Friday, July 29, 2011

Friday Fancies: Mexican Rainbow + Charleston Blogger Meet Up


Hooray... it's FINALLY Friday! Whoop whoop! Has this week crept by to anyone else? Geez....so happy it's Friday and time for Happy Hour with friends! We are going to try out the new Taco Mamacita's Mexican restaurant on Sullivan's Island that took the place of our beloved Off The Hook bar. I've heard they have a Skinny Margarita that's pretty good that my new healthy self might try....

Planning on rocking my black ruffle romper from Forever21 - I know people either love or hate rompers, and while I tried to hate them, the four year old in me caved and I love rompers now -- despite that going to the bathroom is a little trickier. :)

I plan to accessorize with color! Not my exact accessories, but since it's Friday Fancies I'm allowed to 'splurge'...the versions I'll be wearing are much more affordable - like the nude strappy heels I'll be wearing look very similar to the ones below, but are more casual and WAY cheaper. :)

Taco Mamacita Happy Hour

Another Charleston blogger Kim, of Keller Creative (her blog and DIY projects are awesome!), contacted me about possibly doing a Charleston blogger meet up. I follow so many Charleston bloggers that of course I thought this was a most excellent idea -- I'd love to meet all of y'all in person.

Visit her blog to read her post from today about the possible meet up and options for dates - comment and let her know what works for you. We were emailing and thinking that this could become a regular event for all of us...she even made an adorable graphic.


If you're a Charleston blogger who follows other Charleston bloggers -- spread the word!

Happy Friday! Everyone have a fabulous weekend!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Hello, my name is Christy and I am a Foodaholic.

So....yes... like every bride-to-be, I am trying to lose weight. I exercise like crazy and I'm anything but inactive, but I always joke that I do this so I can eat. And I do.

My biggest issue lies in the fact that growing up I had a really high metabolism. So even all through my college years when I ate nothing but crap and drank beer every night of the week, I maybe only gained a few pounds, but maintained my weight. I never had to worry about what I was eating...so I never learned that self control.

And then I hit my mid-20's.... {insert tire screeching noise symbolizing my metabolism}...

I'm usually at a desk eight hours a day. But I'm still active with working out, dance classes, riding my bike, etc. But again... I do this to maintain because of my eating habits.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not eating McDonalds every day - I actually can't even remember the last time I ate McDonalds. I have a reasonable diet... but I have no portion control... instead of having one bowl of cereal, I might have three. I also love going out to eat with my fiance...again, not making crazy bad choices, but we all know what the portions are at restaurants.

I also have no eating schedule...with work and everything else going on, sometimes I don't eat dinner until 10pm. And lunch is never at the same time every day. Good news is, I do eat breakfast every day...so that's good.

But it probably doesn't do me any favors that my favorite food is Italian, I love my white wine, and I have a sweet tooth like no other.



I eat healthy MOST of the time...and I eat the bad stuff in moderation. So that with my active lifestyle helps me maintain my weight...

...but...I will be the first to admit that I need to lose 10 pounds and get back to my college weight if not lighter. I'm in great shape...I've got lots of muscle, but I've got that extra pounds I need to shed, and I want to get leaner. And what better motivation to do this than for my wedding, right?



And I know that in order to start shedding pounds, I HAVE to start lowering my daily calories and actually being conscious of what's going in my mouth. I actually tracked my calories for a month using MyFitnessPal and I think I lost like three pounds (they're already back), so I know that tracking my calories works. So I need to get my act together and just do it (sorry Nike)!

And yes Christy, this means no more glasses of Chardonnay at night before bedtime. And speaking of bedtime Christy... this means going to bed before midnight! Lack of sleep hinders weight loss.

And yes...I talk to myself.

I know all of the weight loss tricks....eat more fiber, drink more water, get more sleep, cut back on calories, eat lean proteins, dinner should be smallest meal, don't drink sodas...etc., etc., etc. I'm educated... I just don't follow through with these, and I need to.



My mom said she's buy me a membership to Weight Watchers for my birthday... my fiance told me once it would be a waist of money because I should be able to count my calories and do it myself without a program...but can I? I know a lot of folks who have lost a lot of weight (and kept it off) using Weight Watchers. Thoughts?? Is it worth the try if it's a gift?

What I really need advice (therapy?) on is how to keep my stress from sabotaging my healthy eating. The biggest issues I have is that stress or bad days are my food trigger... just like an addict is triggered by certain things to want to use, I am triggered by stress and emotions to want to eat!

Source: flickr.com via Kelli on Pinterest


A lot of people have told me, "Don't worry! You'll lose a ton of weight right before the wedding because you'll be so busy and stressed, and you won't eat as much." This is true for some people - my sister looked fantastic on her wedding day..and she told me it was mainly due to a combination of more jogs and lots and lots of stress.

But this scares me...because for me, stress makes me EAT! Like..."I've had a bad day I'm ordering a pizza" type of eating. And if it's a really bad day, that pizza will include a bottle of wine and ranch to dip it in!

