Fortunate Fridays! {Highlights of the week}

Hey, hey!

How was everyone's week?! Its been some time since I've wrote a fortunate Friday's post- not bueno. Pretty much the purpose of these post is to show gratitude for the good things that happen to me during the course of a week and simply for life in general. I am a huge believer in gratitude and the idea that the more you appreciate what you get, the more positive things you attract.

So, my apologies for the Fortunate Friday hiatus. Here is what I've felt thankful for this week:

1. The opportunity to attend my first blogger event and the ability to meet so many wonderful bloggers. I feel like the blogging world can be a bit lonely sometimes. These events are such a great opportunity to meet fellow blogueras (bloggers) and simply have a blast. I don't think I've ever felt more comfortable in a so called "networking environment" of sorts. Everything flew naturally. Not a dull moment.

The Colectiva Latina Crew (some of us):

Me, very focused:

A whole lot of note taking:

...a lot of eating was involved (thanks to Dania for organizing a really nice outing for the Latina Bloggers):

2. My sister and dad returning safe and sound back to the U.S: So, my dad left the country on business and my sister was in Panama with her boyfriend (lucky girl!). They all made it back safe and sound and bearing gifts. What more can I possibly ask for?!

3. A one on one meeting with a blogger-mentor. So, one of my networked blogger companies I am part of paired me up with an experienced blogger. Hope she doesn't mind I tag her here :)- Serena from Thrift Diving (Hi Serena!). Ladies, let me tell you- she was phenomenal! We spoke for quite some time and she gave me sooo many amazing tips for my blog, my business, and how to make everything better. She was a God sent. I'll never forget how much value she provided during that conversation. I thanked her like a million time, and meant it! :)

4, Having my dad in my life: so, as we all know, last Sunday was fathers day and I took to Facebook to express my gratitude for this man. My dad has taught me so much and continues to do so every single day. He was rough with my sister and I growing up but it was all worth it. One of the things I love the most about him is that he never panics-- whenever we share something negative with him. Ie: getting in to a car accident, loosing the phone he bough me when I was a teenager, etc. He always keeps calm and collected. "things happen, is okay' is his signature phrase. I also love the fact that, even though he doesn't tell me directly, I know that he believes in me, my dreams, and my passions and shows me that with actions rather than words. \

5. Strengthening and growing my brand: I cant say much about this as things are still in development but I am just grateful that slowing but surely hard work is paying of. As the saying goes, no one said this would be easy- but they did say it would be worth it.

And that's all folks. Thank you for reading and have a phenomenal weekend <3

What do YOU feel fortunate for this week?

Love,
Mabelle

Welcome June! (my single simple plan for this month)

Who else is super excited for June?! Don't ask me why but I sure am.

Maybe is something about the fact that I'll be able to indulge in more outdoor runs, nicer weather, I can finally say goodbye to my piles of sweaters and scarfs (maybe...because we all know this NYC weather is a bit bi-polar). And simply just looking forward to the official launch of summer and summer fun. Looking forward to making the best of it.

This month I am running a 10K, participating in my first ever blogger event, adding on new clients (so grateful), celebrating my amazing dad (fathers day this month!), and focusing on me, myself and I as well as the people I know and love- friends and family.

Also, looking forward to meeting new people because you never know what each day will bring, correct?!

My goals for this month? Besides working hard in what I love. I am making a conscious effort to invest my focus and time on activities and people that make me happy and bring joy to my life.

What are you looking forward to this month?

Love,
Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays {peace of mind edition}

Hey loves,

breakfast this morning <3

Welcome to another edition of Fortunate Fridays. Hope everyone had quite the phenomenal week. Nothing too exciting on my end other than work and working on self-love and personal development. I know I sound like a weirdo. But that's whats going on in my life and I'm not afraid to say it :).

