SHOW HOW YOU NEON

I have been trying to come up with how to incorporate Project Neon and how to truly make an impact on the lives of people all around us, and instead of using a different hashtag every month, and creating a different challenge, I wanted to create something monthly where each of you || SHOW HOW YOU NEON || for a chance to win different prizes. My goal with Project Neon is to inspire people to live a fun, fit, and happy life! And ultimately have all of you inspiring others as well. I want everyone to live the best life they can live, and I want all of us to work together to shine our Neon all around.

 

 

The month, #ShowHowYouNeon on Instagram and Twitter for a chance to win giveaways from The Feed and Gregory Packs.

The Feed – Win a special Harmony Bar edition Feed Box, with a bunch of my other favorite fueling options inside! It is the ultimate KatieHartMorse Box! 🙂

Gregory Packs – Looking for a new hiking backpack? – Then this month is perfect for you! Share How You Neon for a chance to win a new backpack! I’m taking one of these on my trip to Thailand and I’m in love!

Ultimately, just show what makes you come alive! Whether it’s a walk in nature, hanging out with your pup, doing yoga, surfing, running, you name it! Let’s inspire each other to live the best life we can live. A life full of NEON! 🙂

Here are some of my favorite ways to #SHOWHOWYOUNEON

 

 

Can’t wait to see how YOU share your NEON! #projectneon #showhowyouneon

Style Thursday – How to Wear Colored Denim

I have been a fan of colored pants for as long as I can remember. Seriously, I used to buy these colored stretchy pants that were a huge hit over in Europe back in the 90’s and early 2000’s, and …

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Style Thursday – StitchFix #2 Review

I’m seriously IN LOVE with StitchFix and my stylist Danya. This is one of the best, most fun, services I have ever signed up for. I love to be “in-style” but I get overwhelmed by trying things on and the whole shopping experience. Plus, I love having someone else pick out my clothes. I still get to give Danya some “direction” by filling out my personal styling profile, but yet, she hand picks the specific pieces, just for me. I promise you, you will love it. If you are already excited, and want to give it a try feel free to use my referral link here.

Before I share with you, what came in my 2nd StitchFix, and which items I kept, or if I kept it all, you can read about My First StitchFix Review here.

How StitchFix Works

How does it work?

1. Sign Up and Complete Your Style Profile

   After signing up you can start immediately on your Style Profile. We need to know your size, shape, style, budget, and lifestyle to get your Fix right. The Style Profile will take about 10 minutes to complete. (I want to add, that they show you pictures of outfits, and you choose which one you like best, as well as other details. You can share your “My Style” Pinterest board with them as well, so that they can really get to know you, or any other social media channels you’d like to share).

2. Schedule a Stitch Fix

   Pick a shipment date, and we’ll send you a box of 5 clothing and accessory items we’ve hand-picked just for you. You can even opt to schedule a monthly delivery if you’d like.

   You pay a $20 styling fee when your stylist selects the items in your Stitch Fix. This $20 fee will be applied as a credit toward anything you keep from your shipment.

3. Try On All Of Your Items

   Try on everything we send you—you never know what you’ll like until you see it on. Pair each piece with items already in your closet to try different outfit options. Each item includes style cards with ideas and inspiration on how to wear it.

4. Decide

   Take 3 days to decide what you’ll keep. Return the items you don’t want in our pre-paid mailing bag at any USPS mailbox.

5. Check Out

   Login to your account and pay for those items you kept. If you buy all 5 items you save 25% off the entire shipment price.

   Don’t forget to give us feedback on your Stitch Fix shipment—our secret (styling) sauce gets better over time if we know what did and didn’t work for you.

With that, here’s my 2nd StitchFix Review…

There is nothing more fun than seeing this box on your doorstep, when you get home. It truly does feel like Christmas, and that element of surprise, adds to the fun!

 

And the fun part begins…

I immediately was in love with all the pretty colors in my box. And couldn’t wait to try everything on.

 

 

One of my favorite parts about StitchFix is that they share with you ways to dress up or dress down each piece that they sent you. I love taking in the suggestions, and then looking at my closet, and creating something similar, or adding my own additional flare to make the outfit my own.

