Discipline

"We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons." -Jim Rohn

This quote has a really strong impact on me for some reason. It just makes so much sense. I first heard it awhile ago, but have been reminded of its truth lately. I've noticed recently that I am constantly frustrated or disappointed in myself over silly little things that could be easily avoided. Staying in bed an extra 30 minutes, and then having to run out the door, breakfast in hand, late to work. Watching dumb TV shows when I get home from work or spending too much time on facebook and then getting to bed later than I wanted with clothes left on the floor and dirty dishes in the sink. Perusing pointless websites at work and putting off a project that really won't take that long. And then I always beat myself up about it. "Why don't you just get your butt out of bed when your alarm goes off??" "How hard is it to turn off the computer and get a few chores done instead?" "Look at all the things on your to-do list that you didn't get done today." Not fun. But then I keep coming back to this quote. Have discipline, Sara, it's not nearly as hard as the regret you'll feel later. I wish I could say that I've learned this and have made vast improvements, but the truth is I'm still just very much in the beginning stages of putting this into practice. I'm writing it on a sticky and putting it on my computer today though. So that's a start :)

I bring it up today because the person who told me this quote is someone very special to me. And it's his birthday. That person is my boyfriend, Darwin, and this is just one of many lessons he has imparted to me. One of the things that drew me to him was all the practical life lessons he would continually teach me. It blessed me in more ways than one when he was assigned to me as my mentor at Pitney Bowes, the job where we first met. He taught me (almost) everything I know about sales - the rest I learned from my amazing Dad :) Whose birthday was yesterday by the way. Love you Daddy!! Darwin keeps me grounded, he puts things in perspective, he calms me down when I'm freaking out, he puts up with my sassy attitude, and he is there for me through everything. His friendship means more than anything to me.

Our first picture together...still one of my faves

On a ride day..."working"

In LA at the Getty

So to you boo: Happy Happy Birthday. I can't thank you enough for everything you do for me. You make my heart warm. I hope I treat you with 1/50th the amount of kindness that you show to me. And I hope you have a very wonderful day xoxoxo

Preparation

I'm the type of person who always needs to have things to look forward to in life. Not that I don't enjoy the present or try to live in the moment, but there is something about a fun looming event (wedding, party, trip, visitors) that just makes life way more exciting. And these said events give me an excuse to start preparing weeks in advance - exercise regimes get kicked up a notch, outfits are planned, self tanner is routinely applied, teeth are whitened, hair and nail appointments are scheduled, apartment gets cleaned, the works. K, that might be a little over-exaggeration, but you get what I'm saying, right?

Luckily, I have several things coming up that warrant this kind of preparation. A bachelorette party in April, a wedding in May, TWO Vegas trips (one in June, one in August) and then baby brother's wedding in September to name the big events. Bless it! Needing the sun more than a sparkly vampire from Forks, I am turning my current focus to the first Vegas trip. Which happens to be one of the greatest trips in the works ever. Not only has it been sooo long since I've been to Vegas, but this trip will be with my Grandad, brother, and his fiance (all fully paid for by my amazing Grandad) to go watch my brother play in a poker tournament. Like the ones you see on ESPN but always flip right past because it's too boring to watch (he's legit at poker). Plus it's the weekend after both mine and Lisa's birthdays. A Bacon family affair in Vegas, doesn't get much more special than that people!

So I have started a pre-packing list in my mind. Here are the types of things I am planning on bringing to the Land of Glitter:

Forever 21 Ruffled Sprinkle Dress, $24.80, Badgley Mischka 'Humbie II' Pump, $200, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent Shift Dress, $345, Forever 21 Solid Bracelet Set, $5.80, Trina Turk Cassis Crochet Ring Halter and Sash Hipster, $99 and $99, Forever 21 Malibu Hoops, $3.80, Deborah Lippmann's 'Waking Up in Vegas,' $16, Tory Burch 'Eddie' Ballerina Flat, $178, Deborah Lippmann's 'Boom Boom Pow,' $20, Valentino Patent Leather d'Orsay Pump, $645, Aqua Keyhole Back Sequined Dress, $168, Forever 21 Chain Statement Necklace, $10.80

Comfy dresses for strolling and shopping, impractical shoes, sparkly dresses, glittery nail polish and fun accessories. Even if it is all just for laying poolside with Lisa and "drinking lemon drops with Grandad" at Mandalay Bay (direct quote from him, I thought I was going to die). I can't wait!! Get here soon June!

