A Fashion Post with Laura.

Good Morning! I've got a little somethin' somethin' special for y'all today. Laura writes over at Walking in Memphis in High Heels and always looks so damn cute.
I've definitely had my style change once I lost some weight, fitting into smaller clothes is nice, but I also became more confident.
I wanted to branch out and try new things.

 I'm a tiny bit obsessed with leggings {Kohls, Vera Wang} and the Maddie top from Kiki La Rue.

Mint is the color of my year. Just sayin'. {Kiki La Rue has a ton of cute ones!}

Pencil skirts were never my friend because I'm pear shaped, but it pays to venture out and try new things, this is one of my new favorite skirts! {Talbots} Sweater is {Target}

 I don't just adore this color I also love these flocked leggings {Kohls}

Top is Kiki La Rue I love that store because she carries everything from smalls to plus size. Lots of her items can transition while you lose weight which is important because buying a whole new wardrobe is crazy expensive!

Laura is going to talk to you more about some fashion risks you can take , I'll be honest, I haven't tried color blocking yet.

But now I really feel the need to go copy the second outfit she's going to show you :)

Hey hey, I'm Laura and I blog over at Walking in Memphis in High Heels.  I'll tell you a few things about myself, and I'll try to keep it short and sweet (though I'll warn you it's probably impossible!)  You're only looking at the pictures anyways though, right?  = )  I've been blogging exactly 3 months today, and I still have no clue what I'm doing, but hopefully I've fooled a few people into thinking I do.  = )  

Fashion is what I blog about first and foremost, but I also blog about my other loves including food and working out (it's a viscous never ending cylce.)  So now that Skinny Meg has whipped us all into shape and is keeping us motivated with her and Mama Laughlin's IG pics, I thought I would show you a few ways you can ease into one of my favorite fashion trends this year.  Disclaimer:  I do NOT claim to be an expert by any means; I just have fun trying things out and seeing what works.  I've learned through a little trial and a lot through error.  A trend that was really big last year and definitely won't be going away anytime soon is color blocking.  I love color blocking, but at first it can seem downright crazy.  

For outfit details see here.

Now tell me again why I would pair red and pink together?  They don't match.  They technically don't, but they definitely compliment each other very nicely!  Many companies are now making clutches that are both red and pink, and I've seen tons of cute red and pink chevron print dresses and scarves lately.  If we can wear the colors together when they're combined on 1 piece of clothing, why can't we wear separates with those same colors?  Well we can.  I will admit I thought I looked crazy the first time I did it (and a few people who passed me on the street probably though so too), but once you try it and get more comfortable with it, I think you'll love it!  

Color blocking is essentially just wearing different solid colors next to each other.  If you're nervous about trying it, either start out wearing two colors that are fairly similar (but not so much so that they just look like you tried to match them but then didn't) or try wearing one of the colors so that it functions more like a neutral (blue pants, a yellow blouse, an orange blazer.)  You don't have to try neon yellow and magenta your first time.  Some of my favorite color blocking combinations are cobalt blue and yellow.  This combination is very easy to pull off because both pieces essentially work like neutrals.  Blue pants are very similar to (neutral) denim and a yellow blouse is similar in color to a tan (neutral.)  Orange and burgundy look great together, and they're in the same color family too so you won't feel like you got dressed in the dark.  Turquoise and green has the same effect - they're in the same color family so the whole outfit transitions well.  

If you're wanting something even less severe for your first time color blocking, try one of my favorites - mint and forest green.  This look is a little more monochromatic but is the perfect color scheme to ease you into color blocking.  Your outfit will look really pulled together, and you can never go wrong with mint!  Fashion is really all about having fun and feeling good.  Do what you think looks best! 

Parker Silk Blouse.  Sold out, but similar one here for $198.
J. Crew No. 2 Wool Pencil Skirt.  On sale for $59.99.
Theory Infinity Scarf.  Old, but similar one here for $26.
J. Crew Gold Bow Necklace.  Old, but plenty on eBay here.
Michael Kors Ritz Two-Tone Watch.  $250.
BCBG Nude Pump.  Old, but similar ones here for $66.99.

Another tip is to pair your color blocked pieces with some neutrals your first time like the nude colored scarf and heels I'm wearing today with my turquoise and green.  Is it just me or did my style inspiration come from a Dasani water bottle today?  I swear I didn't plan that...sort of.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll come visit me at Walking in Memphis in High Heels.  I have 4 giveaways going on right now too, so stop on by and enter if you get the chance.  = ) 

Thank you so much Laura for guest posting and I hope to see everyone be adventurous and try this, I know I will!

