Boot Camp Finale

Today I completed my last week of Best Body Boot Camp. While I wasn't doing this to lose weight and I haven't noticed any weight loss, I've definitely noticed a difference in my abs, arms and legs. Since I ran two half marathons earlier this year back to back, my training included mostly running for about 6 months and I put weight training to the side. With the boot camp, I was back to my normal 3-4 days a week of weight training and the rest cardio. This boot camp was a great way to challenge my body and teach me some new weight training to try since I normally get stuck in a rut with my old ways.

Registration is open now for the next boot camp that starts on January 7th. I'm definitely signing up for the next round although I'm not sure what to do with myself for the next 3 weeks. It was nice having my work out routine laid out for me these past two months and not having to think about it!

Boot Camp Week 3

I just completed week 3 of Best Body Boot Camp! This week in our strength training, we did ladders which is basically doing the same weight/strength exercise for 5 reps, resting for 30 seconds then doing 6 reps and repeating up to 10 reps. I think I definitely need some heavier weights on some of my exercises as I wasn't feeling the burn as much as I would have hoped to. On my second weight day, I opted out of my lunch hour work out and did the boot camp at home after work. I was worried about how I'd feel because to me, I don't feel like I've worked out unless I sweat a lot and I was dripping by the end of my workout.

Not as much soreness as I had the first week of boot camp, but still enough that I felt like I got a good workout in. I'm interested to see how I'll feel this week after I up my weights! 

Fit Friday: Week 2

I finished week 2 of the Best Body Boot Camp. This boot camp has been a great addition to my daily workout routine. The weight exercises along with reps are different than what I normally would write in a workout plan for myself. However, it's been great learning new moves and exercises that are helping me to target areas I'd neglected for awhile.

I was definitely feeling sore after the second day of weights but I welcome the soreness. The soreness to me just means that I had a great workout and definitely got my butt kicked.

I'm anxious to kick off week 3 with a new weight and cardio interval program. I'm sure it will tire me out!

Wedding Wednesday: Meet my Bridesmaids!

Meet my besties that I'm so honored to have next to me as we tie the knot. I'd be lost without these ladies in my life!

Kristy Floriani: Matron of Honor

Kristy is my older sister and will be my Matron of Honor. Despite our 7 year age difference, we're as close as can be for sisters. Growing up, I know I got on her nerves because I always wanted to be around my "sissy" and her friends. But as we grew up, Kristy really helped take care of me when mom and dad weren't around. She'd pick me up from school, help me with homework and help take me around town to all my various dance, baton and ice skating lessons. While her and I are complete opposites, she's never missed a pageant or one of my performances growing up. Next to my mom, she's been my biggest fan and supporter and I couldn't ask for a better big sister.

Breanne Maples: Bridesmaid

Breanne is one of my ultimate best friends. We met years ago when I competed in her parents' pageant, National American Miss. Over the past 10 years, we've become super close and I don't know what I would do without this girl in my life. Breanne is considered "cupid" for me and Brandon, because I'm sure without her, B and I wouldn't be together. Bre can also be considered my "stylist" and is super creative and has been a huge help for me with wedding planning, hence we call her Head Bridesmaid. We've been around the country together for pageants and have had some hilarious times together (if you get a chance, ask her about our trip to NYC a few years ago and what she asked the world-reknowned photographer shooting my headshots that day). 

Kelly Matt: Bridesmaid

Kelly is one of my best friends from Marquette and I don't know what I'd do without her in my life. Despite living hundreds of miles apart, we talk on a fairly regularly basis and I recently got to see Kelly at her wedding in Florida (p.s. she was a gorgeous bride and had an AMAZING wedding!) I met Kelly on my very first day of college in our very first class, Philosophy. We had the same major in college so we spent a lot of time together studying, doing projects and hanging out. Kelly and I share a love of working out so we were workout buddies in college and we are looking forward to completing a half marathon together next year! Kelly currently lives in Washington DC with her husband, and their cat, Jasmine. 

