Friday, July 30, 2010

Friday Night Out - Shoe Dilemma

Tonight a few of my fellow Clemson MBA alums are coming in town for a mini-reunion. I'm the only girl, lol. Anyways... we're doing dinner downtown, followed by a night out on the town visiting bars and who knows what else.

So I've pretty much got my outfit planned - I'm wearing this fun ruffled one-shoulder top from GoJane.com that I adore with this fun and flirty skirt from Forever21. Excuse the skirt appearance in the picture - I had to steal it off of a picture from What I Wore's Jessica since the skirt is no longer on Forever21's site. The picture really doesn't do it justice - it has more purple hues in it and the colors really pop!

And I'm pretty sure I'll be carrying my New York & Co metallic silver ruffled purse.
So onto my dilemma - shoes. What shoes should I wear? The shoes in the photo on the left are very close in resemblance to a pair I have from Forever21. The other shoes on the right are from Old Navy. I think I like the Old Navy pair the best since it makes the outfit more summery -- but these shoes start to hurt my feet if I wear them for long periods of time... and I have a feeling we'll be out late tonight.

But should I wear them anyways...maybe pack flops in my purse to put on just in case?

Or should I dress it up with the beige pumps?

Or........do you have a suggestion for something completely different?

Help!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

A Lilly Giveaway on Sunshine and Summertime!

The lovely blogess at Sunshine and Summertime is giving away one of these adorable Lilly agendas - you get to pick which print you want! It's her very first giveaway.



She gives you several ways to enter so you can have multiple entries. I hope I win - if I do, the Koi (dark blue) print will be my choice.

Visit her blog and enter!!

I want, I want, I want!!

I have not typically been a Lily Pulitzer fan - mainly because of the prices. I love the Lily prints, but I sometimes feel like they are way overpriced... but I think being in Charleston is having a Lily affect on me. I'm tempted more and more to get some Lily lovelies. This year I bought two Lily dresses and a bag on RueLaLa.

But now I'm really in love... I first saw this dress when The Company She Keeps posted a photo on her blog (she owns it...jealous!). I love the colors, the beachiness, and I could so see myself wearing this all around Charleston... I mean, it's calling to me...

...but $178 for one dress. Ugg...I just can't. I found a size 4 on Ebay for $158...but that's still pretty high for me for just one dress. If I had a special occasion to wear it to (and if I didn't already own 5 billion dresses that a quarter of still have tags on them) then maybe...just maybe... I'd take the financial plunge... but I just can't justify this one. Sigh...

I guess I need to get on that lottery hobby I've been meaning to take up.

Monday, July 26, 2010

It's Monday, Let's Dance.

If the title of this blog post sounds familiar, it's probably because you're an avid reader like I am of Brown Eyed Belle's blog.

I love that she posted that today because Monday's are indeed a day of dance for me.

I have been a ballet dancer for almost 25 years - I'm classically trained and prefer pointe. I've taken jazz and lyrical in the past, but when it comes to a genre like hip hop, I'm the stiff white girl who looks anything but 'gangsta'.

But Monday's are my hip hop days - and has quickly become my favorite and most looked forward to workout in my slew of activities.


Last year when I moved to Charleston, my best girlfriend told me about a hip hop class on Daniel Island for adults. She had always wanted to go but wasn't brave enough to venture alone - so now that I was in town and both of us having dance backgrounds, we wanted to give it a try.

Meet Angel Roberts. She's the type of woman you meet and think "Wow, she's got it together!" Before moving to Daniel Island, she was out in L.A. and worked as the stylist for 'That 70's Show'. When her and her husband had two little girls, they decided they wanted them to grow up in an all American town - and they found Daniel Island.

Once here Angel decided that she would put together a class for women that was a cross between exercise (think Cross Fit) and Hip Hop. She holds four classes - Daniel Island Elementary school gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays...and two classes on Tuesday - one on James Island and the other in West Ashley.

The class is only $10 for your first class of the week - and if you attend two, the second is only $5... what's great is you get way more than what you pay for. For only $10 you get an almost 2 hour long class - the first 15 or so minutes involves warm up exercises, drills across the gym, and fun partner exercises (again, think Cross Fit). Next you move on to the dance portion...she teaches a fun hip hop dance and you do the dance over and over until you've mastered it. She'll split the gym into two groups and you do the dance back and forth until you can barely go any longer. Then the class wraps up with floor exercises - planks, ab work, stretching - followed by a cool down.

There are all levels of ability and all ages in this class... Angel is so fun and upbeat, you don't even realize you're working out (or that you're not a professional hip hop dancer). She keeps you challenged and each week you learn a new dance so you're never bored.

I just realized I sound like I'm a marketer...but I really genuinely love this class and look forward to it every week. You leave the class drenched in sweat and feeling like a million bucks - and even when you wake up incredibly sore the next morning (which you will), you know it was because you got a crazy work out.

One of the local TV stations did a story on Angel and the class last week and I wanted to embed it in this post... but my stupid work Web filter will not let me get to it. I was actually interviewed for the story... right after class...when my hair was a mess and my makeup had sweated down to my chin. Niiice. Lol. I'll try to update this later and embed it.

Update: Here's the news report with me being interviewed!


For now though, I'll embed my favorite dance we've done so far... 'Carry Out' which is also one of my fave songs. I'm in this video for only a few seconds - you'll maybe see me in the second group of dancers when the camera pans to the left.. about the 1:37 mark I appear on the left. I'm in black pants with white stripes on the sides, grey shirt, hair in ponytail, about the second person from the left, in between the two in the front. Don't laugh. :)


Another dance we did I really liked... "I Need Somebody to Love".


