Couch to 5K: Week 1

Good morning, lovelies!

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I know I said that I’ve recently started running, but I’m not sure I told you that I’m doing the Couch to 5K running plan. Most people have heard of it before, or at least some version of it, but generally it’s a plan that starts of easy and slowly progresses over the course of 9 weeks so at the end you’ll be able to run a 5K. The plan has you run a minimum of 3 days a week for about 20-30 minutes, but say it’s completely fine if you run more (with a set day off per week so you don’t strain anything).

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This first week has been much more awesome than I would have thought it could be. I’ve said it before, but I am NOT a runner. I went out 4 times this week. The first two and the last one were super great… the third one I made a major rookie mistake. I ate a grilled cheese about an hour before going out. Oops!! I felt sluggish and unmotivated and (if I’m being honest) I felt like I was going to puke for the second half. I will NOT be making that mistake again.

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One of my favorite things about running is how it makes me much more aware of my body in general. Now I’m more motivated to tone and eat better. I’m not going to cut out any particular foods, but I’m going to let my body guide me.

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Today starts Week 2! Here goes nothing…

my everyday – according to my iphone

Hey kids!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Oh wait, what’s that you say? It’s not Friday? It is for me! Because of our big office move we get tomorrow and Friday off. YESSS!

Sorry, don’t hate too much. I promise, I’ll be thinking of you while I sip wine and sleep in and go for afternoon runs.

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In the meantime – here are a few random pictures I found on my iPhone…

Gap. I luuurve the Gap. I used to work there and know all the secret places to look when I go in 😉

Blingbling. I wore this on the first day of spring and felt very classy and fab.

Spring! Who woulda thought this was taken right next to my bus stop downtown..? Not I. (That is, if I didn’t already know…because I took the picture…)

Run. Can anyone tell me why only half my legs turn bright red when it’s chilly outside?

Hunger Gamessss party! (I’m STILL so jealous of every person who has seen the movie – I’m ACHING to see it. ACHING I tell ya)

Banana walnut bread. Yummmm

chilly night + boyfriend cuddles + bailey’s + s’mores + friends = happy sarah!

Hostess with the mostest 😉

Harbor. I can’t wait until they put the boats out!

happy tuesday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I meant to write this yesterday but SNAP was yesterday busy!

My weekend went by much much too fast, but it consisted of friends, naps, bed, bath & beyond, a bon fire, cuddle time, and some much needed apartment cleaning.

I can’t stay long, but I’ve got news!

I GOT A PROMOTION! 🙂 🙂

I officially start a week from yesterday and will spend everyday until then packing up THIS office because we are relocating to ANOTHER office not too far from here. It’s going to be hectic and exhausting and so exciting! The new office has an espresso machine on our floor…

I’ll tell you more later when I have time, but for now I’m off to go put stuff in boxes and dream about all the free espresso I’ll get at the new office 😉

xoxo

friday + memories

Hey, soooo… bummer about this rain, eh, Chicago?

Even the rain can’t bring down how happy I am that it’s FRIDAY!!

Before I get into weekend plans, I want to share something with you. If you know me from… well… ever, you’ll know that I’ve always been a self-proclaimed hater of running. As a kid I would run and run and run everywhere, but as soon as I started getting more serious about my dancing career I was told NOT to run. Everyone said it would put extra – and unnecessary – strain on my knees and hips and it would potentially harm the muscles needed for particular movements.

People had a really hard time grasping the concept that running and dancing don’t always go together, so when people asked if I ran I would just tell them I hated to run. Easy, right? Saved me from having to explain it and then the inevitable will you dance a jig for me?

Long story short (too late for that?) I’ve recently started running and I love it. 🙂

MOVING ON.

Weekend plans include (but are most def. not limited to): a hunger games party, dinner with friends, watching my man’s band play, kisses, happy dances (I’ll tell you why on Monday 😉 ) annnnnd other FAB weekend things like sleeping in, cleaning, and sleeping in some more.

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IN OTHER NEWS:

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so sad that Picnik is closing next month. That’s where I make my collages, add text, and generally mix things up.

BUT! Have no fear… There is someplace new that the awesome Sarah (from Simply Sarah) wrote about on her blog called MyMemories. It’s a digital scrapbook maker and it looks pretty dang awesome.

The best part??

There is a GIVEAWAY on her blog going on right NOW. So, get your booty over to Simply Sarah and win it.

four

Happy 4th birthday, Gracie!!

awkward & awesome thursday!

Awkward…

• It never fails that when I type “awkward & awesome thursday” into the title section that I write “awekward & awesome” and I have to go back and change it. Every. Single. Time.
• I fell going up the stairs at work when my boss was standing at the top of the stairs…. laughing at me.
• I have a few go-to words/phrases that I answer nearly everything with: “Sup with that?”  “Ya know”  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”  I sound very mature and grownup. Especially when “yo” is added to any of them.
• Autocorrect has ruined my ability to type on an actual keyboard. I just assume that when I type “goign” that it’s GOING to change it to “going”… it doesn’t.
• When you DO like someone’s idea, but want to alter it just slightly… it makes it sound like you’re only telling them the good part to cushion the bad part, when that’s not the case at all. I hate hurting peoples feelings.
• After telling Corey that I’m going to be a country star one day, but can’t be until I get a more country name you know what he said? “A more country name? What, like Sarah Jane?”. To which I laughed at and agreed that my real name would probably do just fine. I just need the cute sundress and cowgirl boots. (thanks mom and dad for giving me a name that i can transfer over to my lifelong dream!)

