"Healthy Lifestyle Change" Day 1 = Great Success

I promise I won't bore you with everyday updates about my "diet" and fitness accomplishments, but I thought I would share what I completed yesterday, because I was very proud of my first day back in the swing of things!
I started with 30 minutes on the treadmill - 5 minute intervals of varying speeds and inclines. After that, I moved over to the recumbent bike, where I did 20 minutes; I really like the recumbent bike, because I can definitely feel it in my legs when I'm done, and they just happen to be one of my serious "trouble spots". Finally, I worked my upper body and did some bicep, tricep, chest, and back exercises - I ain't gonna lie, I have flabby arms, and I want to tone them up for the "big day"!
Also, I ate much healthier than what's become a trend for me. There is only one dining hall open here this summer (I work at a local university), and healthy and vegetarian (even pescetarian) choices are VERY slim... I turned to Panda Express, grilled cheese, or cheese pizza almost every day. Yesterday, I had some French Onion soup (ridiculously salty, unfortunately) and a salad. The salad bar is pretty good, but I'm over the dressings they offer. As I mentioned in a previous post, I will probably end up bringing my lunch from now on, and I'll probably bring a bottle of dressing and just stick it in the fridge upstairs.

In technology news, I'm trying to figure out how to get my Couch to 5k app moved over from my old iPhone to my new one; I'm sure there's a way in iTunes, but my old iPhone is on its last legs, and my laptop is pretty crappy, too. I never got serious with the program, but I'm determined to this time around. I've never been a runner (in school gym class, I was always the one who came in last place for the mile run, wah.)

I don't really use the iPod on my iPhone much, aside from when I'm at the gym, so my song list consists of almost entirely workout music. Here are a few songs I enjoy listening to when I'm exercising:
Phoenix - 1901
Muse - Uprising
MGMT - Kids
Alice in Chains - Again
Lady Gaga - Telephone, Judas, Born this Way
Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway
Metric - Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Remix)
Metallica - Don't Tread on Me
Chromeo - Bonafied Lovin'
Pendulum - Propane Nightmares

Quite a variety. What are your favorite workout tunes?

Finally, a post from me wouldn't be complete without something fashion-related, so here's something that I've recently been obsessing over: pink shorts. I'm hoping that tonight's trip to the outlet mall will fare me well and I will find a pair.

5" Chino Shorts in Shocking Pink, $42.50 at J.Crew

Workin' On My Fitness

Fact of the day: I'm a yo-yo dieter and an emotional eater. I was always a bit "heavy" growing up, and I wanted to change that after I left College #1. I set foot in a gym for the first time ever (besides school gym class, where I hated life and was an epic failure) and lost 45 pounds in 6 months. I was the smallest I'd ever been (a true size 6 for basically 24 hours, woo!), but I was also miserable - I was hardly eating anything and I was completely exhausted. Since then, I've gained and lost the same 30 pounds. It's hard for me to keep it off; as I mentioned, I'm an emotional eater. I turn to food when I am sad, stressed, angry... you name it.

With today being the 3-month mark until the wedding, I thought it would be a good time to start focusing on my heath and fitness. I have a gym membership, but I rarely go. Also, the town we live in allows us to use its high school fitness center, free of charge. FREE! So, what exactly is keeping me away? I've used every excuse in the book; to be completely honest, I easily get discouraged and it's hard for me to stay focused! I swear to you, I'm not one of those people who bought their wedding dress three sizes too small, so they have to exercise like crazy and starve before the "big day" so it will fit. My dress fit like a glove when I purchased it last summer; however, it's on the verge of becoming too small because of my poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

I'm going to watch what I eat; as a vegetarian/pescetarian, it's easy to fall for unhealthy (but readily available) items like greasy cheese pizza, grilled cheese, and french fries. I might start bringing lunches from home. As for dinner, as much as I don't like cooking, I'll have to start making my own dinners. Also, I want to get to the gym 3-5 days a week - probably closer to 5, until I know that my wedding dress is going to fit like a glove once again!

