Five on Friday

Here is what is sad about Five on Friday - I actually have to go to my Facebook page every time I write this post to see what the Hell went on that week. Please tell me I'm not the only one suffering from short term memory loss/permanent pregnancy brain {no I'm not pregnant}...anyone else?

No? Just me? OK.

Well anyway, despite my ridiculous non-ability to keep my shit straight, I am still managing to get this Five on Friday post done on a Friday, so at least there's that. Here we go...

{one}

I've decided to dive into the world of selling Young Living essential oils. I've had them since January and just fall more and more in love with them the more I find out what they can do and see how they've helped my family and myself with our ailments, plus, the beauty benefits of them are amazing. Seriously, if you haven't at least checked out what they are all about, you really should...and if you're local to the Charleston, SC area, I am having a class at mi casa on June 27th...I'd be happy to give you the deets if you want to come. It's totally non-pushy and you won't feel obligated to buy them...but they are just definitely worth learning about and I'd be happy to share my testimonials with y'all. {Plus, I provide the wine, so it's really a win-win situation for you.} Anyone non-local, I will still be happy to give you information.

{two}

I posted a picture on Instagram last weekend that showed I had finally put some flowers in my sad little empty flower pots in our front garden. It felt good to finally get it done. I don't declare myself to be any sort of green thumb, but I am so happy to see some life and color in my yard. I'm learning as I go, so I'm actually considering getting even more flowers this weekend, and maybe some new pots {I think container gardening is the way to go in SC, especially for a novice like me.} I did purchase a hibiscus plant because they are my favorite...and since they need an abundance of sunlight, I put her out on my back porch to pretty up the outdoor area a bit. {Please don't die my precious hibiscus!}

{three}

Farrah's jogging stroller arrived on my doorstep Tuesday as promised, so I set that baby up {and then put my other baby in it} and went for a run. It worked like a charm and had my baby girl passed out for bedtime. I continued the trend every night this week and she falls asleep every time. Putting her in her crib at night has been a much more pleasurable experience for all. {And Mommy is getting her ass and legs smaller in the process! Win-win!}

{four}

Speaking of losing some ass and legs, I had missed a couple weeks of writing out my weekly workout plan and finally got back to doing it this week. I shared it in my One Year Postpartum Update post earlier this week, but here it is again. I've received some feedback from some of y'all that you like to see these to get workout plan ideas. Feel free to take it and edit it to your liking.

{five}

I finally got an outfit post up this week - it has been A WHILE! Hoping to keep it up because I do enjoy them. I hope you do too. I appreciate your feedback on each and every post! If you missed it, you can see it here.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Linking Up With: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre //September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

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Thoughts For Thursday / Floral Romper

I'm trying to get back in the game of posting outfits on the blog again...so I coerced my son into helping me get some pictures taken {with my iPhone, I don't dare trust him with my DSLR yet!} by bribing him with some extra computer time.

I had never owned a romper before this one {unless you count as a baby/toddler}, but they seem to be all the rage. When I saw this one, I thought it was super cute. It actually appears more like a dress than a romper, which I like. It will be great for summer nights and cocktails.

I paired it with the Vince Camuto 'Kamella' heels I purchased during Nordstrom's Half-Yearly sale {still going on!} last week. {They arrived pretty dang fast!} They no longer have them in natural, but they still have them in black and pink. 

Linking Up With:

Mondays: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston // Fizz & Frosting // More Pieces of Me

Tuesdays: Bless Her Heart Y’All // 2 Cats & Chloe // Style Elixir // Designed Décor // Enjoy The View // Olives 'n Wine // Confident Twosdays

Wednesdays: Pampers & Pearls // Fitness Blondie // Because Shanna Said So // The Pleated Poppy // Get Your Pretty On // Let It Be Beautiful // Tucker Up // Pumps & Pushups // Shopping My Closet // Cappuccino & Fashion // Classy Yet Trendy // Book of Leisure

Thursdays: Home of Malones // East Coast Chic // Living In Color Style // Stylin’ In St. Louis // What I Wore To Work // What Wives Wear // Look What I Got // ThrowBack Thursday
Fridays: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre // September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

Postpartum Update: One Year Later

I feel like I'm constantly updating people on my postpartum weightloss status {because it's all I can fucking think about - kidding, kidding - or am I?} But in any case, I thought I would do sort of an official update. I mean, Memorial Day weekend has passed, it's the unofficial start of summer and it's been a year since I had Farrah, so this is as good of a time as any to put it all out there.

