Latest Obsession - Stiletto Nails

My latest fashion obsession has been stiletto nails.  They are like the power nail of nails.  In fact the Queen Bee herself, Beyoncè, has been seen rocking this trend.  They are a mix of classy and sassy, sexy and sophisticated.  I think I will be making my way to the salon this evening to get my hands on this new fashion trend!

Want to see more stiletto nail designs?  Check out my Flashy Fingers board of my Pinterest page.  There you can find all my favorite nail trends!

Check out Tif's board Flashy Fingers! on Pinterest.

You Are What You Eat

You know how they say you are what you eat?  Well with the Victoria Secret Fashion Show last night it got me thinking ...

Just some food for thought for you today while you are eating your lettuce and planning your two-a-days at the gym trying to get that VS model bod!

XOXO,

Federal Hill 15

Have you heard of the freshman 15?  Well let me introduce you to the Federal Hill 15.  I moved to Federal Hill (a bar district in Baltimore, MD for non-locals) about a year and a half ago.  Federal Hill is a wonderful area to live for young professionals like myself.  Everything is within walking distance, and there is always something to do.  With that being said, it makes it very easy to gain that Federal Hill 15.  Hungry?  There are 20 restaurants within a few blocks; and if you don't wan to walk, there is always Eat24.  Bored?  There is a happy hour every night, which great food and drink specials.  Federal Hill also blesses you with the ability to walk (or if you are lazy Uber) to one of our great city's sporting events.  The Ravens and the Orioles are only a hop, skip, and a jump away.  And if you don't have tickets to the game, and don't want to watch it alone, you can always go to one of the many local bars showcasing the game.  So let's recap...tons of great food, loads of alcohol, and city that young and doesn't like to sleep...this plays a toll on the waistline quickly.  I put on my Federal Hill 15 in my first year living here.  Now I know why everyone runs in this neighborhood.  It is a requirement to keep up with the lifestyle.

If you are planning to move to Federal Hill, or another bar district, make sure you have a workout plan in mind.  The city can take its toll on your body quickly.  For me, I joined the local gym and started running.  Maybe you will enjoy taking up rec league sports or home workouts.  Whatever it maybe make sure you stay active, or that Federal Hill 15 could turn into your Federal Hill 30 before you know it!

RTR

Rent the Runway has to be my newest obsession.  It is great for someone like me who has both limited closet space and a limited budget, but still wants to be fashion forward.  RTR gives their renters the option to rent designer dresses for a fraction of the cost of purchasing.  They make the renting process easy and hassle free.  RTR takes care of everything from return shipping to dry cleaning.  They even give you the option to rent accessories that will pair well with you dress.  And for the super fashion forward city dweller (because we all know your closets are tiny) they offer unlimited renting for $49 per month.  Unlimited renting allows the renter to rent 3 items at a time (items include dresses, coats, sunglasses, and other accessories).  After you are done with one item, you simply return it and they will ship out another item on your renting wish list.  Check out the awesome neoprene dress I rented from RTR for my fiance's holiday party this past weekend in DC.  

Like what you see and want to sign up for Rent the Runway?  Just click here!

Vacations Kill Me

I don't know about you, but when I get back from vacation I need some serious rehab and recovery.  Vacations take a huge toll on my body.  I always go on vacation with the mindset that I will run every day, and continue to eat healthy.  Who wouldn't want to run with these beautiful views?

 The idea of a fit and healthy vacation lasts about a day.  Then I fall into the mindset of YOLO I'm on vacation!  Let me eat everything I don't normally eat at home, drink mimosas in the morning, have beers on the beach, and end the night with a bottle of wine.  This kills my body.  It slows it down, and I gain about 5lbs of water weight from all the bad food and drinking.

Vacation ... ugh!

RUN!

I have always been the person who dreaded the mile run in gym class.  I hated running before cheerleading in high school, and refused to do it as part of my conditioning in Tae Kwon Do.  Running and I just never got along.  After years of saying "no" to running I finally decided it's about time I "learned to run".  Yes, you heard me right, learned to run.  Every where you look in the city you see people running.  It's the go-to form of fitness for young city dwellers.  And with the recent increase in fun runs, 5K's, and mud runs, I figured now would be the best time to start.  So here is how I learned to run, and actually started to enjoy it!

Step-1:  Get yourself a good pair of running shoes to support your feet and running style.  And it doesn't hurt if they are cute too!  Charm City Run in McHenry Row is a great place to go to get custom fitted for a perfect pair of running shoes for your specific running style and foot.

Step-2:  Find a training routine.  I recently downloaded the app 5K Runner for my Iphone.  This app takes you from basically not being able to run at all, to being able to run a 5K in 8 weeks using interval training.  You start every work out with a 5 minute warm up walk, followed by intervals of running and walking.  The further you go in the program the longer the running sessions are and the shorter the walking sessions are.  You end with a 5 minute cool down walk.  Best of all, this app works with Itunes!  I am currently in week week 3 of the program and I have to say that the app does work.  I went from not being able to run a full two minutes to being able to run 20 minutes straight.

