Mom Clothes Style

Hello and happy Sunday Funday! Today we're talking "Mom clothes."

I hate that term to be honest.

Someone please define to me what mom clothes really are 

because it confuses me. 

I wore this outfit Friday, put some curls in my hair (NUME wands are $29 till tonight at midnight folks!!! Use code 'GETMYWAND') and my makeup looked really good. All I had planned was to go to work and have our normal pizza party Friday routine. I wasn't going out after work, in fact I wrote this in my sweats on the couch while we watched Sons of Anarchy till almost 2am, #momlife. But I wanted to share because I felt really good, I felt confident and happy with how my clothes are fitting lately and that's what it's all about!

Me personally, I like to look cute, put together yet comfortable, those are my three goals when I get dressed everyday. Some days I'm less comfortable and more put together, and sometimes it's quite the opposite. In my attempt to wear less leggings, sigh,  I'm also trying to buy things that I can wear in different ways so I'm getting the most bang for my buck.

H&M and I have a love hate relationship. I love the style, price and quality of the clothing but I hate how a size 6 pant there is most defiantly NOT a size 6 pant in say Express jeans. My thought is because Europeans and Americans are built totally different so the sizing is also different, at least thats what I tell myself when the 10's at H&M won't get over my ass! Regardless my closet is made up of about 40% H&M and most are tops.

As you also might be aware in previous posts {here & here} I'm trying to lose a little weight and tone up. While doing so my clothes are fitting differently, a good different but different none the less. Back in high school you wouldn't catch me dead buying anything that was loose fitting, it just wasn't the style. Now the slouchy, over sized shirts are the only thing I gravitate towards. This is one of my favorite shirts from H&M, it was about $12.99 and fits me perfectly. Long in the back to wear with leggings but looks effortlessly great tucked into jeans.

I've been on the hunt trying to find this same shirt in other colors and patterns because it's that great! The sleeves aren't tight and unflattering on your arms, the collar isn't too high and it flares out in just the right place. It really is a dreamy shirt not to mention so is the price!

{Similar shirt here , here and here }

Speaking of jeans, these are from Express and I wear them 5 days a week. Yep, sure do, I should probably buy another pair to be honest. But these, these are so comfortable, they have the perfect amount of stretch, stop at my ankle, they are basically the ideal jean for any women gracing the skyline of a staggering 5'1. {The black bracelet is a Fitbit Flex for anyone wondering}

Moving down to my feet, these are my new favorites for the warm weather. Remember when everyone had Birkenstocks and then they went out of style so we all gave them to Goodwill and moved on to the next trend. Ya, well the things came full circle and I wanted a few different styles. I've resorted to not investing in a real pair and instead I'll get a few "inspired" pairs for the price of one. These babes are from Forever 21 about a month or so ago so run to your nearest store and scoop them up for $25.

The big question is, do I look like a cool mom not like a regular mom? {mean girls anyone?} One thing I always stress to moms, new and old, is that taking care of YOU needs to be a priority. When you feel good about yourself, it radiates down to others. Take care of your body, buy clothes that fit and don't worry about the number on the tag. Get dressed up just to run errands and put a full face of makeup on it you want! We work hard enough always worrying about other people, take some of that time and energy and invest it in YOURSELF, you won't be disappointed. If you are most comfortable in t-shirts and jeans, and I mean who isn't, find quality t-shirts and jeans that fit you well and invest in them. Find practical pieces that still scream you and your style. You can still be a "good" mom even if you take some time for yourself in the morning, contrary what some people will tell you. Hopefully this post showed you that you don't need to spend a ton of money to look good. You also don't need to wear t-shirts 10 times too big just because you're a mom now. Dress for your body and be happy in your own skin!

Have a great one and I'll see you later this week for the big special project reveal!!! Exciting right!

Why you don't have to spend your whole paycheck at Lululemon

Catchy title right.

Let me start by saying this, I'm not a Lulu Lemon hater, in fact I'm quite the opposite. I love the way that shit makes your butt cheeks look like they did when you were 18. Or the fact that their sports bras are so beautiful that I would love to wear just that out in public and thats it. From their yoga mats, to the headbands to the underwear, that shit's on point.

Before you start saying 'But I work out everyday, it's worth it to me.' or 'You need to invest in nice things, they will last longer.' or 'but for real, I wear leggings EVERY day' I've said those same things too and while I do wear leggings 95% of the time I just can't do it. I can't get myself to spend all that money there.

Mind you I lust over these $100-make-your-ass-look-amazing-your-tummy-look-sucked-in-and-flat leggings but I just can't do it! Now if they are on sale, I'm all ears, but for full price, hell to the no.

