Keep it Moving Keep it Motivated

I could tell you about another successful shopping deal I got, but I really wanted to talk about something else this time....

One of the big things going on with me right now is getting back into the exercise routine. I'm now in week three of working out about 5 times a week. And by work out, I mean I'm trying to do it the RIGHT way, so it includes stretching, resistance training, and then at least 30 minutes of interval cardio.

I've lost about 3 lbs so far, which I know is normal because I'm also building muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat...blah blah blah.... But I know that my biggest problem is my MOUTH.
I watched my sis-in-law lose almost 40 lbs just by changing her eating, and not working out at all. Of course it was a very strict diet of no sugar, very little carbs and lots lots n lots of salad with grilled chicken. But she lost weight while eating at the same time. She quit before she reached her goal weight (she had another 25 lbs to go or so), but still I think she did a great job getting that weight off.

So I'm just going to concentrate on my eating and see what I can do. Maybe I will have to start Almased again. It works great....when you do it like you're supposed to ;) It's just the whole liquid diet thing....it's not easy on the psyche

 



My goal beach bod......*sigh*

I need all the support and motivation I can get! It's too easy to give in! Although I WILL say I have improved in the past 3 weeks. But I can do better.
I'm going to make a list...I cannot lose this list, it's on my blog lol
1) Eat smaller meals
2) Drink lots of water (must try to get to 96 oz a day! I think I'm at 32-64 oz/day)
3) If I must snack, make healthy whole-food choices, no Chex Mix...or snack sized candy bars (darn you candy ladies at work!)
4) Minimize carbs, try and get carbs from whole food choices
5) Workout everyday...or at least 6 days a week......

And I just have to add this because I just saw it. Could Kim look anymore NORMAL in this photo? I'll admit I have the guilty pleasure of watching the Kardashians reality series, and I find them quite entertaining most of the time....but wow I was not expecting this from Kim!  Her sis was such a cute preggo..... And to be honest, I'm horrified at the thought of Kanye procreating....I find him too egotistical to bear.....



http://lmn8.us/oWSmncMV

 

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Tips on Becoming a Deal Shopper for Clothing/Accessories/Cosmetics

Although I would love to be able to just walk into an Anne Taylor, Banana Republic, Coach, or Bebe store and just buy whatever I want – my paycheck only stretches so far.  I love fashion, but I am on a budget. With time I have learned that deal shopping is all about being informed and patient. Since I'm not rich I cannot have everything from every deal I see, but I have to use my judgment to pick and choose which deals are worth investing in depending on my current needs. I’m focusing more on online shopping here, since that is where I tend to find the best deals, although you can find great deals in-store too....

1) Create an email address ONLY for store/vendor newsletters/blasts/emails. The number of emails I get in one day is amazing. Between the clothing stores/cosmetics/travel/restaurant/groupon/sweet jack/etc  emails I get, I wouldn't be able to function out of my personal email address - stuff would get lost! Also, when I feel like browsing/shopping I just go to that specific emails address and see all the current deals and offerings. With time you will learn what is the "standard" deal for each store, so you know whether or not they're really offering something special.

2) Do a lot of "window shopping". There are a lot of times I will click on a deal and start shopping, adding stuff to my cart and such. In the end I make sure that there's no coupon codes I'm missing (check my email, the home page of the site, and do a quick google search (there are some great coupon websites with codes). In the end I look at my basket and see my total, tax plus shipping (if there is any). I will then literally walk away and do something else for awhile and come back with a fresh mind. 9 times out of 10 I close the window and never buy anything because I'm out of the 'shopping zone' and realize....'eh - I don't really need this, or need to spend the money'. However, I'm learning about the pricing of items, how each store works their site, the coupons out there and what types of merchandise each store offers.  Will there be times that you walk away and when you come back an item will be sold out? Yes. This is especially true with sale and clearance items. But that’s just a part of my strategy, unless I really really love something and must have it, I need to clear my mind before giving my card number.

3) End of Season sales are always best. This is the one that hurts me because I know at the beginning of every season I check my closet and realize I need more clothes, I definitely do not feel like buying for the previous season, but the deals can be amazing. Boots that were originally $169 can be marked down to $69, a scarf that would’ve cost you $30 in December, is now $9.99. Deals like that will start to pop up as the season draws to a close, and it’s just too good to pass up. I know you will probably end up putting them in a closet until next season, but trust me, when you will be so happy when you get to pull out a brand new pair of boots, scarf, or sweater at the start of winter!

4) Double check stores return policies. Most big clothing stores have a risk-free return policy, which is what I require to make a purchase. I’m not a perfect size 2 pants or 32B bra, so sometimes things don’t fit the way they should. I remember trying 3 different pieces of clothing from one online clothing store, but each one had something that didn’t work with my body, I ended up settling for an accessory and a refund, and now know that their clothing doesn’t work for me – but I didn’t lose out! Kinda sad because I think their clothes are really cute! ;)

5) I am very anti-shipping charges. If I can help it I will try to reach their minimum for free shipping. If they’re offering free shipping on any purchase amount I love that. Almost 100% of the time if I’m window shopping and I cannot get free shipping, or the cost is what I feel too high for shipping, I usually pass it up. It would have to be a 70%+ off sale with some amazing merchandise for me to consider paying exorbitant shipping costs.

