Fabletics Outfit Review #1

A while back I wrote a blog post about how I was excited to finally try the subscription based athletic clothing line, Fabletics.  After receiving pretty negative feedback about the brand on my Instagram, I didn't have very high expectations.

I received my first outfit in the mail a few weeks ago and I was very pleasantly surprised!  My outfit came with a pair of crops, a sports bra, and a tank top.  I am obsessed with the crops, they are very comparable to my Lululemon Wunder Unders!  The tank top and sports bra doesn't feel like the worlds greatest quality, but still very nice!  I ordered a size x-small (0-2) in all three pieces, and they are very true to size!  I am not much of an online shopper because I like to try things on first, so I was thrilled that everything fit perfectly!  

Overall, my initial experience has been great!  I'm super excited to pick out my outfit for next month!  :)

Newborn Pictures

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Maddy's newborn photo shoot!  Thank you Dasa Photography for capturing such a special time in our lives!  I am over the moon in love with my little family :) 

 

 

Home Tour: Master Bedroom

Happy Friday Eve! 

Our master bedroom was a super fun space to design!  I wanted a bohemian vibe for our room, and it turned out even better than I expected!  I am quite obsessed with our headboard that my in-laws made for us.  Thank goodness for the two of them, because Scooter and I are not handy whatsoever!  One of my favorite details is the tassel pillow from Anthropologie, I just love anything with tassels! 

Mayo-less tuna salad

I have really missed eating tuna these last 9 months.  The past week I have had it for lunch every single day.  I go through phases with my food where I become obsessed with something and eat it non-stop.  Tuna is clearly my current obsession.  Eating mayo everyday is kinda gross, so I came up with a healthier version of the traditional tuna salad!  It's pretty darn good if I do say so myself!  

Ingredients: 

1 can tuna 

1/2 ripe avocado

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp pepper 

Optional Ingredients:

red onion

celery

green apple

Home Tour: Kitchen

Hi there, happy Thursday!  To continue my home tour series, I wanted to show you our kitchen area.  I love absolutely love our kitchen, which is a good thing because I spend a lot of time in here!  One of my favorite things about it is our back splash.  I love the pop of teal that the subway tiles add! 

St. Patty's Day Green Smoothie

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!  Hope you are all having a fun day today!  How do you plan on celebrating tonight?  I have no crazy plans, maybe I will drink a beer with the hubby...wild huh?!  I guess that's what happens when you have a newborn baby ;).  Oh how times have changed.  It's totally worth it, I promise! 

In honor of this fun Irish holiday, I wanted to share with you a delicious green smoothie recipe!  Now that the weather is starting to heat up again, I love having a smoothie as an afternoon snack.  

Ingredients: 

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 cup spinach

1/2 cup frozen strawberries 

1/2 cup frozen mango

1 banana

1/4 avocado

Enjoy! 

Creamy Avocado Salsa

I have to admit, I can't take credit for this recipe.  My husband came home from the grocery store the other day and wanted to try a new salsa creation.  We were a little nervous at first, but it turned out to be delicious!  If you are an avocado lover like myself, this recipe is for you!  

Side note:  I totally forgot to take a picture of the salsa until there was about one bite left.  Haha.  I will be sure to post a better picture next time! ;) 

Ingredients:

3 large avocados

3 jalapenos

1/2 bundle of chopped cilantro

1/2 yellow onion 

Salt to taste 

Directions:

Roast jalapenos in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Blend avocados and jalapenos in the blender.  Stir in cilantro, onion, and salt.  We also added about 1 cup of water because it was too thick.  It's that simple!

Enjoy!   

Home Tour: Dining Room

In case you missed it, every Thursday I will be taking you on a tour of our new home!  This week I wanted to share with you one of my favorite spaces in our house, the dining room!  I really love the way the wallpaper nook turned out!  I don't like a lot of clutter, so most of my design choices are very clean and minimalist.  Hope you enjoy :) 

Shop this look:

Dining Table: Unruh Furniture // Wallpaper: Serena and Lilly // Mirrors: Target (old, similar here) // Dining Chairs: Overstock // Candle Holders: Z Gallerie (old, similar here) 

Diaper Bag Essentials

Let me start off by saying, I LOVE my diaper bag.  I am not a fan of most traditional diaper bags because they just seem a little dorky to me.  I found the perfect diaper bag alternative at Lululemon.  I love this bag because it's sporty, simple, and has tons of pockets to stay organized.  Pockets are key, I hate when you have a bag that feels like a bottomless pit.  Now that I have a baby, being organized is more important than ever.  I am VERY new at this whole mom thing, but I wanted to share with you some of my diaper bag essentials that I can't leave the house without! 

