last call!

today is the very last day to enter my gone doggie giveaway!  you've got until 5:30pm EST, so get those entries in!  winners will be announced tomorrow.

how do you like your hamm?

clean-shaven and don draper-ed?

rugged and unbuttoned?

studious?

romantic?

i will have one of each, please.  and the preacher said "amen."

fit train friday

have you entered my gone doggie giveaway yet? monday is the last day! enter now!

damn you, bro*oklyn d*ekker.  gorgeous AND married to andy roddick.  if i keep it up, maybe i'll look like this next summer?

so i'm joining mama perfect on the fit train.  i have gained WAY too much weight over the summer and my pants are getting a little tight and it ain't purty.  a combination of it being obscenely hot this summer {which meant i very quickly fell out of my walking the dog for 5 miles every day routine} and my adopting the beau's less than healthy eating habits have me at a place i am not happy with.  luckily for me, the beau is not only supportive {and would love me even if i were the size of a house}, but also is a college men's athletics coach and played d-1 college sports himself, so he's pretty good at crafting a workout.  when i told him that i needed to get back in the gym, not only to lose weight, but to tone up and feel better, he came up with a great program for me.  i've been following it for just about two weeks now and i am loving it!

right now on the monday, thursday, and friday workouts, i'm follwing the couch to 5k plan in place of his recommended running, obviously with the goal of being able to run 3 miles by the end of october {and then hopefully more!} i have three days off each week, but generally on at least one or two of those days, i still take the puppy boy for his nice long walk.  i already feel better, but i haven't stepped on a scale yet and won't for at least one more week.  i'm also working on getting my eating habits back in order.

please help keep me on the path SKINNY and narrow!  and please enjoy the workout the beau crafted for me below:

monday
20 minute run outside at your own pace to warm up
in fitness center:
10 DB bent over row – alternate arms {5-10 lb. weights [10 lb. max]}
10 standing squats – no weight at first, add medicine ball as you progress
10 tricep kickbacks
10 DB lunges
10 mountain climbers each leg

repeat 3 times.

30 seconds between reps. 1 minute between sets.

tuesday
30 minutes on elliptical or stationary bike at own pace.
200 abs your way

wednesday
off

thursday
30 minute run outside

friday
repeat monday

currently obsessing over

have you entered my gone doggie giveaway yet? no? shame on you.  enter today!

looooooving this kate spade five points camille bag in my favorite color.  tres chic, tres functional, tres fun! sandy claws, are you paying attention?

a hodgepodge

happy hump day, sweet readers!  just a few randoms i thought that i would share today:

very excited to have won aspiring kennedy's and hello, splendor's joint giveaway from bella card company!  i don't have a use for my cute little invitation set just yet, but as the rate that all of my galpals are getting engaged, it's only matter of time until i find the right engagement party or bridal shower to host, and now i already have a ready-made theme, complete with stationery.  so lovely.  thanks, ladies!

sweet trishy is giving away a tres chic michael kors watch that i am just dying for.  bananas.

while we're on the subject of giveaways, have you entered my gone doggie giveaway yet? one lucky ready {and pooch} will win a collar of their choice from gone doggie's darling etsy shop.  enter now!

i'm obsessing over these two recipes: cheese ravioli with toasted walnuts and turkey bolognese. yum. big time.  can't wait to try!

thanks a million for all your input on finding the perfect nude pumps. i agree that patent wasn't really the way to go {with the exception of the loubs, obvi}. i was snooping around the nordstrom's website and i think i found the two finalists for the PERFECT pair.  cast your vote and help me decide, please!

bcbgeneration tinas

charles by charles david pompadour



what are you up to this wednesday, chickadees?

a few questions...

have you entered my giveaway from gone doggie? check out her darling etsy shop and win a collar for man's best friend! enter now!

connecticut cupcake {who we just discovered that we're in the same junior leage. hilarious.} tagged me to do her 8 questions. so fun!! here goes:

1. how/where did you meet your best friend? i met my childhood best friend on the first day of 7th grade. we were assigned seats next to each other in english and bonded over the fact that on the day the book reports were due, we were both sitting in the back of the class still reading the assigned summer reading books. i met my best friend from college when we were both accepeted into the university guide service in the same probational class.  we bonded over mutual love of bourbon, college football, and tiffany silver and went on to host some pretty phenomenal tailgates together.  all three of us actually lived together our last year at uva and i still absolutely adore them both.

