Girl Crush: Brittany Snow

Photo from here.

Today's Girl Crush post is all about the lovely Brittany Snow.  I first fell in love with Brittany in high school when she starred on American Dreams, a show about an all-American family living during the 1960's.  Brittany played Meg Pryor, a (fictional) dancer on the hit 60's television show, American Bandstand.  Loved the clothes.  Loved the decade.  Loved the music.  Loved Will Estes who played Meg's older brother, JJ.  Loved the story lines.  Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after three seasons (but not before I purchased the soundtrack and season one on DVD!).

Photo from here.

Brittany with Will Estes
Photo from here.

After the cancellation of American Dreams, Brittany guest starred on some of my favorite shows such as Gossip Girl, Nip/Tuck and Law and Order: SVU.  She has also been in some great movies like John Tucker Must Die, Hairspray and Prom Night.  While she has some hits, I still kind of like to think of her as one of my favorite somewhat hidden/special actresses since she isn't really mainstream yet.  I'll be able to say "I knew her when..." ;o)

Photo from here.

Brittany is BFFs with some pretty cool ladies including Jessica Stroup, Vanessa Lengies, Sophia Bush (another Girl Crush of mine) and Arielle Kebbell.  (I love hearing about famous friendships in hopes I can one day join their group!)  It has even been said that these girls helped Brittany through one of her toughest times in her life - her battle with anorexia, bulemia, and self-mutilation.  She has been recovering for the last few years now.  She has even turned her struggle into hope for others.

Photo from here.

In 2010, Brittany teamed up with MTV and the Jed Foundation to help spread love and hope to teens who feel as if they have nothing left in life.  The project is called Love Is Louder.  It is basically a huge support system for teens or anyone going through a difficult time.  It began at a time when there were a lot of teen suicides and stories of bullying in the news.  I follow Brittany on Twitter and I can tell you that she promotes love and Love Is Louder constantly.  This is not just a cause she has lent her name too.  You can tell she truely believes in the message and in helping others.  This is one of the reasons I picked her as a Girl Crush this week.

Photo from here.

I hope to see a lot more of Brittany - even if it means she has to go mainstream and everyone knows her name.  Most recently, she was named #48 on Maxim's Hot 100 of 2012!  You go, girl!  She also has about five new movies coming out in the next year according to IMDB, so stay tuned to see more of Miss Brittany Snow in a theater near you!  But remember - I knew her when... ;o)

Photo from here.

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Summer Goals

*Be sure to enter my Technogel pillow GIVEAWAY if you haven't already!*

Today's whole post is basically inspired by Megan over at Running Toward the Prize.  She has had some awesome ideas this past week, so I told her I was going to "admire and acquire" them for a blog post.  First, she came up with the genius idea to make a list of summer goals.  In my opinion, summer lasts from Memorial Day to Labor Day, so that is my personal timeline for my summer goals list.  That is exactly 99 days!  Check out my list below:

1.  Eat real foods.  Summer is the perfect time to eat more veggies and fruits, so that is my plan!

2.  Enjoy the season.  Summer comes and goes quickly which is why I want to enjoy the season!  My goal is to visit either the pool/lake/beach every weekend.  This is a great place to read and relax.

3.  Read fourteen books.  This might sound like an unusual number, but it is actually only one book per week.   This week I've been reading Lacrosse for Dummies since the BF coaches lacrosse and for almost two years I've had absolutely no idea what is going on at any of his games.  Starting on Monday I will begin The Carrie Diaries (can't wait for the show this fall!).

4.  Stretch daily.

5.  Wake up for Tone It Up #BootyCall workouts 3 days/wk.  Your metabolism is kickstarted if you can get your cardio in during the morning time, so that is my goal - rise and run!

6.  Sign up for a race.  I have a race in mind, but I don't want to officially announce it yet.  Training begins in a few weeks for it though!  I'm very excited!

7.  Follow the 30 week training program for my top-secret, awesome race!  The program obviously runs (no pun intended ;o) until race day, but it begins this summer.

