Hi friends! Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? We have no real plans… and I’m kind of looking forward to it. The kids start school in a few weeks (WAH) so I think I need to get my life together and start ordering/planning. Word to the world if your girls wear uniforms: these skirts are the BEST. I ordered the girls new sets since they loved them so much last year, and also ordered some of these.

I’m also teaching a Zumba class, a spin class, and taking Liv to see the new Barbie movie. Can’t wait!! I’d love to hear what you have going on.

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Life:

We had some friends over for sushi night last weekend and it was so much fun.

The Pilot made an enormous pitcher of Mai Tais using this recipe,

I made some steamed edamame, house salad with ginger dressing, these truffle edamame dumplings,

and ordered a bunch of different sushi rolls to share from Sachiko. Our friends brought the dessert; the cutest rice crispies decorated like sushi rolls (like this!), along with homemade lemon bars and chocolate chip cookies.

We also celebrated Nani’s birthday this week! We had an amazing dinner at Gavi, including two different chef’s boards, the Sicilian salad, and for my entree, I chose the chicken marsala.

Read more

Sharing a recap of our 7-night Mediterranean cruise (Italy and Greece) on the Disney Dream! This is not sponsored (I wish, lol), but I’m excited to share our experience. 

They have a handy little trick when you’re on board a Disney cruise: you have the option to book a placeholder for a future cruise at a slight discount. This way, when you get off the ship, it’s slightly less depressing because you know you’ll be on another one soon. We got off the Disney Dream in Rome a few weeks ago, and already, we can’t wait for our next Disney cruise.

This was Disney cruise #4 (we’ve done Alaska, Bahamas, and Mexico), and it was our favorite one. It was a combination of the destinations plus the larger ship, which was a literal Dream.

(We also got to enjoy Rome on either side of our cruise! You can read about our Rome adventures here.)

7-night Disney Dream European cruise

We arrived at the Civitavecchia port via a private car that the hotel booked fo us, and it was the quickest and most seamless boarding experience. By 1:30pm, we were at the pool, watching the kiddos swim and drinking cocktails with friends. (A pro tip from one of our good friends: pack your swim gear in a tote bag and check everything else. Your room won’t be ready yet, so you can head straight to the pool. It’s the least busy it will be for the entire trip and after a couple of hours, your room will be ready with all of your luggage waiting for you outside the door.)

We had lunch from Cabanas (the buffet) and ate it by the pool, checked out our room, and then got changed for the Muster Drill, Sail-A-Wave party and dinner.

On Disney cruises, you’re on a dining rotation. You get the early (6pm) or late (8pm) seating, and alternate restaurants each evening. You can opt out of your more formal dining to have a quick bite or room service instead, but no matter what, your table will be

Sharing the books I read in June and if I’d recommend adding them to your collection!

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a wonderful week! I’m so happy you liked the Anniversary Sale picks. While there’s not as huge of a selection as they’ve had in previous years, there’s still lots of good stuff!

For today’s post, I wanted to share a recap of recent reads. I haven’t been reading quite as much as usual since I was so focused on finishing IHP2, but I’m back in reading action with a mix of fun fluff + more educational fare. I’ve added so much to my list over the past month, so I’m looking forward to diving into some new ones on the list.

Here’s what I read in June!

(Dress on sale here)

June 2023 Book Recap

Mistress of Rome

I love Kate Quinn and am on a mission to read all of her books. It was pleasantly surprising to find out that this book is part of a 4-part series, and I’m already on the second book. It’s more a slow burn than some of her previous novels I’ve read (The Huntress, Rose Code, The Diamond Eye, The Alice Network), but it gradually builds until a crazy, satisfying ending. Since I typically read more WWII era historical fiction, it was a treat to read about an entirely different time period, and also learn a lot about what it might have been like in first-century Rome. 9/10 recommend and it lined up perfectly with our trip and the ability to see the Coliseum again in person.

From Amazon:

First-century Rome: One young woman will hold the fate of an empire in her hands.

Thea, a captive from Judaea, is a clever and determined survivor hiding behind a slave’s docile mask. Purchased as a toy for the spoiled heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea evades her mistress’s spite and hones a secret passion for music. But when Thea wins the love of Rome’s newest and most savage gladiator and dares to dream of a better life, the jealous Lepida tears the lovers apart and casts Thea out.

Rome offers many ways for the resourceful to survive, and Thea remakes herself as a singer for the Eternal ’City’s glittering aristocrats. As she

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Hi friends! Happy Friday! How are you? I hope you’re enjoying the morning so far. Today, I’m off to a barre class and then meeting up with a friend for lunch to talk about some exciting upcoming plans. What are you up this weekend? We’re having friends over for sushi night, and I’m going to start ordering the kids’ uniforms and supplies for back to school. I can’t believe it’s less than a month away and wish it could just be summer forever. I’m definitely enjoying the slower pace. I hope you have a fun and wonderful weekend ahead!

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Exciting news:

I finished IHP Level 2! WAHOO! While it took me a long time to finish – I really wanted to learn and absorb as much as possible, and didn’t take the course to simply pass the tests – it was so worth it, and I’m honestly a little sad that it’s over. It was over 100 hours of learning, and I’m so pumped for this new certification and the ability to offer functional labs for my 1:1 clients (and also in the new group coaching program I’m working on creating). If you’re interested in learning more, send me an email at gina@fitnessista.com with the subject COACHING and I can share the different options with you.

If you’re interested in exploring a new career or if you want to take your current fitness or wellness practice to the next level, I can’t say enough great things about IHP. You can check out the details here, and if you use the code FITNESSISTA, you can get up to $250 off levels 1 and 2.

Celebratory dinner at Vivace: