Affordable Workout Gear

Hello friends! I've been meaning to post this for quite a while, so here it is!

Last year I spent about two months on the hunt for the perfect workout pants. I went to Old Navy, Target, Wal-Mart, Victoria's Secret, JC Penney, etc. I was looking for a capri leggings that were low rise with a little stretch. I also wanted to find something that was affordable so I could buy 3 or 4 pairs for less than $100.

I searched up and down and finally found these C9 Advanced Performance Capri Pants. I got one solid black pair and a dark heather grey pair with a blue waistband. (The grey and blue ones were on sale for $17.99.) I love these pants because they don't have the fold-over waistband that a lot of yoga and workout pants have. I also like them because they don't have a drawstring. Both the fold over and drawstring pants really bother me so I will not wear them. Also, I really like these pants because they are not fitted all the way through the knee. I don't care for tight seams that end right at the bend of my knee so these feel great. These are by far the most comfortable and flattering pair of workout pants I have ever bought.

They retail for $24.99 but I've seen them on the clearance racks before. Also, if you download the Cartwheel app, the entire C9 brand has sales that are usually 20% off. Right after the new year they had a 40% off sale so keep an eye out for that!

So after finding the perfect workout pants I got a few other items on a total whim that ended up being some of my favorite stuff.

The Danksin brand at Wal-Mart has really surprised me. I love their racerback tank. They are loose-fitted and have a lot of really cute colors for just under $6.00.

I also really like the Danskin brand sports bras. They are comfortable and hold my girls in place for my normal workouts. Two for $9.94 is a great buy!

Finally, the Danskin Performance Jacket is my jacket of choice to wear to the gym. First of all, it is a lightweight jacket that has THUMB HOLES. I love jackets with the hole for your thumb. It's like gloves attached to your jacket. Also, I got this jacket for $3.00 on the clearance rack at Wal-Mart. (I actually got two.)

Now, yes, I do know that these might not be the highest quality items and yes I know that you get what you pay for but I have had all of these items for around 6 months and they have held up. The key to keeping them nice is how you wash them. I only wash my workout clothes in warm/cold water and I never dry them in the dryer. I always hang dry my workout clothes.

So there you have a great workout outfit for right around $50 dollars. You will look cute and be comfortable so mark that off your list of excuses and get that booty to the gym!

Confessional Friday: Guilty Pleasures

Aloha ladies! Today is Confessional Friday: Guilty Pleasure edition. Let's get to it!

-Sales. When I see a sale and I know I am going to get something for next-to-nothing, I will buy it. 

The VS Semi-Annual sale. Oops.

-Bathing suits. Holy shit I can not stop buying swim suits. I have held off for almost a week but I'm about to give in for this one:

-Dogs. If I see a dog out in public, I pet it. I love all animals but dogs are my favorite!

Bonzai, my ride-or-die lil dog man.

-Balloons. I love balloons. Get me a balloon and I'll be happy all day.

In college, my boyfriend filled my apartment with balloons. We waited about a week before we popped them all.

-Giving gifts. I just love the feeling when I give someone they like and can use.

-Dolphins. I love real life dolphins, not silly dolphin figurines. I love to see them swim and jump. They are so graceful and beautiful!

Well that it for my guilty pleasures. Go link-up with Leslie and share yours!

Last Post of 2012!

This will be my last post of 2012! What a year!

NOW...

Let's talk about this crazy-busy Christmas that just flew by!

I made those banana bars and cookies I talked about in my previous post.

The banana bars were soooo moist and sooo delicious. The icing was killer! I couldn't stop eating it!

I left Joplin on Christmas Eve Eve and got to have dinner with Mallory!

no she isn't bald

love you Mal, lol

Christmas Eve was different for us this year. Since my dad is not at home, and I had to leave the lake around 2pm on Christmas, we decided to have Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve. Needless to say, it was pretty lonely without my dad having dinner with us.

But Santa Bonz cheered me up!

Christmas morning my dad got to come home to open presents and relax.

He thoroughly enjoyed witnessing my horrendous Christmas.

What better to wear with my red sequin Uggs than an oversized, sequined, old lady sweater straight out of 1985?

Christmas night I made it to Joplin with enough time to stop at Tyson's before we went to his sisters for dinner. Of course he had my amazing bright orange luggage setting on the pool table! Then he told me to "shake" one of the bags. I was so confused... so I shook it and nothing really happened so I unzipped it a little and pulled out a dollar bill.

I'm all like...

WTF?

