Sunday Funday!

Ok, I must confess that today is actually not fun at all for me.  I had a crazy alcohol-induced weekend with friends in town starting Friday night.  Then my birthday / end of CFA celebration party last night turned into a blast from the past (reminiscent of college days) where people kept making me take shots. I think I succeeded at sufficiently destroying my brain cells, and marking an end to my victory.  =)  But of course today I am paying the debt.  I am going to start detoxing tomorrow, since obviously destroying my body like that is no good.

I liked my hair last night though.  I bought these bright red streak clip-ins and they look great with dark hair and black dress!  I am actually quite happy with the result.  I bought them from proextensions.com for like $25 for 6 pieces, all 100% human hair too, not synthetic.  But I actually got 2 sets because I have lots of hair.  It was a good amount.

Anyways, so my weekend was pretty much shot as far as working out goes.  That is another negative side effect of not feeling well from the night before.  Your next day is really just wasted.  I kind of had the foresight though, so I worked out 4 times during the week.  

Monday 8/6

What I did:  Weight lifting - I worked on legs since my arms were really really sore.

What I wore:  Lululemon cool racerback in bubbulicious, and pow pink Free to Be bra under.  It didn't bleed on my tank, but then again I was not very sweaty.  I wore my black slub denim astro wunder unders, and my New Balance Minimus Road shoes.

Tuesday 8/7

What I did:  Played tennis

What I wore:  Lululemon No Limit tank in flash, and Run Fast shorts.  It's been super hot here lately, approaching 100 degrees everyday.  I wore my Adidas adizero adios 2 shoes, of course.

Wednesday 8/8

What I did:  Weight lifting - I worked on arms.  Then I ran 5 sprint intervals at the end.

What I wore:  Lululemon Power Y tank in Three Print, with black Ebb & Flow crops and my Adidas shoes again.

Thursday 8/9

What I did:  Weight lifting and this time worked on my back, then 5 sprints at the end again.

What I wore:  Lululemon Let It Loose tank in pink mist, with astro wunder unders in heathered black/dew berry, and NB shoes.

That concludes my workouts for this week.  I did also take a picture of my Friday night's outfit when I went out for dinner and drinks.  So here it is - my favorite combo now - shorts with wedges and a looser fitting tank top.  =)

Here's a picture from that night of me and my good friend Brad who I've known for ages... isn't he so cute??  Lol.

Ok, now I am going to go have some Yogurtland for dinner and continue my unhealthy streak until tomorrow.  =)  

Lululemon Swiftly Tech 1/2 Zip & Embossed Wunder Unders in Power Purple!

I bought 2 power purple items from Lululemon on Tuesday morning, and they both arrived today.  First I got the Swiftly Tech 1/2 Zip in power purple and omg I am so in love with it!!!  It is so beautiful, I'm ripping the tags off right now.

I have 2 other Swiftly Tech 1/2 Zips, one in ultra violet and one in paris pink.  I love both of them so much, I think this is my favorite style of all long sleeve tops from Lululemon, ever.  This one in power purple just puts it over the top.  I don't think there are many other colors that can beat power purple.  I hung it right next to my other 2 and it makes me so happy!

Here are the web shots:

I also took the plunge and ordered the power purple embossed wunder unders!  I don't have any bottoms in non-black or gray, except for my white denim ones.  So these will be my first pair of colorful ones!  I don't quite know if I want to keep them 100% though.  I think they are very cute in this color, and they are super soft and comfortable.  But I am worried about what tops to wear with them.  Obviously black, white and gray would all work.  But I don't own many tops in those colors.  I tried them on with a few other tops in purplish tones, and think that they would work as well, but I am having trouble thinking of other colors to go with them.

Here they are with majestic purple cool racerback:

Here they are with lavender dusk Practice Freely tank:

And here is another one with lolo purple/power purple Push Ur Limits tank.  I think this outfit might be too matchy matchy for my taste though.

So anyway, I will have to go through my stuff and see what else goes with them!  I do love them with white tops though.

And here are the web shots showing details of the embossed print.  It's very subtle, but I wish they had made these reversible!  The inside is power purple anyway, all they had to do was make the patch on the crotch area the same color (right now they are black) and stick a logo on it.  

So I'll keep these for a while and think about them.  But I think I most likely will be keeping them!

Halona Dresses

I recently bought two Halona dresses from Hautelook.  I am definitely keeping one, and sending back another.  So first the one I am going to keep, is this V-Neck short sleeve belted dress in a beautiful red color.

