Fit Fight

After my first failed attempt at finding new gyms shoes, I'm on the hunt again. Nothing really new has popped up ohhh say in the last 2.5 seconds since I looked the last time but I am trying to broaden the scope of what I deem acceptable as a desperate attempt to nip this shiz in the bud.

Enter in the following candidates:

Reebok TrainTone Slimm
{here}

Sketchers was the first to come out with the 'toning' technology and boy where those some ugly ass shoes. Listen, nothing personal if you own and enjoy a pair because everyone has their own opinion, but mine is that they look like correctional shoes. And not in the good toning way.

Reebok jumped on board coming out with the EasyTones for walking and then the RunTones and now they have the TrainTones. All three use balance ball technology with little air pockets. While these shoes are seriously lacking in the design department, I could look the other way if they are as comfortable and toning (yes really!) as the reviews say. But. And there's a big BUT. There are several reports of the balls actually deflating or popping and going flat in as little as two months with moderate use. Umm Reebok; where's the R&D here? So my opinion of these has officially deflated. Har. Har.

Moving on, we have this promising option:



Nike Air Max Trainer Essential
{here}



The other color ways: Liking the royal blue and hot pink too.

I looked at these one before but they only had three colors (not shown) and of course the color I liked was already sold out in my size at the time. Now Nike has come out with several other colors. There are only 2 reviews and while positive, you never know. I'll continue looking through the week but if nothing else miraculously goes on the market, I'll give these a try.

We Had a Spat

After seeing this post on Spat boots on Chloe's blog forever ago and all the subsequent OOTD's, I've been dying to get my hands on my very own Spat boots.

After searching forever, I finally found these which I mentioned lusting over once before.

Steve Madden Maryn Boots in Cognac

Well, still lusting but the price has me pausing (is it still considered a pause after a month?). These boots originally will set you back $269.99 on Steve Madden's website but other places like Nordies and Piperlime are throwing out a $229 price tag. Really that isn't that much for good boots, but you see people, I live in Florida, so really spending over $1 on boots is kind of absurd. But as a native Texan, old habits die hard and maybe I just like to suffer. Steve Madden is currently running a Fall special where these boots are $199. But wait, there's more. I also received a 20% off promo for updating my email preferences so these boots are only $165ish! Yea, I know, seems like a no brainer but truth be told, I'm not 100% sold on the wedge vs. stiletto boots. It just seems like an awful lot of cognac...but these have been the first Spats I even remotely liked that were in my price range.

Moving to today. Just got an email from DSW about new boots. I always like to peruse so I clicked on over and looky what I found. Spaty stiletto goodness.

Diba Trick Key Boot in Black
{here}

The shaft height is about 13 inches which seems perfect for my stubby legs!

Jones New York Florentina Boot in Taupe
{here}

Loving this color and that little heel detail is super cute!

Kelly & Katie Rose Boot
{here}

These are a nice dark chocolate brown which would shake up my mostly black shoe collection.

The prices are all awesome ($49, $119 and $69 respectively)! So what did I do? I bought all three pairs! It's free shipping and free returns in store so I thought, why not buy all three, see if any work and then return the others! Wow, a lot of exclamation points. Any one of these will be cheaper than the Steve Madden's and I don't have to deal with the wedge. I did really love the cognac so maybe I'll suck it up.

Review coming soon! One of these days I'm going to post pictures (warning: they will be Grade-A craptastic because my Sony cybershot is cybersucky).

Ho Hold It

I received my much anticipated shoes for the gym from Endless a few days ago. My reaction?

Enough Said.

In case you're wondering what the hell a picture of Ho Ho's has to do with anything, read the post before this one. The search (and numb feet) continues.

As a special note, I actually didn't know these were Ho Ho's. I always referred to this particular treat as Swiss Rolls (which is what Little Debbie calls them). The things I was actually referring to are apparently called Ding Dongs. To requote myself from earlier, I'd "be running straight for the Ding Dongs." I like to think this is a (somewhat) G-Rated blog so I don't think I'll be running for anything with the word "Dong" in it anytime soon.

In other news, I want this:

Tucker Classic Cami Dress
{here}

Oh I love a pretty floral on an equally pretty cut dress. What's that you said? It's so summery and we are in Fall? Hellloooo. I live in Florida and every day is summer. Sue me.

Workin' on my Fitness

So as I've mentioned before, I'm really into living a healthy lifestyle and like it or not, getting your sweat on at the gym is part of it. I'm finally getting back into the habit of going regularly (although I haven't managed to get back to my full 6 day routine) with a friend (yay buddy system!) and I'm starting to work towards revamping the old gym wardrobe. Now I know I'm at the gym to workout and really shouldn't be there to impress anyone but hey, it does not hurt my ego in the least if the clothes I have show off my (soon to be) hard work. Isn't that the point anyways?

