The Color Run : #KINDawesome

This weekend Bethany and I ran The Color Run and it was #KINDawesome!
We were asked by KIND bars to be KIND Ambassadors and run The Color Run and spot #KINDawesome things going on!
Running + awesome sitings + delicious bars ... do you think we even hesitated to say yes?

I had so much fun at last summer's Color Run but this was Bethany's first and I knew she would love it!
It's safe to say we had a great, (very) color filled time.
(and that we are still finding traces of color places, ha!)
Not to mention it was great to run such an easy, FUN race after last weekend.

As you can see below, Bethany and I rocked some awesome tutus for the race.
We whipped those up last week over some wine and snacks (tutorial coming tomorrow!)
We thought it we were going to be doused in color, we might as well look cute!

We actually saw TONS of tutus and it was #KINDawesome.
It added a whole new element of fun to the race.
This is definitely a great race to do with a group of friends and we saw so many coordinated teams running together.  Whether it was matching tutus, shirts, pants or other accessories, lots of runners definitely put a lot of time into their outfits.

 You can't help but be in an awesome mood during The Color Run. Everyone is so energetic, happy and covered in color!
I also love The Color Run because you see people from all ages. From kids to grandparents and everyone in between, every one loves The Color Run.
I mean, they don't call it 'the happiest 5k on the planet, for nothin!

We were greeted at the end of the race with delicious KIND bars.
You guys know me and my love for all things clean, healthy and delicious and KIND bars REALLY fit that bill.  I love knowing 100% exactly what are in KIND bars and on top of that they are SO good. 

It's safe to say we had a KINDawesome time and were sufficiently covered in color from head to toe.

I highly recommend The Color Run, especially for your first 5k.
It does get crowded and bottle necked but that also breaks up the run a little bit and gives everyone a break.  Plus who doesn't want to be doused in color while they run?!
#solongwhiteteeshirt

Linking up with Sami!

Weekend Wrap Up: Run, Party, Party

That was one solid weekend if I do say so myself.
Floyd agrees.

He had a dance party with papa on Friday- he's quite the party animal. 

Saturday morning started bright and early with my first ever 10k!
Bethany and Autumn were awesome superstars and cheerleaders and ran the race as well.
They were at the finish line with Mister cheering me on with this adorable sign that Autumn's son helped Floyd make for me and flowers!

The race went really well and I was very happy with my time and even happier to cross it off the list!
After the race we went out to a celebratory yummy breakfast at Mimis. #yum
 
Later that afternoon, we headed over to Katie and Dereks for their gender reveal party!
Every single decoration and detail was beyond adorable and carefully thought out.
The reveal was done via THE most delicious cupcakes.
I'm still thinking about them.  They were by the same bakery that did my basset cake and they never disappoint. 

You will have to head over to Katie's blog for the big reveal!!

 The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and watching Zero Dark Thirty.

 Sunday was spent at the pool with friends, a graduation party for one of my coworkers daughters (check out her YouTube channel here--she is amazing and girlfriend is going places) and grabbing a drink with friends.

Annnnd I need a weekend from my weekend to recover from all of that.

And I want to say a special happy 'I love you anniversary' to Mister.

Yes, we are TOTAL dorks and celebrate when we first said I love you to each other.

But there's a reason, I promise.

See, we shared our first kiss on December 10th and then 6 months later on June 10th he told me he loved me for the first time (and I, him, obviously).  He told me right after we had watched Tin Cup. So for obvious reasons that movie has always been special to us.  So much so that when we met Kevin Costner last September we felt it necessary to retell the entire story to him. 

He was utterly enthralled as you can imagine...#not.

Actually he was very kind about it and chuckled.

And then probably called us crazy.

Have a great week friends!

Linking up with Sami

Happy Hour Bridal Shower {SPD}

Last week my friend Autumn and I had the honor of throwing Bethany a bridal shower.

In the beginning stages of planning we knew we wanted the shower to have a slight theme and came across (I'll let you guess where) the idea of a 'Happy Hour Shower'. 

I mean, who doesn't love Happy Hour (especially on a Thursday!) and being able to give gifts to a beautiful bride??

For the decor we decided to go with bright, Spring colors- pinks, oranges and yellows.

We used fresh flowers, bright pink vases and bright tissue paper balls throughout.

As far as the food, because it was after work, we wanted to keep things fairly simple but yummy.  We decided on 'bar' type food but taken up a notch.

Our menu included:

Homemade guacolmole

Salsa

Sausage and cheese wontons

Ham and swiss warm sandwiches

Fancy cheese and crackers

Chocolate chip cheese ball with chocolate teddy grahams

Assorted goodies from Trader Joe's
And, of course, wine. Lots and lots of wine.

And what's a good party without a favor?

Thanks to Pinterest, we found these cute ideas (here and here) for a Spring cookie inside a glass wrapped up.

Autumn found these adorable pink margarita glasses which we filled with Spring cookies, wrapped in clear treat bags with ribbon.

Super simple, cute and delicious- now that's my kind of favor. 

Now on to the pretty details!

The beautiful bride!
(and door decoration inspiration from here)
The shower was so fun and we were honored to be able to 'shower' our great friend and send her off into married bliss!

And for one more pretty, how fabulously simple yet beautiful are these earrings from Love Shine Bridal.

 These earrings are so versatile you can even wear them when you're hanging out with your basset hound.
(really Floyd was just upset he hadn't had a photo shoot lately)

I love so much of what is in this shop.

If you are in need of pretty jewelry (and who isn't always wanting to add to their stash?), bridesmaid jewelry or even wedding jewelry, check out Love Shine Bridal. 

