TWO fashion posts back to back?! Yes, it's true! 

Spring Break kicked off on Friday at 2:39 p.m. CST, and I for one couldn't be happier! It's not that I don't love my job and my time with my kiddos (because I DO!), but I am desperately in need of some down time to recharge my batteries. Furthermore, I'm in need of some down time to GET OUR WEDDING PLANNED. So, there will be lots of wedding related goodnessy things happening this week (five weeks and counting!)! 

When I got home from school on Friday, my latest Stitch Fix was waiting for me on the porch (a day before it was scheduled to get here!)! I was so excited to see it, and I rushed into the house to get it open. I'd peeked online and knew I was getting a pair of jeans, a top, a sweater, a dress, and a handbag! 

If you haven't heard of Stitch Fix yet, let me explain a little! Basically, Stitch Fix is a subscription service that will send you five clothing or accessory pieces for you to try on in the comfort of your own home and with your own clothing to pair with it. Each Fix costs $20, but that fee is credited toward whatever you decide to keep. When you've decided what you don't want, you drop it in the prepaid mailing envelope, stick it in any mailbox, and mail it back to the company. You only get charged for what you keep, and you can get Fixes as often or as infrequently as you'd like. Shipping is free both ways. AND, if someone signs up through your referral link (mine is linked above!), you get a $25 credit to use toward your next purchase. Not a bad deal, huh? 

I love this service because it pushes me outside my comfort zone! You can check out my other Stitch Fix Reviews here: 
Stitch Fix #1
Stitch Fix #2
Stitch Fix #3

All sorts of yummy spring colors!

I waited until today to try everything on (on Friday, I was too tired, and Saturday I was covered in paint from helping our friends!). This service is so great because I ended up loving items that I never would have probably picked up in a store! I think that's my favorite part of Stitch Fix -- getting outside my comfort zone and trying new things! 

1. Under Skies Abrial Floral Print Sleeveless Blouse ($54)
2. Kensie Jeans Kaleigh Ankle Biter Skinny Jeans ($88)

Right away, I was excited about these pieces because they're not items I would normally try. I really loved the pop of hot pink in the top, and the button details on the front were gold (love gold accents), but the fiance/photographer commented that he thought it was borderline mu-muish, and that was about it for me. I liked it, but I didn't love it, and for that price, I really want to love anything I'm buying.

I really want to get a fun spring colored pant (i.e. light pink, mint green), and I've seen these pants on other Stitch Fix blogs, so I was excited they were being sent my way! The color I think is a little too close to my skin tone, but rationalized that since I'd be wearing them on my lower half, I could wear something more skin tone flattering on top. The pants fit very nice in the waist... but, for lack of a classier way to say this... they're about an inch and a half too long in the groin area. If I pulled them up so that they fit in that area, they then become too short. Conundrum. But, maybe it's okay that I don't love them since they're a little more than I'd like to pay! 

3. THML Myrinda Cap Sleeve Cotton Striped Dress ($58) 

Officially a believer in Stitch Fix because of this dress! When I pulled it out of the box, I didn't think I was going to like it. It seemed a little country-ish in the material, and I thought cap sleeves wouldn't be flattering on me. Then I put it on, and I friggin' love it! The dress is totally figure flattering and can easily be dressed up or dressed down! It's work appropriate, but I could also see myself wearing it to other events too. I think I had it on all of two seconds before I knew I'd be getting this dress! 

4. Under Skies Aries Airy Kint Drape Front Cardigan ($58)

Ehhh. This just doesn't do a whole lot for me. While I love a good cardigan, I'm not a huge fan of the handkerchief hemline (the darts are in the back and around the front). It's cute, but it's a lot of material and seems to overwhelm me a bit. Plus, as the queen of cardigans, I have a few (read: eight) of these in different colors that I could substitute for it. 

5. Urban Expressions Booker Fold Over Crossbody Bag with Zip Detail ($54)

I am so picky when it comes to purses, it's not even funny. I'm pretty much a Coach girl through and through, so when I saw there was a handbag in this order, I didn't know if I would like it. 

But then it came. 

