Loving Orangetheory

I have been an off and on gym going type of person since I started college.  I either swam or used the elliptical machine in college and while I was pretty consistent I didn't push my self particularly hard. 

After college I joined my local YMCA and found a group exercise class that I loved.  I did some swimming, some spinning classes and used the elliptical machines too but "Boot Camp" was my main form of exercise. The teacher of this class was fantastic and when I ended up moving to the Bay Area I joined another YMCA but it just wasn't the same.  I joined traditional gyms each time I moved but the classes were never as good or not at convenient times so I ended up just doing my own thing most of the time. I do much better in a class/coached environment but I hadn't found the right one recently.

Late last year I had been thinking about trying out some of the boutique gyms near me but decided to wait until my life calmed down a bit. I had looked at various different spin, barre and other class based gyms because I knew that classes were what I needed. Last November I saw that an Orangetheory was opening near my office so I made an appointment to look at it.

Even though my life was still crazy (and about to get crazier) since it wasn't scheduled to open until February or so I decided to give it a chance and join.  I figured if I changed my mind or found something better before it opened I could just cancel.  When it opened the first week of March I gave it a try.

Well by the end of the first class I was hooked. I had found my gym and I was excited. They have a class from 6:15 to 7:15 AM weekday mornings so that has become my routine.  I try to go Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and if something that requires me to get up at 5:15 AM has become a part of my routine you know it must be good.

They have showers there and since it is only about a 5-7 minute drive to work I can end class at 7:15 and be to work at 8 as long as I don't dawdle. Since I have to get up so early I have to be really diligent about packing my gym bag with my work clothes and laying out my gym clothes the night before but it works for me.

The theory behind Orangetheory is that there are 5 heart rate zones with the middle (green) being the fat burning zone and the upper two (orange and red) being the zones that trigger the after burn.  The goal is to spend the majority of the time in the green zone and 12-20 minutes in the orange (or a little in red) zone so that you keep burning extra calories through the rest of the day.  To know what zone you are in you wear a heart rate monitor and your name appears on a screen.

The workout is a combination of treadmill, rower and floor exercises.  On the floor we do weights, abs, TRX straps, bosu balls and things on a bench in addition to body weight exercises.  For the treadmill you can either power walk, jog or run.  I started out as a power walker but am slowly heading toward being a jogger.  I can't jog the whole treadmill portion but whenever we do our "pushes" I make sure I am jogging.  Look up Orangetheory for a better description of how the classes work.  I just know they work!

Every workout is different and that helps keep it interesting.  They even do fun spirit weeks where you get to dress up.  The coaches are great and get really into it too.  I generally go to the same classes every week so I have the same coaches but even when I go to other classes or have a sub all the coaches are great.

Everyone at my studio is great! The desk staff try to learn everyone's names and they do cute things for people's birthdays and other events.  I went to the gym the day before heading to Hawaii and there as a sign congratulating me. It was so cute.  The Orangetheory community is really great and I always look forward to going and seeing everyone there.

If anyone is local and wants to join me for a class just let me know and I would love to have you come with me sometime. I can actually see myself getting stronger and I know my heart is stronger because for the first time in my life I ran a 1/2 mile without walking.  Ok run might be an overstatement since I was going slow as all get out but I was jogging not walking!

Stitch Fix #14

When my box came this month I opened it up and was very happy with what I saw in the box.  There was nothing in the box that I immediately thought "nope" so that is always good.

I wasn't sure about the colors of this dress when I first saw it but once I put it on my worry was gone. The tie waist was super flattering so I decided to keep it.  It is going to look great with my black boots this fall and winter.  I think I can even wear it with brown boots too. 

When I saw this dress I thought "cute dress but I probably don't need another black dress" but when I put it on I was doubting my initial thought.  It is hard to see in this picture but there is a gathered waistband.  This dress was super comfy, the waist was flattering and was definitely something that would easily fit with a bit of a baby belly in the future so those three reasons convinced me that I did indeed need another black dress.

This skirt looked cute in the box but when I lifted it out I could immediately tell it wasn't going to end well. This skirt was super itchy and I don't need itchy clothes in my life.

I really liked this dress when I took it out of the box but when I put it on it was very much too tight so back it went.  I like it in theory but it needed to be way more flowy to be flattering on me.

The last thing in my box was a pair of silver dangly earrings.  I hadn't gotten any jewelry in my recent Stitch Fix boxes so I was happy to get these earrings. 

I ended up keeping three things this month so I call this a successful box.  If you would like a box of your own feel free to use my link to order one.

