Vacation Dreamland: Montana Getaway

Pics left to right

1- Mt Shasta in the mirror, 2- Starbucks sustenance, 3-Seth by the lake at breakfast, 4- My dad and my brother seeing each other for the first time in 2 years, 5- Sister & sister in-law,  6-Tubing on the lake, 

7- sister in-law, 8- Seth to the rescue with floaters, 9-Glacier Park, 10-windblown model pose, 11- Cute couple (us), 12- Seth with most of the brothers, 13- My sister and I, 14- Jump! (that's me in the middle), 15-cute couple 2.0, 

16-Heaven on earth....

Oh the bliss of vacation... It truly is glorious! We drove from California to Montana over two days and then spent 6 glorious days in the Flathead Valley of Montana. I'm not what you call an "outdoorsy" kind of girl... I like my usual conveniences and hiking is boring to me, not to mention I've yet to find a stylish hiking boot... "oh yay, lets walk for the sake of walking.. "... however I was completely unprepared for the beauty and frankly surprised that I kinda fell in love with the area... Not sure if it was the coffee time by the lake with Seth or that I was with some of my favorite people but seriously the whole thing of me "playing hard to get"  to Montana, kinda went out the window....

We spent 6 fabulous days playing hard till dusk, which there is around 11pm... LOVE THAT! Multiple days of swimming at the lake, floating down the river, grabbing dinner & cocktails and rounding out the evening with games... Truly great... I carefully planned all my outfits, and like usual I over packed and under estimated the heat! Wow.. with strong sun and a typical high of 93 (33c), I wore like 2% of my wardrobe!   Honestly I do this every time! I wear the same things over and over and I come home with a suitcase half full of clean clothes! Which is fine by me because right now my suitcase is an exploding mess in my living room and a constant reminder that the real world is overrated and I want to go back to vacation dreamland! Making "re-entry" a bit bumpy... what do you mean I've got to do laundry? And clean out the fridge? and set the alarm??! Oh the horror...

Vacation and time away was wonderful but being with my family was so sweet, I can honestly say that my parents, siblings and their spouses are some of my favorite people in the whole world! Excuse me while I brag... We laugh together, support each others dreams, believe in each other and at the end of the day I can count on them to think I'm hilarious, kind and the absolute best version of myself... Being around those hilarious, kind, creative, supportive, fabulous people.. makes me only want more and unashamedly believe that I am the luckiest!

Road Trip Baby!!

Road Trip Baby!! by hchdesigns featuring bracelet watches


Oh yeah it's vacation time.. and we are headed on "little" road trip to Montana to celebrate my parents 50th Anniversary... it's going to be an awesome 10 day getaway (4 days of travel).
I seriously can't wait... I've got 6 siblings and 5 of them will be there.. Which is super rare! So much fun to be had.. there will be days & nights full of laughter, wine and Princess Bride quotes..
It will take us two days driving to get there and honestly, I'm super excited for our first major road trip.. We will be making stops in Oregon and Washington and to which I am completely thrilled about so now I can cross those states off my "haven't been to yet" list..  With at least 16 hours in the car, I'm going to be prepared for at least two of them! A couple of magazines, munchies and sparkling water, I'll be good to go!   I'll wear comfortable clothes that is easy to sit in for a while and shoes that are easy to slip on and that help bring it all together...  When traveling it's totally fine to dress comfy and casual but always do your normal makeup and hair routine, that will help you feel that you look your best!
I usually pack everything and the kitchen sink in a nice big bag.. aka Mary Poppins Bag... because you never know when you could need a change of accessories or a floor lamp.. one can never be too prepared.
I plan on taking lots of pictures and spamming all of you on your Instagram feed...Follow here @hopeceleste if you aren't already! And I'll see ya'll soon!

Feel The Burn: Progress & Determination, It's Been One Month!

Posting not so flattering pics? I think I will!

You know that anxious feeling when you step on the scale and inside your praying "please be kind, please be kind" and you look down with one eye open?... well, yeah I had that moment a couple of days ago.. I stepped on the scale for the first time in like a month and it was...not amazing... OMG... I gained 2lbs?! What the? I was not happy.. and then the thoughts started in, you know the ones I'm talking about those pesky negative thoughts... "you know you didn't work hard enough, you'll never loose weight, just like every other time you try hard and nothing happens"... Total crap those thoughts... they only tear us down and deflate our hope and help us quit... not cool! Personally I'm trying to not listen those those negative thoughts, if it doesn't encourage me than I don't have time for it... sorry, soapbox moment..

I was trying to pick myself up from my disappointment when all of a sudden the thought occurred to me, maybe I gained muscle? Could it be? We all know muscle weighs more than fat... The only way to know for sure is to take measurements... so I did, last night.. and right before I did, I gave myself a little pep talk.. I do that alot..."no matter what, I wont be discouraged"... Well folks I did my measurements and whadda ya know? I lost 2 inches on my waist and 1/2 an inch on my arms! I'm so thrilled and going on every day you don't notice and any difference but posting these pics side by side, WOW!  The left side is the old, the right is after one month.. The last two are the most dramatic! I'm kinda sold on this whole measuring thing... it really does show the whole story... 