8.  Finish the Tone It Up #BikiniSeries up strong.  The Bikini Series should be officially over on June 10th - that leaves two weeks to finish on top!

9.  Create a daily goals list each month.  At the beginning of the year, I created a daily goals list for each month.  It included things like floss, read for an hour, stretch, etc.  I think it would be a good thing to bring back to help break down these summer goals into smaller daily goals.

10.  Celebrate my blogversary!  I'm still working out details/ideas, but I would love to celebrate my blogversary - and my readers!  The official date is June 23!

Megan also introduced me to the Runner's World #RWRunStreak Challenge - to run at least one mile each day from Memorial Day to July 4th!  I'm changing it up a bit through.  My personal challenge will run through the whole summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  I also don't expect to run all of the miles.  As I mentioned previously, I am starting a training program soon and it includes rest days on Mondays and Fridays.  Because of that, I will walk on those days. You can check out my progress at Daily Mile.  My workouts also get posted to my Twitter feed through Daily Mile, so you can follow me there as well.

What are your summer goals?  Are you going to participate in the #RWRunStreak Challenge with me and Megan?  Let me know in the comments below!

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Memorial Day 2012 Recap

I had a really great time this Memorial Day weekend!  This week at work was a little stressful, so it was the perfect time for a three day weekend.  My wonderful weekend began on Friday morning when Madeline at Food, Fitness and Family tweeted that she saw me in this month's Fitness Magazine!  Check it out:

I die!

I was a little excited and had to rush to Wal-Mart after work to get a copy...or a few!  I also bought some new sunglasses since Lily destroyed mine.  (My first big purchase ever was a pair of Costa Del Mar sunglasses for graduation from undergrad.  I was so nervous to buy them since before I would only purchase $10 sunglasses, but my Costas last me three years which isn't too bad I guess. ) I really like my new shades from Wal-Mart.  I couldn't find them on the Wal-Mart website to post, but you can check them out in the photos below.

David and I headed up to Lake Hartwell in South Carolina for the weekend.  David's long-time friends from the beach live there.  You might remember them from this post on my Labor Day recap (which sadly didn't include a single photo!)  Speaking of photos, I am in love with my new camera Lily won from Petco.  It takes photos so fast that even Lily can't move and ruin the pictures ;o) It's a Cyber-Shot DSC-WX50 16.2-Megapixel Digital Camera  if anyone is interested.

We got in late Friday night and rested up for a big day on Saturday.  David and I still woke up early on Saturday morning.  We took Lily down to the lake to see how she would react to the water.  She was a little scared, but she got in when David was in the water too.  She wouldn't jump off the dock though - even though she jumped off a five foot cliff onto rocks and red Georgia clay!  Crazy, pup!  We ended up leaving her behind for the day because we weren't sure how she would do on the crowded beach with kids and good food.  We went to this island in the middle of the lake.  A ton of boats tied up there for the weekend.  Everyone hung out, played cornhole, ate yummy foods, swam, etc all day.  It was an awesome time!  It's neat to see this sort of "lake community" out there!

Lily, the water bug!

the island

our awesome hosts and the cutest couple I know!

Sunday, we went out on the lake again.  This time we brought Lily along.  She did a lot better on the boat and in the water.  This time we stopped by the island for a bit, but then we headed to another island where Josh's parents were hanging out.  We tied up the boats just like on Labor Day.  I actually ended up falling asleep on the front of the boat, so I think I missed most of the day :o( I did get to see Lily swim around though.  David tried to put her on a float, but she wanted to swim, swim, swim!  We had a delicious dinner at The Grill Man right on the lake.  I recommend the fish tacos, but the burgers and shrimp poboy looked delicious too.  Also, they are very dog-friendly there.  They even brought a water bowl out to Lily!

Josh got us "bird dogs" for lunch.  This was a first for me, but they are delicious!  There are many versions, but this one has chicken fingers, cheese, bacon, mayo and honey mustard on it.  I also tried a buffalo chicken version that was super amazing!

LOVE this photo of Lily and David!

