hi kelly

Two Meatballs: It’s a Hair Sherbet Kind of Day!!!

August 18, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,#nodhair, can't stop won't stop, dreamsicle hair, hair painting, hairdresser love, hi kelly, inspiration, Mod Cloth, never stop learning, new bff's, new look new you, Nicole Obert, pastel hair, pregnant with creativity, razor cutting, samuel cole salon, Wella, Wella Education, Wella Magmatwomeatballsgetfit View all 4 comments

Hiiiiiiiii guyyyyyys!!!! With all of the changes going on in my life, I have learned that I have very little control! And slowly but surely, I am finding pleasant peace with that. Right now the only thing I really felt like I have a modicum of say in is my look! Which is for sure the funnest thing to be in charge of!!! #thebrandcalledyou I have overhauled my hair, makeup, clothing(if you haven’t shopped at Mod Cloth drop everything and buy everything) and glasses to project more of how I feel and who I am even if I’m not feeling back to my normal self which is…sunny, bright and a mermaid.

I am a My Little Pony and all my dreams have come true! #peach #modcloth

Now that I’ve taken the plunge, it’s even more exciting to figure out what is next!

The possibilities seem endless and I’m super open to voting!!!! Lately I’ve also been dreaming a lot and most of my dreams have involved me being in various stages of pregnancy! Eeeeek #scawwwwwy So my good buddy Robyn googled it (the most trusted source for all of my most pressing matters) and as it turns out, dreaming of pregnancy means that you are craving creativity!!! Well aren’t I the luckiest of girls…because every single day of my life is an opportunity to be creative! I’m literally surrounded by the most inspiring people!!!

I’ve had so many great opportunities to take it as far as I wanted and to learn incredible things from the coolest people in my 13 year career at Samuel Cole!

I love it all, the pretty, the ugly, the editorial, the drunk socialite!!! Sometimes you take for granted how amazing your career and life are. And with my split schedule between hairdressing and mentoring, I sometimes get so into cheerleading that I forget how cool my life on the floor is. So a stroll down memory amazing opportunity lane is always a blessing.

So, today was the perfect day to meet a new bestie/hair soul mate and learn more of exactly what I’m obsessed with right now!!!

We had the absolute pleasure of having Nicole Obert in the salon. Jenny and I love class so much, we are front row girls for sure and what an awesome view we got today!!! #earlybirdgetsthebestviewofgenius

Nicole is a Wella baby, she is Tabitha Coffey’s hairdresser, she has worked alongside Vaughn, Arrojo and so many other heavy hitters in our industry as well as placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Wella Trend Vision. But you may recognize her from Season 2 of Shear Genius…only the greatest show to come out of Bravo….ever. Besides all of that, she is the cutest, most beautiful and super talented stylist and educator. I love her energy and right away she had you hooked. I mean look how adorable!

I had the pleasure of introducing her and we had a lively bunch today!

Nicole brought to our salon today the things that have been inspiring her! We learned a beautiful, layerey razor cut that is life changing, a bad ass shave undercut that is everything

and we also learned a lot about Wella’s revamped Magma which is used to create this!!!

You had me at watermelon and sherbet!!! Her consultations were on point and collaborative which you know i love, her demos were amazing and I walked away with a hundred take aways!!!!

Her hair painting was flawless

and she was adamant that we all participate which is so exciting in a presentation only class!

Every hairdresser just wants to get their hands in hair!!!

And look at these finished products!!!

I am feeling soooooooooo pumped and engaged and ready to create even more beautiful hair!!! Thank you so much Nicole, you were an absolute pink dream (did you see what I did there?!) Lets be friends forever!!! Can’t wait to have you back in the salon. To my clients, friends and family…get into the salon and lets play!!! If you aren’t ready to join my mermaid movement, I’m telling you that razor cut with the face framing is everything! Xoxo, come play with us!!!

Two Meatballs: It Takes a Village!

August 13, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,Aspire Group, good looks, group activities, hi kelly, innovative fitness training, kelly last night was so fun i love every second of hanging out with you #mynewcomfort, MAC, my favorite providers, North Hills Internal Mediciane, pure barre, samuel cole salon, self care, strong teams build strong women, Structural wisdom, team team team, terri urban, these are a few of my favorite things, Verve Holistic Healthtwomeatballsgetfit View all 3 comments

You guys, I love a team. Everything about it appeals to me; the collaboration, learning to work with and respect others who approach things differently than you, being inspired by others talents, learning new things, having a project and working together towards a shared goal, getting to know people better and getting to know myself better in the process and how the entire process brings you closer together if everyone is open! I am a true extrovert and I get my energy refilled by being with others. I’m getting inspired just talking about it. #teamworkmakesthedreamwork

So I basically ended up in the most amazing career, at the best salon with the best opportunity for me to help craft a position as the director of mentoring. It is such a collaborative job. I work with stylist to help them achieve all of their work dreams, while being coached and constantly learning from my own mentor! I get to cheerlead for an awesome group of talented stylists. #patonthebackkickinthebutt We get to tackle obstacles together, celebrate the victories, laugh, cry, get promoted, overcome adversity and we both learn so much in the process. I want for my team to feel lifted up and supported when they leave my “office”. I am beyond grateful to have found my calling at 19 and to still love my career at 32. #thankskristina There will always be room for me to learn, grow, serve others and change for the better and I can’t get enough of that. I also feel like I get to share this team/cheerleader mentality with the education team at the salon and even my clients. #solucky My relationship with my clients has become so much more than hairdresser/client. We know each other so intimately. I want for my clients to come in and feel fully taken care of on every level and I want them to be thoroughly entertained. No matter their mood when they come in I want them to leave feeling loved, feeling better and looking fabulous. We work together to achieve the most beautiful look that makes them feel amazing! But on a deeper level, we really connect. I love being there for my clients through the good and the not so good, all of life big events and I feel like they are there for me too. I have a care takers soul and a giving, teaching heart and I love this group of amazing people I get to be surrounded with everyday. Talk about grateful.