My triggers can even be minor...let me give you an example... the other day I was going to get lunch on my lunch break from work. Subway is a hop, skip, jump away and I was going to get my usual turkey sandwich on wheat, lettuce, tomato, light mayo with a water bottle (see? healthy!).

I pull into the parking lot, which is typically full at lunch time. I'm already not looking forward to waiting in line inside. I see a car start to pull out of a spot..so I put my blinker on and wait. The car pulls out. And then...out of no where... some girl in a beat up POS car comes out of nowhere and PULLS INTO THE SPOT. I'm just sitting there with my blinker on, mouth hanging open..."Oh no she didn't!".

I've already had kind of a rotten day, so this was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I put my car into reverse {screeching tire wheel noise again} and think "Forget Subway! Grr!". Don't worry, I 'waved' to the girl who stole my spot before I pulled off. My driving anger issues I will save for another confession post. :)

Anyways...so of course I go to the next convenient place to get lunch... Arby's. It's right next door to Subway. Crap. So much for healthy. I pull up to the drive through and make the healthiest Arby's choice I could...well...not really...but somehow ordering a turkey wrap (which I know in the back of my head ISN'T really that healthy..but ignore) makes me feel better about the fries and Diet Coke. (And I know what you're thinking, "Christy...all of this could have been avoided if you made your lunches and brought them to work!". I know, I know...but who has time to make lunches??)

Sigh.

As you can see...all it takes is a stolen parking spot to trigger me to evil food.

In my mind, this is the greatest challenge I will face as I start my battle to lose some pounds before my big day. I have four months and a little over a week. Is it possible to lose 10 pounds that fast??

I'm also throwing around the idea of once August starts, not drinking any more beer - just low calorie liquors, and only drinking the low cal liquors on special occasions like my birthday, football games, bachelorette, etc. This presents another issue for me: I am not fun when I'm liquor drunk and usually don't know my limits with liquor to keep me from getting liquor drunk... :)

I'm also thinking of rewarding myself for every 2 pounds lost - like...2 pounds=$50 to spend on a new dress or something.

So..................... long post. Guess I'm making up for not posting much last week.

So ladies...share your weight loss secrets, successes, failures.... and how do you keep the stresses of life from ruining your diet?

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Nail polish for girls who don't paint their nails

Wow..I have been really MIA this past week... oops. Things have been crazy busy as usual.

Anyways... I wanted to share with you my new favorite, fun nail polish.

I hardly ever paint my nails. I don't really have long nails, and even though I try, they just don't grow. I also rarely get manicures -- I just can't get myself to spend $12 on something that I can do myself, sometimes better. And even though I can do it myself... I rarely do because I get frustrated when only days later, it's already chipping.

However... I keep my toes painted, so I buy fun polish colors from time to time to try out on my toes. Two weeks ago, I randomly tried this Celeb City polish from Sally Hansen on my nails just for fun while taking a break at work...and I loved the way it looked.

Blurry, but says "220 Celeb City"
This polish went on so easy and effortless - and you could do one coat for a more sheer look, or multiple coats for a more opaque look. It also has just enough of a sparkle to match my personality. :)

Plus, it didn't chip for well over a week. Winning!

Since it goes on slightly sheer with one coat, I used it on my toes over a navy polish -- looks really cool. But sorry, no pictures...as someone with ballet dancer feet, I promise the last thing you want to see are my toes! :)

Sorry I have been so lame in updating this blog...will try to do better this week. Cheers!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Weekend Recap in Photos

Went to Virginia Beach, VA for a family friends' wedding.
Got to see my adorable niece - she's getting so big! Look at those cheeks!
View from our hotel room.
Lots of beach time during the day.
Beach wedding - loved the decorations.
Groom waiting for his bride.
Here comes the bride!
Bridesmaids in turquoise and bare feet - orange bouquets.
"I do!"
Unity sand - into an hourglass.
"I now pronounce you man and wife!"
Beachy centerpieces.
Orange flowers created lots of color!
Loved this cupcake tower - flavors were coconut and mint chocolate. Delicious!
Favors... at first we couldn't figure out what it was...magnet? paper weight?
Other favors included sand and shell filled candles.
Me and my fiance... my RTR dress, lol.
 Starfish favor was... bottle opener! Winning! Already in my beach bag.
I had the crab cakes - delicious!
One of our friend's daughters was ready for bed - so she decided to
just plop down on floor and go to sleep. So cute.

