All About My FitBit Flex

Hey everyone! Today I'm talking about a fairly recent purchase and new obsession- my FitBit! I had been wanting one for a while and when I saw that it was on sale, I had to buy it! My FitBit is in the color 'Slate', which I really like because it goes with everything. I thought I would share my favorite features of the FitBit Flex. 

To start off, I want to say that the FitBit syncs to an app on your phone, or your laptop. You can view everything on the app.  The main feature of the FitBit is that it tracks your steps, and does so by the swinging of your arm. So yes, if you swing your arm without moving, steps are counted. Also, if you work somewhere where you carry things or if you are pushing a shopping cart, it doesn't always track the steps. Just a heads up. The daily step goal for every user is 10,000 steps, which is surprisingly hard to get to. It also tracks how many 'Active Minutes' you get each day, or time where you don't stop moving for 10 minutes. You can also track what you eat and how much water you drink. If you are a runner (or a walker) the FitBit maps out your run and tells you steps per minute, total miles, average miles time, and total time. One of my favorite features of the FitBit is the sleep tracking. I thought that it was weird initially, because I knew that I slept pretty well. Once you put your FitBit in sleep mode (tap 5 times), it is ready to track your sleep. In the morning it tells you how long you were asleep (the goal is 8 hours), and shows you when you were awake and when you were restless. Another cool feature is the silent alarms. In the app you can set a silent alarm, which is perfect for waking up or for reminders to do things. Instead of a loud alarm clock, I wake up to the gentle buzzing of my wrist. On the FitBit app, you can become join any friends that have a FitBit and see how active they are. If you are a competitive person, this can be a very useful thing because it will make you want to be more active just so you can beat your friends. I also wanted to mention that the FitBit is water-resistant and not water-proof. A.K.A. you can wash your hands with it on, but don't wear it in the shower or to go swimming. The FitBit needs to be charged, and mine seems to need charging every 2-3 days. I typically charge it during a time when I know I won't be taking any steps, such as when I do my homework. 

I hope you guys found this helpful! If you have any other questions feel free to leave them in the comments!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Fab Friday

Hi everyone, and happy Friday! Today is my first "weekly recap" and I'm so excited about this new type of post! I'm going to try to do 3 posts per week, as well as a Fab Friday post.

one:

Last Sunday, my mom and I went to the Farmer's Market. She bought a bunch of little succulents, and I purchased these bright blooms. Pink flowers are my absolute favorite, and these have the best smell- like floral mixed with cinnamon! I love having fresh flowers to start of the week, and they always brighten my mood!


two:

 After a driving session with my dad on Saturday, we went to Starbucks. I really wanted a frappuccino, but I decided to be healthier and get a peach green tea lemonade, one of my favorite drinks. Unfortunately, I forgot to get it sweetened, so I ended up giving it to my mom. Of course, I snapped a cute pic before!

three:

This week has been surprisingly light on homework, and I had a week off from soccer, so I had a lot of free time (hence the 5 posts up this week- hope you enjoyed!). Because of this, I was able to spend Wednesday afternoon cutting and pinning in order to make my spring inspo board, Oh, and I made a post all about it here!

That's it for this week! Hope you have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Alyssa

D.I.Y. Inspiration Board

Hey everyone! Today I have a really fun post. I'm sharing how I create inspiration boards. Every season I take my favorite catalogs (a.k.a. J. Crew) and clip out my favorite images, words, or products and pin them to a corkboard in my room. I thought that I would share how I do this!

It's pretty easy. All you need is a corkboard, pins, and a catalog.

Now comes the fun part! Flip through the magazine and cut out anything that inspires you. I usually try to stick with a color theme, which for this board was bright pink and yellow. 

Once you have clipped out all of the images that you want, it's time to arrange them. You can overlap them, but I usually don't like to. The great things about pins is that if you don't like where you placed something, you can change it! Here's my finished board;

I hope you liked this post! If you make your own inspiration board make sure to tweet me or snapchat me a picture (both are @lotsoflys)!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Splurge vs. Save: Jumpsuits

J,Crew  | Old Navy

I've never been a huge fan of rompers or jumpsuits because I feel like they fit me awkwardly. However, I do really want to try out the jumpsuit trend! I love dresses because they're comfortable and it's a one-piece outfit, and it seems like jumpsuits are similar, just a bit more casual. I can picture myself wearing one of these jumpsuits with some strappy sandals and a fun crossbody bag, perfect for spring or summer. Anyways, I spotted these jumpsuits online and thought that the were pretty similar, despite the difference in sleeve length and the cut of the neck-line. I think $35 is a pretty good deal (;

Do you like jumpsuits?

xoxo,

Alyssa

Delicious Designs P.6 Home

Hi everyone! I came across the most gorgeous home the other day when I was scrolling through Pinterest.  The home was featured on Delicious Designs Home. I decided to share my favorite images from this picture-perfect house. I'm so obsessed.

