The Charley Girl

Minimal Summer Necessities

2013-04-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

Karen Walker Northern Lights, Lauren Wolf Cleopatra Ring, Madewell Flats, Acne Zola Crew Knit, www.missesdressy.com/handbags, Sephora X Collection

Not many people would put a sweater on a Summer must haves lists but hey, I live in San Francisco sweaters with shorts will probably be my go-to. I just got these Karen Walker sunglasses yesterday and couldn't wear them because it was so overcast, haha. I will be hunting for much more affordable gold rings this season but this one is perfect. Black and brown flats and sandals will be my uniform, Madewell makes really cute ones! This marigold clutch From Misses Dressy screams summer, I love the color and durability. Have you tried the Sephora X collection? It's amazing, I love the neutral and minimal collections.

Have you had any recent discoveries that I need to know about?!

Pictures of You: Ian

2013-04-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

Ian doesn't like getting his photo taken unless it's in an organic setting with friends or family and I love controlling every tiny detail of a photo and make the process as painful as possible for everyone so it isn't easy to get him to sit still (see cereal bribe above). But my favorite photos are portraits and it's the kind of photo I take the least but will end up meaning the most to me so I'm making it a personal mission to take photos of everyone I know, whether they like it or not. Pictures of You is that project, stay tuned.

The Hustle

2013-04-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ahh, this weekend was the first one I've had totally off for a while and it'll be a while before I have another one off again. Work is all I feel like I've been doing lately but I really love it, I had no idea I could get this much enjoyment out of a job especially with how much I work. But it's so nice to relish in the quiet moments while I can.

Also, big congrats to Chloe, my Sweet Spot giveaway winner!

Sweet Spot Giveaway

2013-03-15T07:59:00.001-07:00

So, how awesome is this bag? It's the longitude and latitude for my city, San Francisco printed by the sun! The company is called Sweet Spot Bags and they can make you a pouch from real sun for anywhere in the world! They're giving away a bag to one lucky reader, just comment with your favorite location in the world to win!

This contest is open world wide, you can like the Etsy page for Sweet Spot Bags here and please be a follower of The Charley Girl in any form of your choice. Enter anytime from today to the 21st and the winner will be announced on the 22nd.

I love the idea behind these bags so much, keep a reminder of your wedding location, favorite vacation spot or rep your hometown!

Broken Bones

2013-03-11T07:24:00.002-07:00

So, this happened yesterday. I came home to a very nervous boyfriend who eventually confessed that he was carrying his jacket around (for some reason) after he got home and knocked the skull off the coffee table and it broke into pieces. I had a mini panic attack and cried because I cry over everything (literally elderly people and if someone sings really good in a movie can do it) but also because I really loved this thing. This thing that's just a thing. A thing that's replaceable and fixable actually, it's sitting on the coffee table right now in perfect condition after Ian glued it together and it looks like it was never broken.

Then we had a talk about how I just never break anything, I never lose anything either but he leaves his cell phone in cabs, at restaurants, the park. He breaks dishes, twenty dollar bills fall out of his pockets, he drops his iPad on the ground three times a day. He's clumsy, I'm uptight, I'm a control freak and really paranoid at times, I triple check everything. And I am convinced we are meant to be together so we can even each other out. I literally pick up his phone everywhere we go, catch whatever expensive thing he tries to juggle in stores and in return he teaches me that I can't control everything, he makes me a little more relaxed and helps me see that life isn't made up of the things we have. Things break, they fade away, we get over them and we can't take them with us when we go anyway.

I didn't know if this thing would be fixable at the time but I figure if anything it makes for some pretty cool photos.

Naked

2013-03-07T07:30:00.003-08:00

When I started my journey to get healthier and lose weight I wasn't sure how I felt about sharing the process or how much I wanted to reveal. I ended up not discussing it until after a month in. I was overwhelmed by your responses and how so many of you are going through the same thing and have some of the same emotions and habits that I do. But this subject is touchy and controversial and lately I've been getting questions that have made me think about the dangers of this subject.
I am not a food or healthy living blogger, I have a personal blog and this is part of my life. I want to share some dishes and keep you up to date on my successes and hear about yours as well but I don't want the world in on every single bite of food I take each day or my weight or dress size or bra size, that seems so invasive. Every body and lifestyle is different, what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. I naturally love raw vegetables and fruits and never have soda or fast food but I love sweets and cheese and hoppy beer. Maybe all you need to do is cut out soda and eat more veggies, clearly that's not gonna cut it for me.
I experience a huge surge of traffic every time I pin something weight loss related on Pinterest and I think it's because so many of us are looking for that secret or quick fix even though we know it doesn't exist. We need to know our bodies, eat well and exorcize, that's it and that's how I have been doing it, honestly (16 pounds down since yesterday!) I will admit that I have and will probably try anything if you say it's healthy for me or will help me lose weight. Let's try to get out of that way of thinking and focus on what's best for us as individuals.

