While this certainly wasn't last weekend, I still wanted to share some of my sport photography that I took during Men's Centex in Austin, Texas. Neither M nor I were coaching and were there to purely spectate. This left me plenty of time to catch up with friends and snap some photos with my big ol' lens.

The University of Central Florida Dogs of War placed 3rd among 16 of the best teams in the country.

SNAPSHOTS:
1. Coach Andrew Roca has been playing ultimate frisbee for over 10 years. After his graduation from UCF, he began coaching and he has earned 4 consecutive All-Region Coach of the Year awards and a All-American Award in 2012. In 2013, Roca led M's captain-led through their 2013 Cinderella run, reaching the National Championship game and earning a silver medal.
2. Andrew McKelvy is the fastest kid on the planet. He ran this throw down and tip toed the line for the score.
3. Brawley Sioux Adams made the biggest play of the weekend with a huge layout D on regional rival, University of Florida. The DOW were down 6-12, with only 3 points more to count for a loss. This play rallied the DOW and they came back to win 13-12! It was the biggest comeback anyone can remember in program history.
4. Kyle Reedy has been a prodigy in the DOW program since his freshman year. His older brother, Matt, used to captain the team and paved the way for Kyle to shine at UCF. He is an easy candidate for MVP in his future years. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
1. Help keep me accountable.
2. My past FOUR years.
3. When three generations conquered the Alamo.

GREAT FINDS:
1.  Sonnet James - these dresses are supposed to be for moms. However, they are totally cute and stylish. Can I have one in every color?!
2. The best soup I have ever made!
3. Amazing loft makeover.

At the end of 2015, I joined an online community called TriStyle & Co. Each month Samantha of Elah Tree, Megs of Rivers & Roads,and Beth of Oak + Oats join together to share three ways to style the same clothing item & you're invited to be a part it! Their goal is to encourage, awaken, and celebrate the inherent beauty in each one of us as we live in community.

This month was scarves and let me tell you, I was stoked! The weather in San Antonio has absolutely been "sweater weather" and I was going to wear the whole boots and hat gig. BOOM! 75 degree weather. However, on Valentine's Day, I thought I would bust out my scarf. I have had this scarf for years and picked it up from the local Plato's Closet. Don't worry, Etsy has thousands.

While M&I were in Austin, we stumbled and found the romantic Mt. Bonnell located within the city limits. Just a short drive from South Congress,  Mt. Bonnell serves as a nature park and trail complete with sitting rocks and tables to gaze over the Colorado River. M&I, being that it was Valentine's Day, decided to spend intimate quiet time watching the sunset together.

In case you don't like wearing scarves around your neck, there is always around your head.

Join the TriSyle and Co community and show us how you style your scarf! 

My weekend was amazing and full of so many feels. Trinity University's Women's ultimate team, Altitude, participated in their very first Spring tournament in the program's history. With 11 girls and two coaches, the girls finished their weekend winning two games on Sunday and their first win ever on Saturday.

I am so honored to be a coach for the women that surrounded me this weekend. Their laid their hearts and bodies on the line each and every point.

SNAPSHOTS:
1. Annie making a "into space" throw to Marissa
2. Lupita closing out a goal to our baby giraffe, Sash.
3. Our comeback player of the month, Mikki going up for a catch.
4. Altitude's team captain, Sarah, throwing a long throw downfield.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
1. Coffee Cocktails?! Yes, it is a thing.
2. A personal look into my heart.
3. A Valentine's Gift Guide for her.

GREAT FINDS:
1. A super easy, restaurant style Chimichurri sauce on flank steak.
2. Red Velvet Brownies, because obviously.
3. How to look comfy and cute!

Tell me about your weekend! I am genuinely excited to hear about it.

With Valentine's Day right around the corner and being a new blogger, I began thinking what the perfect Valentine's Day gifts would be. M&I are keeping it low key, since his birthday is on the 17th and we are aggressively saving money! However, poking around on Pinterest is nothing short of fun.

