Workout Wednesday



Today's Workout Wednesday is a fun one.  You might have heard of it before or seen it on Facebook but it's easy I promise, so why not give it a try.  Here it is:

 

The 30 Day Squat Challenge!!

 

 

 

I myself have decided to participate (I shouldn't tell you to do something that I haven't done right?!).  I am currently on Day 6 and so far so good.  My personal trainer puts a lot of emphasis on squats so I might be at a significant advantage.  Here it is in depth:

 

 

 

It's pretty simple.  And you are supposed to do these all in one workout...don't split them up over the day unless you absolutely have to.  Also - adjust the reps back if you are just starting out and make sure you keep your form in mind.  No injuries!!  I do mine next to my couch so I can squat as low as possible without actually sitting down.

 

 

Has anyone else tried this?  What were your results? 

 

 

 

 

 

Workout Wednesday

Given my passion for running and fitness, I bring you my new Wednesday special...Workout Wednesday.

So in the running community, many people ran yesterday in support of the terrible tragedy at the Boston Marathon.  I actually knew someone who was racing and her husband was there cheering her on.  I am happy to report that she had finished well before the blasts occurred but they are still shaken up.  I wore my Disney Princess Half race shirt yesterday to show my solidarity but chose to save my run for today.

So today's workout suggestion is a simple one.  Go out and run.  I will personally be running 4.09 today, the time on the race clock during the first bomb.  Another challenge I have seen is running 2.62, as well as running 26.2 miles over the next 2 weeks.You don't have to run far or fast, but just show the sick person/people that did this that they cannot take our spirit and passion away. 

United We Run.

Finding the other "one"...

Well y'all...I think I found it.  The one.  The other "one" you need to find when planning a wedding...your dress.  This is the thing many girls like myself dream of finding.  I spent hours in my childhood making wedding dresses out of bed sheets.  I wanted to be a princess on my big day.  Now that I have grown-up, my perfect gown has changed but the importance of this garment has not.  I have always thought my quest would play out like any episode of Say Yes to The Dress.  I would find it surrounded by the ladies I love, my mama would cry and everyone would hug.  However, the reality of my story is more of an accidental find.

While Baltimore doesn't have mega salons like Kleinfeld's in New York, we do have a few big ones that most brides will try.  One of them, Betsy Robinson, had advertised a sample sale.  Thinking maybe this was my chance to get something stunning at a discounted price, I made an appointment for my mom and myself.  My dad dropped us off and we checked in.  The sales girl, Ashley, showed me the sale items and I was disappointed to not see anything I even was interested in trying on. 

Fortunately, I wasn't limited to just the sale rack, even though that's why I had made the appointment.  After pulling 5 or 6 dresses, we headed back to the fitting room.  There were a few that I liked but you don't want to just like your gown...you want to LOVE it.  Most of the dresses felt heavy.  Our wedding is outside and more casual so I was looking for something light.  We went back to the racks and I pulled a few more, but nothing had caught my eye yet.  Ashley brought a dress to me and asked if I wanted to try it on, even though it wasn't full lace.  I agreed but wasn't convinced. 

After another 3 gowns, I tried on Ashley's pick.  It fit like a glove.  And I realized, I love this dress.  Like, love, love, love it.  My mom loved it too, although there were no tears (boo!).  Ashley asked if I wanted to see it with a veil.  She put a cathedral length one on (which is what I requested) and the angels sang down to me.  This was it.  I got a bit misty myself standing there looking in the mirror.  I was a bride, a real one.  After dreaming about this for so long, I had found it.  When I wasn't even trying or expecting it!  Of course I'm not going to post it on here, just in case, but I swear its amazing!

While I still have a year to go, I know this is my dress.  It just feels right.  But now that means no more looking!  No more pinning, no more browsing, no more Style Me Pretty (for dresses anyway).  For anyone else out there getting ready to look, as long as you have 6-8 months, there is no rush.  I honestly didn't mean to find my dress, it just happened.  Another piece of advice is go with an open mind.  This dress is sort of similar to what I was thinking but not really what I had imagined as THE dress.  Also, I was very lucky because I am the sample size.  So almost all of the dresses fit me without any extra clips, etc.  If these samples are too big or too small, have faith that once it's ordered in your size and altered to fit perfectly, it will look a lot different (and better!).  And most importantly, have fun.  What girl doesn't love playing dress up?

Living a Lilly Life

As anyone who reads this or knows me can tell you, I am a HUGE Lilly Pulitzer fan.  Not only of the fabulous clothes, but of the lifestyle and of course, Ms. Pulitzer herself.  I, like the rest of the pink-and-green world, was very sad to hear about her passing yesterday morning.  She took a simple idea and turned it in to an empire.  There are already some wonderful tributes out there celebrating her life and ideas.  One of my favorites I have seen is from The Preppy Princess:
http://thepreppyprincess.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/lilly-pulitzer-1931-2013-anything-is-possible-with-sunshine-and-a-little-pink/

I think it's fitting that after a brutal winter across the US, today spring has truly sprung! It almost feels like Lilly herself is shining down and after all, anything is possible with sunshine and little pink :)

Until my next post here is the motto that I live my life by and sums up everything the brand is about:

Will you help me tie the knot...

Now you have the guy, you need your girls!! One of the biggest decision to make during wedding planning is asking the special ladies in your life to join you up at the alter and help you tie the knot.  I am blessed with many wonderful women in my life so keeping it to a reasonable number was going to tough.  I always knew my little sister was going to be my maid of honor.  That one was easy.  After some discussion with M, we landed on lucky number 7 as a good amount of people to each have in our wedding party.  This may sound HUGE to some people but again, we have so many important people in our lives!

M went about asking his groomsmen over beers, without much fanfare.  I however, like to emphasize the importance of things in a bigger way (I guess I've always had a flare for drama).  Plus I LOVE giving gifts.  I know that sounds cheesy but I really do love finding that special thing for someone I care about.  After all, these girls were going to be spending quite a bit on dresses, hair, makeup, etc so it's the least a bride can do right?

Here is what I found on Etsy:

The price was right at $17 each.  It's really adorable on your wrist and fits in with our waterfront wedding venue.  I asked most of my maids in person since they either live around here or are family.  M has two older sisters who have basically become like my sisters so I knew I definitely wanted them to be a part of our special day.  For my best friend who lives up in NY, I knew I would have to mail hers since we don't get to see each other all that often.  For her I made a card on my computer:

 

Sorry for the sideways pictures but you get the idea.  There are lots of options on Etsy if you aren't feeling crafty or would only want to give out cards instead of a gift.  The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination (and wallet). 

I wear my bracelet everyday and every time I look at it, I am reminded of all of the special people I am blessed to have in my life.  And I couldn't imagine not sharing the Best Day Ever without them :)