Trendy Tuesday - Mustaches, Turkey, My New Gym & Football

Cheese and rice - it's been a long month! So much went on these past 30 days, I can't even begin to think of where to start.

Well I guess since today is Trendy Tuesday, we should start here:

Nothing new - just one of my go-to's for a quiet day at the office!

Mustard Lenore Scarf and Cream Piko Top - Kiki La'Rue

Skinnies - Old Navy

Cowboy Boots - MIA

And an outfit for a not-so-quiet day of visiting with a big client.

Suit pants and blazer - New York and Co.

Cream lace blouse - Forever 21

Shoes - Old but amazing

Speaking of good ol' Forever 21, here's my dress for the Office Christmas formal this weekend. I'm pretty excited about the whole spray tan, up-do, limo thing. Turns out everything is bigger in Texas, ya'll.

Let's see.... what else happened last month?

Oh yeah! Movember.

My company sponsored a Movember campaign for prostate health last month. If you don't know what Movember is, people basically sponsor their co-workers to not shave their mustaches for the whole month. And I definitely joined in. Let's face it: I'm basically down for any excuse to wear a stick-on mustache at work every week. And we ended up raising almost $1000 bucks. Bam!

I've also been doing a lot of this. How did long distance relationships exist before FaceTime and Skype? It's been a long two and a half months since I last laid eyes on this hunk and being away from him has not been easy. But thankfully, the end is in sight. I'm heading back to North Carolina next weekend to watch him graduate from college. And the week after that, I'll be back for Christmas! Woo. Hoo.

Annnnnd I've also been doing a bit of this. I'm not proud of how out of shape I've become from taking two months off. But I joined a gym in Houston and have been hitting it up as much as possible after work. I'm starting slow but feeling great. And my recent effort in "clean eating" has also helped out.

Speaking of clean eating - I'm still working on the Fast Metabolism diet (or whatever the hell it's called). And I got my roommate to join me. You know what they say, misery loves company! Ha. It's nice having someone committed to the same goals as you are. It really helps us hold each other accountable. 

But I still miss wine. And I will always miss coffee. In fact, I had such a hard time giving up coffee that I've decided to trick myself by drinking decaf coffee instead. It's kind of (read: not really) working. I just love the flavor of that shit - so decaf is my savior right now since I can't have the real deal.

Since we've embarked on this journey together, all of my texts and Snapchats with her have a reoccurring theme:

We did, however, take last weekend off. Because it was Thanksgiving. And we're American.

 And we took Sunday off because we got free tickets to the Texans game and there's nothing better than watch live football with a hot dog and a cold beer... am I right?.

But I'm back on track this week and kicking my metabolisms in the booty! Tomorrow starts phase II - which basically means I get to eat vegetables and protein all. day. long. And we cannnn't stoppppp. No?

Happy Tuesday! Let's chat about the Biggest Loser soon.

Trendy Tuesday: Moving Edition

So for this Trendy Tuesday, I decided to change it up a bit. Since I moved all weekend ("and man was it a blast!" said no one ever) I thought I'd add a little spice to the trendiness.

Now don't you fret - I still took a couple snaps of some outfits. (PS - sorry in advance, the selfie mirror kind of got downgraded during the move...)

I checked out a concert last night with some friends from work so this morning I wasn't too enthusiastic about waking up an hour early to shower. So I threw on this number with a Brady Band and a sock bun. Bam!

Blazer - New York and Company
Lace t-shirt and distressed skinny jeans - Old Navy
Cowboy boots - MIA

Oh yeah, about my new house. It's 14 miles from my office. Sweet, right? Well, not really. You see - in Houston a 14 mile drive equals an hour commute in morning rush hour! Thank God for entertaining talk radio...

Lace t-shirt (okay I'm starting to notice a pattern this week...) - Iris Basic
Necklace - Forever 21
Red polka dot skinnies - Old Navy

And also, I finally bit the bullet last week and took 7 pairs of pants to the tailor to be hemmed for my short legs. Now that I'm a member of the professional world, I can no longer rock my ghetto "rolled pants" look. 

