{23 miles}

So I've been doing this...

23 miles in three weeks friends! This is a tad monumental for me.

First of all, because I've stuck with working out for three straight weeks.

And the fact that the more workouts I do, the more I actually want to push myself.

I started out doing 1 - 1.5 miles on a 2.0 incline which would burn about 150 calories. Last night I did 35 minutes at a 3.0 incline and 2.25 miles. That burned about 250 calories.

I'm walking at a speed between 3.7 and 4.0 if you're curious. I'm SO not a runner. Speed walking is more my thing.

I find it crazy that my stamina is increasing, and even crazier that I'm slightly enjoying these workouts.

I've also been eating better...cutting out the soda and fast food. The other day we took the boys to Chipotle and I left the cheese off of my burrito bowl {just chicken, rice, beans and veggies} and I drank water. I have this automatic response to always order a soda when we eat out, so getting water was a big thing for me. I had some pepsi a few days ago and it tasted so sweet to me...I actually looked at the bottle to make sure it wasn't diet because it didn't taste right. AND I'm actually not craving candy like I usually do...I'm eating tangerines like crazy instead. Still indulging in my dark coffee and chocolate...those are two friends I'm not going to say goodbye to. :)

I'm not weighing myself just yet but feeling better mentally about my body is keeping me motivated for now. I'll probably wait a few more weeks before stepping on the scale.

Just wanted to share my progress with you, and maybe encourage others that aren't naturally motivated to exercise like I am. I'm so thankful for this shift in my mindset...it is making a huge difference!

Do you have any exercise or eating tips for me? I'd love to hear them!

XO,

{the raw days}

My ordinary life feels holier to me on the raw days.

I wrote that during a free-writing exercise in a class I took last spring. 

Yesterday was surely one of those days.

As a hormonal female, I've come over the past year to realize that there are a few days out of the month that I'm just plain raw. My emotions are on overload. I'm irritable and not so fun to be around.

It takes work and a lot of awareness for me to bury that rawness.  

When I woke up yesterday after the hubby let me sleep in until 9:45 {so thankful for that!}, this was the scene I was greeted by...

The boys were watching Cars while playing with their cars. This, of course, is a no-brainer. 

After I settled onto the couch to watch the movie with them, I surveyed the room. Aside from two adorable boys that I could kiss all day long, all I saw was the mess of toys on the floor.

If I can be totally honest, a toy covered floor STRESSES ME OUT. Like nothing other. Well, that and our horrible kitchen, but that is another story for another day. 

And on most days when I'm feeling as raw as I was, I would let that mess stress consume me until I was the last person you would want to spend the day with. And I've let it do that too many times, I'm ashamed to say. 

But yesterday morning as I was beginning to feel that stress and rawness envelope me, I remembered this blog post from Liz Lamoreux about saying YES to the moment...whatever moment you find yourself in. 

From Liz's blog:

And even in the midst of the messy reality of the everyday, I try to find that space to take a deep breath and see the beauty of this moment.

I was so thankful that Liz's words came to me in that moment. Because I was able to banish the stress, and embrace that messy, real moment. Close my eyes and soak in the laughter coming from the boys' soft lips, run my fingers up and down Landon's smooth feet, wrap my arms tightly around Ben's warm body. 

The toy mess will eventually be cleaned up {and it was...by the boys even!} but those moments of cuddling and savoring their 5-year-oldness are fleeting and I am determined to let go of the stress and embrace them.  

I'm realizing that embracing life doesn't come naturally, but it sure is worth the work. So I'm thanking God for the raw days instead of wishing them away. 

There is beauty in the rawness. 

XO,

{hello friday}

This week has been one for the record books.

The temps have dipped down under zero most days. Not typical for around here. We're used to cold winters but this is taking it to a whole other, very cold, level.

And on Tuesday I got some mail that I had been waiting for that could be a game changer for me...

