The Grind Giveaway from Bonobos

“The Grind” Giveaway

When it comes to office style both Caveman and I, have found that classic/neutral/basic pieces are what works best for us in terms of wearability and the speed it takes to put something together & get out the door. We are basically at a dead run from the time we get up to the time we leave.

Just about every morning our routine goes a little something like this, … the alarm clock goes off at 5:15, I spring out of bed and shut it off, and then climb back into bed to sleep/snuggle for 5-15 minutes. We then reluctantly leave our warm cocoon to start readying ourselves for the day. We both ask each other what we should wear. We generally each have our own ideas about our outfits for the day but it never hurts, especially for me, to have the other’s opinion. I’ve come up with some real winners and been extremely thankful for Caveman’s honesty. I know he’s saved me from looking like a clown more than once!

Basic pieces are easily mixed and matched, with brighter pops thrown in for interest. For Caveman these consist of basic slacks with a nice dress shirt. For me either a pencil skirt or slacks with a sweater/blouse/tank/top. These Weekday Warrior pants from Bonobos paired with their Daily Grind dress shirts make getting dressed a cinch!

Although Caveman doesn’t wear a suit to work every day, every man needs a great foundation suit. My man always looks great in black, but he would look equally amazing in this Charcoal Foundation Suit.

“The Grind” Giveaway Details

Bonobos is hosting “The Grind” Giveaway!!  To enter, visit Bonobos and enter your email.

What’s included in this prize package you ask? I’ll tell you…

Bonobos is giving away:
•5 Weekday Warriors Pants
•5 Daily Grinds – Dress Shirts
•1 Italian wool Foundation Suit

Everything your man needs to looking sharp at the office is included in this prize package, which is valued at over $1,500.

The a giveaway is open from April 21 through May 4th! So hurry on over & enter today!

#1800MinuteChallenge Starts today

The #1800MinuteChallenge starts today!! I’ve signed up with over 950+ other people!!

These lovely ladies Erin from Living in Yellow, Alissa from Alissa Circle, Emily from The Freckled Fox, and Alycia from Crowley Party are hosting this awesome challenge in hopes that we can all become a more health version of ourselves and support each other while doing it!

Starting April 1st (today) through May 31st, I have signed up to commit myself to being physically active for 1800 minutes total, each day. If you do the math that rounds out to nearly 30 minutes a day. This idea is awesome because it allows you the freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want. It doesn’t mean you have to do 30 minutes everyday, but instead you could do 45 minutes one day, zero the next, maybe 20 the next, and so on. Also, being physically active doesn’t mean you have to kill yourself! Go on a walk with you little one or your dog, throw the Frisbee with your boyfriend/girlfriend, get a quick workout DVD in, lift weights, or run on the treadmill. You could do like Caveman & I do and complete 3 rounds of pushups, situps, squats & chin-ups – our sets vary depending on our fitness level. As long as you reach 1800 minutes by May 31st, what does it matter how it happens?

Here’s what you need to know:

1. You will want to sign up to be a part of the challenge just so Erin will know who is joining in on the fun (and so that you have a chance to win the amazing grand prize at the end of the sixty days). You can register here.

2. Starting April 1st, you will be responsible for tracking your own progress. Don’t worry, Erin’s gotcha covered. After signing up for the challenge, you will receive a spreadsheet via email from Erin which will allow you to quickly track and total your minutes! I got mine earlier today!

3. Throughout the challenge use #1800MinuteChallenge on Instagram or Twitter so that those of us also participating can follow along and cheer you on. Make sure to follow @livinginyellow, @alissamcircle, @thefreckledfox and @alyciagrayce for occasional workout ideas, our favorite playlists, and extra tips + tricks on how to get your 1800 minutes in! I’ll be following along too so be sure to follow me too, @cavegurl!!

4. At the end of the challenge (May 31st) those of you who have completed all 1800 minutes, you will need to email Erin your spreadsheet [livinginyellow@gmail.com]. On Monday, June 9th one winner will be drawn to receive the #1800MinuteChallenge grand prize. It’s still a secret on what you will be receiving but don’t worry, Erin & the girls will fill you in on the details as time goes on. Keep in mind that the best prize of all will be how great you feel and look at the end of the challenge. The prizes will just be the cherry on top 😉

Are you ready for a great body in just a few minutes each day???? Do I sound like an infomercial or what!! LOL

Added Bonus!! Melissa Rose, web designer of Erin’s blog, Living in Yellow designed a free workout printable just for the #1800MinuteChallenge!! Head on over and check it out!

Review of 2013 – Happy 2014!

2013 Recap…

2013 was just full of surprises for our little family. Opportunities we thought were coming our way crumbled right before our eyes, but God opened other doors and brought blessings that were better than we ever dreamed.

From January through May I posted lots of different looks and styles here on RubysNPurls. I had fun with them but once June hit and I returned to college part-time, I found that I simply didn’t have enough time for everthing and blogging too. I was also really unhappy with my weight & to be honest was tired of posting photos of myself in outfits that weren’t that great. I knew once I started walking to school my weight would improve and it did somewhat over the summer, however it wasn’t until Caveman and I started the Paleo Diet in early September (4th to be exact!) that I really saw an improvement in my weight, my mental health and my energy levels.