Step-3: Track your progress.  I use an app called Map My Run.  This is great if you run outdoors.  The app tracks how far you run, how long you run, your pace, the course you ran, and more.  It also has preset courses mapped out to choose from in your area.  You can share your progress and accomplishments on social media, and this app also works with Itunes!

Step-4:  Get Running!

Right now my goal is to complete my 5K Runner program and do my first 5K in October.  Wish me luck!

I'm Back!

Guess what... I'm back! Baxter is happy, how about you?

Sorry I've been gone for so long, but I have been busy doing great things to share with you all.  Get prepared!  If you follow my blog, you know it really has no structure on what I post, but that is all changing.  In the coming weeks look out for the following regular blog topics:

• This and That -  This will be my place to share fashion finds, products I enjoy, and other things I hope that you will enjoy reading about.
• Get It, Get Fit - Recently I have become very dedicate to my health and fitness.  Here I will give fitness tips, recipes, fitness finds, and personal progress reports on my journey.
• Charmcity Living - With a name such as Charm City Tif, how could I not talk about the great city that is Baltimore.  Here I will post about city life, living in Charm City on a budget, things to do, and great finds in Baltimore!

I will also have a blog series called "Camping the World".  Keep a look out in the upcoming week for the first post in this series.

I can't wait to get back into the swing of things and start sharing what I've been doing with you all!

Skinniness is Happiness

"I will be happier once I'm skinny." That's the thought in most women's minds. That nothing feels as good as skinny does.  That happiness only comes with a model figure.  Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's FALSE.

Now if you know me on a personal level you may be saying, "Tif, shut up!  You have been a twig all your life."  This is true for the most part.  Growing up I was really skinny.  So skinny that I always wished I would gain weight.  I had the worst chicken legs ever, and everyone made fun of me for it.  I don't think I weighted over 100lbs until halfway through high school (and I'm 5'6).  It wasn't until I hit 23 that I started my up and down weight battle.  Now, I'm not over weight by any means, but I'm not a comfortable weight either.

The picture above was taken two years ago.  I had been yo-yo dieting and taking diet pills for months.  This was my thinnest since high school.  Did I feel good?  Was I happy?  No.  I was tired all the time, had no motivation to do anything, and I was depressed.  This was not the right way to go about things.  This was not healthy, and my body was trying to tell me that.

Up until the past year I thought being skinny would make me happy.  I wanted to look like I did when I was in high school.  I found out this year that this was not the key to happiness.

I made the choice during Lent to eat vegetarian for 40 days, and that is how I discovered that being healthy makes you happy.  Making the conscious choices to eat what is good for my body is what makes me happy. Food can affect your mood and you body in many ways.  I feel happier when I know I have gone through my day eating what is good for my body.  I don't binge when my day was full of healthy choices.  I also don't feel bloated, weighted down, tired, or depressed.

Changing my eating habits was not an easy venture. It's something I did slowly, and eventually it became part of my life. Now I would rather choose happiness and feeling good over the loaded chili cheese fries.  However, I do treat myself on weekends (without binging).  If I don't let myself enjoy the "bad stuff" every now and again I will feel completely restricted.  That feeling of restriction leads to binging for me; and binging leads to depression.

So YOLO! -- Why not make it a happy and healthy one?

Issues

#SingleLife

Man this week has been one crazy week.  Mostly because I have been living the single life.  No really...you don't believe me?  Well Josh left on Tuesday for a business trip and I have been living it up ever since.  Here is how my week went:

Tuesday

• Took off work to party like a rock star since my man was away (actually we went to Monday night RAW the night before and I took off because I'm old)
• Slept most the day because, well, I'm old and can't hang like I use to
• Watched Grey's Anatomy (for 20 minutes until my power went out)
• Realized it was only half the house that lost power, so I ran power cords all over my house to get the TVs, refirgerators, and internet working (you know, the important stuff)
• Electric finally came back on around 3 AM (the dogs barked the entire time while the men worked outside ... UNTIL 3 AM!!!)

Wednesday

• Worked hard ... partied harder
• Naaaahhhh just kidding
• Ate Ramen like a boss
• Cleaned the bath tub, got a glass of wine, a good book, and decided to relax in a nice bath (check out the I'm a little weird  post to see how that went)
• Went to bed around 9
• HAD THE WHOLE BED TO MYSELF WHOOP WHOOP!!!!

Thursday

• Planned on going to the gym
• Came home to a dog in his crate covered in poop ... gym? ... nope, WINE!
• CLEANING
• WINE
• CLEANING
• WINE
• Ramen
• Grey's
• Bed at 9 

I yea ... it was pretty much what I did when I was single. #SingeLife

I'm a little weird...

