june run+workout playlist.

i haven't had to turn on the heat, i've cranked up the air, and i've been cruising with my windows down... Summer is upon us people!

here's a nice long june run+workout playlist for you.

as per usual, there's a little something for everyone in this one. You may even find a Disney song in there. Wink.

june run+workout playlist

23 songs, 1 hour, 20 minutes.

• i really like you, Carly Rae Jepsen
• somewhere to run, Krewella
• pound the alarm, Nicki Minaj
• crash and burn, Thomas Rhett
• don't it, Billy Currington
• i'll make a man out of you, Mulan
• classic, MKTO
• blame, Calvin Harris
• braveheart, Neon Jungle
• irresistible, Fall Out Boy
• headband, B.o.B
• numb/encore, Jay Z & Linkin Park
• shotgun, Yellow Claw
• hey mama, David Guetta
• where are ü now, Skrillex & Diplo
• somebody to you, The Vamps
• shut up and dance, WALK THE MOON
• this summer's gonna hurt like a mother fucker, Maroon 5
• bad blood (feat. kendrick lamar), Taylor Swift
• beautiful now, Zedd
• kick the dust up, Luke Bryan
• wake me up, Avicii

and as per usual, here's the 8tracks link to the playlist!

xo,

adrienne.

let's be realistic: 7th and 8th week of change.

hi, long time no talk! I know it has been a minute since my last post, but it's been crazy busy around these parts!

to be honest, i didn't want to write over the last two weeks. I had been in such a negative, dark place that I was worried it wasn't ever going to brighten up. Negativity can be incredibly insidious; it spreads like an infection, and can be chronic like a disease.

and that's not something I wanted to share.

luckily, i'm on a come up. I got to take some time off, go on a vacation, and hang out with my absolute best friend in the entire world. Before jetting off, everyone kept telling me how much I 'need this'. I didn't realize it at the time, but everyone was right. 100%. Without doubt or question. I needed it.

i wanted to keep this post short and sweet. Because of the funk I was in, I needed not to focus on my physical gains but more on my mental ones. You have to want and strive to be not even good, but okay. Being okay is manageable. Being okay is doable. Being okay is, bare minimum, what we need. And sometimes, that's the hardest thing you'll do.

so instead of discussing what I ate, how far I ran, or what muscles/weight I've gained/lost... I'll just leave you with some pictures.

enjoy!

xo,

adrienne.

let's be realistic: one week of change.

wanna lose 10 pounds in 1 week? Um, duh. Want to shed 20+ inches in 7 days? Without a doubt! Want to become a top model, coveted by top magazines, designers, and photogs? SIGN. ME. UP. Just let me do all that riding my unicorn, with $1billion in my pocket, dating Oscar winning Leonardo DiCaprio.

let's be realistic people. 

if you're like me and are a normal job juggling, tax paying, pleasure succumbing person, non of the above is realistic. In my last post, I declared that I am 'losing the wait.' I'm giving up the negative self-doubting and self-questioning, and picking up positive, balanced thinking, and healthy habits.

and realistically speaking, I wanted to share (amongst many, many other things) my health-centric journey with you. This isn't about losing weight (I'm well within my BMI), but it's about getting healthy, physically and mentally. It's about being the very best version of myself: healthy, honest, and strong, without denying myself the wonderful pleasures of this world (I'm looking at you, Pinot Noir).

so here is my journey of change, week one. I made sure to only change one thing in my routine: physical activity. Having coming out of the down season, and taking 3 weeks off from running due to injury (right foot, left knee, hips), I wasn't quite in my best running shape. But I laced up, stretched out, and pounded that frosted Michigan pavement.

i didn't change anything I ate. Don't get me wrong: there was salmon, smoothies, and salads. But there was also McDonalds, bagels/schmear, and a trip to Dunkin Donuts. What? I'm being honest, here!

it's been one week since I started my journey, so here's my week in review:

left: monday 23rd march 2015, right: monday 30th march 2015

physical activity: 

• ran 7.23 miles, over 2 days
• completed 1 fifteen-minute Nike Training ab workout

food:

• not my best. Can I just live?!

weight:

• starting weight: hahahahahahaha... nice try.
• current weight: down 5lbs. mostly water/margarita weight.

left: monday 23rd march 2015, with the newspaper to prove it. center: monday 30th march 2015. top: first week. bottom: newspaper of first week. 

i'm not going to lie: i actually feel a little better. Maybe it's physiological, but it's probably just psychological. Sharing this with everyone, and just having a plan has given me that nudge to get it right and get it tight.

live on, everyone!

xo,

adrienne. 

surviving winter: beauty edition

living in Michigan has taught me a few things about having a solid beauty routine for the forever changing winter weather. Here in the Great Lakes State the weather can go from 55F and sunny, to 25F, snowing, with blustery winds overnight. Yes, it can be hard to keep up a beauty routine when you don't know what's going to come out of the sky next. But if you start with a solid beauty base, it isn't quite as bad.

1. it's all about the base (bout the base, no treble). Seriously, having
   
   well moisturized skin is the key to looking and feeling your best in the winter time. It can also be one of the hardest things to attain. The ultimate skin drencher is coconut oil. Yep, coconut oil. Pure and simple. It's hypoallergenic, absorbs fast, and is hella cheap. 
2. brighten it up. In the winter, even with well moisturized skin, everyone looks a little dull and washed out (that's what happens when you don't see the sun November-April). So, until we thaw out around mid-May, we have to fake it until we make it. The best way to achieve this is with a brightening/highlighting balm and a good blush. My favorite highlighter is Benefit Cosmetic's Watt's Up! cream-to-powder stick. I kid you not, it looks great on everyone. EVERYONE. As does Nars'
   
   Orgasm blush. It's not a flat matte color, but a peachy pink with the slightest shimmer. And it makes you look less sun-deprived, happiness-deprived, winter zombie, and more I-look-great-but-internally-I'm-screaming-from-the-sub-zero-temp. 
3. lay it on me thick. The only thing worse than scraping an inch of ice off of your car's windshield is having to do with with chapped lips. Sometimes in winter it feels like you spend 90% of the 8 hours of daylight applying and reapplying lip balm. Don't get me wrong, you'll still have to keep some Burt's Bee in every coat pocket. If you layer it underneath a thick, humectant and wax based lipgloss, though, you'll have to reapply less. The perk? You'll brighten up your face with a warm color, and keep your lips free from being chapped. 

here in the midwest, winter sucks regardless of where you lie within the Polar Vortex. At least though, you don't have to look like Mr. Winter sucked the life out of you with a few simple winter beauty survival tricks. 

stay warm out there my friends.

xoxo,

adrienne.