Hey everyone! Happy Easter and for those who do not celebrate Easter– Happy Passover/ Happy Holidays! I hope your holiday season is perfect and you are enjoying your day with your family and friends. Since Easter is one of my favorite holidays, I wanted to share my day with you all and what I usually do on Easter each year.
Good Friday:
This day I usually commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by going to service at my local church. This year Ryan and I also went to my cousins house so I could get eyelash extensions (a post is coming soon– I promise)! Then we went to the mall to see our niece get her Easter bunny pictures taken. She looked absolutely precious. Afterwards, we went back to my cousins house to have some wine and play the escape room game on their Amazon Alexa.
The Day Before Easter:
The day before Easter, I usually visit Ryan’s Grandma with his sister and her boyfriend. We take her to breakfast and enjoy our time together. This year we went for breakfast at a small diner near us. Afterwards, Ryan and I spent the whole day upcycling some furniture (there will definitely be blog posts about the soon)! We then ended our day with a movie night and I finally caught up in watching all Marvel movies. It might be hard to believe but I only saw a handful of Marvel movies and recently Ryan and I watched all the Marvel movies in order so I can see Avengers: End Game. I will also be writing posts on these movies and how I feel about them! I’m also really interested in getting my hair done almost like how Black Widow has it in Avengers: Infinity War but maybe not as short although I love the color!
Easter Sunday:
The morning of Easter I usually go to early mass at 7AM and then meet up with Ryan’s mother with Ryan, his sister and her boyfriend for breakfast. We then meet my family for lunch around 12PM. Afterwards, we all meet at my house to have an Easter egg hunt with my niece and open Easter baskets. Then later on some more family stop by my house and we have dinner and dessert together. This year we went to a cute breakfast place to meet Ryan’s family and I had the best omelet of my life (lol)! We then went to meet my family for lunch at an Italian Restaurant and after we had a ton of fun doing an Easter egg hunt with our niece. We also watched our niece open our Easter basket to her and she had the cutest reactions.
I hope you all have an amazing holiday and please let me know down below what your traditions are in the comments down below. Remember to subscribe for email notifications to be notified when I post new content.
-Stay Chic,
We all know the deal when it comes to personal trainers. The first thing that comes to my mind is that it’s expensive to have one and second, celebrities use them to get fit. I always wondered the difference between having a personal trainer and not having one. So, I decided to ask my friend Alexa, owner of AME Fitness Training who is a certified personal trainer to answer some important questions about getting fit with a personal trainer.
How does personal training benefit people who want to get fit?
“A personal trainer provides the drive and knowledge that clients need to reach there goals.”
What ways can a personal trainer help you reach your goal?
“Depending on what you want to work on we use our extensive knowledge of the human body and exercise to fulfil any goal a client desires.”
What are some things that a personal trainer does to help their clients?
“We show our clients the proper technique they need in each excerise to get the most out of it and we motivate and hold them accountable.”
Describe the advantages of having a personal trainer versus not having one.
“The advantage of having a trainer is the ability to have a guide that can show the correct way to excerise and drive the clients to success even when they feel down. Our job is to get clients to there best not just physically but mentally. Another advantage would be having a person who answers can any questions about health and fitness day or night regardless if your in the gym or not. When a person doesnt have a personal trainer they could easily trail off from training and wont see results quickly and efficiently.”
Some think a personal trainer makes things easier— like how celebrities get fit easily because they have trainers. What do you think about that?
“Having a personal trainer doesnt make it easy to workout and train. We push you to your limits to get most out of you in each session. If the training is easy then were not doimg our jobs right.”
What advice do you give someone that might not be able to afford a personal trainer?
“Research as much as possible and then jump right into exercising! What I find most clients have trouble with is consistently going to the gym and starting. Just get up and go! After that, have a consistent schedule so it becomes a habit.”
Why are personal trainers important in the process of getting fit?
“Were important in the process of getting fit since we know how to push the human body without going to far and straining it. We want to see success and will push clients until they see results.”