The material of this dress is a very very soft stretchy jersey type.  Most rayon, with some spandex.  It's got a loose fit on top, a drop waist and tight fitting on the bottom.  The black belt comes with it, but it's also detachable which is nice since that means I can use other belts with it, or use this belt with other things.  It's made in the USA which is always a plus for me.  And it was only $18!  Down from $50.  Totally worth the price.  I actually don't have a red dress, but I love that song Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh!  Gotta play that on my ipod when I wear this.  =)

These are the model shots:

I also got this Belted Epauletted shirt dress, which looked cute on the model, but way too short and see-through for me to keep.  I'd only wear it as a tunic with jeans or leggings or something but I am not really into that style.  So this one is going back.  It's too bad, because I like it as a dress.

This is how it looks on the model.  Very misleading, since I always assume models are way taller on me.

Oh well, returning this will save me 24 bucks to spend on other things.  =)

Done With Studying Forever!!!!!!!!!!!

I am SO HAPPY to announce that I passed Level 3 of the CFA exam!!!  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you are probably familiar with my constant complaining about having to study!  I started taking Level 1 of the CFA exam in December 2010, then Level 2 in June 2011, and most recently Level 3 in June 2012.  Level 1 is offered twice a year - every June and December.  While Levels 2 and 3 are only offered once a year in June.  So taking Level 1 in December, then Levels 2 and 3 the following 2 Junes is the fastest way to do it.  Most people do not pass on their first try (you have to pass them sequentially), so this could drag onto many many years.  It's a very tough series of exams, which they compare to a graduate level degree since you have to spend hundreds of hours studying each level.

SOOOOOO, I am beyond ecstatic to have passed all 3 levels on the first try!!!  It feels so good to be done with it, and know that all my hard work finally paid off.  I also feel so loved today since I got so many congratulatory emails and messages, when the secret came out at work too.  I swear I spent all day responding that I didn't really do any real work!  :D

I'm so happy to never have to study again and to get my Memorial Days back!!!  The June exams always take place on the Saturday after Memorial Day weekend, so I have no done anything but studying hardcore the past 2 years.  From now on, I am going big every Memorial Day!!!

And this makes my birthday party this Saturday night even better!  Now I have two occasions to celebrate!!!

Sunday Funday!

It's this time of the week again!  Isn't it amazing how fast time goes by now?  My birthday was on Wednesday so I am now another year older!  Yep, 29 now, which reminds me that I should probably update my info on here.  I think I was only 26 when I started this blog!  Crazy... maybe it's the fact that this was my last birthday in my 20s decade, I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately.  Like who am I, what do I want to do in life?!  I don't think what I'm currently doing is it, but I don't know what is.  Quite sappy stuff!  I think I should just focus on my birthday party next Saturday.  I decided to do it big this year, so I can go out with a bang.  So anyone in the LA area who wants to party with me and my friends in Hollywood, let me know!  =D

Anyways, I played a lot of tennis this week.  I actually took a lesson on Tuesday night which turned out to be really good.  The instructor corrected my form and I was able to hit better almost immediately.  Of course I still need LOTS of practice!  But I think I will make it a weekly lesson thing so I can get better.  It's a frustrating game for me right now, and it makes me mad when I can't do something well.  I'm pretty sure there is a tennis etiquette against cursing every time you miss a ball...

Monday 7/30
What I did:  Weight lifting, I worked on chest and it was such a hard one, I was hurting for days!

What I wore:  Lululemon Hot Class tank in coal/faded zap, and black Astro Crop with Adidas adizero adios 2 shoes.  Whiskey is my accessory!

Tuesday 7/31
What I did:  Tennis lesson

What I wore:  Lululemon Energy SL in angel blue, and Run A Marathon Crop, and Adidas shoes again which are the only shoes I will wear for tennis now.

For work on Tuesday, I wore my Calvin Klein Scoop Neck dress with my Nordstroms BP woven belt and Nine West Ambitious Pumps.  I didn't think this was the most professional outfit, but whatever.  Somebody actually told me that I looked very dressed up for work though, so that works for me.

Wednesday 8/1 - I did not workout since it was my birthday and I didn't feel like spending it at the gym.  Plus it was time for a rest day anyways.  But I did take a picture of my work outfit.  It's funny, I gave myself a pass to wear a casual dress to work.  I figured that if I had to be at work on my birthday, I might as well wear whatever I felt like!  So I wore my new Splendid Knit Tie Sleeve dress, but I put my Calvin Klein suit jacket over it.  So it wasn't too bad.

