fall is here!

That's right, summer has officially ended and we're in the beginning of a new and beautiful season! As always, summer slipped by much too fast. One day it was hot and I was wearing shorts and the next day (literally) I put on pants and socks! But I am happy about the change of weather. I used to love summer so much better, but these days I really am excited for chillier weather. That means more baking, crisp leaves, pumpkins, halloween and a whole new wardrobe. On that note, I'm finally getting started on my fall "collection." I know I'm utterly late, but then I always seem to be. However, I am trying to get back into a better routine now that the seasons have changed. Everyone is going back to school and it makes me want to be organized again. Summer always feels so scattered! Of course the house is a mess and I have several loads of laundry to do, but I'm going to get all that in shape this week. Now that I have an iPhone, it sure makes taking snapshots a whole lot easier! I'm going to try and carve out some time to blog, so hopefully you all will see me here more regularly.

What's your favorite season? Favorite clothing item this season? I'm on the hunt for some leather loafers. I haven't found the perfect pair yet! I also never thought I would ever wear flares again, but I am actually digging them pretty bad this year. Especially this dream pair by A.P.C. Perhaps when I get my budget figured out, I can save up. Or just make my own!

More of my instagram shots.

P.S. The second from the bottom picture is my mom on the day we celebrated her 59th birthday! She had a 1950's themed party and we watched the tv show The Hardy Boys. Mom remembered watching it when she was a little girl, even Grandma remembered! That's my grandma Sandholm (my mom's mom). It was so much fun! By the way, Mom also made the fall themed top she is wearing. :)

found more fabric!

For those of you who were interested in the Seaside Dress, I found just enough fabric in my stash to make one more dress! It is on sale along with the other two tops (further reduced) and a few other items I just added!

SALE IN THE SHOP!

P.S. I just got a brand new iphone a few days ago! If you are on Instagram, feel free to check out my page! My user name is "annaallenclothing". xo

a little sale in the shop

Just a quick note to say I have two size small linen tops in the shop at a super price! If you were eyeing this top and fit a size small, go take a look! I only have one of each available for this price.

p.s. It's been a little hectic the last few weeks, but I am getting back on schedule and will hopefully start blogging a little more regularly! xoxo

summertime reading

I finished my second Mary Stewart book last week and it was absolutely thrilling! Plus there is a bit more romance in this one than the last one I read, which is always a plus I say! :) This was a birthday gift from my parents. I have another Mary Stewart book that was included in the gift all ready to read next, and I cannot wait! These books are perfect summer reads. I try to hold off and not read too much in a day, otherwise I get nothing done and the book is finished before I know it!

Also took a picture of my outfit I got from ASOS. Have to say it really looks vintage. I'm going to make this short as Jed and I are about to run out the door to go to the movie theater! We almost never go, so I always think of it as a special occasion. We're planning to see Moonrise Kingdom and I'm SO excited to finally go see it! CAN'T WAIT! Have a fabulous mid-week everyone! xoxo

P.S. I think I'm finally getting the hang of the cat eye! I think this type of angle brush makes it easier!

Affiliate links included in this post.

i'm back!

I had a little break last week after finishing a larger order and then getting ready for a visit with my family (and a trip to help Jed's brother move to the Uni of IL). So our week was pretty full! It's always fun having people come visit and a good excuse to explore Chicago some more! We had a fun time visiting the Aquarium with Jed's family and we drove around and went to the lake every day that my family was here. It was pretty laid back and a fun break for both Jed and I.

I have been so bad about taking pictures these days. I'm considering getting either an iPhone or an iPod touch. Anyone know if one or the other is better? I'm guessing the iPhone is a bit better, however, it seems a lot more expensive, but I still need to look into all that more. Anyway, I think it might convince me to take more pictures when I'm out and about. And perhaps make a fun video (like Cathy's super cute video of a typical summer day in Rome)! So what say you? iPhone or iPod?

