Tag: packing

‘Typical’ Won’t Be So Typical

Happy Hump Day!

As I said in my last post, I haven’t been able to get on here as much as I wanted to lately between working, packing, seeing friends, and getting ready to leave this Sunday for my semester abroad in Italy.

I’m packing like a mad woman these days, but I really wanted to drop by here quickly to do one last WIAW in America (til late December anyway!). My next WIAW will be in Europe. Ummm WHAT?!?

It still has yet to hit me. I think it won’t sink in until I’m literally at the airport. What has kind of hit me is that the food I eat and the things I do all the time here, my ‘typical’, if you will, won’t be so typical when I’m in Europe. I can’t wait to find out (read: taste) what my new ‘typical’ will be!

As always, thanks to Jenn for this lovely link-up!


My typical breakfast as of late has been a ‘strawberry banana mocha protein smoothie’. Looks sad, tastes like Starbucks. Just sayin’.

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Instagram @ FuelingFab

In the blender: 1/2 frozen banana + 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt + handful frozen strawberries & spinach + 1/2 scoop chocolate whey protein powder + ice + splash (or five) of coffee. Perfection.


I’ve been really into cheese and fruit lately. You know how much I love my eggs, so I’ve found that scrambling an egg with laughing cow mozzarella and thinly sliced fruit is fabulous (granny smith apples, white nectarines, or pears have been my go-to’s). Add some form of carbs (naturally) and you have a complete meal!

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Instagram @ FuelingFab

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As good as this combo is, I absolutely cannot wait for Italian mozzarella (and every other kind of cheese). All day, everyday, baby.


I will miss my Cosi. It’s my fave, I think that’s pretty clear to see if you’ve read my blog for, like, a week.

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Instagram @ FuelingFab

Of course I’ll greatly miss my parents’ home cooked meals that I get so used to when I’m living at home for the summer. My mom and dad are the best (I’ll miss them for way more than their food, trust me).

And, let’s be honest, I’ll miss my wraps. Love these, maybe a little too much.

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Instagram @ FuelingFab

I would also say I’ll miss my daily ice-cream (or drumstick cones!), but I have a feeling that Italian gelato might give it a run for it’s money. I can’t want to try the real deal.


I know Europe will be absolutely breathtaking, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t miss this.

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Instagram @ FuelingFab

I will undoubtedly miss home. Both of my homes.

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Instagram @ FuelingFab

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Well, unfortunately that’s all I have time for today! Time to go pack til I drop nap.

I will see ya soon from Italy (if I can’t get on here sooner)! Eeek!

xo’s

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PS – As you know, there are a number of changes I want to make to this lil old blog of mine (becoming self-hosted, changing the title, etc).

That being said, leaving the US for a semester is a pretty big deal. Next week, I’ll likely have no internet yet, plus I’ll be very busy becoming accustomed, meeting new people, exploring my new home, getting ready for classes to begin, and having fun!

I hate to be repetitive here (and I apologize if you’re reading this for the second time), but as I said in my last post, I plan to document everything (food, fashion, ((prob not so much fitness, but maybe?)), and fun all over Europe!), so I hope you will come along for the ride. I’ll be sharing my adventures (plus outfits, eats, and all that good stuff) on here, as well as on Instagram!

So buckle up, sit tight, and join me on this journey, because it’s about to get a LOT more fabulous. 😉

Exciting News…

Remember how I promised (and Instagrammed, and tweeted…) that I would be writing a “How to Pack” post?!

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Instagram @ FuelingFab

Well….

At 9:00 AM this (Monday) morning, I am finally fulfilling that promise.

The piece I’ve been working on since the ‘Washington DC trip that wasn’t” (at least something good came of it, right?!) will be posted on one of my favorite blogs…

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(If you don’t follow Chelsea’s blog already, where have you been?! get on it!)

She’s away on vacation (I know, aren’t you jealous?!), so it’s a pretty apropos topic, don’t ya think?

Anyway, I’m super excited to share it with you guys, as well as Chelsea’s audience! It’s always such an honor to be able to be a tiny part of a blog I read every day.

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I’m not excited or anything…

If you find yourself looking like a total diva carrying (aka struggling with) too many heavy bags (yes, that has been me), or even if you just want a few tips and tricks that I’ve learned over the years (and over this summer’s trips to NYC, Cape Cod, and back to the Cape), head on over to Chelsea’s blog!

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I just hope I’m not eating my words about how I “finally got hang of it” as I begin packing for my semester in Italy..

As always, don’t be afraid to leave a comment there (and/or back here so I see it right away 🙂 ). I’d love to hear some of your tried and true tips for packing light because…

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…let’s face it, no one wants to be that girl. ^

Have a marvelous Monday!

I know I’m a bit late to the party, but these were my thoughts this past Thursday as I finalized my post for Chelsea. Thanks Amanda, as always, for hosting ‘Thinking Out Loud‘ each week 🙂

xo’s

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If you want to connect and see even more fitness, fashion, food, and fun, follow me on Twitter and Instagram @ FuelingFab!


PS – I’m not happy about this, but as you’ve probably noticed I’ve been sort of MIA on here lately. I’ve been working up a storm at J.Crew before I’m done for the summer, as well as running around like a mad woman as I get ready to leave for Europe in less than 2 weeks(!!!).

I love blogging and as you know, I have a ton of ideas and exciting, positive changes coming (aka becoming self-hosted, changing the title, etc).

That said, as I’m sure you understand, leaving the country for 4 months takes a lot of prep, and then I’ll be quite busy getting acclimated, exploring, taking classes, and enjoying my study abroad experience.

