grace a la mode

diy | vintage button bracelet

2011-10-05T13:56:00.001-04:00

So, I have this gigantic jar of buttons that I've been collecting, not really knowing what the heck I'm going to do with them. I was looking through them last night and discovered some pretty awesome Victorian buttons that I'd totally forgotten about. Score! I figured I'd bust 'em out and try to make some kind of cool bracelet with them... the possibilities are endless, really, but this is what I came up with last night!

First, you'll need leather for your bracelet strap (I just used a piece of scrap leather from a gigantic thrifted skirt that cost me $2.00), a rotary cutter (or fabric scissors), leather lacing (found at most craft stores), your choice of vintage buttons, and an exact-o knife.

Cut the leather to your desired width. I cut mine about half an inch wide. Then, cut the lenth to about 12 inches long, creating points at each end.

When you decide which buttons you want to add to your bracelet, line them up next to the leather to make sure you like the placement, and then use your exact-o knife to cut a small slit or hole where you'll insert the button's bottom.

Once you have all the buttons that you want pulled through the bottom side of your leather, use your leather lacing to secure the buttons on the bottom side of your bracelet. Tie a knot at one end, then start threading through the bottom of each button, creating a loop around each button's bottom for extra security.

When both ends are knotted, cut the extra leather lacing so that it doesn't show past the sides of the bracelet. If you'd like, you could even add a little leather glue or super glue to the knotted ends to make sure they don't unravel.

That's it! Turn the bracelet over, tie it onto your wrist, and there you have it--you're new, fantastic, vintage button bracelet!

diy | the frayed flower

2011-10-03T23:59:00.000-04:00

After making so many alterations to tops, dresses, pants, and whatever else, it's easy to start racking up on extra scraps of fabric... which is great--don't get me wrong! It's just a matter of putting those scraps to use. With this tutorial, you'll learn how to make cute little frayed flowers out of any old extra fabric! They're perfect to wear as broaches or hair accessories, and they make amazing gifts and decorations! The best part about making these is that they're super easy and only take about 5 to 10 minutes.

Okay, so here's what you'll need to start: fabric of your choice, scissors, needle and thread, and a button.

For the flower in this tutorial, I'm using one of Adam's pant legs from an old pair of jeans--personally, I like how the denim ones turn out in the end. I've also used old curtain fabric, flannel, and linen--try some different fabrics out and see what you might like best.

Next, you'll cut about an inch and a half wide of fabric, about 15 to 20 inches long. If you use a pant leg like I'm using, you'll want to cut off the hard edges so you have a long, smooth piece to work with. Then, fray the edges to your liking by roughing up the edges.

Cut both ends so they are rounded out, and then fold the tip in on one end and sew a little knot to keep it in place.

Now, start sewing down the bottom edge of the fabric, bunching as you go, until you reach the other end of the fabric.

Keep the fabric fairly tight, but not so tight that you don't have any play in the fabric. Then knot your thread, and cut off the extra (but save it--we're not done!).

You'll see that the flower is already starting to take shape. Form the fabric in your hand keeping the bottom tight, and start threading through the layers at the bottom of the flower until it feels secure.

Once you've threaded through all of the layers until it's not going anywhere, turn the flower over, and voila! You have your awesome frayed flower!

At this point, it's up to you how to decorate... you can try buttons, sequins, ribbon--whatever your little heart desires. Then, either add a pin to the back, hot glue it to a headband, or stick some wire through the bottom to make a bouquet! Fun, huh?! Now go have some fun and try making some of these for yourself!

caught with my khakis down

2011-10-03T12:45:00.000-04:00

I know... the name is a little scandalous, but you can't deny that this greenish, khaki color called "Caught With My Khakis Down" by OPI is simply amazing! I just bought it from Sephora a few days ago in need of a new autumn color, and needless to say, I'm in love! Now, I'm also a lifelong fan of OPI's grayish color called "You Don't Know Jacques!"... there's something about it that just screams "class" to me. Anyway, now that fall has finally arrived, I think you should all treat yourself to these OPI beauties to help you celebrate. :)

new vintage items for sale!

2011-10-02T23:59:00.000-04:00

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! I certainly did... I was supposed to go to Washington D.C. this weekend, so I took Friday off of work, but my plans fell through and I ended up using my extra day off for a little "staycation". It's funny, though, three days somehow still wasn't enough of a break for me. :P

Anyway, it's super late so I'm gonna make this short and sweet. I spent a little time taking some pictures of some new items I'm putting up for sale in my Etsy store, Veruca Salt Vintage! Here's a peak at just a few of the items:

Vintage 70s Burnt Orange Sweater

Vintage 70s Maroon Paisley Blouse

Vintage 80s Denim Vest w/ Black Velvet Collar

Vintage 70s Floral Blouse

Vintage 60s/70s Floral Blouse

Lots of cute clothes! I have so many more fall items to share, and I'm working on getting some of those things posted for you guys this week. I'll also be putting up a fun little DIY tutorial tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled!