Here's an update on my workout routine! Well, I completed the first 30 day shred video and it really was hard at first, but after a few days it was not bad at all. I also ached like crazy, probably mostly due to the fact that her stretches after the workout are useless. I started taking a small amount of L-glutamine, which helped a ton with sore muscles. I also did some yoga afterwards, although I should have done more because I developed a bad back ache exactly 1 week after starting the workout. Talk about annoying! I figured it had a lot to do with some of the lunges with weights she has you do along with not stretching my hips, like I should have. SO... I ended up having to take a break. But that was mainly due to having family over and such. But I started back up today with my workout. I did something a bit different, though. I know I said I'd do the 30 day shred, but I honestly am getting really sick of Julian Michaels. She's somewhat tolerable, but I don't look forward to the workouts. The music is annoying and her attitude grates at me. I might check out her second workout, but at the moment I'm doing something that is more fun for me, but still very challenging! I actually discovered this when I was searching for what my back pain could be from. I found this body building website and oddly enough, it's actually very informative. I'm no body builder, but this guy seems to know what he's talking about (even though he looks kind of whacko). And the workout he set up for women is really challenging for me. On top of that, I can turn on my own music and have fun doing it! I'm still pushing myself and when I really cannot complete one of the sets, I just do a bunch of jumping jacks or leg kick backs or dance to keep my heart rate up. I think it will be easier to add in other exercises to the routine as well. And he has you do the workout every other day along with jogging or another sport for 30 min on the other days with a break on the weekend. I can see myself sticking to this workout rather than following a video every day. I think adding in a video for variation would be good too though.

Sorry that was so long! I am trying to make this a lifestyle change and it's not easy! So I tend to over think everything! I promise I'll get back to talking about pretty clothes and such!

Here's my workout music if you care to have a listen. I have to say, I'm kind of crazy about Shaun Cassidy (Shirley Jones' son)! He's sooo groovy! ;)

30 day challenge

Sorry everyone for dropping off the face of the earth lately! I have been busy finishing up a big order and haven't had a lot of time for blogging. Not that there really has been anything that exciting to share! Although I did make a killer loaf of (ALL) whole wheat bread that is getting eaten much too fast! You really must try it. I love the fact that you don't need white flour and it still looks and tastes amazing!

But anyway, on to the main topic of today's post... I haven't only dropped off the face of the earth, I've also slacked BIG TIME with my work-out routine. I still love Ballet Beautiful, but I think I need to switch things up every month or it gets super monotonous. Variation is the key, I really believe! At least for me! I've noticed a pattern in my life with exercise. I stick with something very diligently for 1 month and then stop. I stopped right before going on vacation with the intention of doing workouts throughout the week, but never did any of them! There are many things I think that are a drawback when we go home for vacation and there never seems to be enough time to set aside some exercise time. I know I need to change that, but I need to figure out a strategy. I'm not sure what that is yet! Anyway, so I had a lot of work to catch up on when coming home from vacation, so I decided to just get straight to work and not worry if I didn't exercise for a few days. Well, a few days turned into a full month of being rather dormant. Really annoying, because that pretty much has erased all the work I did the month before. So I am starting again. I think starting a goal or challenge for one month and sticking through it til the end would work better for me than a never ending stream of one workout video every other day or every day for however long. I still adore the whole Ballet Beautiful series, but I need new and different types of exercises to keep me motivated. 

That brings me to a little challenge that I've decided to do. Don't laugh too hard! I know some of you may scoff at me for doing this, especially since it's so far from the type of workout videos that I like. But it may be the kick in the pants that I need. Plus it's fun to make a challenge and see if I can stick with it until the end. But I'm not going to stop there. I'm going to try and make another challenge for the next month. I'll just pick a new workout DVD to challenge myself with and do the same thing as I'm going to do now. I think I need variety in my life otherwise I get bored and move on. 

