12 Week Weightloss Challenge

So today is the first night of my 12 week weight loss challenge at my local Y.  In reality the challenge started last week but I was busy with steaks and moscato at a family birthday dinner (mmm, de-licious).  In all seriousness though, I'm pretty excited about this weight loss journey.  I feel like after 4.5 years and two kids later, it might be time to start in on this "baby weight" that's stacking up.  In all fairness, I was doing pretty good after the last baby but nursing till one year really did a toll on my portion control.  Turns out that when you stop nursing and burning those free calories all day, you balloon back up to day after delivery weight (they don't tell ya about that one on KellyMom, that's for sure).

So far so good though!  My husband was nice enough to follow through with my exact Christmas wish and get me a few personal training lessons.  I've committed to that once a week, attending cardio classes a couple other times a week, started running on Sundays and tracking my calorie intake with MyFitnessPal (I loooove this app).  During my Sunday run yesterday it suddenly dawned on me that I really don't hate this anymore.  In fact, I liked it!  I always wanted to be one of those crazy people that enjoyed running or working out, but thought they clearly had to be some sort of mutant alien.  Working out has suddenly become my morning cup of coffee (I knew I never liked that stuff for a reason).  If I don't get it, watch out.

Anyways, I'm too chicken to start off posting pictures or current weights... but let's just say I have a few pairs of designer college jeans calling my name & I will get there (no, seriously I have to.  I can't afford to replace them.).  So check back in approximately 10 weeks and I'll get you those pictures.... college jeans and all.

MIA

THE destroyer of all things electrical

So it's been a little over a month since I've been posting (AND pinning, oh the withdrawals are killin' me).  You can thank this little nugget of fun for that (see THE destroyer, left).  All things both expensive and electrical seem to be a magnet for him.  His first victim was my iPhone.  That bad boy is smashed to bits and pieces (SO glad I updated to the new 4S just weeks before).  He next set his sights on my laptop.  First it was just a little flashlight thrown into the screen.  That only did minor damage, denting a few spots here and there.  The following days are where the real damage came in.  The remote was the next airborne object, resulting in lovely cracks up and down, right  to left as well as eliminating a few choice keys from the keyboard (who needs "U" anyways?  It's only a vowel).  The only good news here is that he does in fact have the pitching arm of his father and we're about 90% sure he could be a lefty.  I was doing alright for a few days, until the little chicken nugget did a stealth move and yanked the screen backward from behind.  Esentially cracking everything in two  for a split second.  That's when the blue dye started creeping in (see Exhibit B, below).  It was downhill from there and resulted in total computer elimination over the next few weeks.

Exhibit B

As of today, I'm now using my husband's Dell computer circa 1999.  Not really, but it feels that way since there are zero programs on this bad boy since the only thing it's used for is to check Facebook and fantasy baseball stats.  Did I mention that it has to be plugged in at ALL times or it totally crashes and everything you've done gets erased?  Oh and that the plug is held together by one of my Goody hairbands so that the outlet thingy stays attached to the battery thingy.  We're super high tech around here right now, so bare with me a little bit.  Anyways, I promise for more posts ASAP as long as you promise to donate to my KATENEEDSANEWCOMPUTER fund ASAP as well.  Really, it's a win, win.  Happy Monday!

Get the Look

This design has been near and dear to my heart since the moment I set eyes on it.  It's simple but wonderful.  Well styled with the single flower, framed photo, and books.  The pillow offsets the transparent ghost chair just perfectly.  Recreating this look for my own house will have to wait, but here's just a few ideas on how I/we can get a similar look. 

Pinterest 

1. Modern Glass Desk - BluePrint - $499.  Not the exact floating glass look but certainly a similar feel.  If you're after something more exact, it would be fairly simple to recreate by purchasing a 24" deep glass top table from a local retailer.  Pairing the glass top with a desktop hardware solution such as this Silver Arc from Mockett could work as well.  Just insure that your weight and depth fall within your hardware limits.  
2. B&W Poster - All Posters - $29.99.  Artwork is very personal, so you should always chose art that either means something to you or speaks to you.  To get the look for even less, recreate your own art using B&W photography.  The poster found here was $29.99 unframed but upwards of $300 if you purchase it framed.  Finding a simple black from for a local hobby shop can save you that additional $300.  
3. Brushed Steel Globe Lamp - Lamps Plus - $39.95.  While it doesn't have a black shade, it is certainly the right style and you can't argue with that price!  Finding a black shade is as simple as a few thrifting trips, finding one online, or recovering this one.   
4. Ghost Chair - Amazon.com - $125.00.  If you're after the exact smokey grey look, take a look at this one from Lumens.com for $330.00.