And it's a beautiful Teal Green. And it has gold hardware. And it has a beautiful lining. And it feels super luxurious. And there's an extra strap that can make it a shoulder bag OR a crossbody bag (ideal for European travel!)! 

And there really wasn't much more I could say about it after that. I had to keep checking my invoice because I couldn't believe a purse THIS nice and THIS well made would go for only $54! And what do you know? It goes perfectly with this new dress! 

So, I kept two of my five items this time! Every single time I use this service, I like it more and more! If you've been thinking about trying it, spring is a GREAT time to update your wardrobe (out with the old, in with the new!)! I would be forever grateful if you used this referral link so that we can both benefit from your awesome decision to try this service! 

The fabulous new Flourish!

Last week, my coworker and I were looking at new photos that Flourish had added to Facebook. Another coworker pointed out (correctly, I might add) that we are obsessed with Flourish. 

Umm, YES. 

And now, there's even more to be obsessed about! 

On Thursday, Flourish held their Grand Opening in their brand new location. I was bummed to miss the event (because Flourish throws a fantastic party!), but they had a fashion show highlighting their new styles, a DJ, and Gigi's cupcakes! I've only been there once and I fell. In. Love! The space is larger, the selection is wider, and everything screamed "Get in my closet!" They even have a new gift section that is adorable! Outfits for baby and little girl fashionistas, wall hangings for Brides-to-be (my mom couldn't resist and bought Dan and me one that says "Mr. and Mrs."), and unique Saint Mary's and Notre Dame items are just a few of the things you can find there. 

Since I'm doing the whole Bride-on-a-Budget thing these days, I'm glad I was able to hit them up during a sale! Their Grand Opening sale is still on through Wednesday at midnight (just enter GRAND25 during your online checkout!). When I went to Flourish, I went with a very specific goal in mind: Find a dress for my daytime winery bachelorette party. I knew I wanted it to be white and have some fun details to it. I might have gotten distracted by a few other pieces in the store... but the dress I chose is below under the other Flourish things I'm loving right now! 

1. Keeping in Contrast Maxi Dress ($79.50) -- I can already picture myself walking through our honeymoon in Greece in this little number. So in love! 

Keeping in Contrast Maxi Dress

2. Sparkles Wherever She Goes Flats in Gold ($21.50) -- Perfect for kicking around this spring and summer (and a total steal at that price!). These shoes will most definitely be working their way in to my closet. 

Sparkles Wherever She Goes Flats

3. Midas Touch Sandals ($39.50) -- Hi, my name is Angela, and I have a shoe problem. But these sandals are so great! The touch of gold elevates these from just being a flat t-strap sandal to sandals that are elegant fun! 

Midas Touch Sandals

4. Key necklace ($14.50) -- I can't find a link to this on the Flourish web page, but this is easily my favorite necklace I've picked up this year. The little key has such delicate pearls on it, and since we're doing a lot of lock and key items at our wedding, this just had to come home with me! 

Love the delicate key!

5. Petal Perfection Dress ($59.50) -- I fell in LOVE with this dress  the second I put it on! The delicate rosettes on the skirt are gorgeous, and the dress is SO flattering on! And the best part? The open back is beautiful! I seriously can't wait to wear this to my bachelorette party (I just hope it's warm enough by then!)! 

Petal Perfection Dress (it really is perfection!)

Check out that awesome back! 

So, there's my brief recap of the new Flourish. I recommend you check them out. Like now. And you can do it by going here. And one more thing. Remember the Saint Mary's and Notre Dame section I mentioned? Check out all this cuteness Flourish posted on their Facebook page! These items aren't available online (yet!), but you can order them by calling the store (or, stopping by there, say, this week, while you're on spring break...)! 

I need all of this cuteness. 

11 things I've learned in my (almost) 31 unmarried years

This month marks so many milestones for me. I turn 31 (how the hell am I 31?), Dan and I get our marriage license (!!!), and it's my last full month as a Saoud. I'm overwhelmed with anxiety and emotions (for instance, I started tearing up on my way to work today just thinking about marrying Dan next month), but it's mostly in a good way. 