6) My hot shopping spot – hello?! It’s the clearance! Do I stop on the home page and ‘ohhh’ and ‘ahhhh’ at their beautiful new clothing and shoes? Oh yes. But do I want to pay retail? Nope.  So I do all my real hardcore shopping in clearance.  They don’t always have great stuff in clearance – so this is just something you have to check periodically to see the new stuff they’ve marked down. I will sometimes add items to my cart that are not marked down for sale if I must absolutely have it and it’s reasonably priced, but that’s not very often.

It’s really up to you what you want to spend on certain items and what you consider a real deal. Everyone’s opinion, priorities and paycheck are different. It takes time but it’s very worth it if you love shopping like me, but can’t spend your entire paycheck on clothing, perfume and all that other fun stuff! One thing that has really helped me develop my eye for my style-preferences is Pinterest. As I’ve continued to collect my favorite looks from Pinterest I’ve realized all the possibilities I have with certain pieces of clothing, and what I should keep an eye out for because it’s not in my closet. I’m more aware of my preferences rather just aimlessly shopping around for random sale items.  I hope this helps, and have fun shopping! I love to hear about good deals people get!

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Everything But the Kitchen Sink Salad

After work yesterday I came straight home and met my hubby after his quick farmer's market shopping trip. He does really good shopping for fruits and veggies!
Now - why did I have to go home to meet him? Because he doesn't like to sort the refrigerator and make room for stuff! I have to laugh with that. I needed to be home to put the groceries away.
Men.......

So for dinner we just cooked up a tofu stir-fry, a staple in our house when we don't know what to make. He had bought broccoli and I was just excited to eat it. I'm not very good a 'flavoring' the food. I tend to go on the bland side. E is waaaay better at seasoning than me...and he didn't disappoint last night. Although I prefer my tofu a little bit more browned, it was still really good. The broccoli was al dente and purrrrfection...mmmmmm
I also threw some jasmine white rice in my new rice cooker. LOVE that thing - so easy. E and his family can cook rice in a pot over the stove, and it's delicious! But I try and fail horribly 90% of the time cooking rice over the stove. It's not cooked enough...or too much....or I forgot to add salt. I now can compete with those Dominican housewives and make some pretty decent rice.....
Moro on the other hand....well...I don't know if you can make that in a rice cooker..... and that's amazingly yummy...
I also wanted a salad (surprised myself on that one!), but seeing that we didn't have any lettuce I decided to make a more preferred salad for my palate - one WITHOUT lettuce.  So I think I would consider this a type of 'everything but the kitchen sink' type of salad.
It included:
Tomato
Red Pepper
Cabbage
Green Olives
Chick Peas
Lemon Juice
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Seasoning

I just basically threw what sounded good together in a bowl, and yes, E helped me season it. Not as good as "Geek Charming"s 'everything but the kitchen sink sundae' for sure - but it turned out pretty good.
Crappy iPhone picture ;)

Oops...did I just mention Geek Charming? Well yes I did. And I liked that movie...... super-dork moment.

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Let's do this!

There's no better time to start than today!
Would Friday have been better? Who knows...
This is going to be a very dynamic blog, touching on all sorts of different aspects of my life. My life in the south, away from my Midwest home-sweet-home. My interests are many and there's never enough time to do them all!

I started this blog after encouragement from my sisters, and I look forward to reading all about what's going on with them too!

My interests (off the top of my head):

~Travel/Culture
~Photography
~Photoshop & anything Adobe Suite related
~Food/Recipes
~Nutrition/Health
~Exercise/Weight Loss
~Fashion
~ Social Media
~ Books
~ TV Shows/Movies
~ Nature
~ Shopping (Deals!!)
~ My hubby (I thought he should make the list - is it sad he's #12?)
~ Funny Stuff

And that's not an exhaustive list!

I thought of the name Sarah Captured when I was creating my google info. I thought it had many different meanings that were interesting: the word 'Captured' has meaning to photography and also it's like having me "in the moment", and a snippet of me and my life here and there. I now find it also appropriate for this blog :)

So where to start?

I bought some new fashion for my closet! :D
I got paid today, and I can't resist good deals, especially went it involves an amazing sale PLUS free shipping....oh yeah....

First off I returned some boots and exchanged them for a couple of accessories that were on sale. Since I'm trying to lose weight I'm not going to crazy on clothes until I get where I want to be.  I also decided I need to add some COLOR to my wardrobe, as I peruse my closet I notice I have a lot of black, white and gray...so I've forced myself to remember this (although I catch myself looking at black stuff all the time!)

Knee High Socks

Lulu's

 

 I'm thinking paired with some cute brown boots and an amazingly cute brown skirt? Not sure yet, just loved the color.

I also have been obsessed with scarves this year, I feel like I don't have enough or enough color variety, so I grabbed this too. Still getting a bit of a refund too ;)

Lulu's

So then at Dots, I went crazy because I'm really loving their additional 50% of clearance. Although it can be a frustrating search sometimes for sizes, I guess that's part of the fun right? Kind of like digging through TJMaxx racks.....

This scarf will actually be a fuschia red...

And I really wanted these leggings and these pants, I always see these super-cute outfits with oversized shirts and leggings, and I cannot wait until I'm able to pull the look off!! And yes....PINK skinny jeans. Oh the excitment.... They actually didn't have my size in the jeans so I ordered a size smaller, so there ya go motivation!

All together I spent: $57.03.  Oh yes.... 
That's my excitement for today! Looking forward to getting my package in the mail!

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