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fitness, fitness fashion, health, life, seattle

Weekend Soul Ride

theblondegiraffe
January 24, 2017
2 Comments

Our weekend was the perfect mix of fitness, family, friends, and adventure. My parents were in town so it was possible for us to spend a little time kid free. We took advantage and even stayed out past 9pm Saturday night dining with our good friends at the cutest Queen Anne restaurant Grapa.

If you have read my blog for a while, you know that group fitness classes are always my favorite workouts.

A few years ago, all I heard was SoulCycle this, SoulCycle that and how addicted people were to the classes and the instructors. I had a New York trip for work and was planning to stay the weekend with one of my best friends, Roxy. My Friday vendor meetings were scheduled to end around lunch so I booked us all a Soul Cycle class to get our weekend started. Seriously, the class was life changing! SoulCycle is a 45 minute indoor cycling class that combines hand weights and core work for a full body workout. It was like I went to get a workout, partied on a spin bike and walked away hearing the best Sunday sermon at church.

When I got invited to attend a class for the grand opening weekend of the first SoulCycle studio in the Pacific Northwest, I jumped on it. Spin classes are normally not my favorite but I will never forget my #soulride a few years ago. Ryan and I attended a 8:30am morning class with Earl and once again, the class was liberating. The studio space is beyond gorgeous. I’m now hoping for another studio closer to the Ballard area of Seattle in the future. If you have never tried a SoulCycle class, add it to your list. It will change your body and your soul.

You can read more about SoulCycle here and shop their Soul gear here. SoulCycle nails it with their activewear line!

Activewear is my maternity clothing of choice. My Lululemon tank is perfect for the growing bump and I’m obsessed with this long sleeve top that is super stretchy and fits longer to accommodate the growing bump. My leggings are low rise so fit well under the bump. This outfit I will be able to wear post baby too!

 

 

 

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blogging, fitness, fitness fashion, seattle

Saturday Night at Hot Feet Fitness

theblondegiraffe
January 18, 2017
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Saturday nights sure have changed since college. They used to consist of dinners out and dancing late into the night with friends. Now, they consist of something kid friendly and early bedtimes. I love where I am in life and wouldn’t change anything. My social life as a Mom usually revolves around fitness or something active. A Saturday night at a fitness studio sounds perfect to me.

Last weekend, Obsessed by Portia invited me to her fitness event at Hot Feet Fitness in Burien, Washington. I had the chance to sweat it out at the cutest boutique fitness studio. If this studio was a little closer to my house, I would totally be a regular. Teanna Gentry runs this studio and she is a rockstar Seattle fitness instructor.

The 60 minute class we took was broken into three sections: 20 minutes of HITT, 20 minutes of barre, and 20 minutes of yoga. It was the perfect total body workout. I loved being able to get a sample of some of the classes they offer. After the class, it was cocktail and snack time.  Thanks to ZICO Coconut Water, Mamma Chia, Luna Bar, Seattle Met, High Brew Coffee, Alchimie Forever, Kretschmer Wheat Germ, FitJoy, and Freggies for helping to sponsor the event.

If you live near Burien, make sure to check out the Hot Feet Fitness. The schedule is here!

Photography by Brittany Remillard

 

baby, blogging, life

January Fly By

theblondegiraffe
January 15, 2017
2 Comments

I can’t believe we are almost half way through January! The year has been off to a fast start and I feel behind on life. It has been so cold in Seattle so we have spent way more time indoors than I want. My goal is to get Logan outside once a day but I seem to be making up excusing not to go out in the cold. Green Lake is one of my favorite outdoor places to take him and even better when we can coordinate to meet up with friends.

There has been no shortage of working out in my life though. I started the #B3allin challenge on the 9th. I can’t say enough great things about the Barre3 studio near my house. Logan loves the daycare so much, he cries when we leave now. While I haven’t followed the meal plan, I am trying out some of the recipes this week. I’ll keep you posted on any recipes I love. Meal prepping is on my New Year’s resolution list and something I don’t seem to love. Once I have the ingredients and a sleeping toddler, I love to cook and create in the kitchen. I do love to eat so therefore you have to love cooking! There is still room for improvement here!

