Easter 2014-{ the kiddos outfits}

I love any occasion to get a little dressed up. Sundays are always dress up days for our family. I grew up with my mom always putting dresses on me for Sunday morning church. She would wear dresses as well and my dad would always wear slacks and a button down and sometimes a tie. The dressing up on Sunday's stuck b/c I have always worn dresses or skirts on Sunday mornings. So I'll be raising my children with those same wardrobe choices. 

I bought Rowen's Easter outfit a few weeks ago but wasn't really seeing anything that caught my eye for Isla. I love smocked outfits on baby's so I knew I wanted to find a smocked dress for her. Lucky for me, Zulily had a smocked deal going on 2 weeks ago and I got on just in time to buy her a super adorable Easter dress before they ran out! 

Like I mentioned, Isla's smocked dress is from Zulily. Her headband was made by Tracy at The Bow Jar and my mom got her those little white shoes somewhere. 

Rowen's shirt and tie are from Target, his khakis are from Gymboree, and his little Sperrys are from a local children's shoe store. He already had the pants and shoes. I just had to find a shirt and tie for him. 

I got lucky on their colors being very similar! I can't wait for Easter for several reasons( most reasons are far more important than clothes! ). But one of those reasons is these super cute outfits for the children! 

Where's the sunshine??!!

  Well, Spring has gotten off to a...cloudy start. Minus Wednesday, it has been pretty gloomy outside around these parts lately. Last week we were able to play outside most of the week and this week we have been able to go outside once. I refuse to dig the sweaters and boots back out! Where is the sunshine?! With sun on my mind, I decided to share some things I am looking forward to when the warm weather hits...especially this summer. Summer is by far my most favorite season.

1. Flip flops are probably my most favorite shoes. They're easy, comfy, and cute. And they let your feet breathe. 

2. I can't wait to get a tan! Everyone looks better with a little bit of color on their skin. Not to mention the sunshine just feels good hitting my face! 

3. I'm looking forward to the beach in June. We always go to Destin with Brent's family one week in the summer. Can't wait to be lazy and lounge around by the ocean.

4. I love maxi dresses. I only have 2 so I would like to add a few more to my wardrobe for the summer. I have a hard time finding ones that are long enough. I can't stand it when they hit me on the ankles...I prefer them to touch the floor! 

5. Pull out your brightly colored jewelry! I stopped in at Forever 21 last weekend and bought several new springy necklaces. I love bright colors especially after wearing lots of black and grey during the winter.

6. Brent planned a trip for us to go to Chicago for a long weekend in August! Summertime in Chicago is the best! We love the Windy City and I can't wait to go. 

What are some of your favorite things about warmer weather/Summertime?

weight loss weigh in-week 10

Last week I decided that if the weather is nice, I am going to run to the gym to lift instead of driving. If I take the longer way, there are sidewalks all the way there. And it's only a tad over a mile one way. The route is an enjoyable run with the exception of 2 hills! Our new neighborhood is pretty hilly. You can't go for a run without hitting a couple. They're just making me stronger I guess.  So last Wednesday, I ran to the gym, ran a little bit more when I got there, lifted weights, and then ran back home. It was quite a workout! 

I also got in another run last week and did a few exercises using my Skimble app. I did a whole bunch of ab exercises too. I can tell that my core is getting stronger. My muscles are getting back to where they use to be before baby. Can't wait for the definition to return! On a side note, it truly amazes me how your body can go back to looking like it did before a baby! 

I started a small little training program yesterday that I am going to try and follow as much as I can( it just provides me with some goals to hit ). It's for the half marathon here in Nashville that's at the end of April! Yep, I'm running the half again. I ran it while I was pregnant with Rowen but haven't had a chance to run it again till now. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll walk here and there. I'm definitely not planning on running the whole thing. I haven't been able to workout long enough to build up that much endurance since having Isla. My goal is to finish and try to hit right around 3 hours. I like to enjoy myself and have fun rather than keep up with my time. And we stopped and chatted with people we knew last time along the way so that's another reason that I really could care less about time and rather just plan on finishing :) 

I lost a pound last week. So 1 has been the magic number lately. Now that I'm back down to a good weight, a 1/2  pound to a pound loss is probably what will be showing up on the scale for the last couple weeks of my weigh ins. I have about 5 lbs to go( all around the hip/upper leg area )! Can't wait to fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans! 

week 1 of weigh ins: 145

week 10 weigh in: 130

Total weight loss: 15 lbs of baby weight gone

Master Bathroom: before & after

We still have yet to do a bunch of decorating and it's been 6 and a 1/2 months since we moved into our new house! It's hard to decided what to do in each room. Well last week I went to Home Goods( love love love that store! )and found some thing for our bedroom and grabbed something for our bathroom too. Our bedroom colors are white and navy with a splash of dark teal so I wanted to continue the navy on into the bathroom. I went back to Home Goods last night to get a present and of course had to wander through the home stuff! I found 2 rugs for our bathroom and picked up 2 new frames for the bathroom as well. Don't be shocked if the other rooms in our house that I show you in the near future aren't totally "Home Goods" rooms! Here's the before and after:

We had old black frames by our sinks but I wanted to keep things light and bright in our bathroom so I found 2 mint colored frames that look great! 

