Some weeks are on and others off. This week was somewhere in between, ha! I’ve recognized many times that when I try too hard to find my flow, it doesn’t want to come, and the absolute best thing to do in situations like these is to take a step away for a minute and sure, eat that cookie and take a nap.
It also didn’t help with the bad news yesterday about the major ClassPass price hike in LA. Amazing timing after I had just posted a few days ago about how I can’t live without CP, right?? Maaan, what is going on! Still don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m putting off the decision until after the weekend… Any LA CPers sad about it, too?
So hello, weekend!!! It’s my girl’s bachelorette weekend and we’re flying out on a quick trip to Vegas. The movie Bridesmaids totally plays in my head, only we’re actually going to make it to Vegas ;). It’s going to be a ball.
I’ve been tossing around a few ideas on what to do for the rest of our bedroom, namely the bed and above/beside the bed, and in my attempt at making a macrame hanging that I’m still not sure yet will turn out, I got sidetracked and tried to adapt that idea to a couple gold rings I had leftover from previous projects, then found that the thickness of the macrame rope wasn’t looking as cool as I thought it would for this, then reverted back to my trusty yarn and ended up here!
I know, I’ve only done a million wall hangings already, but aside from how I love them forever, they’re so easy and perfect for blank spaces like the one going on in my bedroom. I’m actually really enjoying the not entirely on purpose super minimalism going on in this room lately and want to savor the calm of the blankness before trying other ideas I have that I’m going to brew over for a while in typical fashion, so for now I thought something small and ornamental like this wall hanging would be cute to hang up, and for very little hassle at that. Ok I’ll show you!
Tie a lark’s head knot with the string around both rings. Do this by folding the string in half and creating a loop, then pulling the ends of the string around the rings through that loop (more on this type of knot here.)
Wrap the string around the rings down one side, then down to the other side, then come back to the center before double knotting the string in place with the knot facing the back. Apply a couple drops of glue to the knot to secure it. A gel formula works best since it soaks right into the string.
Tie long pieces of yarn around the 3 inch ring in lark’s head knots. I did a total of 11 of these.
Cut the excess yarn off the bottom either straight across or however you’d like. I considered angling it or doing a staircase pattern, which I still might do.
I’ll be relocating this wall hanging elsewhere in a bit since I have plans for a sconce to be replacing it soon, and next time you see this bedroom there will probably be art above the bed, but I’m still going to try and finish the macrame idea and share that if it’s good for yet another wall hanging DIY for you to enjoy. We love wall hangings, yes??
Something pretty different today, and here’s why I’m talking about it: fitness is a very big and very important part of my life, so much that I can owe it for my regular everyday functioning in the same way someone might say that about coffee, but it’s also a lot more. I’ve shared a lot of snippets of my workouts on Snapchat and got a few questions from some of you about what exactly I do, so that gave me a welcome gentle kick in the butt to share this with you (thank you!)
The rest of this will make more sense if I start by talking about my past relationship with fitness. For most of my existence, I’ve regarded the gym as punishment, as a reminder of my difficulties with losing weight, and generally as something I didn’t like. I played sports in high school, and in college I danced, but once I graduated I didn’t keep up with any kind of physical activity. I went 6 years without regular exercise and a membership to a gym I never went to before I decided I needed to change that.
My biggest excuse for not going to the gym prior (other than that I hate the gym) was that I didn’t have time, which was crap, but as I was about to enter flexible work hours that would make it possible for me to workout in the mornings + wanted to counter the more sedentary lifestyle that working from home would result in + reached the height of my frustration with the weight I gained since college and general lethargy that seemed to be taking over me, I took the encouragement I received from a couple friends to try ClassPass and give good effort towards trying different workout options and figuring out what I like. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and it completely changed my relationship with fitness forever.
I’ve been using ClassPass for 8 months now and I’ve learned the following things:
Turns out that I like a lot of different workout activities.
Having a trainer makes a huge, positive difference.
Working out with a group of people also makes a huge, positive difference.
A class cancellation fee pretty much shuts up any excuses I might make the morning-of to not go, which is excellent.
I need variety in order to stay motivated about fitness.
A good workout is equal parts mental and physical, and I love it for both. That was a longer way of saying the more challenging, the better.
The ClassPass limitation of only being able to visit the same studio 3 times max per month forced me to visit a ton of studios, but the good thing is that I’ve found my favorites and came up with a rough schedule to regularly rotate through.
Monday: HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)– My favorite because it makes me feel the most accomplished. One minute I’m doing sprint intervals on the treadmill and the next I’m lifting weights while my heart is still pounding out of my throat and then back and forth and so on. It’s a very rewarding feeling to me.
Tuesday: Pilates Reformer- This is the hardest class I go to. It doesn’t look like much, but the isometric movements, holds, pulses, all the variations create a fire and pain unlike anything else. I have yet to get through a class without collapsing or crumbling, so I regard being able to conquer this as an ultimate mark of strength. I will do it!! I’ve also heard from other seasoned students that this class just doesn’t get easier haha.