You know its a big deal when my hubby doesn't even complain about taking my picture. :)

I wish I could share more details right now, but all I can say is that FedEx envelope held something so exciting for me that I keep going back and forth between ridiculous excitement, grateful tears, and the usual human response of "this is too good to be true". 

I'm sharing this with you all because you have been some of my biggest cheerleaders. You've been with me for years...through my early scrapbooking days, the birth of my boys, my random DIY adventures, and most recently my transformation into an artist. 

And I promise I'll share more fun details when I can..so hang in there with me, OK? :) 

Until then, here are a few more photos from my week...

Working on a custom order "one little word" doodle...

You can order your own here.

Watching the boys cook with their Gigi...

Documenting the every day stuff....like laundry...

Playing legos while enjoying the sunset view from our front window...

Finding some treasures at Goodwill and TJ Maxx...

You can see how I wore the pants here.

Keeping up with workouts...

Working on some new pieces with a dreamcatcher theme...

Working on homework...

Landon isn't asleep, I promise. :)

Getting some inspiration from this book...

And trying to stay warm...

What did your week look like?

XO,

{playing dress up}

Happy Wednesday friends!

It is FREEZING here in Indiana but I managed to get gussied up yesterday. 

{just for you} 

I found some great deep turquoise cords on clearance at TJ Maxx on Monday so I just had to wear them...

And see that Fossil bag?! 

$20 at Goodwill. I kid you not. 

The thrifting Gods were looking down on me majorly. 

So here is how I styled my new cords...

The grey top and scarf are also from TJ's...earrings from Kohl's, thrifted sweater, and boots my go-to's from Ebay. They are lined and the warmest thing I have in these near zero temps. 

I haven't switched over to the bag yet {even though I'm dying to!} because it doesn't have a cross-body strap and wearing a shoulder bag with a winter coat is one of the most annoying things. Right? 

Ahhh I'm dreaming of non-coat weather so much right now. 

Actually the 40's would work for me. A high of 14 just isn't cutting it.

What have you been wearing this week?

XO,

{"one little word" custom doodles}

Do you have a "one little word" for 2014?

If you are like me, it helps to have somewhere to display your word, to remind you of your goal for the year.

So I thought it would be fun to offer custom "one little word" doodles!

I'm really loving the geometric frame in shades of turquoise.

Each one is a unique, hand-drawn doodle on heavy-weight cardstock.

You can check them out in my shop here!

XO,

{playing dress up}

Happy Wednesday friends!

I have an outfit to share with you today, but first I want to share a little bit about the past week and how I'm doing so far with living into my "one little word" for 2014, which is...

{You can read more about why I chose that word here.}

I'm determined for this year to be the 365 days that I become more "me" in every sense of the word. I've been spending a lot of time on my art over the past few months, which of course I love, but some other things have taken a back seat. My health being one of the most important ones.

Over the past 6 months or so I've put on probably 10 pounds through stress eating and just not exercising. I blame a lot of this on the boys starting kindergarten and our family finding a new normal. It takes me a long time to adjust to big changes and when I'm stressed I turn to food, mostly sweets and snacks, and a lot of the time late at night. I've also been drinking more soda than I would care to admit. And I've been getting a TON of tension headaches. I've just felt like crap if I'm being totally honest. 

So since the new year has started I've been treating my body better. Lots more water. Healthy snacks. Lower calorie meals. {for the most part...let's just ignore last night's pizza and wine, shall we?}

And for the past week I've started using our treadmill again.

If you follow me on Instagram this is not news to you. :) 

I've used it for five different sessions in the past week for a total of about 11 miles and I feel SO good. I'm not big on using a scale...it doesn't motivate me...but I can tell a bit of a difference in my stomach and that makes me happy and is keeping me going. 

I typically get VERY motivated for a week or so with working out and then feel so good that I take a day off which turns to a few days, then a few weeks and then....well, you get the idea. So I'm trying to keep my momentum going and right now I feel like I can do it. 

I've also been practicing my doodling, finding inspiration through books, Pinterest and other artists. And I'm reading a lot more. I recently finished two books that fueled my desire to keep working on my art...

