Life Lately

9 Jul By

It’s no secret that my life recently has been consumed with healthy-living. It’s also not a surprise that this blog has reflected that (see examples here, here oh, and here). I have, however, found the time for activities that don’t involve counting calories, planning and doing intense circuit workouts, and measuring my body fat (more on that to come later this week!). Other things have been happening…

A crazy storm rolled through Maryland and left a giant branch only inches from one of our cars…

I bought a new pair of Ray-Ban sunnies after leaving my other Ray-Ban’s in a Target dressing room (that’s what I get for unnecessary shopping, lesson learned)…

I painted my nails with some new shades from Deborah Lippmann (Daytripper) and Essie (To Buy or Not To Buy)…

With temps past 100, I tried a sock bun to stay stylishly cool…

Penny earned some street cred and let her gangsta side out…

We spent a lovely (and bleepin’ hot) 4th of July at my parents’ house…

Mom and Dad showed off just a little bit of their patriotism (this was only a few of the flags they had flying)…

Like any good Maryland family, we had crabs to celebrate America’s birthday (note the flag pitcher)…

Well, there you have it, an inside look at my recent happenings (and by inside look I mean what everyone can see on my public Instagram)! Follow me here!

 

 

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Hump Day Happiness

6 Jun By

And just like that, here we are…in June. Summer is (un)officially here!

Here’s a few a bunch of things bringing me happiness on this Wednesday, I hope they bring you some too!

Longer days – I love getting home after work, and the gym, and still having a few evening hours of light left. I can tend to my flowers, take Penny for a walk, and just enjoy that beautiful glow the sky gets on summer nights.

Mr. Moon in a late-evening sky

 Whole Fruit Frozen Pops – These things have been my savior recently. They are the one “indulgence” I have been allowing myself. The Apple-Grape flavor totally make my day. At only 60 calories, and the most amazing flavor, you can’t beat them!

Gender Reveal Parties - My adorable preggo friend HEP is having a gender reveal party at the end of the month. She asked me to help decorate and I couldn’t be more excited (I now have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to it)! If you’re not familiar with this growing trend, the doctor finds out the sex, doesn’t tell the couple, and writes it down on a piece of paper. The couple takes it to a baker, who makes a cake with either pink or blue coloring inside! The couple cuts the cake at the party and reveals the gender! 

Pretty Flowers - Some weeks you just need a little something extra to brighten your days. Yesterday, at lunch, I took a walk up to the local grocery store and bought some pretty blooms in bright colors. Even just seeing them on my desk in styrofoam cups made me happy.

 

 Cards Against Humanity - Do you like the game Apple to Apples? Well, CAH is its evil, yet fabulous, twin. Be prepared to get a little offensive, raunchy, and totally inappropriate. Oh, and be prepared to have the most fun and laugh the hardest you have in a while.

White Jeans and Cute Flats – I broke out my J. Crew white jeans last weekend. They are sure to be a summer staple and I love them paired with these cute Kate Spade gold flats I found for a steal at Marshalls!

Lipstick – I have never been much of a lipstick person (except for maybe dress up as a kid), give me some lip gloss and I am good to go. But recently, My sister turned me onto Revlon’s Cherries in the Snow lipstick and I have been hooked on its beautiful color (once I got the hang of applying it that is!).

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Healthy > Skinny

10 May By

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the blogosphere. I love that it’s a way for me to express myself and connect with other people. Whether you’re in need of a recipe, a crafty project, some sound advice or outfit inspiration, you can find it in the blog world. Since I am a “wannabe fashionista” one of my favorite niches is fashion bloggers.

Delving deep into the world o’ blogs can be all-consuming at times. You can easily get wrapped up in the thousands of amazing, beautiful blogs out there and the seemingly perfect lives of those behind them. If you’re into reading fashion blogs as much as I am, then you may have caught onto a little trend I’ve noticed. There are a lot of young, beautiful, blond, thin women out there. They put together fabulous outfits, throw on their Michael Kors watches and capture our fashionable imaginations through their blogs. Don’t get me wrong, I love them. Their style is enviable and their entrepreneurial spirit inspires me.

