Currently Clicking: Week #15

Each and every week, I gather links of all of the places I have been perusing in the great, grand internet. There are plenty of people out there doing big things and small things. Some of these are practical, some are inspiring. This week, I've been reading up on summer reading lists and blogging madness, a french kissing lifestyle (intrigued yet?), Tiny living, how we think we look versus how we actually look, a few grocery shopping lists because I like lists, and how to have a grown up wardrobe. 

1. My Summer Reading List (and why I quit the blogging madness). This post is refreshing when it comes to the blogging world but also includes a great list of summer reads. I need to not watch so much tv all the time. Books are always better. Read the rest of her blog as well. Her family lives out of an old bus that they have renovated. I might add, with four kids. Pretty awesome. 
2. Are you ready to live a french kissing kind of life? Do you have no idea as to what I'm talking about? Check out this lady's blog on how to cultivate elegant simplicity, how to work to live, and tend to the details of life, all with a french flair. 
3. "What is home? And how do we find it? One couple’s attempt to build a Tiny House with no building experience raises questions about sustainability, good design, and the changing American Dream"... I watched this documentary last week and I've kind of become obsessed with the idea of tiny living. Do I think we could ever do it? Probably not, but it's so intriguing to me. I can't stop thinking about it. 
4. I know this video has been making its rounds in the internet world for a while now, but it struck a chord with me a few days ago. How You Think you Look Is NOT How You Actually Look.   We all tend to be way too hard on ourselves. This is a good reminder. 
5. I always love seeing what people buy/eat on a weekly basis. Here's one. Here's another. Here's another (paleo).
6. How to Build A Grown Up Wardrobe. Step by step. I need this in my life. Nothing fits like it used to and I want to have a wardrobe of staples. 

I Want to Be a Loser

I know what you're thinking: What an emo title. What a great read for my Tuesday morning. Stay with me, I promise I will make some sort of sense. 

If any of you know me or have read my blog for any given amount of time, you probably know that I'm always on some sort of diet. I'm always scoping out the next meal plan or fitness routine. It is a struggle. My weight has been a constant force the past few years, a force to be reckoned with. A force that I cannot allow to sway my days any longer. 

I've been on a new plan and going to the gym very consistently as of late and I feel awesome. I feel awesome until the fateful time I step on the scale every week, only to be hit with the same darn number. My muscle mass is going up, my fat mass is going down, but still no budge. Not even a smidgen. It stares back at me like something that has been etched long ago into cement, never to change or morph. 

I'm sick of staring at that scale. I don't want to any more. I want to wake up every morning knowing that I'm feeding my body extremely well, taking care of it, lifting my weights, and sweating my butt off. That's all I need. That's really all I want. 

I still want to be a loser though. A loser of pounds. A gainer of muscle, confidence, and strength. My jeans are buttoning easier than they used to and I've had to wear a belt with my favorite blue jeans. I am not only a number. I am a strong women that is taking this one step at a time. 

As I was cooking my meals for the week last night, it really hit me. No more scale. No more measuring. No more stressing out and feeling miserable. Just living and breathing, sweating and enduring. That's it. Healthy meals, healthy habits, kick butt workouts. 

Simply put this morning: I want to be a loser. But, the scale and I are going to break up for a while. 

And I feel totally alright with that. 

Day in the Life

My days off are usually far from having actual days off. Generally, I like it that way. I like to get my hands dirty and be productive. Here is a small snapshot of my Friday....

8:00am: Roll out of bed, make some coffee, make some breakfast. This is usually the point where I check my emails for the first of the day, our bank accounts, read a few blogs, and catch up on my favorite decor sites. 

8:45am: Write my Morning Pages. These are an important part of my everyday routine, they are based out The Artist's Way. They have changed my life. Seriously. This is where I map out my day and my current goals. 

9:30am: Yoga or some other cardio workout. It's good for my soul. 

10:30am: I get ready....in one long, continuous stream of motion. Shower, make up, hair, pick up the house, do the dishes, fold some laundry, read some more blogs. 

11:30am: Get ready for a photo shoot. On this specific day I was off to do some real estate photography. 

My Jo Totes Bag

My parents are selling their house. Bittersweet. 

1:00pm: Meet a friend for coffee. My favorite. 

2:00pm: Swimsuit shopping. (Cue horror music!) Actually this time around was just about the easiest swimming suit shopping excursion known to man kind. 

3:00pm: Plant myself down at the computer once again and edit, edit, edit, edit, edit. 

5:30pm: Work on the garden...or what's there of it anyways. 

6:00pm: Cook dinner. Wait for my man to come home from work. 

8:00pm: Drinks with friends. Good music. Good times. 

A perfect friday. 

(All images are my own)