This last year has been a mental and physical struggle. I've worked hard...I've fallen off the bandwagon a couple times {no longer than a week}, but for the most part, I've eaten clean and I've been dedicated to my workouts, be it 4am or 4pm, or both some days. I sincerely cannot believe how hard it has been this time. My body is fighting me so hard...or at least it's making me put up a good fight to get it where I want to be. I don't remember it being so hard before. When you go from having babies at 22 and 27, to having one again at 31, it's amazing to see the difference. I've always kept myself healthy and in good shape, so I never thought my metabolism would become an issue. I won't call it any sort of medical issue, as it's certainly not that drastic, but when you are constantly in a mode of health and fitness, you definitely notice the subtle changes in your body and the way it performs, or reacts to your performance. I've come to accept the reality that my body in its 30s needs to be clean-fed a lot more than it used to in order to maintain the size I want.

So all that said, I can proudly say I am at my pre-prego weight. 57 lbs in one year is no joke and no easy feat. I have to allow myself to be so proud of that accomplishment. However, I've been better than this and getting back to that was always the goal. So while I fit in my old clothes, I know I could look a lot better in them, so I definitely am making no plans to stop and maintain here. I truly have about 10-15 lbs-ish to go. I say "ish" because I don't generally use weight as the defining point, as I know that it really all depends what I have muscle vs. fat. But I know that getting where I want to be will likely having me weighing somewhere in that range less than I do now. And we all know, those last crazy 10-15 lbs, just to get you tight and toned are THE HARDEST to lose and require the most effort. Daunting when you feel like you've been giving pretty damn good effort for the last year.

Here is what I know now...I'm fairly happy in a bikini. This is a major milestone in this journey. I can bare it all and while it ain't perfect, it also ain't half bad. And hey, my super cute husband likes it...that's all that matters, right?

So that being said, I had a bit of a cheat week last week...it was a holiday weekend, I was enjoying myself and letting loose and I wasn't worrying about my weight as much as I have been for the last 365+ days. But as all good fitness fanatics do, we get back on track. It's all about balance.

I am stoked about Farrah's new single jogging stroller that should be on my doorstep today when I get home. I sold the double last week, so was without one that could even go on sand {which hurt me a bit this past weekend at the beach}. The plan is to take her on a 30+ minute jog each evening after I get her all in her jammies in order to help wind her down so she hopefully doesn't whimper as much when I put her in the crib for bed. {It has been a harder transition getting her to bed now that she doesn't have formula to help knock her out...she definitely gives me a guilt trip each night now and it breaks my heart.} I think these strolls will be nice for us together and running 30 minutes a day definitely will help my figure!

Additionally, I'm back to my weekly workout planning. I hadn't written one out the last couple of weeks and sort of winged it, but it definitely helps me to see my plan written out and know what I'm doing next. I'm a visual person and I think visualizing myself going and doing the plan I've set out for each day helps me to actually go and do it.

Anyway, it was a year ago to the day that I wrote my first postpartum update post and these were the pictures of me I posted back then. When I see these, I think "what a difference!" Sometimes I forget where I started and it's always good to look back and get some real perspective. I'm going to keep kicking ass, y'all!

This is a picture I took of myself the other day, not really a good profile picture to compare, but you can definitely tell I've made progress. Here's to another year of continual improvement! xo

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Monday Musings / Weekending: Memorial Day Weekend

It was a great weekend! The weather was beautiful and I got some great one-on-one time with my baby girl because Jake took the boys on a fishing trip with his dad all weekend. I missed them, but I can't lie, it was a nice break!