Just something to get in mind with this subject, I need to remind myself of this daily.

Bumps in the Road

2013-03-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

So, the company I work for recently moved their offices to San Francisco and to celebrate and get us settled in the CEO bought lunch for the entire company every day this week. She brought in burrito and grilled cheese food trucks and had Thai, Indian and pizza delivered. Every week we get bagels and cocktails on Fridays so that's something I'm planning to make room for maybe every other week or so. Totally awesome but also completely awful since I'm dieting, I tried choosing the healthiest options but I definitely went off course this week. I didn't lose weight but I didn't gain either and now I'm in the process of cleaning out my body and more importantly my mind, old habits die hard. But I don't want to get into the mindset that my life interrupts my diet, or vise versa. We have "bad" days or weeks but the healthy ones make up for it. I'm happy to report that in the month of February I lost 14 pounds! I'll be packing my lunches everyday from now on and I'm planning on taking my exorcizing routine out of my living room and into a gym, once I budget for it, gyms in San Francisco are so expensive.

Hope you all had a great month, here's to March!

Working Girl

2013-02-25T07:34:00.001-08:00

I started a new job this week and I am loving it. But I'm still getting used to my new 9-5 schedule after not working and it's taking some getting used to. Juggling a full-time job, blogging, working out, counting calories, keeping the apartment tidy and still fitting in super important boyfriend and trashy TV time takes some hard work without getting stressed, at least for me (there's more than a couple lazy bones in this body). When I'm really busy and focused I have no appetite all day, and sometimes just forget to eat, then at about 10pm, as soon as I relax, I want to stuff myself with everything in the kitchen. I think it's good for me to experience this (and face the realities of my bad habits) because, like I've been saying, this healthy lifestyle needs to sustain itself forever. One thing that's been working for me is packing a lunch everyday and planning my meals for the entire week. How do you fit staying active and eating healthy under stress and a busy schedule? I hope you're all having a great week!

Weekend Engagement

2013-02-18T13:00:00.001-08:00

This weekend was awesome, our good friends came up from San Diego to celebrate their anniversary and got engaged while they were up here! It was amazing news and I'm glad we could celebrate with them, especially since we miss so much being away. They're the first ones in our group of friends to get engaged and it's so exciting. Congrats again Alex and Elora!

With celebrations come temptation, and even though I'm on a diet I had to have celebratory drinks with the newly engaged couple and we went out to eat a few times. I tried to make healthy choices but you have to live a little. A big, important part of my fitness plan is making sure I can sustain it for life. It's not a crash diet, or a cleanse, it's simply a healthy lifestyle, so having a glass of wine and a sandwich at the park has to be able to fit in. If I allow myself occasional pleasures I will be more likely to stick with it, if I put myself on a really strict plan, once I take a bite of something "bad" I end up throwing the diet out the window and feel like I failed.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

An Annoying Valentine's Day Post

2013-02-14T16:27:00.003-08:00

This is probably the most annoying thing I will do this year but I love Valentine's Day and my ridiculously awesome boyfriend. I totally get the V-Day hate but I just love this fake holiday. Candy (not this year because of my diet, boo!), flowers (you can't tell me the color of those roses aren't the most beautiful you've ever seen, photos do no justice) and at our household it means a lot of bath stuff from Lush, so you'll get no Valentine's day hate from me. He also threw in that polka dot tea cup because he is too good. In return (since I'm broke at the moment) he gets that messed up looking Boston Terrier handmade card...
I think Ian is still in the process of making up for the Valentine's Day 4 years ago when I made him a mixed tape (not CD, tape) that took me 5 hours and in return he sent me a french press.
Like I've said before, Valentine's Day is big to us because we don't have a real anniversary. We've been dating on and off for over 7 years and now that we're making our future and living together it's nice to have an annual celebration for that, on a date we can actually remember.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours! If you survived this post, I applaud you.