And there you have it! These are some serious important reasons and answers regarding personal trainers. I can tell after this interview that having a personal trainer actually helps with keeping your workouts on track and help you to work out correctly and get the most out of your workout. Having a guide when it comes to anything is very helpful, so I feel that a having a personal trainer can only be beneficial.
If you want personal training advice and packages from my friend Alexa visit her Instagram page @amefitnesstraining
I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content. Make sure to comment down below if you would like to get some advice from Alexa.
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! I hope you are all having an amazing day. I wanted to drop in with a book recommendation for you all. If you’ve been following my blog for a while you know that I’m an avid reader. I read more in the summer season because I am so busy with school during the Fall-Spring. But still I found the time to squeeze in one book recently.
I suggest reading the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. This book is about how the Jon along with some others get stuck on Mount Everest. It’s almost in a journal format and it is a very interesting read. What is most interesting about this book is that it is a real personal account. This is a true story, a non-fiction book.
I won’t explain the plot and some other aspects of the book because I don’t want to seriously spoil it. But, take it from me, it is worth the read. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first page until the last. I remember after I read it, I sat there, astonished at what happened. This is one of those books you can probably read within one day.
I definitely recommend this book to all of you and it is available for purchase on the kindle as well as in bookstores. I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content. Make sure to comment down below if you’re going to read this book!
-Stay Chic,
Hello Not Too Shabby Chic Fashion Fam! I think you know what day it is. It’s the two-year anniversary for Not Too Shabby Chic Fashion and I am thrilled. I accomplished so much in this two year window and I couldn’t have done it without you all. My fellow readers push me to keep producing content. Without you all, this website wouldn’t be where it is today.
I’m elated that I’ve been lucky enough to have my own corner of the internet for two years. I’m also very lucky to have amazing readers that I get to openly share my thoughts and experiences with. This blog has given me purpose and allows me to reach goals as well as heights that I didn’t even know were possible. Not to mention, it has given me more confidence as a person than I could have ever asked for (and I’m a Leo).
I wanted to take some time to describe where I was two years ago and the goals I had for this blog because two years ago things were so different. Two years ago I decided to change my life in a big way and I signed up to start my blog. I was working a part-time job at a pizzeria answering phones and I paid the $120 to own my domain name with my hard earned money. I had about $15 to my name after that but I knew this was something that I needed to do. I coined the name Not Too Shabby Chic Fashion because my father always used to say “That’s not too shabby crabby” when describing something that wasn’t so bad. Also, my sisters and mother used to describe my fashion as “shabby chic” so in turn I made this name. I wanted to share my fashion sense and my love for everything from beauty to lifestyle topics.
Not Too Shabby Chic Fashion was something that meant a lot to me and it means even more to me today. I had big goals for this blog and I hoped that one day to at least have 100 page views and at least 20 subscribers– here I am now with over 10,000 page views, 228 blog subscribers and over 2,000 people following my social media pages. It is really humbling to see where I came from and comparing it to where I am now.
I am more than lucky to have you all as subscribers and I can’t wait to see how much my blog grows over the course of this year. Thank you all so much for reading and now that it is the two year anniversary I will be going back to posting everyday after today. I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content. Make sure to comment down below how long you’ve been following my blog!
-Stay Chic,
Hey beauties! I wanted to share my favorite pre-workout meal with you all. I have been working out recently and I’ve felt that I don’t have enough energy so I sought out to find the perfect pre-workout meal. I needed something lightweight but still filling enough so I didn’t feel hungry after a workout and something to give me that desired energy. All of that plus needing it to be healthy, it was definitely a difficult search but I finally found my go-to pre-workout meal.
I get an açaí bowl from Playa Bowls! It’s lightweight, healthy, gives me energy yet still keeps me full after a workout. Açaí is a great fruit to have as it is high in healthy fats and low in sugar plus it has tons of antioxidants. Playa Bowls so far has the best açaí bowl that I’ve had and I now sometimes ask for blueberries to be added on top.
