Fortunate Fridays {Trying new things, edition}

Good morning loves,

It is Friday.

Breakfast @ crack of dawn: mini multigrain pancakes, egg whites, cup of Joe w/ soy.

1. A safe and super fun weekend get away: Felix organized a weekend get away last Friday. The location was about a couple of hours away from New York City. I had the best time during the road trip and then simply relaxing in the mountains and trying new stuff. See below.

2. Trying new things {even if they are scary}: Tried snowboarding for the first time and while I spent most of the time in the floor and my rear end felt pretty bruised for a few days thereafter; I had a very fun time. I didn't think I would say this but I am actually looking forward to trying it again. However, next time around I am considering trying out skiing (which I hear is easier) as opposed to snow boarding. We shall see! We got to do our thing, drank some cocoa, surrounded ourselves with snow fanatics and snow boarded to our hearts desired. Good times.

Besides the snow boarding we also had some yummy eats along the way. While I wait for Felix to send over the snow boarding photos, here's a glimpse of the food (one of my favorite parts, of course):

We ran in to this brunch spot as we followed the GPS to another place. We just decided to stop here. 

The change of location was a good idea as the food turned out to be delicious. Believe it or not, these pancakes & eggs were off their "fit" menu (score!).

We both LOVE Sushi (we eat it pretty much every single time we hang out). So, is no surprise we had a nice sushi meal for dinner after our snow boarding adventure:

I opted for the salmon-avocado & shrimp tempura (pictured). He had the chicken tempura, cream cheese, and something else (not pictured). 

3. Online courses: I came across a series of tutorials for a topic I am interested in (in relation to my career). I cant wait to dive in and actually get through the entire course.

4. My friends reaching out to me: I've gone through some up and downs emotionally this week and although I haven't really talked about it with anyone, I am glad that my friends think about me and reach out to hang out or simply to chat.

5. Lessons learned from a phenomenal book: I've been reading an incredible book lately. One which will go in to my "personal best books hall of fame". I cant wait to finish it and share a full review of it with you all. Stay tuned.

6. Bonus: The calming understanding that the best is yet to come. I may not have arrived where I want to be yet but I rejoice in the understanding that I am well on my way. I am incredibly grateful that I have all I need to get where I need to go and whatever I may eventually be missing will manifest itself in my life when the time is right. Thankful for the resources that keep me going as I walk towards my objectives. Always taking it a step at the time and trying not to loose motivation along the way. As one of my favorite poems says: "...rest if you must but do not quit".

And that's all my loves. Any fun plans for the weekend? I believe one of my best friends may be going over to my apartment tonight for a wine and chat evening. We also have plans for a gym date on Saturday morning. Then we'll see what the rest of the weekend brings.

Tell me, do you have a favorite motivational mantra or poem?

Love,

Mabelle

What I know for Sure Sundays III: Commitment & Consistency

Hello everyone!

Can you believe March is here? I realized it this morning when I took a quick glance at my Ipad and the date on the screen indicated the # "1"--  took me half a second to realize "its march 1st". This means spring is almost here. One of the things I am looking forward to is nicer weather so I can start running outside again, something I haven't done in quite some time. Mother nature has been a little tough on NYC this winter.

But anyways, here we are again with another edition of "What I Know For Sure Sundays". If you missed the other two posts, check them out here, #1 and here, #2.

Today I want to talk about the power of commitment and consistency. In all my life accomplishments there's always been a common theme. And this is what I know for sure:

"I've realized that when things get challenging as we work towards our goals; keeping a mentality of commitment & consistency is what allows us to keep going and push through".

We all face challenges in our lives when we are on our way to accomplishing our goals. Things may start out okay and easy to handle but many times they may start getting difficult and complicated. There will always be opportunities for us to get discouraged and take our eyes off the prize. However, if you make a deal with yourself from the very beginning to stay committed and consistent, you will get through the difficult times a lot easier than if you give yourself a chance to give up at the first sign of trouble.