Cheers to a new week!

free people love

2011-09-28T13:30:00.000-04:00

Ugh, I love Free People... with a deep passion. I'm on lunch break and figured I'd post some of the amazing looks that I'm lusting over right now on their website. I just ordered a couple sweaters... I just couldn't contain myself. But anyway, since I can't afford most of what I want, it's at least some inspiration for fall fashion.

So many key items! Can't wait to incorporate some of these ideas into DIY tutorials... :) Hope you're all feeling as inspired as I am!

Happy Wednesday.

big things poppin'

2011-09-27T23:59:00.000-04:00

Things have been hectic as usual for me, but I love it. Although my schedule has deterred me from getting to post as much, it's given me a little time to think about which direction I want to head with this blog and my Etsy store in the meantime.

First off, I've been keeping up with thrifting and have had some really great finds! I think my biggest issue has been getting good pictures of the items for my store... but I just got Photoshop tonight (eeeee! I'm so excited to learn the ins and outs of it!) and I just bought a dress form! I'm seriously so super happy. Here's a picture of the skirt I made the other night, paired with a vintage silk checkered blouse modeled by my new dress form.

Cute, huh? Please disregard the amateur Photoshop job as I did it in just a few minutes (thanks to the extremely helpful tips from my man!). But you get the idea: super cute homemade skirt, vintage blouse soon to be posted for sale, awesome dress form and new model for Veruca Salt Vintage, and Photoshop. Things are still coming along, I'd say!

So anyway, I'm excited to learn more about Photoshop so that when I get my new camera (hopefully by Christmas!) I'll be pro at this whole photo-taking/editing thing. I've always been into photography, but I've never invested in the hobby like I've wanted to--until now! I'm pretty stoked about it. And speaking of new hobbies, I also just recently learned how to make block prints! I was asking Adam if there was any way to make my own stamp (for my Etsy store logo) and he bought me a little linoleum block so that I could carve whatever I wanted into it! We went out and bought some tools, and I carved away--here's the final product:

I'm really happy with the final product! I'll probably work out a few kinks here and there, but overall, I love it. It's just so much fun doing all of these things yourself rather than buying everything already made. Plus, it's more meaningful that the final product is yours and only yours!

On that note, I really want to start posting more clothing DIY ideas... I think that's the main focus I'd like to have with Veruca Salt. I mean, I have a zillion things that I want to try, and I think you guys will have just as much fun making and altering your own clothing as I do! I'll probably still update here and there with other fashion, health, and beauty ideas, but probably not as often as the DIY ideas and tutorials.

Well, that's it for now! I just wanted to give everyone an update so that no one thought I left little Veruca Salt high and dry. I've got some good stuff planned, but one step at a time. :)

cleaner skin with clarisonic

2011-09-19T15:10:00.000-04:00

Are any of you familiar with the Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System? I purchased one of these brushes a few months ago, and I'm in love! My dermatologist recommended it for me since I was taking medication that was drying out my skin super badly... it was disgusting. We all know that flaky skin can be the worst... sometimes gobbing lotion on it doesn't make it go away, makeup over top of flaky skin looks horrible, and sometimes if you scrub too hard you end up with "raw" spots. I've been there 'n had it all.

Anyway, I listened to my dermatologist and invested in one of these puppies. It's a little pricey, mind you, with the regular-sized Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System selling for about $225.00, but there is also a travel-size brush called the Clarisonic Mia, which only costs about half the price including the products. I ended up shelling out the money for the regular one (seeing as how Sephora sells it and I had a coupon for 20% off) and overall, I'm really happy with it!

I usually just use it once a day (or every other day) in the shower. I'm not sure about the Mia, but mine actually came with two different brush heads: one for the face, and a larger one for the body. After my first use of the brush on my face, my skin felt significantly softer... it was pretty awesome! Especially since, as I mentioned before, I was struggling with flaky skin. It seemed to do a pretty awesome job with stripping the dead skin cells without leaving my face looking like a tomato. I even used it on my lips and you could tell a difference! But, it could be easy to overdo it with this thing, so it's important to see how it works with your skin and limit your daily use.

But, the benefits of this thing really go beyond exfoliation--at least according to the claims of the website.

Supposedly, sonic cleansing is 2x as effective as manual cleansing, removes 6x more makeup than manual cleansing, and there is 61% greater absorption of vitamin c (and other skincare products) after use. As opposed to manual cleansing, the Clarisonic brush uses a sonic frequeny of over 300 movements per second to clean the skin. It sounds a lot like the sonic toothbrushes that are everywhere, doesn't it? Apparently, the primary inventor of the Sonicare toothbrush helped create this skin cleansing system.

So, it's really up to you to decide if it's worth it--whether you think this brush will really make a difference in your daily routine or not. Personally, my skincare regimen before didn't seem to be as effective as I would've liked, so the Clarisonic brush has been a Godsend. But, because it is so pricey, it might be worthwhile look into a cheaper alternative (like the Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System) and maybe read other reviews before investing. If you want to look into it more, visit this FAQ page on the Clarisonic site... it seems pretty informative about everything you might want to know.

