In my week of being the early bird, I have learned a few things about myself

• I move so slowly in the 5 o’clock hour.  Much slower than the 6 o’clock hour.
• I am SO forgetful this early.  Last week I made it to the gym on two occasions and one day forgot my bra and the next day my keys.  Luckily, I only live a few minutes away.
• Being so slow in the 5am hour, I also drive really slow.  I looked down this morning and was doing under the speed limit.  Geeze grandma!!
• I really enjoy watching the news in the morning.  More than the afternoon.  Weird
• Mondays are the hardest.  It is almost 8am and I have not said a word to anyone.  I am strange like that though.  I dont really like talking in the morning.
• I feel SO motivated once I jump on that treadmill.  Today was pretty empowering even though it was only 2.5 miles.

I am still moving at a pretty slow speed, so I am not sure what I am going to do once I start building mileage.  My feet are thanking me for moving at that slow of a pace though.

In other news, two weeks from thisverysecond we are going to be sitting in the airport on our way to Cancun for our honeymoon.  I have never taken that much time off of work in a long time without checking my emails, so this should be interesting.  Cannot wait though!!  We are still trying to plan our excursions, so any tips would be helpful!!!!

Have a great week everyone!!!!

So, you wanna see something cool?  (This might be something that no one else cares about, but I think its cool)  Before we could actually see houses with a realtor, we were looking through apps like Zillow and Trulia.  The thing is with us, we wanted to see more of the neighborhoods these houses were in before investing the gas mileage to visiting in person, so we also used Google Maps Street View.  I knew Google Maps was out of date, but wow.

This is our soon to be house now:

 This is our house before the investor got hold of it:

 Wild isnt it?  I am going to print both pictures out and frame them next to each other.  I have been doing so much research on the house and its previous state.  Nothing.  All I can find it that it was built in 1947.  Lame.

Hopefully one month from now we will officially be first time homeowners!!

(I hope I am not jinxing myself showing this to you)

• We found a house.  We put an offer on said house.  We are currently under contract.  I cannot believe how fast this whole house hunting process went.  Houses in the area we were looking in moved FAST!!!  One house we both loved had three offers on it by the time we went to see it (after being on the market for a whole 8 hours).  I am really excited about this house and cannot wait to get in.  Provided all goes well with the repairs from the inspection, we will be in after the honeymoon
• 
• There is ZERO work that needs to be done to anything other than making it a home and the landscaping.  The backyard needs a good deal of work and we are going to be doing a lot of painting.  In fact, I am so lost on how to decorate it.  Its very brown inside.  Brown hardwoods, brown cabinets, brown tile, etc.  How to bring in some color (and sadly we BOTH have to agree on the color.  My chances of a navy blue or striped wall have gone down to 0%)
• I was accepted to run the Peachtree Road Race July 4th.  I am pretty excited because I had such a fun time last year.  I am “running” it with a friend, but I am 100% sure I will run alone.
• I am still fighting with my feet and I am going to look into some inserts for my shoes.  I ran some last week (but not this week) and it sucked.  I have fallen way out of shape
• Race adrenaline got me through The Color Run this past weekend though.  I ran about 2.5 of 3.1 miles and I was very happy my feet made that possible.
• On The Color Run.  It was fun.  I can say I did it.  And probably never again.  The cleanup took days.  I was picking pink out of my scalp until Wednesday and blowing purple out of my nose until Tuesday!!

Before

After

• Did I mention we are getting married in 43 DAYS!!!!  There really is not much left to do (work on the altar, work on centerpieces, finish favors, buy alcohol)

What is new with all of you?

Ideas on how to decorate with brown undertones?  Ill show pictures of the inside soon.

How are you with a garden?  We may need to talk!! LOL

WRONG!

Let’s be real….looking for a house to buy is harder than anyone will ever tell you.  Let’s back up a little so I can catch you up to speed on where we are.

Last summer we decided the apartment we are currently in will be our last.  We have had it with throwing money away and I am ready for some awesome house DIYs.  And a garden.  At this point we had no idea where we wanted to live, no idea what we could afford, we just knew what we (sort of) wanted.  It’s funny how much our tastes have changed in this process.

