Calories vs Macros: What You Need To Know 🥑🍞🥓

Hi Beautiful!

Here’s to pouring everything I’ve learned on my own fitness journey and through my education into these emails to help you guys LEVEL UP both mentally and physically. 🤓

We’ve got a LOT to cover here so let’s get this party started!
 

America’s go-to diet method has consistently been calorie counting, but the process of counting macros has been used by bodybuilders for years. Recently tracking macros has gained major traction by non-bodybuilders because of the specificity and methodology behind it. Odds are if you’re reading this, you have either personally tracked macros/calories or someone you know has. Depending on the person, their goals and their lifestyle, this will ultimately determine which route they choose to go on their weight loss journey. 

COUNTING CALORIES VS. TRACKING MACROS

What they have in common:

  • They are both effective ways to lose weight

  • Both rely on measuring food

  • Both are structured on guidelines based on age, weight and physical activity you perform daily

Where they're different: 

  • Counting calories is inherently easier. You keep track of one number (your daily intake) and then every meal you eat, you subtract from your total number.

    • Ex. 2000 cals a day, and for breakfast you have 500 calories. 2000-500=1500 remainder.

  • Tracking macros is a more specific version of tracking calories. The term “macros” or macronutrients refers to three types of nutrients; carbohydrates, fats and protein. Where each nutrient carries a caloric value per gram. Your daily intake in calories is  your carb, fat and protein percentage multiplied together.

    • Carbohydrates: 4 calories per gram

    • Fat: 9 calories per gram

    • Protein: 4 calories per gram

    • Ex. 225g C + 55g F + 150g P/ (225x4)+(55x9)+(150x4)= 1,995 cals daily






So I know what you’re thinking: “if counting calories is easier AND effective for weight loss, why would anyone track macros?”
Trust me girl, I totally get where you’re coming from. There is definitely a benefit of one over the other, so let’s dive a little deeper into why we care to go this extra mile.
 

The first thing we need to get straight is that not all calories are created equal!

Think of it like this:

500 calories of ice cream vs. 500 calories of spinach

BOTH have the same number of calories

BOTH have a very different macronutrient breakdown.

🍦 Ice cream is roughly about 90% carbohydrates and fat. (which is also why it tastes delicious)

🥗 Spinach is made up of about 95% carbohydrates and protein and has a crap ton of fiber. 

500 calories of ice cream would equate to about ½ of a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.

500 calories of spinach would equal 400 ounces of greens. 


That’s why our fruits and veggies are referred to as VOLUME foods. Because they have such a small caloric value, you can eat a lot while only “spending” a little bit of your daily calories. 🤓

Foods with higher protein and fiber (and I cannot stress this enough!) help us stay fuller longer than white bread and cookies that will inevitably end in a sugar crash. 
 

Everything we eat is made up of macros. Your coffee, your candy bar, your popcorn, everything that has calories inevitably has a macronutrient attached to it, creating said caloric value. Next time you grab a poptart, have a sandwich, drink some juice, look at the back of the container on the Nutrition Facts label and see what macronutrients you’re really consuming, it’ll help you to mentally sort what goes in each category too. 

THE PURPOSE OF MACRONUTRIENTS:
Now we understand that there’s an amount of protein/fat/carbs in each and every thing we eat. But what does each macro actually do?

FATS: 🥑🥜🧀

  • Our bodies energy reserve

  • Carry fat-soluble nutrients

  • Add texture and flavor to foods

  • Provide essential fatty acids or EFA to our system

PROTEIN: 🍤🥚🥓

  • Helps our bodies to stay fuller longer

  • Protein is the building block of our muscles

  • Protects our muscles as we age

  • Helps our body repair after injuries

  • Boosts metabolism and helps your body burn fat

CARBS: 🍞🍪🍎

  • Primary fuel source

  • How our body gets fiber

  • Prevent ketosis (also why keto diets are very low carb)

THE WRAP UP:

There’s pros and cons to each of these options and why we would choose one over the other. 

Counting Calories:

  • Counting calories is the most popular diet to ever rock our world, because it’s  effective, and most diets we know today have stemmed from this approach.

  • Simple and easy way to regulate your food intake. Doesn’t require balanced meals or encourage healthy eating. Allows you to stick to the  “eat whatever you want and still lose weight” mentality. No foods off limits, preaches moderation.

Tracking Macros:

  • There are tons of benefits with tracking macros, since it has a more holistic approach to eating and encourages a balanced diet by giving specific targets in each macronutrient category. 

  • More time invasive when starting out. Encourages balanced eating. Makes sure through weight loss you’re still preserving muscle tissue by eating a high protein diet so you lose fat, not just weight. Also allows you to “eat whatever you want and still lose weight”. No foods off limits, also preaches moderation.

At the end of the day, if you’re trying to lose weight, either of these methods will work and your lifestyle and goals will ultimately point you in one direction over the other. 

If you’re wanting to get started with your weight loss/weight gain/time to get ripped transformation and need some direction getting started, holler at your girl and we can get something cooking for you 💗

12 things no one told me about weight loss

12 things no one told me about weight loss:⁣

✖️quick fixes don’t create a long term result⁣
✖️not everyone will understand your commitment⁣
✖️your body won’t look like you imagined it would⁣
✖️doing abs every time you work out isn’t actually going to give you abs⁣
✖️you can do everything right and still not loose a single pound⁣
✖️losing weight doesn’t equal happiness⁣
✖️weighing less doesn’t equal self love⁣
✖️you’ll definitely have cravings⁣
✖️everything you thought you knew about weight loss is unrealistic (especially if you’re comparing your goals to TV shows)⁣
✖️you’ll start looking at your bathroom scale as a progress tracker and not your arch nemesis⁣
✖️weight loss isn’t a straight line⁣
✖️all of your wildest physique dreams are absolutely possible with hard work and patience⁣

If you’re on this weight loss ride, have been, still are, going to be or will be again, you know that it’s not easy.⁣

But have you ever heard anyone say that they regret their transformation? Or do you hear them say that they regret not doing it sooner? ⁣

If you’re on your own journey right now just know that you are KILLING it sister ✨ Remember that choosing yourself and working on your goals every day MATTERS. Changing your life is TOUGH but it is 110% worth it. ⁣

YOU WILL GET THERE. KEEP GOING.⁣

YOU GOT THIS GIRL 💃🏼 go level up today my friends 🤘🏼⁣ (also yes my gym has a trash bag corner because they were doing construction ok 😂)

5 things you probably don’t know about me 👱🏼‍♀️⁣

5 things you probably don’t know about me 👱🏼‍♀️⁣

1. I’m super into personality tests and have taken every major player out there. I’m a type 7, ESFP, green and definitely resonate with what they say. I love learning more about myself and why I’m that way, seriously so cool.

2. My love language is acts of service. It makes my heart so happy to have help around the house, someone to do chores with and to run errands. 🤤 Literally can’t be beat.⁣ 3. I LOVE motivational speaking. Books, podcasts, speeches, songs, anything. It makes me feel like I’m getting a pregame huddle in from a football team I’ve never played on. So if you have recommendations I would love to hear em🤓 ⁣

4. I don’t watch a lot of TV but my favorite shows are definitely Catfish, Live PD, SWAT and The Good Doctor. (the GOAT’s of course being the Office and Friends obviously ) Honestly pretty much anything Lance watches, I end up watching since I really don’t watch shows without him. And by default they end up being my favorite 🤷🏼‍♀️ ⁣
5. Guilty pleasures: Tik Tok, singing disney music, yogurt covered raisins, pinterest, 2000’s emo music and sweet tea mio🍹⁣

I could’ve kept going but I think 5 is a good place to pause for the day 🥳 ⁣

If we have any of these in common lmk 🙂 have a happy Monday y’all! 💗

🦋☝🏼ONE YEAR OF WORK🦋

🦋☝🏼ONE YEAR OF WORK🦋

Same girl, same messy bun, but completely transformed.

In both photos the right side is a few weeks ago, the left side is last summer (in the first photo May 2018, and in the second photo June 2018). I’ve been on this journey for just over a year now. An uncomfortable and grueling year both mentally and physically but the biggest year of growth I’ve ever experienced.

In May of last year, I was next to clueless on macronutrients, gagged at protein powder, my training up to that point was completely self taught from Instagram workouts and bodybuilding.com and was clueless as to what the word adherence meant.

Now, I’m wrapping up my NASM CPT certification, have multiple coaches, and feel so passionate about spending my life helping others change their life through fitness and nutrition.

When I took these photos a year ago, or even while taking these photos a few weeks back, I never thought I would be posting them online. No makeup, no hair brushed, no shower, nothing. Just a girl freaking proud as all get out of this body.

I.👏🏼MADE.👏🏼THIS. 👏🏼 I was unhappy with how I looked and felt about myself and I changed it. Not overnight, not by eating Keto or taking a fat burner, but by putting my head down and working all year long.

I was being presented with two choices: evolve or repeat, and man am I sure glad that I leveled up.

I am proud of this body. But we’re not done yet. 😈🔋

Is there ever a “right time” to do anything? Ever?

Is there ever a “right time” to do anything? Ever?
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one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given: QUIT AIMING + F I R E. 💥
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For so long I’ve kept my mouth shut about what it’s been like to totally recomp my body, prep for a bikini competition, train, meal plan, and push my body to its limit. Which is one of the craziest, most exciting things I’ve ever experienced. All because I’ve always felt like I didn’t have the “look” yet. It just wasn’t the “right time”. Like unless I looked like a #fitspo then it really didn’t matter what my life’s like or what my story was. (dramatic but true)
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“I’ll start posting pics when I’m stage lean”
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“Just let me lose a few more pounds then I’ll start putting myself out there and opening up more”
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“I don’t have a six pack yet, but when I do I’ll start sharing more of my transformation”.
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LIKE WHAT? 🤯 I’m rolling my eyes at my past self for myself and everyone’s sake right now.
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Listen, I am still a work in progress as much as the next person. I love to work on myself. Set goals, grind for it, reach, repeat. But I definitely have the tendency to overthink a lot.
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BUT little Liv’s IG is in the works of a major makeover right now. ☀️ One where she actually shares what’s she’s passionate about and gets a little more personal and transparent over here.
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So if you’re into the change in scenery, beautiful. Not so much? I’ll catch ya later.
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To anyone else reading this who is a fellow over thinker, who’s scared to just rip the bandaid off and go for what they want for whatever reason, here’s your sign that there’s NEVER going to be the perfect time. ✖️To quit your job, to open your Etsy store, to go back to school, ask for a raise, for ANYTHING.
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The O N L Y thing standing in your way is you. Find what you want and GO GET IT.
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#readyaimfire

“If it wasn’t for pizza I’d be super skinny” 🍕

“If it wasn’t for pizza I’d be super skinny” 🍕 or the classic “I just love food too much”...⁣⁣
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GIRL let me stop you right there. Because I can tell you how much you love food DOES NOT CORRELATE with how much you weigh.⁣⁣
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Okay, but do you actually love a food enough to continue being uncomfortable in your shorts? To never put on a bathing suit because you feel squishy? Or are you just saying that it’s pizza, that it’s McDonald’s, that it’s the cheese fries, because it’s EASIER than saying it’s YOU? That YOU are actually in your own way? ⁣⁣
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So let’s get this straight, you want to let something that gives you a few seconds of satisfaction (aka pizza, sugar, chips, alcohol, pick your poison) make you continually uncomfortable and embarrassed in your body?🧐⁣⁣
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At the end of the day you need to decide what’s more important to YOU. And then stop complaining if your body the result of the choices you’ve made. ⁣⁣
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Hear me out here:⁣⁣
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What are you willing to do to get to where you want to be? Honestly? Be truthful with yourself here.⁣⁣
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Are you eating kinda healthy Monday-Friday, then trashing your diet on the weekends, and training 3x a week? Awesome. Just make sure your goals AND the time table to achieve that goal, lines up. Your progress will be much slower when you’re not consistent, so don’t expect to have abs in 12 weeks.⁣⁣
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Are you eating healthy 90% of the time, leaving it all in the weight room 5-6x a week? Hitting your macros day after day and being consistent? Even better. Then you should be seeing results a LOT faster than the other guy.⁣⁣
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If you’ve ever heard the saying “abs are made in the kitchen” it’s 100% true. You can’t outwork a bad diet.⁣⁣ and it takes time and consistency to see those changes happen!
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There is a time and a place to indulge, sample, have dessert, go for seconds, and I think that’s a huge part of enjoying your life even while dieting. (IIFYM fam wya😋)⁣⁣
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But don’t blame your lack of commitment to your goal or lack of discipline on a food. You have all the power to change your life, IF you want to. ⁣⁣
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Everyone loves food.

NOT everyone uses a lame cop out excuse.

So now, is it really the pizza? 🍕

Does making your bed every day help you lose weight?

Does making your bed every day help you lose weight? 🧐⁣

Yes. And no. Let me explain.⁣

Making your bed is a simple task. Mundane at best. But every morning, you wake up and make your bed. You make the choice.⁣

You establish a routine. ⁣

You make your bed on days you don’t want to. You make your bed when you’re tired. The first thing you do every day, no matter what—is make your bed. ⁣

Within your first few minutes of rising, everyday, you win. ⁣

It’s more than the bed itself, it’s the discipline. The routine. It’s about teaching yourself to be accountable. ⁣

It’s about winning your day.⁣

That small task of making your bed creates a domino effect. You get the dishes done, you return that package, you pay that bill, etc. ⁣
You win.⁣

Translate that same mindset, that “win the day” mindset to fitness goals. ⁣

You wake up: you’re tired. You’re faced with the choice to get up and get your workout in or to sleep for 30 more minutes. But you get up, get dressed, head out to the gym. You win.⁣

On days you’re busy: you could either grab Popeye’s for lunch or you could throw your meal prep in your bag before you leave. But you’ve already got your workout in for the day, so this one’s easier. You pack your lunch and head out the door. Your second win.⁣

By the time afternoon rolls around, you’ve already won SO MUCH of your day, that when your dinner plans roll around and you’re faced with the choice to stick with the plan or blow it, it’s no question here. You’ve already made so much progress today. You win again.⁣

So will making your bed every day actually help with your weight loss? No.⁣

Will making simple choices every day create a domino effect into the rest of your life? Absolutely. ⁣

To win or lose is 100% your choice. ⁣

What’s it going to be?

The Supplements You ACTUALLY Need Starting Out 💊⁣⁣

What’s up?...more like what’s SUPP😉💊⁣⁣

When I was first starting out on my fitness journey, I was completely overwhelmed when it came to supplements. Which ones do I use? What do they all do? What happens if I don’t use them? Which ones are worth my money? I seriously was clueless and relied a lot on family, friends, websites and reviews to point me in the right direction. ⁣⁣
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So here’s what I think of some of the most popular supplements out there right now, in hopes to give you a little more direction than I had starting out. 💃🏼⁣⁣

Ok, let’s break it down down now 👇🏼⁣⁣
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PRE WORKOUT: primarily based from caffeine but aids in energy, focus, pump and this one specifically doesn’t make me tingle which I love. If you’re working out early morning/late nights and need a little extra kick to get your lift on, this is one to consider adding to your stack. ⁣⁣
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BCAAS: stands for branch chain amino acids and are essential in muscle recovery, endurance and hydration. If you’re just starting out in your supplement stack, this isn’t one I would rush to get. Reason being, it’s not an essential supplement if you’re eating a high protein diet. Our bodies can’t make the BCAAs it needs for recovery on its own, so it is important to source them from somewhere which is why a high protein diet and training go hand in hand.⁣⁣
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HIGH VOLUME: If you’re someone who limits caffeine or just doesn’t want to have a caffeinated pre-workout, this is the product for you. I’ve never tried another product like this one and it’s one of my holy grails 🙌🏼 this is able to be stacked with a caffeinated pwo and also adds serious pump 🤤 ⁣⁣

CREATINE: if you’re reading this, you can benefit from using creatine. This helps your muscles recover quickly during exercise, improves performance, reduces fatigue, improve brain function. speeds up muscle growth and seriously SO MUCH MORE 🙌🏼⁣

Hope you guys learned a little bit more about some of my favorites today and hopefully gave you some clarity here 🤓⁣

Do you have a product that is your absolute holy grail?! If yes I would LOVE to know what it is, I’m always game for trying new products!💙⁣

Eating out while dieting doesn’t have to stress you out⁣ ☕️

Eating out while dieting doesn’t have to stress you out⁣ ☕️

When we think of dieting our head usually goes straight toward meal prepped, chicken, rice, broccoli, and no social life 😅🥦⁣

When I started my fitness journey, I used to get so upset when I felt like I had to choose between my goals or spending time with friends over dinner.⁣

In my mind it was a lose-lose situation.⁣

I could either not go, eat “healthy” and have major FOMO.⁣ ⁣
Or I could say “screw it” for the sake of hanging out with my friends.⁣

This mindset had me missing out on a lot of fun, instead of finding my happy medium between going after my goals and spending quality time with the awesome people in my life. ⁣

But when I started tracking macros, everything changed. ⁣

It was a total mindset shift, where I didn’t have to choose between the two anymore.⁣

I totally had food freedom and could easily still hit my goals regardless of where or what I was eating🤩

When tracking macros, you have daily values to hit for your protein, fat and carb macronutrients, and as long as you hit those numbers, you can eat ANYTHING🙌🏼

Seriously guys this completely changed my life. All I have to do when eating out is look at the nutrition facts and choose something that fits within my daily values. THAT’S IT🥳
I don't have to have fomo anymore because my friends aren’t going to a healthy restaurant.⁣


Tracking macros has been the only “diet” I've ever stuck with because absolutely nothing is off limits and I don’t have to eat the same foods every day. I can have pizza, ice cream, donuts, chipotle, and STILL LOSE WEIGHT🤓🍩

If you’re wondering how I lost the weight in my transformation picture, this is how I did it.⁣

If you want to start tracking macros and get serious about this time, reach out and lets make this happen. 😈🐆

If I had to restart my fitness journey, here’s what I would do:⁣


If I had to restart my fitness journey, here’s what I would do:⁣

✖️Prioritize sleep: when I first started my journey, saying I was stretched thin was an understatement. I was in class 30+ hours a week, working another 30+ hours a week, planning a wedding in a different city, aside from being a fiance and dog mom. Sleep is like nutrition for your brain. 💤 It balances out your hormones, helps control hunger and is an essential player in muscle repair and recovery.⁣

✖️Progress not perfection: I used to spend so much energy on making sure everything was perfect. Perfect meal prep, perfect outfit, perfect products, perfect lifts, always getting stronger. I didn’t want to recognize my growth, because I was still unfinished. I didn’t want to celebrate a work in progress, I wanted to celebrate a finished product 🤦🏼‍♀️ I did a 180 in my life overnight and I was so caught up on looking like a competitor or fitspo that I didn’t even cheer for myself because I was still working on myself.⁣
Give your all every single day. Clap for yourself. Repeat. 👏🏼⁣

✖️Stop focusing on the scale: the sooner you can start looking at the scale as ONE WAY to track your progress and not THE ONLY WAY, the better. Your weight fluctuates from day to day. What really matters with your weigh ins, is the trend over time. Is it going down? Plateauing? Going up? Stop stressing about the number. Go hard every day and the numbers will correlate.⁣

It starts out as a weight loss journey or a new years resolution, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a physical change but a mental transformation.⁣

One of my favorite quotes of all time is: “I learned something from all those sets and reps when I didn’t think I could lift another ounce of weight. What I learned is that we are always stronger than we know.” ⁣

This journey has taught me so much more about myself and about life than any class or college experience ever did. I am hardworking. I am mentally tough. I face challenges head on. ⁣

Is my story perfect? Nope. Is it over? Double nope.

