Lululemon Track Time Crop & Wunder Under Crop in Light Gray Pique!

My recent two scores on ebay are making me very happy!  The Lululemon Track Time crop in black/power purple, and Wunder Under crops in light gray pique!  Both are divine in their own way.  I can't believe I never tried on the Track Time crop before.  I think I thought they were too expensive at $98.  But the other day I saw a girl at my gym wearing the black/power purple ones and they looked so cute on her.  Then a couple weeks later, I saw them on ebay!  So I snatched them up.  They feel so nice on! The power luxtreme feels different in these than my other ones.  They are like thicker, opaque during the bend over test, have compression and feel buttery soft.  I didn't want to take them off when I first put them on!  The fit is very flattering with higher rise and wide waistband.  And the purple lines going down the back is very eye-catching.  These crops have bonded seam, so you do not see or feel any stitching at all.  I never really bought into this before, but I do feel the difference.  I'm so glad I got these!

And here's what they will look like most of the time, with a tank over the waistband.

I have a power purple cool racerback and power purple swiftly 1/2 zip that match these perfectly.  But I think really you could wear any color.  I had on my yellow and coral tanks when I received them in the mail so I didn't change my top.  But I like them with these colors!  Very bright and summery!  From the front though, you don't see the purple all that much.  Then you turn around and... boom surprise!  Lol fun.

The light gray pique wunder under crops are soooo soft, and I love the way they look too!  I think they are the light gray color that I wanted when I got the Ebb & Flow crops in heathered dark classic sport gray.  I sold those recently, so I kind of see these light gray pique wunder under crops as a trade. 

I have the white/light gray pique No Limit tank that would be a perfect match with these crops!  But of course they will go with any color as well.  I just can't get over how soft and comfortable they are!  Like wearing pajamas... maybe I won't wear them to workout in at all... hahaha.

Splits59 Dominique D Flare Leg Skinny Capri & Misty M Cut Out Pullover

For Memorial Day, Splits59 had a 4 day 20% off sale on certain items.  I had been eyeing the Dominique D Flare Leg Skinny Capri, so I decided to finally pull the trigger.  They normally run for $92, so with 20% off they become $74.  They are basically the capri length version of Splits59's very popular full-length yoga pant - the Racquel Classic Flare Tight.  I know a lot of people love these pants, but I don't think they would work for me because their inseam is 32.5 inches, and I need it to be more like 30 or 31 at the most (whatever Lululemon's regular length groove pants are works perfectly for me).  I don't want to buy them and then have to go get them hemmed, so I figured the capri version would be the best solution!

I ordered them in size small, and I have to say again that Splits59 makes very very nice tights.  Like the other 3 pairs I have from them, the fit and feel of these do not disappoint.  However, they look way more flared on me than they do on the web model.  I'm not sure if it's because of the way they were folded during shipping.  But I like the mini-flared out look.  I wonder if they will become less flared if I wash them?

I'm also not a fan of the logo placement right in the front.  It's sooooo obvious.  If the logo was hidden, I'd be able to wear them casually as well, because the style looks pretty much like skinny ankle pants. 

There is also a patch over the knee area, which I did not even see from the website.  It's not that obvious in person either, just surprised me. 

And another detail the website picture doesn't show is the back of the calves - they have a vertical band going down starting from around the back of the knee.

Other than these details, they also have a nice wide waistband with hidden pocket.  Anyway, so I'm not 100% happy with these.  But $74 is a good price... so I'm going to think about it and decide whether to keep them or not.  What do you think?  I do like that they are different from my usual tights that are fitted all the way down the leg.  I kind of wish I had gotten the Lululemon ones when they came out with this style a little while ago.  I never had the chance to go try them on and then they were gone.  But I think those could work better than these for street wear.