Source

In our beginning search we were dead set on an area just outside of the city.  It was suburb, but close to the city.  It was newer and the houses were bigger.  Since it was still newer and not as developed, it was cheaper.  It was also very close to the interstate making our commutes a little easier (I work around the TL in the ATLANTA above, Matt works northwest of that).  Then for fun, we checked out an area that many young professionals live in the city.

Last month we finally met with our loan officer and we were approved for a loan.  A few weeks ago we were introduced to our realtor and started our search on paper.  We told him the areas we love (6 in total), our budget, and our specs needed (3bed/2 bath min).  We were set up on a listing search and after a week sit down to pick the houses we liked.  We started with a list of almost 40!

From that list we narrowed it down to 20 and submitted it to our agent.  We were pretty excited because there were a few favorites on that list.  Our agent got back to us with about 14 houses we could look at.

Last Sunday we headed out to our first house.  I have seen parts of this city I am actually embarassed of and in it we actually found the PERFECT PERFECT house

It had everything we ever wanted.  Hardwoods throughout, priced well, updated 100%, new deck, great yard with a new fence.  So why didnt we put an offer on it?  The neighborhood was terrible.  Houses around were boarded up.  The neighbors were quite sketchy looking and it was right across the street from a high school.  It is on the side of town that is just now starting to attract the investors to flip, but its not there yet.

We were both bummed out, but we had to keep moving.  The next house was closer to where we want to be, but not quite.  We both LOVE that house as well, but we are unsure of the neighborhood again.  When we drove through, they were building very nice townhomes on one end of the street and flipping the older homes on the same side of the street.  So there COULD be a better possibility its changing over there.

The last three houses were in the neighborhood we want to be in but house 1 was just eh, house 2 was over priced, awkward, and small.  House 3 was everything I personally wanted in a house, but we were so close to the Braves Stadium that we have to rule it out.  Sadly, that area is infested with crime and while the house was teetering the ok part of the neighborhood, I think it was too far over.

I left Sunday feeling….I cant describe how I felt.  None of the houses we really liked on our list made it to showing because houses in the area we like move quick.  I was disappointed but happy to see there are things out there we really like.

The area we looked at over the summer that we felt dead set on moving to?  We are taking it out of our search completely.  That area is going to be harder to resell because there is so much building going on and so much competition.  The houses were beautiful, but just too big for us.

Eventually we may need a house that big when we have kids running around, but right now it would cost us so much to FILL these houses.  So we have narrowed it back to the city.

I feel a little angst about this because houses move faster there and that may leave us with little negotiation room.  There are other areas in the city we would love to be in, but you have to have half a million to get into those neighborhoods.  YIKES!  Or the flip side, you have to stay as far away from that area as you can.

I was a runner.  I went to the gym.  I was in decent shape and loved being at the gym.  There were times were I actually contemplated becoming certified as a trainer.  I never publically announced that, but it was a thought I tossed around.

To do lists were my thing.  Ever since moving into my current position, I hardly make myself personal to do lists.  I used to have a weekly list of things to do and they were done.

At some point in time I was a very VERY tidy person.  Things were always organized.

———————————————————————————————————————–

These days running is not much of an option (thanks to my body that plagues me with injury and my mind that kills my motivation mojo).  The gym?  I visit it about 2-3 days a week MAYBE.  I’ve tried to get there before work, but I am just too tired.  Ive tried to go at lunch, but the specific location near my office is really gross and just using the sinks in the bathroom make me want to die.  I couldnt imagine using the shower.

The problem is I have no one to work out with.  Each time I have worked my hardest, I have always had a friend by my side.  Will you train with me?  If not, how do I find someone who will? womp womp

I blame the last thing on living in a tiny space.  I live in 700 square feet right now with one other person and two cats.  You leave a pair of shoes out and the place looks like a disaster.  Its so sad.