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Boxing– Aside from this being a very good sweat, I go because it’s especially fun. There’s a flow and rhythm that’s necessary for doing the combos, almost like dancing. I’m not terribly great at it, but the few times I’ve felt the flow were so satisfying. I always leave wanting more.
Friday: Circuit Training- I love the fast pace of this type of class, rotating through different stations of calisthenics and weightlifting in 60, 45, or 30 second intervals. Because of the short amount of time spent at each station, I like to lift heavier weights for this class.
Saturday: HIIT
Sunday: Rest
I’ll throw in Barre, Cycling, or Yoga on a rest day if I’m not too sore or when I’ve used up all my days at my favorite studios. These classes are not my favorite, though I still like them, but I personally don’t find them as engaging as the ones that I go to regularly. A good thing to note: the trainer/instructor is SO important for anything. I’ve visited studios I didn’t like only to go again for a different instructor’s class and realize it was just the first instructor I wasn’t vibing with.
I didn’t want this to turn into a ClassPass review, but for those of you who were curious and considering it, I think it’s worth every penny of the expensive monthly fee if you’re feeling lost like I was over how to stay motivated about exercising regularly, though totally, it isn’t for everyone and you won’t know until you try. I’ve known for a long time I should try it and always thought agh it’s too expensive, but now having experienced all the benefits, the membership fee is virtually non-existent to me. I thought I’d find a studio I loved the most and just get membership there when I did, but the ClassPass fee is less than any studio I go to (for now!) plus as I mentioned before, it’s the variety that I love so much about how I workout right now.
What started out as hope for optimal weight loss has turned into something I enjoy so much that I can’t live without it, which is ludicrous to have believed could happen to a gym-hating-didn’t-workout-for-6-years girl. I’m hardly the skinniest I’ve been in years, but I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. Continually getting stronger has become my motivation to keep going, which has done very positive things not only for my body image but also for my mental perseverance with everything in life. It gets me out of bed in the morning, it starts my day feeling like I’ve already accomplished so much (extra vital on days when I get nothing done, it happens), and sometimes it’s the only social interaction I’ll get in a day HA. That work at home life…
I feel so strongly about this idea of “finding what you like” for opening the door to the joys of exercising that I want to extend my encouragement to you if you’re feeling anything like how I was 8 months ago or prior. Or, if you’ve already made your strides past that point and are on a regimen you love, I want to say congrats and GO YOU, it’s not easy! Any questions or if you want to share anything about your relationship with fitness, I’d love to hear it!
April was nuts! It appears as though that also means it was a great month, which it was, how about that. Spent a lot of time with friends and family, the best kind of time there is, and did a little bit of traveling, the second best kind of time there is.
PALM SPRINGS
Other than going to Coachella once before, I’ve never spent real time in Palm Springs until this past month for a little blogger meet-up to just hangout, eat, and drink. How chill is that! A few of the ladies were going to be in town and organized the genius idea of gathering everyone nearby for a short stay at The Saguaro. There were only a couple ladies I hadn’t met before who were so good to finally meet, and seeing everyone else again is always a good time. Recognize any of your favorite DIY bloggers here?
I’m very into the type of vacation where you just stay at the hotel and hang out by the pool. I figure part of it is my strong homebody tendencies, but also I think being able to relax this way is one of the biggest luxuries I can think of. I’m all for adventure and exploration too, but quiet times like these are so rare and delicious.
We visited a few of the other hotels in the area, The ACE Hotel being my favorite I mean look at this cute little pergola. I’m for sure staying here next time I come back.
Random: this photo only exists because I was with a group of bloggers physically adjusting and instructing me on how to pose strongly encouraging me to take a photo in front of this wall because I pointed out how much I liked it. This would never happen with any other group of people I know haha, hello. This wall is at The ACE Hotel, love.
We also visited The Parker which was gorgeous and where I’d want to stay the time after next time I come here. I learned that Jonathan Adler designed the place, which made a lot of sense right when I saw the lobby but boo I didn’t take a photo of that, oh well.
DIY WORKSHOP
I don’t do DIY events often at all. I’ve only done private events so far, and this one that I did for the Love Culture x Zero UV blogger brunch was booked through my friends that work at Love Culture.
It was a very cute and intimate event with a group of fashion bloggers, and aside from teaching them all how to make my yarn hanging DIY, I really enjoyed helping set up for the event to where I was like hmm I think I’d really love doing day-of-event styling in general, and then I fantasized about it some more.
I’m a dope and forgot to get a group photo with everyone, but I got this one with Stephanie and Christina. I danced on a competitive team with them in college, and they’re the kind souls that invited me to do my DIY thing for this event. We all struggled a bit trying to hold the yarn hangings right.
CHICAGO
I visit Chicago regularly because my boyfriend’s family is there, and the other plus is that this is where I lived for the first 18 years of my life, so I have a very soft spot for the place. Each time we come we stay with family and hang out with them in the good ol’ burbs, which we were apparently so busy with last month that this is the only photo I took, dangit. We were in the city for one afternoon and stopped by Colombe for some very good coffee, made extra good by how it was rain-snowing outside. That weather.
I’ll have to snap a photo of my childhood home next time just for fun and share that with you guys, which is now occupied by strangers and would totally not be creepy at all for me to do that.