Without further 'ado, here is what I feel fortunate for this week:

1. Meeting new people. My best friend invited me to a get-together with her co-workers last weekend and I had an amazing time. I have to be honest, I didn't feel like doing absolutely anything at all but best friends push us out of our comfort zone when we don't want to be pushed and that's exactly what she did. We drank, danced, socialized, and everything in between. No pictures but I do have great memories. Cant wait to hang out with them again.

random selfie

2. The new addition to my mug collection. I am a sucker for cute mugs and this is one I had been keeping my eye on at Marshall's for about 5 months. I didn't want to buy it because it was a bit pricey for a mug (around $8). To my surprise, I found it on clearance for $3.50.  I was so excited. It was the only one left. I immediately grabbed it and off I went. The crazy thing is that Marshall rarely has the cute things on clearance. When they are gone, they are gone. However, it was my lucky day.

Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

3. The resources to buy ingredients and the ability to prep some yummy meals. I love cooking at home. Here are some of the foods I was able to enjoy this week.

4. My sister is okay. I found out recently that she was involved in a car accident the other night. I am so glad she is completely fine! Material things come and go but a life and health are priceless.

5. Running outside. I ran outside twice this week. The first time was crazy hard but yesterday I went for a smooth run and I loved it. Getting easier for sure. Still working on my pace/mph (have a long way to go! my goal is to get back to 9 mph) and prepping for my 10k coming up in June.

6. Bonus: Peace of mind. The other day I had an aha! moment after a sudden scare I had while hanging out with one of my friends. I realized that I have nothing to complain about. Sure, my life is not perfect but I feel like all my "so called issues" are things that I have the power to fix and improve on a personal level. I've gotten to a point where I have realized that my advancement in life is in fact primarily dependent on my faith and then me, myself and I with a bit of help from people that also want to see me succeed. I have no "outside issues" that I cannot control, and for that, I am thankful.

And that's all for now! Thanks for passing by. How was your week? Did you do anything fun last weekend for memorial day?

Love,
Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays { Pre-memorial day weekend edition}

Hello ladies and gents!

Hope everyone had a great week. We have a long weekend ahead of us! Any exciting plans? Mine include but are not limited to-- catching up on reading, Zumba with my best friend, dinner with another one of my very close friends and hanging out with family.

How about you? If you have any super exciting traveling plans let me know. I'll be living vicariously through you. ha!

Here is the recap of some of my fortunate moments for this past week:

1. Being able to run a 5K with my dad. If you missed that post, check it out here.

2. Spontaneous quality time with my sister on a random weekday- this was awesome. We shared a delicious treat while catching up on life. (post coming up later on today)

3. Two of my favorite magazines came in the mail (plus, my daily Wall Street Journal, always grateful for that).

4. Journaling- I had forgotten how cathartic writing can be and how healing it is to just write away about our fears, emotions, the good, the bad, and everything in between. I took some time this week to get back to some old school writing (journal and pen) and felt a gazillion times better after that "session". Thinking about incorporating more consistent journaling time in to my life going forward.

5. Change your thinking change your life- I've been a fan of Brian Tracy's books for the past 8-9 years, every since I graduated from undergrad. His motivational messages are a true gift. I recently came across one of his books which I haven't read yet and immediately picked it up. I just started reading it but so far I'm really enjoying it. In a nutshell, the book emphasizes the realization that no matter what happens, we always have the choice of training our minds to have a positive outlook on things (also, understanding the power of the mind in completely changing our lives).

Amazon affiliate link

...And that's all folks. It was a good week. Although things are not necessarily "perfect" I cannot complain. I have a lot of things to look forward to and looking forward to a fun filled weekend, even if its simply in the company of family, friends, the gym, and books.

Tell me, what is your favorite Brian Tracy book or motivational book in general? (would love to add it to my reading list.)

Love,
Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays {Family + baking + running + working, Edition}

Good morning! 

Happy Friday. 

Breakfast this morning: Organic oatmeal w/ sliced almonds, raisins, ground cinnamon, & almond butter toppings

Hope everyone had a great week but even if you didn't, guess what-- you made it to Friday! Today's post is going to be quick as I have a long day ahead of me but as always, feeling grateful for everything that happens. And here we go.

