What I Wore {post 32}

Hello!  I hope life is treating you well.  Here are some recent outfits, including a couple of pieces that I got at the Loft after-Christmas clearance.

* Orange Cardigan, Navy & White Striped Top, Navy Pants *

Here was a kind of nautical outfit I wore recently.  I wasn't in the mood to get dressed up but I also did not want to wear jeans.  So I went half way.  I wore my ankle length navy pants from Banana Republic (I bought them to wear with flats).  I wore my leopard flats.  I also wore a cap sleeve navy & white striped top under my orange cardigan that I bought with Jamie last year at the Banana Republic outlet.

* Navy Fair Isle Sweater, Chambray Shirt, Cream Wool Mini *

This was a super preppy outfit.  The only thing missing was a strand of pearls, and I had totally planned to wear them but all of my pearls need to be restrung! Bummer.  In any event, the sweater is new.  I bought it on clearance for $17 at Target.  I love the fit and the colors.  I wore this with my chambray button-down shirt (Old Navy) and my j.crew factory cream wool mini skirt.  My brown riding boots were a natural choice.  I wore tights too, and while I think gunmetal grey, navy or wine would have looked great, I didn't have those, so I wore brown.  All in all, I really like this outfit.

* Loft Polka-dot Sweater & Black Pants *

I found this sweater for $9 on clearance at Loft after Christmas.  I have been looking for a polka-dot sweater and this one is perfect.  I liked the stripes on the hip, and that the polka dots are only in a small section of the sweater.  I wore it with my black pants and heels and a very old turquoise carved rose necklace.  

See you swoon,

IMLP Training Recap: Week 8

Hi! Happy Monday.  Grr.  Actually - this:

image via

Who doesn't love the grumpy cat?  I adore him.  I could look at pictures of this cat all day and howl ... which is to say, I actually do look at pictures of this cat all day and howl.  

Cat humor aside, I think I've mentioned maybe one hundred million times that I'm training for the Ironman Lake Placid triathlon on July 27.  If you're not familiar with an Ironman, it is a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 (or a marathon) run.  It is insane.  The one I am training for is in Lake Placid, New York, and even though the bike ride is literally in the mountains, the scenery is so stunningly beautiful that it was an absolute no brainer to choose this race when it came time to decide where to register for an Ironman.

Obviously, with 140.6 miles of race to cover in one day, training for an Ironman is essential and takes a very long time.  Amy, Bill and I started training 7 weeks ago and I am really glad we did.  My first official Ironman training workout was a 20 minute walk the day after the Philadelphia Marathon.  We've hired a coach, and he sends us weekly workouts, which we then log into an App so that he can monitor our stats.  So far so good.  And because I am doing this every single day, I am going to start a weekly recap of the prior week's training.

A couple of notes before I dig in:

• I prefer to list the workouts as weeks in versus weeks to go.  I am well aware of how many days and weeks are left before the big race (as of today, it is 194 days to go OMG).  But seeing a weekly countdown would give me way too much anxiety.  So, weeks in it is. 
• When I say "we" or "us" or "our", that is some variation of Amy, Bill and me.  Right now, we are training independently, but I suspect and hope that once the Winter is over and we start doing really long bike rides outside that we'll be doing them together.
• Training: here's where I do my training:
• Swim:  YMCA pool and in the Spring/Summer - Marsh Creek state park
• Bike:  Trainer in my basement.  In Spring/Summer - outside! Gotta find some good spots for long bike rides.
• Run:  Outside as often as possible or treadmill at the YMCA (under extreme protest). 
• Some definitions for you that I'll be using on a pretty frequent basis going forward:
• IM: Ironman
• IMLP:  Ironman Lake Placid
• Brick:  this is a back-to-back double workout, usually a bike followed immediately by a run.  You do your bike, hop off and then head out as fast as you can on your run, much like a real triathlon.  
• OMG:  That means "oh my god," which I know you know.  I just know I will use it a lot.