Haley Landsman: Bridesmaid

Haley is one of my other besties from Marquette. Haley was in the same Philosophy class with Kelly and myself and it turned out she had the same major as well. The three of us spent a lot of time together both in class and out throughout our years at Marquette. Haley is one of the most fabulous ladies I know. She currently lives in Chicago where she works for an advertising agency and anytime I'm in town, I absolutely have to see her. Haley always knows how to make me laugh, and we're like two peas in a pod. I can't wait to have her by my side on our wedding day! 

Molly Briggie: Personal Attendant

If there's anyone who I'd trust to be my "wedding choreographer and stage manager", it'd be Miss Molly Briggie. Molly and I met through working for National American Miss. Moll doll, as we all like to call her, knows how to get things done. She's so organized, is always ready for anything that comes up and she knows how to give us a good giggle. It was a no brainer that I knew I'd want Molly to help me with all the little details along the way. She's been a huge help to me sending me wedding ideas and I know she's going to help us have an amazing wedding day! 

Makeup Monday: What's In My Travel Makeup Bag?

Perfecting my travel makeup bag has always been a struggle for me. I have some travel versions of my favorite items, but I always found myself throwing in my brushes, my favorite everyday makeup and foundation at the last minute before we left. Then I'd get frustrated when we got home, because I'd want my everyday makeup and I'd have to unpack it.

Since B and I travel a lot on the weekends, having a grab and go makeup bag has turned into a necessity for me. Since we can be gone back to back weekends, I needed something that can stay in my suitcase for the week until I pack again and I don't have to unpack to get some of my everyday things.

Enter, my new and improved travel makeup bag filled with everything I need! It's been hard finding travel sizes of my favorite things but here's what I carry with me when we travel. I'm using a Vera Bradley makeup bag that is perfect for it because it has two inside mesh pockets and a large area in the middle where I can put different items (i.e. face, eyes, lips). It also has an outside pocket that holds some q-tips, bobby pins and extra hair ties. 

I feel like I owe this Sephora set I recently purchased the thanks for helping me complete my travel makeup bag. It has some great full size and deluxe size items I've always wanted to try but didn't want to spend the money on for the full size for fear of me not liking it. I've tried out everything in it and absolutely love it!! 

Face

Bare Escentuals Hydrating Bare Minerals Ready Foundation

For a powder foundation with the precision angle brush for application

Benefit Hello Gorgeous foundation

I received this in a small travel size from Sephora-perfect size!

NARS Tinted Moisturizer

Again, a travel size from Sephora. I like to have a variety of foundations with me because I never know what I'll want to wear. 

Too Faced Concealer

The perfect, creamy concealer. I love it! 

Makeup Forever HD Powder

This came in a set from Sephora that I recently purchased.

Eyes

Bobbi Brown Quad Palette

This is a palette that you buy and you can snap out what colors you want. I made mine with a blush, and three eyeshadows: a highlight shade, light brown and a dark brown. This doesn't get a lot of love in my everyday makeup look so I thought it'd be a good basic to have with me when I travel

Sephora Eye Shadow Trio

From the Sephora Super Stars set.

Bobbi Brown Eye Liner

Stila Liquid Liner

Maybelline Mascara

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Lips & Cheeks

Nars Blush in Orgasm

Too Faced Bronzer in Pink Leopard

Bare Escentuals Buxom Lip Gloss

Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss

Laura Mercier Lip Gloss 

Fit Friday: Boot Camp Workout

I recently started a new boot camp that I am loving so far. I typically work out 6 days a week with 3-4 days of weights and doing cardio all 6 days. Sometimes I can get into a "workout rut" and find it hard to get myself to try new exercises.