In other news……

We got our engagment photos back.  I am pretty happy with them.  I havent shared many on Facebook because Matt asked me not to, but I will share with you what I have shared

]]> http://thatredheadedsister.com/missing-my-old-ways/feed/ 4 http://thatredheadedsister.com/a-no-nonsense-review/ http://thatredheadedsister.com/a-no-nonsense-review/#comments Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:34:39 +0000 Heather http://thatredheadedsister.com/?p=2892 What seems like 800 years ago, I offered to review a pair of No nonsense leggings.  I was thrilled to be given the offer because I live on leggings.  I love wearing tights, but leggings offer more comfort to me.

I was sent two products to try out, corduroy leggings and fishnet tights.  Of course these showed up at my door the day before Christmas, a week before we moved, and two weeks before busy season started for me, so this is a huge delay in reviewing.

I first tried out the corduroy leggings.  I received the Aubergine color pair (purple) and was not in love with the color.  I am not much of a fan of purple and how bright they were.  I am very limited on what I have that matches purple leggings, so I threw something together.  Of course I do not have a picture because what I paired with it was sort of silly looking (me, not the leggings).  I must say…they were extremely comfortable.  I felt free to move around or cuddle under the blankets on the couch (I always feel uncomfortable laying on the couch in jeans or tights).  They also kept my legs very warm.  Matt and I decided to head out and practice our golf swing in the misty, cold day.  I felt so warm and comfortable.

Of course being a few days before moving, I was unable to snap a picture paired with a possible outfit and I think they were packed into a box that is sitting in storage with our other clothes.  All I can show is what the website has of these.

As you can see, they offer the corduroy in a few different colors.  I would buy these for sure, but not in purple.  This is just a personal preference because I am not much of a fan of purple.

The second pair I received was a pair of fishnet stockings.  I DO have pictures wearing these.  Fish nets are not something I would wear to work, but I do own a pair sitting in my clothing storage box.  The fit of these was actually pretty nice.  The waist was relaxed and I didnt feel as crunched as I do when I wear tights.  Here they are with the dress I wore to work.  I did not wear the fish nets today because it was a chilly 30 degrees this morning and I needed my thick tights.

(And instead of wearing my cute peep toe shoes today, I am wearing my running shoes.  Trying to cater to my injured feet)

 Not bad.  Their prices are very reasonable as well.  The leggings above are $18.99.  I saw a pair of capri leggings that I am sort of obsessing over for $15.99.  I love capri leggings in the spring time!

We shouldn’t stop at just the leggings, No nonsense also offers yoga attire, underwear, slippers, and shoe liners.  Take a look at their site to see what you need to get your hands on for spring!

Thank you No nonsense for getting me the chance to review two of your products.

The next day I couldnt get onto an elliptical (I work out after work), so I took my achy legs and jumped on the mill for intervals again.  The aches and pains melted away.  My legs knew what to do.

Then I got cocky and decided to jump back into training.  Go hard or go home, right?  Let’s not get crazy, my plan is a 18 week plan for a simple 10k.  I am giving myself enough time to be fully prepared for Peachtree in July so I can rock that crappy hill.  I gave up my July show, so the amount of stress will be greatly reduced around that time and I hope that helps the training plan.

My week this week looks like this:

Monday-Cross train/cardio- I didnt have much time on the elliptical because there was a line, so I was only able to do 20 mins of cardio and worked my back and biceps.

Tuesday-run 15 minutes-I MAY have to turn this into intervals because I am still not 100% sold my feet are going to work with me (I also like doing a minimum of 30 mins cardio, so Ill probably jump on the stair stepper after)

Wednesday-same as Monday-Ill be working the triceps and chesticles

Thursday-Same as Tuesday

Friday-Same as M/W-working the shoulders and legs

Saturday-off

Sunday-run 1 mile-trying to take it as easy as I can

The weeks after arent really changing much other than an increase in time and mileage.  Im glad I am only running 3 days a week.  I am also finding this a VERY ambitious plan.

