Friday Favorites-Fashion Edition: I've Got a Crush

Today's Friday Favorites comes at just the perfect time because it's almost Valentine's day and I have a major CRUSH on the amazing Boston fashion boutique Crush. Let me explain how I came to be matched with my fashion crush..

A few week's ago, I received an email from the fashion startup company, Boutikey. Boutikey is a new mobile app that launched yesterday!  (Lookout for a Friday Favorite Feature on them soon!) that connects fashion boutiques with their customers. It's sort of like an Instagram for boutiques, where there is a fashion trend page, sales and promo announcements, and you can acquire store credit points for shopping.

 Boutikey asked to feature my favorite looks from a Boston boutique on their mobile app and it was a no brainer that I chose my long-time favorite, Crush.

Crush Boutique is located on Newbury Street and in Boston's Beacon Hill. They specialize in providing customers with a well-edited collection of the best in women's contemporary fashion. From celebrity loved lines like Alex + Olivia, J Brand, and House of Harlow to a variety of up-and-comping designers like Yumi Kim and Rory Beca, Crush offers an unmatched, fashion forward experience. In addition to the two stores, they also offer an expansive online store.

As a result, it is no surprise that Crush has received quite a lot of awards in Boston these past few years. From Best of the New for 2008 by Boston Globe Magazine, Boston's Best for Women's Moderate Clothing in 2011 by The Improper Bostonian, Boston's Best for Party Dresses in 2012 by The Improper Bostonian, Boston's Best for Women's Moderate Clothing in 2013 by The Improper Bostonian, and was nominated for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston 2013 Reader's Choice in the Best Clothing - Women's Casual category, I guess you could say that I'm not the only one with a major fashion crush on Crush.

This past week I got to fulfill my fashion dream. I partnered with Boutikey to do a photo-shoot at Crush wearing my favorite outfits from the store. To top it all off, I got to bring along my best friend, Jackie. Talk about two kids in a candy store!

So without further ado, here are my 5 favorite looks from Crush...

Look #1: the Animal Skirt that Makes me Want to Twirl

 Amanda Uprichard Forever Shirt Skirt in Black Skirt and Purple Leopard skirt

Look #2: The Lace Open Back Stunner

Alice & Olivia Open-Back Stunner

Look #3: Comfy,Warm Sweater & Red Infinity Scarf

Dolta Vita Dorid Sweater with 7 for all Mankind leather-like Skinnies
and Paula Bianco Chunky Knit Infinity Scarf

Look #4: Open Back Sweater & Leather Skinnies

Twelth Street Leather Strap Tank, BB Dakota Sweater, & Joes Jeans, The Skinny in Dorothy

Look #5: The Black Leather Maxi Dress & Chunky Cardigan

Alice & Olivia Black leather Maxi and Olive & Oak NYC Sweater with A Mano Trading Pendant Necklace

*For more on Crush, check out their website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, & Instagram pages.
*Download the Boutikey app here!

Below is your daily dose of inspiration inspired by Crush & Boutikey...

Create a Fashionable Friday!

I also just want to give another big ol' shoutout to my bestie, hairdresser, stylist, and makeup artist Jackie Angelos who did my hair and makeup for the shoot. Below is a closer look at the subtle blonde ombre hair she did.

*If you live in the South-Boston area, I encourage you to visit Jackie at LA Express in Stoughton, MA where she is an incredible hair dresser. You can contact her through Style Seat or via email: jckangelos@yahoo.com.

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Wordless Wednesdays: All You Need is Love

Photo Courtesy of Photographer: Dan Phakos

February 14, 2012

And now for Wednesday's dose of inspiration...

"Every test in our life makes us better or bitter, 

every problem comes to break us or make us.

The choice is ours whether we 

become VICTIM or VICTOR".

-Author: Anonymous

Photo Courtesy of: Tory Stone

Create a beautiful & WARM Wednesday everyone!

