A Special Outfit Sneak Peak

I usually never post on Thursday but I wanted to share my outfit from my friend’s wedding this past weekend. I bought this dress in August (go me!) because it was a thicker material, perfect for a Southwest winter wedding! All this time, I’ve been debating how I felt about the length of the dress because it seemed to cut me off unproportionally. Perhaps I grew taller in the past few months because the length ended up being perfect.

I am still in love with the cobalt blue dress and had no idea of the color popularity right now. While the dress appears to be simple, the beauty is in the details. The back of the dress had a gold zipper and the cut-offs on the side of the dress and sleeves really makes the dress. I added my yellow statement necklace from Kate Spade (as you might recall from my November Favorites). I struggled mostly with the shoes but ended up choosing a pair with a thicker heel, which was conducive for the outdoor venue. After all the stress I put myself through to find a pair the perfect pair of shoes, it ended up being right in my closet the whole time. Life always works out that way, doesn’t it? To top off my out, I curled my hair, pinned back one side, and added simple bow shaped stud earrings. I was quite proud of my styling effort!

How much did this outfit cost!?!

Dress: Store – Last Chance | Brand – Eliza J | Price – 12.97

Shoes: Store – Last Chance | Brand – Enzo Angiolini | Price – 9.50

Necklace: Store – Last Chance | Brand – Kate Spade | Price – 14.97

Earrings: Store – Banana Republic | Brand – Banana Republic | Price – gift

Total: 37.42 (pre-tax, not including earrings)

Who said that dressing up for a wedding was a lot of money?!?

Like this post if you want to learn more about how and where I shop!

Inspiration for an Active Lifestyle

I’m making a conscious effort this year to incorporate physical activity into my life. Working out is more than losing weight to look thin. For being naturally thin, I’ve spent a lot of life thinking I didn’t need to exercise. Of course this is far from the truth because physical activity is all about improving personal wellness and while I eat right, I need to take care of my body in other ways. This past week, I hiked Camelback Mountain. There are many hiking trails in the city but Camelback is notorious for being the most challenging. In the nine years I have lived here, I’ve avoided it because I felt like it wasn’t suited for my inactive lifestyle. With the new year, I began changing my outlook and decided to just do it (thanks to Nike for that inspiration).

In preparation for the hike, I read reviews on Yelp. Worst.mistake.ever. One review was titled, “I almost died.” I completely freaked myself out but it didn’t stop me! I hiked with my friend who never climbed Camelback either. We agreed to have no expectations for how far we would hike. We didn’t want the pressure chose to focus on the journey rather than the destination. As it turned out, we hiked the whole trail! While we hurdled over giant boulders and wanted to give up, we mustered up the rest of our motivation to propel us to the top. Twas quite a satisfying view and accomplishment!

   

I had to take my obligatory selfie (left) and a victorious picture to the top (right). We enjoyed the view and ate a little snack before the trek down…all the way down. Man, if the 1.5 miles to the top wasn’t bad enough, try the 1.5 miles down. My body is still recovering…

I can’t believe a.) I climbed Camelback Mountain and b.) I made it to the top.

Lesson learned: new mindset, new outcomes. Upward and onward to the next adventure!

The best part was the ‘no pain no gain’ burger afterwards at Rehab Burger Therapy. Nothing can beat a mushroom Swiss burger on a pretzel bun! #winning #personalvictory #rehabburger #nomnoms

Red, White, & Black Outfit Ideas

              

Red, white, and black is one of my favorite color combinations. I like white and black because it goes with everything. I love red because it gives any outfit the much needed pop of color. I tried to build outfits for many occasions: casual, work, and going out. What’s a great shoe color to bring the outfit together?!? As you can tell, I have a slight obsession with nude shoes. I’ll emphasize slight (insert sarcasm here).

Sometimes, black and white may sound boring but those two shades come in so many textures, patterns and styles. With all of the options, at least it is assured that it is a good investment. Also, if electric blue, yellow, or pink tickles your fancy, use that as your pop! Play around with the colors and patterns to see what outfits you come up with. Let me know in the comments!

Only because leaves are so much fun to play with!

No Outfit Repeat (Week 17): Favorite of the Week

Folks, we made it another week in No Outfit Repeat. As you can tell, there is a lot of red and black in my outfits this week. It may or may not be inspired by my blog post for tomorrow…

My favorite outfit of the week is to the left. While the red adds a nice pop of color to my outfit, I love the turquoise necklace even more in combination with the other colors.

As I stated last week, I am trying to stretch the No Outfit Repeat to the end of February. Five weeks to go!

How did this project start? Check out here!

My Lazy Sunday Routine

As I establish and work on my career, I have come to realize that I have less time during the week to get things done. While I try my best, I often find myself compromising my routines for eating, working, or sleeping. I’m not complaining because I chose this life but it just means that my weekends are used to catch-up and getting ready for the new week ahead. I decided to share my lazy Sunday routine and how I make time for myself with a busy week day schedule.