This week will mark week #3 on my little weight loss journey.  I do not have as high of hopes for my weigh in tomorrow as I did at the beginning of the week.  Mainly the reason is because I have not been to the gym in TWO weeks.  A lot of it has to do with the amount of stress I am under, but a lot of it is laziness.  I think my focus needs to change and I need to create a training plan and see how much the feet with work with me if I start running again.  I did see the doctor a few weeks ago to get more injections in my feet, but it looks like I am going to need orthotics.  Hello $$$$$.  I have to wait until after the wedding to consider this.

This week I signed up for Ali’s 2nd Annual virtual race.  I guess that means I REALLY need to start training my feet to run again if I want to have any sort of power to run this.

This week I met Monte Durham from “Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta.”  We hugged.  He signed a magazine.  We were at Crate and Barrel registering for the wedding at a private event they were hosting and he was there talking to brides.  We chatted about my crazy dress shopping experience and his trip to London.  We are besties Im sure LOL  But, seriously, he is really nice.

via Google Image Search

This week marks three months until we are married.  It also means in three months we are going to be sitting on the beaches of Cancun relaxing.

This week we were approved for a home loan!  We have to wait until we are married to actually close on a house (that is how our loan works), but we can start looking and go under contract before being married.  This is a bit of an overwhelming process because we have no idea how to start.  I guess being preapproved was the best thing to start with first (thank you HGTV, I learned so much from you).  Now we need to find an agent.  How on earth do you go about doing that?  We have a few close friends/family that are agents, but we are opting not to use them because it is no different than doing business with them.  If something were to go wrong, we dont want it to ruin a relationship.

This week I finished working on the boutinneres for the guys.  I love them but I am worried about them looking too cheesy.  What do you think?  The best part: these cost a whopping $8 to make 7.  I researched and researched and I was going to spend $50 to 7 if I had a florist or grocery store do them.

I think I need to get a picture of it attached to a jacket, but I kind of like how they are wild looking but still incorporate my yellow.

How has your week been so far?

Yesterday I spent the day at my parents working on projects for the wedding and I started to come up with a production schedule for everything.  This part is hard to plan because our venues are so unique and they do not provide the help most venues have.  I think at this moment if I had to do it again, I would probably opt for the much more expensive venue that is almost all-inclusive.  I guess Ill have to see how this all plays out in the end to determine if it was worth it.  Pros and cons to both

So whats left you ask?  It seems like a lot, but I dont think it really is.

My bachelorette party has been planned for April and my Maid of Honors have done a fantastic job planning.  We are headed up to Nashville for a weekend and I am pumped!  I think it is time to buy some new dresses to match new cowboy boots

Source: Google Image search

Ceremony: I have to build, yes build, our altar.  It isnt going to be anything crazy, but since I am keeping the decor very simple for the ceremony, I want to make this piece look nice.  I have almost ALL of what I need for it that I found for FREE!

I have to create my flower girls accessories.  Right now I have three flower girls and was planning on having one drop flower petals, but that is just something that has to be cleaned up at the end, so I am going to have two of them carry flower pomanders and one carry a sign

Source: Emmaline Bride

Source

I also have to pick out all of our music for the ceremony.  I cannot afford someone to play the music at the ceremony so I have to figure out how to play it off the Ipod.

Reception: There is still a lotish we have to do project wise.  We are making all of our own draping thanks to the awkward lengths we would need from our hanging points.  Labor of love right?

We are DIYing (shocked?) all of the lighting for much cheaper than the professionals would do.  And I think there are a few miscellanous projects we still have to complete, but I would hate to bore you with all of those.

I have also started doing Weight Watchers again.  I just HAD to.  I didnt want to spend the money, but I know just how successful I can be on that program, so I said why not?  Last time I lost 25 pounds and fit into the SMALLEST size I have ever been in since who knows when.  Since starting last week, I have dropped 3 pounds and I am so happy.  I did not hit my goal of getting to the gym 5 times last week (it was a very stressful and emotional week for me at work).  Since I dont know what this week will bring, I am going to goal myself at 4 days and focus on my upper body for weights.

The pain in my feet are temporarily gone (thank you cortizone) but I need to let them heal, so no running for me right now.

What is going on with you?

Brides, any tips for me with 90 days out?

Any fun races you are signed up for?  How I miss racing!

