My first experience with Pole Fitness!!

 

Hello Everyone!

I have such exciting things to share today. Several weeks ago, I was able to get a hands on glimpse of pole fitness and I loved it!! I have been interested in pole fitness for several years, but I never took the time to give it a shot. I was introduced it through a friend at her Bachelorette party and I have been hooked ever since. It's hard to explain how exactly I feel about the pole because to be quite honest it is somewhat difficult and much more of a challenged than I'd imagined. All the pole dancers I have seen always made it look so easy and graceful so I had no idea what I was getting into. After the Bachelorette party I decided to take an intro class at a local fitness studio so I want to tell you a little bit about my first official session. 

First of all, what I really liked about the studio was that it was very intimate. It was small, only 7 poles. It had dark walls and dim lighting and of course tons of mirrors. It made me feel a little better because the atmosphere helped me to really get in the character and feel more comfortable. The instructor was awesome with a lot of energy and great personality oddly enough I felt right at home :0

We began with a warmup that consisted of basic kicks and stretching. Then, our instructor taught us about the proper ways to position your body and how close to stand to the pole, how to hold on to the pole and how to walk around the pole. All of these are the basic fundamentals and even though they were so basic I still have yet to master them, but at least I had fun trying. We also learned how to do a basic spin around the pole and a small little spin routine. Pole sitting was the last thing we learned which was a bit difficult because it takes a lot of body strength to sit on the pole for any amount of time. All in all I had a blast to say the least. I highly recommend signing up for a fitness class, or any class for that matter. I can't believe that I talked about it for so many years and never knew how much fun it would be. Pole fitness makes me feel powerful and sexy while building my strength and confidence, like literally its my new obsession. I'm already trying to figure out a way to re-arrange my room so I can fit a pole in it haha. 

Hope this post inspires you to give Pole Fitness a try!

From around the web

To be honest, I could surf the web all day every day. There is so much to see and do I just get lost in all the information. Here's what I've been loving lately from all around the web.

Amazing garden in Dubai! I have to see this one day.

 

Adorable hair pins from Bali. If anyone knows where I can find these please let me know, I love the pink ones. 

 

omg this onesie!

 

Dazzling Clutches

 

Hilarious! I hope i'm this energetic at this age

Crazy Beautiful storm on Saturn right now!

I will have this dress someday 

One day I will find the perfect Kaftan, this one is so pretty.

 

Need to do this!!

 

Making Progress vol. 2

Hello hello! It's been a while. I really have been neglecting my blog lately I know it's such a bad habit, but I've just been so busy/tired lately. Well, today I'm here to share my progress with you! I have been such a busy bee trying to soak up as much information as possible. In reality, there is so much stuff I need to know and sometimes it can be overwhelming. Nonetheless I have been making moves and taking important steps.

I must explain a little bit of the legal side of starting your own business. Of course being a swimsuit designer sounds like fun and games, but there is a legal side, and if not taken care of you could be facing lawsuits in the future.

The first thing I did was visit my state website for small businesses. The site was packed with tons of information and has an easy to follow guide for people looking to get registered with the state and obtain a business license. I have not received my license quite yet, but I have registered my business with the IRS as well as the state of Virginia! boohoo! It's all so crazy, I am actually chasing my wildest dreams :) Registering with the IRS took only like 4 minutes and was a breeze, registering with the state took a bit longer and was a little more complicated. I still have some more registering to do before obtaining my actual license, but that will come in due time.