1.  Chevron Bib & Burp cloth- made by Grandma 

2.  Aden + Anais blankets- I love that they are super lightweight and can be used for many different things!  

3.  Philips Avent Soothie Pacifier-  We definetly have a pacifier baby, can't leave the house without this lifesaver! 

4.  Chapstick-  This one is for momma, I hate having dry lips! 

5.  Honest Company Diapers and Wipes- I will do a separate post on this, because we love the honest company!  Obviously we can't go anywhere without tons of diapers and wipes!  

6.  Change of clothes-  This comes in handy every single time, never leave without a backup! 

7.  Changing mat-  For the moments when you don't have a changing table around! 

8.  Plush Rattle-  Super soft and noisy to keep the little one entertained.  

What are some of your diaper bag essentials? 

Why you should drink from glass water bottles

1) Contigo- Purity Glass Water Bottle 2) Takeya- Modern Flip Cap  3) BKR

4) Ello Syndicate Glass Water Bottle

I have been absolutely horrible about drinking enough water lately.  I have decided that purchasing a cute water bottle might help motivate me ;).  I am going to order the BKR water bottle because I love the sleek design! I made the decision to buy a glass water bottle for several reasons.  Here is why you should drink from glass instead of plastic: 

1) Glass is an extremely environmentally friendly material.  It is 100% recyclable. 

2) There is no need to worry if it is BPA free, glass is completely safe.  There are no harmful chemicals in glass bottles. 

3) Drinking from plastic is like drinking trash.  Plastic is bad for our earth! 

4) Water tastes better when you drink from a glass bottle.  Sometimes plastic leaves you with a funny taste in your mouth.  

5)  You will save money by using a reusable bottle. 

Postpartum Check in: Week 2

I am feeling very excited to start exercising again!  I want to invite you all on my postpartum fitness journey!  I hope that by sharing my journey it will help keep me motivated, and maybe help motivate others!  

At 2 weeks postpartum I finally felt normal enough to go on a walk with my baby girl!  This was the first form of exercise since giving birth to our little Maddy.  I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to get out of the house and be active.  

I am definitely itching to get back into the gym, but I will be waiting until my 6 week doctor appointment to do that.  For now, walking will be my main source of exercise.  I have been walking 1 hour a day at a moderate pace, and it feels great!   For the record, walking up a hill with the stroller is no joke!  

Stay tuned for more updates on my postpartum fitness journey :) 

Feeling Fab

Fabletics: Grand Canyon

I have been contemplating signing up for Fabletics for about a year now.  I have always been worried about the quality because it is so inexpensive.  Because I am a Personal Trainer and live in my workout clothes, I have very high standards. I will admit, I am a Lululemon addict.  I love everything about it, except for the price.  When we lived in California there was a Lulu within walking distance from our apartment....DANGEROUS.    

Now that I have a newborn baby and Lululemon is about 30 minutes away, I have finally decided to give Fabletics a try.  I mean your first outfit starts at just $25, you can't go wrong with that!  Fabletics is a subscription based program.  How does it work?  On the first of every month they send you personalized picks to shop from.  You have until the 5th to make a decision, and all outfits after your first month start at $49.95.  If you don't feel like making a purchase that month, all you have to do is log into your account and select "Skip the Month".  

Simple enough right?  This subscription based program is perfect for my current situation.  With a newborn baby, I know I will have my hands full for the first couple of months.  Also, they day we came home from the hospital my husband's car crapped out.  He ordered a new car and it doesn't come out for a couple of months.  I am literally housebound until then.  So why not have clothes show up at my doorstep each month?  Sounds like a perfect solution to me! 

I am excited to give Fabletics a try!  Stay tuned for a follow up post when I receive my first outfit (pictured above)! 

Have you tried Fabletics?  Would love to hear your thoughts!  

Home Tour: Living Room

Hi There! I am starting a new series on the blog called "home tour".  Every Thursday I will be sharing a space in my home with you!  My husband and I built our house about 9 months ago, and it is something that we are very proud of.  

