This year is all about simple lifestyle changes for me. Adding more veggie only meals, trying to regularly eat vitamins and moving my body more. Even though I grew up doing gymnastics for 13 years I've never been the best at exercising. Grueling practice, definitely, but running, lifting weights, etc. was not for me. This super portable under desk elliptical from Cubii is going to help me achieve that goal! Last Spring into Summer I was doing indoor and outdoor bike rides and would occasionally go on walks but I definitely need to move more during the work week. 

I've been using my Cubii for about a month and am already noticing changes. Parents or commuters don't hate me, but I have always had trouble getting out of bed before 8:30/9. I used to roll out of bed, go downstairs and start working at 9am. Now I find myself getting up before 8am so I can have my Goli vitamins and get a quick 30 minute "workout" in. I'm not into intense training yet, but will build up to it. For now my goals are at least 2000 strides a day and 30 minutes of pedaling. Some days I'll do more, some days I'll do a higher speed and intensity, but usually I'm at a leisurely bike riding pace at a high resistance.

My friend convinced me and Christian to run the Wine & Dine 5K at Walt Disney World later this year (he's doing the half marathon) so having an under desk elliptical will be great to keep my training going during the day.  Disney's training program for a 5K is 13 weeks, slowly building up your stamina. I feel like I shouldn't need too much training as it's only 3 miles, but if I run the whole way I'll definitely need more endurance. I'm more of a sprinter than a long distance runner. 

I've been easily able to transport my Cubii under desk elliptical to various rooms in the house. If I work in the dining room it fits under the table and if I'm in the living room watching TV I can place it right in front of the couch. It's also quiet so it doesn't disrupt Christian or clients if I'm using it on a work call. It has the option for different users too, so when Christian is in the mood for an under desk elliptical workout he can bring it into his office. I even brought it over to my parent's house once and my family members tried it out on the Guest user. It was quite the hit, ha ha! Even my brother's puppy was curious what all the hype was about.

I have the Cubii JR+ with Bluetooth so I'm able to track my progress in the Cubii app automatically as well as viewing the data in my Health app. It also has an LCD display for immediate info. Having measurable data is always helpful in keeping you to your goals, in my opinion. Christian is trying to get me to buy an Apple Watch now so I can really keep track of all my vitals and exercise - I've been resisting for years because I like small watches, ha ha. Another thing I really enjoy about the Cubii under desk elliptical is you don't have to wear sneakers, most of the time I'm just wearing socks.

Update: After I wrote this post Christian broke me down and I got an Apple Watch 8, haha! I've only had it for a week and a half but it's already motivating me even more. Gotta close those rings every day! I was going to remove the previous paragraph but I think it's funny that I went from "I don't need it" to "Okay, it will keep me more accountable" fairly quickly.

The mobile app has Cubii Studio+ classes so you can follow along different workouts. There are over 300 free classes to choose from for all abilities, needs, and body types. I particularly enjoyed the Mind & Stride and Stretch videos.  You can watch them on your phone or computer. If I did my sessions before work I would airplay to the TV so I could watch on the bigger screen right in front of me.

You can also find monthly Wellness Journii's - each month a pdf calendar with daily activities will be available for download. The app will also show you each day's tasks so you don't forget and will check them off for you if you manually or automatically put your data in the app. My Cubii arrived on February 1st so I was able to participate in (almost) the full month. The activities were such a fun way to get me to keep with my routine. 

February's activities included burning 120 calories, plan & prep 3 meals for the week, pedal for 20 minutes while listening to music and much more! These little changes in activity, and lifestyle reminders, kept workouts from getting boring. I'm optimistic I will continue to use my Cubii for years to come.

The under desk elliptical came almost fully assembled, we just had to add the foot petals and charge it up with the handy USB-C charging cord. The charge lasts quite a while, after my initial charge when it arrived I haven't had to charge it yet (it's been about four and a half weeks.)

*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.  Thank you for supporting brands I feature*

This is what I wore for a morning/early afternoon of walking around Olde Mystic Village with Christian, my sister and her boyfriend. These boots are one of my favorite every day shoes. Ever since I bought them in 2014 they have been in constant rotation. So much so that I actually wore them out and bought a second pair. I still have the original and will wear those when I want comfortable shoes but they might get dirty/etc. 

I was recently introduced to PowerStep insoles and learned that, because of my high arches, I may need supination insoles for high arches to make walking more comfortable and reduce the amount of wear on the outer soles of my shoes. I bought a couple pairs of supination insoles to try out and see if they help me walk better and stop me from putting extra pressure on the heel of my foot. I chose the "PowerStep Bridge Adaptable Arch Supporting Insoles with Energize Foam" and then the "SlenderFit 3/4 Insoles" to wear with "fashion" shoes.

I always enjoy walking around the shopping center, there's new things to see every time! We perused a few shops but my favorites are always the kitchen related stores. Christian and I had a ball tasting olive oils at Extra Virgin and honey at Sticky Situations. We ended up splurging and buying 4 different honeys - orange blossom (our favorite,) rosemary and blackberry honey plus tangy citrus honey mustard. We couldn't leave without eating so we grabbed some donuts from Deviant Donuts and pizza at Mango's Wood Fired Pizza.