I thought I would take you one this crazy month through pictures.  I could write out an extremely long post, but who wants to read when they can look?

Let’s back up to December.

At work, I stared sharing my office with our new employee.  I didn’t mind at first, but today I find myself plotting destruction to his chair.  The singing, the humming.  MAKE IT STOP!!!  LOL.  After over a month of SHARING MY SPACE, he moves into his office tomorrow.  Holy Lord, thank you Jesus.  I am not trying to be mean, but when you have to practically share your desk for a month………..

I bought Matt’s wedding ring:

We celebrated Christmas with both of our families and one of my favorite things I got was this book (I received many amazing things, but I could not take a picture of them)

Matt’s brother-in-law has challenged me to complete a few projects from this book (since he gifted it to me).  Hold up…lets get through the wedding, friend.  We have lots o’ projects to complete there.

We moved.  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it was mighty cold.  We ended up going with a smaller apartment, but we will be saving $300 a month just on rent.  And the commute?  MUCH EASIER!!  The area we are in is so quiet and while we still have a crazy methed out neighbor above us, as long as she has crashed from her high, it is rather peaceful.

I know I posted this before, but its worth telling again.  I MADE IT!  One year without french fries.  Since the big day I could start eating them again, I have made sure to have fries at my favorite places.  Want to know something?  They aren’t very nice to my stomach.  In fact, I am thinking of cutting them almost out of my diet because I just don’t like them as much as I used to.  I will still enjoy them, but I am not going to gorge myself.

Again, I know I posted this before….I started taking protein shakes in the morning to help curb my monster appetite.  Since doing this, I have lost 6.2lbs!  Then work and eating went a little crazy, but I am still maintaining my 6.2.  I am also going to start hitting the gym to really get in shape.  I saw a pin on Pinterest that really inspired me.  For every time you work out, you throw a dollar in the jar.  After x amount of days, you take that money and do whatever you want.  I think I am going to track my weeks and after every week, throw a dollar into savings.  I am in desperate need of new clothes and shoes, so at the end I think I will treat myself to a visit to the outlet mall.  I haven’t thought it through, but on workouts I really push myself to be better, I want to give a higher dollar amount.  Motivation you see.

My work friends all came down to Atlanta to help work on my crazy show and while they were here, we had plenty of fun nights out.  One night, Thomas Jefferson joined us for margaritas.  He is a good guy

We had skee ball tournaments and an intense ping pong match (I lost both).

Here is where the silliness started kicking in.  It was week who knows of working straight through and we were all so very tired.  So tired we decided to hang art on my wall while leaving the cardboard corners on.  And yes, my picture is still hanging (cardboard corner intact).

Here is a picture of one of three show floors after my show moved out and while we were moving another in.  In case you were curious.

An exhibitor gave us their Unicorn Droppings after they made a batch of candy.  The candy this company makes is really awesome and I wish I had better pictures of their process, but my cell phone sucks.  I can do many things with the droppings….I can grind it up and use the flavored sugar to bake with (my flavor is blueberry i believe), I can cut chunks off and put them in coffee, or just eat as candy.

Look what I found in the trash!  These are now going to become my project pieces for the wedding.  Stay tuned for a DIY!

The Voice had their auditions at work.  No Adam sightings though.  Just the producers and talent search.  I should have asked….do you think the producers look at the singers?  Or are they soley judged based on voice?

And finally some friends and I went to dinner on the last night they were here and we had such a great time.  I tried this banana bread beer and it was surprisingly good.  It smelled more like banana bread than it tasted.  It tasted more like the types of beers I like.  I would def drink this again.

I am still trying to catch up on sleep with this crazy month.  I find myself in bed falling asleep around 8:30 and I don’t try to stop it.  Matt has switched his schedule at work, so he is now working days and we can FINALLY spend time together.  We can actually eat dinner like real people!!

So now that this month is coming to an end, wedding planning is going to take full swing.  There is still A LOT to do and only FOUR months to do it in.  Can you believe it?

So…..

What have you been up to? 

What is your favorite type of beer?  What is the craziest flavor you have tried?