After a fun, action-packed July I was looking forward to a social, but slightly more relaxing August. I broke out the shorts and soaked up some Summer sun at my family’s cabin on Fallen Leaf Lake in Tahoe, spent a lovely weekend wine tasting in Sonoma, and watched some friends kick booty at a CrossFit competition in the city. Not too shabby.
Let’s Review My August Goals:
Food:
Now that Arianna and I are back on our healthy meal plan I find that I have TONS of motivation to get creative in the kitchen. And whether I’ve been in Sacramento or San Francisco, I’ve managed to find farmers markets most weekends in July, which I want to keep up during August so that the apartment is always stocked with healthy basics. I’ve been planning dishes around what I’ve been able to pick up which I love to do since it makes me feel extra healthy to eat seasonal, local, and organic produce.
{Tofu & Veggie Stirfry and shredded Brussels sprout salad & cauliflower mash – MCLV Mange posts to come!}
August was another healthy month, in fact, I can only remember a single restaurant trip! Lots of new recipes – like those above – and lots of baking. Now that the boy is trying to reduce his sugar intake I’ll probably take a short hiatus from all of the sweet treats though, so September will have less kitchen time.
{“Healthy” Super Charge Me Cookies – YUM}
Fitness:
Physical therapy, physical therapy, physical therapy.
Same old, same old. The good news is that my doctor is letting me extend my work hours so that I’ll be spending more time at the office. How sad is it that I’m thoroughly looking forward to this?
I can answer that for you. Pretty sad.
Fashion:
August will be more of the same fashion-wise, I want to expand my comfort zone and keep the color coming. I also want to head into the Fall season having exhausted every piece of bright, patterned Summer-wear in my closet!
Color Color Color! My personal style has been creative and bright lately, I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. I’ve also had the amazing opportunity to work with Sasha Maks Vintage this month so stay tuned for more Styling 101 posts featuring her killer vintage jewelry!
September Goals:
After a crazy busy Spring and a fun, but indulgent Summer I’m hoping that September will be the beginning of a healthy, active, responsible Fall for me.
Food:
I still plan to be social and I will keep up the weekly dinners with Arianna, but I want to reduce wine consumption to once or twice a month, rather than every weekend, and eat a primarily raw diet this month. Monday through Friday I usually eat raw for three of my four meals – Smoothies, fruit, salad, nuts, veggies & hummus - and then roasted or sautéed vegetables with tofu, tempeh, quinoa or seitan for dinner. For September I’d like to eat primarily raw during the week, then have more flexibility over the weekends.
Fitness:
Finally it’s time to report some good news on this front! My latest doctor’s appointment was quite positive so in addition to continuing physical therapy I’ll be increasing my hours at work. This means that I can start going downstairs to the gym for a mid-day workout during the week. I. Am. So. Excited.
So stay tuned for a new fitness series similar to the Gym Goddess posts that I published last year, this one will chronicle my re-introduction to working out and focusing on strengthening my core.
Fashion:
I love Fall. I love love love Fall. I’ve had fun with colors, prints, and lighter fabrics all Summer - not to mention wearing shorts for the first time since Junior High - but I have to admit that I’m thrilled for Fall to arrive so that I can break out my outerwear and cold weather accessories.
If you’re a fan of To Do Lists and setting goals for yourself than I think you’ll love this great post from the always inspirational Gala Darling – 50 Things To Do Before Summer Ends…
Does the end of Summer inspire you to shake things up? Are you ready for a detox or cleanse after a few months of over indulging and vacation mentality? Do you love the changing of seasons from a sartorial standpoint?
