Christmas Party Attire

Christmas Party Attire by charlestongirlblog

Happy Halloween!

Just a Dog

From time to time people tell me, “Lighten up. It’s just a dog.”

or “That’s a lot of money for just a dog.”

 

They don’t understand the distance traveled, time spent or costs involved for “Just a dog”.

Some of my proudest moments have come about with “Just a dog”.

Many hours have passed with my only company being “Just a dog”

and not once have I felt slighted.

Some of my saddest moments were brought about by “just a dog“.

In those days of darkness ,

the gentle touch of “Just a dog“ provided comfort and purpose to overcome the day.

 

 

If you, too, think it’s “Just a dog“, you will probably understand phrases like

“Just a friend” or “just a sunrise” or “Just a promise“.

“Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust,

and pure unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of “Just a dog” I will rise early,

take long walks, and look longingly to the future.

 

 

For me and folks like me, it’s not “Just a dog“.

It’s an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future,

the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

“Just a dog” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts

away from myself and the worries of the day.

 

 

I hope that someday people can understand it’s not “Just a dog.”

It’s the thing that gives me humanity and keep me from being

“Just a man ” or “Just a woman”.

So the next time you hear the phrase “Just a dog“,

Smile because they “Just don’t understand“..

-Author unknown.

Weigh In Wednesday

I don't have too much to report to you today for weigh in Wednesday -- unless working out is an entire long holiday weekend of beachin' it, drinking, eating out, going to the movies (World War Z was really good - edge of your seat, unexpected suspense good) and eating salty popcorn -- then yeah, not much to report.

Oh, and we had a redneck party in the mix too. The kind of party where you couldn't figure out if people were dressed up redneck....or if that was just their normal attire.

My 'What the Duck' shirt is F21 circa 2003. And don't worry,
the girl on the far right is not really preggers.

Ok, weigh in Wednesday.... I'll report the mediocre amount of exercise I've done the past week.

Last Wednesday, I did this circuit workout in the gym I found off of Pinterest. Used 50# barbell for the back squats, 40# for upright rows... I didn't have a weighted ball for the 'overhead toss', so I did squats to push press. I don't like Arch Rocks, so I did Supermans instead. Regular burpees for me (no Bosu in the gym). And single leg tuck ups and pogos? Um, no thanks - changed that to Bulgarian one leg squats with the bench, 10# dumbbells in each hand, 10 each leg, and 20 V-up sit ups holding 10# weighted plate.

Then..... a whole week later..... bad Christy.....

I decided after a weekend of unhealthy habits, I needed a tough cardio workout to get back in gear. So today after work I decided to take on this treadmill circuit, but lowered the speeds to more suitable speeds. This girl, me, has some short stubby legs and 8.0 is my max speed on a good day...

I had a whole circuit of ab exercises to do after this, but oh.em.gee I was dying during and after the treadmill workout. Being unhealthy for a few days makes me feel like I haven't worked out in months. I struggled. So only some good stretching after this workout - no abs today.

Bleh. I meet for an hour with my trainer on Friday. I need to get my act together or I will not survive the session!

Why is it so much harder to stay on a consistent workout schedule in the summer? All I want to do is drink a New Belgium Rolle Bolle beer and be lazy.

Hopefully next week I'll have a better 'weigh in' to give you....

Cheers!

Make this for dinner tomorrow night.

You.have.to.make.this.recipe. Soooooo easy to throw together and it tastes amazing!

Here is where I got the recipe (pinned it, then followed link).

Cheers!

Team America

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July. I'm in pain today because of my Fourth of July - as in, too much sun and too much beverages...the kind that give you a headache the next day. :)

We spent the day playing Bocce and laying out on Sullivan's Island. Except for one random down pour at the end of the day (that made a lot of folks leave, so traffic was clear when we left..whoo hoo!), the weather was perfect.