These are the smoky quartz earrings and they are perfect for everyday wear as well as dressing them up for a night on the town.
Dainty and classic.

My other favorite pieces are this, this and this.

Love Shine Bridal is graciously offering TBC readers a 10% discount off your total purchase with the code 'Floyd'. 

Linking up with the ladies; Katie and Steph!

Running Regime

Last week Bethany texted me the other day and asked if I wanted to go to

happy hour with her after work. 

I replied, yes but after I went to the gym to run a few miles

What?! Who am I?!

She's the marathoner not me.

Don't worry I rewarded those 2 miles I ran with a glass of delicious Pinot.

Anyway, now that I've completed 2 5k's and crossed that off the list,

I have been wondering what the next step (pun intended) in my running life should be. 

After talking it over with Bethany (over wine of course), I have decided to focus on

getting better and faster at 3.1 miles and to gradually adding more miles to my runs.  

In this awesome humidity that Ohio has been having, I still

can't run a full 30 minutes outside without taking some sort of a little break.

That is really my ultimate goal at the moment.

Now if I'm on the treadmill, I can go for days. 

Especially if I have Real Housewives to watch. 

I do have a race in September I am working towards

and the Color Run is coming here to Cincy in October 

so I will most likely do that again.

For now though, I think my working out plan will be as follows:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Run (aim for at least 30 minutes, gradually adding)

Tuesday, Thursday: Abs, arms and a Pinterest workout

Saturday, Sunday: Run or Pinterest workout on one of the days

Pause. Can we make it a rule that working out on Friday-Sunday

counts as burning double the amount of calories?

K, thanks.

I am slowly easing myself into the idea of downloading the 

Couch to 10k app...

That seems like the next logical goal but I am not sure yet.

So, to all of you runners out there...

do you have any suggestions for me?

Should I pull a Forrest Gump and just keep running and running and running? 

Give me your tips, suggestions and/or advice.

Seriously, I never thought I would give this much thought to running...

who am I?

Runnin'

Remember last week when I told you I had
a running secret to share with you?

Well here it is...

I've started running.

And I kinda like it.

I'll pause for those of you who know me IRL

and know that I have said many, many times that

I. hate. running.

(In high school I was a cheerleader
and would have to run across the basketball court...
every single time the Mister would tell me I looked like a bounding deer...

So maaaybe I was a little scarred from running in front of people.
I think I have now officially gotten over that teenage embarrassment.)

And now that I have actually begun a running routine,

it is starting (I say that cautiously) to grow on me.

So now not only have I started running but I'm also registered for a race.

A race in which you get dirty, nonetheless. 

The besties and I are signed up for the Color Run on July 28th in Indianapolis.

And if that isn't motivation, I'm not sure what is.

Plus, it just looks fun.

I have heard a lot really great
success stories with Couch to 5k
and have decided to go that route.

I am now on week 3 of the program 

and really feel like I am getting into a groove.

Color coordinated gear is necessary

I downloaded the C25k app on my phone
and let me tell you,
my (phone) trainer is just the nicest woman!
It is so nice to have a plan and program laid out for you. 

It is not easy quite yet but it is starting to be fun.

Any good running tips for me??

P.S. I have already scoped out some adorable running gear
I clearly have my priorities straight.

Guest Post: Bethany from Runner Bee

Today we have the lovely Bethany from Runner Bee stopping by.  I am so happy to have her here to share with you something she is very passionate about!
Side note: Bethany is Sidney's mom aka Floyd's girlfriend. Oh la la!

Hey, I'm Bethany from Runner Bee and I am so excited to be here with my first ever guest blog post!

I was excited - and panicked - when Sarah asked me to do a guest post. What should I write about it? Although I pretend to be crafty, I am not the creative genius that Sarah is - my last project sat half completed on my kitchen table for a month before I finally decided to get rid of it. The finished product always looks way better in my head than in reality. I really enjoy cooking, but I just use other people's recipes and don't often alter them very much.

 

So, why not write about something I am passionate about? That made it easy - Girls on the Run!

 

I first learned of Girls on the Run (GOTR) in the early summer of 2006. I loved the concept behind it and decided to run my first marathon (Chicago) to raise money for GOTR as a member of Team Tiara (now Solemates). I then joined the Race Committee, and finally became a coach.

 

GOTR is a 12 week program designed to teach girls in the 3rd - 8th grades life lessons along with helping them develop a positive attitude towards exercise and leading a healthy lifestyle. The girls learn how to stand up for themselves, the dangers of bullying, the importance of quiet "me" time and much much more. All of the lessons involve running games. Over the 12 weeks they train for a 5K - for most of them it is their first 5K race. We encourage them to keep moving forward - run, walk, skip, hop, jump - as long as they keep moving, it doesn't matter how!

 

The race is indescribable. On Saturday May 7 we had our race down at Paul Brown Stadium. Roads were closed and the DJ played the Cupid Shuffle and Cha Cha Slide as hundreds of girls danced in the street. They had their face and hair painted, matching shirts, and huge smiles on their faces. Moms, dads, grandparents, siblings and friends all came to cheer the girls on. This is not a race for time, but a race to show these 8-12 year old girls that they can achieve their goal.   

 

The Cincinnati chapter started in 2005 with 12 girls and now reaches over 1900 girls annually. Wow!

 

Every group of girls I have coached has impacted me. It is amazing to watch them come together as a team and each grow individually. They are truly inspiring. Coaching is often the best part of my week and has helped me grow as a person in many ways as well.

 

Check out GOTR and see if there is a chapter near you - after all, it's the volunteers that make this possible!


Thanks again to Bethany.  The work you do with those girls is beyond admirable!