SWEATIN' IN STYLE

After a cabin weekend with friends full of unimaginable amounts of gloriously delicious food, it is time for this preggo to get back on track. And what better motivation than some bad ass work out gear! Forever 21 is on their game and have some really amazing looking athletic apparel that I have to share! 

I'm a sucker for a cool sports bra. If you are well endowed, these types of bras are not ideal for high impact exercise, such as running. But, for a class, elliptical or walking, why not look a little fashion forward! As my pregnancy is progressing, most of my sports bras are starting to get a little too tight and my workouts are incorporating less running and more walking, machines and leg work. So, these inexpensive and super cute Forever 21 sports bras are probably going to be on my list of pregnancy work out gear to buy.

Forever 21
$12.90

Forever 21
$12.90

Forever 21
$12.90

Forever 21
$12.90

Forever 21
$14.80

Forever 21
$12.90

Forever 21
Two-In-One Workout Cami
$15.90

And what good is a cool sports bra if you don't have a tank to show it off under!?

Forever 21
No Days Off Workout Tank
$12.90

Forever 21
Twisted Open-Back Muscle Tee
$7.90

Forever 21
Ladder-Back Workout Tank
$9.90

xoxo MaryBeth

FIT FASHION FRIDAY

I cannot say enough about how much I am LOVING these work out bottoms from Kohl's by Tek Gear! They are thick, stretchy and just the right amount of tightness to give your body a nice sleak look. I went on a whim and got the capris, loved them, and then decided to give the pants a shot. I was impressed! My other slim leg pants like these by Nike constantly sag down and I usually spend the first 2/3 of my workout pulling them up. Not the Tek Gear pants! They stayed in place from start to finish and I am so stoked! Can't beat the price either! These are officially my go-to workout bottoms! 

The capris have a really nice mesh paneling on the sides and behind the knees. Difficult to see in the picture, but they are there. Front and back views of both pieces below!

Kohl's
Tek Gear Core Essentials Shapewear
Capri Yoga Leggings
SALE $20.99(plus you will use a coupon, right?! So even cheaper!)

Kohls
Tek Gear Core Essentials Shapewear
Basic Yoga Leggings
SALE $25.99
(plus you will use a coupon, right?! So even cheaper!)

xoxo MaryBeth

[VICTORIA'S] SECRET SANTA

Hey Hey!! So, being the fanatic holiday decorator that I am, it comes as no surprise that today I came across something (well, two things) that I could.not.pass.up. Plus, there are a couple things I forgot to share yesterday. Ch-ch-check it out!


Guess who these are for?!? Their stocking holders were white stars, but when I decided to take a random aisle at the grocery (never a good idea..) I felt it was fate. So stinkin' cute! Charlie and Winston love them! ;)

I have these glitter-fied clothes pins hanging from twine above one of our doorways to hold Holiday cards. The silver and white ones I bought at Michael's in the wedding stuff aisle and the smaller dark and light gold ones I made myself. Not hard at all and super cute! All the supplies came from Michael's and it is pretty straight forward: clothes pins, glue and glitter. Boom.

I have two of these green bows hanging from our double front doors. So pretty!! Also from Michael's, last year. Luckily, they are carrying them again and they also come in a few color choices.

Last Sunday I rocked one of my newest purchases via Target clearance (love). These bad boys were, drum roll please..... $11. I wore some skinny jeans with them. Tough and feminine, all at once!

This past weekend was nice and relaxing. Friday we went out to dinner and then had some drinks at my sister-in-law's house. Then, on Saturday we stayed in (I had to work Sunday) and watched three straight episodes of, "Storytellers". AH-mazing. Taylor Swift, Pink and Alicia Keys. I am a sucker for any live music. I get mesmerized. I also love hearing the back-stories on some of my favorite songs! I do have to say, Pink is a bad ass and I promptly went to Itunes and downloaded her new CD. SO GOOD. love!

