i bought a $56 sports bra.

it's true. how ridiculous it that? i mean, $56 for a bra that you just sweat in?

well, i am here to say it is worth it. when i started running last year, i quickly learned the sports bras i had weren't gonna cut it. so i invested in some from target that were more supportive - clasp in the back - not stretchy. and those have been serving their purpose. but with how much back pain i already have, combined with my larger than average chest, i decided it was time to invest in a great running bra.

i started doing some research & a blogger who wears the same size bra as me had suggested moving comfort bras. her favorite bra style is called juno, and she swears by them. so after  her endorsement & reading the 506 positive reviews, i took the plunge and ordered it in white.

because i spent over $50, i got free shipping, so hey, there's that! when it arrived, my sister noted that it was really big. but so are my boobs. so i figured that was a good thing. after my first 4 mile run, i knew i made the right choice. so for all you big-boobed runners out there, check out moving comfort & their wide range of bras. they have different impact levels, a TON of sizes, and lots of fun colors. they also have a whole line of workout gear, not just bras.

{a sports bra for every size!}

{the juno. the straps are adjustable. her eyes are scary.}

{3 clasp closure in the back}

movingcomfort.com

also check out sierratradingpost.com - they have some great deals on select sizes. 

happy running!

weekend = productivity.

what a weekend! sometimes you have to ditch your previous scheduled plans (for me, this was a bar crawl through downtown with 16k of your closest friends) and do what you want to do with your weekend.

after work on friday, court and i headed to lowe's & michael's to pick up some things for some weekend crafts. when we got home, we started on one project & also attached the hardware & hung up her window pane. it was a real rager of a friday night!

saturday morning i woke up and quickly got my day started. it went a little something like this... whole foods, home goods, rite aid, anthropologie, michael kors, michael's (again), momma's house, uptown to get my sister, trader joe's, and marshall's. PHEW. 

{anthro finds. new splenda jar.}

{home goods finds. adore the mint candle.}

disclaimer: we have a friend who gets us 50% off retail! i bought two new pairs of sandals, my mom replaced my black flats that she stole, and surprised me with another nude pair! lucky girl!

i finally got my framed prints back! the top is a cut out of south carolina's campus that i got at the southern christmas show last year. the bottom is a david french of selwyn pub that chelsea got me for my birthday back in august. 

my step dad & i used to spend a lot of time cleaning my car over the years. it was always one of my favorite things to do with him whenever i was home from college. and even though now he has to help from his wheelchair, i think we make a pretty great team. he told me what to do every step of the way, and he took care of the tires & wheels. 3 hours later, i had a beautiful clean car!

before picking up court from the bar crawl, i finished up this project which was pretty easy & deserves it's own post.

{family gallery wall.}

saturday evening was spent hanging with/laughing at my over-served sister. she's a riot. 

sunday morning i woke up and ran the last 2.5 miles of my weekly goal before church. after church, i had lunch with my parents, and then met all my siblings while they had lunch. court & i ran to home depot to pick up some shelves for our bathroom and also picked up some paint for another project. 

{shelves finally hung after some stud/molly screw drama.}

{another project we're working on.}

i had dinner with my other parents, and spent some time with them before heading home. sunday is almost over, and i'm not sure i could have packed anything else into my weekend. i did exactly what i wanted to do all weekend, and i wouldn't have had it any other way!

what a week!

it has been a busy week in my world, but an awesome one at that. some highlights include...

1. my sister's birthday! court turned 26 on tuesday - we are getting old! since court & i now live together, i got to make her birthday morning a little extra special.

 

{birthday sign - i love making these}

 

 

{my best attempt at making this recipe. it certainly isn't as pretty, but it sure was good! my store bought flatbread was a little too big for this, so i may go with a pizza dough next time.}

we celebrated both of my sister's birthdays (leigh's was last week) on tuesday night at the ever so fabulous blt at the ritz.

 

{birthday girls + me}

 

2. lola had her annual vet visit & she hated every second of it. then i continued the torture & made her get a bath at the dog salon. this is a neat place in plaza midwood that has self-serve dog washes & also grooming services. meet tater: a fellow english bully that has pink hair!

 

 

{she also has dog tattoos.. not kidding.}

 

 

{dog wash}

 

 

3. got in two great runs & pulled myself out of bed for 6am yoga this morning & tuesday morning. 

 

 

4. last but not least, i hung these shelves in my room all by myself! i'm probably a little too proud of this, but it feels like a big accomplishment! i spent some time looking around for the right shelves and found these at lowe's for about $13 each. the assembly wasn't too hard, although it did require a phone call to my stepdad, per the ususal. i love them!

