Happy My Birth Month To You!

This month I turn 26. My birthday has always been a source of great excitement for me. As some women get older, the tendency is for us to become ashamed or feel less attractive. "A true lady never reveals her age." Oh who gives a crap. Own it. My 93 year old grandmother will tell you her age whether you ask her or not. Although, she has the adorable-kick-ass-old-lady thing working to her advantage. We often shy away from our true selves, age included, but just own it. 

My annual day of gifts could not be arriving at a better time. While registering for wedding gifts and errand running this weekend the strap on my purse broke. Do I have an organized box filled with other handbags? Absolutely, but that isn't the point. I am allowed to be self indulgent for my birthday. I am wishing for a Coach handbag to replace my once reliable, now broken bag. No worries, I sent an email to the fiance with the link and color suggestions. He said he wanted to get me something useful for my birthday!

We tend to get bummed about becoming a year older as it reminds us of what we were supposed to have achieved by that point, a milestone we should have reached. Admittedly, I have it pretty sweet. This year alone I am getting married to the love of my life and embarking upon a six month international adventure during which my only job is to explore how we will travel as much of Europe as possible. Embrace what you have accomplished and appreciate what makes you unique. This winter has made me super guilty of self depreciation and being too focused on what is going wrong to appreciate all that is going right.

Here's to loving ourselves, our lives, our ages, and all the challenges involved. Develop like a fine wine and get better as time moves forward.

Exercise Your Brain

I believe I've always been a bit of a nerd. For two consecutive years in elementary school I won our classroom reading race, a competition to see who could read the most books in one school year. I totally crushed the competition. A well stocked book store still brings never ending excitement to my day. I also enjoy things like sudoku and puzzles. My great grandmother would do those huge 1000 piece puzzles well into her eighties. I come from a long line of smart women. 

A perfectly winter appropriate challenge I present to you is to take fifteen minutes today, and as many days as you can, to workout your mind. Society always emphasizes outer beauty and obvious strength as the definition of health and perfection. We often forget to work on the unseen, like our brain and our mental strength. Plus, it's really relaxing and will benefit you much more in the long run than that extra episode of reality tv. Promise.

Reevaluate Your Skin Care

For the past three years I haven't changed my face care routine. I have oily, sometimes acne prone skin. Never too much dryness but some sensitivity and tightness at times. I, naively, thought my daily process was fine. Facials every six to eight weeks kept my skin mostly clear with the exception of break outs from stress or, you know, hormones.

Friday, I came back from walking the three minutes to grab lunch and looked in the mirror and my face was red. Like super embarrassing looked like I had been crying red. We will call that my aha moment. My gel wash and acne prone moisturizer was no longer cutting it. I've never had good luck with more gentle cleansers though. They clog my pores instantly and I turn into an oil slick. I was discussing my horrifying situation with a friend and she recommended Simple.

Never would I think of myself of having sensitive skin. Who knows my skin better than me? Well, I came across a trial pack at Target on Saturday for less than five dollars. It contained a face wash, moisturizer, and a small pack of cleansing wipes. I considered it a sign I really needed to give it a try. Three days in, I love it. My skin has been way less oily, less tight, and is still super clear. We also went down town today in a horrible snow storm and below freezing temperatures and my face didn't look red or feel sensitive when we stopped for a bathroom break.

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This winter has been especially brutal and your daily routine may need a switch up as well. It's easy to remember to switch your wardrobe to things more weather appropriate, but often we forget about our skin. At least I did! I know I got super lucky finding a whole little pack to try out, try to find a trial size of a new product to give it a go. Taking great care of your skin now will pay off in the future, I want to age amazingly and gracefully so if a face wash/moisturizer update is all it takes, the changes are worthwhile!

Get Your Yoga On

Last night, on Valentine's Day, my relationship of seven and a half years reached a whole new level of intimacy. That's right, my fiance asked for my assistance in working out and getting in wedding shape! And no, not working out like that either! A month or so ago I had asked him his plan on getting ready for the big day, I volunteered to cook leaner dinners and suggested he started to think about how he wanted to work out and begin to get in shape. He dismissed me, saying he had no problem eating better, but exercise wasn't really a priority.

Well yesterday we decided we will start doing yoga together once a week. This weekend will be a fail as I have hair and make up trials tomorrow and I get to try on my dress on Monday, plus we need to get him his very own yoga mat! I feel like a proud parent here.

The whole conversation brings up an interesting point, for the longest time I dismissed yoga as a legit form of exercise. Back in the day, I believed if you weren't lifting or jumping it didn't count as exercise. Yoga was simply for hippies or the elderly. Then I tried power yoga and fell in love. The routine did indeed zen my overanxious tendencies, at least temporarily. Also, holding some of those poses caused me to break a sweat and really focus on my body and how it was moving and supporting itself. Now, I can't speak highly enough of yoga. It's a great in between workout for when your body needs extra stretching, toning, or if you're not feeling up to something super intense.