I was trying to get a family photo, but Lily just wanted to feel the wind in her fur.

Unlike on Memorial Day, I didn't hit up any sales this weekend ;o)  Lily and I came back home and had a relaxing evening catching up on television shows.  I'm very thankful this is only a four day week because I'm already ready for this weekend.  Are you?

Let me know in the comments below what you did this Memorial Day weekend (even better if you post a link to your blog with a weekend recap!  I'd also appreciate some yummy recipes if you have them from this weekend.)  Until tomorrow...

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Friday Favorites: Memorial Day Fun!

I wanted to write a Friday Favorites post this week (since it's been forever since my last one) and dedicate it to pretty red, white, and blue desserts and crafts - perfect for this Memorial Day weekend...or to start practicing for 4th of July weekend- whichever!  These are all on my Pinterest board - "Red White Blue" - so be sure to jump over there for recipes and How-To's if you see anything you like here!  I hope you have an wonderful, relaxing weekend.  I'm off to the lake :o)

Also, have you entered my Technogel pillow contest yet?  Hurry - the contest ends next week!

Are You Gellin'?

Technogel Review & Giveaway!

Photo from here.

About a month ago I was reading Food, Fitness, and Family and learned about Technogel pillows because Madeline was doing a review and giveaway at the time.  I had been hearing a ton of great things about these pillows through other FitFluential bloggers I follow and I even participated in a Twitter chat to learn more.  Surprisingly, I ended up winning the Technogel pillow from Madeline's blog!  After Madeline put me in contact with Technogel to give them my contact information, they told me that I could give away a pillow to a lucky reader if I wanted.  I thought that was so nice of them because it gave me the opportunity to "pay it forward" if I ended up liking the pillow I won!  I was very excited to try it out.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long.  The box was at my doorstep about two days later!  I quickly ripped open the packaging and started lounging on the couch with my new pillow!  I was told it might take a couple days to get used to it as the pillow has a layer of gel, but I had no problems with it at all.  It felt so nice! 

There are so many wonderful things to say about this pillow, I don't even know where to begin!  Technogel has six different pillow options - Classic, Anatomic, Deluxe, Contour and two Travel pillows.  I chose the Anatomic pillow since I sleep on my back and side.  Because of the gel and memory foam layers, the pillow adapts to you.  This decreases pressure in certain areas which is great if you happen to have any neck, back or shoulder injuries or pain.  In addition, Technogel is part of the Dr. Scholl's family.  You know - the same company that makes those awesome shoe inserts and those catchy commercials?  Even better?  The materials that make up Technogel pillows are also used to make bicycle seat covers for guys like Lance Armstrong that are cycling for hours at a time!  You're probably thinking this pillow sounds like sleeping on a heavenly cloud now, no?!

Photo from here.

I don't really have any neck, shoulder or back pain, but this girl does love her sleep!  The first few days after receiving this pillow, I was falling into such deep sleeps that I was sleeping straight through my alarm.  I had to tweet Technogel and blame them for making me late for work! ;o)  I also love the fact that the pillows have a cooling effect because of the gel.  I can't tell you how awesome this is right now as the air conditioning unit in my house is currently broken - yes, in Atlanta where it is already hitting the mid-80's!  Plus, my room is at the front of the house and for some reason it is always the coldest in the winter and the hottest in the summer.  Now, I never have to flip my pillow over to the "cool side" ever again!

Time for the good stuff...