I recommend trying this fruit bowl and you can even make these yourself at home. Many grocery stores carry açaí smoothie packages and you can just grab some banana, fresh coconut shavings, honey, and granola. You’d be all set to have an açaí bowl in the comfort of your own home! I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and make sure to comment down below what your pre-workout meal is.
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! I just wanted to drop in and say Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all. As you all may or may not know I am 55% Irish which means I will be gladly celebrating my heritage with my family today as well as St. Patrick. Today will be a day full of corned beef, cabbage, shepherds pie, boiled potatoes, and Irish soda bread.
For today’s post I wanted to talk a little about my traditions, where I come from in Ireland and keep it short since I want to spend the holiday surrounded by my family.
Of course every family has their traditions but St. Patrick’s Day is more seriously celebrated than Thanksgiving in my family. My family’s traditions are deep rooted and I personally take them very seriously. During the day we cook our food for later on in the night while listening to Irish folk music. By the time dinner comes around we are all sitting down at the table and ready to eat everything we’ve prepared. After dinner we all sit as a family and watch the movie The Quiet Man. This is tradition and it is so important to me to keep that tradition alive.
I had recently done an ancestry DNA test last year which told me I was 50% Irish. But it had later recalibrated my DNA results and it turns out I’m actually 55% Irish. I will share my updated results in a different post but I found out that my family had actually come from Galway. So now I tell Ryan (who is mostly English and German) that I’m his Galway girl (cue the Ed Sheran song).
I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day and if you don’t celebrate I hope you have a wonderful day in general. Remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and make sure to comment down below what you did to celebrate today or what you do to celebrate a holiday that means a lot to you!
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! Yesterday it was Ryan’s 21st birthday and I wanted to make a special blog post to celebrate him. Without Ryan I wouldn’t be where I am today– he is such an amazing guy and I’m so lucky to have him in my life. So without further ado, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!
For his 21st birthday we went to some bars and did a small bar crawl with his family. I am not necessarily a bar person but I did have fun nonetheless. I especially had fun because Ryan was having such a blast. Ryan said that he is definitely a bar person. For my outfit I wore a green long sleeve crop top, orange bell bottom pants, and a pair of converse.
Ryan’s 21st Birthday was a success and he had a blast. That’s all him and I could have asked for, a smooth sailing 21st. His birthday was actually on our towns St. Patrick’s Day Parade (which is taken pretty seriously in our town). I’m so happy that the birthday shenanigans is not over yet because I still have other plans for Ryan’s birthday week. If you want to see what I have planned visit my post Ryan’s Birthday Planning.
All day we were surrounded by family and friends. Ryan is super family oriented so having spent his birthday around family made him so happy. Ryan also said that he is happy that he can finally go out with me to bars and clubs. At the moment his choice drink is a Miller Lite beer. On another note, the drink he didn’t like the most was Jameson whiskey.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content. Please comment down below and help me wish Ryan a happy birthday by saying happy birthday!
-Stay Chic,
Money problems seem like they never end and when you have them it’s extremely stressful. Making ends meet becomes hard at some points in our lives and decisions need to be made. We prioritize and stretch ourselves as well as each penny thinner and thinner. An extra $300 a month could make a huge difference when we are tight on money.
So how do I make $300+ a month? I have one simple answer and that is sell. Yes, I said sell. Meaning sell your things and other peoples items. I know it sounds weird but trust me it’s a great idea and it’s made me a little more than $300 a month so far. Let me explain how you sell your items.
OfferUp
This app allows you to list and sell your items for free to people local and nationally (as long as you choose the ship nationally option). You will list an item at a certain price and people will either purchase your item for the asked price or they will make and offer. Most times you have to meet up with these people but it’s worth it if you want to make money. If you are meeting with someone make sure you bring other people with you, meet in a public place and never give away personal information. You can also do porch pickup where you leave the item on your porch (if you are comfortable with sharing your address) and they put the money under your welcome mat.