1. First park outing with the family- Family and I celebrated mother's day at the park this part weekend and had a great time.

2. The joys of baking- Was looking for something sweet to eat after dinner on Monday but there was nothing in my apartment as I usually keep junk food out of the house. Decided to go search one of my favorite blogs for a recipe and it did not disappoint (cookies lasted about 3.5 days). Baking is one of those activities that calms me and brings me 'zen'. Does anyone else feel that way?

Chocolate Chip PB banana Cookies

3. The inspiration to cook dinner- I meal prepped on Monday so this entire week I had a combination of brown rice and beans with either chicken or shrimp. And of course, my veggie on the side. Pretty satisfying.

4. First outside run of the year- All of my workouts since the beginning of this year have taken place inside a gym. I am so excited for the nice weather (finally) and was able to complete my first outside run in about 6+ months! Looking forward to more runs on nice days.

5. More billable hours at work- More hours, more clients, very excited and simply humbled and thankful for all the opportunities.

And that's all folks. Thank you so much for reading and wishing you a great weekend.

Tell me, What was the best thing that happened to you this week?

Love,
Mabelle

What I know for Sure Sundays: It is never too late to put on your crown

Hello my loves,

Sorry this post went up a bit late today. I had an amazing time with my family today celebrating all the amazing mothers, including my own:

picture from our Broadway show date

We were blessed with a beautiful day here in the city and so my entire family planned a last minute BBQ in the park where we all got to spent some quality time. I just got home!

I could have skipped this post. However, today I had a conversation with one of my cousins that was a true eye opener. She is about to be a mother herself (currently expecting) and although she is not with the father, she is completely ecstatic to bring a life in to this world. We were talking about relationships and we got to talking about a 7 year relationship she had- the guy became part of the family after a while and then one day he was gone! I never got to ask her what happen with that but today she shared with me a lot of stuff and for that I was very grateful.

She advised that after some time she realized her life with him would have been a disaster and so, after 7 years, she had no problem breaking things off. She emphasized the fact that we only live once and there is no time to be wasting with people we know are not good for us. I loved her optimism and enthusiasm as she told me the story. It really made my day.

...and so, in the middle of that conversation I had a personal aha! moment:

Is never, ever too late to put on your crown <3

source

What does this mean? It means that regardless of what we've been through, regardless of how many times we have fallen, regardless of how many times we knew we had to move on but did not, regardless of how many times we put up with things we shouldn't have, regardless of anything you can think of-- is NEVER too late to realize your true worth, put on your crown as the queen that you are and keep.it.moving. As my cousin stated over and over--- you only live once. people will always have something to say. Live for your own personal happiness and no one else's.

And so, I couldn't end this day without sharing this amazing message with all my wonderful followers. I will keep it short. Have an amazing week!

Love,
Mabelle

Gigi on Broadway starring Vanessa Hudgens: Full Review

Good morning beautiful,

Source

Happy Saturday! So, as promised on yesterday's blog post I am here to offer a full review of the Broadway show GiGi which I had the privilege of seeing with my mom this past week. The show was scheduled for 7pm and the theater is somewhere in midtown so I had to rush after work to pick up my mom and off we went!

So anyways, let me back track to how I got the tickets. A few weeks ago I decided to request 1/2 day off from work in order to be part of  The View- one of my favorite shows since I was in college! Vanessa Hudgens (the main character) was a guest that day and the entire audience won tickets to the Broadway show. Thank you, abc TV networks, or whoever paid for this ;).

Now, let me just say I had no clue what GiGi is or was based on. I just remember hearing is a re-make of a very famous show that has been around for decades (pardon my ignorance). I was just excited for the free tickets.