I definitely plan to document my travels (helllllo – Italian food, fashion, ((probably not so much fitness but maybe?)), and fun all over Europe?!), so I hope you stick around and come along for the ride. I’ll be sharing my daily adventures (plus my outfits, eats, and, ya know, all that good stuff) on here, as well as on Instagram!

So buckle up, sit tight, and join me on this journey, because it’s about to get a LOT more fabulous. 😉

I’ll be living in Europe… Say what?!

Hey hey happy Thursday!

I hope you enjoyed reading about all the good food and fun I had while in the Cape! I’m really missing it and I’m not gonna lie, I’ve already gone back and read both the first and the second trip recaps… No shame!

Anywhoozles, as I said yesterday, I had written a ‘Thinking Out Loud’ post in the car on the way to Cape Cod last Thursday, but since we had zero internet all weekend, I couldn’t post it.

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Since I love linking up with Amanda on Thursdays to share a whole bunch of random thoughts (especially on things like being a crazy runner), of course I wanted to join the party even more this week since I couldn’t ‘attend’ last week! I didn’t want to trash last Thursday’s draft, so I edited it to make it more relevant (I had written a lot about the Cape Cod trip I was going on). So now I present to you my rambles…

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1) I am leaving for Europe in less than one month. 24 days to be exact. Just a little over three weeks and I’ll be en route to Italy. Like what??

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. <- That’s an excited and slightly terrified scream.

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I’m going to Italy for a semester abroad and right now I have a crazy mix of excitement, nerves, and disbelief. It honestly hasn’t hit me that I’ll be living in Europe for four months.

All I know is that it’ll be quite the learning experience, and hopefully one I will always be grateful for. Hopefully in ~1 month I’ll be doing well and adjusting to my ‘new’ life abroad! All I can do now is begin to think about packing… that’ll be brutal.

Jamming a semester’s worth of clothes/ toiletries/ all the things I need to survive in one large suitcase + a carry-on is going to be a job and a half…not looking forward to it one bit. Plus it doesn’t help that I already loathe packing and it’s almost impossible to know everything I’ll need while I’m in a country I’ve never been to. I just keep reminding myself that I can always buy the majority of the things I’ll need (minus most of my clothes/ certain toiletries, etc.). Knowing that makes the task of packing seem like a little less of a monster.

Besides packing I still have tons more prep to do (getting the visa/ bank stuff, etc. has been quite the task!), and all the planning/ figuring things out (phone, etc.) just never seems to end!

I really need to start doing more now while I’m still relatively relaxed. Doing all those things while also being nervous about leaving will not be pretty. I should get on that…

2) On another note…The tan lines I now have are just plain awkward. Running outside + lounging on the beach makes for some odd skin-tone differences.

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3) I finally did my nails… Thank goodness because they were not looking too hot.

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You probably can’t tell but I did a few little blue polka dots on my pale pink ring fingers. Ya know, just getting a little artsy fartsy.

4) Last week I wore a maxi skirt for the first time to work. I will now be wearing maxi skirts every other day (when I’m not in workout clothes).

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Instagram @ fuelingfab

5) I know I said way way way back when that I’d be doing a “how to style a maxi skirt” post. I took tons of photos and wrote a bunch of stuff and it’s saved as one of many drafts, but I just never got around to taking pics in the different ensembles. The way I’m wearing it in the above picture was the main way I was planning on styling it, so since I’m not thinking I’ll finish that post any time soon, we’re just going with this one, mmkay?

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Terrible excuse but it now seems silly to take more pictures in this outfit plus a few other combos. However, I WILL definitely be doing more posts in the way I was going for with that “how to style” idea once I have things all figured out on my blog. I’m still experimenting/ exploring/ LEARNING! Thanks for being patient and sticking around 🙂

6) Speaking of clothes… On Thursday I literally felt like I was in pajamas (and simultaneously felt like a genie) at work. Not a bad feeling if you ask me!

Instagram video @ fuelingfab
Instagram video @ fuelingfab

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I am loving my Old Navy drapey tuxedo pants that I got back in May. If you like to be beyond comfortable while still looking chic, pants like these are the perfect style for you!

7) I think I chose my blog’s name for when I become self-hosted!

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Instagram @ fuelingfab

Thank you @wthwhynot2011@faithfulaly, and @gabsessions for giving me some great input on Instagram!

I’ve thought a lot too much about the title and am currently leaning towards ‘Fueling Fab’. I think it works better for multiple reasons, but I won’t be self-hosted for a little while, so I’m still totally open to your input on the whole great debate (in fact, I’d love to hear it!). You can read about the current title here and here and about ‘Fueling Fab’ at the bottom of this post!

8) I really miss everything about Cape Cod. The beach, the pool, the time with family and friends, the food, oh and sipping some post-run coffee while looking out at this wasn’t a terrible way to start a day…

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Now don’t get me wrong, I love my hometown, but nothing can really compare to this view.

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9) I know I said it back in June, but seriously, the freckle face is out in full force these days.

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10) I’ve been Instagramming (is that a verb?) basically all my work OOTDs, so if you’re here for the fashion, be sure to check out all the outfits I’ve been wearing to work at J.Crew @fuelingfab!

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Instagram @ fuelingfab

11) And just for kicks and giggles…#tbt!

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Have a great rest of your week!

xo’s

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Questions of the day:

  1. If you’ve been to Europe, what is your favorite country/place to visit?
  2. Fave memory from this summer so far?
  3. Any fun plans this weekend?

And in case you missed them, here are a few of my more recent posts…