workout wednesday

any of you who know me know how much i really enjoy working out and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

 i believe in everything in moderation. working out when you can even if its only for 15-20 minutes, eating healthy 80% of the time, etc...

i also think if you make small changes/sacrifices they can add up to big results over time. maybe that means taking the stairs rather than the elevator, having one slice of bread instead of two on your sandwich, using nonfat milk instead of 2% percent in your morning latte, just small changes that, at the end of the day, you don't end up even realizing were sacrifices. then, it's ok if you can't fit in a workout daily, because you've still found small ways to challenge your body daily. 

i believe it's also all about moderation when it comes to diet. i try to focus on eating healthy, nutrient rich foods that fuel my body and help it function at its best by making small changes that make big differences such as subbing whole wheat flour for white in recipes, using quinoa or other healthy grains rather than white rice or pasta when i'm wanting some carbs, and even finding a super healthy egg substitute when baking (i'll fill you in on this trick soon!) don't get me wrong, i love a good burger and fries, or ice cream dessert, and when i know the majority of what i've eaten has been good for my body, i don't feel guilty indulging in the occasional fried treat! 

i've not always been this way. i've had my bouts of restricting my calories and being a major calorie counter, only to find myself actually gaining weight because i'd binge on all the 'bad' foods i never allowed myself, then i'd feel guilty for being 'weak' and i'd get off track on my diet rather than allowing myself to eat any food so long as it was in moderation and allow myself to truly enjoy the indulgence, savor it, and move on...not dwell on what i 'could not' have. i've found that when i don't feel deprived i don't find myself craving the 'bad' stuff as much either simply because i know that if i really want it, i can have it.  

i still definitely slip up from time to time and must remind myself that my body is what i put into it and what i make of it. it is a gift from God that i want to do my best to take care of. 

boy, i've rambled...that was only meant to be a quick introduction for a new feature i want to start. i know this blog was originally made as a design blog, but there are other areas of my life that i have great passion for and would love to share with you. health and fitness being one of those passions. sooo... without further ado i'd like to start workout wednesdays, where i will be posting a favorite workout, recipe, healthy lifestyle concept, what have you, to help you (and myself) stay inspired to take care of our bodies! 

but i have a favor to ask of you too...if i give you some of my tips/ideas, can you return the favor? i'm always looking for new ways to challenge my body, fuel it in a delicious and healthy manner, or simply be motivated to take the time to squeeze in a workout when lying on the sofa during viv's naptime sounds much more appealing...

so how's about it? i scratch your back and you can scratch mine?..

i'll leave you with one of my favie types of lunges courtesy of womenshealthmag.com. i've noticed such a difference in the definition of my legs since incorporating this move into my leg workouts.

"Stand with your feet hip-width apart, hands on your hips. Take a big step back with your left leg, crossing it behind your right. Bend your knees and lower your hips until your right thigh is nearly parallel to the floor (shown). Keep your torso upright and your hips and shoulders as square as possible. Return to start. Perform 10 reps and repeat, stepping back with your right leg. Add dumbbells once you master the movement with perfect form."

xoxo

{description of move and photo from womenshealthmag.com}

  

mommy monday

bits of my day...

after viv's doctor appointment yesterday, we decided to head down to the union square greenmarket to pick out some delicious locally grown produce to make for dinner over "our weekend". i also make viv's food and wanted to stock up on produce for her. i love making all her food. i really enjoy preparing it for her and knowing what exactly is going into her little body. 

{we picked up some tomatoes, apples, a butternut squash, onions, organic whole grain bread, beets, and carrots.}

since one of my favorite design stores, abc carpet and home, is right around the corner from the market, we had to pop in to check out all the pretties... 

{can you tell i'm quite in love with chandeliers?}

{check out the cute vintage inspired kitchen ware we passed on our way to the market!}

{viv was peering all around, curious as can be.}

when we got home i started a cooking frenzy, making split pea and barley soup, vegan pumpkin chocolate cookies, and made viv a batch of carrots, beets and roasted butternut squash! yum!

{apparently this is what happens when you peel beets without gloves on...i've been scrubbing them all night and am nearly back to normal!}

didn't quite make a workout fit into the day, but i figure walking all over the city toting bags of groceries, my crazy heavy diaper bag and wearing my daughter in the carrier must account for some amount of calorie burn, right? it had to at least make up for the cookies i ate just now... ;) 

i truly cherish these days i get to spend running around a city i love with my fave gal pal by my side...or i guess technically strapped to my front...you get the picture... 

xoxo

hello...anybody home??...

so you know it's been a while when you sit on the sofa for a long while pondering "what in the world my blogger password is"...i feel i have almost reached the point of no return as it has been MONTHS since my last post, nevertheless, i come to you with my head down, asking forgiveness and bringing a peace offering of...BABY PICTURES! and a promise that i won't let it be so long for my next post. well, i honestly don't even know where to begin...life has been amazingly wonderful...motherhood/parenthood has been way better than anyone could tell you. i realize that's what everyone says, and alas, it's true. nothing beats it! i can't even remember when my last post was, but i do know it was pre-baby...boy, where to even start. i will get you caught up on the birth story of my little precious girl. but maybe not today. stay tuned...for now i will show you pictures. our little vivienne elizabeth williams was born march 16,2012 at 6:23pm weighing 7lbs 3oz and 20" long. she is the happiest baby, nearly always smiling, squealing and laughing. she adores strolling the streets of New York staring at the leaves on the trees, petting her sister Roxy, taking family naps together in bed on our weekend, riding the bus and the train all over the city, smiling at random strangers. she has this amazing gift of bringing joy to everyone she encounters. she smiles at EVERYONE to the point that you can't not return the smile. it blows me away to see the impact this little 6 month old has already had on this earth. i'm so grateful to be her mom and watch her as she grows so lovely. try as i might to keep this blog as design focused as possible, i think it's safe to say she might creep her way into some posts from time to time. ok, enough talk about her, it's time for me to show her off!