So basically my entire weekend revolved around organizing my stuff, packing my stuff into my little CR-V and moving it, and assembling various pieces of furniture from Target and Ikea.

Cubicle shelf - Target - Took an hour and a half to assemble by myself.
Bumpy rug - Tuesday Morning
Selfie mirror - Wal-Mart

Left to right:
Tiny nightstand from IKEA that ended up being a side table to my desk -
Took 20 minutes to assemble by myself
Desk from IKEA -
Took one hour to assemble by myself (and I kind of put one part on backwards, but #YOLO)
Chair from IKEA -
Took one hour to assemble with three people. I'm not even shitting you about this one.
Bedframe from IKEA (but given to me by one of my co-workers) -
Took 30 minutes to figure it out and 30 minutes to assemble by 2 people.
Wall art (Calendar, mirror, cork board) - Target

And, ladies and gentlemen, my favorite part....

My new roommate's boyfriend sells mattresses for a living so I got a pretty sweet deal on this one.
Quilt and pillows - Garden Ridge
Throw blanket - Oldie but goodie from my rig life

Speaking of my awesome bed, I think I'm going to jump in it and watch some Desperate Housewives! Goodnight everyone! What's your favorite thing about your room/house?

Trendy Tuesday / Day One of the Plan (Stan?)

Today marked my first day on "the plan". (I feel cheesy calling it the Metabolism Diet or whatever it really is...) And it was kind of tough after someone in the office brought in a bag of Italian pastries but I held out and stuck to the rules all day long.

Lunch packed and ready to go!

I'm still not happy about the whole "no coffee" thing, for the record. At 3:00 today, I felt like the walking dead. But hopefully over the next few days, my energy will start naturally catching up.

And in other news, Happy Trendy Tuesday! 

I decided to take the leap and purchase some items from a really cute boutique called Kiki La'Rue (#KLR) that I've been following on Instagram since last year. And out of the four items I bought, I adore three of them (and I'm totally sending the other one back... call it a loss but three out of four ain't bad!)

There is no such thing as fall in Houston. We are almost in November and it's a nice sunny 85 to 90 degrees at all times (although the nights are getting down to a chilly 65). 

Wellllllll guess what? This rust colored Lenore scarf (along with the industrial AC unit in our office) helps me fake like I live in a place that has four seasons.

Scarf - Kiki La'Rue
White Piko top - Kiki La'Rue
Skinny jeans - Old Navy
Birdcage Booties - Charlotte Russe

Annnnd Biggest Loser is on so we'll talk soon! Happy Tuesday!

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Food preppin' like a mother!

When I was a little girl, I hated Sundays. And that's because, for the most part, I hated school and never wanted to go back. And there aren't many cases where grown up world beats kid world but this is one of them - Sundays are finally my favorite day of the week!

I slept in until 11 am this morning. It was just as amazing as it sounds. Since getting to Houston, I think the latest I've slept in is 9:15 am... And I'm always up around 6 am during the week.

Sundays are my kind of pace - I can sleep in, clean up my apartment as I watch TV, get some laundry started and kick the remainder of my food prep in the ass.

I started food prep yesterday while I was bored. I hooked my computer up in the kitchen, watched Desperate Housewives on Netflix, and chopped, bagged, boiled, etc. away! I felt so productive and I loved it.

Pre-bagged carrots, bell peppers, celery, and cucumbers for snacks at work.

Top: diced strawberries for my oatmeal.
Middle and bottom: tuna salad stuffed bell pepper for lunch for two days.

Fridge; post-food prep.

Curry coconut chicken (all of these creations made from recipes in the back of the book).

Tuna, Green Apple, and Spinach Salad prep.

With all my food prep done, I feel like this first week of the plan is going to go well. If I didn't have this stuff already pre-packed and ready to go, I would totally make excuses for cheating. But, let me say this again: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

And good thing I have a plan because this week is going to be crazy busy for me. On Monday, I'm going to a professional talk/dinner after work with my co-workers. And on Tuesday, I'm going to meet a girl that I met on the Craiglist "strictly platonic" section for a drink at a fancy bar (I'm going to fake it with a club soda and lime). And then this weekend, I'm moving! My swanky corporate apartment lease is coming to an end (something about my new company not wanting to pay for my housing for the rest of eternity? psh.) and I'm moving into a house with some roommates who will more than likely think I am crazy and organized with my million tupperware containers of pre-made food. Whatevs.

