You can read a lot about a person by looking at their boards on Pinterest. I find this graphic so interesting and TRUE! Pinterest boards tell a visual story about you as person. Your interests, passions, projects and dreams are presented to the world through images. Maybe that is why I love it so much. What do my boards say about me? I am passionate about cooking, inspired by color, interested in design, dreaming of a new kitchen, love being a girl, planning for a trip to Italy, and obsessed with neon lights. Yep, pretty much!
Have you ever thought of Pinterest in such a personal way? Now I want to edit all my boards’ cover pictures so they beautiful and inspiring.
What do your boards say about you?
Do you Pinterest? Follow me! Or just check out a few of my favorite boards:
So yesterday was a day of juice. And nothing else. My brother has been raving about the benefits of juicing for well over a year. He decided to do a massive juice cleanse after watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. I have not seen the movie and, frankly, am a little frightened to watch it! My brother loves the way he feels when he is “juicing” and he looks healthier than ever. Of course when any one is looking great, you are tempted to try it too! Not willing to invest the money in an expensive juicer, I decided to try a local company that presses their own juice and delivers! I ordered a 1-day juice cleanse from Juice Box {Seattle}. I considered doing a three day cleanse, but thought it might be smart to try it for just a day and see how it goes. You can do anything for a day, right?
My juice was delivered to me in the morning. The cleanse includes six-16 oz juice bottles. You are to drink them throughout the day. No food, just juice and water. Have you considered doing a juice cleanse? Wondering how it went for me?
1. 96 oz of juice is a lot of juice to drink. I was going pee about every five minutes.
2. I did not feel hungry during the day, which was a pleasant surprise. I was famished around 7:30pm.
3. Not surprisingly, the juice largely consisting of fruit juices were delicious. My favorite was carrot, orange, turmeric root.
4. I was completely scared of the green juice. Maybe a pretty glass and cute straw would make it easier to drink? Kale, romaine, celery, cucumber, spinach, apple, lemon. Nope, not even the stripey-paper straw helped with this one. I am not a fan.
5. I worked out {a barre class} and had plenty of energy.
6. Almond milk with local raw honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg was delicious for lunch.
Could I do it for two more days? Probably. {My brother did his cleanse for 10 days. That’s just plain nuts.} If you are interested in learning more about a juice cleanse, the Juice Box blog is a must read. It details interesting information about juicing, body types, and nutrition. Moving forward, I will most likely drink pressed juice after a high-intensity workout. I do highly recommend Juice Box-Seattle and I look forward to visiting the Juice Box Cafe.
I am totally infatuated with street style photography. Whether it is truly someone walking down the street or 100% posed by a fashion blogger, it doesn’t really matter to me. I continually try to find pieces and looks that work for my body type, my taste, and my lifestyle. Taking street style and making it my style. Some looks might not work, but I love taking risks. Do I worry that I am too old for a silk bomber jacket or ripped boyfriend jeans? Short answer. Hell, no. Life’s too short. Wear what you want! xo
This is an insanely late post for Valentine’s Day, but I can’t really apologize. If your house is like mine, most things are put off to the bitter end. Decorating Valentine vessels is no different! Little Man is to decorate a gift bag and Big W a traditional box. Both boys are still nuts for Minecraft and wanted themed containers instead of the traditional fare. {NO pink, red, hearts or arrows for them.} We used the forever, awesome Google image search and got creative. For Little Man, I used the heart cut-out frames in PicMonkey to edit his favorite images. They are now large hearts to take up a good portion of the front and back of the bag. Big W asked me for smaller images, so we simply inserted the images into a Word document and re-sized them. I also used the design feature in PicMonkey to create images for their names. Done and done in less than 30 minutes. Not perfect, but they certainly are unique. {And very blue!}
Big W also used Cool Blue Camo stickers from Pear Tree Greetings to jazz up his box. He has informed me that it isn’t done yet. The project that keeps on giving.