I also ordered the Misty M Cut Out Pullover in barberry (bright red).  This one I'm definitely returning. It looks horribly unflattering on me, which is too bad because I love the color and the french terry is very soft.  It actually says in the description to size up in this top, but I didn't read it when I bought it lol.  So I got it in size small.  Maybe that is my problem.  But the body of this top doesn't even fit tight on me, it just looks boxy... with weird pointy hem on the sides.

It looks much cuter on their model:

Oh well.  At $94, it is a little much for what it is anyway, even with 20% off.  So I'm not too upset about this one.  I'll save my money for something better to come along!

Now I just have to decide if I should return just this pullover, or both the pullover and the tights!  Such a hard decision!  Definitely first world problem.

Cute Linen Pants & Cutout Top from G by Guess

When I was in Santa Barbara this past weekend, I wandered into the G by Guess store on State St for some reason.  I guess I was feeling the ghetto fabulousness a little bit lol.  And I did see quite a few items that I would consider "ghetto fabulous".  But I was pleasantly surprised that they had these (just) fabulous linen pants!  I am forever looking for white linen pants that are not super see-through, and I've tried different price ranges from like Splendid to Forever21.  They were all without a doubt very very sheer.  But these were actually very acceptable!  I was wearing bright pink underwear and you could barely see them.  Plus, these pants are super cute too, and on sale for only $35!  They actually seem to be constructed pretty well, and the wide leg fit is exactly what I wanted.  They are the Calla Lily Linen Pants:

You can't really see the detail of the pants that well on their website since their photos are white on white.  But here they are on me also white on white lol (sorry I can't change the color of my door!):

I got these in size S, and the inseam on these is 32 inches so I can wear little wedges with them.  They are very comfortable, and I love the wide elastic waistband which is very flattering.  I am thinking of getting another pair in a different color!  They come in 5 other colors - black, tan, blue, yellow and pink.  I kind of want the pink ones!

There is also a shorts version, the Calla Lily Linen Shorts, also on sale for only $29.  Here's the blue color... I kind of want them as well lol.  Both the pants and the shorts would be so great for the summer!

I also got this cute little cutout top for only $9.  It is the Devin Cutout Tee, in a very soft, burnout type of material.  I've been loving tops with cut out backs lately, so I got this too!  The only color they had in the store was this bright salmony pink one - rouge pink.  But I see that they also have black and lime online, which are both cute too.  I don't like how baggy it fits the model though, I got it in size S and it fits me tighter.  I think I could even go down to a size XS.

This is how it looks on me:

And here are the black and lime ones:

For only 9 bucks, I kind of want to get both the black and lime one!  Hahaha... I really love the look of this top, and it could go with so many outfits.  It's a very "SoCal" kind of look.  I wore it around the house today and it was super comfy.    They offer free shipping for orders over $50, so I'm thinking I'll just get multiples of these things and stock up!  

Late Sunday Funday!

Happy Memorial Day everyone!  I just got back from a weekend trip to Santa Barbara so I apologize for the late Sunday Funday post!  It was a beautiful weekend there though!  And a lot hotter than I thought it would be.  I went to college there, so it always brings back memories when I go back there.  I just love the beautiful city and the nice and relaxing atmosphere!  Things slow down a lot when you get from LA to SB even though it's under 2 hours drive away, people even drive slower.  Maybe because they are old though lol.

So this was my 3rd week being on my training plan!  I had my first bi-weekly checkin with my online coach, and he increased my calories to around 1700 a day.  And I'm still losing inches (and a little bit of weight... like 0.2 lb a day) and always hungry!  It's crazy.  All my clothes are fitting much looser now.  I'm kind of afraid that I will no longer be able to wear some of my pants!  My strength is increasing fast, I was doing the hip abductor machine with 195 lbs easy!

The hardest part about going away is not being able to cook and eat exactly what you *should* be.  But I tried to order things that were as close to what I'm supposed to be having as possible.  I think I did ok, well minus half of this green tea tiramisu cake that I couldn't help having after sushi.  But it made me happy.  All I have to say it, thank god they were out of the green tea creme brulee because I am a sucker for creme brulees and anything green tea flavored.  It's a deadly combination.  I might have had to order 2... hahaha!  Well I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning and find out how much damage I did.  But hey, you gotta live your life too!

