Friday, December 30, 2011

Featured Fit: Golden Blonde

By: LL
After a short sabbatical from outfit photos, here is a look at what I wore out to a casual dinner with my husband last night. We headed out to one of our favorite restaurants, where I knew I would eat a lot of food, so I wanted to wear something that was comfortable - more specifically, a top that could mask a belly full of food. This top was perfect - the dolman-style works nicely for hiding the midsection. Since the primary color was kind of a golden blonde, I paired it with dark denim and pumps to offset that monotone color. I have a feeling that this shirt will remain in my closet until I get a little more sun...or a spray tan.




Top: Forever 21
Jeans: BCBG
Pumps (not pictured): BCBG
Purse: Brooks Brothers
Necklace: Art Fair in Indiana
Amethyst Cocktail Ring: Gifted
Bracelet: Handcrafted (seen here)

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Creating Fits: Silver and Gold Chains

By: LL
I used to think about gold and silver chains as something out of the '80s and early '90s - not something incredibly modern or fashionable. But, over the last few seasons, chains - large and small - have been reinvented and are once again trendy. It took me awhile to embrace this trend in my designs, but over the last few weeks, I have been inspired to begin using them. It also doesn't hurt that I have come across some great chains and links to use. (My new place for raw materials - clearance areas in jewelry departments where you can find bargains on pieces to break down and use the materials, which is what I have done with a few of the chains in these pieces).

{Sparkler in silver & navy}

{Ornamental in textured greens}

{Links & Chains in silver}

{Links & Chains in silver bracelet}

{Links & Chains in gold bracelet}

I made the first necklace (Sparkler) to go with a dress that I am wearing to a wedding at the beginning of the year. The second necklace (Ornamental) you might recognize from here. And the last ones are made using deconstructed jewelry from clearance department store pieces (seriously, you would be amazed what great deals you can get on materials in these areas - think Charming Charlie, JC Penny, and Burlington Coat Factory. It is fun, too, to take an "ugly" piece and turn it into something fashionable!)

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Favorite Fit: Christmas Morning Run

By Jessie

LL recently posted about our family's "Pajama Time" tradition. My husband and I also have carried on that tradition into our adulthood, purchasing a new pair of pajamas to be opened on Christmas Eve, for a cozy night by the fire with a warm mug of Tom & Jerry.

But I also have a tradition that I have been following for probably the past 8 years- a Christmas morning run.  I started the Christmas morning run tradition back in college, when I would be home for the holidays at my parents house in Michigan. Knowing that the rest of the day would include a big meal, several glasses of wine, and lots of "laziness," I wanted to start off the day by burning at least some calories.

I have continued this tradition every year (perhaps a tad to my husband's chagrin, as he takes his "pajama time" very seriously on Christmas day). Last year, I actually met some friends for a snowy 8 miler.  It was a lovely run on a lovely winter day.

This year, I was on my own, but it was easy to get up and go for a run, as the weather in my city was unseasonably warm. There was no snow on the ground, and the temperatures were in the mid-40s.  And I guess I was not entirely alone; I had Matilda the Vizsla with me. It was a perfect way to exercise her, while continuing my tradition.


My husband predicted that "no one else was crazy enough to run on Christmas day" 
but alas, I counted 47 runners, 17 dogs, and 3 Santa hats. Nice job Minneapolis!


I came back in, rosy cheeked, sweaty, 
and ready for a quick pop in the shower, and then a mimosa and presents!

It was time to find the "pickle" in the tree (another family tradition) and let the fun begin!

Matilda was pleased with her new sweater.



Running on Christmas morning can be extremely invigorating. The crisp air, the quiet streets, the cheery runners that you do see. And that is why it's one of my favorite fits!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Fresh NEW Fit: Extraordinary, Merry Christmas

By: LL
I hope that everyone had an extraordinary, merry Christmas (to quote Glee). Except for the fact that we didn't have any snow and my husband got stuck on a work emergency most of the weekend, it was a nice, low-key Christmas filled with home-cooked meals, Christmas music, candle light, and holiday cocktails. And, of course, the gifts definitely helped make the holiday. Here is a peek at my Christmas morning...

{festive holiday cups for coffee on Christmas morning}

{Christmas PJs and a surprise gift}

I won't go into all the details of my Christmas, but as you will notice, I was able to pull off a look very similar to my vision, as described here - festive, cozy and cute! 

