At Home Workout Finds from Amazon

 

  All my workouts have been at home or outside at parks or in my backyard, and even when I'm not working out, I'm mostly wearing at least yoga pants. I figure when I start my day and get dressed, I'm going to work out, so I might as well just get dressed in my yoga pants and sports bra.
Because I was going through my stash so fast (since that's mostly all I'm wearing), I needed to supplement. I tried a few new brands at much lower prices than my typical workout wear brands, and pleasantly surprised!
Sharing my new favorite Amazon found brands and other items that I'm loving in this new workout from home lifestyle.

Bottoms: Love these liquid-shine black cropped pants to wear even off the (workout) mat, I have have these cropped "naked feeling" pink cropped pants, and these leopard leggings are similar to ones I have from Athleta.
Tops: This nude sports bra is great for summer with a mesh top and back, this breezy workout tank also has a mesh back to keep cool in the heat, and I love the back on this strappy sports bra (and lots of color options).
Matching Set: I love the scalloped edge to the yoga bralette (and it's criss-cross back) and the edge of these matching bottoms in solid or the mesh-design insert of these coordinating bottoms.
Essentials:  Everyone needs a pair of dumbbell hand weights (even a light pair) can be the key to tons of toning exercises.  I've had my Garmin smartwatch for several years, and love that it keeps me on track with steps and tracks my calorie burn, etc.  I'm eying this foldable yoga mat after lugging my typical rolled up around to some parks for group workouts.

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A Trip to the Gardens {A Reason to Get Dressed}

  Our days are pretty similar day in and day out. All our trips, like most, have been cancelled, camps also cancelled.  We're still mostly quarantined at home, hanging outdoors with only a few families a few times a week who are also limiting their exposure while keeping distance. So with this little variety, we took a day off work and headed on a little local adventure to break up the day and step away from the monotony.
Some how we'd never been to Powell Gardens. Only 45 minutes southeast of Kansas City, an expansive space with art sculptures, a pond with several islands that can be explored, a beautiful chapel, walking paths, and 7 themed gardens full of extraordinary landscaping. We ooo'd and awww'd our whole way through and could have spent more time there but the rain came. 
Powell Gardens is taking safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. You have to make a reservation for a time to come so they can limit crowds. They have arrows marked on the walking paths to keep traffic going the same direction, as well. We went on a week day, in the morning before a rainy afternoon, so we only saw maybe 4 other groups of people, so felt very safe the entire time.
I definitely want to go back!  And if for nothing else, but to get dressed again. It was nice to put on a summery dress and leave the house. I love any easy, breezy dresses, especially in white Swiss dot and lace fabric.
My first real outfit worn since quarantine:

Now I just need to find more family-fun outdoor adventures that are safe from crowds. Do you have any recommendations within driving range of the Kansas City area? 

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Simple Jewelry with a Big Impact

  Time to revisit your jewelry drawer (or dish, or stand). What are you actually wearing these days?  For me, I have a drawer full of costume jewelry that I rarely use and a small dish of fine (but affordable) jewelry that I wear everyday. I've been obsessed with simple gold jewelry now for years, and my love for ear huggies has sky rocketed.
I think these simple jewelry pieces can add up to make a sophisticated impact. I like to layer necklaces of different lengths to dress up or add interest to a basic or solid color top.  And my newest obsession is the ear cuff.  I love that you don't have to add another piercing to your lobes to add a piece of jewelry.
And actually, it's been a long time since I've worn earrings in my second piercing, but I wanted to layer multiple ear huggies, so I had to re-pierce the hole a tiny bit and now I'm back!  Truth be told, I pierced these second holes myself back in high school in the first place (and that's why they aren't in the best placement - so I don't recommend that route).
Finally, I also wear thin gold rings, and stack them to add more impact when I want to punch it up. I don't even take my rings off since they're so light and thing - and they don't tarnish at all. 
What ways do you give simple jewelry a wow?
You can see how I styled my gold ear huggies with a bright pink blazer here.
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This post is in collaboration with Nakturnal, but all opinions are my own.

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Favorite Wears: $30 Amazon Pleated Skirt

  I'm a long-time lover of pleated skirts! I have several in all different colors - and until finding THIS ONE, my go-to place was J.Crew for much more expensive versions.  Now, don't get me wrong, they serve a purpose and I still love those (I'll do a separate post soon to showcase my newest J.Crew pleated skirt), but this one is under $30, comes in tons of colors, is lined and totally comfortable. 
I really could see myself owning this in every color... but I'm going to try to refrain for that (not enough closet space!). I got this brownish-copper color because it was very different then any other skirt I had and envision wearing it with black. But this particular day, I was working for a bit at a coffee shop that is literally within a tree and plant nursery and just felt I need to soften the look up a bit.
For those in Kansas City area, you must check out Cafe Equinox within the Family Tree Nursery in Shawnee, KS. They serve Thou Mayest coffee, baked goods from local bakeries and have tons of work space and collaboration tables throughout the nursery to work amongst the chlorophyll. 
It was such a calming way to work, and I swear I felt lighter and more alert. I will make it habit to work out of this space whenever possible. And of course, coming home with a few new plants is never bad, right?!
Shop the rest of the look:

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Favorite Wears: Favorite Gold Earrings

 

  Sometimes the best part of an outfit is the smallest part. I've struggled with wearing jewelry that irritates my skin or turns my skin green too many times to count, so as I've gotten older (and wiser?), I've invested in prices that will last and make me feel good. 
This brings me to my current obsession of affordable gold earrings that feel great on my sensitive ears. I also love all the other jewelry by AU-Rate because they make jewelry guaranteed for life with ethically sourced materials. They cut out the middle man to get you gold jewelry at affordable prices with options (of gold plated, 14K or 18K) so you can find something that fits your budget.
You can see my first pair of earrings from AU-Rate here. I like to get something that I'll always love, but, like that last pair (hoops made with little hearts), I want something with a little extra personality, too. I love these huggable hoops with the added bar dangling.
 

