I am writing this blog to help me get back into shape after having my second child. Documenting my pregnancy weight loss helps me to stay on track. Posting the pictures of my growing belly during the pregnancy motivated me to continue to work out till the end. I know that is why it is easier to shed the extra pounds after giving birth. I am only 6 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. I have not begun working out since I gave birth because of my busy schedule. I went back to work full time at three weeks post birth because I get to bring the baby with me. Which I am so thankful and blessed to do so. I also perform in a musical 5 shows a week that keeps me very active. I had a slow start but recently the weight has been melting off.
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I accidentally deleted my last blog on my growing belly so here it is again...Kind of. With my second pregnancy I have been taking advantage of the social media pages of fellow pregnant mums. I love seeing their growing belly bumps and am amazed at how many of them have been keeping fit throughout their entire pregnancy. This has inspired me to follow their suit. I have been consistently working out 3-4 days a week to maintain my fitness. I mix up my work out with running 3-5 miles (Stopped at 23 weeks), walking 3-5 miles, 15-20 consecutive minutes lifting small weights (2-5lbs), and 50-100 squats. My diet has been pretty much the same as it was prior to the pregnancy (minus the alcohol). An average day for me consists of: Breakfast - a bowl of high fiber/protein cereal, Lunch - a chicken salad, chicken sandwich or protein shake, Dinner - grilled meats and vegetables, & Dessert - Low-fat ice cream or my favorite "After Dinner Mint" by Cedar Crest. I do, however allow for days to occasionally have pizza for a meal and/or a donut or two for breakfast. We are all human. Here I am at 16 weeks 5 days 16 weeks 5 days19 weeks20 weeks 5 days21 weeks 4 days22 weeks 5 days23 weeks 5 days24 weeks 5 days27 weeks 4 days29 weeks31 weeks31 weeks 5 days33 weeks34 weeks35 weeks 2 days36 Weeks37 Weeks38 weeks 3 daysBeing asked to be a bridesmaid or better yet maid of honor for one of your best friends wedding is a moment you will never forget and cherish forever. This is one of those many events you envisioned early on with the besties planning out every detail. So the big day is over and you are left with a dress you thought you would wear again or at least hoped so, tailored just for you! But really...are you...going to wear it again? The answer is no. You are left with a dress that cost hundreds of dollars, altered to fit you and wasn't even your style. Well let's change that and make it your style. I'm going to start a series of blogs showing you the ways I made use of my old brides maid dresses without a pattern. It helps if you have a sewing machine. If you don't that's ok we will figure out other ways to vamp up the dress. Here is the before picture of the first bridesmaid dress I chose to revamp. After that I chose to add leather capped sleeves. Using a pattern I found on the internet for making easy puffed sleeves. I cut off the bottom of the dress to make it into cocktail style. I then added a leather permanent angled belt. The sewing isn't perfect and that's ok! Now it's time to try it on. (Making sure it fits)! It turned out just as I hoped! Below are a few more shots of me wearing the dress! My latest DIY was inspired by the Victoria Secret fashion show. It is soon to air on television showing off the latest and greatest undergarment styles. I'm going to show you how easy and inexpensive it is to recreate those fantastic Bras, including the oh so famous Angel feather bra. Grab a few of your favorite bras, glass crystals, feathers, tweezers and glue. You will be able to create a sexy, stylish bra, with zero fear of the exposure undergarmemts often make. My favorite glue to use for crystals is the E-6000. You can find this adhesive at your local Michael's or Joann fabrics store. It will cost you around 6 dollars a tube. I also recommend using Swarovski Elements or Crystazzi jewels also found at Michael's and Joann Fabric's. You can find these crystals quite inexpensive and even cheaper with the posted sales and coupons. I get super happy when I get to combine coupons with sales. How to apply the crystals
Step 1 Decide where you want to place your crystals on case. Squeeze a small amount of glue onto a paper plate and use a toothpick to pick up a small amount of glue and place on case. Step 2 Using tweezers, pick up crystal and place on glue and press to set. Step 3 Continue gluing each crystal onto case. Step 4 Check crystals for security. Recently I've been wearing my eyeglasses more often than my contacts. Maybe it's because it's easier and more convenient with my busy schedule. Or perhaps it's because I struggle with dry eye, allergies, and migraines. A very miserable combination, making contact wearing no fun. Also the unfortunate side of wearing glasses made me sometimes feel dorky, boring, lazy, invisible, and sometimes unstylish. Me being the fashionista that I am found that unacceptable! So I decided to get change that. Using my creativity and leftover crystals from a previous project I was able to give my eyewear a "one of a kind" fashionable boost.. My eyewear is now fresh, stylish, and trendy without having to buy a new pair. You can make them ultra glam or slightly different. I used a combination of Swarovski Crystals and very inexpensive glass crystals purchased from Michael's Craft Store. Below are a few of my creations, before and after. I have been editing my acting reel recently and am not sure if it's done. I would love to get your opinion on what you think. Is it too long, short, missing something, etc... It doesn't matter if you've never seen an acting reel. You know what's interesting to watch. I just want to keep your attention long enough to see most of my talent onscreen. Just click on the photo. That will open a new page to my youtube account to see my first edit. Hello sewers (and non sewers) that have a closet full of unused silk scarves. I have a great DIY dress to make with them fast and easy. This design was inspired by a dress worn by Kate Hudson. I love Bohemian fashion. How it flows, with contrasting patterns, uneven hems, the escential hippie look. It's also fun, fashionable and most importantly...comfortable. What I desire to wear, I try to recreate simple and cheap. Because I also don't have a lot of time raising my two year old with little