Pajamas: Fireside Thermals in Fair Isle (Victoria's Secret, however, color no longer available)
Scarf: Cashmere Infinity from TJ Maxx (last seen here)
Slippers: Uggs in Red (picked up a youth pair to use as slippers)
Socks: American Eagle (similar)

I get the suspicion that my husband might have been reading this blog as there were quite a few items from my wish list under the tree - notably here: pajamas and a nice little cocktail ring (more on that later)!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is still enjoying an additional day off of work!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fits on the Road: Fitting Fitness in Maui

By: Cool J
A week of vacation in a tropical location often entails plenty of frozen cocktails, extra lounging around in the sun-


....and perhaps over-indulging at dinner time. Or, maybe one too many Hawaiian Shave Ice? (not to be confused with a shaved ice, shave ice is very fine, and carved right from a block of ice. It is also often served with ice cream at the bottom...YUM!)


Although I love this part of a vacation, it also is mandatory that I am able to workout while on vacation or I will go CRAZY! Sometimes this "obsession" with squeezing in a workout can drive my husband a little crazy too, so I'm going to offer some tips as to how to best squeeze in a workout during vacation below.

Luckily for my sanity, I was able to fit fitness in every day while on our weeklong Maui trip. We arrived Saturday night, and my fitness regime was as follows:

Sunday: Run 6 miles in the rain, 30 minutes of core work in the gym, and 30 bonus minutes on the elliptical trainer.
Monday: Run 6 miles, 30 minutes of core, 30 minutes of my own made up yoga sculpt class
Tuesday: Hana Highway (see this post). 4 hours of HARD hiking/bouldering!
Wednesday: Run 5 miles, 30 minutes of core
Thursday: Run 6 miles
Friday: Run 6 miles

It had only been one week since the Memphis marathon, so I hadn't yet started running again before the Maui trip. However, running is the easiest "fit" for the road, so it was my best option while there. It's also too hard to resist running along the ocean with the sun!

I took full advantage of the gym at the Ritz-Carlton, which was quite nice. It was probably one of the best hotel gyms I have been to.







Tips for Fitting Fitness in while on Vacation:
  1. Exercise right away in the morning. No one wants to miss out on any of the pool lounging or fun activities. I understand that setting an alarm to hit the gym while on vacation might not sound that great, but for me, it makes the rest of the day that much better. Everything is better after a workout. Even if you can only squeeze in 30 minutes, you'll feel so much more confident strutting around in your skimpy bikini after a little exercise induced endorphins!
  2. Take advantage of the water in the hotel gym! I use this tip not just for working out, but for filling water bottles for the entire day.
  3. Check out any free classes offered by the hotel. When staying at the Four Seasons Maui last time we were on this island, I was able to attend a "core-intensive" mat class, as well as morning vinyasa yoga on the beach. Unfortunately,  the classes at the Ritz-Carlson were $15-$45 each, and I didn't want to spend the extra money to work out. However, from the looks of the classes, they may have been worth the extra money. I probably should have checked one out.
  4. Choose active outings, like swimming, snorkeling, hiking, biking, etc. LL offered some good ideas for the island of Maui in this post . I also mentioned the challenging hike we did on the Hana Highway here
  5. Ask the concierge right away for a map of the jogging paths in the area. The Ritz-Carlton gave me a map, and helped me figure out how best to add miles onto the actual boardwalk and Kapalua Coastal Trail that most walkers/runners would follow, so I could get in a longer run. Here's a picture from the running path that started right in front of my hotel:

Kapalua Coastal Trail

Kapalua Coastal Trail


On a side note, there was a Lululemon in Pai'a, but it was only open Fri/Sat/Sun, or by appointment!


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Functional Fits: "Pajama Time" on Christmas Morning

By: LL
My family had a holiday tradition when my sister and I were kids that on Christmas Eve, we got to open one present, and that present would be a new pair of pajamas (normally the footed kind). As we got older, we slowly stopped that tradition. But, when my husband and I first moved in together a few years back, I brought back that tradition with a vengeance. I mean, how fun to get cozy on the couch on Christmas Eve, watching A Christmas Story, in a festive, new pair of pajamas - one of my favorite, most comfortable fits! Luckily, my husband has been a good sport about this, even though his dresser drawer is brimming with pajama sets from Christmases past.

But after an evening in fancy holiday dresses and binding tights, "pajama time" is made even better with a cute, new pair of pjs (and hot chocolate with Bailey's Mint...I'm just saying), and think of how cute you will look Christmas morning for all those gift opening photos!

Here is what I am envisioning for my Christmas Eve/Morning gift opening attire (coupled with a hot cup of coffee and, perhaps, a mimosa!?!):

1. BCBG Twisted Drape Top
2. J. Crew Wool/Cotton Snood
3. Rachel Roy Fair Isle Leggings
4. Hue Striped Knee-Highs
5. Felted Slippers (Esty.com)

It might seem rather foolish to think about your holiday pajamas, but consider all the photos that will be taken. Do you want to have the unkempt look that you had Christmas morning in 2nd grade? Or, do you want to look cute, comfortable, yet effortless when you look back at photos from Christmas 2011?