Probably all over Instagram {@skinnymeg31}.

Happy Day Before Happy Hour Friday.

Clean Recipes and Link Up

Hey Hey Hey.

Me and my boo, just hanging out in our Brady Bands. Growing her bangs out is ROUGH.

Y'all ready for some new eats? I've decided to branch out and try new things during this cleanse.

Like kale. 

Never had it, but I know it's like a super food.

Hope it's super good :) haha. I actually came up with 10 dinners and a grocery list. Thought I'd share in case y'all want to branch out too.

Here are the links.

Chili, Stew, Kale, Coconut and Curry, Tilapia, Lasagna.

Some were old favorites, I can't be cooking something new EVERY night. I'm not that awesome.

The dressing are not really Cleanse 'appropriate' because of the oil, but I'm gonna try it anyways :)

Mayo and Dressing.

If you feeling super unmotivated here's my grocery list.

Obviously I was in a hurry at work and I didn't spell check, oh well.

For breakfast I plan on sticking with my oatmeal, honey, and banana or toast with avocado and hard boiled eggs.

Avocado IS natures butter, ha.

Lunches are up in the air, obviously I love salad, but even I get sick of it after 4 or 5 days in a row. 

Hoping someone links up some ideas for me. 

EASY ones. kthanks.

Link up your favorite recipes and ones you hope turn out decent.

Day in the Life of Skinny Meg

4:15am

That's what time my alarm goes off every morning. I know a lot of you think I'm some kind of superwomen who fits everything in a day. I won't say I have super powers, but I can say I fit a ton of shit into most of my days :)

Yes, it's gotten harder since I went back to work, here is my usual schedule and some of my tips for getting it all in.

Be organized.

I spend 30 minutes before bed packing bags, this includes my gym bag, Madison's bags, and my lunch box. I pre-make my Spark and put it in the fridge and I even get my coffee and breakfast ready for the next morning. I lay out what I want to wear the next day and I sleep in my sports bra and workout pants.

If you don't do it the night before you might as well just assume you are NOT going to get a workout the next day.

Getting up at 4am is rough, but necessary if you work. This is prime workout time, when I first started I tried so hard to make it at night. It was a beating, you KNOW I love my gym time, but at 630 it's difficult to focus on sweating! I would be at the gym and all I could think about was how I still had to go home, cook dinner, gives bathes, clean up, etc. Plus, I was freaking TIRED.

 

So 3x a week I do 5 am workouts, I live 20 minutes from the gym so I pack all my 'getting pretty' shit and take it with me to get ready for work there. 

I work M-F 8-530 and work is a hour drive to and from my house.

I will say you need to be committed, that first week or two of getting up this early will be hard! It will get easier, your body will adjust. Coffee helps.

On the mornings I don't go to the gym I blog, finding time to write posts is not easy. I can't do it at work because I don't have access, but sometimes I take my laptop to Starbucks on my lunch break. Each post takes me over an hour to write usually, but I enjoy doing it so I make time.

I get home from work around 6:30 where I feed Madison as soon as I walk in the door and then start cooking for Oliver and I. She doesn't eat what we eat, that girl is getting very picky. Not sure if you've ever tried to force a toddler to eat something, but that shit usually doesn't happen. 

I try 'healthy' mac and cheese and she's all 'I want a peanut butter sandwich'. Sigh. 

I'll be honest, I've been making the same 4 or 5 healthy recipes for months now. I'm just too lazy to look up new ones because I know EXACTLY what I need from the store and how long they take to cook :)

I hate hate hate hate thinking and planning and cooking dinner every night. Sigh.

If I was super awesome I would make 5 meals and freeze them ahead on Sundays. That's one of my goals.

Usually while dinner is going we do bath time and I do some light picking up around the house.

Some have commented and asked how I keep my house so clean. My husband is pretty good at helping and Madison is also pretty good at keeping MOST of her shit in the playroom. I hate messes though so I never let things get too messy! If both of you work it take a team to keep it up. Sunday nights are usually when we do laundry and deep clean.

My husband gets home around 8 and we usually eat dinner and watch a show. Bedtime routine around 9.

Yes she still sleeps with us, we all love to cuddle what can I say? haha.

We watch a sitcom while laying in bed, usually I'm out in 15 minutes.

Wake up and do it all over again.

