Style Sleuth: Title 9 Tankini

Before swimsuit season got underway, I received an email from a friend.  She was shedding a little extra weight from having a baby not long before.  She took up running to do it, and was training for her first half marathon to give herself a reason to stick with it.  I gave her a few suggestions, but ultimately thought of Title 9 for their athletic-friendly swimwear.  The bottoms are full coverage, and the tankinis and bikinis have great support.  See her email below:

Another quick question for you…

Because you’re so amazing regarding fashion, any thoughts on where I should start my swim suit hunt?

I’m really anxious about buying online because I sort of feel like suits need to be tried on in person…but if you have thoughts…I would be so appreciative.

Thanks!

And here is what she found on Title 9.com!

Color Me Rad – Do it!

So, a friend asked me several weeks ago to run the Color Me Rad race with her.  I declined because I am somewhat OCD about having dirty hands, and certainly of feeling altogether messy.

But when a staff member contacted me about promoting the run on LittleBlackSweats.com, 1) I was flattered that she chose LBS.com (the little fashion site that could) and 2) thought it was a sign from the universe that I was supposed to run this 5K and possibly conquer my aversion to “filth” with good ole colored cornstarch.

Photo via http://www.ColorMeRad.com

With that said, I’m recruiting.  Whether you are training for some longer race or you just want to run this for the fun of it, Color Me Rad is coming to the Mid America Center in Council Bluffs on July 8th at 9am.  You can register online and the registration fee is $40, which includes a t-shirt, sunglasses, race bib, sponsor swag and color packet for the color fight post race.  Or volunteer to be on the color bomb squad that “bombs” the racers every 5 minutes throughout – go easy on me!

Check out pics and videos from previous races on the website or join 70,000 other fans on Facebook and “like” the Color Me Rad page.  Once you’ve seen the pictures, you can’t help but sign up… take it from me!  You can also keep up to date on the other races around the country, and let friends know you are doing this great event that benefits the Special Olympics.

Check out this great YouTube video for inspiration, and I hope to see you there!

Daily Covet: Ask and ye shall receive… Bluetooth

Before I got sidetracked with my latest personal shopping assignment, I was surfing the Internet for Bluetooth (read wireless) earphones for syncing with my iPhone.  For years, I have been running with annoying “wired” earphones that hurt my ears from the get-go, fall out when I start getting sweaty or  both.  I once asked my husband if he had any at work, and he didn’t think that he did.

So today, I did a quick search for the top-rated wireless earphones and these Plantronics ones showed up on several lists.  My husband’s company does mostly B to B selling, but they do have a website with retail prices, as well.  So I emailed him and asked him if he had these earphones in stock.  Turns out, his logistics manager actually had a pair given to her as a sample… and she sent them home with him!

I can’t tell you how much less emcumbered my 3 mile run (read trot) was tonight.  Ask and ye shall receive.

Daily Covet: Lululemon workout clothes to inspire workout

I’m sitting home with a cold this morning, and thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve worked out.  10 days to be exact.  The plague spread through my house, and left me untouched… but yesterday it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I jumped on LuluLemon’s website in the spirit of working out to see what cute things they have going on there.  I instantly clicked the skirts and  dresses link and found a super cute skort.  So cute, in fact, that it might actually inspire a workout.

And they also have great tanks in fun colors and unique styles.  So, I may as well throw an entire outfit into my virtual shopping cart, right?

Scoop Neck Tank, lululemon.com $52

Chase Me Skirt, lululemon $68

Daily De-Covet

Yep, it’s happened.  Write down the day, the day that will live in infamy.  The day that I, Amy Grace, am not coveting anything.  Not anything in particular, anyway.  As hard as I have tried today, and as many websites as I scoured while waiting for my car hatch latch to be fixed, I could not find a single thing worth posting.

So, my loyal followers, I will give you the top 10 things I do not covet today instead.  Try to control your excitement!

Cry Baby...

10.  The Iowa Caucus finished up last night, and since I am a neighbor to Iowa, I seem to get more than my fair share of political calls at inopportune times (read ALWAYS!) I do not covet these.

9.  It’s 48 degrees right now in Middle America, and my Mac’s weather icon says we should be expecting almost 60 tomorrow.  It’s been like this for several weeks, and it looks like it may continue into the beginning of the next one.  It will end sometime, and we will be repaid handsomely with snow, ice and treachery soon.  I do not covet these.

8.  I have work to do.  My virtual boss (she’s real, but we’ve only met once in person.  And she lives 10 hours away.) sent me a copywriting assignment with plenty of categories to complete.  I do not covet these.

7.  We generally eat 3 meals and 1 snack at our house.  Coming up with something to make for 3 meals per day, 7 days per week is awful for me.  I would rather jam a sharpened pencil into my palm.  I do not covet these.

6.  I gave up shaving my legs last fall, and started waxing instead.  It’s great that the hair grows in slower and softer each time, but sucks that you have to wait for it to get long enough to be ripped out again.  They are especially unsightly when I have to wear workout pants that only go to my knees.  I do not covet these hairs.

5.  I took another close look at the tile that is my kitchen counter top.  It’s awful.  No matter how much I scrub, dig and bleach, the grout is dingy and dirty.  It doesn’t help that I live with 3 children (ok 2, but my husband doesn’t wipe up spills either.)  And who’s brilliant idea was it anyway, to use tile and grout for a counter top?  I do not covet these.

4., 3.  Sadly, I was not blessed with a lithe little body or the Hollywood metabolism that keeps starlets thin without even trying… ahem, right!…so there are at least 4 days per week, when I must drag my butt to a Body Blast class, Zumba or to run rat-like on an annoying cardio machine.  I do not covet these days.  Or these machines.

2.  My husband bought me new, super cute Uggs for Christmas.  (Yes, the ones on my daily covet!)  They were too big.  So I reordered from Ugg.com, and they sent me a new “pair” in my size, yet one boot was significantly larger than the other.  I do not covet boots in different sizes.

1.  And last, but definitely not least, I have had a knot in my shoulder for weeks now.  I’m pretty sure it’s from excessive typing in a non-ergonomic fashion.  As I type, it’s zinging me with sharp pin-like pains, while simultaneously maintaining the ever-present dull ache.  I do not covet this.

There you have it!  You don’t even have to stay up late to watch Letterman tonight… you can get your top 10 and all my complaining in one sitting.  Thanks for hanging in there with me!

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Why can’t I get good at running?  On Saturday morning, I went to the gym and ran for 60 straight minutes and I can honestly say, it wasn’t a half bad experience.  So, I decided that I might consider thinking about training for a half marathon – you can tell how dedicated to this I am, huh?

Unfortunately, with a sick baby and a traveling husband, I haven’t been to the gym much this week.  I went tonight and had to stop 20 minutes into my run.  I was so disappointed.  What happened to my newfound runner within?  Why can’t I put together multiple good runs?  Why can’t I “jones” to put on my Nikes and hit the pavement?  Why can’t I become lean and lithe because my addiction to running is taking over my addiction to Edy’s Take the Cake ice cream and Whole Foods Chicken Salad?

I have some friends that claim they love to run.  They continue to enter and complete marathons all over the country.  I want to be that person… but really I’m the person that would like to sleep in and cheer them on before I enjoy a chocolate croissant and a cup of coffee in a street side cafe.  Then I would do a little big city shopping and catch my aforementioned friend at the finish line.

Why, why, why can’t I be a runner?