Then we had a quick dinner at Kicken Chicken and headed to Waterfront Park under the bridge to watch the Patriot's Point fireworks.

Had to go in to work today (boo!), but I'm looking forward to the weekend and continuing with the Fourth of July festivities... which includes more beach time and a Redneck theme party... yes, my friends LOVE theme parties. :)

What did you do for the Fourth of July?

Cheers!

A Summer's Night Meal

Grilled chicken kabobs with cherry tomato, onions and green peppers with a side of grape tomato, mozzarella and parmesan asparagus salad. I used this Pin's recipe to cook my asparagus and just added the mozzarella and tomatoes. My husband said it was best asparagus he's ever had.

Yes, that's ketchup there on the left. I put ketchup on everything.

And I paired this meal with my favorite summer beer - New Belgium's Rolle Bolle... Mmmm!

Cheers!

Weigh In Wednesday

Two posts in one week.... say it isn't so!?! :)

I think every Wednesday I'm going to 'weigh in' so to speak on what I've been doing workout-wise for the past week -- not only to share my workouts (I love borrowing workouts from other bloggers to incorporate in my routine), but to also hold myself accountable.

One day a week I work out with a trainer at Daniel Island Gym. I love her! I started training with her at ESAC before my wedding, and have stayed with her as she's moved to different gyms. She pushes me past my limits so I always get an awesome workout every time. I also try to log my workouts after I meet with her, so I have an entire notebook full of workouts to pull from when I go to the gym by myself.

She also does circuit classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays - Noon to 12:45pm with optional 15 min abs afterwards. For non-members, it's only $20. They are crossfit-like workouts and will kick your butt. I take them randomly when I can. Here is one of her workouts below... we did abs using the TRX.

When the weather is cooler, I will run some outside -- but I am not a runner. I run the Cooper River Bridge Run every year and usually 'train' (not really) right before the race...but I am not a fan of slow and steady distance running. I get boooored and my head plays tricks on me and I get fatigued or feel pain after only a few miles -- it's all mental, but I can't get past it.

But I love running intervals on the treadmill -- my short little legs can sprint like hell for a good minute or so because in my mind I know I'll get a rest or a slower pace soon. There are so many treadmill interval workouts on Pinterest, so I like to try different ones each time to keep myself challenged. Here are two I recently did last week...

{via}

{via}

I saved up and bought a nice Precor Elliptical after I graduated college - best investment I ever made. I have used it so much in the past eight years. I put on one of my shows on the TV and steadily increase the resistance and incline. Monday I caught up on Mad Men and got in a good 50 minutes. I  need to start wearing my heart rate monitor because I'm not always sure the calorie count on the machine is accurate.

I followed up my Elliptical session with this ab workout from one of my fave fitness blogs, Blonde Ponytail.

I also like to find workouts from other bloggers and sites on Pinterest, and rework them to fit the equipment I have at hand - whether at the gym or at home.

Here are a few examples of recent workouts I've done...

A modified crossfit workout.

This workout is a slightly modified version of
a workout from the blog pumpsandiron.com. Added some
abs and altered the workout slightly - this workout was killer.

I also slightly modified a boot camp workout from the blog pgfingers.com - I made all the moves a full circuit and added in 10 minutes of elliptical to the beginning of each circuit.

In addition to these workouts, I'm also trying to add in as much Pilates and Ballet as I can. As a former dancer, I miss my regular ballet classes (used to take at DanceFX, but the location and class times...and cost...didn't work out for me), so I try to do my own barre exercises, Ballet workout DVDs and Pilates classes at home. There are so many free full Pilates workout videos online. I did this Ballet/Pilates fusion workout last week and really enjoyed it - I felt so stretched out afterwards.

View class on YouTube.

Well, this post ended up being a lot longer than I expected... going forward I'll try to report only on the workouts I've done for the week and not be so long winded. :)

I'm exhausted just thinking about all of these workouts -- even Willow is worn out...

