Bachelorette SNAFUs

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I mentioned a while back that we had we had a couple of SNAFUs the weekend of my Bachelorette parties, which ended up altering the course of our morning. I'm telling myself it was a blessing in disguise, because we got our crazy issues out of the way before the wedding! 

Also, as I look back on it, I'm finding tiny silver linings. This, my friends, is practice in finding gratitude in each and every thing - whether it seems good or bad. #LifeLessons

SNAFU NUMBER ONE: While we were on our way to my hair appointment, I called to find out that they had no record of my reservation. So, we headed home and I quickly dry shampoo'ed the heck out of my day-after-bachelorette-party hair. Did it work? Yeah.

It was a pretty hot day, so it ended up being a blessing in disguise that, instead of a blowout (which would have been heavy and hot on my neck and shoulders), I had an up-do that kept me cool!  Not to mention it showed off the back of my fabulous dress...

Another thing to be grateful for: I later received some mail from the hair studio, apologizing for losing my reservation and sending me gifts and gift cards to make up for it.

SNAFU NUMBER TWO: We were supposed to get to the loft at noon so that my bridesmaids and my mom could start setting up for the party while I had my makeup done by the artist who will be doing it for the wedding. Unfortunately, he got into a fender bender on Lake Shore Drive (not his fault) and was unable to make it (he would have been over two hours late and he would have been doing my makeup during the party, so we just decided to reschedule). 

I ended up doing my own makeup, which was a blessing because I finished it much earlier than the artist would have, so I was able to greet my guests and spend time with them as they arrived.

If you're confused, I'm the black dress on the right with the BRIDE TO BE sash.
Don't worry. People confuse us all the time. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!

Then I got to do another run through a few weeks later, which was the perfect excuse for our date to Oon. Two silver linings yet again!

Finally, SNAFU NUMBER THREE: Traffic up in the burbs was so awful, that my mom was going to show up with all the food and drinks after the party started! This one almost had me melting down, I'm not gonna lie to you. But, ultimately, by the time she arrived, some of my girlfriends and family were there, so we all pitched in and helped carry the food from the car into the elevator and up into the loft. Blessing? More hands, faster prep!

Ultimately, the weekend was just as wonderful as I could have imagined. Though there were obviously a few issues, at the end of the day, I am grateful to have been reminded that, even when the shit hits the fan, there can be a silver lining and it's important to focus on the good!

What about you? 

Ever turn something bad into something good?

Be My Bridesmaid? Pt. 2

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Last week, I showed you how I "proposed' to my bridesmaids. It was a crafty gesture that combined dorky, sweet, and awesome (if I may say so myself).

While I'm sure you can appreciate cuteness just from the pictures of the box, I wanted to share some of the extra cuteness (squeal! ...seriously) that evolved because of the boxes. Pictures taken of or by the real girls in my wedding party who received them!

Note: I asked my girls in the order of how long I've known them. So, I started with my sister on Christmas morning, then the next day asked my cousins, then my girlfriend from High School, and then my girlfriend from College.

First, here's a cute series of images of my sister opening up her box... 

The funny thing is, we were staying in the same house this week, because my fiance and I spent a few days up at my parents' place. So, Ailie (my sister) knew I was up to something. I even borrowed a few supplies from her. I pretty much just holed up in my bedroom and got crazy with the hot glue, if ya know what I mean. :)

Next, I asked my cousins, Clara and Maggie, at a big family gathering. While everyone was distracted (probably by food), my sister and I snuck out to the car and grabbed their boxes. I pranced back inside and pretty much plopped them down in front of each of them. Sneaky Carly!

My cousin Maggie Instagrammed the above picture of her box, right after opening it, with the caption "Of course I'll be your bridesmaid, @createliveblog!" So cute.

Next, I met my friend Emily for dinner and popped the question there. She later insagrammed this picture. Instagram, meet my wedding. You're going to be on very close terms, I guess!

To ask my friend Kelsey, I had to mail the box to Texas. After receiving it, she texted me this picture...

Because I put the scrabble tiles spelling their name (or a nick name) in their box, Kelsey had the tiles to spell Y-E-S. So cute. I had no idea she even had the letters in her box to do it - it wasn't something I'd thought of - so it was a clever surprise when I got this text from her!

Anyway, now on to all of you...

• How did you (or would you) ask your bridesmaids to be in your wedding party?
  

And now, as I've promised to start doing, an exercise in gratitude...
Dear Melted Brown Snow Water that is all around Chicago,
Sometimes, when I'm getting on the bus, I pretend that I'm hopping over lava instead of nasty, polluted, melted snow. Thanks for making me feel like a kid again!
Love, Carly

Power of Intention and Personal Records - WOTDs

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I just realized that I'm wearing the same black shirt in half of these pictures (okay, like two, but still). I swear I am not insanitary (and everyone knows you really can't re-use the moisture wicking shirts -- they just soak up sweat and reek anyway). I promise I did my laundry and washed this shirt... multiple times in one week... I have just been throwing it into every load I run... excuses excuses...