Back to the supination insoles - I took a photo of both pairs of boots side by side and you can definitely tell by looking at the older pair that I walk on the outside of my feet. I'm excited to see how long these boots last now that I have insoles to correct my step.  Unfortunately, the larger insoles I bought didn't fit into the boots as intended so I used the SlenderFit instead. Those easily fit in a lot of my thinner width shoes so I'll be swapping them between pairs as I need. The Energize Foam supination insoles will now live in my favorite Winter boots that were my Grandmother's. I've been meaning to get insoles for them for a while so that was a happy accident!

Outfit Details

Coat: Burberry Brit Wool Minstead Duffle Coat In Military Red (Marijane Boutique) 

Sweater: Banjo + Matilda Trinket Embellished Stripe Sweater (The Outnet)

Velvet Jeans: J.Crew 

Boots: Vince Camuto 'Davilla' (Marshalls)

Bag: Purple Prada Cahier in Viola (Rebag via Vestiaire Collective)

Hat: Ricefield Collective (no longer open)

*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.  Thank you for supporting brands I feature*

Starting the new year off right, with pretty jewelry! Everyone could use a bit of sparkle during these long cold Winter days and Aurate New York has great options from necklaces and delicate huggie earrings to rings and bracelets. In my years of working with Aurate I have amassed quite the collection of beautiful pieces I continue to reach for when I'm accessorizing. 

I wore this outfit for Christmas Eve with the family. I decided to wear a dress I haven't worn since Christmas 2015 - wowza! It's a knit silver and gold dress so I decided to accessorize mixing silver and gold. The silver came in with my sandals and the gold was all my jewelry! I also used the new Melie Bianco bag I won from Marijane Boutique last month! It's such a fun piece and is very similar to the new cult favorite Bottega Veneta Jodie bag but at a much lower price point. The woven (vegan) leather creates such a beautiful texture and makes the bag feel very fancy and the black makes it a classic that will never go out of style. But we all know that my crazy colorful bags also never go out of style, I'll wear them with anything!

I've only worn these sandals three other times since I bought them in 2017 (for my cousin's wedding,) but I keep them around in case I want something very shiny, like I did here! They're the perfect splash of fun for the holidays. This sweater dress was a holiday staple for a couple years before it was basically retired for newer things. I wore it for various Thanksgivings and Christmases in the mid-2010s. I'm glad I was able to give it a new life when Lydia was done enjoying it and now bringing it back out again after 7 years, crazy!

I haven't taken the huggie earrings off since Christmas Eve, they're so comfortable and I don't even notice they're there. I like how close they are to my ear so I'm not afraid of them getting ripped off.  I also wore two gold station necklaces from Aurate. One is Rose Quartz and the other Lavender Jade. The lavender gemstones I got were more blue than purple, but still pretty! I also got a pearl station necklace in rose gold that I can't wait to wear!

Dress: London Times metallic stripe dress (from Lydia)

Belt: Kenneth Cole Reaction (Marshalls)

Bag: Melie Bianco 'Drew' (Marijane Boutique giveaway)

Sandals: New Look Metallic Block Heel sandal (ASOS)

Jewelry: Endless Gemstone Station Necklaces, Skinny Gold Hinged Huggie Earrings c/o Aurate

We're getting closer to Fall, my favorite season. While I'm not ready for sweaters just yet, I can start getting into the spirit with my jewelry. Layering gold necklaces from Aurate New York is a perfect way to do that while not burning up in the end of Summer heat. After all, there's still 2 weeks until Autumn officially starts! (on my 4th wedding anniversary! Yes, we love Autumn so much we got married on the first day - although some years it's a day or two later)

I wore this on a warm early September day (aka this past Friday) and, since we're still experiencing Summer weather, I decided to celebrate the upcoming season with my color choices rather than pieces of clothing. These Proenza Schouler tweed colorblock shorts are quite an odd piece to style. I've worn them in warmer temperatures with tees and tanks but also wore them for Thanksgiving last year with tights underneath and a sweater on top. I could easily wear this on an early-Autumn day in a month with a sweater and no tights. The color palette is perfect for Fall, the colors remind me of falling leaves.

Sandals will remain in my outfits until it becomes too cold for my toes. They're my favorite form of footwear so it always takes a while for me to give them up for the rest of the year. These black leather ones can also be worn into Autumn & Winter with jeans, especially with tights or socks!

On to the main event - Pre-Fall layering! Since we can't layer our clothes, why not our jewelry? It's so easy to do with any necklaces you have. I make sure they're different lengths and also try to have one stand out from the rest. The buttery and bronzed tones of the semi-precious stones in this Destination Aura beaded necklace are perfect to carry me into those cooler months. The colors go perfectly with the colorblock shorts; they were meant to be worn together! I wore the beaded necklace with the clasp up front because I loved the detail of it.

If you're also an Autumn lover, how do you celebrate the coming season with your wardrobe choices? Do you ease in with colors or go all out and wear sweaters in September even if it's hot. (No judgment ;) )

Bodysuit: Who What Wear x Target

Tweed Colorblock Shorts: Proenza Schouler (Roundabout) 

Belt: Kenneth Cole Reaction (Marshalls)

Bag: Louis Vuitton Epi Leather Sac D'Epaule (HauteTrader)

Sandals: Lanvin studded leather 'City' sandal (The RealReal)

Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop

Necklaces: AUrate Simple Pearl Necklace, AURATE X KERRY: Lioness Pendant & Destination Aura Beaded Necklace (Marrakech)

 *This post was made in partnership with Responsival.  Thank you for supporting brands I feature*