This great quote is from The War of Art...

I love that my word for the year is in there...I might have to doodle this one and frame it. :)

So with all of those things blended together, plus trying to be more present with the boys during our time together, I feel like I'm becoming more whole and living more fully into the person I'm meant to be. 

OK...are you still with me? You'll probably notice a few more outfit postings now that I'm feeling better in my clothes too and I have one to share today. This one is my typical mix of TJ Maxx and Target with a handmade accessory thrown in...

I love this new cozy sweater I picked up at TJ Maxx before Christmas, and this Target top is the perfect tunic length to wear with skinny jeans. 

The boots are from Ebay, earrings from Starburst Studio and the ring was a gift from my sister. 

Did you choose a word for 2014? 

I would love to hear about it and how you are living into it in the comments!

XO,

{playing dress up}

I almost forgot that today was Wednesday and that I had not one, but TWO outfits to share with you. 

Why you ask?

Because it has been ridiculously icy and cold here and today is the first day I've been out of our house since Saturday. I never thought I would be so happy to go to work! The boys haven't gone back to school yet and our van was dead/frozen in the driveway yesterday. But I do have to say that being able to stay up late and sleep in have been heaven for this night owl. 

It felt so good today to get dressed in something other than fleece pants and a t-shirt so I figured I should document it! {and with a little nudge from my friend Suzanne}

Today I'm wearing my go-to dress that you've seen just a few times before, but I have a new cardigan to show off that was a Christmas present from my awesome mother-in-law. It is, not surprisingly, from TJ Maxx...

I love the pattern and it is the perfect slouchy oversized shape. 

I'm also wearing my new nest necklace from Melody Joy Designs...

Love this whimsical reminder of my two little birds at home. 

Speaking of TJ Maxx...last week I wore two new tops I snagged on my last retail therapy trip. Both are super comfy and flattering...

I love the pop of mustard yellow against the grey...

So the point of this week's post is...what would my wardrobe do without TJ Maxx? 

Answer...the outlook would be very dismal. :)

What is your favorite place to shop for additions to your wardrobe?

XO,

{one little word 2014}

I feel like I'm finally figuring it out.

35 years old and the most obvious thing literally smacked me in the face a few months ago. 

I'm an artist. 

I doodle.  I draw.

It was what I did for years...for my entire childhood. 

And then something happened...I guess a few random things {although I don't believe anything that happens in life is random} that threw me off track. 

And I stopped. 

I did lots of other crafty things for the past 15 years. Scrapbooking, knitting, jewelry making, DIY projects. I'm always described as the creative one by family and friends. But for the longest time I forgot just how innate that creativity was.

That all I needed was a pen and some paper. 

And courage.

What followed has blown me away. And humbled me. 

I feel like God is up there nodding his head and giving me a big thumbs up, like, "Well, it took you a long time, but you finally figured it out." Like a proud Father. 

In just a few months time I have been propelled into this new adventure that feels as familiar and comfortable as a warm mug of coffee cupped in my hands or my well-loved baby blanket {that I'm not ashamed to admit I still sleep with} against my skin.

I'm becoming me.

So for 2014 my one little word is BECOME.

I have big hopes and dreams for this coming year. 

REALLY big ones. And I'm not afraid to admit that. 

OK, maybe a little bit. But I'm not going to shy away from it. 

Because it feels goooood. :)

And I'm so thankful for each and every one of you that are supporting me and cheering for me along the way. You.are.awesome.

2014 I'm so excited you are here!

XO,

{playing dress up}

Happy 2014 friends!

And what do ya know...I actually have an outfit to share today!

I got this cute Lucky brand sweater at TJ Maxx on clearance and really love it layered with my chambray top. I also have a grey tank underneath the chambray to add some length...

Turquoise + orange is a new thing for me and I think I love it.

Chambray --- thrifted
Cords --- TJ Maxx {also Lucky brand}
Flats --- DSW
Necklace --- Charming Charlie

What color combo are you enjoying these days?

XO,