Hope everyone is having a good week so far. Cheers!

I'm baaaaack.... maybe.

Hello blog readers....

{crickets}

...yes, I know...is anyone still here reading this? Maybe...maybe not.

I've struggled the past year keeping this little blog updated. I have many excuses - work, life, motivation - but I won't bore you with them.

I have though.....for now....become inspired to try and regularly post again. I don't blame you if you are thinking to yourself right now, "Yeah right...you will post one or two times this week and then be gone again for six months." And hey...you could be right.

But I'm going to 'try' - try being the keyword. Why have I been inspired out of the blue to try?

Two weekends ago, I was invited to a Blate. Blate = bloggers + date.

Kate from one of my favorite blogs Nautical By Nature contacted me about a Charleston blogger brunch. She was in town helping her sister move here and wanted to meet some local bloggers. As a big fan of her blog, I said 'Yes!'.

So I was fortunate enough to meet and get to know Kate, Heather of Sweat Tea Monograms, and Kelly of Honor, Courage, Commitment. We had brunch at Acme Lowcountry Cantina on Isle of Palms.

L to R: Kelly, Me, Heather, Kate

These ladies were super sweet and so friendly, and I'm ashamed that it took someone from across the country to actually organize some of us to meet up. Charleston bloggesses, we need to make this more of a regular thing.

So these ladies inspired me to try and start up this blog again - so we will see how it goes. I didn't think that my life was really that interesting to share...but after this weekend...

Hmm...these are just from wine club...er....book club. A camera with a timer and lots of wine - an interesting (and hilarious) combination. Maybe I do have something to blog about after all...

:)

Cheers!

Whatcha waiting for?

Work Style

Last week I was in Atlanta to speak at a work-related conference. I am always an avid tweeter (not with this blog's twitter account - my professional twitter account is @christyseason) during conferences, and I decided to mix it up and tweet out my daily outfit. Not sure anyone there really understood #ootd, but it was fun nonetheless.

I also randomly ran into Jana from Seashells and Southern Belles -- we're friends on Facebook, but have never met in person. I'm an avid follower of her blog and we have a love for nautical and Charleston in common. Well, she saw my check in at my hotel and messaged me that she was staying in the same hotel!

Before I could reply to her message, we ran into each other at the lobby bar. We had a great chat - me with about four glasses of wine - and hopefully I didn't talk her ear off. We talked about jobs and blogs and how we never seem to have time to blog anymore -- how do you ladies do it?

Anyways, it was great to finally meet her in person! She's so genuine and I hope she'll move to Charleston sometime in the future. :)

On a sad note, thoughts and prayers with victims of Bostom Marathon -- really unbelievable. Especially since we (Charleston crew) all just ran the Cooper River Bridge Run which is a huge 10k race down here in Charleston. I think it's like 40,000 people who run it.

And if you can't tell from all of these photos, I've finally made the leap to an iPhone and have joined instagram. You can follow me, username christypunch.



You will see a lot of this little guy in my instagram feed. :)

How's this for another random post that is randomly posted on a random date? Cheers!

Katniss Couture Portrait

Maybe Jennifer Lawrence should have rocked this look for the Oscars instead. I would have totally worn this dress - wings and all - as my wedding dress.

And here is what my bridesmaids would have worn....sans the wig of course.

See all of the new Hunger Games: Catching Fire couture portraits here.

Dog Lover

Nashville Outfit Planning

I love planning outfits with Polyvore (is it obvious?). I have a trip coming up soon for a friend's bachelorette in Nashville, and I'm trying to decide what outfits I'll wear...here are a few I created...

Nashville 2 by charlestongirlblog

Nashville by charlestongirlblog

Nashville 3 by charlestongirlblog

Also, have you been to Nashville before? No one going on this trip has been before. Where are the best places to eat? to drink? to dance? to shop? etc. Would love some suggestions!

Cheers!