1. Work It Print: Isn't this what we bloggers are always doing? Working the clothes, working the photography, working the food..the list goes on!
2. Kate Spade Wallet: We all need a place to keep our blogging income. Why can't it be pink, sparkly, and Kate Spade?
3. A New DSLR: I'd be lying if I said this was my camera. I actually have a Canon T5, but this one is pink. So obviously, this is worth picking for Valentine's Day. Also, this camera is a smart camera - it connects to your Facebook wirelessly!
4. A Pink Bike: Doesn't every blogger need a mode of transportation to explore their local eats and shops with? Let's make it pink.
5. Camera Scarf: Eeek! I love these and will definitely be getting one before my big London trip. What an awesome alternative to a camera strap and cute too! There are tons of shops that make them on Etsy.

What is on your Valentine's Day Wishlist?

I am so sorry that I skipped last week. I wrote so many posts for last week that the #FF post completely slipped my mind. The good news? I did complete a small 15 minute workout on NTC - Vinyasa Flow. The yoga was super fun and didn't include too many complicated positions. Vinyasa is my favorite type of yoga.

Southtown Yoga Loft is a great place in our area to practice vinyasa (among other styles) in the SA area. I have only been able to check it out one time during my lunch break, but now that the weather is shaping up, I intend to make more of an appearance in the coming weeks.

Since I like to do yoga on my lunch break, it is important that I have something healthy, fulfilling, and light to eat when I get home after a good session. After perusing Pinterest quite a bit, I was intrigued by the Peanut Butter, Banana, and Jelly roll-up. This girl loves tortillas and bananas, so I took the opportunity to create my own version of the snack.

Behold: Peanut Butter, Banana, Jam & Flax Seed Rollups.

I used two special ingredients to jazz up my rollup: Dziuk's Red Raspberry Jam and Trader Joe's Flax Seed. Dziuk's Red Raspberry Jam was a Christmas gift from M's boss and let me tell you, it is DELICIOUS. I love raspberries so I knew this would be just the amount of sweet for my roll up. The other main ingredient was flax seeds. My original intention was to add chia seeds, but flax seeds were on sale. After a quick google search, I'm glad I grabbed the roasted flax seeds.

There are some great benefits to utilizing flax seeds:

1. Omega-3s. Omega-3s are actually fatty acids that have shown to keep your heart healthy. Omega-3s are also found in chia seeds and fish. Unfortunately, M isn't much of a seafood fan, so we need all of the Omega-3s we can get.
2. Fiber. Fiber is great for an athlete during training. They can help reduce muscle inflammation and sports-induced asthma.
3. Flax seeds help fight against several different kinds of cancer and restrict tumor growth in the body.
4. The are so small that you can add them to smoothies, salads, and your PBB&J rollups!

Do you have any ideas on where you can add flax seed to your diet? Share in the comments below!

M&I had some serious FOMO this weekend. Back in Florida, our college frisbee teams were playing in home field tournaments that we totally would have been at, one of my college girlfriends and roommates got engaged, and M's 2012 Team USA had a reunion beach ultimate team that they put together for a tournament in California. So, instead of wallowing in our sorrows, we decided to get out in the crowd with some of our friends!

SNAPSHOTS:
1. Layout Practice. This past week brought us some cold nights; the weather was much colder than I have experienced in the past. Oh yeah! In addition to bone chilling temperatures, it brought us spitting rain. With this week being Trinity's first week back to school, we decided to have layout practice! My girls absolutely killed it - my lil' nugget, Annie soared through the air in this shot!

2. Branchline Brewing Company. On Saturday, M&I attended the second anniversary party at Branchline Brewing Company. For $20 at the door, they gave you an anniversary pint glass and 4 beers to fill it up! They had over 10+ to choose from including a Coconut Cream Ale, a chocolate and espresso brew, a Reese's Pieces brew, and my personal favorite the Honey Blonde Ale. It was so neat to try out all of the different brews.