I knew I wanted to put something tall in between our 2 sinks and while I was looking around last week, I gathered up some things that I put together. 

When I saw this lantern, I knew it would be perfect. So I grabbed it. I already knew what I wanted to put inside of it but it was just the challenge of finding it. Home Goods didn't fail me because I found a vase and that green bushy ball( it has a name but it has slipped my mind!). That's exactly what I wanted for inside of the lantern. 

And last night when I quickly wandered through the bath section, I found these 2 rugs. Again, what I had in mind for our bathroom floor!

Beside art on the walls, we have one room all put together and looking nice! 

weight loss weigh in-week 9

Last week I got some great workouts in. On Monday, I did 2 workouts on my Skimble app. I got in a 12 minute total body workout and an 8 minute ab workout while the kids napped! On Tuesday I went for a jog and ended up going 3 miles. With great music and wonderful weather, I can manage some longer runs. I'm hoping to go for a 5 mile run in the next week...maybe Friday. On TR, I was pressed for time at the gym so I did some free weight exercises( bicep curls, overhead tricep extensions, rows, and leg press ). And on Saturday morning, I met my friend Shannon at Barry's Bootcamp and powered through an intense one hour punishment workout.

 I love the intensity of those classes. It's addicting! And by intense I mean running on the treadmill at a 15% incline at 6mph and running backwards aaaand running 8mph at a 6% incline...and then there are the floor exercises too!  It's challenging every single time and I love that! I would love to try and go once a week. 

I lost a pound this past week. I am almost back in the 120's. I'm almost sure I will be there at the end of this week. We will see! 

2 ingredient organic moisturizer {RECIPE}

I ran out of my usual moisturizer a few weeks ago and I have been using body lotion...eek! Not good! Why I hadn't made it to the mall to grab some more is beyond me. So I decided to read up a little on coconut oil moisturizers and after reading, I decided to make my own facial moisturizer using coconut oil and jojoba oil. I have dabbled with both of them from time to time( mainly making my own scrubs )but have never put either oil on my face.  I'm really enjoying it and my skin feels so nice after applying it. It's kind of glowy too! Before I share the easy recipe, here are some benefits of each oil. 

Coconut oil: 

It's antimicrobial and antibacterial

It contains a ton of healthy fats

And it also contains vitamin E

Jojoba oil( it's actually a wax ):

It's similar to natural oils produced in our bodies on a regular basis

It's a natural antiseptic

And it's comedogenic(won't clog pores )

What you need:
coconut oil
 jojoba oil( you could use argan or grapeseed oil too! )
a container to keep your moisturizer in
*I bought my oils at Whole Body

Take 1/2 cup of the coconut oil and heat in a microwave safe bowl for a few seconds. Just long enough to get it to a semi liquid state. Mix in 2 oz of jojoba oil. Stir together well. 

After the oils are mixed together, put in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. This will bring it back to a solid. Store in a cool place. I actually keep mine in the fridge because it turned back to a liquid on my sink counter. You can use it that way but I prefer it to be more like a solid. It works the same either way! This is an organic, all natural product and I love it! It's so good for your skin too. You can even use it as a body moisturizer if you make a larger batch( just double the recipe ). 

I think you will like it if you give it a try! 

weight loss weigh in-week 7 & 8

2 weeks ago( week 7 ). I got some good workouts in. I took a 30 minute run on Tuesday afternoon and it felt so good. I even conquered a few hills. I can tell that I am slowly getting back my strength. I feel a little bit stronger each week. My abs are also getting stronger which makes running a little easier with the passing of each week. Everything is centered around your core! Any exercise no matter what body past you are working out is easier with a strong core. I focused alot on my abs this week. 

{ down 1 pound week 7 }

Besides the 30 minute run, I headed to the gym and did a circuit on the treadmill on 2 separate days. I speed walked 2 min, jogged( 5.5 mph ) 1 min, and ran( 6.5 mph ) 1 min. I did this till I hit 20 minutes. That's a good little treadmill workout. I also did a few ab workouts at home including the 2 minute ab challenge! After 60 seconds, I have to rest for a few seconds then I'm back up and holding it the rest of the 2 minutes. Soon I will feel light on my elbows and toes and be able to hold it the whole time. 

Week 8( last week )was no good!...for a few different reasons. It was a hard week. If you missed why the go HERE. I really didn't care about working out last week. I was just really sad about what happened and had no energy to head to the gym. Also, my clients cancelled on Thursday so I didn't have to even go to the gym for training. I did a few workouts at home using my Skimble app...

This one was really good. And it definitely was high intensity! I also did some ab workouts. I'm still trying to do lots of core stuff each week. 

So I ended up not losing any weight last week which I kinda figured but at least I didn't gain any!! 

I have high hopes of hitting 130 this week. I'm ready!