At Home Workouts

Working out has always been a struggle for me during the cold winter months. I love to run, and take full advantage of great outdoors during the warmer months and mix in 3-4 gym visits during the week for strengthen and weight training, but I find myself finding excuses to not go to the gym during the colder months.

There are just a few items you should have on hand at home for a full-body workout.

• Thick yoga mat
• Light weights (I have 5 lbs and 8 lbs). Light weights are key if you want to tone, not build large muscles 
• Yoga ball (make sure to get the right size for your height)

ABS:

• AB VIDEO: I consider myself to have strong abs, I have no problem doing 200 without being tired, so I find it challenging to find ab workouts that really work my abs. However I love doing Blogilates EXTREME AB video. I can definitely feel my abs hurting after doing this video through once, but sometimes I will do this workout twice back to back if I want to focus on my abs.

• YOGA BALL PASS: This is definitely one of the more difficult exercises for me. You lay on your mat for extra back support and extend your arms and legs straight. You start with the yoga ball in your hands and make a V-shape with your body and pass the yoga ball to your feet, then lay back down and extend the arms and legs. You pass the ball back and forth and repeat for 20. I try to do 3 reps of these and by the 2nd, my abs are shaking.

This is killer! Picture is from Women's Health

• Hip Dips. I absolutely love doing this! Get in a plank position on your forearms and lower your right hip to the ground, while maintaining the plant, get back to plank position, then dip your left hip to the ground. Repeat this 30 times, 5 reps.

Photo from Sassyfitgirl

CARDIO
I also try to do some cardio at home when I can't get to the gym. However, I loive in a condo and try to avoid jumping up and down and annoying my neighbors. So here are some quieter cardio workouts that are apartment or condo friendly.

• MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS: using a yoga mat or 2 for more cushioning (and quieter), I love doing mountain climbers (pictured below). I typically do 5 reps of 30 to get my heart pumping. The bonus here is, not only is this cardio, it also works your core at the same time!

You can do these quickly or slowly depending on your level of comfort. These images are from popsugar

LEGS:

• Lunges are a great way to work your legs. I try to squeeze these in while watching TV.

Photo from StyleCrazy

I also find cute workout clothes helps with motivation! Here are some of my picks. I have several of these and love them all!

The Perfect Reversible Minimalist Handbag

If you're looking for a versatile handbag then I have the bag for you - this A-BAG PLUS REVERSIBLE TOTE by PALLA HANDBAGS!

The bag is reversible with both darker and lighter color, perfect for transitioning through the seasons.
I had such a hard time picking from the gorgeous selection of colors, and finally decided on the pink/mocha color combo since I don't have a pink bag. This bag can be carried as a tote or as a shoulder bag using the longer straps.

The Perfect Time-Piece For That Special Someone

Valentine's Day is right around the corner which means it's time to give some serious thought about the gift you'll be gifting to that special someone. If you're like me, you want to find the perfect gift, but never know what to get, so when JORD reached out to me to work on a collaboration, I was beyond excited!

After browsing through the countless number of watches on their website (there are 12 different watch series!), I decided the the two-toned Zebrawood & Dark Sandalwood watch would be most fitting – I loved the classic design contrasting the two different brown tones. This specific model is also made of sapphire crystal glass, and is self-winding (aka no batteries needed!).

The watch comes in this beautiful magnetic wood box! 

My husband has quite a few watches, all of which are stainless steel or stainless steal faced with brown and black leather straps-- nothing like this! A refined wood timepiece was the perfect gift to add to his collection.

The watch arrived in a gorgeous engraved wood box along with a polishing cloth and wood polish. My husband loved the watch and seriously thought it was the coolest thing ever! He’s already worn it several times; I’m honestly surprised how versatile this watch is and have seen my husband pair it with both casual and business clothes.

I must say, their customer service is amazing - live chat available while you shop online to help with any questions you may have and they also offer an engraving service for an added personalized touch (I had my husband’s watch engraved with his initials).

GIVEAWAY:
Now, onto the fun part - GIVEAWAY TIME! I've teamed up with JORD Wood Watches to give
away $100 to one lucky winner (however, everyone will receive a 10% promo code)! To enter, please fill out THIS FORM. The giveaway will close February 11th, 2018 at11:59pm. Both the $100 and the 10% off codes will expire on February 25th, 2018

Here are some helpful links to help you while you shop! 

