Get excited...the Summer Olympics start tonight!

In case you haven't seen the above video - stop and watch.  Okay, with me now?  While I am a little sick of the song, I love that they had a little fun leading up to the games and shared it with all of us.  And the purpose of sharing this video is....

...it's time to get excited for the Olympics everyone!  The Opening Ceremonies are tonight - yay!

The opening ceremonies are always one of my favorite parts of the games.  I love the camaraderie of all the nations being together and the pageantry of the ceremony.  And I am most excited to see what they will do following the insanity that was the Beijing opening ceremony.  I think we can all agree that it will be hard to top that one, but I have a feeling London will do us proud.  

I also thought I would spend these upcoming weeks having "Flashbacks to Athens 2004" where I reminisce about my trip to the Olympics.  So, be prepared for some stories and photos from my trip!

Flashback to Athens 2004

One of the perks of working for NBC Olympics was getting access to all the venues before the games actually started.  I worked at the Olympic Indoor Center which was in the Oaka complex (pronounced 'o-wa'ka') which also housed the Olympic Stadium, Swimming, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Water Polo, Tennis and Cycling (velodrome) venues.

One of the other perks - getting to watch the rehearsal of the opening ceremony.  Even with barely any of the stadium full and no athletes walking in the parade, it was still awesome.  We got to see it first.  And since I knew I wouldn't be able to watch it in person on the night of, I was more then happy to just see the rehearsal. 

No photo's of that night (camera's were banned at Oaka before the Opening Ceremonies and we actually saw someone getting there's taken for sneaking a picture).  I do have a photo taken by a coworker at Gymno (what we called the gymnastics crew) of the fireworks during the [actual] Opening Ceremonies from his hotel.  

I am also sharing a photo of me in front of the original Olympic Stadium from 1896 as well as some photo's of the Oaka complex.  

Go Team USA!  I will not be sleeping and watching as much as I can for the next 2 weeks.  

Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony

Me in front of the 1896 Olympic Stadium

The Olympic Indoor Center where I went to work (and basically watched gymnastics all day)

Inside the Olympic Stadium

Part of the Oaka Complex with the Velodrome in the background

*all images original to sarah in the city, please don't repost without sourcing this site

Wanderlust: Virginia Beach

I am not going on my vacation for another 36 days (5 weeks from tomorrow), but I am already eagerly awaiting it!  I haven’t really done any vacations yet this summer, so I am going to be antsy for it when it gets here.  Thanks to the race we are doing (another on the 30 by 30 schedule), we got a great deal at the Hilton Oceanfront Hotel.  It looks amazing and is located right off the beach.  

  Let’s dream about being at the beach, shall we?

The Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront.  I hope our room has a balcony.

Rooftop infinity pool (and pool bar!)
 top 2 images via

Virginia Beach
via

Only 5 weeks to go!

Two for Tuesday

Hope everyone is having a good week!  Here's a couple of things for this Tuesday.

Up first -

Have you seen this website yet?  If not, you should definitely check it out.  It is one of my favorite guilty pleasure websites.  I have no idea who writes it, but she writes it from Suri's point of view - and Suri has some high standards!  It's always good for a laugh.  Go check it out and tell me if you don't agree.

And then...

I finally bought a wok this weekend!  I have been wanting one for a while, but hadn't gotten around this buying one.  I had some family in town this weekend and was in the Chef's Restaurant Supply store (which legitimately sells everything you might ever need to open up a restaurant) and was convinced to buy one.  I obviously could not wait to use it and broke it in on Sunday night with a quick stir fry.  Can't wait to cook with it some more!

PS - the first events of the Olympics start tomorrow - soccer prelim matches!  Yay!

The Olympics are coming!

In just 5 days time, my favorite time of every 2 years will start.  Yes, that's right - the Olympics!  I seriously love the Olympics.  More like obsessed.  For all my life, I have loved them.  There isn't one particular thing about them I love - I just love everything about them.

I have very vivid memories of watching the diving in the Seoul '88 games.  Watching the track and field during Barcelona '92.  Sitting with my entire family (extended family and all) in our vacation rental's living room watching Keri Strug land the gold medal winning vault in '96, on one ankle.  Every moment of Sydney in 2000 and Bejing in 2008.  I have even collected memorabilia from the games for as long as I can remember - trading cards from Barcelona (I have a complete set!), ordering official CD's and books from Sydney and more.

And of course - the piece de resistance: attending the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.  Yes, I went.  And I got college credit to do it.  I was an intern for NBC Olympics and got to spend the summer living and working in Athens.  It still ranks as one of the best times of my life.  I worked for the gymnastics crew - I was the talent assistant during the events.  It was an experience beyond words...  just a completely unbelievable experience.

Plus, this one combines another one of my favorite things - Britain!  I am really looking forward to the opening ceremonies, should be a great time!

Wish List: Ava Tote

I was tempted to title this post something along the lines of: "Must have", "Need immediately", "Testing my self control".  I want this bag soooooo much I can't even stand it.  Seriously - about once a day I open up the website just to make sure it's not sold out.  It's a problem.

A little background.  The bag is by MZ Wallace and they are by far one of my favorite brands.  I first heard of them a couple of years ago when one of their bags were listed in a magazine.  But I had never seen them in a store before (no Bloomies, Nordstrom or anything).  They only have a handful of stores and I think in only NYC and Japan.  And after looking on their website and seeing the price, I knew it would be a while before I owned one (prices tend to range from $300-$400).