That's it for now! I hope you're all enjoying a fresh start to your week!

JOJOBA'S WITNESS

2011-09-15T19:17:00.001-04:00

I'm sorry, but I really can't stop laughing at my title! I've been wanting to do a post about jojoba oil and its benefits for skin and hair, and I've been trying to think of a clever title. Success! But anyway, on to the good stuff!

Jojoba (pronounced huh-ho-buh) is actually a liquid wax that's just oily in texture. It's extracted from nuts growing on a shrub found in arid regions such as southern California, Arizona, Mexico and Israel. You can find it in a lot of stores... I know I've seen it at Trader Joe's, Kroger, and a ton of places online.

"What's it used for?" you ask. Well, jojoba oil is often used in cosmetics and moisturizers (check out Yuffie Soaps' Jojoba Head-To-Toe Spray Lotion!), but it really does wonders for the skin on its own. You can use it as a moisturizer for dry skin (even for your lips!), and contrary to what you may think, it's amazing for acne-prone skin. I know, it seems strange to put oil on skin that's already oily... it seems like it would cause a breakout or something, right? Well, it's thought to regulate the sebaceous glands, which can reduce the amount of oil produced by the the skin. It's like it tricks your skin into thinking it's already overproduced its natural oils, hence there's actually a reduction of breakouts! Pretty awesome, huh? So, when just a few drops are applied to oily skin, it tends to calm oil production and actually help reduce shine, and it dissolves sebum that can clog the pores. So awesome.

In addition to helping with skin tone, jojoba is commonly used as a makeup remover. You can put a few drops on a cotton pad, or find a skin cleanser that includes the oil---you'll find that in a lot of gentle facial cleansers, it's often included as the main ingredient.

And as if that wasn't enough already, jojoba oil is also known to reduce the appearance of scars and can even be used as a hair product! Since it has such amazing moisturizing abilities, it can be massaged into the scalp or added to your conditioner to get that extra shine. You can even add a few drops to your damp hair after you shower as a leave-in conditioner. If you don't want to add it on your own, there's quite a big variety of shampoos and conditioners that already contain jojoba.

I told you, it's like a miracle oil! If you haven't tried it before, get some! I guarantee you'll love it. It might even save you a few extra bucks since it can be used in place of a few different types of products.

Anyway, off to dinner for Kelley B.'s birthday! Cheers!

BONE MARROW MANIA

2011-09-14T23:50:00.000-04:00

Have you guys ever tried bone marrow? Adam called me up today and told me he was cooking some up for dinner, so I bought some wine on the way home, and he slaved away making the delicious meal... he's made it for me a couple times before. It's one of my favorite dishes! The bone marrow is best on a toasted slice of Italian bread topped with parsley salad. I'm not gonna lie, it was a little freaky at first, but once I tried it, I was so happy I did!

It's actually more common of a meal than you would think. Adam got this bone marrow from North Market in Columbus (love!), but you can get 'em at any butcher, really. There are a ton of recipes for it online if you want to try and make it yourself... they're all pretty similar when you google "bone marrow and parsley salad recipe", but you can obviously change any of them up however you like. But, if you don't feel like cooking it yourself, I saw that Sage American Bistro here in Columbus serves it as a main course. Brave up and try it!

Anyway, I've always been so curious as to what nutritional value, if any, this bone marrow had. It just seemed so fatty! So, I figured I'd learn while I post. :)

Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of info listed online about the nutritional value. But, here are some of the main points from a couple articles I found:

This article states:

Bone marrow is the essense of all verebralis. It contains all of the necessary nutrients to the human body, such as proteins, vitamins, complex B, minerals (calcium, magnesium, zinc)...
Helps maintain healthy cholesterol level
Anti-inflammatory
Promotes strong immune system
Contains important elements for brain growth and development
Takes less energy to digest than plant food
Although high in fat and calories, it's high in monounsaturated fat (good fat)

And this site states:

Basically, brain and bone-marrow both have stem-cells in them as well as very healthy DHA-rich fats. It's these fats that Loren Cordain and other Palaeo gurus point out as being responsible for Man's evolution of a much larger brain.

So the bottom line is that it's delicious, and it will make your brain gigantic over time! Just kidding... but seriously, it seems to have some pretty good health benefits overall. However, considering the fat content alone, I would probably just stick to indulging in this meal only every now and then. Try the parsley salad, though, for a new twist on a healthy side salad with any meal!

That's all for now... Happy Wednesday. :)

no more yo-yo dieting

2011-09-14T20:43:00.000-04:00

If you guys are anything like me, you've probably tried everything in the book to drop a few extra pounds: the good ol' Atkins diet, calorie-counting, the lemonade diet, eating more fiber and less meat, diet pills (don't ever do these!)---you name it, I've tried it. And, it's not like I ever really thought of myself as fat...I was just never where I wanted to be with my weight. It's pretty wild looking at pictures of myself from just a few years ago and seeing the change... you can see it in my face alone!