My journey has crafted me into the woman I am today and I am so freaking proud of who I am now because of it.

Home is Where Your Doormat is

Hey guys and happy J U L Y !

long time no talk, for real. This post would have been up a whole week earlier if I would have anything to do with it, but one thing lead to another and I’ve been unable to access my account for the past week. no need to dwell on the negatives of why this is so far past due, because here we are now. back in business. let us begin.

So it’s been six weeks to the day since we made the move down here. 42 days give or take have totally changed our life, which is so weird to think about.

So many things have changed from the obvious stuff like being away from friends and family, to having a new daily routine, new job, new school, new Kroger, to the not so obvious like learning how to use a different washer and dryer, learning how to pay tolls and being billed tolls that you ran and how to pay those too. Long story short, Texas has changed us so much already.

But recently it started to actually feel like home here, like referring to this place as our h o m e.

A lot is still a work in progress, like hanging decor on the walls, printing out photos of family and friends for our frames, finding out exactly how to store all of our stuff in this new place and finding our new favorite spots or go to places. But it’s slowly but surely coming together.

Lets flash back to about 3 years ago so I can tell you a story, of my first apartment I lived in on my own in college, back in Cincinnati.

One weekend in the end of April 2017, I was moving out of my college dorm into my own apartment for the first time. And this show was ran by your favorite duo: my mom and I.

We worked hard and fast when moving in to my first apartment. We moved furniture up three flights of old school, clifton-house, antique german stairs which were so narrow and a nightmare if someone was passing you in the opposite direction, those stairs were a one way. We carried in boxes of dishes, groceries, clothes, bathroom supplies, you name it we moved it in. #girlpower

During the first few days I lived at this new apartment I bought a lot of necessities to make it feel more homey, one of them being a doormat, just like the one pictured here.

This is the cutest doormat of all time in my eyes, and is just very “ohio” if I do say so myself. I got this doormat to put outside my unit door inside my building, where there were 5 total apartments in the whole place.

A few weeks later, one day I stepped right out of my apartment and on to old, bare, ugly green carpet: not my doormat.

I frantically looked around the whole building, hallway and front door, and this thing was nowhere to be found. I told my mom and sister and they had no idea why it wouldn’t be there anymore other than if the building rental company might have removed it because it didn’t align with their guidelines. So of course, I reached out to my rental company, and I vividly remember speaking to a very clueless and confused woman about my doormat and how she had no idea of it’s whereabouts, where I am of course seeing red and asking every question in the book to try to get to the bottom of this. Detective status was on, full blown, I was pulling my inspector gadget/mary kate and ashley mini sister deceive sleuth skills on her, but to no avail. The doormat was gone.

If only this was where the story ended.

If you met me you know I’m a bit dramatic and emotional. Sue me. But the mix of those two personality traits with my frustration towards this crook tipped me off the deep end. I did the unthinkable: wrote a strongly worded note on a piece of paper and thumb tacked it to the hallway landing. And then I waited.

Out of this building, there were only a few units. None of which had a doormat outside there door, and none of which I knew the tenants. I lived on the top floor of three, and there was only one other tenant who passed my unit on the daily to access their room. So obviously they were suspect number one, and almost the only one.

So here I go, knocking on these girl’s door, messaging the old tenants of my unit to try to find out the dirt on these girls in #5, spying on them through my peep hole so I could catch them when they were home and nothing. These girls were on to me fro the first second I met them. They knew my tricks and dodged every single one of them and alas, these jokers alluded my grasp every time. I know right, I was THAT neighbor and I had no shame. All a girl wanted was her doormat back.

I knocked on these girl’s doors so many times and nothing, never an answer, never a response, nothing.

As time went on, I never gave up hope, but I also never found this doormat. Sigh. All I wanted was a cute doormat, is that too much to ask? Apparently it was for Clifton.

But this is not where my relationship with this doormat ends, oh no no no. I promised myself I would buy this doormat again in my next apartment. And so I did.

Only a few months later, I bought this doormat for a second time, and put it right outside the door where it belonged for the last two years, that same doormat in that same style, has stayed right where I put it, just like it should

So when it came to moving down to Houston, it was a no brainer to continue the tradition to continue to prove my point by buying this doormat for a third time to stick outside of my apartment so the legacy can live on.

Now I feel like even though I do love this doormat, now I have to always have one at any house I live in, even just for tradition. And to remind me of how hot and bothered I was about this, and what extensive lengths I went to to find this doormat. Doing recon on my college neighbors. Being a middle aged woman and writing a mean note and tacking it to my hallway? College me needs to have a seat honestly.

But now it’s my thing, I love this cute little doormat and I love that it makes me feel homey, like a little final (but not final) touch to our place down here.

If you’re looking for a point to this story, honestly there isn’t one. Other than to maybe make you smile or laugh, or next time you see a doormat to think of this story and my weird quirk of always wanting this doormat around.

Next time you come to my house, keep your eyes peeled for this bad boy, because he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

TTYL,

Olivia

Sunless Tanner Favorites! + how to get glowy skin all summer long

Hi guys + happy Memorial Day weekend!

As I am now a T E X A N (let that sink in for a sec) I have 100% stepped up my self tanning routine. In the last week alone I’ve shaved my legs 3x and completely done this routine twice, and parts of it almost every day. That’s how you know it’s summertime where your new state’s climate is like what your vacations were all of your life. I still feel like I’m on a vacation. But there’s way more bugs here.

I’ve never been one to get naturally bronzed quickly or be that kid who went outside and 30 minutes later had a tan line, because the only lines I’ve ever gotten are sunburn lines. I have that good ol’ Irish baby blood that keeps me nice and fair year round. With the exception of my tanning bed usage in relation to homecoming and prom, I never naturally gained color without a lot of time and commitment and a deep deep burning desire to be a brownie. Which dwindled as I grew older, got a job, went to college, etc, etc.

With that being said—I am absolutely no stranger to self tanner, sunless tanner, tanning lotion, foam, mousse, wipes, spray, tan in a can—you name it and I’m sure throughout the years I’ve tried it.

Today I wanted to share with you all my routine since this is one of my most F R E Q U E N T L Y asked questions from you all since I talk about tanning wide open, 24/7—I love it, what can I say. And really give you guys some tips from personal experience, products that are my allstars and how I do this thing. So without further ado: lets get down to the nitty gritty.


P R O D U C T S

Okay, remember like 10 seconds ago in your head, you read about how I’m no stranger to products? And tried them all? Trust me when I say these guys matter—because they do. Sunless tanning is one of those categories that you need to do your research in to make sure you don’t look busted: especially in the untimely event that you’re doing this before a special occasion, graduation/graduation party, first date, wedding—you get the picture here.

Here are the products I use on the reg to ensure that I make everyone think I woke up like this:

exfoliant/body scrub: there’s a million and a half options out there in this category, but speaking for my skin I prefer a more fine grit texture instead of a sandy or thickly cut salt or sugar scrub, just because with my skin texture + sensitivity level this doesn’t leave me feeling literally raw and like I scrubbed my literal skin off post use. The body scrub I’ve been using for the past few weeks and absolutely digging is the ponds body polish in the scent kiwi seeds + cool aloe. (this scent is a total knockout)

exfoliating brush: if you can relate to the bermuda triangle on you back in-between your shoulder blades; the area that you literally cannot reach for the life of you, this item needs to be added to your shower stall. If you think about it, the skin on our back gets in depth exfoliated so rarely, because there’s such noticeable area that we just can’t access—unless you’re made of elastic. This brush helps me keep my skin tone even in between applications and keeps my skin looking and feeling smooth and makes me have that extra dose of confidence to wear whatever top I want without running the risk of exposing myself and my fake caramel ways. (this has changed my life + I use it nearly every time I shower)

shaving cream + razor: I totally get not wanting to shave all that often, trust me—I do. BUT I can tell you honestly, if you take your time to do this whole routine flawlessly and look golden and beautiful, but then have to shave your legs the next day; long story short you’re going to shave off all of your hard work, so just do yourself a solid and keep this one before the application gets started. A L S O —self tanner just doesn’t apply as evenly or as smoothly over hairy legs to be honest. If you don’t believe me, test it out. But I can save you some time and just tell you you’re going to need to cut the grass before you begin. (EOS works wonders for my dry skin + a mens razor is a must have)

moisturizer: keeping your skin soft and smooth begins and ends with adding moisture and oil to the surface of your skin. If you’re totally prone to getting that winter skin, or have dry skin naturally, make sure you’re using a heavy duty body cream or thick lotion for this step. Having evenly moisturized skin makes your tanner go on much more smoothly, stay even and look much more natural. (GOAT is Cera Ve)

self tanner: finally—we’ve made it to the most fun product here: the one that let’s us temporarily dye our skin for fun. No, really it’s so fun. When I say I’ve tried every format of product on the market, I mean it, I’ve tried it all. My favorite by far is foam. Having a mousse-y type solution allows you to have the best of both worlds all around: lightweight application, quick drying, quickly absorbs into the skin, instant “bronzer” or color that shows where the tanner has been applied/where still is bare, and really lasts a lot longer + provides more full body applications than any other product I’ve tried. Mousses of all kinds have my heart, but bonus points if they make me small, dark and glowing. (favorites are jergens + loving tan)

self tanning mitt: if you’re a complete noob in this realm and you’ve never used one of these guys before this is going to 200% change your whole impression of at home tanning. Utilizing a mitt helps in so so so many different ways and I honestly N E V E R apply tanner without it because if I did I would look absolutely busted. In either case, this is going to be an oven mitt looking contraption that buffs out the tanner while it’s applied and protects your hands from being orange as all get out. (all time favorite and the only one I use is from loving tan. it’s a velvety material instead of foamy like a sponge and doesn’t absorb all of the tanner while also making it smoother all around)


A P P L I C A T I O N

Alright, time to get down and brown here—it’s about time.

