Feel The Burn: No Pain... No Gain...

Let's be real... after squats, lunges, working the glutes and everything esle... even the most menial tasks are evaluated...Who knew that toilets are so flippin low?? Oh it's a real crisis folks....  Sitting on the couch after dinner, I want something to drink...I think,  am I really that thirsty? It's a lot of work to stand up and then sit back down again..Oh the agony...  Legs not rubbing together while walking? I'll take it... Uh... seriously evaluating the need to sit down on anything? That's a tough one...

Right now I will be honest... the whole fitness/weight loss thang is going slow.. honestly slower than I would like.. however these these take time and I'm still seeing progress.. Even though I would like to run around the block without feeling like I need an oxygen mask!  This week I did, 10 (girly) push ups with no problem! No carpet face plants for me! Mountain Climbers? Did them like a beast... however the next day I could have parked in the "Expectant Mothers" parking spot at Target and no one would have questioned me, just by the way I was walking... I've perfected the waddle...

In the pain of progress I keep telling myself it will get better... and eventually I will see my goals but until then I'll take it as a win when I can climb the two flights of stairs to my apartment in stilettos without whimpering... cuz Lord knows I'm not giving up the stilettos... Here I am working out, hitting a punching bag like a boss... Doing the lunges down the street being like "oh yeah, I work out"... "What these lunges? Oh yeah.. no big deal.." And then the next day reality hits... that you've just been beaten.. by toilet..

Final score...Toilet-1 Me-0.

Date Night Dilemma....

Tee- H&M

Jeans- American Eagle

Heels- H&M (similar)

Bag- MMS for TJ Max (similar)

Date night... ahh.. the magic...  sipping Sauvignon Blanc and laughing about about inside jokes... Last night Seth and I stepped out to a little date night to one of our favorite Thai restaurants... OMG... they had me at peanut curry sauce... I digress... 

Oh the dilemma... the epic crisis... I'm not sure what to wear... it's a moment of emptying the closet on to the bed... It's not that I don't have options, am I right ladies? It's the lack of inspiration! So when inspiration lacks... Style your look around the item your most excited about! Which for me was my new tee shirt & bag....  I wanted to wear a cute graphic tee and I wanted to have my new fall bag... what goes with both? easy... distressed jeans or pencil skirt...  I chose distressed jeans since it was a casual date.. however if you wanted to dress it up a little simply just add a pencil skirt instead of jeans, leather jacket and put your hair up in a sock bun sort of thang... and switch out the bag for a clutch..  go for a deeper color on the lips and add a statement necklace...Easy peasy.

For us curvy ladies... make sure you tuck that tee shirt in... must show that you have a waist...No one likes a moo moo... saves my bacon every day... then lastly... add a fun heel... it sophisticates your look and it creates a little balance between casual and chic... and who doesn't want that? Even if your tall.. if you are.. I'm already jealous.. don't be afraid to rock a good heel... you don't see Heidi Klum with legs that go on for days afraid to rock a stiletto.. and neither should you... and for us girls that can't reach the top shelf of anything.. well, most likely your best friend is a 5inch stiletto and a step stool... not to be used together...

In deciding what to wear here is my best advice.. be happy with who you are... yes there might be things you would like to change... Lord knows I do.. however until it happens or you wake up magically looking 30lbs lighter... if that happens let me know what you're drinking! Until that magic happens, don't waste life and happy moments wishing for things to be different.. because you're amazing right now.. and you deserve to believe it... and that awesome guy standing next you deserves to see you believe it too (it'll make his day)... woah.. deep...  Then really the clothes end up just being the frame on a really amazing piece of art!

Insta What? Life lately....

 Seth and I totally took a spontaneous day trip to the Jelly Belly Factory! We are the only ones I know who decide to "go off" sugar and then take a free tour of the Jelly Belly Factory...otherwise known as sugar heaven... and if you ask me now how the whole sugar fast is going.. I don't want to talk about it... #fail .. I mean what kind of wierdos go get a tour of the best candy known to man and not get samples! Seriously there are standards that must not be broken!

Stretched out my leopard print flats with socks? Why yes I did! Thanks Pinterest for the uber glamorous tip! You all are now super jealous of my wicked awesome style.. cuz nothin says fashionista like socks with shoes.... 

After looking through most of my Instagram photos, the thought occurred to me, wow do I like my beverages... you wouldn't want to ever get thirsty...  Between wine tasting with friends, outfit planning, a concert and trying to keep my plant alive... still going strong ..#crossingmyfingers... I've been kinda busy... so my apologies for the lack of posts...Follow me on Instagram here for more real life excitement! Otherwise more fashion posts coming soon! Happy Wednesday!

Champagne Thursday...

Yes... completely sums up my week... where days felt like repeated themselves... and yet there is always reason for Champagne....

• Visited Ikea... enough excitement to put Disneyland to shame....   seriously reason to celebrate....
• I managed to do push-ups, bench presses & wall squats without puking... it was touch and go there  for a minute but I managed...
• I put away the laundry... c'mon folks that's a real win!
• I got a new plant and I've made some very serious promises to not kill it... #houseplantkiller 
• Tried on "leather" pants at H&M and didn't burst out into laughter.. even thought there was plenty of reason for it...
• Hit a punching bag like a boss.... Eat your heart out Sylvester Stallone...
• Snuggled up on the couch with my man watching TV... nothing says romance like Wipeout...

