You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile

This weekend I got to participate in an "iPhone only" photoshoot where I simultaneously got a mini tour of downtown Covington. My hometown has the coolest sides of buildings I've ever seen. 

Volunteering for this project was a little nerve wracking as the only instructions were: "wear something you feel comfortable in" Ok, so Nike shorts and an over sized T-shirt, right? 

The outfit dilemma aside, it was super fun to play model for the day. The fact that I arrived with straight hair and left with curly hair (thanks to the 99.99% humidity) was not really that fun--but I've learned to live with it. "It" being the unpredictability that is the Louisiana weather. It was the 27th of December and the breeze was struggling to keep me cool. 

As you can see, I didn't go with the "most comfortable option" IMO. Instead, I chose to wear a few of my Christmas presents: my handmade scarf from my cousin's wife (THANKS ELISE), my Obsession Boutique T-shirt, and my Tory Burch FitBit band!

 Told y'all: cutest walls ever. 

Sidenote: I never liked my profile very much, until I saw THIS PICTURE! (That wind blown hair though)

I still can't believe these are all from an iPhone! I mean when I take pictures or when other people take picture of me on their phones, I never look this good. 

It was such an honor to participate in this little project; local photographer, Kirsten Waguespack of Aperture Photography, did a fantastic job and is truly an artist! 

2015: A Year in Review

I can barely remember what happened at the beginning of the month, much less the beginning of 2015--so it's a good thing I have my blog to look back on. And what a year 2015 was...

Photography by Captivating Moments Photography

January: 

The month I finished at least three different seasons on Netflix and Josh lost his job.

February:

I tried going Paleo and wrote this post (which is even true-er today).

March:

The month where I wrote my VERY FIRST fashion post !

April:

Tried a "spending freeze", more fashion posts, and scored big at the Lilly for Target launch!

May:

Because I Said So turned TWO(!) and I was obsessed with food documentaries on Netflix.

June:

I baked. (sort of)

July:

I moved back home with the parents and turned 24!

August:

I threw darts at paint filled balloons and made blog specific hashtags.

September:

Josh and I road-tripped to Oklahoma to see Chase Rice perform and he touched my hand!

October:

I lost my job (the last day of September) and spent all of my time looking for a new job.

November:

I found a new job and Josh and I hit seven years together!

December:

I stayed busy with my new job and challenged myself to take 15 Pure Barre Classes in 15 days!

Looking back, I accomplished a lot more than I remembered and went though a TON of ups and downs. And I actually feel ready for the New Year. 

I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store!

In vs. Out December

Christmas is this week. THIS WEEK! I can't believe it! For some reason, this Christmas season snuck up on me AND went by way too fast. 

With all of the hectic-ness of the Holiday season, I decided to make my "in vs. out link-up" an all week thing! You'll have from today until the Sunday after Christmas to link up your posts!

Don't forget to link up your own In vs. Out posts below--the link up stays open ALL week! 

IN

Road Trips
(I'll be posting about the one we took to Pittsburgh soon!)

CHRISTMAS!!

A Pittsburgh win

Seeing snow

OUT

Packing

Leaving Pittsburgh

Steve Harvey getting Miss Universe WRONG!

Still not being done with Christmas shopping

Being sick

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And, in case you missed it, here's what was popular on Because I Said So this month:

My FIRST Gift Guide!

15 in 15: What I Learned from Pure Barre

Deck the Halls

15 in 15: What I Learned From Pure Barre

I will take my 15th Pure Barre class in 15 days, tomorrow! That's got to be some kind of record or something (I know for me it is). 

This month, Pure Barre started a challenge: 2015 Strong, 2016 Stronger. I'm getting a jump on my ever constant New Year's resolution of "GET IN SHAPE" while getting the chance to win--if you take 15 classes in the month of December, you can win an entire year of barre, FREE!  What started out as a way to get back into shape, led to my competitive nature being re-ignited.

I was going to title this post "7 things the Pure Barre #2015Strong2016Stronger Challenge Taught Me" but then thought better of it. Nevertheless, here's what taking 15 classes in 15 days as part of said challenge has taught me.