Summer '09

Summer '11

Sometimes I would use swimming (and well, workouts in general) as an excuse to eat what I wanted, and it brought consequences. It wasn't long before I reached my heaviest weight at around 150 pounds. After I'd quit swimming back in 2003, I dropped about 15 pounds, a lot of which was muscle, but it was still 15 pounds about which I wasn't going to complain! As I've mentioned before, I took on running as a hobby when I was no longer swimming, and with that I managed to drop a few more pounds and become a little more toned. I was happy overall, but I seemed to be stuck between 135 and 128 pounds for a while. I could never seem to get over that hump! As much as I worked out and tried to eat healthy, nothing seemed to work for me. So, I kinda just settled for being around 130.

Well, it wasn't but a couple months ago that my dad mentioned this new diet that his buddy's doctor had passed along. My dad has wanted to lose weight for years, mostly for health reasons, and seeing that the diet had worked for his friend, my dad decided to try it too. Within a month or so, my dad had lost over 20 pounds! I was more than amazed considering I'd never seen my dad so thin in all of my 27 years. The best thing about it was that all of the health problems he was facing seemed to dissipate. It's just crazy to see how much of a toll that extra weight can affect one's overall health. It just made me so happy that something was working for him, and I started to realize that if these guys can drop 30 or 40 pounds, there's no reason I couldn't lose 10 more pounds to reach my goal weight. So, I took the plunge. My dad happily passed along the "miracle" diet sheet he had used as a guideline, and I began my own weight loss journey. Anyway, here's the guideline sheet:

(I know it's mini, so if you're interested in printing it out, try clicking here.)

So, you'll use the first sheet as your main guide. On the left side you'll see the breakfast, lunch, and dinner lists and the measurements of veggies/proteins/fruit allowed for each sitting. On the right is the basic list of which food in each category are allowed in this diet.

The second sheet shows guidelines by which to stand... number 9 is maybe the scariest to me: "No alcohol, sweets of any kind, nuts, fried foods, sugared soft drinks, cream cheese, specialty cheeses, honey, anything containing sugar or refined flour." Yikes!!!

But WAIT! Before you jump up and go running, please hear me out! I did not follow every guideline to a "T" and the diet still worked for me... for example, I ate a handful of peanuts or pistachios if I needed a snack, I ate hard candies and small pieces of dark chocolate if I needed something sweet, I ate light cheeses somewhat often (I still eat two light string cheeses and an apple almost every morning when I'm on the go), and although I gave up alcohol for a couple weeks in order to speed up the weight loss process, I now allow myself to indulge in a few adult beverages on the weekends as long as I promise myself to stay on track at least during the week.

It's really not so bad when you think about it... you can eat steak, chicken, fish, tons of veggies, make soups, eat wraps, etc. I just tried to avoid most breads, grains, and sweets and would eat just a small portion if I really wanted any of those things. Personally, I was pretty darn strict about my food measurements in the beginning, and I committed to NO snacking for a couple weeks, but I noticed that I was still hungry all the time. So, I just changed things up a bit to fit my lifestyle and started to incorporate small snacks like light string cheeses or light yogurts if I felt like I really needed something. Like I said, you have to do what's right for you and your lifestyle, and just remember that the actual diet is only until you reach your goal, then it's all about maintaining. Now that I'm at that point that I'm simply maintaining, it's so great! I can eat more of what I want to, like pizza, pasta, breads, fruit throughout the day, I'm able to have a beer without feeling guilty, and I'm just really conscious about all of the other things I eat overall. I just make it a point to weigh myself periodically to be sure I'm staying on track.

The best thing about this whole diet is that I've seriously started to think twice about everything I intake---for a couple reasons. Not that I'm psychotic about it or anything, but I really don't want to back track and have my hard efforts go to waste. I've also noticed that I feel SO much different when I eat unhealthy foods now. It almost takes a toll on my stomach and tends to throw off my whole digestive system! It's weird. But awesome that my body is so accustomed to healthy food.

If you decide not to follow the diet, it's at least a good guideline to keep for your daily habits. I keep mine posted on my fridge just as a reminder nowadays...sometimes just as a reminder that I don't really need that ice cream bar. :) It's all what you make of it---how much you want to reach your goal, and how disciplined you are. It's all up to you!

If you have any questions at all about the way I reached my goal or want any sort of suggestions on how to follow the sheet, please don't hesitate to ask! I'd love hear how it works for you. Cheers!

diy | crop & take in a tee

2011-09-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

This tutorial is super easy, and can seriously turn a frumpy t-shirt that you would never wear into one of your favorite go-to tees! I thrifted this shirt a little while ago (isn't the pattern sweet?), but I never got around to altering it like I wanted to. So, I figured now is as good a time as ever since I've been wanting to do a clothing DIY tutorial anyway!

What you'll learn with this tutorial is how to take in the sleeves and sides of the shirt to make it a smaller fit, and how to crop it with a little flare.

