Life-FINAL

Pouuur some sugar on me

~ Lydia ~ 2 Comments

For the love of all that is splenda, give me SUGAR.

My roommate and I decided to go on a two week, no sugar diet/experiment. We were both just kind of curious to see if we could do it, and if so what it would feel like. Would we be overcome with a new found energy? Would we shed 20 pounds? Would magic fairies raise our metabolism to a point of life-long fat burning power? Could we possibly kick that chocolate craving we have after just about every meal that only increases about one week every SINGLE month? We set out to find out.

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The first few days were painful. Rice Krispie treats, donuts, and chocolate cake were all offered to us within the first 24 hours. Worse is that we both work with a bunch of jokesters who find it highly entertaining to taunt us with Oreos instead of providing carrots. After those first few days however, it wasn’t so bad. We had already decided at the beginning to only cut out added or processed sugar. So fruits, milk, Simply Orange, and whole wheat grains were up for grabs. So we really did have a ton of options, it was just a matter of studying nutrition labels and consulting with Google.

I bought sugar free bread, cinnamon instead of brown sugar for my oatmeal, natural/no sugar added pasta sauce, natural peanut butter and jelly, whole wheat pasta, and a bunch of other over priced healthy things. Everything taste pretty much the same. The first week I was supposed to be carb loading for my half marathon that weekend. For me that meant eat pretty much what I usually eat, but I just wouldn’t have to feel as bad  about the copious amounts of pasta I so enjoy. Lunch was also quite difficult. You couldn’t have deli meat, so you either had to make chicken the night before, eat a very plain tuna sandwich or PB&J. I also found, however, that cutting out sugar alternatives, like Splenda, was imperative. Splenda makes you crave sugar. It’s like an endless cycle of fattening. You have the Splenda alternative to satisfy your craving for sugar in a no-cal way, but then a few hours later you’re drooling over some fudge with no idea what happened. To that effect, not eating sugar made me crave sugar less. This was a much healthier and happier endless cycle that I would much rather be a part of.

Going out to eat was a total pain in the tush, however. EVERYTHING is terrible for you. It took me 17 minutes to find something at Panera that wouldn’t break my new diet. I managed to avoid going out to dinner, and for the best. No one likes being that person at the table listing off all the things they don’t want on their plate. “Yes I’ll have the cheese burger. But with no bun, ketchup, mustard, and french fries. Oh and is your cheese all natural?” At holiday parties you had to turn down offers for dessert, and try your best not to offend. Especially when you’d be forced to explain why you are turning down a perfectly good piece of birthday cake and suffer through a 20-questions interview on “why the hell are you doing this?”

All in all. I highly recommend the experiment. I felt great. I think this is largely thanks to a lack of guilt. When you get to bed that night you feel good about every food decision you made ( except when we were offered chips and queso, both naturally sugar free. We went to TOWN on those ). That’s not easy feeling to come by as a girl. The downside of it all was the Monday-post experiment. Donuts, Rice Krispie treat and a Sprinkles cupcakes for dinner? Don’t mind if I do. As a result of two days of complete binge sugar eating, I’ve taken the experiment up again, but a little more laid back. I want to cut desserts out from my daily diet and save the calories for special occasions where I won’t feel guilty about having a slice of delicious, specially made, birthday cake. I think it is often easier to cut things out completely, than it is to eat in moderation. It stops that “oh I’ll just have one. Okay and maybe another. And I mean I worked out this morning so…” This next experiment will also be playing perfectly into my new post-half marathon work out routine that incorporates weights, hot yoga and less running. Let’s just hope this doesn’t fade faster than last year’s “Do 50 sit ups everyday” resolution. I like to think of this as less of a resolution, and more of a lifestyle change. If I’m going to Find Tiffanys in 2013, I want to do it looking and feeling great.

Images (sugar)

Early Mornings

~ Sarah ~ 3 Comments

At first I thought I was crazy to commit to waking up earlier during late fall/winter when mornings are supposed to turn dark and cold. Luckily, I forgot I live in Texas, which means mornings have been much more manageable than expected with just a cup of hot coffee or tea and the occasional sweatshirt.

Dallas Mornings

Waking up an hour early (which for me means 6 a.m.) might not sound like much to some of you, but it took – and takes – a lot out of me. In college, I came way too close to not graduating on time despite a quite good GPA and full credits simply because I literally could not wake up in time for an early morning class. It was one of those last semester blow off pass/fail classes and ALL you had to do was show up twice a week at 8 a.m. for about 15 minutes.