From reaching my fitness goals, to passing super difficult classes in college and grad school, to accomplishing other life goals-  I've had many opportunities to throw in the towel either because I wouldn't see the results I wanted soon enough, or because I felt that despite my efforts I wasn't getting anywhere. In the times where I kept pushing through and remained committed and consistent despite my doubts, I eventually saw the light at the end of the tunnel and everything eventually fell in to place.

The mind is a powerful thing--- it can drag you to desperation and anxiety or it can motivate you to push through and thrive. So, during difficult times, I'd choose the latter and kept my eyes on the prize NO MATTER WHAT. Eventually, I'd see my way through.

Hence-- word to the wise: don't give yourself the opportunity to give up when things get difficult. Remember commitment and consistency are the key ingredients to get to where you want to go. It's worked for incredibly successful people in this world, its worked for me, and I'm sure it works for all human kind.

Tell me, do you have an example of a time in your life when it would have been easier to give up and you didn't? What did you learn from that experience?

Revamping the Blog, and Whats New!

Hey Everyone!

No need to panic. You are in fact in the right place. You may have notice some "small changes" around this page the main one being that I changed the name of the blog (will explain why). I also updated the "about me page" as well as the travel page as I just came back from an interesting trip.

So, why "Mabella Vita"? Well, first and foremost I am obsessed with European countries. My favorite country being France (I am obsessed). Anyways, I initially wanted the name to be "Mabella Vida" but the name was taken. Hence, next best thing was "life" in Italian which means "Vita". Mabella is a nick name Ive had since I was a little girl. Hence, I felt the phrase "Mabella Vita" would be a perfect name for a blog where I want to continue documenting my life developments. My goal is now to take this blog a step further and expand from personal stories and more in to self-help and motivational articles for my fellow ladies out there. In a nutshell- I will strive for constant content on the following: 

1. My personal life (travels, outings, friendships, family, love and beyond)

2. Health and Fitness topics (my conscious efforts towards leading a healthy life one day at the time- from traditional habits that have worked for me to trying new things)

3. Personal Finance topics (this is tentative. Is another one of my passions but I already have a blog on the works for finance-specific topics)

Excited for what's to come...stay tuned! Thanks for reading. Blogging is my therapy, my escape, a huge passion. Would love for you to join me on this new phase.

Hugs,

Mabelle

How Im Easily saving HUNDREDS of dollars (Plus- a Trader Joe's Fave')

Happy Saturday! September is here and it brought some cool breezes with it. I don't mind this "cool" weather so I gotta' say "welcome fall, I've missed you". I am literally sitting here with a sweater on. And no I am not outside.

I actually just got home. Had quite a productive Saturday over at Barnes and Noble. Did some school work (yes semester has begun again for better or for worst), finished some writing assignments and did a whole lot of reading. I then proceeded to check out my local library which I had never been to in the nearly 2 years I have been living in this neighborhood and all I gotta' say is: I found my new favorite spot!!!

Ok disclaimer: I am obviously a  HUGE geek/nerd, whatever u wanna' call it, when it comes to reading books and magazines (I say obviously because a library is now on the list of my favorite places). My geek percentage increases exponentially when I find reading material in relation to my two passions: Health/Fitness and personal finance. And so, after spending my entire morning at Barnes and Noble I then spent nearly an hour at my local New York Public Library. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I found this morning's Wall Street Journal just sitting in one of the tables. Free newspapers! Yes I am so cool!

 

So, this brings me to the title of this post: How exactly do I plan to save "HUNDREDS" of dollars from now on? Well, by taking FULL advantage of my library card. Something many of us take for granted without realizing that it can save sooooooo much money!!

 

Confessions of a cheap person: I owed about $69 in late fees from about 2 years ago which I refused to pay. Well, I decided it was time to eliminate that "debt" when I realized that it wouldn't magically disappear. Also, as cheap frugal as I am, I no longer wanted to shell out cash for books or magazines, which is what I had been doing since I was "banned" from borrowing anything from the library. So, I finally paid my fines in full and found my library card stashed away in some random purse in my apartment. Win! and win! Although $69 is a whole lot of money, I decided to change my perspective and look at it as follows:

1. A nice "donation" to my local library

2. An "investment" which will pay for itself as I will no longer be buying books, magazines, newspapers, CDs, audio books, eBooks or absolutely anything that I can possibly find at a library. Wish I could get a free meal or two there but that's probably pushing it.

