21. The 1-7, The Prints, The Make-Believe Infinity, and The Wannabe Bun

Greetings readers!

To catch up with yesterday, I had a hectic morning again, but managed to squeeze in a workout, or "several" rather. Seriously BoP (Back on Pointe) Tumblr is becoming my go-to for workouts.

BoP sometimes likes to do workouts in "Levels." As the numbers increase, the workouts get progressively harder. My goal was to do levels 1-10, but unfortunately a Charlie Horse and an extreme stomach cramp that I couldn't work off for the life of me, prohibited this process. I did make it till the end of Level 7 though!

The Pinspirable. All of the BoP Levels 1-7 can be found here.

I tried to limit my water intake to only after the workouts, but sometimes if need be, I drank my water while marching. These 7 workouts took roughly about 50 minutes, taking a 1-3 minute break in between each workout as need be. My goal for tomorrow is to do all 10. Today I was in a lot of cramping pains, so tomorrow the workouts will commence. I'll let you know how far I get in the 1-10 Cardio Levels. Normally, I never do the same workout back-to-back, but I'm determined to do all 10 at once!

Like I already said, today I wasn't feeling so hot, but managed to get my car fixed and go to Target. Just as an FYI, NEVER EVER EVER go to Target when you're laid off. Absolutely the worst decision I ever made. I went there to pick up a new Bruins shirt for my upcoming date this weekend; however, the temptations were deadly. 

Check out my "Wish List" from Target:

The Target "Wish List": $28

This dress is absolutely darling. You all know I'm obsessed with Chevron patterns, but did I ever tell you I love the high/low look and anything lace-based?! Oh, because I am! It's easier to see the high/low look in this navy dress, but the one I want is a creamy color, which will be perfect with my brown boots for Countryfest this year. Must.have.

The Target "Wish List" : $44.99

I have been on a serious hunt for a sweater dress and this is exactly what I've been looking for! Sweater dresses would definitely break up my need to wear pants all winter long. It's getting very old and tiresome. A sweater dress will open up the possibility of tights, leg warmers, and boots. A girl can dream, right?

The Target "Wish List" : $24.99

Speaking of my love for Chevron. How wonderful is this!? You could do so much with this. For a girl who craves and loves patterns and fears being seen in same thing twice, it makes things complicated; however, thanks to lovely things called accessories, you can do so much with statement pieces like this!

There were a few other items on my "Wish List," but they're not featured online. Think paisley patterns and wonderful zipper dresses! :)

In honor of my love for prints, I bring you today's look:

The Pinspirable.

This fabulous printed shirt was purchased in Rome, Italy in 2007. A lot of my friends, when I came back to the states, didn't appreciate this shirt and thankfully I didn't listen to them when they said to rid my closet of it. Prints are coming back, especially for Spring! I paired this with light brown loafers, jeans, and a cute creamy scarf.

The Pinspirable.

I love wearing scarves in different ways, but very rarely do you find out how to achieve a certain look, so here you go:

How To Achieve Today's Scarf Look

1. Lay out the scarf on a flat surface.

2. Form a circle with the scarf.

3. About 6 inches from the bottom tie a knot.

7. Tie another knot to ensure it is secure.

8. Now your scarf should look like an infinity scarf, but with a knot and fabric hanging from the bottom of it.

9. Put the scarf around your neck so the knot and extra hanging fabric is at the bottom (furthest away from your neck as can be).

10. The part around your neck where it doesn't have any of the knot or extra fabric, pull it back and make a loop by wrapping it around your neck. 

11. Voila!

For my hair today, it was time to consult my Pinterest Hair Board:

The Inspiration.

Unfortunately, I don't have a bow to put in my hair. Another thing on my Wish List.

The Pinspirable.

Plus, with shorter hair, it's hard to make a bun look so distinguished, especially without a big statement piece like in the Inspiration photo.