3. A new HEB! You know you are getting old when you get pumped for a new HEB down the street from your house. This location on Nogalitos is actually the oldest HEB in San An. They demolished everything expect the courtyard store front and built a brand spankin' new two-story grocery mart with a travelator. What is a travelator, you may ask? You and your cart hook up to a conveyor belt and it takes you up to the store or down to your cars! Pretty neat.

4. Tuk Tuk Taproom. This pho-fusion restaurant is right up in the Pearl area, so ten minutes from our house. Tuk Tuk is known for its collision of Asian street fare and a craft beer bar. M&I chowed down on some Thai style fried chicken that included lemongrass, garlic, chili, cilantro & jasmine rice. YUM!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
1. How Fascination Street stole my heart.
2. Did your "get in shape" resolution fall by the wayside?
3. The one time I tried to be a fashion blogger.

GREAT FINDS:
1. Customizable Jewelry
2. Lent Bible Study
3.Things to do in... LONDON! (getting excited for my trip!)

How did you spend your weekend?

Adoration for beautiful things is a character trait passed down from the many ladies in my family that have lived before me. However, adoration has evolved from a passion and hobby to a business for my aunt, Marjie Sajben.

Marjie has had a passion for designer fashion and jewelry for many years and has shown that from buying gorgeous gems in her world travels to the most trendy accessories. After collecting her fair share of precious stones, metals, and fully designed pieces of jewelry, she decided that her eye for trendy, yet timeless jewelry should be put to good use. Out of her home in Florida arose My Fascination Street Designs.

I love the scalloped edges on the ring that add a delicate and feminine touch. 

The name of her acclaimed Etsy shop came from her world tour following the famous rock band, The Cure. She has galavanted all over the US, the UK, and Spain to see several shows. Marjie is a rockhound who will take you on her Harley Davidson motorcycle to any live music performance.

While metal and rock music is her tune to dance by, her jewelry speaks a much softer tone. Marjie has mastered the ability to mix textures, metal, and precious stones to create unique, one of a time pieces worthy of a designer title. During her travels, Marjie has collected exotic stones like opal, rubies, and sapphires from dealers and traders alike.

The bracelet is made with manmade rubies and blue kyanite.

Her Etsy shop allows for custom orders on all of pieces that she makes. If red ruby or blue kyanite isn't your favorite color, let her know and she will find stones that make a better combination - with little to no extra cost! **depending on the stone chosen**

If you like my ring and bangle combo, she still has FIVE left. You can order them online at her Etsy Shop: MyFascinationStreet.

In case you wanted to hear the direct inspiration for the shop title, I shared the song above. 

Happy Shopping!

*** Technically, I was compensated by MyFascinationStreet Designs for my blog post by receiving product. However, she is my Aunt and I would happily write this post regardless of compensation or product received. ***

During the holiday break, M&I decided to crush a workout utilizing my our new speed ladder. M&I will be trying out for Texas' elite club teams out of Austin, Showdown (women's) and Doublewide (Men's). Many people try out for these teams, so we want to be in our best shape to keep up with the talent that is in this HUGE state!

Maybe I can get M to do some speed ladder lessons via video! In the meantime, check out some of our video as proof we are working our butts off:

We also did one of Melissa Witmer's programs from Twelve Weeks to Game Time. M&I plan to stick to this as best we can beginning in February, right before our tryouts begin.

Twelve Weeks to Game Time is a three month program designed for ultimate players (or any sport, really) to get in their best athletic shape before tryouts. The twelve weeks are broken down into conditioning, strength, and performance.


We picked one of the conditioning workouts that combines a nice warm-up, plyometrics, speed and quickness, and endurance conditioning. WHEW! It kicks your butt and let's just say my lower half was screaming the next day.



                                Wish us the best on our journey to elite club ultimate!

I received a copy of Braids, Buns, and Twists for Christmas and thought I would try out one of the styles for a Christmas service at my Grandmother's church. The book suggests a multitude of styles from easy to ones that need assistance.

This mohawk style of braided buns would be an easy cute up-do for New Year's Eve. With your hair up, you wouldn't have to worry about your curls bouncing or the frizz of your straightened hair while you are dancing your way into the New Year.

