Update

Hey guys!  I hope everyone is enjoying this awesome weather!  Last week I decided to take the boys up to Knoxville for some grandparent time and some help.  I thought we could use a change of scenery and a Mom and Dad/Grandma and Grandaddy fix.  :)  The boys enjoyed playing at (destroying) Mom and Dad's house.  

Mom played the piano for them.  

I may have a musician or 2 on my hands.  

We also took them to the playground which they loved.

    

We headed back to Greenville Thursday so I could get caught up on the never ending laundry and household chores.

 Friday night Adam and I headed downtown to Euphoria Greenville.  If you have ever been to any of these weekend long events, you know how awesome they are.  This was our first time attending and it was amazing!  We did the Taste of the South Friday night.  It was absolutely the perfect evening.  I enjoyed getting dressed up, enjoying some good wine and fabulous food from local restaurants with my hubby.  I definitely want to make this an annual event for us.  

I finally pulled out my new booties to wear Friday night.  

Hard to see but they are awesome!  

Big plus: my feet didn't hurt at all after walking around all night.

The rest of our weekend was pretty lazy.  I taught Pump Saturday morning and the rest of the day was spent watching football and catching up on laundry.  Sunday was pretty much more of the same, which is fine with me.  :)  I am already looking forward to next weekend.  Adam's parents are coming to watch the boys and we are heading to Knoxville for the TN/GA game.  I'm not expecting a win by any means, but I am super excited to see my sis and her family and to be around some TN orange!

Fall Style: Booties

If you've looked at any fashion magazines recently, then you know booties are THE shoe for Fall.  There are so many different styles out there.  I can't wait for the first cool day when I can pull mine out.  The great thing about a bootie is it's versatility.

I got these Vince Camuto black suede stilettos at my secret shoe store, Beaty's, in Kingsport for super cheap!  I will pair these with a sleek pair of leggings (How great would they look with a faux leather legging?), dark skinnies, or a dress for a night out.

 

Yes, there are a few imperfections in these shoes, but that's why they were so cheap.  Hardly noticeable if you ask me.  Unfortunately I couldn't find them for the price I paid, but here's a link if you're interested:
Black Suede Bootie

I also ordered a more casual pair online.  I will pair these with leggings of course, skinnies, and even a dress for a little more dressed down look.
These are extremely comfy by the way.

Bootie

Here are some more of my faves...

~Sarah Marie~

A New Fall Routine

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I'm kind of combining 2 posts.  Please bear with me. 

The boys started back to MMO last week, but it's taking us a week or so to get back into a good routine.  Adam started his new job at Michelin last Monday.  Since he had some extra vacation to take before he started, the whole month of August was like a vacation for all of us.  I am still trying to figure out our routine for Fall.  The boys are currently going to MMO only one day a week since it's so far for us to drive.  I plan on taking advantage of the gym's MMO 1 or 2 times a week for another break during the week.  We shall see how this works for us in a month or so.  

Mom decided to come help with the boys at the end of the week since she knew it would be a hard week with Adam starting a new job. 

The boys helped me get her room ready...yeah right!  More like create more of a mess...

Let me just say that my mother is a saint.  I honestly don't know what I'd do without her.  

Thanks Mom for all you do!  

Adam and I had a date night Friday night while Mom was still in town.  We decided to change it up a bit and went to some new places in Greenville.  Greenville has so many amazing restaurants, so it really is a shame if we don't take advantage.  We started our night at Breakwater for pre-dinner drinks.  I ordered a fabulous drink called a Moscow Mule...fabulous!  Even though we didn't eat there, the menu looked so yummy, so we will definitely be going back.  

We ate dinner at American Grocery, which was wonderful.  It's a farm to table concept and the food was insane.  I highly recommend it! How had we not been there before?  Since the weather was perfect Saturday morning, we decided to take Mom downtown to Tupelo Honey for breakfast.  Of course not quite the relaxing meal we had the night before since we had the boys, but it was still fun and the food was delicious!

The boys wanted out of their high chairs right after this...

  

After a quick breakfast, we walked around downtown at the Farmer's Market which was awesome.  I had no idea it was that cool.  Plus the weather was perfect so we had a fabulous Saturday morning.  

I really don't want to even mention the beating that poor ole TN got Saturday afternoon.  Other than that, it was a great weekend.  Needless to say we ate some great food too!  Now I need to get my butt in gear and get back on the health train, which brings me to my next topic...

