Smoothie Love

Do you drink smoothies? I’m a huge fan of making them for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up. Here are a couple of my favorite creations:

Green Machine: This baby is filled with spinach but also completely loaded with protein. What’s better is that all you taste is the creamy goodness from the banana and almond milk and the tart, sweet raspberries. 

• 1 banana
• Vanilla Almond Milk (about 3/4 cup)
• Plain Greek Yogurt (I like to use a container of plain chobani)
• Raspberries (1/2-1 cup)
• Spinach (I fill the rest of the blender with as much as it can handle!) 

Depending on how much of each ingredient you use this bad boy tops out at about 260 calories and 21 grams of protein! 

 

 

Body Image Issues

As a woman, I am destined to have issues with my body. I read Vogue, InStyle, Shape, Fitness, and Self. All of these lovely magazines are plastered with beautiful, thin women with perfect hair and teeth and tans. I log onto pinterest and am bombarded with “fitspo” and “thinspo”. While I understand that to sell products it is important to have beautiful people modeling, America has such an obsession with “skinny” sometimes it’s sickening. 

I was watching 90210 (guilty pleasure) on Netflix last night when I couldn’t sleep and as much as I enjoy the show I was getting pretty worked up. I looked at how thin those girls were and I became filled with emotions. Anger, worry, jealousy, sadness, disgust. You name it, these stick thin actresses made me feel it.

Anger: “Why are they so skinny and why am I… not?!” Worry: “Do they eat? Do young girls watch this show and now worry about their weight?” Jealousy: “I wish I was that thin.” Sadness: “I’ll never be thin.” Disgust: “Ugh, It’s 2 am and now I’m jealous, sad, and upset!”

I know that it is just a TV show and these young women are actresses, and therefore make a living because of their looks. However, I also came to a conclusion. I looked at the cars they were driving on the show, and the affairs their parents were having, and the overall drama that was occurring in each episode and a lightbulb came on. None of this is real! (You’re laughing at me saying, “OBVIOUSLY!”). But it is all fake, fake, fake. This stuff doesn’t happen in real life. This is all a production. 

If I can grasp the idea that the drama and the money and the clothes are all things that typical teenagers don’t have, why can’t I grasp the idea that typical teenagers don’t have their bodies either? I thought about this for a while. No these girls are not fake, but the expectations are unrealistic just like much of the show! We don’t have to look like actresses. We have to be ourselves!!! So much easier said than done, but take a moment to think about how happy you are just having some popcorn and watching the drama unfold on Netflix with your girlfriends rather than waking up at 4 am to kill it in the gym and film for 14 hours and then eat a salad. 

Everything in moderation, right?!

I dislike my body A LOT some days. But the key here is to accept the fact that maybe your body doesn’t rival that of a Victoria’s Secret model but you are blessed in many ways and Victoria’s Secret models aren’t NORMAL! YOU ARE!

Bootys!

I decided to start the Brazilian Butt Lift today. Have any of you heard of it? Tried it?

I have never been a big fan of my butt. Plain and simple. It’s just a butt, nothing special but nothing obscene. However, I do have this strong dislike of my inner thighs. Whenever I wear tight workout pants I feel pudgy. I don’t like it one bit. I don’t want to lose a ton of weight, but I’d like to tone up. And my booty is something I have never really put any extra effort into. I talked to a friend of mine a couple weeks ago and she said she had amazing results from BBL. She said it really toned her inner thighs and that it was an extremely fun workout! I was sold.

I’m about to do the first workout so I’ll report back! Have a happy labor day! Any fun workouts planned?

Pre-Moving Tips Part #1

I’m moving in a month and I’ve been running around like a crazy person trying to get things done. I’m trying my best to simply my life and downsize but it’s much easier said then done. I’ve compiled some tips that I’ve found helpful and I hope you will too! Do you have any moving tips you can share?

It’s been said many times, many ways- CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSET! This has been really hard for me. I’ve been having a lot of anxiety of what to get rid of and what to keep. I do have some tips for you to make this process a little bit easier.