Reward System For Weight Loss

2013-02-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

One things that I decided to do at the beginning of my journey to getting fit is setting up a reward system for every 5 pounds I lost. The rewards start out with things like; flowers, nail polish, etc. and move into bigger things like a new handbag, tattoo or bathing suit. It's the first time I'm trying out a weight loss reward system and I'm really liking it so far.
When you have a lot of weight you want to lose or a big goal like running a marathon it can seem so frustrating in the beginning, setting up mini goals and then rewarding yourself with something once you reach them makes you even more excited for your progress and less likely to give up.
Obviously, you need to choose things you can afford but make your final goal weight reward something that's a pretty big splurge, something you wouldn't normally buy for yourself and not something you really need that you'll probably get eventually anyway. I'm also adding rewards for after I reach my goal weight every month that I maintain for a year. Maintaining my weight loss is my biggest challenge so it'll be nice to have something to keep me motivated so I don't feel like I'm "done".

What do you think about the idea of a reward system, is it something you've tried?

Oh! And happy Galentine's Day to all of you wonderful women you! xo

Making Faces

2013-02-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

Have you checked out the "I Made Face" app yet? It's so much fun! You can make cartoons of yourself, I love how much they look like Daria characters.

I also couldn't resist making the Kardashians, I clearly have way too much time on my hands...

What I'm Doing To Get Fit

2013-02-09T10:25:00.003-08:00

Ok, I said I wasn't going to post smoothie recipes and post a lot about fitness (I really don't think I'm in the position to do that anyway) but the amount of you here and on Instagram that wanted to know about my fitness routine and what I've been eating to lose weight was so overwhelming, and since we're all friends here, I'm going to try and briefly go over my plan.

The first thing I decided to do wasn't to add healthy foods and workouts into my life, it was to cut out all of the bad habits and bad food. I use the "my fitness pal" app and enter my goal weight it gives me a calorie limit I adhere to in order to reach that weight, simple. A couple of years ago I used the app and lost around 35 pounds! Calorie counting gives me a perspective of portion control, I know it isn't for everyone but it is important to know what you're eating.
I pretty much use all of the "tricks" and advice you've probably heard about fitness and weight loss. I eat around 5 small meals, drink 8-10 glasses of water, lots of green tea, I have either fruit or vegetables with every meal. For my workouts, I try to get cardio, weight strengthening, and yoga in about 5-6 days a week, all at home for now. I'm using the Insanity videos and other videos and workouts I find on pinterest. There's no way around it, eat healthy, eat less, workout and you'll lose weight.

Again, this is just what's worked and is working for me, I have friends who had amazing results from Weight Watchers, juice cleanses, carb-free diets, etc. but for me, I want something that I can do forever, a healthy lifestyle and awareness for what I'm putting in my body so I can be healthy for the rest of my life.
Have any advice for me? I'm always wanting to learn more!

And for those of you curious about what I put in my smoothies, here it is. I just try to keep them a vessel for fruit but I'm making a green one next!
Top smoothie: 1/2 cup of almond plain milk, 1 cup mango, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1 banana
280 calories
Bottom smoothie: 1/2 cup almond plain milk, 1 cup mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) 3/4 cup mango, 1/2 of a banana.
200 calories

Collections: Geeky Art

2013-02-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

Of all the things I collect, art is probably what I'm most proud of and get the most excited over. We love collecting art, although, our taste may be a little goofy. Ian and I live next to one of our favorite galleries, Spoke Art. When we shop for pieces we mostly go for limited edition band posters from our favorite bands and artists as well as art inspired by our favorite movies and TV shows.

Spoke Art definitely caters to this. They have an amazing Wes Anderson themed art show that we've been going to every year, The Life Aquatic print (by New Flesh) in our bathroom is the one we got this year and the Darjeeling Limited prints (by Rich Pellegrino) are from the year before.

Tim Doyle is another favorite artist of ours, we went to his exhibit last night and picked up that Simpsons print appropriately named "Worst Print Ever" and the Arrested Development banana stand is from his exhibit last year. Tim does amazing TV show inspired art from shows like Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Downton Abbey, etc. (yes, I'm this nerdy).