JORD WEBSITE

THE EXACT WATCH PICTURED ABOVE

The entire collection of ZEBRAWOOD watches 

MEN'S WATCH PAGE

WOMEN'S WATCH PAGE

Check out their HASHTAG WALL for pairing inspiration! 

ENGRAVING SERVICE:

-Jules

Watch Gift Ideas

Instagram Lately - Winter Staples & Reviews

Hope y'all are having a great weekend (long weekend!) I've received several questions regarding my recent outfit stories wearing the below outfit. So I figured I'd review some of the items more in depth.

CARDIGAN - oversized fit, wearing XS
JEANS - currently 60% off for $39, TTS
BOOTIES - 50% off, fits TTS
STRIPED SHIRT - XS

My winter uniform is leggings/jeans, with some sort of a long sleeve T layered under a long cardigan. I don't think you can go wrong with this formula and it's great for those lazy days when you don't know what to wear.

This DOLMAN SLEEVED CARDIGAN has navy and gray specks that originally caught my eye  and I immediately purchased it. I thought it added some interest to an otherwise plain piece of clothing. It's a dolman sleeved cardigan with a looser fit. I could have gone with a XXS, but went with the XS instead.

My jeans are by BLANKNYC and are currently almost 60% off for ~$39, a steal from the original $90 price tag! These fit true to size and wear/wash well. 

And of course, my favorite ankle booties that I love. These are so comfortable! I reviewed them HERE  with several links to sales. 

One of my closet staples in the colder months is a PACKABLE DOWN VEST. This Uniqlo vest is great for travel and layering. It bunches up into a tiny ball, so fit perfectly in your purse of carry on.
Because it's made of down, it is extremely warm, but is light enough for wearing under jackets without adding bulk. These run a little small, the XS was tight on me, so I went with a S. The S has room for layering over thicker sweaters and sweatshirts, but is not baggy where it looks too oversized.

COAT - Currently 50% for $114, 00
BOOTIES - TTS, 6
LEGGINGS - XS
PACKABLE VEST - navy, XS

Hope you found this helpful! Where are your winter closet staples?
Jules

Post Holiday Sale Picks - Stuart Weitzman, J.Crew City Coat and Adidas

Happy hump day, ladies! I'm having a crazy week at work and working late nights; hope your week is going smoother than mine. Anyways, I wanted to share some great sales items I recently purchased and love!

If you've been on the hunt for some over the knee boots, now is the time to grab them while they're on sale! The highly coveted Stuart Weitzman's are on sale from 30-50%. I recommend sizing down half a size for all SW's. I own two different styles, both in 5.5 (I'm normally a 6).

Stuart Weitzman Tieland boots (30% off) HERE

Stuart Weitzman - have and love! currently 50% at under $400!

Moving on to sneakers and tennis shoes - Here is a pair of classic white kicks that every gal needs in their closet. This is a staple that's great for travel, walking all day or looking stylish while looking like you haven't tried hard.

ADIDAS STAN SMITH
I had a pair of these back in middle school as well as the SUPERSTARS, definitely feeling a little nostalgic (and old). These are the quintessential classic white sneakers. I have a pair of the navy as I find they pair easier with colors.

Left - on sale for $48 ($85 original) HERE (run half size large)
Right - Adidas Stan Smith

The Stan Smith retails for $60, and is currently on sale HERE and applying code 'LTLOVE' for 20% off making them $48! These run about 1 whole size larger, I take a 5 in these. The Superstars a little pricier, at $80, but they are currently 25% off at BLOOMINGDALES.

Moving out to Outerwear:
The J.Crew Factory CITY COAT is one of my all time favorite jackets, I own one in black and one in beige. Below, I am wearing size 00 Petite (the one pictured is from 2 years ago, however I noticed this years is much thicker, a definite plus!). J.Crew Factory is currently running a 50% off certain item sale and this coat is included, with a final price of $114 - a steal in my opinion for such a versatile coat.

Version from 2 years ago

This years version - much thicker than previous years!

Hope you found this helpful! Happy shopping.

-Jules