Muse of the Month Blog Takeover: Undressing the Past

Julie is our Muse of the Month for June, she is an amazing friend and one of the most courageous women I have ever known.  If you glance at her Instagram (iriefitgirl) you see a gorgeous Mom (she has 4 kids, 2 of them are twins) when actually there is so much more to her.  If you are a Mom or even anyone interested in fitness I highly recommend you follow her.  You quickly learn there is so much more to this beautiful women, including a huge amount of inspiration.  I hope you enjoy her blog post below, hopefully this is the first of many to come.

xoxo, Kristi

Have you ever noticed (or maybe it's just me) that you dress differently depending on how you feel about your body? I definitely do. All winter long, I wore big, baggy sweaters and leggings or yoga pants. My jeans didn't fit. My bras didn't fit. Nothing in my closet was fitting and I wasn't about to spend money on a new wardrobe to fit a "me" that didn't feel good.

I'm a figure competitor, a fitness/nutrition coach and a single mom of 4 children ages 7 to 18. Life is busy. Life is a bit crazy. After some life stresses and battling through some tough family stuff, my body needed a break and I gained probably 20-30 pounds. In the last few months I've ramped things back up after giving my body several months of rest and I'm finally back to my "happy size." My clothes fit again. But...there's a big but...

I noticed as I started wearing my old clothes again that they were..."old." Every time I would put something on it felt drab. It didn't feel like me. I remembered when I bought each item..."I was married when I bought this...wow have I had it that long? Is it even still in style? Gosh, I didn't realize I have so much black. Everything in here looks the same." My closet was filled with "old me" clothes. I never realized until that moment, back in May, standing in my closet thinking..."none of these clothes feel right to me anymore."

This blog isn't really to sell you on Nobella Grace, (though why would you not??) but to tell you how much a part of my journey my wardrobe became. I've never been a shopper or a fashionista. I just get by and I do own a lot of black. But when I saw a Nobella Grace dress on one of my Facebook friends I had to check it out. I remember when I first looked at the website thinking, "eh, this stuff isn't really my style." But, I've known Kristi for a lot of years now and decided to take a leap of faith and try one of the dresses. In 2 weeks, I had 7 new NG dresses, most at Kristi's suggestions. All of a sudden I had several items in my closet I would have never picked out on my own. And what I found, to my delight, is that I absolutely loved every one of them.

 I know it may sound silly and simplistic, but as my body was starting to feel like "me" again, I realized that how I was dressing myself was amplifying that feeling. The last couple years have been of huge change for me personally, I'm an entirely changed person in every way. It's no wonder the way I used to dress no longer felt right to me. As women and mothers, the way we look is entirely connected to the way we feel. Put on a pair of sweats and how productive are you? Not very, at least for me. Having color, prints and feminine clothes that made me feel pretty was a huge mental shift for me and really helped to change not only my body image but also helped lift some of the anxiety and PTSD I've been dealing with.

I felt new...I felt lighter...I felt like my attire was impacting the way I felt on the inside. Usually it's vice versa but for me, dressing "happy" made me feel happy on the inside. As I said, I've never considered myself a fashionista and I still don't. I trust Kristi and go with her suggestions...if only I could get her to handle my shoes and accessories...and I feel like I finally have a wardrobe that fits me. And one of the perks...well, as a single mom (heck, ANY mom) I'm pretty budget conscious and I love that Nobella Grace is so affordable.

I figure if I'm going to spend the effort to take such great care I my body, I should at least dress it accordingly!

Fit Tips With Amanda

Hi Nobella Grace readers!  Kristi asked me to do a guest blog post for her, so here I am!

A little about me; My name is Amanda.  I'm an Oklahoma girl. I love health and fitness.  Oh yeah, and I love these guys too.  This is my family!

My family is definitely the most fun thing I “do,” but next to that is health and fitness!  I haven’t always been a health nut, it just kinda happened over time and one day I realized that I wasn’t exactly normal because of my health and fitness nutty-ness!  I grew up dancing, and when I was in high school I added in colorguard.  I never struggled with weight as a young adult so that wasn’t my motivation, but now that I am in my mid-thirties I realize how intentional you have to be to maintain your health.

I’ve always exercised, but after my second child was born (5 years ago) I started to notice that I felt increasingly more “blah” than I used to feel.  I started running!

I have never been a runner.  I’m slow and it’s very hard for me, and I think this is why I started to tackle it!  I ran my first race, a 5k, in April 2011.

