100's Challenge

This past weekend while I was in Palm Beach, I asked my trainer to send me some workouts so I didn't slack off and one of them that she sent me was this 100's Circuit Challenge. When I first saw this challenge, the triple digits alone made my body hurt but I decided I should give it a try and although it was definitely tough I shocked myself with being able to get through it a lot easier than I had anticipated. I got through this in under 20 minutes, time yourself and see where you end up:

1) 100 Squats with Shoulder Press using 5lbs

 

2) 100 Deadlifts using a 45 lbs bar

3) 100 Sit-Ups

4) 100 Forward Walking Lunges

5) Wall Sit with Bicep Curls using 5 lb weights- this was the most difficult to get through the 100

 6) 100 Wide Mountain Climbers - get into a plank position and then bring your right knee to your right elbow and then do the same with the left side. This exercise obviously cannot be done at the speed as regular mountain climbers but still try to have a quick pace
 

 
 

Keepsake Hawaiian Prints

Florals always tend to be a trend when it comes to the Spring and Summer seasons but they can quickly become redundant and seem "been there, done that." Lately I have been drawn to palm prints and Hawaiian florals that are way less traditional and ironically enough - when I looked at our design boards for Summer 2014 that is exactly the direction we are headed. Mixing in bamboo, tropical wildlife, and ocean scenes with Hawaiian florals to bring new meaning and life to what we think of when you say "floral print". Here is a Hawaiian floral print by Keepsake (same print, different style here) that I wore last weekend in Palm Beach. I love that there is so much going on with the print that there wasn't too much accessorizing that was needed. Pair of Brian Atwood heels and a C Wonder bracelet Clutch and I was good to go. What do you think? Out with the old in with the new? Or stick with the traditional because it is timeless?

 

Barbie's Playhouse

Living in New York City, I try to embrace the black uniform as much as possible in the Fall an Winter because when I stray from it, I stick out like a sore thumb and look like a complete out of towner. During the summer however, I am so tired of not being able to wear my bright colors and patterns that I love and adore that I really take advantage, sometimes to the point of overkill. This outfit is a perfect example which makes me laugh and reminds me of Barbie's Playhouse. Most New Yorkers will probably feel nauseous at the site of this, but I can live with that!

Details: Skirt: ShopAkira Similar. Wedges: Steve Madden. Bracelet Clutch: C Wonder. Tank: SugarLips

 

 

Rise & Grind with Morning Sprints

With my goal of bringing more variety to my cardio routine as I said in my last fitness post, here is a morning cardio routine that I've done a couple days a week that takes less than 30 minutes. Something easily completed before work! Xo

Summertime Romp

Although I do love rompers, they really can be hit or miss with whether they are flattering or not and if they aren't, they tend to make women look like overgrown babies. There are definitely different cut rompers that are best for specific body types. This BCBGeneration romper is a perfect summer lovin' outfit being that it's a fresh floral print. Dress it down with a denim vest and flat sandals or make it a little fancier with a pair of wedges, it works for multiple occasions :)

Details: Romper: BCBGeneration. Wedges: Steve Madden. Necklace: Rebecca Minkoff. Cuff Bracelet: C Wonder. Bag: R + J

 

 

Bendel Breakdown

Saturday I met up with my GBF (Gay Boyfriend) who works at the Henri Bendels Flagship store on 5th ave. we grabbed an amazing lunch and then searched the store for my favorite accessory picks. I have this theory that when women die and go to heaven, it's really the Bergdorff Shoe Department, but Bendels might be a close second since I'm accessory obsessed. If you get easily overwhelmed, this is not the place for you with the exception of maybe when the store first opens for the day. I think it's comparable to how I imagine Santa's workshop to be. I narrowed my favorite picks down to 7 items that if a budget didn't exist, I would've walked out the door with:

This amazing ostrich embossed leather clutch in electric yellow is Henri Bendel branded $250

My second pick is this gorgeous HB silk square scarf from their Megan Hess Collection $148. In the picture below I tied it around my pastel yellow bag for a cute added touch

Ring Party! My GBF and I fell in love with these Erickson Beamon fluorescent rings $148 - $268

I have a special attachment to this Dazzling Blue and Black Auden necklace because the designer Stephen is a complete sweetheart and loves to become friends with all of his clients. Each one of his pieces are handmade so he even will collaborate to make specific pieces for a customer. He also did a collection with J Crew that got a huge reaction. 