My client Lisa whom I adore posed this question to me today…Soooooo, who do you go to when you want to feel better?! What a great question Lisa! #xoxo #gingerandmaryanne #impersonationsinging #imjayz If you read the blog regularly, you know that I seek out my bosses Jack and Joelles advice/counseling/free hugs/bangs counseling on the reg! I also go to my family and friends when in need. But she meant who do I seek out professionally…duh!? So, I’m so excited to share the incredible team of people who make me feel better and make me feel like a client!

First, I see a woman named Terri for structural integration and energy healing. This lady is the love of my life. We are so different but kindred spirits on every level. I trust her and look forward to every single torturous/enlightening/uplifting/discovery driven session because I know she will make me feel better in every way possible (mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually). She does so much more than move my connective tissue back where it’s supposed to be! www.structuralwisdom.com I would highly recommend her if you are open to all that life has to teach you.

Terri also moonlights at my next health mecca…Verve Holistic Health. She referred me to the owner, Lauren Scott who is hands down the most passionate holistic health care provider. She is a chiropractor by trade, but she has taught me more about nutrition and living a healthy life all around than anyone else I’ve encountered. She knows her shit. She can look at me and say, titled pelvis and, damned if I don’t have a tilted pelvis! I love her next level care.

Terri also referred me to Hedy at Verve Holistic Health. I love that my people all live in the same space! I just saw Hedy for the first time this week. She gave me an incredibly in depth consultation and looked deeply into every aspect of my health. We worked specifically on my lungs with acupuncture and cupping. All three of these women indulge all of my curiosity, they all answer my questions and explore deeper with me and I love the idea of moving into a more holistic path for my health and wellness!

I can’t say enough about these wonderful women. This is a deeper connection than just looking at my chart and working on me. www.raleighholistic.com

When I do need a physical or a good ol’ doctors visit, I see my beloved client Heidi Doyle at North Hills Internal Medicine. She is lovely. She also indulges all of my questions and I feel like she really works with me and makes things personal. I love you Heidi!

(919) 855 8911

When my feelings hurt worse than my body, I see my therapist! You guys, this woman is so positive. I think it is so important to click with any provider. I’m looking for high end client experience everywhere I go and I just love Christine! She is so positive. The perspective that she gives me is so mind blowing because of its simplicity. I feel more balanced and accepting of life and myself when I leave her. I wish that I could sit in her lap while she listened to me, but I understand that other people have space issues! Hahahah. Also, she has an adult coloring book in her waiting room…make your appointment like yesterday. I believe every single person should have someone that is impartial in their lives to listen to them. Very rarely do we get to talk about ourselves in a safe environment and have someone truly listen to us. It is cathartic as hell.

http://www.aspiregroupnc.com

You know our friend and trainer, Sandra well! She has helped us feel so great and helped us learn how to move our bodies and feel so powerful. I know so much more about healthy exercising now than i ever did, plus she is so fun and funny and really motivating! Being with her is a gift and anyone who helps you build a strong body is def an allay!

http://www.innovativefitnesstraining.com

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know I’m obsessed with Pure Barre. I needed a lower impact alternative to high intensity interval training and Pure Barre is the living funnest. Also, as you know, I love a team. And this team of women is wonderful and encouraging and fun and funny and just the best! The bumping’ music is a total bonus! Love my new family!

(919) 846 7090

Feeling well is so important and this is my bad ass group of women who make me feel unstoppable! But sometimes a girl just wants to look amazing, which in turn makes you feel amazing! So when I want to feel more beautiful than I could ever imagine, I go see Krystal Lehman at MAC in Crabtree Valley Mall! She is an artist and a genius and I trust her implicitly. And she has a higher level of service, not only can she make me look beautiful when I come in, she took the time to teach me how to make myself feel as good everyday! She has taught me so much about makeup and application. I literally cannot say enough things about this woman. I love her and consider her a lovely friend of 10 plus years!

(919) 789 8757

Let me just say again, I work with the most talented group of people! I am happy when I leave anyones chair and just excited to feel like a client for a minute. Lately I have been on a hair color adventure. No time like the present and lately I have wanted nothing more than to be a mermaid! So my first thought was my teammate and love, Cara Harrison. She first took me platinum and now pinky purple.

I trust her. Her talent speaks for itself. And we’ve known each other since high school, so i love the history we have together! I literally couldn’t love my hair more, and who has ever looked so natural as a pink head!? #dreamsdocometrue #dear7yearoldsarayou’relifeisnowcomplete She is an incredibly well rounded stylist. I do hair for a living and have for the past 13 years and she still teaches me knew things all the time, especially when it comes to different products for my angry but fine hair. She excels at everything; cut, color, style, editorial, education, leadership…you name it, she’s got it!

(919) 845 0098

I love getting my nails done and I love spending time with my baby boo, sweet Lee! She works right next door at Bella Nail Spa and I know every 2 weeks I will get a chance to sit calmly and be a client. It’s creative, I love picking out my color and what I love the most is that Lee will tell me if she thinks its ugly and then suggest one that I inevitably love 1 million times more. She is fast, efficient and so friendly. I love her, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy seeing her so often. I love supporting our little group of businesses as well! #shoplocalwinkyface

I used to have a picture of Lee but I can’t for the life of me find it! Call her, go see her!