I know that I am very excited to see what pajamas my husband picked out this year!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Featured Fit: Ice Skating

By: LL
Thanks to Groupon, I found out that there was an ice skating rink just South of us that was open to the public for the holidays. (Plus, admission and rental for half the cost?!?). This was one physical activity that I did not even need to do any convincing to get my husband to join me (he loves any snow sports).

So, we packed some layers in the car (it was 60 degrees here over the weekend, so too warm for what we would need to wear inside the rink) and headed out for an afternoon of skating...which turned out to be so much fun and a great workout! Maybe it was because neither of us had skated in about 8-10 years, but both of us had sore muscles after (and my husband had a bruised knee from his one good fall - the only biff between the two of us).


The facility was an indoor, regulation-size hockey rink. Locally, we do have one outdoor rink that is set up at the zoo, but the rink is small, crowded, and rarely zambonied - so even though it is more festive, it is also more dangerous. This facility really allowed us to get some speed and do multiple laps rather uninterrupted by others. After a few hours, we left the rink pink in the cheeks, a little sweaty, and in good spirits from a fun, fitting afternoon. Seriously, I don't remember ice skating to be this great of a workout! My quads, gluts, calves, and core have been sore for the past few days!

In conclusion: for a fun, festive workout this holiday season, lace up a pair of skates and spend a few hours ice skating with your friends/significant other. It is definitely one of those workouts that you forget you are even working out - which are the best kind!



Boyfriend Cardigan: The Limited (Holiday 2010)
Skinny Jeans: The Gap
Jacket: Ann Klein (yes, I finally got a purple wool coat, as I threw a fit about here)
Knee Socks: TJ Maxx (kind of Dr. Seuss, but so warm!)
Boots: Macy's (2009)
Infinity Scarf: TJ Maxx (cashmere and only $50!)
Brooch: Norwegian Sterling (gift from my Norwegian mother-in-law)

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Fits on the Road- Hiking the Hana Highway

By: Cool J
The road to Hana, or the "Hana Highway", is a 50 mile stretch of Hawaii State Route 36 and 360 which connects Pa'ia with the town of Hana on east Maui. The highway is very winding and narrow, and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one-lane. There are approximately 620 curves along Route 360 from just east of Kahului to Hana, virtually all of it through lush, tropical rainforest. Many of the concrete and steel bridges date back to 1910 and all but one are still in use. There are multiple hikes and waterfalls along the highway, and since it had been quite rainy on Maui leading up to our Hana Highway experience, all the waterfalls were flowing. In fact, there were probably more waterfalls on our drive than ever before!


The last time the D-man and I were in Maui we didn't have time to make the all day drive, so we were excited to do it this time. We started out from our hotel in Kapalua around 7 am. We stopped for a yummy breakfast at "Anthony's" in Pa'ia.


One of the first waterfalls described in our guidebook "Maui Revealed" was the Four Falls of Na'Ili'Ili'Haele.


I really had no idea what we were getting into. D-man and I both figured that the drive would just be a lot of time in the car with a few easy hikes to some waterfalls. In fact, I hopped out of the car for these Four Falls of Na'Ili'Ili'Haele wearing my running shoes and a white hooded sweatshirt. 


According to our guidebook, the first two waterfalls were easily accessible to any level of hiker. Due to the extreme rain that day, the D-man and I both assumed we'd just hike to those two falls and call it a day. However, we ended up joining up with a few other hikers who somehow convinced us to go all the way to the 4th waterfall....probably not our smartest move.

You start out in a bamboo forrest, which is nice. The main trail soon heads down a slippery incline. Hint: bamboo is extremely strong, and most is exceptionally rooted into the soil, you can hold on to it to anchor yourself on slippery sections.
Next you will come to an EMI Ditch, which you will have to step across. It looks worse than it is because you’ll likely be focused on how deep it is. But the step across is actually about the length of a person’s stride, so you’d have to be careless and/or unlucky to actually end up in the ditch.
Note: Sometimes someone has left a scrap plank, branch, bamboo pole, or something else straddling the ditch – our guidebook suggested NOT walking on whatever may happen to have been laid there, but that's exactly what we did....
After you have crossed the ditch, you’ll soon be at the main stream bed. Depending on how much rain there has been, this may be a crossing that consists of hopping across large boulders.
Note: Our guidebook clearly stated, "Please be aware of unsafe high water or flash-flooding that can occur in North and East Maui streams."
Once you cross, the previous tip of “follow the stream bed” comes into play. If you follow what appear to be prominent trails (away from the stream), you’ll become one of the reasons these false trails remain so clearly prominent and frequently traveled (because people just follow them, till they realize they suddenly end nowhere in particular.)
As you follow a trail that parallels the stream (headed upstream) you will either discover a giant raging waterfall, on the opposite bank feeding into the Na’ili’ili hale stream, or perhaps you’ll pass it, dry and unnoticed. This huge disparity in description (and why it has been left out of most other guidebooks completely) is because it lies directly on the other end of a reservoir that feeds the main EMI diversion ditch, and except during the wettest times, most (or all) of the water that feeds it has been diverted. (this first fall was DEFINITELY running for us!)
Continue upstream for a bit and you will come upon another waterfall, with a pleasant swimming hole.
 If you are moderately sure-footed, you can continue across the stream, and up a steep, and somewhat slippery hill. There are some protruding rocks for footing, and bamboo-backup for anchoring yourself should the footing fail. This definitely is a place you could take a fairly painful fall if you happened to slip.
As you follow the trail you will quickly come to another set of falls with a large, deep pool, and many rock-jumping options. To get to the next and subsequent pool, the hiking gets a bit more extreme, requiring climbing a oragami-ish wooden ladder/rope contraption. 

