The Big Move

So as you may or may not know, I work with my family at our company The Safety Zone. Our headquarters has been in a little town called Essex for the past 20 or so years. When it was time for me to purchase my home/farm, I went looking for a place within 15 minutes of work so I could easily stop home at lunch time to check on all the animals. My commute to work was only 7 minutes. Lovely for a non-morning person like myself!
Well, our company has been growing and growing. Definitely a great thing! We had grown so much that our purchasing department had to move to another building which was in different town. Eventually, we had outgrown our warehouse space. So when a VERY LARGE building went up for sale, my dad jumped at the opportunity. We bought the new space about two years ago and have been using the warehouse for around a year. The offices required a lot of renovating, and I was actually starting to think the move would never happen (yay!). But it did. My new commute is thirty minutes. Not really too bad in the grand scheme of things, but it is a bit tight at lunch time. Also with the shorter days, it makes riding in the daylight a bit of a race. Oh well, the things you do for growth!
The new place is gorgeous though, and I actually feel more productive in it. It's especially nice to have everybody in one building. Purchasing, sales, and even the main warehouse managers. Ahhh centralization!
Here are some photos of my moving adventure:
The old place:

Entrance

Inside Door

My office

My office

My office (packing)

My office empty

And the new!

New Entrance

Loading dock

Inside Door (our logo even got a facelift!)

Lobby

My office

My office

My office

My office

View from my office

Training Room

The move was really painless for me. Probably less so for IT though! I was impressed with how organized everything was. We packed in our free time during the week, and were told to place our things on one of 3 skids in the warehouse. The skids were then brought over by one of our truck drivers and brought to our new work spaces. We were asked to report to the new building on either Saturday or Sunday afternoon (whichever worked best for us) to get set up. By Monday morning we were mostly up and running. From a customer stand point the move was seamless, most didn't even know it had happened! As with any move there were some hiccups in getting the tech stuff working, but overall it was very smooth.
Have you ever had a major office move? Had to adjust to a longer commute?

Thursdays Threads

Happy Thursday everyone! Time for another episode of Thursday's Threads! Woohoo! I have two outfits for you today, because (this is shocking, you may want to sit down) I went for a run this morning! And since I have new sneakers, I wanted to show them off. So we'll start with my rootd (Run Outfit Of The Day, duh):

The top is from Aeropostale and the shorts you may remember from my TJ Maxx online post. They give me a bubble butt, but are so comfy I don't even care. But the best part? My new SNEAKERS!

They are Mizuno Wave Sayonara and I think I may be in love (sorry Newtons). These were on sale at DSW AND I had a coupon code, plus they were having a promotion. So I wound up paying around $60 for them, which is half off the normal price tag. GOOD DEAL. Unfortunately, sizes were pretty limited, so I had to get my normal shoe size instead of a half size up like I normally do for running shoes. I think for long runs I will need the larger size, but these were PERFECT for my 3 miler this morning. No leg pain at all. Yay for new shoes! And I love the color.

Ok, so I'm sure you're dying to know what I wore to work today. We recently relocated our offices, and I now have a longer commute which left me with not a ton of time to pick an outfit. Add to that the in-between weather, and I pretty much gave up trying to do anything too exciting. Here's what I wound up with:

Not too exciting, but not bad! Let's start up and work down.

Top:  Max Studio

I LOVE how drapey this neckline is. It always falls perfectly when I put it on. (Not so much when I try and fold it... but hey you can't have it all.) The neutral color is fun for all three season too, (short sleeves don't work for winter obviously) as you can pair it with pastels for spring, brights for summer, and naturals for Autumn. I think I found this one at Marshalls. It gets lots of use!

Belt: Hermes Inspired

I think maybe I've shown this one before? Hard to recall. Anyway, I got it on Ebay from Japan. It's a deep hunter green, genuine leather belt with a gold tone H for a buckle. I sometimes wish the belt was thicker, but otherwise it's one of my favorites. (Probably because it's green.)

Pants: Tinseltown

Last year I got stuck in FL for an extra day during my vacation (POOOOR ME!) and needed something other than blue jeans to wear for dinner. So I wandered around the mall and found these. Barely a step above blue jeans but when paired with a nice sweater, they're more in line with khaki's. I think the blue on the edges is kind of fun and is actually darker and more muted than it shows in this photo.

Shoes: Sperry Top Sider

OBVIOUSLY I have Sperry's to match my pants perfectly... Ha! I love Sperry's. Last count I think I'm up to 12 pair. Oops. They're all different at least!

Arm Party:
Left:

My new desk doesn't make a great background for arm party photos... I'm going to have to work on that. Lefty is wearing that fun stretch bangle with the green rhinestone balls on it, my new favorite Gucci bracelet from Ebay, a braided Nakamol friendship bracelet, and of course, my trusty watch.