Hope you all had a great two days! Lots going on tomorrow, so stay tuned ;)

Items:

Seven Jeans: $80 TJ Maxx, circa 2006

Statement/Printed Shirt: circa 2007 Rome, Italy

Brown loafers: circa 2007 Sorrento, Italy

Blings Earrings: $30 JoJo Loves You

Scarf: It was so long ago, I don't remember how it came to be in my possession. 

Till next time,

Bells

**Please note the link for the Inspiration hair photo brings you to the page where I pinned it from, but it turns out to be just a photo link. If I discover the original source, I will fix this.**

20. The Workouts and The Tacos

Greetings readers!

Hope you had a marvelous Monday and kicked off your week on the right foot.

I'm trying to be as positive as possible. Being laid off definitely has weakened my self-confidence and self-esteem, so attempting to look on the bright side is very important. My great friend, Liz Theresa, whom I went to grad school with, has taken me on as a "Research and Creative Officer" doing a lot of marketing/sales things for her entrepreneurship. Today, she thanked me several times and complimented me on my skills. It really brightened my day and assured me that I do have talent, buried, but nevertheless there, so thank-you Liz! Did you have any positive comments today? Or give anyone any? In grammar school, my teachers would always stress "Hold a door open for someone, you never know what a little thing like that could mean to someone" and going through a time period in my life like I am now, I fully and wholeheartedly believe in that piece of advice. You really never know when someone is down and needs that little reminder.

After helping Liz with some things, it was onto working out. Today's workout was not as intense as yesterday's, due to soreness. Tomorrow, I'm going to double up again. And another reason today was an easier day was because I was doing a million and a half things this morning. Since when am I completely busy being laid off?! News to me!

My morning in a nut shell:

•  Edited about 5-6 emails for KiKi
•  Freelanced/marketed for Liz
•  Set up appointments for this weekend (dress measurements and much need pedicures for a friend and myself: I need it for relaxation, but most importantly it is for my friend who is going through a very rough time and sometimes a girl just needs some Hot Stone Pedicure Pampering!)
•  Emailed all of the bridal party a 2 page email (yes, I type all of my emails in Word first)
•  Called the local Nissan dealership to see if the part was in for my car (head desk: enough said)
•  Called the Bride's Mom to run everything by her
•  Compiled all of the ideas in a Word document and folders for the Bridal Shower
•  Hunted again for Bridal Shower invitations
•  Caught up on other necessary phone conversations for bills and such
•  Job hunted

Can you now see why I worked out late in the day and cut it short?! Haha Busy Bee today!

Anyways... the workouts:

The Pinspirablers Workout (part 1).

The Pinspirablers Workout (part 2).

A wise note for all of you, when starting off this cycle (and once again, this was the order I did them), stretch a lot first because 150 Jumping Jacks kills your calfs fast! I didn't stretch like I normally do and I was paying for it BIG time, so after the jumping jacks, I then stretched. Oops! And no, I didn't do the entire "Ten Week Workout Plan," just Monday's routine. Tomorrow I'm going to start with Tuesday's and then add on some other things. Are you going to join in tomorrow and do Tuesday's routine?

Oh, and once again, for the "Do It Daily," I took out the "15 seconds side plank (each)" [sic]**, and instead added in 60 crunches. **Fun Fact: [sic] is used when a word is either missing, misspelled, or breaking a grammatical rule. It's to let the readers know that the author quoting didn't make the mistake, but the original source did. Did I mention I was an English major in college and received my Masters in English, too? ;)**

After these two workout routines, I then did a bunch of standard weight exercises using 5lb weights. I use lighter weights, so I can do more repetitions. My repetitions, depending on the exercise, end up being a total of 25 or 50.

Also, the other day I found this great calendar on Pinterest for an ab routine and although it says June, why not try it in February?

The Pinspirables Workout (part 3).

Who is up for the "June/February" Mean Abs Challenge?