1. Ten seconds is longer than you think.

No really. I used to think 10 seconds was no big deal, until I took barre. When the instructors start counting down, that's when it gets the most difficult.

2. It's not your sticky socks, it's you.

See proof here.

3. You are stronger than you think.

Refer to #1. Though it seems impossible 99.99% of the time, you'll be surprised how much your body can take and how you actually can hold that pose for ten more seconds.

4. Exercise is 50% a mental battle.

With every class, I literally have to remind myself that I can do it. It helps to concentrate on cheering yourself on because it distracts from the burning of your muscles.

5. Music makes the shaking tolerable. 

Because somehow Taylor Swift makes everything better.

6. It doesn't get easier, you just get stronger.

After 15 classes, my left split has gotten closer to the floor, but I still can't do a "regular" push-up (aka not on my knees). I still get out of breath during the warm up, but I want to die less when doing abs. I'm getting stronger, but the exercises still challenge me in new ways every class.

7. Allow yourself to be a beginner. 

Nobody starts as an expert in anything they do. A lot of the ladies in my classes have been taking Pure Barre for 100+ classes. It would be completely unfair to compare myself to them when I'm on class 15 after a ten month hiatus.

Fingers crossed that I win the free year of Pure Barre. But, even if I don't, I'll continue to take Pure Barre, get closer to my left split, get stronger, and jam out to Taylor Swift while "ltb-ing."


Happy Monday!

Deck the Halls

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear! 

Seventeen days until Christmas, y'all--where has the time gone? We don't even have our tree up yet (we bought it--it's just sitting out in the yard)! We may have an outdoor tree this year #yikes 

Does anyone else feel like Christmas has really snuck up this year? 

Regardless of if you've had your house decorated since before Thanksgiving or if you're super behind like my family, I put together a playlist of some of my favorite Christmas music that'll put you in the Christmas spirit in no time! So finish decking the halls, drinking hot chocolate, and wrapping presents to these songs!

P.S. My favorites: Run Rudolph Run and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (I do a mean Gayla Peevey impression)

In vs. Out

Do you ever just wake up and think "It's going to be a great day?" That's me right now. It's a beautiful sunny day and it's cold outside! I've already been to Pure Barre and ate a healthy breakfast #productive

The fact that it's Friday helps too!

IN

Productive Mornings

Pure Barre

Christmas music

Christmas candles (more specifically Fresh Balsam from B&BW)

Chilly weather

Planning our 4th annual Pittsburgh trip

OUT

Needing to clean your room because the mess is bugging you but you don't actually want to physically clean your room #thestruggle

Grumpy people

Idiot drivers

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And, in case you missed it, here's what was popular on Because I Said So this week:

Comfort (Colors) + Joy

December Goals

Thoughts During Pure Barre Class

December Goals

It's the most wonderful time of the year--December! This is my most favorite month (and it's not even my birthday month)! I love the crispness in the air, the Christmas music, all of the Christmas candles, and the season of giving. 

Recapping last month, I'm happy to report that I accomplished one of my main goals--I found a gym--PURE BARRE. They had highly discounted packages for Black Friday and Cyber Monday and I'm really excited to be starting it again. 

Moving on to this month, I'm keeping the list short and sweet (again) in hopes that I can accomplish all of them!

1. Reach my goal of 10,000 steps everyday. This is probably going to be a reoccurring goal. Like I mentioned last month, it's REALLY hard for me to do this more than one day in a row. I have been moving "more" just not enough (IMO). If you have a FitBit add me (alellzey@gmail.com)! We can keep each other accountable. P.S. I really like participating in Challenges--even though I never win any of them!

2. Be thankful. I'm not oblivious to the fact that I'm truly blessed. This year has certainly had it's share of ups and downs, but at the end of the day, I have so much to be thankful for. This month, I want to make a conscious effort to count all of the blessing in my life daily.

3. Be present. I'm the WORST at being on my phone AT ALL TIMES. This Holiday season I want to focus on really being present and interacting with the people that I'm with. Being present is one of the best gift you can give! Being distracted is for the birds.