Not a TiLT Post

Ugh this week has been getting away from me. I was GOING to write a TiLT post and tell you about how amazing the new MS MR and Vampire Weekend albums are and how we skipped spring weather entirely and I’m MAD but actually kind of excited to have summer and how my 40 ounce Klean Kanteen (YEAH GUYS) is supposed to arrive today and how obsessed I am with Jessica’s Tuesday Things posts and alllllll these other great things that I love. But it never happened so now you’re getting a combination TiLT/Weekend Reading post so deal with it. Teal with it. Shaquille O’Neal with it. (P & I play this game a lot but it’s been a long time since we’ve come up with anything new. Wanna play?)

NO PICTURE BECAUSE I LIKE WORDS AND CAPS LOCK

• I literally gasped out loud while sitting at my desk when I read this.
• Let’s talk about MS MR some more. Now go listen to this song. Now go listen to the album. AGAIN. MORE. KEEP LISTEN. STAY LISTEN.
• I’m so glad that Allie is talking about her depression because it’s really important. I’m sorry that she had to go through such an awful year, but how amazing is she for using the experience for good?
• Speaking of important things, I can’t deny the importance of Angelina Jolie’s op-ed, but why isn’t anyone talking about the fact that this kind of healthcare is inaccessible and unavailable for 99.9% of women?
• Have you seen Gatsby yet? I can’t get over this comparison of Leo (pronounced “lay-oh,” FYI) from this list of things that will make you feel old as dirt. He’s aging SO WELL, don’t you agree?
• Stress is a status symbol because it means you are important, and telling others you “need a drink” actually means “F, I AM SO BUSY [read=important] AND I DESERVE A BREAK.” Think about it.
• Does anyone else love Gwyneth but think she’s absolutely insane?

What are you reading and loving this week?

My Strange Addiction

It recently occurred to me that I have a water bottle buying problem. Recently as in this morning while buying yet ANOTHER stainless steel water bottle on Amazon. I just have really specific wants in a water bottle and none of them meet ALL of my requirements.

• capacity of at least 1L
• preferably no plastic parts
• dishwasher safe
• won’t leach flavor OR chemicals

I currently own two different size Klean Kanteens, a Camelbak Eddy, a Contigo Grace Autoseal, and two different size Tervis tumblers. I’ve also owned Nalgene, Sigg, Subzero, and a glass water bottle but that one didn’t last long. Butterfingers. I’m pretty sure I even wrote a blog post about all of my water bottles at one point, but I can’t find it and the Internet is a big place so JUST TRUST ME I’m a little preoccupied with hydration. Several of my water bottles have been gifts because I am on a QUEST to find the perfect water bottle and everyone in my life knows it.

Also I’d like to point out that 4 of my 6 water bottles are ENTIRELY plastic, so I’m doing really well on that one. The Klean Kanteens are admittedly my favorites and they come with plastic caps (stainless steel caps are available but if you’ve ever heard the horrendous squeaks that Klean Kanteens make when being closed, IMAGINE IT WITH METAL ON METAL ), so I’ve just kind of accepted the fact that it’s really hard to get away from plastic and it probably doesn’t have BPA because it’s 2013.

Do you have a reusable water bottle? Are you as obsessed with anything as I am with water bottles?

Mexico’d

Hola hola mi amigos. I survived my Mexican vacation and I did not work out ONCE. Unless you count the several miles I walked while touring Tulum and Chichén Itzá. I also ate whatever the f I wanted and drank many cervezas mas fina. So much for that plan.

Here is an upsetting story: I drank too many cervezas on our second night in Mexico and spent all of the next day in the iron jaws of a massive hangover. I’m not even going to discuss the things I did while I was drunk because a searing embarrassment bubbles up inside of me when I remember. I got out of bed around noon to test the waters and promptly fainted (literally), so I played Candy Crush in my dark hotel room while the rest of the wedding party + guests went snorkeling. (Honestly there isn’t a face sad enough for this story. Like how tragic is it that I was TOO HUNGOVER to spend the next afternoon on a catamaran in the Caribbean Sea? It’s heartbreaking.)

So there’s that. Otherwise I was very well behaved. I found out while sitting in the Miami airport, en route to Playa, that when people tell you not to drink the water in Mexico, they aren’t being funny. It’s a real thing. By some Christmas miracle, though, my picky stomach didn’t get sick once. I ate many tacos and lots of cheese and it was glorious.

When we got home from Mexico, I weighed the same as when we’d left, so that was great. But then we didn’t have any food so I went to Trader Joe’s on Friday and somehow a jar of cookie butter ended up in my basket and then by last night it was empty. I HAVE A PROBLEM. It was just so good, I couldn’t stop! I ate at least half the jar by myself and I’m not sorry.

So that was disgusting and then I decided to weigh myself this morning just for funsies and I was somehow 3 pounds lighter than last week. Which means my scale is broken or hexed or not zeroed or something because that’s ridiculous but whatever I’M TAKING IT AND I’M RUNNING WITH IT.

