Gretch Runs

Happy September everyone! Last month was another great one for reading for me. It was a perfect storm of having a bunch of great books in my reading queue, as well as perfect weather for reading outside. I had a pretty decent mix of genres- some thriller, sci-fi, and romance. Here's what I read- Lock Every Door by Riley Sager No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen's new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind. As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ing...

I just got back from a long weekend away in the mountains of western North Carolina, and it was exactly the rejuvenating trip that I needed. There's something about mountain air that's just good for the soul! It was my first time in Asheville, and after hearing from just about everyone that I had to make a trip immediately after I moved to Raleigh, I had high expectations. Somehow, it lived up to (and exceeded) what I imagined the town to be! Here's what we did on our first two days- I'll share our other two days in my next post! Day 1 Check in at Annie's Cabin When I was looking for a place to stay, I knew that I wanted a quintessential mountain experience which meant one thing- staying in a cabin. I looked around at a few places and stumbled upon Greybeard Rentals , which rents (and sells) unique cabins in the Asheville area. I set a few filters to find the perfect place and ended on Annie's Cabin .  Located just 15 minutes from downtown Asheville in the smal...

We're officially on the tailend of summer. In some ways I feel like a kid on summer vacation-moving to a new state (especially one that I've dreamed of living in for a lot of my life) still hasn't really sunk in and feels temporary. I think once the weather cools down, the leaves change, and the heat has to be turned on it might finally sink in that this is home . And now- we're one step closer! August was a really fun and busy month, filled with tons of events and spending time with new friends. It's really hard to pick just one highlight, since every day seemed to bring a new adventure. Visiting Winston Salem and going to my first tennis tournament in two and a half years was definitely one of the best moments of the year for me! It was my first live sporting event since the pandemic started (my last one was actually a Caveliers game right before the world started to shut down), and even though things were very different, it almost  felt normal. Let's take a l...

I wanted to try a little something new today that I saw on another blog - showing highlights from a week in my life! Last week was one of my more fun and exciting weeks, so I thought it was the perfect one to show. I'll be sharing a little of what I did each day along with what I wore! Monday Plans for the day (outside of work) : Met up with some friends to go to Drive Shack (similar to Top Golf if you've tried that). Basically it's a driving range but with different interactive games you can play by hitting your ball towards different targets. One thing that went unexpected : I went for a solo walk after work (sometimes you just need a little alone time) and saw a ton of turtles swimming together- including one that was swimming on top of his mom or dad! Best part of the day : Spending time with new friends we made here and meeting one of their brothers who was in town visiting. What I wore : Gap jean shorts, Old navy black top, crescent necklace  Best thing I ate : Dan ma...

Another week has gone by and August is just about over. Summer is coming to an end! I'm not really sad about the high temperatures going away..as much as I love the sun and the heat I'm ready for a few cooler mornings at least! I trudged through my workouts this week, getting in a good variety. Here's how it went- Monday 4 mile Run Ventured away from my normal route to hit the streets and check out a park right by my apartment. There's also a greenway that connects it to the main road that I always pass and I finally got to run on it! Very nice park and path, and there was a working water fountain that definitely saved me in the middle of the run. Tuesday 5 mile Bike Crossed off two more parks at lunchtime on my short bike ride. There's a greenway that connects two parks in Cary, so I went to check it out! I think it would have been better as a walk or run- the road was very steep and curvy, so most of the time I was on the brakes or pedaling like crazy to get up hi...

Hello there! This was a really fun and quick week for me- work has been really steady and busy the past few weeks with a big upcoming merger just months away, so my workouts have really been my mental escape. I didn't get out for biking or kayaking as much as I wanted to, but hoping to fix that this week. But it was a good week of workouts, with one long bike ride and a run on a trail I've been wanting to visit for a while. Here's how the week went- Monday 10 min Focus Flow: Floor Poses with Aditi I woke up and went on a long morning walk with Selma, and got in some yoga once I got back. Felt like a great way to start the week and day! I could tell that I haven't been doing enough yoga lately because my hips were TIGHT. Need to get back into taking longer yoga flows instead of just these 10 minute ones. 15 mile Bike Dan and I headed out for a midday bike ride and I'm pretty sure this was my longest (nonstop) ride ever. We started at Bond Park and took the White Oak ...

I'm very excited to kick off a new series on my blog all about the amazing parks in the Raleigh area. We mostly picked this area to move to because of all of the outdoor activities and parks that are around. I decided the best way to get to know my new city is by visiting as many as possible and sharing them with all of you! If you're visiting North Carolina or even planning a move (in which case, let's me be friends!) I hope these posts will be helpful for you. We're going to start off with parks in Apex, NC. This is a small town just outside of Raleigh and was named one of the best small towns in the country- the town motto is "The Peak of Good Living". It's easy to see why- you have access to everything in the triangle area, as well as the joys of small town living! This is exactly why we chose to move here instead of the actual city, and you just can't beat the easy access to tons of parks from every activity imaginable. Let's get into a quick ...