PARIS: DAY 1

PARIS!! One of my top bucket list locations! My favorite movie is Moulin Rouge and ever since seeing that, Anastasia (Paris holds the key to your heart obvs), and being DEDICATED to the Madeline movie, tv show and book, OH and dressing up as Madeline for Halloween as a kid... I have been dreaming of visiting the city of lights! I've split up this adventure into two different blog posts because I took a million photos. So here is our first day in Paris!

DAY ONE: Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Musee D'Orsay, Jardin des Tuileries, Berthillon, Sainte-Chapelle

The very first thing we did in Paris was visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. I was CONVINCED that it was going to be flooded with tourists so I made Tyler wake up at the crack of dawn to beat the crowds. As we were walking from our airbnb to Notre Dame we were really freaked out. NO ONE was out. It was literally just us, walking around Paris. This is the day we learned that everyone stays out all night and no one wakes up before 8:00am ha ha ha. When we got to Notre Dame we walked right in and to our shock we were the only ones in the entire cathedral except for those sitting attending a morning mass (which was hardly anyone). It was the most BEAUTIFUL and SURREAL experience. We walked down the corridors hand in hand and admired the incredible stained glass. The most beautiful singing/chanting from mass echoed through the towers as we walked in awe. We had planned to also climb to the very top and explore the bell towers but they didn't open until later in the day so we decided to come back. But just for reference, the pictures we took were after we had gone inside so a few people had shown up. But as we went in WE WERE LEGIT THE ONLY ONES! I will never ever forget that memory.

Later in the day we went back to Notre Dame to climb the bell towers. Tyler's favorite disney movie is The Hunchback of Notre Dame, so he GEEKED out about this. We climbed what felt like a million steps spiraling to the very top. The views were absolutely incredible of the city! And we were able to crawl through some trap/door, hole in the wall entrances to the actual bell towers! We saw the bells in all their glory and Tyler was even able to fake yell "SANCTUARY!!" at the top ha ha! 

Musee D'Orsay. What an incredible museum! Most people recognize this museum because of the giant clock at the top of the building. A kind gentlemen offered to take our photo and he pretty much turned it into a photo shoot, telling us how to pose and snapped a million pics! I LOVED that guy! Thank you so much random guy for capturing these once in a lifetime pics for us! But this museum was full of treasured artists including Van Gogh, Manet, Degas, Cezanne and Monet! We even met up with our good friends Allie+Brady to explore the museum and then we went to dinner as well later that night! How often are you in Paris at the same exact time as your friends?! I will always remember that!! SO FREAKING COOL! They just moved to Florida and we miss them a lot! I'm so happy we could share some memories in Paris with them! 

After the Musee D'Orsay we began our long journey to the Arc de Triomphe by strolling through the stunning Jardin des Tuileries. I fell in love with the long paths lined with green, square shaped trees, fountains and crepe stands. We shared a crepe and walked past a ferris wheel and a man blowing gigantic bubbles for some kids. It was so romantic walking through the gardens with Tyler, enjoying the beauty of Paris. 

The Arc de Triomphe was so freaking cool!! We decided to walk pretty much everywhere while we were in Paris so we walked from the Notre Dame, through Jardin des Tuileries, down Avenue de  Champs-Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe which is at the end of Champs-Elysées (a long street full of high-end shopping and gorgeous stores). We climbed the spiral staircase to the very top and both Tyler and I's legs started SHAKING uncontrollably when we reached the top. We had to sit down because we were laughing so hard about it and it felt like our legs were going to give out (little did we know we would be hiking up a million more stairs at the Notre Dame later that day ha ha). The Arc de Triomphe has the most BREATHTAKING views of Paris and the Eiffel Tower! The view is definitely worth the climb! And the roundabout surrounding the Arc is INSANE! There is like no order in which cars enter and go around the arc. It's the central monument where all the main streets meet (kind of like a sundial!)

Down the street from the Notre Dame is Berthillon. I had done TONS of research beforehand for the best places and things to eat in Paris and every blog I read said you HAVE to eat ice-cream from Berthillon and that apparently it's the best ice-cream in the world. And after eating it I can officially tell you... IT TRULY IS THE BEST ICE-CREAM IN THE WORLD. I can't even explain it. I got chocolate and salted caramel and it was indescribably creamy and good. Tyler got melon and mango and I kid you not, it tasted like we were biting into the freshest, juiciest fruit on the planet. We both loved his flavors the most which is crazy because I am a chocolate girl through and through.