I also can't fathom spending $100 on a pair of leggings I would wear everyday because what would I wear if I was washing them, wear jeans, NEVER!

{weights} {hat & weight gloves-similar here-found mine at Marshalls} {running fanny pack}

I'm sure I have you wide eyed over the website now but bring it back in people and feast your eyes on the alternatives. These are the things I have found that still hold the girls up and I still look cute because that's the main reason of buying workout clothes right? All kidding aside I find myself working out better, harder, when I feel good in what I'm wearing. This goes for all aspects in life, if your comfortable you work better, if your hair is looking good you smile bigger, the same goes for workout clothes for me. But feeling good doesn't have to cost $200 to go sweat at the gym in fact it can cost a whole lot less!

These shorts are the basic of the basic, there's no way you will find me spending $50 on a pair of spandex shorts, in fact, I'd say you're out of your damn mind if you do. These gray ones are from Old Navy and come in tons of colors and do the same purpose, cover my ass while I run or lift weights. So for $16 a pair you can get a few for the price of one at Lulu's. Side note, I think my back thigh muscles are growing, ya? #goals

Next up are pattern leggings, they that are all the rage don't you know. Everyone is trying to look "different" when they drop some serious dough on those bright color, patterned, holographic leggings but my issue with that is you can't wear them as much as you can plain black ones! Everyone will know when you wear your florescent green pants two days in a row, not with black leggings though! These ones from Lulu's are pretty similar to my Head brand ones I found at Marshalls.

Speaking of black leggings, here are the same ones in black like the pattern ones above, also from Marshalls. Lulu's starts theirs at $88 while mine were $15.99, lemme know when you see a difference, I've even compared material and they are 99% the same!

Between Lulu and Victoria Secrets I could easily spend $50+ on one sports bra to keep the girls rained in but I found the one on the left here at Walmart the other day. It lifts and keeps the girls nice and tight when I'm running or doing HIIT workouts on the treadmill.

Another recent find at Walmart was this tank! It has a bungee on the bottom so you can tighten it up. You may think so what Chelsea?, but for me when I'm doing burpee's, jumping jacks, or even just plain running sometimes I don't need the girl next to me that hasn't gained 70 lbs and pushed two kids out of her cooka to stare at my stomach that I'm working extra hard on that day while my shirt flaps up with every move that I make. SO, what that long run on sentence really is saying is you can bungee your shirt in and can go balls to wall hard without the fear of your squishy belly exposing itself to your neighbor next to you and all for romping $9! All you mama's out there, you can thank me later for these babies, hiding the things we want unseen, unseen!

I'm not really found of the short sleeve workout tops, even in the winter, I feel constricted for some reason so I tend to buy lots of the dry-fit tanks. I find them at Walmart, Target, Old Navy, Marshalls, the list goes on really. Lulu's sells their's starting at $42 while the other stores mentioned I've never paid more than $15 for one!

There are plenty of other items I find on Amazon too such as weights, headbands, water bottles, gloves, bags, yoga mats and shoes that are all good quality items but for a fraction of the cost you'd see at Lulu's and other stores. I'm not trying to put down Lulu's because I think their stuff is extremely cute and great quality but so many people have this warped vision that they need to look a certain way when they are working out. Some people don't even begin their fitness journey because they don't think they will "look" the part.

The whole point of going to the gym, running outside, or working out in your own home is for health and fitness and looking cute doesn't need to cost you your whole paycheck people! Hopefully this has given you a few ideas of where to find some extremely reasonable priced workout gear and keep that motivation going!

Don't forget that the next 24 Day challenge is starting soon, there's still time to join in with my next group. Once signed up you will be given meal and workout ideas, you won't be doing this alone, fear not my little fitness friends, we will be doing this together!

Stay fit and fabulous people!

How I lost 100 Pounds

"The reason why people give up so fast is because they tend to look

at how far they still have to go rather than how far they have come."

Lets just start off by prefacing this, technically I haven't lost 100 pounds physically, but mentally I have been caring it around for years. It's now that I've finally felt like I've shed all the weight that's been weighing me down all these years.

I gained 50 lbs with Tracen and about 20 with Skylor, making that a total of almost 70 lbs gained between two pregnancies on someone that is barely a whopping 5'2. That's a lot of freaking weight to handle and the surface area I had to work with left me with about 90% of all the weight gain in my abdomen. After you have kids your body is all sorts of craziness! My insecurities weighed on me like I was wearing 100 extra pounds over these last 4 years.