(919) 846 8286

And finally, I just started going to Good Looks two doors down from us. I needed an eye exam and I love convenience. I was pleasantly surprised that I love this place since it is so convenient! I ended up getting glasses that were perfect for me thanks to the amazing Larry Pyle! I don’t even wear glasses, I am a contact lover! But this gentleman went above and beyond and his honesty was lovely. He helped me see that the glasses that I loved were the right shape but that the color totally washed me out. He showed me how another pair brought down my face. So finally we ended on the living most perfect pair of glasses that my face has ever seen!

I’m such a child I had to come back over to the salon and show my bestie, and she is so fun she had to try them on. #matchmadeinheaven

The entire team was amazing and I highly recommend that you visit our neighbor!

(919) 977 0303

Hope this was helpful and obvi I think you should see everyone on this list immediately! All of these people make me feel great! We love you all! Xoxox

Two Meatballs: Ohhh, I Have Those Voices Too!

August 12, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,being sick doesn't make me a bad person, changing it up, flexible boundaries, hi kelly, joelle you are my lobster, living with grace, permission to accept life, positivity, sara just listen to yourself, stop putting yourself downtwomeatballsgetfit View all 11 comments

Sara here! I wrote a post last year called Two Meatballs: These Voices in My Head and it is one of the posts that I feel so passionately about. If you haven’t read it, well obvi you should winky face, but it’s about the dialogue in our heads. The way we talk to ourselves, pick apart our bodies, destroy our own self esteems. I think women, and I’m sure plenty of men really tear themselves apart and I want so desperately to change that. To quote Beyonce, “And you can say what you want, I’m the shit. I want everyone to feel like this!!!”

#flawless #preachbey

And the general tone of the post was, you would never say those things to your friends, why would you ever say that to yourself!?! So, lately with my health issues I have learned a lot about myself and how that post directly and unexpectedly applies to me. I wrote that post with the tone of feel sexy, feel confident, love yourself first!!! Which I genuinely feel every single day.

#unicornhair #mylitttlepony #marieantoinettemermaid

So I never really thought it applied to me. But it has been brought to my attention lately that I really need to change the way I talk to myself relating to my health. How did I discover this!? After another weekend lost due to a violent allergic reaction to my new miracle drug for my lungs, I hit a spiritual rock bottom. Also, when the same message keeps popping up from all the people whose opinions you truly trust, it has to be a sign. When I am sick, I compound my illness with overwhelming guilt. I feel like I should be able to just suck it up and do what needs to get done; whether it be work, working out, cooking, reaching a deadline, attaining a goal, plans I’ve made that I don’t want to cancel. I set high expectations and I can be incredibly black and white. I don’t like when a plan gets derailed and I, unlike my gps, have a very difficult time rerouting and not beating myself up. My health has been in a state of distress for the last 7 months on and off but mostly on; full of unknowns and no guarantees! And instead of being kind to myself (one of the things I actually have control over) and taking care of myself I have worked myself into a shame, guilt cycle that is completely self imposed and quite destructive. I’ve set unrealistic expectations of what is possible, reasonable or acceptable. I am so hard on myself, I have a bootcamp mentality and I can be very militant with my goals. I think during my formidable years I subconsciously decided to quiet what I perceived as weaker emotions and created a louder/stronger exterior to overcompensate for my fragile health. #fakeittilyoumakeit

But what would happen if I chose to listen to my own genius words and I was a little more gentle with myself, a little more positive, a little more understanding, hell…a little more realistic!? What if I accepted myself for who I am and gently worked on the things that need work? What would change if I didn’t have expectations? What if I had goals, then made a plan, then allowed room for life to happen? What if I had flexible boundaries with myself instead of hard and fast brick walls? And I can answer all of these questions. It would take all of the unnecessary pressure off! And you know what else it would do!? It will definitely make me feel better emotionally, but it will even contributed to my physical well being. To quote Carrie Bradshaw, I could’t help but wonder…I was already sick, but was I making myself feel even worse with my own harsh thoughts?! Hell yes! Oh the epiphanies! Oh the freedom, oh the weight lifted, oh the permission to heal. These habits need to be worked on, It won’t change overnight. I never viewed this type of self talk as negative, bc after all I still felt good about myself. I was still confident. But talk about poisoning your own well!??!?!?!?! So here is what I have learned and am going to actively modify!

Right now it’s not about losing weight, It is about healing my body and getting myself well enough to reengage!
This doesn’t have to be or feel like a battle. I can think of it as a pleasant experience! I’m going to change my war time mentality!
This is no longer just my weight loss journey, it is my path to wellness; emotional, physical, mental and spiritual. #joelleyouareagenius #youbasicallyinspiredthisentirepost #iloveyou
I’m still going to the Grand Canyon*, my car just broke down and I keep trying to get back in my broken down car. #insertbrickwallbangheadrepeat
My down time needs to be more calming and zen. Even my exercise needs to be low impact right now.
Being sick does not make me a bad person. (I actually just started crying as I typed this because I don’t know if I’ve ever been kind enough to say that to myself and it was really comforting) (Positive talk is already working..genius!)
Crying doesn’t make me weak. I can have all the feelings. Feelings are just one of the spokes on my very large passion wheel.
Things could always be worse and I have so many things to be grateful for. I am so grateful everyday.
I have an amazing life. I think I finally really understand the bump in the road now. This is temporary and I will find people to help me improve my situation and quality of life while helping myself.
I have such an incredibly supportive and comforting, helpful, ride or die blanket of family and friends. I’m going to start treating me like they treat me.
I am a sensitive person on every level, in a way that I never really understood or wanted to accept before. Now I understand that my sensitivity is part of my understanding of others and my strength!
I’m going to try switch up my interpretation of the following phrases “Are you better?” “Are you feeling better” “How are you feeling today?” I attach so much personal expectation to each of those phrases. Instead, I’m going to reframe it in the terms of “How is today?” It takes the pressure off of me and my unknown end result. Today can be great or today can be not my favorite. So much more positive!
This isn’t going to be fixed overnight, Now is the time to learn to be patient with myself!
I have so much love in my heart for myself and all of you!