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Tranquil Tuesdays: When The Deck is Stacked Against You

A few months ago I indulged in the TV show Survivor and I was surprised to find that a lesson I learned from a reality show has stuck with me so strongly.

In this particular episode, there was a challenge in which 2 recently voted-out contestants (a male and a female) had the opportunity to return to the game. For this particular challenge, the eliminated players had to form the tallest structure by stacking cards one by one before the time ran out.

Survivor Blood vs. Water- Episode 12
Photo Courtesy of: Survivorz.wordpress.com

As the minutes ticked by and the stacks grew taller, sweat began to pour down the two contestants’ brows as they nervously placed yet another cards atop their wobbly structure. 

The female contestant had taken a substantial lead against the male player until suddenly, during an attempt to place another card on top, the entire tower plummeted. Cards flew everywhere. She let out a huge sigh of defeat, and with less than a minute left on the clock, knew it is unlikely that she could catch up to the other player’s 7 foot tall tower.

Other contestants yelled out words of encouragement such as “Nice try”, making it clear they thought it was over.

But the female contestant continued to plow on.

The camera zoomed in to the determined and passionate look on her face. She proceeded to hurriedly pick up the cards and began to build a new tower. Slowly, her stack of cards began to rise to one foot…and then higher. Not once during this time did she look over at the other player’s far higher tower next to her.

Seconds remained when, unexpectedly, the other contestant’s stacked tower completely crashed to the ground. The woman miraculously won the challenge with her 2 foot high stack of cards! She smiled widely, relishing in the notion that she got to stay in the game.

Hitting the Wall of Limitations

Photo Courtesy of: The Huffington Post

The next day while in yoga class, I too felt as though I was no longer in control of my stack of cards.

My peaceful mind suddenly began to roam wildly when my back unexpectedly experienced an intensely painful muscle spasm. I began to grow upset as I had done everything I was supposed to do in order to prevent the pain from occurring that day. After all, I had drank plenty of water, had slowly and patiently worked myself into each yoga posture, and even heated/iced my back prior to arriving for class.

For the past year, I have had terrible back spasms, some so crippling that I have had to miss out on many important events. I have worked furiously to feel better by going to many specialists such as a chiropractor, acupuncturist, physical therapist, and spinal surgeon. 

In addition, I practice at least 30 minutes of yoga daily in order to improve my flexibility and remain physically healthy.

Yet, some days I still feel as though I am experiencing day 1 of excruciating pain all over again. While one day I may feel incredible in a yoga posture, experiencing a sense of painless openness; other days may require a lot of blocks and modifications in order to get into the same pose.

On this particular day in yoga class, my back hurt even while lying down in Savasnasa. As everyone around me lay there calmly, slowly sinking deeper and deeper into a feeling of tranquility, I continuously squirmed around, hoping to find a comfortable way to lie down that would eliminate the intensely hot pain I was experiencing.

Suddenly, my mind went back to the woman on Survivor and how she dealt with her toppled structure. And so I turned over onto my stomach, slowly inhaling and exhaling. While my back sure didn’t feel like a strong and sturdy tower, I knew that I should be proud of my effort to get to yoga class. By staying on my yoga mat and working through the pain, I too was choosing to stay in the game.

Dig in and Dig Deeper

So the next time you feel defeat setting in, I urge you to push past it. Going to yoga for me is like getting my car washed: I know that is a helpful and necessary part of my routine.

If you don’t nourish your body and mind regularly, all of the “muck” that you didn’t wash off prior to the next storm will get stuck there even deeper. So do yourself a favor and take control of your hand of cards.

Below is your daily dose of inspiration....

Create a Tranquil Day,

*Tranquil Tuesdays will be the first Tuesday of every month. 

*For one of my favorite yoga-stretching YouTube videos that helps me to find back relief, click here.