I think I’ve made my point.

But for someone who also suffers from both chronic forgetfulness and lateness, waking up with enough time to think about life and get ready for my day is kinda a necessity. This post is also a lovely reminder to myself, as the past few…well, okay…weeks…have not been as successful as November.

Dallas Sunrise

Here’s some things I’ve learned about waking up:

Don’t

  • Say “Just a few minutes.” Don’t even pause to think about how cold it is, how tired you are, how comfortable your favorite and aptly named comforter is…get out of bed right away.
  • Get back in your bed for any reason.

Do

  • Change your alarm title to something that motivates you. For me it’s reminding myself the why behind my waking up.
  • Get a wake-up accountability partner. Someone to affectionately bug you, text you in the morning and wait for your lucid response.

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An apology to my knees

~ Lydia ~ 1 Comment

I apologize to you, knees. After the years of tennis drills, pivoting and sprints I put you through, it just never ended. Your joints are growing weaker, but I pressed on. Icing you, heating you, bothering you. You creak and ache to be heard, I would silence you with two easy pills from the grocery store. I hope you’ll forgive me as our runs shorten and become less frequent. But till then, thank you for your hard work.

marathon

I have finally physically recovered from my half marathon on Sunday’s Dallas Marathon (formerly, White Rock Lake Marathon). Really this just means that I shouldn’t continue taking the elevator to my third floor apartment because I’m afraid my knees will give out. Excuses have expired, and it’s also time to start working out again.

My mother ran several marathons in her day and my brother just kind of winged the New York marathon without much preparation. So in the scheme of things, a half isn’t much. But I don’t care. It felt amazing.

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If you are thinking about training, that’s awesome. It is so unbelievably rewarding. Crossing that finish line means more than anyone who has never run one before can imagine.

I used Marathonrookie.com to get me on track. One of the first steps the site suggests is determining why it is you want to do a half marathon. When I first asked myself, I honestly didn’t know why. I just knew I wanted to just do it. After completing it, however, it all seems so obvious. I signed up for the race while I was job hunting. Searching for a job is a complete beast. You don’t have any control on what happens. You can work hard, stand out, try to excel but at the end of the day, it’s out of your hands. Running a half marathon was completely in my hands. I could either train hard or not. I could either finish, or not. I could just do it, or not. It was something I had complete dictation in my life (well. Me and my shins, knees and hips).

What I loved most was overcoming those runs that seem impossible. The ones you dread to start, hate the first couple miles, and then all of a sudden you’re listening to a great indie song and the rest of the world and your legs melt away. We refer to this as The Zone. Each time you overcome the runs getting closer to the race, it makes you stronger. Everytime you set out to run, you’re running longer than you ever have before. You know that if you get through those shit runs, the next run could be an amazing one that feels like free therapy.

The things I definitely recommend are finding good equipment, determine your trails, and to assess if you want a running buddy.

For me, the tank tops, running leggings, shoes, arm band, and water bottle belt were among the best purchases I made this year. Each aided me to succeed. Most people say that it doesn’t matter what you wear when you run. Well, screw that. I am pretty sure that when I knew I looked like a serious runner, I felt like a serious runner. 13.1 miles? Bring it. The gear also helped me physically (water) and helped me focus on running and less on my shorts riding up.

As far as trails go, I loved running around White Rock Lake. It was such a good excuse to go to a beautiful part of Dallas. I’d always drive around a bit afterwards and find an excuse to stop at a coffee shop or a quick lunch. For my weekday runs I actually just used Google Maps to determine my path and distance. Minimum crosswalks and less cars are what you should look for. Personally, I chose not to have a running buddy and never regretted the decision. I was doing this for me, and not so much for a good time. I did meet a group of ladies on the DART on my way to the race that were all running together and were so excited, it was adorable. So if you’re looking for a more social aspect, there are several in the Dallas area to join.

All that to say. I ran. I finished. And I feel fantastic. Cheers.