We love band posters from Michael Motorcycle (the Monsters of Folk print) and Tara McPherson (the Strokes print), these will be so fun to have years and years from now.

The top photo is of a Casey Weldon print, another artist I discovered through Spoke Art, she does the most amazing Steve Buscemi and cat paintings.

I would love to be able to afford original paintings and illustrations one day. Do you have any favorite artists or galleries I need to check out?

And congratulations to Holly! She's the random winner of the Custom Portrait Giveaway.

If You're Bored, You're Boring

2013-02-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

I'm in that mood, you know the mood. The mood where you glance at yourself in the bathroom mirror and think "I totally need to dye my hair blue". The mood where you spot the scissors in the kitchen and think about how you could totally restyle your entire wardrobe. The mood that makes you burst out during your family dinner that you've decided to become a sky diving instructor (it's your calling!). I never liked the phrase "you're not bored, you're boring" I don't get boring-bored I get crazy-bored. I'm in midst of a job hunt that I devote about all of my time to and it doesn't really produce much joy or inspiration.

Do you have any tips for getting through the unemployment blues?

There's just a couple days left to enter the custom portrait giveaway!

Little By Little

2013-02-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

So, Ian and I have lived together for over a year now and the first year of living together has been wonderful, so much fun and I've never been happier. However, I have gained so much weight from it, eating the same as my 6' tall boyfriend who lives off pizza and beer and not working out will do that to you, who knew? Of course one of my New Year's resolutions was to get back in shape, eat cleaner and workout like a maniac but I didn't want to share that with you guys until January and the resolution hype was over and I had made some progress. Well, I've lost 6 pounds this month and I'm officially in crazy fitness girl mode (well, my version of that). Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with daily workout and smoothie posts but from time to time I will brag and let you know when I've made progress.

Are you on a journey to be healthier? I will always welcome fitness and diet tips!

Custom Portrait Giveaway

2013-02-01T14:29:00.002-08:00

How amazing are these? Laura is such a talented illustrator and she's giving away a custom individual portrait (yes a portrait of your pretty face!) to one lucky reader of The Charley Girl!

This giveaway is open from now until February 7th and the random winner will be announced on the 8th. This giveaway is open world wide. Enter by leaving a comment, you must be following The Charley Girl (on blogspot or bloglovin) to enter.

You can check out more of Laura's work at her Etsy shop and her blog.

I'm actually really jealous I can't enter this giveaway myself, good luck to you all!

Confetti Nails

2013-02-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

Ok real talk, I have gigantic hands. I have no idea how it happened, I'm short, I have tiny feet but my hands rival a lumberjack's. I'm exaggerating a little and it's not a real insecurity of mine (I mean I could probably be the next Ace Frehley if I wanted to) but it does mean I have to do a little more to make my hands look long and slender. I have to keep my nails a little long, shape them a little more oval but what really tortures me is how flattering, yet totally out of style, french manicures are. They make my hands looks oh so long and slender, neat and professional, and completely outdated.

So, this is my spin on a french mani, obviously if you cover something in glitter it becomes 1000% better. The silver glitter (which is Essie "set it stones") dries really fast and makes just the tips of my nails sparkle like crazy, the multi color glitter (Urban Outfitters "flaming") looks like confetti so I painted it on like a french manicure (2 coats) and then one extra coat across the middle of the nail to look like freshly tossed confetti!

Have/Need/Dream

2013-01-31T12:10:00.000-08:00

Have: 1. Twirl By Kate Spade 2. Russian Red from MAC (the best matte red!) Need: 3. Marc By Marc Jacobs lip stud earrings. 4. Topshop bauhaus collar necklace. 5. YSL lace bodysuit. Dream: 6. Charlotte Olympia lip flats. 7. Beautiful full sequin dress from MissesDressy.com check out their event and cocktail dresses, amazing.

I love Valentine's Day in all of it's corny, cheesy glory. Any excuse to dress up and go out is fine by me. Ian and I don't really have an anniversary, after 7 years of off and on again, our relationship has been more of an evolution so we really go all out during holidays. Not to say I only like it because I have a boyfriend, a lot of my favorite Valentine's Days were spent with girlfriend's during my single days. Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?

