:: Recent Favorites : Podcast + Fashion + Beauty + Wellness ::
:: Blue + White Home Finds ::
I get so many messages on instagram about the ginger jar prints in our bathroom
(they are from Ballard Designs but are old! Possibly still available at the outlet?!)
So today I rounded up a similar set of prints
(and also some very inexpensive options from Etsy that you could frame yourself)
and some other pretty blue +white finds as well.
:: Old Lady Things : Sunscreen, Sun hats, and UPF Shirts ::
I officially look like an old lady on my daily walks with the girls,
AND I LOVE IT. No shame.
The gigantic sun hat is always on because the baseball cap just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
:: Grey Wrap Top + Wish List Wednesday ::
Today I wanted to share a great casual top to wear all summer long.
I love the look of a wrap top because it is so flattering, especially to the midsection, which is always my trouble spot. The wrap detail on this top allows for a more fitted look while still being loose enough to be flattering for my tummy. And you can never go wrong with a basic grey. I love it with white jeans but it would look great with shorts, too! And it’s only $29 so that can’t be beat either!
:: Home Update : Built in Bar ::
I am crazy lucky to have an extremely handy husband.
A man that can fix things and knows his way around a tool box is a real #ManCrushMonday
He can do and build pretty much anything. Just ask him. He built the house that they lived in in college (and he will happily tell you that). But seriously, it is amazing. He is loaned out to girlfriends and family on many occasions – so Atlanta ladies, let me know if you need help with anything. He prefers to be barefoot and shirtless outdoors, so if you have projects that allow that, he will be there in a heartbeat.
We turned the dining room off of our kitchen and living room into a den, because we don’t really have a need at this time for a dining room. (I posted in the past about the table I got that transforms into a dining table when needed when I shared our living room!)
We were dying to do a built in bar on the empty wall in there – similar to Ramona, I need my Pinot Grigio! – and thankfully my husband – who also loves himself some Friday Happy Hour – of course said to just leave it all to him.
We went to Ikea to get the cabinets, and to be honest, I had expected it to be a bit of a nightmare, but it wasn’t! We found these great grey cabinets that we loved, decided on the cabinet style, and then someone helped us design the whole thing on a computer once we knew what we were looking for. Right down to the built in wine rack!
It was a one stop shop – which was amazing. We went that day, picked it all out, loaded up the truck with a gazillion things, and headed home.
(oh…. we were there a long enough time to be starving…. do NOT get food whilst waiting for your parts to get wheeled out from the pick-up area. I don’t know what these rumors are about “good food”, but what we had was horrifying.)
Kip built the cabinets in no time. I was shocked how fast. There were some slight issues with height and width being off – it was Ikea after all – but we were he was able to finagle a few things and get it to work!
The hardest part was the lighting – he installed all of the lights inside the top cabinets and the under mount lighting, but we had to have an electrician add some things into the wall for us since the wall didn’t have what we needed (see how technical I am? I clearly have no idea what we didn’t have and needed, but it got fixed!)
Finding a countertop took a little thinking, because no one could work with us since we only needed such a tiny slab. I came across Stone Solutions in Marietta and was able to go to the warehouse and look through leftover pieces and have one cut and delivered and installed.
I am so obsessed with the bar – it completely transformed the room. We would have loved to have put a wine fridge in, but it is way too narrow . We actually had to use upper cabinets on the bottom because it is such a tiny space so no fridge would fit. We have a mini fridge hidden in the other corner of the room with a mirrored tray and accessories on top – so that works well for us! I’m still working on the rest of the room – it’s a compilation of pieces from Chicago like our leather couch from the basement, and pieces from my moms house and our old beach house all thrown together.
We got the cabinet knobs and draw pulls all from Lowes.
That’s actually what took me so long to share the bar since it’s technically been done for months! 🙂 We didn’t put the hardware on the drawers for a while because we couldn’t find the right finish – no stores had anything but silver or black – and then we stumbled across it finally in a completely wrong section of the store one day!