If you have been following the blog for some time you may already know that France is my absolute favorite country in the world. Mind you, I have only been there once in my life. However, for some reason I've always had an affinity with the place and see myself going back several times over during my life time. So anyways, you can imagine my excitement when I realized the whole story takes place in France:

In a nutshell (without giving too much away) Gigi is about a girl from France, coming of age as she is being raised by her grandmother --  who she sweetly refers to as 'grandmama'. The grandmother goes out of her way to make sure Gigi grows up to be a proper lady and tries to teach her the ropes. Meanwhile, Gigi thinks all the luxuries and ambition for money in France is silly and understands from a young age there are more important things in life. She is happy being a simple girl. 

As the story develops, she eventually finds herself, falls in love, and grows up to be a beautiful, 'well polished', young lady. Every single character in the performance does a phenomenal job. I also found a new found respect for Vanessa Hudgens. I always wondered why or how these Disney celebrities become so famous. Seeing Vanessa in live action made me realize this girl actually has some freaking solid talent. At the end of the performance, everyone gave her a standing ovation. Congrats to her! I really enjoyed the whole experience.

....And specially getting to share that with me dear mom:

Please disregard my tired eyes. It was a long day at work.

The show runs for over 2 hours. As good as it was, I felt like we were there forever. To be quite honest-- my mom and I were about to leave at one point during intermission (we thought it was over). Luckily we noticed no one was leaving the place and then we realized there was more to come so we immediately sat back down. Pretty funny situation.

During and after the show we were both starving! We grabbed a pizza at Sbarro afterwards. I hate that place. I just kept wondering, how are they still in business?! Anyways, we were hungry.

And that's all folks. Had an awesome time in Manhattan with my mom. Looking forward to having those dates more often.

Tell me, have you seen a Broadway show before or wish to see one? which one? 

I was not compensated for this post other than getting the free tickers from the View. I was not asked to make a review either. I did this because I really enjoyed my time and wanted to share it on the blog.

Fortunate Friday {Broadway Edition}

Good day sunshine!

Is Friday! Had to wake up at the crack of dawn this morning joined by a lingering cold and allergies; definitely not a great way to start my day but thankfully I am starting to feel A LOT better.

I've been drinking a whole lot of this:

Green tea simmered with a cinnamon stick, lemon, & spices: my god sent salvation!

This week was busy and productive and everything in between. Although I do work a bit on weekends I am just happy Friday is finally here. And without further ado' here is my list of fortunate happenings this week:

1. My friend is healthy again: One of my best friends sent me a random text on Monday night letting me know she was in the hospital due to some kidney issues. The message freaked me out as I have never see this girl hospitalized in the twenty years that I have known her. Thankfully she is finally out of the hospital. I plan to go see her today after work. Health is our most precious gift.

2. My Computer: So, this week I almost had a heart attack because my beloved laptop was having some issues. The screen went crazy and I seriously didn't know what to do. I booked an appointment at 'geek squad' almost immediately and then, like a miracle, it fixed itself!!! Praise the lord. The brief minutes of panic reminded me how much I rely on this tool for work and everything else. Something apparently I didn't realize until this week. Taking better care of it. Grateful for it.

3. The ability to sign up for upcoming races: Its been a while since I've ran my 5Ks or 10Ks consistently. There was a time in my life not too long ago when I used to participate in fun races all the time. Well, my efforts to bring that back are in full swing and just this week I signed up for my 3rd race of the year-- first one is next week! (stay tuned for fun race review posts).

4. My dad's new found enthusiasm for health and fitness: After a health scare at the beginning of the year my dad finally got his 'act together' and started working out consistently and eating healthy. He's actually taking it a bit overboard as apparently he's cut out a lot of stuff from his diet (insights from my mom) so I am excited to help him in this area and am actually working on a list of foods that he can feel good about eating (he avoided Gluten like the plague for a couple of months, it was pretty funny). Love my dad. So proud of him.

5. Work that keeps me busy, focused, and helps me provide for myself: Receiving tons of positive signs from the universe, Thank you Jesus. I keep telling myself to just keep on swimming.