 

I passed the 25 week pregnancy mark this week and overall feeling pretty good. The only major difference in this trimester I notice vs. last pregnancy is that I am so tired. The belly is finally at the point in pregnancy where it’s noticeable to people but not so big that it’s uncomfortable. Only getting bigger from here…

 

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blogging, fitness, life

New Year, New Beginnings

theblondegiraffe
January 2, 2017
20 Comments

New Years Day was quite the day for our little family. We woke up early to a winter wonderland outside. Our original plan was to venture out for a family hike. We decided against that once we saw the roads were snowy and icy. We don’t really have a reliable car for any amount of snow. Well, that is past tense now because we bought a car yesterday. After a little time playing in the snow, we decided to go out and look at some cars. By evening, we came home with a new Kia Sorrento. What a start to the New Year!

 

 

My Outfit: Patagonia Coat // Lululemon top // Scarf (it’s also a wrap!)// Boots // Leggings (these are my favorite warm leggings!!) // Hat (similar)

Logan Outfit: Zara Coat (similar) // Joggers // Boots // Zara beanie (similar)

I read this quote the other day and it has stayed with me. Your greatest success is believing in yourself. It’s a new year and there is no better time for new beginning and new goals. Sharing some of my 2017 goals below. Remember, whatever your goals are don’t stop believing in yourself!

  1. Be present with my family. We will welcome our second baby boy into our family in April and I want to make sure I enjoy all these moments with them as they grow.
  2. Continue my journey in the fitness industry by obtaining another certification. I have my NASM personal training license and am Level One certified through Peak Pilates. I will continue teaching Pilates part-time and hope to continue that training when my boys get a little older. I am thinking barre might be my next certification.
  3. Be a better meal planner. I don’t mind cooking and we eat most of our meals at home. However, I don’t love to plan meals and sometimes feel like I cook the same meals over and over again. There are so many places to get meal inspiration so this year is all about setting a few hours a week aside to prep.
  4. Make more lists. My Mom will like this. I feel like every time I get stressed out, I quickly realize I don’t have any list or organization in my life. Then, I hear my Mom’s voice in my head saying “do you have a list”. I am going to be all about making lists this year and checking things off!
  5. Share more workouts on my blog. This is something I have wanted to do on my website for a long time. No more excuses this year and time to share more workouts!
  6. Continue to grow my blog. When I started my blog, I thought no one would read it. Many days, I wondered, why do I have a blog? I blog because I truly enjoy it. It lets me be creative and gives me projects I am passionate about to work on. I am still hesitant to tell people I have a blog and have a hard time promoting it. Thank you to each and everyone one of you for following along!

This planner is already setting me up for success this year! It’s Amazon Prime too and you can get it in 2 days!

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blogging

A Look Back at 2016

theblondegiraffe
December 31, 2016
2 Comments

2016 was a memorable year for our family! We witnessed major milestones for our first boy, Logan, and learned we will be expecting his baby brother in early 2017. After spending the first full year in our new neighborhood, we fall more in love with Seattle each day. As I look back, I can’t believe how much Logan has grown over the last year! I hope you enjoy this look back through our incredible 2016 journey.

Logan changes so much week-to-week. It has been pure joy watching him learn to roll over, sit up, crawl and walk. Well, it’s more like running now and I’m doing the best I can to keep up!

This year, we focused on getting outside as much as possible. We enjoyed so many days and nights out on our back patio.

This past Spring, we took Logan to his first college tennis match when Arizona was here playing Washington. While attending law school at Arizona, my husband was the Graduate-Assistant Tennis Coach. I know he was excited to see some of his former players and fellow coaches. I sure hope Logan likes sports as much as his Mom and Dad!

This year, I attended my first blogging conference and decided to get more serious with my blog. The blog has evolved since I published my first post almost two years ago. I have some exciting plans for the future and can’t wait to share them with you!

Ryan worked a lot this year, so our days to adventure as a family were limited. We did make it out to the Sequim Lavender festival and squeezed in a few family hikes.

I decided to add more fashion posts to my blog and started working with a photographer. My photographer, Jenna Lynn Photog, lived across the hall from me in our first Seattle apartment. She has become a good friend and is so patient with me. I bring Logan to almost every shoot and keeping a toddler entertained is no joke!

Our first and only weekend away from Logan this year, we ventured to Whistler, British Columbia. I am realizing now I never posted my hiking photos or video. They will be coming in the new year! Whistler was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.

Logan is full of energy, kind hearted and quite the charmer. He loves the ladies and loves to dance.

We took Logan to North Carolina for a week and spent time with family at the lake and beach. It was a much needed vacation back home.