{towel on the head and a strapless top for a large chested girl is not a cute look Chelsea!}

If you remember from a few weeks ago one of my goals for May was to post before and after pictures after completing the 24 Day Advocare challenge I embarked on. So today's the day people as day 24 was yesterday for me! This may be no big deal for some but for me, this has been the hardest part. The photos. The before photos were really hard for me to see but they were necessary. They gave me the swift kick in the ass that I needed to put myself in check and get serious.

Below is a picture of me before kids. I'm not showing this to brag I'm showing you this because so many women long to "look like they did before kids" but I'm not one of them. I don't care to look like this anymore, to be this skinny again. I don't care to because I was extremely unhealthy, I had horrible eating habits, I would over eat and eat crap made up of zero nutrients and then I would go to the extreme and diet and eat very low calories. (Sorry about the picture quality but I'm pretty sure this was snapped on a throw away camera in 2004, yeah the good old days!)

This is a picture I have in my phone for what I'm working towards. A healthy, strong body that I'm filling with nutritious food, necessary supplements and keeping up a workout routine that fits my lifestyle. I also wouldn't mind her rack...just sayin!

Lets go back a few years. In high school I played travel soccer and ate anything I wanted yet still had a complex of how I looked. As most teenage girls do I always wished my stomach was flatter, my thighs were smaller, so messed up, I know. Flash forward to December 2010 and I had gained 50 pounds while pregnant with Tracen and had him a month early. I've explained a little about it here but I really thought I would drop the pounds after having him. I never had to work hard before why did I think after having a baby I would be any different.

I was sadly mistaken. While I lost a lot of the weight fairly easy, the last 20 pounds stayed on, my hips were much wider, my bra's didn't fit the same and anything tight fitting was out of the question. I toyed with different diets, workout routines but I never stuck with anything. I continued to eat crap, tell myself I deserved that Menchies ice cream at 10pm, I easily came up with any excuse to tell myself as to why I should eat the way I was eating and do the things I was doing.

When I got pregnant with Skylor I vowed to not eat crap during this pregnancy and for the most part I didn't. I got out and walked most nights and chasing a 2 year old around was exercise in itself. I only gained about 20 lbs but it was on top of the 20 lbs I never got rid of from the first pregnancy. After having Sky it was the dead of summer and while I wasn't throwing on a bathing suit any time soon I stayed active and started losing the weight. I lost 15 of the 20 lbs I had gained with Sky pretty fast but still my body was different, I wasn't fitting into clothes and I seemed even more awkward and insecure than before.

6 months ago I told myself I was going to stop making excuses and start making plans. I wasn't concerned that I weighed 130 pounds, the number has NEVER bothered me but the way I felt when I wore clothes did. I began eating better and going to the gym but it wasn't enough, I needed something else. There are plenty of different programs out there and I looked into them all, Beachbody, Plexus, Herbalife, the list goes on. I know personally I didn't want to be limited to replacing shakes for meals, obsessing over confining my food to fit into containers and I wanted a program that inspired me by the people already involved in it. I decided to do the 24 day challenge with Advocare as it involved eating all the food I was already eating, followed up with a easy cleanse, supplements and exercise. After the 24 days is up you have now have been given the tools and ability to change your lifestyle and eating habits but it's up to YOU to do so! This is not a quick fix and you need to know that this is a lifestyle change, if you let yourself go and start eating crap again you will look and feel like crap, simple as that! You are what you eat they say...

COFFEE INTAKE: We all know how much I love my coffee and I'm here to let you know that I've gone OVER 24 days without a DROP of coffee (booze too!). Do you realize what this normally would mean for me?! I would get migraines if I didn't have a cup by 9am, I was cranky and irritable and EXHAUSTED without it. I also drank at least 2 or 3 mugs full everyday PLUS I would have a Monster or Redbull at work before I left to come home (SICK!) In the past 24 days I've become a new person, the other day at the park Jerek told me that I had as much energy as Tracen did and I just smiled. In that moment I was so incredibly happy with myself and my life I knew that things will only get better and to stay on track. The only caffeine intake I'm having is one spark a day, that's about 3/4 less than I was drinking before! Some days I don't even have one! I'm going to continue lowering the amount of coffee I drink, I know I know but I do not need venti and trenta anything people and I'm attempting to save money for the wedding, remember!!!

FOOD: Besides portions and learning how to meal plan better I've learned what a complex carbs is. I wish I was kidding but I'm totally not! I honestly had no idea what they were until doing the challenge! Many people think that cutting out carbs is the way to go, WRONG! Your body NEEDS carbs but it needs the right carbs, especially when you are working out. Complex carbs keep the body fueled for an extended period of time, help in digestion, lose weight and keep your heart healthy. Here is a good example of what complex carbs are and guess what it's not just starchy things, who knew!?

