Friday, June 18, 2010

Friday Mishmash - Picture Edition!

I love this time of year - summer fruit is so abundant and cheap! Currently in my fridge I have cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes...and a couple of bananas on my counter. It's hard to resist when everything is so good right now! A few years ago you would be lucky to find an apple in my fridge - but plenty of junk food would be available. Times have changed and I love it!

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Left: Asics 2150; Right: Asics 2140

I used some of my birthday money and bought a new pair of workout shoes - they are so pretty and clean! Tell me, am I the only person who gets the tops of their workout shoes dirty? I know it's from kicking the bag during cardio...just hope I can hold off on doing that (you listening, Linda?) for a few weeks so I can enjoy the newness of my shoes! I will save my old shoes in case I ever decide to do a mud run...I hear you can actually lose them during one of those races!

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Showing off Ricky Bobby, my new Garmin!

In today's Keeping it Real segment, I bring you this picture as proof that yes, there is flab on my arms. I knew it was there, but unless I hold my arm a certain way, I don't see it. FYI, this is definitely the way to show the extra skin and flab. I will say that I am wearing sleeveless shirts now (as evidenced in the picture) - I feel much better about my arms than I did a year ago, and they are more toned and a tiny bit sculpted, thanks to all of the weight-room work that I've been doing. Also, in re-reading that linked post, I was just fitting into size 12 pants and size large tops - and now, I'm in size 8 (with an occasional size 6, thank you Target) pants and size medium and sometimes small tops - wow, I didn't think I'd changed that much in a year. And this is the reason why I started my blog - so I could look back and see how far I've come, and remember how hard I've worked.

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I had one of those good hair days last Friday - I absolutely LOVED how my hair turned out. Do you think I have been able to duplicate it since? Of course not! I've come close, but no cigar. Really, it's a crap shoot every morning as to what it decides to do. Anyway, I was feeling full of sass when I took this picture - hence the pose. So I'll start Fashion Friday off with it:

Liz Claiborne navy Bermudas (TJ Maxx), top from Ross, bronze flip flops are by Oka Bee bought two years ago (I think). They are cute and are supposed to be comfortable, but that is not the case with me, and I only wear them when I won't be doing a lot of walking. Here's a close up of the shoes:
See how nice and new they look? That's because they rarely get worn - too heavy and they just feel funny. Sad, really.

I thought that was going to be it for Fashion Friday, because I just could not come up with anything good to wear to work on Thursday (which is usually when I do my FF outfit). I kept trying on different options Wednesday evening and nothing was working. I was layering solid-colored t-shirts with jackets, cardigans and belts and I hated everything. I finally realized that what I was hating was my belly - it really shows in light solid colors. Prints? I'm happy. I should (wo)man up and take some pictures of me in those yucky outfits so you can see what I'm talking about...maybe next week when I've recovered from the ugh-i-ness of it all. (Tell me you can relate!) Anyway, on Thursday morning I put on this dress, which I bought over a year ago - another Kick-Ass Kohl's dress (™ Kristen). Thanks to the stretchy fabric, it still fits - very few things that I bought a year ago do, as my size has gotten smaller. I wore it last week to that event, and I remember the knot in the tie bothering me when I leaned back against my chair. I had the sudden inspiration to wrap it back around to the front and tie it there, and wow, did I love the look! I felt positively tiny! Which was a wonderful change from the blobby feeling of the night before - amazing how clothes can make or break you.

Close up so you can sort-of see the tie wrap detailDress with the tie in the back - see how I lose my waist?Side view - tied in back, no waistSide view - tied in front, waist defined!

And now the shoes question - which ones would you have worn?
New Impo sandals - bought last weekend at Macys for the bargain price of $10!Close up - see the cute cork wedge heel? And I loved the silver detail on the black!Dana Buchmann turquoise sandals - bought last year at Kohls (of course!)Rampage wedges(!) bought at Macy's - on sale for $27!

Obviously I felt like I had some cute choices, thanks to my recent shopping spree. You know I went with the black strappy wedges, right? I loved my outfit - felt very tall (for me) and slim. I am very please with how the dress changed, simply by tying the tie differently. I feel like I got a new outfit - for free!

25 comments:

  1. Good shoe choice. I love those wedges, they are adorable. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not much of a flats person. Growing up with a bunch of Amazon women - Mom is 5'8", sis is 5'12" (yea, that's what she says), I almost always sport some heels.

    You are so right about the tie detail on that dress. Makes the world of difference. I do love your fashion Fridays!

    Have a good weekend - oh, and I need to get a new pair of Asics, as well. It might just be time. I wish THEY went on sale! Sheesh. Who would have ever thought I'd pay that much money for something with NO heel!

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  2. you KNOW I love these mishmashes...and this time I must take the 5th and defer to everyone elses fashion advice as I LOVE the flats/thongs but Im so boring when it comes to dressing.

    ok.

    I had to come by and say hello before I hit my cardio.

