Travel

Fireworks and Festive Wear

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Summer is in full swing and it is hard to believe the Fourth of July is upon us! With 4th falling on a Wednesday the big question is “when do we celebrate and what should I wear?”

I have done some research with the help of Indy Star and will break the list down by free firework displays around Indianapolis and the days to see them. I have also mentioned a few other areas of Indiana. If you are interested in festivals to attend please see the Indy Star link. Also there are more options on the Indy Star site for places to see fireworks, but they had an admission fee associated. The below listing is for free admission.

June 30th Fireworks

  • Spark Fishers at the Fishers Freedom Festival- Viewing at Holland Park or Nickel Plate District  begins at 10pm
  • Greenwood- Craig Park begins at 10:15pm
  • Mallow Run Winery begins at 9 pm
  • Madison Township 4th of July Blazin’ Celebration in Camby begins at dusk
  • Thunder over Patoka at Patoka Lake begins at 9pm

July 4th Fireworks

  • IPL Freedom Fest at Indiana War Memorial begins 10pm -fireworks set off from Regions Tower downtown Indianapolis
  • Fourth Fest in Lawrence Community Park begins 10pm
  • Lebanon’s Memorial Park begins at 10pm
  • Carmel Fest downtown Carmel begins at 9:45
  • Morse Lake begins at 10pm
  • Blast on the Bridge at Geist begins at dusk
  •  Noblesville HS begins at 10pm
  • Westfield at Grand Parks begins at dusk
  • Moorseville at Pioneer Park begins at Dusk
  • Plainfield at Hummel Park begins at 9:55pm
  • Greenfield JR High begins at dusk
  • Pittsboro at Scamahorn Park begins at 10pm
  • Terre Haute at Fairbanks park begins at 10pm
  • Fort Wayne downtown begins at 10pm
  • French Lick Resort begins at dusk

July 7th Fireworks

  • Racoon Lake Independence Day Fireworks and Beach Bash begins at 9:30pm

Below you will find patriotic outfit ideas for casual BBQs, brunches, festivals or a fun night out. Also if you are planning a brunch or BBQ for the 4th, stay tuned as follow up blog post will be coming with menu ideas. All of my outfits except for the dress in the pool came from TJ Maxx!

4th dresses

Dressing up the 4th

4th shorts

Keeping it casual

 

 

Packing for a Plan

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While traveling keeping up with a fitness/macro plan can be a challenge. I plan to enjoy some of my favorite foods and beverages on vacation, but not to go overboard on my indulgence. In order not to go overboard I need to be prepared with a plan and pack accordingly.

I love my Nike workout gear! I have my workout clothes, running shoes and Converse for leg day all packed. I have already determined days I have access to a gym and ready to do my workouts from my coach, Ally.  The bride, JoJo and I will be hitting up the gym for a strong workout prior to wedding prep fun! There are days that I do not know if I can make it to a gym and for those days I have packed my Sports Research bands and have HIIT workouts planned.

My goal is to get at least 30 minutes of cardio each day on vacation. Luckily Richmond and Virginia Beach are such walkable cities that this goal will be easy to meet! In VB I already have a plan to tackle Mount Trashmore stairs and fitness stations with my girl, Danielle.

Meeting macros will be my biggest challenge on vacation. In efforts to stay on track I have packed my food scale, blender bottle, quest protein powder packs, quest protein bars and drink mix for a low calorie cocktail. I have also packed my vitamins for each day. I will stop at a grocery store to get more items for some of my meals and will focus on making smart choices at restaurants. Typically I only do one cheat meal a week, but on vacation one cheat meal per day without being extreme is my plan.  I can’t miss out on some of my favorite restaurants and trying out some new spots!

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Will power, please don’t fail the plan! Time to stay strong and focused, bikini season is around the corner!

Also the dash to fit in the dress was a big success, as it is actually a little big on me now! Post to follow on fitness progress.

If you have any other travel tips for staying on track with macros during vacation please comment below.