Do you have someone who still needs to decorate a box? There may be some of you out there needing to knock this project off the list. Maybe I can help? Instead of doing a tutorial on how to make these printables, I just decided to include them. It saves me time, but more importantly, it saves YOU time. It is crunch time. Now you just have to print, cut and paste! Your printer just became your best friend! They are yours if you want them!
I am not sure exactly how I stumbled upon Mary Helen Bowers‘ Instagram account, but I started following her and I am continually gobsmacked with her elegance, strength, and athleticism. She danced throughout her entire pregnancy. Her images make me want to be a ballet dancer! Just look at her long, lean, powerful body! She is the professional ballerina who trained Natalie Portman for her role in Black Swan. She danced with the New York City Ballet and is the founder of Ballet Beautiful.
Ballet Beautiful is “a total body workout from Mary Helen Bowers, Natalie Portman’s trainer for her Academy Award(R)-Winning Role in “Black Swan”! Get a tight, toned and elegant body with this ballet inspired workout! Sculpt sleek and strong legs, arms, butt, abs and upper body. Shape a lean and graceful dancer’s body with targeted mat work and standing exercises that lengthen and tone.”
OK, yes! Sign me up. I just purchased the Body Blast DVD and did two of the workouts yesterday {The DVD includes four-15 minute workouts}. It is very similar to barre classes if you are familiar with that type of exercise. The Swan Arms workout was so incredibly difficult. With no weights used, it is deceptively intense. You simply moved your arms like a ballerina. 2 minutes into the work and my arms were burning! I also did the Body Blast workout which included abs, bridges and arms. All of the work includes small controlled movements in targeted areas. It is going to be perfect for days that I have to squeeze a workout in at home.
I wonder. If I buy ballet slippers and leg warmers do you think my legs would lengthen by five inches? Hope so.
I was watching the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and instantly became obsessed with Team Slovakia’s mittens! As my husband and kids continued to watch the Parade of Nations- betting on who had the largest delegation- I jumped online to search for those mittens! It wasn’t easy, but I found a few shots of the white graphic mittens with the fantastic red heart! The scarves and hats were pretty great too! I vote Slovakia Best Dressed. The ladies’ mittens were equally as awesome in red with a white heart {Sorry. No picture.}
Gimme those mittens!
So far no one is selling Team Slovakia’s mittens, so I was driven to do a quick round-up of heart inspired mittens. I kind of love the options. Warm weather gear that also warms the heart. Awww.
Not sure if you heard, but the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII. Yep, it’s a pretty big deal around here. Our city has been riding high for weeks. First the anticipation leading up to the big game, then the absolute domination and victory, and finally the victory celebration! Big W and I had been planning to attend the Victory Parade even before the Hawks had won. Once Little Man heard it was during school hours, he was in too! I am going to give it to you straight. It was amazing to be there, but it wasn’t pretty. I did my best to set us up for success. I made a reservation for breakfast, we drove down early {8:15am), and got a great parking spot in a central garage. Good so far. With the parade scheduled to start at 11am- we headed out around 10 o’clock to find a spot to view the action. This is where things to a turn for the worse. My littlest guy was miserable. He had a headache and his nose was running like a faucet. It might also be good to add that he is a natural pessimist and is not a joiner. I was in trouble.
The odds quickly turned against us: 700,000+ people, the temp well-below freezing, a mom who is 60″ tall {in heels}, a parade that started 1 hour late, and a grumpy, sick kid.
This was our viewpoint. Not good.
The parade didn’t get to us until just before 1pm. The quote of the day came from Little Man. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Mom, I think I might actually die.” We did get a glimpse of Marshawn Lynch throwing Skittles, Coach Carroll, and Russell Wilson holding the Lombardi Trophy. Here is a quick glimpse of our day:
My big guy was disappointed, to say the least, and we were frozen to the bone. Lucky for me, a few friends shared their awesome shots from the day. It’s almost like I was there.