New bedding stuff I bought today! I'm kind of excited to buy a fancy bed this week.

Time to hit up some more textbook reading... Hope your Sunday was as productive as mine was! Let's all kick this week right in the ass (and pray that our co-workers don't bring Halloween candy and screw us up.. amIright?)

Casual Friday: In it to Win it

I wore my shark shirt to work today. That can only mean one thing: it's casual Friiiidayyy!

I have decided that I'm in it to win it with this new plan I've been talking about. And to lock myself into decision, I ventured out to the grocery store tonight with my meticulously planned list. Annnnd after some deep searching for random ass products I've never heard of (safflower mayonnaise, anyone?), I came back with this huge bounty.

I was feeling really optimistic pre-grocery store and decided that tonight was going to be my food prep night instead of Sunday. But then I got home, unpacked groceries, cleaned out the fridge from last week, and sat on the couch. And yeah, we're sticking with Sunday over here.

In the meantime before the plan kicks off on Tuesday, I've decided to let myself do whatever the freak I want. No food restrictions, no drink restrictions, this is my last free weekend for a month and I'm livin' the vida loca! (Oh yes I did just go there...)

Happy Friday! Enjoy yourself!

My name is Healthy Little Me, and I'm Afraid of Commitment.

So I've been doing a lot of thinking about this whole Fast Metabolism Diet book and I think I'm going to commit. But instead of thinking about all of the good things that can come from this, all I can think about are the sacrifices I'm going to have to make. I really love the idea of re-firing my inner engine, gaining energy, and looking awesome for my boyfriends graduation in two months, but all I can think about is how hard it's going to be to stay in the black and white.

So tonight I did some homework.

It took me about an hour and a half to put together a specific list of what I'm going to eat and what time I'm going to eat it during my first week of the plan. And then it took me a while to put together the grocery list required to eat all of this. But I feel like I actually have a strategy and written plan and I'm optimistic about jumping in with my whole self.

What am I afraid of? Distractions, getting frustrated and giving up, and living a whole 28 days without booze or coffee. Let's not even talk about chocolate.

I just started a new job. I'm trying to bond with my new team. They like to take me out for dinner and drinks. And I don't want to be that snobby girl who's like no thanks, I packed my own food or sorry, no drinking for me tonight - I'm on a diet.

But then I think about how amazing I'll feel standing beside my boyfriend on his graduation day in a hot little dress feeling like a total babe. I've also got a formal company Christmas party coming up the first week of December, too. I could use the total babe look for that event as well.

So who cares if people think I'm weird and recluse? And who says I can't go out and have fun with people who are drinking without drinking? (Although I can't say for sure as I don't usually do that kind of thing.)

Fears aside - I know where I am right now physically and it's not where I want to be.

Although they are valid, the last few months has provided me with every excuse to ignore my fitness, my diet, and the Healthy Inner Me.

I'm traveling for work.

I'm stressed out with work.

I'm moving to a different state.

I just started a new job.

But I don't feel as good as I did earlier this year - I feel bloated in general. And I haven't jumped on the scale in a few months so I'm not really sure of the number range I'm falling into right now but I know it can't be good. I can tell by the ways my clothes are fitting and the way I feel after a 30 minute Biggest Loser DVD workout. And I'm not about to buy fat clothes or lose my newborn runner identity. It's time to get busy living, ya'll.

So whether or not it makes me "comfortable" or makes my life "convenient", I'm going to give this plan a go at it. Spending 28 days working on my will power, eating healthy food, and challenging myself to defy social pressures and work for something I want is not going to kill me. It's going to make me a total babe.

So I'm officially starting next Tuesday. (The plan works best for a Monday start, but I have a professional talk to go to Monday evening that includes a cocktail hour and dinner so I'm going to let myself live a little and set a realistic start date instead.)