This Assad Mounser cuff speaks for itself. It looks like I am ready to go into fashion battle - $428

I found these dangling HB earrings on the 50% table and almost walked out with them before I came across...

The Miu Miu Purple and Pink Sunnies totally sang "Take Me Home Steph" and after I saw that the case for them was pink velvet, I couldn't help myself. I've become a little bit of a sunglass addict but they are just so practical and can totally change your look. I was lucky that this was the ONLY item that I walked out of the store with after my Bendel Breakdown :)

Cardio Curse to Cardio Challenge

Although I preach that women need to re-evaluate their workouts and do a lot more weight lifting and plyos than cardio, cardio is still a part of the equation to fitness success. After talking to my trainer this past weekend, I realized that I wasn't taking this seriously enough and just kind of going through the motions when it came to cardio. Although I was waking up in the AM to run before my first meal to get my "empty cardio" in, that's all I was doing for cardio and my body inevitably became used to it and therefore it became a waste of time because I was only maintaining instead of improving. In order to get results, I need to implement variety into my cardio routine. So I decided I would start on Sunday morning and wake up and do a Cardio Challenge that my trainer gave me. It definitely wore me out but in a great way and it was the perfect jump start into my new variety cardio goals. Try it out and let me know what you think!

School's Out

I know I sound like a broken record talking about Sportswear being big but it's true! You'll really start to see a bunch of it emerge in the next month during the delivery time dubbed "Back To School."
That time growing up where you started freaking out because you didn't do any of your summer reading or book reports but your mom could get you sortaaaa excited for school by bribing you with new Back To School Clothes? Or was this just me? Here's an outfit that makes me laugh because this looks like somewhere in between a modified Girls' School Uniform and a Soccer Team Jersey Dress. I got it on sale at ASOS and decided to continue on with the sportswear theme by wearing my wedge sneakers with it. The big steal here though, is my R+J crossbody pastel yellow bag- which fits my laptop (amazing carry on for travel) that I bagged for $29 at TJMaxx (full retail price here). I have never bought anything from there but I guess if you're in the treasure hunt mood, you really can score some great things! This is my version of the backpack for BTS which I am seeing everywhere! Holographics, metallics, leather, kaleidoscope prints - they are really stepping up the backpack from the original Jansport that I used to have. Here are some of my favorites that I've spotted online:

 Clockwise from Top Left: BCBGeneration Floral, Marc by Marc Jacobs Yellow

 Nasty Gal Metallic, and MCM Red Leather

 

 

Frozen Yogurt Strawberries & 4th of July

My biggest food weakness above and beyond anything is ice cream. If it didn't have any consequences, I think I could eat it for every meal, every day. One trick I use to try to tame this craving is to take strawberry yogurt and stick it in the freezer for 40 minutes so it gets the same consistency of soft serve.

When I was home for the 4th of July I went to the Nationals game with my family (I know - so American) but I decided I'd try out a treat that I had seen on Instagram. I'll worn you now, the picture I found on IG was WAY prettier than mine but it was delicious none the less and a great dessert treat :) I took fresh strawberries and I spread strawberry Greek Yogurt around the outside of the strawberries and then sprinkled cinnamon over top and stuck them in the freezer. The IG version used flavorless less Greek yogurt which I'm not a fan of and they didn't have cinnamon but I had to put my own spin on it. Give it a try!

 

The Instagram Pretty Version, brace yourself for my version 

 

Citrus Lime

This last week I was in Northern VA/DC to celebrate the 4th and my sister's birthday. Typically when I'm home I go out with my girlfriends at least one night. As I've said before, my style definitely pushes DC boundaries so I try to tone it down a little bit when I'm there. Here's an outfit I wore for girl's night this past weekend. I wore a bodycon printed skirt from one of my new favorite brands Clover Canyon. I have been stalking this brand online in awe trying to narrow down my favorite print and also to find something on sale. I found this amazing multi-colored print skirt on Shopbop.com 20% off and girl's night was the perfect occasion to wear it (here it is on sale at CUSP). As per usual I paired it with a SugarLips ribbed tank, this time in citrus lime and a gold plated statement necklace from JewelMint with lime and yellow stone accents. The clutch is an old time Rebecca Minkoff staple. Initially when I put this outfit together, I topped it off with these amazing BCBG Pocahontas open toed fringe booties (most similar bcbg online pair but try the store!). I scored these last weekend at the shoe sale but decided against them at the last minute to be worn out in Arlingon/DC… they will definitely be worn this summer in the city many times!