Letgo
Similar to OfferUp– this app you list your items and sell them for the price you chose or the person will make you an offer. This app also requires you meet with the person to sell them item. I’ve done over 40 transactions and they all went pretty well. This app allows you to list things for free (as long as you re-list it on your own when the listing expires).
Poshmark
Poshmark doesn’t require you to meet in person but this app you will be able to sell clothes, shoes, accessories etc. to other people. They will pay for their own shipping and Poshmark will send you the shipping label for you to attach to your package. Poshmark does take a percentage of what you sell but it’s definitely worth it to use as long as you are selling items for a good amount of money.
Facebook Marketplace
There is a function on Facebook to list things on Facebook Marketplace. This works exactly like OfferUp and Letgo but instead it’s on Facebook and it will go to people who live around you locally. Again, you will have to meet up with these people to complete the sale.
Other Ways:
– Garage Sale
– Flea Market
– Depop (an app similar to Poshmark)
– Sell to members of Facebook Groups. If you are part of a community list some of your items. I know that for those who are trying to sell their sorority clothes they can do it on a Sorority T-Shirt Swap/ Sell Page. I’ve sold some of these items myself.
– Put items you are trying to sell on your social media stories and as social media posts– I’ve sold a few things to my own friends and acquaintances because I listed these items on social media
Another way to make 100% profit on some of these items is to find items that your neighbors or people in your town are throwing away. Pick up some curbed items like furniture and re-list it for some money. You will make 100% profit on these items. I also have gone to the dump and found some items that I can fix and sell as well. You could also fix up some of these items and sell it for a decent amount.
If you are interested in trying out Poshmark feel free to use my referral code and get a free $5: STEPHRUSS0811
I hope this post helped you find some ways to make some quick cash. These tactics won’t work unless you do it regularly. I post at least 3 times a week and do a garage sale or sell at a flea market at least 2 times a month. Remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content. Make sure to comment down below some ways you’ve made some extra cash.
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! I’m so happy to announce that we’ve hit 200 subscribers on Not Too Shabby Chic Fashion. I have to thank all of my readers for this amazing opportunity. I never thought in a million years that people would want to hear what I had to say on so many different things. It’s great to have my own little corner of the internet and be able to talk about so many things. Voicing my thoughts and experiences on this blog gives me such a huge purpose in life.
I’m so happy I get to share these things with you all. I hope for nothing more than to continue growing the readership of my blog and share thoughts with more loyal readers like all of you. My blog isn’t just a blog to me, it’s a job and I try to treat it as such. I take this seriously, and every achievement makes me so proud. Without you loyal readers and subscribers this website wouldn’t be what it is. Thank you so much. Let’s keep growing! Remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and comment down below your favorite post I’ve done.
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! Obviously just recently I’ve been posting a lot about fitness, self love etc. This topic is near and dear to my heart as I, as well as many others, struggle to love what they see in the mirror and who they are as people. It’s something that almost everyone has struggled with in their life at least once. So, I wanted to talk a little bit about insecurity and hating your body. I was unsure if I wanted to cover this topic as it is a sensitive topic. Some things that are good for some people are not good for other people. So many have different opinions and such on this topic.
I was hesitant to do this post but someone I care about that is an eating disorder survivor urged me to do it. She explained that some people might need to hear these things. I felt that she could help me write this post because she has gone through a lot and I feel that her story should be told.
WARNING: THIS POST MAY BE SENSITIVE FOR THOSE WHO ARE DEALING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, BODY IMAGE AND MORE. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF ANYONE NEEDS HELP THERE ARE TOLL FREE HELPLINE NUMBERS PROVIDED BELOW IN BOLD.
With that being said I’m setting some ground rules for this post:
– What is said might not apply to you or you may reject the advice. Please have respect for the post and understand that this isn’t a OSFM topic. This topic is complex and it isn’t going to cover every little thing or aspect. It also isn’t going to solve everything either. This post is mainly for those who feel these things might help them.
– It won’t help everyone. Like I said before this is a complex topic and with that being said, it won’t help everyone that has these struggles. We are just hoping that these few ways Jane learned through her experience can help even a handful of people through the experiences from someone who has an eating disorder.
