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

Fortunate Fridays {'Red Velvet cake and so much more' edition.}

Bkfst this morning: PB&J on sprouted wheat cinnamon-raisin bread, cafe w/ soy milk. 

This week was pretty normal, which is a good thing. Nothing out of the ordinary really happened other than the fact that I worked a whole lot but also had time to hit the gym, read, and do other things I am passionate about. I discovered some new podcast (well, one in particular) which I think is incredible (specially for entrepreneurs) and which I've been listening to any chance I get. I'll share more on that soon.

So, as it is the norm each Friday of the week; here is a recapitulation of FIVE things I've felt grateful and fortunate for. Enjoy!

1. Spending quality time with my little cousin: I love living on my own but I'm not going to lie that it does get lonely sometimes. My little cousin was on vacation from school this entire week so I invited him over for a sleep over on Monday night. I allowed him to stay up until midnight which is probably not good at all (can you tell I don't have kids yet?) but I enjoyed his company nonetheless.

2. Coming across awesome Ted-Talks: One of them came up randomly on my Facebook news feed the other day. It has to be one of the best talks I've ever heard. Check it out: Why We All Need To Practice Emotional First Aid.

3. My cousin is now a U.S citizen: So proud of him for passing his exam!

4. My mother's Valentine's day card: It did arrive a few dates late (thank you US Mail). But I loved receiving in and loved the message. It definitely put a huge smile on my face.

5. Coming home to a warm and cozy apartment: The temperature in New York City has been beyond cold lately. Specially at night time. Last night one of those specially cold nights and I was so incredibly grateful when I stepped inside my apartment and immediately felt the welcoming warmth of the heater. They say is the little things in life but at that very moment-- that was huge! I am conscious that a lot of people don't have shelter or a place to go home to when is freezing outside. I don't take these things for granted!

...and by the way, as I mentioned last week- Saturday was my sister's bday. My mom went all out baking ton of delicious goodies. Ive been so good with my healthy eating lately but was unable to resist eating a slice of Red Velvet cake (my favorite and second only to carrot cake). I have to say i enjoyed every bite. YOLO, indeed. 

Thankfully I was able to keep it at that and the rest of the week was fully back on track in terms of my healthy lifestyle (yeyy).

And thats all folks. Thank you for reading! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

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

What I know for sure Sundays I: People and acceptance

Good morning lovelies,

Hope everyone had a nice day yesterday-- whether you spent it with family, friends, a special person or simply on your own; I hope it was fabulous.

I woke up around 9-ish and made myself a quick and easy breakfast:

PB&J on sprouted wheat cinnamon-raisin bread, cafe w/ soy milk.

I miss almond butter dearly but haven't been able to get my hands on a jar. Hopefully that will change soon. Peanut butter is okay but nothing compares to almond. Would you agree?

Anyways, the purpose of this post is to share a series I have been thinking about for a while. We all have life lessons; experiences we feel have taught us a lot and sometimes we feel the need to share those 'valuable lessons' with others. If you read Oprah magazine, the name of the series might sound familiar. The last page of every issue is entitled "what I know for sure" and is a space where Oprah herself shares her own personal life anecdotes, what she's learned and what she now 'knows for sure'.

I would like to kick off this series with the following:

What I know for sure:

...people are who they are. You either take them as they are or love them from a distance. 

I've had instances in my life where people showed me their true colors from the very beginning. I kept hoping these people would change either by 'magic' or influenced by me. I soon realized that's not possible. People rarely ever change their ways. If the do is because they personally want to change not because anyone tells them to. 

Sometimes people have wake up calls when is too late. Sometimes they understand their actions and make a conscious effort to be better. However, we should never take it personal if someone refuses to do better for themselves or doesn't "listen to us". We should let people be free to be who they are. Thankfully, we ALL have the power to control our own actions. Hence, whether or not we want to keep that energy in our lives is entirely up to us.

"You cannot change the people around you, but you can change the people you choose to be around".

Tell me, would you agree with today's message? Does this situation sound familiar? if so, how?

Brunch and Fancy ice cream at Melt Bakery

Hey all!

 

Happy Monday! Hope you are had a phenomenal weekend. Nothing too eventful around here. I worked out, hung out at my parents house and ultimately visited one of my best friends from High School (Hi Ana!) . We had a nice chat/'heart to heart' catching up on life: past, present, and beyond. I am grateful for the fact that a lot of my friendships date back to a long, long time ago. Not sure how I've been able to maintain half of my friends considering life happens and we're all usually so busy. But it is definitely true what they said-- true friendships can go a very long time without communicating much and when they are reunited again, is like time never passed!

 

So anyways, this is kind of an overdue post. Talking about friendships, I went to brunch with a former co-worker of mine about a month ago. We used a Groupon deal for a delicious brunch at Sons of Essex located in the Lower East Side of NYC. I had never been to the spot and I have to admit I loved it. The brunch included two breakfast entrees and unlimited mimosas or bloody Mary's. We opted for the mimosas and it will be an understatement to say those things were STRONG! Ugh! Feeling dizzy just thinking about it. The entire meal + drinks + overall experience was great. I would definitely recommend it. Only thing is that the ambiance was a little dark and I like to clearly see my food when I eat it but that was a minor thing. I believe we paid $39.99 for the both of us (thanks to the Groupon). Our final bill was about $5.00 which included the tax + tip. Not bad. Although my frugal self wouldn't do this every weekend. Once in a while is worth it.

 

 

My delicious breakfast pizza. To die for!