So there you have it!!! And just to let you know-- the library has come a long way from the old days and they pretty much have everything you can think of. I was even able to find a book required for one of my classes this semester! The only thing that can be annoying (and I have to be honest, is not my cup of tea) is having to renew the items you borrow and keeping track of their due dates--specially me as I somehow accumulated nearly $70 in late fees; but I learned my lesson. However, aside from that, the perks of having the card really outweighs anything else (you can even renew your items online!!).

Ok this is not a public service announcement but I encourage you to take full advantage of the resources available to you. You'll be glad you did! And if you lost your card, the fee to get a new one is only $1 (I am talking about NYC but is probably similar country wide).
I left the library with all these gems. Now just gotta' find the time to squeeze in some reading. I am contemplating quitting my job:

 

After I got home I was STARVING and in serious need of grocery shopping (not a good combination). I then remembered I took a trip to trader Joes a couple of weeks ago and stocked up on one of my favorite frozen items from there:

 

 

I had this for the first time during a friend's beach outing this past summer. My friend had brought it in to share and I fell in love after the first bite. I immediately added it to my list of "things to get while at Trader Joes" (yes I have a list which also includes popular items such as almond butter and Ezequiel bread). And so, I enjoyed my veggie burger with avocado on a whole wheat tortilla with a strawberry-banana smoothie on the side:

 

I also had some yogurt with granola& flax seeds + green tea right after:

 

And now I have to get ready to leave my apartment again and run some additional errands, visit family, etc. etc. Always on the run!

As always, thanks for reading!

Tell me, do you have a library card? do you use it often? Any money-saving tips you can share? comment below!

Fortunate Fridays!

Hey everyone. I almost forgot to post this. Emphasis on almost ;)

Welcome to another edition of Fortunate Fridays. This week I feel fortunate for...

1. My apartment. God knows how much I waited to have a home I could call my own and this upcoming January is going to be my one year anniversary at my place. Yesterday I walked in after almost freezing to death outside (weather is out of control cold) and I felt so blessed to have a WARM and cozy place to come to. I turned on my heat, my candles, made some dinner and all was good with the world again :)

2. Finally slowly but surely understanding that getting older makes you understand so much about life and realize so many things you quite didn't understand before. This may sound out of left field right now but I will elaborate more on this on a future post.One major thing being: You cannot make everyone happy. People will have something to say regardless so always do what makes you happy! As long as you're not hurting anyone, why not? Dr. Seuss said it best:

 Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. -Dr. Seuss

3. Motivating others to lead a healthy lifestyle. Someone I know asked me for advice on what foods to eat and where to shop of affordable healthy food. I am so excited to help her and it makes me feel good that others ask for my advise on things like this. 

4. Leaning how to be honest. 'kay, this is a little personal but I was dating someone whom was obviously playing games. Acting like I was the end all be all for him and then disappearing  without explanation or just acting strange. I gave one too many chances and he blew them ALL. I finally had to be clear and let that go. I want love. Someone that is serious and  committed. Someone that genuinely shows me they care. Anything less than that wont cut it for me and as hard as it may be to admit it. I am finally learning to be honest with myself and others. :)

5. My mom. I call that women for everything! Any little advise from getting certain items while grocery shopping to just hearing her voice because I may need comforting from time to time. So happy to have her in my life. 

WHAT ARE YOU FEELING FORTUNATE FOR??!! Just realized this is the last Friday of 2012! Hope ya'll are making it a great one :)

Thanks for reading!

FORTUNATE FRIDAYS

So glad we’re finally at the end of the week. Waiting for weekends is such an oxymoron. We anxiously wait for weekends without putting much thought on the fact that every week that passes means time is going by quicker and quicker. That doesn’t mean I am not thankful for the weekend though because I sure am.

Welcome to another round of Fortunate Fridays. Here is what I feel fortunate/am thankful for this week:

1.    The cup of decaf with soymilk and almond biscotti I had on Tuesday night before my class. Tuesday was such a good day in terms of my eating because everything I consumed was because I was listening to my body. ‘Intuitive eating’ I would say. If you missed the post check it out here.