So Lovely

Aquamarine Cushion Ring in Rose Gold

I came across this amazing ring on A Cup of Joe and just thought I would share the loveliness. I want one on my finger right now!! Hope you're having a sparkly Tuesday despite the rain :)

Line Dancing, Housewives, and a Cuckoo's Nest

The girls at Bushwacker's

My favorite kind of weekends are when I somehow manage to do something fun with friends, be productive, and have time to rest; all in a 48 hour period. And I had one of those this weekend. Bushwacker's with friends on Friday night (even though I am terrible at line dancing and mostly just enjoy the people watching), a 50's housewife-themed bridal shower for my lovely (ex) roomie, free tickets to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at Portland Center Stage on Saturday night (thanks boss!), and a quiet and productive afternoon after church on Sunday in a completely clean apartment. Love! Here are a few picture highlights from the weekend.

Also, I will mention that I somewhat tried to do my first outfit post - since there aren't many pictures to take of the play - and I felt so awkward. Definitely gives me a whole new level of respect for all of the amazing style bloggers who take such wonderful pictures. And still makes me realize how much I want a good camera.

Love this picture of Nicole

Decorations and treats at CK's shower

Anna's cute cake pops (or cake balls I guess :)

Me and the lovely bride-to-be as 50's housewives

SAC picture

Confession: I took this one on timer before my bf showed up
and though I didn't mean to cut my head off, I kinda
like how it turned out

Outfit: Earrings, top, belt, pants, heels
and nail polish: all Forever 21. Haha.

Awkward and not knowing how to model

The set for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Amazing play!!

Clean apartment and a cuddly kitty

I hope you all had wonderful weekends as well! Time to have a good week now :)

Gaining Health

Being a girl, the word "fat" is not one I'm unfamiliar with. It's every girl's worst fear and biggest complaint. Because let's be honest, who doesn't want to feel comfortable in their skin or confident in that cute new dress? I've watched as friends dealt with their weight in unhealthy ways or didn't deal with it at all. And I've disappointed myself in my own yucky eating habits as well. While being overweight might seem like the worst thing, what we should be most concerned about is our overall health. I've been learning that it's not as much about "losing weight" as it is about "gaining health." Just that change in perspective makes all the difference!

As some of you may or may not know, I recently decided to become a health coach for Take Shape For Life and it's something I'm really excited about. We have a passion to turn America towards health while it unfortunately is running in the opposite direction. But optimal health is very achievable and I am thrilled to be able to offer that gift to people. I fully believe in this program because I've seen the countless lives it's changed for the better firsthand. The basic premise of the program is accomplished in two stages: achieving your goal weight through the use of medically-formulated meal replacements (most people typically lose up to 2-5 lbs per week with no exercise), while learning the habits of health that will teach you how to maintain health for the rest of your life. All with the help of a free health coach (me). And the cost of food is usually less than the amount people are currently spending on their food and drinks in a month!

I'm letting you know today because I added a link to my coaching page on the left of my blog and was hoping you'd get a chance to check it out! The website has lots of great links and resources and a place to fill out a client profile if you are interested in finding out more about the program. I'd love your feedback or questions if you have any and look forward to creating lifelong habits of health for my friends, family, and lovely blog readers! Let's start a movement of health in America. xoxo

(You can read more about my journey to health here)

This is me excited about getting
America healthy

Simple Desktops

So as I was reading through a friend's blog (life@1521), I came across a post she had for free simple desktop backgrounds that were so cute! Considering I have had the same picture of pink sparkly beads as my background for about a year now, I figured it was time to change things up. I had so much fun scrolling through all their options and settled on the little cloud one for now. See that and some of my other favorites below and then go check them out yourself at Simple Desktops!

Enjoy! xoxo

Mobile Nail Documenting

One day I was scrolling through all of the pictures on my phone to delete old ones I didn't need, and was quite amazed at how many pictures I have taken of my nail polish (ashamed too maybe). Whether it was to send to a friend, upload to facebook, or just document for myself because I liked how they looked; I have created quite a little catalog. So I figured I would share the madness. I also am still planning on doing a post with all of my favorite nail polishes one of these days.