Love,

SkinnyMeg

p.s. Don't forget about our recipe link up tomorrow for the 10 day cleanse! Even if you're not cleansing you can still link up recipes and find some new healthy options for eating :)

Painting a Chevron Wall with One Measurement

Good Monday morning! I had a great weekend, I chevroned up a boring bathroom and got in some great workouts.

That's pretty much all I need in life :) hahaha.

Let's start with the bathroom shall we? Brandi's husband was going out of town so we figured that would be the perfect time to put some happiness in her beige and boring master bath.

{Before}

{During}

 I know this LOOKS hard, but it's really not. All you need is ONE measurement, 2.83 inch tape {only found at Lowe's}, and cardboard.

I even made you a video showing how easy it was to do, we did 3 walls in her bathroom and it took a Saturday afternoon. 

{After}

The colors we used were Behr Kiwi Squeeze and Martha Stewart Talc.

The curtains outside the bathtub just look freaking amazing, they are clearanced at Target.

You can hop over to Brandi's blog in a bit to see more pics, you know she's not posting at 5 am like I am :) haha.

Sunday produced some seriously gorgeous weather. Like 70 and sunny.

Sometimes Texas weather is good to us, just not usually June-October.

Soccer season started again.

I weigh about the same as last season, but I'm pretty sure I look thinner.

Thank you weight training.

I LOVE playing soccer, it's aggressive and makes me feel young again, but DUDE my ass and sides hurt like no one's freaking business today. Whew.

The husband usually comes to my first game and afterwards we hang out and go to lunch.

Miss M went to church with Papa, she's not really into sitting for 2 hours and watching me play.

She just begs to go play on the playground the entire time.

We stopped by DSW to get Oliver some new running shoes, his commitment comes and goes for working out, usually the closer to summer we get the more motivated he is to workout :)

Don't forget Wednesday is our linkup for Cleanse Recipes!! This is a great chance to get a head start on your meal planning for the 10 days and if you still need to order I think there may be time, so contact Kristen and get on board!

Happy Monday!

Origami Owl Giveaway

I have an AMAZING giveaway for y'all today.

I'm seriously OBSESSING over these necklaces, they are just so freaking CUTE.

They come in the cutest little packaging too, I don't know why this makes me love it even more, but it does.

I like pretty things, what can I say :)

They are called Living Lockets and you can pick your charms, chain, the locket, the medallion, EVERYTHING. Totally customizable, which is why I'm pretty sure this will be the perfect go to gift for all the ladies in my life.

My Locket Consultant Trisha helped me make the perfect one and she was sweet enough to design one for one lucky winner.

You can visit her website here and check out all of the beautiful options.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck! Giveaway ends 2/28.

We All Love Holly {Guest Post}

If you know her you love her.

And not just because she posts pictures like this on Instagram {@hollystanfield}

She's truly one of those people who everyone wants to be friends with just because she's so damn nice.

and funny.

and cute.

I couldn't be more excited that she's coming to Dallas next month for Blissdom.

She may feel differently when I raid her luggage for unapproved snacks.

Or after I give her a for real SkinnyMeg workout :)

She's training for her first half and I plan to get in AT LEAST 10 miles with her, maybe 11, actually we might as well do 12. Why not?

So if you don't know her now is your chance! You can thank me later.

For all the Baby Mama’s

Hi, I’m Holly. I blog over at Where We Can Live Like Jack and Sally. You might have seen me over on Mama Laughlin’s page… I am kind of the friend that doesn’t go away.  Meg, or as I refer to her as skinnymeg (all one word like it’s completely normal) asked me to guest post for her this morning. I figured that if I said yes that she wouldn’t make my work out so difficult next month when I see her. But since we all know skinnymeg, there is no such thing as an easy work out to the woman.
 

I’m here today to talk to all the new baby mama’s and the mom’s still pregnant who are worried about blistered nipples and how they are going to shake this weight after birth.
 

Not to get all raging liberal on ya… but there is hope. Not for the blistered nips… but for weight loss.

My son is turning four this weekend, which has me reminiscing about the time of hell that he was born and plopped on my lap. I say time of hell with a great amount of love because after having an allergic reaction to the epidural and tearing the inside of my asshole, this beautiful butterball of 9 pounds 9 ounces was given to me to keep forever.

This is what I looked like on that day… Ursela looks better than me.

I went into the hospital weighing 220 pounds. When you’re a vegetarian your whole life and you get a 9 month craving for Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches… Don’t eat one every day. And sure as hell don’t dip that shit into mayo and expect not to gain 80 pounds… ‘cause it will happen.