Thank you for letting me rant and share my life lesson. It always feels better to be truthful and I feel so much better when I discover something and then share it immediately! It is so cathartic. So just know if you are struggling to make yourself a priority or you need the strength to give yourself permission to accept your current situation and handle it with love and grace, please know you are not alone my sweet bunny. We all deserve our own love, patience and kindness. I am right there with you soaking up as much knowledge as I can on this beautiful scenic route to the Grand Canyon*. Sending you all my positivity and sunshine. Xoxo

*We had a life coach come in to the salon and she said what if you drove 4 straight days to the Grand Canyon and one mile outside of your destination, what if there was a giant boulder in your path? Would you turn around and just head home!? This really resonated with me. Noooooo, you would go around it, over it, under it if you had to but it would be ridiculous to turn around when you are so close. So whenever I struggle, I just think, I’m still headed to the GC, I just may need to find a new route…boulder be damned!

Two Meatballs: Health yeah!

August 6, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,balance, calm down dummy, hi kelly, no more steroids!, raleigh pulmonary and allergytwomeatballsgetfit View all 4 comments

This has been so surreal having pneumonia (the third time in a year and a half)….AGAIN! It felt like this!

This time around, the thought of another round of steroids and another 25 pound weight gain #ughimsofatagain and another 6 week recovery period sent me to straight into the arms of my adorable and wonderful new therapist! I realized that I needed help coping with the crushing weight (pun intended) of being sick again. In counseling, she helped me come to terms with my situation.

After talking it through she helped me see that it wasn’t that crazy that I had pneumonia again. I spent a good deal of my childhood hooked up to my Nebulizer and riddled with chronic bronchitis. Every time I got super active outside, the season changed, if I was around dust or mold, or I had any type of infection, it lead to bronchitis. This was frustrating as a kid because they tell you you need bed rest, and you really do with any kind of lung thing, but then they put you on a bunch of steroids that give you sooooooooooo much energy. I really resented being sick and incapable. As I got older, I just accepted it in a passive way. I took whatever medicine they gave me without question and just fixed the problems as they arose. But I never really looked deeper. I just thought, I’m kind of sickly and it has always been like this. Then I just ignored it completely and partied my way through my 20’s and early 30’s which brings me to today. When I get sick now, there is nothing to suppress it. I just want to feel better. I take the shots, I take the rounds of steroids, I take the nose spray, the narcotic cough syrup, the albuterol inhaler that makes me a total physical and emotional wreck. Everything has a steroid in it and the antibiotics wreck havoc on my body. But I have no other thoughts than getting through this exhaustion. I am incapable of being my happy, shiny self. Jenny called me a curmudgeon and its true. Existing takes all of my energy. Working out is off the table. Showering and working become all the activity I can handle. I actually ended up in the hospital this time. The doctors are always threatening to send me there if I don’t rest and after 11 hours of sleep one night I woke up Lindsay Lohan exhausted. It was scary. I felt like I had take 12 Tylenol PM’s and it was 9am. I could;t physically talk and work at the same time. Jenny took me, what an amazing friend she is! We went to Wake Med North and ended up in the waiting room for 3 hours! I felt so tired and unable to get an oxygen. They gave me an EKG just to make sure bc my chest was so tight!

I started getting really tickled on this last picture but I can’t remember why!? We finally got called back at midnight!

They gave me an IV and I tried to get comfy!

At 1 I begged Jenny to go home, she was so sweet to hang out with me! Thank you Jenny, love you so much!

As she was leaving we noticed a massive hole in the butt of her dress, we were dying!

I had to bustle it with a clothespin! Then they did blood work, X-rays and gave me 2 breathing treatments. I was really dehydrated and I wasn’t heeding the bed rest warning. They put me on more steroids and told me to stay the course with my meds and to get in the damn bed. They discharged me at 5am and I went home and slept for hours. But I was still so tired. The breathing treatments made me feel so much better physically though. I stayed put on my couch for the rest of the weekend and asked for help! My parents, sister and Jenny brought food and dvd’s and coloring books and hung out calmly and quietly. I started meditating and trying to really find the meaning of balance. And about a week later, I finally felt better. Six weeks had finally passed. Now what?!

So my therapist suggested the idea of accepting my current situation. My boss introduced the idea of accepting that I was doing everything that I could conceivably do to get better! Both of these things really helped! I also finally got a plan together, I called for a referral to a Pulmonary specialist! I love feeling like I am actively doing something. I’m not sure why I avoided this for so long. So, this past Friday was my appointment and I was nervous to hear what they had to say but pumped to find somebody that wanted to work with me to figure out the future. I can play a bigger role in this, accept that something is wrong and be more proactive!