*Scary sidenote: I counted all the bottles I had and figured out that if I kept each color on for 5 days, I would have enough bottles to last me for an entire year without ever repeating a color. I have a problem...*

A new favorite from Forev. "Blush" but I call it "Ballerina Pink"

Another new favorite from Forever. "Ashes"

Barney purple

Black, with purpley glitter in it

Black with Deborah Lippmann's "Happy Birthday" over it

Ruby Red Slipper glitter (my own name) for Christmas

Gold glitter! Loved this one

Yummy mint

NYE nails and toes

I loved how visually appealing this was so I had to take a pic

Same color and day as the jelly bean pic, they looked
way brighter in person!

One of my favorite colors from Forever - "Salmon." Hi kitty!

Purple glitter for Christmas 2009
Probably to cheer on the Lakers with

4th of July toesies!

Sprinkles!

Apparently I was out of the essentials at the store that day...

Hope you're not judging me too much at this point. But I'll live if you do :)

The Perfect Water Bottle

I have been on the quest for the perfect water bottle for quite some time now. See, I hate drinking water. Unless I am particularly hot and parched, I rarely enjoy the boring and bland beverage, yet know we're all supposed to be getting our 8 glasses a day blah blah blah. Well when I went on program (the same one my clients that I coach go on), you are required to drink about 100 oz of water a day. Crazy right? Well besides making frequent trips to the bathroom, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I just filled up my 33 oz Smart Water bottle three times in a day and made a game out of it for myself. I actually could tell the difference in my body. My skin started looking better and I just felt healthier. So I've committed to making that a habit for myself (well maybe closer to the 64 oz mark a day).

I've been mostly successful, but on the days where I'm not, I can usually trace it to a single problem: I don't have a water bottle with me. And another goal of mine has been to get completely away from bottled water (an expensive, unhealthy, and unnecessary habit) so I have been searching for just the right bottle for me. Here were my requirements:

• Pretty. And classy.
• At least 20 oz so I don't have to spend all day filling up my bottle.
• BPA free.
• No plastic or metal taste.
• A top that makes it easy to drink large amounts of water at a time.

So after much searching, I narrowed down my results to two choices, both of which I ordered off Amazon at the same time so I could do a trial comparison. Here were the contestants:

Camelbak Better Bottle Insulated .6L

Takeya Classic Glass Water Bottle 22 oz

Here were the results:

• Camelbak: Love the colors on this one and the fact that it's insulated so it stays cold longer and won't sweat all over me and my desk. Super sporty and the straw is cool though not my preferred way to drink water. Just because I feel like I can't chug it easily if I want to. Perfect for hiking and working out though.
• Takeya: Pretty obsessed with how this one looks, and how it's glass. The silicone jacket feels really good too. My favorite part is how it feels to drink from though. It has a wide mouth and kind of reminds me of drinking from a Snapple bottle. Only downside: it's not lightweight. Especially when it's full of water. So while it's fine sitting on my desk, I'm not carrying this thing on my next walk anytime soon.

Bottom line: Unfortunately I can't wholeheartedly say that either of these are 100% the perfect bottle. The ideal solution would be to keep both, and use the black one at work, and the Camelbak for sporty times. So unless my boyfriend steals that one from me, that will be my plan! Please let me know if you have a water bottle you can't live without as well! xoxo

Holly in Heels Giveaway

If you've ever glanced over at some of the "Links I Love" to the right, you might have come across Holly in Heels. I discovered this blog by way of her husband actually who I went to high school with. Being a high-heel lover myself, I definitely appreciate the plethora of beautiful and fun shoes she posts so I have become a follower. Then she recently posted a giveaway that I was particularly excited about. I am IN LOVE with the shoes she's giving away! So my post serves two purposes: to let you know about her wonderful blog, and to give myself an extra point in my effort to win those gorgeous Pour La Victoire 'Cypris' heels. You can enter here (though I'm tempted to encourage you not to just so I have a better chance of winning - go ahead and become a follower and like her on facebook and all that good stuff though).

Here are the beauties. I want the green and black ones...

Wish me luck!