I, of course, had to take a photo next to Laduree! Where you can purchase the famous Laduree macaroons! It's located on Champs-Elysées but since I'm deathly allergic to peanuts/all nuts, we could't get any because macaroons are made with almond flour! SAD RIGHT?! I begged Tyler to try some since I couldn't but he didn't want to because he didn't want me to feel bad ha ha ha! 

Sainte-Chapelle. This picture DOES NOT do this cathedral justice whatsoever. There are two levels to this cathedral. The first level is pretty but when you climb to the top level you enter the main room and your breath is stolen away because of the sheer beauty of the stained glass. The walls are COMPLETELY made of stained glass of every color. The sun was pouring through the glass, illuminating the entire hall in color and vibrant light. It was so gorgeous. Tyler and I kept shaking our heads in disbelief at what we were witnessing. This was our final stop of the day before dinner with our friends and then back to the airbnb for some much needed sleep. We went CRAZY our first day in Paris and walked what felt like a million miles. We were exhausted by the end of day one but felt like we had had the most incredible day of our lives.

Fitness Journey!!

Many people have messaged me wondering what I have been doing as far as fitness goes and that means a lot to me because it has been a STRUGGLE PEOPLE! First off I need to put a disclaimer out there, I'm not a doctor or a health specialist so take what you want from this with that in mind!! Also, my personal journey also involves hormonal imbalance. So if you think you might fit into that category there are doctors that can help with that! I also thought of titling this blog post.. "How to lose 24 pounds in... 3 years" HA HA HA!! Because for real it has pretty much been that long figuring everything out. I also have before and after pictures but I'm way too scared and self-conscious to post them. 

Body insecurity runs deep in my soul which I have been working on through this journey. I have been made fun of many times about my body by those close to me or who were supposed to be close to me. Both privately and very VERY publicly. Words can cut deep especially when you've struggled with something your whole life. BUT FORGET THE HATERS MY FRIENDS. I'm focused on loving my body no matter what it looks like or what it's going through. I have the literal metabolism from H*** and I'm very aware that my body is going to be constantly changing throughout my life. Especially with having kids in the future and getting older in general. So focusing on confidence and having a healthy but normal life-style is very crucial to me. Self-love and self-care is so important and I've been consciously making an effort to love what I look like because the world's definition of beauty is so distorted nowadays. 

I also hardly weighed myself through all of this because I wanted to focus on how I felt and how I looked to my own eye. I wanted to be strong and healthy, not nesscarliy skinny and I'm still wanting to tone my muscles more. I've never been "skinny" ha ha! My body type isn't ever going to allow me to be petite and I'm totally fine with that. I've always had curves and I love to rock them. They are honestly my favorite parts of my body! Ok enough rambling here is what I do/did to get my body in gear and continue on this awesome inner/outer health journey!

ABOUT HORMONAL IMBALANCE: (if you don't think you have this totally skip this freaking long paragraph and go to the fitness part) Up until I got married my weight was totally normal with little to no fluctuation. But then I started taking BIRTH CONTROL PILLS and I started to gain weight. But more importantly, they completely messed with my emotions as well. About a year after I got married I fell into a big depression that caused me to gain even more weight. I never understood depression and anxiety until I developed it. And now I understand how devastating it is. It truly is so hard. It would be a little over a year until I realized that this wasn't normal and I wondered if it could be my birth control pills. I stopped taking them and the emotional difference was pretty much instant. I was shocked. I couldn't believe I had been putting something into my body that was "normal" and it had altered my hormones this badly. I mean taking birth control pills works for most people right? Anyway another year passes and I work out constantly and I think I'm doing everything right in order to be healthy and nothing changes. In fact, I even gain a little more weight which just isn't fair ha ha ha ha. I finally go to a doctor to see what's up and he informs me that some women are super sensitive to the chemicals in birth control pills and that taking them can actually create more problems that didn't exist before or were already there but dormant and not active. In my case, a huge hormonal balance. The symptoms for that are depression, anxiety, gaining weight, inability to lose weight, possible fertility problems and some other things. My doctor said that if not treated it could eventually develop into PCOS. So he put me on some medication that I've been taking for a little over a year and a half and it's been regulating my hormones and returning them to normal levels. And as of today I'm feeling back to normal and AMAZING. Still taking the medications, working out and trying to eat right. So there's no problem in seeing a doctor and getting some tests done if you think this might be you. It was a HUGE light bulb moment for me and I'm thankful we figured it out when we did.