As I’ve lost the weight, now down 30 lbs, my style has evolved as well. I am turning to more classic/taliored looks and surprisingly to me, wearing more black. I’ve always liked black but as Caveman told me recently, “Honey, black is your color!” LOL!

I also highlighted a few home improvements that we tackled in our backyard, along with the bounty from our garden and a quick little DIY. It was a good year, but as we look out over the coming 2014 we’re seeing lots of big changes in our future.

2014 Goals

I saw a quote similar to the one above on Pinterest the other day only it said “Amazing, Loving, Strong, Happy, Selfless and Grateful”. I think these are the qualities I will be striving for, as a person, as well as a Mom this year!

I saw this one too and (I’m not sure of the source for either of these, so if you know it could you please pass it along?) I really liked it…

“2014 is your year to ..Begin, have NO regrets, Hone your personal style, Love, Simplify, Go on an Adventure, Change your outlook, Love WHAT you do, BE YOU!”

Most of these were already my goals for 2014, this just put them into words beautifully!

As far as social media, you’ll find me on Pinterest & Instagram because I enjoy both so much. But here on this little space, my time will be limited. My focus has shifted away from style/fashion posts to spending quality time with my family, being real and in the moment. I think that’s one reason I really like Instagram because it’s a snapshot of a moment, not some longwinded explanation of what’s been happening with me, blah, blah, blah. That’s not to say that I don’t love dropping in with a post every so often, so for now I’m keeping an open mind and keeping the blog open. I’ll re-evaluate as the year progresses!

I hope all of you have a truly blessed and wonderful 2014.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I promised to be back with our Christmas Cards this year and I aim to deliver, even if it is a couple days after Christmas!

I’ve been using Shutterfly for about 4 years now. I like the quality of their photos, photo books and photo cards, as well as their prompt delivery of said products.

After Caveboy was born I was very insistent on having a family photo each year and would force my guys to comply and the photos always looked like they had been forced, but over the past couple of years I stopped trying to force the photo shoot horror on them and have attempted to just get a few decent photos of Caveboy.

Front – Christmas Card 2013

This year, with my crazy school schedule, work and just normal life stuff, Caveman gave me the best Christmas gift a few months eary – a family photo shoot. Oddly enough even though my guys were cooperating, Caveboy looked like he could cry or was completely bored in most of the photos or they just turned out too blurry or dark.

This cover photo is the very first photo we took and it is completely us right now! Caveman has never been that relaxed in front of the camera so he looks to be more at attention, Caveboy currently sings/rhymes/talks all.the.time. these days and I’m smiling praying everyone else is too! This is what happens when you use the self timer to get family photos, but again this photo is completely us at this stage in our lives.

Back – Christmas Card 2013

I decided to use our Halloween costume photo on the back because it was really cute and turned out remarkably well for an inpromptu family photo. If you’ll recall I wasn’t able to make the dress I had planned for the day of Halloween but the weekend after Halloween I quickly finished it in time for the postponed party at our church where we were able to attend as one of the Duck Dynasty families!! The pink & olive green camo pattern mini dress was a hit along with Caveboy’s fleece beard and Caveman’s attire. It was a great memory and a great photo to include in our Christmas greeting this year!

The individual photos of Caveboy were included because everyone loves to see how much he’s grown. On the cover that photo was taken after we had returned home, in our front yard. The photo on the back was taken during the photo shoot earlier in the day. It was the least dark and actually in focus of the bunch. So I guess you could say this Christmas card is filled with planned and unplanned photos and that makes it all the more special to me.

Shutterfly makes creating cards easy, just upload your digital photo and place in the card. Shutterfly makes picking out a card extremely hard because there are just too many great card templates to choose from!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a very blessed and Happy New Year! See you in 2014!

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Shutterfly. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. I did not receive anything from Shutterfly to endorse them, I just like passing along info on a good company when I can.

Happy Halloween 2013!

1st up we have my Caveman as a Cowboy! 2nd up, Caveboy as a lumberjack/Duck Dynasty cast member!

Please forgive the quality of these photos, but it was the end of the day and we were attempting to beat the rain that was threatening in order to get a few photos. Also I thought it would be beautiful to take our photos in front of this burning bush, but my poor cell phone camera couldn’t quite handle the vibrant reds.

I used this tutorial to make Caveboy’s beard! I love Ashley‘s blog, she has the best tutorials and check out her kids Halloween costumes! They are amazing. This little beard took me about 30 minutes to make the other night, with Caveboy jumping up and down, crying to wear his beard the whole time!! LOL Patience, he has yet to master!

My Halloween outfit and Caveboy and I

Fall has exploded with some beautiful colors this week and hotter than normal temps!

If you follow me over on Instagram you will see a few other fall photos I’ve taken on my daily walk to school. Not much has been happening other than work, school, family – repeat! I’ve survived 3 exams thus far this semester. Just wanted to drop in quickly today with a little update! I’m looking forward to the holidays just to I can slow down some!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween and Fall so far!!