Creating Fits: Handmade Clutches

By: LL
I, like many others, absolutely love Etsy because it gives us all an opportunity to find amazing handmade pieces, and also gives those who create a great opportunity to sell. I have many favorite sellers, but my most recent favorite is Waterpath. This mother-daughter team makes trendy, unique, well-crafted clutches, and a bargain price ($24-36). They have a variety of statement designs. In addition, they have the optional wrist loop, which I would recommend so that you are not stuck holding the clutch under your arm all evening, or sitting in a puddle of beer, etc. on the table.

Here are a few of my favorite designs:

Mustard Yellow and Gray Damask Clutch

Gray Ivory Floral Clutch

Orange Chevon Clutch

Check out Waterpath Designs to see all their great pattern options!

My Fall Fit: Scarves & Boots

By: LL

Over the last two years, I realized that I have developed a signature fall look - skinny jeans, boots, and a lightweight scarf. Since today was much cooler than this past weekend, I actually felt comfortable in this outfit - dare I say, chilly - during our evening walk. 

Corduroy Pants: The Gap (in Aubergine)

V-Neck Shirt: Target (Mossimo)

Scarf: Marshalls (similar)

Boots: Macy's circa winter 2009 (similar)

Belt: J. Crew (in smoldering brick)

Pearl Studs: Gifted

Functional Fit: Shorts with Boots

By: LL
This past weekend, my parents were in town visiting from the Midwest. This was the second time that they visited us - the first was in last summer's August heat, when they melted. Since it was October, and we had been enjoying cooler fall temperatures, my husband and I gambled and planned some outdoor activities. But, it ended up being close to the temperatures from last August - 87 and a blaring sun! But we all survived an afternoon of hayrides, corn mazes, and a pumpkin patch.

Due to the heat, I opted to wear shorts and a t-shirt, but wore my cowboy boots to give my legs a little protection from the hay, corn stalks, and dirt. As I stated in a previous post, I am still working with the boots style that is big here, but this combination turned out to be a very functional fit for the day - and gave the outfit a little fall flare.

Shirt: Threads for Thought V-neck in Barbie 

Shorts: New York & Co. trouser shorts (spring 2011)

Belt: J. Crew Skinny Belt (in smoldering brick)

Boots: Jama Old West

Sunglasses: Persol (as seen here)

Fresh New Fit: Moksha Yoga

By Jessie

So, my full week of no running after the St. George marathon is over. The hubby and I went for an easy 4 mile jog with Ms. Matilda (the doggy), and felt pretty good. My legs were a little heavy and sore, but nothing too bad. Eight weeks now until the St. Jude Memphis Marathon on December 3rd! 

A savvy run club friend found a decent training plan for me on Runners World that I plan to modify a bit, per below. I have never done two marathons so close together- I hope it wasn't a totally crazy idea!

8 weeks
LONG RUNS
Week one: 10 miles
Week two: 14 miles
Week three: 16 miles
Week four: 18 miles
Week five: 18-20 miles
Week six: 21 miles 

Week seven: 10 miles

Anyway,  I still hope to have time to squeeze in my yoga!

I recently purchased a Living Social deal for 2 months of unlimited yoga at Moksha Yoga for only $60.  A few of my run club girlfriends also purchased it, so we decided to start our two-month deal tonight.

We took the "Hot Flow" class, which was described as follows:

An active, flowing style yoga class (vinyasa yoga) proven to improve strength, cardiovascular health, and flexibility. This class is appropriate for all levels. You will be given options in each pose so that you feel challenged, yet successful. Without breaking the natural flow from pose to pose, the focus will be on alignment and breath.


The class was very similar to Corepower Yoga 's C2 vinyasa class, but in a hotter room. I believe the temperature was over 100 degrees, which is the same as traditional Bikram, but with slightly lower humidity, and the room had a solid floor instead of carpet (which means it doesn't smell like some Bikram studios do!). The studio felt open and relaxed, and appeared to be very clean. The teacher was "Robyn", and she was very clear with her guidance, and offered helpful assistance. (Her music was good too!)

After the class, D-man and I grabbed some pizza from our FAVORITE pizzeria, Punch Pizza. I could eat this stuff every day. Seriously. They are a Neapolitan pizza restaurant that uses a wood-burning oven to bake the pizzas in 90 seconds at 800 degrees. Super fast and extra delicious! The best thing about Punch is that it isn't super greasy or heavy, nor do their pizzas have high calories due to low amount of cheese and the fresh greens and ingredients! I'd call that a great food "fit"!

Fitness Fanatic: Throwing a "fit" without fitness

By Jessie

I was able to fit fitness in today with an early morning yoga sculpt class. I'm used to getting up early on Saturdays for a long run, so the 7:30 am start was no big deal. The teacher was "Austin", who I had never been to before, but she was good. Very structured and motivating. I was still a little sore from the barre class, but I enjoyed the workout.

It was a nice surprise to run into one of my run club girlfriends, who has been sidelined from running for a few weeks due to an injury. She voiced some of the frustration that runners encounter when injured, and I completely understood how she felt.  It's sometimes hard to talk to other runners when you're injured- you envy their runner's high, and inevitably feel worse about your situation. But luckily for this friend, her injury is only temporary, and in the interim, she is still working out hard, and maintaining her enviable level of fitness. In fact, she was heading straight to a spin class AFTER the yoga sculpt class! Impressive!