BONUS: My first Broadway show date with my mom: This was so incredibly awesome! So, a few weeks ago I won tickets to go watch GiGi on Broadway, starring Vanessa Hudgens. It turned out to be so perfect because I was able to take my mom on a pre-mother's day date. Plus, it was the first Broadway show we ever saw together (and the very first one for her, not counting The Rockettes which we saw about 6 years ago). Can you believe we have been living in NYC for over 21 years and it took us that long to go see a show together? next goal is to get the entire family to a show. Will share a full review regarding my GiGi experience on tomorrow's post.

Other fun things that happened this week:

Finally got a manicure and two rings I found on sale at Old Navy's accessory section:

Wanted that 'white-ish' color that's trending now. I am not sure if it was the manicurist or the nail polish (Essie's baby breath) but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. But it'll do.

My friend mailed every person that attended the wedding a thank you card. I loved this so much I am framing it:

*This week I also took some steps towards something it was time for me to tackle-- Having the strength to detach myself from something that was not bringing my life much joy (more on this to come).  Still not completely on the other side of things but well on my way. Work in progress.

And that is all my friends. How was your week? any exciting plans for this weekend?

Happy early mother's day to all my readers that are mothers. Looking forward to 'joining the club' in the near future :-)

Love,
Mabelle

Fortunate Friday {May first Edition}

Hello everyone!

How was your week? Mine was great and busy with zero complaints. Week came with its challenges because obviously that is life, however, nothing I couldn't handle.

I may not be very consistent with my daily posts (*embarrassed*) but at least I can keep up with these Fortunate Friday posts. I was thinking to myself "I don't even know what I am thankful for this week. nothing really exciting happened". And then, as I opened my mind to the question, it started shooting at me several things that definitely deserve a shout out in today's post. With that said, here what I feel fortunate for this week:

1. My health- This is more than a given. Health is wealth and such an incredible blessing that sometimes we take for granted or 'forget about'. No matter what may be going on in our lives-- personal issues, life drama, work drama, and the list goes on; we should be thankful that we are able to get out of bed each morning and tackle the day and whatever it may bring. We should be thankful that we are able to open our eyes, move, breathe, and care for ourselves. That's kind of a big deal.

2. The strong instinct/reassurance that everything will be more than okay- My life is not perfect but I do my best to remain optimistic in the face of challenges. One of my favorite mantras is "this too shall pass". Something inside of me tells me that whatever is not going "my way" at this point in my life is only meant for my good in the long term. If I can weather the storm I can look forward to the sun.

3. My sister and my best friend-- not much to say about this other than they are both such incredible support systems and people I can count on no matter what.

My sister and I (circa 2013- ish)

My bestie and I in New Orleans (circa ~2011 ish)

4. My home- also known as my sanctuary, my office, my space away from the hectic world. A true blessing.

5. My faith, which keeps me sane-- I cant tell you how many times a day my brain goes completely ballistic worrying about this or that or the other-- fear, uncertainty, regret, sadness-- things that try to attack me from time to time. Thankfully holding on to my faith keeps me away from that and reassures me I will be more than okay (see #2).

6. Bonus: a very consistent month when it comes to fitness-- Check this out:

I worked out pretty much every single scheduled day this month. A combination of the gym, Zumba classes and strengthen training with my dear Jillian Michaels. Looking forward to keeping this up in May. Shout out to my Ipad that keeps me entertained at the gym :).

Tip: A visual calendar to keep track of daily workouts is an awesome motivational tool.

...and that's all folks! Thanks for reading. Have a phenomenal weekend.

Love,
Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays {Consistency Edition}

Hello ladies (and gents?)!

How was everyone's week? hope you all had a successful and productive one. If not, there is no reason to feel down about it. Tomorrow is another day.