2.    The friendly reminder that is good to get out of our comfort zone sometimes always and do the things that we want to do/express how we feel because you never know what the outcome may be. I was pleasantly surprised with the response I received from my 'tuesday confession'. You just never know! Also, realizing that in life we should not always focus on the outcome of things as long as we do what we need to do and leave the rest up to God, he knows what is best for us at all times. I listened to a sermon by Joyce Meyer the other day that said we should learn to put our faith in God and not in other people as God will never let us down. That has stuck with me this whole week and that has helped me to let go of an incredible amount of anxiety. 

3.    Good Fathers. This morning as I was sitting in the bus I noticed a father with his young child. He was making sure his son was warm and fixing up his jacket, hat, etc. Then he held his hand while they sat on the bus. My heart was just melting the whole time. Then I started to think about my own father and what an amazing influence he has been in my life and continues to be. I love him to death and I can proudly say that I grew up with an amazing father and would not trade him for the world. I am definitely fortunate to have him in my life.

4.    I feel fortunate for the people that tell me I am a good influence on them. I try not to take things personal because I feel that people do things because they want to and not necessarily because of someone else. However, I think sometimes we influence people in a positive way without realizing it and give them that “extra push”. A friend of mine told me this week that she started school because after one of our conversation she realized that she ‘could do it’ and she was thankful that I had faith in her. That without a doubt made my day.

5.    Last but definitely not least—I feel fortunate that I won a scholarship at work to help me with my tuition. A few weeks ago I applied for a company-sponsored scholarship and yesterday I was called in to a ceremony where my name was called and I had to give a small speech of acceptance. As a side note—I am thankful that I wasn’t nervous at all when standing in front of an audience. For some reason I was able to comfortable speak with ease and gave a short and sweet thanks to everyone present. God knows that I’ve often struggled with speaking in front of audiences because I used to get extremely nervous but I’ve come such a long way!

6.    Bonus:  I must add that I also  feel fortunate/thankful that on Monday the final presentation for one of my courses went great. My group and I were a little nervous doing last minute things on the morning that the presentation was due but at the end of the day we did amazing. Plus, we also went last which was a blessing in disguise (we were worried at first) as the professor had no time to scrutinize us with many questions. Ha!

What an amazing week of fortunate things. Hope everyone has an amazing weekend! Is crunch time for me as I have a final next week. And then I’ll finally be done with the semester!

Sunday morning I am running my first 10K ever! (more on that on next week posts). Besides that, I will spending the rest of my time  locked up at a local starbucks or library studying my life away!

Cheers to a productive weekend!

What are your plans?

:)

Yummy Dinner, Tuesday Confession and 12/12/12

Hello everyone! Happy 12/12/12 so I hear that this is the LAST time we'll ever see a repetitive date--ever. Let’s make this a good one! I feel lucky today maybe I should play the lottery. Or maybe I’ll get a call from a long lost relative offering me a few millions. *wink* *wink*.

Yesterday was one of those long work/school kinda days. I snacked more than usual but I was happy because I was listening to my body’s needs and I wasn’t just eating just to eat. It was an “intuitive eating” kinda-day if you know what I mean and If I could strive to always listen to my body in that way than I think Im on the right track. Before class I stopped by Starbucks and had a decaf with soy milk (added cinnamon & vanilla powder/no sugar) and a almond biscotti. The combination was nothing less than amazing. I snacked on it while going over stuff for my final next week.

Yesterday I also enjoyed a pear for the first time in YEARS and it was delicious. I forgot how good they are. Specially this kind:

Note to self: eat pears more often.

When I got home from school last night I put together this delicious dish:

Whole wheat pasta with chicken--Mixed it in with pepper/white onions/ curry powder which I stir fried with a teaspoon of coconut oil. Sounds like a mouthful but it was delicious. I also had ½ piece of TJs Naan bread which never fails to hit the spot.

