons in the bag to make them look like jelly beans!  Tie the opening of the bag around your shoulders or neck and you are a jelly bean bag.

And Last year I was a SUSHI ROLL !

I also went to a  fabric store for this costume and I bought:

Shiny (cheap) silk kinda material for the raw "salmon"

White stick tape for the lines in the salmon

I got this amazing material that looked like seaweed and wrapped it around the salmon

Directions:

Wear all white

Make a pillow with the salmon color fabric. Stuff with cheap stuffing and sew it up. I can not sew for the life of me, but somehow I made it work. You want to create diagonal lines on the salmon with the tape. This is what really made it look like a piece of raw fish! Wrap the pillow around you with the seaweed looking material.

The final touch: I took a headband and attached material that I made look like Ginger and wasabi paste. Finally, I stuck chopsticks in my hair. FUN. Easy. AND SO CHEAP!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOMEMADE COSTUME? I still need idea for this Halloween!! Help! 

And I leave you with this fun Halloween video!

http://youtu.be/sRq2gEbmqcI

Quick morning tip

I always drink a lot of water in the morning. After a nights sleep your body needs to hydrate and continue to flush all its toxins. Try drinking a large glass of water, fresh lemon or lime juice, and a scoop of chia seeds. You can let the chia seeds sit over night, or the morning of for about 10-15  minutes.

Sneak Peek of our "Water Ballerina" photo shoot

This past weekend I worked with Lucie from Lucie Wicker Photography and stylist Keely from B. Fetching on an outside water shoot. Here are a couple of shots.

More to come, so stay tuned! I will also tell you a few secrets on how we made this shoot a success (I could not have done it without them!) and some behind the scenes shots.

Which shot do you like more?

Carbs, and the different types

I just got back from two weeks in the Azores and my vacation has inspired this blog about carbs. I was not really sure what to expect with the cuisine in the Azores. I assumed with all the rich land and ocean that I would eat plenty of fresh fruits, fish and vegetables. Instead I found my self surrounded by bread, boiled potatoes and cheese. Every meal consisted of cheese and bread and usually boiled potatoes, boiled cabbage, boiled kale, boiled carrots and boiled pork. I was missing fresh salads, whole grains, quinoa, brown rice and variety!! I never, however, felt deprived of fruit. There was plenty and I tried passion fruit for the first time. Delish!

While on vacation I was reading fitness magazine and ironically came across a Good Carb? Bad Carb? article.The article was helpful and I thought I would share it with you!

 Overall I survived! I limited my bread, cheese and boiled potato intake. I do not eat pork and only ate fish when I had the option of getting it grilled. I filled my plate with as many raw veggies as I could get, and the rest were boiled. Boiled is not how I usually eat my veggies because they lose some nutrients and flavor in the water. I made special trips to the (very small) grocery store and made sure to snack on nuts, fruit, and vegetables. Over all it was a good vacation, with some minor adjustments!