But then a miracle happened.  I heard about a sample sale they were having.  So I went with no idea how much the bags would be discounted.  Boy, was I lucky - they were only $75!  And then I (might have, okay, most definitely) bought 4.... 3 for me and 1 for my mom.  And since I overheard from a sales person (or maybe it was another shopper - can't remember at this point) that they only do the sample sales every 4 years, I figured I should stock up (side note: it will be 3 years this fall since that one and I haven't heard of another sample sale since).

Since then I have purchased 2 more bags (both at their annual sale, but no where near as cheap as I got them at the sample sale).

These are the best bags ever.  I am not exaggerating at all.  They are nylon with leather handles and gold hardware.  There are pockets on the outside (except for the Ava tote above) and a ton of pockets on the inside (even pockets inside pockets).  They wear incredibly well.  My original bags are going on 3 years (and considering I use them daily), only show minor wear.  I am constantly being asked where my bag is from whenever I am carrying one of them.  They even come with a smaller bag inside (like a makeup bag size - great for lip gloss, hair ties, etc).

This would be the first time I have purchased on of their bags not on sale.  But I think this one might be worth it.  It just screams fall to me!  I use all my other bags everyday, so I know it will be put to good use and that it is a quality bag.  I don't have a problem buying a more expensive bag when I know I will use it a lot.  

I am going to be saving my pennies all summer so I can buy this for fall!

Some more shots of the bag - 

Side view

A glimpse of the small purse included

Maybe the Purse Fairy will bring it to me?

PS - Just noticed this was my 200th post!  Yay me :)

Two for Tuesday

These posts seem to be having a theme lately.  It's completely unintentional.  Only thing I think I can say is that things seem to group together naturally?  No idea.  This week's 2 things are about shopping.  Enjoy!

Up first -

Nordstrom/Nordstrom Rack.  Oh how you make me want to spend all my money with you.  I have always been a huge fan of Nordstrom - they have a great selection of products (especially shoes!) and great customer service.  It has long been the one thing that has been missing in NYC for me.  Last year a Nordstrom Rack opened up here in NYC.  Somehow, it managed to fly under the radar (not sure how, but surprisingly some of my friends don't know about it).  I went there this past Friday (more on that later) and definitely did some damage.  And too top it off, they announce a week or so ago, that they would be opening a Nordstrom on 57th and Broadway in a couple of years (current ETA - 2017).  I fear for my wallet when this happens.  As my friend Kim put it - "at least you have a couple of years to save for it".  Thank god.

And then -

Here's something you might not know about me.  I love QVC.  Yes, the home shopping channel.  That is based in my hometown (not kidding on that point).  But in my defense, I only buy makeup from them.  They have great kits (I love buying kits because it takes the guess work out of what goes together) and they always suck me in with there Today's Special Value (TSV - a special one day offer).  Well, recently, the TSV was from Bobbi Brown.  I've used Bobbi Brown's makeup before, but it has been years.  The colors just looked so wearable for summer, so of course I bought it (I am probably QVC's dream customer, lol).  Wearing it today and totally loving it!  It is still available on the website, but no longer at the TSV price.

Sleep Catch-22

I am in a sleep catch-22.  I want to workout before work whenever possible (I love having my evenings free), but I've been so tired lately, I can't seem to drag myself out of bed.  So then I have to workout after work, which makes it hard for me to fall asleep early.  Since I end up falling asleep late, I can't get out of bed in the morning to work out.  It's a vicious cycle and one I am desperate to break.

Just need to force myself to get up one morning and do it.  I used to do it 4 days a week with tri training and since I wasn't training for a tri over the winter (and I'm still not right now) I let the habit slip and now I am having serious trouble getting back in it.

Does anyone else have this problem?  I am open to ways to deal with it.  Hit the comments if you have any.

Montreal Marathon - Training Recap Week 7

As I said earlier, training for the marathon has started.  This past week was Week 7.  Runs are starting to get longer (and the temperature is starting to get hotter).  Only 11 weeks until the race!  Can't believe how quickly it's approaching.

Week 7
Monday - Cross Training
Tuesday - Track Workout
     - 16 x 200M at a 7:24 mile pace with 200M recovery
Wednesday - Cross Training
Thursday - Easy Run
     - Supposed to do 5 miles, but was very hot so only did 4
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - Long Run
     - 13 miles, very easy (was over 90 degrees)
Sunday - Pilates

This was the first long run in which I got to use my new Garmin.  I'm enjoying it already!  Splits below for my long run.

Let's hope the heat breaks this week!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Hope you all spend your day doing something fun.  Wear some red, white and blue!

Two for Tuesday

This week's two for tuesday has to do with running!  In addition, to starting a new job in the last month, I also started marathon training.  Anyone who has trained for a marathon knows that it takes over your life (also part of the reason there were no blogs for a while).  So in that spirit...

Up first -

The awesome shoes ever!  I got to custom design some Nike's a while back and they just arrived!  These are the same model I always run in, so will be saving these for Montreal.  I plan on buying some awesome neon race clothing to go with it!

And then -

My new toy - a Garmin 610 GPS watch.  My friend Anne was able to get it for my at 40% off, which is great since it would have been too expensive for me otherwise.  Will be using this all summer for my training!

Weekend Instagram Recap

Had some family in town visiting this weekend, so lots of touristy items!  Here's some of my instagram shots from this weekend.

(L) The apartment building my grandparent's lived in while I was growing up

(R) What happens to chocolate in 90+ degree weather

(L) 9/11 Memorial

(R) Gelato in Little Italy 

(L) Serendipity 3

(R) The obscene sunday I had at Serendipity 

(L) Cooling our feet off in the fountain at Washington Square Park

(R) Street performers in Washington Square Park 

(L & R) Lunch at Carnegie Deli

Follow me on Instagram for more! Username: sapodzio