patience. So recycling my old scarves made it inexpensive, and fairly simple. I first chose a color scheme of navy, red & gold. And separated those scarves into my working pile. I chose two of my favorite scarves for the front of the dress. First take one corner of eash scarf and hand sew them together (You can also use a button or clasp). This will be the top back part of the dress. Next sew the two scarves together where you would like the bust line to fall. *Tip* I saved the excess fabric to fill the hem line. Next take your other scarves to fill in the gaps. The back is going to be a bit more trick cause you need to put in the zipper. It will probably end up at an angle with the random pieces seven together. I folded and sewed a piece of scarf around the bust line to give it more structure (and hide mistakes). Then garnished it with some bling, crystals hand sewen on for the finishing touch. I left the hem long, frayed and untouched. I wanted to keep that raw fresh sewen feeling. I showed off my designer scarf dress at the Minneapolis Ivey Awards. An award show appreciating the local talented artists in the theater world. You may not think that you have your own sense of fashion style but you do! We all have our own opinions of what looks good on us and expresses a bit of who we are and what we feel comfortable wearing. I want this blog to inspire you to try to break out of that comfort zone your so attached to and wear the clothes you never dared to wear before. The hot trend this fall is fabric blocking. In the past it was all about color blocking, not anymore. This is the time to combine the different fabrics and textures to create the ultimate look. My favorite combination is leather and wool. It's sleek, sexy, and warm. Excellent for the cooling fall weather. Another great fall trend is mixing your summer florals with dark hues. Like most actors you have another job or five to keep the money flowing. One of my side jobs is working for Clinique as an Associate Consultant (Make-up Artist). I am surrounded by so many brands and products. Here are a few of my favorite pieces that definitely impress and make me a happy customer. LancômeI am in love with Lancôme's Blush. It has three shades that you can contour, shade, and highlight not only your cheeks but entire face. It also has a slight shimmer that gives your skin a healthy youthful glow. It has been giving me the touched by sun look. My other two favorites are Lancôme's eye brow pencil and liquid liner. Two of the biggest trend this summer. Defined brows and the classic cat eye. My favorite combo, you can't have defined lashes without the defined brow. Working for Clinique I have to share my most favorite products, cause lets face it I love them all. I am so excited about Clinique's Water Proff Mascara. This is not something I just use in the summer time for the poolside. I need it because my allergies are so bad that I deal with watery eyes on a daily basis. I find most water proof mascaras harsh and pull out my eyelashes. Not Clinique's formula! It comes off so much easier with eye makeup remover than I experienced in the past. This is a definite must have. I also want to share my fondness for Clinique's CC Cream. It is an amazing combo of products in one. It's your moisturizer, sunscreen, light foundation (or primer) that also color corrects your skin. And I can not forget to mention that it's oil free. It's perfect for everyone especially those that are too busy, lazy, have kids, seriously the list could go on and on. I keep it in my purse so I can reapply it throughout the day. I I can't forget to mention Clinique's Redness Solutions Powder. It is the best powder to use during the summer if you battle with any redness in the skin, even redness caused from the sun. It's made with the probiotic technology to fight redness and includes caffeine to tighten those veins that also appear with redness. It's very natural looking too because it just gives you a light veil. I use this mineral powder throughout the day. Lipstick!!Lipstick! Oh how I love lipstick. And lately I have been into the really bright colors. Pinks, reds, fluorescents you name it. Here are two of my favorite shades!
Lancôme's Rouge In Love lipstick shade number 340. It has a very creamy texture that's moisturizing with lasting power. Yves Saint Laurent has an incredible bright pink with a touch of fluorescent. It's their Rouge Pur Couture in shade number 7. It is just Barbie fantastic. It should only be worn when you are feeling fun, daring, and sexy. My latest blog is inspired by a close friend of mine requesting me to spice up her newly purchased designer jeans (because lets face it... sometimes even designer styles can use a little help). She loves the comfy-chic fit through the waist, butt, hips and thighs, but at the knees, this pair veers outward into a bell-bottom look that just isn't her. So for this blog, I'm going to first show you how to reign in that extra material to create a flattering, "boyfriend" cut jean, then I'll give you some embellishment ideas that keep them distinctly girlfriend. First PairI worked on two sets of jeans. One the first pair we decided to get rid of the flared hem to a skinny cut. We also felt that they needed just a smidgen of character to read unique softly. First thing I did was sew in the outer side seams evenly. Getting rid of the 70's bell into the 80's punk. I had Kerry put the jeans on inside out so I could mark the jeans to her body shape. Having your clothes tailored to your own body is really what everyone should do. Seriously...a major no brainer. Adding the touch of Kerry was actually quite easy and really fun. I was wearing a grey crystalled bracelet that I took off and it stretched out to be un-wearable. So what better then to add them to her jeans. They measured out perfectly trimming the front two pockets. After that, I took some of my bedroom wall paint and finger painted it on the belt seam and back pocket embroidery. This gave the jeans the subtle touch of high end couture. Second PairThe Second pair we really didn't need to do much. BUT we wanted to do something. They have so much character On their own: Motorcycle Chick meets Hollywood Rock Star. So going with that why not add a few silver studs to the back pockets. So we did. Looks awesome right!? It's super easy to do. I purchased these iron on studs from Michaels craft store and it took minuetes to apply.
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Emily MooreI'm an actress/singer/dancer who has an eye for style! |