A few months ago, I had heard about the Best Body Boot Camp, and I knew that the next round of it I wanted to try it out. It's an 8 week boot camp that costs $25. Every two weeks, you're emailed a new workout that includes weights and cardio intervals. You also track your work outs along with two goals you have and if you meet the minimum entries, you're entered to win money each week. There are also a few grand prize winners in the end.

What I love about this online boot camp is a few things...

1. It's helping me to challenge myself. I definitely was sore this week and I actually welcome the soreness. To me, it means I got my butt kicked.

2. There is no "biggest loser". Yes you set goals for it but the goals are things such as stretching more, drinking more water, eating more fruits or going to bed earlier. Currently I'm working on drinking 48 oz of water each day and stretching for 5 mins everyday.

So far I've loved this first week of working out with the boot camp. I'm really looking forward to see what the next workout has in store!

Engagement Photos

About a month ago, B and I had our engagement photos done. I love having my photo taken and I had been looking forward to this day FOREVER! We had them taken on a Sunday afternoon in downtown Omaha, which I ran a half marathon that exact same morning! Despite being tired and sore, I was able to ignore that for the few hours we had our photos taken. We absolutely love the photos. Here's a sneak peek at our favorites!!

I said Yes to the Dress!

About a month after we got engaged, pageant season started in full force. We went on a 3 state run and were gone for 3 straight weeks our west in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. Since we had some down time in between each state, I thought it would be a good idea to hit up a few bridal stores since my mom would be with us.

The day after our Arizona pageant, me, my mom, Breanne (one of my bridesmaids), my pageant bestie Julie and her mom and a few of our other pageant friends, headed to a bridal store in Scottsdale that had been recommended to us by our friends, the Donatis. We all know I was not going to look like an ordinary bride and this place came highly recommended so we decided to try it out.

I thought that with my taste, the dress searching process would be a long one. While picking out dresses to try on that afternoon, nothing really stood out to me. Everything started to look the same on the hanger. Breanne pulled out a couture dress and told me to try it on-I agreed thinking it didn't look like anything spectacular on the hanger.

The first two dresses I tried on were total flops and I started to doubt if I ever would find "the dress". When I put on my third dress (Breanne's pick-the couture dress), I fell in love with it. When I came out, everyone's mouths drop which was was the exact reaction I wanted. I didn't want to take the dress off.

I gave the other dresses I had picked out a try on, but nothing compared to dress #3, the Marchesa gown. I put it on at the end and started crying; a reaction I did not expect at all since I'm used to wearing dresses. I couldn't believe that we found the dress at the first store! I knew that nothing else would compare to this dress because it's so different and so me. Despite being over budget, mom and dad (well we told dad the price of the dress a little bit later ;))  got me the dress of my dreams.

I've been patiently waiting for the dress to come in and I can not wait to put it on for our big day and for everyone else to see it! Lots of people have asked to see it, but I'm keeping it a secret for the wedding day!

Celebrating that I said Yes to the Dress with my pageant besties!!

Stay tuned...

Chicago Rock n Roll Half Marathon

The start line in Grant Park in downtown Chicago.

Last weekend, B Rich and I traveled to Chicago so that I could participate in the Chicago Rock n Roll half marathon. Ever since I got the half marathon itch, I'd been researching fun half marathons throughout the country to run and the Rock n Roll series was on my list. I debated about doing this one since it was in July and we all know how hot and humid the summer months can be in the Midwest. But I decided to bite the bullet and do it since it had an early start time of 6:30 a.m. 

I was unsure of how hot and humid it would be that morning so I decided to run in the lightest colors I could find and opted for no tank top since I was afraid I'd overheat. While it was humid that morning, it wasn't anything unbearable and didn't seem too bad.

Before the race..ready to head into my corral.

I was originally scheduled to start in the 22nd corral but moved up to the 14th corral. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to finish, and I was also worried if I started later that the heat and humidity would be too much for me to handle.

