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My Brooks #RunHappy Inspiration

Last month, Brooks gave me the opportunity to outfit one of my running inspirations from head-to-toe in new Brooks gear.  What a fun surprise and opportunity to share the gift of new gear with someone! There are so many people who inspire me to work towards becoming a stronger runner on a daily basis. How could I choose just one person?

Image result for brooks run happy

I took some time to jot down a list of people who help me find the energy to run, even after a long day, or push through a tough run. I thought of the people who make time for running while balancing far more than I balance. Then I thought about the people who inspire me with their speed and strength, often making sub-8 minute miles or long runs look easy. I thought about all the people who have been logging an increased number of miles each week, leading up to their next marathon.

But, at the end of the day, I chose someone who inspires me not from afar or via social media. I chose my friend Melissa, with whom I’ve been running once a week for the past few months. During the week, Melissa’s work schedule forces her to run before 4:30 AM.  Since her return to running after giving birth to her son Calvin, she has trained smart and has recently started running her fastest paces ever due to consistent cross training and efficient running workouts.  During our runs together, she has the ability to make me forget about the heat, humidity or weekly stress. Instead, her candor and dry humor leaves me laughing as we she everything with each other during those 60-80 minutes.  She has quickly become what the women on Another Mother Runner call a “best running friend.”

Melissa and Ashley Running

When I asked her why she runs, Melissa said that it is helps her find balance. While that may sound ironic to some, since it’s just another thing to fit into her busy mom schedule, it’s one of the only times during a chaotic week that allow her with moments to clear her mind and feel stronger and healthier.

Since Melissa is ready for cooler weather, she opted to choose items from the new Brooks fall line. The pieces will be perfect as she transitions to running and working out in cooler weather and, as she pointed out, many of the pieces can be enjoyed beyond running. The outfit, as styled here, can easily be worn for running errands, going to the park with her husband and son, or relaxing at home.

  • Top: Array Long Sleeve (Melissa said that she loves the top because it’s lightweight and the open back detail makes her feel more stylish than normal.) 
  • Bottoms: Formation Crop (She picked these crops because they are a great transition item for cooler weather. Plus, she was looking for a fun pattern to add to her almost all black pant rotation.)
  • Bra: Just Right Racer
  • Shoes: Pure Cadence

Brooks Run Happy Inspiration

Thank you so much Brooks for letting me gift Melissa with a new running outfit as a way to recognize and thank her for the running and mom inspiration she brings to my life daily!

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Katie’s Favorite Books – 14 Months Old

Like her parents, Katie loves to read. Or, I should say that she loves to spend time flipping the pages through her books and having people read to her, especially when she’s sitting in their lap. Some days, she’ll sit and enjoy three or four books at a time while other days she loves flipping the pages before we can get the words out of our mouth. Regardless of her mood or the day, we always read at least a few books together. In fact, each night, as part of our bedtime routine, I read two or three books to Katie while rocking her. These peaceful moments are often my favorite part of the day.

I thought it would be fun to share some of Katie’s favorite books now that she is 14 months old. Some of these have been favorites since the very beginning and others are new additions.

 

Katie’s Favorite Books at 14 Months Old

  • Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes: Bo and I both love reading this book to Katie as part of the bedtime routine. The gentle rhyme seems to calm her and I love counting kissing her nose at the very end. The story is a wonderful one, helping teach children that the world is filled with all different children who still have things in common.
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar:  Somehow Katie didn’t own this book until two weeks ago. While walking through a Walmart store in Arkansas during a work trip, a number of co-workers asked me about Katie’s favorite books when we passed the book aisle. When they realized Katie didn’t own this book, they changed that immediately. It’s such a fun story and the bright colors and holes in the books keep Katie entertained. This weekend she dragged the book over to me no less than five times, hoping to hear about the very hungry caterpillar who ate too much.
  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
  • The Going to Bed Book: We have a number of Sandra Boyton’s bright, vibrant, lyrical books, but this one is my favorite. I read it to Katie every single night before bed. Unlike some “bedtime books” , I like that it is short and an easy-to-read even in a dimly lit room. Katie now enjoys turning the pages once I finish reading them and knows that it is a bed time book. Earlier today Bo lifted it out during reading time and she pushed it away, replacing it with another book.
  • Sniff, Munch & Lick Books: I bought these after seeing no less than five local moms rave about them on their Instagram or Facebook feeds. Katie loves the movement in this book as it is filled with moving animals, flaps and textures. Unfortunately, many of the heads are now taped in the book after Katie ripped them off but, she still enjoys flipping and reading the book with me even though not every animal’s beak, tail or mouth moves anymore.
  • Pat the Bunny: Personally, this book makes me laugh as it is such a classic and very retro. But, whether due to the multiple textures, flaps or fun holes, Katie has gravitated towards this book since she was very young. Ours has been hugged, gnawed, flipped and loved on a daily basis over the past few months.
  • Where’s Spot: We’ve replaced this book twice due to Katie aggressively ripping off the flaps but regardless, it’s still a favorite.
  • First 100 Words: We’ve had this book since Katie was born and originally, she seemed attracted to the bright, small, thick pages. These days we read the book slowly, trying to draw her focus to at least one of the items on each page. Some days, she just wants to quickly turn the pages and other days we almost have her repeating the words – sort of.
  • Elmo at the Zoo: Katie loves turning the pages in this book and the fun animals allow us to practice different animal sounds with her as we read the book. She pulls this off the shelf at least once a day, in hopes that we’ll read it to her and include all the fun Sesame Street and animal sound effects.