Check out my how-to below:

Begin by separating your hair into three ponytailed and braided sections. I used black rubber bands at the base of my ponytail and blonde rubber bands at the bottom of each braided section. Feel free to braid your hair all the way down to the ends. I am not very good at it, so I stopped once my fingers couldn't hold on much more!

Twist the top braid up into a bun and pin down with bobby pins. I tried to keep my braid flat and create more of a pinwheel, rather than a bulky bun. However, this is YOUR look, so do it how you please. I had to use about 3-4 bobby pins per pinwheel.

Continue with the second and third braid. I only did three braids/pin-wheels. However, I probably could have split the second braid into two to make four total braids. The book suggests using four total pinwheels.

The completed look! I chose to use a light hold hair spray to keep the frizzes away. However, I left some of the pieces that naturally fell out of place for a more natural and easy up-do.

If you try it, let me know in the comments. I'd love to see your take on this style.

For more styles and up-dos, check out the book from The Freckled Fox and her friends.

Another week has passed and more workouts have been logged. However, my workouts have been a little light compared to week's past due to a hip injury.

So here is the story: every night this past week, there has been pick up ultimate frisbee at Trinity University. The pick up game has ranged from newer players to club veterans, so the game is always a bit interesting. Now, most people, when playing pick up, don't go "as hard" as they might when playing in a tournament or scrimmage.

Well, I am just not one of those people.

Turf sucks.

A photo posted by Eryn Ivey (@raybanstorodeos) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:12pm PST

One of the newer players saw me streaking toward the end zone with no one covering me for 15 yards and put up his best backhand throw. I was running the disk down thinking, "Yes, this is my glory moment - layout catch for a score!" This disk flies over my head and I start to layout to grab it while it was still in the air.

Suddenly, my body remembers that I have weak on a workout hiatus for several months. My lower back and legs are much weaker than when I am in shape for a frisbee season. My right knee thuds to the ground and my left hip is being ripped open by the turf I was playing on.

Yeah, I didn't catch it.

Silver lining does follow! I was able to really focus on my abs and glutes this week in my NTC workout. I tried Gabby Douglas' lower body workout - a simple 15 minute workout that focused a lot on your lower core muscles, your hip flexors, and inner groin muscles. This was perfect to avoid getting another hip scar like nasty little one above.



M&I will be trying out of my new Christmas presents this weekend: a speed training ladder! Workout post will definitely come from that.

"The only bad workout is the one you didn't do"

 - Someone Smart

I have been MIA this week and got behind with posts since my Mom and Grandma were here late last week all the way to Monday (posts to come)! It was such a wonderful trip and I miss them like crazy, but I get to see my Grandma for Christmas.

Anyway, as promised I did my workout for Fitness Fridays. I even learned how to create overlays on PicMonkey thanks to the blogger community! What do you think of my Fitness Fridays logo? The photo is courtesy of Nike Training Club.

Ok, on to my workout. I did the Wednesday  Thursday set that was focused on cardio. I almost skipped this one since I get a lot of cardio during my weekly frisbee-ing with Trinity and SAUltimate.  However, I remembered that Nike Training Club knows how to kick someone's butt, no matter what the focus is. I took a look at the workout, saw it was 45 minutes (cursed the app for giving me a hardcore workout that long), and clicked begin.

The one part of the workout that particularly stuck out to me was the Froggers. Sweet baby Jesus, NTC really liked these. Thanks to the 1000 sets it had us do, my inner thighs are dying today. Want to know what a Frogger is? Check out the vid below:



See? However, the app decided to take it a step further and forgo the "alternating" part. Yikes!

If you want to sculpt your booty and hip flexors, try doing three sets of these babies for 1 minute. Ready? Go!

Two Fridays ago, I mentioned that I was teetering with the idea of doing Friday Favorites or Fitness Fridays. The first attempt was Friday Favorites and I had fun doing that post, but I am too competitive for that. I decided to try out Fitness Fridays.