My Goals for Fall:

I feel like I am in a workout rut and to be honest have put on a few very much unwanted lbs. (due to all that yummy eating mainly).  It's not just the weight that matters to me though.  I want to feel better too.  I know that the biggest part of that is diet, but I am ready for something new in my workouts too. My goal is to get back to running at least 2-3 times a week in addition to 2-3 cardio classes at the gym and to add more weight training to my routine.  I want to add a weekly or bi weekly weight lifting program in addition to teaching BodyPump.  I would welcome any thoughts or ideas y'all might have.  I am ready to shock my body!

 Goal #1 for Fall: Get Ripped!

I wrote a blog post not long ago about clean eating, and I desperately need to get back to that.  I plan to do this by adding more protein and less carbs (I'm not cutting them completely out...just eating less) to my diet and cut out sugar as much as possible.  I am a sugar addict.  I totally can't control myself around the stuff, so away it goes!  Of course I will have a couple of cheat meals every week.
That's what keeps me going. :)

Goal #2 Get back to eating clean!

Right now I am in project mode trying to organize and purge clothes and baby items.  It's amazing how quickly we gather so much stuff!

Goal #3 for Fall: Purge and Organize

Lastly, work more hours for The Pink Monogram.  I blame it on the fact that we haven't had a set schedule for the past month, but it has been so hard for me to sit down and work.  I hope once we get our routine down, I will have more time to put towards The Pink Monogram.

Goal #3 for Fall: Manage my time better so I am able to work more.

Game Day Survival Guide

Well, it's that time of year again.  I'm actually a week late with this post since we are in week 2 of college football.  For those of you that are from the South, you know how exciting this time of year is.  I would say to many this is the best time of year.  Since I was born and raised (for the most part) in TN and graduated from the University of TN, it is safe to say that my blood runs orange.  Since I live in SC now I don't make it to as many UT games as I would like, but I still support the Vols 110%. I know there's not much hype this year in the way of TN Football, but I still pull out my Vols tee on Saturday and listen to or watch the Vols.  Of course I love watching all college football, particularly SEC.  

There is nothing like game day in the South.  There's an excitement in the air that's just electric and it's hard not to be in a good mood on football Saturdays (at least for me).  Let's be honest though one of the most important elements to game day is the attire, right?  I mean it's not a football game unless you're rocking your team's colors in the most fashionable way. 

I decided to put together a few tips and fashion ideas for game day.

Warning!  I got a little carried away because this topic makes me very excited, 

so bear with me.

A few things to keep in mind...

~Weather~

(Plan your outfit accordingly)

Hot 

Wear cool, breathable clothing and don't forget your shades.

Cold

Have fun with cold weather accessories.

Add a scarf, jacket or sweater, and gloves or mittens in your school's colors.

Cool

You can always add a denim jacket over a cute dress or skinnies 

and add some cowboy boots or booties for flair.

Rain

I have been to many a rainy game at Neyland Stadium.

Here are a few items that might make the rain more bearable.

~Accessories~

It's so easy to show school spirit by adding pops of color with jewelry, handbags,

even fingernails and toenails by having them painted in your school's colors.

~Handbag~

A lot of stadiums have banned big handbags and totes, so make sure you know the guidelines when selecting your bag for the day.  I know I know...now how do you smuggle all those mini bottles in?  Of course I have never or would never do that, ha.  You may have to get creative if you want a little fun flask accompanying you to the game. *Hint: cowboy boots might work or if all else fails a padded bra with extra room couldn't hurt either ;)  Not that I would know from experience.

Handbag Essentials: 

Since the smaller handbag size alleviates a lot of room to carry the essentials for us women, make sure you carry only what you need.  Make sure you always have cash on hand, your ID, a credit or debit card, lip gloss, hand sani (I don't go anywhere without mine), gum or breath mints, hair holder (especially if it's hot), keys, and your cell phone.  Oh yeah one more thing you may want to remember: YOUR TICKET! 

~Distance~

How far will you be walking?  Will you be tailgating in one spot and walking to the game from there?  Will you be a social butterfly and float from one tailgate to the next and maybe even hit up a few bars before game time?   These are things to keep in mind when selecting your shoes for the day.  If you want to wear the really cute heels, but know your feet will hate you after an hour, take some flip flops that you can change into before or after game time if you have access to your car.  

There are still cute options for a comfy flat or flip flop...

~Food and Drink~

This should be a given but if you're not planning on tailgating in one spot or even at all, you will want to think about the procurement of adult beverages and some food to give you energy to keep you going (game days are long days).  Either plan ahead and pack a cooler or make sure you know a good bar or restaurant.

Of course if you are tailgating in a particular spot, you know you have to plan ahead and bring much food and drink as well as all the necessary tailgating equipment.

This concludes my very long winded game day survival guide.  All I have left to say is...

V-O-L-S, Go Vols, Go!