Spring Coral Maxi Dress OOTD

Spring is here :). Bright poppy, lavenders, fuchsias, violets, yellows and corals, breezy lightweight fabrics, soft but bright pastels, floral prints, lovely sandals, painted toes and bright colors are popping up everywhere. I love the happy and cheerful mood spring puts me in every year. It's unlike any other season of the year. It inspires freshness, lightness and excitement of the new beginnings :). And the blooms, ah the colorful blooms! ......paired with bright lush greenery and the nature waking up after a long sleep......it just puts me in a mood of starting new fresh things I have never tried before. The season just makes me more energetic and inspired. 

While the spring is the season when the weather gets significantly warmer, dressing in layers is undeniably recommendable. While there are lovely, bright sunny days, there are also rainy, dark gloomy and quite cold ones as well .....and often all this is combined in a single day where you have virtually all seasons happening within the 24 hours. So it's best to be prepared, hence the layers. 

That is exactly why I tend to lean towards wearing a lot of maxi dresses during spring season. I tend to love the light fabrics that are bright and colorful that I pair with a neutral cardigan and sandals or wedges. This way I'm still  very much girly and colorful for spring but also warm and comfortable due to the long  dress layers and the cardigan. 

For today's outfit I paired a bright floor length lightweight coral maxi dress with a black lace detail cardigan. A nude cardigan would have worked great here but I need to repurchase a new one since my old one became too big overtime. I figured a black one would still work great and because the dress was plain the cardigan lace detail on the shoulders would lend an interesting touch to the outfit. 

For my footwear I picked a pair of  rhinestone rose detail shimmery bronze flip-flops. I painted my toenails/nails coral to match my outfit and I accessorized my foot by adding a yellow gold sparkling charm anklet. 

For my accessories I wore a nude chain clutch with a golden tassel detail  by International Concepts that I recently got from Macy's for spring/summer. I wanted something lightweight that would allow me to carry bits I needed but also keep me hands free yet still put together. I wore my everyday mix of different metals jewelry that included white and yellow gold and diamonds. 

Spring Coral Maxi Dress OOTD- Cardi: 89th & Madison, Maxi Dress: B Darlin, Footwear: Yoki, Handbag: International Concepts 

My makeup was simple. Chocolate liquid liner and coral lips and cheeks :). I wanted a pop of bright color without going overboard in terms of both my outfit and my makeup so I focused on emphasizing on one main color and adding interesting and complimenting hues and details to it. And that was pretty much it ......

Take care,

Laila 

Final Post-What I ate: March 20th 2016+Weekly Weigh In

Hey there everyone,

Firstly, I want to apologize for the late post. Secondly, I want to let you all know that this is my last post about my weight loss journey for a little while. This week is my birthday week and I will be going away for a holiday/vacation so I want to seriously take a break from everything and I won't be posting on any social media platform for a little while. I might resume my weight loss daily food diary when I come back ....but I did say maybe as I'm not sure yet. Sunday was a cheat day for me and below is my weekly weigh in as well so check that and my comments below if interested.

Here is what I had Sunday:


For breakfast I had overnight 1 cup of old fashion oats soaked in 1 cup of vanilla almond milk and topped with 1 sliced banana and sprinkle of cinnamon.  To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Breakfast Cal Intake: 325

For lunch/brunch I had a slice of Prince cake. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Lunch Brunch Cal Intake: 540

For dinner I had spicy chicken curry and paratha. To drink I had diet drink and water. Dinner Cal Intake: 816

Today's total calorie intake: 1681

Weekly Weigh In: +1.4 ...... I'm probably better off not commenting in depth here about how I feel about this last week in terms of weight loss progress ...or should I say the lack of, because I'm completely sad, disappointed, angry and upset and the things I would write are probably better left unsaid. For what is worth I hope that I have helped some of you at least a bit in your weight loss journey. If you are trying to loose weight please keep going and don't ever give up. Nothing in life that is worthwhile is easy so if you remember anything from what I wrote in these weigh loss blog posts ....remember that. Thank you for visiting my blog daily and following me on my weight loss journey so far. I know there are quite a bit of you not just from USA but also from all parts of the world. I apologize for letting you down this last past month and a half or so......I know things could have been much better.

