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Fitness

10 Bad Habits to Ditch this New Year for a Healthier and Happier You

10 Bad Habits to Ditch this New Year for a Healthier and Happier You

This New Year I’ve made some resolutions to become a happier healthier me. Being a mom has made me realize how important my health and well being is. I know with my little kiddo getting more and more active everyday, I want to make sure I am in the best shape to keep up with him. It was a challenge for me to learn how to balance being a mother, a wife, and my own personal life. Blogging, starting a photography business, working part time, and trying to juggle all my other roles consumed me, and I had no time for my fitness. I needed to make a change and ditch some bad habits that were holding me back from reaching my goals. So here are my top 10 habits to ditch for the New Year for a healthy and happier you. Continue reading “10 Bad Habits to Ditch this New Year for a Healthier and Happier You”

Fashion

Burgundy Boots

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I’m loving this colder weather we are finally having down here in Houston! This New Year has been nothing but GO, GO, GO for this mama. In less than 2 weeks my little man will be turning one and I’ve been so busy preparing for his party. This year one of my new year’s resolution is to become better in the kitchen, so with the help of Pinterest I will be making his birthday cake and several other goodies for his birthday. Continue reading “Burgundy Boots”

Fashion

The Best Rain Boots Under $100

The Best Rain Boots Under $100

With all the crazy wet weather we’ve been having lately, rain boots have become a must have in everyone’s wardrobe lately. But do you really have to sacrifice fashion for practicality, or pay an arm and a leg for fashionable rain boots? Look no more, here are my top rain boots that are fashionable, practical, and  budget friendly.

Continue reading “The Best Rain Boots Under $100”

Fashion

2 Ways to Wear Pattern Mixing

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Who says you can’t pattern mix when it comes to fashion? I am probably the biggest perpetrator when it comes to mixing pattern. I love Aztec prints and though most people like to pair it with solid colors, I loved how it coordinated perfectly with this black and white striped dress. Continue reading “2 Ways to Wear Pattern Mixing”

Fashion

Chanel Inspired Fringe Tweed Jacket

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So this past month since we moved into our new home, my husband and I have been exploring our new hobby of antiquing and refurbishing old furniture. I love the idea of making something old new again. One day while out antiquing we decided to stop at a Goodwill to see if we could find an old table or dresser. Though we didn’t find any luck with furniture I did stumble on this beautiful vintage tweed blazer. Continue reading “Chanel Inspired Fringe Tweed Jacket”

Fashion

Pleather and the Eleven O’clock Curfew

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This past weekend my husband and I had the opportunity to attend a close friend’s birthday at the new Oporto in Midtown. The restaurant was amazing, great venue, reasonable prices, good food, and amazing white sangria. If you haven’t been there it, I would highly recommend it. Plus they have their own parking garage  and valet which makes it so much more convenient with all the traffic and construction down there.

Continue reading “Pleather and the Eleven O’clock Curfew”

Family

5 Fun Fall Things To Do with the Family in Houston

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This past weekend my family and I took Jayden out to Froberg’s Farm in Alvin for a little pumpkin patch fun. It was inexpensive, local, and tons of fun for the kiddos. We lucked out because the weather was perfect when we went down there. We were able to go through the corn maze, walk around the farm, and take tons of pictures without sweating or getting over heated. I love this time of year because it is the best weather in Texas to be outside, and you get to layer it cute fall outfits! Below is my list of my top 5 Fall things to do with family in Houston.

Continue reading “5 Fun Fall Things To Do with the Family in Houston”

Fitness

Be Comfortable in Your Own Shell


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This month I partnered up with DesignR to promote a positive self image and encourage a happy healthy lifestyle with clothing made for the active style conscious woman on the go. Their motto “Embrace the Turtle”, and “Be comfortable in your own shell,” really speaks to the idea that getting fit is not a race. Everyone’s journey is different, and fitness looks different on everyone. It is not a quick fix. It doesn’t happen over night. It is a every day choice to be healthy and happy and loving yourself every step of the way. Fitness is a way of life.

There are so many benefits to making fitness a priority in your life, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. As a wife and mother, here are my top 5 reasons why I make fitness a part of my life:

1. It lowers my stress levels. As Ell Woods put it,  “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands.” I know my husband can appreciate this lol.

2. It is something I do for myself. After a long busy day of working and taking care of my family, it’s nice to take 30 minutes for myself to workout. It gives me time to myself where I can wind down and do something to improve myself.

3. It pushes me mentally to be stronger. There are many times where my body wants to give up, but my mental strength has pushed my body where I never thought it could.

4. It strengthens my faith. When all else fails and I feel like giving up, my faith has been the number one factor to keep me going. Believing in something greater than myself has helped me in my fitness journey.

5. And last but not least it gives me confidence in myself. All the factors above contribute to added confidence in my life. I can look in the mirror and know I can make a difference. I have all the right tools God gave me to improve myself daily.

A healthy lifestyle is a happy lifestyle. And fitness has helped me become a better person, a better wife, and a better mother.

Don’t forget to check out the details of my outfit below, and make sure to stop by DesignR and checkout all their cute and comfy active wear!

<3 Dawn

top: DesignR/ capri: BKE Sport/sports bra: New Balance/ shoes: Nike (similar style)/ water bottle: Design R

P.S. The capris I am wearing are reversible and on sale! Check out the colorful print on the other side in my previous post here.

IMG_0146(This post was sponsored by DesignR)

 

dawnpdarnell