In March of 2008, I slipped on some black ice on a morning run, and broke my tibia and fibula. Luckily, I didn't need surgery, but I was on crutches for 8 weeks. About 4 weeks into this period, I was allowed to hobble out to the pool, take off my hard-sided boot-cast, and swim laps, as long as I only kicked with the good leg and was really careful with the broken one. Now, you can only imagine how ridiculous I looked, and how dangerous it probably was for me to crutch out to the pool on those slippery surfaces, but I was desperate for the endorphins.  My husband was still running, and it was really hard for me when he'd come in from a nice run, all sweaty and happy...It only deepened my self-pity, and made me feel worse about my situation.

What is an athlete to do, when sidelined by an injury?
I do believe that any activity will help. If you can hobble out to the pool on your crutches, do it. If you can still do your yoga sculpt and your spin, even if you'd rather be running, DO IT.  And, as hard as it is, the time away from your favorite activity will make you appreciate it more, and as cheesy as it is, the experience will make you stronger. Any injury will seem "unfair" to anyone who has been physically active and otherwise healthy, but it's important to move beyond the negative, and find more positive strategies to cope with this setback.  In many cases, dealing gracefully with an injury helps an athlete become a more focused, flexible, and resilient athlete.

Keep your head up, runner friend! I promise you will be back to running soon!

I was able to dig up an old picture, during my "dark days". (Speaking of dark days, my hair sure was short and dark, wasn't it? Now that is NOT a fabulous look for me....)

Fitting Fitness: Corepower Yoga

By Jessie

In the spring of 2009, a girlfriend of mine convinced me to check out a yoga sculpt class at Corepower Yoga.  At the time, I was training for a marathon, and didn't do a ton of weight lifting, but I thought I was pretty fit. But I changed my mind halfway through the class, when I felt like I was going to die! Clearly, my strength was not what I thought it was, but the humbling experience made me want to incorporate this class more frequently into my life-

"CorePower Yoga Sculpt is a total body workout designed to tone and sculpt every major muscle group. Dumbbells, body bars and free weights serve as your own personal adjuster as you move through sun salutations and other yoga postures, enabling extra length and depth in each pose. This intense, but easy to follow program compliments your regular yoga practice while pushing your strength and flexibility to new heights."

I fell in love with the intensity of this class, and tried out all kinds of classes at Corepower during my free trial week. After the trial week, I became an "auto-pay" member, meaning I could take unlimited classes throughout the month. Throughout the marathon training season, I don't always make it to Corepower enough to make the "auto-pay" worthwhile (at least 3 times a week). So, at the moment, I am back to buying packages of drop-in classes (10 classes/$110). This also allows me to try out other studios in the area, and not be locked into one place, even though I do love Corepower yoga!

What I love about Corepower yoga is that they have TEN different studios in the area. No matter the time of day or day of the week, I can almost always find a class that suits my schedule. As LL mentions here , a big challenge for most of us is just "fitting fitness" into our lives. The prevalence and variety of classes at Corepower is a huge draw for me, and it makes it easier to "fit fitness" into my daily routine.

Today, I was able to squeeze in a "Hot Power Fusion" class at the downtown location. I don't always have the patience (or the time) for the full 90 minute hot yoga class. Hot Power Fusion is very similar, but it's only an hour long, and it mixes some traditional hot yoga poses with a bit of vinyasa.

Hot Power Fusion moves between Hot Yoga's static and systematic holds and CorePower's Vinyasa Flow. Students will receive the benefits of a Hot Yoga class with further hip opening, upper body and core strengthening benefits. The class, taught in a room heated to 98-100 degrees, will appeal to the traditional Hot Yoga student who is looking to deepen their yoga practice.

The teacher today was "Lynda". She was good, though I have to give a shout-out to my FAVORITE hot power fusion teacher, David K.

Also, considering that yoga is a non-cardio exercise, a heated class can still be a serious calorie burn!

According to this article, "a 90-minute Bikram yoga class burns at least 300-600 calories, with advanced and more active yoga practitioners that burn between 500-1000 calories per class. In contrast to the other types of yoga classes, the heat of hot yoga loosens muscles and increases the amount of calories burned during other types of yoga session of the same length. The heat in the Bikram yoga class also helps the entire body to relax, leading to a deeper stretch and helping to avoid injuries. Practitioners of hot yoga claim that regular practice will normalize weight, improve muscle tone, and help you enjoy vibrant good health and well-being."

Fit for Men: Let's go to the "barre" with MEN!

By Jessie

So, the entire month of October is FREE barre classes at Align Pilates for men. So...that means my husband is a lucky fellow (not just because he's married to me) as he gets to go to barre with his lady.

The studio at Align is small- only 20 people per class. The teacher today was "Michelle", who was a cutie, which seemed to increase my husband's enjoyment of the class.

Michelle had us use "Magic Circles" (pictured below), which I had never used before. Most of the moves required the circle to be placed between the thighs, and squeezed while doing squats. It definitely increased the intensity, though the same effect was achieved with the playground balls (see below)

The class started with traditional mat pilates, some cardio (jumping jacks, cardio boxing) and then the Magic Circle. Then came some pushups (oh boy, am I weak!), planks, and upper body work with 3-4 lb balls like this. Now, I know 3 or 4 lbs is nothing (especially for the 6 MEN in the class) but after many sets, you definitely feel the burn!

We also used "playground balls" for leg work, squats and pulsing while squeezing the ball.

I love the concentration of the booty work. And, let's just say the D-man was pretty sweaty by the end of class, so I think he liked it!

In closing, I think that barre is probably a little more appealing to ladies, who enjoy the concentrated butt toning. However, I think the D-man would agree that it was definitely a workout for men too!

Thanks hubby for joining me at the class!

Readers- does your husband or boyfriend ever tag along with you to try out a new workout that you love? What does he like/dislike about the workouts?