As I already said, if you don't keep up your new found eating habits or stop exercising just like any program you WILL fall back into a bad habits! So just remember that you are investing in your health and happiness and usually the health and happiness of others around you, especially if you are a mama! While I began this as a weight loss journey it's turned into something more than just that. It's a lifestyle that has forever changed mine and my family's life! Just like sharing the ups and downs associated with motherhood I'm excited to share this journey with you as well. I'm sure some mommy post only resonate with certain people so the same goes with fitness and health. I won't be offended if you could care less how much I can dead lift or that my mile has increased but please, keep any rude comments to yourself, I'm working hard over here mmmmkkkk!

Here's one last thing for you, my stretch marks and saggy bellybutton. Yep, I just put that shit on the internet. I want you to know I'm human and while maybe yours are far worse or maybe you didn't stretch out like a balloon it's ok! But like I've stated about the number on the scale, I know my stretch marks will never go away and I've learned to care less about them, so I'll be off busy building muscle and not giving two shits about these stripes, in fact we all know I want another baby as soon as we get married, bring on the tiger stripes people!

If you are interested in learning more and just have questions feel free to send me an email and remember to celebrate your progress from weight loss, muscle gains, clothes fitting better and overall health! || eastwillowgrove@gmail.com ||

Remember you can follow along on Instagram for more meal ideas, transformations and workouts!

{I haven't been this happy to not have a shirt on and bare myself to world like I was yesterday!}

If you are interested in maybe doing the 24 Day Challenge too here is everything you will need to know. I also have a group of challengers and 10 day cleansers starting every month so you never have to feel like you are in this alone! Remember timing is huge on your success so if committing to something like this is not for you right now time or money wise, I totally get it, it took me 3 years to finally be ready to take the leap. Once you sign up you will be added to a private Facebook group that is full of empowerment from like minded people all interested in the same goals! In this group you will get easy workouts you can do at home or at the gym, recipes and meal plans, tips and other support needed to help you achieve your health and fitness goals!

I know this was long but when I'm excited about something I can't stop talking about it! Happy Thursday and remember that with this long weekend ahead of us, make healthy choices and get out and exercise! Holidays are meant to be enjoyed but over indulging only leads you to wake up the next day with regret. Thank you for supporting me in this journey with loads full of encouragement, as a mom I need that shit!

What you need to raise a child

SO.MANY.PEOPLE.ARE.PREGNANT. I not being one, although it's no secret I'm longing for another squishy chubby cheeked babe but I'm not particularly longing to be pregnant while in Mexico for our all inclusive food and drink wedding so I suppose babies will wait. Insert long drawn out sigh and Jerek rolling his eyes.

Since having two little humans of my own and having a crap ton of...stuff, I wanted to share what has worked with us for the first year.

It's crazy to think about but I've been parenting for well over four years now. I'd like to think that I've learned a thing or two about what is needed and not needed when you bring a little one home. I've been contemplating this post because some mommas may not agree with my must haves and I don't want to come across as bossy so I sincerely hope that's not the case. These are just a handful of items that have worked for us.

If you are a momma, aunt, grandma or person that has even helped parent, raise or watch children, feel free to comment below of things that may have helped you/your family or that you would totally pass on. As I know a lot of people that read EWG are parents, or may be parents one day so it's nice to hear from real people and what has worked for them.

While they always say register for everything, there are some things I say hold off on or, you don't need to spend that much money on or need at all. If you ask me Chelsea, do I need a wipe warmer? I'll ask you if you have one to wipe your own ass. If you do well then, touché, otherwise, hell to the no, wipe that kids ass with some cold wipes, THEY'LL BE FINE! I also suggest watching my vlog from last year with Jamie, the NYCbabyguy, who is an expert at all things baby {he's not a father yet but he knows more about children and products than Michelle Duggar, okay maybe not.}

Look at every review possible on Buy Buy Baby, Amazon, Target, etc. because I didn't do this with Tracen. I basically registered for whatever caught my eye and ended up with crap products after a few months.

There are a few things I really say you should invest in whether you're planning on having 1 or 10 kids. The first one being a carrier. I registered for a Moby with Tracen and used it about twice and then sold it at a mom to mom to some other poor pregnant women thinking it would work for her. You may call me names for pawning off something that didn't work for me on to someone else but hey, there are TONS of moms that love that thing, just not this momma! With Skylor I bought a few of these ring slings. I have gotten TONS and I mean TONS of people asking me where I got them and if I really loved them. In fact my hairdresser has one of mine right now and I still use one on Sky! I'm here to tell you if you look through my Instagram feed from now to 20 months ago it's ALL I used with Skylor! I wore that kid everywhere, I also had no choice as Trace was two and a half years old when he was born and was a maniac. If we are lucky enough to have another I would also invest in an Ergo as it provides a little more support and other ways to carry babies ranging from all different weight and ages.

