Dear People of the Gym

Ah, the gym. One of the only places where you can pay to sweat within uber-close proximity to complete strangers. Usually this results in good things like weight loss and stress relief, but occasionally it can be quite aggravating. Maybe I was just in a funk or something, but yesterday was one of those days for me, so I decided to write a little open letter to the people of the gym (almost sounds like it can be an old cheesy horror movie title, no?).

Dear Janitor With Questionable Sanitation Practices, 

I see you. I see you over there wiping down every single piece of equipment with the same damn rag. While I appreciate your dedication to evenly distributing ringworm throughout the gym, your sanitary measures (or lack thereof) make me want to bathe in a vat of hand sanitizer at the end of my workout, or fear contracting Ebola. I can only hope you have a separate rag reserved for the bathrooms. I'm itchy.

Dear People Who Like To Use Multiple Pieces Of Equipment At Once,

"Oh, I'm using that." [I get up and move down a machine] "Oh, I'm using that one too." Um, no you're not. I'm glad that you enjoy circuit training and it is a great workout, but you do realize your name is not on the front of this building right? You have to shaaaare. I know this a really hard concept to wrap your head around, but you can't section off a corner of the gym for your personal use because other people pay to use it too. 

Dear Woman Who Wears Overly Provocative Clothing, Has Perfectly Quaffed Hair And A Full Face Of Makeup, 

Just, why? I get that you're just trying (too hard) to pick up your next sugar daddy and I respect that, but seriously. We all know that you aren't here to sweat and you're keeping me from using the equipment I need to finish my workout. Not to mention, please consider the risks involved with using that cable machine with your long hair down like that - you're going to end up scalping yourself and that is not a cute look. You may want to put that shizz up...or better yet, can't you just go elsewhere to get your bills paid? I've heard great things about sugardaddy.com. 

Ok, rant over. I can just go on and on about the crazy things others do at the gym that irk me, but I'll save them for another post! What kind of things get on your last nerve when you hit the gym?

x's,

I'm Baaaack!

You may have noticed that I've been a little M.I.A. For the last two *gasp* months. In blogger time that's the equivalent of oh...about 27 years, so hopefully I haven't lost too many of my readers! 

I must admit that I was a bit naive going into this blogging thing. I went in far too hard and in the end, I just couldn't keep it up (insert "that's what she said" joke here because that totally just sounded like an erectile dysfunction commercial)! Basically, I just burnt myself out trying to come up with topics to write about daily and it got a whole lot less fun. fast. I always knew it would take time to write, edit and take photographs for my posts, but I never imagined just how time consuming it would be!

Lately I've been finding myself missing the writing and creating process and after receiving some kind words from some lovely ladies, I've decided to jump back in! This time though, with a lot less weekly posts (2-3 a week sounds about right). I Hope those of you who stuck around (and any new readers) will enjoy the content I do share because I'm excited to be back at it!

x's,

Affordable Activewear: Forever 21 Fave's

There's something about cute workout clothes that give a girl that little extra push to hit the gym. Frumpy sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt you got for free somewhere are not going to cut it! My favorite place to shop for activewear is Forever 21 (with T.J. Max coming in a close second). I find that they have the cutest gear around and at great prices, because who really has the money to drop $100 on a pair of stretchy pants your going to sweat your ass off in?

I have many pieces from here ranging from sports bra's, to tanks and bottoms and they have held up for well over a year with very little wear. And I hit the gym three times a week on the reg. I like to do a lot of my shopping online but the key here is to try some items on in the store first to determine your size. Since Forever 21 tends to gear their clothing towards the younger crowd, some pieces can fit a bit snug (so don't be freaked out if you have to go up a size!).

Here's some pieces that have got me wishing tomorrow was pay day!

Training Short: $10.80

Cutout Capri: $17.80

Sports Bra: $13.80

Leggings: $19.80

Mesh Top: $13.80

Sports Bra: $12.80 | Yoga Shorts: $12.80

Where do you buy your activewear from? Are you a big spender or a baller on a budget? Leave a comment below!

x's,

Monday Morning Lust List

Hi loves! I hope everyone is enjoying the Labor Day holiday today! I've spent the morning online checking out all of the sales while the hubby mows the lawn (don't worry, he totally understands). Although I haven't bought anything (yet), I did come across some lovely finds and thought I'd share them with you all! 

Enjoy! 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Are any of you shopping the sales today? Any good finds? Leave a comment below!

x's,

Fit Friday - Recipe: Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

Most days we eat chicken or salmon with salad for dinner, which can be a total borefest. Today I'm going to share with you one of my absolute fave recipes for days when I want to mix things up a bit without blowing our diets completely - pesto chicken stuffed shells.