Right:

I was all, "I'm just wearing one on each wrist today" until I dug out the Nakamol. The first three are all Nakamol and from Little Black Bag. That rhinestone beauty is by Shashi and I think I bought it on Gilt.

So that's it for today! What's your favorite item? I can't pick a favorite... it's a toss up between the top, the sneakers, the Sperry's, the belt and the Gucci bracelet! What are you wearing?

Truthful Tuesday

My confession today is that I've been semi-neglecting this blog. I'm sure you're aware since I haven't given you much to read. I don't have a good excuse other than being a little bit busy, and adapting to a new schedule. But I promise to get back to more posts soon.
Do you ever get writer's block? Neglect your blog? Do your readers stay loyal?
While you ponder these questions (and comment below!) I shall leave you with a pictorial of my life as of late. Later in the week I'll tell you all about my office move!

Sunday RUNday!

Well... it's been about 3 weeks (possibly longer) since I last laced up the Newtons. My runs had been HORRIBLE. Like, really bad. So, so bad. And that does not lead one to want to go back for more. But the scale and my pants keep trying to tell me otherwise.  So finally I listened to my pants and went out for an evening run.
You may or may not remember that I love giving myself rules for my runs. Some days it's speed rules, some days it's distance. Today's rules were simple: run three miles with no walking. I didn't care how long it took, but that's what I needed to get done. Just in case I might be tempted to try and run faster than I'm currently capable of, I left my Garmin home. I even left my headphones home.
You know what? It was soooo nice to hear the peepers and the birds. And it was even better to have no idea just how slow I was actually running. I used my Charity Miles App to keep track of distance but it doesn't track time. PERFECT! And I was even more happy to have left the headphones behind because there was a guy playing the banjo on the beach. Seriously. (My town is awesome.)
My first mile felt surprisingly nice. The weather was perfect, mid 70's and no humidity. Most of that first mile is nice and flat. When I got to the little hill that I had been walking in my recent runs, I told myself to slow down and keep going. Up and over I went, slow as molasses and feeling pretty good! The whole run felt decent, and when I started to struggle I just slowed down my pace, but kept running. Before I knew it, I was back home. Finally!  A decent run! Hopefully the first of many. I think for awhile at least, I'm going to leave the Garmin at home, and just get the distances done as slow as I need to.
Do you have any tricks to help get back into running? Have you taken a hiatus ever? WHY IS RUNNING SO HARD?!

Thursdays Threads

 

Well readers, we've reached that awkward in between season. Not quite Autumn, but it's after Labor Day. Makes it pretty tough to pick an outfit! It's too hot out for fall clothes, but really summery items aren't appropriate either. So this week's outfit is pretty weak.

Yep. Jeans and a nice t-shirt. WEAK! Eh, what are you gonna do? At least I wore something. Let's look closer:

Top: Michael Kors

I love the little zipper details on the shoulders. This top will be adorable with my MK boots that have the same zipper on them. Alas, it was too warm today for boots.

Pants: Seven

It's not that clear in the photo, but the stitching on these jeans is gold. Which makes them slightly fancy. Slightly. They're high on my like list, but they're too short for certain shoes. They work ok with very flat shoes, or with tall boots where you can't tell. They work moderately well with boat shoes. Which is what I paired them with today!

Shoes: Rock & Candy

Funny story about these... I had bought a lovely pair of gold LEATHER boat shoes from Steve Madden. And after wearing them maybe three times, the soles started falling off. Steve Madden wouldn't send me a new pair. They would only credit me what I had paid for them, and I had to order a new pair. Which would be fine except I had gotten them on sale with free shipping, which meant I'd be paying more to replace the defective ones. Not ok with me. So I went interweb hunting for a new pair of gold boat shoes and found these. They're faux leather, which you all know is not really my favorite. Despite that, they are very comfy, adorable, and haven't fallen apart in the almost two years I've had them. Win!

Arm Party:

Kept it tame today! Righty up there at the top has two bracelets from Fornash. (I love that they have equestrian inspired pieces, always a fave for me!) Lefty has a zipper bracelet, you know to keep up with the zipper theme from the shirt! I wish they were shiny gold instead of this bronzey color, but you can't have it all. Of course, I am also wearing my trusty watch.

So that's it for today! What are you wearing? Are you having trouble with the seasonal identity crisis too?