I've been doing a lot of thinking back lately about how amazing my 31 unmarried years were. Don't get me wrong... I am over the moon excited to marry Dan. But, there's so much I take away from my time as a single lady, and I wouldn't change a single moment of these years for anything. 

Here's what I learned in my 31 unmarried years: 

1. I knew myself as a single person. Not only did I know myself as a single person, I liked myself as a single person. I knew who I was and what was important to me. And now that I'm no longer a single person, I feel like I've taken the best of those things and brought them into coupledom. 

2. Living alone is kind of awesome. I distinctly remember a few nights after my roommate Krissi moved out, I was alone in the house and I heard a noise. At first, I was scared. And then I realized that if something bad was going to happen, it was going to happen, and I couldn't be scared every time I heard a bump in the night. These were formative years as I learned to live alone and love it. I'm grateful I had that chance. 

3. Veering from the life plan is okay. I didn't follow the life plan I thought I would. For a long time, I lived under the assumption that I was going to marry my high school boyfriend as soon as we graduated from college. For me, that wasn't the right choice. Many people can get married at 18 or 20 or 22 or 25 and be blissfully happy forever, but for me, I think it was important that I had the chance to grow in to myself first. If I'd gotten married at 22, I never would have had 80% of the experiences I had in my 20s... experiences that live in my fondest memories. 

4. Trips with only girlfriends will lead to tons of adoration and said fondest memories (see #3). Except the hungover memories. Those I did not love. But traveling with four girlfriends to Las Vegas (and again, later, with three girlfriends) and two girlfriends on a cruise to Key West and Cozumel were some of my most favorite vacations. If anyone says you can't have friends who are also soulmates, that person is dead wrong. My girlfriends are the other pieces of me. 

5. Dating the wrong people is okay. I dated the wrong people. The WAY wrong people. But I took something away from every single person who wasn't right for me. Sometimes, I learned about the way I wanted to be treated. Sometimes, I learned about the way I definitely did NOT want to be treated. I learned what was really important in a partner, and what things I could let go. And I also learned that there are a lot of idiots out there. :)

6. Making a mistake is okay too. I made mistakes. Quite a few mistakes. I don't regret a single one of them. 

7. Heartbreak doesn't equal destruction. I got really hurt by someone I really thought I was going to have a future life with. At the time, I was devastated. But it made me come back a far stronger person. The Angela I became after that breakup is so much better than the Angela I was before. I am stronger, smarter, and more loving because of it. 

8. Our parents are always right. We are born and grow up thinking our parents know EVERYTHING. Then we become teenagers, and there we believe our parents know almost nothing. But as I've grown into an adult, I've learned more and more, my parents really do know everything. My mom always told me someone wonderful was out there waiting for me. She was SO right (and, by default, my dad is always right too!)!

9. I crave alone time. Don't get me wrong -- I love being with Dan, my family, my friends, talking on the phone, being in public, etc. But I'm just as happy at home, by myself, doing things I like to do. In fact, I need it for my sanity.

10. I fell in love with exercise: running, Jazzercise, and barre classes. I started Jazzercise the summer after I graduated from college and knew immediately that I was in love. It was the first exercise program I'd ever been able to stick to. And nine years later (eight as an instructor!), I'm still totally in love with the program! Running fell into my lap five years ago. I put one foot in front of the other and never looked back! But if I'd had a family, I don't think I would have found the time and energy to train for the two half marathons I've run. Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying it's impossible to run halfs and have a family, but I feel like my priorities wouldn't have been focused on me. These exercises are necessary for my sanity, my creativity, my energy, and my happiness. 

11. Everything happens for a reason. I know that phrase is cliche. But I don't care. Every single moment in my life has led me to a life I've always dreamed of. Every single moment led me right here. And I am incredibly blessed to be on this journey. 

I lived. :)

In with the new... Jazzercise formats!

We had a really great get together earlier this week for the Jazzercise instructors in South Bend. I really can't believe that I've been an instructor for almost EIGHT years! I love teaching Jazzercise because the students are the absolute best people in the world, but more than that, I wholeheartedly believe in the program. 