That's me on the left, and yes I can be such a nerd.  I'm totally ok with that.  Life is supposed to be fun!

I've been doing races here and there ever since.  Mostly 5ks, a 10k, and then last spring I ran my first half marathon.  I did the OKC Memorial Half-Marathon and it was a life changing event.  

There are a lot of reasons why this race meant so much to me;

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It was a huge fitness goal

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I was born and raised in OKC/Moore.  I was 15 when the bombing happened, and I remember it clearly

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The church and reception venue for my wedding is on the marathon route

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My husband did the half with me, just because I was nervous to run alone

I could go on and on, but here are my recaps;

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http://amanda-eric-addison.blogspot.com/2013/04/weekend-recap.html

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http://amanda-eric-addison.blogspot.com/2013/05/lets-talk-about-this-some-more.html

It was a life changing experience and has inspired me to be the best person I can be, and not just in terms of fitness.  My outlook on life changed.  I wasn't negative before, but I am far more positive than ever before.  We have this one life.  We have one chance here on earth, and we don't know how long it will last.  Don't waste it.  Dream big.  Go for it.  

As far as running goes, here are a few of my "must haves."  I've stumbled across these things out of necessity!

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Brooks running shoes.  Love them.  Another life changer was the time I went to a running store and was "fitted" for the first time.  I went home with my first pair of Brooks and have been brand loyal ever since.  Run happy!

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Yurbuds.  I picked these up at the OKCMM expo.  Priceless!

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Spibelt. I picked this up at running store after getting really frustrated with how to carry my keys/phone/ipod/etc with my on my runs.

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Herbalife24. I've been using Herbalife products for a couple years, and just in the past 6 months or so have started using the Herbalife24 line.  It is amazing.  Great nutrition products!

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Adidas Supernova Racer. This is my favorite sports bra I have come across so far.

Running definitely isn't the only thing I do, but it is a constant on my exercise calendar!  I also likeZumba, Turbo Fire, P90X (I really want P90X3!), yoga, and bootcamps. But......I'm usually using these other things to get my running better.  I guess I'm an addict!

Over the last 5 years as I've been on this road of health and nutrition I have figured out a few key concepts.  When you exercise you feel better, and are happier.  When you eat good food/nutrition you feel better, and are happier.  Pretty basic, right?  It really couldn't be more simple.  The hard part?  Motivation.  It's not hard to find the motivation to get started on a healthier lifestyle, but it is difficult to maintain that motivation.  That's where the intentional parts comes in.  You have to be incredibly intentional about living a healthy lifestyle.  This means putting on your gym clothes and exercising when you don't want to!  It's a habit thing, and an intentional thing.  I compare it to going to church every Sunday morning.  If you already go every Sunday, it's not a huge deal, and there's not much question about it.  It's just what you do.  If you get out of the habit.........getting yourself there is a BIG DEAL.  Exercise and nutrition is the same way.  It becomes a habit.  It becomes what you do.  But, you have to be intentional about creating and maintaining that habit!

Before I end this, I have to tell you how much I love NBG!  I love it.  LOVE IT.  I came across NBG when they first opened, and have been in love ever since.  The clothes are beautiful and great quality. The customer service is the best around. Kristi and I made a connection pretty quickly because she's amazing we have a mutual Oklahoma connection.  How could you not love her?  I usually send her my OOTD pictures, and sometimes you will see me on her IG.  I'm usually the one with a messy bed behind me and a child/animal in the picture.

Yeah........it's just the way I roll!

You can find me blogging at Life in bloom (http://amanda-eric-addison.blogspot.com).  Also, I am anHerbalife distributor and if you have any questions about that feel free to email me; amandah2418@yahoo.com

Thanks for letting me take over your blog for the day Kristi!  Have a wonderful day, friends!

New Arrivals!

Friday Songspiration

Praying for all the families and individuals affected by the fires throughout San Diego county and a big THANK YOU to all the fire fighters risking their lives to keep us safe!

Think Pink!

We love the color pink here at Nobella Grace and we are especially diggin it for Spring/ Summer.  Are you with us?  Would you like to see more pink?  Which is your favorite shade?  Let us know in the comments! xoxo

Hairtorial- Running Late Hairstyles

We love these practical, quick and easy hair styles that can be done in a rush (even though not everyone wakes up with their hair perfectly curled like in this video ;)

What are your favorite, go-to hairstyles when you're in a rush?  

Enjoy and Happy Monday!

Friday Songspiration

Start your weekend off right with a little Nina Simone! :)

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend xoxox