While he's sitting there grinning ear-to-ear.

So I open my suitcase and it's FULL of dollar bills with a print-out that says "Invisalign"!!!

THIS GIRL'S GETTING INVISALIGN!

or something of that effect

He said he couldn't think of a better way for me to open my "grand-finale" Christmas present.

I think it was pretty clever.

I have been wanting some orthodontic work for a while but it is sooo expensive. I've had one consultation but didn't care much for the doctor so I've been shopping around for a different doctor. Now that I know it's going to cost me well over $5,000 dollars, I want the best doctor for my money. I watch YouTube videos of peoples' experiences with Invisalign. Basically, I'm obsessed with getting my teeth straightened.

I can't wait to get started!

Anywho... after all that awesomeness, we went to his sisters for dinner. It was very fun opening gifts and drinking wine!

The next day, his sister and I braved the mall and Target for some post-Christmas bargains. We scored some great goodies! I also ordered Tyson and I new stockings from Pottery Barn.

Two velour stockings with names embroidered from PB for $32 doll-hairs.

YES PLEASE!

I got these totally cute ornaments from Hob Lob today for 66% off!

Anything nautical/fish/boats... I'm in!

One of my Christmas presents was a cute monogram bracelet. It makes for some great armcandy stacking!

And I got the Lorac palette with a gift card from Ulta. If you don't have this palette, and you like nude/natural eye shadow, go get it, RUN!

After some deep thought and a few returns, I invested in my first pair of Sperry boat shoes.

Which is perfect because tomorrow I am going to Miami!

Out of the blue. I know. It was for me, too.

Yesterday, Tyson came in the office and talked my ear off about hauling boats to Chicago, Texas, St. Pete, Miami and driving and flying and engines and all this crap for ten minutes before he cut to the chase and told me we were going to Miami with Jim on Saturday morning...

at 8am...

Gee. Thanks for the early notice.

I'M KIDDING.

I love flying with Jim!!

Don't have to go through security...

No smelly people...

No layovers...

No lines...

A little getaway sounds great right now!

So I won't see talk to you guys until 2013!

Be safe and have a Happy New Year!

My Weekend In Review!

 

This is what I see when I roll over in the morning...

the sunrise...

over the lake and between the autumn trees.

Saturday I cleaned around the house then headed to Osage to do a little shopping.

I painted my nails with Rimmel "Pink Zinfandel" and then added a silver sparkle stripe to my ring finger.

I found some striping polish at Dollar General and it was totally worth it!

 Coach was having a 30% off sale... people went CRAY in there.

I should have taken a picture while I was inside.

I had an impromptu photoshoot with my friend, Shane. It's so handy having friends who are photographers!

 Outfit of the Day:

Grey and white striped Hollister longsleeve tee I found on clearance last year for $3.80 (STEAL!)

American Eagle skinny jeans

Ugg Bailey Button in Chestnut

Coat is from Victoria's Secret

 I used my deep waver for this "herr-do".

I got some crap at Marshall's and Ross but I forgot to take pics... a few sweater dresses, a backpack, some leggings, and a super cute dog water bowl for Bonz.

When I got home I realized it was Saturday night and I wasn't at a Halloween party, like a loser.

So I had my own Halloween party!

Trick or Treat,

Smell my Feet,

Give me something good to eat!

My mom made a delicious pot of chili that was spicy and amazeballs!

Meanwhile... in Joplin... Tyson went "grocery shopping".

Can't leave that man alone for longer than a few days or else the house turns in to a candy store.

Saturday night I was on Pinterest for three hours and found this picture.

I love this girls:

hair

makeup

eyeballs

complexion

lips

lipcolor

scarf

eyebrows

I WANNA LOOK LIKE HER!

ugh... pretty people with their perfect skin and stuff

Today I went to Wal-Mart...

(no Target close by... I'm going in to shock)

and saw this...

 Almost five aisles of Christmas decorations...

Too soon?

What do you think?

After my Christmas Decor vs Fall/Halloween Decor meltdown I finished my shopping and got all this stuff...

be jealous

Era for clean stuff...

Jergens for soft skin...

(HAVE YOU SMELLED THIS STUFF? IT SMELLS AWESOME!)

a Glade candle that smells like apples...