So when the days get a little cray cray and your like will this week ever end? Pop open some champagne because there is always something to celebrate.... even if it is only because it's Thursday....

Closet Crisis: What to wear to a concert....

What to wear to a concert.... by hchdesigns featuring a studded crossbody purse

This last weekend Seth and I had the pleasure of going to an outdoor concert... We sat on a blanket, sipped a little Sauvignon Blanc and enjoyed music from The Goat Rodeo Sessions featuring Yo-Yo Ma. It was completely unexpected beautiful music and an overall lovely evening. Rewind about 4 hours... Seth comes home from work and I'm taking my time getting ready for the day since it's my day off.. picture this.. glasses, leggings, sports bra, tank top & Seth's zip up sweatshirt, sans makeup and I cleverly decided to break in my new leopard print flats by wearing socks with them around the house.. see here...
There was literally no glamour what so ever.. and if you looked at me I would look more like candidate for What Not To Wear than a fashion blogger...  Seth comes in the door and says "babe we got to leave in soon... " OMG.. seriously? What am I going to wear... and the social anxiety of being overdressed or under dressed hits... Not to mention I had 30 min to fix the hot mess of me...

Business causal at a folk concert that's featuring Yo-Yo Ma?? Oh the closet crisis... It causes all sorts of social anxiety for me, to show up and look like I don't realize that I at a concert for world famous cellist! But be so overdressed that it's ridiculous since we have lawn tickets...  So, I decided to go with ultra classic white denim flairs, black tank and gray blazer...When in doubt stay classic, I had been dying to wear my new bead necklace from Forever 21 and I decided to wear wedges since they are easier to walk on grass than stilettos, added my yellow clutch and I was good to go! It does occur to me that this outfit is very similar to my last post.. I swear I wear other clothes..  I curled my hair to soft waves and with the help of dry shampoo had a pretty good hair day, makeup was soft and sun-kissed with semi bold eye since it's night and I need to not look 12 ... I'm not sure how it happened but I managed to get ready in like 45 min with help from my superman husband ..it takes a village... then only to walk out the door forgetting to put on deodorant...score... 

The concert ended up being wonderful! It was a memory that will last forever and as it ended up we sat next to a guy that was wearing sweatpants and an Indiana Jones hat... so there was that.. but either way I felt great about how I looked and in then end that's all that really matters... 

Accessories: Accidental Awesomeness...

Blazer-HM similar

Tank- Old Navy

Jeans-F21

Stilettos- BCBGirls via Marshall's

Necklace- F21 similar

Sunnies- Cotton On

Clutch- Plato's Closet

When doing our little photo shoot last night we pulled off the side of a road to take pictures next to the vines... I live in the Sonoma wine country area... A random farmer across the street had it's music blaring and I while was not so discreetly running around the vines with my stilettos sinking into the dirt... the soundtrack of Taylor Swift and Celine Dion was playing in the distance... thank you random farmer for your Mix radio station preferences... all that was missing was Rod Stewart and Cosmos...

I found these jeans from F21..fake cough Forever In Denial and shocker they are too long.. story of my life.. How I get around that is to show some ankle with stilettos or wear a riding boot... this lengthens my legs... Can I get an amen?!  Now if I could just reach the top shelf in my kitchen tha'd be great... cue the boss from Office Space..

Throw on a gray blazer and add the pop of color this outfit needed with that adorable clutch I scored from Plato's Closet.. I probably broke some 12 year old's heart by taking off the display and snatching it up for myself but what can I say? I'm ruthless when it comes to great accessories...  If you ever have the chance to score a brightly colored clutch, DO IT! Buy that bad boy and never look back... and here's why.. all of a sudden with a lovely bright thing that can hold nothing more than keys and lip balm... you look like it was on purpose.. you planned for your outfit to be toned down just so you can rock that new bag... and while it might be the exact opposite.. where everything you put on is monochromatic "bla mcboring" (and not in a good way)... all of a sudden a bright little clutch, just made it interesting.. and frankly I'm all about taking my bla-ness and  making it look like I did it on purpose...my accidental awesomeness it out of control.... All the while knowing that my accessories totally saved my bacon... figures... 

Personal Moments and Mini Meltdowns...

Yesterday was, well... not an amazing day... it was just like a culmination of not feeling good, hoping for something to happen and then being disappointed when it didn't...I really didn't stand a chance.. I sat in my office and had an ugly cry right there in front of my computer.. Oh if computer monitors could talk...  , where tears are falling and there is no saving my look... Good bye makeup and hello red nose and face... Super glamorous no?

All I could think was that life was passing me by.. that and I'm getting older and I'm not where I thought I should be... See somehow I got it in my head that things would be sorted by 31 and at the very least by 32! Blah blah blah... Boring myself already... Where do we get these crazy expectations? Who knows... but here's the thing...  Life can't pass you by if your living for right now... So even if the career thing isn't sorted, or who knows when the house and babies will happen... life is good... and it's ok to have an ugly cry and then hold your head up high and keep going.. Anything worth doing is going to take time...  So if you like me, and it feels like the world just hates you on a Tuesday afternoon.. just get yourself an ugly cry, invest in a waterproof mascara and remember great things take time... and time is on your side.

Personal moments... brought to you by a mini meltdown in Hope's office...