After the workouts, it was on to shoveling. Why snow, WHY?! Can you please, please, PLEASE go away now?! I didn't even take a picture of today's outfit because it was thoughtless. I was not very happy about having to shovel after my shower. Shoveling with wet hair = grumpy Bells.

Upon shoveling, I ran inside to dry my hair, and get ready for Taco Night and to watch the Bruins! My friends and I switched up the 10 cent wing night for $1.00 tacos! Splurging left and right ;)

The Pinspirable.

I told you today's outfit didn't have any inspiration behind it, but here's a better picture of the sock bun! I did it for Taco Night and all of my friends loved it, especially with adding in a headband. I love the glitz and glam of the headband. Definitely needed a little pizz-azz today after shoveling!

Items:
Blue sweatshirt - very old from American Eagle, circa 2004
Headband - Forever 21, circa Spring 2012
Black and gold bow cuff - Christmas 2012 
Silver ring - Christmas 2012 gift 

Till next time,
Bells

19. The Weekend Recap: Hair, Workout, Repeat for 3 Days.

Greetings readers!

Ready for a Weekend recap?

On Friday, my parents and I were going to go out to a nearby bar for dinner, drinks, and to watch the Bruins game! It was my first time, this season, going out for a Bruins game so I was bouncing off of the walls. I thought my mom at one point was going to knock me out just to get me to calm down. Feeling a little amped up, I decided to do my hair in hopes of calming down.

The Inspiration

After doing all of the "Rope Braids" hairdos (see here), I was in the mood for some more braids. This look is very easy to do.

The Pinspirable (part 1).

Very very easy. I had a little too many fly-away hairs for my liking, but alas, the problem with short/ mid-length hair once again!

Earlier in the day on Friday, I had to run some errands, so I wanted a dressy/casual outfit.

The Pinspirable (part 2).

A scarf, a white scrunched blouse, a shirt/vest, jeans, and uggs. The outfit was perfect for running errands and to transition into night, swap out the uggs for heels, or add in some big jewelry pieces. I kept to the uggs because it seemed the most practical with snow still on the ground.

The Pinspirable (part 3).

At one point, I was so antsy that I kidnapped my mom's reading glasses and started posing. Like I said, she was ready to knock me out. :)

You'd think I would've been less energized after doing another Pinterest workout:

The Pinspirable Workout.

This "Cardio/Strength Workout" is no joke! I'm very list oriented, so Pinterest workouts work for me, especially when I do all of the "max result" reps at once. I did all of this 3 times through, but I don't do it all once, then start at the top and repeat two times. How I do these workouts is make everything 3 times all at once, so "90 jumping jacks, 15 push-ups, 75 high knees, etc..." For me, it works, but hey! Everyone's different. :) And for me, wall sits, just make me shake. I never really feel as though they do much, so I took out the "3 minute wall sit" and opted for 60 crunches instead.

Saturday was a very lazy day. After bouncing off of the walls on Friday and eating an Alfredo-based dish Friday night, yesterday I felt so gross. I swear the plague ("the ominous flu cloud") is swarming around me and I'm trying to avoid it like it's my job (probably a bad pun right now, eh?). Yesterday, nevertheless, consisted of lots of sleeping, "Property Brothers," movie marathons, and finally something to eat around 9pm. Probably shouldn't have begged to have Chinese, right? Oh well! Live and learn!

Today it was time to get back to the grind, so Pinterest workouts were it! Yes, I said "workouts."

The Pinspirable Workout (part 1).

The Pinspirable Workout (part 2).

The Pinspirable Workout (part 3).

Yes, I did all 3 of these and exactly in this order. The first workout, "Starting Ten," I did in a faster pace: immediately one after the other, banging them out. The "Starting Ten" was essentially my warm-up. Once again, like Friday's workout, for the "Early Morning," I doubled everything up. The only part I didn't do were the side planks because I have carpal tunnel in my wrists and moves like this make it virtually unbearable for at least the remainder of the day. Instead of the side planks, I did 40 crunches.

