Fit Tips: Winter Polish Picks for Yoga

I'm not very good at it, but yoga is one of my favorite ways to treat myself. It feels so good to get every tense muscle stretched out, focus in on my breathing, and release any tension and anxiety I have from a hectic day.

But, it seems like during yoga between forward folds and downward dogs I do a lot of looking at my toes. If my toe nails look distressed, I spend the whole time thinking about how I need to paint my toes as soon as I get home. It ruins the whole calming, focused yoga experience. To combat that, I pick some polishes that will make me happy when I look at them, and I try to keep my toenails painted. Here are my favorite winter picks for yoga toes.

1. Aubrey by Julep
Right now I am obsessed with this shimmery, dusty, eggplant color. Julep describes it as a "rosewood shimmer." It's a very versatile, wearable purple color. It reminds me of sugar plum fairies but is still grown up and fabulous.

2. I Red a Good Book by Wet n' Wild
How cute is the name? This one is Elizabeth's personal favorite. It's a beautiful classic red color that's perfect for the holiday season. The picture looks like a deep red, but it's actually a bright cherry, cheery red.

3. Worth a Pretty Penne by OPI
I am so excited about the OPI Venice collection! The colors remind me of elegant Angelina Jolie's nails in the movie the Tourist. I want to buy the whole collection and pretend I'm as glamorous as Angelina. My favorite is the shimmery, gold Worth a Pretty Penne color. You have to check out the beautygeeks blog and look at their gorgeous swatches of the whole collection.

4. Greyfitti by Sally Hansen
This cool gray polish reminds me of my favorite cozy sweater. Nothing is better in the winter time than wearing your favorite sweater, so I think I'd get the same calm feeling looking at this color during yoga. This is a perfect, chill winter polish color.

5. Cheers by Butter London
Nothing says happiness like a soft, cheery yellow.

December Journal Prompts + Printable

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

Hello everyone!

The December journal prompts are ready for you to begin writing tomorrow. It's been a busy past several months with moving and starting a new job, but I did manage to get this one up on time.

I cannot believe that it's December already.

If you're thinking about beginning a journal as one of your New Year's resolutions (If you already thinking that far ahead, good. I'm definitely not there yet.), then I'd encourage you to check out our other journal writing resources.

As always, a printable version of the prompts is available at the end of the post.

December Journal Prompts

1. Your favorite part of your day
2. What needs to happen this month?
3. How are you working towards your goals?
4. Three good things
5. Something you know a lot about
6. An important person in your life
7. Your favorite recipe
8. An event that turned out differently than planned
9. The best way to spend a cold evening
10. One thing that you could not give up
11. A goal you reached
12. Something to celebrate
13. How you procrastinate
14. What did you think you'd be when you grew up?
15. The best type of surprise
16. Your favorite household chore
17. The best gift you could receive
18. Music that helps you to relax
19. One thing you'd like to see
20. Favorite winter traditions
21. Advice you'd give to someone else your age
22. Something all people should know
23. What you'd really like to do tomorrow
24. Your top priority
25. A thing your life has in excess
26. How has your life changed since last year?
27. A book you want to read
28. The person you're always happy to see
29.One thing to do
30. The time of day you prefer
31. A word to describe the past year

 Get your printable PDF version of December's journal prompts here.

Have a happy season leading up to Christmas!

Make sure that you get next month's prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

Fit Tips: Drink More Water

We all know we need to drink more water. One way to make sure you're getting your eight cups of water each day is buy yourself two 32 ounce water bottles and fill them up with lots of ice water each morning. Once you finish one off, start with the next. By having the two bottles already filled, you can visually see how close you're getting to reaching your goal. I've also noticed that I drink more water when I use a cup with a straw, so I recommend either stocking up on straws or buying a water bottle with a built in straw. If you don't like straight water try adding fruit or Crystal Light packets for some flavor. What are your tricks for drinking more water?

Review of Women's Health Lift to Get Lean Book

Women's Health Lift to Get Lean: A Beginner's Guide to Fitness and Strength Training in 3 Simple Steps by Holly Perkins is the perfect book if you've been wanting to try strength training but don't know where to start. Holly, a certified strength and conditioning specialist starts the book by explaining all the benefits of incorporating strength training into your workout. If you're skeptical about building muscle, this part of the book will have you convinced that strength training is answer to getting the toned, feminine body that you want.

 I was already convinced strength training was the way to go (just look at Miss Mississippi who swears by strength training). What I needed was parts two, three, and four where Holly explains everything you need to know to get started. Part two has wonderful explanations of her simple three step system for building muscle and how to properly do each exercise. She even gives advice about how to navigate the weight training section of the gym without letting guys make you feel intimidated! To take the confusion out of knowing which exercises to do, part four goes over four plans that will take you from beginner, intermediate, and major transformation stages of strength training. Part four explains everything else you need to know to get started like tips for your first workout and food suggestions to fuel your workouts.

I bought the book a month ago, and I wanted to try it out for myself before I suggested it to other people. I've been working out consistently for a month now, and I'd definitely recommend it!