The route took us all around downtown Chicago. I ran most of the first 5 miles, and was surprised when my first few miles were between 7-9 minute miles. I wasn't pushing myself and I kept telling myself to pace myself because of the heat. Around mile 5.5, my face started to feel extremely warm. I did carry a water bottle with me but I started to worry how much hotter I would get. Luckily, starting at mile 5 throughout the rest of the race, the medical tents had pools of ice and sponges that they were passing out. Anytime I saw the ice, I'd take some and put it on my wrists and neck and throw the rest down my bra or shorts. That really helped to cool me down and would give me an extra pep in my step to keep me going. 

I told B that I would text him around mile 10 so he'd have enough time to walk down to the finish line to meet me. I was going at a good pace and figured it wold take me another 30 minutes to finish. I was super excited because although I didn't have a goal time in mind, I was going to finish around 2:15 which is great to me since it was so hot outside.

Well, I started to realize as I was running south that I seemed farther than 3 miles away from the finish line. Pretty soon my app told me I had completed 13.1 miles in 2:19 and I wasn't at the finish line! I was a little frustrated and started to wonder if this was a full marathon. I kept pushing on and the race ended around 14.5 miles. I'm not sure if my GPS on my phone was off, but I Google mapped the course and it said it was 14.5 as well. 

My final time (for the 14.5 miles) was 2:35. I was proud of myself for finishing since I started to walk a lot after that 13.1 mile mark. 

As always, I was super sore afterwards and it was quite the struggle trying to stand the past 2 days. I did get some severely bruised toe nails, one of which I had to go to urgent care for this morning. It was super swollen and had a major blood blister underneath it. I was worried it would burst on its own and didn't want it to get infected so off to the doctor I went. He said he'd never seen anything like that before! I decided to let him cauterize the nail and pop the blister. It wasn't painful but it took the pressure and pain off the toe so it doesn't hurt to walk anymore thank goodness.

Overall, the race was fun. Around mile 6 I actually started to have fun..although I think that's because that's the point I couldn't feel my legs anymore. The streets were lined with tons of people with lots of inspiring signs which really help to motivate you. There are also bands at each mile marker too which made it fun as well.

Taking a few days off from running but then I'm up and training again for the Omaha half marathon at the end of September. I also just signed up for the Disney Princess half marathon in Walt Disney World in February! I'm really excited to do that one. 

 Rock n Roll stats

5k 33: 47

10k 1:11:19

10 miles 1:57:31

Pace 11:54

Chip time: 2:35:53

Overall place: 10,368 out of 14,881

Division: 1486 out of 2207

Gender: 5626 our of 8998

Nike app time

13.1 miles 2:19:07

10k 59:02

And if you give a girl a ring....

Well..it FINALLY happened! B Rich and I are engaged. 8 years ago we met..dated almost 6 years, 2 of which were long distance and he finally popped the question. I couldn't be happier or more exciting that I have my prince charming!

Having been together so long, we often would get ask "when are you guys getting married?" Although we had talked about it before, I never had any clue of when, where or how he would ask me. I was hoping it would be this year sometime, but I thought that last year too. Although I've always been anxious to get engaged to B and plan a wedding, I knew it would happen when it was meant to be whether it was now or in 10 years.

So for all those wondering, here's what happened..

B had to get some work done on Saturday morning and in the afternoon when I got home from working out and doing errands he called me. He told me his boss had told him he had been working a lot lately and that B should take me out to a nice dinner. I wasn't going to complain because that meant I didn't have to cook dinner..although I actually did have dinner planned all set and ready to go!

All afternoon B kept complaining about how it was supposed to rain and I said he didn't need to worry since we'd be inside, but he kept saying he was worried about hail on his car. Around 5 p.m. we got ready to head to dinner. B helped me pick out what dress to wear and he was a bit dressier than normal which I thought was a bit odd, but this is the boy who wears a tie everyday no matter what so I didn't really think anything of it.

