fitness friday

[whenever i hear/read the word fitness, the fergie line from fergalicious pops into my head "i be up in the gym just workin' on my fitness". anyone else? just me? ok then... let's just move on...] 

[showing off my muscles - target top & shorts (old), nike sneakers]

i don't like the idea of working out, i don't like actually doing it, but i love how i feel afterwards [and the obvious body image benefits]. with that said, i've worked out ever since high-school where i ran indoor and outdoor track [and one insane year played field hockey. for those of you who don't know, that's pretty much year round], and starting my senior year, also went to the gym and did the usual elliptical/bike/weights/[watching the muscle-y boys] to keep in shape and pretty much kept up with the gym deal since then.

a little over 3 years ago, however, my girlfriends invited me to a yoga class. i was a little hesitant [at that point i couldn't touch my toes] but jumped at the chance to get to see these lovely ladies more than just once a month, and let me tell ya' after that first month when i started seeing a change in my body, i was hooked. 

when i needed to get in shape for my wedding earlier this year [i had been slacking off aka working full time, getting my graduate degree part-time, and planning a wedding... such a slacker, right?] i stepped up my game and went to my hot [105 degrees!] yoga class 3 times a week for the 4 months leading up to the wedding [the meditation portion is also why i didn't lose my mind]. i looked pretty damn good in my wedding dress, if you ask me [no modesty here, we're supposed to feel like a million bucks on our wedding day and i did!].

[proof. and i've clearly not changed my go-to pose since]

fitness and what you do to get fit is different for everyone, and i'm not going to preach yoga as the end-all be-all, but it works for me [with the added benefit of calming me down]. so if you're ever asked to try a new fitness routine, give it a shot, it might be perfect for you! [and i can totally touch my toes now!]

[sweet drawing in my yoga studio]

[my sister and me doing yoga at the top of stone mountain in georgia]

my yoga instructor ends all of his classes with the following [paraphrased]:

"let go of all your worries 

and fill yourself up with love and compassion, 

take that with you,

and be grateful for everything you have."

happy friday everyone! om.

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oh and one more thing

rain, rain go away, come again another day [or don't, whatever]. 

it may have rained this morning on the east coast, but it gave me an excuse to break out my loeffler randall's and look all [and i'm quoting what someone called me today] "fall-like":

 [tucker for target dress (old), loeffler randall matilde flat boots, louis vuitton neverfull gm]

[these boots are made for walkin', and that's just what they'll do... well just to my car to drive to work]

[and a little close up for you]

what's your rainy day look?

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thursday threads

grey [and not just 50 shades] is slowly becoming a huge staple in my wardrobe. i even used it as one of two colors in my wedding. [guess what the other one was... it rhymes with "kite", i did a post on it here... you're right it's white!] so when putting together a fab little number for a concert we went to over the weekend [yeah metric!], i thought, why not head-to-toe grey? let's look at the results:

 [loft t-shirt (old) - similar, bobeau 3/4 length skirt - similar, coconuts booties - seen here, charming charlie's watch - seen here]

[i'm a pro now, if you couldn't tell]

 [hubby going for a butt shot]

 [and that's a wrap, no more pictures, modeling is exhausting]

i'd also like to add that bobeau skirts [they make maxi versions as well, i get mine at nordstom rack] are like wearing your most favorite worn-in t-shirt and i'd like to wear one every day. [also extra points for being named after my dog, naturally.]

do you like head-to-toe the same color? how would you wear it?

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wear it wednesday

continuing with our [and by our, i mean my] fall trends feature, this week’s trend is peplum [fyi: blogger's spell-check keeps wanting to change this to "plummer"].

what the heck is peplum? encarta's dictionary [and the rest of the fashion world] describes it as “a short flared ruffle attached to the waist of a jacket or blouse” [and technically can include the top of the skirt/middle of a dress too]. 

when i first heard about the peplum my instinct was, “seriously? you want me to add something below my waist that draws attention to my hips? are you crazy?” [also i’m pretty sure i thought, “well that’s a funny name for something… pep-lum, peppppp-lummmmm”]. but it won me over when i saw this little leather number:

[tinley road's vegan leather peplum top]

[her thighs look pretty skinny-minny right?] realizing that i was bitten by the peplum [pepppppp-lummmmmm, yup, still doing it] bug, i decided to test out a slightly more versatile piece that i could take from work to play [because i, sadly, don’t think i should show up in leather anything at my office].

for work, i paired it with a grey pencil skirt, some black patent pumps, and my green cloth motorcycle jacket [because it’s been chilly in the mornings and i can].

[h&m peplum top - similar, loft pencil skirt (old), nine west black patent pumps, michael kors rose gold hoops]

[ann taylor army green cloth motorcycle jacket (old) - similar]

 [me posing like an idiot]

 [and one more full shot for good measure. let the peplum sink in, people]

[oh hey, a little close up]

and for play, this top also doubles as a part of an awesome date night outfit [and yes, i'm shiny, get over it]:

 [h&m peplum top - similar, joe's the skinny jeans in black, vera wang slouchy boots, turquoise earrings found in a georgetown boutique - similar]

i'm sure there are more fun ways to wear peplum and i plan on exploring a few more options [and will probably be purchasing that vegan leather beauty]. how would you wear it?

up next week [to keep you on the edge of your seats] - blanket coats! [well, blanket sweater in my case - same thing, right?]