Try out at least one yoga workout this week. Nearly every YouTube fitness channel offers a free routine but I recommend at least forty minutes of yoga to really get all the benefits. I prefer the strengthening and toning benefits of power yoga, but maybe you want to try something more gentle and ease into a new routine. Either way, give it a go and incorporate yoga each week. You will see your body being a bit more toned and your mind a bit more relaxed. Do it with your significant other for extra bonus points!

Get More From Your Workout

As a fitness enthusiast and bride to be, my level of svelte-ness over the next few months is extraordinarily crucial. However, sometimes a fitness plateau occurs. Sometimes it occurs as your the date of your first wedding dress try on is rapidly approaching. Awesome. As frustrating as the timing is, I have been working on slowing down my workouts in order to continue improving my fitness.

Everyone has their favorite type of workout. In general, I prefer circuit training with weights. You get your strength training in for your muscles, while breaking a sweat and getting your cardio. A double whammy. Really slowing down each move, feeling your shoulder blades pinch together during back work, focusing on keeping your belly button in during core, is going to make a difference. What if you prefer cardio? Get your arms all the way up during jumping jacks. Bring your knees as high as you can in tuck jumps. Really breathe through yoga poses. You get the point.

Often, reviews on workout DVDs or fitness YouTube videos complain about the difficulty of a move and how they couldn't get through the repetitions. Doesn't matter. Make the exercises more effective for you. No one cares if you only eek out 15 of the 30 reps as long as you're using the proper form. Form is what will ensure your abs are strong and your legs are rockin. Even if the routine is super easy for you, want to make it hard? Slow down and focus on contracting each muscle as you are moving. 

In a sick, twisted, workout lover way, making yourself feel the burn is the best. While it doesn't necessarily make your workouts fly by, it seems like each move is custom made to improve your own body. Moving through each position allows you to be more effective and develop a better appreciation for your body and your own strength, and isn't that what exercise is all about in the first place?

Brush Your Body

Not to brag or anything, but I typically have the supple, soft skin of a goddess. It's not necessarily anything I noticed myself, but I always received compliments on my skin tone and lack of dry elbows. Well this cold weather is destroying my bragging rights. My devotion to long, hot showers after my daily workout may also be slightly to blame. Regardless, scrubbing my skin with abrasive scrubs and creating a slippery body scrub fest on my shower floor wasn't working out for me. I swung into Ulta one day, picked up a body brush and gave dry body brushing a go instead. 

While dry body brushing has a plethora of benefits for perfect skin year round, it is especially awesome at perking up your skin this time of year as well. An added bonus? It feels amazing. I can literally feel my body becoming more awake and refreshed. Check out this article on Mind Body Green for all the details. For a basic run down, keep reading.

Step one. Get your body brush

Step two. Start at your feet, work your way up toward your heart. Feet, legs, stomach. Do the opposite down your back, start at the top and work your way down.

Step three. Shower, wash all those dead skin cells away.

Step four. Moisturize away! Your skin will be ready to absorb whatever you put on, I love Trader Joe's Vitamin E oil.Or add on your favorite body cream.

BYOBottle

This week has been the worst. Between having crazy long days at work, having too full of a schedule at night, and trying to get some sleep I feel like I haven't had any spare time! On the upside, it's Saturday, I slept in til nine, and this frigid month is a quarter over! Now it's time to catch up on some posts! 

I love to watch documentaries to relax on the weekends. Super weird, I know. Not too long ago I watched Tapped. Tapped is about the bottled water industry, the strain on worldwide water supply, and being aware of what you are purchasing. While I don't always believe what I am told simply because it was in a movie, they promote a movement I have been a part of my entire life. Stop buying bottled water, bring your own, and conserve your water with small changes (for example, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, easy). 

When getting ready in the morning, it's very simple to forego your own bottle water and grab some at the local coffee shop or as you pass by a grocery or convenience store. The cost adds up very quickly, and while some people (my mom) will reuse the water bottle, some people will recycle, most people will just toss the plastic bottle and buy another the next day. I am totally guilty of getting bored of water and will pick up a soda or iced tea at times. For the past few days, I've been adding fruit to my water. Lemon iced water is delicious but the acid in lemons can hurt your enamel over time. My current favorite addition has been oranges. So fresh and you get a couple slices of oranges to eat after you down your water. It's pretty good incentive. I advise against berries, they tend to get soggy if they sit for longer than an hour or two. Check out some more water combos here and here. Whatever you do, please don't add Mio or other processed additives in. Know why it's zero calories? Artificial sweeteners. I used artificial flavoring liquids last year and it gave me pretty intense stomach pain. Keep it natural. Fresh tastes better anyway.

Personally, I don't like the quality of my tap water so I bought a Brita pitcher and change the filter when needed. A life, and money, saver. Invest in a good, BPA free plastic or glass water bottle. I carry two water bottles with me to work each day, one of them is glass and I love it, buy it on Amazon here. You can pop it in the dishwasher if you don't have time to hand wash and they will last forever. 

Lastly, carry your bottle everywhere and proudly. I drink an unbelievable amount of water to stay hydrated and feeling good and always have a bottle in my purse or car. It will save you money and if you find a tasty flavor combo you enjoy, it will save you a lot of calories, too!