Meet Me At the Barre

Last week I took my first barre class. First several classes, to tell you the truth. It happened by accident. I noticed the Pure Barre studio on the way home from the grocery store and on a whim, decided to check it out. I went home and did a little more research. I was in my first class the next day.

They set you up with some elastic bands, a rubber ball and some light hand weights. I picked out a set of 5lbs dumbbells and the instructor smiled and brought over a lighter pair "just in case". I thought, hey, how weak do I look? I lift way more than this in  the gym, 5lbs shouldn't be a problem.

I was wrong. Before we had finished the set I had swapped out for the little three pounders, which were suddenly far less dainty feeling than they were when I walked in.

During the course of that first class my legs were shaking, my arms aching, and my abs burning. "Everything hurts and I'm dying" I could be heard saying later that day as I tried to do simple tasks, like climbing the stairs, getting in and out of the car, lifting anything, or trying to sit down.

Pure Barre was deceptively hard. So, naturally, I signed up for another class. And another, and another, and another. I'm signed up for classes through the middle of October already. I'm totally hooked, like, seven classes in eight days, hooked. They recommend between three and four classes a week to see best results but I cannot get enough, it's taking all my will power not to try more than one class a day. I enjoy it that much. And when I say enjoy I mean I'm suffering greatly for 55 minutes straight but leaving feeling better than when I walked in the studio.

I was taking to some of the other women in my classes (yes, I have seen a couple men in there, too, so gents, do not be discouraged if you want to give a class a try, you're always welcome) and they were saying they love barre because even when you totally rock one section on one particular day you'll end up getting your butt kicked by something else. You're always working on something knew. the goal is the be your best version of yourself in the class and if you just focus on one thing each time until you've got it, you'll get there.

Maybe one day you just want to hold the plank the whole time, or complete all your push ups, or sink lower down in  your thigh workout, or get your heels higher during barre work. Whatever your goal is, and whatever your sport is, I highly recommend you find your nearest barre studio and give it a go.

Have any of you taken Pure Barre or another barre class? What were your thoughts?

Pamper Thyself

Just because I depend on my feet to get me everywhere I want to go doesn't mean I always appreciate them like I should. As a runner and former gymnast it's an understatement to say my feet have taken a beating over the years. The fact that I pride myself on being the only distance runner I know to never lose a toenail says about all you need to know on the subject.

So every once in a blue moon I like to place my feet in the hands of professionals and try to repair some of the damage I've done. I always get comments like "You have such...athletic looking feet" or "What have you done?!" and the occasional "you have the smallest feet I've ever seen!"

All things I expect to hear because as much as I try to ignore the narly state of my feet I know exactly what the veiny, overly-muscley, high-arched things look like. To sum it up, feet are gross. But no less important.

And that is why I propose that for every three months you pound the pavement you remember to give your feet a day off and the chance to be pampered for all their hard work. They've earned it, and so have you!

Afternoon Tea

With fall quickly approaching and the first day of classes looming on the horizon I'll take any chance I can get to spend the day out with my girls. This week was slammed for all three of us but we found a couple hours we could sneak off to get away from the world. In honor of my birthday we all went out for tea at The Queen Mary Tea Room, a local treasure.

With pages upon pages of teas to pick between we couldn't help but sample several. My top pick ended up being the Royal Rose, a flavored black tea with actual rose petals infused into it. Can you say yum? Ela ended up quite obsessed with their wide selections of chai teas and Chara went with the subtly fruity Mango Passion Fruit.

Between the beautiful floral china, delicious food and the exceptional customer service of the sweet girls who work there we had a wonderful time and can't wait until we have a chance to go back.

Me - Dress: Lilly Pulitzer. Belt: Lilly Pulitzer
Ela - Dress: Nordstrom Rack
Chara - Dress: American Eagle

Birthday Miracle

With my birthday on the first of the month I try to stretch my birthday out for as long into the month as I possibly can. Which is exactly halfway through the month when my best friend has her big day. I’ve always tried to mix it up and do something different, for those of you who have been readers for a while you’ll know I did the Disneyland Half Marathon last year. This time I stayed a little closer to home.