What I wore Friday:

That morning I went to a Spinning class, which, by the way, is an awesome workout. I love it sooo much. And, it has been way kinder to my body than all the running I had been doing. My feet, ankles and knees don't hurt like they used to ever since I started incorporating spin into my workout regimen. The capris were a random find from TJ Maxx. I really like them for spinning, but the one time I tried to run in them they continued to fall down. ANNOYING. The zip-up, hooded, thumb hole jacket is from Gap. My sister, Holly, and I both got one during our Branson, MO vacay. This jacket is the bomb. I am obsessed and totally bummed that I didn't buy both colors. It looks like a Lululemon, which can be pretty darn expensive. I think ours were on sale for like $19 or something. Wayyy better than the $80-100 jackets at Lululemon!!!

Spin Class Outfit

Rocking my bunmaker again (told you it would become a go-to look) and some Stella & Dot jewels.

Forever21 cardigan, Target top, Lauren Conrad for Kohl's skinny jeans, and my beloved above-the-knee stilettos from Charlotte Russe, in tan. Love!

Stella&Dot
Contessa Jade Necklace

Today I hit up Victoria's Secret so I could use my Secret Rewards cards before they expired. And, as luck would have it, I found this cute tank on the clearance rack, and all the PINK Collegiate Collection was 40% off. I was able to use my cards and get an additional $10 off each item. Yay! I NEVER get anything above $10 off. It can be $10, $50 or $500. The other day I stopped in, but didn't purchase anything at that time, and heard the workers there talking about how earlier that day a girl redeemed a $500 card!!!! They were all freaking out about it (as would I!).

This is one of those SUPER slouchy tanks. I had to do some strategic placing of it before I snapped this pic. Ha! I figure I will wear it with one of those solid colored cropped bustier/bra looking things. I have one in solid black and one in leopard from Charlotte Russe. I'll share pics later this week. I like that this can either be dressed down or up. I'll have to play around with it and see. (sale $16-$10= SIX BUCKS)

SEQUINS! :)

Collegiate sweat shirt top, and some "boyfriend" sweats. Love! Without the 40% off and $10 reward card, not sure I would have gotten the pants. It is just hard sometimes to pay what these originally cost. They are cute and all, but they are sweatpants for crying out loud! These ones at least have a decent thickness to them. For the deal I got, I'm lovin' em!!

I totally lucked out that both my "teams" are the "Cardinals", and obviously both are Red. :)

Have a great week ahead!! Christmas is almost here!!!



xoxo MaryBeth

FOOD, FASHION AND FRIDAY

Hey Ladies!! Happy Friday!! (happy November, too! How crazy!!) Oh how I love the weekends. Unfortunately, though, I do have to work on Sunday. Boo. I'm especially sad about working Sunday because some of my Stella & Dot gals are getting together that day at a local coffee shop and I'm going to miss it! Ugh. Such is life! So, today I picked up a few extra hours at work, came home for lunch and a nap and then hit the gym and the grocery store. Today's workout was similar to the other day: run, weights, abs, stretch. Not too exciting, huh?! Here's my workout look: The tank and the pants are from Kohl's and the Nike top is the amazing steal I got at T.J. Maxx that I raved about here.

I swung by the grocery store because the hubs and I are going to grill some steak with potatoes (regular for him, sweet for me) and asparagus. Probably have some salad action on the side, too. And, I am super stoked about my beer selection, which I will share later. There is a small section at our grocery where you can pick your own 8-pack from the loose beers provided. I picked mostly seasonal ones and I.am.excited. I also snagged a new shade of lipstick that I cannot wait to try out! It is a fabulous deep lilac/mauve/burgandy color and I die. It's by Cover Girl and is called Entwined. The lip pencil I bought to go with it is called Sophisticated. Can't wait to try it out! Take a look:

Cover Girl LipPerfection Lipcolor $5.99
Entwined

Cover Girl LipPerfection Lipliner $5.99
Sophisticated

 

So, the other day I tried out cooking with butternut squash, and it wasn't bad! I think I liked it more than the hubs did, but her still ate it. As promised, here is a pic. I forgot to take one of both halves in the baking pan, so here is a pic of one of the halves, cut in half. ha! I filled a glass baking dish with one inch of water, put some olive oil, sea salt, pepper and cinnamon on top. Baked at 350F for about an hour and voila! My sister-in-law sent me a butternut squash soup recipe that I am going to have to try out soon!

 

Butternut Squash-mmmm

 

I'll be back later with a recap of our seasonal beer choices and activities this weekend! I'm also feeling a wedding post coming on! Oh how I love everything wedding! I think it will be along the lines of tips and suggestions when it comes to photos on that BIG day!