So, are you ready for it? Starting tomorrow, I've decided to begin the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michael's. YES, that one! The one that everyone is doing. It's going to be hard, I know it, but that's the only way you build muscle. And strength is my main goal for this. I'm going to take before/after pictures and measurements and we'll see what happens. I'm not expecting a drastic change. I'm guessing I'll either stay the same weight or gain weight, but that's not my concern at all. And although I'm not "overweight" I really need to work my wimpy muscles really hard and I think this workout will be a good challenge for them. Anyone is welcome to join me if they like! I would love to help inspire others to start a workout routine! I know it's really hard for me to stick to things, which is why I decided to write it here. I will try to update now and then to keep accountable. Feel free to comment if you plan to do this with me! I'm planning to start tomorrow instead of the first of August, since I know there will be probably 5 days that I won't be working out (company coming) but hope to make it up by the end of the month. If you are interested, you can start anytime you like, of course! Also, another thing I like about the workout is that it's only 25 min (with 2 min extra for stretching etc - though I'll probably spend more time than that stretching) and that is a lot easier to work into my day. I think most people can spare a half hour of their day, so there shouldn't be any excuses! Plus it's easier to do it when you have an end date and a goal to work towards. What do you think? Am I crazy?

P.S. I talked about how I had a horrible flare of eczema a few posts ago and just recently I think I came across a bit of a "cure." I had been taking a zinc supplement for my acne and ran out while on vacation, so I stopped taking it. Well, my eczema got considerably worse by the end of the trip and was terribly itchy. I didn't think anything of it, but I ordered another bottle because my acne was getting worse too. I didn't put two and two together until researching it and someone said to take zinc. So I started taking a little more and what do you know? It's actually clearing up my terrible horrible eczema! Mine is behind my knees and it was awful. Itched so bad I couldn't bare not itching it. And if you've ever had eczema you know how itching it only makes it itch more and more. Anyway, I was battling this eczema since last winter (it started 2-3 years ago and went away last summer, but came back again in the winter) and in just a week it is healing up and not itchy anymore! So I highly recommend taking zinc supplement if you have bad eczema or acne. It might help! This may seem like a lot, but I take 30mg after every meal (so 90mg total). The kind I have also has copper in it, since zinc can deplete your copper. I plan to keep this up for 2 months and then take less zinc after that. Hopefully the eczema won't flare up again! Anyway, something I thought I would pass on! Sorry this is such a lengthy post! I just had my morning coffee, can you tell? :) 

{image from the movie "the women" via screwball cinema}

shabby apple giveaway! *this has ended*

The lovely people over at Shabby Apple contacted me a few days ago to see if I would be interested in hosting a giveaway on my blog. Absolutely! I have hosted another giveaway for them in the past and this time they are offering a $50 gift card for anything in their shop. If you would like a chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment here with your email address, and your favorite item from Shabby Apple and you will be entered! Also feel free to check out their facebook page for news and updates. The contest will run through Saturday, July 21st. 


Please note, you must have a USA address to enter this contest. 


Good luck!!

And the winner is... Margo! Congratulations! I'll be emailing you with more information. Thanks again to everyone who entered the contest! 

P.S. For my readers, Shabby Apple has offered a 10% discount! Just use this discount code when ordering: wildflowers-pretty10off

the library

I just love the library and for some reason we always go back to visit the one we went to when we were kids. Something about older libraries or the ones I grew up with that make me happy. (Actually, the one I went to more often since I was a little girl was ruined by the flood, unfortunately.) So we usually go visit our old hometown library at least once when we go home. Probably sounds corny, but we don't care! There's also a little bookstore in the library with old books. I found some pretty great books the last time we were there. Anyway, it was also nice to take a break from the hot outdoors (it was around 105 degrees fahrenheit!) and the car we were borrowing didn't have any air conditioning! So we took refuge in the library. I sat down in one of the rows of books to rest, looked up and it was the exact section with all of Mary Stewart's books! What a coincidence! I didn't have much time to read on our vacation so I didn't check out any of them. But it all worked out because my parents gave me my birthday gift that afternoon which included two of Mary Stewart's novels! I think between these two books and a few others I've been meaning to read, I think I'm set for the rest of the summer!

I hope you all are enjoying your summer so far. We are back from vacation, but I have several loads of laundry to do and a dirty little apartment to clean. And a whole ton of yards of fabric to cut and sew up! I think I'm set for the rest of the month. It's actually a good feeling to be busy, but I admit it's hard to think of work after coming home from vacation. Hopefully Jed and I will get a chance to run down to the lake a few times before this month has come and gone!

Affiliate links may be included in this post.