 

 

 

i hope you have a great weekend & that you get to drink at least one green beer :) cheers!

all dogs go to heaven.

yesterday morning, my mom had to unexpectedly put one of our sweet doggies to sleep. we got scooter when he was about 2-3 years old and had been abandoned by his owners. he was living on the streets & malnourished. a neighbor eventually brought him to a rescue group & that's when my mom adopted him. scooter was a bully/boxer mix,  pretty smelly, and very rough around the edges, but he was ours. we will miss you so much scooter bug. i hope you're eating lots of chocolate cake in heaven.

 

 

10th annual hope gala!

many moons ago (like, in the early 80s), my parents met stuart and shelby. my mom & shelby were working together at a hospital here in charlotte. stuart & shelby were just dating at the time. fast forward to marriage & babies, stuart & shebly had 3 girls, austin, holly, & hope. austin is leigh's age, holly is my age, and hope was a sassy little redhead about 4 years younger then holly & i. fast forward again to june of 2003 when hope, who was 12 at the time, was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. hope went to heaven on january 4th, 2004, a little over 6 months after they found the cancer in her knee.

when make a wish came to hope to grant her wish, she selflessly wished that all other 155 kids on the north carolina waiting list would get their wishes granted. hope realized she had already been blessed with so much in her short life. and hope couldn't understand why there were 8 year olds receiving chemo all alone in cold hospital rooms, because their parents couldn't afford to/weren't able to take any more days off of work.

the first ever hope gala was held just a few days after hope passed. between the gala & other fundraising, the city of charlotte raised $1.3 million dollars to grant all 155 wishes in just over 4 weeks. i still get chills every time i think about it.

the march forth with hope foundation (hope's birthday was march 4th) was started to raise funds to pay the "non-glamours" bills that often don't get paid when family members are sick. they pay mortgage payments, car payments, grocery bills, electric bills, etc. so every year, we continue to celebrate hope & continue to raise money to help the families who aren't as fortunate as the stouts were when hope was sick. this year's gala was a masquerade & was held at the beautiful ballantyne resort in south charlotte!

hope would have turned 22 last week. it's hard to believe this year was the 10th year we've been celebrating her life. thank you for your legacy, sweet hope!

 

{hermana}

i LOVED the menu cards under the clear chargers - genius! i am not normally a fan of serving pork to large amounts of people, but the ribs were great & they had a veggie option available for any non-pork eaters out there.

 

 

{bro & sis with john kasay - one of our all time favorite panthers}

 

 

 

{photo booth fun}



currently loving...

1. kristin. not that i don't always love her (like a lot), but i have been feeling extra grateful for her lately. she is constantly encouraging me, listening to me, and checking in with me. she even helped me decorate my room via pictures & videos on tuesday. thanks for being my "dear sally."

{nothing beats snail mail}

2. bedtime tea by yogi tea. i started drinking yogi's green tea last year per kristin's advice. about a month ago, my sister told me she drinks "sleepy tea," before bed. so during my last trip to whole foods, i got a box of yogi tea's bedtime tea. not only is it absolutely delicious with the most amazing aftertaste (weird, i know), it really does help me sleep. i am an insomniac and have a terrible time getting to sleep & staying asleep. after years of various sleep meds, i decided to get off of them for good. this tea has been a wonderful ( & healthy) sleeping aid, and i look forward to having a cup every night before bed.

you can find some flavor of yogi tea in most grocery stores, but whole food definitely has the biggest selection i have seen in charlotte. you can also order online here.

3. speaking of sleeping, i got the sleep pillow app for iphone a few months ago and i love it. i have always slept with a fan on in my room, and when my fan broke sometime in late 2012, a twitter follower suggested i download this app. at first i got the free app, but it didn't have a fan sound that i liked. so i paid the $1.99 and got the full app that has over 80 different sounds. it allows you to set a timer, and you can also set your alarm through the app. i just so happen to love the fan noise with the cute little doggie in it!

4. running. after my 6 month hiatus at the end of last year, i've been back in the swing of things for the past few months. i have set some new goals for myself and can't wait to get them done. moving back into dilworth will certainly help - i'm convinced it is the best running neighborhood in charlotte. for longer runs, you can hop on the greenway. for shorter runs, you get to look at all the beautiful houses/run through parks. i'm digging it.

5. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/. moving into a new place always leaves me dreaming about home decor. i've been reading this blog/website for quite some time, but i've been stalking it in a new way the past few weeks.


we have a fun filled weekend coming up with celebrating my sister's birthday on friday night & attending the annual march forth with hope gala on saturday night. check out my post from court's birthday & the hope gala from last year - deja vu!

have a great weekend!

... we moved!

and by "we," i mean my sister & i (& lola)! and where to? this charming, completely gutted & renovated duplex in dilworth.

we're both 1.5 miles from work & we can see the beautiful skyline from our front door. we can also see paula broadwell's house from our porch - ha!  i'll get a house tour up when if we ever getting settled, but for now, how awesome are these pieces we got at sleepy poet over the weekend? i swear, that place is heaven.

 

{vintage buffet that is my new dresser!}

 

 

{our new tv stand!}