Thursday, March 5, 2015

FASHION: Stitch fix review// fixes 1 & 2


Have you ever heard of stitch fix? It's a subscription service for clothing. You create a profile, and they handpick 5 items for you. It's $20 a month for a styling fee, but you get to use that money towards any item(s) you want to keep each month. Then, you send back what you don't want to keep. Simple as that! No braving the store to try on 15 different shirts til you find one that fits...


I love this service sooo much! It's my one splurge a month! 

It's like Christmas morning when that box appears on my front porch- so much anticipation of what's inside!

For fix #1, I created a pin board specifically for stitch fix with all the clothing I specifically didn't like. I got 5 items based on what I didn't like...

I got the scarf, which was just too chunky for me, and the striped shirt. I kept this shirt- so comfy and a pop of color!
I got this teal shirt too, which I absolutely love!!! ❤️❤️❤️ If you couldn't guess, I kept this shirt too! 
These last two I sent back. They were cute, but they just weren't right for me. 
I filled out a questionnaire about each item they sent me, and why it was or wasn't right for me. My first stylist was good, but I wanted to see if another stylist got my style more- so I didn't request the same one.


For fix #2, I got a different stylist, and boy, she hit the nail on the head. I loved every single item! With that said, I only kept two for financial reasons. Here are the pieces I got:
The Jean jacket and long sweater, dress, arrow shirt, and striped shirt all came in this fix. I ended up just keeping the sweater and the dress. Let me just say- I loved the dress so much that I refused to get out of it!!
 
I have been so pleased with my two fixes so far, and I can't wait to get my next fix at the end of this month!


https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/4601691

Sunday, March 1, 2015

DIET: Day 7// Progress

 After 6 days in the attack phase, I get to move on to the cruise phase! I have seriously never craved a vegetable this much in my entire life! LOL!

WEIGH IN: I'm down to 163.4 pounds. That's 6 pounds in 6 days!

HOW I'M FEELING: I feel amazing! As much as I still crave some of my favorite foods, I have this amazing sense of confidence to get down to my target weight! I know that I can do this for a prolonged period of time (113 more days!)

No progress pics to share today, but they will be coming in about a week. :)

PHOTO JOURNEY: Day 1//Day 4

Thursday, February 26, 2015

HAIR: Things I Love Thursday

1. This ombre' seriously makes me want my copper ombre' back! Oh my gosh it's so gorgeous!


2. This hair tutorial is totally awesome! So simple, but a nice twist to the normal pony!


3. Apparently, my recent obsession is auburn hair again... gorgeous! I love the little blonde peekaboos!


4. This flower updo! oh my gahhh! Soooo lovely!






5. When I eventually go back to my natural hair color, I'd love to spice it up with lowlites like these!


What are your current hair obsessions?

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

DIET: Day 4 // Progress and Pics



I finally got a floor length mirror today, so I decided to take some full body pics. It's a little easier to track progress this way!

WEIGH IN: I stepped on the scale today for the first time since starting this diet, and guess what! 166.0 POUNDS! That's 3.4 pounds lost in 3 days! Heck yes- I'll take that!

HOW IM FEELING: Thank goodness I'm finally at Day 4! The hunger pains are gone, and I've noticed a boost in energy and mood. 

GOOD EATS: I'm not a big egg person, so all I've been eating is those lean meats. (It's gotten a little boring too quickly!) This morning, I added non-fat Greek yogurt to the mix! I added just a little vanilla extract and stevia for flavor, and I'm so glad I did! It really hit the spot!

I can't believe I only have two more days in phase 1! I'll weigh myself again on Friday and post an update! I'm hoping for another 3 pounds, so we shall see! :)

Monday, February 23, 2015

SCRAPBOOKING: Road Trip layout

It feels so good to scrapbook again! It's been at least a year and a few hundred pictures since I sat down to scrapbook! Here's the layout I created: 


What do you think? 

Dan and I road-tripped it last month to spend time with my parents in Pigeon Forge. 

There's a huge scrapbook store in Sevierville that we always stop to visit when we go there. I picked up plenty of paper and embellishments to scrapbook our trip!

I can't wait to capture the rest of our trip in scrapbooking layouts and share them with you!

Sunday, February 22, 2015

DIET: Yes, I can Dukan!


A friend recently shared with me about her experience with the Dukan Diet. I had never heard of it, but I was willing to find out more. It turns out she's lost 30 pounds by following this diet so far in the past several months! That's amazing, especially after getting off track during the holidays! She's over halfway to her target weight, and more motivated than ever.

You can go the Dukan Diet website and plug in your information to find what they consider your target weight. Mine was a little higher than the goal weight I had in my mind. Let's be honest- most of us have that lucky number 125 in our minds for our goal weight! I know I did. The target weight the website computed for me was 132.2 pounds, which I think is a healthy goal for me.

You see- the lowest I remember ever weighing is 131 pounds, never in the 120's. That was when I was 18 years old and ate whatever the heck I wanted. As long as I stayed active, I didn't have to worry about exercising either.

Fast-forward eight years, and my metabolism has majorly slowed down! I continued on the path of eating whatever the heck I wanted, and my activity level has slowed down too. I found myself at my heaviest of 180 pounds.

I've had intense workouts at the gym, and I have managed to lose about 10 pounds. Just going to the gym and "trying to eat better" is just not cutting it anymore. I've tried counting calories, but I just can't seem to stay under a certain amount of calories. I feel hungry, overeat, and then give up. It's a frustrating cycle! I knew I needed something more than that.

Enter the Dukan Diet. ;) The program is broken down into 4 different phases. The weight loss happens in the first two phases, so they are clearly the most challenging and most restrictive. When you calculate your target weight on the website, it also gives you a recommendation of how long you should continue with each phase and a date of when you should reach your target weight.

The website recommended I stay in Phase 1 (the attack phase) for 6 days and in Phase 2 (the cruise phase) for 114 days. Phase 1 is all about pure protein- think lean meats and fish! I do love that this diet is restrictive and yet not restrictive. You are given a list of 63 foods you can have, but you can have as much as you want of them! Phase 2 is about adding vegetables to your diet. You alternate days between pure protein and proteins & vegetables.

There's a book that you can follow that explains the whole diet in detail. I use Dukan Diet: Made Easy as a reference for myself. I think it's easier to follow than the original. I think they sell for $20 at the bookstore if you want to have a tangible copy. I downloaded mine on my iphone for $10.99- that way I always have it with me as a reference.

I think it's super important to take before pictures. The scale doesn't move sometimes, but you can definitely see your progress in pictures. Here are my before pics at 169.4 pounds:


And so it begins...

I started Phase 1 yesterday, and it's already been tough! I have the biggest sweet tooth, and I got to watch my uncle eat all of my girl scout cookies. He didn't mind at all! ;)  Thank goodness that I'm still able to enjoy coffee with skim milk and splenda! Y'all, I don't know if I'd be able to make it through phase 1 without the coffee to help out my sweet tooth. I know this is going to bring results if I'm able to stay with it!