*For more tranquil related articles, read the article "A Novice's Tale of Yoga Journaling" that I wrote for the Yoga Blog.com or check out November's Thankful Tuesday series: Parts 1, 2, & 3

Thrifty Thursdays: Healthy Superbowl Snack Savers

What's more thrifty then staying home for the Superbowl and hosting a little party yourself? You will most certainly save on money- an 18 pack of bud-light bottles cost $14.99 at the local liquor store, while 1 bottle at the local bar costs $4. (That's a difference of $3.17  per bottle!) On top of that, you save a heck of a lot on calories when you eat at home. With dining out, it is difficult to determine exactly what you are consuming since there are many high-sodium and artificial ingredients that go into many restaurant dishes. As a result, restaurant dishes have a much higher level of fat & calories then those made at home. 

So today, I am going to show you some healthy Superbowl snacks that you can buy right at your local grocery store, as well as some of my favorite healthy Game-Day recipes to make at home.

Game Day Grocery Store List

Homemade Appetizers:

 Red Pepper & Bacon Sweet Potato Skins (from the Undressed Skeleton) 

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip Stuffed Peppers (from Fight the Inner Foodie)

Homemade Spreads

Healthy 6-Layer Dip Recipe (from Women's Health Magazine)

Homemade Dessert 

Skinny Fudge Brownies with Butterscotch Drizzle (from Back for Seconds Blog)

I hope that I have made your Superbowl snacking, a little thriftier & healthier for you. And while I am sad that the Pats aren't in it, I am looking forward to the Super Bowl commercials, like this Budweiser commercial that will be aired on game-day that will absolutely melt your heart...

Buddyweiser- Puppy Love

Create a Thrifty Thursday everyone! Below is your daily dose of inspiration.

Photo Courtesy of: Dan Phakos

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Wordless Wednesdays: All Hail Queen B

Mrs Carter Tour at TD Garden
Boston, MA, December 2013
Photo Courtesy of: Tory Stone

Today is a Grammy edition of Wordless Wednesday with a picture of Beyonce from her Mrs. Carter tour-stop in Boston last month. She clearly worked it like always.

"Giving up on your goal because of one setback
is like slashing your other 3 tires
because you got a flat"

Create a beautiful Wednesday everyone!

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Tone it Tuesdays: a Heart-Pumping, Energizing Workout to Battle that Winter Slump

On this last edition of January's Tone it Tuesday series, Jenna Klane of the Training Fix has graciously shared with us a video from yesterday's workout to inspire us to get moving!

"A winter Monday is a day needed for movement.  There is not much to do around here when its 15 degrees out and after sitting around most of the weekend I needed to move this morning. Not every workout needs to be filled with high intensity, and super heavy weight loads.  I think getting strong is empowering, and extremely healthy as we age, but to be honest some days I don’t have it in me.  This doesn’t mean you can’t get a great sweat in. Just moving around for 30-60 minutes a day can do wonders for your mood and energy during the cold winter months.  Today I pulled out a few of my favorite exercise tools ( kettlebell, vipr, and sandbag) and put together a quick full body circuit that gave me a nice sweat and actually gave me some energy instead of draining me of all my energy.  What I like about this workout is its working in different planes of motion so its challenging my body in a very different way compared to when I just lift heavier weights.  Different stabilizers are forced to activate which equals more muscles recruitment, as well as a nice shock to the nervous system.  This shock on the nervous system is what gives you that little extra boost of energy.  Give this a try and let us know what you think."

Workout Video Link

Thank you Jenna for the motivation! Lately with life's business, I have put off doing any form of squats and so to get motivated once again, I have created the 30 day Squat challenge below : 

As Jenna said, moving around each day gives us the energy to survive the cold, winter months and feel good about ourselves.  January's "Tone it Tuesday" series has been a wonderful way to keep us motivated to do so, and I hope that these past few Tuesday monthly series, in general, have served as motivation for practicing a healthy lifestyle.

  In November, Creatively Lu was launched and the  November series of Thankful Tuesdays began. Then in December, we ran the series- Take Out Tuesdays which featured healthy tips when dining out. Finally, in January we have run the series- Tone it Tuesdays featuring Jenna Klane, who has  shared her 3 essential moves for mastering the booty,  her tips for healthy snacking-before, during, and after your workout, as well as the energizing workout today.