Here is the exact system I use to apply my self tanner, products used in their exact order and giving you verbatim my life’s work in this area. Let’s begin in the shower.

I N S H O W E R

STEP ONE: EXFOLIATE.

Think about it: if your skin has layers of skin upon layers of skin, that skin shedding every hour of the day, forms a layer on top of your skin. If you shave before exfoliating, your shave can only be as smooth and flesh with the amount of skin that’s dead, sitting on top of your healthy and living skin. Make sense? If you exfoliate prior to shaving, it removes that outer dead piled up layer and allows you to shave much much closer to the hair follicle resulting a very smooth legs that you tell people to touch since they’re so very smooth.

This is when I would take a scoop of the body polish (enough for one limb/area at a time) on my gloved hands and exfoliate the best I can in circular motions all over my body, focusing on any build up of tanner or dry spots like knees and elbows. After exfoliating what I can reach, I’ll whip out my shower brush and exfoliate my shoulder blades and upper mid back with the brush to make sure I’m nice and smooth in this super foreign and distant area of my bod.

STEP TWO: SHAVE. https://www.bustle.com/articles/166899-11-shower-tips-that-make-shaving-a-whole-lot-easier

This is one part of this routine you need to make sure you’re not rushing through. The skin on your body actually does best to shave at the very end of your shower. Your skin is able to soak up all the hydration from the warm water and steam, and makes it much easier to get that smooth baby skin we’re after. So try to leave this guy at the end.

My absolute favorite shaving go to’s are always: a mens razor with 5 blades to give me a fighting chance starting off and a moisturizing shave gel or cream. Moisture is key to keep this baby running at top speed.


P O S T S H O W E R

STEP THREE: MOISTURIZE.

I think I’ve stressed this so much already but if you still doubt me, try only lotion-ing up half of yourself before applying tanner and you’ll 100% see the tragedy I’m going to try to prevent you from going through. Without hydrating your skin after the shower, you’ll have an uneven tan on any dry patches of skin and self sabotaging your seamless finish which is essentially skin treason.

When you apply moisturizer make sure you really get in there with a healthy coat, and then either have yourself some towel time or robe time for the next 30ish minutes, or until your skin feels like it’s absorbed up all your lotion. When you feel like it’s all soaked in, you’re ready to apply your tan juice.

STEP FOUR: ITS SELF TAN TIMEEEEEEEE.

OKAY grab your mitt, grab your favorite tanning product and let’s get to the application. F I R S T please for your own sake shake the bottle like your life depends on it, because depending on what situation you’re tanning for, it definitely could. If I’m in a position where I have absolutely zero tanner on, I’ll do my first coat a little heavy handed to make sure I get a good foundation on first. If I already have a little color to my body, I’ll go in with just the normal-light amount to make sure I stay looking even and smooth all the day long.

My best piece of advice here is to work in small areas at a time. I usually start with my mitt on my left hand, and apply it to my right side starting from the bottom working to the top. So my usual map goes like this: right lower leg/foot, right upper leg and booty, hip, tummy, chest, right shoulder, right bicep and right forearm, and then switching hands with the mitt to my dominant side (righty tighty) and repeating the process on my left side. I apply this lastly to my back, neck, hands (make a claw shape and avoid the palms, use excess on mitt) and then lastly my face.

Everyone has their own opinion of if self tanner should go on your face or not but honestly my skin is fine with it and it lets me skip a few steps in my makeup routine, so I’m all for it. I will say a tip of advice to any of my grey haired/blonde babes to be extremely careful around your hairline. If the color you’re using is darker than your hair (which it probably is if you’re blonde or white) the tanner can grab onto your hair and stain your hairline and cause a brown or orange cast around your face which is scary and not the look you’re going for. I recommend always having your hair up in a high bun, baby hairs clipped up and a headband around your head to be as careful as you can.

Depending on the day, I’ll ask Lance to come in and buff out my back and make sure I look even and smooth, but honestly I really don’t worry too too much about my back, since for me it’s at least covered by a tank top 95% of the time. I did find this super cool gadget here that I’ll link for you which is specifically designed to be a self tanner tool to help get your back—life changing. (self tan back applicator linked here )

In my application I really make sure to work in the product before getting more in that area, as well as using circular motions to apply to avoid literally any streaks of any kind. + Be sure to let yourself completely D R Y before getting dressed. Stand in front of a fan, wave your arms, dance around, who cares. The bottles sometimes say ‘dry in 60 seconds’ but seriously act like that’s not there and don’t mess it up, just wait until you’re good and dry to test fate.

Whew that was a doozie.

STEP FIVE: THE OVERNIGHT

Depending on the tanner you use this could be totally optional. I’m a nutcase and literally sleep in any self tanner I ever put on my body regardless of if it says I should shower in 2 hours or whatever. I take it very personal and say things like “you don’t know me” so I can just absolutely disobey their instructions but hey knock yourself out, to each their own.

B U T while sleeping, I will tell you that I have a few pairs of jammies that have permanently been covered in self tan which are not cross contaminated with other pj’s at this point—they’re too long gone. This consists of a L O O S E long sleeve t-shirt and L O O S E fitted pants and socks if I have light colored sheets on the bed. One of the most important things to do is right after you’ve applied tanner is to not sleep in a bra/underwear. You want to sleep in something loose, so the tanner has time to soak in and absorb totally to your body, any tight clothing like underwear are going to rub that application off and cause it to not absorb as it should or will give you an uneven finish, but again this is totally your call here.

STEP SIX: THE MORNING BUFF

Okay you’ve made it through the scrub, the shower, the sunless and now you’re looking to smooth.

The morning after you wake up from this ritual, the best thing for you to do is to rinse off in the shower to get off any extra color to prevent staining your nice clothes, and then after you’re dry to buff out any areas that maybe aren’t as pigmented, streaky areas, etc.

If it’s not perfect in the first application, this is definitely the best time to fix it. I will tell you a great great great product to keep in your holster for this one is the Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs tan in a can spray. This stuff can even out your skin like nobody’s business, and is essentially like body makeup. This stuff is sold by SH nail polish if you’re looking in person, so derail from the skincare aisle and check this out. If you ever mess up your application so badly but don’t have all the time in the world to fix it or a backup outfit to wear, this stuff is magic and will make your crap job look like an A+. (sally hansen airbrush legs linked here)


Alright friends, that’s it—that’s my extremely long, in depth self tan routine and every product I use to make this come to life!

If there’s any questions you guys have or any point you want me to go more in depth with drop you questions here or on my instagram and let’s chat!

Thanks so much for everything guys, have an awesome rest of your week. Talk to you guys all in my next post!

Olivia

OOTD: Easy Breezy Springtime Look

Hi guys!

+Happy Weekend!

Today we’re on day 4 of living in Houston, so the past week life has been a blur! Between two days of driving, cleaning every surface of our home, dealing with a broken AC system and Wifi install issues which took almost 8-9 hours to be installed, we’re finally starting to get settled into this empty house and our new routine here in the South.

For today’s post, we’re keeping it short + sweet with a good, homegrown, old fashioned O O T D !

In all honestly I felt like a million bucks in this outfit, especially when my duster would be swept away by the wind—amazing.

For an outfit to work for me I have a few criteria that it has to pass through before it gets the OK from me: flattering, comfortable and I have to feel confident in it. If it’s any situation where I have to constantly tug down, walk funny, sit weird, pull up or otherwise—it’s a no from me. Practical, bold and casual pieces are my favorite and what I usually gravitate towards, making this fit a slam dunk for me.


I know kimonos are a super old trend that’s modified and changed throughout the years but still managed to stick around. I love this duster that gives me total kimono vibes except with a little tie in the front!

My favorite thing about this outfit is how it actually looks super fancy + like I tried super hard, but underneath this duster I’m wearing the most basic outfit of all time. It’s all a lie.

Here I paired my duster with jeans and a white bodysuit and wedges, but honestly I would totally bring this on vacation and wear it over a swimsuit as a cover up, or over jean shorts and tennies would be right up my alley.

A L S O —some fun and exciting news: I’m now on Like To Know It! (#LTK but I’m so excited) This basically lets you shop any of the pieces I wear in my Instagram photos just by clicking a link, or screenshotting the photo and uploading it into the LTK app you can find me! (@olivialagunzad) I’m such a huge bargain hunter so if you’re looking for affordable options to your favorite options, definitely keep tabs on my IG! (@olivialagunzad if you’re not already following!)