i promise to return soon... xoxo PS:sorry for the long,long paragraph. blogger has changed it's setup since i've last been on here and it's not publishing the different paragraphs as i have written them. hopefully i will figure this out soon. :)

36 Weeks!

Wow! Has it really been that long since I last posted?! Time has flown by and life has been pretty busy around here lately.

Let's see....well, there was Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's in Times Square, our trip to KC for some wonderful baby showers and much needed time spent with family and friends, then on a mad search for a 2 bedroom apartment! We found one , got all the crazy information they require in NYC to apply for a lease and got it! We worked on painting our new bedroom last week and will move in this Tuesday and Wednesday. Now that we have our place I can focus on ordering and assembling our crib, getting all the last minute things put together for her nursery! And it might be a good idea to get a bag packed for the hospital considering I've been experiencing Braxton Hicks for the last few weeks! I told you life has been a bit crazy lately! Oh, and I forgot to mention I was fighting bronchitis for about two weeks in there too, always fun. :)

Besides the bronchitis I've been very very blessed to have such an easy pregnancy! I've not been nauseous at all, had plenty of energy, been able to work just like normal, and have had no problems with all the standing and walking that living in this city requires.

Our little girly is most definitely a mover and a shaker! She never stops wiggling all around. She especially loves when her Daddy gets home from work and she hears his voice. She goes nuts! And she always loves to feel him "hold" her. It's pretty overwhelming how much we both already love her so much and we haven't even gotten to meet her yet! Kyle is so excited to meet her, he keeps saying he wants her to just come now. I find that so so sweet, but I WOULD like to get a few more things checked off our To Do list before she makes her arrival. :)

Here's a few pictures of the belly!

These first two are from Thanksgiving:




This is from the first week of January:



These are from today, in week 36!



The countdown is officially on!

Xoxo Hannah

Dining Inspiration

I love how fun and still stylish this dining space is. And you know I love a fun chalkboard wall! :)

Source: nectarandlight.typepad.com via Rita on Pinterest

Xoxo Hannah

DIY Advice

So I'm contemplating making a duvet cover for our bedroom comforter. I have always loved the pin tucked duvet from West Elm, and then stumbled upon this cover at Anthropologie that I love too. I actually found tutorials for how to make both of them! Now just to decide which one to make! That's where you guys come in! Which do you like better? I do think I'll make mine either crisp white or an off-white/cream color. There's something so relaxing and 'spa-like' to me about a white bed set. :)

Here's the pin tuck duvet cover. The first is the West Elm one, the second is the DIY version.




And here's the Anthropologie cover, with the DIY version.




(I am thinking this one might look better in a cream color, and maybe with a few more pills to create more wrinkles)

Which gets your vote?

Xoxo Hannah

Little Miss Update

Well, our little miss is getting bigger and bigger! My Dad just told me the other day that if a human continues to grow at the rate it does in the womb, you'd be the size of a battleship by the time you were 1... Crazy! I'm now 22 weeks along (!) which means she is about 9 or 10 inches from head to foot and weighs a whole pound!!! It still blows me away that she'll weigh at least 6 times more than that by the time she enters this world!

She is definitely practicing her ballet or soccer or something, she kicks like crazy and it's so precious! Just the other night Kyle was complaining because he hadn't felt her in three days and then she kicked him HARD! She must've heard him...She's already a Daddy's girl, doing what she can to make him happy! Although in a few years it probably won't be kicking him that makes him happy. :)

I am showing much more now. I still have yet to have someone offer me their seat on the Subway (one of the things I'm most looking forward to while pregnant, not gonna lie) but maybe that will happen soon.

Now that we know we're having a girl I'm starting to think of what to do for the nursery. Things are a tad complicated being that we won't move until 3 weeks before I'm due and we have no idea where we'll be moving, so I'm not sure what the space will look like to start with. But I'd like to start getting ideas on concepts and key pieces that will hopefully work in any space. One thing is for certain, Kyle and I both do not care for really "baby" looking nurseries, so whatever we pick, it will just flow with the rest of our apartment, and have our same sense of style... Oh the possibilities! There also seem to be so many things that you "need" when you have a child, which I'm trying my best to really decipher what we actually WILL need and what we can do without. That's one of the perks about living in NYC is that there is limited space, so whatever you have, you better really need/use it! I like it that way though. We've never liked clutter so it's a great excuse for cutting back. And honestly...millions of people have had babies before all the "must have" items were ever invented! :)

That being said: If you had to pick your top three baby products that made life with baby so much better, what would they be? I'd LOVE to have any inside tips before we attempt to tackle the baby registering process!!! :)

I'll leave you with a few snapshots of my growing belly from this week!













Xoxo Hannah