Rather than, continuously change out the Tuesday themes each month I am excited to announce that I have created 4 Tuesday series that will continue every month. Here is the Tuesday calendar from now on:

• On-Trend Tuesdays: a look at the hottest trends for that month

• Tacky Tuesdays: Here we will hold an intervention for the trends that just don't quite make the cut.

• Tranquil Tuesdays: Tips for creating inner peace.

and finally.......

• Tone it Tuesdays featuring Jenna Klane

Yup, that's right Jenna will continue to provide her tips for staying healthy!  And these Tuesdays will be featured over on the new website:

So keep an eye out for Jenna's February edition of Tone it Tuesdays over on Creativelylu.com in a few weeks! Below is your daily dose of inspiration, inspired by my friend Kelly who committed to living a healthy lifestyle over the summer and has successfully lost over 40 lbs during her journey.

Kelly Lennon with her motivational/workout coach, 3 year old nephew, Colin.
The Lennon Household, Fall 2013.

Create a toned Tuesday everyone!

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Make It Mondays: Heather's Chicken Curry

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Today's Make it Mondays is by Heather Rose, Creatively Lu's new weekly contributor. Heather has provided us with her delicious take on an Indian Chicken curry recipe, with a recipe to make your own Naan to follow:

Inspiration for dinner can come from anywhere. This dish was a result of movie night with my husband. We were watching Life of Pi (excellent movie may I add) and I saw Pi and his family eating curry with Naan. I literally started drooling thinking about the amazing Indian food I had back in college after my late night accounting classes. 

When my friend first suggested it, I was pretty skeptical. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of gal. I didn't even know what curry was before college. But after my first bite I was hooked. Nothing beats a delicious curry with some yummy Naan. Unfortunately, now that I'm out of the city -- Indian restaurants are hard to come by. Or they just don't have that savory & spicy quality as those authentic restaurant served so well.

And so I decided to make my own take on the Indian classic! I've tried many recipes and I'm telling you - this one is GOOD. Give it a try, I promise you will not be disappointed. Forewarning - this curry is pretty spicy - you can turn down the heat by decreasing the amount of cayenne or add more if you think it's not spicy enough. Remember it's always easy to add more to a dish -- once it's in, there's no taking it out! 

Needed: 2 lbs chicken tenders or breast, 2 teaspoons salt,1/2 cup oil, 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root, 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon water, 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon salt,1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Heat olive oil in large skillet and season chicken with salt. When oil is hot - cook chicken until outsides are browned. Aprox 2-3 minutes each side. When chicken is browned drain it on paper towels and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium-high; in the same pan add the diced onion, garlic, and ginger to the oil remaining in the skillet and cook and stir until the onion turns translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cayenne, and 1 tablespoon of water into the onion mixture. 

Mix the tomatoes, yogurt, 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, and 1 teaspoon salt into the mixture. Return the chicken breast to the skillet along with any juices on the plate. Pour 1/2 cup water into the mixture; bring to a boil, turning the chicken to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle the garam masala and 1 tablespoon cilantro over the chicken.Cover the skillet and simmer for 20-30 mins until chicken is is full cooked. 

I chose to serve the Chicken Curry with Naan and rice. I love using a delicious piece of Naan to scoop up the savory chicken.  The combination of the sweet, warm bread with spicy chicken brings me back to those late night dinners in Boston.

And while you can serve the Chicken Curry alongside some store-bought Naan, I have included a homemade Naan recipe that I swear by. After all, there is nothing better than the homemade version: 

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Needed: 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast,1 cup warm water,1/4 cup  white sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 egg (beaten),2 teaspoons salt, 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional),1/4 cup butter (melted)

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. 

Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.

At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. 

Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Thank you Heather for a very delicious, and equally creative, edition of Make it Mondays! And now for your daily dose of inspiration. 

Create a delicious Monday everyone! 

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