Weekly Recap(s): Goodbye to June and a Beautiful Basilica Wedding!

We spent last weekend at the cabin, and as I blabbed about in THIS post, I do love weekends at the cabin. However, there is no internet access, so not a lot of blogging can happen while I'm there.  I realized that I missed last week's recap, so today, I'll quickly share my workouts for the past two weeks.

Week of June 16-22:
Monday: 7.5 mile run in the AM
Tuesday: Lebanon 10k Trail Run (recap HERE)
Wednesday: 4 mile run with Matilda
Thursday: 45 minute mini-barre class at The Barre
Friday: Long run at the cabin - 11 miles, then some paddle-boarding!

Saturday: 6 mile run at the cabin, then some paddle-boarding!
Sunday: 4.5 mile run at the cabin

As you can see, that week included a lot of running (almost 40 miles) and not so much strength training. Unfortunately, that's the way it goes when we go to the cabin. Running is the easiest thing to do while we're there. I'm happy that at least I fit in one barre class, and the stand-up paddle boarding could be considered cross training, right?

On to the week of June 22-29:
Monday: Complete rest! After the 40 miles the week before, I figured I needed an extra day of rest. Instead, we went to the HotList (read about it HERE)

Tuesday: 7 mile run with the CBRC. I'm going to start going to run club now as much as I can this training season. Even though I much prefer to run in the morning, I strongly believe that my best training seasons have been those where I consistently ran with the club, and I don't just mean on Saturdays for the long runs. I'm going to make attending run club a priority as much as possible during the week. I also think running during a hotter part of the day is better preparation for any potential hot weather races. Of course there will be days where I have commitments in the evening and I still have to run in the morning, yet as much as possible, I hope to be back at the CBRC!

Wednesday: 4 mile run with Matilda

Thursday: 6.75 mile run with Theresa and Kelly in the morning.

Friday: 12 mile long run. I had the day off of work for my friend Caroline's wedding, so I got the long run out of the way. A group of us started bright and early (5:15 am!) It was hot and humid, but I managed to shuffle through 12 miles.

My biggest struggle for this run was that I definitely didn't fuel correctly the night before. I had hosted book club, and it was a throw back book ("Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, by Judy Blume"- do you remember this book?) I had 80/90s themed snacks, like sloppy joe's, puppy chow, and pigs in a blanket.

As the host, I was busy, and I just didn't eat enough (that's unfortunately not my plate in the picture above).  I wasn't fueled correctly, and felt really hungry and weaker than normal during the run. 12 miles on Bugel chips and a glass or two of white wine was not smart fueling for a long run...

But even though my run suffered the next morning, book club was a blast! Kelly definitely won the prize for best throwback outfit, with her Doc Martins, Jansport backpack, choker necklace, and jean jacket.

Perfection!

I went with tight rolled jeans, socks with sandals, and a side pony tail.  

Some trends should never come back, right?

Back to the fitness recap.
Saturday: Complete rest. After the wedding on Friday, I needed to sleep in. In the afternoon, I had a bridal shower for another friend, which was lovely.

Sunday: 1 hour barre class at The Barre and then a 4 mile easy run with Matilda. Then two hours of hiking at Willow River State Park. I will post more pictures from that hike later, but it was great!

Total: About 35 miles of running, 1 barre class, 2 complete rest days.

Upcoming Strength Training! This week, I am starting a 10 week "Kettlebell/Strength Training" class for runners at the Calhoun Beach Club. There are still spots available if you are interested! $120/10 classes, or $15 for a drop in, Wednesdays from 6-7 pm. Let me know!

....I quickly skipped over the Friday wedding, so let me return to that special event. The wedding was held at the Basilica of St. Mary, which is so beautiful.

The skies had looked a little gray earlier in the day, but the rain held off for the ceremony.

outside the Basilica

The reception was held at the St. Paul History Center, which was so lovely. I have to say, the food was really good! Wedding food isn't always that fabulous, but the food at this wedding definitely exceeded expectations.

I started with a pear salad and then the goat cheese ravioli. Yum!

After dinner, toasts, and dessert, it was time for the dance floor. This group of girls loves to dance, so we didn't hesitate to bust a move!