They took me back promptly at my appointment time and a nurse walked me through several breathing tests. Then I met with another nurse who took my oxygen absorption levels and other stats and history. Then the specialist came in and we talked for a long time. Can I just say, I love her. Ultimately she decided that I have probably had undiagnosed asthma my entire life. That the chronic bronchitis and habitual pneumonia were more than likely an aggravated side affect of not treating my daily allergy induced asthma and get this you guys, I passed all of my breathing tests, above average! All this time I thought I had these wimpy, weak little lungs but I have the lungs of a champion! All I’m missing is the right daily medication and some precautions I can take on my own. She also told me I need to lose weight #umduh #readmyblogboo and that my job is not ideal. But she really explained everything to me and came up with an action plan that I’m pumped about. She started me on a daily pill that helps with allergies and asthma. Then she told me to use my inhaler twice daily and more if I need it. she also switched my nasal spray to a non steroid and took me off my inhaled steroid as well. She said I didn’t need them! I’m also supposed to avoid aerosols at all costs, get an air purifier, get some house plants, and try and exercise mostly indoors especially during the big season changes because I’m allergic to grass and trees! Ahhhhhhh!!!! She told me to try this for 8 weeks and if I don’t feel significantly better then we will try blood work for more extensive allergy testing, possible immunotherapy and possibly a sleep study! I feel like I have a plan and a new outlook on life. And at every turn, I find myself being confronted with the same concepts. Find balance, not such high highs and low lows of energy. Keep my energy on a lower playing field so that I can build up my reserves. Don’t cannon ball into the middle of the ocean…wade in from the shore. Be more in tuned with my body and its needs! Listen to it, head its warnings. And sometimes you have to accept your situation as is and don’t pile on with unhelpful things like guilt and shame! I honestly feel like I just got a new lease on life. I feel like I am actively helping myself stay more healthy and if I needed motivation to want to continue to lose weight and get healthy, this is certainly it! I celebrated with Jenny by returning to see Sandra after a long break! She was so great about letting us ease back in! It was exhausting but I brought my inhaler and gasp, listened to my body!

It felt so good to feel back in a routine and to move our bodies!

We love you Sandra, thanks for being patient with us!

I also finally made it back to Pure Barre. Honestly that is how I know I’ve really changed! I desperately wanted to be exercising again. I wanted to see my friends and hang out and feel good again!

I love this little community and all the support they have given us! Everything about this past 6 weeks has been a challenge but it has lead me to some amazing people and caused me to dig deeper in every way and I feel like I have come out on top. I feel like I am really about to spring board off and explode into this next phase…calmy of course! Winky face. I love all of you and can’t wait to see what new lessons are around the corner. Health mother fucking yeah!

Two Meatballs: G is for Grateful

July 14, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,30th birthday, accepting limitaions, calm, family bbq's, finding you inner peace, healing, hi kelly, i love you all, it takes the time it takes to get over pneumonia, kristina turns 35, meditaion, outdoor parties, peace, tears of joy, thank yous, therapytwomeatballsgetfit View all 6 comments

Dear Meatball readers, friends, family, coworkers, clients, Fleet Feet Employees, friends we haven’t met yet, strangers:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thursdays post about addiction was scary to publish. But you made me feel accepted, loved, warm and not alone. I actually feel like a huge weight has been lifted and I feel lighter than I have in a very long time. And you guys, have you tried therapy!?! It’s the most amazing thing. And look how cute this place is!

This is how excited I was to go!

I learned so much about myself and how important it is for my physical and mental health to find calm and to be present. She helped me see that my health issues (the pneumonia and these sad little lungs) are something I have to take seriously and I have to accept the limitations or I will be doomed to repeat them! I have an appointment with a pulmonary specialist at the end of the month which feels productive and powerful! I just couldn’t feel more positive and hopeful about this journey. So what better than to get together with my family which is my absolute favorite to celebrate my cousin Kristina’s birthday! She is the living best and the youngest looking 35 year old I’ve ever seen!

Look at these cute invitations that my mom made! We had the party at her house! And as always she decorated everything so adorably!

We had a cookout and everyone brought a dish!

I made fruit kabobs!

Chase and I played some serious Bolleyball as he called it! Everyone was having fun running around and playing outside!

Until it was so hot you had to find refuge inside! #simpsonsclue

My mom had a great idea to have all the families take a pic in a picture frame…look how cute!

Sooooo fun and what great pictures! Then it was time for the main event! Cake and presents and singing and all the good stuff!!!! Time to gather everyone on the porch!

Time to celebrate the wonderful human that is Kristina!

And of course the most amazing dessert that my mom made!

What a day!!! Kristina, you are such a wonderful person. You are so shiny and bright and happy and fun and funny and your laugh makes me so happy! You look so fantastic! You make 35 and motherhood look so amazing. You deserve to be celebrated all the time. I love you and I hope your birthday was as amazing as you have always been. Xoxo forever. I think Kelly put it best…sisters by choice!

After the night wound down and everyone left, the boys started begging me for a sleepover and Chase of all people instigated it which LITERALLY never happens, but we had been super best buddies alllllll day! We ok’ed it with Kelly and had such a fun night!

Fake bargaining!

Genuine excitement!!! I love my family so much! What a wonderful weekend with so many people I love! Love you all and thank you again!

Two Meatballs: Nanners Gets Hitched!!!

July 7, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,Fools Rush In, hi kelly, Jibri Online, Meredith Chapel, Second Empire, Uber, uh oh paleo, versona, weddingstwomeatballsgetfit View all 4 comments

What a week this has been! Love won!!!

We had our 16th weigh in,

I had a fabulous vacation with my family

and I had the living best date night at Anna and Adam’s wedding with my meatball, my bestie and her family and so many old friends! Also, we took our first Uber to the wedding!

We got ready at my house and my dream came true…we were inadvertently twins!

Then we arrived at the Meredith Chapel and immediately ran into The Tedrows!

Jeanne and Katie were searching for a bathroom and lets be honest, I can always pee! Look who we ran into…the groom! Hey Adam!

He knew Jenny from the blog and I think she was relieved to not feel like a total stranger at an intimate wedding! Then we had a photo op and quick alterations clinic on Katies dress!

On the way back in we saw Sunny Jim and Farmer Joe and our super best buddies for the night, Anne and Bobby! Time to cozy up in the pews #p-ews

This last picture is Bobby’s signature move! The oh, I’m sorry, were you trying to take a picture!?