On this photo on LTK I’m still getting the hang of things, so if I couldn’t find the exact item I would link a similar/brand comparable dupe for it!

Hope you all have the best weekend! Keep your eyes wide open on some home decorating posts coming next week! 💗

xo,

Olivia

ROAD TRIP PREP! Packing, Driving + What's In Our Car!

Hi Guys!

We’re in the home stretch now with about 1 day out from our move to Houston and we are feeling the heat. (would be literal, but Houston is actually flooded right now.)

With our journey fast approaching, I thought I’d give you all the juicy details as to what in the world we’re doing over here!

Our move is broken down into a few different chunks for us, with the first part being moving out of our home base in Cincinnati and driving up to Columbus and staying with our families until it’s go time, and this part happened this past Wednesday. The second half being this coming Tuesday, when we actually start the drive down south.

Today I thought I’d let you guys have the scoop on all things R O A D T R I P as we get ready to head to our new home + addressing a lot of talking points that you all have been asking about in regards to the “how” of our trip.

Hopefully hearing what our plans are and what we’re doing might help any of you doing a super long road trip or move like this anytime soon!


P A C K I N G

Okay this one is kind of a crap shoot if we’re being honest. Have you ever tried to condense down your 2br/2 bath down to fit in the innards of 1.5 cars? Yeah, me neither.

No but for real, packing this thing has been completely Lance’s reign to be honest. In our marriage I’m the creative half and he’s the logical half, and we’re always balancing each other out in one way or another. With that out in the open, he is 100% better at packing the car. It’s like he can see it and picture where it’ll fit best before he even gets it in there. I have no clue how he does it, but honestly I like that, because he does a lot better job than I think I would. Or that’s what I keep saying to get out of it.

The two biggest tools we’ve utilized during this process were:

  • V A C C U M S E A L E D B A G S. Vacuum sealed bags. T H E S E are legit. We now can fit almost our entire closets in these bags into 1 seat in the Civic (car that’s being shipped) and that is L I F E C H A N G I N G. If you’re moving where every inch of space is valuable, check these out. We found ours at Walmart and paid $37 for about 15 bags ranging from medium-XL and that was the perfect amount for us. Here’s a link to a similar style that I found on Amazon: here that also have a 5% off coupon #win

  • “I M M E D I A T E N E E D S” B I N. I’ve been calling it this but it’s really just our must haves. This bin will be making the drive with us and has just about everything we will absolutely need in the first week of being there, that isn’t too big, or would be necessary to have there immediately. Really this is a huge catch all that I’ll get deeper on later in this post, but it’s helped make sure everything we need makes it down there and isn’t scattered all over.

Let’s be honest here for a second: we have definitely sold, donated, thrown away and stored well over half of all our belongings and are taking no furniture with us (with the exception of a desk lamp if that’s even considered furniture). So we really only had to focus on kitchen items, bathroom items, bedding, dog supplies and minimal decor, followed by what was left of our clothing that fit all of our stipulations. Meaning: items that were currently in season (so no Ohio winter-level-tundra clothes), clothes in good condition that fit, and that weren’t taken to Plato’s closet—which has honestly been an awesome resource for us to make some coin during this process.


W H A T ‘ S I N O U R C A R ?

So first thing’s first:

If you’ve read my previous post about our moving announcement, you’ll know that we’re packing everything we need in between Hubby’s Civic (which is getting shipped + will meet us in TX the following week) and my Corolla. Meaning, all of our needed items will be down there, but only the items in our car will be down there with us immediately since that’s what we’re driving, and all the items in the Civic will be down there shortly after. Hopefully that makes sense.

(I’m only really going to be talking about our car we’re driving down there today, because the car we’re shipping there is just plain and simple packed to the brim.)

In addition to that, in the backseat of my car, we’ll have company: our two huge puppy friends, who will have to get pretty cozy during this trip considering the size of their bodies in relation to the size of the backseat.

Okay here’s what our car will be strapped with (for the most part):

2 suitcases, rubbermaid container with immediate needs + cleaning supplies, small box of kitchen supplies, tote bag with shower + beauty supplies, bag with snacks + drinks, bedding (in a vacuum sealed bag), dog supplies (cage, food, leashes, toys, dog bed + sling hung in backseat), supplements + protein powder, gym bag and random nick knacks that have no other home.

If you’re thinking that there’s no way that can fit in our car: trust me, same. But everything else we’re keeping, daily use items, bedding, towels, kitchen utensils etc, will be in the Civic + be shipped to us within the first week of our arrival—fingers crossed!

So that’s our overview of what all is going on in our compact car, but if you want to know all the details on this Tetris situation; they’re all down below. + in true OL fashion, I’ve broken this down into even more categories. Yawn. We all knew it was coming. Lets continue.


T H E E S S E N T I A L S

For us this is everything that makes this whole operation run smoothly. Here are some of my favorites:

Phone Holder with Suction Cup base:

Having this thing in my car makes me feel like an Uber driver and feels very nerdy. BUT I’m a horrible driver + honestly need both hands on the wheel as often as possible, so for the price this was my best option. (also this is a comparable model to mine, that I purchased at TJMaxx for under $7)

Travel Neck Pillow:

Contrary to popular belief, these aren’t just useful for airplane travel! I’m not a car sleeper but my husband sure is and he is a huge huge fan of these little things.

Hand Sanitizer + Baby Wipes

Regardless of if you have kids or not, these are two essentials when you’re living out of your car for a couple days. Spills, cleaning up miscellaneous stickyness, wiping doggie paws, taking off makeup, I can’t name something these two heroes can’t accomplish together. Try me.

Sunglasses

This is a shoe in, especially if your eyes are as light sensitive as mine. Keep those baby blues or whatever you’re equipped with, from being blinded by the light and bring your favorite sunnies to the party. Linking my all time favorite Ray Bans above that I purchased almost 4 years ago now. They’re amazing and such a deal from the name brand site. BUT any will do to save you from squinting.


D O G G I E S U P P L I E S

Here’s some of my die hard doggie parent supplies for a day in the life of a corolla:

Doggie Backseat Hammock/Cover:

If you’re a dog mama/dad you totally need one of these. If you throw your pups in the back on the daily, or often whatsoever—this is a game changer. I love having this install and detach so easily, where we can throw it in between both cars so easily. Also we wash ours in the washer and have had zero problems with that. Highly highly highly recommend this gadget! (this is a dupe we paid a lot more money for $$$)

Doggie Bags:

TBH we took way too many dog bags from our last apartment complex before moving out, so we’re extremely stocked up on these. Also Kroger bags are a crowd favorite + free alternative to these guys. BUT nevertheless it’s a need when traveling with horse size dogs who also drop horse size poop. Yikes

Dog treats + Chew toys

If you have “tough chewers” like we do, you know any chew toy is pretty much a waste of time since it gets destroyed and inhaled within the same 10 minutes. This long car ride is justifying the little break in their boredom by giving them the occasional toy + treat to help make this ride bearable.

Dog Bowls:

I’ve seen the coolest travel water bottles for dogs to utilize while traveling, but in all honesty I’m not sold that that’ll be enough for my thirsty doggos. SooOooO in stead I’m sticking with regular bowls and shaking them out each time we get back in the car, so yeah do whatever works for you.


I M M E D I A T E N E E D S B I N

I’ve been talking a lot about this guy, so lets dig into this little deeper: this is a huge clear Tupperware container filled to the brim with items we will need right when we arrive to our new home (since everything else is getting shipped), odds and ends we’ll need while driving and cleaning products for the most part

  • Towels, shower liner, shower curtain, shower curtain hooks, wash cloths

  • dish towels, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning rags, hand soap, dusting fluffy tops and handle, swiffer mini mop thing

  • lysol wipes, dishwasher pods, laundry pods, dryer sheets, brillo pads, dish sponge, scrub daddy, dish liquid (now that I’m typing dish liquid I think I forgot it…..), air wick and pods + febreeze spray (incase it smells closed up)

  • band aids, tylenol, cold medicine, cough drops, neosporin, midol

  • extension cords, multi plug plug ins (you know what I mean), tools, scissors, tape

And I think that’s just about it! We also have a toolbar that’s in this category but just is lumped with it, not actually within it. But that’s really what’s in this bin. In case we need to do laundry, take a shower, tool anything together, (idk) we can 100% do what we need to do to survive with this bin. Or at least I hope I didn’t overlook anything else we need need. Ya know?

At this point we’re going to just cross our fingers and hope we can shut the doors. Maybe we should start visualizing?…….


D R I V I N G

I have gotten so many questions about our drive down so far, so I thought I’d do a little blurb about the low down on the way down:

  1. We’re splitting our driving up into 2 days, since the drive is roughly 17 hours and 1,100+ miles down there. With the dogs in the back, and hubby and I not having too much long distance driving experience it was unanimous that this would be the best for everyone. Day 1 we’re driving from Columbus to Little Rock, and then day 2 from Little Rock to Houston.

  2. We’re staying in Little Rock overnight, where we’re staying in a pooch friendly Airbnb with a big backyard where the puppies can play and run, and get rid of some of that pent up energy. Thank goodness.

Pretty cut + dry about our drive, but I thought I’d write it down just incase any of you guys were curious too!

A P P S

Some of the coolest apps I’ve found through my road trip research are here':

  • WAZE: I’m a waze user, lover + fan. I love being able to see how traffic is moving, if there’s a wreck, cop on the shoulder, or the reason for the standstill I’m currently in. Also it’s integrated with Spotify now which is amazing and my favorite thing ever.

