Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my best friend, biggest fan, and the woman I look up most to- my mom!

Being only 2 hours away from my home, I was able to come home and surprise my mom for the day. I am loving spending time together and love the feeling of coming home after a crazy few weeks!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Yours truly,

Em



Wish List Wednesday

Here's a few items on my wish list this particular week...

I would die to have a set of these!

Now that I am having an excuse to get more dressed up for work, these lovely little flats most definitely need to find a way into my closet

These would also be lovely to have

I am determined to find hair ties like this!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Yours truly, 

Em

The Latest

Good Morning loves! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday so far and is getting to enjoy the beautiful weather! I am currently posting from my new favorite coffee/hangout spot, conveniently located just 2 blocks away from my home. I love hidden little gems like this establishment, its filled with locals and history and I love walking in and recognizing the same people. They also freeze coffee into ice cubes so your coffee is always strong and never gets weak or watered down... I am a serious fan. 

This past weekend I stayed in on Friday and just relaxed and watched a movie. Nothing too exciting but after a pretty hectic week it was exactly what I needed. Saturday morning I was up early, off to the coffee shop, then headed to the gym for a workout! I did 2 miles on the treadmill then hopped around for some weights and strength training. It was overall a great workout. I also stopped by the mall for a quick second to pick up a few items...

These 3 makeup products actually all came in a Benefit set and I snagged them all for only $31 from Sephora! It was a great deal and I have been wanting to try the Pore 'fessional. 

I also snagged these shoes from Forever

I have been looking for a new pair of nude wedges and these definitely fit my budget at just $35. They are super comfortable and I also got a lot of compliments when I wore them out on Saturday!

Also last night I went back to Kick Your Butt Kickboxing! Even thought it is by far the hardest class I have ever taken, I love the feeling of accomplishment that follows after. 

The rest of the week is a bit hectic with my schedule but I am hoping all goes smoothly!

Yours truly,

Em

Recap of the week

Happy Saturday Y'all! What a week my first week of work has been... I am exhausted! Thankfully, it is Saturday and I am off today and tomorrow but am still eager to head in to work on Monday and begin a new work week. I hope everyone had a great week and was able to enjoy some of the warm weather we have been having here in VA! This week I tried to be conscious of taking pictures of my work ensemble to share and did a pretty good job but did leave out one day, my apologies. 

Shirt: Francescas

Pants: Banana Republic

Necklace: Francescas

Shirt: Banana Republic

Cropped pants: Banana Republic

Sweater: The Limited

Shirt: Forever 21

Cropped pants: Banana Republic

Dress: H&M

Necklace: Target

Sorry a few turned out blurry!

Also in addition to my crazy first week at work, I continued to workout... double points for me. Wednesday I went outside my comfort zone and headed to a cardio kickboxing class... holy moly. Not only did the instructor look like he was going to kick my butt but the entire class looked like they had been taking this class forever! The class turned out to be AMAZING and I cant wait to go back next week! Also while I was at the gym I had the honor of catching this special moment...

A couple getting engaged! While I was waiting for my kickboxing class to start, a guy walked up next to me and looked extremely nervous and was waiting for the zumba class to end. He told me was waiting to propose to his girlfriend who was the zumba instructor.... I know.. I die. He waited until it was the cool down song and then headed in to pop the question. She said yes and myself, along with the entire zumba class began crying and clapping. 

 Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Yours truly,

Em

Things of Interest

Every now and then I like to share articles I find interesting or amusing. Today I have chosen my favorite from this past week and wanted to share!

1. How Red Wine Could Help You Slim... thank goodness

2. A Total At Home Workout... for those days when you just want to stick around the house

3. 28 Uses for Everyday Items.. so clever!... never hurts to learn something new

4. I am a sucker for Dr. Oz. This test was really entertaining, at least I thought so but then again I'm definitely a sucker for anything Dr. Oz has to say.

5. 50 Best Beauty Tips... hey you can never have too many!

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!

Yours truly,

Em

Goals for May

Happy Wednesday loves! I hope everyone is having a GREAT week! Being that it is my first week of work with my new job, this week is absolutely flying by! However today is also the 1st of May and I definitely wanted to address some goals for this month!

First lets take a look back at April's Goals:

1. Start a food journal- Absolutely fail. I think my issue with this was I never got an official journal solely dedicated to being a food journal. No points for this one

2. Step up my running and strength training- Check! My running has been going great and I have even been fitting in a few early morning runs before work! I will also be joining my new gym within the next few days which will also help facilitate these two goals!

Snapshot from my run yesterday morning!

3. Find a place to live- Check! I was able to find an adorable apartment in an amazing neighborhood with a GREAT roommate!

4. Complete a craft from pinterest- Kinda sorta, its not done yet.

5. Try 3 new recipes. Again kinda sorta on this one.

Overall, I didn't do horrible and tackled the most important things but have some new ideas for the month of May...

1. Start developing a monthly budget and STICK TO IT.

2. Throughout the week, only eat out TWICE. This does not include weekends but does include all meal times- breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If I am grocery shopping like I should, this goal shouldn't be hard to tackle.

3. Continue to fit in early morning runs before work

4. Eat minimal dairy and no carbs after 4pm. This is a new thing that I am trying out and curious to see how it goes.

5. Throw myself into my new job, this means meeting new people, making myself available and accessible to others, and also taking in and learning as much as I can.

6. Try 2 new exercise classes, I would love to try a kick boxing and barre class.

7. Listen to my body more. I think this is important because somtimes its so easy to get caught up in what you want to do or what you think you should do rather then doing what you know your body needs/ whats best for you. This could mean saying no to going out for dinner and drinks when you know you could use some extra "you" time or making yourself go for a run even though you have no desire to do but you know you'll feel much better after.

That's it for May goals, ready set go!

Yours truly,

Em

First experiences

Hi dolls! So far my first experiences in my new city have been nothing but absolutely amazing! My first weekend was a great mix of relaxing and laying around but also meeting new people and exploring new places.

Friday night was spent staying in and having a few glasses of wine with my new roommate. It was perfect and just what I wanted after a full day of packing and unpacking!

Saturday day was spent laying low and pretty much just handing around the house. Saturday night however... was a different story. 

I headed out to dinner with my roommate and her friend to a great great restaurant located right in downtown Richmond called Pasture. 

The atmosphere of the restaurant was absolutely amazing and I felt completely trendy and too cool for my own good. It was a tapas style restaurant but also had an amazing selection of cocktails to choose from. I ended up having a few of these delicious drinks and also an amazing desert wine that was infused with chocolate... holy awesome. 

After an amazing dinner and great company we headed down to "The Fan" to a bar called Balliceux.

Again, another trendy hipster place that I felt entirely too cool in. Amazing drink selections and obviously a popular place among young professionals in the area. 

I also remembered to snag an outfit pic before I headed out the door...

Kinda blury but you get the idea!

Shirt: Nordstrom Rack

Read Skinnies: Old Navy

Flats: I honestly have no idea, sorry!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Yours truly, 

Em