{all images via)

Isn't that house so cute?! I'd love to see the exterior and the yard because I bet they're darling as well. Let me know which part of the home you like the best!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Spring Moodboard

via via via via via via

 Spring is one of my favorite seasons (I'm pretty sure I say this for every season). I love the warm (but not too hot) temps and the fun. bright fashion. This spring moodboard was inspired by pink, white, and green- the 'springiest' colors, in my opinion! I hope your spring is filled with pink and white gingham dresses (swoon), Lilly Pulitzer themed parties, pink houses (#goals), and lots, and lots of fresh flowers! Happy (almost) spring!

xoxo,

Alyssa

My Favorite Fitness/Health Apps // Collab

Today is the last post of my collab with Russia! I've had so much fun collabing and I hope you've enjoyed the posts. Today I'm sharing my favorite fitness/workout apps that I love to use! All of these are free in the Apple app store.

30 Days Ab

30 Days Ab is a 30-day challenge with a new ab workout every day. You can choose beginner, intermediate, or advanced. At the end of the 30 day period, you're supposed to have abs, or at least a stronger core. I have to admit that I've never finished the full 30 days, but whenever I want to work on abs I use this app.

MyFitnessPal

Being vegetarian, it can be harder to eat enough protein, and some vegetarians become malnourished because of this. I log what I eat every day using this app. I'm able to see what I eat in terms of nutrients (protein, iron, sugar, etc.), as well as how many calories I've eaten. 

FitBit

i recently purchased a FitBit Flex and I've been loving it! I'll definitely do a review soon. Anyways, Fitbit's main thing is tracking steps. It tracks how many steps you take, and when you took them. One of my favorite features is the silent alarm. Instead of waking up to a horrible beeping noise, I wake up to a gentle vibration of my FitBit. Oh, and my FitBit tracks my sleep and when I was awake, which I find very interesting. All of this is seen in the app. Overall, I feel more conscious of getting up and being active, which is definitely good!

Instagram

Instagram is probably my favorite social media. One of my favorite accounts is @rawrunradiate. Andrea is a vegan, active high school student, and I find her posts so nice. Another one of my favorite things to do is search #vegetarian and look at the recipes that people have posted. Let me know if you have any fitness/health Instagram accounts that I should follow!

What are your favorite health apps? 

xoxo,

Alyssa

P.S. Make sure to check out Russia's post!

How I Edit My Instagram Pictures

Hey everyone! Who doesn't love a good Instagram feed, amirite? Ever since I started my blog, I wanted to have a nice feed that expressed what my blog was about. It wasn't until now that I feel like my feed looks nice and represents Lots of Lys. Here's a picture of it (follow me @lotsoflys):

Step 1: Taking the Picture

I take most of my Instagram pictures on my iPhone 6, unless it's a picture from a blog post. If it's from a blog post, then I used my DSLR camera, which is a Nikon d3200. If I take the picture on my phone then I try to take it on "square' mode, unless I forget. It's super important to take multiple shots in case the first one doesn't turn out well (it almost never does). 

Step 2: Editing

I only use VSCO Cam for editing my pictures. I have gone through various filters and tools, but I have figured out my "signature edit":  +1 the Exposure, +1 the Contrast and +1 the Temperature. Here's the difference between the pictures, and after I cropped a few. 

After I edit, I save it to my camera roll and usually "test post" on Instagram (post to see how it looks with my other pictures and then delete really quickly). If it looks good then I come up with a caption and post!

How do you edit your Instagram pics?

xoxo,

Alyssa

Splurge vs. Save: Leather Crossbody

Madison Crossbody | Tassle Mini Crossbody (on sale!)

How cute are these bags?? Lately I've been noticing a few items that look similar to more expensive items, so I'm planning on doing more of these posts in the future. Anyways, I think both of these bags are adorable. The 'save' bag is from Old Navy and is currently on sale, so if you're interested in purchasing, do so quickly!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Easy and Healthy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt // Collab with Russia

Hey everyone! I was browsin' Pinterest the other day in search of a healthy Valentine's Day dessert for the second post in Russia and I's collab when I came across this frozen yogurt recipe and thought that it was perfect for Valentine's Day because it's bright pink! Make sure to check out Russia's post!

AH- so yum!

All recipe creds go to Just A Taste- I just made a few tweaks to the recipe!

Here's what you'll need: 

4 cups frozen strawberries

3/4 cup plain yogurt (I actually used the whole package)

3 tbsp honey

1 tbsp lemon juice

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. I found it easier to blend when the strawberries were cut into smaller pieces, but it depends on your food processor. Once all of the ingredients are in, blend until it has a fro-yo consistency and there are no chunks. 