BUT….it can be difficult to be bombarded with one narrow view of style and beauty (don’t even get me started on the media in general). I spend a good amount of time on here talking about, and promoting fitness, working out, and being healthy. I want to make it clear that I am in no way equating any of that with being, or becoming, “skinny” (I touched on this in Weight, It’s Just a Number). First and foremost, I work out to be fit and strong. I will never be a size 2 or probably even a size 6, it’s just not the way I am built (and I don’t care to live my life on 1,000 calories a day).

Yes, I struggle with my own body self-image and I’ll be honest, sometimes the blogosphere Does. Not. Help.  Comparison can be an ugly thing and I’ve been beating myself up lately. That is until I stumbled across two blogs that, without sounding too dramatic, have changed why whole perspective. Healthy is the New Skinny, and Style Has No Size, put everything I feel about society’s views on health, beauty, and fashion into words (and pictures). I’ve never in my life been shown so many positive, healthy images of women. My goodness is it refreshing.

 
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Pro surfer, and Healthy is the New Skinny Ambassador, Bo Stanley. Despite being sponsored by Billabong, the company would not put her on their website, or in their catalog, because she does not wear the sample size bikinis! Thanks to a petition (signed by people who shared my “WTF?” response to hearing that), she now has a photo gallery on Billabong’s website.

 

 

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No matter how you feel about her brother, and his now infamous marriage, you have to agree that Kaela Humphries is beautiful. She just landed a modeling contract with Ford. I love how she says she has “always been a size 12 with a six-pack.” Healthy and beautiful!

 

Take a minute to check out Healthy is the New Skinny and Style Has No Size. They have a lot of interesting information on the effect Photoshopping has on our perception of women and the media’s influence on our own self-worth. Not to mention all the pictures of gorgeous women that make you realize just how narrow society’s view of beauty really is.

Life’s short. Be healthy! Be Beautiful! Be YOU (and be ok with it)!

P.S. Thank you to Running in Mommyland and  Tyler and Lisa Brown’s Flow  for also helping inspire this post!

 

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Product Junkie

5 May By

I’ve told you all before how I LOVE beauty product samples. Well apparently, my husband actually listens when I share girlie details like this (yea, he’s pretty awesome) because while he was away, a big box from Sephora came to the house addressed to him. I figured he must have bought something for me, unless he was a closet man grooming product user.

Basically it was a box full of amazingness aka a box full of samples.

Behold…

Most of the products came in the Sun Safety Kit. It’s less than $30 and all the proceeds go to The Skin Cancer Foundation. Get your own at Sephora! He also got a fragrance sampler as a bonus!

Highlights include…

  • St. Tropez Gradual Tan Self Tanner
  • Dr Jart+ BB Cream (I’ve been wanting to try a BB cream!)
  • Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
  • Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Moisture Defense Lotion
  • Origins Starting Over Age-Erasing Moisturizer

I’ll be testing out each and every one of these!

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See Everything That is Beautiful

30 Mar By

This weekend I hope you see the beauty in everything!

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A Hint of Tint

26 Mar By

It’s Spring! Temps are on the rise and that means sleeves and hem lines are getting shorter. Tights are going away in storage. All of this makes me one happy lady, until I look at my pale skin. Casper the ghost is tanner than my legs are right now. In an attempt to not get skin cancer before I’m thirty, I haven’t seen the inside of a tanning salon in a long, long time. Good for health, bad for skin tone.

My sun-worshipping, tan-loving-self needs help. Self-tanner to the rescue! These days there are so many products on the market, from mousse, to sprays and lotions, it’s hard to figure out what’s best.

Goal: Get a “healthy glow” without looking like an Oompa Loompa or a striped animal

Everyday – Jergens Natural Glow – I mix this with a little bit of my normal body lotion. It goes on evenly and doesn’t give too much color right away, but builds up gradually. At around $7, it’s a bargain.

Once or twice a week – Clarins Mouse Exquise Auto-Bronzante - I just tried this for the first time and it worked really well. The airy mouse goes on lightly and evenly. It dried almost instantly and I don’t see any streaking. It added a little boost of color to my normal Jergens routine. This is a bit pricier, but you don’t need to use a ton at once.

What self-tanning products have you had success with? I’m always looking to try new stuff!

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The Nail Files

23 Mar By

I haven’t done a polish post in a while, so I figured I’d show you what I’ve been doing with my nails over the past few weeks!

Once again I am linking up with the awesome Fabulous but EVIL for the Nail Files!