The meal prep from this past Sunday has been a lifesaver! I’ve been able to come home and heat up my food quickly and sit down and enjoy it after a long day. I should seriously organize my time better so that I can continue this Sunday night food prep thing. After having eggs for dinner almost every night last week (because that was the quickest thing I could make) I said enough was enough.

In other news; I also did something kind of random yesterday. I am reading an amazing book which is helping me personally put a lot of things in to perspective about my life, my relationships and my future in general. One of the assignments for this week was to do something ‘daring’ and reach out to someone and tell them something you probably never would. The assignment emphasized we should not attach ourselves at all to the outcome. The main purpose is to get out of our comfort zone, and so I did. I contacted an acquaintance whom I used to feel attracted to year ago! And I told him. I also quickly explained the ‘confession’ is part of a book I am reading and that I hope he doesn’t think I am crazy. To my surprise he took it very well and was super cool about it. I also had to throw in there that I am taken now just in case (lol) but it felt amazing to just let things out (regardless of how terrified I was). Sometimes you have to put life in to perspective and realize that no one gets out alive!! So, why hold yourself back and not do random things from time to time? What do we have to loose?

So we’re in the final week of classes and next week is my last final. I am at a cross roads at this point in my life in terms of what I want to do education/career wise. I mean, I believe I have a 100% clear idea of what my passions in life are (and what my purpose is) and I feel extremely lucky and blessed for that clarity. HOWEVER, the situation comes in when trying to decide how I will “jump” in to my life purpose and figuring out the best way to go about it. They do say that to follow your dreams is not good to think too much but I also want to make sure I do things right. I know God will guide me through this process and I have faith. I will continue doing my part. I will share more about this throughout the blog. One thing I do want to say though is that I am very excited for my future.

Happy hump day & 12/12/12---I feel like doing something out of the ordinary. Any thoughts? Are planning on doing anything special on this special day?

Blog Milestones and Last Night’s events

So last night I had an amazing time involving great company and Mexican food. I went to a Mexican spot that I’ve only been to once before and this second time was just as fun as I had remembered. I had fish tacos which came with a side of rice and black beans. The food was nothing less than amazing. I excused myself to snap a quick photo of the food despite my embarrassingly bright iphone flash:

Going to dinner after work also meant I forgot about yesterdays elf4health challenge and couldn’t try a new exercise which was the goal for yesterday. Ugh! But today I am killing two birds with one stone because this morning I actually woke up 15 minutes earlier to do some meditation and I loved every second.

Although initially it felt nearly impossible to wake up and I really didn’t want to leave my bed; once I got up and washed my face I sat down on the floor of my room and the peacefulness of the morning made a great atmosphere for meditation. I should consider doing this more often. Sometime tonight I plan to make up for last nights challenge by trying a new workout. Any recommendations? I have class so it may be a little difficult so we shall see.

So today I just want to announce my blog reached a milestone in terms of the number of visitors per month so far. I was BLOWN AWAY by the number and I got super excited that my blog is being visited by so many people now not only in the US but all around the world!! This is something to be mentioned and I just want to thank my readers/followers that have been around for the beginning as well as new ones. Thanks so much for your support. I appreciate every one of you and it means a lot to me. If you havent done so yet please subscribe to my RSS feed. If you have any questions about how to do it or any questions at all please email me @ dolcemabelle@gmail.com.

Happy Thursday!

Question for you: what are your thoughts on meditation? do you practice it? ever tried it? any recommendations?

Thanksgiving Turkey Trut + WHY I'M THANKFUL

So thanksgiving 2012 has arrived! I want to make this a quick but strong post because I have to get ready and go help my mom with some of the food prep. First and foremost: I did it! I woke up this morning at 8:30 am (on my day off from work!!!) put on my workout clothes and headed out the door to complete the 5K Turkey Trot sponsored by A Journey To Thin. I ended up doing more than a 5K (a little bit over 4 miles) because once I was done I was too winded to stop so I had to walk until my heart rate calmed down. It was a combination of walk/run. I would say I ran/jogged approx 2.5 of those miles and sped walked the rest:

I enjoyed some very nice views during my run. I love, love, love the fall:

My plan had been to have oatmeal for breakfast post run. However, once I was done my body was craving something "salty" or something not as sweet as oatmeal so I decided to make some eggs florentine on a whole wheat tortilla plus my coffee with almond milk. I added dash seasoning and part skim mozarella. It was definitely satisfying.

