Freck's Friday Fancies LXI

Happy Friday everyone!! I'm cutting straight to the Fancies today because I'm so excited about them!

Today's Fancies are created by Myra Callan, the owner of Twigs and Honey. Not only is Myra one darling gal, she is an extremely talented designer who creates gorgeous, to-die-for hair pieces and accessories.

She recently rolled out her new online store, and here's a preview (and today's Fancies!).

Double Flourish Feather Flower

Rhinestone Adorned Silk Chiffon Headband

Handmade Silk Chiffon and Organza Flower

Chantilly and Rhinestone Self Tie Headband

Let's throw in some fun accessories, too... :)

Triple Silk Flower Belt

Triple Silk Flower Necklace

If I someday decide to wear a hair accessory on my big day, Twigs & Honey will be my first stop.

View all of her gorgeous pieces at Twigs and Honey or visit her adorable blog here! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

“You Can Always Tell What Kind Of A Person A Man Really Thinks You Are...

...by the earrings he gives you." - Audrey Hepburn

Although I don't think TBF would ever think to get me these beauties (and I don't know if I'm happy or sad about that having read the quote above), I'm kind of in love with these stunnahs.


I've always been a studs gal, but lately I've been into the dangly earrings. Although I think this bling would blind someone, I'm kind of in love with them.

Stun on, Stunnah.

Pillow Talk

With all this Insanity business, I've experienced some pretty sore days lately and have been taking every second I can to rest and enjoy the more comfortable things in life. Having said that, pillows, or lack thereof in my apartment, have been on my mind. I think it's time to invest in some!

Check out the adorable ones I found on Etsy!

Gray

Trees
Nautical
Monogrammed
Sunglow
Chocolate

I think the gray pillow is the winner. What's your favorite?

Psst, remember! My walls are Dolphin Fin by Behr...

Happy Hump day!

Half-Way Insanity Update!

Hooray! We're more than halfway through Insanity!


I've been putting off this post because I don't want to jinx how well we're doing! I want to do it anyway though because so many of our good friends have seen our progress and have purchased Insanity themselves because of it.

You'll see our progress below, but I want to note that we are not going balls-to-the-wall with this. We're following the diet for the most part and doing the workouts when we're supposed to.

The summary: We're on week 6 of Insanity, day 38. We're more than halfway through and we haven't had any more emergencies or dehydration issues since the beginning. We're feeling good at this point and really excited to keep going!

The diet plan has become a lifestyle change. Eating five small meals a day is SUPER easy if we've prepared our meals the night before, or morning of, before we go to work. We're rarely super hungry for our next meal (unless we did a difficult session the day before), and because we're prepared with our small meals every 3ish hours, I find it easier to turn down the sweet temptations that pop up throughout my work day. Yes, I do break down every once in awhile, but I think that's normal. :)

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The goods: So how much weight have we lost? Well, as of last weekend, TBF has lost 15 pounds, and I've lost 6. We weren't going to weigh ourselves, but the opportunity presented itself last weekend so we went ahead and did it.

More important than losing weight, we're gaining muscle, we're leading a healthy lifestyle, and we're happy. If we want a drink, we'll have one.

If we want a cupcake, we'll eat part of it and stop. Okay maybe we'll eat the whole thing, but it's okay because with the amount of exercise we're doing, we can afford to splurge every once in awhile. :)

By treating ourselves regularly in small doses, we have far fewer omigod-I-must-have-a-drink/chocolate-now-or-I'm-going-to-die moments. Again, please note, neither of us considered ourselves "large" or "obese." TBF wanted to do it because he wanted to lose some el-bee's and I wanted to tone up. We're doing just that.

I was pretty athletic and in-shape before so I'm really impressed with how toned my arms, stomach and legs have become. My body is taking a shape I had no idea was in there. I've become far less curvy/athletic and more lean/athletic, if that makes sense.

Oh, and get this, we've also both canceled our gym memberships. Yep.

I have had a gym membership since I got out of college. I used to do intervals on the treadmill (still recommend it) and then lift to tone my arms. What I've wanted to have happen to my body at the gym for over a year, Insanity has let me do in 6 weeks.

HOWEVER, (dudes, you may want to stop reading) one con is that I am losing the girls and this doesn't make me happy at all. My chest was a decent size and I've already gone down a cup. I had no idea how much a difference one cup makes. Although it's great on my back, it's not so hot on the bank account because I had to get new bras. Plus, most of my tops are the size that they are because of the size of my chest, now I can go down a smaller size (wahoo!) but the tops that I have now aren't so flattering...do you get what I mean? Should I just start belting stuff? I know this is a good problem to have, don't get me wrong, I just wish the weight fell off somewhere else besides the ladies first.

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What's next?

Well, we're on the Max Insanity month. We're 2 days in and it's hell. Basically this means that the first month was a cakewalk compared to the month and was created so we wouldn't run away and cry/die on were prepared for what was to come in the second month. The workouts are around 15 minutes longer (making them an hour), the warm-ups as well as the actual workout are far more difficult. I can tell this is where we'll build a lot of muscle.

After that, we're not sure what we're going to do. We may cut down the workouts from 6 times a week to 4 or 5 times. We've been told that by the time Insanity is over, your metabolism is rockin' fast so it's more about maintaining your weight. Thoughts?

Let me know if you have any questions. I'd be happy to answer any Insanity questions you have!