I hate dressing frumpy when I go to the gym. Buying some cute Lululemon workout wear as motivation to get moving is currently out of the picture, so maybe I'll pick up some yoga pants and cute tees from Old Navy or Aerie... champagne taste on a beer budget, my friends.

Bootcut Yoga Pants, on sale for $9.99-$15.00 at Old Navy

Please send positive vibes - I know I'll need it!

Spring/Summer Wishlist

I meant to post this yesterday (in honor of the fabulous Lauren's Wishlist Wednesday), but the day slipped away from me... I'm quickly learning that working a full-time job, taking care of a house and chores (attempting to keep alive all of the flowers and plants in our yard is a full-time job on its own, as I don't have a green thumb at. all.), planning a wedding, and having a normal life outside of it all is completely exhausting!

I do a lot of online window shopping; in turn, I end up with a lot of things on my wishlist. Since I do most of my shopping in-store and I tend to buy things when they're on sale, most items disappear before I actually have the chance to purchase them. (Sad!) I thought I would share with you some items on my late spring and summer wishlist!

Wedges
I'm 5'7", so I've often shied away from anything with a heel. As of late, I've become more open to the idea of pumps and wedges... especially wedges, since they're such a hot trend right now. Most recently, I bought a pair of espadrilles from Calypso St. Barth's line for Target - they are a perfect match to the dress I bought for my bridal shower at the end of the month!

Montego Bay Preserver Canvas Espadrille, on sale for $22.99 at Payless

I love how eye-catchingly sharp these are with the white and brown together... and you can't go wrong with $22.99! Plus, Payless is currently having one of their BOGO ("buy one, get one 50% off") sales.
Edit: I bought these last night with a 20% coupon (couldn't find a 2nd pair to take advantage of the BOGO sale), and I absolutely love them! They are very comfortable and look just as sharp in person as they did on the Payless site. Also, I've gotten a bunch of compliments on them, since I just had to wear them today. Success!

Colorful Striped Wedge Sandal, $35.50 at Charlotte Russe

A few years ago while I was eating dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, I saw a girl wearing wedges that had a striped heel. Since then, I haven't stopped thinking about how amazing they were! I've seen a few variations on striped wedges so far this season, but I like these because of how neutral the colors are. Charlotte Russe is currently having a "buy one, get one for $10" shoe sale.

Juicy Couture Dragon, on sale for $136.99 at Piperlime

One of my current obsessions is studs, so obviously, I love to see them on shoes. The wood heel on these is great, too. They come in brown ("luggage", to be exact), which I was immediately drawn to; however, after looking at both, I fell in love with the "pop" of the yellow. I bought my Kate Spade wedding shoes from Piperlime, and I had a great experience - super-fast (free!) shipping, and I was able to use my GapCard, which meant points towards a $10 rewards certificate! Piperlime occasionally offers online coupon codes, so be on the lookout for them!

Florals/Ruffles

I've always been a fan of floral prints and ruffles (especially together!), so it's great to see so many options available this season. Last weekend, I got an adorable purple and orange floral-print ruffled tank at TJ Maxx on sale for $7!

Tiered Ruffle Tank in Rhubarb, on sale for $24.99 at Gap 

I picked this tank up in both Rhubarb and Sugar Plum (a dark purple) a couple weekends ago when Gap had an additional 40% off/double points promo going on. These were actually less expensive in-store to begin with ($17.99 each); after all discounts and using a $10 rewards certificate, I ended up getting both for less than $10 each. One of the reasons I like shopping in-store as opposed to online is the fact that many items are usually discounted more in the actual store.

Heartsease Habotai Blouse, $98 at Anthropologie

I call Anthro my "dangerous" store; whenever I go in, I always get upset because I want to buy everything they sell. I love the colorful floral print of this blouse, as well as the ruffled sleeves and wrap-front detail. Whenever I'm out shopping with friends and pick something out, my friends call it a "Christina" ____ when they know it's absolutely made for me - I think they would call this a Christina shirt!