Not going to joke around with you, for the 3rd workout, I thought I was going to collapse every few moves, so I ignored when to take water breaks and just took water as I saw fit. After the 2nd time doing burpees (in column 2), I was convinced I was going to puke, but nonetheless, I made it through and I felt great! Pinterest really has some awesome workouts; all of the above workouts were ironically by BoP (Back on Pointe), but not all of Pinterest workouts are by BoP.

After being utterly drenched from these 3 workouts, I took a shower, and put my hair up. Since September or so, I've become fascinated with the sock bun, but have never found an easy way to do this until now:

The Inspiration.

Once again, my hair isn't as long, so doing the braids with the remaining pieces was not an option, so I merely pinned that part around the sock bun.

The Pinspirable.

How to Achieve This Look:

1. Place your hair in a high ponytail.

2. Cut the top part of a sock off where your toes would go; then roll the cut sock so it looks like a circle with a hole through it. *Note: the bigger the sock, the fuller the bun will look.*

3. Fan your hair out, making sure the sock is covered all around, and then put a hair tie over it.

4. Take the remaining hair and split it in half. Wrap each section around the bun and pin it.

**5. If your hair is long enough, braid each side and then pin.

Items:
White blouse - circa 2006 (I honestly have no recollection of where this came from, or how much it cost. It's been in my closet for so long and definitely has not been utilized to its full potential).
Black/gray flowered vest - $15 Forever 21
Black jeans - $80 Kenneth Cole outlet, circa 2009
Black uggs - $80 TJ Maxx, circa 2005
Coach scarf - gift
My mom's glasses - Kate Spade

Till next time,
Bells

P.S.
My neon pink belt, I bought at Marshall's, and featured here can be purchased at American Eagle. It was featured as an item today in my email:

The Pinspirablers Find.

How excited are you all for more Neon Brights, Spring, and soon Summer? I know I am!

18. The Fifty Shades of Pink to Tie Up With The Rope Braid

Greetings readers!

Yesterday was off to a late start, for I was doing some marketing for my friend, Liz Theresa. Plus, the thought of going outside in "4 degrees weather, but having it feel like -15 degrees," was not appealing to me, nor was it high on my list; however, I did have plans to go visit my cousin outside of Boston.

When getting ready, I was trying to find an Inspiration photo for wintry weather, but it wasn't happening! So I said, "Forget it, I'm going to dress how I want, since no other blogs really cater to feels like -15 degrees weather." *Fun Fact: I ended up, unconsciously, pairing an outfit together that matched an Inspiration photo I found earlier this week. It doesn't matter that I realized it now, right? Ha!*

The Inspiration

Can we say, gorgeous?! I absolutely love this look.

The Pinspirable (part 1).

So, not quite 50 shades of pink, but bright for winter nonetheless. It was refreshing to be nice and toasty warm with the gray cashmere open-faced sweater, uggs, but add some lovely pops of color.

The Pinspirable (part 2).

All of the pinks in a closer view: a hot pink belt, a fuschia top, and a darker fuschia scarf. The only pink items not seen here were my fuschia earrings from JoJo Loves You, and my Coach hair scarf.

As of yesterday, when I was gathering ideas for the blog, I came across this wonderful hairstyle via Pinterest, but it's originally from The Beauty Department.

The Inspiration.

If you look at the "braids" closely, you'll notice that they are indeed 2-stranded, not 3. The 2-stranded braid is known as "The Rope Braid." It's a very easy technique: essentially, you just split your hair in two and rotate over one another, like you would a normal 3-stranded braid.

This hairstyle was not coming out quite the way it appears in the picture, so I changed it up.

The Pinspirable (part 1).

The Pinspirable (part 2).

