Things that make life worth living (and loving)

1. Best Friends (the ones who are always there for you and the people you'll never forget or let go of)

2. Falling in love (it will happen eventually, I promise!!)

3. Food (because it's just sooo good!)

4. Music (because it can cure anything; especially a bad day. It brings back memories and reminds you of things you forgot about)

5. The butterflies you get when you see that special person (heart racing, your tummy feels like it's doing flip flops...it's an amazing feeling I swear)

6. SMILING (show off those pearly whites, smiling is contagious) 

7. Waking up and seeing that you still have a few hours left to sleep 

8. Making wishes on 11:11 (so guilty of doing that)

9. Acting however you want in public because you are having the time of your life and that's all that matters

10. Singing really loud in the car & jamming out with your friends

11. Going to the beach! (cute bikinis & flip flops yay!) 

12. Unexpected Compliments (I'd take one of those any day of the week)

13. Hearing your favorite song on the radio (I must admit though, every other song I consider my favorite!) 

14. Performing in front of hundreds of people (I really miss my dancing days) 

15. Making someone laugh REALLY hard

16. Kisses

17. Sugar...enough said

18. The color pink (what is not to love I mean let's be real)

19. Getting gifts (yes please!)

20. Taking lots of pictures (everyone freaks out that I take too many pics and then they love looking at them the next day…I ignore them now when they complain! It's called capturing the moment people!)

21. Feeling really pretty

22. Shopping (I work hard for my money and now I wanna see it all well spent hanging in my closet)
23. Your family (the people who know absolutely everything about you and yet still love you to pieces)
24. Manicures & Pedicures (it's nice to be pampered every little bit!)
25. Victorias Secret and Forever 21 (a girly girl's heaven)

Love & Pink,
Lisa

Bye Bye Belly!

You might be feeling a little sluggish from the long work week or just straight up lazy (I'm guilty of that sometimes). No matter the cause, there is an an easy fix for that belly of yours. These great ab exercises will target your lower abs, aka that stubborn stomach pooch that often gets ignored with standard crunches/ab workouts.

1. Double Leg Drops

Begin in a supine position and bring both legs into the air. Keep your feet together and lift your shoulders off the mat. Keeping your feet together, lower your legs down to a 45 degree angle and then squeeze your glutes back up into your starting position (not shown). For more of a challenge, take your legs as low as possible without letting your lower back arch. Everytime you lower and lift your legs, engage your core and squeeze every muscle in your body. This will give you the most results!

2. Swimming Feet

Begin in a supine position and bring both legs into the air. Lower your right leg down to 45 degrees and keep your left leg a couple inches higher. Place your hands behind the nape of your neck and lift your shoulders off the mat. To begin the “swimming” motion, bring your left leg down to 45 degrees and your right leg a couple inches higher. Keep simultaneously switching each leg’s position so that you are creating a scissor kicking motion. You will feel this. Oh em gee, will you feel this.

On another note...if you want to experience a great workout you should consider joining Indigo Studio located in Chicago. Their classes are insane as in insanely good and even though you wake up having pain in multiple areas of your bod, it's so worth it! They have classes that cater to everyone! (That makes me miss Destiny's Child song: Cater to you) :)

Love & Pink,
Lisa 

Sugar & Spice and everything Nice

1. "Too many people get caught up in what could be instead of appreciating what is. Don't fall into that trap; appreciate what you have and who you have."

2. "He's not perfect. You aren't either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold unto him and give him the most you can. He isn't going to quote poetry, he's not thinking about you every single moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don't hurt him, don't change him, and don't expect for more than he can give. Don't analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don't exist, but there's always one guy that is perfect for you."

3. "Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change. Love deeply and forgive quickly. Take chances and give your everything. Life is too short to be anything but happy. You have to take the good with the bad. Love what you got. Always remember what you had. Forgive, but don't forget. Learn from mistakes but never regret. People change and things go wrong, but always remember that life goes on."  

4. "She's the girl that has a few best friends and doesn't need anymore. The girl that laughs the hardest at her own jokes. She's the girl that will hang up on you, but then call right back and say sorry. She's the girl who will never leave your side when you need her. The girl who will go out of her way to cheer you up. She's the girl who never sleeps without her teddy bear by her side. She's the girl who says she isn't ticklish, but really is. She's the girl who will not give up on you if she really believes in you. She's the girl who believes in loving somebody forever."

5."Someday, everything will come together, but until then, live it up and do what makes you happy. If someone doesn't agree, then screw them. Pick yourself up and deal with everything that happens. Remember that mistakes only make a person stronger, everything happens for a reason, the only regrets you have in life are the risks that you didn't take, and well-behaved women rarely make history. Above all else, go with your gut and guard your heart."

6. "You just have to hang out with people you trust and not worry about what others think. You'll always be under pressure.. what you're wearing and what you're doing. The only way to be comfortable is to know that you're surrounding yourself with people who like you for you.”

Love & Pink,

Lisa

Peace - Love - & Lipgloss

These are a few of my favorite things....

Cappuccino Lipgloss by Bonnie Bell is my signature accessory. Yes, you read correctly bonnie bell. It’s under $4.00 and by far the best ligloss I've ever owned. I am obsessed with lipgloss so I of course have MAC, Chanel, Stila, etc. and nothing compares to this stuff! It makes everyone’s lips look good. I never leave home without my gloss : )

Other things that are always in my makeup bag: Maybelline Lasting Drama Eye Studio 24 hour Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black, Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies Black Drama Mascara, Clinique Blended Powder and Brush in Transparency Bronze, & Victorias Secret Mosaic Blush in Wild Child. 

A nail polish that looks good on everyone: Essie Nail Polish color in Figi and Chastity 

Best Lotion: Johnson's Body Care 24 Hour Moisturizer

Best Moisturizer for the Shower: Johnson's 24 Hour Moisturizing Wash 

Best Exfoliate: St. Ives Fresh Skin Invigorating Apricot Scrub

Razor Ready: Gillette Venus Tropical Disposable Razors for beach ready skin! (includes 3) 

Best Lip Treatment: Vaseline! Your lips will feel amazing after you put it on and its also great for taking off makeup!

Something I couldn't live without: my Chi Straightener (in hot pink of course) and all of the Chi Products are great for your hair. 

Love & Pink,
Lisa

I am me. In the whole entire world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it -- I own everything about me: my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself. I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears. I own my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes. Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me. By so doing, I can love me and be friendly with all my parts. I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know -- but as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and ways to find out more about me. However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I discarded. I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me. I own me, and therefore, I can engineer me. I am me, and I am okay.

Love & Pink,

Lisa