Five on Friday Archives - Page 3 of 3

Friday Randoms: Hair help and a Hodge Podge…

September 12, 2014 by Susan 25 Comments

Oh friday, you really snuck up on me this week. Maybe because I was working out of my popup office in Florida for the bulk for the week. Either way, how are you dear Friday? Welcome to my week. My brain sometimes just goes in a million different directions. So today, we are gonna roll with it! Here are five random things are currently spinning around in my noggin.

Curly hair in the back, straight hair in the front

Curly hair underneath, straight hair on top

My hair: Y’all are going to think I am completely nutzo… but I have seriously been considering getting a perm. *GASP!* Not that crazy, horrible 80s look. I have never, ever done anything to my hair before, other than cuts. But right now, my hair has gone all cray. I’m assuming it is some weird hormonal imbalance but the back, under layer of my hair is completely curly. The top and front, on the other hand, are completely straight as a board!

I cannot brush it because it just frizzes up and fluffs out. I can straighten it, but my hair is so freaking thick it takes me hours, and ain’t nobody got time for that! I honestly don’t mind the curls… I just want all of my hair to match. This half straight, half crazy nonsense is for the birds.

I am beginning to wonder about a body wave perm… but maybe just for the non-curly parts? Has anyone ever had a body wave? I don’t want ringlets and I don’t want 80s hair. I just want waves in the parts that are super flat. Suggestions? Advice? Help!

On the road again: After being home for approximately 30 hours, I am hitting the road again today, after a quick chiropractic neck snappin’! I’m working with a lovely client for a beach wedding in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They have rented the stunning oceanfront house for the week of partying and fun. Let’s all do our anti-rain dance though for tomorrow as their ceremony is right on the beach! I will snap lots of pictures and share the beautiful deets with you on Wednesday!

You must watch: I am beyond obsessed with this video, and I’m not too proud to admit I have been watching it every single day for the past week-ish.

What?! Yesterday I told my husband that I wanted to turn our garage into a garage gym. You know, semi-crossfit style. With weights and manly things. Something very similar to this post from the Art of Manliness. To my surprise, he wasn’t really overjoyed with this idea. I mean, his wife just told him that she wants to lift weights and that he can build and buy the things needed for this manly in-home workout room… and he basically said “eh…” Who are you and what have you done with my husband?!

Prayers needed: On a much more serious note, one of my clients, actually the first bride that ever trusted me and hired me as her wedding coordinator 6.5 years ago, passed away earlier this week. It is absolutely crushing and so surreal. Today is her funeral, so thoughts, love, and heaps of prayers to her husband, their two little girls, and their families.

I’m linking up with Amy and Amanda today.

Five things You Missed This Week…

August 22, 2014 by Susan 2 Comments

Oh hey Friday! It’s about time you got here! This has been one long as heck week. In addition to wedding planning, I work as an Independent Marketing Contractor during the week. One of my clients is going through a website rebranding and relaunch. I spent a couple days of this work week up in Northern Virginia at the corporate office… and the rest of my time clicking refresh as the new site was supposed to go live. {Fingers crossed, without any glitches.} But everyone in this online world knows - it’s rare for there to ever be a non-glitched-up launch or to have it perfect without one tweak necessary… Sigh. But hey, it’s Friday! Since the blog was a little bare in the middle {of the week} this week, let’s just do a completely random 5 today to catch you up! Oh, and thank you all so much for the kind words of encouragement with last week’s 5. Y’all rock. Thank you so much for your support.

PiYo! I was invited to join an {online} group of lovely ladies for 30 days of PiYo. You know, God seriously works in the most interesting and timely ways. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with social media. But when it comes to love - I whole-heartedly LOVE the people I have met {and some that I have only “met”} via social media. Through random #hashtag hopping, I somehow crossed paths with the lovely and amazing @sugaryjoy several months ago. She is one of the sweetest and down right gorgeous {inside and out!} people I think you could meet. Maybe she is catfishing us, but I highly doubt it. 😉 Either way, I’m thankful for her. She is an encouraging and wonderful coach to have.

So I’ve jumped on board and have joined these women for 30 days of PiYo. If you have been following along for the past couple months {via my social media} you may have heard me ask about yoga recently. The timing of this Pilates and Yoga Combo exercise was perfect. Well, as perfect as exercising can be. {Why do I seriously hate it so much?!}

Today is day five and I am proud to say, that I even stuck with it and did my PiYo in the hotel this week! I have become “that girl” who travels with her hot pink yoga mat. And I’m okay with that. It’s a really fun exercise that can be modified for people {like me} who have struggled with knee problems and/or really just dislike anything that makes me sweat. I will keep y’all posted on what I think {and my results} as the 30 days progress!

Rebrand! I had a little teaser on IG this week showing the sneak peak of the 2 cats & chloe rebranding in process! Yup, it’s true. I’ve had this look for the past three years. It’s cute and all, but every time I look at my blog, I hate it more and more. I need something fresh and new! {Considering I re-arrange my house almost quarterly, I’m shocked my blog design has been the same for so many years!} I’m hoping to have it live next week! Stay tuned!

Oh, and to answer a lot of your insta-questions from the teaser post - YES I do my own blog design. I’m no expert but it is a great, creative outlet for me. If you are interested in me looking at your design, and possibly helping you tweak yours - let me know!

Shopping Spree! Shhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone, but I took a couple hours to myself yesterday on my way home from working in Northern Virginia. It’s been FOREVER since I have gone out shopping for no particular reason. Considering everyone is in back-to-school mode, I expected the Williamsburg Prime Outlets to be quite a bit more hectic. Thankfully, it there was plenty of parking and no real lines. Probably because it was the hottest day ever and only crazy people shop outdoors, in unruly humidity and extreme heat. So what did I buy?