After I graduated from college, I was up about 15 pounds from where I usually maintained. I blamed it on way too much late night snacking during student teaching, but the truth is, I wasn't moving enough. When I graduated and moved home, my mom suggested that we start going to Jazzercise classes together. She had gone years before and loved it and was anxious to show me the program. After one class, I was totally hooked. The music was upbeat. The routines were fresh. And it combined cardio, strength training, and stretching, all three of which helped me work off those 15 pounds (and then a few more too!)! Jazzercise helped me to find my strength, my focus, and my sheer love of exercise. 

I think the Jazzercise format is the best program out there (I'm biased, I know). And I'm THRILLED that we're rolling out some new class formats in April! I think they're only going to draw more people to our program so we can show them just how fantastic it really is!

So, in no particular order, here's a little about each of our new formats! 

Core: A cardio and strength class that combines lots of crunching core movements in both portions. It's a great way to whittle the middle! The focus is all about the abs... which is just in time for the upcoming summer season! 

Fusion: A cardio and strength circuit workout class that rotates between the two. It's a great way to up the intensity of a Jazzercise class! Studies have proven over and over again that intervals help burn more calories than just doing cardio and strength alone. 

Strike: Strike is a great cardio kickboxing class that ends with strength. Perfect workout when you need some serious stress relief! Uppercut, jabs, and roundhouse kicks are the perfect addition to class. 

Strength45 and Strength60: A full 45 or 60 minutes of non-stop strength training. All mustcle, all the time! 

Want to find a class near you? Go here to locate a class. Want to know more about the program and what you can gain from it? Visit the home page to find out more information! 

On why you should never be a jerk to others

Lately, this theme of not being a jerk has popped up a lot in my life. I have a few students on my newspaper staff that have written columns about it. I've heard more and more stories from others about the time they were jerks and really regretted it later. And then, there's always my mom's favorite quote: "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you know is fighting some sort of battle." 

Now, I realize that there are times when it would be easier, and, perhaps more satisfying to just be a jerk to someone, especially if that person is being a jerk to you. But there is so much that happens behind the scenes in the lives of others that I've learned it's just easier to be kind. 

Case in point, my first year of teaching high school, I had a student who was chronically missing my class. I assumed he was skipping and decided to call home to see what was going on, and the student answered the phone. For whatever reason, I held my pre-rehearsed cocky commentary and asked the student how he was, where he'd been, and if he was okay. We had a brief conversation, and that was the end of it. The next day, I got an email from his mom. She thanked me over and over for calling home to check on her son. In the end, it turned out that the student was suffering from severe depression that, in turn, caused him severe anxiety and often kept him away from school. My heart broke as I thought how I originally planned to yell at this student for what I had assumed was him skipping my class. 

That was a giant, wonderful wake up call for me. I had NO idea what was going on in this child's life. And there are so many times when we DON'T know what's going on in the lives of others. And, call me a softie, but I feel like it's just better to err on the side of caution than to jump to assumptions before I really know what's going on. Maybe that makes me too trusting. Or too soft.

But I'd rather be a big softie than a jerk any day of the week. 

Snow Day #10: What I'm loving Wednesday

The winter freeze rolled in last night and, by all signs of the sun streaming through my family room windows, will be exiting here momentarily. Sandwiched in between, though, was snow day #10 (double digits!) on the school year. Ironically, we've just decided how we would make up our snow days (2 were exempted, 4 were added throughout the rest of the year, and we're going to school on Good Friday and adding an extra hour of school for 12 days to make up the other 3). It'll be interesting to see where we tack this one on (let's all hope not around wedding time!)!

At first, I was bummed about having another snow day, but I've come to the conclusion lately that life is handing us these lemons for a reason, and making lemonade out of them is clearly the best thing to do. So today's blog focuses on things I'm loving right now! 

Get in my belly! 

1. Gigi's Cupcakes - If you haven't had a chance to get over to Granger (or one of the other locations of Gigi's), you're missing out. There's something so decadent about a delicious cupcake covered with a gigantic amount of frosting. These ones were at my bridal shower over the weekend (with mint and lavender frosting to match our wedding colors) and were absolutely scrumptious! 