BIRTHDAY
I turned 29 on April 24th. I remember looking up at 29 year olds and thinking man that’s so old and adult, but I’m here now and still feel like I haven’t passed into “adulthood”, which I’m slowly discovering is a made up thing (it is, right??) or at least the concept of defining a moment of passage into adulthood is very lofty, and perhaps I’m just not there yet to know what that’s like. I’m really feeling like quoting lyrics from John Mayer’s “No Such Thing” but I’ll spare you that.
A few friends drove down from SF to visit my birthday weekend and we pretty much partied every night like we were 21 again. It was fun, but also a solid reminder that I’m not 21 anymore HA. Seriously, I can’t ever do that again… but I’ll hold it in my box of fond memories. We all danced on the same team in college (same one I previously mentioned) and one of the big competitions was the same weekend, so we visited the kids on the team now and had a bit of a reunion with other alumni. It goes on every year and I always look forward to it. I also took no photos of that, surprise, but you saw it on Snapchat if you’re following me on there!
Boyfriend missed most of the festivities because he was in Germany visiting some family, but he returned the night before my birthday and brought back a gigantic box of these German chocolates and they’re amazing. I’ve been eating many a day and we still have a bunch left. I just ate a couple when I started writing this post.
We had a little b-day celebration at this cooking school place and took a sushi class, which was very cute and fun because there was a ton of food, beer, and sake and pretty much everyone else was a couple celebrating a birthday, but I’d be curious to take a class at one of those sushi academies next time. Sushi is my FAVORITE, like I’ll eat it till I’m sick. Eating is generally my favorite too.
Each birthday someone always asks if I feel different and the short answer is no if we’re talking about if I feel older. I think in the past I used to have a lot more anxiety over acknowledging each passing year because I felt insecure about what I have or haven’t accomplished in my life, but I guess what feels different now is that all that crap feels so much less daunting than it used to, in light of all the good people that I’m surrounded by and having so much to look forward to in the near future. A friend and mentor of mine described leaving her 20’s as a very good time in life, where she stopped caring so much about what other people think and felt the most at peace with doing her thing in whatever way she wanted. I’m feeling that way too, now. I guess I do feel different!
Something occurred to me… I’ve never shown you this much of my living room before! With trying to replace a lot of what was in this room that were things we had since around when we were in college, it took about two years of mistakes, fixing regretful choices, and figuring out our style to get to this point and yet we’re still not finished, though that’s another thing- it ain’t ever finished.
I’m still working on figuring out our “entryway”, and possibly updating our TV gallery wall, but for now we’ve got a good amount of things to share on how we’re progressing in this room, including some coffee table styling I did in partnership with West Elm!
The box frame marble coffee table is made of my dreams, and while I’m crazy for the minimal design, I have stuff that needs storing, so this is what we currently do to take care of that.
In an ideal world, a coffee table with nothing on or around it would be pretty convenient for not having to deal with clutter, but we live here, so we use this lacquer box to tuck away those clutter-prone items like remotes, coasters, and matches.
We usually keep the box on top of the table, but when we want the extra table top space we’ll throw it into the basket underneath that holds throw blankets and also the coffee table books if we want to clear those off too.
To make it all more pretty, I always love to keep flowers and candles around, which applies to most situations for me. They tie everything together into being decor instead of being just stuff!
I get a lotof questions about where the rug is from pretty much whenever it makes any appearance anywhere, so let’s talk about that. It’s the Tuscan Moroccan Shag Rug from RugsUSA and it’s as soft and comfortable as it looks. It does shed and needs maintenance with that, but completely worth it for being exactly what I envisioned for our living room. An important note: a rug pad is a must for gripping the rug to the floor, otherwise it will slip and slide around.
This shot gives some context about where my corner workspace is located, which is also a first that I’m showing you. Literally just a corner in my living room. If you didn’t catch that feature, you can see the entire workspace here.
Like I said, it took us so. long. to get this point but it’s turning out better than I had hoped. It’s both minimal and comfortable, simple and monochrome, everything that I love, and I’d say I really did need all this time to pick the wrong sofa then wait for the right one and other time-consuming mistakes figure that out and make it work for us.
After finishing other smaller projects in here, I’ll finally be tackling the rest of our bedroom which has been the hardest one to do. More on that later!
Tie long pieces of yarn around the 3 inch ring in lark’s head knots. I did a total of 11 of these.
Other than going to Coachella once before, I’ve never spent real time in Palm Springs until this past month for a little blogger meet-up to just hangout, eat, and drink. How chill is that! A few of the ladies were going to be in town and organized the genius idea of gathering everyone nearby for a short stay at The Saguaro. There were only a couple ladies I hadn’t met before who were so good to finally meet, and seeing everyone else again is always a good time. Recognize any of your favorite DIY bloggers here?
I’m very into the type of vacation where you just stay at the hotel and hang out by the pool. I figure part of it is my strong homebody tendencies, but also I think being able to relax this way is one of the biggest luxuries I can think of. I’m all for adventure and exploration too, but quiet times like these are so rare and delicious.
We usually keep the box on top of the table, but when we want the extra table top space we’ll throw it into 