First, cut the sleeves to the desired length, keeping in mind that you will lose about an inch when you fold the fabric up to hem the sleeve. I measured about three inches off each side for this shirt.

Next, cut the bottom of the shirt to the desired length in order to crop the tee and make it a little shorter. Again, make sure to account for the fact that you will be folding the fabric up about an inch when you hem the bottom.

Now, you're ready to mark how much you want to take the shirt in on the sides. Turn the shirt inside out. You can mark it with pins while you're wearing it, use one another t-shirt that you like as a stencil, or just "eybeball" it like I did. I knew I could afford to take a couple inches off each side, but I still like a little room for comfort in my tees, so I marked the fabric at two inches from the seams. First I marked the sleeve, and then I followed the line of the original seam around the armpit, and used a ruler to mark where I wanted the new seam to end. Do the same thing on the other side of the tee as seen below.

It was at this point that I decided I wanted a little flare at the bottom, so I rounded the bottom edges to come up around the side seams. This is optional.

Now, you're ready to sew! It makes it easiest if you iron all of the hems you're going to sew so that everything is nice and flat while you pull it through the sewing machine. After ironing, start with sewing the marked lines on the sleeves down the side hems.

Once you've sewn along both lines on either side of the shirt, cut the extra fabric under the armpit/side of the shirt.

Finally, make sure the bottom of the shirt is ironed about an inch upward so that the fabric doesn't flip outward after its washed, and you're ready to hem the last part!

Once you're finished sewing, turn the shirt right side out and voila! Your new, better-fitted crop top is complete!

a love called vintage

2011-09-12T17:52:00.000-04:00

Hi all! I spent some time today taking pictures for my Etsy site, Veruca Salt Vintage. Lemme tell ya, it's really hard getting good pictures when you're doing it yourself! However, I think the pictures give the main idea of what the items look like, so I'm satisfied for now. Plus, I'm learning what works and what looks horrible, so I'm sure things will improve with time. I'm also saving up for a sweet camera... maybe a Canon Rebel or something of the sort. I've wanted one for a while, but with my blog and Etsy store, I now have an excuse to actually splurge on it. :) If any of you guys have suggestions for beginner photographers, please send them along to me!

Anyway, short post tonight as it's already 1.00 am! Seriously, what happened to today?! Oh yeah... the photos. Here are some of the items going up for sale! Like I said, stay tuned as I have so much more!

Some of the items have yet to be posted in the store, but will come in due time. Fun, huh? At any rate, it's another busy week for me; my sister-in-law's baby shower is this coming weekend, along with my cousin's wedding reception, and my brother's birthday, on top of my after-work workouts and updates to the Etsy store. I'll do my best to stay up to date with posts! If nothing else, I really want to post my diet sheet this week--it's the thing that helped me lose weight pretty fast. And the best thing is, it's not even really a diet... I totally use it as a guideline now for how to eat on a regular basis. It's awesome!

Okay, that's all for now. I hope you have a fantastic Monday!

my so-called life

2011-09-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend! Sorry for the lack of posts this week... I'm hoping to catch up a little bit today and tomorrow. I've just been so stinkin' busy! But, busy is good. As you can see, I spent some of my free time changing up the look of my VS blog. What do you think? I like it for now, but it's a work in progress, so bear with me! I've been reading up a little bit on CSS web coding and trying to figure out how I can personalize my site a little more. I'm more than open to suggestions, so please pass them along!

I also checked out a new apartment (I'm moving in less than two months!), ran the A&F Challenge 5k, got a little funky with Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (if you aren't familiar, get familiar!) and Matt & Kim, started planning for my sister-in-law's baby shower, and caught up with some old friends/made a couple new ones. Needless to say, it's been a busy, but great week.

But, Monday marks a new week, and I want to make sure I get back on track with everything and start off on the right foot. I always feel so much more accomplished when I stick to a regular schedule. So next week calls for daily workouts, regulating my diet, routine blog updates, and getting items posted in Veruca Salt Vintage on Etsy.

Speaking of vintage, I managed to make it thrifting today and found a handful of vintage gems... check out this sweet fabric I found! I think Eva might love it as much as I do.

It's a gigantic women's blazer... I'm thinking I'll use it to make a cute purse with a black leather shoulder strap! Or maybe a little wallet... or clutch. Oh, the possibilities. Stay tuned--I'll make sure to post a DIY tutorial for whatever it is I decide to make with it! It might take some time with everything else on my plate, but I'll get there!

At any rate, I just wanted to update everyone with what's been going on in my life and where things are looking from here. I'm gonna get a couple items up on Veruca Salt Vintage tonight, so keep your eyes peeled! Just forewarning, I've got quite a bit of vintage clothing that I'll be putting up for sale, but I'm still working out the kinks for the photos of those items. Thanks for being patient!

if oprah can do it, you can do it

2011-09-06T20:48:00.000-04:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I couldn't help but to start today's post with this video from Forrest Gump... it'll just never get old to me! And with my Tuesday posts being dedicated to fitness and workouts, it just seemed "fitting".