Another thing I'm telling you to invest in is a stroller. When pregnant with Tracen we walked into Babies R' Us, looked at some of the travel systems and picked one that was cute and gender neutral and I H-A-T-E-D that thing! It was cheap, broke rather quick and we tossed it. I then have spent so much money on other strollers at mom to mom sales, bought cheap umbrella strollers and double strollers that just didn't work for us. After that mess of spending far too much and on too many strollers I started working with Orbit as a brand ambassador. I can't explain to you how much better this bad boy is compared to any of the other strollers we've had or seen. I've probably spent the same amount of money on all the strollers combined for what I could have paid for an Orbit stroller! While Orbit stroller is defiantly an investment I want you to know that Tracen can still fit in it plus we have the skateboard attachment, grocery shopping literally just got fun! Also remember that when you register for bigger items you can totally express to your friends or family how important something is to you and that you would rather have a bunch of people all go in on one big gift than a ton of small gifts. You're not being a brat, you're being realistic, no sense in getting crap you won't use!

Something I wouldn't stress out too much on is a crib. I know everyone has this "vision" of how the nursery will be when you bring home the baby and you want it to look perfect but honestly if you can't afford a crib, mattress and changing table right away, a pack n'play, rock n'play, a bassinet or co-sleeper will be JUST fine! I gave up my dressing room to make it into Skylor's room in our old house and the kid NEVER slept in there! He seriously slept in our room until we moved into our new house at 8 months old. Do not put a guilt trip on yourself if you can't get a crib right away, the only one that will notice is you, the kid surely won't!

Above are some of my other must haves when bringing home those little blobs. Zip up jammies are key, aint no body got time to button and snap that shit at 2am people! Breast bump and bottles, no matter if you are going to breastfeed or not, have a pump and some bottles around, you have no idea how nursing will go for you. I was hooked up to that damn pump more than I would have liked to but guess what, that's what worked for me! Moving on to the thing that will make sure your kid sleeps is the sound machine. We have not one but TWO of these things! Tracen's is still pumping along after 4+ years! If you live in Michigan or any other tundra like State these things are the jam in the winter. In fact, I would like one on my commute to work in the winter! Tracen never took a paci but Sky, he loves these things, but for the first year he would ONLY use the hospital style paci. A Boppy not only helps with nursing but once they get a little bigger it helps to lay or sit them up while you get dressed, or have a glass of wine ya know, the important things. Last but not least, buy the kid a blanket or two. These muslin ones are incredibly soft and if you're smart you will buy two of the SAME ones. You will then make sure that this is the blanket that your kid falls in love with and needs to drag where ever they go and when you lose said blanket you have a back up! Tracen got attached to a handmade blanket and is sadly MIA and we have zero way of faking him out thinking we found it. ZERO. FREAKING. WAY.

Remember you can go to Mom 2 Mom sales and score MAJOR items that are practically brand new! I think any baby related item you find at Jerek's parents house is from a M2M sale and cost about 90% less than what it would brand new! 

And when it comes to baby showers, my favorite thing to do is go last minute, buy up all the little odds and ends no one bought on the registry and throw it in a cute bin that they will reuse. This is usually because I fail at these kinda things and never buy shit on time. So Aubri, I'll see you Sunday with a bin you will be able to store toys in that will eventually be all over your living room. It will be filled with the remaining things off your registry and probably a bottle of wine because while I like to think I can do it all, I actually thought the shower was next weekend until Jerek's aunt reminded me yesterday it was this weekend. Oh and the wine, WHY.THE.HELL.NOT!

Wedding Talk: What I Eat, IIFYM lifestyle & Advocare 24 Day Challenge

Before I got pregnant with Tracen I weighed 95-100 pounds. I was eating like a normal college kid, my metabolism was just out of this world. When I was pregnant with Tracen the doctor told me I should gain more weight than the "average" 25-30 pounds most women do because I was actually underweight.

No problem I thought, I LOVE to eat, this will be fun!

