Inspiration Board? More Like Inspiration Book

Ever since I was a little girl, collecting leftover Sassy and Seventeen magazines from around the house, I have been tearing out "looks" that I love. Over the years I've collected these images and when I came across a leftover art journal I knew that those fashion tears had found their home.

While I've been really good about continuing to tear images that inspire me, I've been a bit lax about organizing them. But recently I've been struggling with my closet and, in an effort to edit down my wardrobe and reveal my style, I have revisited these images.

Watching design shows you see design boards and that's great for one look, but when it comes to a wardrobe I need more room to work -- and so the rebirth of the inspiration book. Out came the images, out went the ones I'm already over and on went the rubber cement to secure the keepers. It's my hope that my style progresses along with the book and, when I'm having a fashion meltdown, it will serve as a place to go for answers.

Originally I wanted this to be a style blog, but I'm so sick of the standard style blogs; put-together women in their 30's being photographed by their significant others in whimsical poses and whatever setting mimics a soft filter on their SLR camera (which they probably received as an out-of-the-box wedding gift from their equally hip friends/family).

Like so many women my age, I don't quite have it all together. I'm getting there, but I'm not going to post phony photos that make others envious of my Brooklyn loft and my impeccably groomed puppy. I'm 29, I live on Long Island, I work in a small office and see the same handful of people every day; so my day-to-day attire simply does not call for high fashion. The problem is I'm also tired of the jeans/tee/hoodie combo, not to mention that I'm terrified of Stacy London and Clinton Kelly ambushing me for the new season of "What Not to Wear," and I think it's high time that I figure out how to adapt my dreams of everyday dressing to fit my reality. Yes, I escape to the city and the Hamptons as frequently as possible and when I do I use that as an excuse to wear the clothes I dream of, but it's still not my reality.

So this isn't an established style blog in the traditional sense, it's a finding-my-style blog. Let the editing down begin.

Aloha - I'm Back!

Summertime is for relaxing and since I can't seem to unwind when I'm near a computer I jumped at the chance to take a real vacation (for the first time in over 2 years) to Hawaii with the old roomies.

Hawaii was everything we'd hoped for and more - beautiful weather, great food and adventures abound. On Oahu we swam with the dolphins at Sea Life Park (where 50 First Dates was filmed), paid homage to fallen heroes at Pearl Harbor, and hiked Diamond Head.

We were supposed to go zip lining in Maui, but the winds were too strong so the more adventurous of us went ATV-ing instead. We did the Road to Hana: a 68 mile drive along highway that included stops at a the black sand beaches, waterfall we could swim in, and winery, attended a Luau at the Hyatt and at the end of our trip we watched the sun rise over Haleakala, aka the East Maui Volcano, and then biked down 23 miles.

On both islands we stayed in Aston properties. While I would definitely recommend the Aston Kaanapali Shores on Maui, which were basically cute and very well maintained condos, I have mixed emotions about the Aston Waikiki Beach hotel.

Allow me to start with the positive: the decor was cute and kitschy and the restaurant/tiki bar was delicious (food and beverage-wise). However, the whole place was like a hotel version of trading spaces. It was like they slapped on new bedding and threw some surfboards up as decor, but didn't bother fixing the bathrooms because the websites don't show those anyway. Our bathroom was almost scary; the shower head was violent (in both pressure and the fact that for some odd reason it sprayed out the side as well as straight down) and the shower curtain rod was so rusted one might get Tetanus just from looking at it (okay so apparently the whole tetanus = rust thing is a myth, but you get my point.

The bathroom didn't ruin our visit by any means, we just kept it quick and made sure not to touch the rod (a safe rule for any group if single girls on vacation *couldn't resist*). Besides, after the Aston Waikiki Beach we were all too excited to see our fancy Florida-meets-Hawaii condo in Maui. Well played Liberty Travel agent.

Time Flys When You're (Busy) Having Fun

After a hectic couple of weeks I woke up this morning and said, "Oh, hello Spring!"

Between Moxy, working out, going into Manhattan, applying to and interviewing for jobs, celebrating birthdays (my exceptionally awesome niece turned 1!) and my cousin's bridal shower it's been non-stop plans. The bottom line is that life is good and I am a lucky gal.

There are so many new places I've tried and a number of outfits that I've thrown together (and wound up being extremely fond of - I even repeated one - GASP!) and I can't wait to share all of it.

Spring and Fall have always been my favorite times of year because they represent change (and weather perfect for dining al fresco - LOVE), so as I embark on another fresh new season I look forward to sharing all of my new experiences here.

Cardio Sculpt: The Morning After

Last night I tried my 4th new class at the gym: Cardio Sculpt with Cleo.

I'm getting more comfortable and creating more of a routine with this whole gym thing; I remembered to bring a water, I realized that there are lockers in the corner of the room (I'd been keeping my bag and sweatshirt on the workout floor, thankfully no one tripped on them), and I'm more social with the people in class.

Cardio Sculpt seemed to involve a lot of upper body work, but that could just be because that's my weakest area so I noticed more. (It's like my muscles get less toned as your move up my body.) So while it did feel like my arms may fall off in the middle of our 80 push-ups, I made it through.

