Happy Friday

I’m always excited for a Friday, however, I have a paper due Sunday that I haven’t started yet, whoops! Hopefully I’ll get some motivation this morning to power through it so I can enjoy my weekend.

And now let’s start my first edition of Friday Faves!

• Weight Watcher’s Dark Chocolate Raspberry Popsicles

When I was grocery shopping earlier this week I was planning on buying yogurt bars but these were on sale at Safeway so obviously I had to buy them. I’m not sure if it is the dark chocolate or what, but these are just SO so good. Clocking in at only 90 calories per pop with only 8 grams of sugar isn’t half bad for dessert! Seriously, try them.

• Oyster Books

So right now in our new apartment we only have internet, no cable. Don’t worry, I’ve been watching the Bachelorette on Hulu Plus the next day (I know you were worried). We can do the online stream for live TV but it is pretty terrible and cuts out or freezes constantly so it is really not worth it. I’ve lived without cable before but I have a feeling we’re going to upgrade soon (hello fall TV). However, I’m enjoying the fact that I can’t just turn on the TV and let mindless shows consume my day, especially now that I’m home for most of the day. I’ve been reading a lot more lately but my library only allows you to check out four books online at a time and you have to wait a week before returning them. So after a little online searching I found Oyster Books, an online book subscription service. Right now I’m just in the free trial period but it is pretty amazing. Every time I log in I see another book I’ve been meaning to read that hasn’t shown up in my library’s online section yet. Loving it!

• Live Bands

Last night we went out to dinner at Gordon Biersch on a whim and apparently every Thursday night during the summer they have a live band on the patio. It was such a treat to sit outside and listen to live music while sipping on sangria. Also, the first song we heard them play was You Are The Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne, which I love. Great date night 😀

What made you smile this week?

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Free Online Workouts

Hello there and happy pre-Friday!

My Thursday started off a little slow. Nothing like a job rejection first thing in the morning to start your day on a positive note! But that’s nothing a few hours of reading Harry Potter can’t fix! I decided to reread the entire series this summer since it has been so long since they originally came out. And let me tell ya, that JKR knows her stuff. I still can’t get over how she created such an intricate detailed story with so many twists and turns. Okay, I’ll stop fangirling now. It’s just so good! Proud Harry Potter nerd, over here!

I’ll just leave this here for your viewing pleasure:

That Daniel Radcliffe, though.. okay, sorry, sorry, I got a little distracted while looking for a picture.

Also, I found this and now I think I need a Harry Potter-esque trunk to hold all of my books…

Anywayyyy, moving back to the topic at hand.. Today I want to highlight some websites I frequent that provide free online workouts. I’m lucky enough that my new apartment complex has a really nice gym with more than just one treadmill and one elliptical. However, I am a group exercise lover and with my current lack of income I’m a bit hesitant to dole out the hundreds   a month that spinning, yoga, and barre studios often require. Enter free online videos!

Fitness Blender

I just finished today’s workout, which was a 25 minute ab and oblique workout from FitnessBlender.com. They have a wide range of videos to select from that focus on a whole body workout or specific body parts. You can also choose the length of the video you are looking for. And every single one is free! My go-to is definitely the 25 minute ab and oblique video but I love how they have a 10 minute version if you are low on time. They also have beginner videos and low impact workouts. Definitely worth checking out if you want to get a good equipment-free workout in at home or at a hotel!

Do Yoga With Me

Another great free online workout website is doyogawithme.com. I’m fairly new to yoga and have never been to an actual in person class. I’ve started doing yoga classes through this website so I can learn a few positions and get the hang of it before joining a big group of people and falling over (I’m not the most flexible..) :-P. What I love most about this website is the videos dedicated to different muscles or body parts. When I get really stressed my neck and shoulders kill me. A few months ago I used a few videos dedicated to the neck and shoulders to help ease the tension. It showed me new stretches to help relieve some pain when nothing else was working.

Those are just a few of my go-to places when I’m not in the mood to leave the house or it is too hot out (like today) to leave the AC!

What workout websites do you use the most?

Workouts

Lately my life has been pretty crazy and sadly working out has been the thing that has fallen to the wayside. Between working full time, grad school part time, and coordinating a cross-country move, something had to give. And apparently that was my waistline.

Leaving a job without having another one to go to is a scary and stressful thing. And when I’m stressed, I like to reward myself with froyo. And chocolate. And cake. Basically, all the things.

https://instagram.com/p/1Y1P86TdlQ/?taken-by=chelso31

But now that I am finally settling in my new home and mostly unpacked, it is time to get back on the wagon. Yesterday, Mike and I did the first video in T25 and let me tell you, I am FEELING it today. It was hard, but doable. I really liked how they have one person modifying every move throughout the whole video. There were definitely a few times my knees couldn’t handle all the jumping and I loved being able to keep going with the modified version.

via beachbody.com

I’m not sure if we’ll keep doing this on a daily basis but it is definitely a great workout when you don’t have time to get to the gym or want to get a quick but thorough workout in.

Now that I’m slowly adjusting to the altitude, I want to start trying some group exercise classes. I would love to start spinning/cycling again but there does not appear to be many options nearby like there were in Boston. I guess most people here prefer to cycle outside… which is why I’m looking to purchase a bike soon so we can start utilizing the great bike paths we have all around our apartment complex!

What’s your favorite way to workout?

The Weekend

After a pretty busy few weeks (packing, moving, saying goodbyes, arriving in CO and then unpacking) it was nice to have a quiet weekend with just the two of us. Friday we took it easy – we got Chipotle for dinner and spent the evening watching Workaholics, which is kind of a “bro” show but I’m loving it. How could I not? It has Bumper from Pitch Perfect/Andy from Modern Family and Casey from The Mindy Project!

(via The Post Culture)

On Saturday we made the 45 minute drive to Ikea to buy me a new dresser. And then proceeded to spent 3 hours building it… oh Ikea. But a highlight of driving 45 minutes away was the Dunkin’ Donuts I found only 5 minutes away! I’m still a New England girl at heart.

We started Sunday off at IHOP thanks to a coupon! I decided to go out on a limb and get the banana and nutella crepes. Oh My Gosh. So delicious. Just look at that picture!

After that we decided to take a drive into the mountains. We ended up driving for almost 2 hours. It was really beautiful and a nice little Sunday morning activity.

Please ignore my terrible from-inside-a-car pictures.

How was your weekend?

Hello friends!

Hello interwebs!

I’ve decided to start this blog, Chelsea Moves, as a way to document my move to Colorado from New England. I’m hoping this will be a good way to keep in touch with friends and relatives on the east coast as well as give me some purpose and structure to my days since I am currently job-less. But don’t worry, I’m enjoying the good funemployed life.

So far, I’ve been in Colorado for just over a week and I’m getting settled into my new apartment with my boyfriend, Mike. My parents are too amazing and actually drove my car out for me last week so they were here for a few days, as well. Now I’m just working on unpacking, getting settled in, and getting used to this altitude!

Thanks for visiting!