– Not everyone is the same and no eating disorder is the same. This is just the perspective of one person that battled this mental illness, but she does not represent everyone that has an eating disorder. Please just respect her story and try to understand that her advice is only to try and talk about her experiences but also shed some light on body image in her experience. She is not spokesperson for her mental illness but wants to share her thoughts to help.
– I am keeping my friend anonymous as she had requested. So, for the sake of a name she wants to be called “Jane” as in Jane Doe. Please respect her advice and story.
– If you feel you have an eating disorder or other mental illness please contact a doctor or call this toll free number for the Mental Health Hotline: 1-800-950-6264. If you want to talk to someone about a possible eating disorder call your doctor or this toll free number for the National Eating Disorders Helpline: 1-800-931-2237. If you feel you have suicidal thoughts or depression please contact your doctor or call this toll free number for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. I got these numbers off of Google and they are easy to search if you ever need them, please reach out to these numbers or your doctor or a friend/family member/ classmate/ teacher etc. if you need help.
I asked Jane what her earliest memory was when she realized she was battling an eating disorder.
“In all honesty I realized my eating disorder around the age of 12. I remember skipping meals because I didn’t think I was pretty enough or skinny like other girls in my school.”
I then asked her how long she battled this eating disorder before getting help.
“I battled this eating disorder for about 5 years before I got help. I reached out to a close friend and she helped me through a lot.”
I asked Jane what the hardest thing she experienced in having this eating disorder.
“The honest to god, worst part of it all is that you never feel like you’re good enough. No matter how much weight you lose, it’s never enough. I was as low as 95 pounds and still, it wasn’t enough. The problem is that although I am a survivor, I am constantly in recovery. It doesn’t just go away but talking about it and working at loving yourself everyday helps.”
I then asked Jane what advice she can give to not only those with eating disorders but those who struggle with their body image.
“Everyone is different so my advice might not help everyone but for those who have eating disorders it’s important for them to know they are not alone. They should try to reach out to someone they trust and talk through it or seek help. They need to know they are stronger than their eating disorder and that they are more than their “flaws”. For those women who struggle with their body image need to look in the mirror and choose what they love about themselves. I do this every morning and it is the hardest thing to get through. When you want to scream and cry because you seriously feel that there is nothing you love about yourself– get to a mirror and look. Even if you have to seriously look for hours. Pick something you love about your body and focus on that one thing and then every day or week try and choose something new. Go even deeper and find things you love about your personality and your life. Filling your mind with positive thoughts will help you with loving yourself. You might not always be happy with what you see in the mirror but that’s no reason to hate your body when you have so many more beautiful aspects aside from the “flaws” you focus on.”
I asked Jane what her advice is for those who want to change the way they look– in a healthy way but just can’t seem to do it.
“It’s a mind game. It took me a long time to be healthy and do things the right way, even though my mind was demanding something different. I suggest working up to it. In my humble opinion, I feel you can’t heal the outside without healing what’s within. Work on strengthening your mind and your body will follow.”
I then asked Jane what her thoughts were on those who have done it all in terms of the advice you’ve given but they are still struggling with their disorder or body image.
“I would look into forums and Facebook groups where they can find people with similar struggles. Someone may have the answer that will help them. I also know there is a stigma against therapists but they will actually work to help them. There isn’t something seriously wrong with getting a professional opinion. It’s helped me and many other people I know a ton. Helplines are also a great way to find help. Reaching out is scary but once you do, you will thank yourself in the long run.”
I hope this post was helpful to you or someone you know. If it wasn’t helpful please keep searching for ways and reaching out for help. No one is the same, so this advice may not help but this is more towards the experience that Jane went through and how she can tell her story with the intention of possibly helping others.
AGAIN IF YOU NEED TO REACH OUT FOR HELP THE HELPLINES ARE LISTED ABOVE IN BOLD.
– Sincerely, Jane
and Stephanie Russell