2. POPSUGAR Fitness Workouts - POPSUGAR was a Pinterest find for me, and I'm obsessed! They have amazing workouts of all types, all ability levels, and with all levels of equipment. It's been a fun way to change up my workouts and get outside the comfort zone recently! 

3. Running outside - I've gotten in TWO WHOLE outdoor runs in the past week and a half, and it has been glorious! I seriously can't wait to resume a normal running routine again! 

Teresa, Andrea (and baby boy C!), and me at the Gender Reveal Party!
Photo by the super talented David McMasters!

4. Stitch Fix - I'm still adoring my Stitch Fix shipments!  They are so fun to look forward to, and I love that they send me pieces I never would have tried on my own! Case in point, check out the beautiful blue cowl neck top I'm wearing in the picture above! This was the perfect top to wear to my friend's gender reveal party (and yes, it's a boy!)! My next shipment comes April 5, and it'll be the perfect way to kick off spring break. The best part is, they have an awesome referral program, and with a few referrals, you can score some great clothes for free! 

5. Organizing all the things - With all the different wedding related things we've been bringing into the house lately, we've amassed a major amount of things! So it's been a small thrill to start organizing all of it when I can! Once we're back from our honeymoon this summer, I'm hoping to clear the clutter, have a MAJOR garage sale, and organize the house from top to bottom. I'm geekily excited about this! 

So, that's me! What are YOU loving this Wednesday?

Bridal Babble: Things I wish I could tell others about planning our wedding

Oh hello, bridal stress.

I am so incredibly thrilled to be getting married. 

That being said, this week is kicking my @$$. Between the end of the second trimester at school (and projects and finals galore to grade) and being just two months out from our big day, I'm about 97% bonkers at this point. Case in point: I'm so exhausted, I just ate peanut butter on semi-stale tortilla chips for dinner. 

THAT LAZINESS HAPPENED. 

There are so many things I wish people knew about planning our wedding. There are so many things I wish I could explain in a way that makes sense. So, here they are, in no particular order.

1. I TOTALLY get now why people hire wedding planners. At the beginning of this process, I would have laughed at the suggestion to hire a wedding planner. I'm Type-A. I'm organized. I'm on top of things. Holy crap, I'm in over my head. There are so many decisions to make! Daily! About every little thing! And I worry that I'm forgetting really major things. So, while we're doing it ourselves, I can totally understand why the draw to hire another person to make the decisions is there. 

2. Wedding planning becomes all consuming these last few months. What music do we want played before the ceremony? After? How do we want tables arranged? And how many at a table? What day are we going to pick up our marriage license? And who do we put in charge of getting it to the church the day of the wedding? These all came to me in the last three seconds. So. Many. Details! It makes it hard to ever have a moment of total relaxation.

3. If we could, we would literally invite every person we've ever interacted with. Whether you've been a major part of our lives for years or you once held the door open for me at the post office, I would invite everyone ever if we could. But we can't. And that stinks. But as anyone who's ever planned a wedding knows, there are limitations. 

4. We love children. We really do. But being that we're 30, many, many, MANY of our family members and friends have children. So, to add all the children in, we'd be adding another 50-75ish people to that list. So we've opted for a child-free wedding so that we can enjoy the day with as many people as possible. Again, we hope everyone realizes that there are limitations, but it doesn't mean we love children any less! 

5. When I think about having all the people we love together in one space, it literally overwhelms me to the point of tears. Truly, when will this ever happen again? When will we have a room full of the people nearest and dearest to our hearts? Probably never ever! And I literally can't wait for that moment. 

6. While I can't wait for that moment, there is a part of me that is ready to have the wedding be over and just be married to Dan. I am literally over the moon excited for our wedding day! I can't wait to walk down the aisle, say "I do," and spend the night celebrating with everyone we care about. But there is a part of me that is just ready to get to a few days after the wedding when we can just be husband and wife and enjoy that. Because while I love the party, I really love the thought of having my husband forever. :)