Weight loss since the 1st of January 2016: 8.4 I haven't met my goal, although 3 months since the beginning of the year where quite enough time to loose 15-20 pounds if done properly. I feel like I have too much to deal with in my personal life right now which is why I'm taking a break from posting daily. I just think it's not the best time for me go keep posting these right now if I'm unable to do it properly. Either I do things properly .....or not do the at all. I am not someone who likes to make excuses for myself that is NOT how I managed to loose so much weight  ....so I'll come out and say I seriously messed up the last month and a half. And because I cannot be a good example/inspiration right now (judging by what has been happening the last month and a half or so)  to all of you out there who are trying to loose weight I'm stopping here for now.


And that was it for today,
Until tomorrow,
Laila

What I ate: March 19th 2016

Hey there everyone,

Here is what I had today:


For breakfast I had overnight 1 cup of old fashion oats soaked in 1 cup of vanilla almond milk and topped with 1/4 of a cup of blueberries.  To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Breakfast Cal Intake: 238

For lunch/brunch I had 2 1/2 of 2 different Mexican pan dulce. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Lunch Brunch Cal Intake: 540

For dinner I had a small side (1/2 a cup) of Spicy Brown rice & Tofu Stir-Fry with red bell pepper, edamame (soy beans), peas and saffron with a salmon ciabatta burger and couple of cherry tomatoes  .... To drink I had bottled water and Teavana Jasmine green tea. Dinner Cal Intake: 500

Today's total calorie intake: 1278


And that was it for today,
Until tomorrow,
Laila

Victoria's Secret Swimsuit Haul

Hey there everyone,
So the summer is around the corner and the last swimsuit haul I had was about few years back. Since then I have lost some weight and to be honest I needed something different and new.

If you are a big chested girl like I am, you know that finding a good supportive swimsuit can be a difficult task. Even  when I find one that has good support many times it ends up in me not liking the style/pattern/color or ends up unflattering on my particular body type. I wanted something feminine, age appropriate, flattering, cute, happy and yes dare I say sexy and supportive while not too revealing. I was beginning to think this was too much to ask for after purchasing than returning tons of things.

Now, I have been taking my time and seriously shopping around and found my particular swimsuits in Victoria's Secret out of all the places :)). I looked in  barenecessities.com, swimsuitsforall.com, adoreme.com, Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Target, Khol's, J.C. Penney, Sears, Ross, Burlington Coat Factory, Dillards, T.J. Max, Amazon.......and few other places so I have kind of went thru all the price points. Ultimately though,  I didn't really care about the price. I just wanted to find a swimsuit I looked and felt great in.....and so after all that search I was passing by Victoria's Secret one day on the way to somewhere else  and randomly walked in not expecting to find anything I particularly liked ......and I didn't actually find a single piece as far as the swimsuits went. The sales person said it was probably a bit too early in the year for them to have the swimsuits displayed on the floor ......but that the new styles are actually already available online.

I did check out their online offerings and actually found a few pieces I really liked. There where very mixed reviews on the items though in terms of quality and fit in general. I am pretty good about my own measurements, bra sizes and such.....I always keep a good track of that and I knew my VS sizing pretty well .....so based on my own previous experience shopping there and sizing chart on their site I choose the pieces I thought would work the best. When it came to quality of VS items it's always a mixed bag for me .....sometimes it's really good, other times it's really bad for what you end up paying. I'm however, always prepared to make a return especially when shopping online .....so I purchased a few swimsuits pieces and waited for them to arrive patiently with my fingers crossed . They had a free shipping and a deal going on few weeks back so I took advantage of that .....but the shipping took over 10 days .....probably because it was free which I didn't like.

The Heavenly Tankini
I only got 2 tops for this one in size 34DD in different animal prints/colors because the bottoms where not available in my size/print/color but both work with black bottoms I already have..... I might still check if they have what works for me in terms of matching the bottoms. These also fit me so well....I'm actually considering getting more colors :). I got both of these in shorter length since I'm only 5.4 tall....and it was perfect length and covered my belly button.

Description

This classic tankini gets the golden touch with light-catching hardware at the front. Adjustable straps let you customize the fit, while removable padding gives you a little extra lift.
* Removable push-up padding
* Underwire
* Pulls on; no closure
* Adjustable straps
* Available in 2 lengths: 22 ½” and 24”
* Lined
* Hand wash
* Imported nylon/spandex

I also chose to use a bikini mixer on their site where they let you mix the bottom and top styles and colors/prints to create your perfect swimsuit.This I found very helpful because I could choose what works best for my body needs and style instead of choosing pieces already put together. Here I chose The Angel Convertible in 34DD an underwire top with good support and Non-removable padding. For the bottom I chose The Heavenly Bikini in small ( I wear 6-10 pant size currently depending on the brand) which was very forgiving and flattering while sucking me in and concealing the bits I felt uncomfortable about......love these bottoms :). I matched the top and bottom print and color for this one. When I finally got to tried them on they fit me perfectly and looked amazing on :).