Show and Tell Tuesday-Home Tour

My husband and I live in one of the most expensive areas in the country so needless to say we not living in a mansion as a young newly married couple. During the last real estate downturn my very smart husband bought a one bedroom condo so that is where we currently live.  I sometimes complain about it being quite small but we really are fortunate to own something in our area. Because of the size and the fact that it only has one bedroom this is not a place we are realistically going to be staying for too much longer but this will always be our first home.

Our kitchen is a one butt kitchen but is serves its purpose.  The color of the cabinets is not great but we are not dedicated enough to bother painting it. When I first moved in we had white knobs on the cabinets but I have since replaced them with some pretty brushed silver ones.

As we have had to replace things over time we are replacing them with brushed stainless steal appliances but our trusty stove/oven is still functioning properly so it stays in its original state.

I love our dishwasher!  When I first moved in we had a dishwasher that by no means effective so we mainly used it as a drying rack.  As soon as we got a new high powered dishwasher my husband commented he wondered why he waited so long to replace the old dishwasher.  He had never had a "good" dishwasher and didn't know what he was missing.

Around the same time we bought a new dishwasher my very handy husband replaced our sink, garbage disposal and faucets.  He did a great job with it an it looks great.

Speaking of being very handy; when our coat closet had a bit of a meltdown (the whole thing fell to the floor) he rebuilt it to be better than it was before. 

As is expected in a small condo we also have a small bathroom.  We don't have a lot of bathroom storage space and I don't have any shortage of bathroom products so we have to make good use of what space we do have. These drawers have helped us store more in our one cupboard.

Our bathroom has the same yellowish cabinets that the kitchen does so I do what I can with that.

We have a little balcony patio and this year we are actually growing things on it.  Actually mostly my husband is growing things on it.  We have a couple of baby avocado trees, rosemary and basil in addition to another couple of baby fruit trees.  The thought is that by the time the trees need to be replanted we will have bought a house with a yard.

In addition to our little garden we have a little table and two chairs to sit on when the weather is nice. We also use our patio to store our bikes (that don't get ridden enough) so that takes up one side of the patio.

I have written about the other rooms in our condo in the last few months as part of another link up so hop to those posts to hear all about our living room, our dining room, our master bedroom and my future plans for a kids room/guest room.

Can't wait to see everyone else's houses and get ideas for when we have a bigger place to spread out and decorate.

Anniversary Sale Wish List

It is that wonderful time of year again where I buy a years worth of underwear.  No, really I bought a bunch of underwear last year at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and have not bought any since.

The sale opened to Nordstrom card holders on Thursday so first thing Thursday morning that was the first website I visited when I woke up.  There are a few things I buy every year (underwear obviously) but I had a mental list of the things I wanted to look for.

I had decided I wanted a cross-body purse for my upcoming European honeymoon so I ordered couple to look at.

option 1

option 2

I don't need two cross body bags so once they come in the mail I will have to see which one I like better and return the other one.

I took the same strategy with coats.  I am in need of a new casual everyday coat to wear this winter and to take on my honeymoon so I ordered three options.

Option 1 but I ordered it in "Oxblood" which is like it sounds a reddish burgundy color.

Option 2 but in a lovely navy blue color.

Option 3 which I ordered in the green color shown in the picture.

I like all three coats but I am really fond of the lovely green color of the third option so I am secretly hoping that is the one that fits the best.  

I have been wearing the Wacoal sports bra for years and I knew that it generally goes on sale during the Anniversary Sale so I have been waiting to buy it on sale.  I went to look for it and this year it is only on sale in white. Hmmm not sure how I feel about a white sports bra so I ordered it and will see how it looks once it gets delivered.

I have admit I spend at least a few minutes browsing the lingerie department every time I go into Nordstrom so I had seen the Chantelle sports bra but had never taken the time to try it on.  It had looked like a bra I would like so when I saw it was on sale I decided it was a sign it was time to try it out. Most of my everyday bras are Chantelle so I have high hopes for this sports bra.  I also like that it is more of a molded cup which will be great when the weather gets colder and I need the coverage.

I went to my local store yesterday and got a few additional items and I ordered a few more things to try out and I also ordered a few things that are going to be gifts but I am saving those for another day. Once I get everything I ordered/bought I will post about what I ended up keeping and how the two sports bras stack up to each other.

Now onto the main event. A years worth of underwear! I pretty much excluseivly wear Hanky Panky thongs with the mid-rise being my absolute favorites.  They are not cheap and the mid-rise are not always available year round so I make sure I really do stock up on enough to last me until next year.

FYI: My butt does not look anything like this model's. Poor girl!

