Chop Chop

If you ask me what my best feature is I will always say my hair. I can toss it over my shoulder like a cape or wear it close to my face like a human-grown shield. It can be braided, knotted, twisted, curled, tied up or down; how I wear it tells the world who I am for the day.

When I was younger I used to experiment with all kinds of fun cuts and styles until a tragic bangs mishap had me growing it out forever. Since then I always get super nervous when cutting my hair. A knot forms in the pit of my stomach at the mere thought of any of my hair ending up on the salon room floor.

Lately, however, my favorite feature has really gotten on my nerves. It grows faster than weeds and has become so heavy that it actually gives me a headache if it's up for more than a couple hours - super annoying! Ponytails, buns, braids, they all start to hurt after a while and my hair ends up down whether I want it to be that way or not. So I finally sucked it up and called the salon.

The mermaid hair in all its glory

This time, however, it had gotten soooooo long that I was almost looking forward to giving it up...well, more than usual, I was still a lil' shaky about the whole thing.

Now I love my mermaid hair, I really do, but it was past the point of making me look like a Disney princess and pushing unkempt, which is not at all what I was going for with my look. So, as anyone who is panicking about the future of their head does, I pulled together an almost ridiculous number of photos that looked like the hair cut I wanted. And before my truly beloved stylist got her hands anywhere near me I made her look through the whole thing to be sure she understood.

Mermaid hair is in the rear view mirror

Lucky for me, she nailed it! Eight inches shorter and I couldn't be happier with my decision!



Top: American Eagle
Skirt: Lilly Pulitzer

Treat Thyself

The world is a pretty zany, fast-paced place. As Ferris Bueler says, "If you don't slow down, you might miss it." With everything moving at the speed of light all around you it's easy to get caught up in everything and forget to take time out for yourself. You wake up early to squeeze in a run before work, come home exhausted after a long day, have dinner, and crash on the sofa until it's time to fall into bed. Whether you closed the deal, won the case, sold the house, taught a room full of students, fixed a car, wrote code, cleaned floors, edited reports, chased your toddler around the living room, suffered through customer service phone calls, or anything in between it's safe to say you had a long day.

You eat right (mostly, pizza last week was more or less necessary), you get enough sleep (that nap during your lunch break totally makes up for the hours you lost last night), you exercise regularly (well, you meant to, but things keep coming up, once a week isn't bad, right?) and yet something is totally draining you.

Even when you come home from vacation you feel the need to take a day or two off to recover before getting back to regular life.

So, please, for all our sakes, take some time for yourself. Pour yourself a glass of something and curl up with that magazine you've been meaning to read since it arrived in your mailbox two weeks ago. Take your dinner on the patio like you've been meaning to all summer before the weather gets too cold. Meet up with the friends you love but haven't seen in weeks. Go out for a hike or a bike or a run in a beautiful place. Take a picnic to the beach, or park, or backyard. Make your favorite meal for the first time in forever. Hire a babysitter and go do that thing you keep wanting to do. 

Whatever you end up doing, give yourself a couple hours to enjoy yourself. To do what you love or try something new. You'll be glad you did, I guarantee it.

Friday Funday

Today was all about strengthening my poor back and sculpting my biceps. One of the most important days when it comes to healing myself from the inside out. Core strength is vital to just about everything we do and a weak back means lots of pain if I'm standing for long hours at work or trying to race again. I also added in plenty of cardio since it's my favorite!

Skirt Chaser

Thursday is Cross Training Day!!! Can you tell I'm excited?

With the temps in the mid-80s this week the runs have been brutal! I was glad for a change of pace and more air conditioning action.
I also love that this is an outfit I can wear to the grocery store or out running other errands and still look cute rather than the rest of my "gym only" clothes

Top: Nike
Skort: Athleta
Shoes: New Balance 890v4
Socks: Thorlo

Pretty in Pink

Me immediately after completing my Leg Day workout: "Ugh, everything hurts! Why does everything hurt?!"
Me the day after Leg Day: "Yep, this is the end. Just leave me here to die."
Me two days after Leg Day: "It's Leg Day again?! Alright, let's do this!"

As you can probably tell, today was the second leg day of the week and I was struggling! Told my friend they felt like they were falling off earlier this week but I've brought it upon myself for not training with better consistency this summer. I'm just looking forward to the time when all this weight training starts paying off and my runs get faster as the weather cools off (it's been in the mid 80s all week)!

Today I broke out one of my favorite color combos: Pink and Grey! Something about them just gives the appearance of girly, but with a little bit of an edge. Sweet as a flower, tough as steel.

Tank: American Eagle
Shorts: Lululemon
Shoes: Nike
Bra: Athletic Essentials
Socks: Thorlo

Blue Belle

Today I  worked out Chest and Triceps! My legs were killing me from the day before so I took it slow on the run but I was happy to feel the burn and know my time spent in the gym is working. This year I plan on getting more consistent weight training to ward off the runners' knee that took me out last September. Fingers crossed!

Top: Lululemon
Shorts: Marika Tek
Shoes: New Balance 890v4
Socks: Thorlo

Purple Peril

Today's workout is all about the legs and abs! I'm definitely already feeling it and I know everything is gonna be sore tomorrow, too! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Shirt: C9 for Target
Tights: Under Armour
Bra: Champion
Socks: Ralph Lauren Sport
Shoes: Nike

Green Machine

Today's workout was all about getting back into the swing of things. For me, that means a little bit of each of my favorites (minus running, that is). And not just my favorite workouts, either, but the workout clothes that I feel best in, too!

Booty Rehab

When I hurt my back I had to stop squatting as heavy as I used to. Knowing I'd never reach a new max was a huge bummer. I decided to take some time off from the weights all together to see if that might heal me up. But I didn't realize how much good those weights had been doing until my runners' knee came back during my training runs and I had to ditch the trail for a stationary bike. That was another low blow to my ego since I used to be able to run no matter what other training I had been doing.

I hadn't worked out like I should have nearly enough during that first bit of summer because of all the set backs and the traveling my family was doing as well as the extra hours I had been working. Then came the "Oh No" moment. The girls and I went up to spend the weekend at the beach and when we came home I was going through all the photos and saw one of me in a swimsuit. It wasn't like I had packed on the pounds or anything like that, but I had lost nearly all of the muscle I had built up over the winter! I hadn't noticed it because, frankly, I don't spend enough time around mirrors and my clothes were still fitting. But that was not my hard earned booty in those photos, it was the butt of someone who doesn't work out!

My Oh-No Moment from July 6th, 2014

The bit of a muffin top wasn't helping matters, either

That was the moment I knew I had to get my rear in gear and back under the weights. Unfortunately I didn't see these photos right away or I would have started right then! I drew up a new schedule that had me running and lifting like crazy and since I didn't have any classes going on during the summer I had more than enough time to spend in the gym.

I'll be posting my workouts each day so feel free to follow along with me! I'll be throwing in outfit inspiration occasionally, as well, because who doesn't like to look cute? Even if they are covered in sweat...



Swimsuit Separates: Target