Once it is blended completely, you can either serve immediately or transfer it into a container and freeze it, which should last for around a month. It does get icy when you freeze it- beware. 

This recipe is so good and way healthier than other ice creams/frozen yogurts! Let me know if you try this recipe!

xoxo,

Alyssa

How to Decide If You Should Purchase Something

{via} 

I love shopping (shocker). I enjoy purchasing items I love that I know I will get a lot of use out of. However, I am guilty of purchasing items and not really wearing/using them as much as I imagined, which is a waste of money and just a stupid thing to do. Here are my tips to decide whether or not you should purchase something.

Do I have anything like this?

Yes, a striped tee is a wardrobe essential, but do you really need 2 that are almost identical? Try to avoid buying duplicates/twins (unless it's an item you use a TON), because chances are you'll only use one.

Will it go on sale soon?

I don't care what you say: there is nothing worse than purchasing an item at full price and seeing that it's on sale a few weeks later! If you're considering purchasing something that you think might go on sale, try waiting until the next closest holiday when stores have sales (Labor Day, Black Friday, etc) and then purchase it!

Will I use/wear it?

How many outfits can I think of with this? Do I have shoes to match or would I need to purchase something else to go with it? Sometimes when I really think about how much use I will get from an item I find myself placing it back on the rack. 

Could I see myself wearing this in a few years?

It's okay to purchase "trending" items, but I wouldn't splurge on them. I'd rather spend my money on classic, high quality pieces that I know I'll wear for many years to come, not just this season.

Figure out how much it's worth.

Before looking at the price of items, I like to think to myself "How much would I pay for this?". If my answer is lower/equal to what the actual price is, I'll consider purchasing. 

Don't buy things just because it's on sale. 

Guilty! "Mom, it's XYZ brand and it's only $$! That's such a good deal!". Yes, it may be a good deal for the brand, but it's only a true good deal if you use it! 

Read reviews and do your research.

I always read reviews of products before purchasing them, especially if they're on the expensive side. Reviews could help you avoid a return or help encourage you to purchase something.

If you're still not sure, wait.

Sometimes I get wrapped up in the moment of wanting to buy something and I need to take a step back. If I want to purchase something (especially a splurge item), I usually wait months to see if  I still want that item. 

xoxo,

Alyssa

Valentine's Day Nail Polishes

brides no grooms | worth the wait | shall we chalet | peak show | color binge | haute in heat

I consider myself to be a fairly festive person. I enjoy sporting certain colors in support of certain holidays, and Valentine's Day is no different. Pink is one of my favorite colors and this holiday just gives me an excuse to wear more of it! I rounded up some of my favorite nail polish colors for Valentine's Day/February and thought I would share them in case you're in need. 

xoxo,

Alyssa 

Valentine's Day Outfit // Collab with Russia Boles

Hey everyone! Today I'm collaborating with my friend Russia. We are going to be doing a new post together every Friday during the month of February, so make sure to stick around! For our first post we are sharing our Valentine's Day outfits! 

shirt (similar) | jeans| sandals

Now that the time of year has come again, I'm realizing that I really do like Valentine's Day. Pink is one of my favorite colors, so I knew I had to include it in the outfit to be festive. On Valentine's Day, I will either be at home doing homework or blogging, or hanging out with friends- nothing too fancy. This outfit is perfect for a "Galentine's Day"- making fun, festive recipes, painting nails, and watching movies. Anyways, make sure to check out Russia's post!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Wardrobe Essentials

Recently I decided that I want to invest in classic, nice pieces of clothing that will last me throughout high school and college, and even after! Last week one of my favorite bloggers, Carly from TCP, shared her Wardrobe Staples. Inspired by Carly, I composed a list of some of my favorite clothing items (my Jacks!!), as well as some items that I have been dying to purchase (those sunnies)!

Obviously I'm not saying that everyone needs to own J. Crew everything (I mean, there are worse things), but I think the idea of each item is important. A button up shirt, a neutral skirt, a LBD, a versatile crossbody, and a nice pair of flats- you get the idea.

What are your wardrobe essentials?
xoxo,
Alyssa

My Go-To Winter Outfit // Collab with Katie of Chic in Carolina!

Hey everyone! Today I'm doing my first ever collab post with one of my friends, Katie, who blogs at Chic in Carolina! We are both going to be sharing our go-to winter outfits, so make sure to check out her post!

shirt (Loft Outlet) | vest | jeans | shoes (vintage)

I love this outfit and have worn many variations of it. A simple striped tee is an essential in my wardrobe (how cute is the neckline?) and my vest is probably one of my favorite purchases, ever! My go-to winter outfit is perfect because it features layers, something that I find very important. You can wear it without the vest if it gets warmer throughout the day, or keep it on to keep from freezing. Make sure to check out Katie's post!

xoxo,
Alyssa