I don't care. I love it.



Wednesday
Arms/Shoulders Weights Training, 45min Pilates Class
Word of the day: Peace
I've been trying to focus some of my weight training on my arms and shoulders. It wasn't a focus area of mine in the past, but now that I'm looking forward to a wedding dress late this summer, it has become more important. I also am incorporating a lot more back work.



Thursday
5.5 Mile Run
Word(s) of the day: Runner's high
I did a long run on my lunch break, and it was pretty much amazing. I'm a total nerd, so I finished the last episode in the World Without End miniseries on Netflix. Stop judging me :)

This run was pretty good. I have not historically been a huge runner, and when I was somewhat into running, I rarely got above 5 miles, so this 5.5 at a somewhat decent pace was very uplifting.



Friday
2.5 Mile Run, 30 Minute CXWORX (Abs Class)
Word of the day: Sleepyhead
Oh man, no matter what I do, it's hard to make it to the gym before work. The abs class is at 630, so I typically try to make it to the gym by 6 to get in about 30 minutes of cardio before the class. Lately, my fiance has been joining me for this Friday morning routine, which has been a total treat!

Occasionally, I skip the morning cardio and head to the gym for an afternoon session, but I wanted to be all gussied up and ready for our double date that night, so I stuck with the morning routine.

Saturday
6 Mile Run
Word of the day: Netflix
My fiance was extremely sick on Saturday, so I headed over to the gym all alone and left the poor guy at home in bed. After my 5.5 mile run on Thursday, I was feeling pretty inspired to try to up the ante a bit. And, particularly because I was proud of myself for drinking enough water and taking enough vitamins to hit the gym after a night of drinking, I felt like taking on the world treadmill.

I'm pretty ADHD about running, so I have to have some good old TV to watch. But, the gym TV stations don't quite do it for me. I hate running through long commercial breaks (I'm looking at you, Kardashians. Why are your TV shows like 60% commercials?), and I want my shows on demand, so I stick to my iPad. As a result, this was the day I fell in love with the Mindy Project.



Sunday
200 Push Ups
Word of the day: Lazy
My fiance was still feeling sick, so we had a pretty lazy Sunday. We had a Homeland marathon and I did 20 push ups in a row at the beginning of each episode. This wasn't a huge feat by any means, and part of me feels like it doesn't deserve to be considered a workout, since I broke it up into so many pieces... but it definitely did some work on my arms, abs, and upper back/shoulders, because I felt it the next day. Thumbs up.

Monday
Body By Science (Weight Training) + Shoulders, Back, and Abs Weight Training
Word(s) of the day: Feel the burn
My fiance and I did our typical Body By Science weight lifting routine, but beforehand, I hit my shoulders and arms pretty hard. I'm planning to share an arms and shoulders routine I've been crafting that uses multiple exercises to burn out a few muscle groups, but that's for another day.

I also had a leg press PR during the last set of Body By Science, and lifted 190lbs on the Leg Press. I was mighty proud. It's nothing compared to my fiance's 720lbs (he's super tall a giant and has a strong lower body), but whatever.



Tuesday
8 Mile Run
Word of the day: Accomplishment
Okay, so technically, this run was just over 7.9 miles. I was in kind of a time crunch because my fiance had to pick me up to go get ready and head over to our church for a pre-marriage class we are taking, so I pushed it till the very moment I had to get off the treadmill.

I watched a few episodes of The Mindy Project, but then Hulu Plus started bugging out around 4 and a half miles, and I was starting to feel tired. So, I switched to Netflix and put on The Secret. Justin and I have been obsessed with it lately, and it was really the perfect Pick-Me-Up to get me inspired for the rest of my run.

I'm pretty sure this is a personal record for distance for me. I know a lot of you are intense runners and have run marathons and all that jazz... but for me, this is a big deal. Since being slide tacked in Soccer my Freshman year of High School, I've had a bizarre pain in the lower, outer side of my left knee that tends to flare up around mile 4. It was impressive to be making it to 5 and 6 miles earlier this week, so making it to (almost) 8 was kind of mind blowing. The power of intention and positive thinking! During my run, I just kept saying "my legs feel fine" and "thank you for such a comfortable run," etc. And it worked! This was my second PR this week, so I think I'm on a roll.



Wednesday
Plans: 30 Minute Arms/Shoulders/Upper Back Weights, 45 Minutes Pilates
Word(s) of the day: Good Vibrations
After watching The Secret, I've been working on the way my inner dialogue works. I'm sure I'll entertain you with a whole story later, but basically, I've been changing my thoughts from worrying about whether I'll have a good workout to simply telling myself that it will be awesome and being grateful in advance for that.
So, my plan for today is to rock my upper body and then do my favorite Pilates class.