May 30, 2016

Golden Birthday Wish List

The countdown to my 26th Birthday is in on- JUNE 26th!! It's my GOLDEN birthday!!!! I've put together a little birthday wish list for fun :)


Ok so I've actually already gotten the Kate Spade Bag...Tim got it for me while we were on vacation but I told him to save it until my bday :)

New Bikini!! This is probably tops on my list and Target and Victoria's Secret are having major sales right now!! How is a girl to choose?

Kendra Scott- I really want Rose Gold earrings and necklace to go with the watch Tim got me for Christmas

Stacked Heels-I've had my eye on this trend all season but haven't snagged a pair yet. The pair above is from Sole Society

Young House Love coloring book!! no other explanation needed

Stitch Fix credit...would love to order a 2nd fix!!

Rifle Paper print- really want this one for my laundry room!

Swell Bottle- Another item I've been wanting for quite a while and haven't bitten the bullet. It is a very expensive bottle but I have a feeling its worth it!

Tone it Up Perfect Fit Limited Edition Coconut Protein Powder!!! One of my fave flavors! I am dying to try it :)

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May 27, 2016

Malibu Tans RVA

3210 Skipwith Road Richmond, Virginia 23294

Anyone else have a hard to keeping a tan while working an office job all summer?  I sit outside at lunch most days and take morning and afternoon walks with Artie but I only get some color on my arms and lower legs and end up with dumb tan lines.

So I leaped at the opportunity to try out my first ever spray tan through #BloggersGetTan! I admit I've used a tanning beds before to get that summer glow for prom in high school. Of course back then, spray tans were still guaranteed to make you look fake and orange and were full of chemicals so it was a lose-lose situation to get tan quick. BUT things have changed!!

The coolest part of getting this tan was talking to Alison at Malibu Tans and hearing how important it was to her to use organic ingredients (and paraben-free) and get only the best for her clients.

Here's my pasty white before. I forgot to take an "official" before but this was less than a week before my session so not much changed.
You can see my arms had a bit of color but legs...very white! 

The experience: Alison's little tanning boutique is SO cute and welcoming. Of course this matters to me probably more than others but it definitely made me feel comfortable. She also pays attention to detail which is very important! Her products are displayed beautifully and she offers you refreshments while you wait (although it was a very short wait).


 

(Her decor is all teal and gold so that's a win in my book!! I wanted to take this ombre rug with me :)

First day after getting my spray tan!

Day 3

Day 6

The results...GREAT! The color was gorgeous. I asked Alison which shade she would recommend for me and it was perfect. She went with a medium shade AND she keeps this info on file so when you go back and you want to be lighter or darker than before she knows exactly what to do!! Also, you are supposed to wear the solution for 8-24 hours before rinsing. I left mine on for about 14 hours.

One tip is definitely to wear loose clothing. I wore a swimsuit cover up and a sports bra. Definitely should not have worn the sports bra. It was a little tricky because I had planned to run errands that afternoon so I would recommend going with the express tan if you aren't very patient.

What I learned

-exfoliate more!!
-moisturize more!!
-get the right products.

Do you guys know how many products have sulfates, alcohol and mineral oil in them? Oh my...I had to go out and buy shampoo, deodorant, body wash and lotion because I had basically nothing that would work. I picked up E Booth body wash, Jergens lotion, gradual tan and sunscreen, and Not your Mothers shampoo. They all worked out great!! I do wish I had a few extra products to help the life of my tan though.

It happened to work out that I was able to get my tan right before my vacation! YAY for not being pasty white in my pictures! But there were some downfalls to this. I wasn't able to take care of my tan as well as I might've been if I were at home. I did get in the hot tub at our cabin and I did get pretty sweaty from hiking which I do believe caused my tan to fade a bit quicker and streak some but it still lasted the duration of my vacation and I would absolutely go back to #MalibuTansRVA!!

Ok, now it's your turn!! Are you ready to get your summer glow on??  Alison is currently running a promotion for buy two tans get one free.

This is a "sponsored post." I was compensated for this post however all opinions are my own. 

Be sure to tell Alison that Samantha "Designer in Teal" sent you!!

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May 2, 2016

Bikini Series Week 1


My sweet friend Liz had the great idea to blog about the Bikini Series and anyone could join in on the link up to see each others experiences so I am joining in...because my life is basically eat, sleep, breathe Bikini Series right now!! HAHA! If you aren't sure what that is, catch up in my previous posts
Goals and Inspiration
My Tone it Up Journey

You can purchase the Nutrition Plan here or get the whole bundle that includes the journal here
The Richmond notepad was a gift from Liz

 "A Sunday well spent brings a week of content"


Highs: 
Tuesday Yoga at Dogwood Dell with Jordan!! We had so much fun and got free pops (see below)
Girls day in Fredericksburg with my friend from college, Brittany! We got brunch and then did some shopping downtown.
Got up for my "bootycalls"(its TIU lingo for morning workout)  on Saturday AND Sunday!! At least I started off well.


Lows: Skipping 2 "bootycalls" when that was one of my goals to get up for more. I also didn't complete my 10k steps every day. I could say my excuse was the rain but I could've made it work.
Indulging too much over the weekend

Favorite meal: My favorite meal from the plan was the Blueberry Bombshell smoothie. I have a feeling the next smoothie of the week will be a fave too because it includes COCONUT!! My favorite meal outside of the plan were my new Dark Chocolate Kodiak cakes!!! Yes, these are TIU approved for M1-3!!

Cheat meals: King of Pops Popsicle, Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Iced Latte and maybe a few too many over the weekend BUT I'm recording them all in my journal so that next weekend I can look back and remember how guilty I felt. Plus, vacation is coming up soon so I definitely need to stay on track now!


Favorite workout: That is a tough one...my favorite HIIT style routine was K&K Slay (on the Beach Babe 4 DVD) . 1st of all...the name is awesome! Secondly, it was short but still got me sweating so that's a win.
My favorite toning routine was the new Beach Bod routine!! Also very effective :)

More Snapshots from the week:
This was the cute brunch place we went too...their menu is "Locally-sourced, all natural and organic breakfast and brunch" so I didn't feel too bad even though we had some toast and jam

 We needed a little pick-me-up after the shopping so we grabbed some caffeine from Hyperion Espresso which I will definitely be returning to.

Overall thoughts from the week

I had a great kickoff but definitely had some bumps along the way...had some stressful things come up that I let discourage me. But my girls were there to encourage me and help me stay positive. Physically I feel stronger already. I really want to improve the muscle tone in my legs, which I've always struggled with. I just need to invest emotionally this week and keep telling myself I CAN do this!! Also, didn't get to the gym once. I do want to make it to at least one class this week!



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