Outside Living

We've lived in our apartment for almost 3 years now and I've been dying to do something with our deck. We got it rebuilt this year because it was falling apart and a safety hazard. At one point I had to step around the giant gaping holes in our deck so I didn't fall through.

So now that it's rebuilt (thanks to Miriam for the contractor rec), I have been obsessed with getting some furniture for the deck. I stopped by Ikea on my way home from work this week to get some plants so it wouldn't look so sterile and stumbled across a cute wooden outdoor set for only $150 (its the Tullero set). I was obsessed with getting it right then and there even though I was alone and that box was damn heavy. A car full of guys helped me get the box in my car after they saw me attempting to push the stupid thing in our little Honda Civic alone. In heels. I am dumb. It was worth it though because here are the initial results and we can finally grill and eat outside!

Two new chairs with our solar deck lights that I stupidly paid way too much money for.

Our new plants and solar globe lights also from Ikea (Solig lights). I only bought two plants for now because I manage to kill all plants we buy and I want to see if I can keep these guys alive before I get more. Eventually I want to get a ton of plants but I'm not sure what types do well in the Boston summer heat.

I know it looks funny now but we wanted to see what it would look like if we strung the globe lights all around our deck rails. We like it so I just need to go out and buy a couple more strands.

Our bench and table (that come with the two chairs in the first picture).

Also, thanks to my husband who installed a screen/storm door while I was gone last week for work.

View from the inside. Excuse the blurriness, this was taken before we figured out how to use our new Nikon D5000. You can get a glimpse of our newly hung up Ork Toronto Poster too in the left corner.

Do you have an outdoor space to enjoy the summer? Are you lazy like us and it takes you three years to cross things off your to do list?

Outside Living

long and wavy

I just trimmed my hair and although its still pretty long, I'm lusting after mermaid like, looooong wavy locks like these. Oh and please excuse the excessive references to the city and the hills in this post.

Okay this first one isn't that long but I like her contrasting highlights and waves

via {this is glamorous}

Always love LC's hair...

And Oliva's too (even if she is a biatch). Loving her dark chestnut hair this season more than the blonde...

via sugarscape

But my favorite is Whitney's

link

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I am loving both Whitney and Oliva's hair on The City this season. I know I should probably stop watching shows like The City and The Hills but sometimes I just need mindless entertainment.

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I'm obsessed with that necklace too.

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long and wavy

My Favorite Wedding Gifts

One of my closest friend's wedding is coming up (hi Lisa - so excited!) and her registry got me thinking about my favorite wedding gifts. There were a ton of things we registered for that we ended up not using or returning. For example, fine china when you have a 2 bedroom apartment, 1 cabinet for dishes and 2 close friends in Boston is really just unnecessary.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Bodum Bistro Mug ($14.95/mug - yes expensive but worth it)

These double walled mugs are insulated and made with special glass so that the glass never gets too hot to hold. I can pour scalding hot water in it to make tea and grab the entire mug with no problem. It doesn't sweat when you put cold drinks in it either. I'm pretty much obsessed with these and try and convince people to get these whenever possible.

Clothes Steamer (We have the Rowenta IS850 - on sale for $99 @ Macy's now)

I loathe ironing my clothes so this steamer is the best thing ever. My husband is also obsessed with it and we have gotten rid of our iron and ironing board all together. I can't say enough good things about this steamer.

Kitchen Aid Mixer ($300+)

I'm totally obsessed with our Kitchen Aid mixer and use it far too frequently to make cakes, dough and other things I shouldn't be making. If you (or the person who you are buying this for) loves baking, I would definitely recommend it. I have the regular one but there are a ton of varieties. I now want the pouring shield attachment for it because my flour always gets all over the place.

My other favorite things (which aren't necessarily decided by brand) are:

• Flat screen TV - My parents generously gave us a Sony Bravia that we love. My group of friends has pooled our money together a few times to get big gifts like a TV, a digital SLR or an Amex giftcard to be used for those items.
• Toaster Ovens - I love toaster ovens for some reason. We have the Kitchen Aid
• Cash Money! I know its sort of impersonal but its a very welcome gift to anyone who has just planned a wedding and is getting a home/apartment set up.
• Coffee Makers - I love coffee and use ours everyday. We have this one but its kind of annoying because ours grinds our coffee beans for each use so its also difficult to clean. It does make great coffee though - I'm just lazy.
• Dyson - Its seriously awesome. We have the rolling ball kind but I've heard they are all pretty awesome.
• 12 bottles of wine - My friends Noopur & Scott got us 12 different bottles of wine to drink during our first year of marriage. With each bottle they picked out they made a note with the type of wine and what it was best paired with. We absolutely loved it and it gave us a reason to have a special dinner each month with our wine.

What were your favorite wedding or non-wedding gifts?

My Favorite Wedding Gifts

be kind to yourself

I took my first pilates class at Boston Pilates yesterday and I absolutely loved it. I've done the Winsor Pilates videos but its just not quite the same thing as taking a class with an instructor who can encourage you and tell you when you aren't doing things quite right. Also apparently there is a difference between Winsor Pilates which is a west coast thing and the pilates class I am taking which is east coast pilates. I don't know the difference but both are pretty awesome.

I signed up for classes for the next 5 Sundays and I am extremely excited to have something regular and scheduled in my life. Yesterday as my instructor was showing me how to use one of the machines, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and freaked out. I felt sick at how much weight I've gained since I started working 4 years ago. As a student I had so much free time to exercise, cook healthy meals and be active. Since I started working and traveling so frequently, I've become lazy and stopped working out regularly. I indulge far to frequently and don't compensate by working out.

I am always thinking of random crazy things to do to lose weight from diets that I don't stick to or aggressive work outs that only last for a few days. And like every other woman, my weight fluctuates but no matter what my weight is, I have days where I think I look great and days where I beat myself up for getting so fat and feel horrible. I'm trying very hard to stop those bad days where I beat myself up. Part of it means that I need to take control of my health by eating better and making exercise a priority. Part of it means giving myself a break and being proud and confident.

Or maybe I should just get this shirt and sport it on days when I don't feel that great. Seriously who the hell would buy this?

How do you deal with body image issues?

Also I stumbled across Dana's (TheBrokeAssBride) friend's blog - Bikini By 30. Its a very inspiring story of a woman who is aiming to become fit and proud to sport a bikini before her 30th birthday.

be kind to yourself