Happy Friday!! Thought I would share some things that I've been loving recently, including the fact that it's the Fourth of July next weekend. I can't wait to celebrate it in the city that our country was born in. And in light of our country, I'll start with...

Same Sex Marriage

I think this one speaks for itself :) Finally!! Love and acceptance always win. The Gayborhood in Philadelphia painted their crosswalks just in time...

Class Pass

I've had so much fun trying out all different kinds of studios and workouts around Philadelphia. Their customer service is awesome and I was able to get a crazy discount on my second month ($50 off!), but unfortunately I am canceling my membership for August. I'm sad to see it go, but with the few teaching jobs I've picked up, I am able to use the facilities at those gyms and I cannot justify spending $80 a month on fitness classes. Also I really just can't afford it, who am I kidding. If you're in the Northeast I recommend ClassPass since there are so many boutique studios up here. If you're in Florida, peerfit is also a great service that is similar to ClassPass. My friend Christina from The Blissful Balance works for peerfit and has said wonderful things about it!

My grandpa's homemade bagels, biali's and breakfast bread

My grandpa has been making his own bread for years and I was surprised with a package last week filled with these goodies. Pictured is his breakfast bread with cinnamon, raisins, walnuts and apricots. Little taste of home!

Morning runs around the city

I don't run often, but when I do I always wonder why I don't because it is so peaceful (besides the days when my legs feel 100 pounds each)! Especially in the morning when the streets are quiet. Every time I run here I take a different route and discover new places everywhere. This picture is from this morning in Washington Square Park. So pretty!

Moving...again!

Not until mid July, but this will make three moves in the last three months. I would like to stay put for a while. I'm staying in Philadelphia, but moving a little bit outside of Center City into my first "adult" apartment. The reason I say this is because the entire apartment complex is in the process of undergoing an entire renovation so our unit will be like brand new. Also this is the first place that Michael and I are moving into together (exciting)! Moving up in the world? Here's a sneak peak...

And that wraps up all my favorite things today. I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

- Rach

By that I mean that this week involves a lot of happy hours. Last night I went to an event through YBConnected at the Brook's Brothers store in downtown Philadelphia to support MANNA, an organization that delivers food to those less fortunate in the Greater Philadelphia Area. My boss Mollie Elkman is one of the founders of YBConnected - the only woman in the founding group!

All ticket sales went to MANNA, as well as a percentage of the proceeds from anything that was bought in the store last night.

Shopping, wining, dancing and benefitting a good cause all in one night! Pretty cool.

My cousin Sara stopped by as well to have some fun before taking her board exams for nursing (Eek - good luck girl!)

Right after work today we headed to Independence Beer Garden again because the weather here is fantastic and I feel like I need to soak up all of the warm weather fun before it turns wintry here. Also because from 5-7 p.m. beers are $3 and food is only $4! I'm telling you - this place is a must if you are ever in Philly!

This morning I woke up and went on a beautiful 3.5 mile run before work. I love when the streets are quiet and it seems like everyone is still sleeping. Something about it makes running feel so therapeutic! It makes me want to try (again) training for a race. There are so many fun ones up here too. Last time I rushed into it and did too much too fast and got AWFUL shin splints. I've gotta ease into it this time because I am for sure no runner!

I cannot believe tomorrow is already Thursday. These weeks are flying by - I still keep writing May whenever I have to write the date!

- Rach

Runners out there - any tips for starting a race training plan?

Happy Monday! I'm not being the greatest with updating my blog at the moment. Things this (last) week have been crazy busy.

First off, my weekend back home was short and sweet! Julia graduated and is currently at UF for her preview. I keep getting texts from her and my dad telling me how much they love the school and I'm just like OK I GET IT I MISS IT TOO MUCH STOP.

And a throwback to when I graduated because clearly I miss college a little bit...

Work has been great and Philly even greater. The week flew by, probably because I feel like I just didn't stop for one moment. But I love it! Busy is good.

Tuesday night I taught my first cycle class in a month! Finally got hired to teach somewhere. I subbed that Tuesday class, a 6 a.m. circuits class on Wednesday, and on Saturday I taught a back to back super circuit and spin class!! Starting this Saturday I will have a permanent 9 a.m. Saturday class at the Sweat Fitness Old City location! Come sweat with me if you're in the area :) My hour long spinning playlist:

Spinning Playlist

Wednesday night Chelsey and I got off work and decided to peruse the million shops by work. Lululemon is very close and I finally caved and bought my first lulu leggings. I love them. I can see this being an issue. After that, it was already 6 p.m. and we thought we would stop for a beer somewhere because every Wednesday night in Philadelphia there is a city-wide happy hour called SIPS - beers are only $3, wine is $4 and cocktails are $5. We stopped by BRU first for a beer and a pretzel:

On the way home, we stopped by the Independence Beer Garden, which is a magical little place right across from Independence Hall. And after all of that I was still in bed by 10 p.m.!

I returned to Independence Beer Garden with Michael on Friday night before downing a whole pizza with parmesan and prosciutto at Pizzacato. YUM. This restaurant was delicious! I definitely recommend for some quality pizza. We then stopped at Big Ass Slices because Michael needed some more pizza for desert.

Yesterday consisted of relaxing in Rittenhouse Park, lots of laundry, grocery shopping & ending with a little walk to Race Street Pier. For lunch we bought some cheese, meat, bread and fruit to enjoy in the park from DiBruno's - favorite kind of snacky lunch. DiBruno's is quickly becoming one of my favorite markets. But the prices are not my favorite.

I'm determined to foster my inner chef and get some more recipes up on here soon! And workout ideas as well.

Who knew moving to a new state and starting a new job would be so busy??