A blog that gives me a voice to educate, empower and encourage those who are interested in being BETTER to themselves. I wholeheartedly believe that taking care of ourselves allows us to take optimal care of others - be it our children, parents, family, friends, patients and even strangers.
Everyone CAN find the time to give themselves 10-30 minutes. YOU ARE TOTALLY WORTH IT!
Don't snarl or turn that nose up!! These things are BANGIN'! I haven't had them in years, but a friend recently reminded me of this delicious drink and I thought I should share the goodness before the heat gets here. I think I always tripled (err... quadrupled) this recipe when I made it. I always prefer using Coronas and a very liberal measuring of the tequila... but that's just me. :)
It will be a go-to-crowd pleaser at all your get together's this year.
Sip, Sip, Enjoy! :)
Ingredients
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup coarse salt
2 (12-ounce) bottles your favorite beer, chilled
1/2 cup frozen concentrate limeade, thawed
1/2 cup chilled tequila
Ice cubes
Directions
Rub lime wedges around rims of 4 margarita glasses. Dip rims into salt to coat lightly. In a medium pitcher, combine beer, limeade, and tequila. Fill prepared glasses with ice, then with margarita mixture. Garnish with remaining lime wedges. Serve immediately.
Today, I realized that Winter is almost over! Despite the icky, nasty rain we had on and off all day, I couldn't help but notice the pink little flower buds perking up on the tree branches outside our living room windows. :) They're beautiful.
Spring is on it's way! YAY!
It got me thinking about how good we had this Winter! I had expected our first Winter in DC to bring tons of snow and nastiness... thankfully, we've been lucky. Rain? Yes. Gobs of snow? No. Thank goodness! We got some snow showers here and there to make things pretty for an hour or two, but nothing to stop traffic in its tracks for days on end!
This Fall and Winter I lucked out on a few amazing finds that I must share with my friends and readers. I'm convinced I'll never survive another Winter (mild or extreme) without these finds ever again! :)
For all the running I've been up to, I couldn't have stayed as warm AND comfortable through the wind, rain and few snowflakes without my New Balance Windblocker Jacket and tights set. The coat is so warm without the bulk, has internal pockets (I can even fit a water bottle in them!), LOTS of reflective technology and thumb-holes. Together, these are a must have from New Balance.
Winter skin is always hard to escape. This year, I had a few tools to help. You've to got try the Clairsonic skin cleanser! It comes in a bunch of great colors and talk about a clean face. Try it once and you'll feel what I'm talking about. Plus it's a fun little girl-gadget. :)
I've also discovered Philosophy's When Hope is Not Enough Replenishing Serum. I am a lover of most of Philosophy's products, but this one is truly brag worthy. A few drops right after a hot shower (or a scrub with my Mia!) keep my face moisturized all day. Plus, it just feels good. Yes, it's an oil based serum... but never once has my face been oily looking. A high recommendation for all of us with flaky faces! I also should say I like the vitamin C booster, Hope in a Jar, all Amazing Grace scented products and their cleansers.
Last but not least, my comfy blanket from Pottery Barn. For Christmas we bought new furniture. In our hunt for the right stuff, we fell in love with this throw. I don't even bother folding it up anymore because it's ALWAYS on someones lap or with Ginger napping on it. It comes in several colors but I got the blue/green color for us and the mushroom for my sister and her husband. This is worth EVERY penny spent. It's not too heavy and it's not too light. It's always just right.
Oh, did I mention Netflix?! If you don't have it or if you've not tried it. Get it. The Redbox is sooo 2010. ;) Instant watching from the click of a mouse or a button is amazing!
Do you have any favorites to share?! I'd like to see what you guys are loving now too!
-a.
So, I sat down to catch up on my blogging and saw on my Stella & Dot homepage that Kelly Ripa has discovered our jewelry!!!
Funny thing is, I was watching a segment yesterday (maybe the day before) and thought her serpent cuff looked like ours... but wasn't sure. Today, I discovered IT WAS OUR SERPENT CUFF!!! Way exciting for Stella & Dot.
Watch Kelly's cute episode of Fashion Finder for today... She cracks me up!
Here's the Serpent Bracelet up close so you can see it. It's AWESOME!
Kelly shows a lot of other pieces from the new Fall Collection, but go check the whole line out for yourself! I think it's the best collection we've had in a while. Seriously, had I been working at the time I had 50% off for the new line.... I would have spent an entire pay check on Stella & Dot!
This is what I'm saving up for NEXT! :)
Our new collection of Stella & Dot Handbags will be released SOON!
For those of you who know me well, I'm a sucker for a GREAT workout DVD!!
Life is crazy enough without having to plan your trips to the gym, pay for a crazy expensive gym membership, or good grief - worry about your body image while you're at the gym.... SO, do as I do. Workout in your underwear in your living room at 4:30AM while everyone's asleep and WORK OUT HARD!!! [seriously]
Like most people, I have my favorite DVD's, but I recently discovered Tonique Fitness and I'm in LOVE!
Check out the trailer for an idea of what you're in for:
Here's the skinny: It's HARD!
I like to think that I'm quite fit.... but even I struggle to keep with tempo at times. This isn't to discourage you though. Please don't see it as such. I believe this video offers the best variety and challenge for those seeking an "investment" video that will be a constant "go-to" as your fitness levels grow and improve. When I first looked in to Tonique, I thought "Oh, I've got this --- easy! It's just a lot of jumping around and how hard can 2-3lbs. be?".... well, I started hard and about 30 minutes in to my first workout, I was not only soaked in sweat but I actually had to hit the PAUSE button! (and i NEVER use the pause button! NEVER!) HA!
- Each exercise is highly cardiovascular = FAT BURNING!!! a huge variety of squats, lunges and lifts keep your heart thumpin' and your thighs dreaming of summer time shorts.
- The light weight, high repetition moves increase the heart pump, the fat burn and make your muscles, even the small muscles you never work, beg for just a smidgen of mercy!
- The music is very high energy and you change moves so often it's really hard to get bored (trust me, I've almost worn this video out already and I'm still not bored!)!!!!
- Unlike a few of the other workouts I have (*cough*cough* P90X), this is one hour of no fluff or waste! Each minute is used to transform your body and challenge you mentally in ways Tony Horton only wishes he could. (Plus, the over-voice is much more motivating than the crazy antics of the Horton-ator!)
Now, a few things to note and think about if you're interested in giving Sylwia a try. High reps mean 30+ repetitions of each move. And these high reps can be hard some major joints, especially the knees, if you're not cautious of this ahead of time you might hurt yourself (and no one wants an injury to keep you from your fitness goals!).
So, if you have tender knees, start slower, don't go as deep into your lunges and EVERYONE has to watch their FORM (as with any other workout)!!
I hope my love for a great and convenient workout helps you find a new obsession for some TONIQUE Fitness too! Trust me - this series has it all in one. I have the mat workout and the premier workouts. Tonique is definitely worth every penny and every minute of your time. If you want your own copy, check out Amazon.