Before moving to Kansas City, Scooter and I lived in the worlds smallest studio apartment in Pasadena, California.  Because of this, we obviously had no furniture.  We came to Kansas City with a queen size bed, and that's pretty much all.  While our house was being built, my mom and I spent months gathering the all of the perfect furniture pieces.  My mom is incredible at designing spaces, and it has definitely become a passion of mine as well!  We had so much fun decorating my house together, and I think we make a great team!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

This recipe has been on repeat every morning in our house the last few weeks.  Eating apple cinnamon oatmeal and pinning on Pinterest has become my morning routine, and I'm not mad about it.   Imagine eating a healthy apple cobbler, that's what this recipe reminds me of.  

Ingredients: 

1/2 organic apple- diced 

1/3 cup oats

2/3 cup water

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. coconut sugar 

Dash of almond milk 

Directions:

1.  Combine oats, water, organic apple, and cinnamon.

2.  Place in Microwave for 3 minutes. 

3.  Add coconut sugar and almond milk. 

Enjoy! 

Maddy's Birth Story

Hi lovely followers! 

For my first ever blog post, I thought I would share with you the birth story of our baby girl!  Becoming a mommy is the best thing that has every happened to me, and I am so excited to tell you all about it! The whole day seemed to be a bit of a blur because it all happened SO fast! It would probably be better if my husband told this story, but I will do my best to not leave out important details. 

On Thursday, February 19th I was having contractions all day long.  They were pretty inconsistent and didn't really hurt that bad.  It was a snowy day and my husband was at work so I decided to shovel the driveway, hoping it would induce labor.  By the time he got home from work, my contractions were about 5-7 minutes apart.  Obviously I had no idea what real labor felt like because this was my first go around.  We called the doctor and they told us to go to the hospital and get checked out.  We spent about 2 hours at the hospital while they monitored contractions and checked to see how dilated I was.  I was only 1 cm dilated and they concluded that I definitely was not in labor.  We went home that night around midnight.  

The next day, February 20th, I spent most of the day laying in bed because I was scared I might go into labor while Scooter was at work.  When he got home that night we headed out to dinner with our good friends Jessica and Andy.  On the way to dinner I started having contractions that were much more intense than the ones I previously had.  These contractions really did take my breath away.  When we were at dinner the contractions started getting pretty close together.  Andy pulled out his iPhone and started timing them for us.  They were about 3 minutes apart and I was in a lot of pain.  At this point, we decided to ask our waiter for to-go boxes and left the restaurant because I was so uncomfortable. 

I did not want to go to the hospital unless I was 100% sure it was the real deal.  I felt super embarrassed that we went the night before and they sent me home from false labor.  When we got home from dinner, I took a warm bath which seemed to help a tiny bit with the pain.  After my bath we laid in bed to watch Scandal to try and take my mind off of it, which totally didn't help.  After about 2 hours of laying in bed with tons of pain, Scooter decided it was time to head to the hospital.  Right about the time we were heading to the hospital, mother nature decided to have a horrible ice storm.  Of course it took twice as long to get there because the roads were a mess.  

We got to the hospital safe and sound around 11:30pm.  When we arrived, the nurse checked to see if I was dilated and monitored contractions.  I remember the nurse telling me my contractions were "impressive".  I was dilated to 3 cm and she confirmed that it was time to have a baby! 

They got us set up in our room (which was super nice), and they started a bunch of blood work and whatever else they had to do before I got an epidural.  During this time I didn't know how much longer I could handle the pain.  I thought I was going to break Scooters hand.  I give major props to anyone who has ever had a natural birth!!  Because Scooter does Anesthesia for a living, he talked to the nurse and requested an early epidural (thank goodness!!!).  About 1 hour later our CRNA showed up.  I don't think I have ever been so excited to see someone in my life.     

After the epidural was placed, I felt like a new woman.  I could barely feel any contractions at all. The next time the nurse checked, I was about 6 cm dilated.   At this point she decided to call my doctor to give her plenty of time to get to the hospital because the roads were really bad.  Once my doctor arrived to the hospital, things started to move right along.  Right when she got there I started to feel like I needed to push.  

This part went REALLY fast.  I literally pushed for 8 minutes (about 3-4 pushes) and then baby Maddy was born!  The staff joked about how I must workout a lot because I gave birth so quickly!

I don't think I would have survived this experience without my husband (or the CRNA who placed my epidural haha).  He was my biggest cheerleader and was so incredibly sweet to me the whole time.  I am so thankful that he is my husband and my baby's daddy.  

We could not be more in love with our sweet angel.  

  Maddy Elizabeth
February 21st, 2015
7lbs 1 oz