By the way, in fashion, I wore a repeat dress to this wedding- it was this Kate Spade dress  (similar dress HERE now on sale!) that I bought last August for my cousin's wedding. Look at me, repeating dresses (like I did at the HotList) - Functional Fits! This dress was a little pricey for me (though I love it and think it was worth every penny) so I am glad I had an opportunity to wear it again...and it has pockets! Who doesn't love pockets?

The wedding was a really fun night, and I'm so glad I got to be a part of the couple's big day. 

Congrats Caroline and Joe!

Weekly Recap: Feb. 9- Feb. 15th, and a New Store With Great Fitness Fashion!

Hi all!

I'm back again with a weekly recap of The Right Fits' take on fitness, fashion, and fitness fashion!

On the fitness front, it was a rough week. Well, it started out strong...
Monday: 7 miles on the treadmill, wall sits and planks and more core
Tuesday: 7 miles at the CBRC with 3 hill repeats (each repeat on the "winter hill" is about 1.5 miles)

Then Wednesday hit me with a horrible chest cold. I believe the rule is that "if it's in your chest, you should rest"....so I did that. I took Wednesday and Thursday off from running, and really tried to get rid of the horrible cold- I drowned it with water and tea (Awesome tip- put your Hall's cough drop in a lemon herbal tea. It helps!)

Friday wasn't much better, but I decided to try to do my long run anyways. It wasn't great...it was about 1 degree outside (so tired of the cold...), and my nose was running like crazy and I coughed quite a bit, but I managed to complete 15 miles. Definitely NOT my best long run.

Friday night was my friend Jen's wedding; hence the drive to get the long run in on Friday morning (I took the whole day off of work). Even though the awful cold still was plaguing me, I still managed to have an awesome time celebrating the special occasion!

Love these ladies :-)

The wedding was so lovely, and I had a great time.

Saturday, I slept in as late as my body needed (about 9 am) and then eventually made my way to a C2 class at Corepower Yoga.  I was still congested and coughing, but fortunately, I don't think I was too annoying throughout the class, and it did feel really good to sweat and stretch.

Sunday, I ran 8 miles with Matilda the Vizsla. It was pretty great.

So, in summary, I only had about 37 miles, two full rest days, and 1 yoga class. No strength training. Not my best week... but I guess sometimes you have to take it easy, and this cold was my reason. I'm hoping after our trip to Utah, I'll be ready to really delve into some serious training for Flying Pig.

What's happening in fashion?
In fashion this week, I guess I could share some info on the dress I wore to Jen's wedding. I bought it at Anthropologie. It's called the "Sequin Cutout Dress" and unfortunately, it looks like its sold out (though you can find it on ebay)

I bought the dress because of the color. I thought it would be perfect for a Valentine's Day wedding. Unfortunately, it wasn't my favorite fit for ME. I think it just wasn't the right dress for my body type, but lesson learned- no online shopping for cocktail dresses! I am not sure I would have bought it, had I tried it on versus purchased it online, but I suppose it still worked out okay. Just not the "Right Fit" in my mind.

What's happening in fitness fashion?
In fitness fashion, I have been eying up some of the awesome fitness apparel at Lole.

Have you heard of this company?

They carry apparel for yoga, swim, run, lifestyle, and outwear.  Its supposed to be "pure, earth-friendly, and beautiful", and I think their stuff is pretty cute!  Check out THIS ARTICLE for more information on the story of Lole, and then check out their website. I haven't purchased anything yet, but I am very tempted!

Here are some of the items that I am throwing a fit for!

The sweety bra (find it HERE)

 the Love Earflap (find it HERE)

and the Nina Duffle Bag (find it HERE)

So much cute stuff!

Well, that's it from the Right Fits today. I hope you had a really great weekend.

*Did you try any fresh new fits this week? 
Find any fashion or fitness fashion deals that fit the bill? Have you purchased anything from Lole before? Please share!

Featured Fit: Rent the Runway!

By Cool J in Minneapolis

Have you heard of Rent the Runway?
Rent the Runway is the premier online destination for access to your dream closet. With a revolving roster of over 160 top designers of the season's hottest dresses and accessories, Rent the Runway is designer fashion delivered to your doorstep for all of life's occasions for just a fraction of the price!
       