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September 4, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Fitness, Food, MCLV Style | Tags: 2012 goals, 2012 New Years Resolutions, 2012 Plans, 2012 Resolutions, American River Crossfit, Annual goals, Annual planning, ARCFit, August, August 2012, August goals, beginner fitness, beginner workouts, Broccoli, broccoli stirfry, brussels sprout salad, brussels sprouts, cauliflower mash, CF Competition, Cold weather clothes, Cold weather dressing, CrossFit, CrossFit Competition, dessert recipe, Fall 2012, Fall accessories, Fall clothes, Fall Clothing, Fall Fashion, Fall Style, Fall/Winter 2012/2013, Fallen Leaf Lake, Fashion, Fitness, Gala Darling, Gluten-free, gluten-free cookie recipe, gluten-free cookies, gluten-free desserts, gluten-free recipes, gluten-freee, Goals, Goals for the month, going to the gym, gym, gym goddess, health, healthy, Healthy cookies, Healthy desserts, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, healthy recipes, How to be a Gym Goddess, inspiration, inspirational, July, July 2012, July goals, Listing, Lists, mashed cauliflower, Meatless Monday, monthly goals, Monthly Planning, Monthly Plans, motivation, motivational, New Years Eve, New Years Resolutions, organization, Organizing, outerwear, Planning, Plans, Plans by month, Plans for 2012, Plans for August, Plans for July, Plans for September, quick & easy, quick & easy meals, quick & easy recipes, quick & easy snacks, quick desserts, quick recipes, Radical Self Love, Radical Self Love Bootcamp, Recipes, Resolutions, Retro, Sasha Maks, Sasha Maks Vintage, Sasha Maks Vintage Jewelry, Scheduling, September 2012, shaved brussels sprouts, South Lake Tahoe, Spring/Summer 2012, Spring/Summer trends, stirfries, stirfry, stirfry recipe, Style, Summer clothes, Summer fashion, Summer Must Dos, Summer plans, Summer style, Summer To Do List, Summer To Dos, summer vacation, Summer weekends, Tahoe, The Radical Self Love Project, The Y, things to do before summer ends, Thirsty Thursday, Three day weekends, To Do list, tofu, tofu stirfry, Une Vie Saine, vacation clothes, vacation fashion, vacation style, Vegan, vegan cookies, vegan desserts, Vegan recipes, veganism, Vegetarian, Vegetarian dessert, Vegetarian recipes, vegetarianism, vegetariansism, vintage, vintage jewelry, Weekend adventures, What to do during summer, Winter 2012, winter accessories, Winter clothes, Winter clothing, Winter fashion, Winter Style, working out, workout, workouts, yearly goals | 1 Comment »
How was everyone’s May? Did you enjoy your three-day weekend to celebrate Memorial Day?
I had some pretty lofty goals for May that included cooking more, progressing with my physical therapy, and participating in a fun fashion challenge that would inspire me to up my fashion game during the month. And you know what? I’d like a do-over.
May was hectic on both the work and the life side of things for me. With two weddings, a law school graduation, buying a new car, the CrossFit Regionals in San Jose, a family visit, a trip to Sacramento, a back procedure, and an emergency root canal, my month quickly spun out of my control. Quickly.
P.S. We named her Eleanor. She wants to be a Shelby Mustang when she grows up.
When I look back at the month I’m happy to say that I actually ate pretty well and was able to keep up my daily walking routine for the most part. However that being said, none of my official goals were met, or really even thought of, over the course of the month.
So rather than break down everything that I did wrong or what I wish I could have done differently, I’m going to just say that I enjoyed myself in May and call the month of June a do-over so that I can start with a clean, guilt-free slate.
A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!
New June Goals:
Food:
My food goals for June are going to be more specific than usual, my boyfriend is competing in a food challenge with his gym and as a result I’ll have more control over my weekend eating habits. Ya! Here’s the basic breakdown:
- No restaurants
- No takeout
- No processed foods
- Cook for every meal
- Pay attention to portion sizes
I’ve actually done a great job of this already, I’ve been cooking up a storm all week, and didn’t order anything when I went to a Mexican restaurant Saturday night for my beautiful cousin’s birthday. Ya me! Ya self-control!
Fitness:
My next round of physical therapy starts in a week so once again it’s time to work really hard on my exercises but make a conscious effort not to push myself too hard. Too much will send me back to the starting line, so I need to really listen to my body and acknowledge when I can’t do something even when I want to try. I’m also going to amp up my daily walking routine. Currently I walk 1.4 miles to work, and then home again. In addition to this I’m going to implement a short afternoon walk Monday through Thursday, as well as another taxi moratorium on weekends.
All walking all the time!
Fashion:
Unfortunately I didn’t get to participate in Definitely RA’s Mission: Put Together May fashion challenge as much as I wanted to – SOB – so I’m going set a few goals for myself for June to make it up to myself.
- No wearing all black every day. Black dresses for work and weekends are fine, so long as the accessories take them up a notch and making them interesting and unique.
- I’m awful at doing my hair. Awful. I pull it back into a simple bun 95% of the time. For June I’m going to make an effort to “style” it as much as possible. Pictures forthcoming. Hopefully.
- Weekends are for color during June - As little black on weekends as possible. I’m scared already!!!
Good luck to everyone during June, let’s all work hard to meet our goals and keep each other motivated!
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June 7, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Fitness, Food | Tags: 2012 goals, 2012 New Years Resolutions, April goals, back injury, back pain, BottleCap Restaurant, buying a car, calendar, calendaring, California, Capital City Hyundai, CrossFit, CrossFit Regionals 2012, epidurals, family dinner, Fashion, Fisherman's Warf, florals, Gone in Sixty Seconds, healthy eating, how to buy a car, Hyundai, Hyundai Elantra, June goals, Low-Intensity Fasted Cardio, Macallan tasting, May Goals, monthly goals, monthly inspiration, monthly motivation, Monthly Planning, Motiviation, New Years Resolutions, no black, no processed food, North Beach, Organizing, Patterns, physical therapy, planner, Polka dots, Raise The Macallan, San Francisco, San Francisco Fashion, San Francisco Street Style, San Jose Hyundai, Santa Clara Fairgrounds, Scotch tasting, Setting goals, Single Malt, spinal injury, Staying motivated, Staying organized, To Do Lists, vintage, walking, walking for health, walking in san francisco, Washington Square Park | 4 Comments »
It’s that time again!