I threw on weight like it was my job. I gained 24 pounds in a month. TWENTY FOUR POUNDS. That's gross dude, and it wasn't the healthy way either. Think Taco Bell, McDonalds, late night ice cream runs, anything I "craved" I ate. Moral of the story, I gained 50 pounds with Tracen and he came a MONTH early. Can you only imagine how much weight I would have gained in that last month. Please remember that 50 pounds may not seem like a lot to you but I'm a whole 5'2 so 50 pounds on my frame is a TON.

I lost about 20 pounds after having Tracen pretty fast. I was exclusively pumping, watching what I ate {kinda} and worked out {kinda}. I then lost the last 15 pounds by going on a juice cleanse before we went out to California since I was in my girlfriends wedding. So in total I lost about 35 out of the 50 pounds gained. I knew that I wanted to keep about 10 pounds of the weight I had gained with Tracen ON me because I realized being 95-100 pounds was not healthy, no matter my height.

When I got pregnant with Skylor I vowed to myself that I would not be slamming down 5 taco's from Taco Bell, there were no more late night Dairy Queen runs, I would be gaining weight the healthy way and staying active. FACT, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to not be active whilst pregnant when you have a 2 year old, literally, I was ALWAYS moving and on the go. It was also the Spring/Summer time so I was constantly doing something with the boys, family or friends. With Skylor I had about 15 pounds still on me from Tracen and then I gained 17 pounds and had Skylor 3 weeks early, so 32 pounds heavier than my starting weight before being pregnant. 

After Skylor I lost all the baby weight VERY fast. Minutes after having Skylor I legit laughed as the nurse was cleaning him up and told the doctor, wow, my stomach looks almost flat! I was nursing and pumping and really watching what I ate afterwards. While the scale showed me a number I was okay with I got extremely frustrated because in my brain when you loose the numbers your body should reflect this and I didn't feel like it was at all.

Over the last year I've been trying to eat better, and work out more but I wasn't seeing dramatic changes, really any changes in the way my clothes were fitting. I've never really cared about the number on the scale, it's been more of HOW things fit me and how I feel when wearing clothes. For the last 5 months I developed a gym schedule and have really stuck to it. I warned Jerek that this is extremely important to me {wedding or not} and to not pressure me to eat fast food in bed, ice cream at 10pm or to skip the gym on the weekend. I wanted there to be a clear understanding that this was about me and only me {narcissistic, I know} but he's totally been on board, in fact when I go to the gym he workouts at home so it's a win, win!

Aside from working out what you put into your body is about 80% of the reason people fail at losing weight. I had been following Youtubers, Instagram accounts and fitness blogs for a while now and started doing research about IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros.) I was a vegetarian for a while in high school and college, I've tried eating strictly Paleo and I've tried "clean eating" but nothing stuck, not long enough that is. Once I discovered IIFYM I got addicted to it! I downloaded My Fitness Pal, got my macro's figured out and started my journey. I knew that it might be hard at dinner with Jerek because he wasn't on the same plan as me and I wasn't going to force him to be either, this was my choice. Jerek's always been my number one supporter, my cheerleader and always on board to help me achieve my goals in anyway he can possible. One Saturday morning when he was making his famous egg bake and I had entered into My Fitness Pal and told him how many calories and macros there was in the one piece that I was having. He compared it with how many calories he should be eating for the day and it was almost half of his daily intake. Ever since then he has joined me on this new lifestyle, he downloaded the app and has been counting his macro's, calories and sodium intake. Some days he works out twice, he's drinking more water and his caffeine intake is far less. My changing my lifestyle I changed his without even nagging him to!

IIFYM is not a diet where you can't eat certain food groups, you don't need to drink shakes for all your meals or juice for days straight. People also ask if I'm "clean eating" but IIFYM doesn't dictate how "clean" you're eating, you can eat 100% whole foods, you could eat processed foods, you can eat Paleo or you can eat vegetarian, you can eat however you damn want! IIFYM just is saying these are the calories and macro perimeters you're going to eat with in, its not specifying what you're suppose to be eating but how MUCH you're suppose to be eating, hence the term flexible dieting. Make sense?? 

While following the IIFYM lifestyle I started looking into other things to mix into my routine to help me really see the results I'd been craving. In comes Advocare! I had been following girls for years that had done the 24 day challenge time and time again and the results were amazing, I can't lie. I do really well when things are laid out and structured for me, there's a plan and I follow it. Over the last three years I knew that when the time came I was going to go all in and just do it, no coffee, booze or sugar, just me and 24 days of supplements, healthy eating and major working out. Next week I will be baring it all for you and showing you my final before and after pictures in a bathing suit, something I haven't been comfortable in in almost 5 years but it's one of my May goals and it will be done! Until then above is a little progress picture before the gym yesterday, I'm down 9 pounds, my abs seem to slowly but surely be coming together and not having coffee hasn't bothered me one bit, and we ALL know how bad my Starbucks addiction is! Here are a few iphone pictures of what we've been eating. Next Wednesday we will get into more so stay tuned for that!