Basically, Rent the Runway is like borrowing clothes from your friend's closet, if your friend had thousands of amazing designer dresses in your size....and if that friend made you pay her to borrow a dress.

Okay, so maybe not quite the same as borrowing from a friend, but this service does allow you to have a new dress for every occasion. Personally, I have a lot of dresses that I have only worn once or twice. I do have some (like I wrote about in this POST) that I wear again and again, but many times, I buy a dress for a wedding, and rarely wear it again.

So why even buy it? Just RENT it! And then you can wear a high-end designer for less than you would have paid for a different dress that you only wear once or twice.

My friend Penny gave me a coupon she had received for $50 off of Rent the Runway, so I decided to give it a try for my friend Vicki's wedding.

I selected the Christian Siriano "Taking Over Sheath." Do you remember Christian from Project Runway?

The dress was bright (LOVE!!) and seemed like a pretty flattering fit from the pictures. 

*Apparently this dress retails at $1200! I rented it for a fraction of that price.

The Rent the Runway website includes customer reviews with pictures of real people who rented the dresses, and they offer up honest feedback as to how each dress fits. I was able to see the way other (non-models) looked in the dress, and I thought it was a good dress for this winter wedding at a local winery...(yes, a winery in Minneapolis!)

When renting a dress, you can chat with a stylist for tips on how to accessorize. They also rent purses and jewelry to complete your look. The best part? When renting, you can select two sizes, in case one doesn't fit. And if both do not fit, you can return them and get your money back.

My dress arrived on Friday in a big box.

Inside the box was a dress bag...

And then my two dresses! 

 It was free to order two sizes, and thank god I did. The size 4 was way, way too small, and the 6 was even questionable. With a pair of SPANX I was able to zip it up, but it was tight. Apparently, in runway sizes, I'm an 8...I guess the J.Crew sizing is just a BIT off.  Good information when trying to find the RIGHT FIT for me.

I wore the dress to my friend Vicki's wedding last night. Though I couldn't laugh heartily (since it was too tight around the ribcage) I still made it work Project Runway style. Tim Gunn would be pleased!

Will I rent through Rent the Runway again? I'm not sure. Clearly, my biggest problem was not knowing what size to order.  I think I'd prefer renting from "For The Night." (Read Msp/St. Paul magazine's review of For the Night here.)  "For the Night" is a local store with the same premise, but the big difference is that you can try on the dress before you rent.  However, it sounds like the For The Night is still building their inventory. One great thing about Rent the Runway is that they have a HUGE inventory, and they carry the dresses is a multitude of sizes.

I do think my sizing problem was my own fault. I could have read the sizing information a little closer, and not made assumptions based on what I thought I should be wearing. I should have known with a fitted sheath dress that I should err on the bigger size. Let's be honest, those Girl Scout cookies are a bit too tempting this winter! 

As for the wedding, it was so lovely. The venue was so unique (Warehouse Winery). The ceremony was held right in the same place as the rest of the reception. The vows and the ceremony and everything was so sweet and very touching. 

And I loved the bride's J.Crew wedding gown!

So beautiful Vicki!

We had a wonderful time at the wedding, and were so happy

 to be part of Nate and Vicki's special night.!

Garth and Reardon don't get a lot of press on the blog. 

They were both fans of Rent the Runway- well, at least fans of the box the dresses came in!

Functional Fit: The Same Dress?

By Jessie

My husband often gives me a hard time that I'll take any excuse to buy a new outfit or dress, and usually it's true. However, every girl has her budget, right?  And that means I must repeat dresses.

Another option for new dresses is a LTB- long term borrow- with my sisters, or perhaps another fashion swap! In fact, LL may be wearing this same dress to her holiday party in December!

So, I attended my coworker's wedding last night at the Landmark Center in St. Paul, and the same dress I wore to Abby's wedding (read about it HERE) made its second appearance.

{Abby's wedding}

{Same dress!}

I paired the dress with a faux fur jacket from Francesca's Collection, which was necessary for a  November wedding!

The wedding was lovely-

 The bride looked beautiful!