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oh and one more thing

ladies [and gentlemen], i officially declare it to be... [drumroll please] SCARF SEASON! [yessssssss!]

[diesel jacket (old) - similar, h&m floral infinity scarf - similar, h&m striped 3/4 length shirt, silver monogram necklace - a gift from my sister, you can also get yours here as featured here (i love this shop)]

may all your necks be warm this fall.

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tuesday threads

i love sweatpants. actually, i’m not sure of anyone who doesn’t love sweatpants. heck, even victoria beckham loves sweatpants!

[i give you proof!]

so it's settled, sweatpants are awesome. unfortunately, if paired with the wrong items [aka a hooded sweatshirt and uggs a la my college days] you usually end up looking like you don’t care [and like a hobo]. i’ve since retired my college-era sweatpant-style, but still want to be comfy as the weather gets cooler.  here’s my new take on sweatpants, worn as i ran errands over the weekend.

[clu for gap sweatpants, j.crew favorite tank in white, h&m denim shirt, forever 21 fedora - similar, forever 21 sunglasses - similar]

[i'm still trying to figure out this posing thing - any tips? other than "don't look stupid"?]

 [right before i threw the hat at hubby for getting lippy]

[report smoking slippers from last year - similar]

what's your sweatpant style?

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oh and one more thing

in case anyone wanted to know, my car hit 100,000 miles over the weekend! hubby and i thought it was a big deal [it was my first car i bought all by myself] so we took pictures:

 [100,000!!!]

 [super seriously concentrating. i'm very serious about mileage]

[and in case you needed a close up of my nose, here you go. you're welcome]

monday musings

while rifling through my ginormous purse [there’ll be a whole segment on purses later, don’t you fret] on saturday, i came across a livingsocial [isn’t it awesome?] voucher i purchased a month ago for a blow-out and decided that that was the day i would redeem it.  here’s the result [the following glamour shots courtesy of hubby]:

       

let me tell you a few things about blow-outs:

first off, ladies, how great does your hair look post blow-out? in a ½ hour you could leave having had your hair washed [which by itself is worth every single penny. if i could have someone wash my hair every day well… let’s just say that if i ever strike it rich i will have a live in hair washer whose sole purpose it is to wash my hair… but enough about that…] and blown dry better than you could ever do.

second, has anyone ever actually mastered doing their own perfect blow-out? if you answer yes to this question, I hate you, just a little [ok, I technically know just one such individual, but her hair defies explanation – it’s just perfection, you know who you are, blondie].

and third, for just $30-$35, it’s actually pretty affordable [especially on a random saturday, just because you have a voucher that makes it $17].

these three [very important] points bring me to just one conclusion… blow-outs every day!! [or maybe once a month].

in case you want to try it out [and i highly recommend that you do], here are two places that do it – but search your city, they’re popping up all over the place:

the dry bar

blo/out 

i promise you’ll be blown away! [please tell me someone else is laughing at that as much as i am.]

oh and one more thing

[repetto flats found here]

aren't these just glorious? i love flats [i'm less prone to fall]. unfortunately, these babies are $270 [yes, as in dollars]. and while i'm not opposed to paying a premium for a good product, i prefer to test out a cheaper version to see if the investment [because all shoes, bags, and well clothes too, are an investment. an investment in happiness. hear that guys?] is worth it, that i actually wear the item. so lo-and-behold, h&m comes to the rescue [yet again] with these:

[h&m flats and pants too. i shop there a LOT]

just $12.95! totally comfortable and come in a bunch of colors. i'll be testing these allllll weekend.

happy friday!

fragrance friday

have you ever walked into a room [or let’s say a ladies bathroom in a particular office building… ahem] and basically get hit [HIT!] in the face with someone’s sickeningly sweet, overbearing perfume? isn’t that the absolute worst?

i’m pretty particular about smells. specifically perfumes. i can handle a little bad smell [you don’t go to a college where the air smells like chocolate one day, manure the second, and a mix of the two the third, and not build up a little tolerance], but spray some sweet smelling something into the air and i’m a-complaining left and right.  

when my mom started letting me wear perfume, i never liked anything she had [sorry mama] and would gravitate to those lighter bath & body sprays [cucumber melon, anyone?] until i couldn’t stand those either. if i had it my way, i would just rub myself with yankee candle's clean cotton car air fresheners all over myself and call it a day, but alas that would probably be weird [like that's stopped me before...]. so instead, over the years i’ve discovered that the fragrances i could handle best were those with hints of citrus. my favorite [and one i’m currently using] is sugar from fresh [i know i just said i didn’t like sweet smells, but hear me out]. sephora [dear, dear sephora that takes all my money] describes fresh's sugar as “a vibrant fragrance incorporates sparkling citrus notes with delicately sweet heart and lingering warm base notes”, and i say it smells fabulous - light, but lingers on your wrist/clothing without being overbearing [and i don't have to use the words "car air freshener" and "rubbed all over myself" when answering "what perfume are you wearing"].