{1 egg, 2 egg whites, 2 pc Turkey Bacon, 1 bagel thin}       {Egg white bake w/lots of veggies}

• Oatmeal w/granola
• Hard boiled eggs
• Lit & Fit Greek yogurt {80 calories, 12 grams of protein!}
• Granola w/almond milk
• Whole grain wraps with 1 egg, 2 egg whites & turkey bacon
• Egg white scrambles with any veggies I want
• Whole grain muffins
• Protein shakes {when I'm on the go}

{Tuna on lettuce, 1 cup carrots, fruit H20}        {3pc deli lean turkey w/mustard, lettuce on bagel                                 thin, 1/2 blue berries, babybel light

• Salads: loaded with veggies, fruit, nuts, beans, & low fat dressing {or a apple cider vinegar/mustard mixture}
• Mixed veggies & bean salads with apple cider vinegar as dressing
• Sandwich's: whole grain bread or bagel thin, lean turkey lunch meat, w/veggies, mustard
• Left overs from dinner: ground turkey/chicken, veggies, brown rice or Quinoa
• Avocado, bean and salsa salads
• Mexican bowls: ground turkey/chicken, avocado, black beans, brown rice, lettuce in a bowl {no tortilla, no chips!!!}
• Tuna mixed with seeds, celery mixed in on lettuce with Mrs. Dash's seasoning on top

{4oz chicken, 2 cups cucumber noodles, 3 tbsp red sauce}

{Turkey burger on lettuce wrap w/mustard, onion and pickles}

• Turkey burgers on lettuce {or whole grain bread}, w/onions, veggies and mustard
• Chicken {grilled in vegetable broth-makes it SO juicy and very low sodium!} topped over a bed of zoodles! {this is the one I have, it's amazing & takes up no space!} {Pic above}
• Fish or steak w/ veggies and zoodles 
• Any meat and veggie in a lettuce wrap!
• Tempe or tofu sauteed with mixed veggies (stir fry basically!)

SNACKS|| 

• Nuts! Peanuts, seeds, a mixture of it all, good in the healthy fats and protein
• Avocado cut up with pepper {high in healthy fats}
• Granola bars {look at packaging to find ones not full of sugars!!!}
• Smoothies/juices! When I'm home on the weekends, I will make a green juice/smoothie and I usually have to fight Skylor off from drinking it all!
• SPARK!!!-My two favorites are Grape and Mango Strawberry- blended with some ice and a lime, it's ALMOST like you're having a cocktail!!! AMAZING!
• Lit & Fit Greek yogurt {put in freeze for a few hours then eat!} My favorite is this and this!
• Babybel light < <and ^^ are the only dairy products I eat.
• Peanut butter on celery or whole wheat bread
• Protein shakes- shaken or for dessert, blend in blender with peanut butter and almond milk

By following IIFYM and taking my Advocare supplements I've dropped weight and inches. I sleep better and crazy enough I haven't even "needed" my obsessive coffee consumption; thanks to Spark & my MNS 3 supplements! For more information on IIFYM here, here and here are a few links and here is my favorite Youtuber, Nikki Blackketter. She shows amazing workouts and is the queen at IIFYM in my opinion and her bod is on point! For more information on Advocare you can find it here or message me if you have any questions at {eastwillowgrove@gmail.com}

#ifchic24 Saturday Style

GUYS. If you your boyfriend fiancé buys you your blog domain name for you make sure he sets it up with an email address that he actually CHECKS!!! My blog was up to be renewed on Wednesday and little did I know that come Thursday when I was attempting a full website remodel (BTW how do you like it?!?!) that it wouldn't be there when I tried viewing it! Jerek bought me my domain name last year for Mothers day but to be sneaky he set it up with his AOL email address so I wouldn't see any emails coming in. Nice but the kid has thousands of unread emails in that thing. So when he got reminders to renew he was clueless about it. Then in I come about to cry like a 9 month pregnant women because I thought that shit was gone FOREVER! Yeah. Dramatic, that's me dude. This baby is important to me so you can see why I was freaking out a bit. Apparently something was wrong with the CNAME, whatever the hell that is. After some serious customer service talking, freak posting on Facebook I had people messaging me to help. Thankful for the internet, I got it all figured out, shot out to Rob from elementary school who saw my fb status and lender me his IT brain!