Get ready for some annoying food tracking posts. Oh yeah, and Sunday Food Prep is about to get real. This chick Haylie Pomroy might have me cooking by a SPECIFIC recipe. I'm interested to see how this turns out.

But I know what I want and I know what I need to do to get it.

Remember - if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. 

And I'm planning to kick some major ass! 

Anyone wanna join in? Send me a message! (Link on the right of the blog page <--)

TRENDY TUESDAY #2 + This Crazy New Book

Trendy Tuesday is here again! I had to skip last week because my friend B came to town and I had to run/drink beer with her and do some catching up. (#sorrynotsorry)

So these outfits span from the last two weeks:

I LOVE this dress from Target. It's super comfortable and always looks put together.
Shoes are Report (I'm pretty sure I got them from Ross a few years ago - oldies but goodies!)

(Bare with me - the selfie Trendy Tuesday pose is kind of awkward still.)
Tank top is Lauren Conrad (from Kohl's).
Cardigan is from Old Navy.
Cordoroy skirt from Anne Taylor Loft.
Shoes are same as above picture.

Ah casual Friday!
Chambray blouse from Old Navy.
Floral printed skinnies from Old Navy, too.
Shoes are Vans.

Monday Funday!
Blouse from Old Navy.
Skinny black dress pants from Old Navy (I can't help that I love the brand, okay?)
Remember this bracelet is from the boyfriend?
Shoes - so old that the inside label has been worn out. Yeah, they're great.

Today's outfit.
White blouse from Old Navy.
Blue/Gray dress Capri's from Gap.
Sandals from American Eagle.

 Today on my way home from the office, I got a wild hair and decided to stop by the local Barnes and Noble (which is bigger than the library in North Carolina - I guess everything is bigger in Texas...). And I picked up this little $26 gem. My mom's doctor recommended it to her a few months ago and she hasn't stopped talking about it since. This woman, Haylie Pomroy, is a celebrity nutritionist who just recently published her diet plan and the theory behind it in a quick reading 200-and-something page book. And tonight alone, I read about 120 pages of it... yeah it's pretty good.

Basically, she has a background in animal science (an ex-Aggie) and has been working in human health and nutrition for years. And she's done major amounts of research on the metabolism and has a really radical view on how to achieve quick and sustainable weight loss by confusing your body with this really specific 28 day diet plan.

Now, you guys know that I am the queen of "wingin' it" and to be honest, the rigid rules make me kind of nervous. But I've spent almost $30 on it so I'm going to give it a shot after a few days of some solid planning and mapping.

What freaks me out most is the list of things I CAN'T have for 28 days. (The bold ones are the items I'm really bugging out about.)

• No wheat
• No corn
• No dairy (not bold, but I do have a slight yogurt addiction)
• No soy
• No refined sugar (I'm pretty sure this means no chocolate candy)
• No caffeine (but what about my boyfriend, Mr. Coffee?)
• No alcohol (damnit!)
• No dried fruit or fruit juices
• No artificial sweeteners
• No fat-free "diet foods"

So stay tuned and I'll let you know how things go, once I come to terms with this list above. Thanks for reading, ya'll. Happy Tuesday!

Annnnd guess what tomorrow is?!???

Textbooks and fishing - and working out, too!

So this is my life lately:

I have officially landed my dream job. I'm not kidding. The more I get to know the company and people I work for, the more assured I am that I'm right where I need to be. But good things don't come for free, people! And I've found myself enjoying a healthy dose of textbook/technical paper reading during the evenings lately...

I'm also back on the exercise wagon. And while my efforts are kind of pathetic compared to my fitness level a few months ago before the chaotic changes in my life, I'm proud that I'm getting up and dusting myself off. I almost forgot how good exercise makes me feel!

Speaking of exercise, my friend B came to Houston on a business trip last week so I got to have my first true visitor in H-Town. Now B's a badass and she's started running recently (I told you a few weeks ago about her first 5k) so she wanted to find a park in Houston to go running in. After a little Googling, we decided on Memorial Park. And it rocked! There were SO many runners along the path - it made me and my inner-runner self feel right at home.