Friday night started with my neighborhood wine night...we chit-chatted, danced and as usual, had a great time.

Saturday I got Farrah and myself ready early to beat the crazy tourist beach traffic. It was a great day out, but it was a little windy, so we only hung out on the beach for about an hour and then spent the rest of the time talking to some of my friends at the Windjammer.

We hung out at Isle of Palms for a few hours and then we came home so she could nap and I could get some house cleaning done.

That evening we went to my friend Suz's house to hang out.

On Sunday, I won't lie, I had a lot of chores to do, so we didn't do as much as I thought we would. I wanted to go to the beach again, but the thought of battling the traffic just wasn't worth it. Farrah and I played, did chores and went to Target to stock up on some necessities. She developed an interesting way of sitting in the cart.

On Monday, the boys came back from their trip in the morning. I managed to get some much-needed gardening done quickly {putting some plants in our pots} and we all went to the pool that afternoon.

I just spent the evening prepping some healthy meals for the week - it is time to get back on that bandwagon...it was quite a "cheat" weekend.

Hope y'all had a wonderful long, holiday weekend as well!

Linking Up With: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston

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Five on Friday

Happy Friday! Hopefully most of you are in for a fun, long holiday weekend! I don't have much planned other than Jake will be taking the boys fishing with his dad, brother and our nephew all weekend, so it's just Farrah and me! {Is it bad that I'm totally OK with that?} On the docket is my neighborhood wine night tonight and I'm definitely thinking of hitting the beach tomorrow with Farrah...maybe Sunday too! I do also plan to take advantage of the practically empty house and get some things done around here.

Here are my five for this week!

{one}

I sold my double jogging stroller this week and purchased a single. I was a little sad because when I decided that I'd need a double this time around, it's because I knew I would be home all day with Breckin and an infant Farrah, and we'd really need to be able to get out of the house and into the fresh air, plus, I had wanted to start working on losing that baby weight, pronto. I loved our walks/runs...and I loved being home with them. I will always cherish and remember those times with them.

But now, I'm working, so my running time is in the evenings when Jake is home to help, so I no longer need to take both of them with me. It was time to get a single. I ordered basically the single version of the double I had because I loved it so much. And they had it in pink!

Baby Trend Expedition Jogging Stroller

It should show up on Tuesday. I'm way eager to get back out running more.

{two}

Last Sunday at the beach, I got soooooo burnt on my legs {forgot to apply the sunscreen there}. Well, I will say I didn't forget, the plan was to give them about 30 min in the sun because they are hard to get color on and then apply sunscreen. Well, then I forgot.

As I'm beginning to fall more and more in love with my essential oils, I find that I'm reaching to them more when I have an ailment. I applied a few drops of lavender mixed into coconut oil and rubbed on both legs. I did this for a few nights and it took a lot of the initial stinging pain away as well as kept me from peeling. The redness is mostly gone now too. And bonus: soft skin! What I love about lavender is that it's so versatile...this same mix being on my legs at night, also helped me get a good night's rest!

If you're interested in hearing more about Young Living essential oils, send me a message!

{three}

I don't believe I've shared these here yet, but I got the cutest pictures of Breckin and Farrah from their daycare picture day. Breckin was quite the little ham for his, I was so impressed with how photogenic he is! Farrah could have smiled...she looks like she has no idea what is going on.

And of course, his graduation one:

Just love them!

{four}

I've been awful this week with workouts. It has just been one of those weeks. Not the end of the world, but certainly not a week I'm proud of in terms of fitness. My painful sunburn put me out as far as leg workouts earlier in the week. I feel like I'm so behind on Body Beast that I might as well start over. Which I think is the plan. I think between Body Beast and running with Farrah in the evenings, I'll be good. I'm looking forward to having our nightly jog before she goes to bed...we don't have the bottles anymore, so it will be something that hopefully soothes her and gets her tired for bedtime.

{five}

I don't have much else other than to say, have a fun holiday weekend! But please do remember what it's really about.

Linking Up With: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre // September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

 See where I like to Party.

Become a Fashion Designer