Now a t-shirt and sweatpants girl I am not; I have a whole plethora of runners' shorts and sport tanks which are okay and get the job done...but I'm not exactly winning any fashion contests either. The shorts fit high on the waist (mom jeans anyone???) and the combo of the loose fit of the shorts and slim fitting tops call attention to the fact that I'm a little on the hippy side. It's not like I'm going to bust out a push up bra at the gym to compensate (I also don't wear makeup when I workout either. Nothing drives me more crazy than girls who look like they're about to head off to prom while they are at the gym. Sadly this happens in Florida a lot) so I'm left with finding a different solution.

I'm starting my revamp from the bottom up. Insert new shoes here. I actually needed new shoes as the two pairs I own (Nike Shox and my running shoes which I can't remember the brand of) just don't cut it anymore. I have zippo support in the ankles and my toes have been going numb on the elliptical with both pairs. Not fun. I am very particular when it comes to tennis shoes. They have to be designed for the appropriate workout, be supportive and cushioning AND appeal to my picky aesthetics. You'd think it would be easy with the array of athletic apparel on the market but alas, after a few months of looking, I've found very little. I've kept my focus on shoes designed for 'cross training' since I do several different kinds of activities (weight training, running, cardio, Zumba, bike riding, you get the idea). Let me just that there are a whole lot of ugly ass shoes out there! Seriously. I want to know what some of these companies are thinking.

Moving on, like I said, I am very picky when it comes to the look of my tennis shoes. I don't like dark solids but I also don't want all/mostly white  I'm a happy medium kinda girl. I'm looking for something that is light colored with a little bit of color accent. I also want something that is easy to keep clean. My Shox have a lot of white mesh on the toe area and they got dirty so fast and wouldn't come out in the wash (tried twice!). The width of the toe is also an issue for me. I have relatively narrow feet and not only do too-wide toes fail to give support, but they look like complete crap (on me? everyone?). I feel like I'm wearing clown shoes. This is also where my Shox failed. Oh and did I mention that 99.9% of stores don't carry 5/5.5's in stock? Yea. Lucky. Me.

So after months of searching online, I finally found a pair that I really like on Endless:

Reebok Pumpin II Training Shoes

Oh for the love of finally! Really like the silver, the slightly darker gun metal stripes and subtle lime green accents; swoon! They didn't have 5.5 but they did have a 5 (literally "a", as in one. The last one on the internet. I checked) plus they were on sale and shipped two-day for free and I hit up Ebates for some cash back action. DESTINY. They are already on their way! If these don't work out, I'm going directly for the HoHos. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Straight. To. The. HoHos.

But let's think positively shall we? Now on to the rest, cause come on, my birthday suit isn't going to cut it. I'm a big fan of having solid black be the foundation for any gym 'outfit'. You can pair anything with it, it's slimming and it doesn't show sweat. It's a triple whammy win. Taking a cue from the cute lime green accents on the soon-to-be-mine shoes, I went on the hunt and found several options:

Sport Tops by Nike
Athletic Shoes by Reebok

Let's break it down. The shorts (I rarely wear pants to the gym. It's just too hot here) are body conscious which would point out to any observers that I have hips and a booty, not saddlebags and cellulite. Well, maybe a little. The tops are all close fitting as well and the black ones are especially nice with the unique details that make them a step above regular old sports tanks. Those watches are super cute too; I'm especially loving the black Adidas one! The other is over $400 and I'm not going to spend $400+ on something I'm going to sweat all over. But hey, inspiration is free!

Now I know this is a little overboard and I of course would not limit myself to this color palate but I love the idea of every now and then going all out with the coordination. Matchy-matchy is cute in isolated occurrences. Other colors I'm thinking to throw in the mix would be fuchsia and lemon. Mmmmm pretty.

Now I just have to wait till I bust out the muscles to pull of this shiz. At least my feet will look good :)

Impulse Buy of the Minute

OMG. OMG. Look at this gorgeousness. It looks like candle wax made out of gold just dripped ever so perfectly. Love the turquoise and gold together; you just don't see that combo too often. This is at eight1six right now and at only $46, this will surely sell out in no time. Too bad cuffs look like shackles on my little wrists or I would so be all over this.

Semi-Precious Turquoise on Gold Cuff

Feel free to buy this for me as a 'welcome to the bloggerhood' prezzie. Thanks.