So, as some of you may know, I was pretty active growing up, but I was never much of a long distance runner... at all. My swim coach in high school would make our team run on Fridays; sometimes we'd run before swimming laps, and sometimes instead of swimming laps... and that was, at the very least, extremely difficult for me. Actually, I would get really bad shin splints, so I was often the outcast that was forced to work out on an elliptical while everyone else ran outside. But, here I am, three half marathons later, and I feel pretty darn good!

People often ask how I got into the whole running scene and why the heck I like it. Well, in all honesty, I actually used to hate it... I looked at it as a chore. I would run a couple miles just to force myself to get some cardio in my life, and I'd finish feeling like death. It was horrible! But, one of my good friends here in Columbus (Steve Lieb at The Grip) tried to organize a small team of friends that would commit to running the Nationwide Half Marathon together a couple years ago. And for some odd reason, I decided to go for it; I joined the few others who had committed, printed out a 12-week running schedule (look up Hal Higdon and his training schedules...they're perfect!), and began my journey.

I started training with one of my best friends, and unfortunately, she ended up getting injured pretty soon into it and was unable to continue. Then, a few more weeks into the training regimen, I found out that I was the only one from my "original team" that was still committed to doing the race! Needless to say, I really wanted to quit... running 13.1 miles just didn't seem feasible if I was going to have to push myself. It was way too easy to come up with excuses not to run every day, but I finally told myself that I needed to commit. That was the first step. Once I had it in my head that there was no turning back, that there were no "ifs", "ands", or "buts", and really that there was no reason I couldn't actually do it, the training became a challenge that I just plain wanted to tackle! I just told myself that if I really wanted it, there was nothing stopping me but myself.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like the training schedule was all that easy for me, but it did get easier as time progressed. My body got used to running 4 and 5 miles a day, doing longer runs on the weekends, and I just got into a great routine. I think that's one of the biggest keys to staying motivated. If you create a routine for yourself and stick to it, you'll start to feel weird--and sometimes bad when you slip out of it.

I did, however, hit a couple of road blocks with injuries during training. At one point, my heel was hurting so bad that I ended up going to a podiatrist to get it checked out. Turns out it was just a bruised heel, but he told me to stop running on it. So, feeling somewhat defeated about the whole thing, I decided to try out the elliptical to see if I could get through a workout without feeling pain in my bandaged heel. Somehow, someway, it worked! I did at least a couple weeks worth of training on the elliptical, and still managed to crush my first half marathon!

I guess the bottom line is that if you really commit to something, set a goal, follow a routine, and get in the right mindset, there's no reason you can't accomplish what you want.

Anyway, if YOU are thinking about getting into running, you should check out these 101 Greatest Running Tips listed on the Women's Health website to get you started! Then, perhaps, you could look into 5k or 10k race in your town and maybe even work your way up to a half or full marathon! This site lists a ton of the races that are held in Ohio throughout the year. It can also be a really good excuse to travel to other cities. Just have fun with it! And I'm telling you, once you've completed your goal, you'll feel so good about yourself and want to keep up with it!

Just remember: if Oprah can do it, you can do it.

diy | tomato face masque

2011-09-06T17:53:00.000-04:00

(Photo credit: free-extras.com)

I really wanted to get a DIY (Do-it-yourself) idea posted for my "DIY Mondays" (which will include DIY ideas and tutorials for tons of things including fashion, beauty products, and even healthy recipes) but I know it's actually Tuesday now. I missed the cut-off! I've just been extremely busy this holiday weekend. But, since I haven't gone to sleep yet, I'm going to tell myself it's still Monday and post something fun anyway. :)

So, Jody from Yuffie Soaps was kind enough to pass along these instructions for several different DIY tomato face masques and toners! I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow, so I'll be picking up the items to try 'em out. I'm super excited! I've got a feeling they'll be pretty awesome knowing Jody and her knowledge of skincare products.

Tomatoes are excellent in homemade skincare recipes for a several reasons: they help in reducing large pores, clearing acne, soothing raw skin, they make for an amazing facial toner to remove excess oil, and they can brighten dull skin! Pretty awesome. It's like a miracle fruit! Or is it a vegetable...

Anyway, here are a few easy and effective DIY Tomato Masque recipes:

Tomato and Avocado Acne Masque

Cut up one tomato and put in it a food processor.

Mash up half an avocado

I tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons of ground oatmeal

Mix all the ingredients together. Rub the paste on your skin and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes, rinse off with lukewarm water, pat skin dry.

For Breakouts

Take one tomato, take one slice, rub it on your skin, pressing into the pores, leave set for 5 minutes, rinse with lukewarm water, pat skin dry.

*If you use the rest of the tomato the same way all week, your acne will clear up

Tomato and Cucumber Toner

Crush 1 tomato and strain- set the juice aside

Grate 1 Cucumber and strain.

Mix the tomato and cucumber juice together.

