The Skin I'm In...

I hope you guys enjoyed your weekend. For those of us who work a 9 to 5 from Mon-Fri, tomorrow it's back to the rat race for another fun week of work. Yay *insert sarcasm*!!

Winter has come for us in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". And even though it didn't stick, we've actually gotten some snow! That may be a surprise to you (depending on where you're from), but it doesn't surprise me at all. Pretty much, any time after September, we expect it. lol!

It was such a nice Fall afternoon, that I decided to step out and take a few pics! I'm giving myself and my daughter a huge pat on the back for this, because it's been a struggle. My bathroom "selfies" have been off the chain on IG because of how my schedule has been. Are you following me on Instagram (@TickaNascha)?? If not, you're really missing out. Well, you're not really missing anything, but you should follow me anyway. Capeesh? Now on to the OOTD.

The dress that I'm wearing was given to me by Sis-Inlaw. She's a rockstar with her weight-loss and gave me a bag of items that she could no longer fit. One of the items I chose was this dress, knowing full well that I could not fit it. It was just too cute to pass up! I tried it on later on that evening, which confirmed what I knew to be true. There's a little bit of stretch in the material, but I couldn't get it past my hips/butt!! At that time, I hadn't really started my health journey, but I knew it was coming. This dress became somewhat of a goal for me.

Fast forward to now… I forgot all about it. I was looking for something to wear to work, complaining as usual about having nothing to wear, and this dress jumped out at me. Literally. It fell off of the hanger. I stared at it, and went back and forth on if I should try it on or not. Even though I know I'd been consistent in the gym (still got some work to do on my eating habits), I didn't see myself as being able to fit into the dress. I didn't want to be disappointed. Long story short, I tried it on, and... WAH-LAH!! It fit!! I haven't stepped on a scale in months, but once I was able to pull this dress down over my hips and it didn't cut off my circulation, I knew a few changes had taken place.

This served as a reminder for me. A reminder to continue to work towards my goals. Just because I don't see change everyday, doesn't mean that it isn't present. I'm going to keep going, and keep loving me along the way. This is why I rock =)

Blazer - Target

Dress - The Limited

Shoes - Urbanog.com

Houndstooth and Me...

Hey peeps!! I hope you guys are enjoying your summer so far. We're coming up on the end of July and  I'm trying to soak up every bit of sun that I can. Minnesota can be tricky when it comes to weather, so I'm here for all of this wonderful heat.

I miss you guys! Is that weird to say? Maybe it is, but it's true. I'm just going with the flow and I post when I'm able to snap a few pics with my daughter. Our schedules are a bit hectic because she got a JOB!! You heard me right!! A paying job!! My baby-girl is a teachers aide for a Summer program. I'm so proud of her! =D With that being said, I don't really want to bother her too much with the blog stuff because I want to allow her to rest. I'm a nice mommy, huh? lol

I wanted to snap a few pics this morning, because it isn't often that I love my outfit AND my hair at the same time. Ha!

I copped this dress on clearance at eShakti. It is everything!! I was browsing through the "Overstock" section of the website, and that's when I spotted this cute houndstooth sheath dress. I had been wanting a dress or skirt in houndstooth print for a while now, but never found anything that I felt suited me. After a few clicks on some dresses that were possibles, there it was! My eyes lit up when I clicked on this dress!

Then, it happened. The dress only went up to a size 14. Even though the material indicated that it had some stretch, I entered complete let down mode. I was really bummed out. Then something told me to take a look at my progress/workout pics. And that brought me to this…

I posted this pic on Instagram about a month ago. I used it to motivate me when I went into a workout slump. I was feeling really down about the scale not moving, and I needed a boost. Once I looked at the before and after, I went through with my order. And I'm glad I did. That 14 fit me like a glove! I felt super cute and, so I had to snap a few pics before the kids and I left the house this morning.

**The moral of this story is... TRY IT!! You never know what works and what doesn't unless you try it out. Also, give yourself more credit. We sometimes get hung up on where we think we should be, and forget to be proud of where we are.**

Until next time...

I through on a light weight blazer for work. Reason #1, Sometimes a sista needs to down-play some of these curves. And #2, it gets chilly in the office & I don't like it :)

Dress - eShakti

Shoes - Steve Madden

Blazer - Target