As for this next month, I'm going to start incorporating some diet changes and part of that is figuring out how to make it work for our lifestyle...  Honestly, I'm not sure how busy people eat healthy.. There are some days I get home from work so physically & mentally exhausted that prepping a for a super healthy "Paleo, veggie meal" sounds  impossible... I'm in complete awe of those ladies who can live a busy/healthy lifestyle and till mange to get sleep? They probably always fold their laundry on time, don't kill their houseplants and never spill coffee on their white jeans... Ahh, that would be the life...

If you have any tips or suggestions, let me know!    I'm determined to make this work... and just a little taste of progress is motivating! Thanks for your support! I couldn't do this without you!

My SheInside Wishlist...

My SheInside Wishlist... by hchdesigns featuring leather coats

So... you probably noticed my tiny little posting hiccup... of posting a dress without saying anything? Yeah... apparently I wasn't paying attention when I was saving it to my Polyvore profile and posted a dress twice! Rolling my eyes at myself...

 A couple of weeks ago Becky over at Cella Jane (great fashion blog btw) did a SheInside wishlist/must haves and completely inspired me since I've been drooling at the website for like ages now....
 Well folks... here it is, my hopes and dreams of all things fashion and style... what I've been eyeing lately on Sheinside... if you aren't aware of this shopping site and their fabulous style then boy are you in for a treat! And... I'm sorry because once you've seen it you cant go back. it's another fabulous online shopping experience that sucks you in and you are mesmerized by all the yummy finds... kinda like Target in that regard...

Lately for summer, I'm loving all sorts of tribal prints and slightly Boho looks without going completely bohemian... That dress is one of my favorites and honestly I'm thinking it might need to find it's home in my closet...  Also, isn't that yellow blazer amazing? Like hello, "I need you in my life" amazing... gosh, the July fashion budget doesn't have a chance thank God for their free worldwide shipping and fabulous prices... Wowza... this is going to be trouble I can feel it..

Dress

Dress (see more pleated dresses)

Step Up To The Plate: A Stripes Love Affair

trying my best awkward foot pose.. nailed it!

Top- Old Navy

Shorts-Old Navy

Sandals- Cotton On

Hat- Stole from my husband

What's this? An outfit post? Gasp... I know, I know.. it's been too long..guilty face.. Last night my hubs and I headed out to a little league baseball field to grab some pictures before the light left... He took 2 pictures.. and what happened? My camera battery died.. fail.. we improvised with my phone, I apologize about the quality.. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do...

Since we were going to go to the base ball field, I felt a baseball cap was in order it added some color to my look and not to mention it hid my "it's the end of the day" flat hair.. I originally wanted to show you a cute 4th of July pic, you know the kind...  in a coordinated red, white and blue look, holding a mini flag .. however that's hard for me to pull off without looking a 50 something grandma wearing fireworks earrings, quilting her way through Indiana... So, this is what you get... I found both the top & shorts at Old Navy.. Which they are totally killing it this season for me! 

If you you were to look in my dresser and closet you would see my obsession with stripes.. I think I secretly feel like if I wear blue and white stripes.. I belong on a sailboat somewhere in the Hampton's living like a Tommy Hilfiger commercial... which who doesn't want that? Paired with white shorts and I'm a total prep... Honestly though this top would pair well with any bottoms, a skirt half tucked in , with  pair of  distressed cut offs or belted with a black pencil skirt.. The options are really endless! 

As for my shorts.. gosh, I bought the white version and I'm honestly thinking about going back and buying one in every color.. they are just that good.. the perfect length, material and goes with literally everything! Again, Old Navy.. thanks for saving my summer wardrobe.. If you're needing a couple of great summer pieces, head on over to your Old Navy and pick up these shorts or top! Honest.. they are the bomb dot com. 

Feel the Burn: Life's a beach...

 California is experiencing a pretty ridiculous heat wave.. I must confess that generally we are pretty spoiled around here... But it rained two weekends ago  (to which I'm sure there could be a case for state legislature to make it illegal to rain in the summer months)  and now it's crazy temps of 105 in certain areas.. and the whole Bay Area is freakin out... To where the rest of  America is rolling their eyes and saying "Get a grip California"... 

Well, we took a little picnic to the beach and I forgot what type of skin tone I had...  sat in font of the waves and soaked up the glorious sunshine while laughing at our own jokes.. I read a magazine while catching some "rays"... Well.... I caught a ridiculous amount of rays in about 1.5 hours... Enter,  stupid stupid sunburn....  OMG... do I feel the burn... I've had this same skin for 31 years, this isn't my first rodeo... So I definitely should know better! However there are some moments in life when you are face to face with your stupidity and you must be a legit grown up and own it... Well, this is one is mine..  "Hope, you will never have the skin of Jennifer Lopez... you must get over it"... sigh...ok.

 Well, after coming home and slathering on a bucket of Aloe Vera... I then proceeded to do my workout.. Which this week was all about working my core, enter lots of  floor exercises... Superman and Banana.. I officially hate you... not only because it's a ridiculously hard workout but it means rolling from stomach to back while keeping your arms and legs off the ground... cue my really stupid sunburn... yup you guessed I was really "feeling the burn" in more ways then I cared to.. also I got an up close view of my carpet and all I could think was wow.. I really need to vacuum! 

 As for my progress in my workout journey, I'm building muscles!!! Sometimes I like to flex my muscles in the mirror just so I'm reminded of why I'm doing what I'm doing... it's the little things in life... It's amazing how a little muscle definition can get you so excited and a not so little sunburn can make you incredible grateful for the stockpile of Aloe Vera that we keep on hand... #winning