Outdoor Fitness
It's so nice out, quite often I refuse to do my workouts indoors, we're stuck inside like 8 months out of the year here, let me enjoy these months!! This is a great workout that will definitely get the heart rate up; focus here is mainly lower body with some core, chest and shoulders thrown in. No equipment required!
Perform each exercise for 45s for 4-6 rounds. Take 2-3 minutes rest between rounds
1. Hop overs
Find a low bench place both hands down and hop side to side over the bench (or behind if it's too wide) Keep the landing light and and core braced as you push side to side.
2. Mountain Climbers
From high plank position, drive knees up towards midsection, keep the hips level and core braced throughout. Legs are the only things moving, everything else remains stable.
3. Step overs
One leg remains on bench, bring one leg down to the ground, press through the leg on the bench and then alternate to the other side. Essentially you're just performing a lateral step up, but the timing is quicker and you shift back and forth.
Modification: Just perform step ups
4. High plank reach + push up
Start holding onto the bench with arms outstretched, bring one arm at a time down to be underneath shoulder height and then perform a push up. Once back in the high plank position of the push up grad onto the bench one arm at a time again.
Modification: From the knees
5. Box Jumps
Sink into hips feet shoulder width apart and drive up to softly land on the bench and step back down to perform again.
Modification: Squats
6. Curtsy Lunges
Grab your favourite doggo (or perform them just bodyweight) bring one leg behind the other sink into that hip, the front leg is the one you push up off of and alternate back and forth
7. Leg Lowers off bench
Find a comfortable position so your sit bones are on the bench, keep the back nice and straight and neck neutral. Bend knees in towards chest and slowly lower them with control not using your low back.
Modification: Lay flat on bench and lower one leg at a time down.
Romp!
This romper is actually 3 years old now, and I am always reaching for it on those super hot summer days. The weather has been more on the unsettled side lately so this soft linen biker jacket has been great to add to my outfits. I was unsure of this purchase, but I've been getting a ton of use out of it. I think when I'm back to shopping I need a good black leather biker jacket like this. They go with everything, and make you feel like a badass.
Love Letter to My Body
I am
writing this as any ode to my body, my
mind and most specifically my heart. Seven years ago I had my aorta replaced,
it was a process of 14 months of things going wrong to get to that point. Most
people take their birthday as a time to reflect, for me it’s my aortaversary (obviously
my own coined term) it’s a very happy day for me, I take this time to check in
and appreciate my body.
It's so crazy how light my scar is now, they really did a good job
Seven years
for me is a really big milestone, it’s a time frame I set out in my mind when my
recovery was really hard, that in 7 years I would be so far away from the pain
I was currently in. And I was right. 2 years post-OP I was still very
emotionally vulnerable and battling with the whole experience. After a few more
I could finally see it as a good experience, a huge influence as it always will
be. Now 7 years later I am grateful for the whole mess of a thing. I learned so
much about resilience, I never knew how tough I was until this happened, and
although it was incredibly difficult emotionally I found ways to get past it
and keep my light.
So here is
my love letter to my body who no matter what let’s me move, seven years ago I
couldn’t walk to the end of the block without being winded. I kick box 2x a
week, lift weights 2x a week, run 2x, and play soccer. Dear body you are f
ucking magnificent, I promise to take care of you always. I promise to allow
you rest when you need it more, to listen to you and push you.
Today I’m
looking at re setting where I’m at based on this, my health has always been
important to me, my body since then has been my priority. I’ve talked about it a
lot this year but I need to re focus on my self care, taking downtime, and my
mental health. It’s funny that I can get so caught up in the physical health
and forget about self care, my heart needs to be worked but it also needs
downtime to recover and not be working overtime always. So happy aortaversary
heart, I took the day off so I could do any little thin my heart desired and
tomorrow we’re going to escape to the mountains!
One Dress Multiple Ways
This slip dress has been worn a million more times than this but I love that about it. I don't want a closet full of pieces I only wore once for photos, I want things that can be worn again and again and that I can find new ways to style to keep them fresh. A simple black dress goes with everything, this one is great for layering under a bold coat, casually with denim, and I've even worn it multiple times as a top under a skirt or jeans!
Dress- Oak and Fort
Summer stawberry quinoa salad
This is another bomb salad we've been making a lot of this summer, it's so light and so tasty.