Lost & Discovered

2013-01-27T12:17:00.000-08:00

My camera died yesterday and Ian and I searched high and low for the battery, turns out I left it in San Diego. We have a spare Nikon just collecting dust in the closet so now's a better time than any to use that guy again, it's been years. These photos, however, were all taken on my iPhone yesterday.

I made kale chips for the first time yesterday and now I can easily say they're my new favorite snack! They were surprisingly easy to make, I looked up tons of recipes online and they were all pretty different so I just made my own and was really happy with out they turned out, crunchy and flavorful!

I chopped the kale into 1-2 inch pieces, mixed them with a little olive oil, half a squeezed lemon, salt and pepper and then sprinkled some cayenne (less is more, they come out very flavorful so season to taste) I tossed them on a cookie sheet and baked at 350° for 15 minuets. Let them cool for a minuet and serve.

Have you made kale chips before? Feel free to add any tips!

Gloomy Weather & Giveaway Winner

2013-01-24T11:33:00.001-08:00

I know you probably don't need me to update you whenever the weather in San Francisco sucks (it's too often to do that anyway) but today I'm actually enjoying the past two days of gloom. My clove candle smells so perfect on this almost-rainy day and Ian and I are kicking back and having coffee with not much we have to do today. Oh and the top photo is my poor aloe vera plant that's on death's doorstep, so devastating! I think I did overwater it (thank you Yelle!) and I'm just gonna let it chill for awhile and hope it bounces back.

Oh! And the random giveaway winner is...

Congrats Lauren! And a huge thanks to everyone who entered, if you shoot me an email with your address in it I will mail you a handwritten thank you note for participating! xo

*results were generated on random.org

Blooming

2013-01-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend's lovely mother got me Paperwhite flower bulbs for Christmas and I planted them as soon as we got back to San Francisco. I was surprised by how low maintenance they are and how fast they're growing. You're probably rolling your eyes if you have your own garden but I'm new to owning plants and this makes me so excited!
In other news, my Aloe Vera plant is in horrible shape. I can't tell if I've over or under watered it but it's brown and it's edges are dry and bending, any plant experts out there have any advice for me?!

Oh, and today is the last day to enter my giveaway with Midnight Riders!

Closet Cleanout

2013-01-22T12:38:00.002-08:00

This week I've been cleaning and reorganizing my whole apartment and I cannot believe how much stuff there is in my closet that I have never worn/only worn once. I have a really hard time parting with stuff if it's designer or vintage even if I've never worn it, I make up some excuse or reason like "one day I might be invited to Elizabeth Taylor themed party and I'll need this sequin dress" or "I need to save these 70's platforms for my daughter one day". I'm not completely abandoning that way of thinking but now that I live in a tiny studio and the time has come to compromise. I made an Instagram shop under "shopthecharleygirl" and I'm listing things for sale there this week if you want to check it out! It's mostly vintage and designer.

Do you have a hard time parting with your clothes? Or does your closet have a high turnover rate?

These Days

2013-01-19T12:54:00.004-08:00

Just a few shots from around our place lately. I'll be spending today reading and drinking a lot of tea.

What are you doing today?

Ladder shelf from Target. Couch, coffee table, ghost chair, and white blanket from Ikea. Pillows and basket from Urban Outfitters, skull and wood block from Etsy. Wall letters from Anthropologie.

Have/Need/Dream

2013-01-17T13:44:00.001-08:00

Have: 1. Ian got me this tea kettle (my 1st one!) for Christmas, I use it all day. 2. Movie Night loose leaf tea from Davids tea is so sweet and flavorful. 3. Hunter rain boots are a great investment and good for the snow too. Need: 4. Ice Cream Parlor dome umbrella. 5. Bubble baths are a must on rainy days. 6. Basil scented candle, mmm! 7. Grey nails to match the skies. 8. Cute bowls for hot soup. Dream: Burberry clear plastic raincoat, so dreamy, I'm still searching for a cheap version!

The weather in San Francisco has actually been amazing but I know those spring showers are right around the corner. I can't stand the rain, twice a year is perfect for me as long as I get to stay inside all day. But San Francisco doesn't want to compromise. During the rainy days the buses are horrible, packed and stinky, everyone is in a bad mood, the already crowded streets are worse when everyone has a drippy umbrella. This list are the things that get me through it all.

What's the weather like where you live? How do you handle the weather when it's bad?