Morning: I start my day off fairly early to head to the gym. Afterwards, I take time to make breakfast. Unless I have a jammed packed weekend, I will spend time to prepare myself a breakfast that I might not necessarily get away with on a week day. On this particular Sunday, I toasted a chocolate chip bagel, added cream cheese, and cut up a kiwi. No breakfast is complete without a cup of tea. If this was a week day breakfast, I wouldn’t have time to cut up a kiwi or toast a bagel…that just shows how much time I allocate in the morning for breakfast prep.

After breakfast, I take a shower and use my weekly facial scrub (left image). A Sunday shower is followed-up with an awesomely scented lotion (middle) and hair products to my hair feel amazing (right).

The rest of the day is used towards running errands, watching Netflix, a little work, and meal prepping for the week. To me, Sundays feel busy, lazy, and relaxing. I guess that’s possible?!?

 

 

Homemade Crock Pot Beef Stew

I’m currently in the middle of a cleaning out my pantry project, which includes my freezer as well. Since we’re still in the thick of winter, I thought to make a beef stew recipe before the weather heats up. Also, I had beef chuck in my freezer for this sole purpose. I don’t use a recipe for beef stew because it is a quite forgiving recipe considering the crock pot does most of the work.For those that have not made a stew before, here are some tips:

• Brown the meat in a pan before adding to crock pot for added flavor. Use as much to get your desired consistency.
• Use tomatoes and chicken broth as your liquid, requires less seasoning for you later on in the cooking process
• Not all ingredients have an even cooking time
• The best beef to use for stews are chuck
• Added tomato paste for a richer tomato flavor. Just remember, a little dab will do ya!

Bon Appetit has great tips for making stews. Check it out here!

I understand that for beginners, a recipe is important. Here’s a great one from the Food Network!

Revisiting the Profetch Life

         The lovely Scentsy I got for Christmas!

When I started the Profetch Life a few years ago, it was a way to document my life adventures as a new young professional. In my first professional job, I quickly learned that I am very blessed to have the life I live. Also, I wanted to continue to grow and develop as a person and this blog served as a way for me to journal about those life experiences. Because I had a great love for life, I derived the five tenants of the Profetch Life because it’s what I believed and practiced to make my life fulfilling. While the five tenants are meaningful to me as a young professional, they are applicable at any age.

• Balance
• Discipline
• Positivity
• Challenge
• Open-minded

*For me insight on the Profetch Life, check out my post on the Profetch Life 101

Every once in awhile, I like to revisit these five tenants of the Profetch Life to remind myself how I want to be living my life. Fortunately, I’m always reassured. Living the Profetch way has given me peace and satisfaction about life.
I love being able to share my interests and life experiences. When I started my blog, I knew that it might get stumbled upon but I never thought it would happen in the short amount that it has. Thank you for giving my thoughts the time of day!

No Outfit Repeat (Week 16): Favorite of the Week

Hi world! We made it Week 16 of No Outfit Repeat! It’s crazy to think it’s been four months. I’m not going to lie, the options are slimming down a lot but my goal is to make it to the end of February. Can I do it? Stay tuned to find out!

I’ve narrowed down my favorite to the center image and the one to the right. I like the different patterns and colors in the center outfit. The right outfit was put together and professional (I was trying to look good for important people that day).

Like this post and comment which outfit is your favorite!

Can you tell the hair length difference?!? It doesn’t look like much but it was 6-7 inches!

Changes For the New Year

We are all inspired to make changes in the new year but sometimes it takes something to get us going. Perhaps it is something that we’ve thought about for awhile but never made the time for. Guess what? Every 365 days, we have a reason to make the time. Once we make that first change, each subsequent change gets a little easier. Also, there’ s no need to come running out of the gates in the new year. Start off small and work to bigger changes.

A week into the new year, I cut 6-7 inches of my hair. While I’ve had hair this short before, I forgot what it was like until I actually did it. I feel like a renewed me! Let’s go 2015!

Time Management Tips

With a new year comes a fresh start to make changes in our lives. As I have a list of things I want to accomplish this year, I have to make sure I’m organizing my time and holding myself accountable for what I set to do. This can be hard to do, especially when it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind at work and life.

I’m sure many of you can relate to getting home from work and have enough motivation to reach for the remote to turn in the tv. Perhaps, you might have a little more motivation to turn the tv off instead of falling asleep on the couch.

I have realized in the two weeks of the new year that I can be quite productive after work if I organize my time well. I started creating a to do list in my planner and crossed off the things I wanted to get done that night. I surprised myself and actually followed through with my to do list!

Here are some tips to help you organize your time:

1. Make a to do list. Make sure it is easily accessible and allows you to cross of things as you complete the task.
2. Tackle a few tasks a day. Don’t try to do everything in one day.
3. Hold yourself accountable. Make it a habit to check your list. You’re more inclined to complete the list if you actually look at it.
4. Develop routine and structure. This prevents you for making excuses. Instead, you’ll make accommodations and modifications to get everything you need to accomplish.