So we went downtown to my favorite steakhouse called Sullivan's (they have macaroni and cheese that is to die for!) We had a fabulous dinner and I was so full, and so tired from my workout earlier in the day, that I just wanted to go home and go to bed. And let's be honest, I really wanted dessert with my dinner, but B told me he was too full. Little did I know he was on a time crunch for us to get outside....

We walked outside at about 8:45 pm and it was soaking wet outside. We had some storms and it  poured while we were inside at dinner. I walked out the door, put up the umbrella and started to walk towards the car. I was tired and just wanted to get home before it stormed again.

B tells me to stop and he tells me he has a surprise for me. I said "What?" and he pointed to the corner where a carriage was turning onto the street. He said we were going to go on a carriage ride around downtown. Me, being completely and utterly clueless as to what's going on, said "What? why are we going on a carriage ride? It's going to rain." He told me he wanted to go on a carriage ride like we did the first time I ever came to Omaha. Again, I had not a clue as to what was going on. I thought this was just a nice date together since we rarely have time to go out and do fun things together.

As the carriage was pulling up to us, the rain sprinkles got more numerous and it started to rain heavier. Thunder and lightening came but the driver said they still operate in rain. The carriage was covered but as we got in and pulled away, it started to pour....like cats and dogs.

Despite the cover on top, with the wind blowing we both started to get wet so I put the umbrella up so we wouldn't get more wet. My dress was soaked, B's pants were soaked, and my hair was a hot mess. We both were freezing so we shivered and cuddled close to stay warm. As it started to pour even harder, I'm thinking to myself let's just go home. At this point I just wanted to get out of the carriage and go home and I was even more mad that my Louis purse was totally soaked!

The carriage took us past B's office and I asked him if we could stop and just go in to warm up and he said well if you want to we can. As much as I wanted to I said no that we could keep going. I knew this took some effort to plan a nice night out and said no, that we could keep going.

The rain started to stop and a few minutes later the carriage stopped near Heartland of America park. All of a sudden the horse started to go crazy and I looked at B and asked him what was going on. B got up and out of the carriage and picked up a bubble wrapped package from the driver. As he came back to sit down, I'm thinking to myself "why is he giving me a plaque? is this a NAM portfolio award?"

He handed it to me and it was a hardcover book entitled "If you give a girl a ring." It had all pictures of us on it and I could tell it was supposed to be like my favorite children's book "If you give a mouse a cookie." Obviously I figured out what was going on...I read the book and when I was done looked at him.......and he says oh you weren't supposed to be done yet!

Apparently the carriage had stopped in the wrong place and B was under the impression that we were going to stay there for a bit so that he could get out, get down on one knee and propose. Once we had started moving after he gave me the book, he thought we were going to another spot in the park so he was waiting to get out. In the end, it turned out we couldn't stop because the horse was going crazy from being scared of the thunderstorm.

I read the book again (without tears in my eyes) and when I was done B told me we were supposed to stop somewhere else but wasn't sure where the driver was taking us. Turns out we were on our way back to the restaurant. When B realized his plan wasn't going to work, he said to me "I have something to ask you but I need to get down on one knee but I can't do that in here right now...and um, it's wet outside"

I proceed to say "Ohhh...ok" and we saw there in awkward silence as I wondered what the ring looked like!

Then B says to me "Should I ask her to stop here?" and I said "No, you can do it when we stop." But then a few seconds went by and I finally said "Well you can just ask me now..I want to see what's in the box!"

Finally (after what seemed like forever...well almost 6 years forever), B pulled out the ring, and asked me to marry him. When he opened the box I yelled "holy s***" and started sobbing like I had won a pageant. We hugged, he put the ring on my finger and I began to quiz him on how he did all of this without me knowing.

Our engagement didn't exactly go as he had planned but it still was perfect. Obviously the rain was a huge bummer but it makes for a fun story now. In the end, I got a ring more beautiful than I ever imagined and I'm finally engaged to the man of my dreams. I couldn't be happier!

