Life Lately

I know I haven't done a Life Lately post in awhile, so this recap might be slightly longer than usual... #buckleup #lotsofbarrepics #ofcourse

 

I went out for a fancy date night with this handsome fella.  We had a yummy dinner at Pyramid Restaurant at the Fairmont in Dallas.

I am in LOVE with these Burt's Bees lip balms.  The one on the left is the Lip Shimmer in Fig.  The one on the right is the Tinted Lip Balm in Red Dahlia.  They are the perfect amount of color if you aren't a huge lipstick fan.  I like to throw the Tinted Lip Balm on when I'm running out to barre.  It gives me a hint of color and my lips are so smooth.

I went to barre.

A few times.

Post workout selfie!  These classes can be intense.

I take the 5:15am class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and the 8:30 class on Sunday.  Mondays, Niki usually teaches.  Wednesdays is usually Kelly, and then Friday it could be either of them or one of the other instructors.  Well...Kelly had been on vacation and Friday was her first class back teaching.  Let me tell you, there is nothing like an instructor who has just come back from vacation.  She worked us hard!  And now I'm away for a bit and won't get back until Friday.  Ugh.  That one is going to be rough.

coat | earrings (similar)

I chopped my hair.  It's a little shorter in the back than I wanted, it's not really long enough to wear curly yet.  If I let it curl, it sticks straight up. #poodle

I'll wear it natural more when the shorter layers grow in a bit.  Otherwise, the length in the front is exactly what I have been wanting.

My new favorite lunch.  I LOVE Trader Joe's.  Don't they have the best stuff?  1/4 of the chicken salad container and 8 of the pumpernickel pretzel sticks make for a Weight Watchers point friendly lunch for me.  It's something I'm able to nibble on.  Phillip loves the chicken salad too.  It is so tasty.

We menu plan every week.  Every week.  We do this for several reasons.

1. We only buy what we need.  We make a shopping list based off of what we need to make meals for the week.  This eliminates impulse buys at the store.  We go in for what we need and then we're out.
2.   It prevents us from eating out too much.  We buy what we need, we plan for the week, we know when we want to go out for our one night out (usually Saturday) and the rest of the times, we cook at home.
3.   Cooking at home means we eat healthier!  We know how we're preparing everything and can control our portions better.

Another new favorite.  I saw this on a fellow WW Instagrammer's account.  Lorissa's Kitchen jerky.  Oh. My. Stars.  This stuff is delicious!  Super points friendly and it helps me satisfy my cravings for something salty in the afternoon.

Anyone up for a run?  It felt good to get a run in.  We had been slacking a bit getting up on Tuesdays and Thursdays to hit the gym for some cardio, but we have been much better at it the last few weeks.  The warm weather has helped.  Speaking of which...

I had a meeting in Arlington last Wednesday.  That means I got home a little earlier than usual as the traffic was not bad and I shaved about 20 minutes off my normal nightly commute (it can be rough getting out of downtown Fort Worth some nights).  I used that extra time to take a walk around the lake.  It was such a gorgeous night.

Three miles around the lake, it felt good to be home.

New product alert!  This was an instant favorite.  It's the ELF gel lip stain.  I found it at Target.  It was $4.  $4!!!  Pick it up.  Try it out.  You will love it.  I promise. 

dress (similar) | sweater | bag | shoes | necklace

It's been hard to know how to dress lately.  The weather in Dallas is all over the place.  It was in the 80s one day, the 60s the next.  Do I dress for Summer?  For Winter?  It feels weird to wear boots and a scarf when it's 80 out.  But it's February.  Sigh.  My solution has been to dress in layers.

I had a facial at my favorite spa last Saturday - Hidden Door Medspa in Southlake.  I got there a little early and popped into Banana Republic.  Specifically, I wanted to try on this dress.  It fit, but I only liked it, didn't love it.  The belt would not stay tightened.  And for the price, I would need to LOVE it.  So back it went.  What I did fall in love with was this top:

How sweet are those bell sleeves?  I'm not usually into that particular look, but because the top is a lighter sweater material, they hold their shape and aren't floppy.  I've worn it twice already.  Love it.

While I was at Southlake Town Square, I wandered past Gap on my way to the spa and saw this display.  How adorable is this Dumbo collection?  Too sweet.

top | jeans | boots | Lindsay necklace | knot hoops | watch

I was traveling out of town for work on Saturday, so we had Date Night on Friday night.  We went to one of our local favorites, The Ranch.  Phillip had been dreaming of their grilled chipotle meatloaf and I had been wanting the fried green tomatoes.   We were not disappointed.  How pretty is this Lindsay necklace?  I'm going to cover it more tomorrow in my Stella & Dot post.

And then it was off to Tampa!  I got in Saturday and had time to drive down to Venice to see family.  The weather has been gorgeous!  What's better than gorgeous weather and the ocean?  I miss being close to the beach.

Hammered hoops | Rebel pendant | watch

Fortunately there's a Dunkin Donuts near my aunt's house so I was able to grab one for the road before I drove back up to Clearwater for my meeting.  How pretty are these hammered hoops?  I've showcased the gold ones before.  These are the mini silver ones.  I love how delicate they are.

And that's a peek into our life lately!  Come back tomorrow for this week's edition of Stella & Dot Style!

xoxoxoxo