Have you guys ever heard of Oprah Winfrey? You might vaguely remember her show. She used to do episodes called "Oprah's Favourite Things". Guess what? We have favorite things too. This was actually pretty fun to do. I have a feeling that mine will change every week. I love everything. But for now here are mine:
Me+:
1. Shellac Nail Polish This is the best investment you could ever make in a manicure. It really does last for up to a month, whereas a regular manicure lasts about a week. It's so shiny, barely chips (even after 3-4 weeks) and protects your nails and doesn't damage them at all. Make sure you go to a legit place and ask for shellac. There are other knock off products out there that are not as good and will not last as long. It does cost a little bit more than a regular manicure, but it's TOTALLY worth it. I promise.
My 4 Pairs + Grando.
2. Lululemon Wunder Under CropsThese could be a whole post on their own, they are the best workout pants and leggings around..I may have 4 pairs. You can honestly get away with wearing them not only to the gym, but with boots, stilettos, flip flops etc. as an actual outfit...not joking.
3. My Eyelash Extensions
If you are like me and not a make up girl, eyelash extensions have changed my life. It's like you are wearing make up, when you're not. If you are going to try these out-make sure you get a referral from someone. Not all places are high quality, some places try to cut corners by using nail glue instead of eyelash glue and little things like that. One of my closest friends Joanna is an esthetician and does professional eyelash extension-let me know if you live in Toronto and would like to meet her!
4. Blazers (black and white)
A blazer can make any outfit better. This rule applies to both men and women. Tip: Do not buy a cheap blazer. You have to look at it as an investment, because it is. It will never go out of style and you can wear it so many different ways.
5. TNA v neck tshirts from Aritzia
I am telling you-this is the best $25 you will ever spend. I can't tell you how much I love these tshirts. Much like my wunder under lululemon leggings, these can be dressed up with a blazer and a belt for work or with sweat pants to watch a Mad Men marathon on Netflix.
6. Cinnamon
Lately I have been adding cinnamon to everything. My coffee, greek yogurt, protein shakes, chili etc. Cinnamon adds tons of flavor to ordinary things and it is also very good for you. It can help digestion, it has anti-inflammatory compounds and can help metabolize glucose and may play a role in blood pressure regulation (source: The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by: Jonny Bowden Ph.D., C.N.S.)
7. Greek Yogurt
Yum. This one is also pretty self explanatory you eat greek yogurt the same way as regular yogurt. But you can also use it as a dip (add a package of onion soup mix) and as a replacement to sour cream when you make tacos, nachos fajitas etc. It's also got lots of protein in it.
8. Pinterest
If you haven't been pinning...lol I don't know what to say to you. It really is a huge time waster, or it can be a quick way to grab new recipes, lifestyle tips etc. It really depends on how much spare time you have. (P.S. you can also pin things right from this blog onto Pinterest-it's so easy!).
9. Under Armour Socks
You'll just have to trust me on this one. For some of you, socks are socks and that's ok. Others will know what I mean. These socks fit better, never slip down into your running shoes just fit to your foot. The next time you are shopping hit up an Under Armour outlet and stock up on these socks!
10. Instagram
I personally have instragram to thank for making my painfully "normal" photos much much better. It is an app for your smartphone...and it's free. Oh and I love the little circle or line that you can use to make something super focused and then the rest of the photo slightly blurry. I am not exactly sure what that is called.
11. www.pixlr.com
It's alot like photoshop. It is a free online photo editor and it rocks. You can edit, adjust, filter or crop your photos here and then post them to facebook, twitter, flickr etc. I found this website after my first fav Picnik was bought by google. I tried a few others, but pixlr is definitely the best one in my humble opinion.
12. Three Wick Candles from Bath & Body Works
These are the candles I just bought.
Raspberry Sun Tea (left) & Pink Sangria (right).
Truly my favorite candles. The best is when you can score them on sale..like I did the other day 2 for $25. They last forever, smell amazing (they always have the most unique fragrances) and are just a really high quality candle. I have a confession, I am lucky enough to have a really close friend that is the manager of a B&BW, so sometimes I am treated with little presents from the lovely Lauren McKenna...including three wick candles!
See? Proof that a tshirt and blazer can be an outfit.
That's me on the botton left. Go buy them.
I think this is all of of them!
My Trainer:
Hello (to whoever actually reads these things), I start by offering an excuse, not really a good reason I could come up, for my delay in adding to Tara's cool posts ... I was busy (told you - bad excuse). She has sent me a couple, but one last week was her 10 favorite things. That was a lot of fun to reading, knowing Tara quite well by now, and I knew I was due to write mine. Instead of putting any real thought into it, I thought it would be more fun to fire them off at random, so hold judgments if we have yet to meet ... and say hi if you see me at CanFit (pumped!). Though mine will likely include far less clothing than Tara's, here we go :
1. Pizza.
Maybe you expected to see something clever atop this list, maybe you didn't. This was honestly the first thing that came to mind. I absolutely love pizza and eat it far too often - don't ask how often, I won't tell.
2. My BBQ
In my last apartment (yeah ... I'm not quite the family dude with the house yet) I couldn't have a BBQ on the balcony, but I moved in January and had a new BBQ by Jan 2nd. I eat so much better (steak for breakfast !!) with a BBQ.
3. Boxing
I started boxing late by most standards (20 years old), but decided early to devote my 20s to the sport - I semi bailed on that and my last fight (almost for sure) was Golden Gloves last April at the age of 28. I woke up, trained, went to work, trained, ate and slept - that's it. I did well in the sport and was lucky to learn to box at Windsor Amateur Boxing Club with Canadian Olympic Boxing Coach Charlie Stewart and the best boxers in the country in about every weight class. It was an amazing experience and I miss it all the time. It was actually a trainer/coach, Cedric Benn, who helped me decide to get a job as a Personal Trainer with GoodLife (he worked at Devonshire in Windsor).
4. TV Sitcoms.
This is odd because I don't even have cable. Haven't for 2 years I think. I don't miss it even. I do however have an extensive DVD collection and throw in Seinfeld, The Office, 30 Rock, etc when I have the time to put my feet up. Favorite TV show of all time though is The Wire.
5. SportCheck
Don't know what it is, just a cool store. I'm guessing my last 6+ pairs of shoes have come from SportCheck ... I don't have a lot of dress shoes.
6. Sam.
Sam is my dog. He's so cool I would post pictures of him if I knew how. He was brought home one night unexpectedly and is this awesome little mutt who just likes everyone and everything. Him and I get along.
7. Basketball
All through high school, basketball was all I cared about. Much like boxing later, I spent most of my time playing basketball. I still love watching NBA on tv (especially playoffs - go OKC !!) and have a blast when I play still.
8. My iPad.
I have a laptop I never opened in years, but goof around on this stupid iPad all the time. Its just fun ... I don't know.
9. Spring/summer
People are in a better mood, the sun is actually up when I wake up, it's just a better time of year. Sorry to all those snowboarders, etc out there, but I'm going to make it a priority to live somewhere tropical sometime in my life.
10. Personal Training
This is not a fluff one. When I started as Trainer, and didn't even really know what I was doing in hindsight, but my friends and family immediately said I found something special because it's all I talked about, read about, and practiced. I would, and sadly sometimes still do, go to bed thinking about sets, reps, tempo manipulations, etc. I have so much fun training my clients, and now that I have only 4, I get to put so much more into their workouts. I love it!
I'm going to forego the proof reading and rely on auto correct to decipher my non sense above.
Happy Reading,
Me + My Trainer
