FEATURED SPONSOR // albion fit + my fitness routine pt. 1

Even saying that I have a fitness routine is kind of weird.  Up until last fall I never considered myself someone "into" fitness, and still I don't think I'd say that about myself.  I prefer to incorporate fitness into my life in ways that don't involve going to a normal gym.  In high school I was a competitive equestrian, and then in college I took fitness classes like pilates, ballet, ice skating, and weight training on a regular basis.  Nowadays during the summers I like to use my bike as my main mode of transportation, and I started rock climbing last January.

I've been the same size since like 8th grade, and (so far) I've never needed to workout in order to lose weight/maintain my same weight, so my fitness routine isn't weight related, it has more to do with wanting to treat my body right and be healthy and strong.  And hopefully I'll be more likely to survive the zombie apocalypse.  But really, I like feeling strong.  I'm a pretty small person barely breaking 5'1" and I always like to prove people wrong who assume I'm weak just because I'm small.  I've always been pretty strong for my size, and I like doing things that require strength and endurance.


We climbed multiple times a week last year from January to June, but we stopped climbing for a few months starting in June because of my job.  I'm super excited about climbing this year.  Last year I had just started climbing and was figuring out technique and working on getting stronger, and we only climbed outdoors once.  This year I'm climbing stronger than I ever did last year and I'm super motivated to get out of the gym and go climbing outdoors a few times this summer.

Climbing, for me, is such a perfect way to workout and get stronger.  Its so easy to see yourself getting better as you're able to climb more difficult routes and find routes that used to be difficult for you get easier.  And there's a physical end goal every time you climb a route: get to the top.  I can see the top.  I can see how to get there.  I just have to be strong enough physically and mentally to achieve that goal.

A lot of girls seem to be shy or nervous about getting into climbing because they think they don't have the upper body strength necessary, but ironically this is what tends to make girls figure out good technique more quickly.  Guys tend to think that all it takes to climb is doing pull-ups all the way up the wall, but this is an extremely inefficient way to climb, and in terms of proper technique, that's not the right way to climb.  If you've wanted to climb but thought you were too weak in your upper body, don't let that stop you!  Technique and using your whole body is much more important for climbing than having super buff biceps (though that can be an advantage at times).  And that's one thing that makes climbing a great workout.  You work your whole body.  Sure you work your arms, but the core work is also incredible, and you're working muscles you probably didn't even know you had!  Some climbing gyms also have an area with other gym stuff like treadmills and weights, and my climbing gym also offers yoga, pilates, cycling and other fitness classes.  So it's like having access to a regular gym, but you get to climb too!


In terms of fitness attire, I think my aesthetic/needs tend towards the yoga-wear end of the spectrum.  For climbing I really need a top that allows for lots of movement and bottoms that do the same and also aren't see through.  Because I'm doing lots of squat-like movements and other crazy moves trying to reach for holds the last thing I want to worry about is onlookers getting a peek at my undies through my leggings.  So flexibility and opacity are really the most important things to me when it comes to bottoms, which is surprisingly hard to find, at least for a low price tag.

Albion Fit sent me their Love Racer, Go Long Crew, and Optimum Capris to try out and for climbing, those three pieces are great.  I don't like looking super fitnessy when I'm climbing, because most people are super casual and many are even climbing regular clothes like jeans. I absolutely love the Go Long Crew and it might just be the softest item of clothing I've ever put on my body. It's thin enough that it breathes and I don't feel like I have to yank it off mid climbing session in a sweaty panic, but it's also surprisingly opaque.  I wear my orange Love Racer underneath, which is pretty bright, and you can barely see it.  And the capris?  Totally pass the climbing test.  According to Dan (since I can't really see my own ass while I'm climbing), no undies showing through.  They do have a bit of a gap at my waist, but I think I should've sized down.  I'm usually not a fan of capri leggings that flare out at the bottom, but these don't have too much of a flare and don't flap around on my calves, which is what drives me nuts.