Time for a new month to begin, and what better way to get it started than by looking back on the last month to see what was accomplished and what I’d like to get done during the next?
Reviewing April Goals:
Food:
Arianna and I are going to continue our weekly dinners and I want to focus on my portion sizes during April. I have a tendency to eat all of anything I make so I either need to stop making multiple servings when I’m home alone or learn to put my leftovers in the fridge and leave them there! (Easier said than done, obviously) I’m also going to be experimenting with my carb intake during April as I take the boyfriend through the joys of a plant-based diet. 
Fingers crossed he can last the whole month!
FAIL! This month was so hectic that Arianna and I didn’t even get around to seeing each other during April. We’re going to do better though, and hopefully I’ll have good news about our dinners and exercise days during my May Round-Up. And to top it all off, the boyfriend only lasted 6 painful days eating vegetarian… Six. Days. But that’s a story for another day. A long story.
Fitness:
This month is all about routine. Each day I need to do 45-60 minutes of physical therapy exercises, meet with my physical therapy once or twice a week, keep walking two and from work (1.3 miles each way) and I’m going to add a day of low-impact exercise like walking stairs – Coit Tower here I come!
I totally redeemed myself for my food fails here, I did a great job during April of doing my physical therapy and of adding some additional fitness to my routine - From push-ups and walking lunges to shorter hikes and some additional strength training moves. I’m quite proud of myself and thrilled by how strong my core is becoming, I can really feel the difference.
Fashion:
Time to get my booty to the Container Store and reorganize my closets. I went on a shoe-buying rampage during March so I definitely need to rearrange the hall closets and my walk-in to make my Spring things more easily accessible. Stay tuned for pictures of my progress!
DONE! My closets look great! I looked through all of my old pieces and set aside things to donate and reorganized all three of the closets to make the Spring & Summer clothes, shoes, and accessories more easily accessible. I also went through alllll of my jewelry and cleaned up my drawers and boxes. Everything is clean and easy to get to, but who knows how long that’ll last…
New Goals for May:
Food:
Oh.My.Lord. My food choices lately have been borderline appalling (
Bachelorette weekend gluttony, anyone?). I need to get back into my normal routines, despite the craziness of my work and personal schedules, and do 100% of my cooking at home during the week. I also need to get back into the habit of bringing my meals into work and carrying/traveling with snacks during the weekends. Stat.
Fitness:
Slow & steady wins the race. Not my favorite phrase, but true when it comes to physical therapy nonetheless. The month of May will be all about keeping up my daily physical therapy routine and adding in small amounts of additional activity just like I did last month - Push ups, longer plank holds, hikes, HIIT, and maybe even some weight training once my core is strong enough.
Fashion:
May is when The City By The Bay finally starts to warm up a bit. We’ve gotten some sunny days, but the air usually has some bite to it until May or even June. Now that the weather is
finally warming up I’m absolutely determined to break out my collection of sundresses, printed maxis, and bright, patterned separates. I’m also planning to participate in Definitely RA’s
Mission: Put Together – 2012
another fashion challenge for May. As much as I’d like to submit photos on a daily basis, I don’t think that’s a realistic goal for myself, I’m aiming for at least three submissions a week!
How are you doing on your New Years Resolutions so far in 2012? I feel like the furious pace of Spring & Summer this year have made it really easy to fall off my intended path and lose sight of my ambitious To Do Lists. Right now is when I’m going to really evaluate what I want to accomplish this year and make a new plan of attack for how best to achieve those goals.
When I think about what’s important to me, what matters, what’s worth the extra effort in my life, it’s actually a fairly simple equation. I want to be happy and healthy – that means eating well, keeping my body in good condition, reducing the stress in my daily life, and making time for the things that are important to me like spending time with the people I love, cooking, exercising, and giving into my passions for writing and fashion. My monthly goals are more than just a list to be checked off, it’s about checking in with myself and making sure that I’m focusing on what’s truly important.
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May 2, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Fitness, Food, MCLV Style | Tags: 10 Day Style Challenge, 2012 goals, 2012 Resolutions, April Round Up, Bucket Lists, Closet organization, Definitely RA, donating clothes, Fashion Challenge, Freckles In April, gluten-free cooking, Goals, healthy eating, jewelry box, May Day, May Goals, Mission: Put Together 2012, New Years Resolutions, portion control, Resolutions, Spring style, Spring/Summer 2012, To Do Lists, veganism, vegetarianism, vintage jewelry, yearly goals | 3 Comments »