Now, for some fun stuff. After hours of searching and calling, I believe I found a somewhat local seamstress for my first samples. And first samples are important. I was hoping to find a company who could take my sketches, and turn them into patterns, create a full tech pack as well as complete the first samples. Initially, I contacted swimwear expert company and inquired about the process and pricing. They were very prompt with their response and included a ton of information. They actually made me feel very comfortable right away. Interested? visit them here. Even though I was impressed by their professionalism, I decided to look for someone local to make the samples. Why? Well because this very important to me and I want to be able to oversee the work being done, I want to be a big part of this process to.
Finding a seamstress was SO stressful. I want you to go to Google and type in sewing contractor and your zip code just to see what you get... you wanna know what you get? NOTHING! A bunch of randoms that aren't even close to what you are looking for (at least that's what happened to me). I checked on craigslist but the people that I reached out too couldn't even spell and didn't sound very professional, so I looked in the yellow pages and after several phone calls, I finally found someone who seemed a food fit for me. She has 20 years experience and had a great looking website, she actually answered her phone which is more than I can say for most. So I gave her a ring and she assured me that she could bring my suits to life. Needless to say I'm super excited! I will be meeting with her sometime next month.
In the mean time, I am busy sketching suits, writing out a business plan and frantically searching for textiles, embellishments, bra cups, hardware and all that fun stuff. I have some fabric samples on the way from Australia. I will most definitely share them with you when they arrive! All in all, a lot of progress. All in the right direction so far. I hope this inspires you to follow your heart and chase your dreams :)

7 Sexy Dresses for Spring

1. Floral Maxi Dress

I love anything floral! Find it here

2.Royal Blue Halter Wrap Dress

I think this dress is so sexy! and with summer coming up it is definitely a must have. I would wear this on a nice night out with my boyfriend probably with some gold or nude shoes. Find it here

3. Red Dress

Little Red dress. Find it here

4. Mint Dress 

 Mint is such a gorgeous color! Definitely a must have

Find it here

5. Knit pastel chevron maxi dress

 

 This is a dress that I would never pick for myself, but this outfit is pretty adorable and perfect for late spring/early summer. I love the pastel colors and the comfy knit fabric is to die for! The back of the dress is cute too! Find it here

6. Spanish Dress

I think this dress is so cute and feminine. White is fresh and exhilarating, perfect for spring. Find it here

7. Black Maxi Dress

I love maxi dresses because they are so comfortable and elegant. Black maxi's are great if you don't have much time to get ready, you can just throw it on and its instant glam. Find it here

Thanks for stopping by!

My favorite money saving tips!!

Hello!! Happy Easter && thanks for stopping by! :)

My latest obsession is saving money. Why? Because it's necessary, the more money I save on the things I need, the more money I have for the things I want. I do not go to extremes when it comes to coupons and bargain shopping, but I to take the time to try and get the best savings. Here are my favorite ways to save some serious cash :) Any other suggestions would be much appreciated!

1. Document your spending for 30 days. It's tough, with people living such busy lifestyle it seems like a hassle to save your receipts and track your transactions but it is totally necessary. After 30 days, go through your spending...you will be surprised by how much money is going to waste.

2. Do some cleaning. There is never an inopportune moment for cleaning, and a lot of people fail to realize that some of their household items may be worth some cash. Go through your house and collect anything unwanted and have a yard sale, or post it on Craigslist. Whatever items do not get sold, donate them to charity-you can write it off on your taxes later.

3. Shop at consignment stores. Yes, especially for children. Of course moms love shopping for the cutest clothes for their little one, why not shop for less? There are consignment stores all over loaded with tons of stuff. You can also sell your old items to them and make some cash. Recently, I attended a semi-annual consignment sale for children and they had everything. Seriously, I got tons of stuff for just a few dollars each! I didn't pay more than 10$ for anything for info on this sale visit M.O.P.S. There is also an online consignment store for kids with women coming soon. Visit thredUP

4. DIY or DIE. So if you have a Pinterest account you probably have seen tons of diy projects that you know you want to try. Laundry detergent, soap, beauty products can likely be made at home and would save you a lot of money.

5. Buy in bulk always- since you took the time to track your spending, you should have receipts leftover. Find items on the receipts that you constantly have to buy and buy them at Costco next time. Things that you are always going to need in your home are always better in bulk. Toilet paper, trash bags etc.

6. Pack your lunch. If you eat out every day or even a few times a week-you are wasting money that you could be spending elsewhere.

6. Pay your bills on time. Because late fees are a bitch. And some fees can be costly.

7. Don't shop anywhere without a coupon or savings card-unless the items are already on sale.

8. Request free samples and coupons. If you just email and ask, companies are likely to mail you some free samples and coupons. Hey, its worth a try. If nothing else you can collect all your free samples and use them for vacations or leave them in the guest bedroom.

9. Look around in your community. Need new furniture or household items? Before you stress about furniture shopping, look at what people have to offer in your community. Craigslist and freecycle are perfect for this!!