 

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

P.S. I have more Stella & Dot goodies heading my direction and I'll be sure to share when they arrive!! :)

 

 

xoxo MaryBeth

 

 



HALLOWEEN HAPPINESS

Hey Ladies!! Happy Halloween! I love love love this time of year and cannot wait to hand out candy at my house tonight and watch, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (for the third time in like five days)! The hubs might break out that Popeye costume again tonight! haha too funny.  So I worked the past two days and was thankful for the chance to sleep in a little bit this morning. I hit the gym, grocery store, post office and vet. Poor Charlie has issues with his, well how do I put this.. anal glands. Haha We have to start taking him occasionally to the vet to get them, "expressed", otherwise they clog (which has happened twice now) and cause him to get VERY sick. And when the gland gets clogged it then ruptures leaving a, literally, hole near his bottom. Both times it happened he started acting very strange, wouldn't eat anything, moped around acting sad and winds up on antibiotics. So today I decided it was probably time to be proactive and get him checked out. Five minutes and $15 later, I have a happy Charlie. Winston came for the ride and I'm sure he snickered to Charlie in their dog language that he didn't have to go in to the vet but that Charlie did. Ha! Speaking of my dog-children, these are their festive outfits for Halloween:

my little bat!

my little spider!

I snagged some great finds at the grocery store that I am pretty excited about. In fact, I was so excited apparently, that I left my IPhone and wallet in the shopping cart and didn't realize it until I was in my driveway!! I. freaked. out. Luckily I literally live one block from there and was able to go to the shopping cart collector thing and grab my belongings (before someone else did!). PHEW! Here's my finds:

Butternut Squash

Now, I've never cooked with butternut squash before so I am super excited to try it out tonight. I am thinking about just roasting it in the oven with some olive oil, sea salt and maybe a bit of cinnamon or brown sugar. I want to keep intact it's healthy side, so I'm not gonna smother it in butter or anything. I'll share the results and some pics later.

"keen-wa"

Quinoa is another item I have never cooked before, and this one the hubs is a little skeptical about. We shall see! I follow a few blogs and always here about "keen-wa" (still not sure how to pronounce it, ha!) and decided to go for it. I am usually a pretty healthy eater but sometimes I lack variety, so I am trying to branch out. I'll also let you know how this one turns out. And there are a TON of things you can do with Quinoa, so it may take a few experiments to figure out how exactly I will use this item.

mmmm

I bet this looked a little funny in my shopping cart sitting next to my butternut squash, quinoa, greek yogurt, apples, bananas, milk, eggs and deli meat. haha I love to indulge (sometimes a little too much!). I think I am going to save these bad boys for Thanksgiving. We are going to my parent's for Thanksgiving this year and I should probably contribute something. I think these will hit. the. spot.

I raved about the less-healthy version of this before, so I am hoping this healthier version is just as good. Edy's is so delicious! This, too, probably looked funny in my cart and I am also going to save this for another time. It will be awaiting me in the freezer until that eventful day when I decide to crack in to it. My plan is to remain on a healthy path between now and Thanksgiving and it is nice to have some things to look forward to.

My workout today consisted of running three miles, walking on an incline for one mile, squats, abs and free weights. After my recent attack of, "cantstopeatingcandy-itis" it felt oh so good to break a good sweat! I didn't snap a pic on my way OTD so here is a workout pic I took this weekend and forgot to share.

C9 by Champion for Target $19.99
Long-sleeve 1/4 Zip Microlite Top

The 1/4 zip long sleeve top and the below-know crop pants are both from Target by Champion. I love both so much! The pants have seams in strategic places for added comfort and style! So comfy! I can't find them on the website right now but there are many different styles and very affordable. The top also comes in a few different colors so you can spice things up!

After my errands and workout, I decided to wear something other than workout clothes! Figured I would look decent for my trick-or-treaters. Here's my look:

Stella & Dot $49
Fox Ring

The faux leather leggings are the ones I raved about here, and may fabulous boots from Charlotte Russe were mentioned here. SO COMFORTABLE and super cute!! My zip down dress is from Forever21 a few years ago, so sorry, no link! I love it though, and it has hung around for a while. And what can beat this Stella & Dot ring! I die! It reminds me of my doggies and it is too damn cute! It is from the Alice by Temperley for Stella & Dot collection and I am in love. Unfortunately, this collection is limited edition, so it won't be around forever!