You may have noticed I've been a bit quiet on the blog this past week. Work has been super busy (in a good way) so I'd like to apologize. Thankfully I've been able to keep up with the Fortunate Fridays posts. I feel gratitude is so important and taking the time to acknowledge the good things in our lives is always worthwhile.

Without further 'ado, here is what I felt fortunate for this past week:

1. Tickets to a super fun comedy show in the city this past Saturday. Felix and I were able to attend a show at StandUpNY for the first time and absolutely loved it. Had a great time there and had a super fun conversation with a very talented comedian (Hi Tom!)

2. Attending The Chew with my sister and being part of the "live studio audience". I was surprised with some free tickets and so I made my way to the show. Yes, I was on TV and no I am not ashamed. Super fun crew.

3. Work and staying busy! This may sound weird but I am actually so incredibly grateful for all the work I have been getting and for the blessing to pursue my passion. Slow and steady wins the race. Thank.you.God.

4. Being able to keep up with the gym: consistency is the key my friends-- My eating may not necessarily have been perfect lately to say the least (i.e: A bit too much junk food, specially in the evenings a few times this week). However, I've been committed and faithful with hitting the gym and completing my Jillian Michaels strength training workouts. Something that motivates me to hit the gym is my Ipad (i.e: reading magazines and/or the paper while I am working out). I feel like time just flies by. Highly recommend!

5. Having people that love me and care for me and whom I can reach out to--- because of the nature of my work I spend too much time on my own. I work from home now so I don't have the "luxury" of having people around and chit chatting throughout the day. As much as I love it, it can get lonely sometimes! I have to remind myself that I am blessed with a circle of amazing friends and family and a special someone that I can reach out to when necessary. That in itself is a blessing and I am so grateful for it. Whats the benefit of having everything you want in life if you have no one to share it with? :)

Here is another inspiring meme I came across this week, thought I'd share:

And that's all folks!

Shameless Selfie 

What do you have planned for the weekend? It's supposed to be "semi-nice" here in NYC (meaning sunny but a bit cold). So I plan to make my way to Brooklyn to visit one of my friends that moved there recently and just spend quality time with people I love in general.

Tell me, have you ever been a member of a studio audience? How was it? If not, what show would u love to attend?

Love,

Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays {If you believe in something, never give up- Edition}

Hello Loves!

Can you believe is Friday again?! Not only that but April is half way through. Ugh! lets not even think about that.

This week was busy. Super busy. So busy I wasn't even able to post my MWM (Mid Week Motivation) post this past Wednesday so please accept my apologies for that. I will do my best so that it doesn't happen again, at least for next week.

Regardless of how busy we may get, there is always time to express gratitude. So, without further ado, I leave you with some of the many things I felt fortunate for this week:

1. Having access to a Library card and being able to read pretty much any book I can think of, for free. Below are a couple of books i've been meaning to read for quite some time and I finally got a hold of them! 

2. Family time with the kiddos at Chucky Cheese! I may or may not have been hanging out at my local CC's with family this past Friday. I also may or may not have eaten a piece of the chocolate cake that was served which was pretty delicious.

3. Hanging out with the two kids that bring the most joy to my heart

4. Quality time with one of my favorite cousins from the Dominican Republic. I grew up with him and although we haven't lived in the same country for years, our strong bond remains.

5. The feeling, internal confirmation, and manifestation of my dreams being possible. I'll talk more about this in the future. Just know one thing: never, ever, ever give up on your dreams. Ever. 

6. Bonus: The inspiration, energy, and motivation to make myself some pretty delicious dinners a few times this week. Sometimes I impress myself.

Oh! and by the way-- I had the privilege of going to the NYC International auto show this past Saturday. Fun times. Fancy cars. And everything in between. I even randomly signed myself up for a Mercedes Benz test drive. A girl can dream ;)

And that's all folks. Wishing you a phenomenal weekend!

Its supposed to be nice and sunny here in NYC on Saturday. Looking forward to that.

Tell me, have you ever attended the NYC auto show? are cars your thing? 

Love,
Mabelle