Goodbye Chocolate, Hello Thigh Gap

My title is very misleading. I have no intention of ever giving up chocolate for any reason, any day, anyhow. I also have no desire to gain a "thigh gap" but I'm secretly hoping that someone who doesn't read actual posts on Facebook will just read the title and make me viral by posting about how unhealthy and thigh gap obsessed I must be. It's my dream. 

So the husband and I have started eating a bit better and exercising somewhat regularly. And by regularly I mean we have done some sort of exercise for the last 3 days and we decided to do this 3 days ago. 

I know that getting healthy and/or fit is on pretty much everyone's mind especially with Spring and Summer right around the corner, so I wanted to share a little bit about what I am doing and eating. It's always nice to have a bit of support when making lifestyle changes, so here we are. 

Don't act like you aren't impressed with my balancing/stacking skills. 

I love fruits and veggies! We got a ton the other day and the only reason a banana isn't in that pic (other than it's hard to stack) is because we ate them all already. Our faves are:

• Bananas
• Apples
• Oranges
• Kiwi
• Grapes
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Pineapple

Just be careful with fruit because most contain a lot of sugar, and calories so you still need moderation. It makes a great snack if you are craving something sweet, but no need to give up chocolate! Just get chocolate with a higher cacao percentage, and again eat in moderation. Dark chocolate, just like red wine is good for the heart! Did I mention the thing about moderation?

When we aren't running to Subway for a quick dinner, I've been experimenting with cooking a bit and I loved this shrimp stir fry. I just grabbed a bunch of veggies and some frozen shrimp and added just a bit of stir fry sauce once everything was simmered and fairly soft. Wonderful! 

I love breakfast! I love it. I love it so much. My favorite is turkey bacon and scrambled eggs. I used to put cheese in my eggs every time, but that's one thing I've cut out, and I don't do toast with jelly. I'm also trying to stay away from creamer in my coffee, but it's a slow go. I get hooked and then forget how good coffee actually is on it's own. 

That second picture is Raisin Bran Crunch. That is not something I would have for breakfast actually, but rather a snack. It's high in fiber and satisfies my sweet tooth if fruit just isn't cutting it. We get the non-fat lactose free milk (Lactaid) or coconut milk. 

Those are mah feets. I don't know why that one looks so wrinkly and weird. Jeeze! 

I have been doing some walking, jogging, and yoga. It feels good to be active. Even if it's a short session at least I'm doing something. It's like that meme on Pinterest says, "No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch." It's my mantra. I also love walking with D. Getting outside and enjoying our time is so therapeutic and fun. He is the best workout partner. 

In case you were wondering those sweet kicks are Sketcher's Tone Ups cause I want my booty high and tight! I actually just thought they were real cute and cushy...

I'll keep you up to date on my progress! I've been tracking calories and workouts in the My Fitness Pal app and it's fantastic! 

Gotta go eat some Subway...

-H

Snow Pants

These aren't actually snow pants. Just in case you were wondering. They are just pleather pants. But I hate to say "just" pleather pants because they are pretty sweet. 

I wore this to dinner with my girlfriends last Friday night at Bound'ry in Nashville. Ok two things. I never say "girlfriends". I don't know why, but I just don't. It's just friends, or best friends or something. I have never been a girlfriends saying kind of gal. Nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn't sound right coming out of my mouth. Like I want to bop my head from side to side when I say it and be like, " OMG, me and my girlfriends are sooooooooooo going out tonight to do all the girlfriend stuff that girlfriends do!!!" And that's not an accurate portrayal of how that word is used at all! Second, when I say last Friday night the Katy Perry song immediately pops into my head and now it's there forever and it will not stop. 

At dinner we ate about one million calories and drank wine. It was so fun, and exactly what I needed. It's good to have girlfriends even if saying girlfriends freaks you out. 

I know I'm weird. 

Tell me about it girlfriend! 

-H

Sweater: JC Penny - Very similar (and on sale!) here
Pants: The pant store (Just kidding) Alloy - Get them here
Shoes: Target
Ring: BCBG
Earrings: Target

Skin and Hurr

Bloggy blog blog! Here I am again. I want to talk about my skincare and haircare routine and what products I use. I want to say that unlike makeup and my love affair with MAC cosmetics, I am in no way loyal to one skincare or haircare brand at this moment. That isn't necessarily a good or a bad thing, but I tend to switch it up a lot. A lot a lot. So with that being said, I'm going to show you what I am currently using and what I think about it. 

First Skin:

This is new to me, but so far I love all of it. I got this in a kit at Sephora because I wanted to try Shiseido, but I didn't want to fork over the full price for just one product. I was in dire need of a new cleanser and Shiseido is known to be one of the best, so here we are. I will list each product with their full size link as well as a link to the kit that I purchased. 

1. White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam - So far this is one of the best cleansers I have ever used. It takes away all the gunk from the day and leaves my skin soft. It feels soooo good to wash with and the smell is insane good. 