I am still working on styling the bar and adding more of my china and crystal and such, but we get so much use out of it! For now, I moved my ginger jars from the living room built-in-bookshelves over and some flowers, but I am on the hunt for pieces to put up there. A few things I snagged from my moms house don’t fit, so those went into the living room instead. As always, thanks mom for letting me “borrow” things every time I leave the house 🙂
also, I am obsessed with these Trader Joe’s Ginger Beers. Isn’t the bottle gorgeous?
I try to keep them stocked since they look so pretty on display!
We have lots of other home projects that we hope to complete, but this has definitely been my favorite so far. For this room we still need to get new rug, recover a chair, etc, but I don’t even care when that is done because this is the focal point of the room and luckily is immediately what everyone sees.
we are working on sprucing up the back deck now, and got an outdoor sofa yesterday! the deck still needs to be replaced, but until that gets done, we decided not to hold off anymore on outdoor furniture since it is already so gorgeous here and fully patio season!
Cheers to Happy Hour!!
ps. my absolute favorite Pinot Grigio,
arguably better than Santa Margherita and a much better price, is Kris!
and Total Wine sells it for a STEAL – always at least $5 less than Publix or the liquor stores!
Cheers to Handy Husbands!
Happy Hour starts promptly at 5 at Casa Richmond!
Hope you all have a great start to the week!
:: 31 Day Challenge Update ::
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Happy Valentine’s Day!
I wanted to follow up on some of my New Years Intentions,
and I’ve gotten requests for more health + fitness posts!
and I’ve gotten requests for more health + fitness posts!
I challenged myself to 31 straight days of working out in January and I am happy to say that I completed it!
Previously, I was already working out a fair amount,
about 4-6 days per week, but never at this intensity.
The group exercise classes have really upped the ante in kicking my butt.
I used to be able to walk for an hour on the treadmill while I watched a show, but sadly, those days are long gone. Hashtag insert expletives.
I wanted to share a few things I learned by doing this fitness challenge.
keeping track of all of my workouts.
1. It is not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.
I already was working out a fair amount, but somehow working out every single day was actually less difficult. Because it was something I planned and knew was not optional, it was never really a burden. I planned my workouts in advance, signed up for whatever classes I wanted to take during the week on Classpass, and it was a done deal.
There were only a few times when I didn’t want to workout, and they were when it was nighttime and I hadn’t fit my workout in in the morning or hadn’t signed up for a class. But since it wasn’t optional not to, I just did it, and after starting I didn’t mind at all.
Somehow 7 days a week was less stressful than 4-6?
2. Just start…. and then you won’t want to stop.
My goal was 30 minutes every day, with the hopes of working out for an hour (30 minutes of Tracy Anderson + at least 30 minutes of cardio). There were days I didn’t think I would get through my Tracy DVD after doing cardio, so I would tell myself that I would just do the ab and arm part (about 10 of the 30 minutes). By the time I was done with the first 10 minutes, I had no problem finishing the rest. Sometimes I didn’t think I’d be able to do the treadmill, so I would just hop on and walk, and by 10 minutes in I felt fine and would jog or do intervals no problem. If I just started, the energy would come.
3. Along with just starting, just put on the exercise clothes.
Put on your exercise clothes as soon as you wake up or as soon as you walk in the door.
If I didn’t, I would put the workout off until later.
If I didn’t, I would put the workout off until later.
3. Listen to your body and adjust accordingly.
You have to listen to your body.
Somehow in January I never had a time when I felt so exhausted I couldn’t workout, but this past week I came home from work and put on my gym clothes and Kip came in to find me sitting on the couch in our bedroom falling asleep. This NEVER happens. I took an hour nap, and when I woke up, I squeezed in a quick walk and some planks before dinner and was fine with not doing the hour workout I had planned. I needed a break.
4. I finally reached the goals I had wanted to hit for the last 1-2 years.
I still would like to lose a few more pounds, but I have gotten so strong and have the most muscle I have ever had. I don’t like to be specific because
I still would like to lose a few more pounds, but I have gotten so strong and have the most muscle I have ever had. I don’t like to be specific because
I fear an Oprah moment where the minute she wheels out that wagon of fat,
her pants never. fit. again.
