Good morning!
I arrived, safe and sound, in sunny California yesterday afternoon. I spent nearly 6 hours sitting on a flight here, so I had plenty of time to pull together a bunch of random thoughts and things I’ve been meaning to tell you guys. With that, here is some randomness for your Wednesday!
The weather in California is absolutely amazing and it doesn’t make me miss the ridiculous April snow back in Boston. At all. It also makes me really excited for summer!
I’m in California for an event on behalf of Shaws and Star Market (via Alberstons) to learn all about their new Signature line. I’m also going to cook with Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (aka Kelly Kapowski) tomorrow. NBD. (Growing up, I was such a huge fan of Saved by the Bell!! Anyone else?)
I always forget about McDonalds when it comes to iced coffee. There’s a drive thru (hello, #momlife) and, if you ask for light syrup, the flavor options aren’t overly sweet and quite tasty!
I haven’t had Peanut M&Ms in a few weeks now, so I treated myself to some at the airport. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), I could only find the “sharing” size, which means I ate the entire bag by myself (and shared with no one) because I have zero control around Peanut M&Ms. On the bright side, however, my craving was satisfied, so I probably won’t need Peanut M&Ms for another few weeks now. Also pictured below: Greek yogurt parfait with granola and blueberries + Pumpkin Protein Pancakes from home.
I registered for the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification, and I am so pumped. Things are happening! Don’t call it a dream. Call it a plan!
I’m really into face maps lately. Never heard of them? Basically, face mapping is an ancient Chinese way of decoding one’s health””often times associating acne breakouts with what’s happening in the body. Interesting, right? There are so many different ones on the Internet and each one varies a little bit in content and detail, but I find them so fascinating, especially since I personally tend to break out in the area often associated with the colon. I almost always have a pimple on my right cheek. And, this is totally anecdotal, but still interesting”¦ Right before I stopped Remicade (because it wasn’t working), my doctor did a bunch of blood work. When he received the results, all of my liver-related numbers had elevated quite a bit. At the same time, I started breaking out around my eyebrows, which is super random for me, like I never get pimples there. As soon as I stopped Remicade and went on Entyvio, all of my liver numbers went back to normal and the weirdo eyebrow breakouts stopped. Of course, this could be totally coincidental, but the timing was spot-on and the eyebrow pimples just seemed so unusual.
Mal and I want to redo/update the walk-in closet in our master bedroom. We’re thinking about going with IKEA since they’re affordable (and because we’re not fancy), but we’re also considering going the California Closets route because we’ve heard such great things. Has anyone had experience with either company? Or another closet company? Closets, Closets, Closets?
I saw this play space at the airport yesterday morning and immediately thought of Quinn. Just the thought of him having a blast playing there made my heart hurt. I already miss him so much. It’s funny because when I book these trips, I’m always so excited, but as soon as I am away from my family, I can’t wait to get home.
At the airport yesterday, I received FIVE different compliments about my sneakers (Brooks Nantucket Adrenaline GTS 16). How cool is that? They are definitely a hit!
I mean, blue plaid and a tiny lobster on the tongue”¦ it doesn’t get better than that!
I’m thinking about creating a 4-week, 5 minutes-a-day booty shape-up plan for May. I want to test out the workouts first, so I should have it together by the end of the month. Are you guys interested? If so, should I include exercises with equipment? Or do you prefer minimal equipment/no equipment?
Question of the Day
Your turn! Tell me something random from your week so far!
91 Comments
Wait, what? Plaid running shoes?! I love them!
Did you blog while you were on the plane?
The face mapping is so interesting. I always have breakouts around my chin and mouth, looking at that shows its related to the colon which is very interesting. Going to have to do some more research on that.
Would love the workouts. I like to use minimal equipment. I usually us a kettlebell and dumbells at home!
so fun! I would LIVE in LA if I could! To many people for me, but LOVE the weather. I prefer exercises with little to no equipment! I live 90 miles to the nearest gym and our home gym is definitely lacking with only have a few sets of weights.
YES for the booty shape-up plan! With minimal equipment, please!
Welcome to California!
We had California Closets do both of our master closets. They turned out amazing. I went fancy- lots of lights, rhinestone pulls for my cabinets, mirrored drawers. I absolutely love it. My husband went more masculine, dark wood, leather, etc. They did a great job but not cheap. I think we were well into the $50K . Let me know if you have any other questions!
The face mapping is really interesting; I am definitely into Eastern medicine. I think there was some truth to your breakouts and intestinal issues… have fun in sunny CA!
Have fun in Cali!! Yay for the booty-shape up plan!!
That’s cool about the Precise Nutrition program! I can’t wait to hear details! I’m super interested in it as well!
That playroom is so awesome!!
I was just looking for at home quick booty workouts this morning! I would love to see ones that are minimal to no equipment so that way they can be done anywhere. I used to love Planet Fitness for a gym on the East Coast since it was super affordable (and would use both the weights and the treadmill in the winter), but since moving to Seattle a year ago I just can’t justify the cost, especially since you can run outside year round. I’m headed to CA tomorrow and can’t wait; enjoy the sunshine!