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A Match Made in Mentor Heaven

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

A big part of ‘Finding Tiffanys’ for me is my career. As I have stated before, it took me a little longer than most to figure out what I wanted to do. If it wasn’t for a certain fantastic professor and a pushy, encouraging peer, I would probably still feel a little lost. But ever since I have discovered my passion for advertising, branding, design and technology, I have never felt more myself or excited to learn in my entire life. Although I don’t expect I will be applying for any graphic design positions any time soon, design specifically is something that is currently my call to the wild. I want to do branding, and to me design is a huge part of that strategic communication. So, inspired by starting this blog, I decided I should get my head out of design books and newsletters and do something about it.

I am proud to say that I am putting myself out there in the design world. This started with joining the DSVC and attending their networking and speaker events. The first one I went to featured Connie Birdsall of Lippincott.  An agency responsible for Sprite, Ebay’s redesign and transforming Starbucks into more than coffee (I want to be Connie Birdsall, in short). One of Birdsall’s points really stuck with me –

“My strategist have to think like designers and my designers have to think like strategist.”

YES! This pretty much summed up where I see my career going and solidified that I was doing something right by being at that meeting.

This week I attended a Mentor Matchmaking event with AIGA [ a professional association for design ]. Two of the mentors I spoke with totally “got” where I was coming from and encouraged me to explore this passion more. They didn’t make me feel silly for trying design or attending designer events before I even really learned Photoshop [ which was absolutely needed. It took me a glass of wine to get myself there, and even then I was tremendously nervous being among real designers. Furthermore, there is nothing worse than someone making your dreams feel silly ].  One mentor told me that the former president of AIGA DFW didn’t get into design until he was 25, and now he owns his own branding shop. BOOM.

Another certain mentor instructed me to fully immerse myself in design. Read about it, try it out and continue to attend these networking events. So, that is what I intend to do. I have all the programs, YouTube has the free education, and so now all I need to do is, in the words of Nike, Just Do It.

 I can’t wait.

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Sarah’s November Goals

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

Seriously, how is it already November? Lately I’ve caught myself saying, “I’d like to finish that by the end of the year,” as it seems just around the corner. But I’m a dreamer that, ironically enough, likes to plan, so sometimes I need to rein myself in and ask, but what can I do now? So here’s a couple things I’m focusing on this month:

1. Wake Up Early. There’s something to be said for spending time each morning to get ready emotionally and mentally for the day (not to mention physically, doing more than haphazardly throwing together some clothes and a bun before running out the door, brushing on some makeup in the car and being late to work anyways). 6 a.m. here I come.

2. Research Cameras. To pursue one of my overall goals, I’ve been looking into investing in a good camera soon, something I can take quality photos and video with…along with a much needed photography class to make the most of it. I’d love any suggestions for equipment and Dallas photography classes!

3. Start (& Finish) Sewing Projects. Plans for a white ruffle duvet cover and some minor clothing updates have been sitting in a pile right next to my sewing machine. It’s time to take these off my to do list and start enjoying the finished products.

Like Lydia, I’ve been eyeballing the Klyde Warren Park calendar of free events so I might throw in a few free yoga, boot camp and SWING DANCING classes as well. If you can’t tell, I’m really excited about the potential for swing dancing.

What do you want to accomplish this month?

Lydia’s Goal Updates for November

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

1. I haven’t done this yet… I’m thinking spring is a better season? I also need some time to find someone who wants to do it with me!

2. Almost there! About a month to go! Thank goodness. I’ve actually found I’m quite bored with the whole thing. I’m now able to do the 13 miles.. so I just want to DO it and move on to other less-painful-for-my-knees workouts.

3. This requires $$$. On hold…

4. I’m terrible at this. Amazon just makes it so easy.. and who can turn down a good sale? Writing this post is a good reminder to double check myself before I make those impulse buys!

5. Reached the $1,000 in three months minimum to get my bonus AA miles! Just need to save up those vacay days!

6. I think I’ve done a great job at this. I want to continue these efforts, but I do say yes more often!

7. Yeah no. Same as those naughty impulse buys.. but I mean I am PRETTY confident calories don’t count on Halloween week because.. magic.

8. This is also going well! I’m reading a lot and am reading more and more on design. i just love it. Now to learn photoshop…

9. I don’t have cable in the new apartment, so this one was easy peasy lemon squeezy. I don’t watch TV Monday – Friday, brought a lot of free time into my days.

10. Will going to Jacksonville for a June wedding count?

11. He’s doing so well! I’ve had him for a little over a year, and I think I’ve re-programmed his shelter dog mind. He’s much more loyal and.. well, better.

12. Where did I think I was getting the vacation days and money for all these trips? Too bad I HAVE to do what is on my list. Gah.