Not really sure what's going on here...except that my Spanx makes
my butt look like a rap star's girlfriend's booty...
Lots of dancing - yes that would be napkins on their heads. Kind of a tradition...long story. :)
Sunday night Bradley and I were still in town and a lot of folks had left.
So we went on a mini-date and had dinner on the water. It was so nice and relaxing.
Bradley. I love that five years later I still look at him and think "Damn, he's hot!". :)
Me.
Got back to Charleston (7 hr drive!) Monday evening - picked up Willow
from Pooch Palace where we board him - the dogs play all day long there.
Needless to say, Willow went right to bed when we got home...he snored all night. :)

THE END. :)

Friday, July 15, 2011

Friday Fancies: Summer Chic - Beach Wedding


Going to a beach wedding tomorrow and this is what I'm wearing (courtesy of Rent the Runway)...I have the same Lilly clutch, but mine has a gold gator on it instead of the flower. For jewelry I'm wearing silver hoops and a silver chain bracelet from Tiffany's I got for Christmas from my fiance several years ago. And of course flip flops - good ol' reliable silver ones from Old Navy. :)

Summer Chic: Beach Wedding

Happy Friday!!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Guilty Pleasure

Somehow this found its way into my shopping basket while I was waiting in line at Publix to check out...

...and without anyone to stop me...

...it was gone in no time along with a glass of wine.


Oops.

Dear South Carolina drivers...

If you are driving on a major road and see MULTIPLE traffic signs that clearly say "Incident ahead. Left lane closed", then that probably means you should put your blinker on, and get in the right lane.

Choosing to stay in the left lane and breeze by everyone else, then get up to the 'incident', stop almost completely and put on your blinker then (if you put your blinker on at all - this is a blog post for another day... #petpeeve) and wait for some chump to finally let you over (and you better wave thank you dangit! Yet another post for another day. #petpeeve) -- this is why there's traffic!

Bottom part of sign didn't show in pic - but clearly says, "Left lane blocked".
Check out all the cars in the left lane! Grr.

Then, when you drive by said 'incident' and completely turn your neck 90 degrees to the side, brake, and gawk at said 'incident' (which is usually just a minor car accident).... this is why there's traffic!

Oh, and check out the genius that is this major intersection in Mt. Pleasant currently undergoing construction... granted, it desperately needs the upgrade and once it's all said and done, it will be so much better (here's hoping)... but until then, they've...um... really screwed up this intersection... a stop light within a stop light? So, yes, I fear for my life every time I have to navigate this intersection...yikes!

Hey Mr. Stoplight, I would love to accelerate and go,
but there are still cars driving through!

And, is it really only Wednesday? I actually went through half the day today convinced it was Thursday... doh! And did my car really say it was over 100 degrees outside? :-/

Phew..ok. I feel better  Rant Over. :)

How about something cute and positive?

My little eskimo puppy - all curled up in the sheets.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Monday Musings

Happy Monday! (Is that an oxymoron?)

On Friday I posted the outfit I was wearing out for sushi dinner and drinks with my girlfriends - which turned into a "did we really just close down Suede nightclub in Mt. Pleasant?" night and a next morning of "did I really take all those shots? Bleh!! I am too old for this!". :)

Ignore my humidity-stricken hair!
But I digress...

I got a lot of comments about the hot pink dress I had posted, and I got a lot of compliments on it that night -- I was thrilled because I only paid about $20 for this dress (Forever21) and it's still on the site if you want your own.

Get your own on F21!
The rest of the weekend was pretty low key... yesterday my fiance and I took our puppy Willow to the James Island dog park. It's somewhat of a drive for us from Mt. Pleasant, but it's essentially a little island surrounded by water - and Willow can play so much longer because he stays cool in the water.

Normally Willow just gets in up to his neck and jumps around, but lately we've been trying to teach him to swim...and he's finally got it! He looks so cute paddling because his legs are so long and he splashes a lot -- but he's so proud of himself. We threw the ball for him and he swam out to get it for the longest time. Needless to say he was sooooo tired yesterday when we got him home and was still sleepy and red-eyed this morning.

For some reason all the black labs at the dog park formed their own pack
and started playing together - we couldn't tell who was who. It was so funny and cute!
Willow made friends with this cutie.

Check out Willow's new collar - I found this via another Charleston blogger Megan of Fried Green Pickles - it's from Etsy seller Uncle Barkley. It's so cute!

{via Etsy seller Uncle Barkley}

Upside-down and dog park dirty - oh well. :)

So how is your Monday going? I'm trying to set some mini-goals for myself this week - let's see if I can stick to them:

1. In bed by 10:30 PM - lights out, trying to sleep by 11 PM (I have serious night owl issues)
2. Pack my lunch for work for at least 2 to 3 days this week
3. Exercise every week day this week (hip hop class tonight, gym tomorrow, Body Pump & Body Flow classes Wednesday, ballet class Thursday, run Friday morning)

I also have lots of wedding stuff I need to focus on...we started shopping for wedding rings this past weekend. If you have any jeweler recommendations in Charleston, please send them to me!

My Mom gave me this book, "the Busy Bride's essential wedding checklists". It's 275 pages FULL of checklists....and I started thumbing through it last night, got to page 11 and had to put it down because I was having trouble breathing...lol...as in, overwhelmed! I need a check list for my check lists!!
{via}

Here's to a healthy and productive week! Cheers!