1. Organize. I’m moving the first week of October so this was a little challenging for me. I couldn’t necessarily pack just winter things, I’ll need fall as well some early fall things like sandals and lightweight items. I started with extremes: very summery and very wintery. Then I went through the winter items. I made sure I had matches to things like gloves and I threw out anything that wasn’t in great shape. Things that I didn’t wear much last season or that don’t fit but were in good condition got put in Pile #1 and things that I still very much like and still fit were put in Pile #2. I repeated this step for very summery items also.
2. Make some cash-ola if you can-ola. I’ve been obsessively putting things up for sale on ebay. It takes time and effort but it’s really worth it. I sold a ton of things from Pile #1 and what I didn’t sell I either took to a consignment shop or donated. We have Vietnam Vets actually come to our house to pick up our items to donate. It’s so helpful!
3. The key to a girl’s heart is through her sole. I have way too many shoes. In fact I will post a picture so you can see just how many. Shoes take up a lot of room when you are packing. I forced myself to get rid of a few pairs that I haven’t worn in a while. Tears were shed.
4. Project Repat. I purchased a groupon for Project Repat which is a company that takes your old t-shirts and upcycles them into things like blankets. I sent in 9 of my old t-shirts and cannot wait to see the finished product! Check out their website: http://www.projectrepat.org/

Random Little Tidbits:

1. Change is good. If you have a bunch of spare change lying around, get it to your bank! Do not take it to a machine that will charge you a percentage. Again, this is one of those things that takes some time and effort, but pop on Netflix and roll your pennies!
2. Reading is Power. I love to read. But I know that moving books is going to be a hassle so I decided to get rid of what I can. Half Price Books is a great option. You don’t get a ton of money for your books but it’s a win-win because you’re downsizing and cashing in a bit.

 

This is just the beginning. Many, many more tips coming your way soon! And just so you know, these tips are not just helpful for moving, but also for seasons changing and spring cleaning time!

Moving

I’ve lived in Ohio for 22 1/2 years. Quite a long time to be in one place in my opinion. I’ve always imagined myself living somewhere fabulous like NYC and in fact I came very close to doing just that a couple years ago, but I think I would get swallowed alive in a city that big. I love the Midwest, I really do, but for awhile I have just had this desire to experience something new. I spent hours online researching different cities and states and anything I could google! And then, last spring, I got an opportunity to visit Colorado and I absolutely fell in love. I had always heard amazing things about the state, but the feeling I got when I was there was incredible. I love how active the people are and how everything is so “outdoorsy”. You can hike, bike, ski, swim, run, and visit a hundred parks. This is the kind of fitness I adore. I’m not all about killin’ it at the gym, but I’ll do it. However, I love outdoor activities that are fun and just happen to provide me with a workout as well. Score!

Anyways, long story short I decided to do it. I’m in the process of packing up my life and moving across the country. In October of 2012 I will officially be a resident of Colorado and I couldn’t be more excited. Things truly fell into place in an amazing way and I am thrilled. I thought my parents would flip out but actually my dad provided me with a phrase that motivated me more than ever: “You are 22 years old. When else are you going to be able to do something like this? What are you waiting for?!”

Statement Nails

I’m so obsessed with statement nails lately I cannot stand it. However, I’m have an addiction to biting my nails (gross, I know) and I rarely do anything fun with my own. Thankfully, I have a little 4 year old diva of a niece to live vicariously through!

Welcome!

Wow! I am so excited to be starting this journey. Every single time I read a blog (which is very often!) I think to myself how much I would enjoy blogging! When I asked myself what I would blog about my initial response is always the same: fitness. I have a strange relationship with fitness and it is something I want to share. However, fitness is not my passion. That my friends, would be fashion. After months of thinking about starting a blog, I decided to bite the bullet and do it! Who says I can’t write about two things I love even if they don’t exactly “mesh”? I hope that you enjoy reading my blog and join in on the conversation! Let me just say.. welcome!