Fall Bucket List 2017

It's time for our fall bucket list posts. Thanks again to Leslie from Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After for keeping us all organized!

But before I jump into my fall bucket list, I'll give you one final update on my Summer Bucket List.

1. Make at least five day trips to the beach. - We didn't make it to the beach five times, but we went one more time in September and we also spent a week at the beach in July. So I think this is actually a success!

2. Read three fun books.- Yes! I read three fun books in July and then another three fun mystery books the end of August/beginning of September.

3. Go to the farmers' market at least once a week. -Nope. Nope. Nope.

4. Go on one hike per week. - We did very well with this one!

5. Take two barre and/or yoga classes per week. - Yes, after a very slow start, I got my groove back.

6. Sleep in at least once per week. - Even though I was off from my teaching job in July and August, life was very hectic and stressful. Unfortunately, that affected my sleep.

7. Barbecue at least once per week. -We did okay at the beginning of summer but then not so much.

8. Spend time in the patio every day. - I spent some time every day watering and pruning but didn't utilize our outdoor sofa as much as I would have liked.

9. Swim at least four times per week. - Nope. In fact, I think we swam less than last year!!!

10. Make good use of our Great America and Monterey Bay Aquarium season passes. - Yes, we made good use of both passes. 

I really liked having the list to keep me accountable and to remind me of the things I wanted to do. 

And now on to my 2017 Fall Bucket list. I know fall will be hectic, and I'm keeping this list pretty simple.

1. Continue to take at least 2 barre/yoga classes per week.
2. Visit a pumpkin patch (that the kid deems not too childish.)
3. Visit an Oktoberfest celebration.
4. Get one Pumpkin Spice Latte.
5. Read at least three fun books. 
6. Put up the fall decorations and add a few more. 
7. Make pumpkin spiced oatmeal.
8. Organize one section of my closet every week. 
9.  Light a candle when I work from home.
10. Visit the Farmer's Market once a week.

An InLinkz Link-up

Question: What's on your fall bucket list?

Click here to check out the fabulous bloggers I’m linking up with.  

Be well,

Andrea

My History with the Color Blue

The color blue and I have quite the history. When I was young, it was the color I wore the most - in fact, most pieces in my closet were blue. But then, sometime in my twenties, a friend of mine kept telling me not to be so boring and to wear other colors. After hearing the message that blue was boring over and over again, I started to veer away from blue and actually didn't wear it for many years. After all, who wants to be boring?

It was interesting when Sabina from OceanblueStyle at Manderley reached out after seeing a photo of me wearing blue on Instagram and asked if I wanted to collaborate with her on a post about the color blue. Little did she know what a history blue and I have...

It was also interesting to look through my closet and blog photos of the past few years to see how much blue I actually own and wear. I have definitely come a long way from the days of no blue. But blue is still a color I am a bit timid around, which I really shouldn't be because looking at the photos, I like myself in blue, and I like blue!

Most of my blue outfits are quite casual, but I did recently buy a blue and white blazer, which I like a lot.

I bought these palazzo pants last year before our Germany trip and got lots of compliments on them.

I've always liked light blue, and I also quite frequently wear the necklace with the different blue stones.

Cobalt blue is one of my favorite shades of blue, and I love my cobalt blue corduroys and my cobalt blue cashmere sweater.

I got my light blue coat last year and really enjoy wearing it.

Here is the cobalt blue sweater again. This time I paired it with a cobalt blue scarf and did some color blocking with my funky red tights that I picked up in Germany.

Below is another cobalt blue top that I bought before our Germany trip last year. It's one of my favorites, and I always feel great when I wear it.

I have several blue/white striped scarves, and I love them all.

One of my favorite maxi dresses has a lot of blue in it. Since I bought it on the way to our vacation week in Lake Tahoe, I'm always a bit in a vacation mood when I wear the dress.

I'm really curious what Sabina has to say about the color blue and to see her outfits. Check out Sabrina's blog OceanblueStyle at Manderley to find our for yourself! 

Questions: What's your favorite color? Do you like blue? If so, do you wear it a lot? Why or why not? 

Click here to check out the fabulous bloggers I’m linking up with.  

Be well,

Andrea

My Karina Dress and I in San Francisco

On Friday, I had several meetings in San Francisco, and I decided to wear my black and white Karina dress, my black and white Adam Lippes for Target flats and carry my small Coach satchel.