Logan turned one in September and we got to celebrate with some of our best friends. I miss these girls so much. There will be some Dallas and New York City trips in our future.

It’s still hard to believe we found out we will be adding another baby boy to our family in 2017. I can’t wait to watch Logan and his brother grow up together.

Our mini vacation to Orcas Island was the perfect Pacific Northwest getaway. We had to ride the ferry to get there, stayed in a small cabin, and enjoyed a quiet weekend away.

I posted my first stroller barre workout and plan to share more workouts in the next year on the blog.

We are planning to ring in the New Year from our home tonight by the fire. Bring it on 2017!!

baby, blogging, hiking, life, seattle

Holiday Traditions

theblondegiraffe
December 28, 2016
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Life changes in so many ways when you have kids. A holiday season full of getting dressed up for holiday parties and spending our nights out late no longer exists. We did make it out baby free one night this season. Most of our nights have been eating dinner at home followed by a fire and TV time in Ryan’s man cave known as our basement.

Being outside and active is truly part of the Pacific Northwest lifestyle. Seattle is an expensive place to live but there are so many activities you can do with kids that are free. Ryan and I really got into hiking once we moved to Seattle. The mountains are a short drive away and there are also so many little trails within the city limits. A few years ago, we started our Christmas Day hiking tradition and kept it alive this year. Here is proof you can also still baby wear in the Ergo with a baby bump. I am carrying pretty high this time so I just velcroed the Ergo lower in the front where it didn’t feel like it was smashing my belly.

Don’t let having kids stop you from doing things you want to do. Just remember everything will take ten times longer to accomplish! We opted for a shorter hike at Carkeek Park this year and finished our hike with a little skipping rock competition. Let’s just say I didn’t win!

 

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My vest is on sale!! It comes in 4 colors and seriously the best down vest I have owned.

blogging, fashion

New Years Eve Ready

theblondegiraffe
December 23, 2016
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It’s not too late to get New Years Eve ready! We don’t have plans to get dressed up this year, but if we were, I would wearing this purple dress. It’s a little short but I love wearing short dresses when pregnant. Who am I really kidding though, I always like my dresses short! Our New Years Eve this year will likely consist of a fire, hot chocolate, pajamas and the hope we actually make it to midnight.

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If you are still on the hunt for a New Years dress, shop some of my favorites below.

blogging, life, seattle

With Love, From Seattle

theblondegiraffe
December 22, 2016
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I can’t believe Christmas is just a few days away!! We won’t be doing any traveling this year. This is both relieving and sad at the same time. Tickets cost so much during this time and I wasn’t ready to travel cross country again with an active child for only a few days. Our plan is a Christmas hike as long as the weather isn’t terrible. I want Logan to have memories of our hiking Christmas tradition!

I’m sharing a cute gifting company that specializes in curating gift boxes from local companies and artisans. The company started in Portland and just launched in Seattle. It’s too late to order in time for Christmas this year but if you are looking for a Seattle local box to gift in the future, keep this company in mind! Visit their website here to and enter SEATTLEMADE for 10% off your first order.

How cute is my box! I loved the entire box but my favorites were the coffee scrub and raw honey. I’m obsessed with local honey and I feel like the coffee scrub is so “Seattle”. My box also included two local soaps and salty caramels.

As we get ready to close the door on 2016, there is so much to get excited about for 2017. Most of my 2017 goals will be family and fitness related. We will become a family of four this year so it’s important for me to keep focusing on my family no matter how busy I get. If you are still on the hunt for a planner, I recently bought my first Erin Condren planner and I’m obsessed. You can find other prints of her planners on here, here, and here.

Disclosure: I received product in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
blogging, fitness fashion, life, seattle

Green Lake Weekends

theblondegiraffe
December 20, 2016
1 Comment

I spend a lot of time at Green Lake in the summer. It is the perfect park for a run, walk or to people watch in the summer. Saturday evening, Ryan’s Mom had a layover in Seattle so we went to eat at Duke’s Chowder House. The location around Green Lake is a little smaller and more quaint. It was the perfect Pacific Northwest meal — clam chowder, crab bisque and crab cakes. I was so full when we left.

Sunday afternoon, we decided to go back to Green Lake again to let Logan run around. We grabbed coffee at Chocolati Cafe and walked across the street to the lake. Green Lake is such a city gem and I feel so thankful to live so close to it.

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