 

But I am here to bear good advice.

 

1. Bond with your baby. Those first 6-8 weeks of nursing/sleep deprivation purgatory go by fast. Enjoy the moment. Give your body time to relax.

 

2. Step up that water game. Flush out the old, girlfriend. No one tells you about the small baby that you deliver at home after birth. Constipation is a bish.

 

3. Then when you’re feeling good, hit up the gym. But don’t just go there and watch tv in peace like I did for four months. Get a good work out plan in place.

 

4. Only worry about the next five pounds. Every time I would lose five pounds, I would have a cheat meal. Then back up on the saddle I went.  It made the bigger picture of losing 40+ more doable to me.

 

Obviously, this is all common sense advice. But it’s really to drive home to point that there isn’t a magic drink, pill, or workout.  Just a good diet and old fashion exercise will get your head and yo mind right.

 

A month after losing all the baby weight from my son, I got pregnant with my daughter. With her, I only gained half the amount I weight I did with her gargantuan brother.  For me, getting back into that workout schedule, while working full time outside the home, and juggling two babies was difficult. There is a messy pie of guilt and tiredness (mmmm pie). But putting myself first (not to bed first like I wish) has really made me a better mom.

 

This is proof that any new mom… or new toddler mom who wants her old body back can do it.

Take a Before picture of yourself today. Jot down your weight and measurements. Stock the house with healthy food and make a plan. It’s only February. You can get that hot college bod back this summer.

 

Cheers to skinnymeg and being one day closer to Friday!

Favorite Things

I used to do posts on my favorite things once a month and it's been a while so this may be full!

1. Flipping my hair out.

I used to wear my hair like this a lot a few years ago and I decided to bring it back. Us short haired girls need options. I achieve this look with a small round brush and a blow dryer, a dab of pomade wax crap and some hairspray.

Speaking of hairspray, this is my new favorite! Cheap and good :)

2. My Nails.

Y'all know I've been getting the Nex Gen {acrylic powder} and love them. I also have been choosing very neutral colors because I have to wear them daily. So I LOVE Jamberry Nails to add a little fun when I'm feeling bored with them.

Have y'all tried these? So easy and cute! I actually tried to paint polka dots on my nails once, big fat fail.

I got mine from Anneliese and I'm not going to lie,

prettyyyyy sure I need to get the MINT CHEVRON. Probably for my big toe, you know the salons can't paint chevron. They looked at me like 'what the hell is chevron'. haha.

Isn't is so perfect for me?? If you want to shop you can see the full collection here.

3. Makeup

I was asked about what I use on my brows and I can't believe I haven't shared this before because I super love it.

It's eyebrow Mousse and it's so easy to use which is why I love it, I suck at pencil blending. It goes on with a mascara wand, I'm wearing Dark Blonde. I buy mine from Skinstore.com
Oh and my cute headband is from one of my favorite stores, Three Birds Nest, you know, the place with the cute boot socks I wear all the time :)

I also found a blush that is amazing. Maybelline's Dream Bouncy, it's a mix of cream and powder and it's beautiful on. I need to try more colors! The brush is Urban Decay.

Lets not forget my amazing lashes. They are fake and I love them, if you live in Dallas contact Holly and give them a try. I get fills about every 2 weeks and no my real lashes are not falling out. My favorite part is not having to put on mascara daily and take it off nightly.
Oh and the black ring under my eyes when I workout.
That's not cute on anyone.

4. Sweating.

I love any move that works my legs. Here's a short video of one from the full body workout I posted a few days ago.

Here's my favorite ab move, I've posted this before in my Ab Workout Video, but I have some new peeps who haven't tried it.

And you should.

It's amazing.

Hope y'all have a Happy Hump Day.
Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments yesterday, I had well over 400 and I'm working on replying to emails so don't be sad if I haven't gotten back to you yet!
I'll be honest I was so scared someone was going to say 'why in the hell would you post those pictures?'
Obviously it was for nothing because I got nothin' but love from y'all and it was amazing.
Like super amazing, I had chills.
So THANK YOU for commenting and sharing your stories with me as I've tried to share with you.

Love,
SkinnyMeg

Weight Loss Undressed

I've gone back and forth on if I should post these pics. 

Once you put it out there it's hard to take back, not that I mind sharing the truth, but I also suck at taking criticism. 

I also kinda wish that only women could read this blog, so HUBBY JACK if you are reading stop now.