XOXO,

Cecee

 

 

Seeing the wildflowers through the weeds

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I recently traveled to Austin, TX to visit my little, Annie. If you haven’t visited Austin I highly recommend going. This was my third trip to Austin and I can never get enough of this city! The food , shopping and nearby state parks make it a perfect vacation destination! You could potentially end up craving ROBERTO’S BRAZO FUERTE QUESO from Tacodeli all year long. I count down the days for that wonderful cheat meal!

April in Austin provides the beauty of blue bonnets and other gorgeous wildflowers along with overall wonderful weather. I wanted to experience the beauty of the wildflowers as well as a state park this trip so we visited Inks Lake State Park. The park is beautiful with a wonderful lake, waterfalls and wildflowers. Hiking around the park, enjoying a picnic on the rocks by a waterfall and searching for wildflowers was my favorite part of the trip. I do wish I had packed some sunscreen!

I wanted to search for the wildflowers as someone told me that I am a wildflower and I completely fell in love with the term. Wildflowers are sporadic, they sway where the breeze takes them, and they are beauty amongst the weeds.

Even though there are aspects of life I prefer having planned vs swaying, I have made an effort in being more sporadic and accepting of moments. Everyday life, like weeds can be overwhelming. Taking time to search for those beautiful moments can be challenging, but worth it.

During our hike I reflected on all the times that I continued to worry about what’s next and the path to get there. There was no clear direct path or plan leading us to this field of beautiful wildflowers, but we still found them. Appreciating the moments and beauty in little things is my goal as I often get wrapped up in my own mind and easily overwhelmed.

Visit Austin and parks around the city, embrace beautiful moments and don’t let the weeds overwhelm you!

XOXO,

Cecee

Who’s that girl

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I am always such a planner. I make list and agendas daily. When I go on vacations I have everyday planned and outfits planned for each day.

I decided on my first trip to the New England area I am not going to have a plan. The only thing that was planned was my flight, rental car and air bnb from there it was only opportunities!

My friend Kate who just accepted a new job and will be moving to New Jersey this week from Richmond, VA met me in Boston airport this past Thursday. We picked up a rental and thank goodness she shuttled me around as I have been driving a ton lately!

Instead of taking the GPS recommended of I95 we took the road less traveled up route 1 and discovered cute coastal towns. I was slightly disappointed that there was not more fall foliage to see along this route, but due to the unseasonably warm weather the leaves were just starting to change.


Our first stop and one of the highlights of the trip was in Portsmouth, NH. This coastal town was so quaint and full of restaurants and shops. Of course I was in search of lobster rolls and Portsmouth did not disappoint.


From Portsmouth we drove up to Westbrook a small town outside of Portland, ME to check into our Air Bnb. We then found a grocery store for some wine and snacks. 

For dinner we went next door to a bowling alley restaurant.

We then had a fun evening of laughs with chutes and ladders along with Lincoln logs at Air Bnb.

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Exploring Portland was the only plan on Friday and we found the speckled ax coffee.

Portland is very interesting to say the least. Vibes were so different than Portsmouth.


Restaurants were wandered into based on what felt right and some locals recommended other places to try- Nosh and   Allagash Brewery.


Saturday we got up and headed to Boston. I wish we did 2 days in Boston vs Portland, but that just means another trip now! Wandering around Boston with no map and stumbling into a farmers market, cobblestone roads and some Boston lager along with so much history was amazing! 


We decided on a low key dinner and evening as we were exhausted from walking 6.5 miles around the city and knew 5:30 am alarm would come way too soon. We found this awesome place where you build your own hummus/Mediterranean bowl and it was so good!


 

The entire trip I took naps as needed and over indulged in great food, drinks and tons of laughs! 

 

Top 3 favorites from the trip were:

New Hampshire-Portsmouth

Chutes and ladders

Lost in Boston

Learning to enjoy the moment and not trying to plan everything was refreshing! 

Now thinking about my first solo vaca to discover even more about myself and in the world!

Xoxo,

Cecee