Use a cotton ball to apply to skin everyday. You should place this mixture in a clean bottle or jar and keep it in the refrigerator. Throw out after a week.

That's it! Let me know if you guys get around to trying any of these and how they might have worked for you!

bottoms, tops, 'n shoes, oh my!

2011-09-05T23:50:00.000-04:00

I hope you've all had an awesome Labor Day weekend! I was fortunate to have the day off today, so my boyfriend and I took advantage and spent the day canoeing on the Hocking River. It was a bit overcast and a little chilly, but it's probably the last time either of us will have an opportunity to go canoeing this summer. It was also nice getting away from civilization for a few hours and taking in the beautiful scenery.

It was only about 65 degrees out today! Fall is seriously creeping up on us super quickly. I don't know about you all, but I need to get to steppin' on my fall wardrobe!

Luckily, some of the trends from this past year are sticking around this fall. A couple of my favorite go-to pieces include chunky or oversized sweaters, as well as super skinny jeans and leggings. Lord knows I've got plenty of those! But, there are a ton of really unique patterned leggings that are popping up in stores right now... check out these awesome Levi's Jacquard Leggings on the Urban Outfitters website:

There are quite a few other patterns offered on the UO website, and I've seen similar items pop up in H&M stores and Forever XXI. I'm really into this pattern, though! It's almost reminiscent of that Aztec type pattern that a lot of designers are trying to incorporate into the fall trends this year. And, they stand out but wouldn't be overly flashy if paired with something like a plain, oversized sweater and some wedge ankle boots.

If you're not into leggings so much, flares and wide-legged pants are also making their way back into the fashion scene. As seen in a lot of the ready-to-wear runway looks, there is 70's inspiration in quite a few pieces. One of my favorite stores for fashionable, but comfortable every-day clothes is Madewell, which is actually a brand extension of J.Crew. They finally opened a Madewell store in Columbus, and I'm obsessed. They tend to have some really good sale items and promotional offers. Here are some super cute high-waist wide-leg jeans that are in the sale section on their website right now:

Cute, right? I love the high waist with a belt. Not to mention the style can make your derriere look, amazing! ;) Paired with some great heels or wedges, these bottoms can also make your legs look a lot longer, which is great for someone like me who has somewhat short legs! These particular pants could almost be considered flares. I know Urban Outfitters has quite a wide array of flares on their site for pretty affordable prices. Either way, I know this style will be popping up more and more around other retail stores, so keep an eye out!

But what sort of tops can be worn with wide-leg jeans? I wouldn't go for anything oversized, as a baggier top with wide-leg pants could potentially make you look heavier than you are. I'd go for a simple tee tucked in, perhaps a cute little crop top if the pants are high-waisted like the ones above, or maybe a thin blouse that could be tucked in. With pants like these, you want to see that waist line! H&M has this cute little number on their website available in a couple different colors, including orange, which is one of those colors that will be seen a lot this fall:

It's super light and flowy, feminine with that 70's feel, and the best part is that it's only $9.95! I've seen quite a few similar blouses making their way into other stores, but $9.95 is a pretty amazing deal for such a cute top. And the silk and polyester tops are totally in right now. There are a lot of sheer tops that are making appearances on the racks this season, and they're perfect with a pair of jeans and are comfortable, yet sexy. I love this black "Hecia Cropped Shirt" from All Saints and this fun, sheer "Polka Dotted Boho Top" on the Free People website:

Free People tends to combine a lot of prints and incorporates some great fabrics and cuts for a unique, fun look. If you're looking for crop tops, and bright prints, lace, and crochet, Free People is a great place to start! And fortunately for us, lace and crochet are some of those fabrics that are being tied into a lot of the looks these days. Here are a couple really cute pieces floating around right now:

Engineered Crochet Tunic at FreePeople.com

Kimchi Blue Lace Dress at UrbanOutfitters.com

Make Lace Dress by Everly at Tobi.com

All Over the Lace Skirt by West 36 at Tobi.com

As mentioned in my previous post "Falling into Autumn 2011", we'll probably be seeing those sheer maxi skirts (below the calf) work their way into fall fashion. I also noted that the upcoming trends would be including a lot of leather and pleats. I really love these two looks from Madewell with the pleated mini skirts:

Notice the shoes... fall 2011 is bringing in some really hot ankle boots and platforms. The ankle boots with socks is such a fun look that can add that extra little flare, and paired with skirts and dresses, boots can give that "boyish but girly" look we all want. The platforms are again in the 70's category and can give the illusion of longer legs! Woo hoo! I'm a shoe fanatic, but am somehow always drawn to the expensive ones. :( So, I'm always on the lookout for the sale prices and promotions. However, it's good to keep in mind that paying a little more for a pair of shoes that you absolutely love, will wear all the time, and will last you years might totally be worth it. At any rate, here are a few of the looks that I'm in love with right now:

The Prairie Boot at Madewell.com

The Workwear Biker Boot at Madewell.com

Deena and Ozzy Peeptoe Mule Wedge at UrbanOutfitters.com

Jeffrey Campbell Roks Wedge at UrbanOutfitters.com

There are a million fun options out there, so pick some that fit your personality and that you'll love! Shoes can add so much pizazz to an otherwise plain outfit, so have fun with them!