Here's what you'll need:
14 whole wheat jumbo pasta shells
1 lb cooked ground chicken (you'll have extra, but I like to use it in salads and pitas for leftover lunches!)
1 cup pesto (or you can make your own)
2 cloves of minced garlic
4 oz fat free cream cheese
1 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella
2 cups marinara sauce (optional)

1. Cook whole wheat jumbo pasta shells following instructions on package
2. Mix ground chicken, pesto and garlic and cook in skillet until no longer pink
3. Mix cooked chicken mixture with cream cheese and 1/2 cup of mozzerella
4. Spoon chicken and cream cheese mixture into shells and place in greased baking dish
5. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top of shells
6. Preheat oven to 350 and cook for 20 minutes uncovered, or until all cheese is melted (I like to turn the broiler on at this point to lightly toast the cheese)
7. Drizzle marinara sauce on top of shells

Dinner is served! Bon Appétit!

x's,

My Hair Care Must Have's

I'm just going to put this out there - I was not blessed in the hair department. Nope. Not one good characteristic about it. It's thin and rather lifeless and has a natural wave that is sporadic. You know, the type where it isn't consistently wavy, it just has a random wave here and a random wave there. It basically just makes you look unkempt. This means I have to take a flat iron to it on the reg...thats right daily. Because unlike many of you lucky ladies, I have to wash my hair every.single.day. If not, I'll be able to grease a squeaky door with my head. Yes, I know it's bad for my hair, but whatev's.

Anywho, for the last year or so I've been feeling pretty good about my hair and I'm pretty sure it has to do with the products I've been using. So, without further ado, here are my must have's for hair care!

Shampoo:
Aveda Color Conserve - Seeing as though I was my hair daily and I have it colored red (which is notorious for washing out quickly), I need a shampoo that will keep my color on my head and not going down the drain. This shampoo does the trick! Not only is it gentle on your hair, it also protects it from fading from the sun, water and other environmental stresses. Plus, it leaves my hair super soft and smelling yummy.

L'Oreal Paris Advanced Haircare Volume Filler Thickening Shampoo - Because I am a bit of a cheapskate, I like to only use the Aveda shampoo every other day (at $21, it is rather pricey); on the off days, I use this one. This stuff really does give my hair extra volume and makes my hair feel super clean. I really love all of the L'Oreal Advanced Haircare shampoos. I hate literally tried them all and they make my hair feel amazing and smell awesome. Plus they are affordable!

Conditioner:
Aveda Madder Root Color Conditioner - If you have red hair, you need this in your life. This conditioner is amazeballs. I like to use this every Sunday and every time I use it, it looks like I just went to the salon! It really adds color and shine back into my hair, plus it is lightweight so it doesn't weigh down my already limp locks. With this conditioner and the Color Conserve shampoo, I am able to go about two months between salon visits without major fadeout. One warning though - this stuff is literally red, so it can stain your hands, shower walls, pretty much anything it touches if you don't rinse it off.

L'Oreal Paris Advanced Haircare Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing Balm - This is a deep conditioner so I only once a week (usually Wednesdays). I'm not sure it does what it claims, which is to repair years of damage in one use, but it does seem to have helped strengthen my hair. It has also made my hair a lot less frizzy and a lot more shiny and smooth.

Heat Protectant:
Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Heat Protectant - This is literally the only heat protectant I have been able to use. In the past I had tried so many different brands, but they all weighed down my hair and left it greasy. Since this is a "dry" spray, I can spray it all over without it looking like I applied any product at all. It protects hair from heat up to 450 degrees and I also feel like it add shine and helps tame fly-aways.

Biotin Supplements:
TwinLab Biotin Dots 3000 mg - I've been taking these every morning along with my normal multi for a little over a year now and have really noticed some changes to my hair. It feels thicker and healthier and really helped when I was trying to grow the length out. For more information on how Biotin aides with hair health and growth, you can go here.

Have any questions or suggestions? Leave a comment below!

x's,

Review: Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather Cream Gel Eyeshadows

Between the hours of 6:30 and 8:30 AM, Mondays through Fridays, I am a hobbling zombie. A morning person I am not! Due to this, I very rarely put much effort into my eye makeup for work. Who the hell wants to blend and buff at six in the morning? Going to the office sans eye makeup altogether is also not an option – thank you lovely florescent lighting. Enter the Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Leather 24HR Cream Gel Eyeshadows.

Love the packaging!

If you aren't familiar with these, they are a creamy eyeshadow that are said to go on easily and last 24 hours. The leather version is the matte little sister to the original formula and there is also a metallic option as well. 

Left: Vintage Plum | Right: Deep Forest

My goal here was to be able to dwindle down the application process to – 1. Dip finger in pot, 2. Swipe said finger on lid, 4. Sit and do absolutely nothing until it is time to leave the house. The colors I grabbed were Deep Forest and Vintage Plum – my hopes were that they were muted, but not so much so that you couldn’t tell I had eye makeup on.

Left: Vintage Plum | Right: Deep Forest

I was really happy with the way these worked out. The consistency is super creamy and easily applies to the skin. As with many cream eyeshadows however; you do need to build up coverage in order to avoid the dreaded patch or two. I did find that the Deep Forest color went on smoother than Vintage Plum, so consistency may vary amongst the other shades in the line as well. 

Once applied, blurring out the edges makes for a very soft wash of color that is perfect for day time. I have only worn them alone thus far, but I imagine they would look great with some powder shadow in the crease for added definition, or even as a base under a similar toned shadow to really make the look pop.

You do want to focus on blending these out to your liking fairly quickly. After about a minute or two, they will set and won't budge. Thankfully though, because of this, they will last all day without issue (even on the oiliest of eyelids - trust me, I know!). 

In addition to being the perfect solution for the girl on the go, these little babies would also be great for teens just getting into makeup or those ladies who aren't as skilled with applying shadow the traditional way. Plus they are super budget friendly at around seven bucks a pop! You should definitely check them out!

Have any of you tried these out? What did you think?

x's,