Speaking of B - she ran ANOTHER 5k yesterday and KILLED it. I got quite an exciting voice mail from her yesterday morning - she CRUSHED her PR and now she's running a 10k in December. Uh? I'll have what she's having...

Also, last weekend I got invited to go offshore fishing with a girl from work on her boyfriend's boat. We left Galveston Friday night and headed out 80 miles to fish for the weekend. I've never been offshore but I LOVED it (thanks in part to the prescription motion sickness patch one of the fisherman gave me before we took off). All we could see were drilling platforms - which was a neat. And we caught MASSIVE amounts of fish.

Want a good arm work out? Pull one of these suckers in from 120 foot depths. Holy cow! I literally wanted to quit at the end. Total, I reeled in four snapper in a day's work (except a shark ate one off of my hook so I actually only got 3). I ate so much fish last week when I got back, I think I'm good on seafood for a few months.

Before we left Galveston to head back to Houston on Sunday, I snapped this picture of the boat. It was amazing! It had three bedrooms and two full baths inside. This isn't the best picture - but it's kind of hard to take a picture of a boat when you're on it in the deep blue sea.

Tomorrow's Trendy Tuesday. 

Annnnd we need to talk about the Biggest Loser. Who's watching this season?

Improv Gumbo - How to clean out your fridge AND eat dinner.

Short and sweet tonight - I'm calling it an early night so I can get up EARLY (#6amclub) and workout before I get ready for work. But I just had to tell you about this delish half-leftover meal I made tonight by wingin' it in the kitchen.

I took some hot italian turkey sausage (my mom recommended it to me this week and it's actually super good)..

 

 

And this magical frozen package of gumbo vegetables...

And tossed in some leftover black beans and quinoa from Sunday Meal Prep into a pan with a cup or so of some leftover tomato gorzonzola bisque and cooked up a delicious fake gumbo-goodness. And I made way too much - so guess who already has their lunch packed for tomorrow? Holla!

Weeknight posts have been short and surficial this week - I'm trying to stay true to the blog but I'm juggling a lot right now being a new girl in a big city with a new job and all that jazz... But hopefully this weekend I can take some time and get more involved with the blog for some good juicy long posts!

TOMORROW'S FRIDAY. WOOP WOOP.

What's your favorite fridge dump meal?

Trendy Tuesday - The Birth of a New Theme

Yep, you read the title right. On behalf of my new job and normal lifestyle, I've decided to experiment with a new theme for Tuesdays - Trendy Tuesday. This change on HLM reflects my new attempt at being somewhat fashionable (I mean, I'm no Kardashian or anything but I'm trying here people!) And beeeecause I just know how much you guys are dying to know what I wear on a daily basis. No?

Day one - this look was trying to play it safe on my first day. I figured I'd experiment with color and my funky shoes once I figured out the vibe of the office. Annnnd I spilled coffee on the top tip of my shirt. Thank God for necklaces, huh?

Necklace from a friend; Shirt from Old Navy;
Pencil Skirt (with kick pleat!) from New York and Co.; Shoes are ollllld.

 

Day two: More colorful (the office vibe totally allows for it!). 

Mustard Boatneck Tee from Target; Blue Belt from a Thrift Store; Black and White Patterned Skirt
from The Limited; Shoes are Fergalicious (or Fergie's line whatever it's called)


Lately I haven't really been talking much about exercise. Ohh that's right, I haven't done any real exercise in a while! But that changed today. When I got home from work, I headed to the gym at my apartment complex and jumped on the dreadmill. Probably wasn't my favorite run ever (read: it sucked)... but I managed to crank out 1.5 miles at a moderate pace. (The dreadmills have TV screens that only get one channel - so I had to watch Andy Griffith and read the closed captioning the whole time... whoopee.)

And clean eating has been going well still, minus a small lunch mishap that might have included a cheeseburger (my co-workers took me out to lunch again... damnit!).