  • GAS BUDDY: Unless you live under a rock I’m sure you know about gas buddy. This app has been on my phone since I was a little old freshman in college + trying to pinch those pennies. This app shows you the cheapest gas prices around you, and honestly $.50 a gallon will definitely add up when we’re filling up3-4 times in the matter of two days. Lets not think about that.

  • iEXIT: This guy is so cool. Especially since we're driving a route neither of us have literally ever been in by car, this is going to be a life saver. What this guy does is essentially uses your location to let you know what exits are around you + what they offer. In case of emergency bathroom breaks, gas, food, etc, you can find out what’s by you without waiting and reading exit signs. Genuis.

  • ROADTRIPPERS: I just found this app out through my research for this post and holy moly this might be my new ride or die for this long drive. It shows you route information, integrates music + controls, and most of all shows you cool landmarks, points of interest, restaurants, outdoorsy spots + honestly whatever else you’re looking for. This is such a cool idea + makes planning a road trip way easier than it once was.

  • SPOTIFY: need I say more? I am totally a stan for spotify and listen every single day. Are you team #applemusic or team #spotify?

I’m pumped to test out these apps + let you guys know which ones we actually used while driving and give you our honest opinions on what was awesome + what was not worthwhile during our drive. I can’t believe this move is less than 48 hours away and that I’m actually typing this post. This is so surreal!


Alright friends, I think that just about covers it! I know this post was all over the place, but there’s so many weird aspects to this move that I wanted to clear up and get out there before we took off this Tuesday! If there’s any more moving posts or travel questions you have, send them my way + let’s chat!

In the meantime, I hope you all have an awesome start to your week + I’ll talk to you guys very soon!
xo,

Olivia

Favorites Friday: Spring Trends

Hi guys + Happy Friday!

I’ve seen these “Favorites Friday” posts circling around the blog world and I thought this was the P E R F E C T opportunity to share with you all some of my absolute favorite trends for this spring! (Also depending on how you all are liking this post, the possibility of making this a Weekly/Bi-weekly/Monthly post? OR doing a #fashionfriday option? LMK)

This year’s spring trends are some of my favorites I’ve seen, and definitely give some more variety than always wearing florals and white jeans this time of year.


SQUARE NECKLINES

This trend definitely channels the 1950’s and really engages with the vintage trend that’s been HUGE this past year.

This is one of the easiest trends of the spring to follow, since you can find a style, color, dress, shirt, print, etc. that fits your personal style, at whatever price point works best for you and your pocketbook!

I love a good trend that doesn’t have to be revealing (unless you want it to be), since it gives everyone an opportunity to embrace the style.

We stan an inclusive neckline.

Under $20 Square Neck One Piece https://amzn.to/2GZxTML

Under $20 Square Neckline Sundress https://amzn.to/2Ya4WVD

Cuestest Tank Top under $14 https://amzn.to/2Y4ba9o

N E X T!


STRAW + STATEMENT HATS

Okay this is by far one of my favorite trends of all time since I actually do my hair maybe 3 days a week, and every other day I’m working with that “lived in” look with gym hair aftermath; my baseball hats are my best buds. Until now.

This year we’re seeing mainly two styles of straw hats: smaller and more structured and larger with frayed edges and floppy fit.

I love that with straw hats you can definitely embrace this baby in whatever style works for you. You can use a big + floppy style on vacay this summer, beach side, drinking fancy fruit water. OR you can take this the opposite direction for a more polished and finished straw hat with more structure to wear on the daily.

And for all of you reading this thinking about “I’m not a hat person!”, if you’ve ever wanted to experiment with styles and shapes and materials that look best on your face shape + structure: this is the season to do it. Especially since all of the hats I’m linking are under $30. Boom.

Wide Brim Structured Hat under $30 https://amzn.to/2DN75Pn

Floppy Frayed Edge Hat under $20

https://www.forever21.com/us/shop/catalog/product/f21/acc/2000331859/02


C L E A R

OKAY sound the alarm, this trend is on FIRE. No, but for real.

If you’re a 90’s baby like I am, you’ll definitely remember this trend being big like 15 years ago. I remember having a clear plastic backpack growing up, and my Barbie’s having clear plastic accessories as well, so when they say that every trend comes back around, I’ve experienced this first hand. And it’s super weird.

I’ve seen clear plastic trends surfacing everywhere over the last year, but this is the first season I’m seeing it everywhere— TJMaxx and Target included.

This is such an easy trend to incorporate into your life, especially by way of swapping out the bag you carry. I just recently picked up the cutest clear option for $14.99 at TJMaxx, so there’s no reason for you to not check this one out.

Clear Acrylic Heart Clasp Cross Body https://amzn.to/2PJF6Vq

Messenger Over the Shoulder Clear Bag + Turn Lock https://amzn.to/2Wonwsq


HAIR ACCESSORIES

This is by far my favorite spring trend by far as a person who gets extremely lazy when it comes to her hair, and this trend takes minimal to no effort to execute.

We’ve been seeing hats, headbands, barrettes and headscarf’s everywhere, but now we’re seeing even more emphasis on the size and print of the accessory, capitalizing on the boldness of the piece, while also incorporating it to be a daily addition to your hairstyle.

With whatever hair type, texture, color or styles you toggle between, this is an amazing option with tons of variability that everyone can incorporate into their personal style, again like the square necklines.

$5 Pearl Hair Barrettes https://amzn.to/2PM98Yq

15 piece Hair Barrette Set for under $10 https://amzn.to/2GYOaTA

Acrylic Alligator Clips 10 piece for under $16 https://amzn.to/2Y8bKD7


PASTELS

Ahhh, pastels in the springtime, can we say predictable or what?

As much as I am a fan of new trends every season, this is a tried and true style that comes back year after year and we embrace it just as much as we did in years past. Having a repeating trend like this also gives us the opportunity to invest a little bit more in a nicer quality piece that fits the trend, since you can pretty much bank on it being in style for years to come.

With that being said, each year this trend does change just slightly. With different colors being zeroed in on more heavily, and the cut and fit of the pieces changing to fit whatever is currently all the rage. This year we’re seeing a huge emphasis on lavender, with light pink and yellow coming in close behind.

This is definitely the look you want to go for if you’re after those sweet and ladylike vibes, this is a home run for years to come.

Ruffle Trim Romper under $30

https://www.forever21.com/us/shop/catalog/product/f21/women-new-arrivals/2000369448

Midi Dress also under $30

https://www.forever21.com/us/shop/catalog/product/f21/dress/2000336522


MONOCHROME

We’ve been seeing matching sets everywhere for the past 1-2 years at this point, but this trend is going nowhere fast.

This spring’s trends in monochrome bobble more closely between your neutrals like whites, grays, beiges, taupes, with a huge emphasis on the off-whites like cream, oatmeal and linen/tan tones.

Most often we’re seeing this be marketed in two piece sets like skirt, pants and top options, but the options in this categories are endless. Also with as many options as we have in this realm, you have such a wide range of skin tones this caters to as well as coverage level, if you’re wanting to wear this to the beach, graduation parties, weddings or for my 9-5 girlies; office appropriate attire.

This rocks, this is easy, and this gives you two pieces that you can wear together as a set or separately, and is just about as easy as wearing a dress or romper. Makes you look super put together but with minimal trying, and can be paired with so many other trends like clear accessories, statement hair pieces or a straw hat for an overload of style oozing out of your aura.


Alright friends, that’s all of my favorite spring trends for this year! If you’ve tried any of these trends already or if you plan to pick up some new pieces to incorporate into your wardrobe, leave me a comment down below or tag me on Instagram @olivialagunzad so I can see what you came up with! ❤️

L A S T L Y - I want to remind you about my new email list subscription option! If you look below this post or up in the top toolbar, there’s options to hit “subscribe” to be notified when I post a new blog update or send out a newsletter with any special announcements happening over here at OL.com.

Happy reading friends!

xo,

Olivia


***DISCLAIMER: I do not own any photos that are used to made example of trends. All of the photos sourced are linked on pinterest.com.

Hall of Fame: Target Beauty Product Edition

Hi guys!

This week I wanted to share some of my absolute, hands down, all time favorite products with you that all pertain to the world of b-e-a-uty. As if that last sentence wasn’t good enough, all these products give you an excuse to hit up everyone’s favorite store; Target (also known as tar-jay). I know, I’m laying it on thick.

I like to try new products as much as the next gal, but seriously if I find something that works absolutely perfect for me, I will rarely if ever change my routine up. Like we’re talking years on end of repurchasing products over here. Hey, at least I’m loyal to the queens in my makeup bag.

Throughout this post I’ll let you know some of my original favorites, some newer and some I wish I found much much earlier than I did. Only so I could love them longer. I throw my debit card if I am within arms length of these products because I have no self control with makeup. Or food, or just Target in general.

Apologies in advance for how long this is. Sue me. But I’m a bit of a makeup fiend and odds are if you clicked on this, you’re one too. Welcome to the party, lets get this rolling.


I have 12 products to share with you guys and they’re all broken down into: eyes, lips and face, so feel free to scroll accordingly to find what you’re looking for!

I’ll also link everything that I talk about at the bottom of this post, just so it’s way easier for you to find later if you need to.

But for now, lets get started since I have a feeling this will be a long one!


EYES

Ah, the windows to the soul. If I could pick one product to use for the rest of my life, I would pick either a brow pencil or mascara. My love for eye makeup runs very deep, since it makes such a huge difference since my brows and lashes are naturally super light, I never skimp on an opportunity to slap some of that magic on my face.