Finally, a question I've been asked is "how do you have time for this?"  The answer is two-fold: (1) I make the time (and make sacrifices) and (2) I have a heck of a lot of help.  My workouts during the week are pretty much structured around my custody schedule: if I have the kids, I ask my coach to give me a bike ride, or a swim and I do that after I drop them off at school and before work.  I also have help from my ex and Amy and Bill, who hang with the kids on weekends when I have workouts.  Amy said that it will take a village to get through the IM training, and I agree.  I am incredibly appreciative of all the help.  A few times per week, I wake up around 4:15 am and get my workouts in before the kids get up and before work.  And because I am a little later into the office, I bring work home with me and do it in the evening.  So everything is getting done - it just requires a lot of shuffling.

Now for the recap!

Week 8:

Swam: 1:15 hours (3625 yards)

Biked:  3:43 hours (all on trainer)

Ran:  3:17 hours (don't know mileage b/c half were done on a treadmill -- boo)

Workouts:

Monday - swim

Tuesday - run with sprints

Wednesday - easy brick

Thursday - bike

Friday - easy run

Saturday - time trial swim & brick

Sunday - bike and run

This week was a challenge if only for the weather.  I swear - the Winters have been so nice and mild until this year.  I am normally really into the cold and the snow ... but come on!  This year needs to cut it so we can get in more training.  I know I am yelling at the weather and I cannot control the weather.  I would like to.  In any event, we started out on Sunday with insane ice everywhere.  But that didn't stop us - all three of us got our runs in.  Bill came over with his son and hung out with my kids while I ran near my house - by the time I got out there, the roads were fine.  But hey look at these sexy beasts after their icy runs! 

Amy on ice

Glad to be done.

Things warmed up, the ice and snow melted ... and then on Tuesday and Wednesday the "polar vortex" hit.  I ran my Tuesday morning run on the treadmill because I think the temperature outside was -45 or something crazy.  But Wednesday's brick, I was determined to do outside.  The run was only 20 minutes and I knew I could handle it.  So I biked and then threw on the following cold weather gear:  hat, winter gloves, balaclava, long tri top/bra, Under Armor base layer, bright pink half zip, winter tights, winter socks and sneakers.   My run was fine but I don't know if I could have run much longer than 20 minutes.  They keys to keeping me warm were my balaclava and base layer.  The balaclava is the white thing over my face - I wore it up over my nose the entire time and it warms the air that you breathe and protects your face from the cold.  It was great and in those brief seconds where I had to adjust it and felt the actual cold air on my face, I was very happy I had it on.  The base layer is a find from the Under Armor outlet.  It is crazy warm - and really, it's too warm for most "cold" day runs. But on a day where the temps got up to a high of 7, the base layer was clutch.  

My friend on Facebook called me a Safety Patrol Ninja.  LOL.

And that's about it for this week!  Next week is more of the same, though I have a "long" swim on Saturday and a time trial (meaning: go all out) on the bike on Tuesday.  I am *not* looking forward to that.  

See you swoon,

Painted in a Weekend: two new mirrors

Friday! Hurrah for Friday!  What better way to end the first full week of work after the holidays than with a post about painting.

I've been saying for months (as in approximately 6-9 months) that I needed to paint a ton of pieces for my place.  Well, I finally did it.  I have been procrastinating starting this project for so long, and I'm not sure why because I really do like painting (even furniture).  It's the commitment: once you start, you really do have to see it through.  And the primer stage.  Oil-based primer is a royally messy, if completely necessary, step.  But I was invigorated by the new year and my 2014 resolutions and my desire to just get these pieces done already (since they were holding up other things).  So, when the kids and I had a snow day on the first Friday back to work after the holidays, I decided that weekend would be it.  And it was!  The kids were playing with their new Christmas toys and before I could talk myself out of it, I threw on my painting clothes, put down a drop cloth in the playroom and got out the primer.

A tip from me to you: if you're painting furniture, do it in batches.  Find as many pieces as you can that you want to paint and do it all at once. It is much easier to break out the oil-based primer and paint once and just spend the time getting painty with it in one fell swoop versus doing it piecemeal.  In my case, I painted 5 pieces all at one time.