• Breakfast: Rolled oats with strawberries and dark chocolate chips
• Snacks: Kiwi, Carrots, Rasberries, Almonds, Chobani Greek Yogurt Flip
• Lunch: Cheeseburger with grilled onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, pickle, and onion (#sorrynotsorry)
• Dinner: Salad with cold quinoa - I eat weird shit sometimes, okay?
• Drinks: Water, Coffee, Peach Tea, Chocolate Soy Milk

My diet and exercise suffered some major downfalls over the past month. I've just been so preoccupied with so many other events in my life, Healthy Little Me took a backseat. But one of the coolest things about being in a new place is the chance to reinvent yourself. And Healthy Little Me is not only now in the front seat, I'm letting her drive the car. And I'm feeling GREAT about it!

Happy Tuesday readers!

Monday, Monday. A quick update before I fall asle-- zzzzzzzzz.

Well ladies and gents. The first day of my new job is OUT of the way. Boom.

And even though I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of the information I have to teach myself in the next few months (mathy science stuff!), I am also in love with not only my new job, but the team I get to work with.

I mean, how many offices have one of these?

Clean eating went well today (thanks, Sunday Meal Prep!). And because I know you're DYING to know what I ate, here goes:

• Breakfast - Rolled oats, strawberries, dark chocolate chips
• Snacks - Carrots, bell peppers, apple, almonds
• Lunch - Enchiladas Verdes (So what? The new team took me out to lunch...)
• Dinner - Creamy tomato soup with a tomato/mozarella/spinach sandwich on a whole wheat english muffin
• Drinks for the day - Water, Coffee, Peach Apricot Black Tea, and a Lucky Buddha Beer

I really wanted to workout today after work - but I honestly lost my steam before I got home. Tomorrow is a new day, though, and I'm going to kick some ass. Getting used to this new schedule is kind of weird - my days are technically shorter compared to my last job but OOF! my brain is getting used a lot more.

I wish I could write a longer post but I'm getting kind of sleepy. And by kind of, I mean I'm neck bobbing over the keyboard right now. Monday, complete. 

Goodnight, readers! 

Sunday Funday - Day Two in Houston and Food Prep

 Howdy from Space City! I got into Houston yesterday evening and MAN is this place huge! 

I'm still finding my footing here - AKA googling everything I need and trying to get around without wrecking into the million other people on the roads.

But I had one major thing on my wish list for this new city and I decided to kick off my first week here with some clean eating via Sunday Food Preps (which is capitalized because it's officially my new thing). 

One thing I love about modern technology is the fact that we can Google absolutely everything we ever needed to know. Breakfast restaurants near Galleria in Houston, TX. Who is Taylor Swift dating right now? And the one I've found most useful as of recent: Healthy Eating Food Prep. 

I found a bunch of blogs and articles about how planning your meals and prepping your food at the beginning of the week strongly influences how well you do with healthy eating during the week. And the good Lord knows I've committed some mighty nutritional sins lately, so this seemed like a good plan for jumping on the wagon again.

While all of the advice offered slightly different ideas, there were some major foods that were mentioned often. These are the staples:

Beans - these are black beans and navy beans (if you cook them together, the navy beans turn grey, whoops.) These provide a low-fat high-protein (and fiber) addition to any meal.

Rice - I decided to go for some quinoa but I also bought orzo at the grocery store this morning. This is useful for adding healthy whole grains to packed lunches. And let's get real: I love quinoa.

Veggies - I sliced some tomatoes (for sandwiches), sliced up some yellow and orange bell peppers, and measured out some snack cups with baby carrots in them.

And I used some of the tomatoes, carrots, and peppers to make a salad with a spring green mix I bought earlier today.

And I diced up some strawberries to throw in with my oatmeal in the morning.

Total, I spent about an hour or two in the kitchen today prepping food for the week. But I feel good about it. Hopefully this will help me eat clean for the week! Because if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Tomorrow's my first day on the new job and I am so nervous/excited I can't even stand it! But for now, I'm going to crack open a cold beer, put my feet up, and cheer for the Texans since, you know, I live here now and all.

Oh and speaking of excitement - congrats to my friend B for running her first 5k today! I am so proud of her and can't wait to run some races with her one day! Go girl! Maybe she can write a guest post about her awesome-ness? :-)

Do any of you plan and prep your meals for the week? Anyone wanna help a girl out with some tips and advice?

Happy Sunday, ya'll.