13. I could improve on this. I just tend to hear and accept things. This is a good reminder.

14. This to do list was kind of cheating. Loving the new apartment! It’s divine and perfect for me.

15. She doesn’t move till January! I would ideally like to visit during the summer to escape the heat!

For the next goal update, I think I’ll take out the ones I’ve accomplished and add any new ones I’ve thought of. I am loving having this list! It’s a great reminder on the things I’ve said I want to do and improve on. Can’t wait for next month : )

Dolce Far Niente

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

Why is it that waking up on a weekday feels like getting slapped with bricks of death and on the first Saturday in a month when I have nothing to do I wake up at 8:30 a.m. ready to seize the day? (You’re welcome for the Newsies reference.)

According to Italians (which I am) and Eat Pray Love (which I love), la dolce far niente means the sweetness of doing nothing, of just embracing and enjoying the fullness of life as it comes:

This is exactly me! Often, I feel I spend the work week thinking about all the things I’d like to do for fun and like to accomplish…and then the weekend rolls around and I get very lazy with my spare time. No more.

Of course, my type-A self can’t help but make a few “plans” for my weekend of no plans. Here’s what I’m hoping my weekend will look like:

If I’m feeling extra ambitious I may even start and finish Perks of Being a Wallflower (I’m absolutely in love with the movie and can’t believe I still haven’t actually read the book) and go on a run around White Rock Lake or Katy Trail…

What are you doing to embrace and enjoy your weekend?

Movin’ on up..to the cit-ay

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

Long story short, after I graduated from college, I took a job in Arizona. Hated it, quit, and moved back to Dallas to pursue the career path I wanted. 10 months of steaming milk at Starbucks and interning later, I finally landed a fantastic job at a fantastic ad agency doing exactly what I want to do. I’ve reached that point in my post-college life where I can take a deep breathe and love where I am. Anyways, the point is I’ve moved into a beautiful apartment in a beautiful area and I was neurotically planning my room weeks [ okay, months ] before I actually moved in, or signed a lease for that matter. This is the inspiration board I came up with prior to move in..

And.. Ta Da! Here is what the place looks like post move in. The two huge windows I have in my room are lust worthy. It’s like having two giant pieces of artwork. My view of trees and England-style brick is simply heaven.

I should note that the frame with the postcards is not yet complete.. I still have some Instagram photos to print! And I am also still pining for that elephant tea pot above.. it’s everything. I think I’d like to have something draped from the ceiling. Like dark wood circles on hemp hanging like Christmas lights at a wedding reception in a tent – not to be specific. Also, the dresser and the knobs I’ve purchased for it still require a trip to the hardware store..

Let me know what you think or any suggestions – decorating is a life long process after all 🙂

Mint Home Makeover

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

A couple months ago, I moved into a beautiful loft in downtown Dallas:

My un-Instagramed rooftop view.

Carving out my own space in a large, open loft with roommates takes some creativity (read: a lot of time on Pinterest). But some curtains and artwork later, I still felt like something was missing…An average wooden table, way too many trips to Hobby Lobby and some mint paint later I had this:

To save money, I used acrylic paint, which you can usually find on sale for around a dollar. Since I couldn’t find the mint color I was hoping for, I ended up mixing a bottle of Tiffany blue with two pale seafoam greens…and even had a bottle’s worth left over that I used on these picture frames and can save for touch-ups! While scouring the craft store aisles, I also came across a tube of chalkboard paint that became the perfect top coat:


Voila. It makes me so proud to look over every day and be able to say — I did that!

[Photo Disclaimer: My phone decided to cool off one hot, Texas afternoon…in a pool. The camera quality has never been the same. 😦 I apologize and hope you’re inspired by my uncraftiness-turned-craftiness to start – and finish – a project of your own!]

Sarah’s List

~ Sarah ~ 4 Comments

The list goes on and on due to an overwhelming desire to do, see, learn (and meticulously organize) everything. Somewhere along the line of growing up, people seem to accept this idea that we have to pick one thing in life to be, to do. But why limit yourself when there are so many great things and great people to experience them with? So here’s to doing it all and (hopefully) doing it well.

Below illustrates some of what “all” is for me. You can tell a lot about someone by their priorities and dreams; Lydia and I hope sharing some of ours will help you get to know us!

photo credit (from left, down):  1 | personal | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11