I love that the dress moves when I move and that it doesn't wrinkle, which makes it perfect for traveling.

 

I'm still always surprised by the steepness of some of the streets in San Francisco, and I don't think it shows completely in these photos. We saw a woman go down this street with a stroller backwards and slightly to the side. I'm sure she had lots of practice as I don't think I would have dared to do so.

Here is a close up of the dress.

And here are a few shots that show that we actually had some fun when we took these photos.

Questions: Do you own a Karina dress? What's your favorite dressier travel outfit? 

Click here to check out the fabulous bloggers I’m linking up with.

Be well,
Andrea

Sentence a Day: August 2017

I first joined Sarah and Leslie in writing one sentence a day in January, and this is my eighth sentence-a-day post. You can read my January sentences here, my February sentences here, my March sentences here, my April sentences here, my May sentences here, my June sentences here, and my July sentences here.

August 1, 2017
The kid and I went to Great America for several hours and had a great time.

August 2, 2017
After starting the day with an intense barre class followed by a long neighborhood walk with the kid, I got caught up on some work; in the afternoon, we walked to the kid's Taekwondo practice in 95+ degree heat (not very smart!).

August 3, 2017
I started the day again with a barre class, and then the kid and I went on an early morning walk before the kid's piano practice, where I started not feeling well; in the evening, I realized that I had a gallstone "episode" - luckily, it ended up being not too bad, but it left me very fatigued.

August 4, 2017
Andy had an appointment to renew his passport, and we were supposed to go hiking afterwards, but the kid had injured his leg a bit, so we went for a neighborhood walk instead.

August 5, 2017
I started the day with a barre class, and then we were invited to a beautiful wedding - it was fun to get dressed up and lovely to witness the beginning of the life journey of a wonderful couple.

August 6, 2017
I went on an early morning hike with the older kid, went to a brewery with Andy and did grocery shopping and food prep.

August 7, 2017
Another barre class to start the day, and then the kid and I decided to use our Great America season passes to spend a few hours at Gilroy Gardens; we used to take the kid there all the time when he was younger, and it was a bit like time traveling...

August 8, 2017
I started the day with another killer barre class and then got caught up on some work; in the afternoon the kid and I walked to his Taekwondo practice, and I went for a walk during his practice.

August 9, 2017
The kid had a friend over, and we went to the pool.

August 10, 2017
I realized late last night that I pulled a muscle (?) in my left thigh after thinking all day that I was just super sore from Tuesday's barre class (but, no, there is no pain/soreness on the right side); I also discovered quite a bit of swelling on the left. I hope ice and some rest will get me back to normal quickly.

August 11, 2017 
I'm very thankful that my pulled muscle feels much better!

August 12, 2017
We went on a little road trip to Sacramento where we saw friends who just moved back to California and whom we hadn't seen in several years.

August 13, 2017
We visited friends who just had a baby three weeks ago; always fun to hang out with tiny babies...

August 14, 2017
It was the kid's first day at a new school, and we were all nervous.

August 15, 2017
I went hiking with a good friend whom I don't see often enough.


August 16, 2017
The kid's third day at his new school went very well, and we were all relieved.

August 17, 2017 
I got lots of work done in the morning, and I walked almost 20,000 steps.

August 18, 2017
Today was a productive day, and I got my first professional pedicure this year.

August 19, 2017
We went on a long morning walk, played ping pong, and went out to dinner with my in-laws and BIL and SIL.

August 20, 2017
I started the day with a challenging barre class, we went on a long neighborhood walk, and I got caught up around the house.

August 21, 2017
I didn't make it to the studio for a barre class but completed a Tracy Anderson workout that I had purchased years ago - I like how at-home workouts save so much time!

August 22, 2017
I didn't sleep well at all, the home phone rang at 3 a.m. and we later realized that the caller id stated the call was from a local hospital, and when Andy tried to reach his parents at 7 a.m., there was no answer. We finally tracked them down at 10 a.m. after being really worried.

August 23, 2017
I started the day with a challenging barre class and then had to deal with some not-so-fun things.

August 24, 2017
Andy and I got to attend a fabulous media preview dinner at Fleming's in Santa Clara.

August 25, 2017
We were able to harvest lots of figs from my in-laws' fig tree; it's a miracle that the squirrels didn't get to them first...

August 26, 2017
I started the day with a long walk and then did a quick workout at the gym; the rest of the day was spent cleaning the house and relaxing.

August 27, 2017
We had good friends and the older kid over for brunch. 