 

Truthful Tuesday

Just sneaking this post in, Tuesday is nearly over! Sorry for my tardiness today. Anyway, today's confession is pretty funny.
I love potato chips. SO MUCH. I've tried making my own before with minimal success (I don't own a fryer, so that's a little tricky). But last spring I saw this item online:

What is it, you ask? It's a tray meant for making chips in the microwave (and it comes with a little mandolin)! According to the directions you just slice your potato (or veggies or whatever) and lay them out on the tray. Don't overlap them. You don't need any oil or anything, and the chips should be ready in about 3 minutes. See why I had to get this? Perfect for a chip addict like me. Lower in fat since there's no oil, and FAST!
So I finally decided to try it out. I used potatoes, zucchini, and squash. My first batch came out ok, but didn't crisp up enough. I'm not sure if they needed more time, or if I should have left them to sit in the microwave for a bit before putting them on a plate. But here's where my complete ineptitude in the kitchen comes out...
Batch #2 beeped to tell me it was done. When I opened the microwave door I heard a huge POP! Uh-oh.... I had placed the tray on a ceramic plate. The plate must have gotten too hot as it broke into three pieces. You would think this would maybe lead me to think I should let the microwave cool off wouldn't you? Nope. I removed the shards of plate and popped in batch #3. Just on the turntable this time, no plate. Batch three comes out, and is definitely the best one. Only when I walked back to close the door, I see that the plastic under rim that used to be attached to the tray is now melted onto the turntable. Oops.
Lesson here folks: If your plate explodes, your microwave is really hot. Let it cool off before nuking more food! I wish I had taken some photos to share with you but I didn't....
Anyway, despite all the destruction, the trays work pretty well, best with potatoes I think. The veggies came out either a little soggy or a little overdone. I think maybe I need to slice them a bit thicker and let the cook a little longer. I may or may not try again...
Have any of you made chips? Any success? Should I just buy them like a normal person? If you want to try these trays out, you can get them on Amazon here.

Blog Tour: Writing Process Edition

I couple weeks ago, I was asked by Jennifer from Runs With Pugs to participate in a blog tour about writing process. I'm always excited to be included in a link-up, so read on to see what's involved in creating Amateur At Large posts!

First off though, when you're done reading this, wander on over to Runs With Pugs. Jennifer takes you along on her running journeys in a very relatable way. Currently she is training for her first marathon! But you'll also get to read about her amazing pugs and adorable family. They do so many fun things, I KNOW you'll enjoy her blog as much as I do!

Now, on to the tour!

1. What am I working on?
Well... We're at the end of a long weekend, so I'm starting to think about my weekend recap. Tomorrow is also Truthful Tuesday, so I need to start thinking about what I'm willing to admit this week. And lastly, I am REALLY hoping to get back to running, so I will hopefully have some running posts coming soon!

2. How does my work differ from others of it's type/genre?
My blog is a little different in that it can't be lumped into a single genre. I blog about my interests. ALL OF THEM. So I can't say it's a running blog, or horse show blog, or a fashion blog. It's all of those things... I call it a lifestyle blog!

3. Why do I write what I do?
This is a good question! I often wonder the same thing. Does anyone actually care what I did last weekend? Or what I wore to work on Thursday? Hard to say, but I know some of you come back pretty regularly! I personally love reading about other bloggers interests and activities, so I like to think people enjoy reading about mine. It also serves as a journal of sorts for me. It's nice to have a record/written memory of certain events and happenings. Also, for the running side, it used to keep me accountable. If I posted about an upcoming run, I made sure to get it done! (Clearly I need to get back to that....)

4. How does your writing process work?
Hahahaha.... maybe this answer should be my Truthful Tuesday post... I don't have a very specific process. I have certain things I write about on certain days. Some weeks I put a lot of thought into the content, and others not as much. Generally though, I just start writing. Most often when I'm at work during a slow moment. (Shhhhh, don't tell the boss!) I write the post, illustrating with photos as I go along. Once done, I view the post preview and check for typos and/or errors. And that's about it!

As part of the blog tour, I have asked three fellow bloggers to participate as well! After you visit Runs With Pugs, be sure to check these other blogs too!

1. All Things Candid
My friend Lizzie (we go WAAAAAYYYY back) writes All Things Candid. Lizzie lives in the best city in the world (NYC in case you couldn't figure that one out) and is one of the most cultured people I know. She'll take you along to art exhibits, offer gift ideas, and other culturally advanced things to do and see. Don't feel frightened if your a bumpkin like me, Lizzie doesn't make you feel uncultured!

2. Running a Ragnar
My riding and running buddy Katie is the author of Running a Ragnar. Her blog started out as a way for her teammates to keep in touch while preparing to run a Ragnar relay, but it has morphed into a fitness and healthy living blog. Katie recently located from New England to Utah, so her blog is currently full of beautiful scenery and outdoor adventures. Be sure to hop on over there!

3. Undercover Diva: A Sitcom
I haven't met Rachel in real life, but her blog Undercover Diva is definitely one of my favorite reads! I discovered her via Runs with Pugs, and tune in regularly to see what new adventure Rachel is experiencing. She writes about running, travel, and her amazing new job in the Bahamas working with marine life. Definitely head over to her blog, you won't be disappointed! (Seriously. She lives in the Bahamas and gets paid to play with turtles.)

I hope you enjoyed learning about my blogging process. Do you have a similar process? Do you plan way ahead and/or write out posts ahead of publishing time? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!