As I mentioned, Technogel is allowing me to pay it forward and share the love!  I will be using Rafflecopter to select a winner of this contest.  There seems to be some confusion.  While the following are ways to enter, you must also confirm you did the following using the Rafflecopter widget below.  You can enter a number of ways until next week when the contest is over on June 1, 2012.:

•   Follow Technogel on Twitter
•   "Like" Technogel on Facebook
•   Follow me on Twitter
•   "Like" this blog on Facebook
•   Tweet about this contest (once per day)

a'>http://www.rafflecopter.com">a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feel free to contact me or comment below if you have any specific questions regarding Technogel pillows, my experience with my pillow, or this giveaway.  In addition, I want to restate that I am not being compensated for this post.  I won my Technogel pillow through a blog giveaway just like this one.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Spring/Summer Activewear

Summer weather is in full force here in Atlanta which means I can pull out my fun and colorful workout gear!  I've put together some of my favorite pieces for this spring/summer season based on price level below.  Check them out and be sure to tell me in the comments below what your favorite activewear item is this season and where to purchase it:

All of these items are available at Target for under $20.  I found myself gravitating to the C9 by Champion items, so I will definitely have to check this brand out next time I stop by Target:

I found the next items at Atlanta Activewear.  If you live in the city, you can stop by the Virginia Highland location to check out these pieces and more.  If not, you can purchase all of these items on their website.  Be sure to tell Danielle and Donna I said hi!

I was going to do a 3rd price range of items, but I think Kim Kardashian is the only one sweating it out in crazy expensive gym clothes.  She is using a Hermes Birkin Bag as her gym bag in the photo below - they range from $9,000 to $150,000!  She might as well throw her dirty clothes in the back of her Bentley...it's basically the same thing. SMH...

Photo from here.

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I Need More Fifty In My Life!

Photo from here.

As you know from this post, I was not a huge fan of 50 Shades of Grey until the last few chapters.  Then the book just cuts off making you have to immediately purchase the next book, 50 Shades Darker, (the same happens at the end of this book as well - just purchase all three together).  This is when my obsession began!

I didn't like the first book because I thought Christian Grey was too dominating in regards to Ana Steele.  I thought he took advantage of her and that it wasn't an equal relationship.  This all changed for me in 50 Shades Darker.  Christian became super romantical or as Christian and Ana like to say - he brought the "hearts and flowers" big time.  Plus, the author shows that it is actually Ana, not Christian, that has the upper hand in this crazy, dramatic relationship.  I forget what chapter it is exactly (maybe chapter 13 in book 2?), but after reading the last page I was immediately Team Christian! He had won me over with one simple gesture.  You'll see what I mean if you read the books.

Christian also redeems himself by opening up about his past in the final two books - this gives Ana (and the reader) a better idea of why he is the way he is.  All his unusual and unlikable traits are explained in the last two books, and to tell you the truth I don't think he's that bad of a guy at all.  I will admit that I actually have a crush on this literary character (as I did with Edward in Twilight too).  All his issues are due to his past experiences as a child, and no one can blame him for that especially because he is trying desperately to move beyond them.

If you are like me and aren't fond of the first book, please keep reading.  I definitely think you will enjoy the other books.  I seriously could not put them down!  I even read the small snippets at the end of the final book because I needed more - one is about Christian's first Christmas (excruciating to read since the author writes it as if a four year old is thinking) and the other is of Christian and Ana's first meeting but from Christian's perspective/mind.  LOVED the second snippet - it reminded me of the PDF of Twilight in Edward's perspective.  I hope E.L. James makes this into a book as well, but I think that might be difficult to write since Christian is so dark and torn. 

Lastly, I must disagree with everyone that says these books are "mommy porn".  I think most women read these books purely because of the romance.  You can take out the graphic scenes - which I feel like were written for pure shock value alone - and still have an amazing story (not written very well, but James still has good ideas).  I would even say the graphic scenes are what turned me off of the book - the author took a risk there.  Boy, does James sure knows how to create some media buzz though!  I'll be interested to see how they make this into a movie... Speaking of the movies, I can honestly say I have NO idea who I would cast in these roles.  I really think I would love Ryan Gosling to play Christian Grey though (as I mention here), but that's all I got.  While I normally cannot wait to see movies adapted from books, I'm a little nervous because I don't want the movie to ruin the trilogy for me!  I know there has been much talk about this, so let me know in the comments below who you would cast if it was up to you!

Laters, baby.

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Girl Crush: Karena and Katrina

Photo from here.