Was it worth it? Yes! We were part of Seattle history. Was it fun? Meh. I am counting on a repeat Super Bowl win by our Seattle Seahawks. Next year, I will hunt down a friend who has access to a sweet balcony or great roof top view. Like anything in parenting, the first time you are just working out the kinks!
When was Little Man the happiest? Picking out candy after the parade and taking a selfie in the car. {Only a mother could love that face!}
Modern girls {or women, if you prefer} are busier than ever. Our days might include a day at the office, school runs, volunteer hours, an endless number of errands, driving kids to practice, and an evening meeting. Occasionally we may sneak in coffee with girlfriends or a date night with our favorite guy. Wow! We are amazing, aren’t we?
And hey, even us girls of a certain age want to look our very best while out and about. I talked my gorgeous sister-in-law, Piper, into helping me with a post that shows by simply changing up your hair and adding accessories -you can change your look entirely. Since she wears glasses, we also took advantage of the Warby Parker free Home Try-On program. Warby Parker is an on-line eyewear boutique. Their glasses start at just $95. At that price you can have more than one pair. Change your frames. Change your frame of mind.
Five different frames. Five different looks. Look what we put together:
1. A School Run
Let’s be honest. When you are running the kids to school, you don’t want to take more than a few minutes, if that, to get yourself ready. Low maintenance is key. Throw on a cozy zip-up and a cute striped beanie- you are out the door . {Love the beanie for hiding morning, bed head!} Piper is wearing BAXTER in Catalina Blue.
2. Coffee with Girlfriends
It is such a treat to have time with girlfriends. Nothing fancy, just relaxed fun. These tortoise frames are awesome all by themselves! Wow! Add a color block sweater and big gold hoops and it’s time to catch up with your best girls. Piper is wearing MALLORY in Gimlet Tortoise.
3. Charity Board Meeting
Sometimes we need to look sharp and on point. {Those of you who work outside the home do this everyday.} The color blocking on these frames is unique but the shape keeps the look professional. I love the crisp white shirt with a geometric print tank. Completely modern. Finish the look with smooth straight hair, simple studs, and a bold necklace. You are ready to kick butt and take names. Piper is wearing ZAGG in Tennessee Whiskey
4. Date Night
Yessss. A night out! Time to loosen things up a bit. Tousle your hair and think sexy. {Isn’t she a knock out?} Dress up a silk blouse with a large, statement necklace and go with a bolder lip. Baby, you are hot to trot. Piper is wearing LINWOOD in Revolver Black.
5. Farmers’ Market
Time to be the casual hipster! A colorful {edgy} scarf and loose curls under a fedora is nothing but happy and carefree. Don’t you wish everyday was market day? Piper is wearing MILES in Revolver Black.
Now, your turn. Time to go to your closet. Choose your go-to outfit of the moment. Pull out all of your accessories. {All of them.} I bet, if you are creative, you can change up that outfit at least three ways with accessories you already own. Let me know what you come up with!
I may be late to this party, but I am completely engrossed in the new book, The Goldfinch. The story is just starting to build and I cannot put it down. Action, mystery and intrigue begin on the very first page. At 771 pages, it isn’t a light read. I purchased the book in hardback and the cover is beautiful. The pages of the book are silky smooth-almost like those in a dictionary. Sorry. Still a total sucker for a “real” book. I am not sure how the plot will unfold, but I am truly excited about this book.
Have you already read The Goldfinch? What did you think? No spoilers! xoxo
So as I was cruising through the aisles at IKEA last week and I spotted these simple white planters. I loved them. White seems to be overtaking my home decor recently. Instead of just buying the planters and figuring out how to use them later, I bought plants too! {You have to love IKEA for its one stop shopping.} This is huge. I am not a gardener nor is there one plant in my home. Well, until now. Now there are two. At $1.99 for the pot and $2.49 for the plant there is little to no risk here. I really like how they look on my tables and I am just hoping I can keep them alive!
If things go well, I have my sights set on a few small succulents and a large Fiddle-Leaf Fig. All available at IKEA. Who knew?