Thursday 8/2

What I did:  Went to practice tennis again.  I probably over-did it a bit, because I really hurt my shoulder.  It hurt so bad that I couldn't even move it in the middle of the night.  I literally woke up from this sharp pain in my shoulder when I tried to turn.  All day on Friday it was hurting too and I couldn't really lift my arm.  But I think it pretty much went away now, phew!  I was afraid it might have been something more serious.

What I wore:  Lululemon Power Y tank in discovery stripe, and bright blue Passion Crop, with Adidas shoes again.

Friday 8/3

What I did:  Went back to the gym to lift.  It was supposed to be shoulder day but since my shoulder was hurting, I didn't want to irritate it more.  So I worked on legs.  

What I wore:  Under Armour Twisty tank with new Lululemon Free To Be Bra in pow pink under.  It didn't bleed.  But then again I did not sweat that much.  I wore my white denim Dhanurasana crop with it, and New Balance Minimus Road shoes.

I went out to dinner on Friday night, and I wanted to share my kind of comical outfit.  People kept looking at me so maybe I looked somewhat ridiculous, but I didn't really care.  I've been playing with doing my hair like two high pigtails on each side.  Basically the same hair style I had when I was 10!  And same as in my current blogger profile picture.  So I will share it here.  Hey this might be the first time I'm posting a picture with my face in it.  =)

I wore my latest hot pink Express tank, with Express Oversized Drape Neck sweater over.  And Abercrombie Neve shorts, with Naughty Monkey Jump Start boots (which are awesome!)

Saturday 8/4 - Rest day

Sunday 8/5

What I did:  I went to play tennis again!  Maybe from now on I should shoot for 2 days a week of tennis.  

What I wore:  Lululemon pearl luxtreme cool racerback in pigeon, with 50 Rep bra in very violet, and potion purple Run: Energy skirt.  I wore my New Balance shoes for tennis today, but decided that I really should just stick with Adidas shoes from now on.  They are way more supportive and comfortable.

And that's all for this week!  My husband got me the new ipad for my birthday, so I have been losing a lot of sleep this week playing with it!  I think I was operating on 4 hours of sleep a night the whole week.  So I'm going to hit the sacks early tonight, and get ready for another long week at work... bleh!

Josh Brody Blouson Top V-Neck Dress - Numero Dos!

Since I am so in love with my Josh Brody Blouson Top V-Neck Dress in all black, I decided to buy another one in a different color.  I just really like the way this dress fits and how it is right in the middle of casual and dressy.  It really works for many different occasions.

Not to mention it matches my new favorite Modern Vintage wedges perfectly.  =)  I like this color combo of the dress, since the sequence looks more obvious than in all black.  I actually bought this one on ebay for like 30 bucks brand new.  Can't really beat that.  But it's kind of weird because this one is a size XS, and the black one I have already is a size S.  However, this one fits looser than the black.  So the sizing isn't very consistent at all!  But it still fits so I'm fine with it.  

I like to watch Rachel Zoe Project when it's on TV, and I remember her saying that every girl has an optimal length of skirt that works for them.  For me, I really think this is the length.  It's not too short to look hooch, and I think I kind of have bigger quads so I'd like my skirts to cover them.  When it's a few inches longer, I think I actually look shorter.  So, good lengths for me are either this length, or knee length.  I totally agree with Rachel that it's different for every girl though!

Lululemon Free To Be Bra - Pow Pink

I ordered the latest Free To Be bra in pow pink on Tuesday, and received it today (I am liking the faster delivery time frame!).  I am happy to say that it is definitely a keeper!

I actually ordered this bra in a size up - size 6.  I have never tried this bra on before, but I just felt that it looked pretty tiny and I could probably get away with a size up.  I'm glad I did!  I really like how the size 6 fits and can't imagine it being much tighter.  The tightness actually reminds me of my size 4 Centered Energy bra.  These two bras fit similarly, and they are both luxtreme.  But the back of the Free To Be bra is similar to the Energy bra.  I find it to be about the same supportiveness as the Centered Energy, and a little bit less so than the Energy bra.  So it's kind of a nice cross between the two styles.  I love how comfortable it is on.  I did many tests moving around in it and it stayed put well.  I have a feeling I will love this bra.  

I've been really wanting a bra in this color because I think it would look nice under many different colored tanks I have.  But I am scared about bleeding issues after the currant Energy bra bled on my white tank.  So I guess that will be a no-go, even though pow pink and white would be so cute together!  I guess I can be really boring and layer my pow pink cool racerback or pow pink light swiftly tank over it, at least for the first few times of wear.  It's sad and really a shame that I have to do this, but I just can't get over how cute this bra is...?!?  =/