And what looks better with gold than pink and leopard?  I've been wearing pops of leopard for years, but have recently really fallen for pink, especially in unexpected ways.  My favorite unexpected way to wear pink? A pink blazer. My go-to blazer is no longer avail, but you can find the exact one on eBay.
A blazer, and having at least one in a fun color, can be worn dressed up or down - and is the perfect layering piece. I wear my pink one often, and love it over a simple white and black graphic tee (this one of a women's face is always a fun addition and definitely not boring).
So, mixing my pink blazer with gold earrings not only matches the packaging, but a classic go-to of mine (top the look off with a leopard headband for an extra wow!) - or skip the headband and blazer and go for a cozy leopard sweater (it all goes with gold, you can't go wrong!).  
You can shop my look here:

 Because this post is full of favorites - these are my favorite booties. But they're a couple years old. Here are this year's version by the same brand.

Alt outfit with a cozy leopard sweater (cute sidekick can't be replicated):

Find yourself a good pair of earrings and let the rest fall into place. What would you get from AU-Rate? This post is in collaboration with Nakturnal, but all opinions are my own.

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Girls trip to Healdsburg, CA

  Wine tasting in sunny California, yes please! A pool and wonderful meals, icing on the cake! All this with some of the best girls, jackpot.  Almost a full year prior, we planned this girls trip and then waited and anticipated.  Over the years, all our husbands have gone on grad adventures for their bachelor parties, while we mostly stayed local - so it was our turn to live it up for a long weekend.
So we decided wine country is where it was at, and after looking for houses to house us all and wineries we'd be excited about, we landed on Healdsburg, CA (a new part to wine country to me, which is just north and a little west of Sonoma and Napa).  This was a great town! Tons of amazing wineries and restaurants with the cutest little downtown to walk around.
The full itinerary is below, day by day - but here are the highlights with the absolute must-dos if you find your self coming to this area (and you should!).
Restaurants: Valette (get the scallops), Oakville Grocery and Barndiva Wineries:  Farrari Carano, Bella Vineyards & Wine Caves, Le Crema and Williamson Wines Massages/Spa Services: Royal Care Lifestyle
Day One:

After flying mid-morning to midday to get to wine country, we checked into our Airbnb home (with a pool!), we relaxed a bit before heading out to dinner.   These are some really happy faces after one of the best meals of my life. We went to Valette for dinner after lots of research and group voting - and it did not disappoint!   

You have to go to this restaurant, and you have to get the scallops - not scratch that, you have to get TWO of the scallops in the appetizer/starter section. They come with two big ones, and you'll be licking your plate. They cook them in a pan with puff pastry over top that then turns into the bowl at the table. They add caviar, fennel squid ink, and beurre blanc over top - and other special ingredients that just turn this into something you've never had before.

Day Two:

  This was the big day - the day of winery hopping! We lined up an awesome limo van to transport us all around. We carefully mapped out our four stops to start furthest away and work our way back to our house. We even scheduled a lunch stop in there at the Oakville Grocery (amazing sandwiches and coffee drinks).  After a full day of wine tasting, we ended the day with heavy apps and charcuterie trays back at the house at the pool.  It was a wonderful day and evening.

Our winery day order:

1. Farrari Carano - We started the day here, and I'm so glad we did. We got there early enough to where it was not crowded yet (and goin winery hoping on a weekday helps!). This winery has beautiful, amazing grounds at every turn. I could not get over the view. They had a bubbly red wine that I loved, and was especially good with their cherry chocolates. :)

2. Bella Vineyards & Wine Caves - This was our second stop and not too far from Farrair Carano. We loved experiencing the cave for a very different feel. The wine was good and the cave gave us a break for the sun starting to warm up.

(break for lunch at Oakville Grocery)

3. Simi Winery - Being our 3rd stop, I don't remember the details very much. I took a slight break from wine and ran through their beautiful vineyards instead. ;)

4. Le Crema - We were all excited about this one since it's wine we drink back here in the midwest. I get this brand at Costco all the time. It's my favorite low to mid priced wine; their Pinot Noir is amazing. In the tasting room, they also sell candles, which is a great way to bring a bit of the experience home.

Day Three:

Our last full day together and coming off a full day of drinking the day before... we were smart and planned for this. We had Royal Care Lifestyle come to our house to set up shop for massages on the pool deck. They had table warmers and all, which felt great against the cool morning. This allowed us to have a slow morning with some extra pampering.

But the wine tasting wasn't over yet.  We headed to downtown Healdsburg for Williamson Wine - and this is one of my favorite experiences of the trip! They have a great tasting experience - matching the wine with cheeses, nuts and jellies/mustards. It was all so good, many of walked away with an order of wine (and their own mustard!) to which I'm anticipating!

Afterwards, we had lunch nearby and then some of us (including me!) went back to the house for a nap, while some stayed out to hit up another winery.  That evening, we gathered back together for one last super amazing dinner. We went to Barndiva for a really epic meal.

And that was a wrap!

I went home with a full belly, fun memories and more wine on the way. Thanks to my gal pals for all they did to pull this together (together I think we really nailed it). For more long weekend trip options, check out Great Value Vacations!

Some of the outfit pieces worn:

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