Here are this week's outfits!

Monday 5/20
What I did:  Weights, upper body, followed by 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill at 15% incline.  This is so boring.  I'm really glad I started reading my book on my ipad because it's unbearable otherwise!

What I wore:  I already wrote about this the other day, but I wore my new Lija Fuse Approach tank top which I looooove!  I even got compliments on it from very unlikely sources lol.  I wore it with Lululemon Free To Be bra in pow pink and Lorna Jane Devoted tight and Brooks Pure Drift shoes.

Tuesday 5/21

What I did:  This was my rest day from weights, so I just did my MISS which was same as Monday - walk for 30 minutes at 15%.  I'm almost done with my silly book at this point (something about mind readers that Amazon was offering for free).

What I wore:  Alo Sport striped tank in granite, with Lululemon Energy bra in currant under, which you probably can't see.  And Lululemon Ebb & Flow crops in black, and Adidas adizerio adios 2 shoes.

I wore matching colored work outfit that day - DEPT luxury knit flared dress which is actually one of my favorite dresses to wear to work because it's just so comfortable!  With Sam Edelman Mallory slingbacks.

Wednesday 5/22

What I did:  Lower body weights workout.

What I wore:  Lija Compression Crossover tank top with CW-X Pro tights and Brooks Pure Drift shoes.  When I do lower body weight workouts I like to wear clothes with more compression, cuz I need it!

As to and from, I wore my Lululemon Lift Your Spirits jacket.

Thursday 5/23

What I did:  Upper body weights, followed by mat pilates class.  I think I did the class because I was supposed to do my treadmill walk again and I didn't feel like it.  Plus, my pilates instructor is a huge Lorna Jane fan/ambassador, and I was wearing all LJ!

What I wore:  Lorna Jane Erika Excel tank with Lorna Jane Marvel tight and Nike Frees.  I seriously think this tank is soooo beautiful, I just love it.  It was the first time I wore these tights, and I loved the mesh on the side.  But I had to tie the waist string real tight because they were kind of slipping a little.  They are already a size XS...

Friday 5/24 - Rest day

Saturday 5/25

What I did:  Lower body weights again, followed by 30 minutes of the gauntlet.  Equally boring in my opinion lol.

What I wore:  My oldie - Lululemon Dance Strap tank in gold, with Splits59 Nova Capri tight and Adidas shoes.  I think these tights make any outfit look super cool.

I wore my Hardtail Forever open back sweatshirt as to and from.

Sunday 5/26

What I did: Upper body weights.

What I wore:  Finally took the tag off my Lululemon cool racerback in pinkalicious, so I wore it with my Lorna Jane Pammy bra under, and the Lululemon Lab Perennial Tight, with perfectly matching Brooks Pure Drift shoes!  

As to and from, I wore Lorna Jane Sophia Excel top.  Love it.

So I'm excited to continue lifting heavy and eating loads!  This is such a good plan I don't know why I didn't just do it sooner!  Some random guy at the gym told me the other day that I was pretty strong and it's "very beautiful".  I was like... I agree!  Lol!  Ok just kidding I didn't really say that out loud, but being strong is beautiful!  I think it gives girls more self-confidence too.  I've felt a lot better inside and out ever since I started doing heavier weights on my own about a year and a half ago.  Sometimes (like the other day when I was lugging around my 110 lb barbell doing hip thrusts like it was nothing) I have to stop and think about how far I've come since such a short while ago, and that's a big motivation to keep getting my butt out there everyday and just do it!  =P

Loving LIJA!