So I'm ready for class tonight - even though it's going to be sweltering with the incredibly high temperatures here in Charleston today (heat index of 117..no joke). But with so much going on with work and unpacking my condo, etc., I'm looking forward to some dancing and working off the stress (and the pizza I ate Saturday night).

If you're in Charleston...you should definitely try out one of the classes! It's so fun! My best friend and I have inspired several of our other friends to start taking the class because they hear us talk about it so much.

You can see more on their Facebook page. She videos the dances each week so you can watch them after class.

I showed my boyfriend some of the videos and besides telling me I shouldn't be so stiff (gee thanks), he said that he thought the dances were 'hot', lol. And then said that my friend and I should start doing those dances in the bars and clubs... he was serious. Um... no.

But.. how cool would it be if we organized a flash mob of one of these dances somewhere in Charleston where it was crowded?? I just posted the idea on the Facebook page! :)

So...what's your favorite work out? What work out do you do that you love or that you always look forward to??

Happy Monday!

Friday, July 23, 2010

My first awards!!

Hooray! I feel so special... {blush}.

Elizabeth from Queen of his Castle has given me this lovely award. Thank you!! (Update: Just found out that Jess from Polka Dots, Pearls, and Pink...OH MY! also gave me this award!)


Here's what I have to do...

1. Thank and link back to the person that gave you the award.
Danke Elizabeth! (And thanks Jess!)

2. Share 7 things about yourself.
  • I LOVE dogs - especially big ones. I want a dog so bad I can hardly stand it, but I'm determined to be an amazing dog parent, so I'm waiting until I'm home more (aka after football season).
  • My eyebrow is pierced - I've had it since I was 19 (got it done in Germany) and I feel like I'm too old for it and should take it out (I take it out for work daily), but it's become a defining part of me, so I can't let go of it just yet...
  • I was a bartender in a dive bar in Clemson for 2.5 years while in grad school - the Sloan St. Tap Room, owned by Frank Howard's son. It didn't pay well and I didn't make much money... but it was the best job I've ever had. When I win the lottery I'm going to move back to Clemson and work there the rest of my life.
  • I went to Hoover High School - the same school in the MTV reality show '2 a days'. I graduated with over 800 people in my class. I saw people walk across the stage on graduation that I had never seen before in all four years of high school. I often wonder if I would be a different person if I had gone to a smaller or private high school.
  • I am ketchup obsessed and put ketchup on everything - steak, mac & cheese, most vegetables and other foods that make people stare at me strangely. Whenever I go out to eat with friends they race to get the ketchup before me because I usually empty it. :)
  • I would love to go back to school and get a PHD - but going back to being broke and giving up four years of my life to studying makes this idea go quickly out the window.
  • I'm a pretty decent bowler - highest score was a 212 and I usually average about 170. Growing up in Alabama there wasn't much to do except four wheel in the woods or go to the bowling alley. I played in my company's league for two years and I have my own bowling ball and shoes. It's pretty nerdy, but I love beating my guy friends who think they are masters at bowling. I usually shut them up. :)
3. Pass the award to 9 fellow bloggers that inspire you.
(This was hard to pick just 9! I am brimming with inspiration from so many blogs! Look at how fast and how long my blog roll lists are growing in my right column --->)
4. Let them know about the award.

And then the super sweet Andrea from Life in Dawleywood gave me this award... thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Describe where you will be in 10 years...

Wow.. I'm not sure where I'll be in 5 years, let alone 10... and geez in 10 years I'll be knocking on 40's door.

I guess I'd like to be married and have two cotton top kids. I will not be working in the corporate world any longer - but traveling the world with my family as I make appearances and sign my bestseller books... which all began of course from the novel I write based on this blog....which of course was a bestseller instantly. I'll also be finalizing the screenplay based on the novel which is being made into a big blockbuster movie - set to premiere at Cannes. The hot, young blonde actress of that time will be playing my character. Charleston Girl Barbie dolls are the big Christmas gift that year - stores can't keep them on the shelves -- and they're selling on Ebay for at least $300. I'll be in the best shape of my life, because I'll have a personal trainer, nutritionist and cook...of course. I'll be the spokes model for the latest wrinkle creme campaign and I'll own and run about five charities - one of them dog focused of course. And I'll be in talks with Bravo to star in the newest Real Housewives series - The Real Housewives of Charleston. But despite all the fame and fortune I'll be basking in... I'll still be blogging...on this blog... and being inspired and sending inspiration to bloggers all over the world.

And scene.

Ha!

I pass this award along to...

**Thanks again for the blog love ladies!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Happy Pink & Green Thursday

I decided to play along this week in Pink Preppy Lilly Lover's Pink and Green Thursday... My sister's wedding was pink and green and so beautiful... so why not feature her for Pink & Green Thursday! She was married in Birmingham, AL in May of last year. Her dress was Vera Wang and so pretty! Enjoy these amazing photos...

my sister and i getting ready


my sister's bouquet front with bridesmaid bouquets

my sister adores frogs - she had a sequined frog in her bouquet

my sister and her bridesmaids...i'm to the right of my sister, her left side in the picture

my sister in the bridal room of our church - the back of her dress had two large flowers

my sister's shoes!

bridesmaids had pink dresses with green shoes!

the program

husband & wife

taking photos before the reception, gorgeous lighting

photographer won an award for this photo above - pink & green!




cocktails..waiting to make our grand entrance into the reception

table cards

each table was named after a place that was special to them and included a photo of them together at that location

the cake!

the flowers on the cake matched the flowers on her dress

part of the bridesmaid gifts was a green pashmina - here its being used for limbo on the dance floor

they left the reception in a tunnel of sparklers into a golf cart - only to drive around the hotel and meet us all at the hotel bar

* happiest day of my sister's life *