So anyways, without further 'ado here is why I am thankful today and everysingle day:

1. The presence of God in my life: Living alone has brought me a lot closer to God in many levels. Ive never been the type to go to church every single sunday (still working on that!) but I do feel that I have a very siginificant relationship with the one above. I am raised Roman Catholic and I do follow the belives of the bible but, beyond that---I am really appreciative of the relationship I am developing with God in a spiritual sense and the feeling of peace and gratefulness that comes with that, which cannot be expressed in words. Is very strong and I am thankful for that. I can only hope that it continues to grow.

2. My family: They are healthy, amazing people whom are always there for me. No matter what happens in my life I know for a fact that I will always have a rock in them. No matter how moody I may get or how mean I can be sometimes (I do recognize that) they are ALWAYS there for me with no grudges and no bad feelings, just with an open and welcoming heart. I am also thankful that they are healthy and strong and I can enjoy them for many years to come, if God allows: Mom, Dad and Marlenne: Love ya! Also-- My extended family who's so much fun and always walk around with a positive attitude about life no matter what is going on. Never a dull moment :) Love them too!

3. My Health: Growing up Ive always been a very healthy person (I rarely ever catch a cold, my immune system is super strong, Ive always been generally healthy). I am so appreciative for this and I do make a concious effort everyday to treat my body with respect by staying active and eating healthy although we all slip from time to time. I consider myself a billionaire because I have my health and that's something money cannot buy.

4. My Job: Although I am not currently in the career I want to be in (God knows this!) I am grateful to have a steady paycheck while I organize myself and embark in the journey I am supposed to be on. I know that sooner or later I will be doing something I absolutely LOVE for a living. In the meantime, I am thankful that I can keep my life organized and structured by being employed. I have also mentioned before how much I LOVE working downtown. Everytime I pass the New York Stock Exchange on my way to work I am reminded that dreams do come true in God's perfect time. :)

5. My Apartment: This time last year I was still living with my parents. Although I used to get super frustrated about it from time to time it got to a point where I became grateful to have a roof over my head, food and my family around me. I stopped nagging about what I didnt have and began to see what I DID have. A couple of months later I got the call for my apartment which I was waiting on for soooo long. The call finally came and In January 2012 I moved in to my own place and I LOVE THIS PLACE. I am so incredibly thankful for it. My words cannot even begin to express it. I feel at peace, happy, I am at a good place in my life and I recognize this everyday. It is true what they say: feeling thankful and grateful for what you have does bring more abundance in to your life.

6. Food: enough said? LOL...What I mean is that I am thankful that I can eat healthy and that I have food available for me when I am hungry or when I need nourishment or pretty much 24/7. I recognize that a lot of people around the world dont have this blessing of having food in their table when needed and have to go through a lot to get  a warm plate of food. I pray for those who need it and I can only pray that I am presented with enough abundance and the opportunity to help those who need it the most in the near future and that I have the resources to help.

7. Friends: Where do I begin with this?! I have amazing friends. TRUE friends that I can always count on and even if we stop talking for months or even years the minute we reunite again is like time never passed!!! What an amazing feeling to know that you have people that love you and that you love and that no matter what happens they will always be part of your life! People that if you need to vent about something, complain about something, get excited and happy about something or if you just want to relax-- they are there. You all know who you are and for you I am thankful <3. :) It is true what they say that people come in to your life for a Season, a Reason or a Lifetime. I am grateful for ALL the friends regardless of which "category" they may fall under :).

Edited to add--

8. My Car: I may not have a 2013 Mercedes Benz but I LOVE my car as it takes me where I need to go and rarely gives me any issues. Also, I am thankful because today was the first time I was able to fill it up with gas since the whole Sandy fiasco! I am thankful to have a set of wheels to take my around and I am reminded of this every time I turn on my ignition!

...So this turned out to be a longer post than what I had planned. Thanks for reading. Now off I go to get ready for some food prep with mom. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

What are YOU thankful for today?