*side not about my favorite book "If you give a mouse a cookie" Isn't it ironic that my very first onstage pageant question was why I loved that book. And years later, I meet my husband to be at a pageant and he proposes to me with his own version of the book. Funny how life works out. And I must say, it is the cutest book in the whole world. I can't believe how much time and effort he put into it.

Stay tuned for chapter 2 of our story. I can't wait to update my blog more often with all of our fabulous wedding plans!

Chicago Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Well this week officially kicked off my half marathon training. On July 22, I'm running the Chicago Rock n' Roll Half Marathon.  I'm super excited to run this for a few reasons:

• I love Chicago and am looking forward to spending the weekend there with B.
• Every mile marker has bands playing at it. That'll be some good motivation to keep me going.
• I have a few friends who are running it and am anxious to see them and run along with them!

This will be my second half marathon and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about how hot it will be in July. We've already been having unseasonably warm weather so who knows what it will be like mid-July. That was the main reason why I didn't want to run it since I absolutely hate humidity. However, the race does start at 6:30 a.m. so I figured it *hopefully* won't be too bad. 

I've already told myself I don't care how long it takes me to run this one. If it's hot and humid, I'll take my time and take walking breaks as I need them. Plus this is a much bigger race than the Omaha Half Marathon, so I don't know how I'll do dodging around all these people.

Since the race is about 12 weeks away, I started my half marathon training this week and here's what my week looks like:

• Sunday: Cross training and full body weights
• Monday: 2 mile run + arms
• Tuesday: 3.5 mile run
• Wednesday: 2 mile run + legs
• Thursday: cross training + full body
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 5 or 6 mile run

I've been trying to do my runs outside as much as I can and my time is improving each time which I'm really proud of. One thing that is really helping me get into training is my FitBit. I had seen this on Pinterest and was really interested in it. It's basically a fancy pedometer. It counts how many steps you walk everyday, stairs climbed, calorie burned, miles walked and you can wear it in a wristband at night while you sleep. When you're asleep, it tracks how long you were in bed, how long it took you to fall asleep, how long you were asleep and how many times you woke up.

My mom and dad bought me one and mailed it to me and I was so anxious to start using it. You really have no idea how many (or not so many) steps you take in a day. I was surprised at how many I take while in the house and how little I take when I'm at work. You're supposed to aim to have 10,000 steps a day and so far I've made sure to hit that each day because otherwise I feel guilty! I didn't think this little thing would have that effect on me but it does! I'll do a post at the end of the week with my stats from this week....!

On the hunt for the perfect foundation

Lately I've been on the hunt for the perfect foundation for my skin. When I go to work, I don't wear a ton of makeup, but I need foundation to even out my skin tone. Since I'm at a desk all day and don't want to be overly made up, I've always tended to choose lighter foundations. However, the problem I've realized is that throughout the day it wears off and my skin looks very red and uneven. So, I started to look around and now I'm on the hunt for the best foundation for my skin.

I decided to start looking around in my own collection of makeup to see what I had been neglecting to use.  Since I have sensitive skin, I started to use my Bobbi Brown Illuminating Skin Compact Foundation. While I liked the feel of this powder, it felt like it was just a pressed powder I was putting on my face and therefore it doesn't have much staying power.

I decided to try a few foundations that I had been hearing a lot about. One is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation. I heard this lasted 12 hours and it was good for oily skin so I gave it a try. While I wasn't a fan of the texture of it (very clay like), it did have good staying power. It's a full coverage foundation but doesn't feel like it, and my skin stayed red-free all day. My only issues with this foundation were that it made my skin feel very clammy and I looked extremely pale with it. Granted I have fair skin but I think the color washed me out even more. I ended up returning this foundation but I want to give it a try when I have a tan-then I might like it a little better.