A pair of ankle boots. Birthday presents for my dad. A fall garden fall. A candle that smells like birthday cake {just because I can’t eat it doesn’t mean I can’t smell it right?!} And a new rustic “Home Sweet Home” box for us to put our shoes in. Oh, and I purchased my first Christmas present! It’s never too early to start shopping for Christmas right??

The Ice Bucket Challenge!

Crap. I was really hoping I would make it through this awesome, yet extremely trendy, social media fundraising blitz warm and dry. Last night I was alerted via facebook that I was tagged in a post. My immediate feeling was dread. BUT - who am I to turn down a challenge. Stay tuned…

Weekend Plans? We have none. Other than work: Client work. Contractor work. Website work. House work. Yard work. Blog work. Why is being a grown up so un-fun sometimes? That’s it from me for today. Have a lovely weekend my dears! If you are stopping by from the friday linkup, please leave a comment! I would love to say hello and get to know ya! Happy Weekend!

More than Friday… It’s DAY 31: My Whole30 Results

August 15, 2014 by Susan 10 Comments

Today is so much more than just a normal Friday. Today marks DAY 31! Yup, that’s right guys and gals - this girl just wrapped up her Whole30! I spent the past 30 days not partaking in Dairy, Grains, Beans and Legumes and Soy, Processed or Added Sugars {not even honey!} and of course Wine and Booze. While it may sound beyond dreadful to a lot of you… but this has been, yet again, another life changing 30 days. You would think, since this is not my first rodeo, another Whole30 wouldn’t make that much of a dent in my life. It should be easy peasy at this point, right? Yes, this Whole30 {my third successful one} was much easier than any of them in the past. But it was probably the one that packed the biggest punch. So today, for my Five on Friday, I want to share my top five thoughts about my last 30 days.

My results: #noscalevictory is my take on it! I did lose 8 pounds pounds over the past 30 days - but more importantly I am feeling great, my bloating is diminishing and my clothes are fitting better. Can see the drastic difference in the my before and after pics above?

Like I’ve said - I’ve done a whole30 before. I actually spent the first three months of this year doing two whole30’s and one month as a whole30 + wine. My goal behind the first three months of 2014 was to simply lose weight. Which I did. I lost 20 pounds, quite easily, without changing my exercising habits one bit. And then I decided I wanted to try to add certain foods back into my diet… then I started to get sick again, and unfortunately, gained a lot of weight back.

After numerous doctor appointments, too many vials of blood taken, wishy-washy answers as to what’s wrong with me, and the possibility of celiacs disease looming over my head now… I am finally beginning to accept the fact that my body has several food intolerances. As much as I love ice cream and fresh bread and soy sauce, it is time for me to realize that my body just cannot handle it! My past whole30’s were excellent, but this was the first time I have honestly realized and full-heartedly accepted that it is time for me to LISTEN TO MY BODY and not my cravings.

I wasn’t convinced of this until mid-way through this whole30. I was still on board with more testing and all that. But now! Now, after 30 days of strict clean eating, I feel 1000% better. I know that this is exactly how I am supposed to be living my life.

This was a group challenge. I sent out weekly meal plans to the 45 people who committed to the #2catswhole30. Of the 45 - I think about 4 people made it the entire 30 days. Am I disappointed? Maybe a little. I was really hoping more folks would stick with it, beyond the initial withdraws and sucky times. But I need to dwell on the fact that my efforts positively affected a handful of people. One lady told me she hasn’t felt this good since BEFORE SHE BEAT CANCER. Another person was thrilled she lost 10 pounds and plans on continuing, and will be making her husband join also. My mom, who has been an extreme trooper {and has done two whole30’s with me!} she has become okay to life without cheese and bread. {Which, trust me, is huge!}

Would I have liked more people to stick with it? Of course. But several of those who “dropped out” have emailed me by saying they no longer drink soda {when they had been drinking 4-5 a day!} Another couple has told me that they have decided to make healthier choices for their lives and their marriage. So in the end, I’m happy that 45 people trusted me and my experiences, and were open minded enough to give clean eating a shot.

This whole30 has not only taught me to continue my journey and investment in my health, but it has inspired me to continue creating recipes. Despite the fact that so many people are tired of hearing me rant and rave about my paleo nonsense and whole30 ways, dare I say it has become a passion for me? My clean eating tips will probably become more prominent on this blog. Is that okay? Do y’all mind if I share them on here? Or should I venture out a bit with something separate? I need to find an even balance.

Where do I go from here? Like I said, I HAVE to continue eating this way. My body won’t have it any other way. My skin is clear! My mood is terrific! {The other day, Michael even said to me “I don’t mean for this to sound bad, but you’ve been in a much better mood lately…” HE IS SO RIGHT! And it’s glorious!} I feel more creative and more passionate about life. I now, firmly believe in the saying “You are what you eat.”

I plan on sipping a little wine this weekend, and eating a praline or two from my trip to Charleston last week {yes, I bought them 1.5 weeks out… because who goes to SC and doesn’t eat a praline?!} Other than that, and possibly buying stock in Chipotle, not much will change for me.

Thanks for partaking and encouraging me on my journey. Your support has meant the world to me. Cheers to good life choices, clean eating and a healthy future!

Do you want to learn more about the Whole30 and clean eating? You can read more about my Whole30 experiences here. You can read more about the official Whole30 program here. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me! I would love to talk to you about my experiences and how clean eating can change your life.

I’m linking up with these lovely gals today: