Lululemon Tech Mesh Tight (Winner!) & Run Pace Setter Skirt in Sea Check Multi / Plum (Loser!)

I got my latest Lululemon order delivered today.  I bought the new Tech Mesh Tight in black, even though I thought the $108 price tag was pretty steep.  But they look very different from anything else Lulu usually makes, so I caved and ordered them.  They kind of have a zombie stripper vibe going on... lol... I wasn't 100% sure that I'd love them enough to keep them, but I do!  Though to be honest, I think they make better casual wear / going out on the town type of tights than workout wear.

I think I'd feel a little weird wearing these to the gym for cardio or weights, even though the mesh is pretty awesome for ventilation I'd imagine.  Maybe I could handle them for a yoga class, but I feel like I'd still get some questionable stares.  Besides, I think they look weird with my sneakers on.  Maybe if I had all black ones that would work better, but I don't.

Here they are on me:

Here is a better, closer up picture of them:

So while I had them on, I decided to try them out as casual wear with different outfits.  I think they are actually quite versatile and will work with a lot of things!  Here they are with my Vince Camuto Jiris sandals on, and Express Sequin and Lace Stripe racerback tank.  Very simple actually.  But I think I could totally rock this outfit out to dinner or something.  I'd be so comfy at the same time with my luon on!  

Then I was thinking, when winter time comes, I could also wear them with boots over.  All I'd have to change to this outfit would be adding on a jacket like this SYLK jacket:

Close up of the tights with boots over:

OR, I could wear short ankle boots over them as well, with a more dressed down sweater look.  I had put on a ribbed tank and this Express drape neck sweater over.

Here are some other angles of the tights.  The mesh portions are only on the front half of the legs, the back is completely solid:

I think these tights are super cool!  They also come in soot and inkwell, but I think black would be the best at pairing with other things, especially if I'm not going to use them to workout in.  These are in my regular size 4 and they fit true to size.  I love the wide waistband as well.  If I can pull them off, they are possibly the perfect hybrid of yoga and fashion wear!

I also bought the Run: Pace Setter skirt in sea check multi/plum.  I was going to decide between either the Speed Shorts in this print, or the skirt.  I thought I'd like the skirt better, but when I first took this skirt out of the package, I immediately thought they looked way too big to be a size 4.  I checked the tag, it says size 4.  So I put it on... and I hate it.  The fit is so off.  I don't own any Pace Setter skirts, but I've tried them on multiple times at the store.  Size 4 has always been ok on me, with a little flare at the bottom which I never liked but could deal with.  I've also tried them in size 2, but found them to be too tight across the front causing the fabric to pull.  Kind of like how tight it looks across the front on the Lulu model:

Well, this skirt is WAY flared out and I just really don't like it.

Back and side view also looks shapeless.  My butt is bigger than this, I swear!  :)

These are definitely going back!  Now I just have to decide whether I want to keep the shorts in the same print or not.  Maybe I'll return both and get me another pair of Tech Mesh Tights instead!  I probably had way too much fun trying on different outfits with them tonight.  :)

Lululemon Speed Shorts in Sea Check Multi / Plum

I saw these Lululemon Speed Shorts in sea check multi / plum last week during the upload but didn't get them, because... well I'm not that into plaids unless it's made of colors I really dig.  This one seems a little juvenile.  Also, I'm not really into Speed Shorts either lol.  I've tried them on multiple times throughout the years, and never find them to fit quite right.  For a while they flared out so much on me that it looked silly.  But this seemed to have been fixed a while ago.  Well, one of my friends was at the store this weekend and picked up these sea check multi speeds for me.  So I am debating whether I want to keep them or not.  I think I prefer this print in a skirt instead, especially since I have been playing tennis more.  So I just ordered the Pace Setter skirt in it.  I will decide later which ones to keep, or maybe I'll return both.

Anyways, here they are on me.  My regular size - 4.

Sunday Funday!

This week was amazing because my condo sale has been finalized and I've entered into escrow!!!  It happened SUPER fast!  Exactly one week from the day we listed it.  I mentioned in the last Sunday Funday post, but we listed it in the afternoon of my birthday which was Thursday 8/1.  Then we had an open house on Friday 8/2, and Sunday 8/4.  We had 30 people show on Friday and 50 people show on Sunday, which is more than I thought.  The buyer that I've entered escrow with actually showed up to the open house on Friday, and then took her parents with her to see it again on Sunday.  After the 2 open houses, we began receiving offers and never had another open house.  We had a little bidding war going on for a couple days earlier this week, and she eventually came out on top with 35k above asking price (highest price in my condo building in the last 3 years or something) and something like 60% down payment, and unconditional financial support from her parents who have a lot of money.  I figure the chances of her falling out of escrow is probably lower than the next runner up who had less down payment and no financial help from her family.  I felt bad for her though!  Because she is how I would be if I were to buy another place.  I don't have enough cash to put down 60%.  My parents would help me if I need it, but it's not like they are so loaded that it would make any difference.  But... as a seller, the other girl just seems more attractive and the last thing I want is for my place to fall out of escrow and have to do this all over again.  The real estate market still has some momentum now with low supply and interest rates are still low.  That could change any minute!  So I really need my place to sell.  The next couple weeks will be very crucial as they perform inspections and work with their bank to get her loan approved.  Fingers crossed that everything will go well!  But yay for not having to keep doing open houses!  Haha.

Aside from that exciting news, I went to my friend Dawn's NPC Orange County Classic show last night.  Dawn used to be my early morning workout buddy a few years ago when we went to the same gym!  She has also been training with the same online trainer as me - in fact, I found him through her!  It was her first competition, and also my first time going to a bodybuilding show!  It was so interesting, and a lot longer than I thought it would last!  It was men first, then ladies, so total was about 2.5 hours.  A lot of muscle head types in the audience lol.  Dawn looked great!!  She placed 4th in her masters 35+ category (though she doesn't look a day over 30!), which is super awesome, especially for her first show!  SO proud of her!  I think most people don't realize how much hard work in the gym AND in the kitchen you have to do, for MONTHS prior to the competition, to achieve something like this.

Not that she didn't look good before, but here is a picture showing her 6 months of transformation.  She wasn't one of those people that this just magically happened to after a couple weeks - this is solid hard work for 6 months!  Yay, she did it!  Isn't it motivating??  Did I mention that she's also a mother with a full time job??

Pic from trainer's facebook page

Trophy!!!

Ok, fun stuff aside... As for myself, I spent all week recovering from my birthday weekend calorie splurge in Palm Springs lol.  But now I feel better and I think I'm beginning to see more definition in my abs.  I think I am also a slow progress maker.  Building muscle does not come easily to me at all, so I have to work extra hard for it.  Boooo...

Monday 8/5
What I did:  Weights, lower body.  Usually I don't do any cardio after lower body weights, but last week my trainer changed my cardio days from 3 to 4 days a week so I decided to do it on Monday.  I like to get them out of the way early just in case stuff comes up later on in the week.  Besides, I took Monday off work, so I had plenty of time at the gym.  I took a 45 min spin class after weights.

What I wore:  Oh, I'm so proud of my matchy matchy outfit!  LOL!  I wore the Lorna Jane Macy Excel tank in bluebell, with Victoria's Secret supermodel cami sports bra in sweetest orange under it.  Paired with Lululemon Ebb & Flow crop in deep indigo, and perfectly matching Nike Frees in violet/orange!

This shirt's material and open-back style are perfect for spin class!  I also cannot say enough good things about this bra.

Tuesday 8/6

What I did:  Shoulders & triceps, followed by my MIIT on the treadmill.  I can't read anymore since I now have to keep adjusting my speed all the time.  I'm doing 60 seconds hard and 45 seconds moderate speed for 30 minutes straight.  

What I wore:  Lululemon Practice Freely tank in lavender dusk with Lululemon Run Passion crop in power purple, and same Nike Free shoes again!  I love them.  I can't believe that I've had the Passion crops since 2009... wear the heck out of them and they are still going strong.  This is old school Lululemon.

Work outfit from same day - Express studded portofino shirt, with Tahari ASL button skirt and BCBGMaxAzria Peacock pumps!  I love these military-inspired shirts.

Wednesday 8/7

What I did:  3rd day of weights, back and bi.  Followed by what was originally supposed to be 30 minutes of the gauntlet.  But I was only able to do 15 minutes and then my realtor called to discuss our counter offering situation so I had to bail early.  I am slightly OCD so this makes me very unhappy.  I almost went home and finished the cardio at the gym in my building.  But then I figured 30 minutes of cardio should really be 30 minutes straight and not two 15 minute sessions!

What I wore:  Beyond Yoga Elastic Sweep tank with Lululemon Mod Moves crop in groovey stripe nimbus, and New Balance Minimus Road shoes.

Thursday 8/8 - Rest day from the gym.  But here's my work outfit - another military inspired look!  I got this new shirt from Ruelala - Craig Taylor Piper shirt in "it's all about olive".  I actually really love this shirt - it is semi-sheer so you have to wear a cami under.  But it fits very well (size small), and I love the gold buttons on this beautiful olive color.  Ruelala was selling this shirt for only $39, but it is on sale right now on Craig Taylor's website for $95, down from $190.  Still pretty pricey.  I wore it with Express Zip Back studio stretch pencil skirt (with gold zipper all the way down the back that matches the gold buttons of the shirt!), and the Donald J Pliner Pausha pumps in army green color also from Ruelala a while ago.  And of course my new Balanciaga City bag completes the look!

Friday 8/9

What I did:  Lower body weights again.  I was going to make up for my cardio session from Wednesday, but I could only do 15 minutes once again because I ran out of time and had to be somewhere lol.  So annoying!!

What I wore:  Lole Guell tank in banana square with Beyond Yoga gathered legging in mojave.  Apparently I'm still feeling the army green color from Thursday.  Nike Frees in gray/crimson.

Saturday 8/10

What I did:  Upper body supersets, and then I did my proper 30 minutes of cardio!  On the gauntlet!  Alternated between level 14 and level 6.

What I wore:  So I bought the Lorna Jane Mosaic full length tight a while ago but haven't worn them because it's been so hot here and I don't want to wear full length tights!  But I have been dying to try them out!  So I decided to just fold up the hem and make them into crops!  I paired them with Lululemon electric orange cool racerback, and new Lorna Jane Duo bra in yves blue.  It's exactly the same color as my Nike Frees!  So I wore them again.

So I pulled up the bottom of the tights to right under my knee, and then folded over them.  I left a little bit peaking through and I think it's kind of cute that way!  You can't really tell they've been folded up, and the Lorna Jane logo on the lower calve disappears under the fold.

I love these tights, they are super comfy and so cute!  I think Lorna Jane black label is definitely superior.  The seams in these are flat locked and thus, did not scratch me or make marks on my skin.  They were great.  I can't get over how cute the mosaic detail looks!

This is my outfit from last night - I am super excited, because I finally fit into my Express stella coated jeggings in black glitter!  I actually forgot I even had them, because I bought them a long time ago and they were just a bit too tight in the waist.  I liked them too much to return them so I kept them around all this time with the tags still on!  But yesterday I pulled them out and they now fit perfectly!!  SO EXCITING!!!  lol.... I'm easily pleased.  They look so cool in person though - you can probably see some of the small glitter in this picture, but in person they shimmer and at the same time rather subtle.  They are super comfy too.  I went simple on top, with just a violet color ribbed racerback tank, and the G by guess Devin cutout tee over it.  I wore my Modern Vintage wedge sandals that make me 6 inches taller, and my new Balanciaga purse that I'm obsessed with.

Sunday 8/11

What I did:  I played tennis for 2 hours!  With the ball machine.  I'm improving a lot thanks to it.  I love it!

What I wore:  This is SO nostalgic, because I re-created the Lululemon color palette from spring 2010 lol.  Yes, this may sound a little weird, but I had fun doing it!  That color palette was bold blue, senorita pink, and faded zap.  Unfortunately the only senorita pink tank I have is the Hot Class tank, but I didn't feel like wearing it.  So I wore the pinkalicious cool racerback... close enough!  I wore my faded zap Free To Be bra under it, even though this bra is from the more recent run of this color, but it's the same color regardless.  And my bold blue checkered print Leader of the Track skirt.  I also wore my Brooks Pure Drift shoes but changed the shoe laces from white to pink to match the tank!  These shoe laces came with the shoes along with the white ones, but this is the first time I've actually switched them into the pink ones!

See, the zipper pull on the skirt is senorita pink!

And to complete the outfit - I knew I would be out late and may need something long sleeve, so I pulled out my oldie but goodie - the Brisk Run in bold blue!  This was my very first running luon long sleeve top from Lululemon.  The thumbhole trim is faded zap, if you can see... how cute is that!

I love the back of this pullover...

Ok, that was my entertainment of the day lol.  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  I wish I had another day off, as usual!

New Lorna Jane Tank - Kayla!

I bought a new Lorna Jane tank on ebay and it's soooo pretty!  It was listed as "Kayla Excel Tank", but I cannot find it when I search online under that name.  So it may or may not be the name.  It must have come out before I knew about Lorna Jane, because I've never seen it before - I would have bought it already if I did!

I love Lorna Jane's open back tanks, like my Macy Excel tank, or the Inspire Excel tank.  They are awesome to workout in.  So this was a no brainer.  It only cost me $19 too.  It is made of 2 different materials - the front half is a heavier and more cottony feel, and the back is my favorite honeycomb mesh!  It's super soft and drapes great.  The size of this tank is XS, and it does fit on the tight side.  My preferred Lorna Jane tank size is S.  But it's not like I had a choice!  So it works.  =)

I'm wearing the Lorna Jane Pammy bra under it here:

But of course I realized that the straps on the back of this tank matches my favorite Lululemon bra exactly!  The Free To Be bra.  So here it is with the laceoflage Free To Be under:

I think either bra works under this tank though, as the bra doesn't need to match the tank exactly.

Here are some closer up shots:

 This is where the two materials meet:

Here are the pictures from the ebay listing, they look like they are screen shots from Lorna Jane's website and catelogue.  The first 2 are very small/bad quality though.  But I do wish this tank was a size small so the back can drape more, like it does on this pic:

This one looks like it's from the catelogue:

Anyways, I think this tank is super cute!  I actually really like everything I've got at Lorna Jane so far.  Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that they have such a stupid return policy that keeps me from buying more!

Lululemon Cool Racerback in Midnight Iris Multi

I ordered the newest midnight iris multi cool racerback from Lululemon on Monday night.  I wasn't really sure about the color/print since I didn't see it in person, and I was half prepared to have to return it.  If you've read my blog long enough, you are probably aware that I am not normally drawn to prints, especially flowery prints.  But for some reason this one kind of captured my attention!  So I went ahead and got it.  I figured I could always return it later.  It arrived today and I actually think I like it!  The iris flower print could look old-ladyish very easily, but I think because they made it so dark that it actually looks kind of cool and edgy!

This cool racerback is actually made in Canada.  It is 94% polyester, but it feels different/better than my petit dot dune one which is mostly poly as well.  This one feels thicker and softer/less scratchy.  Just better qualify fabric feel in general.

And here it is on me - the print looks pretty subtle like this:

This is it up close... I like how the brighter parts of the flower kind of reflects the light a little and looks almost metallic:

I wouldn't have liked this print at all if it looked like how it does below, which I took under bright light.  But I think Lulu did a good job with it making it very dark and subtle.  

Somewhat of a surprise, but I actually think this one is a keeper!