It was 1000 degrees in the Meredith Chapel! I was stuck to the pew and it made a hilarious ripping noise as I stood up trying to snag this pic of Anna Martin #imablogger

Fail!!! Which is such a shame bc she looked incredible! Then it was everyones favorite time..dah da da dah! Look at sweet Anna with good ol Steve!

This was such a beautiful, short and sweet wedding! They were both smiling the whole time. I loved every second!

Jenny and I talk about wedding turrets (is that spelled right!?) Whenever it is quiet and serious, I get the giggles! And I want to weeeeeeeehw! And whoop it up during the kiss! I’m always a fan of a slow clap! So fun!!! As soon as they were announced man and wife, we all met in the hall! AS Jenny and I waited to sign the guest book, I locked eyes with Adams mom Linda! I don’t think we had ever actually met over their 11 year courtship, but it was like we had always been friends! Linda said she was a meatball fan which only fueled our friendship! Love you Linda!!!! It was so great meeting you! Xoxo. Back to the action…look at this epic group pic!

Since we Ubered it to the wedding, we asked Anne and Bobby if we could bum a ride to the reception! And they obliged! These are two of the funniest people I have ever met!!! We cracked up the whole way to Second Empire, which Bobby was convinced was an epic Chinese restaurant! Hahahahaha. We had an impromptu parking lot photo shoot! I mean somebody look at us!

We were ushered downstairs to a cocktail hour…I chugged water like nobodies business!

#dammitbobby

Then the happy newlyweds came in!

Then Jenny and I couldn’t pass up this staircase!

We ran into Anna’s mom, Paula in the bathroom. What a joy this woman is!!! Everyone should know Paula. Finally it was time to find our table…table 4! This room was gorgeous and the flowers were to die for!

I got to sit in between my besties and with all of our buddies!

Then the speeches started! Anna’s dad, Adam’s dad, Anna Martin and Anna Martin’s dad all made hilarious and touching speeches!

Dinner was amazing…a delish salad, steak with collards, asparagus, and mashed potatoes and the wedding cake was red velvet!

Before you knew it, the night was over!

Anna!!! What a gorgeous bride and an amazing night! Thank you and Adam and y’alls family and friends for such an amazing time and thank you for letting us be a part of your big day and fun reunion…who knew we knew all the same people haha xoxo!

Katie! I love you and can’t wait to see you again!

Lets always be best friends!

And Jenny, thanks for being such a fun date #wooooLibras and sleepover buddy!

Love you all, and I love love!!!

Two Meatballs: Baby, You’re a Fireworkkkk! (aka The 16th Weigh In)

June 30, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,fleek week, hi kelly, old navy, progress, results, swan float, Torrid, versona, weigh intwomeatballsgetfit View all 2 comments

Greetings from my amazing client, Jen Wickline’s backyard! You may remember her place from the inception of the Meatballs…her and her husband Ryan’s epic Halloween bash is the Two Meatballs cover photo!

It’s almost the 4th of July, time to celebrate America and our 16th weigh in!

Flags up, denim on! Overall, we had a great time! (Did you see what I did there?!)

A little R+R by the pool!

Look at this view!

A little swan foolery (did you see what I did there?!)

Some vitamin C with our snuggles!

Time for bathing suits!

Sarongs off!

Let’s ride that swan into this beautiful pool…what could go wrong?!

Meatballs overbird! (You had to see that one!)

Ok, enough swan play (somebunny stop me!)!!! Jenny, you’re up bunny!

Hellloooo!! Im holding strong at 174! Thats ok…..I worked out a lot this month! Working hard again feels good!!! I felt so much more confident going into this weigh in this month then i did last month. I had a lot of events this month too!! San Diego, my sisters bday, and brothers bday! I am always reminded at the end of the month that my lifestyle has changed so much. And i have more control then i have ever had. But also, tomorrow is a new beginning and i look forward to being better. Cant wait for july!! Best month ever!!! I have to say my husband has been fabulous and incredible supportive. He has actually kept my really motivated this month to be better!! Love you babe. Love you Sara for always being there!!! Love my family and life!!!! Thank you guys for being my therapy. this is the best release! love you!

Sara, you’re up Kitten!

I feel great! I have learned so much about myself, patience and trying new things this month! I’m obsessed with Pure Barre. I am so excited to see Sandra this week. I was overall having a fantastic month. Having my quarterly period, going on vacation and going to a lavish wedding the night before weigh in derailed my numbers, but I’ve honestly never felt better. I weigh exactly what I did for the June weigh in last year, but my scale, body, mind and life are finally moving in the right direction and thank goodness for that. I find myself in a more peaceful, positive and accepting place in my life and it just feels so fucking good. On to August and the rest of this fabulous life. I will never stop being eternally grateful for my family, friends and the meatball nation. Xoxo to y’all! Enjoy the summer.

What a fun day!

We love you guys so much! We couldn’t do it without you!

Or each other!!!

And thank you Tiffanie for another beautiful shoot and sacrificed Sunday! We love you! Also, thank you so much Jen!!! Your house is a lovely as you are. Thank you for providing such a gorgeous backdrop! Xoxo

As always, here are your outtakes! #flagyou #eyesopenbeard #swanfail #wealmostpoppedtheswan #nothingmakesyoufeelfatter #jennyisademon #saraisatorsoonlyperson #imaginaryfriend #sparklershurt #welooklikerednecks #kellyiworeoverallsforyou #merica #fuckyeah #ihaveonlyoneface #itwaswindythatday #hairhorns #complicatedmath #somanychoices #everyonelooksgoodinaflag #swansong #thepoolwaslovely #layinginwetgrass #thereweresecuritycameraseverywhere #wicklinesdontwatchthefootage #fullonnaked #weweretooshorttoopenthegate #somuchfun #backfat #embracingit #flagdick

See you in August!