Today my chest and back are sore, but (so far) that's it! Must be getting the hang of this whole "fitness" thing. That's not to say that my chest and back won't be racked with stiffness and discomfort tomorrow, but I'll worry about that when it happens.

Cardio sculpt wasn't all that different from Bootcamp, not that I can see anyway. They both combine a cardio warm-up with muscle toning exercises in the middle and a cool-down. The music was high energy at both classes, which really helps to keep me motivated. Cardio sculpt was more crowded last night, but I'll attribute that to the fact that Christmas is over and everyone has more time on their hands. It definitely wasn't a New Year's Resolution crowd as I seemed to be the only one who didn't know what she was doing at points.

When comparing Cardio Sculpt to the Bootcamp class I took, the two instructors are the main difference. Cleo's more maternal and Nia, of Bootcamp, is more of the hardcore trainer type you might see on The Biggest Loser. It's just a matter of who I respond to better. Cleo is quicker to say you can stop if you can't handle it, so I felt less compelled to push myself, but she's a good back-up to Nia who I obviously prefer.

I'm still avoiding the main gym like a hornet's nest. I had to go in last night before class because my card wasn't registering and my glasses fogged up the minute I entered and I just felt like people were looking at me (perhaps my stellar gym outfit of my burnt orange bar softball t-shirt, black cotton shorts and black leggings had something to do with it) and I wanted to exit ASAP.

My goal is to continue taking classes so that I'm toned and healthy at my cousin's wedding in May. If I keep going at this rate I should be right where I want to be.

Up and at 'Em

2 days after Bootcamp my muscles decide it's time to be sore. Every muscle in my body resisted getting out of bed this morning.

During the abs section of our workout Nia told me not to pull on my neck so much, "you might need that someday" she quasi-joked. Today I feel why; the left side of my neck is tender to the touch. Oops.

She gave me a helpful hint though: while doing bicycles think shoulder-to-knee rather than elbow-to-knee. This is also harder on your abs, but I suppose that's the point.

I have some house guests this week and they're staying on the level with the treadmill, so working out at home is out. Looks like I'll have to work some extra walking into my trip to the city tonight.

My friend Steven's in town so me, him, and our friend Laura are going to dinner and then to see American Idiot on Broadway. I can't say that it's a show I would have selected on my own, but it's received good reviews so I'll give it a shot.

Review to follow.

Bootcamp Breakthrough

Last night's bootcamp class, I am pleased to report, went way better than expected.

For starters, it was just me and 4 other women, which was far less intimidating. Apparently we were the only gym-goers with an hour to kill the week before Christmas and I cherished this because I'm sure it's going to be miserable once all of the New Years Resolution people join in.

I arrived (ON TIME!), got my mat and began running in place. Bootcamp is more cardio than body sculpting was, which is good since that's my strong suit, so I would definitely need the water I brought this time.

We shuffled and lunged, lifted weights and passed a medicine ball down the line, and when it came time for abs we were all actually excited because that was the easiest part of the class so far (the woman next to me commented on how she's never thought she'd look forward to doing abs and I agreed).

With the smaller size it was easy to build a rapport with my classmates and I was less self-conscious of how I was doing; I even asked our instructor, Nia, in between "Mountain Climber" sets if I was positioning myself correctly because my back was killing me. She assured me that I was, my body just probably wasn't used to it and I assured her that she was correct.

Bootcamp transitions straight into body sculpting, with a quick aside from Nia that anyone who wasn't staying could leave at that point. As I got up to leave she told me she'd like me to stay and do some extra stretching (I'd confessed over the course of class that I am "new to the gym - is it obvious?" so I'm sure that played a part in her request), which I had not done after body sculpting, and I definitely think it helped. Today I feel a bit sore, but not unable to move.

As I was leaving I thanked her and gave a quick promise of, "I'm going to get better," and I'm confident and excited that I will.

...Yeah, I know, ew, I'm totally one of those gym people right now.

Bootcamp

So far I've tried yoga and body sculpting at the gym. After yoga I felt relaxed and nimble from all of the stretching. After body sculpting I was sore for 2 days, to the extent I couldn't sneeze without wincing, but at least it was the good kind of sore.

The body sculpting instructor was hardcore, she even had on a headset, and I was all sorts of psyched when I started the class. Unfortunately about halfway through she had us break for water, which I had not brought with me, and looked at me with a mixture of pity, disdain, and disbelief and simple said, "you should always bring a water."

During the 2nd half of the class my common sense won out over my pride and I sat out, lest I pass out, for a set of lunges. The instructor almost looked appreciative that I at least had the intelligence to do that. I got right back on the proverbial horse with the next set though.

I almost finished without incident - almost. Unfortunately while we were doing leg lifts with a weight tucked behind our knee I dropped the weight. After it thudded to the ground the instructor simply said "you gotta hold on to those weights" without even looking at me, but obviously knowing which dud had caused the thud.

Tonight I'm trying her bootcamp class. Hopefully I'm less disruptive this time. I'll report back later (or tomorrow if this class kicks my butt like the last one did).

Until then, this is Mjr. Spaz, signing off.