10. High fashion for less. Well, we all want to look sexy while saving money so why not go to a local high fashion consignment store before visiting Nordstrom. Platos Closet and Current Botique are both great places to find high fashion finds at a lower price.

11. Don't buy cable! Use Hulu and Netflix fir your television entertainment. Most networks stream episodes online nowadays anyway.

12. Always look for coupons. You can start in the Sunday paper. The first sunday of each month usually has the most savings. Retailmenot is a great website for coupons as well. Tons of big name retailers everywhere and there are lots of savings available and coupon codes for online purchases. Definitely check out this site before you go shopping.

13. Buy your clothes on clearance and save them for the next season. Who cares if they are last seasons stuff? Not me. Most of the clothes are simple and timeless.

14. Save you loose change. Don't you dare let it go to waste! Though it seems small, change most certainly adds up over the years. Alexa cashed in her first piggy bank at over $200 and it was barely halfway full.

Gathering Inspiration [Swimsuit Design]

Gathering Inspiration 

 

 Hello Everyone! 

I'm so glad it's finally Saturday, it's been a pretty long and tiring week for me to be honest. But thankfully today I have time to blog for a couple minutes. Today I want to update you on what's been going on inside the mind of an aspiring swimsuit designer. If you have been following up on my blog, you already know that I am working hard towards launching my first swimsuit collection and I am very excited about it!
Because I have NO sewing experience, I had to begin searching for a pattern maker as well as someone to manufacture a few product samples before actually placing an order. After weeks of researching, I contacted a company called The swimwear experts and I was pleased when I recieved a very prompt and informative reply.
The Swimwear Experts are experienced pattern makers who can also produce my samples. Just what I was looking for. They have reasonable pricing but It is still going to take me some time to come up with enough money to launch my line.
The swimwear experts work with all kinds of designers. Some have detailed sketches of their swimsuits and some clients can barely sketch at all (which is good for me because I am not the best artist) I have to come up with 2-3 sketches before I send them to the swimwear experts. They will then create digital patterns and will assist me with producing my samples.
Since It's going to take me some time to save money and create a website and such, I also have plenty of time to create some truly wonderful suits. So you get to join me at phase one: The inspiration Phase.
I have been pulling inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. From my favorite places, from flowers, from nature, clothing, places I've been, places I like to go, jewelry, paint, literally everything. I will be creating mood boards and mood books because they really help organize my inspiration and help create the perfect suit. Would you be interested to see pictures of my mood boards? How about sketches of my swimsuits when I complete them? Let me know! Any feedback would be great! And to anyone who is reading, thank you for your support!!

The perfect blowout...at home! Products that never fail

I have to share me excitement with you! I have been practicing blow drying my hair at home because obviously it saves me money, not to mention the last time I got my hair done at the salon it looked terrible! Easily the worst blowout ever. I was very unsatisfied. 

I have now mastered the perfect blowout (for my type of hair, at least) and I use just a few products but I feel like these deliver the best results.

I have naturally curly and sometimes frizzy hair. It is also very thin and fragile. 

1. First things first-you have to start with a good shampoo. I have found Redken Smooth Down shampoo&conditioner to be an absolute miracle worker. It tames my hair like nothing else and makes it so soft and beautiful! You can find it at Walmart, Target, Ulta and Hair Salons

2. Its a 10 is my favorite leave in product. Why? Just a couple sprays and my hair is instantly untangled and easy to comb through. My hair has been very unruly and just difficult to manage lately so I can never be without my It's a 10. You can purchase it at Walmart, Target, Ulta, and Hair Salons. 

Once my hair is combed, this is when I begin parting my hair and drying it. 

Sometimes (especially at the top) I need a little bit of extra product to tame the frizz and add volume and shine. That is when I use my Its a 10 Miracle blow-dry spray. I love this stuff! Why? Because it does not build up and weigh down my hair or make it look greasy. I apply this to my hair as I go and it gives me a gorgeous glossy, shiny and healthy look. I swear by this !! You can find it at Ulta, or online. 

And thats it! I promise if you use these products your hair will look and feel amazing! 

Let me know what products you use, thanks for stopping by :)