Two of the five things I painted were mirrors: one for my room and one for Little's room.  Yay!  I'll break them down by mirror.

* My Mirror *

This was a clearance find from Michael's of all places.  Little and I were in Michael's one afternoon  searching for crafts for her to do.  I happened to look in the clearance section and found this mirror on sale for $10.

You can see why it was on clearance for $10, can't you?

 I pretty much hated the color of the finish, but the size was exactly what I needed for my room and I knew that with a few coats of white paint the mirror would be transformed to exactly what I wanted.  I just followed my usual painting procedure:  a coat of oil based primer (Zinsser) followed by a bunch of coats of latex.  I used my favorite Dover White by Sherwin Williams and it took 2 coats.  Painting all of these little squares was very time consuming and kind of annoying.  I used a small brush for the primer and the first coat of white, but then used a mini roller for the second coat.  Then I topped it off with a couple very light coats of Polycrilic in gloss finish - to make it shiny.  And here is the transformed mirror!

Not bad for $10, right?  Stay tuned for my post about where I hung it in my room.  Ooh!  Suspense. 

* Little's Mirror *

I bought Little's mirror last Summer from someone on Craigslist.  I knew I wanted an ornately framed mirror, which I would paint lavender.  I found this for $15 and loved it instantly.  It was brass, but I planned to paint over it.  I hung it up and figured I would paint it later.

I followed the same procedure as above: primed with oil based primer and then followed that with 2 coats of latex and some Polycrilic in gloss to preserve the paint.  The lavender color is actually a paint sample that I found for $.50 at Home Depot in their "Oops" shelf!  It is Blue Wisteria by Martha Stewart.  It's the absolute *perfect* lavender - not too bright and not too pink.  I'm sure the person returned the sample because it is not blue at all - it's decidedly lavender, and quite possibly the most perfect lavender I've seen.  Because of all the bumps and intricate carvings, I used a foam craft brush to apply the lavender paint.  And here is the finished product! 

Yay for the power of paint!  Have a tremendous weekend!  

Starting Monday, I'm going to do weekly Ironman Lake Placid training recaps.  The race is still over 6 months away, but the training has begun in earnest.  It will be a weekly, Monday feature on the blog where I recap the prior week's training.  I hope you enjoy it.  It is such a huge part of my life, so it's time to include it on the blog.  Wheeeeeee!

See you swoon,

What I Wore {post 31}

Happy Wednesday.  The weekend is getting closer!  Here are a handful of recent outfits to celebrate Hump Day.  

* Black Knit Dress, Bright Pink Tights, Red Heels *

I wore this outfit before Christmas when I was in a particularly festive mood.  I wasn't sure if the pink and red were too much, but figured the black kind of toned things down a bit.  I wore a magenta skinny belt to bring a little color to the dress as well.  The pinks didn't match perfectly, but I think the outfit worked.  Unfortunately, I will remember this outfit as the outfit I wore the day I got the flu.  I remember being absolutely *freezing* in my office, and I am never, ever cold.  I ran into my boss's office and asked to borrow his space heater, which he let me borrow but he also expressed concern that I was getting sick, since I am never, ever cold. He was right (which I hate to admit).  Cute outfit, though.

* Baby Pink Cardigan & Skinny Jeans *

I wore this to my friend Heather's for Christmas Day brunch.  I was still not quite 100% so I don't look too thrilled or Christmassy in this picture.  Still ... I love this cardigan. It is as soft as baby lambs living on the softest clouds.  Also, the lambs are on pillows made of soft cashmere.   I got it at Anthropologie a few months ago and it's by Moth.  The jeans are from American Eagle.  I would have *never* stepped foot in American Eagle, but Jamie made me and swore their jeans were great.  Wouldn't you know, I walked out with a pair of skinny jeans and a pair of boot cut.  The skinnies are their jeggings and are, for me, in short.  I also went a size up in the skinnies.  Considering I could not get my normal sized skinny jeans over my calf, there was no alternative.  The boot cut jeans are true to size, if a little low on the hip (at least for this 38 year old)

* Navy & White Striped Sweater & Skinny Jeans *

I wore this outfit to work on a casual Friday around the holidays.  The shirt is a clearance buy from Gap - I love stripes and will pretty much buy any striped top I can get my mitts on.  I really liked the blue detail on the shoulder and at the cuff and appreciated the longer length.  The jeans are the same American Eagle skinny jeans tucked into my brown riding boots.