DUO Lash Glue

Okay this one is an all-time favorite for me! From high school dances like prom, sorority formals, and any other day I’ve ever worn lashes ever, this is absolutely what I used to apply them.

I don’t know about you but I have trust issues: especially when it comes to that janky little cheap bottle of who-knows-what kind of glue that comes with your lashes. (you know the one). Let’s save ourselves some heartbreak here and level up to an appropriate adhesive that even got my lashes through my wedding day. Impressed yet? This stuff is no joke.

Also I only ever use the clear glue, all based on preference. I don’t like applying it with the black finish glue, because while I was still getting used to applying these babies, and even still now, glue can be messy. It gets on your fingers, eyelids, countertops, etc. if you’re not careful. So I play it safe and always stick with clear, but you can take your personal liberties on this one.

Ardell Demi Wispies

If you’ve ever seen me wear false lashes I can tell you 9/10 times I’m wearing these bad boys. I’ve never had a pair of Ardell lashes that I didn’t like. The brand has a good reputation for a reason: they’re products rock and are made at a super affordable price point but also with quality high enough where you can re-wear your lashes 5+ times with the right TLC.

I found this style of lash about 1-2 years ago now and I’m absolutely their biggest fan. For my eye shape + size, these check every box I need them to from style, size, durability, and make me a little extra flirty inside and out. Lance loves these babies.

ELF Instant Lift Brow Pencil

GUYS. Of all the products I’m telling you about, this is one of my new holy grail products. Best part? IT IS $2. TWO DOLLARS. Stop what you’re doing and buy this. It is worth every penny. All 200 of them. Also let it be known that this is 100% the best dupe I’ve found for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz which retails for $21 and contains HALF the product that ELF does. ABH at 0.003g and ELF at 0.006g. (referenced from ULTA.com) Seriously, shall I say more? I think I shall.

I’ve been a eyebrow penciler-inner for a long time, I’m talking 5-6 years, before it got super cool and common to have those brows sister S N A T C H E D.

This ELF brow pencil is all of my favorite things combined: retractable (because who ever has a sharpener when they need one?), shades ranging from blonde (which is my poison of choice) to black and even having an auburn shade, and it’s cost effective and works as well as any other brow pencil I’ve tried. Oh and did I say it’s $2? If you get one product I talk about today, put this bad boy in the running.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese

If you’ve been watching YouTube videos since the stone age of the late 2000’s like this girl has, you definitely have seen this product in action before. These guys were in almost every makeup tutorial I watched in the early days of the internet, where people filmed on flip cams and where editing was non existent.

This is one of my favorites, and one I’ve used off and on in different colors for years. During the phase of cream eyeshadow, I had so many of these guys in pinky tones, brownie tones, black, you name it, to pop on my lid, blend it out with my finger, line my eyes, and I was good to go.

These days my most used shade is pictured above in Cottage Cheese, a light + bright creamy-whitey shade with shimmer. Super easy to use as a base under any eyeshadow look, highlighting my inner corners, or my most used method: water lining my eyes with it. Also I feature this guy in my face favorites because I honestly highlight my face with it when I’m feeling lazy. Nose highlight, cupid’s bow, brow bone: drooling.

I always am going for that doll eyed look with thick dark lashes, pinky cheeks, and bright eyes, and this product definitely makes such a huge difference in my look. This can take you from 5 to 8 hours to sleep in 30 seconds.


FACE

If there’s one part of my makeup routine that takes me the longest to execute perfectly: it’s 100% my face products, with brows as a close second. I am a firm believer in starting with a good foundation (literally) before anything else. Having a nice even base as a clean slate to start your artistry is literally

E V E R Y T H I N G.

Maybelline FIT Me Foundation

This foundation has been a newly used + abused product by yours truly. You’ll see I have two colors shown above and two different finishes. I have my everyday shade as 130 in the matte finish and I mix in shade 220 in the dewy finish on days after I’ve recently self tanned, get that matchy-matchy look between my body parts. I have standards.

I originally picked up this foundation on a whim almost solely based on price, and babyyyyy I’m here for this product. Also just putting this out here that this is a very medium coverage foundation, maybe more on the light-medium end of the spectrum. Which personally is my favorite to use day-to-day.

I remember using this foundation back in the day, when it first came out and I remember even liking it back then. So good on you Maybelline, way to make affordable options that actually have a pretty impressive application and wear time.

(I still STAN my L’Oreal as the best foundation I’ve ever tried, but for the same price as 1 L’Oreal, I could get 2 Maybelliene products, which I also am here for.)

Maybelline Master Conceal

This. Concealer. Is. The. Best. It’s a 10/10 from me.

I am obsessed with this concealer on another level. I love this for blemishes, under eye/eyelid, carving out my brows, outlining and edging up lipstick where needed.

I live by shade 20 and have repurchased this product 5+ times in the past year. I bought this to hold me over one day when I ran out of my Shape Tape, but honestly after trying this I never repurchased Shape Tape again.

I think this concealer is definitely a huge bang for your buck and also lets you squeeze out every last drop of product to save even more cash. This is a huge, underrated drugstore gem that you should definitely give a shot. Best drugstore concealer I’ve tried yet.

ELF Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls

This is one of those “I wish I bought sooner” products because, boy do I ever wish I did. I’ve spent years blowing my money on high end level highlighters, and even though they do work, I can’t justify the price difference on a regular basis unless it’s actual magic.

This product from ELF comes in 3 different shades which accommodates just about everyone’s skin tone and undertone. I personally use the lightest color in Moonlight Pearls, because I love the sheen and tones, and also I would look like a New Jersey mess if I were to use the darker colors on my face. But if you have a darker skin tone than I do, they definitely would have deeper tones that would flatter you as well, no problem.

I almost always throw this on my brow bone, inner corner, occasionally my lid, nose, cupids bow and cheek bones. I’m still super into that highlighted look from a year or two ago, and I don’t see it passing any time soon.

The only thing I wish I could change about this product would be a “softer” consistency, because occasionally (especially on a brand new package) I feel like I have to work my brush in the product to get enough on my brush, or find that around my eyes I will wet the brush to get it more adherent to my skin.

But for $4 and that color pay off? S O L D.

BH Cosmetics Classic Blush 10 Color Palette

You can totally tell from the photo that I love this palette. It’s scratched, dinged up and has been loved on for almost a year now. My everyday shade in this palette is this peachy pinky shade (center, bottom row), which is absolutely perfect for my skin tone in my opinion.

I think this palette could be extremely workable for everyone of all skin tones, especially with such a wide range and such highly pigmented shades that are able to be built up or mixed until they’re the tone of your dreams. Especially if you’re into makeup artistry, bridal or event makeup, this would 100% be an affordable product to add to your kit, that actually has really great color payoff without the steep investment of 10 individual blush colors.

I’ve bobbled between a few blush shades since I’ve had this palette, and even still I don’t see myself running out or adding any new blushes to my collection any time soon, thanks to this baby. Love u BH Cosmetics.

BONUS: Pond’s Cold Cream

If you’ve followed me since my days of having my own channel and my beauty guru efforts- aka my skincare routine (cringe), you’ll know how obsessed I am with this product.

This was the first makeup remover I’ve ever tried and by far my favorite. Regardless of this one having it’s time in the sun back in the 1950’s, the way this works is still second to none.

This stuff dissolves waterproof makeup, liquid lipstick, gelled down brows, and eyelash glue like its nothing. A tub this size can last me 2-3 months easily and works wonders for my normal-dry skin.

TRY THIS ONE! This is my all time holy grail, regardless of how old school this product may be, it works like a charm.


LIPS

I don’t know about you, but I don’t wear lip products every day, unless it’s vaseline and burt’s bees. But when I do wear lipsticks + lipgloss during the week, these are the ones I reach for more than anything else in my collection, and they’re all from the drugstore.

ELF Lip Plumping Gloss

I’ve seen lip plumping products become increasingly popular in the past 2 ish years after Kylie Jenner’s Cosmetic line hit the market, and the Kylie Lip Challenge started to pop up everywhere, and for good reason: they’re A W E S O M E.

This family of Lip Plumping Glosses come in so many different shades and all have the most gorgeous shiny finish. If you’re not into the minty tingle to the lip plumping glosses, this one is a good product to ease yourself into the water with and also doesn’t make your lips huge and dark like other plumpers out there.

My personal favorite shade is a light light pink by the name of Pink Cosmo. Absolutely gorgeous and pairs well with my next favorite lip product I’m about tell you about.

Maybelline COLORSensational Lip Stick

Ta-da! This is my most worn lip product of the year so far. I have a few lipsticks in this line, but my most favorite is shade 655 Darling Nude.

This baby has a soft matte finish, that leaves your lips in that perfect spot of being just barely light pink but not corpse level of orangey nude.

Maybelline totally hit this nail on the head when it comes to their formulation of matte lipsticks here. They’re not drying, they’re soft, they’re wearable, and they’re an absolutely huge range of shades.

This lipstick mixed with my ELF gloss is my go-to lip look for any given occasion: date night, job interview, church, work, you name it. This is my ride or die combo, that both look good together and solo. #lipgoals

Maybelline Vivid Hot Lacquer

Who knew I liked Maybelline products so much until today? I sure didn’t!

This is my absolute favorite in the liquid lip category. This stuff comes with the best shaped diamond-esc applicator, easy to overline your lips with, and is absolutely so flattering when on.