Gold/Rose Gold Jewelry and Accessories
I grew up a fan of silver jewelry; I wouldn't even consider wearing anything else. I still love silver (my engagement ring is white gold and I wouldn't have it any other way), but I'm becoming more open to gold and rose gold. Currently, one of my favorite pieces of jewelry is the Rococo Necklace by Lia Sophia -  a long gold chain with decorative swirling  medallions (hence the rococo name?) running the length of it... I'm actually wearing it today with the previously mentioned TJ Maxx tank!

Rose Goldtone Bracelet Chronograph Watch, $250 at Saks

It seems like everyone and their grandma has a Michael Kors watch. I've had my eye on them for quite some time; when they came out in rose gold, my heart skipped a beat - so gorgeous! I like the "mini" size of this one. Maybe someday...

Summer Nail Polish

As most of you already know, I have a huge polish collection... I'll get more in detail on that in a future post. Many polish brands have already released their summer collections; I've been fairly impressed with most of them, especially Zoya Sunshine/Summertime/Mod Mattes and China Glaze Island Escape. I'm really looking forward to a few things coming out from OPI - their Nice Stems Collection (a 4-piece collection of summery pinks), and the newest release from the Serena Williams "Glam Slam!" line - the England collection. Both collections will be released in June.

Play The Peonies, Come To Poppy, Be A Dahlia Won't You?, and I Lily Love You from the OPI Nice Stems collection

I've seen swatches of these, and they're all beautiful! Come To Poppy and Be A Dahlia Won't You? are perfect pedicure colors for summer!

Your Royal Shine-ness, Servin' Up Sparkle, and Grape... Set... Match from the Glam Slam! England collection

I can't wait to get Servin' Up Sparkle - and Grape...Set...Match? So AMAZING!

What items have you added to your wishlist? Happy shopping!

Intro Continued

I thought I would build on my (extremely) brief introduction from earlier... nothing detailed or thoroughly exciting, just the basics!

Like I mentioned, my name is Christina. I was born and raised in Upstate, NY - I grew up in a town on the eastside of Monroe County, and currently live on the westside with my fiance. (Two different worlds, really!) We bought our first house earlier this year, and we're getting married this September! You'll probably get to read about my adventures in wedding planning - although, with only 3 months left before the big day, there's not much planning left to do!

I've always loved to shop. My great-Aunt Mary loves to tell stories of how she and my Uncle Al would take me to the mall when I was little - I'd want to ride the merry-go-round over and over again, go into the window displays and rearrange the shoes, and try to run free from their hand-holding grasp. I do the same things to this day... just kidding. I'm the gal who can always be found with a coupon for every store, and I very rarely buy anything full-price. I love sharing the deals I've found, which is part of the reason I started this blog! My favorite things to shop for are jewelry, shoes, scarves, handbags, cosmetics (especially nail polish), and bath and body items - and now that we have our own place, I'm also enjoying shopping for things to make our home unique and "ours." Hopefully, all of this explains the reasoning behind the "all things girly" title of the blog!

Other things I enjoy include spending time with family and friends, sporting events (especially baseball), music/concerts (I prefer rock and classic rock), vacationing (when I have the time and money), wasting time on the interwebs, and just relaxing!

I hope I haven't bored you all to death... I'm just getting started and we have a long way to go, folks!

Intro

Hi, everyone! My name is Christina. I love sharing my beauty and fashion finds on Facebook and Twitter - especially when I find a great bargain (which tends to be fairly often!) I've been asked many times if I have a blog where I collectively feature all of these things, and I hated telling people that I didn't, so I thought I would start one! I'll also be throwing some personal things into the mix, as I'm going through some exciting times in life right now! I'm looking forward to blogging with you all!