I know I talk about these Tone It Up ladies a lot, but lets be real - what better girls to have a Girl Crush on than these two?  They are literally the epitome of the perfect Girl Crush aka amazing role models for young women aka girl power!  They started their own company, ToneItUp.com, and it continues to grow.  It's been a success because they put in a lot of hard work and late nights into it.  They also focus on what their followers want, such as the new Perfect Fit protein powder they just released.  I haven't tried it, but I hear its delicious and affordable!  Note to self: Get on that!

Karena and Katrina moved to California and randomly met after seeing each other all over the place - the gym, the grocery store, the coffee shop, etc.  They instantly connected as they have tons in common including fitness and cats! No really - they love cats! See!

How can you not love these "crazy cat ladies"?!
Yes, I took the time to make this!  No, I am not ashamed!

While I've never met these girls (though some of my Twitter friends have), their personalities shine through in their blog posts and YouTube videos.  They seem like truly genuine, happy girls.  Plus, with all of their success (partnerships with Oakley and SELF Magazine to name a couple) they still seem grounded and unfazed - just very grateful. 

My favorite thing about them though is that they motivate and inspire women daily.  Their blog, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages are full of positive words and images.  I've never heard them say a negative comment ever!  They also promote a healthy female body image.  They encourage their followers to eat lean, clean, and green and to workout in the mornings because it kick starts one's metabolism.  Karena and Katrina just want us all to be happy and healthy beach babes!

I can't wait to see what the future has in store for these two!  I saw a secret tweet that mentioned some VERY exciting news for them this year.  For some reason they haven't mentioned it yet, so I don't want to spill the beans.  But, it's big and awesome and I cannot wait!

Is there anyone that I've left out of my Girl Crush series that you think needs mentioning?  Let me know in the comments below!

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The Doppelganger

Doppelgangers seem to be all the rage these days - The Vampire Diaries and How I Met Your Mother both discuss doppelgangers constantly on their shows.  Do you believe there is someone out there that looks just like you in this world?  Well, this morning, my boyfriend found Lily's doppelganger!  Now, I know a TON of dogs look the same, but Lily has very unusual colors and markings.  See for yourself:

Polish Doppelganger Lily

Doppelganger Lily lives in Poland.  I don't speak Polish, but this photo was posted in 2007 I think. 
Photo from here.

And here are photos of my Lily when she was about the same age:

Crazy, huh?  They even have the same chubby cheeks! Just thought I would share.  And can I just mention that Lily must think her left side is her best side because I could find no photos except one of her right side...model behavior! Anyway, stay tuned because my normal post will be coming shortly - a Girl Crush post!

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Blast From The Past: California Love

This week last year I was beginning a two week trip to Southern California.  California is one of my favorite places and I always enjoy visiting!  My mom had a business trip and my cousin graduated high school, so we decided to combine them into one big vacay.  Plus, I had just graduated from graduate school as well, so it was a nice vacation.  The trip took place before I picked up my blog again in June, so I wanted to share some of my favorite photos from this time last year:

San Diego

@ the Japanese gardens in Balboa Park

On the USS Midway - can you find me?!

my Richard Nixon pose...

This is one of my favorite photos, so a multi-story statue of it is even better!

I <3 Koalas!

This is one of my favorite photos of all time - if you feed a giraffe a cookie...

Say hello to my little friend!

La Jolla

We visited the aquarium one day - this photo reminds me of My Best Friend's Wedding.

I enjoyed climbing all over these cliffs/rocks along the beach.

SEALS!

This was our view one day at lunch in La Jolla! Gorg!

Laguna Beach

We stopped for lunch and a quick beach break in Laguna.  I wanted a photo with the waves crashing behind me and ended up getting drenched accidentally.  I was wet and sandy the rest of the day!

Hollywood

I went with my aunt, uncle and Logan to do the touristy thing in Hollywood.  If this photo doesn't prove I was meant to be a Mouseketeer as a child, then I don't know what does.

Oh, just me and Leo ;o)

What is your favorite thing to do in SoCal?  Let me know in the comments below.  I'd love to add it to my list for when I got back next year!

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