So, now that we got that cleared up lets do something a little different! How about having a post go up on a Saturday. This is 100% because of the problem above. This was suppose to be a "fashion Friday" post but we shall now call this a style Saturday post and better yet a FREE style Saturday!

FREE?

Yep, that's right people! We all know I'm about that coupon life, that finding a good deal life and that never pay full price life. When people hear the word free they usually think cheap, at least I do. These  are modern, contemporary pieces are far from cheap. Today is I'm going to share with you how you can get $180 free EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH.

 

YUP.

When I shop online and find something I just can't live without I usually go straight to Google and look up coupon codes. While online shopping recently I came across if chic. When I saw the prices I thought, holy hell, this is not midwest Michigan mama prices! Designer pieces with designer prices made me want to X out of the window all together until a little gold coin poped up saying click to collect $2, what da? So being the curious George that I am, I did. Almost like an angel saying click on me, I give you free monies!

Lets get into the details on how you score your own $180 free and can cash in like I did! Every time you visit ifchic.com you are able to collect "ifchic" coins while drooling browsing the latest pieces. Each coin is worth $2 and you can collect 3 of them a day. I'll do the math for you, $6 a day, that's $180 a month. These coins then turn into free money for you to use on their special shopping event every month #ifchic24 which happens every month on the 24th. This is how I scored these babies this perfect bag and dress! {This dress looks really similar to the dress from my post last week that I wanted too!}

Some more information for your brains to process:

What is #ifchic24?

#ifchic24 is an exclusive 24 hour promotional event on the 24th of every month ifchic.com. Explore contemporary designers and emerging labels at an amazing price on this day. Redeem up to $180 in ifchic coins on your entire purchase at checkout, including sale items! Shop our buyer's top picks with up to 50% off only on #ifchic24.

How long will this even last?

The event lasts the whole day (24 hours) starting at 12:01am ET and ending at 11:59pm ET on the 24th of every month.

What happens once the event is over?
Starting on the 25th of each month, you can start collecting ifchic coins again for the next #ifchic24 event.

You may be wondering, HOW CAN IT BE THAT EASY?? I'm here to tell you it's true, it is! If fact it shipped to me within a few days and the pieces are high quality! In order to not miss your $6 a day I have a reminder that pops up on my calendar at 9am everyday. I log on, see if there is anything new and collect my coins. Easy peasy lemon squeasy. You can also pre-shop and keep things in your cart till the 24th to insure you don't miss out a piece you totally want! I mean...I didn't do that with this grey dress or anything...

Make sure you check it out and tag me in any pictures on instagram if you snag something this month! I can't wait to show you what I score next month!

IFCHIC: WEBSITE| FACEBOOK| INSTAGRAM| TWITTER| PINTERST| #ifchic24

Wedding Talk: Engagement Photos

When our parents got married there were things that they didn't do, like Save the Dates. I think engagement pictures was probably up there as well, perhaps it's more of a new thing. I've stated before how we will be forgoing some of the traditions here, but there's others I forgot to mention, ones like thou shall not live together before you're married or thou shall not have sex and have children before you're married. you know those kind of traditions.

One more relatively new thing slash tradition is engagement photos. I don't think the baby boomer generation really did this, or did they? Regardless, this was something that was actually really important to me. As a mom I'm constantly taking photos of the boys or Jerek and the boys and while I do love me a good selfie I want this to be about us since that's where it all started.  With Jerek and I. 

I wanted to make sure we had photos of just us. No kids. No selfie in the car before we go get dinner while we have a babysitter for a few hours, professional pictures, ones that will last for years. I wanted them to be real and raw yet fun and something that screams BEACH ANGELS! We headed back to Cranbrook since there were so many different places we hadn't seen when we were there as a family. It was insanely gorgeous that day, spring in Michigan had just begun! If you want to see behind the scenes of the photos you can watch it here.

There was only one person I wanted to take these pictures and that was Jenny from Monroe Fox Photography. Jenny is the mama of the one and only Mia, one that graces her presence in photos and vlogs on a regular basis, maybe one day she'll be a daughter-in-law! If you remember our family pictures Jenny shot those too. An art therapist by day and killer photographer by night, weekends and whenever Mia will sit long enough and watch Frozen! Jenny has been gracious enough to offer an amazing deal for any East Willow Grove readers, $30 off any regular session. Make sure you check out her work on her Facebook page or her website and feel free to message her with any questions you may have and don't forget to mention EWG for a great deal!

NOW...on to the photos!

This is us people!

I honestly have about 50 more I'd love to post but I'm attempting to leave SOMETHING to the imagination! Happy hump day friends!!!