 

And that was it for my swimsuit haul.....for now :).
Take care,
Laila

What I ate: March 18th 2016

Hey there everyone,

Here is what I had today:


For breakfast I had toasted blueberry bagel with 1 tbsp of peanut butter and 1 tbsp of cherry low sugar jam. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Breakfast Cal Intake: 395

For lunch/brunch I had 2 1/2 of 2 different Mexican pan dulce. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Lunch Brunch Cal Intake: 540

For dinner I had a Spicy Brown rice & Tofu Stir-Fry with red bell pepper, edamame (soy beans), peas and saffron with a side of avocado .... Bottled water and Teavana Jasmine green tea. Dinner Cal Intake: 365

Today's total calorie intake: 1300


And that was it for today,
Until tomorrow,
Laila

What I ate: March 17th 2016

Hey there everyone,

Today I focused more on staying calm, stress free and on just relaxing. I went out for a walk on the beach since it was really sunny outside.  I rested as much as I could because I woke up this morning with a sharp chest pain, which didn't go away for a while. I felt I just needed to ignore anything stressful and focus on peace and quiet. I had a nice brunch and enjoyed my coffee, In general I had a quiet and relaxing day. Oh yes, before I forget ....Happy St. Patrick's Day! :)



Here is what I had today:


For breakfast I had 1/2 a cup (dry) old fashion oats that I pre-soaked overnight in 1 cup of vanilla almond milk.  I topped them with 1/2 sliced ripe and juicy pear  and 1/4 of a cup of blueberries drizzled with 1 tbsp of honey. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Breakfast Cal Intake: 319

For lunch/brunch I had 2 1/2 of 2 different Mexican pan dulce. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Lunch Brunch Cal Intake: 540

For dinner I had a grilled cheese sandwich with a side of kale, tomato, olive and purple onion salad topped with 1 tbsp of tzaziki dip.    To drink I had tea and bottled water. Dinner Cal Intake: 450

Today's total calorie intake: 1309


And that was it for today,
Until tomorrow,
Laila

What I ate: March 16th 2016

Hey there everyone,

Today was a really stressful day for me. Pretty much anything that could possibly happen to upset me did happen.....or I felt it did. It was just on of those types of days and I could not wait for it to be over. On top of that I wasn't really feeling well (that time of the month) ......and I wasn't really up for anything. I had no energy and I slept more than normal in the earlier part of the day because I just felt exhausted, but things did pick up and the day got busier as it went on .....and it got kind of crazy. We where out running errands and got some pastries for brunch for next few days and I was so upset .....and so hungry since we came home and ended up having dinner really late that I almost ended up having one of them before dinner while we where driving home. I had one in my hand while my family was having some but just before having a bite I stopped and put it back in a box. Luckily I stopped myself in time .....but I really felt crummy today to a point where I just didn't care about what I ate and having a period, being hormonal and having cramps and cravings didn't help either. Things just kept happening one after another today  ......hopefully all of you had a great hump day!

Here is what I had today:


For breakfast I had 1/2 a cup (dry) old fashion oats that I pre-soaked overnight in 1 cup of vanilla almond milk.  I topped them with one sliced ripe and juicy pear drizzled with 1 tbsp of honey, sprinkled with 1 tbsp of crushed almond and sprinkle of cinnamon. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Breakfast Cal Intake: 393

For lunch/brunch I had a toasted English muffin with a Laughing Cow cheese spread triangle, sugar free chocolate pudding and 1 sliced kiwi fruit. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Lunch Brunch Cal Intake: 313

For snack I had a Merci coffee and cream chocolate  Snack Cal Intake: 70

For dinner I had a toasted seed bagel with 1 scrambled spinach egg, Laughing Cow cheese spread triangle and smoked salmon with a bit of leftover cabbage salad from yesterday (not pictured).  To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Dinner Cal Intake: 500

Today's total calorie intake: 1276


And that was it for today,
Until tomorrow,
Laila