My wife and I bought a condo last year and all the closets already had the Elfa system installed: http://www.containerstore.com/elfa/index.htm
Since we didn’t buy it, I’m not sure how the pricing compares to other options but we love it! We changed a couple things and it was so easy to do. One of the things we bought is laundry hampers (http://www.containerstore.com/s/elfa/components/elfa-drawers-accessories/natural-elfa-divided-hamper/123d?productId=10034887) that slide in and out of the closet like drawers but also have detachable bags to make it easy to carry the laundry to wash. So convenient and great for our very small space (so we don’t have to take up precious room space with hampers). It is very, very easy to take components out and rearrange as your needs change too. They even have things for storing jewelry but I had to stop myself from buying those, LOL. You can definitely go crazy customizing closets.
We live in MA too and we went to the Container Store in Natick near the Natick mall to get the couple of things that we changed and found them to be helpful.
Anyway, I love your blog but have never commented before so hi!
Hiiii! Thanks for the recommendations!!
I highly recommend the Elfa system from the Container Store for closets. They do a sale a couple times a year and have everything 40%ish off.
Minimal equipment/no equipment would be awesome. That way I have one less excuse on why I can’t do something. 🙂
Sharing size always cracks me up because typically, I’m not sharing either. It reminds me of when my mom would send me Halloween or Easter candy at college with a note that said “To share with your friends” as if I’d eat the whole thing myself haha!
87 degrees sounds AWESOME. It’s suppose to be 80 in SF today which is kind of crazy! For workouts I prefer minimal equipment/no equipment since I just do classpass and don’t have a gym.
California Closets are the best thing ever. They are not as expensive as you would expect either. We had three closets done with them and it made a world of difference. We have since moved into a new house that came with custom closets (not California Closets) and they are not the same. CC’s quality is amazing and there is a lifetime guarantee. Go for it!!
Those are some of the cutest shoes I’ve ever seen! A five-minute booty shape-up plan sounds great! I vote for minimal equipment.
Love the idea of 5 min workouts!! Best things for busy Mama’s to squeeze in some workout time quickly. Love KB’s and jump rope for cardio!
Check out Container Store and their Elfa system for your closet. We have had them do two closets and our garage. Love them! Some how create more space and very organized.
Would love a booty shape-up plan- I vote for the minimal equipment too! The face-mapping is so interesting, I’ll have to look into that for sure.
I would love the workouts. Equipment ok as long as it is basic things (dumbbells, kettlebells, etc) that most of us would have at home. Have fun in Cali- so jealous!
The Brooks shoes are so cute! I have heard a bit about face maps and I find them super interesting. I need to study up on them more though because my understanding is super basic.
You should consider using a local closet organizing business!!! My good friend Kay founded Hub Neat Organization, which collaborates with the Container Store and they have beautiful closets! You never know maybe a discount could come your way if you reviewed her work on the blog! 🙂 she’s a super sweet girl and her work is awesome!!
Those shoes are super cute! I’d probably even go for a run, haha 😉
Have fun in Cali!
Please let me know how you like the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification, I have been very interested in that for years now!
The shoes are so cute!! I would love a booty shaper workout with minimal equipment so it can easily be done at home! Thank you for your posts!!
Closets, closets closets LOLLLLL.
Definitley interested in booty shape up. Minimal equipment.
i’m the same way about peanut m&ms! They’re amazing. Love the Modern Family reference : ) The best show ever!
California Closets rock. Great quality but a bit on the more expensive side.
I can’t wait to hear about the Precision Nutrition Certification. I have been thinking about doing the same for several years. Instead, I did the Strong First kettlebell cert and am now working on their barbell cert. Fun stuff.
If you are willing to do some building yourself, ikea closets are the way to go. We spent about $1200 and built an amazing customized closet in our walk-in. You can choose all sorts of things like shoe racks, special pull out pants racks, and soft close drawers. The systems come in several different heights and depths so it’s great you can fit it to what you need. Happy to share pictures or tips if you are interested!
I would love a 5 minute workout plan. I could totally fit that in. Minimal equipment would be best- that takes away a lot of excuses!
So excited for you and signing up for the PN certificate! It’s something I’ve been wanting to do and almost pulled the trigger this time, but I’m relocating from Iowa to NEW YORK and have so much going on right now. BUT, I’m excited to hear about your experience with it and how you like it!
Look into the container store as an option for closets! Love your blog, btw!
I’ve had two closet transformations done by California Closets. I’m not terribly creative. I know what I want to see but just can’t do it alone. I love their designers and you get a design to OK/modify at no charge. They have many choices and can be very luxe and fancy or bare bones and utilitarian. Perhaps Ikea works that way, too but I’ve only had experience with CC.
We used ikea for our closet and I have been really happy with it, though I think the system we used isn’t sold anymore. Go figure.
And a big giant yes to that exercise plan! Minimal equipment would be nice.
We’ve used some California Closets things and have liked them.
Minimal equipment for an exercise plan!
I re-did our master closet a couple months ago while my other half was out of town. I bought two or three Rubbermaid wire closet systems (they were on sale at Lowes). It was super easy and took me about a day (their anchors were kind of hard). Now all of our clothes fit into one closet!
We used Boston Closets for our master closet. And we used California Closets for a cabinet in the bathroom and storage in our mudroom. A designer came to our home (with both companies) and helped sketch out what I was looking for. I recommend both. I think the finishes you choose dictate the price (we went with the basic white laminate/veneer). Well worth it.
Glad to see you had a safe and fantastic trip 🙂 I always appreciate it when you share your traveling eats and tips because traveling always makes me anxious to try and stay healthy.
I love the idea of a shape-up plan! We just moved to a new location so I don’t have access to a gym… need to start building a home gym with some dumbbells and resistance bands. Workouts with minimal equipment would be great but it is always easy to modify if not!