Just kidding…. but not really….
And I know this is more related to diet than exercise, but I do think that taking actual cardio classes like Blast and Spinning and pushing myself made a big difference.
5. A foam roller is your BFF. And Epsom Salt Baths.
It helps…. a lot. I have never been so sore in my life.
And it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how beneficial the epsom salt baths were,
but I felt considerably less sore when I soaked versus when I didn’t.
but I felt considerably less sore when I soaked versus when I didn’t.
6. I managed my time so much better.
Since I was taking a lot of classes, my workouts were a scheduled part of my day. In the past I really only worked out at home, so I could put it off or let myself turn my 30 minute DVD into a 45 minute -1 hour DVD by pausing after certain sections to do other things. With the classes it was one hour and done.
7. It’s true what they say about making something a habit.
Since January ended and February began, the only day I haven’t worked out was the day that I flew home from Vegas to Atlanta. And that’s only because I left the hotel before 10 AM and didn’t get home until 8 PM. I still went to the gym at the hotel twice just to get something done and I feel like it made all the difference.
(Keep in mind I worked out already a lot in the past because I know for stress and sanity it helps me immensely, and I love to watch my shows – true motivation!)
This weekend in Arizona we are hiking one day and I will do something else the other days.
(Keep in mind I worked out already a lot in the past because I know for stress and sanity it helps me immensely, and I love to watch my shows – true motivation!)
This weekend in Arizona we are hiking one day and I will do something else the other days.
I have kept the mentality that it is part of my day, not something that is optional, and overall it hasn’t really been an issue.
I signed up for an unlimited month at a spin studio and have been using that as my motivator for February. It is definitely working – I am determined to get my moneys worth!
Kip and I have been spinning together on Sundays since January, too,
and that helps kick off the week on a good start.
OH! And when I really need some extra motivation, I’ll reward myself after a tough class with Kale Me Crazy.
The Recharge and Refuel are my favorite!
There is one on the way home from all of the spin studios I go to,
and one directly next door to Blast.
And I am obsessed.
editors note :
As I say in all of my fitness + health posts,
I know absolutely nothing and can be extremely unhealthy and there is no reason to listen to anything I say
(about anything in life really, not just this).
(about anything in life really, not just this).
But this is what has worked for me.
I feel awkward talking about it but I get so many questions and requests about it that I am trying to do more posts around the subject!
I feel awkward talking about it but I get so many questions and requests about it that I am trying to do more posts around the subject!
I am going to do a post on food in the future as requested,
but a few meals on heavy repeat lately :
My favorite way to reward myself for meeting health goals is something fitness related.
I love new gym clothes, but I still haven’t bit the bullet on any fitness tracker.
I wear a thin gold bangle from my mom on my left wrist every day (and never take it off) but I just can’t do the clunky Apple Watch or big black thick band that screams FITNESS TRACKER.
I just found these options though, and am in love with them.
You would NEVER know they are fitness trackers.
I searched around for reviews on the bangle and it has great reviews,
just that it runs small, but I have tiny wrists so hopefully that would work in my favor!
I searched around for reviews on the bangle and it has great reviews,
just that it runs small, but I have tiny wrists so hopefully that would work in my favor!
For an actual watch instead of just a bangle,
this navy leather band watch is errything.
These don’t look anything like activity trackers,
which is what has kept me from getting one in the first place.
There are so many ugly options! Finally pretty ones!
…. and the cheers with champagne glasses is just an added bonus 🙂
which is what has kept me from getting one in the first place.
There are so many ugly options! Finally pretty ones!
…. and the cheers with champagne glasses is just an added bonus 🙂
I also love the Blush + Gold!
And in the spririt of Valentine’s Day
treat-yo-self to some pink leggings 🙂
// PINK LEGGINGS //
I was wanting to make my February focus on having better sleep hygiene,
but I have failed miserably at that this month….. so perhaps next month?
I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your significant other, gal pals, or family!