What I'm Wearing & A Shirt for a Cause

It has been HOT here the past week & I have been loving it! Lots of shorts, lots of wedges, and lots of curly hair because let's face it... naturally curly hair + humidity = unmanageable. Now last week I promised that I was going to start taking pictures with my real camera. Great premise, only problem is... I'm not really sure where my memory card is! I'm looking into it, but for now, here are more iPhone selfies. 

Lunch with My Mother-In-Law

tshirt - Gap // shorts - American Eagle // shades - Coach 

I wore this outfit for a laid back lunch on the patio & some outdoor shopping. This is one of the tops I bought while shopping on Saturday & I absolutely love it. It's so soft & so comfy. I bought it in an extra small because it seemed like it ran a little big. That's just me though, it you want it baggier, order your normal size. And let's be honest, you can't go wrong with a pair of cut off jean shorts. I've had these for years, but I am loving this pair right now. 

Casual Days at Work

skinnies - Gap // top - Target // wedges - American Eagle

I worked at our district office a few days last week, which meant I got to wear jeans! I would've rather been in shorts, but I didn't want to push things too far. So I stuck with dark denim, wedges, and light weight tops. So simple, you can't go wrong with it! 

Oklahoma Relief

I have been deeply saddened by the devastation in Oklahoma. I am donating in every way I possibly can at this point in time. Hello Apparel is selling this tank & donating all proceeds to the Oklahoma Disaster Relief. Head over & snatch one up - it's a great cause & really cute. 

Today I'm Linking Up With... 

My Caffeine Problem...

It is well documented on this blog that I love caffeine. 

I am not a coffee person, I drink unsweetened iced tea. It's like a religion to me. Lately, I have had some people call me out on my "excessive caffeine consumption." And because I do try to live healthily, I decided to look into the matter. Exactly how much caffeine is too much? And are there benefits? I did some digging & figured it out. Since I know that many of you love your caffeine too, I thought I'd share.  Here's what I learned... 

1. There are many different types of caffeine, and the effects vary widely based on the concentration. IE: the caffeine is a piece of chocolate & the caffeine in a Red Bull are not equal. The caffeine in black tea is pretty low on the scale, and I never touch energy drinks, so I think I'm safe on this one. 
2. Caffeine is a diuretic - which means it can lead to dehydration. This is a problem for me. I need to be hydrated for my runs, especially as the weather warms up. So, I'm going to be more conscious about drinking an ounce of water for every ounce of iced tea. 
3. You can't actually go into withdrawal from caffeine, but "it definitely affects the brain and body and stimulates them in a manner similar to the amphetamines such as cocaine." (source) True story, quitting caffeine sucks for the first two days, then you're fine. I gave it up completely during pregnancy & can do it again if necessary. I simply have no desire to...
4. The Mayo Clinic says that 300 mg of caffeine consumed daily is within safe limits. My black tea consumption, even on a bad day, falls safely within these limits. 
5. Caffeine can actually help with my running! Studies have shown that ingesting caffeine before a workout increases your endurance, can help ease post exercise muscle soreness, and can help sedentary people exercise more vigorously. 

So am I going to give it up? Nope. Will I be more conscious of my intake? Yes. Being conscious of you intake of anything is always a good idea. Remember people, everything in moderation. 

Ella's Hot Date, My First 10K, & Shopping with Grandma Nancy

This weekend was BUSY! But not busy in an overwhelming way, just busy in an awesome way. It was basically Ella & I at home all weekend, because Eric had plans with his college roommates Friday night (into Saturday morning...) and then was golfing with his dad & brother on Sunday. I think I saw him for a collective 8 hours all weekend, but that's ok because he doesn't get to take a whole lot of time for himself these days & I was doing exactly what I wanted to do with Ella by my side.

Ella's Hot Date:

On Saturday we met up with my best friend, whose son just happens to be Ella's boyfriend. She had a ton of gift cards from her birthday that she wanted to use up, so we hit the mall. She was looking for wedges, and I was looking for tops. We both got what we were looking for, and of course bought stuff for the kiddos too!

at Target with her boyfriend

being silly together at the food court

playing in the yard together

My Race:

at the starting line of the Lilac 10K

This was my first 10K race. I've been running 6 miles pretty regularly for the past 3 months, but it was the first time I was doing it competitively. I was also running with a good friend from high school, who is a far faster runner than I am, but kept insisting that she wanted to stay with me & take it easy. The run was extremely pleasant because we chatted with one another the entire time, which made it go by quickly. The course was beautiful & a lot of it was on streets that I run regularly so it made it feel very "normal" to me. The last mile is a gradual uphill though & I really started to feel like I was going to die (note to self: more hills!) but I didn't want to embarrass myself by walking. So, I kept going & finished at 1:00:28. I was pissed that I didn't finish in under an hour, but there's always next year. As both Eric & my Nike+ app reminded me, it was a PR and I can always improve for the next one.

The best part of the whole thing is that it felt so insanely routine to be running 6 miles on teh weekend. My legs aren't aching and I didn't want to sleep the rest of the day. It just felt normal. I LOVE THAT RUNNING 6 MILES IS NORMAL FOR ME! I could not have said that 6 months ago.

Shopping with Grandma Nancy:

Once I got home from the race, I showered and then we headed out to have lunch and do some shopping at a local plaza. Nancy doesn't get to spend a lot of 1:1 time with Ella, so she was in seventh heaven all day long. We ate lunch at The Food Bar, had ice cream at Cold Stone, and did some shopping at TJ Maxx & Carter's. The best part of the day was that the weather was gorgeous, so we got to eat outside on the patio, which is the definition of summer in my book.

trying watermelon & cantelope for the first time!