Another one I decided to try was the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Foundation. I've never tried drugstore foundation before but had heard rave reviews about this one. I like the eraser top on it because it helps distribute just enough product. It's a nice, light foundation but I still get red throughout the day. I have almost finished one tube of it and will repurchase it since it's a) inexpensive b) a good foundation that's easy to apply on those days you need to get your makeup done fast.

I also did buy a Laura Mercier foundation but I haven't worn it enough to determine if I like it or not.

One of my favorites that I keep coming back to is my Bobbi Brown Skin foundation. It stays fairly well on my oily skin but I still get that redness throughout the day. I'll probably always keep this in my collection because it feels good on my skin and looks natural.

I still have my BareMinerals still and am thinking about going back to that for awhile. I don't know why I stopped using it in the first place but maybe once I start to use it again it'll grow on me. Now that summer is almost here I'm thinking my skin might like the break from liquid foundation for awhile.

There are some other foundations I'd like to try as well including a new one from Benefit, and two from Make Up For Ever including their HD foundation and the matte velvet plus. I'm also looking into another mineral foundation which is the Smashbox Halo Hydrating Powder.

Any of you have any recommendations for a foundation you love?

BareMinerals foundation
$28 - macys.com

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics foundation
$42 - cusp.com

Tarte makeup
$38 - drugstore.com

Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer
$42 - bloomingdales.com

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics foundation
$46 - bloomingdales.com

March 13 Fashion: piece of jewelry

aquamarine diamond ring from bf for 5 year anniversary

Lovely Finds: Marley Lilly

Last year I found this fabulous site called Marley Lilly. It has all sorts of adorable items that come monogrammed and I absolutely adore monograms. Here are two items I got for my birthday last year that I adore...

Both my scarf and tumbler have two of my favorite things, pink and animal print! Throughout the past year I have become obsessed with tumblers. They make my water look so festive! (On a sad note, I dropped my tumbler earlier this year and had so use some E6000 glue to get the top back in working order. It looks ok to the naked eye but hey at least I was able to save it!)

And I love wearing this scarf in the winter; it adds some sass to whatever sweater I am wearing! Leopard is my favorite thing ever and I find any chance I can to wear it.

Check out their website MarleyLilly.com. They have anything imaginable and what doesn't look cute with a monogram?!

Lilly Pulitzer Giveaway at Just Another Preppy Shopaholic

Hey all you shopaholics that love Lilly Pulitzer, check out this fabulous giveaway below!!

http://www.justanotherpreppyshopaholic.blogspot.com/2012/03/another-giveaway.html?m=1

Instagram March Fashion Madness-Lipstick Love

I decided to jump on this Instagram Photo Challenge. Instead of the normal 30 day one, I'm starting out with a fashion related one called March Fashion Madness. Today is my favorite lipstick which is MAC Viva Glam V.

Workout Wednesday: Zumba

I recently discovered Zumba and I absolutely love it!! I'll be honest, I would see women working out in the group exercise room during Zumba and it didn't look like that hard of a work out. When I work out, I want to sweat..that to me means I had a good work out.

I never really thought about doing Zumba until one Saturday morning. I had just gotten to the gym and was not really in the mood to work out and decided to try out Zumba and see what it was about. WOW! I not only left sweaty but I was so sore the next day. I did not expect that to happen.

The dancer in me loves the class because I love learning choreography. Every class I've been to it has been different moves which I love..it helps keep me on my toes! The class never stops too so it's fantastic cardio.

My sister gave me the Wii Zumba game for Christmas and I play it all the time. It's nice to have the game now because I don't always want to battle the New Year's resolution people at the gym after work.

How many of you Zumba?

My Fitness Pal

One of my goals for the New Year was to start eating a little bit healthier. I'd like to think I can eat like a 15 year old boy all the time, but I know one day it might all catch up to me, and I'd rather not end up on the Biggest Loser one day.

