A Bunch of Random Stuff

I know I usually save my random things for my Saturday Stuff and Things posts, but I forgot to do it Saturday and didn't have anything for today, so this is what you get.

First, some pictures.  A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I went to McMenamin's Edgefield for the Plucky Maidens Junk Fest.  As I've said before, Edgefield is my favorite McMenamin's and on a summer day, it's practically heaven.  Here are some reasons why I love it so...

Hidden courtyards:

I think it's the courtyard to the Black Rabbit Restaurant at Edgefield, but as many times as I'd been there I hadn't ever seen it so it gave me a sort of "Secret Garden" thrill.  And Secret Garden Thrills are the best.


Hydrangeas:

I love hydrangeas.  And that's all I have to say about that.


And here are some photos from the Junk Fest itself:

It was so much fun.  Even in 100 degree weather, we had a great time browsing the different booths and staying hydrated with McMenamin's beers.  What?  Beer isn't good for hydration?  Hmph.  Says you.

In addition to drinking, I also Tweet.  That's right, I has the Twitter.  I have no idea what I'm doing, but I have it and occasionally Tweet about football and other stuff.  If you're interested, I'm @GraceytheGiant; you can even use the follow me link on the right.

Finally, I've started taking pole dancing class again, so expect to see some bruised shins in my photos.  Oh, and prepare yourself for complaints about how sore I am and how terrible I am at pole dancing.  Trust me, I'm terrible.  But, it's fun and I'm glad to be back in the class!

And with that, I wish you all a Happy Tuesday and I'll be back with an outfit post tomorrow.  Probably.

Gracey

WeeCap: June 25th & 26th

Weekend Recap for June 25th and 26th in which Gracey goes to the best Jazzercise class ever (EVER), gets some sun, goes to a birthday party (Happy Birthday, Cam!), has a slumber party and spends a Sunday doing nothing.  And I should warn you, this post is light on outfit photos (except for the Jazzercise shots), but I promise I did wear clothes.  I just forgot to get proof.

Also, before I tell you about my weekend, I wanted to show you what my sister, Rosey, did for me.  On Friday night after work I went thrifting with Alex and when I came home, Rosey had created this bouquet of red roses and mock orange for me.  Isn't it beautiful?  I'm telling you guys, she's the best sister ever.

Now on to the weecap proper. On Saturday I woke up early to attend Jazzercise class and I wore this:

 

This is not what I usually wear to Jazzercise, but on Saturday we were celebrating 30 years of teaching Jazzercise for one of the instructors, so we were encouraged to dress in 80s clothes.  You all know I love the 80s, so I was super-excited for this class.  So I woke up early, put my hair into a side-pony and put on my off-the-shoulder Jazzercise shirt and my hot pink leg warmers. 

And the class was fabulous.  We walked like Egyptians to The Bangles, let Belinda Carlisle convince us that heaven is a place on earth and had a last dance with Donna Summer.  Jazzercise is always fun, but this class was even more fun that usual filled with 80s songs and old school routines; in fact, my friend Kory and I are going to try to convince our instructor to have these 80s classes on a regular basis.

After Jazzercise I hung out in the sun until it was time to go up to Portland to visit my fabulous friend Jenny and her gorgeous daughter Cameron:

Cameron had her birthday party at a bowling alley with several of her girlfriends and a couple of her guy friends:

After pizza and bowling, all of the girls (yes, all 10 of them) had a slumber party at Jenny's house, and so did I.  I had no idea that thirteen year old girls screamed and squealed so much, but they seemed to be having a good time; I guess they're just super-excitable in large groups?  All I know is that we adults fell asleep long before the girls did and we were up past midnight, so I'm not sure what time they finally fell asleep.  And when we woke up this morning, it looked like a bomb had hit the living room and the shrapnel was made of teenage girls.  There were girls sleeping on or under every available surface; I swear one girl slept with a sweatshirt as a blanket and a pile of magazines as a pillow.  And the food?  We had pizza at the bowling alley, but they still ordered two more pizzas in the middle of the night, finished up the peanut butter Cap'n Crunch and for some reason had the mayo out.

Sunday I hung out with Jen for a bit and then headed back home.  All in all, it was a lovely, relaxing weekend.

I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend as well,

Gracey

FBFF for April 29: Let’s Get Physical

Today’s FBFF questions combine something I love (fashion) with something I am decidedly meh about (fitness).  I mean, I recognize how they’re interrelated, but oh how I wish they weren’t. 

Yes, this is basically what I wear for Jazzercise.

Do you keep some kind of fitness routine? Why?

I do try to keep some sort of fitness routine because I recognize that it does help my clothes fit better.  And, frankly, without some sort of regular exercise, my thighs would have moved into the Balkans and created The People’s Republic of Thighastan.  But, I don’t love exercising.  I’d rather be reading.  Or sleeping.  Or rummaging through a thrift store or two. 

But, thrifting doesn’t keep me fit, so I work out.  Sometimes.  Usually in the form of Jazzercise.  As I’ve said before on here, Jazzercise is hilarious and occasionally embarrassing, but, for me at least, it’s more fun than a trip to the gym.  It combines cardio, weights and stretching so it’s a pretty well rounded workout.  It fits nicely into my schedule (most weeks at least) and, most importantly, no matter how I was feeling before I went to class, I feel fit and trim after I’m done.

I also ride my bike to work everyday, but I don’t do that for the exercise.  It’s only about a 15 minute ride both ways, so I’m probably not getting much from it physically.  But, the morning ride is easily the best 15 minutes of my day.  I love being outside before having to disappear into my office building, even for only 15 minutes.

Has working out, maybe training for a marathon or something of that nature, helped with your own perception of body image?

Oh, goodness, I have to stop laughing at the thought of me training for a marathon.  Seriously, unless I’m being chased, I’m not running anywhere.

My perception of my body image changes a lot, but not always as the result of more or less exercise.  I usually do feel more fit after an exercise class but that’s not the only time my perception of my body image is improved.  For example, I feel thin today.  I am, of course, no more thin than I was yesterday, but today I feel like I am.  It’s just how I am.  I rarely feel really negatively about my body; I’m usually comfortable with it and some days I’m more comfortable than others.

When you are hitting the gym or just going out for a long walk what do you wear? Is it about functionality or fashion?

Functionality, 100%.  I do not understand gym fashion at all.  I sweat.  A lot.  And I don’t see spending a lot of money on something I’m going to sweat in.  I actually get most of my workout clothes from Wal-Mart because they are super-cheap and I don’t feel bad about sweating in them.

Do you feel there is a cultural perception of what you ‘should’ be doing for your own physical fitness?

Maybe a little bit.  Especially on the West Coast, where “healthy living” is extolled, there is some pressure to get out and get moving.  Run, bike, hike, ski, surf, snowboard, you name it, Oregonians do it.  But, I don’t really care what society thinks I should be doing.  The fact of the matter is that I’m comfortable with my level of fitness.  I work out when I want to and I guess I’m pretty lucky in that I want to work out at least a couple of times a week.  And that I want to ride my bike to work and sometimes even to Jazzercise.  I do it because I like doing it, not because society thinks I should be doing it (or more).

Dream big… what would be your ultimate fitness goal.

I don’t have any.  Really, I’m just happy to maintain.  I’d like to get up to three times a week for Jazzercise, so I guess that’s something.  But, I’m mostly just happy with my exercise routine.  No, I’m not training for anything or trying to lose a lot of weight but I think that’s okay.

If you’d like to read more on exercise and fashion, perhaps from people who actually exercise, visit Katy at Modly Chic.  She’s got a whole list of bloggers who participated in today’s FBFF fun.

Gracey