Awesome…

• I made CHINESE FOOD! All by myself. And holy SMOKES – it was good! It better be after taking 2 hours to make. It was not good reheated so I’ll have to learn how to make the sauce in smaller portions.
• Learning that one of my friends is going to have a baby!! I cannot wait to rub that belly and make cooing noises to it and tell little baby all the important things it needs to know about life (i.e. chunky salsa isn’t nearly as good as non-chunky salsa, rain boots are very important, and to say I love you too much)
• Corey and I had our first “dislike by association” moment. You know what I’m talkin’ about.. when one person doesn’t like someone so the other doesn’t like them by association. We both agreed shortly after that we didn’t need to be mad so we stopped, but we were a force to be reckoned with for those 20 minutes.
• Seriously, folks… what about the weather we’re having?? 80+ degrees in March? I LOVE IT!
• I bought new running shoes… so now I might be able to run without my leggies hurting the whole time (or just not running at all because I know how much it’ll hurt). Next up: buying a REAL pair of running shoes, from a legit running shoe store… suggestions??
• Going to dinner with my old roomie last night! It always amazes me when I see her how well we know each other. We seriously had the best time… good food, laughing, telling old stories, catching up on the latest, making fun of each other for the things that will never change and being shocked at the things that have (in all the best ways!).
• I learned how to play* Stairway to Heaven on the guitar and now have this strange urge to try and play it again. I also have this incredibly strong urge to have Siri call me “rock god”… but I probably won’t give into that urge.
• YOU GUYS. I have SUCH exciting news that’s a really great AWESOME, but I can’t tell you right now. It’s killing me to not be able to talk about, but I’ve gotta keep my lips (fingers?) sealed for another week.

happy almost friday!! xo

*by “play” I mean that I technically learned 4 chords and took 10 second pauses between each while I re-positioned.

it’s spring!

It’s finally spring!!!

Although here in Chicago it feels more like summer. Today’s high is 82! Crazy.

This morning I walked out of my apartment in a dress and a to-the-elbow cardigan. No jacket. No pants. No socks. IN MARCH!!

All this beautiful weather has me thinking about lovely spring things…

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I hope you’re able to get out there and enjoy the beautiful day!

xoxo

St. Partrick’s Day!

Happy (belated) St. Patrick’s Day!

Before I jump into the few pictures/story of what I did, you should take a look at Erin’s St. Patrick’s Day post that made me nostalgic. She hit the nail on the head and I loved looking back on our dancing years together. Have I ever mentioned that I Irish danced? It was a huge part of my life for well over a decade, both dancing in shows and competing. Loved it all! Over the years I got to meet some really fabulous people and experience once in a lifetime events.

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 This year Corey and I went for brunch at Salt & Pepper Diner and then met up with some friends and headed up to Wrigleyville for an afternoon of drinking at Bernie’s. Later Corey and I took his dog for a walk, ate dinner, and cuddled up on the couch and watched The Seven Year Itch. It was a good day 🙂

Hope you all had a fab weekend!

xoxo

Satisfied

Satisfied – by Jewel

If you love somebody
You better let it out
Don’t hold it back
While you’re trying to figure it out
Don’t be timid
Don’t be afraid to hurt
Run toward the flame
Run toward the fire
Hold on for all your worth
Cause the only real pain a heart can ever know
Is the sorrow of regret
When you don’t let your feelings show

So did you say it
Did you mean it
Did you lay it on the line
Did you make it count
Did you look ’em in the eye
Did they feel it
Did you say it in time
Did you say it out loud
’cause if you did hun
Then you lived some
That feeling inside
That’s called satisfied

Busy people walking by
Can’t help but worry some
With so many things to do
So little love gets done
Empty hearts everywhere

Drowning but dying of thirst
If you want love
It’s not that tough
Start by giving it first
It’s so easy to give
Baby can’t you see
Just close your eyes open your heart
And do what comes naturally

Well did you say it
Did you mean it
Did you lay it on the line
Did you make it count
Did you look ’em in the eye
Did they feel it
Did you say it in time
Did you say it out loud
’cause if you did hun
Then you lived some
That feeling inside
That’s called satisfied

Horses are built to run
The sun is meant to shine above
Flowers are made to bloom
And then there’s us
We were born to love

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Goodness. I love that song. It’s my go-to song to listen to when I need to feel better.

(goes to grooveshark)

I’m in a bit of a rut.

And it kind of sucks.

What gets me is that I can’t say things are going badly. Things are going well at my job, the weather is beautiful, I have a loving (and hilarious) boyfriend, a supportive (and hilarious) best friend, a wonderfully supportive family, friends that refill my wine glass when I tell them I’ve had a hard week, I live 10 minutes from the lake, etc. etc.

When I think of all those things I start to feel bad that I’m not happy all the time. I should be… right?

Then I realized something.

Yes, I am in a funk, but all those things are GOOD. I keep thinking about the people I know that look so so happy all the time and then realize that I probably look that way to them. I save all my bitterness and bad moods for those closest to me. I’m glad I have people I can genuinely express myself around, but these are also the same people I want to give all my loving to.

No, things aren’t perfect, but I think I just need to focus on what’s good and sort/build/go from here.

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Happy Friday kids! I hope you celebrate the HECK out of St. Patrick’s Day! I know I will 😉

xoxo

puppies and kate spade

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I want a pup.  A lot.

I even have the cutest name picked out (if it’s a boy), but I’m going to go all celebrity on you and not tell you what it is until I get one. Which won’t be for a long, long time.

Until then I’ll be dreaming of taking my adorable pup on walks by the lake and cuddling up with him/her at night.

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Switching gears a little…

 

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Have you seen the new Kate Spade watch collection “A NEW YORK MINUTE“?

It’s love! It’s time telling, classic, fabulous, Kate Spade love.

I love all things Kate Spade.

I may or may not have teared up last year when I got a KS purse for Christmas. 

Anyway, you should humor me and check them out 🙂