I'm usually skeptical of people promising major body transformations, but the book lined up with what I've learned from my undergraduate studies in Nutrition and Dietetics and my current graduate studies in Occupational Therapy learning about the anatomy and kinesiology of the body.

I love how Holly Perkins geared the strength training to work for the females instead of taking a male approach. I also loved how she covers everything in a way that's simple, so even though it was awkward the first few workouts to workout with the guys, I felt confident that I was performing the exercises correctly. The only con is that you do need a gym membership to do the workouts. I've found though since I'm paying for a membership that I've stuck with the workouts, and I've really started to enjoy pushing myself and using the weight equipment. This is a great book for all women who are looking for a way to get fit that's sustainable and that will change the way their bodies look!

November Journal Prompts + Printable

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018. 

Thanks for being patient during the extra wait for November's journal prompts. Hopefully I'll eventually get this whole teaching thing figured out, and I'll be able to not only blog consistently BUT ALSO teach 87 6th-graders every day.

Maybe.

But for now, I'll just be content to share November's journal prompts with you and attempt to get enough sleep to work tomorrow.

Here are November's journal prompts.

1. Your goals for this month
2. What don't you share?
3. A reason to celebrate
4. Describe where you are not
5. A dream that seems impossible
6. Something you hope for
7. What good are you doing?
8. The people who make your life better
9. A tradition that makes you feel at home
10. Your top five favorite movies
11. Someone you'd like to meet
12. Is your life what you imagined?
13. The best kind of laughter is...
14. A silly thing you'd really like
15. Where you want to be
16. Something that truly doesn't matter
17. What you do when you are lost
18. A book from your childhood
19. What are you thankful for?
20. An evening ritual
21. A small change you'd like to make
22. A big change you'd like to make
23. Something you're still not sure about
24. The best dessert to share with friends
25. One thing you can't stop talking about
26. How do you spend a rainy day?
27. Your favorite things about yourself
28. Three things you do well
29. A story that captures your imagination
30. Memories beside a fireplace



Get your printable PDF version of November's journal prompts here.

Enjoy your November! I should have a DIY and a book review to share with you soon! Although if things get busy, it may be time for December's journal prompts already before I get them posted. 

Make sure that you get next month's prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

If you enjoy these journal prompts, help us out by sharing them on your favorite social media site (even if it isn't one of the ones mentioned above).

Thanks!

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

September Journal Prompts + Printable

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

 After taking August off from blogging, it's nice to be back with you in September. August was a crazily busy month for me. Things are still busy, but I am finally beginning to settle into a routine.

Thanks for waiting an extra month for these.

Here are September's journal prompts.

1.The best parts of fall
2. Where you want to be
3. What does content look like?
4. Something you want to try
5. This week's successes
6. Your first memory of one friend
7. Advice to ignore
8. What encourages you?
9. How do you encourage others?
10. Something to share
11. A celebration
12. A time you made a good choice
13. A favorite meal
14. An important truth
15. The thing that gives you hope
16. The last library you visited
17. A minor roadblock in your life
18. One thing to do today
19. What are you waiting for?
20. What really matters
21. A way to relax
22. One thing not to worry about
23. Three good thoughts
24. The best part of a rainy day
25. A simple pleasure
26. What have you learned today?
27. The best restaurant in your town
28. One thing you wish you could do
29. Your best quality
30. One thing you say you think, but really don't

Get your printable PDF version of September's journal prompts here.

Usually I like to journal at night before I go to bed, but with school started now, I need a way to unwind right after I get home. Lately, I've been either reading or on the internet. Both of which are difficult to stop doing once I get started, so I'm thinking about switching my journaling time to the afternoon.

Do you have a certain time of day that you prefer to journal?

Make sure that you get next month's prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

July Journal Prompts + Printable

 

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through Amazon.

July has just begun, but summer is already in full swing for us. We hope that your summer is allowing you a little more free time and some lazy afternoons to enjoy the sun.

Here's July's journal prompts.

1. What is most important to you?
2. Your best trait
3. A movie that makes you happy
4. Something that excites you
5. Something that worries you
6. Actions that you admire
7. A time of transition
8. How did you feel today?
9. What do you spend your time thinking about?
10. What year has been your best so far?
11. Who do you trust?
12. A song from your childhood
13. What you wore today
14. How are you creative?
15. The best part of summer
16. A letter to someone else
17. I always...
18. A list of things you like
19. A question that needs to be asked
20. What do you need?
21. Your summer playlist
22. What inspires you?
23. What do you want less of?
24. What is holding you back?
25. A tiny step towards your dreams
26. Three things you want to change in your life
27. How have you grown in the past month?
28. What are you offering the world?
29. How do you spend time resting?
30. The best idea you've had this week
31. The book you're currently reading

Get your printable PDF version of the July journal prompts here.

Make sure that you get next month's prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

Are you still journaling over the summer? Or have you stopped to take a break? Let us know in the comments.

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.