Peanut Butter & a Little Black Dress

It has been a slow morning already & I'm just catching up on all of your lovely blogs. 

...that is, while I eat peanut butter toast & sip on coffee. 

 Have I ever admitted my extreme love of peanut butter to you all?  I think I did on one of my first posts ever -about a year ago.

Seriously- I tote it to work all the time. No shame here.



By the way, here's an OOTD. A typical "work attire" for me:

In Brandon's temporary"dining room" that has a hodge podge of random furniture in it. (no table, though)

Lately I've been washing my hair at night & letting it air dry.  My new iniative is to keep my hair away from heat tools throughout the weekdays. Then, on the weekends, I can use the blow dryer/flat iron/curling iron and not cringe about it.  

See...notice my hair is up in a pony tail.  That's kind of regular -although I do try to switch it up & experiment with other "up-dos."

you know ...a little twist here and there to change things up a bit:

Pardon the little piece sticking up (well, it's actually sticking down) in the back.  This was after the gym one day & I didn't put as much effort into my twist the second time around as when I threw it up first thing in the morning.

Every now & then I'll blow it out before work, but I usually just save that for the weekends.  Call me lazy, but I've just found that I like my hair away from my face throughout the work-day.  Ask me again in two weeks & it may be a different story :)

Also, my muscle milk came in... and after two protein shake, I can report that I have huge muscles now.

I kid, I kid - I will continue drinking it an hour before my lunchtime workout & let you know when I start noticing results.  That is, if I do. By the way, I'm not trying to bulk up.  Just want to make that clear here!

I think I was expecting the shake to taste just like chocolate milk, but lets face it -it's protein powder and water.  It's not going to be great ...& as it turns out, it's not.  But it's definitely not bad at all.  I think if I put it in almond milk, it would be super tasty.  The serving is small -so it's not like I'm sipping on this gigantic protein shake.  Just about 10 sips and it's gone.  So it doesn't have to be yummy, I guess.

That's all I've got for today. 

Hope you all have wonderful Thursdays!

XO

ps. Glad you all enjoyed the baby animal photos as much as I did! 

Tuesday Treasures

Is it seriously only Tuesday? 

This has been the slowest week already and we haven't even made it over Hump Day. 

I think I'm anticipating the holiday weekend so much ... it's making my days drag on & on! 

Anyway, do take a look at these lovely things I found in the world of online shopping.  

These shoes are perfect for the summer ...especially for the 4th of July! 

$60 - Dolce Vita

...and this dress! I love the simplicity & the nude color. Makes it better to dress up with a bold accessory! 

& the back has a little something special...

I would pair this with a chunky turquoise necklace, like the one I just bought from F21...

$95 for TopShop dress & $7 for necklace

Another treasure this Tuesday is a particular product from Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics...

The "Floating Island" Bath Melt

Taken from the Lush website, 

"Slow-melting, sandalwood and lemon luxury. Our Floating Island is a vanilla scented melt with a touch of reviving lemon. Helen combined it with Bath Bomb mixture to create a fizzing bath melt that would melt very slowly in the water, allowing you to lie back and really enjoy the beauty of the experience.  t floats in your bath, gradually dissolving, softening the water and smoothing your skin. It's a wonderful treat for a weekend bath, when you can stay in there as long as you like."

...and I must say that it is WONDERFUL! 

I had heard a lot about Lush before going to NYC.  So when Brandon and I were there in May, I made sure to stop in the SoHo store.  I spent way too much on their products, but I've been impressed!  It's all handmade from fresh ingredients.  No chemicals at all!  

The bath melt makes your bath water silky & comforting.  The smell is super relaxing, too!

$7.95 for 3.5oz (I break the melt in half & use it for two separate baths -an $8 bath could become an expensive habit!)

What treasures do you have to share this Tuesday?

XO

babies!

I was scrolling around on Pinterest during the commercials of The Bachelorette when I kept stumbling upon pictures of puppies, baby owls, piglets, and so on.  

I found enough precious photos within a few minutes that I just had to share on a blog post! 

...and my favorite of all is this sweet photo...

(Apparently, this father is seeing his three week old baby for the first time since being oversees.)

How sweet! 

XO

via

Saturday Night Special

Sad that David Yurman has raised their prices...

I got this bracelet for $390 in December

via

...and now the price has been raised to $450! 

I know that prices are constantly inflated, but gosh...don't y'all just hate to watch it happen!?

Sorry, forgot to flip this picture after I sent it to my email from my phone! 

But my invisible tears have been wiped away with the satisfactions I've gained from my at-home manicure tonight.

Thanks to Miss Pink Lou Lou, I learned that it is, in fact, possible to glam up your nails without paying to get them done each week! 

I just used this

...then this (dipped in nail polish remover to clean up the edges)

...followed by two coats of this

a.k.a the BEST top coat in the world.  It dries remarkably fast & makes your nails feel so hard! Super shiny, too.

By the way, I bought this glycolic peel on Amazon & it is fantastic!

I bought the 35% strength.  Before bed once a week, I'll apply it to clean skin with my fingers.  I let it sit on my skin for 10 minutes & am left with very little redness after I rinse it off.  Then I apply a heavy moisturizer & wake up the next morning with super bright and smooth skin! 

Buy it here.

Told ya I love Amazon :)

XO

gloomy days, bad teachers, and protein!

Has this week just flown by for anyone else?