what’s your favorite fragrance?

thursday tales

as you’ve probably noticed, i’m still trying to find a rhythm to my posts and they’ve kind of been all over the place. a few ideas i have are to keep my monday musings [because i tend to think of ridiculous things over the weekend] and wear it wednesday [because that’s ultimately where I want to take this blog] every week and switch up the rest [and as long as i can keep up my crazy title alliteration obsession i will!].  one of those rare unicorn posts i’d like to start popping up here and there are those i’ve titled thursday tales where i’d like to tell you a little story [duh, title gives it away, natalie]. about what, you may ask? well, it could be about me or … well… anyone [yeah i run a really strict shop here, boundaries aplenty!]. so to quote my first ever post, “and so i begin…”:

let me preface this by saying that i am the least extreme-sports/adventurous/yeah-let’s-go-barreling-down-a-hill person you’ll probably ever meet [i’m scared of roller coasters for pete’s sake]. so naturally, husband [who was boyfriend at the time] decided to take me skiing 3 years ago. we get to the mountain, get our gear, waddle like penguins [because let’s face it, there’s no graceful way to walk in ski boots… or is it just me?] to the training slopes [which i thought was the bunny slope – silly me] where hubby leaves me [he can ski just fine] in the capable hands of the 12-year old [i may be exaggerating his youth just a little] ski instructor for a group lesson.  for the next 45 minutes, i learn how to let gravity gently pull me down the gradual slope and to “pizza” to a stop [you guys know the pizza? pretty easy to do right? you just wait]. “no big deal, i got this, i’m ready”, i say to hubby when he comes to pick me up. 

and i was ready until i saw the “bunny slope” which to me looked like a double-black diamond with a sheer drop off at the end should i fail to pizza-stop. perfect. confidence totally skyrocketed [not].  fortunately for hubby [who remember was boyfriend at the time and still trying to impress me] i don’t like to quit once i’ve started something and the date wasn't over, so i sucked it up and c a r e f u l l y edged my way out from the side of the slope.  

for all of 5 seconds, my form was just darn perfect, so perfect, in fact that i started gaining speed. you see, dear readers, if you hold your skis straight, you tend to accelerate. and accelerate i did.  in my building panic, instead of pizza-ing my skis, i did the only logical [ha!] thing i could think of – to get closer to the ground so my [inevitable] fall wouldn’t hurt as much – i sat down on my skis.  do you know what happens when you sit down straight down on your skis? you turn into a luge, dear readers, and go even faster. 

so there i was, barreling down this slope with hubby behind me trying to catch up, and all i saw was the sheer drop off i mentioned earlier getting closer and closer [fabulous]. i had approximately .5 seconds to make a decision, and a decision i made – i tucked and rolled… down the rest of the slope. 

as my hubby finally caught up to me and strangers brought me a ski here, a glove there that i left littered in my wake, i vowed never to ski again. a vow i had to immediately break when i was informed that the only way back up to the [blessed, horizontal] ski lodge, short of being escorted by ski patrol on snowmobiles, was to get on the ski lift, go to the next slope [i was assured that was a “bunny” as well… liars] and go back down [fabulous].  

well, long-story-long, i got on that ski lift, and yes, i may have done an ungraceful dismount, but i got my act together and pizza-skied down that next slope like a [very slow] champ. we even went skiing again [and i got a very long, one-on-one lesson beforehand]!

[i prefer fort-building and snowball fights to skiing]

have you ever done something, failed miserably, but refused to quit? 

wear it wednesday

so i did some serious investigative research on the NYFW fall 2012 trends [just kidding, i went to like 2 websites (here and here) and read a couple of blogs of people who were lucky enough to go there,  and of course referenced my giant library of fashion mags – it’s an addiction, i tell you] and here’s what’s hot for fall:

 

[leather]

[statement hats - you can see my hat-fatuation here]

[collars]

[feathers]

[brocade. really?]

[miniflorals]

[blanket coats]

[white - you can see how i feel about white here]

[peplum]

[oxblood -which, btw, is a horrible name for a color and fur - i prefer faux]

i usually just stick to what i like to wear and only incorporate only a trend or two here and there that really speak to me.  this season the trends i’m drooling [well not really drooling, but definitely yelling “gimme”!] over are leather, collars, statement hats, oxblood, and blanket coats/sweaters. unbeknownst to me it looks like i predicted a few of these [ha, I’m sure!] and already own some of these sweet pieces. i'll be sharing with you how i incorporate a few of this season’s key trends in a segment i like to call “wear it wednesday” [just like the, uh, title of this post… you get the picture]. 

today we have leather & collar:

 [skirt - forever 21, boots also seen here - coconuts via dsw, shirt - j.crew (similar), collar necklace - h&m]

[crazy hair courtesy of the rain yesterday]

next week we have peplum [i know how excited you are!!!!]!