first 5k

While that may not be the most flattering picture ever taken of me, it still makes me happy to look at. That's because it took a lot to get to this point! Around the time it started getting warmer around here, I saw a poster for a 10-week program to get in shape for a 5k. It was like a light went off above my head- that sounds like exactly what I need! I had just started the "Couch to 5k" program on my own and this happened to match up nicely with my training. So I went and got a 10-week membership to the gym putting on the challenge, and while I mostly ran outside and not the treadmill- I got MOTIVATED! I was committed to doing the race at the end and I knew I didn't want to have to walk. And I accomplished my goal!

I mostly kept it to myself when I started running, just in case I totally wimped out on the race...but I told my besties right away. While I trained alone almost the whole time leading up to the race, my sister and best friend Greg decided to join me the day of the 5k! They are both younger and more in shape than I, but they hadn't been running at all- so it felt great knowing I wouldn't be alone while huffing and puffing through the course. I was so nervous but we all finished without walking and it was great to feel like athletes again.

All three of us graduated different years from high school but we were all sprinters on the track team and each received the coveted end-of-the-year award given to one female and one male senior; "Most Outstanding Athlete." After years of binge-drinking and sleeping in, our running careers have taken a nose dive so we were on a high after finishing the race and realizing our bodies could still perform. I am excited to keep running and getting that feeling back!

I finished a few seconds under 30 mins (my goal!!!) and NEVER walked. It was really hard but so exhilarating!

We will be back with our regular programming soon, outfit posts!

city livin'

Outfit Details:

maxi dress: Old Navy

hat: boutique in NYC

Another trip! I wish that's what my life was really like...I just don't take pictures of the mundane work days. These photos are from a long weekend in New York City I took to hang out with my college besties. Kate, Amy and I met our freshman year at Ithaca College. We were all living on the same floor in the dorms and we ended up doing everything together and becoming really close. Our sophomore year we lived on the same floor again, our junior year we lived in an on-campus apartment with some other girls and our senior year we lived in an off-campus apartment with just us three. Coming from such a small town with a group of friends I had known forever- caused me to have real fears about not meeting anyone I could truly connect with. These girls became those people I thought I would never find; we spent so much time together, took trips over the summers and have stayed close for the past two years we have been out of school. They are true friends and I love seeing them!

Please excuse the iPhone pics and Instagrams...ain't nobody got time to lug around a DSLR on vacation in NYC.

I took a bus to NYC and met Kate at the station. She has an apartment in the city so we dropped my stuff off and headed out. We stopped in this accessories store that Kate knew I would love... SO MUCH JEWELRY. Necklaces and earrings in every color and style. I'd been looking for a hat like this forever but the ones I tried on never seemed to look right, but this one was perfect and affordable. I paired it with this floral maxi dress that I got for like $5 at the end of last summer. We walked around and went to a happy hour spot that had half-price appetizers. We chugged some beers and met up with another friend from school and ate and talked nonstop! It was great.

We headed back to Kate's apartment and hung out on her 30th floor balcony. On the super hot and humid day the breeze up there felt amazing. The view to the right was all kinds of buildings and streets and to the left was the river. It got prettier as the sun went down and the lights starting coming on, and Amy finally came into town! She is living in New Jersey for an internship and had a long day of work. We ended up just sitting on the balcony and chatting for a long time that night. Kate can actually see the empire state building from her bed! That weekend was the LGBT Pride parade; hence the rainbow lights.

The next day we headed to a brunch place that had UNLIMITED bloody Mary's or Mimosas for two hours with the purchase of an entree. It was relaxing and we caught a little buzz (oops,) before heading out to walk around and window shop in SoHo.

          

We checked out this little Chobani "yogurt bar" store that Kate had been ranting about and it was cooler than I had imagined. An employee met us out front with paper menus and told us a bit about how the store worked. There were choices like peanut butter and jelly, one with figs, walnuts and honey and one with cucumbers and olive oil, amongst others. He took our order and sent it to the kitchen from his phone! We walked into the tiny store full of yogurt displays and watched through glass as the chefs prepared our treats. They came out in little glass bowls that you were allowed to keep! I thought it was a little gimmicky but still fun.

That night we met up with some more friends and went out to these two bars that were having a joint open bar deal for $30! Good deal for the city. After getting all dressed up and excited, the first bar was a huge disappointment...but the second one was a blast! We hung out with this group of guys celebrating a bachelor party and danced the night away. My outfit is completely courtesy of Kate...who knew I could pull off a high-low skirt?

The next night we went to dinner at a cute place called Penelope's. It was a small restaurant with a bar and cafe with espresso drinks. It had a "Cape Cod" theme and great food so we loved it.

It was a whirlwind of a trip and the 5-hour bus ride back was torture. Can't wait to visit them again!

Portland part 2

Outfit Details:

white top: Hanes mens' t-shirt

pink cardigan: Gap

blue scarf: borrowed from Karlee, American Eagle

bag: thrifted, H&M

jeans: Gap

sandals: Kohl's, SO brand

So these are the second installment of our Portland pictures, told you there was a lot! The place was just so beautiful- I felt like I wanted to capture everything. I think the fact that you could see the water in the distance from almost everywhere we went made it feel like every moment was photo-worthy. 

This coffee shop was called "Morning in Paris," and had the cutest french theme. Getting a coffee drink in the morning is just so comforting to me- it's probably the the only part about my morning routine I actually look forward to. I loved visiting new shops in Portland and seeing how the baristas work.

Dustin's outfit details:

shirt: American Eagle

pants: Gap

watch: Citizen

flip flops: American Eagle

                

The second day we were there we drove to a little town called Brunswick and ate at a restaurant called the "Sea Dog." We sat on their large deck that hung right over the water and got to watch men fish and cars go by on a beautiful bridge. They had awesome food and beer!

On the last day we went on a walk around the edge of Portland, which is really a peninsula, and looked at all the views of the water. I found out that some people even take the ferry to work every day!  If I ever move to Portland I would want to be near these awesome views. 

Some Instagrams from the trip:

Stay tuned for photos from my trip to NYC!

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