Let month #2 begin!

What A Wonderful (And Successful!) Weekend...

Hello and happy Monday! This weekend was glorious. Having had such busy schedules for the past couple of weekends, TBF and I were friggen raisin' the roof more than happy to relax and do a little shopping.

We started off the weekend by staying in and doing some Insanity, then by noon on Saturday we were on our way to an outdoor mall in the burbs. Although it took us two hours - YES, holy shnikey traffic was horrible - the trip was a success filled with sales!

We checked off the list...

...awesome sale items from Lands End Canvas

$9 for an awesome Fall-color tee?! Yes please.

and another. How adorable is this model by the way?

a $14 henley I actually ended up getting for TBF because he looked so awesome in it. Maybe even better than the model..just sayin'..

new cologne for TBF (I know D&G? Really? Who knew it actually smelled nice? He has been and always will be a Prada guy in my eyes.)

this adorable nautical top from The Limited. Get this, $10 off promotion handed to me at the door, I had a $15 rewards coupon with me and because I used my Limited card, I got another 10% off!! Holy canoli, steal!

and last but not least, DELICIOUS Sprinkles cupcakes that TBF's little sister, who's a rockstar baker,ended up making for us! So good! These weren't on sale, I broke down and purchased them because it'd been so long since I'd had one, we've been doing well with Insanity, and they're so yummy!

Successful trip though? Yes? Rock on.


That evening we enjoyed a splurge, delicious dinner at Avenue Ale House in Oak Park, which is known for having the best Sangria in Chicago. I would have to agree. Yum!

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying the gorgeous, humidity-free, with a breezy sunshine in the city. Ahh, summer, maybe I'm not done with you quite yet...

Happy Monday! Insanity update tomorrow!!!

Freck's Friday Fancies LX

HAPPY FRIDAY! You did it! ;)

Ahhh, okay now that I got yesterday's Summer post out of the way, my guilt is gone and we can back to the best of Fall!

...and this week's Fancies!

campus

bronx

rachey

harness

britten

...and I will take one of each Mrs. Boot Fairy! I don't know about you but posts about boots will never get old to me. I love them.

TGIF! Have a wonderful weekend! What are your plans?

Be Still My Heart.

Sigh.

Love the heel and shape of these.

Summer's Not Over Yet!

Okay so when I said I was ready for Fall, I experienced an immediate pang of guilt because I don't want to neglect the Summer trend's I'm SO going to miss!

For example...

cute A-line skirts (I may or may not have purchased this today..).

the adorable print, day dress.

the adorable light cardi.

unlike the cargo skinny cropped pants..the white, skinny cropped pant.

Ahh, that's better. The guilt is now gone :) Plus, thankfully the last few can transition nicely into Fall...mwuahaha!

Happy Thursday, we're almost there!

Award Catchup Time!

Adrienne from La Vita E Bella gave me the Sugar Doll award!

How sugary sweet is that? The award is for a new blogger you have discovered and think is fantastic! You have to share 10 things about yourself. And then you’re supposed to pass it along to 10 people...

1. I recently got a parking ticket. Awesome, I know.

2. There's nothing I love more than enjoying a cup of coffee at the breakfast table and talking with TBF on a Saturday morning with an entirely free weekend ahead of us. Bonus points if my apartment is already clean.

3. I recently spent far too long on a day off of work looking for Rainbow Twizzlers around the city and failed. I like to say I successfully failed since it's probably a good thing I didn't get them.

4. I know you know this, but I want a dog so badly.

5. After high school I stopped letting myself read cheesy romance novels because I started having unrealistic thoughts of how a perfect relationship should be. Ironically, I now have a cheesy boyfriend.

6. I believe boating is by far the most rejuvinating and relaxing weekend activity of all time.

7. I have an OCD tendency that has to do with cars, light poles and clicking my teeth. Don't ask.

8. My dad is a soy bean and corn farmer. (Psst! Please ask me questions about this if you want to know more. No we aren't hicks :) Promise!)

9. I just recently started paying bills online. I'm a little behind the times.

10. My dream job would be to be my own boss making random knick knacks, crafts and painting.

If you're reading this, I'd like you to participate in this because I enjoy learning new, fun things about YOU!

Thanks again Adrienne, stop on over at her blog, she's too sweet!

I also received the Substance Award from Natasha at Natasha's Corner! Thanks Natasha!

1. Thank the blogger who bestowed the award on you.

2. Sum up your blogging experience, philosophy, and motivation in 5 words.

I am unable to sum up my experience in 5 words, but I kept it short!

The blogging experience has allowed me to express myself while archiving my life and interests and make some awesome friends along the way.

Again, please fill these out! I'd love to see and hear more about you :) My apologies to Adrienne and Natasha for just now getting to these awards.

Happy Hump day everyone!! We're halfway there!

A Fall Trend I Simply Cannot Participate In.

As you know from yesterday's post, I'm really looking forward to Fall. I was pleasantly surprised to see I'm not the only one! :)


However, when I saw Piperlime's latest email, I about died when I saw one of their idea's for next season's trend...

What's going on here?

Will you participate in this?

Am I missing something? I don't find this flattering..? I do love the skinny, cropped pant with heels, but the cargo pockets on the side kill me a little on the inside. Aren't we always going for a streamlined look down the leg? Yes?

What?

Thoughts?

Happy Tuesday!