I mentioned last week that I lost my mind at the Loft after-Christmas sale.  Well, everything arrived and I made out like a bandit.  Next week I'll share part of the loot.  

See you swoon,

Before & After: Shower Doors to Shower Curtain

Hello and happy Monday!

Before 2014 arrived, I shared my resolutions for home projects.  Tops on the list was to replace the shower doors in the kids' bathroom and put a curtain in their place.  Aesthetically, I knew the white would tone down the blue (because it would hide the bottom of the tub).  But more than that, it was a safety concern.  The shower doors were missing the track at the bottom of the tub, so if you pulled on the doors, they'd fly out at you.  This wasn't a huge issue when the kids were taking baths, but now that they are doing showers instead, it made me very nervous.  Not to mention: any time I had guests stay over, I would have to warn them about the propensity for the doors to fly out.  Not a good situation.  And let's be real: I just don't like shower doors.  

I emailed my landlord and explained the situation and asked if I could please remove the doors and replace with a curtain. The landlord was on board.  I've done this project before in my first house and it wasn't that bad - it's messy and a little gross, but totally doable in a couple of hours.  I knew what to expect, what tools I needed and approximately how long it would take.  I just had to do it. 

So on the Sunday before New Years, I decided to go for it.  The kids were happily playing with their new toys, it was pouring outside, I'd already gotten my run and bike done, and trash day was the next day (so I could take the shower doors and rails outside that night).  I didn't take any pictures, but I followed the exact procedure as in my first house.  The first thing I did was take the doors off.  There is a little track on the top rail and the doors' wheels sit right on that. I carefully removed the glass doors and took them outside.  Then I popped the top rail off the top.  Then I removed the screws in the side rails and used my utility knife to carefully cut along the caulk that held the rail to the tile.  Once the side rails were down, I used my knife to again carefully cut along the bottom rail.

Once all of the rails were removed (note: be careful! the rails can have sharp edges), it was time to clean.  I used my straight edge razor to scrape the caulk off of the tile and the tub - this was pretty easy.  Then I used some steel wool and a Magic Eraser to get all of the residue off.  Once the tub was cleaned, I used some almond caulk to caulk the holes were the screws had been in the tile.  I also added some caulk where needed since I had it out.  You can barely see it:

Then it was time for the curtain and rod.  I really don't like tension rods - I just don't feel that they are that secure (or maybe it's just my kids).  So I opted for a screw-in rod, which I had to buy at a hardware store, since Target only has tension rods.  I've put these kinds of rods up a bunch before, so I knew the drill.  The rod was a little too long, so I took my metal saw to it and cut it to size.  Once the rod was up, I hung the curtain and liner (both Target) and cleaned out the tub.  I had to touch up a few spots of paint on the wall where the old shower doors had been, but that only took a second.  

And here she is!  

It makes such a huge difference in the space, I cannot begin to tell you.  First, I won't hold my breath when the kids shower.  I feel much less anxious that they're going to end up hurt.  Second, it's just prettier!  I did not appreciate how much more blue the room read with those doors, because you could see the entire blue tub.  Now, it's just a simple white curtain, which makes the room feel a lot more white.  You know me and white -- I cannot get enough. 

I want to add some shelves over the toilet and then this room is about as done as it can be.  I'm going to move the art currently over the toilet into my laundry room instead.  I love that little print, but I think it makes you focus even more on that blue toilet.  So if I keep the shelves and contents as white as possible, I'm hoping that will make the area even less blue -- one can dream, anyway.  I may even replace the current bath mat with one that is only white and oversized, so it hides the tile.  

Next up?  I'm going to work on a bunch of projects simultaneously: the laundry room closet, finishing up my bedroom and attacking a ton of painting projects with wild abandon.  

See you swoon,