How To Achieve This Look:

1. Put your hair in a ponytail.

2. Divide the ponytail in half, so you now have two sections. 

3. Rope braid each section (so now you have 2 rope braids from one ponytail).

4. Rope braid together both of the 2 smaller rope braids.

5. Wrap the now 1 giant rope braid around to form a bun.

6. Secure this "bun" with an elastic.

7. Apply a scarf, flowered pin, etc.

Have you found any hairstyles that you liked and made them into your own?

Items:

Gray cashmere open-faced cardigan: $45 TJ Maxx, circa Fall 2011

Black skinny jeans - $80 Kenneth Cole outlet, circa 2009

Black Uggs: $70 TJ Maxx, circa 2005

Fuschia scarf: Christmas 2012 gift

Hot pink skinny belt: $7 Marshall's, circa Spring 2012

Pink shirt: $8 Old Navy, circa Spring 2008

Fuschia earrings: $30 JoJo Loves You

White layering "wife-beater" tank: $5 Old Navy, circa Spring 2008

Coach hair scarf: circa 2005

Till next time,

Bells

**Please note that the original source for today's clothing Inspiration photo is unknown. I saw it on Rue La La's Facebook page earlier this week. Someone said they reposted it from, Social Bliss.**

17. The Double Braid

Greetings readers!

As you can tell, I've been a little down lately, so working out has been neglected. My cousin sought me out today for she knew (I was avoiding her like the plague) and once again, I listened. Plus, I'm being a bit overly conscious now since I'm seeing someone who I haven't seen in a very long time next weekend. A bit anxious too mind you. :) Pinterest workouts are absolutely great and easy, so today I decided to do 4 of them, well like 3.5 for one of them half of the things, I had no idea what they were talking about.

The Pinspirable Workout (part 1).

The Pinspirable Workout (part 2).

The Pinspirable Workout (part 3).

The Pinspirable Workout (part 4).

After working out, it was time for a shower, a fast hair updo, dinner time, and then the Bruins game!! It was the first game this season that I was finally able to watch the entirety of! 

Today's Pinspirable is that of a "Double Braid," which I discovered via Pinterest earlier. It's fast, easy, and cute when done right. Mine did not come out the best because I was doing it very fast, just to see if I could even figure it out. If I had gone slower, actually concentrated, and made it a looser fit in the end, it would be more like the Inspiration photo.

The Inspiration (part 1).

The Inspiration (part 2).

Please note that both Inspiration photos came from the same location, so that's why they're both not linked.

The Pinspirable (part 1).

The Pinspirable (part 2).

Like I said earlier, this was a rush job. It was merely a test run through. It's definitely a braid I'm going to try and improve on and continue doing. I want it to look loose, yet more refined like the Inspiration photos. Also, it's not very easy to have a full effect looking braid when your hair is a couple of inches below your shoulders. These girls in the Inspiration photos have very long hair to begin with. 

Speaking of growing hair and such, I'm definitely growing mine out. I came across a tip via Pinterest earlier and am tempted to try it. It's a Homemade Hot Oil Treatment that supposedly helps your hair grow faster and make it smoother. Have you tried this home remedy? Or any other remedies? 

Till next time,

Bells

*I can't seem to find the original sources for BoP Level 1 and 2, but go here to see some of the other Back on Pointe (BoP) workouts. She has some amazing challenges!*

Updated Monday 1/28/2013: I added in the BoP Level 1 and 2 workouts! I finally found the original links on BoP's site! Be sure to check it out and see Level 3, 4, 5 AND 6!

16. The Favorite Pattern

Greetings readers!

Do any of you have a favorite pattern or style? I can say that I do! I absolutely am in love with Chevron. It is the most gorgeous, simple, yet creative style. One of my wish list items to purchase is a Chevron dress and/or shirt. Let's not joke ourselves, it will probably be both! What can I say? I'm obsessed!

Today, I was searching all over The Internets for a DIY nail tutorial. The sloppy redone job on Saturday night was chipping, so a change was definitely needed. Out of all my nail tutorials, today was probably the most successful yet. It's still not 100%, but I'm slowly getting there. My DIY creative genes are slowly bubbling... probably shouldn't go that far yet.