My friend's "Cap'n Crunch" French toast (I had a taste and pretty much died and went to heaven).

Of course I had to ask the waiter to take a pic of us as we left the restaurant.

After the brunch my friend suggested we check out an ice cream spot called "Melt Bakery" which she had tried before and loved. When it comes to ice cream or anything sweet you definitely do not have to ask me twice! So off we went to find this hidden gem.

 

There were so many choices that we literary spent about 20 minutes just staring at the display and reading the description for each flavor. A NYC tour group even came in, had time to give a tour, and eventually headed out and we still had not made a decision. For some reason I just kept thinking about how each piece must have like one thousand calories. Thankfully the attendant surprised me by saying they had "mini versions" of each flavor. That definitely helped make my decision a lot easier and I opted for the "mini red velvet". To.Die.For:

My friend had the regular size chocolate chip cookie flavor. Also super delicious. And off we went with our delicious treats, walking the streets of downtown New York City and talking away.

 

The mini version is about $2.75 while the regular size is $4.00. Not bad for a nice treat on a warm summer day. Definitely a clever idea. I see more and more businesses getting creative and moving away from the "cup cake" craze that swept the nation for years.

 

And that's all folks! I don't go out in the city very often but when I do, I love to share it and document it as a reminder of the places I've been to and wouldn't mind visiting again.

 

Thank you for reading!

 

Tell me, how was your weekend? have you ever tried a Melt Bakery ice cream or been to Sons of Essex?

 

Love,

Mabelle <3

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

Fortunate Fridays {Friendships are golden & Self Improvement edition}

Hey My loves!

This week FLEW! I almost forgot to post this but here I am-- as it is my Friday tradition. I wont waste much time on random stuff and just get to the point.

 This week I feel fortunate for:

1. Spending time with some amazing friends this weekend! -- My amazing friends from NYC came to DC and it was like a college reunion all over again. Great times!

Warning: pictures of delicious food and lots of fun ahead

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First time at Peri-Peri--- absolutely delicious. 

 

2. I am getting better at not caring what others do but controlling my own emotions and being at peace instead!- I used too much power on things that were out of my control until one day I decided that's no way to live. Still a work in progress but I am so much happier.

3. My mom taking the time to "deep clean" my apartment

4. The realization that following a passion can take us farther than actual skills or aptitude can! (will be writing a post on this).

5. Finding the time to update my investing blog!

 

6. Not letting others intimidate me-- no matter what. I know what I am and what I am capable of. I know I have a bright future ahead regardless of anything.

7. The opportunity to attend an amazing work event last night. I am telling you--- the company where I am doing the internship is beyond amazing. Open bar, free food, free entertainment. They even sent me to the train station on a limo...yes. a limo.

 The Gold Magnolias-- Awesome band!

 

 

 

8. My incredible faith and the certainty of knowing deep inside that amazing things are ahead.

 

Me today after a nice run (although I was so exhausted I didn't feel like doing nada. But I did it!!).

 

 

Meme award of the week goes to:



 

 

 

TELL ME-- What blessings did you enjoy this week?

Fortunate Fridays! {proud of my friends} Edition

Hey All!

 

Hope everyone had an amazing week! My week had a lot going on but I am glad is finally Friday! I just had a chance to sit down and write this post. I should really consider being a "real" blogger and writing these things up in advance. However, until that happens, here is what I feel fortunate for this week:

 

1. My amazing friends, whom I am so proud of!!!

 

I believe I mentioned on my previous post that I spent last weekend at my friend's lake house up in Syracuse, NY. She bought the house a couple of year ago and I missed her house warming party due to a family thing I had going on during that time. I FINALLY had a chance to go up to see her this past weekend. When I walked in to her gorgeous home (with a gorgeous lake to match) all I could think about how immensely proud I am of her and all she has accomplished over the years. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my friends succeed and see the fruits of their hard work. Congratulations Lejla! and I wish you much more amazing things!

 

I took a gazillion pictures but here are a few:

 



Us on the boat (one piece borrowed from my friend because of course a forgot a bathing suit).

View toward the lake

View of the house from the lake

Osvaldo and I (thanks for driving :)

Lamija and I :)

The girls

 

2. My dad!!! It was my dad's birthday yesterday and I know I've probably said this several times on the blog but I love my dad to the moon and back. He's been such an amazing role model in my life and all good things I have I owe not only to my hard work but to his never-ending support in my life. I am so blessed to have him around and was a little sad I wasn't with him for his birthday. But I hope to make it up to him soon. Love you dad <3

 

 

3. My new found "hobbie"--Running!-- So I am living in a dorm room within GWU for the summer (long story on that one). I am not necessarily ecstatic to have a roommate or to spend every waking moment in a room without a television so, I have this new "thing" where I just go out and run. I like it and I feel my stamina getting better and better. Yayy!

 

4. An amazing lunch (and trying chicken pad thai for the first time)-- One of the executives from my job took the time to take me and another analyst to work and shared so much knowledge with us! I was just listening to him absorbing as much as possible. Its quite the amazing feeling when you have a chance to talk with smart people and take the time to listen, engage and just learn so much from them. Cheers to educational lunches:

 

 

 

 

..and ps: pad thai is delicious...yes. I've been living under a rock this whole time.

 

I'll keep it short today considering is late and I am tired. But, never forget that no matter the challenges we may face in life, there is always something to feel fortunate for.

 

I leave you with some random selfie I took yesterday before work:

 

...and with my favorite "meme" of the week:

Tell Me, How did you spend 4th of July weekend? anything exciting coming up this weekend?