I had an amazing time in Mexico. It was beautiful and sunny and delicious and I tried to convince the hotel staff to hire me so I could stay forever. But I’m really glad to be back in the U.S. where I can drink tap water and eat bacon cheeseburgers (this happened as soon as we made it through Customs & Immigration because MURICA) and watch Game of Thrones and and sleep 9 hours a night if I want.

I Has An Ouchie

I’m like, a very lazy person, so this is really weird to me, but I think I’ve been overtraining.

On Sunday I had what felt like a pulled muscle in my right thigh while I was doin mah squats n lunges, so I took it kind of easy. It felt okay yesterday, but I took a rest day anyway because I was lazy (told you). Today I made myself go to the gym since I’m going to be traveling for most of tomorrow… I told myself that if I had sore muscles I would feel better about not being able/not wanting to workout. So I’m up in the gym just working on my fitness, and I get a third of the way through the 1 Thousand Lunges workout (a.k.a.), and my legs just won’t do it. My quads felt weak and weirdly painful.. like, not pulled muscle painful, and not sore muscle painful. I don’t know how to describe it, but it freaked me out enough that I stopped. I tried to take the stairs back to my apartment (6 floors) and got the same reaction from my legs. NOPE. NOT DOING IT.

I really don’t know what the problem is because mentally, I was INTO that workout. I was so pumped that I’ve been starting to see definition in my legs and arms, and now I’m so bummed that my legs just don’t wanna. Tomorrow is definitely a rest day and I’ll probably take Thursday off too, just to be safe. I might try some test squats on Friday, but more than likely I’ll stick to C25K intervals and arms while I’m in Mexico. Whatever the problem is, rest is almost always the best remedy so I’m gonna try to be patient and let my legs figure it out.

Has anyone else ever had a similar problem?

What I’m NOT Doing in Mexico

The other day I realized out loud in an instant message to Amanda that if I were pregnant, no one would ever suspect it because I pretty much always have every symptom of early pregnancy. Evidence:

• I am the sleepiest person
• I have a very sensitive stomach
• I don’t/can’t drink

But don’t worry – I know how babies work and I am NOT pregnant. And if I ever GET pregnant, this is not how I’ll tell you. Prom prom.

That’s not even close to what this post is supposed to be about. The point is – I’m going to Mexico with a bunch of bros for a wedding AND Cinco de Mayo. Which means the next 8 days are pretty much going to be a sh!tshow of sloppy drunken nights and hungover mornings.

Buuuuuut not for me. My high maintenance sinuses don’t let me drink much, which is the real reason I’m not going to be getting loose in Mexico, but more than that, I’ve really been trying to make a positive, healthy change in my life and I don’t want to derail myself because of a vacation. But here’s what else I’m not going to be doing in Mexico: tracking my calories. As much as I don’t want this trip to be a free pass, it is definitely still a vacation and I’m not going to beat myself up for having wedding cake or missing a run.

TL;DR – I’m not pregnant, but I can’t drink and I’m going to Mexico, brb.

Let’s See How Far We Can Go

Diane Keaton is amazing and I want her to be my crazy auntie and hang out with her every night. How funny is her water glass full of red wine & ice cubes?

Also I will probably also see her movie The Big Wedding now because I love her.

TiLT #4

Yeah, this is happening again. I just love a lot of things, okay?

Lentil ♥ HAVE WE TALKED ABOUT THIS YET? Lentil is a babby French Bulldog who was born with a cleft palate. Impressively, Lentil, at only 10 weeks old, has his own blog, a Facebook page, AND has been featured on both Buzzfeed and wildly popular blogs such as this. The takeaway is this: Lentil is the cutest bb ever and has the most adorable name and I want to squish him.

Boston ♥ Yeah, me & everyone else, right? I lived in Boston my first year out of college and it holds a really special place in my heart as the first city I ever fell in love with. Also the city that brought me some of my bestfriends and one of the hardest, most rewarding years of my life. It was tough to watch Boston go through such a horrifying week but I’m so proud of the city’s resilience and strength. Makes me even more homesick for the Bean.

SPRING ♥ Even though spring means that everything is neon green and full of allergic pollen and my asthma is killingsuffocating me and it rains a lot, I’m still so happy! We had a really dry summer last year so I can’t complain about the rain (this is not stopping the rest of St. Louis from complaining though..). I can do all kinds of spring things, like ride my bike outside and not wear socks and drink iced coffee without getting strange looks!

Honorable mention ♥ sisters ♥ The Neighbourhood ♥ CJ Fair ♥ my Tervis tumbler ♥ cocoa butter lotion ♥ squats! ♥ Spotify ♥ iced latte season ♥ bows on everything ♥ polka dots ♥ daisies ♥ Candy Crush Saga ♥ my Google Nexus 10 ♥ Treat Yo’Self day ♥ sore muscles ♥ the most versatile bag I own, my Longchamp ♥ pastels ♥ sinus rinsing (TMI??) ♥ Keek ♥ outdoor dining season ♥ Haim ♥ Psych ♥ GroopDealz ♥ Moleskine ♥ Target’s “giftables” section ♥ eos lip balm (esp. the sweet mint and tangerine flavors) ♥ floral prints ♥ covered parking ♥ Joffrey Bieber ♥ summer weekends ♥

photo via