2. what would your theme song(s) be?



3. name an accomplishment in your life you are proud of.  without sounding like a total snot, can i say my life as it stands right now in general?  most of the girls i went to high school with went on to not-very-good colleges and/or had kids and got married very very very young and never left our hometown.  and if that makes them happy, then mazel tov.  but i always knew that that was not the life for me.  i graduated from a wonderful school and struck out on my own.  i have my own place, my own car, my own dog, an unbelievably amazing group of friends, a loving {and gorgeous} beau, and i feel like i'm in a very good place.  does that make me sound terrible?  i really hope not.

4. where is one place you really, really want to visit? france.  i've flown in and out of de gaulle, but never spent time there.  and not just paris. i would love to spend time in the french countryside and the south of france. and i would love to go back to italy and bring the beau with me.  his family is italian {his mom is first-generation american} and he has never been!

5. favorite ice cream flavor? at an ice cream shop, my go-to is always soft-serve chocolate with rainbow sprinkles in a waffle cone. at maggie moo's, it's the chocolate cake batter.  nom nom nom.

6. one item of clothing or accessory you are dying to own? an hermes kelly bag. NOT a birkin bag. a kelly bag.  and yes, there is a difference. 

7. what are your guilty pleasures? 'golden girls' marathons on the hallmark channel, ben & jerry's dublin mudslide, bad top 40 pop music, french fries, champagne, shoes

8. what made you decide to start a blog? i had been blurking for about 6 months or so, introduced to blogs by mrs. mindless.  i don't really know what made me do it, i just all of a sudden decided to give it a go and see what happened.  it will be two years in january! so hard to believe.

i've seen a lot of you doing this already, so i'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to play along, i'd love to hear your answers to these questions!

calling all dog lovers: monday giveaway!

y'all know how much i love my sweet puppy boy and how much i like to spoil him.  now that the beau and his freakish obsession love for his home team, the baltimore ravens, have become fixtures in our lives, i decided it was time to get the puppy boy on board so the beau could have some fan company for sunday football.  etsy seemed like the natural place to look for baltimore ravens canine gear, and lo and behold, i discovered the gone doggie store and the sweet owner behind it, kelly s.  not only are her collars GORGEOUS, but she is an advocate for petfinder.com, the website where i discovered my own sweet puppy boy in a humane society just over the mountain.  {shameless plug: if you are considering adopting a dog, please please please consider using this site.  shelter dogs are the best dogs and there is even an area where you can search by breed, so if you have your heart set on a purebred, you can still adopt a rescue.} here are some examples of her darling offerings:

fleur-de-lis-esque print that's perfect for all you NOLA and/or kappa gals

for the atlanta gals like my college bestie

for all the preppy pink and green gals

and i just love this because it's in my favorite color combo!

kelly was so sweet and easy to work with.  the first collar i ordered was just a tad too large for my boy. i sent it back priority mail and within a day, kelly had the newly custom-sized collar back in the mail.  it arrived within 2 days and it is just wonderful.  clearly very durable and high quality, and most importantly, my boy looks so handsome in his collar!

caw, caw!!

kelly has generously offered one of my readers a collar {and shipping free of charge in the USA} of their choosing.  all you have to do to enter this fabulous giveaway is be a follower of my blog AND visit gone doggie's etsy site and let me know what your favorite item is {1 entry}.  for additional entries, you can:

*blog about this giveaway {1 entry}

*join the gone doggie group on facebook {1 entry}

please leave each entry in a separate comment.  deadline to enter is next monday, september 27 at 5pm EST. i'll announce the winner on tuesday the 28th!