The Inspiration.

I'm not saying I'm a fan of these particular colors, but the Inspiration was all I needed for today.

The Pinspirable (part 1).

Essie's Penny Talk is much more in my color wheel than the Inspiration red and bright pink. Plus, the Inspiration photo seems rather Valentine's Day-esque. For your sake, I'll omit my feelings on that holiday.

The Pinspirable (part 2).

The Pinspirable (part 3).

Not too shabby, eh? The white polish is Sally Hansen's Sheerly Petal Natural White and I feel it adds that full Chevron feel. Most often when you see Chevron styles, it's either black and white, or turquoise and white, or navy and white. I'd say about 90% of the things I've seen in Chevron style, contain a white blend.

All I did for this was, make sure there was very very very little white polish on my brush. Then carefully going from left to right (on my left hand) and right to left (on my right hand), simply made zig zags. It's ok if it's not perfect... that's what I'm telling myself anyways. ;)

Till next time,
Bells

15. The Sweater and The Collared

Greetings readers!

Now, that I'm all caught up (*phew*), I hope you're all doing splendidly...

My best-friend should be quite thankful that I love her dearly, enough to miss the entire Bruins game today. KK and I have been best-friends since we were 4. She recently got engaged and I'm her Maid of Honor. As Maid of Honor, I worry about my Bride-to-be, especially when she falls off of the map and I don't see her for a month and a half! I sacrificed a Bruins game to get in some quality time, and it was well worth it.

I had to find a comfortable shopping outfit, so here we go...

The Inspiration.***

The Pinspirable.

Jeans, a collared shirt, a gray cover shirt, black flats, a watch, and a chunky necklace. This is a very easy outfit to recreate. Doesn't layering make life so much simpler? At first, I felt a bit uncomfortable for the gray sweater is more fitted and didn't feel big enough to go over the collared shirt, so I came up with an alternate idea as well...

Alternate Pinspirables.

And, please disregard my undone hair in the alternate photo. Apart from the hair, it's a very comfortable look to just drape the sweater over the collared shirt as an alternative.

After trying on all of these options, I decided it was waaaaay too cold out, so I ended up putting on a heavy sweater instead of today's Pinspirable. This Inspiration outfit is much more ideal for fall, or winter if you live in a semi-warmer climate.

Anyways, KK and I ventured to a nearby Outlets mall, shopped a bit, ate lunch, and then she showed me the house that her and her fiance are closing on in 10 days!!! After all of that, I came home to find out some horrible news about my brother's friend and then headed off to wing night with the gang for a much needed laughter-filled night. My poor brother, please keep him in your thoughts. Last night, his friend at college (my brother's still in college) asked my brother to head over to his house to watch The Patriots game, but Brother Bear couldn't go for some reason (he never told my mom or I why and we aren't going to question it). That poor boy who invited my brother over, died this morning. There was a fire in his apartment, which the cause is still unknown. It's so awful. The boy was outside and ran back in to get his PS3 he got for Christmas from his parents because they spent a lot of money on it, he felt guilty about it, ran back in, and never came out. How heart-wrenching. Now, my poor brother is beating himself up saying, "If I went over there, something different may have happened." Nevertheless, please keep my brother, his friends, and the boy's family in your thoughts throughout this difficult time. Love you always and forever Brother Bear.

Items:
Gray shirt: $12 Marshall's (worn here, too)
Jeans: $30 American Eagle Oulet
Blue collared shirt: $35 Ann Taylor Outlet
Black flats: $60 Coach flats from Marshall's
White watch: $120 Fossil outlet, circa 2010
Chunky silver necklace: Christmas grab gift circa 2010

Till next time,
Bells

***Lilly's Style blog is amazing! She wears all affordable clothes and has a great style. I would definitely recommend reading her blog, or at least going to look at it.***