Being that my mom came in town yesterday, I definitely didn't do this workout today buttt the point is I WORKED OUT! I have been on a three month hiatus since we moved.

I actually really enjoy working out but once I lose a routine, I really struggle with getting on a new one. The first one is the hardest. So because I committed myself to Fitness Fridays, I decided to get my butt in gear!

We have a gym in our apartment complex, so I got dressed and marched down there. I enter the code and BAM! denied. What the freak?!

So, I accepted the rejection and headed upstairs to remember the NTC app. Better known as Nike Training Club!

Since it has been awhile and have gained some unwanted weight, I decided to go with the beginner "Lean" workout plan. This puts together a set of workouts over a 4 week course to get you back in shape at your pace. You can set goals, set reminders, and update the app of when your next workout will be. Not to mention, I can include my own music to jam out to: Taylor's 1989, of course. (It's a great choice, btw)

That is just a screen shot of some of my "activities" as part of the workout.

The best part about this app? It is FREE! Absolutely free. Nike believes in the power of women and it's so cool that they offer this.

Are there other bloggers out there that want to take the challenge and do Fitness Fridays with me?

These next posts will be summarizing the past two weekends for M&I. Every weekend in October was accounted for, including a week of traveling for both of us. Needless to say, these past two weekends have been much needed.

Let the photo dump commence.

Last weekend: Bakery Lorraine, Pearl Farmer's Market, BCycle Bike Ride, and Stella Public House

Stella Public House: 4 out of 5 stars
After coming back from our business trips, we decided to head out for a nice reunion dinner. We weren't sure what to expect from Stella except that it has been on our hit list as top recommended places to eat. Stella Public House offers over 300 craft beers, apps and HOMEMADE PIZZA! This is exactly what we were hoping for.

Like many places in San An (and Texas as a whole), Stella offers locally sourced ingredients. They even listed all of the farms used on the menu. Pretty neat! As far as food choices, M&I would recommend the Southtown Pepperoni. This choice used Jalapeño Cheddar sausage, olives, and caramelized onions. Mmmmm!

Bakery Lorraine: 5 out of 5 stars
Bakery Lorraine opened a new location in the Pearl and we could not be happier. We have heard about Bakery Lorraine since the first week we arrived in San Antonio. Merely a month since our arrival, they have opened a new location only 10 minutes from us!

M chose the decadent lemon blueberry muffin which was absolutely delicious! It was the perfect size, perfectly cake-y, and not too sweet that it was like a cupcake. I went for the lorraine quiche that was BL's version of a classic quiche with eggs as the base stuffed full of bacon and cheese.

We also decided on a half dozen macaroons to take home - they were to die for! It was quite the Parisian treat to take home. We also were gifted a Maple eclair since we pointed out a mistake in the display! BL takes their appearance very seriously.

Bcycle:
San Antonio's Urban Development department takes an avid interest in the public health. The city started a bicycle share program a few years ago and even updated many of the city roads to add widened bike lanes. Thus, this makes the city pretty bike friendly for your weekend rides. Fall is upon us here in Texas and starting to drop in temperature; M&I took this as a sign to take a 3 mile ride up to the Farmer's Market. #howcute

Below are two of the best pictures to summarize our trip.

Amazing.

He's ready for U23 Tryouts....

Overall this weekend was a lot of fun! However, I started to get sick this weekend and it still hasn't gone away.... :(

I am SO sorry I have been so MIA. October has been absolutely nuts. M&I have had something to do every single night, every single weekend. While I can't complain and feel incredibly blessed to have friends and family to see, I haven't been able to recap my time.

However, I got to visit a ton of friends this past weekend and many people told me they read my blog from time to time. I totally blushed!! It also motivated to me get to writing. So here I am, in NYC in the middle of the night, getting some posts in.

Two weekends ago, I got to attend Ultimate 101 with Trinity Ultimate as my first-time being a COACH! Eleanor, my co-coach, and I are having a blast bestowing our ultimate knowledge with these ladies.

You know that hat is awesome. Ok, so I am not a fashion blogger!