 

 

Pictures courtesy of Alexis Damen photography.

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Friday Favorites – August 3rd, 2018

Brooks Mesh Ghost Leggings

Happy Friday! I hope you all have had a wonderful week. After lots of travel the past two weeks, it has been so refreshing to be home this week. I’ve focused on spending time with Bo and Katie, getting lots of sleep and catching up on errands and work.  Other than a long run date with Melissa, we don’t have any plans this weekend. Since Katie loved our bike ride adventure so much, I think we may ride to Prospect Park Zoo. Do you have any fun plans this weekend? Also, in other news, it’s no surprise but I’m already down looking forward to fall weather. The August heat and humidity is not my favorite time of year in New York City. In fact, I took two showers today just to rinse of the sweat and stickiness.

Now, let’s dive into this week’s edition of Friday Favorites, including recipes, articles, posts and other things that caught my eye this week.

  • Okay guys, the hype is real. I am so impressed with the Beautycounter Overnight Resurfacing Peel.  I’ve only been using it nightly for a week so I can’t tell you whether it has help improved my melasma, but I can tell you that I wake up each morning with brighter, smoother skin without the sting and chemicals of other options. The name is a bit confusing as it does not peel your skin nor do you peel it off. Instead, it “peels” off dead skin by dissolving dead skin cells which helps resurface skin to reduce dryness, dullness and discoloration. Once it absorbs, I apply the their No. 1 Brightening Facial Oil and Countermatch Eye Rescue  cream. As I mentioned last week on Instagram, I know that chemicals may be required to truly improve my melasma, but my dermatologist recommended that I come in for a follow-up visit in late September, after summer, to assess next steps. If you want to see more of my favorite Beautycounter products, check out these this post.
  • Over the past month, I finished Educated, The Identicals and When Life Gives You Lululemons. This week I picked up Marriage Vacation, The Perfect Couple and The Wedding Date from the library. Once I make it through those books I’m going to switch back to one of the memoirs or historical novels on my reading list.  I’m hoping to do a full review of last month’s books in an upcoming book review post. Until then, what’s on your reading list?
  • During the summer months, we tend to get fruit flies in our house when we have floral bouquets or fresh fruit on the counter. I finally made some of this apple cider and soap concoction to put on the counter in hopes of killing the annoying little guys. Guess what!? It worked and after just 24-hours we had over 15 of them captured!
  • Bo and I have been doing a great job of cooking during the week, due in part to making sure we have a well-stocked pantry, freezer and fridge each week. I owe you guys a full post with more details, but a few of the items we have been consistently loving are Banza, Rao’s Homemade Sauce, perfect roasted green beans, homemade turkey burgers, and frozen shrimp from Costco.
  • I was so surprised to slide my feet into these adorable, block heels and realize that they are not only comfortable but also very cute! For $24.99 you can’t beat these tan block heels as a staple for weekends, business and weddings alike. I’ll be wearing these for both of the upcoming weddings I’m in this fall as well as pairing them with jeans and fun skirts or dresses in between. I recommend ordering the wide if your feet tend to be wide as they run pretty narrow but otherwise, they’re great!
  • Recently, I feel like Brooks gear has become so fun! While it’s always been a great, reliable brand especially for running gear, their colors and cuts have taken a step towards being more on trend and fun while still delivering the quality you’d expect. I ordered these mesh leggings after seeing them on a few of my fellow ambassadors when we were in Seattle and have quickly FALLEN IN LOVE with them. The mesh makes them the perfect weight for summer running, walking or Pilates classes as well as more fun that my usual black legging. Unlike a few of the mesh leggings on the market, the mesh on these leggings is flattering.
  • I realized last month that my wardrobe was missing two staples – a blazer and a pair of flattering work pants. I’ve worn the few business dresses or skirts that I have on repeat for customer and team meetings over the past couple of months and was craving a change. I ordered this flattering, updated blazer to add a bit of polish to my dresses and jeans. I knew I wanted to get a pair of pants that I could wear year-round so I opted for these slimming crops, which are perfect paired with nude heels and a bright top in summer or a sweater and flats in the cooler months. I hope that J.Crew continues to offer so may Tall styles on their site!

 

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored and instead is a list of the things of my favorite things this week. As normal, it includes lots of beauty and fashion items which means there are a few affiliate links via ShopStyle. It takes time and money to maintain a blog so I thank you for the support and few cents that come from clicking through the links!

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