Starting today, Nick and I are getting serious about our health. We’ve tried before by signing up for various races – a 5k here and there – to keep us motivated by giving us a goal to work toward but we soon realized that neither one of us really like running. And when you don’t enjoy an activity, you’re not very likely to stick with it. I prefer strength training activities and workouts that don’t feel like work outs (something like yoga and Zumba), so running just wasn’t going to cut it. Also, getting to the gym (only three miles from our house) just wasn’t happening.

We finally decided to try an at-home workout routine and settled on Focus T25 with Shaun T by Beach Body.

source: http://www.trilliumfit.com/programs/focus-t25-training/

Nick has a friend that is a certified trainer with Beach Body and he convinced us to give it a try. What really sold us is that it’s only 25 minutes + a 5-minute stretch/cool down session at the end. We got up this morning at 6:30 and begrudgingly worked through it.  I think it’s going to be a really good work out.  We’re not endorsing it (yet) because we just started and might not see any results, but we’ll let you know how it goes.

We’re also following the Fast Track meal plan. We went to the grocery store and brought home the whole produce department!

I’m really excited because everything we got is fresh and clean, nothing processed and I’ve been very into clean eating for a while now but it’s difficult to adhere to when you’re on the road so often, like I am for school. So, we chopped and measured and prepared everything last night. It took us several hours, but it was a little blessing not to have to do it when you’re stumbling out of bed at 6:30 AM.

We’re going to try to be Intragram and post about our daily meals and workouts, as well as our overall progress.

Has anyone else ever tried an at-home work out like this? How did it go? What are/were your fitness goals?

This is the kind of thing you’ll find me in on a warm, Spring Sunday. It was in the 80s when I took these photos and it eventually got too warm for the scarf and it had to go. I mostly spent the day inside reading articles and book chapters in preparation for the week at school. The semester is surprisingly almost over and I can’t believe it! Just a few more weeks until finals and that doesn’t feel quite right. This semester has flown by!

This is our backyard and it needs so much work that it’s overwhelming. It looked so good for our wedding, but, of course, that was almost three years ago. Hopefully, we’ll be able to enjoy the yard this summer.

Also, ARMPIT!

And here’s the fun one: Please excuse me while I go crawl into that hammock!

I’m not wearing navy! At least I don’t think I’m wearing navy – and denim doesn’t count! This shirt isn’t gray, it has small stripes that are white and either black or navy, so it’s possible that I haven’t broken the navy streak. However, I am wearing this gorgeous ivory blazer that is perfect for Spring. I resisted a white/ivory/light colored blazer for as long as I could because I was afraid that the second I wore one, I would get slimed  but so far nothing like that has happened. I even drank wine while wearing it and didn’t spill a single drop so I might be safe *KNOCK ON WOOD*

Today I’m linking up with Bri at Work Clothes, I Suppose who wanted to see our best Pinspired Outfit. I’m not sure this one is my best, but it’s pretty darn good! (Scroll down to the bottom to see the pinspiration photo.)  I could have gone with black skinnies, but I rarely wear black denim so I wanted to stay true to my style. I think it turned out great!  What do you think?

And here’s the fun one: my attempt at copying the inspiration photo.

Close enough!

Inspiration source: Banana Republic

If you couldn’t tell, I really like Banana Republic. Their petite sizing fits me like a glove, and they always make me look so grown up. I would wear their clothes even if Nick didn’t work there and gets us a sweet discount. It’s no secret that I”m short so tailoring is a way of life for me if I want to look put together. But with petites at BR, I rarely have to have anything tailored, which makes life a lot easier, and kind of makes up for the prices. I’ve started to branch out to other petite departments, like Loft, mostly because they finally have them! I guess what I’m trying to say is if you make clothes that will fit me without much effort, I will love you.

Anywho, I wore this outfit to my first internship meeting and then to present in my public health ethics class. I was leary of the flair on this skirt because I was afraid it would make my hips look even bigger than they are, but it actually balances them out. It’s like perfection in a skirt.

Also, more navy.

And here’s the fun one:

I’m addicted to navy… and to cognac… and to wearing them together. I seriously can’t get enough of it lately. I’ve worn it here and here and here and here and now I’m wearing it again. I promise I have other colors but navy blue has been my go-to for the last few weeks which is probably because, according to About.com “navy conveys importance, confidence, power, and authority as well as intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism. Like black, it carries a sense of elegance, sophistication.” This is very timely because I’ve needed confidence, authority, and intelligence for school, so I wore this outfit to class and then to dinner with my mother-in-law.  I love that it’s simple but still elegant.