Eleanor wrote a great write up of the weekend, so I am going to share her post from www.SAUltimate.org:

As many of us know, Ultimate is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. New high school, club, and college teams are popping up constantly, and the number of pickup games across the country grows every day. I’m proud to say that Trinity University’s women’s team, Altitude, is one of the nation’s newest teams! Eryn Ivey and I (Eleanor) are so PROUD to be coaching together during this inaugural season.

This past weekend, we all piled in cars are headed north for our first official tournament, Ultimate 101 hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas. After some organizational conundrum-solving and a rather speedy warm-up, Altitude commenced with this first ever game against Texas. While the weather conditions weren’t exactly favorable (55 degrees has never felt so cold!), we worked our tails off! Our handlers had some great throws, our cutters were constantly getting open, and our sideline spirit was out of control! Although we weren’t able to pull out a win, I know everyone would agree that we discovered our strengths and our weaknesses and that the first game was an incredible learning experience. Our second game on Saturday was against the reigning D-3 National Champions, Rice. Eryn and I were incredibly excited for this game for two reasons: first, we were excited for our new players to see an experienced squad and participate in a game of Ultimate with constant movement. Second, we wanted to see how our girls stacked up against such an incredibly talented team. Well…we did GREAT! Altitude scored their first point as a team and got a boost of confidence. The last two games of Saturday pool play were against the University of Dallas and Hendrix University. We still weren’t able to get any checks in the win column, but we played hard and kept the games competitive! After the games, Altitude had a LONG stretching session to ward off any first-day soreness (surprise, it still appeared) and then met for a nutritious team dinner (kidding---we got burgers, fries, and milkshakes)!

The forecast for Sunday hinted at a beautiful day for some Ultimate and we were all overjoyed that the weathermen got it right! Altitude had a wonderful second half against in-city rival UTSA, but weren’t able to overcome a slow start. Now we know that we’re definitely not a first-game team. After working through some scheduling issues, Altitude got on the field against a very experience, but under-manned UDU team. Again, a win wasn’t in the books, but it was the closest game of the weekend!

-Eleanor

I am totally excited to see these girls grow this year. D3 Natties - here we come!

I am very girly. I love pearls, monograms, lace, nail polish, clothes .. you get it. One of my favorite things to do is get my hurr did.

Once every three months, I hit up one of my most treasured contacts: Lauren. Lauren and I bonded nine years ago when my teeny bopper self went into the Hair Cuttery practically every month to change my hair color, chop my hair off, add layers, or just say hi.

That's Lauren. I love her. Her tattoos are awesome.

Given that I am moving to San Antonio two weeks from today (eek!), I had to "touch up" my hair before I leave and am gone for three months. So, I decided to go from highlights to the ever trendy ombre.

The Before and After

I LOVE it. She did awesome. Everyone should use her. She works at Salon Cielo & Spa at the Mall at Millinea.

PS. This will not be my last "look I changed my hair" post! I change my hair seasonally - seriously.

Because, obviously.

As some of you may know, I play ultimate frisbee. A lot of ultimate frisbee.

In the past five years, I have traveled to 10 states and Canada to play or watch the sport that I love. I have played on teams out of Orlando, Gainseville, and Tallahassee. I even met Mike through my college team! I think we can all agree - I am a committed to this sport.

Swing State - Orlando, FL

I have been fortunate enough to skate by all seasons with very little injury. However, I found out yesterday that I likely have plantar fasciitis (aka achy, sore pain in my left heel).

The medical definition for plantar fasciitis is as follows: "the plantar fascia is the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot. It connects to the heel bone to the toes and creates the arch of the foot. When this tissue becomes swollen or inflamed, it is called plantar fasciitis." Medicine Plus

Luckily, I seemed to have caught it early enough where I am only in pain after standing (or playing) on it for a few hours. The healing process is long and involves a lot of stretching and icing my heel.

The good news? I got to buy some cute sporty sandals to wear during tournament weekends. I needed them for better support, right?

Hi-tec (Similar)