HLS ’12! Day 1 Recap

I’m back from spending an amazing weekend in Boston with so many lovely fellow bloggers!  I chose to forego blogging during my time there so that I could meet and interact with all the fabulous ladies!  So that means, I have LOTS to share and to talk about!  Where do I even begin?  I also didn’t take as many pictures as I should have, so a lot of the pictures you’re about to see (minus day 1) were stolen from others who did the work..oops…confession of a newbie blogger.  More than the pictures though, I want to introduce you (if you don’t know them already) to all the incredible ladies who inspired me more than anything this weekend.

I arrived in Boston on Thursday, and met one of my roomies, Danielle, at the airport.  We decided to be brave and adventurous and took public transportation.  I acted confident and knowledgeable, but who am I kidding…I was so terrified we would get lost.  However, we made it to the hotel in one piece (and only paid $2.5o as opposed to $30) and met our other 2 roomies, Danielle and Mindy!  Room 513 united!  2 Danielles, Mindy, and Min..it was meant to be.  Ladies, if you have any pictures of all 4 of us (other than the priceless  photo booth one hehe) please let me know so I can attach one right here.  :).

I thought that things would get a lil’ hairy with 4 girls sharing a room, but that was not the case AT ALL!  We hit it off right away (or at least that’s what I thought hehe..I am on the messier, beastly side).

Danielle is sooo adorable and incredibly sweet!  She’s from Pennsylvania and works as a producer at a local television news station!  How cool is that!  I probably annoyed the heck out of her, since I just didn’t leave her alone with my babbling.  We’re both crazy about our dogs and missed them dearly!  She was a trooper and went to all the organized fitness sessions!  She sure is worthy to be a fitfluential ambassador ;).  She’s also getting married next year!

Danielle is from Ottawa, and I just loved her accent!  She’s a free-spirited soul who loves to travel and strives to continuously expand her horizons.  She has the gift of talking to anyone and everyone and is just so engaging.  I could talk to her for hours!  I can’t wait to follow her as she begins a new chapter of her life in Peru!  Seriously, I’m going to live vicariously through her!

Mindy had the privilege unfortunate task of sharing a bed with me.  Thank goodness I remembered to take my mouth guard!  Apparently, I grind my teeth like there’s no tomorrow.  However, I didn’t know how to keep myself from taking over the whole bed.  Sorry, Mindy!!  Please don’t hate me!  I admire her for how far she’s come in her journey to health.  She has lost 75 pounds and is training to run a marathon this October!  She used to hate running, but now it’s one of her main passions!  See?  She’s a real testament to the idea that if we set our minds on something, we can do anything.  I still can’t forget..”so I can’t find my clothes that I wore last night…” haha!

Several mini-mingles were organized on Thurs and Fri, and I attended most of them.  What a great idea!  To be quite honest, I was really nervous about the weekend, but these lil’ gatherings made meeting new faces a lot less intimidating and a lot more enjoyable.

(Photo via Kristin)

p.s.  I’m the creeper in the back with the camera.  Clearly I didn’t get the msg that it was picture time 😮

Kristin organized a dinner at Russell House Tavern.  I knew that Kristin was from Austin and was so excited to meet another local blogger!  And she sure is a foodie all right.  Loved her excitement and how her eyes glow at the sight of food ;).   We’re definitely going to have to organize something here now that we’re back.  What do you think?

I also met Katie for the first time!  She was exactly the way I imagined her to be – so encouraging, warm, kind, friendly, and radiating with positivity.  She made me feel so at ease and comfortable.  I’m so glad that we got to spend a lot of time together this weekend!  More to come in later posts!

Meghann did a tremendous job in facilitating…well everything!  The first words that came out of my mouth were, “You’re meals and miles!”.  Umm..why couldn’t I have just said “Hello!”.  So embarrassing…  I don’t know how she kept herself sane this whole weekend as she had to be everywhere all the time!

Ok, now let’s get to the food, shall we?  Russell House Tavern is a New American Tavern with a fun and delicious selection of food and wine.  I ordered a pizza, called The Andria, made with very local burrata, black mission fig, and sweet garlic!  You know me and my love of pizza!  And I’m a sucker for wording.  Very local?  I MUST try that!  And the verdict?  Omg soo soo good!  The perfect balance of savory and sweet!  The burrata cheese, which is made from mozzarella and cream, was very mild, soft, stringy, fresh…oh I can go on and on.  And the fig!  Oh the fig…I want some right now.

Next we met up with some more people for ice cream at J.P. Licks, organized by Alicia.  What a fun gal she is!  So easy-going and down-to-earth.  As a fellow full-time student, I loved how she reminded me that it’s ok to not post if I don’t have time.  I do the best I can.  There’s no pressure here!

They had everything – ice cream, hard yogurt, sorbet, soft and tart yogurt, sundaes, frapps, you name it!  This place was def hopping!  And with flavors like black and white malt, sangria, maple walnut, brownie batter, coconut almond chip…it’s no surprise.

I ordered the oatmeal cookie, and it was divine!  The best oatmeal cookie I’ve ever had!  Two desserts (cookie and ice cream) in one!

So that just about wraps up Day 1…and this was only the beginning..  Stay tuned for Day 2!