2. White Lucent Brightening Balancing Softener Enriched - You use this as a sort of toner after the cleanser and I really like it. Not sure this is something I would stick with since I don't have trouble skin, but it still feels nice and seems to remove any left over dirt and oil. If you had issues with oily skin I would totally keep this in the mix. 

3. White Lucent Brightening Protective Emulsion Broad Spectrum SPF 18 - I am over the moon for this moisturizer. I mean I love the other stuff that I use, but this is just lovely. I can use it morning or night with no oiliness or stickiness, and it has that same wonderful smell! 

4. White Lucent Anti-Dark Circles Eye Cream - Honestly the jury is still out on this one. It was included in the kit I got, and I have been using it, but I haven't seen much of a difference yet. I use an eye cream every day, but I'm not sure this one is worth it's hefty price tag. We shall see. It feels nice going on though. 

You can get the same kit I got here. It is well worth the price in my opinion, and you won't be sorry with the results. There are other similar kits here and here if you like. 

Hair Care:

I change my shampoo and conditioner every time I run out. Every. Single. Time. I never stick to one brand or smell. I might do an expensive salon brand one month and an inexpensive drug store brand the next. I might even *gasp* combine the two! Either way I like to try new things and that's ok. It's actually good to switch up your shampoo and conditioner every now and then, so I'm doin it right! 

1. Herbal Essences Wild Naturals Illuminating Shampoo - This shampoo is just ok for me. I will use it and stuff, but eh. I'm such an Herbal Essences fan too. I mean I have always loved the smell and in high school I used to imitate the commercials (Yes, yes, YES!!!) to the chagrin of my friends and family. This is just kind of got a weird after smell if that makes sense. 

2. Herbal Essences Shine Collection Brillance Conditioner - This is good. This smells like the old school HE that I always loved. It really makes my hair shiny too. And sooooooft! 

3. Oscar Blandi Pronto Gloss Instant Glossing Cream - This was a gift from my husband and I use it on my hair when it's damp. I. Love. This. Stuff. This is one that I will absolutely purchase again. D likes to find me random beauty products that I might like and since he is the one that signed me up for Birchbox (for the second time because my card got screwed up the first time and they cancelled me *sadface*) he gets emails and promotions from them. It all works out for Heather's best interest. I have an amazingly thoughtful husband which is just the bees knees! This product tames flyways and frizz and makes my hair even softer. LOVE!

4. Garnier Fructis Curl Scrunch Gel - I've used this one forever. It's good on long or short hair, and holds really well. I can just run it through my damp hair and blow-dry or leave it wet with some wavies. It's got a very mild scent and doesn't make me crunchy. This is one I am pretty loyal to for good reason. 

5. Herbal Essences Body Envy Volumizing Hairspray - I've gotten this twice in a row, and it holds well. I like the scent too. I'm not too picky with hairspray as long as the hold is good, and it doesn't smell like some weird baby powder flower blossom candy cane. There are some weird scents out there people. 

Well that's it! That's what I'm using right now. I hope you find this helpful and maybe try some of these out! If you do, let me know what you think! 

-H

Rain Boots and Records

Today we braved the elements and headed to the Nashville Flea Market which is always a trip. You never know what you will see or not see in my case...

See I saw a post on Facebook from one of my favorite actresses from one of my favorite shows (Clare Bowen/Nashville) that she too was at the flea market and had purchased a giant elk head. How could l have missed her??? I was so happy about this day (as you can see by my shining happy face) until I read her post. Now I have resorted to eating spoonfuls of Nutella. 

We did however run into a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a long time, and I scored this sweet album which makes me happy. 

Sometimes I think Facebook is no good and only makes you realize what you are missing, but then I take another random quiz about my personality or what mythological creature I would be and I get over it. 

Jacket: Marshalls
Sweater: H&M
Jeans: Express
Boots: Hunter (Sorry for the overexposure to these lately, but it's been really wet!)
Scarf: Marshalls
Earrings: Target
Bag: Coach
Rings: Coach
Record: A couple of cool old hippies at the flea market

The 90's Called

I'm having some writer's block so here are some pictures...

Those geese think I am so cool. They were all like, "hey Heather let's chill." And I was all like "whaaaaat?" HA! Geese. 

I am following in the footsteps of my last post with a semi 90's look with some wavy wind blown hair. I like it. It doesn't hurt that the choker I am wearing is from the 90's. It's one I kept when I went through all of my old high school jewelry. Glad I did too because geese love 90's beaded jewelry, but they also like Uggs, and I can't get behind that. 

-H

Jacket: Marshalls (similar here)
Denim Shirt: Old Navy (similar here)
T-Shirt: Target (very recent purchase, but I can't find a link online)
Jeans: Gap (here)
Boots: Hunter (here)
Choker: Vintagish
Earrings: Target
Ring: Pangea
Sunglasses: Betsy Johnson