 

 

 

I absolutely LOVE the Collective Concepts Daniella Lace Detail Cinch Waist Top, and couldn’t wait to try it on. It looked very feminine, and definitely me. 🙂 I decided to pair this outfit with my free people black floral jeans, and aldo strappy high heels for a “dress up” look.

 

I don’t own any white pants or skirts, but I think I might invest, because I think white on the bottom would look GREAT with this top. And make a softer look. It fit perfectly. I think I’ve been extremely impressed with how well everything has fit. It’s a little nerve wracking given the fact that you don’t get to try anything on until it arrives, and if it doesn’t fit right, then I guess you have to send it back, but I’ve been lucky that everything just keeps fitting. 🙂

Next up was the 41Hawthorn Natasha Front Pocket Sleeveless Blouse. I saw this and knew it was going to be a favorite. It is great for a casual day look I thought, and paired it with some gray skinny jeans from Tilly’s, and my roxy boots.

 

I feel really comfortable in this top and feminine, and I love the bright color!

I tried on next the Mystree Benfeld Tiered Colorblocked Mini Skirt. I had asked for something a little more sexy and flirty, and well I swear skirts are just that. When I first felt this, I was like omg, this feels soooo good! It seriously almost felt like a blanket that I wanted to curl up in. I loved the softness of the colors, as I don’t think I have enough “soft” items in my closet. So, it was time to try it on and see if it fit. I’m used to wearing so many things on my hips, that at first it looked funny, haha! But, then when I brought it up to my waist, probably where it was meant to sit, it look soooo cute. I really want to show off the whole skirt, so I think a crop top of some kind might look really cute with this skirt, but I went for the more t-shirt look as shown in the example. I really loved it as an outfit. I decided to pair the beautiful 31Bits bracelet that came in my StitchFix with this outfit, because I think it complimented it perfectly. As well as this cute tank from Banana Republic, and these sandals from NineWest. I think this became a favorite immediately. I felt so comfortable, sexy, and flirty in this little number.

 

Last but not least was the 41Hawthorn Dita Sleeveless Ponte Dress. I love the color of this dress, and have nothing like it in my closet. I am always looking for more day dresses, as well as work dresses. I have plenty of wedding, cocktail style dresses, but not enough dresses to just feel feminine and confident in during the day. And I honestly LOVE dresses. I paired this dress with the 31Bits bracelet again, and my Michael Kors Nude Strappy Heels.

 

So, do you think I kept it all?

You bet I did! Which means I got 25% off my whole box, and 5 new pieces to add to my wardrobe. Everything fit like a glove, and I felt so confident and beautiful in everything. I can’t wait for my next fix in April, and see what Danya comes up with this time!

If you want to give StitchFix a try, please use my referral code by clicking here. I would love to see what you get in your fix, so tag me next time on instagram with @projectneon 🙂 Have fun! It’s worth it!

1 Week Til Oceanside 70.3

Wow! I can’t believe it’s already 1 week til my first race of the season. And not just my first race, but a BIG race. This has been the most unconventional training plan I have ever done, mostly due to the fact, that I have been flying by the seat of my pants, and following an “unstructured” training plan. After two ironmans in two months at the end of 2013 (Ironman Wisconsin in September and Ironman Arizona in November), I definitely was ready to not do any long stuff for awhile. But, of course, in my long distance high, I started signing up for other long races, like Oceanside Half Ironman and Ironman Whistler. And now, here I am, trying to have fun, and keep my motivation high, and still complete these two BIG races, before I take a break from long stuff for a bit.

At-home strength workout

Last week, was my least ideal week ever. I went to Pittsburgh to help my brother and his family move from their tiny condo into a house in the burbs. I was excited to help, and knew that there would be minimal training. And for some reason, I was OK with that. I want to live my life. And I don’t want anything to control the way I live my life. Triathlon isn’t supposed to disrupt life, it is supposed to enhance my life. 🙂 So…even though I was two weeks out from Oceanside, I flew to Pittsburgh, but I couldn’t not miss the opportunity to spend time with my siblings and see my 22 month old niece.

It’s cooooold in Pittsburgh!