Gloomy day here in Charleston.  Hope this isn't any reflection of the weekend! I would love to spend my Saturday morning strolling around the Farmer's Market in pretty weather.

Anyway, to make up for the lack of sunshine today, I decided to feel bright & cheerful by wearing a Lilly dress to work.

***

Anyone planning on going to see Bad Teacher over the weekend?

I love Cameron Diaz & hope this movie is really cute!  I think I will wait to see it after I hear some reviews.

...so if you see it, let me know!  ;)

***

...waiting for my shipment of protein powder to come in today.

Oh my gosh, did I really just say that?

Protein powder?

I never thought I'd be a "protein shake" girl, but I decided to give it a try.

Although this is the "light" version of Muscle Milk, it's still higher in fat than other protein powder options.  But I still decided to get this one because I've heard it tastes really good ...and let's face it, if I don't like it, I won't drink it.  So there.

I'll let you know if I notice any differences in hunger cravings/energy/lean muscle/etc.

If I do, I'm going to buy the vanilla flavor to put in smoothies! 

This product is normally around $40 full price, but I got it on Amazon for $15.77.

Have I mentioned how much I LOOOVE Amazon?

Well, I do.

***

That's all I've got ladies... well, & Brandon (who checks up on my blog multiple times a day to see y'alls comments, hehe)

Happy Friday!

XO

Just some thoughts for Hump Day

Hi pretties.

Do y'all know how wonderful cookies from the Doubletree Hotel are? 

Brandon and I stayed in a Doubletree Suite when we went to NYC.  They gave us cookies when we checked in (I got both since Brandon doesn't eat sweets!).  

Seriously, they are the best cookies I've ever tasted. 

Well ...  the Doubletree of Charleston brought a tin of their cookies to my office today! 

I may or may not have snuck two out of the tin.

I may or may not be eating the second one right now.

At least I went to the gym on my lunch break! 

You can find the recipe for the delicious cookies here.

(They have oats, chocolate chips, walnuts, and even lemon juice in them!)

***

I am still at a loss of creative ideas to decorate my office.  

Look at these dreamy office-spaces!

all photos via pinterest

***

It has been SO hot here since Sunday.

Hello, blistering heat! 

Somehow, I'm still freezing in my office & have had the space heater blowing on my feet throughout the day.  

***

Tonight, I plan on relaxing on the sofa while catching up on this week's episode of The Bachelorette.  

Did I miss any drama??  I'm honestly not too into this season (since Bentley left, at least) but I still plan on watching every week!  

Until next time!

XO

The Most Important Meal of the Day...

I recently gave a speech on the reasons we should all eat a big, healthy breakfast every morning.

Do you eat a meal within the first two hours of your day?

Based on my acquired knowledge from my (many, many) health classes & the research I did to prepare for my speech, here's why you should!  

Did you know that while we sleep, our bodies go into hibernation mode & our metabolism shuts down? 

When you wake up in the morning, you need to wake up your metabolism as well!  This can be done by eating a healthy breakfast within the first two hours that you're awake.  If you don't eat within that time frame, your body will go into starvation mode.  Then, when you finally get around to eating (say, around lunch time), your body is going to store all of the fat from that meal (remember, your body thinks it's starving).  However, if you were to eat breakfast, your body's metabolism is running & is ready to burn fat after a meal -not store it! 

People that eat breakfast have higher attention spans, higher concentration levels, & overall ...more brain power!  This is why your Mom always said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

Breakfast eaters also tend to have higher strength and endurance levels.

Based on research, if you eat breakfast that is high in nutrients, you'll consume fewer calories all throughout the day because you won't feel as hungry as your day moves along! 

Your breakfast shouldn't be a bowl full of sugary cereal (or leftover pizza, as I am shamefully admitting to eating for breakfast from time to time!). 

Eat something high in lean protein, because it will keep you satisfied until lunch (hopefully!).  Also, a little side note -don't be afraid to eat a small, healthy snack in between breakfast and lunch.  It will keep your metabolism moving & in fat-burning mode!  Also, by eating a snack, you'll be less likely to over-eat at lunch time.

In the speech I gave on this topic, I referenced a study by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center that compared the weight loss in overweight women who ate two eggs vs. a bagel for breakfast each morning for eight weeks.  The eggs & the bagel were identical in calories and volume.

After the end of the study, it was found that the women who ate the eggs as part of a low-fat diet
lost 65% more weight, had a reduced waist circumference by 83%, and they reported higher energy levels.

One of my favorite breakfasts is Overnight Oats because it's easy & cold. I'm not a big fan of hot things in the morning!

I learned about Overnight Oats from Jen at Peanut Butter Runner.

Here's the link to her recipe.

Another tip I can give you is to drink a LOT of water.  It will help keep your hunger at bay throughout the day.  I always drink a cup of water FIRST THING when I wake up each morning.  Your body gets dehydrated throughout the night, so I feel it's important to rehydrate before you do anything else.

Hope this post was informative & helped some of you!

...just my two cents.

XO

photos via

...at the lake

My family is spending Father's Day weekend at the lake in Santee.  

If Dad could spend his last day on Earth anywhere in the world, it would be with his family on this lake. I can guarantee this. 

We're excited for some water sports, good food, and family time! 

Do any of you have fun plans with your fathers? 

all photos via

...until Sunday, my loves.

Have a great weekend! 

XO