Two Meatballs: A Spahhhhhhhhh-mazing Weekend!

June 9, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,bye felicia, facials, go see derrick, heaven, hi kelly, kamado grille, kids menu, meatball subs, middle finger to the room, milk and honey wrap, relaxation, room service, sisters weekend, spa getaway, swedish massage, time with my bester, Umstead, zen garden, zest cafetwomeatballsgetfit View all 4 comments

So Jenny has been out of town for almost a week now!

Ugh!!! But I’ve done a lot to keep myself busy! I’ve started embracing my curls and killing fashion!

Saw an old pal of Kelly’s and a Meatball supporter!

Swimming with my babies!

#sogrown!

Then, I had a yummy date with my sister at Zest! We split the CC, my newest obsesh! Aren’t we the cutest!?

Then, me and Lauren had some fun with curtains!

I went and worked out with Sandy!

I’ve been cooking up a healthy storm!

Anna and I tried the new healthy restaurant in Raleigh, Kamado Grille!

Give this place a few more weeks…they had some major kinks to work out…like giving Anna salad dressing….ever!

Then Kelly and I had a brilliant idea…lets go to the beach for a weekend. We booked a room and at Zest realized we hadn’t even looked up the weather. We looked it up and there were lightning bolts on every single day! Ugh so we cancelled that…no need to make that mistake twice am I right ladies!? So then we had the most brilliant idea of all time!

Time for a spa weekend! This is always my dream…go to The Umstead, spend the night, lay by the pool, get spa services and room service! And we made it happen! First we spent friday night together going to the mall, dinner and having a Melissa McCarthy movie marathon!

Then Saturday morning we packed our stuff…

And headed to my favorite relaxation spot on earth….

Look at this view!

Quick change!

And we are off to the most gorgeous pool!

Can you feel how relaxed we are!?!? Then we spent some time enjoying our beautiful room before heading off to our spa treatments!

On our way, we did the self guided art tour!

And stopped every single person to take a picture of us!

We signed in and were given a tour of all the amenities that came along with our spa visit…there was a lounge…

A whirlpool…

A sauna…

A steam room…can you find us!?

Bahahahah! And then there was the I don’t remember what she called it shower that was 72 degrees!

I didn’t think that 72 degrees was cold….it is! But it felt amazing! And it felt like standing under a waterfall! This was my fav! Our tour guide Anna was the living best!

We grabbed some spa water and headed to the ladies lounge…it was almost time for my Milk and Honey Wrap and Kelly’s Swedish Massage!

Then, Derrick, the greatest man who has ever lived came and got me and brought me to the treatment room…first stop, the bathroom…this is a 75 minute treatment and mommas got 2 bladders!

Even the bathroom is amazing and thank gah I wore unders bc these robes were a little snug for this meatball. #getittogetherumstead

Derrick gave me a dry brushing, sugar scrub, wiped it off with hot towels, slathered me in milk and honey, wrapped me up tight and then gave me an epic foot massage. Then I hopped down and took an incredible shower with water coming at me from every direction. Rich people, is this what your life is like….I want in!!!! Then I dried off, hopped back in the bed and he rubbed me down with lotion. HEAVEN i tell you. He didn’t want to get in trouble by taking all the pictures I was begging him to take, so I just snapped this one of the heavenly bed after I was done!

75 minutes was way to short and he told me that most people book a massage immediately following a body treatment #dammit #nowyoutellme so next time that is happening for sure. This was the best exfoliation I have ever had, I had baby skin!!! Then I went out to the meditation garden to wait for Kelly!

This place is soooooo beautiful and calming!

Kelly loved her massage! We then went back to the room and ordered room service!

To cut costs, we ordered from the kids menu!

#kidssteakfritestastejustasgood

I love room service! Everything was super yummy! Then we just talked all night and watched SNL and went to bed somewhat early! Then next morning Kelly got a facial and I took a bath and a shower in our room!!! It was so indulgent…i need to remodel my house! Then we went to the pool before we bid the Umstead farewell!

It was hot this day! And before you knew it, it was over! We packed up and paid the bill!

Goodbye Umstead…it was a pleasure, it was spaaaaantastic, spaaaunbelievable, spaahhhhnowedidnt, spaaaaahhhhyeswedid! It closing, it was Spapendous! What an amazing way to spend time with your bester. Alone time is such gift and doing it at the Umstead was such a well needed splurge! We just got to talk for hours and be together and I just love you Kelly. Spending time with you is my happy place you little angel. Xoxo times infinity. Until we spa again in Pinehurst! Jenny, come home! Love you guys!

Two Meatballs: Cramming in Time with Your Meatball Before She Leaves for Vacay!

June 4, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,brunch bitches, Coquette, Edible Art, free meal, get in where ya fit in, hi kelly, innovative fitness training, spending the most time with your bestietwomeatballsgetfit View all 2 comments

Jenny is leaving Wednesday to go to Sam and Taylor’s wedding in San Diego with her sweet little family! Sam and Taylor make up 1/3 of Team Dunkel (Brandon and Jenny, myself and Joseph round out the team) and are two of my favorite peeps on earth! I will be there in spirit! So what is a meatball to do when her better half is traveling halfway across the world for a week!? I go on vacation all the time and it’s different when I go out of town bc I’m off doing fun things! haha but now Jenny will be living it up and I will be missing her oh so much! Time to spend all the time we can together before the Smiths take California! Wednesday night we cooked together as you’ll remember!

Then Thursday night we raided h&m together for weigh in outfits! We had so much fun we forgot to take pictures!