Show Us Your Guest Room and Kids Room

Well I missed showing my kids rooms last week and this week is show us your guest room.  I have neither a guest room nor a kids room.  Actually I don't even have a child yet so I guess that part is ok for now.  When we have guests over they generally either sleep on our couch or on an air mattress in our living room.

I decided to just show a few things that I have on my "future house" Pintrest board.

Guest Room inspiration:

In case you can't tell I am a big fan of lots of pillows and fluffy duvet covers.  I would totally have either one of these as my master bedroom set too but they do lean just a tad bit feminine but it could happen.  

Baby Nursery Inspiration:

I am a huge fan of fairly gender neutral nurseries with just a splash of something more gender specific. I like blues and grey for bedrooms no matter what the gender is and the idea of being able to use a decor for more than one child is very appealing.  Not super evident here but I am also thinking a baby jungle animal themed nursery would be adorable too. There would be lots of cute baby monkeys in it obviously!

Not sure if I will ever have the right space to do this but I love the idea of having a book display in a kids room.  Kids books are so fun and colorful and it is a great way to keep them organized.

Someday we will live somewhere that has a second (and maybe third too) bedroom and I will be able to put my Pintrest board to good use.

Weekend Wrap-up

After getting back from our wedding in Hawaii (more on that next week) it took me a week or so to get back into the swing of real life without a wedding to plan.

My husband spend much of the holiday weekend helping his brother move so our 4th of July weekend was fairly low key.  One afternoon I took myself to a Mexican restaurant down the street that my husband only grudgingly goes to with me every once in a while. They have a fantastic sangria/margarita swirl drink so of course I had to have one. They are actually not short on alcohol and I had to drive myself home so I could only have one sadly. 

After indulging in lots of delicious foods in Hawaii I have been trying to eat better in my everyday diet. I am still enjoying special foods when I am out and about but trying to eat healthy at home and at work.  Got to find a good balance.  It is berry season so I am loving plain greek yogurt with berries and some mint on top.

With so much going on this summer my sister and I did not buy the whole season ticket this year but we are squeezing in 3 concerts in the month of July before she heads off to law school.  Our first concert was Rascal Flatts last Thursday.  I was not super excited about it being on a Thursday but it turned out ok.  Rascal Flatts was great but it was a fairly unseasonably cold evening so we left before the concert ended. We have our second concert this week so here's hoping for a little bit warmer weather.

Friday I had my yearly eye check up.  The office is about 30 minutes away from work so I left in plenty of time and got there a bit early.  I filled my time in the waiting room by playing with the fun props they had.  I always knew I would look good in teal frames!  All went well with the check up but then I had to drive home in Friday traffic.  It took me 30ish minutes to get there and over an hour to get home. 

After I (finally) got home from the eye doctor my husband and I headed out for dinner at a food truck gathering near our house. Between eating lots of fish in Hawaii and knowing that in a few months I won't be able to eat it so easily I have been trying to get my fill of sushi.  The sushi was good but it was kind of awkward eating sushi in my lap.  I think things in buns or wraps just work better from a food truck.  I had a little frozen yogurt for desert.  My husband had the winner if the night with curry smothered fried chicken over rice.

Saturday morning I got up early to meet my mom for some berry picking.  We usually pick various types of berries but this year the only berries available to pick were blackberries so that is what we picked. We were there on opening day so I didn't know what to expect.  The first two rows we were assigned to pick in where a disappointment so I was worried we wouldn't be going home with many berries.  We quickly picked what we could from our first two rows and then we were assigned a third row.  Third times the charm because this row was full of ripe berries.  Between my mom and I we picked over 20 pounds of blackberries.

A combination of staying up later than normal on Thursday, getting up earlier than I would have liked on Saturday, not getting my endorphin rush on at the gym Friday or Saturday and PMS made me quite tired and grumpy Saturday afternoon. My husband decided to try and cheer my up by asking me out to dinner.  We don't normally eat out twice in one weekend but it was just what I needed. Even though we went to a Japanese restaurant (see the sushi trend here) I decided to have a blue margarita.

Sunday I woke up in a much better mood and headed off to the gym.  I did stuff around the house and made a nice dinner.  I don't normally cook fish but my husband requested it so I have it a try.  It actually turned out pretty well.  We had crusted tilapia, quinoa and baked zucchini for our nice healthy dinner.

With all those fresh berries I couldn't resist making a little sweet treat with them.  I made a blackberry cobbler and topped it with vanilla ice cream.  We ended the weekend curled up on the couch watching a movie and enjoying the cobbler.