(cuz I'm obsessed with apples)

  a wall plate

(which turned in to me re-wiring the whole house...

okay kidding, one outlet...

okay just kidding, had some minor issues changing the wall plate)

a pink long sleeve shirt

(look out for tomorrow's OOTD)

a million Scotch Pop-Up tape refills

(okay only six but they were clearance for $1.50 so I loaded up for X-mas)

and Rimmel "Lasting Finish in 006 Pink Blush"

(for an attempt to look like that chick up above)

When I got home I popped open a bottle of my new favorite beer...

which is my only favorite beer...

because I don't like beer...

except for this stuff...

and Bud Light Lime...

but that is IT!

Tomorrow I am getting my hair done. I love my stylist.

She's a great friend and someone I can always talk to!

This is Dixie with her grand-babies, Emareigh and Anareigh...

 Can't wait to see Dix, the girls, and Cait!

And then afterwards I am heading to Joplin to see my boo and plan for Key West!

Target Haul/Rant

BAHAHAHA!

I say this to Tyson all the time. He believes it!

So today I needed some last minute items before we leave tomorrow for Mallory and Seth's wedding.

-Nail Polish Base Coat

-Mouthwash

-Nail Polish Brush

-Just For Men (haha)

easy right?

Oh and before I walked in the door I knew I needed to get a Grande Iced Green Tea with a splash of Raspberry syrup from Starbuck's to help me find these four items.

(Delicious, healthy-ish, awesome summer drink... $2.10!)

So off we go! First I hit the Dollar Rack... you know that amazing little section right when you walk in the door?

I got two of these suckers:

and two of these guys:

but mine is four sections... so it's awesomer

Then I got this cute lil nugget:

Who doesn't need a hot pink piggy bank?

I got one of these:

But mine only has four shelves and it's grey.

So it's not really like this one at all.

Oh and I got 3 rolls of wrapping paper that are just adorable.

DOLLAR FOR ALL THAT SHIZ.

'Cept the shelf, that was two-fitty.

Then I accidentally found myself in the Women's Accessory section.

That was on the list, right?

All I remember was seeing a red CLEARANCE sign and the rest is history.

I got:

Cute Ass Clutch

aka

Xhilaration® Natural Croco Facile Crossbody

Perfect for lugging all of mine and Mallory's crap around on her wedding day.

$16.99

NOT

I got this baby for $11.88

Scarf/Bikini Cover Up

aka

Converse One Star Kristine Tye-Dye Scarf - Pink

$14.99 NO how about $7.48

Layin' Out Hat

aka

 Mossimo Supply Co. Tan Shine Floppy Hat

$14.99 wrongo I got her for $10.48

Now it's time to get the stuff on my list, right?

So there I am, wandering through Tarjay trying to stay focused and I cross this nice old ladies' path...

and she tells me...

"OH MY GOD LOOK HOW CUTE YOUR HAIR IS!"

and I reply

"Thanks!!!"

and she says

"I just love those hair-pieces. They are soooo fun!!!"

WHAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?!

HAIR PIECE?

Me being... well... me... says

"Oh this isn't a hair piece, this is my real hair!!"

Jeezus. That is just an insult.

She sayin' I ain't got enough hair to rock this toddler hair-do!?

anyways...

Finally made it to the Personal Care section

Got some Just For Men

Tyson has like 15 grey hairs.

Whatever.

Then I got this stuff:

Does anyone use this stuff? I found out about it from Megan @ Ciao Bella XO

Her teeth are really white so I hope it works for me, too.

Had a coupon so I got the big bottle for $4.13. Wahoo!

So after watching my Chinese nail lady do my "white-tip" mani/pedi a million times, I think I can do my own nails. They do the base coat, then slop some white polish on the tip of my nail, then they dip a little paint brush in some remover and clean it up. Then the top coat of course.

Elf

it was a dillar.

($1.00)

 Oh and I needed some concealer.

Elf again.

Another dillar.

Finally, I got the last thing on my list:

Base coat

My nails chip like crazy. Pizzes me off. Hopefully this helps.

So I was technically done.

NOT

One last thing.

I'm making this "Wedding Survival Kit" for Mal's wedding and I heard that chalk helps cover any little stains that might appear on her wedding dress.

So I gotta find some chalk.

Back to School section... NONE

okay...

Art Section...

okay...

Crayola...

Crayola...

looking for Crayola brand Chalk.

no Crayola brand chalk.

only RoseArt.

WHAT THE F*CK.

I will be 25 years old next month and I STILL don't like RoseArt brand school/art supplies.

I didn't like them when I was 7.

Don't like them now.

So I got some effin' RoseArt chalk.

mother f*ckers

So what would have been a simple Target run turned in to a pretty badass shopping spree. I might have been in there for 2 hours... or more.