Anyway, these are just some of my retail takes on what's going to be in for fall 2011. But personally, I'm really trying to fuse a lot of vintage items into my own wardrobe, so I've been hitting up a lot of thrift stores over retail. It's been so much fun being able to upcycle clothing and incorporate the pieces into current fashions. Again, I'm in the process of working on my Etsy store, Veruca Salt Vintage, but am hoping to have some items up by next week. Until then, I hope this post gave you some good retail options and ideas on new outfits for your wardrobe that will make you feel like a million bucks!

falling into autumn 2011

2011-09-03T19:28:00.000-04:00

Marc by Marc Jacobs - Photo cred: Elle.com

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! To keep everyone up to date, I'll likely be doing all sorts of different fashion posts on the weekends. Whether it's about the latest trends, deals for which to keep an eye out, fashion challenges, outfits for people on a budget, or awesome thrift and vintage finds, it will all be related to fashion!

Okay, so I've been looking into fall 2011 trends, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm getting kinda excited about the upcoming season! As much as I'll miss summer (has it gone by too quickly for anyone else?), fall is by far my favorite season of the year. Besides the awesome scenery, I'm looking forward to a little less humidity and some cooler weather--which also means I'm excited for sweaters, leggings, and boots--oh my!

Check out some of the ready-to-wear runway looks Elle posted for fall 2011:

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Chanel

Diane Von Furstenberg

Acne

So, it looks like the runway is setting the fall trends with lots of burnt oranges and reds, navajo/aztec-ish prints, wide leg pants, leather, sheer maxis, pleats, some super low necklines, and incorporating a lot of that 70's feel. I love how most of the designers are playing on boyish looks gone feminine... whether it's in the shoes, pants, or blazers. So cute!

I'm getting antsy to create a new fall wardrobe for this year! I'll be posting a lot of affordable ideas for recreating these runway styles, so stay tuned!

a skintimate solution

2011-09-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

So, as I dive deeper into this whole blog deal, I'm thinking it will make the most sense to dedicate each day of the week to a specific topic. That way I don't lead you guys through an unorganized mess like the one that's going on in my head. :) With that being said, I've decided to dedicate Thursdays to beauty products, reviews, tips, and tricks.

To kick off my very first "Beauty Bonanza Thursday" post, I'd like to introduce a really amazing homemade, all natural, and mostly vegan soap and skincare line called Yuffie Soaps!

Yuffie was recently started by my good friend, Jody Cooper, who decided to look into all natural and healthy products for her son and herself. You can read more about her story here.

Now, if any of you are health nuts like I am, you know that there are so many chemicals in makeup, soaps, face washes, lotions, etc. about which a lot of people never thought to be concerned. By this point I'm sure most of you have heard about parabens and their possible link to breast cancer. It's pretty crazy. Look it up! I used to use Cetaphil face wash because it was recommended in Cosmopolitan magazine and seemed to remove my makeup better than any other face wash I'd tried before. Unfortunately, I learned that parabens are even in there, so I've since then switched. Yuffie offers this pretty awesome facial cleanser called "Vitally Skin Cleanser" that I'm super anxious to try.

A black gel cleanser for normal to oily skin made with "activated charcoal" and other organic and natural ingredients for only $9.00? Yes please! You and I both know that you can't really find this just anywhere. I've been paying over $20.00 for some crappy Lancome face wash just because it promised no parabens. I'm sorry, Lancome, but you're getting the axe.

Lipsticks are some of those beauty products that seem to include parabens more often than other products. Personally, I'm a ChapStick kinda girl, myself. I'm a huge fan of the Burt's Bee's lip balm, but it's pretty pricey and I tend to lose my lip balms as soon as I buy them. At any rate, the Yuffie Lip Balms come in five different, awesome scents/flavors and they're only $2.00 each!

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a big peppermint fan, so I'm pretty excited to try the "Peppy Lips" peppermint-flavored balm. And heck, since it's such a good price, I'll probably try at least a couple of the other flavors. They just sound so good!

Speaking of good flavors... I'm getting pretty excited about all of the pumpkin treats that are about to pop up with fall right around the corner--pumpkin muffins, pumpkin beer, pumpkin whoopie pies (yep, they're real all right...), and especially Yuffie's Pumpkin Peel Masque!

Seriously...check out the ingredients! Pumpkin, Sugar Maple Extract, Citrus Orange Fruit Extract, Cinnamon Bark, Ginger Root Powder, Nutmeg Powder--not to mention all of the vitamins infused into this stuff. I'll take two, please!

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. These are just a handful of my favorite items offered by Yuffie Soaps. There are so many more amazing products (like scented soaps, obviously) listed in Jody's shop. Check them out, and start feeling better about what's going onto your skin!