I started off by dragging my family up to Whidbey Island, my favorite place in the entire world. Where I went golfing with my dad, hung out at the beach, went for a run, went out to dinner and caught a movie in the idyllic single-screen theater in town. Perfection.

I clearly got my looks from him

For the first time in the roughly fifteen years since he first taught me how to play I finally out drove him. It was the most incredible shock! It was even more surprising when I did it another two times! Sure he beat me on the other 15 holes but to be able to hold my own after not getting to play almost all summer was a thrill! Clearly, it was a birthday miracle, no other way to explain how after all this time and so very little practice I could possible hit as far as him.


Top: Torrey Pines Pro Shop
Skort: Lilly Pulitzer

Chop Chop

If you ask me what my best feature is I will always say my hair. I can toss it over my shoulder like a cape or wear it close to my face like a human-grown shield. It can be braided, knotted, twisted, curled, tied up or down; how I wear it tells the world who I am for the day.

When I was younger I used to experiment with all kinds of fun cuts and styles until a tragic bangs mishap had me growing it out forever. Since then I always get super nervous when cutting my hair. A knot forms in the pit of my stomach at the mere thought of any of my hair ending up on the salon room floor.

Lately, however, my favorite feature has really gotten on my nerves. It grows faster than weeds and has become so heavy that it actually gives me a headache if it's up for more than a couple hours - super annoying! Ponytails, buns, braids, they all start to hurt after a while and my hair ends up down whether I want it to be that way or not. So I finally sucked it up and called the salon.

The mermaid hair in all its glory

This time, however, it had gotten soooooo long that I was almost looking forward to giving it up...well, more than usual, I was still a lil' shaky about the whole thing.

Now I love my mermaid hair, I really do, but it was past the point of making me look like a Disney princess and pushing unkempt, which is not at all what I was going for with my look. So, as anyone who is panicking about the future of their head does, I pulled together an almost ridiculous number of photos that looked like the hair cut I wanted. And before my truly beloved stylist got her hands anywhere near me I made her look through the whole thing to be sure she understood.

Mermaid hair is in the rear view mirror

Lucky for me, she nailed it! Eight inches shorter and I couldn't be happier with my decision!



Top: American Eagle
Skirt: Lilly Pulitzer

Treat Thyself

The world is a pretty zany, fast-paced place. As Ferris Bueler says, "If you don't slow down, you might miss it." With everything moving at the speed of light all around you it's easy to get caught up in everything and forget to take time out for yourself. You wake up early to squeeze in a run before work, come home exhausted after a long day, have dinner, and crash on the sofa until it's time to fall into bed. Whether you closed the deal, won the case, sold the house, taught a room full of students, fixed a car, wrote code, cleaned floors, edited reports, chased your toddler around the living room, suffered through customer service phone calls, or anything in between it's safe to say you had a long day.

You eat right (mostly, pizza last week was more or less necessary), you get enough sleep (that nap during your lunch break totally makes up for the hours you lost last night), you exercise regularly (well, you meant to, but things keep coming up, once a week isn't bad, right?) and yet something is totally draining you.

Even when you come home from vacation you feel the need to take a day or two off to recover before getting back to regular life.

So, please, for all our sakes, take some time for yourself. Pour yourself a glass of something and curl up with that magazine you've been meaning to read since it arrived in your mailbox two weeks ago. Take your dinner on the patio like you've been meaning to all summer before the weather gets too cold. Meet up with the friends you love but haven't seen in weeks. Go out for a hike or a bike or a run in a beautiful place. Take a picnic to the beach, or park, or backyard. Make your favorite meal for the first time in forever. Hire a babysitter and go do that thing you keep wanting to do. 

Whatever you end up doing, give yourself a couple hours to enjoy yourself. To do what you love or try something new. You'll be glad you did, I guarantee it.

Friday Funday

Today was all about strengthening my poor back and sculpting my biceps. One of the most important days when it comes to healing myself from the inside out. Core strength is vital to just about everything we do and a weak back means lots of pain if I'm standing for long hours at work or trying to race again. I also added in plenty of cardio since it's my favorite!