Five (but really only four) on Friday {12.9.16}

Hey there & Happy Friday! I hope all of you are staying nice and warm today- it’s supposed to be quite the cold snap- brrr! I’m WFH today which worked out very nicely šŸ˜‰ Speaking of work, the other day I was having a conversation with some coworkers in the kitchen and it hit me that Christmas is NEXT WEEKEND- how did that sneak up so fast?! I have a few gifts left to get this weekend for Christmas and for RM’s birthday (next Friday) so I feel mostly prepared on that front, but it’s still feels crazy that it’s so soon. Speaking of Christmas, let’s get into the Five on Friday’s for the week!

  • Christmas spirit- I’ve been having so much fun getting into the Christmas spirit this season. It started off with the Seaport tree lighting and continued on with getting our Christmas tree and decorating the apartment. I LOVEEEE having all of the lights and decorations up, and I must say, our tree is pretty darn perfect this year šŸ™‚

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  • Beating the Holiday Hustle- My friend Athena is leading a really great “challenge” throughout the month of December, all about helping us “Beat the holiday hustle”. There’s no denying that the holidays, while so fun and wonderful, also bring about extra stress, commitments and general “hustle & bustle”, right? What I love about this challenge is how it urging us to look at ways to BEAT the holiday hustle. I was really proud of myself on Wednesday for beating the holiday hustle when I chose to skip out on an event I RSVP’d to, I didn’t do laundry or clean or anything else on my “should do” list, and instead I poured myself some wine, listened to Christmas music, wrapped presents, made a nice dinner and watched a sappy Hallmark Christmas movie. With everything I’ve had on my schedule lately, I feel like it allows very little time for nights like that, so I was especially appreciative of my decision to forgo my “plans” and instead refill my energy cup by slowing down and doing things that make me happy.
  • Warby Parker’s new line- I was recently inspired by Warby Parker to take a look at their newĀ stylish sunglassesĀ line, and in turn, I ended up signing up for their free at-home glasses try on program.Ā I will share more about those later once I’ve had time to check them all out, but in the meantime I wanted to share some details and photos from their new line! I’m always jealous of people who are able to have multiple pairs of sunglesses- as a glasses wearer, that’s just not really a feasible option for me financially since prescription sunglasses can be really expensive. What I love about Warby Parker is that the glasses- both regular and sunglasses- are unique in their design-each pair I’ve seen has some little extra piece of detail that makes it stand out. I especially love the rose color and shape of the ones in the pictures below. If you’re in the need of new glasses or sunglasses and want to try something new, I suggest you check out Warby Parker’s Home Try-On program and pick out 5 styles to try at home for free!

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  • Air BNB It’s so crazy that the first East Boston apartment that I rented- and where I met RM- is officially on Air BNB. RM had an interior decorator/shopper help with getting it ready to be rented- I think it came out amazing! If you know of anyone looking for an affordable, spacious, clean apartment to rent that’s close to the airport and just a short walk to the T (which gets you into downton Boston in just 2 stops!), please let me know or check it out on Air BNB for yourself! We are hoping this becomes a successful adventure, so any support from all you wonderful readers is so greatly appreciated šŸ™‚

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And that does it for me today! I’m hosting my work book club tonight and I can’t wait to have the girls over. I’m making a nice roast chicken meal, which is perfect for a cold day like today! Tomorrow I’m going to the 9:30 bags & strength class at EBF (if anyone wants to join!!) and then finishing up my shopping. I hope whatever you do, you have a wonderful, “beat the holiday hustle” type of weekend!

Questions for you: What’s been up with you?! I feel so disconnected since I haven’t been blogging! What do you have going on this weekend? Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? Did you decorate?Ā 

 

Currently I’m Crushing On…

Things I’m Loving Friday, Friday Favorites, What I’m Loving Now, Friday Five, etc. If you’ve been reading health and fitness blogs for a while, I’m sure you’re all-too-familiar with these types of posts, right? Truthfully, I love them! I like to see what bloggers are loving outside of what we see on a day to day basis on their blogs. In addition, I love Athena’s Friday Favorites because she links us to all sorts of interesting reads from health to fitness to food to life to everything in between. And, I’ll be honest, if I see something someone is loving that I haven’t heard of but like the sounds of it (a must have lip-gloss, a stay in place headband, the perfect pair of spandex, etc.), you can pretty much bet I’ll be scoping those products out for a purchase of my own in the near future.

So, with that said, I’ve been noticing that there are a lot of things I’m ā€œlovingā€ right now. Things I’m finding myself continually buying, wearing, eating, or admiring, so I thought it would be fun to share some of those things with you!

Maxi Dresses/Skirts

Over the summer, I’ve bought 2 new maxi dresses and 1 maxi skirt and I can’t tell you how much I’m in love with them! They are the perfect thing to wear to work (with a sweater, of course) since they keep your legs warm in an overly air conditioned office, and similarly, at night when you’re out to dinner and the New England summer night temps drop a bit from the daytime temps. I also love them to travel in, since I HATE when my legs stick to leather seats- anyone else?! Here are ones I’m constantly wearing:

Lit Boutique- cut out dress

I bought this for Miami and it was the perfect evening dress for that weekend. I love it because it’s sexy and revealing in the back, but it keeps a lot of the body covered up, too. Exposing too much is just not usually a good look!

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J. Crew Tube Top Maxi Dress

I randomly popped into J. Crew when shopping for Sheila’s bachelorette weekend and stumbled across this awesome dress. What made it even more awesome? That it was marked down from $110 to $40 and then another 50% off made it a whopping $20- can’t get much better than that!!

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Gap Outlet Maxi Skirt

During my funemployment week, I did, well, a lot of shopping. I’d been eying maxi skirts for a while and decided to pull the plug and just get one! The verdict? I’m LOVING it. I’ve worn it to work on a few Fridays, out to lunch and dinner with friends, date nights with RM- it’s just perfect and so easy to coordinate a shirt and necklace with.

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Lace Shorts & Jorts

I only have one pair of lace shorts, but I LOVE them. I got them at TJ Maxx for $16.99- love that!

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And, I’ve always been a lover of jean shorts, otherwise known as jorts. Feel free to judge- they make me happy and are my most favorite thing to hang out in! I got them at Old Navy this year for $17.

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Mason Jar Glasses

As part of our bachelorette goodies, Amy gave us these awesome (huge) Mason jars with covers and a straw. We all started using them as our cups for the beach since they hold soĀ muchĀ liquid. I’ve continued to use it since I’ve been back and I think I drink even more water than usual when I drink from it!

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Sunscreen

I’ll be honest- I’ve never been a big sunscreen wearer. I know, I know. It’s so important but since I never really burn that badly, I thought a 4 or 8 was enough. This summer, though, I’ve made it a point to wear at least an SPF 15 and you know what?! I’m still getting tan!

High buns

High humidity and very curly hair make for a bit of a nightmare situation. Although I’m ok with letting it go wild and free every once and a while, it’s not the most professional look for the office so I’ve been doing some high buns. It may look like a sock bun, but I’ll assure you it’s just my curly mop and 4 or 5 bobby pins!

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Outdoor workouts and long evening walks

Living in New England means we are usually forced inside for our workouts for ¾ of the year, right? Since that’s the case, I try to take advantage of the spring/summer/fall months and get outside as much as possible. RM and I have been going on a number of walks, either after work or in the morning on the weekends. My sister and I have also done a few walks. It’s the best way to catch up and be active. Here’s a bootcamp workout I’m loving lately:

sheila's bachelorette bootcamp

Warby Parker Eyewear

I was recently contact by Warby Parker to take a look at their newest Beacon Collection and as a glasses wearer and lover, I totally fell in love with it! On top of that, I fell in love with the company as a whole. Their mission is provide designer eye glasses at an affordable price, and for every pair of glasses they sell, they distribute a pair to someone in need through their non-profit partners, which I think is awesome. The way it works is we buy glasses, Warby Parker makes a monthly donation to their non-profit partners which gives them the ability to source a certain amount of glasses. From there, they then train men and women in developing companies to give basic eye exams and sell glasses at an affordable price. I like that they teach these things rather than just donate because it helps provide jobs to the people in developing countries.

But, let’s get back to their newest line. From their website, the Beacon Collection is inspired by ā€œimpromptu, can’t-duplicate-them all-nightersā€ and situations where day time activities can turn into late night dates. The design of this line makes me think of a retro sort of remake on an old-school look. I love thick frames, especially printed ones and colored ones, and although I’m not sure my face would be the best fit these frames they are totally cool looking and I’d love to be able to rock them!

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If you’re a classes wearer like me, head over to Warby Parker because they really do have some interesting/funky/hip frames in their various lines right now. The Beacon Collection is has both a male and female line, sunglasses and regular glasses line, so it’s perfect for everyone! And, you’re adding to a good cause, so there’s even a better reason to check it out!

Questions for you: What are you loving right now? Share any similar things with me? Do you like to wear glasses or do you prefer contacts?