Trust me.

Dad, you too.

Oliver, keep on reading and you won't be bitching about giving me money for a little work :)

Why am I sharing this?

I want to be honest about what losing weight will do to your body. Some things get better, some are just bad, but in a different way.

I also am doing this to track my toning up process, I get asked if weight training will help with loose skin.

Honestly I don't know, but it can't fucking hurt!

I know y'all see me looking cute in my outfits, clothes hide a lot.

I have posted pics in a bikini, but these are up close and personal. 

For reals.

DEEP BREATH.

Totally awkward to pose for these pics in a your friends living room.

We just hit a whole new level of bonding.

Yes, I spray tanned before. I'm brave, but not THAT brave!

My boobs are a disaster. They went from super G's to D's AND I nursed for 9 months. 

I plan on getting implants, in a SMALL C. Yes, I want to go smaller.

I may need a glass of wine before hitting publish. 

This is what I consider my 'problem area' my hips and thighs. I'll be honest they are WAY better than they were 112 pounds ago.

The extra skin above my belly button really bugs me, I would be happy just getting that tightened without an entire tummy tuck.

Eek. I don't know that any amount of weight training can fix all that. It makes me sad that I did that to my body with food. Well, the baby didn't help either.
Ugh, even extra skin on my hips and thighs.

I can't have surgery anytime soon, so in the meantime I plan to try my hardest to get that to look better through sweating and eating right.

My arms are pretty much the only thing to make it through intact, even when not flexing they aren't too bad.

I do have more wrinkles, but I guess that was probably going to happen anyways!

Thank God for Instagram Filters.

My body is far from perfect, but it's improved drastically from when I started which is why I can post these pics, I worked HARD for all that mess :)

You can still be happy and not be perfect.

I know I'm willing to put in the work to try and repair what I've done.

I'm still a work in progress even if I'm in 'maintenance'.

Now, who's ready to lift those weights??

Love,
Not So Skinny Meg

Partying and Cleansing

It's Birthday Party Season.

Just about every single friend I have is a teacher, so now is when most of them have their babies and we are solid booked on parties until the end of April!

These girls have been friends since they were babies, I hope they stay friends for a very long time. 

The first party was Chuck E Cheese and I MAY have gotten up and done the Shuffle with them, I'm telling you I can't NOT dance when that song comes on!

I also got to meet a reader which is always fun, makes my day when they come up and say Hi!
Unless I'm shoving my face full of pizza :)
Don't worry I tracked that on My Fitness Pal {skinnymeg32}, come track along with me!

Sunday's have always been the hardest day for me to motivate myself to get a workout in, lately some of us have been meeting up at the gym and I'm totes LOVING it. 

I am so so so sore today!

Nothing fancy just wrote down some moves and we busted that shit out Skinny Meg style :)

I have talked on here before about my love of Advocare, I've done the cleanse 3x and I've done the 24 Day Challenge before and I highly recommend it.

I recently talked Mama Laughlin in to giving it a try, she's been struggling with food and I think this is a great solution to cleaning up your eating and getting your body back in fighting condition.

Of course, like anything new people are uninformed about what it is and how it works, so lets take a minute to say what it's NOT.

 It's not a FAD or CRASH Diet! 

You don't replace meals with drinks or pills. You don't cut back your calories. 

You just don't eat SUGAR, ENRICHED FLOUR, CAFFEINE, OR DAIRY.

Plus all the other junk like processed food or fried food.

The Cleanse is 10 days and it includes a fiber drink and some herbal pills. 

I LOVE the fiber drink because it's gentle on my tummy, not like those nasty Fiber One bars, it doesn't taste the best, but I drink mine through a straw and I have no problems at all getting it down.

The pills help clean you out, no you will not be shitting yourself at work. Promise.

If you want all the technical info you can read all about it here.

The plan:
Brandi and I are starting it on  Monday March 4th and we would LOVE for y'all to join in and do it with us! We are going to host a link party on February 27th {our first!} for people who want to do a post on clean recipes they've tried and liked or other clean food options.

The hardest part is being prepared with clean food everyday, so we are hoping by putting together a link party it will give everyone a chance to find some new recipes and put together a shopping list for the weekend.

If you need to order the Cleanse, it's 32 bucks and you can buy it through Kristen. We got ours in like 2 days, so shipping is super fast.

Your welcome.

If you have questions I'm more than happy to help, but PLEASE leave your email address so I can reply.

Happy Monday!