And obviously I like that Albion is a company that values sustainability and the planet by recycling plant waste and using earth friendly materials in their products as well as following fair labor practices with their employees and business partners.  Good workout clothes, good company practices.  Good stuff in my book.



photos of me by Dan

gut feeling

Do you ever get excited about something, something that you know is a little bit of a stretch for you to do, but you're so gung ho that you just decide to go for it?  And then the more you think about it, the more it starts to feel overwhelming and you realize that you're laying awake at night getting stressed about it and you wake up and you're still stressed about it.  But at the same time it's embarrassing to do that whole rewind-sorry-I-actually-can't-do-it thing.  Almost so much so that you'd rather just continue going forward with it than admit that you bit off more than you can chew.  Yeah that.  
I think I'm probably one of those people who has a hard time saying "no."  It's fueled by the fact that, as a freelancer/blogger/etc., saying "no" often means turning down an opportunity to make an income.  Thankfully I'm pretty sure I have a pretty good gut, which is very vocal when something doesn't feel right. Just a couple days ago I was going to do a sponsored post and for a while I kept feeling weird about it and couldn't figure out why, but I eventually just cancelled it and later realized why I'd felt so weird.  My gut/intuition/discernment (whatever you want to call it) is never wrong about those things, and even when I can't figure out why I'm feeling that way, it seems like the better choice to listen to it and maybe be a bit embarrassed at having to cancel or back out than to just forge ahead and then realize a bigger error down the road.   dress/courtesy of lace affair :: cardigan/gap :: jacket/courtesy of asianicandy tights/courtesy of the stylish fox :: boots/target
Almost every time I go down to the Garages there's at least one other photographer there doing some kind of shoot.  This time it was a couple of dudes taking pictures of a car, which is right out of frame in most of these shots.  Thankfully they were too interested in taking pictures of the car to bother me and I went about my business.  This was the first time taking outfit photos with my 6D and it's funny how much harder it is to do photos with a camera that won't do continuous self timer photos.  One shot, walk back to the tripod, one shot, walk back again.  Jumping and spinning shots are so much more difficult to get right!  I may break down and invest in a remote, though I can't stand seeing a remote in photos.  #bloggerproblems
My parents came into town last night and we went out to dinner.  My mom hadn't been to our house since we moved in so it was fun for her to be able to come in and see all the fun changes we've made and the beginnings of our decor adventures.  They ended up staying for drinks after dinner which was super fun.  I made them my rosemary old fashioned and rosemary rickey, and I did a little R&D on a new drink that turned out to be pretty delicious, so maybe I'll share that recipe here soon!  Big surprise, it's a rosemary drink.  I've still got rosemary simple syrup, so I've been playing around with it a lot lately.  I want to make a new flavored simple syrup, but I'm not sure what to make yet.  

a walk on the bay

Most of our time in Juneau it was rainy, as usual, but the sun broke for part of one day so we hiked down to the beach to walk around and enjoy the fleeting warmth.  My Dad and his siblings grew up playing on this beach and it's always fun to hear the stories about their adventures.  I really wanted to find some creatures in the tide pools, since it was low tide, but alas, it's still winter (it snowed most of the days we were there) and no sea creatures were to be found, save a few tiny crabs hiding under rocks.  After dealing with all the stress and emotion of the weekend, a walk on the beach was really a nice departure.  

Q + A // how to wear skirts and ride bikes

I'm a firm believer that you don't need to change your style too much in order to make it bike friendly.  A lot of people are afraid that they'll have to sacrifice their style in order to ride regularly, or make biking their main mode of transportation.  In some cases this can be true.  If you have a big commute you'll have to factor in getting hot and sweaty, and if you ride all year round and when it's raining that's another consideration, since you don't want to be soaking wet when you arrive at your destination.  But for more low-key, around-town riding, you shouldn't have to change your style too much.  If you like wearing skirts and dresses, don't worry!  There are ways to make your outfits bike-friendly so you can keep wearing the dresses you love wearing.