CURRENT EATING HABITS:

1. If you hate working out 2. if you hate dieting 

HI WE ARE EXACTLY THE SAME PERSON! ha ha!! Ok so my whole motto in life is moderation in all things. I HATE DIETS. I have done it all. Every diet. Every workout routine. if you can think of it, I've probably done it. And dieting has never worked for me. Instead I developed a mindset of living the best lifestyle I can. That doesn't mean restricting myself because trust me. I don't. Swig and Crumbl are just too good to restrict yourself ha ha ha!! And I'm not going to travel to Italy one day and not eat pasta and gelato. Like are you kidding me? Come on people... ha ha ha!! So here is what I do that I have found has worked for me.

1. Intermittent fasting. I only eat 8 hours in the day which means I fast for 16. So that means eating your dinner hopefully earlier like between 5-6 (I try not to eat past 7 or 7:30) and then not eating again until 16 hours after that so, 10:00-11:00am. This gives your body more time to cleanse itself of toxins and other things. Totally google it if you'd like more info!

2. Portion Control: This is a huge one for me. And heck for America. I try to eat half as much as I normally do. It was hard at first but I think my stomach has shrunk a little now so it's easier. But again, I don't deprive myself. If I want a cookie I'll have one or two not a hundred if you get what I'm saying. 

3. Better food choices in general and trying to cook more. Guys, I'm the worst cook ever, the struggle is real and we all need to say a prayer for Tyler. Bless his heart for putting up with me. Both our lives are insanely busy so cooking at home is not always an option. We've been trying to be better but when neither of us are home it's really just not possible. So if we eat out we try to pick healthier choices or again, just not eat as much. 

4. Drink Water!!! I drink water throughout the entire day. Water and sometimes a diet coke (ya I get diet coke isn't healthy. Let me have my dark poison. I'm here for a good time, not a long time.) But for real, water is so good!

CURRENT FITNESS ROUTINE:

This is the fun part. My hot mess of a fitness routine that I love. I have a gym membership but I don't use it as much as I used to after discovering a lot of these videos.

1. My sister and I started doing THIS CIRCUIT at the beginning of Summer and it's awesome. I add some things to it though. After the 10 sit ups I add, 30 "Squirms" where you lay on your back and reach to each side to grab the inside of your ankles (works your obliques) Then I take 8 pound weights and do a standing oblique exercise where you just dip them to each side. Then I do 15 dead lifts. I only do this once a day but I'm wanting to get in the habit of doing it once in the morning and once at night. I have also added the 8 pound weights to my shoulders when I do the squats. 

2. My go-to arm workout videos!! I try to do at least one of these every single day! (click the links)

ARM WORKOUT 1

ARM WORKOUT 2

3. ZUMBA!! This DVD is the answer to my cardio prayers. It is so fun and I promise I've never sweat so much in my life! The best part is THIS ENTIRE SET IS $16 on amazon. HERE is the link. I actually only do the Cardio Burst DVD so far and it so awesome and who doesn't like to dance? I freaking love Zumba! 

4. Jillian Micheals Trouble Zone DVD: I usually don't do the whole thing ha ha ha! I just pick and chose the circuits that I want to focus on and do those. My favorites are the AB one, and then the biceps and butt, and triceps and thigh workouts! HERE is the link to that one and it's only $6

5. The 15 day fit body challenge videos: Ok I'm going to be honest, I only do the first two videos from this series. I've tried a couple of the others and I just don't like them too much. But the first two for arms and then legs ARE SO GOOD! You will feel sore for days. No joke.

VIDEO FOR ARMS

VIDEO FOR LEGS

6. Just doing something active at least a little bit every day. Some days I just give Rosie a walk or go hiking with my family. Or just do the AB part of the first circuit I mentioned right before going to bed. As long as you get up and are moving a little bit each day that's what's important. 

Alright that's it for now! Here's to reaching goals and to helping root for each other instead of bringing each other down. We are beautiful women inside and out and we should never forget that. Living a healthy, happy, confident life is what's important!  

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

I never got around to blogging about our Halloween costumes last year!! I basically went from summer wedding season straight into a crazy fall season (much like this year ha ha) but I LOVED THESE COSTUMES! We were Beetlejuice and Lydia from Beetlejuice! I freaking love Tim Burton and this was our second Tim Burton costume that we have done. I've always wanted to do the corpse bride but I think we're going to take a break from Tim Burton this year and try something new!

Anyways, 100% of Tyler's costume is from the D.I. except for the wig and the moss that I got from the craft store. I found the red dress on Amazon for SUPER cheap and then got a black wig from the halloween store and hairspray/gelled the bangs to look spidery like Lydia's!

Check out the links to our other costumes below!!

Jack+Sally from Nightmare before Christmas

Wesley+Buttercup from The Princess Bride