To get to the fourth waterfall, which is about 35′ and in a particularly dramatic setting, you have to swim (which shouldn’t be a biggie, since you’re probably wet by now!)


You swim across the pool to waterfall #3, behind me in the below picture. And then you climb up this waterfall!


That's me in the pool in the below picture, and you can see our friends behind me leading the way up the falls...Yes, I was swimming in a Lulu top, no pants, and my running shoes. Need I say, "ill-prepared?"


After climbing up waterfall #3, you are rewarded with waterfall #4~ on a sunny day, apparently, this setting is quite picturesque. A little private paradise, so to speak. However, for us, the rain was still coming down, and the fear of flash floods was high on our minds.


We didn't linger long at waterfall #4. We had to make it back down by jumping over waterfall #3 (SCARY- who knows how deep that water is??) and then swimming back to hike back down past #2 and #1.
Not a lot of pictures were taken on the hike back down the falls because the water level had risen quite a bit over the few hours it took us to hike to #4. D-man and I were both more than a little concerned if we had made a mistake by following the other (braver? more stupid?) couples that far, when we had only planned to go to the first two easy falls. We probably should not have put ourselves in that situation, and I had visions of the headlines the next day...
"Totally Ill-Prepared Couple Dies in Flash Flood on Hana Highway"
...My adrenaline was pumping, and I was working hard not to slip. I did take one hard fall on a slippery boulder, right after an unsuccessful attempt to cross the stream.
D-man and I were lucky. We made it back to our car after 4 hours of hiking. My legs were so sore the next day, I felt like I had run another marathon!
The rest of the drive was a much lower key experience. The rain did continue, and there were points along the Hana Highway where it looked like the road was going to be washed out.
There were some other fun stops along the route, such as the "Halfway to Hana" pit stop for some amazing banana bread.




After a few more waterfall stops (none nearly as challenging as the Four Falls of Na'Ili'Ili'Haele), we stopped again at a few road stops for a tasty fish taco.
(still raining....)





We eventually made it all the way to Hana, and the black sand beach at Waianapanapa State Park. The black sand that forms the beach comes from volcanic rock, gradually pulverized over thousands of years by the incessant wave action at the shore. 


Overall, the drive was one of the highlights of our whole trip. Even though the hike was a bit scary, in the end we had a great time, and definitely found it to be a "great fit!"


Saturday, December 17, 2011

Featured Fit: Haute Hawaiian

By Jessie

When most people think of Hawaiian attire, they probably imagine older men in bright Hawaiian shirts and pleated-front khaki shorts, paired with some white athletic socks and sandals.

So when Dustin's family decided to head to the Old Lahaina Luau during our Christmas trip, I wasn't sure what to wear. I wanted to embrace the theme of the evening without going over the top.

Dustin did indeed don a typical Hawaiian shirt, though I would like to say he looked pretty good.

The Old Lahaina Luau is a popular event, and it's advertised as the "most authentic" performance. I also believe it's one of the biggest performances on the island of Maui, so it attracts all types of attendees. There was definitely a plethora of styles and ensembles at the event, including plenty of pleated front khakis, as well as great people watching and plenty of adorable sundresses.

I decided to wear a bright skirt paired with a white shirt. The skirt was bright and "luau"-esque so I thought a quieter top was a good idea. I was also able to pair it with a clutch that I had purchased on my honeymoon in Bali, Indonesia.







Good food, good weather, and what I'm told was an "authentic" performance made for a fun night with D-man's family. 

Mele Kalikimaka friends

Merry Christmas from Maui

Outfit:
Skirt: Anthropologie
Tank: Long Term Borrow from LL!
Shoes: Anthropologie
Necklace: TopShop
Purse: Purchased in Bali on honeymoon