I love the consistency of this, since it sits somewhere in-between a liquid lip and a thick gloss..that’s not sticky. The best I can do to describe this, is if you literally melted a lipstick and it stayed runny forever: that’s where this one lives. Not too sticky. Not drying. Very pigmented. Extremely weird but awesome? I’m totally on board with this one here.

My go-to shade is #62 in Charmer, and boy oh boy do I turn into a little charmer in this one. Okay not really but wow I love this shade, love this formula, everything. It’s like that little extra that makes me stay feeling myself throughout the day.

A+


Okay guys, if you’re reading this—you made it through my most mouthy post yet: bless you.

If you have any questions or want me to go into even more depth in regards to any of these products or have any favorites of yours that you’d like me to know about, drop me a line down below!

A L S O—this is my first time ever messing around with flat lays and I think I found my new favorite activity ever. Let me know what you think about these curated images in the comments, and if you have any experience with photography or flat lays in general holler at me!

Talk to you guys in my next post here in just a few days!

Olivia


Products Mentioned:

3 Ways to Clean Eat on a Budget!

Hi guys!

Today I wanted to drop in and share a few of my favorite tips for grocery shopping without breaking the bank. Over the past year I’ve focused so much of my time and energy on having a exercise routine and nutrition plan, and I can tell you first hand how much of a difference it’s made in my life. This time last year my grocery cart would have looked a whole heck of a lot different than it does now. (shout out to the OG’s: the Totinos $1 pizzas, blueberry bagels, hot cheetos, mac and cheese and obviously ravioli….miss u….love u….. ok I’m drooling.)

BUT have you ever heard the phrase “you can’t outwork a bad diet”? Because I’ve heard it, I’ve tested it and I can tell you from experience: if you’re eating like crap even while you are going to the gym, it’s like treading water. A lot of work to get nowhere. (Okurt?) Which is why nutrition is equally as much, if not more important than exercise, especially when working on weight loss. But we’re getting off track here.

One of my favorite things to see on my feed is my favorite fitness accounts post their grocery haul. Why? I have no idea. It’s like a plumber’s crack, or food in someone’s teeth— no matter how hard you want to look away, you can’t, it’s impossible.

But really it takes me back to the early days of youtube where you could literally watch your favorite accounts show you what they bought, and that was it, video over. Those were the days. They were simpler times. (Picture this: it’s 2011, you’re watching Jenna Marbles videos she filmed on her MacBook camera, when haul videos were all the rage, and when your dream purse was some variation of MK or LV repeated over and over that was featured in Elle Fowler’s “What’s In My Bag” tag). Getting off track again.

With that being said, I want to accomplish a few things in this post; 1. let you see what I bought this week, and 2. share a few tricks with you that might save you some serious dolla bills (so you can finally get that dream purse we were talking about.) $$$$$$$

Let’s get started.


So first things first, here’s just near everything I bought to sustain myself through the next two weeks. A few things aren’t pictured, mostly because raw beef and bag of dogfood isn’t my aesthetic. But, do note that since we’re moving here soon we’re trying to use up as many of our dry goods as we can; i.e. oatmeal, pasta, rice etc, so the focus was on the fresh foods to balance out what’s already in the pantry.


Tip #1: Higher priced products ≠ more nutritional value

Okay that was a mouthful. So what does that mean exactly? It means that the products you see that are marketed as organic, healthy or specialty products (that likely come with a higher price tag), often times don’t have any better macro nutrients (protein, fats, carbohydrates) than the kroger brand or original version.

For example, you see that bag of Kroger Pretzels? I swapped the Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, for the store brand pretzels, since the macros (below) were virtually the same, and I saved about $1.10 on the bag. Easy.

Same with the english muffins: (below) one package that was marketed as 100 calories + “light” whole grain (which yes, offers more fiber and nutrients than the option that I purchased. and depending on your diet/macro goals/budget, do what works best for you.), had literally THE EXACT SAME MACRONUTRIENTS as the standard “white bread” for lack of a better term, english muffin, where the 100 calorie “light” muffin had +1 gram of protein per serving. And a higher price.

NEXT.


Tip #2: No frozen left behind!

Since I was in college and cooking for myself, I’ve religiously bought frozen vegetables in place of fresh veggies. I first got hooked on the ease of frozen veggies while I was going through an edamame phase, but then quickly realized I could buy just about any vegetable, in any variety, plain, sauce covered etc, that I could want, all at my disposal. Which have LITERALLY the same macronutrients as fresh. Because they’re the same, just really really cold.

Not to mention, I genuinely am not good at cooking. It doesn’t come easily to me, it’s not natural, I have scary knife skills (or lack there of) and I’m impatient as all get out. So the only recipe I frequent in the kitchen, is a recipe for disaster.

REGARDLESS, frozen veggies are where it’s at. Zero prep time, barely any clean up, easy to use for meal prep, microwavable or stove/oven friendly (brand depending). There are some veggies I will always buy fresh like cucumbers, avocado, onion, mushrooms and lettuce.

But when it comes to others like brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and peas, I actually prefer them frozen and easy to steam. ALSO, did I mention that while I was in school, I would throw a bag or two in my lunchbox to eat as needed throughout the day? Since they only take 5 ish minutes to cook depending on the veg, how could I not?

OK, I’M DONE, but I’m partial what can I say? *shrugs*

Don’t knock ‘em till you try ‘em.


Tip #3: HAVE AN OPEN MIND!

Personally I am far from a picky eater, so if you’re pretty picky when it comes to food, utilize this tip as best you can and make mods where you need to.

When I went to the store yesterday, my mental list looked about like this: “protein, veggies, fruit, healthy snack, milk, coffee creamer.”

While yes, I do not budge on my skim milk + coffee mate liquid creamer (team hazelnut forever but also had to grab italian sweet cream for a little creamy, delicious spice in my life this time around), with everything else I shop what’s on sale!

Mushrooms? On sale. Raspberries? 2/$5. Cucumber? $.59 each. Carrots? $.99c for that bundle. Pineapple? $.88 EACH! (So of course we bought two and I took full advantage of them, cue the photo op above.)

Did I have any idea I would walk out with half the stuff I did? Nope. But am I excited to prep this food and look forward to eating smart in more ways than one? Heck yeah I am! And the best part is that in no way did I have to compromise my health goals because my grocery budget is tight. Can you say score or what?

……..score.


Eating healthy and shopping healthy doesn’t have to be expensive. I averaged in this trip about $35 per week in groceries. When you divide that by 7 days each week and 4-5 meals/snacks a day, you get about $1 per meal per day. Say what? Check my math- I dare you! And the best part is? I didn’t even use one coupon, I went to one store, AND got everything on my list. (Excuse me while I make it rain with my 5 remaining singles.)

Hopefully this opened your eyes to how you can both stay on/under budget and equally whole-food focused on your next shopping trip! Have a great week guys!

Do something cool.

Olivia

We're Moving?!

Hi guys!

Yes, you read that right, WE ARE M O V I N G! (whaaaaaaaaaaaaat)

On May 14th, my cute husband and I will be taking the biggest leap of our life so far, possibly our biggest leap ever: we are moving to TEXAS! Which means we have 20 days to completely pack up our sweet little 2 bedroom apartment and take the 17+ hour, 1,167 mile journey to Pearland, Texas, and start this cool new adventure. And limited time to practice my yee haws and “everything’s bigger” mantra.

Most of you have known about the big move for a little while now, since we found out in the end of January we would be moving ourselves. And now we're in the last leg of this move; our two-weeks notices have been turned in at our jobs, we're finalizing travel plans, deciding what stuff we're going to store, what we're going to sell and so on. BASICALLY a lot is happening, we’re living in a sea of orange boxes and it seems like every day we get a one decision closer to being all ready to go.

But maybe I should back track and tell you WHY we're actually moving if you don’t already know: my awesome hubby, Lance, has worked incredibly hard to get into an anesthesiology assisting program over the past year, and he was ACCEPTED into a very respected program based out of Houston! (hallelujer!) There are only 13 programs in the country that offer this education, so we are so excited to spend the next couple of years in Texas, where he'll be pursuing his dream career, and we’ll be truly on our own now for the first time!

I think this is a pretty special experience to share with you, and to document for ourselves, while taking this huge step in our life together. With being married only 6 months, at 22 and 23 years old, moving across the country, with our two horse sized dogs, no furniture (did I mention that? :,) ), an air mattress, packing all of our belongings within a Civic + the trunk of a Corolla; we absolutely are right there with you while you’re thinking that we’re crazy. Because we’ve thought that too. More than a few times.

I think we would be false to say we're not intimidated about starting over for many reasons, or that this isn't bittersweet, because it is. If you would have told me even a few months ago we would be moving with so few items, to a new city where we know nobody, all by ourselves, I think I would honestly P A N I C (which I have, but we're kind of THRIVING now, and I’m actually feeling cleansed internally by this huge unhaul. I am also very painfully trying to get with this whole minimalist mentality… it’s a stretch for me, but I have so much respect for people who don’t get attached to stuff now—on another level.)

To come full circle though, I wanted to start this blog with a little life update about us moving, packing our house up, driving down to the big TX, starting our new southern life with our doggos, spreading our wings (for real) for the first time. Flying solo, together. If he’s a bird I’m a bird, right? :)

So long term this blog will entail so much more than diary entries, but I do know right now I think this is a really cool thing that I want to remember, and if you want to continue to follow along, hang on for the ride!

Hope you all have had an awesome week so far! Check out some of my more bloggy posts if you’d like, in the meantime I’ll be working on my next Lagunzad’s go cross country update for you!💛

Olivia