I want to introduce you all to this Canadian athletic brand called Lija, if you haven't heard of it already.    They are based in Vancouver, and they make some super cute workout clothes!  When I first found out about them, I was actually very very excited because they started as a golf and tennis line, and in 2012 they started expanding into running and gym gear.  Well, I love golf, tennis (though I'm not very good at this one), and I pretty much live at the gym, so this brand is exactly like meeee!!!  You can get their clothes all over the US and Canada in different stores/studios, for example my gym chain Equinox carries them in their shop.  But for me it is always most convenient to buy online.  They do have a $15 shipping charge, but since they don't have a store in California, I don't have to pay sales taxes.  So depending on how much I buy, $15 could be equal to or less than what I'd pay in taxes.  The merchandise themselves are on the pricey side, but you do get what you pay for.  If you sign up for their email list though, you get 10% off first purchase.  Also, check out their sale section online - there are some great deals!

I have to say though, their website is not the easiest to shop on, because there is typically only one photo from the front view for each product, and you can't zoom in on it very well.  The color swatches are pretty small and you can't really get a good idea of what it looks like on the actual merchandise if it's different from the one shown on the model.  So it took me a little time to figure out what I was getting.  But they do have these beautiful lookbooks, which hooked me right away and made me want to get everything in it!  Here are some pages from it:

How beautiful are these clothes!!!  Their construction looks to be really great as well, as far as I can tell from the items I got.  They have two types of materials - compression and fuse.  Compression is a silkier and stretchier material, like Lululemon's luxtreme but softer.  Fuse is like a mesh type of material.  They are both made of combinations of nylon and spandex.  I really like both!  They are totally different, I think compression works well with tighter fitting clothing, and mesh can be looser because it is heavier and has better drape.  It would also hide flaws better.  Anyway, here are the items I got!

Ok, I have to say that after seeing Anna Kournikova in this red Compression Revise Skort, I pulled the trigger. 

Too bad they didn't have this red one anymore.  So I bought it in "glacier".  It is exactly the same as Lululemon's aruba color.  I have 3 Lululemon running skirts - 2 Jog skirts and 1 Energy skirt.  While I like all 3 of them, I have to say that this Lija skirt is my favorite by far!!  It just fits so much more comfortably than Lululemon skirts.  With the Lulu skirts, I always felt that the waistband needed to be pulled up more, otherwise it would fall and create a muffin top kind of look.  The built in under shorts sometimes feel a little tight around the opening as well.  And then when you move around in them, the swift material is a bit more stiff and bunches a little and I'd have to pull it down.  But not the Lija skort!  It seriously fits like a dream (I got size small)!  And I also really love the style of having a little bit of ruffles on the bottom of one side of it only.  I don't want a lot of ruffles on my skirts - I tried on Lululemon's Speed skirt many many times and could just never pull the trigger on those because I think the back ruffles make my hips look large since you can see some of it on the side from the frontal view.  Here's the Lija skort on me:

And here's the under shorts (sorry for the close up crotch shot!):

The skirt on its own:

The length of it is a tiny bit longer than my Lululemon Jog skirt in size 4.  But not much difference at all.  However, Lija does make this same skirt in longer length more appropriate for golf - the Ultimate Golf Skirt.  But I like this length for running/tennis.  Here's a comparison photo of my Jog skirt over it so you can see the length difference.  The widths are identical.

I got these Compression Climate Short as well in the same color - glacier.  They are kind of exactly like the under shorts of the skort.  I love these too because the waistband is super comfortable and doesn't dig in!  I'd wear them under dresses or even tights.  The color actually goes really well under my Sweaty Betty Adrenaline ombre tights!  These are size small as well.

Next, I got 2 tanks!  First one is the Compression Crossover tank top, in "mystic" which is a light purple/lavender type of color.  I really like this tank, and it's on sale now for $37, down from $75 - totally worth it!  I like the streamlined design with the flattering v-neck and little opening on the back.  The back actually matches the Lululemon 50 Rep bra exactly!  (Shown below).  This top does come with a built in shelf bra, but there's no room for cup inserts and I wouldn't want to chance showing any headlights at the gym, so I like it layered over the 50 Rep!  This tank is one of those styles that is a classic and will last no matter what the current trend is. 

