Where Are You?

A & I apologize for the lack of content on this blog these days. We are trying different sites out and debating how to work out the kinks. If you do not already know we are on WordPress as well! We update more on WordPress because we find it a little more organized. We will continue to update here a summary of what we posted so far. So give our Wordpress page a try! 

New Posts:

- Several Movie Reviews on: Ant Man, Minions, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, and Transformers: Age of Extinction.

-Life: Sibling banter, Traveling thoughts

-Beauty/Fashion: Some products I was able to figure out from Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation

If any of these post tickle your fancy, head over to our WordPress! Happy Reading!

Love,

N & A

Everyone Feels Like Cinderella

The Center Point Lies With The Foot

Glass slippers and beautiful dresses equals a little girl's playtime imagination. We all played dress up as little kids where we wear our mother's clothing and shoes. Children recreate the pure moments that tickle our tummies and the imagination takes us to another world. As we grow older we acquire our own sense of taste and fashion. But what exactly ties an outfit together? Jewelry? Accessories? A particular article of clothing? I think not. I believe the key lies in the pair of "glass slippers" you wear on your feet.

Are You Sure?

I am not a fashion expert, but I know how to dress to make myself presentable. Every shoe has it's own purpose in tying your outfit together. I hardly believed this until I took a step back and looked in a mirror. Picture this: light cream gray colored shorts, a gray graphic shirt, and black wedge sneakers. Now picture the same outfit but with a pair of black Nike trainers. I kid you not, but I looked cute and not to shabby when I wore my black wedge sneakers. My outfit turned unflattering when I pair it with my black Nike trainers. I was stepping in and out of the gym from my workout, and my wedge sneakers were in the car. I only have two hands and my hands were full from gym bag plus a bag for my towel + spare clothing. So of course I would just wear my Nike trainers out. No big deal, since it was gym then home. However, the outfit really was unflattering and it hit me that shoes matter.

What Else is New?

It is not something new, but a small realization on my part. An outfit can be dressed down or up with the shoes you put on. I understand when my boyfriend shakes his head a little when I wear my gray Nike trainers when we go to the mall. Sometimes a girl/lady/woman needs something more flattering than trainers to finish an outfit. I flip through magazines and websites on my spare time or whenever a new clothing brand catalog comes in the post. I picture the model wearing simple trainers with a gorgeous summer outfit, and I know it will ruin the outfit. Trainers and sneakers should be kept at minimal wear. The next time you do a little online shopping or read a magazine take a look at the shoes the model wears with the outfit. You never know what might surprise you. 

This is Important?

I would have to say this is just a realization on my part. A shoe can say a lot of things about an outfit. I am sure there are other bloggers out there who mention shoes in an outfit. I am not going to tell you what shoes you should pair with your clothing, but I am telling you before you step out the door take a look at what you plan to walk in. Try something else besides those trainers or sneakers from time to time. You never know how you can spruce out that simple outfit to something out of this world. Think of your shoes as your very own fairy godmother to the outfit!

Love,

N

The Hardest Part

Why Does it Have to be About Food?

Food, Food, Food.

I grew up with the genetics of high metabolism ingrained into my DNA. I was considered the skinny child throughout my lower education. I was even made fun of during high school that I should just "eat a steak" and it was not possible to weigh the amount I weighed with my body size. Thankfully I had a kind teacher for physical education, and he told the bully off saying "she is skinny but because of her height she weighs in at normal". I am thankful for my physical education teacher and how he stood up for me. Trust me, I ate a plate full of food each night and there was no such thing as a calorie counter in my book.

Rewinding to present day. My metabolism is not as quick as it was before. I have slowly watched the influx of weight I put on. Calories were just a number and I believed I could eat what ever I wanted. Boy was I wrong.

I still look pretty slim, but overall I was not happy with my eating style. The mentality of eating as much as I can and not caring just no longer worked. I think I finally hit "rock bottom" when I realized a pair of jeans my boyfriend bought me no longer fit. Let me say that these pair of jeans were big enough for me to wear a pair of denim shorts underneath. I realized my age is slowly catching up and I should not splurge on a crazy level when it came to food. 

I decided I wanted to lose around 12-13 pounds. I wanted to feel my best and be my best. I no longer wanted a bloated looking stomach, nor pants I wear feeling a little too snug. My boyfriend suggested I calorie count and devised a slow way for me to lose weight. I did not want to drastically drop weight, but I wanted to see progress. 

I am not going to lie, calorie counting SUCKS! It slowly made me realized I was eating more calories for my age, weight, and height. Cutting back and weighing everything out is the hardest thing I have to do. It makes me want to bring a scale everywhere I eat. However, I am not that crazy to walk around with a small scale in my purse. I do my best to estimate to as close as possible in what I eat and record it on my app.

My Fitness Pal

Yeah, more like pain in the ass! This app is like good and bad of food counting. I input what I eat and how much exercise I put in for the day. I only workout three times a week, but the good meals my parents prepare makes me want to work out for seven days straight. So far I have been doing well. This is my first week of calorie counting. I managed to lose 5 pounds when I watched what I eat and not calorie count. However, the two week span that I was not counting calories I was walking A LOT. The four days that I was constantly on my toes really became the exercise. 

This app in general:

• Easy to to use
• Lets you scan bar codes of food items so you do not have to manually input all the ingredients or search
• Has a lot of choices in foods you can list
• Has an estimated exercise counter to see how many calories you burned, and how much you can eat still
• Some food choices you might have only one option in measurements, and some foods you have plenty.
• Trying to eat a few calories less puts you "under calories for the day" and it makes you feel like you are not eating enough. In reality you are eating enough
• Does not have all food choices, so you have to make an executive decision in which one you log. I always go for the higher calorie choice because the food my parents cook can be a little more on calories. Plus I do not know all the ingredients they add and I do not wish to slowly input a recipe.

Overall

The journey is slow. This twelve week process will test everything. It is a not a easy journey, but I feel happier with myself. I even see a reduction of stomach region. It is no longer protruding out as much as before. I seriously looked like a skinny girl who was possibly one month pregnant (Girl say what?!!). Also, one of my shorts no longer feel snug around my waist! I am not advocating calorie counting is needed, but simple clean eating and portioning everything really provides for a healthy exercise! I hope my small progress shows that everyone reaches a all time low in health. But there is a solution somewhere, you just got to make the effort. 

Love & Peace,

N