So if you don't know already... I'm a little weird.  And that's not a bad thing.  Here are some of my quirks:

• I have to shower before the gym.  I hate feeling dirty before I work out.
• I have to shower before I do anything... go out, go to work, go to bed, ect.  I HATE feeling dirty.  Bleh!
• I hate baths.  I always think the next time is going to be different, but each time I step foot in a tub it's like I'm a ham cooking in broth.  Don't even get me started on the oils you put in there.  Yea they smell great, but they leave you feeling like you are coated in butter.  And you know what that means...post bath shower.
• I hate being sticky.  
• I don't like the feeling of my bare feet touching the carpet.  Just the idea of it makes my teeth turn to jello.
• I will binge eat potato chips until I explode.  

Step 1

Step 1 ... 

Well kinda.  As you probably know from my previous post Vegetarian for 40 Days Josh and I have decided to go on a vegetarian adventure.  It has been going very well so far.  We have lost weight, gained energy, and feel over all healthier.  Since we have started this journey we have started reexamining our whole diet, not just the meat portion.  After watching documentaries such as Forks Over Knives and Food Inc. , along with doing online research we have decided to cut back on other things in our lives.  One of these things is processed sugars.  According to the FDA in 2000 the average American consumed 152 POUNDS of added sugar per year.  That's about 0.5 POUNDS per day.  Most of this added sugar comes from things like corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup (found in virtually every food you eat).  These man made sugars are hard for the body to break down and tend to be stored as fats.

So now for Step 1:  Try to eliminate the amount of added sugars as much as possible.

Stay tuned for Step 2...

Afters

Afters Cafe is this cute little place to sit with friends and enjoy a sweet treat in the Federal Hill area.  It's located on South Charles St. near Cross Street Market.

So yesterday, after my vegetarian dinner (home made Margarita Pizza -- nom nom nom) I was craving something sweet.  Josh and I decided to take a walk up to Federal Hill to get some pictures of the city after the (hopefully) last snow fall of the year.  After our walk we decided to stop by Afters.  I was craving something chocolaty, and didn't want you typical fro-yo.  Afters serves up everything from lattes, fro-yo, sorbet, macaroons, and cute little gourmet cakes.  I decided have their Passion - Chocolate Mouse Cake (one of their little gourmet cakes in their display case).

This was a BIG mistake.  I guess there was a reason everyone else who came to the cafe ordered coffee or  fro-yo.  While the cake looked like it would be amazing, it was anything but.  The cake itself was dry and hard.  The top layer was just gooey.  The fruit was squishy and old.  The only thing that was actually some what good was the chocolate moose inside the cake.

I really want to give this place another try, but I think next time I will try the fro-yo or the coffee.  After all, they do have these really cute spoons to choose from (kinda like you are picking your ball in mini-golf! -- What fun, right?!).

Vegetarian For 40 Days

So Josh and I have decided to give up meat for Lent.  We really didn't decided to do this for ethical reasons ... honestly, we both LOVE our burgers.  We thought this would be a fun, healthy challenge for us.  So far we are in day 6 of it, and it is going well.

Recently I had the chance to try Chipotle's Sofritas, and they did not disappoint!  For those of you who do not know what the Sofritas is (because they are not in all Chipotles yet -- Baltimore is one of the lucky few) it is organic tofu braised with chipotle chilis, roasted poblanos, and a blend of aromatic spices.  The result is something much like a spicy/sweet ground beef.  I could get use to this Sofritas thing!

Besides the Sofritas I have also tired Subway's Veggie Flatizza.  This wasn't half bad either.  Normally I wouldn't eat at Subway after that whole plastic bread thing, but it was between Subway and McDonald's and Subway wins that fight.  I wouldn't eat a Flatizza every day, but it's good in a pinch and it's cheap.

Besides eating out we have tried a few things at home like black bean tacos, veggie risotto, and black bean burgers.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with veggie recipes and going outside my comfort zone when it comes to food.  Who knows...maybe I will never eat meat again.  Or maybe I will keep that date with a burger I have for burger and a beer night on April 22nd.  Only time will tell.

I ♥ NYC

Oh New York!  I have to say, I really enjoyed my trip.  New York is a very unique city, with an amazing culture. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I went to New York, considering I already live in a city, Baltimore.  But Baltimore is nothing like New York.  

Everyone always says, "everything is bigger in New York", but they weren't kidding.

Each part of NYC is different from Time Square, to Brooklyn, to Manhattan.  And I know we only visited a small portion of it in our time there.  I honestly think the city is for people with ADD like me, who always needs something to do (because there is never a shortage).  The city is open 24/7.  There is never a shortage of 99 cent pizza or 75 cent bagels (all of which are awesome! - But you have to try the Artichoke Pizza).

And there is ALWAYS a chance for a photo opp where ever you go!

A walk in Central Park with our friends (amazing hosts).

The other half looking handsome in a candid.

Our friend's dog for a walk (Camden is a sweetheart).