Ingredients:
7 ripe sliced up strawberries
5 small sliced up tomatoes
5 sliced up medium bocconcini
1 cup quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp pesto
1/4 cup sliced up basil
For the dogs
I babysat my parents dog a few weekends ago, he is the handsome brown and white boston terrier/french bulldog in these photos. Same breed as Duke but don't let his cute mug fool you, he is a handful! We lovingly call him the terrorist, as he has separation anxiety and likes to destroy blankets, pillows and duvets....FUN TIMES. I appreciate Mr.Dukes chill personality so much now.
These shoes are gorgeous, I am so happy I found them in Beacon's closet in Brooklyn. I can see these babies getting a lot of wear, they go with everything!
When I purchased this black slip dress from Oak & Fort two summers ago I had no idea what a staple it would become in my life. It goes with everything and it's so versatile that I can wear it in a multitude of ways while it stays looking fresh. The plain white tee under a slip dress is a total throwback to 90s style again that I'm digging. Even though I was a bit of a skeptic I am all aboard the fanny pack train it seems, I found this brand new Rebecca Minkoff for $50 at Crossroads Trading co in NYC and I'm in love. It also has a strap so it's not just a fanny.
Duke is giving Brutus some serious side eye here. Love them!
Stretches for those who sit!
For majority of the population, we spend our lives seated in front of a computer screen. This is not only bad for our our health and wellness but it's also really bad for our posture. It causes our shoulders to round, our necks to jut forward, pain in the low back, neck, and wrists. So what can we do? You can't quit your day job, but you can do this sequence of stretches throughout your day. Set an alarm so you have to get up and move around from seated every 30 minutes and try to perform these stretches 3-4x a day (do em more if you want!)
Pec Stretch: Place hand against the wall and open up chest and rotate away from the wall. Hold for 30 seconds per side
Overhead Lat Stretch: Bring hand overhead and press down behind head. Hold 30 seconds per side
Cross Body Stretch: A great stretch for the shoulder, pull the arm across the body and pull it in, hold 30 seconds per side
Chest Stretch: bring hands behind back and interlace the fingers, extend away from the body. Hold for 30 seconds
Lat Stretch Against Wall: Place arm on wall and press into wall hold for 30 seconds
Upper Trap Stretch: Bring one arm behind back and grab head with other hand, apply a bit of pressure, hold for 30 seconds per side.
Wrist Flexor and Extensor stretches: This one is great if you've been typing a lot. Hold pressure on your wrist flexing and another extending. 30 seconds per side.
Spending Hiatus
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my clothes as of late.
I know what you’re thinking, what else is new lady, you run a “fashion, fitness
and food” blog, it’s in the name!! So more specifically I’ve been thinking of
where my clothes are made, who makes my clothes, how sustainable are they, how
much money am I throwing away on new items each season, how often am I shopping.
See, I’ve been thinking about my clothing A LOT lately. I find myself looking
through my heavy closet and deeming “I have nothing to wear” when in reality I
having nothing new to wear. I, like many others find myself falling into the
trap of wanting something new, something trendy, something I just saw on Instagram...
I have to say as someone who thinks about health a lot of
the time, I can’t see how this frame of mind is healthy. Seeing how and where
some of these pieces are made really opens up how unhealthy our obsession with
consumerism really is. I read a book a few months back, a work of fiction,
about a girl in a forced labour camp making cheap clothes for American. Walking
into a mall has given me a feeling of claustrophobia since. But I still have
walked into those malls, why? Because of an insane urge to buy something, to
feel put together, to look good, to have something new to post. That’s made me
feel pretty gross. So here I am going first off on a 2-month shopping ban, and from
there reassessing my spending habits.
On my recent New York trip nearly 100% of the items I bought
were second hand, consignment or vintage pieces and I actually feel really good
about that. This is where I’m at going forward, I am going to spend the next
few months getting to know my closet, stretching my creativity to make what I
already own work and from there only adding vintage, consignment or ethically
made pieces into the mix. Not saying I’m going to be perfect, I like any addict
will fall, I will keep on trying though. I hope you’re all there to follow my
journey.
Outfit: Skirt-Second Hand (Beacon's closet), Shoes-Winners, Purse-F21, Bodysuit-Thrift, Jacket-F21 (2 years old) Sunnies-Bamboo Ballroom
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