What are your plans for Halloween? Whatever they are, have fun and be safe!!!


PS  So growing up my whole life in St. Louis, when we went trick-or-treating we always had to tell a joke to the person who opened the door and it wasn't until after you told your joke that you got candy. Apparently, here in Louisville there is no such thing! How sad! I remember the week leading up to Halloween my friends and I would go through our arsenal of jokes and make sure we were prepared. The jokes were along the lines of this (we were in grade school, mind you), "why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants? In case he got a hole in one". haha too cute. I think it is a great tradition, and although I'm not sure when, how, or why it is that way in St. Louis, I think Louisville should join in on the trend!


Happy Halloween!!


xoxo MaryBeth

WEEKDAY STYLE FILE

Hey Ladies! Geeze, what a gloomy day today has been! The temperature dropped and the rain is kicking in. And to be honest, I am actually kind of happy because I am really looking forward to a night of comfy clothes, soup, my couch, my man, my doggies, popcorn and a movie. Ahh... relax. Unless the hubs goes to a football game tonight, then it will be all of that minus him! On the agenda for tomorrow is some party hopping!! We have two Halloween parties to attend and I am super stoked! Our costumes are TOP SECRET though. haha jk. I will definitely share some pics with you later this weekend. Our first choice was thrown out because they were sold out of the male version. So we went with choice number two. Can't wait for you to see!

On Wednesday I ran a few errands while I was, "on call" for work (which can be risky: imagine, full load of groceries in your cart, phone rings, hey it's work, we need you and you have to be here in thirty minutes... or else..). So grocery shopping is definitely off limits when I am on call. Some have risked it before, but I am just too scared aka would be so embarrassed to leave an entire cart of groceries in the middle of the isle so I could high-tail it out of there. Here's my look:

I rocked a flannel button-down from Target that I got about two years ago, grey long and lean tank also from Target, Charlotte Russe Refuge jeans and some flip flops from Old Navy. Target sells flannel shirts every year around this time but some of the colors have changed. I have this top in black/white, Red/Navy and Yellow/Navy. I also have the long and lean tank in about 10 different colors/patterns!! They are soo great! And, at 8 bucks a pop, you CAN have lots of options. They are actually on sale right now I believe. My staple colors (white, black and grey) I re-purchased this past summer because I like those ones to look nice and crisp. Then, I downgrade the older ones to workout tanks. No reason to throw them away! And the others that aren't in my category of, "staple colors", continue on in the non-workout clothes section.

My super cute necklace is the Secret Garden Charm ($49) by Stella & Dot. It is gorg. Not only does the link take you to this necklace, but it also allows you to shop my launch party which is open for online shopping until November 10th!! S&D is so great, and I love everything about the company and the jewelry. And not to mention the fabulous other girls in my area who are also stylists! They all have been so kind and are walking testimonials to how awesome Stella & Dot is as a company. Another goodie I added to my collection (can't help myself) came in the mail yesterday and I.was.excited. It is the Lillith Fringe Necklace ($138) and it is totally badass! I cannot wait to wear it out!! Ch-ch-check it out!

Here is my workout look for today. ha! I worked for a few hours this morning and then came home, ate lunch with the hubs (he was off work today) and then we hit the gym. I did a light workout today that consisted of power walking on an incline for 45min (3 miles), abs, arms and squats. Tomorrow I'm going to stretch out my legs and go for a little run. And from the looks of the weather I'm betting that run is going to be on the treadmill!

The long black pants are from Kohls and are fabulous in quality and price! The tank I'm wearing is one of the long and leans from Target that got downgraded to workout attire and the Nike Hoodie is one of my awesome steals from TJ Maxx!! I think I got it for like $20!! Insanity! It has some reflective panels, hood and thumb holes. Love.


Some Halloween fun to come later this weekend!!!


Oh, and here are some more "Nurse Fashion" photos! Inspiration everywhere!

Badge Holder

Badge Holder

Socks!

Scrub Jacket

xoxo MaryBeth