We planned to get up early for our long(ish) run, so we didn't stay there too, too late. But the ceremony was nice, the food was great, the toasts were touching, and I was happy to be a part of the special day.

And the dress enjoyed another opportunity to sparkle!

Finalize My Fit Follow-up: BCBG Bonanza/Wedding Recap!

By Jess

Remember last week, when I posted the four mystery dresses from BCBG, and I asked you to guess out of three friends and me (Kelly, Susie, and Jen) who would be wearing which one?

If you missed it, check out the post here!

Well, this guy got it right!

He credits his wealth of fashion insight and cocktail dress knowledge to watching endless episodes of What Not to Wear! But I'm not sure; maybe he just knows these four ladies really well? Maybe he just pays attention? Maybe he's a thoughtful kind of guy (and yes, he's single. And no, he doesn't usually wear life jackets in public. Unless you want him to.)

Nonetheless, he was right! Way to go! Thanks for guessing.

Here are the 4 dresses again:

Mr. Mason correctly guessed that I would wear the bright fuchsia princess dress :)

I accessorized as follows:

Shoes: Silver BCBG heels

Bracelet: BCBG (similar found here)

Earrings: not shown, BCBG 

Clutch: not shown, silver, from the Limited

He also guessed correctly on the three other dresses!

Here we are in our finalized fits (with an additional BCBG number on the far left too! Love it!)

Dress #1: BCBG Ink and Tan Striped Spaghetti Strap Dress (in the middle above) was accessorized with a gold statement necklace and taupe shoes.

Dress #2:  BCBG Cobalt Blue cocktail dress (on the right) was accessorized with black heels, a black clutch, and a fun, silver necklace.  The below necklace was SUPPOSED  to be the perfect accessory (find it here) but it  broke upon first wear.

Say What? Failed Fit. Must return!

Dress #3 Blue Depth Jersey Christina Asymmetrical Dress (second from left) was accessorized with limited jewelry, just as many of you suggested! The dress spoke for itself. It was paired with black heels and a black clutch .

But beyond what to wear, and what not to wear....The wedding was a BLAST! 

We danced all night, and those perfectly accessorized shoes came off quickly!

We had plenty of fun in the photo booth-

And most importantly, we were so happy to be part of this special night.

The bride and groom make such a lovely couple!

 Congratulations you two!

Finalize our Fits: A BCBG Bonanza!

By Cool J

A few weeks ago, I posted about a memorable Fits on the Road in Annandale, MN, where several of my friends gathered to toast our good friend Abby on her bachelorette weekend.

The bachelorette party was a blast, but the main event will be here this weekend! And, of course, this main event was an "excuse" for many of us to purchase new party dresses for the special occasion.

Four of us- Susie, Kelly, Jen, and I- have had a few emails back and forth, discussing said party dresses, and debating how best to finalize our fits.

And we need your advice! I won't tell you who is wearing which dress!  But I will ask you to comment with your tips as how to best accessorize these cute little numbers.

First of all, it's obvious that BCBG is the dress maker for cocktail dresses for women ages 27-36! We all found dresses that fit our personal style at the same store.

Dress #1: BCBG Ink and Tan Striped Spaghetti Strap Dress

This dress can also be worn strapless- a true functional fit! 

So...how to accessorize? 

Black shoes would be classic, but what about a taupe/tan? 

Jewelry: maybe some funky black statement jewelry?

Dress #2: 

This short and sassy number can be finalized lots of different ways.

A bold accent color, perhaps? Maybe red, yellow, or orange? The options are endless.

Shoes: How about silver or nude?

What do you think?

Dress #3

Blue Depth Jersey Christina Asymmetrical Dress

The funky and fun dress is a knock-out! 

It's shown below with black accessories, 

but again, the simple blue color allows for a lot of different accents. 

A burnt orange or red would be perfect for fall, 

but this versatile style could also work in the winter with silver or gold. 

Definitely a functional fit!

Dress #4

Tired Marina Cocktail Dress

With the jeweled neckline, a necklace is obviously a no-go! 

My thought is just a bracelet and earrings.  

Shoes: how about nude? A glittery silver? 

The bronze in the picture would also work.

So tell us readers, how should we finalize our fits for the big event this Saturday?