I loved this tank during my workout!  It stayed in place, dry, and comfortable.  It's very light weight, and I worked out hard in it, but I did not overheat at all.

Pretty supportive bra band, but I would love some pockets for inserts!

The next top I got is the Fuse Approach tank top.  I actually like the stock photo they have of this tank in this apricot color, but they no longer have it so I got the all black one.

This is the only piece I got in the Fuse material.  I really really like this top!  It also happens to be on sale for $37, down from $75.  This one does not have a built in bra, and I got it in size small as well.  I don't usually like black tops because most of my bottoms are black.  But the style of this tank just looks super cool in black!  It fits looser, and makes a staple piece as well.  It makes you look like a hardcore workout chick!  LOL!  I got it in size small as well.  The back is a scoop style so it's very open and you can show off your pretty sports bras.  I wore it with Lululemon Free To Be bra in pow pink and Lorna Jane Devoted tight.

So it is actually longer than I wore it.  I sort of like it shorter and sitting above the hips, but you can let it down more too.  The bottom band is elastic, and it stayed in place really well during my entire workout.  I really like this fuse material, the mesh is very breathable and wicks sweat extremely well.  I was really impressed that during my workout, this tank did not ride up or move at all!  My Lululemon tanks with elastic band on the bottom, like the No Limit tanks, always always ride up when I move.

Here's a close up shot of the fuse material.  The color got blown out a little though but you can still see it pretty clearly.

And here's the detail around the straps - as you can see, the outer layer is different from the rest of the tank.  You can see it in person better than on the pictures above.

And of course, I got a tennis dress!  The Compression Grand Slam dress in white.  It went on sale from $110 to $50!  It's a size small too, and it is fitted on top but looser and yet figure hugging around the waist and hips.  That way it won't show any of your imperfections.  This dress is super comfy, and I needed a white tennis dress!  I like the mesh inserts in the middle too.

There's no built in bra or shorts in this dress, so you have to wear your own.  The side of the dress may look like there are pockets, but there isn't.  I think it would be nice if there were pockets though, especially at the original price of $110!  For tennis balls or just whatever.  But I do think the cut of this dress is very flattering.  I haven't had a chance to wear it yet, but I will wear it to tennis next week!

Last thing I got was the Axis Classic Argyle vest.  I am a sucker for argyle prints.  I thought it would be perfect for golf, and then I got the great idea of wearing it to work too!  Super versatile!  I love it when I can wear pieces casually as well as to work.  Here is my work outfit:

This vest is pricey at $95.  But the color I got was on sale.  It's very very nicely made, but I don't think I'd spend full price on it.  Maybe if I were a serious golfer or something and wore these often to the course.  I love the lookbook photo of the vest over a sleeveless polo.  So preppy!  I used to dress very preppy when I was younger, so I still have a tender spot in my heart for preppy looks lol.  So I might have to go get the sleeveless polo too at some point soon.

I also got some knee length shorts but I got them in the wrong size and had to send them back.  I ordered size 2 based on the size chart, but I really needed a 4.  I was kind of bummed that many of their beautiful plaid knee shorts were sold out of my size.  They would be so great for golf or just to wear around in the summer!  

I inquired as to how often Lija gets new products so I can get all the goodies before they sell out in the future.  Their response was that they release new products twice a year - Spring (Jan - Apr) and Fall (Jun - Nov).  June is coming up!  So I'm getting excited!  Within each season, they launch 3 golf and 3 tennis/active/studio collections which contain different colors.  They tell me that golf and tennis collections typically had different color palette before, but now they are starting to combine them so you can mix and match from different collections. 

I definitely think the products I've gotten from Lija are of very good quality and will last me a long time.  I don't mind spending extra money for quality.  80% of their goods are made in North America too, so it will benefit my home turf anyways.  Their tennis line is their biggest sellers, but I think the new run/gym line is very promising as well.  I'm very impressed with everything so far, and I really can't wait to see what more comes out of this company!