  If it's not too hot out, consider wearing opaque tights.  I like wearing tights when I ride because in my mind I'm essentially wearing pants or leggings.  If my skirt flies up a bit, it's not like I'll be flashing anyone because you're just getting a glimpse of more tights.

  Avoid wearing tight skirts, like bodycon skirts.  Sometimes you can make it work, but it's way harder to pedal when your skirt is binding your legs together.  Longer, knee-length skirts that aren't very tight are much easier to pedal in, because the fabric allows a lot of freedom to move.

  If you opt for a longer maxi skirt, make sure you keep it from getting caught up in your gears or back tire.  If you have a longer, flowy skirt you can tie it up into a knot while you're riding to keep the excess fabric from getting stuck in the bike's moving parts, and you can untie the skirt when you've arrived.


  If you're afraid of your skirt flying up and it's too warm for tights, wear some bike shorts!  As long as your skirt isn't too short, you won't see it unless your skirt flies up a bit while riding.  
  Tuck!  I like to sit on my skirt, and then some times I tuck my skirt under my legs to keep it from flying around.  If I'm sitting on my skirt then it can't fly up and flash anyone.
 And I think that confidence also can be super helpful when it comes to wearing skirts and biking.  You might get people hollering at you or commenting (I swear, people have a weird sense of what's appropriate to say to bike riders), but if you can just ignore any weird comments, that goes a long way.  I've had people holler at me when I was wearing something totally modest and also when I was wearing a shorter skirt with no tights, so it doesn't have as much to do with what you're wearing as it does with the person yelling at you being weird and inappropriate.  But, if that kind of stuff does bother you, wearing tights or bike shorts can be a nice way to feel more modest.  Nobody should make you feel bad for what you are wearing, and just because you're on a bike shouldn't be a good reason for disparaging or weird comments on your clothes.  I wear heels and bike quite frequently and have had people comment on that before.  I know that I can bike just fine in heels and only wear shoes which I feel are safe and comfortable to bike it.  So wear your biking outfits with confidence!

the big transition

In between sorting through boxes I really wanted to take photos of my grandparents and their house while they still live there.  It's so totally and completely "them."  I mean, it would be, since my grampa built the house and they've lived in it since the 60's.  I think maybe my love of fake wood could be possibly influenced by this house, haha.  And my love of DIY.  Every single time I spent time with my grandparents we did crafts.  My grandma has files upon files of magazine clippings of craft projects from magazines.  The original pinterest, that woman has.  They're all organized by craft type and seasonal crafts.  We all think we're so clever with pinterest, but holy cow did she ever have pinterest on lockdown decades before.  And her craft closet is just packed to the brim and remarkably organized.  Her little craft room has a window that looks right out on Auke Bay, arguably a craft room with one of the best views there is.

It was a pretty hard weekend, emotionally.  It's been a hard decision for my grandparents to move out of their home and hometown, but they want to be closer to family in these last years which means moving to Sitka, but unfortunately the trade-off is having to let go of their community in Juneau.  Thankfully Juneau and Sitka are close enough to each other that coming back to Juneau for the occasional visit isn't out of the question, but it's still tough.  And I think ultimately, it's hard to lose control over one's life as age starts becoming more and more of an issue in terms of just being able to perform regular life functions.  My grandparents are classic Alaskans. Very independent, very strong people, and not the types to admit they need help.  So it's been hard for them to accept help, as admitting needing help means, for them, admitting weakness.  I definitely recognize the same tendencies in myself, but I'm learning that life has seasons.  There are seasons where you are the helper, and there are seasons where you are the one that needs to accept help from others.  My grandparents have almost always been the helpers, and definitely helped my parents through some hard times in dealing with my brother's health issues.  It's nice to be able to give back and support them as they get older and need more help, even if it is hard for them to accept it.