August 28, 201
Unfortunately, my gallbladder bothered me all day.

August 29, 2017
We had to get some costly car repairs done. 

August 30, 2017
I'm still consistently walking 15,000+ steps a day and also made it to the gym for a weights workout.

August 31, 2017
It's been very hot in San Jose, and Andy and I were lucky to be able to escape to Monterey for a few hours, where it was cool.

An InLinkz Link-up

Question: What were your highlights in August? Are you going to join us this month and write one sentence a day?


Click here to check out the fabulous bloggers I’m linking up with.

Be well,
Andrea

Maxi Dress in Monterey and A Conscious Cleanse

The Bay Area has been experiencing extremely high temperatures; 105+ F in the last few days where we are. Since Andy and I are off for a bit before the new quarter starts, we decided to escape the heat on a weekday, and we headed to Monterey.

When we arrived there at 10 a.m., it was 57 degrees; almost too cool, but we didn't complain...

I never get tired of the beautiful coastline. We walked along the coast for about 1.5 hours and also took time to sit down and enjoy the cool temperatures and the scenery a bit. 

I decided to wear my striped Tommy Bahama maxi dress that I hadn't worn very much yet this year with a cardigan. I was really glad I brought the cardigan... I bought the striped maxi dress at a Tommy Bahama outlet store on the way to Lake Tahoe a few years ago, and whenever I wear it, I remember that trip...
 

I also wore one of my favorite necklaces that had been tucked away in one of my drawers instead of being hung up on my bedroom wall. It was nice to be reunited with it...

After our walk along the coastline, we headed to Alvarado Street Brewery, where Andy enjoyed a beer flight.

We shared the Caprese salad that was made with homemade mozzarella. 

We also got the gluten-free Asian chicken salad, which had plenty of chicken, lettuce, and soba noodles.

Escaping the heat for a bit was really nice, especially since I haven't been feeling all that well in the past few weeks, partly because my gallbladder is acting up again. It may be time to look into getting it removed, but I know that what I eat and drink definitely affects it as well. Unfortunately, so does stress, and I've had a bit more of that than I'd like in the last few weeks as well.

Luckily, I'm already signed up for the September 6 Conscious Cleanse, a food-based cleanse I have been doing a few times a year since 2013. And the Conscious Cleanse always makes me feel as good as possible. In full disclosure, I am a Conscious Cleanse ambassador, and I will earn a small commission should you decide to sign up for the cleanse using one of my links. 

What I love about the Conscious Cleanse is that it makes me eat foods that make me feel my best (I first discovered that I'm very sensitive to gluten by doing a Conscious Cleanse and that information truly changed my life). The key for me is that it's a food-based cleanse and that I'm never hungry. Also, a big component of the cleanse is self care in general, which always calms me down, even in the most stressful times.

Finally, there is lots of support throughout the cleanse - daily, supportive emails, a private Facebook group (with cleanse participants from all over the world), access to health coaches that are very responsive and helpful, five live teleseminars where you can ask questions (they are also recorded). All the support and focus on more than food is what makes the cleanse so special to me and always leaves me feeling my best.

In case you are interested, here are few of my previous posts about the Conscious Cleanse.

• My review of the Conscious Cleanse after doing it for the first time in 2013
• My Decision to do the Conscious Cleanse again in May 2013 - includes a list of things I learned from the cleanse that I incorporated into my life (many of them I continue to do to this day)
• Conscious Cleanse food and experiences during the second cleanse
• Thoughts after finishing the second Conscious Cleanse
• 5 Things I Learned from Doing the Conscious Cleanse - you can incorporate them into your life at any time without doing the cleanse
• Conscious Cleanse-friendly Beverages
• Tools and Lessons I Have Learned from Doing the Conscious Cleanse
• How the Conscious Cleanse Helps me to Deal with Stress
• How Our Eating Improved Because of the Conscious Cleanse
• Assessment after the January 2017 Conscious Cleanse

 

September 2017 Conscious Cleanse Coupon Code

If you want to sign up for the cleanse, I have a $25 OFF COUPON CODE: ANDREA25. Here is more information about the Conscious Cleanse as well as sign up information.

Questions: Have you worn all your summer clothes this summer? If not, what do you want to wear before fall starts? Is what you are currently eating making you feel your best? Are you making enough time for self care?

Click here to check out the fabulous bloggers I’m linking up with.  

Be well,

Andrea