Teddy and I after our run in the snow. Yes the snow!

I flew out there on Monday (no training), then did a hill repeat running workout on Tuesday, strength workout on Wednesday, treadmill run on Thursday, easy run Friday – and flew back on Friday night. Saturday longish ride, and today longish run. Yup. You saw that right, no swimming. eeeeek! oh well. I know I can swim 1.2 miles, we’ll just see how fast it will be. Probably not very. ha!

London and I making bubbles at the children’s museum.

Playing with color wheels

My sister’s and my portrait.

London building a city with blocks.

The weekend before I left for Pittsburgh, I did my first fun run, and had a blast. The truth is, I’m having a blast, not sticking to structure. I’m enjoying the chance of lifestyle, and really enjoying focusing on Project Neon, job hunting for a social media job (cough cough, if you have heard of anything, let me know ;)), as well as hanging out with friends and seeing family.

Hanging out with the kids.

Teddy is one of the most amazing dogs ever. He doesn’t bark, like ever, and is so loving and playful.

So, here I am, 1 week from Oceanside 70.3, and my first race in the 30-34 age group. (hahaha. yea the 30-34 age group). One of the most competitive women’s age groups. But at the end of the day, it is truly all about having fun, and that is why I do this. Do I want to improve? Yes. Of course, because that’s fun too! So, last time I did this race, was in 2012, and I finished in 5:28:58. I guess, we’ll see how it goes this weekend, but hopefully even with all the fun, I will still beat that time. 🙂

Froyo to celebrate the first day of spring, of course!

A Balancing Act

Life this past week was a balancing act. A balance between doing what I should be doing, and doing what I want to be doing. But, truly, why can’t they be the same thing? Shouldn’t we be doing what we want to be doing? If you ask me, the answer is an obvious….YES!

So, I did do, what I wanted to be doing, because it is what I should be doing. 🙂

The beginning of the week started with some rest, because I was fighting a cold. Then, I hit my workouts hard. Then rested again, because my workouts wore me out. Then my best friend from college came to visit, and I spent every moment, focusing on spending time with her, catching up, and making memories.

I started out by letting my inner child out…

I jumped off rocks for fun!

Woohoo!

There were lots of smiles 🙂

I got my butt kicked by a Sandstorm…

But at least I looked cute in my Coeur Team Kit and my Oakley Women’s Immerse sunglasses. 🙂

I got brunch with one of my old personal training clients from Chicago! I hadn’t seen Nikolina in 2 years, and it was sooooo much fun to catch up. Next time stay longer 🙂

Nikolina and I at Honey’s, one of my fave brunch places.

Then Betsy came to town!!!!

We started off with a lagoon loop run! Obviously 🙂

Life really is a balancing act.

Post run on the beach

We then hit up my absolute favorite café in all of San Diego….The Naked Café. Betsy and I ate brunch here 7 years ago, when we went on a 6 week road trip all around the U.S.

We love this place!

We then made our way to Torrey Pines for some hiking!

Besties ❤

Play time in the water!

One of the best views in all of San Diego.

It was then girl’s night out. We met up with my friend Jené and Kelly at Bier Garden for some beers and dinner. And I got to wear out one of my new favorite StitchFix items, this tank. ❤

Ignore the evil eyes

Always acting goofy

Since, Betsy is a foodie, it was time to introduce her to the famous Acai Bowl. So, brunch outside at Swami’s it was.

One of the best meals, San Diego has to offer. Refreshing, filling, and delicious!

The last time I went perusing local shops was…????? It was so nice to just window shop, and/or purchase a few fun things. So, we strolled and just enjoyed some time post-brunch looking in stores.

I bought this cute frame for my room. So…true!

I love this!

And then after some fun strolling…we hit up the beach. Again, last time I just laid out and enjoyed the sun was in the BVI…it was time to do it at home! Enjoy all that San Diego has to offer!

I love the beach!

Jené joined us, and of course, we had to take the GoPro out for some action shots!

After a day in the sun, it was time to show Betsy our famous San Diegan sunsets, and of course celebrate with a little red wine. 🙂

Sunset and wine. Yes please.