    HIIT actually.
    intervals.
    bike.
    NOW.

    xo xo

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  3. That dress is adorable! Even me, who has no fashion sense whatsoever, knows that dress is fabulous :)

    Also, the 2,359th thing we have in common? Asics.

    Happy Friday in your pretty and "tall" outfit!

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  4. I lovelovelove both your outfits this week. And spot on with the wedge heels! Keep 'em coming :)

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  5. Did you say it was summer??? HMMM...I've seen nothing but rain ;-(
    I know what you mean about summer fruit though my family inhales it! So much better than winter fruit, apples, oranges and bananas ;-).
    All your out fits are great and you have every right to look sassy my friend - beautiful!

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  6. Adorable dress! I love all the shoes but I think the turquoise sandals are my favorite!

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  7. Must comment on the fruit first--I am exactly the same way. Used to not eat fruit because I wanted to eat other dessert things. Now, the only thing is, I keep so much fruit that sometimes I think it pressures me to eat too much of it. Yeah, picture a piece of fruit with a gun to my head...

    I love all your outfits, but you know I love the strappy wedges the best. Wedges are comfortable and they have the tallness factor!

    And, I LOVE getting new workout shoes. I need some now, as yes, my tops are very dirty. Its just from walking on a dirt road. There might be a few Noah prints on there as well. I wash mine but they never get as clean as new.

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  8. You look SO CUTE in your dress...and I liked all three pairs of shoes! I would have never thought about wrapping the tie around to the front! AWESOME IDEA! I can't wait to get home and try it with some of my clothes :)

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  9. I tied a dress in the front for the first time in EVER on Tuesday. It really does change the look! Amazing.

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  10. My belly is my trouble zone too - ick! Yours is so tiny though!

    I absolutely love that last dress and would go with the last pair of shoes - love how tall they make you feel!

    Why do we have to be so damn short??!!

    Happy Friday my friend!

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  11. Love the sass picture! You look so confident and comfy. Amazing how what is on the inside projects to the outside, eh?

    Show off those guns, loose skin and all. You worked for them!

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  12. Those cherries remind me of the jingle "Summer summer fruits it wouldn't be summer with out 'em" They look yummy!

    I actually like the turquoise sandals the best. I am a matcher to the maxi.

    Accenting your waist is what the "experts" say is the best thing to do. It brings focus to the thinnest part of your body. You have proven that for sure with those pics.

    Have a great weekend! What are you doing for Jeff's bday?

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  13. I love fruit and I also keep a lot of it on hand. I love the picture of you in the shorts. I like the shoes, but I can see why they would not be good for a lot of walking. The dress also looks good on you.

    You look great. Have a nice weekend.

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  14. You're such a fashionista!!! Rockin' the outfits!!

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  15. Look at the tiny waist you have girl! You are so darn cute! I love both outfits and like the wedge sandals best.
    You have great arms quit picking on them:) We all have some flabby bits especially me.

    Have a great weekend my friend!

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  16. Love that it's cherry season at the store. I don't usually love the price tag that comes with cherries, but they were on sale this week so I stocked up!

    What a difference in that dress when you tied it differently. Looks great!

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  17. That dress was made for you! Looks great.

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  18. You look adorable! I am amazed at how many sizes you dropped in a year. How inspiring. I have never been able to stick to anything. I am feeling the
    "downs" this week, but I am so impressed with you.
    I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bronze shoes, mostly b/c I want to get a pair b/c they can go with so many colors. I have either black or brown and that is about it. So, I thought bronze would be a great neutral.

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  19. God, you look awesome!! (Seriously!)

    And what awesome work you're doing - a size 12 to a size 8! I can only dream!

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  20. Thanks for stopping by on my blog, I have just logged on to yours and you look amazing!

    The before and after pictures with your bike are really inspirational! plus the bike is fabulous...I want one!! :)

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  21. Thanks for visiting my blog. I appreciate your encouragement. You've done a fun post what with hitting so many topics. How satisfying for you to realize how many sizes you've gone down in a year's time. Well, from following your blog for a long time, I can see it wasn't without a lot of hard work and determination. My vote is for the wedges and I love the dress with its tie in front. It shows off your slim waist!

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  22. Yes to the tie in the front. It looks great. Isn't it weird that the designer didn't think of that??
    I like the first thong shoe and the wedges. Different looks. I'm short, too, so I know the extra boost of confidence a taller shoe give you.
    I've come to your blog off and on for quite a while, but never commented. I just wanted to tell you that I love your style and I love watching you blossom! i'll be back.

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  23. Catching up on posts... :)

    LOVE that dress on you, and switching the tie was inspired! I actually like it with all three shoes, although the wedges are the dressiest of the choices.

    So cute!

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  24. Better late than never but I like the high heels with the dress but you know I'm a heels girl :lol:

    I love summer fruits too, going to the market tomorrow to buy me a lot of it. Desperately need fruits and veggies after a week of having almost none.

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