Back in February I got an awesome new Deborah Lippmann nail polish. I loved the bright pinky-purple color, but even more I loved the name: Between the Sheets!

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Two weeks ago I got a Shellac manicure with my bestie Hayley. I got color number 9, the same color I wore on my wedding day (I’m a big sap).

I love gel manicures because you walk out of the salon with perfectly dry nails and don’t have to worry about them. I hate gel manicures because my nails grow so fast and after a week they start to bug me. I get antsy to get rid of them so I can easily change-up my look.

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In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I painted my nails this fun teal from Color Club last weekend. I got this baby in my March Birchbox. When I first opened the box I was slightly disappointed. When was I going to wear green nail polish?? Well, not one to let something go to waste, I put it on and LOVED it! I’ll definitely be wearing it throughout Spring and Summer.

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Last night I was in the mood to change-up my nail look yet again. I opted for one of my all-time favorites and something a little darker: OPI We’ll Always Have Paris.

I always top off every paint job with Seche Vite top coat. I wouldn’t do my nails without it!

Have a great weekend!

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Current Obsession: Smashbox Limitless Lip Stain and Balm

13 Mar By

Even though I wear makeup most everyday, I generally keep my lip routine pretty basic. Like a lot of women, I have about 5,000 lip glosses that are scattered among various coat pockets, purses, and cosmetic bags. I grab whatever is handy, swipe a little on, and go.

Lately, I have been crushing over all the beautiful pink lip looks I’ve seen on TV and in magazines.

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I decided it was time for a change. I need a little pink lip in my life. On a recent trip to my paradise Sephora I discovered the Smashbox Limitless Lip Stain and Balm. It’s a two-sided wand of amazingness. One side is like a felt tip marker that evenly and precisely puts a beautiful wash of color on your lips. The other side is a super glossy balm that offers the perfect amount of shine, and extra color, to top the look off. The stain stays on through cocktails and dinner. A quick balm reapplication is all it takes to maintain the look.

Now this puppy travels with me everywhere!

It comes in six shade choices, and I chose petal, a perfectly sweet pink color. I’ve been wearing it everywhere and I keep dreaming up fabulous outfits and outings just so I have an excuse to swipe a little on!

This pic doesn't do the lovely color justice!

Need to have this fab item? Buy it here!

What do you use to get the perfect pink pout?

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Weight, It’s Just a Number

8 Mar By

Lately, thanks in part to lots of birthday and New Orleans fun, I haven’t been feeling my best and my self-confidence has lapsed a little (do you ever just feel ugh?). At times like this, I find it helpful to go on a little empowerment trip to get me back to my “I may not be the skinniest girl around, but I can kick butt” attitude. 

So here’s a little thought for this Thursday!

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Weight. It’s a sometimes evil, and upsetting, number on the scale. BUT… It doesn’t show your body fat percentage. It doesn’t show your body type. It doesn’t show your height. It doesn’t show your fitness level. It doesn’t show your self-confidence. It doesn’t show yesterdays sodium-laden chinese food dinner. Weight, on its own, is just a number (on a probably poorly calibrated scale). Put it into the context of things previously listed and often the number doesn’t really matter (in terms of “skinniness”). I’m all about not focusing on the scale, in fact I rarely weigh myself. Focus on how you feel. Focus on your progress at the gym. Focus on how your clothes fit. It’s not always easy, but I try to give it my best shot!

I feel better already :)

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Current Obsession: Urban Decay Naked2 Palette

6 Feb By

I love to wear makeup, but generally my idea of wearing eye makeup is throwing on a little champagne-hued shimmer shadow and calling it a day. Maybe a little eye liner for getting really gussied up. The Urban Decay Naked2 palette has come into my life (a little present to myself), and suddenly I can’t wear enough eye shadow. I even wore it to the Sprint store yesterday t0 get my new iPhone (I had to look nice for such a momentous occasion!).

The palette is great because…

  • The colors are sheer, you can put them on lightly or build for a more dramatic look
  • The variety of shades can create an endless number of looks to go with any outfit and perfect for every occasion
  • There is just the right amount of shimmer
  • The double ended brush makes application a breeze
  • You can easily take it on the go and the big mirror makes touch-ups easy
  • The shadows last all day without creasing (I use an eye lid primer)
  • The Blackout shade goes on perfectly as a shadow eye liner

Buy it from Sephora here.

What’s your new makeup obsession?

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