Then we started off the weekend right by running into each other at Whole Foods!

And we obvi rode together to the shoot!

Then right after the weigh in shoot we treated ourselves to our monthly free meal! We had our favorite…brunch, at our favorite…Coquette!

These were my Facebook memories this morning. Two years ago to the day in nyc…man we have changed.

Any who, back to the present…We were hippie’d out so we must have looked like the two most hungover, socialite wanna-bees that Raleigh ever saw! #hilarious We didn’t want to completely blow all of the hard work we put in last month so we ordered somewhat sensibly! We both chugged a gallon of water after sweating our asses off during the shoot!

I had the steak sandwich and Jenny had the eggs Benedict.

We sent the bread away! We chatted it up and got super motivated to take over the world. Ugh I love being together.

Then we gave ourselves our once monthly cupcake and y’all it was heaven. Look how beautiful!

She tried the honey lavender and I had my strawberry lemonade!

#wortheverybite

Isn’t North Carolina the prettiest!? I love this time of year!

Then we switched our workout with Sandra to Monday since Jenny will be gone Thursday! And it was a motherfucking woozy doozy. #heyblackoutitssaraillberightthere

We did it all…treadmills. intervals. trx. planks. squat jumps. arms. legs. core. pushups. superman. lunges. hip dips. death.

Oh, sorry…I had to have an out of body experience to make it through this amazingly challenging workout! #sandyispumpedonmondays Back to reality!

We survived and we did it together! We can be soooooo good for each other!

And who doesn’t love this face!

Book with her today! http://www.innovativefitnesstraining.com Bye for now Jenny!!! Enjoy your much needed vacay! I miss you already!!!! #teammeatball #meatballnation #meatballin’ #amazeballs

Two Meatballs: Perspective from a Retrospective!

June 3, 2015health, fitness, beauty, motivation, plus size, make up, hair, hairstylist, oribe, bumble and bumble, MAC Cosmetics, comedy, Paleo, besties, best friends, meatballs, exercise, life change, lifestyles,Before and Afters, facebook cock blockers, Garner Style, hi kelly, we started at the bottom now we here, we've come so fartwomeatballsgetfit View all 4 comments

Y’all! We have officially survived 15 weigh ins. Neither of us are where we want to be much less where we thought we would be. Buuuuut, the one huge difference is, we are still hustling towards our goals. We have stayed on this journey for 16 months. That is the longest I have committed to anything…EVER! We didn’t quit. Even when it has gotten tough and things weren’t going the way we wanted, we stayed the course.

I’m not sure either one of us knew what we were getting in to starting this blog. We were going to name it…I’m With Fatty and have a picture of us pointing at each other with a 90’s sitcom “can you believer her” face. #stilllovethatname #sothankfulwedidntgothatdirection Some days its hard, overwhelming, aggravating, depressing, the last thing on our minds, but most days, its uplifting, inspirational, motivational, necessary, the single biggest contributing factor to our success. We are hard on ourselves because we expect a lot from ourselves and we know what we are capable of. We also feel like we have a lot of people depending on us. But more than anything we are INCREDIBLY proud of ourselves.

So if you are new to the blog, or if you are a long time reader, here is a little trip down memory lane. This is Jenny from the beginning to now!

And the stunner…weigh in one to now!

Jenny, your confidence is as gorgeous and you are. You are such a kind sweet friend and I’m so lucky to be doing this incredibly hard thing with my best friend. Everything is so much more fun, hilarious and livable together. Xoxo

This is my past 15 months in pictures!

Here’s the big one! Weigh in one to now!

I love this crazy ride. Doing things like this gives me so much perspective. It is so easy to focus on the negative but it really gets you nowhere. We have come so far. There is no looking back and we have the rest of our lives to save our own lives. On to the everything is better together segment!

The past three months have been so up and down…literally…I made two of them!

And here is the start to now!

Ahhhhh!!!! Ok, it’s real now. We have come so far. Here are some of my favorite shots from that museum! Thanks again Tiffy! You are so talented!

What a fun day. We are so grateful to be doing this. Thank you for reading and reaching out. You tell us all the time that we inspire you and we are so happy to do so, but it’s really us who need y’all! You keep us going when we want to quit. You tell us it’s going to be ok. You tell us to be nice to ourselves. You tell us to get back on track. You help us so much more than you’ll ever know and we could never thank you enough. Xoxo times a mil.

In closing, we had another first and I just don’t know how to feel about it. We promote our weigh in posts on Facebook in hopes to get our message of body acceptance and love out further into the world. For the first time in 15 months, we were denied for promoting an “idealized physical image”. I don’t even know what that means?! Like, you don’t like our filters!? You think my 280 pound body is what the masses are striving for? Our stretch marks and cellulite are too appealing?! I know it’s not bc we are scantily clad bc we have been every other weigh in until now. So whats the deal Facebook? Am I to believe that you are considering Jenny and myself to be the ideal body type, bc if that is the case let me kiss you right on the mouth. But it’s hard for me to believe that you are so evolved Fb! Get your shit together and help us spread the word. #quitcockblockinFB

#toohotforfacebook #effyourbeautystandards #everyoneusesfiltersassholes #lookbacktoour4thweighinwewerelegitnaked

I wrote this post Monday night. Tuesday at 5 I received this response from Facebook.

What a relief! It’s too much pressure to be the ideal physical specimen of the world! hahahahahaha thanks everyone who reached out and supported our cause! Also, one last note! My favorite blogger Garner Style made my whole entire life today!

I’m in love with her and her style…obvi cause i copped it big time for the shoot! Feeling super pumped! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Two Meatballs Get Fit

We had so much fun getting fat together. Now we're going to have even more fun getting fit!