Even though I work out 6 times a week, I still think that gives me an invitation to eat whatever I want. This year I'm trying to cut back on the carbs and sweets I eat. If I could, I would live off of mashed potatoes and cupcakes. Instead of stuffing my face with the bad stuff, I'm trying to replace it with more fruits and veggies. It's been a bit of a struggle but I'm slowly, but surely, making progress. 

One thing I've never done and I know I should be doing is counting my calories. I've always heard that if you write down your daily calories, you'll learn to eat better. Well, at the start of the month, both B and I started to use the My Fitness Pal app on our phones. Basically you input your weight, how much weight you want to lose, your workout activity and your daily activity level. Then you'll find out how many calories a day you can eat based on those fields. Each day you put in what you're eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks as well as putting in your daily workout (which means you get more calories to eat for the day). 

I learned pretty fast that I'm eating a bit more than I should so I've been slowly learning how to eat better portion sizes with the help of this app. The number of calories I should be having per day don't take me very far! I've had some afternoons where my tummy is growling at me!! And it's amazing to find out the number of calories in items. For instance, I wanted to splurge this past weekend while watching Miss America so I really wanted to get a piece of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. After finding out the piece had 1143 CALORIES, I said no and went for a 350 cal cupcake instead. 

The big thing I've learned so far is how to eat in smaller portions. Normally I would clear my plate if we went out to dinner but now I know I should probably only eat half of it since portions have grown so much especially at restaurants. 

I don't know how long we'll keep up with counting our calories but it's been good for us both so far. How many of you count calories? Do you find it helpful? 

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a safe and fabulous New Year! Mr. B and I aren't fans of New Year's so we spent the night at home cuddled on the couch with our favorite pup!

As always, I've made some New Year's resolutions and I'm really going to try to stick to them this year. Here are a few things I'm hoping to get accomplished in 2012.

• Read more!
• When I was younger one of my most favorite things to do was read. Once college started, reading for fun went right down the drain. I'm hoping to read at least one book per month. I think if I get into the routine of reading before I go to bed, that might bring back my interest in it. 
• Save more money
• If it were up to me, I'd go shopping every day and always have a new outfit to wear. As realistic as I'd like to make that to be, I probably should save more and spend less. We'll see how well I actually do on this one. 
• Working out more
• Lately I fell off the working out bandwagon. Waking up at 5 am can be super hard to get to the gym but I know I just need to get back into my daily routine. Along with working out, I'll be running two half marathons later this year which I'm anxious about. I also have a goal to eat less sweets. I love love love to bake and if it were up to me, I'd eat dessert after EVERY meal. I'm really trying to cut back on this habit! I also want to start getting back into yoga. I used to go once a week at my gym, but they cancelled the class I used to go to and their other classes just don't fit my schedule. I have a few yoga DVD's so I really want to force myself to do it at least once a week. I know it'll be good for my flexibility and stretching, especially with my half marathon training.

What are your New Year's goals?!

A few of my favorite things....

I wanted to start a new lil mini series about some of my new favorite things. One of those would be the Clarisonic Mia that I got for Christmas from my parents. I asked for the Mia because it's smaller than the other Clarisonic (the name escapes me right now..I think it's the Clarisonic Plus?!) Anywhos, the larger Clarisonic is meant for exfoliation your whole body in addition to your face. I'd rather not use something on my body and face, just doesn't seem sanitary to me. Plus, with the smaller one, since I travel a fair amount this was the perfect size. It comes with a charger, traveling case, Philosophy Purity face wash and two brush heads.

I've only been using it a week but have noticed a HUGE difference in my skin. My face looks much brighter than before and my nose (which always has clogged pores) has completely cleared up. I'm anxious to see how this will help with the breakouts I get on my face. Every few weeks or so, I breakout and get a few pimples and I'm hoping this might be the solution to my problem.

It helps that it's in leopard too..I mean who wouldn't want to clean their face with something that has leopard on it?!

Keep checking back over the next week or so..I'll be sharing some of my other favorite things and the things Santa brought me too!