Oh…forgot to mention….Miss Seal…she washed up on shore to do some Molting…which is shedding….and because of the latest storm, she somehow ended up being separated from her fellow seals, as they usually all molt together. Poor Seal. 😦

Sunday morning, we went to brunch at Honey’s, and I indulged in an artichoke, chicken sausage omelette. YUM!

Tasty!

After dropping Betsy off at the airport, I headed back to the beach, to top off the weekend of some fun in the sun! I couldn’t resist. Training was just going to have to wait til Monday.

 

 

Although, I did get some beach running in, just a tad. 🙂

In love with my new reversible bikini by Maaji Swimwear.

My favorite purchases from the weekend.

Last night’s sunset, reminded me of how in love with life I am.

And this morning’s quote….was a great way to kick off this week!

Cheers to last week, The Balancing Act. Ready to put in a hard week of training to continue my prep for Oceanside 70.3! Hope everyone had a great week!

In Need of a Change

After playing college soccer, and running four marathons (St. Louis 2x, Chicago, and Boston), I was instantly drawn toward Ironman. It started off as a “bucket list” item, but I ended up falling in love with the lifestyle, the challenges, etc. Yet, somehow I have fallen into the habit of only thinking of myself as an Ironman athlete, not necessarily a “triathlete”. After the LONGEST season ever last year, and doing two ironmans within two months, with a bad crash in between, I took a much needed 6 week break. Some days not being active at all, and some days mountain biking for 2hrs, or going for a run. After my break, and when training was about to start again, I realized that I’m just not ready for the LONG hours. But I definitely don’t want to do absolutely nothing. Am I signed up to do Oceanside 70.3? Yes. Am I signed up to do Ironman Canada in Whistler at the end of July? Yes. BUT. Honestly, what I want to focus on is short course right now. I feel like I’ve lost a lot of my speed, and right now the idea of sitting on my bike for 5-6hrs does not sound exciting, like at all.

Am I burnt out from triathlon? No. Not at all. Am I ready for a change? Yes! It’s funny how sometimes we just have to change the way we look at something. I like having different focuses, and changing things up. I get bored, if I’m not changing, and honestly, right now, all I really want to do is speed stuff, and short stuff. It seems fun, and challenging in a different way. I like the way my muscles feel after an intense short workout. They are sore. Like actually sore. Not tired and fatigued. But, I mean truly sore. It’s a fun and different feeling, than what I’ve been used to the past three years.

Ultimately, this is life, and we should LOVE what we are doing, every day. Yes, are there sometimes things we don’t want to do, but do them anyway? Of course. But seriously, if I don’t feel like riding my bike all day, then I’m not going to. Triathlon is a choice, and it should be fun! I want to keep it that way. I got started in it because I liked the challenge, and it was really fun to see my improvements each week. And I want to keep seeing improvements, but I don’t just want to see improvements with my ironman time. I want to see it with sprint, and olympic, and also, 10ks and half marathons. After Ironman Whistler, I plan on spending the second half of the year, having a little more play time, and doing a run focus. This is where my passion lies. I truly love to run, and I want to get fast. But most importantly, I’m over long stuff right now. It took me a while to accept it. I thought I just needed time, and I think I do. I’m sure I will do an Ironman again (I mean I have one in July), but for me, I think it might be an every other year kind of thing, after Whistler. And in between, focus on shorter stuff and speed. It gives me time to do other things as well. I’ve been hiking Torrey Pines, which usually I’m too tired to do. And going to the beach. And I want to mountain bike more, and go to yoga classes, and have time to drink wine with friends, and go out dancing, and not be too tired. I’ve written about balance before, and this is my balance. Sometimes focusing on one thing, and sometimes focusing on another.

I honestly have soooo much respect for those people who do multiple ironmans every single year, year after year. It takes a special kind of person to do that. For me, I just like having flexibility and structure, all at once, ha! I’m constantly conflicted, and constantly changing my mind about flexibility and structure. Sometimes I want it, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I want to do short stuff, sometimes I want to do long.

So, what am I trying to say? Do what makes you happy. And that can change from time to time, and that’s OK. 🙂

Quote by Marissa Mayer