Happy Hour

My husband is going on a 9 month deployment in April and I want to get him something to take that will remind him of us every time he sees it. Any ideas? Do men wear bracelets? Like something personalized? Or is that dumb lol? Give me what you got!!

Alix and I tried to rack our brains on this one.. are dog tags so overdone in the military?! You could personalize a bar necklace like this or this bracelet with your family’s names is also really special but still masculine. Etsy would be our go-to for ideas. Just search personalized men’s jewelry and so many awesome shops pop up!

Can you give me some athletic shoe recs that are not APL or Adidas? I see the cloud shoes everywhere, but haven’t tried.

We haven’t tried the cloud shoes either and honestly, our go-to’s are APL and Nikes. Nikes give us the most support for walks and workouts and our favorites are here:

Running Shoes or these | HIIT Workouts | Walks/Everyday | Style

What is all the talk about heavy metals and drinking collagen? Any truth behind it? Or hype?

Like any supplement you want to be cautious and make sure you’re choosing a safe product. Supplements are not regulated by the FDA because they are not considered drugs, meaning supplements are not put through the same strict safety and effectiveness requirements that drugs are. There is a good article here and here that helps explain how heavy metals can get into collagen supplements and ranks the top collagen brands (last page in second article).

When do you plan your meals for the week? What are your favorite spots for inspiration?

I (Alix) typically plan out meals and my workouts on Sunday morning while drinking my coffee. I might jump on Pinterest or skim through some of my favorite cookbooks to get inspo. True Comfort, True Roots, Skinny Taste, Body Love, Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow, and It’s All Good are some of my favorites. I also like recipes from bloggers like Rachael Good Eats, Half Baked Harvest, and A Pinch of Yum.

Alix- can you share more about your pregnancy work outs and what you did during the first trimester vs now?

I really didn’t change what I was doing that drastically when I got pregnant because I had already modified my workout when trying to get pregnant. While I didn’t feel great during my first trimester, working out honestly made me feel better most days. I would work out first thing in the morning after I ate a little something like peanut butter toast because that is usually when I felt the best.

I like Pure Barre, Barre 3, Melissa Wood Health (MWH), Peloton cycle and bootcamp classes, and lots of walking. Right now I do about 2-3 days of cycling/bootcamps and have started to do more low impact rides which feel good. I do barre or MWH 2-4 x week and walking as much as possible. I really need to get in a yoga class at least once a week and keep stretching before bed!

Listen to your body and if something doesn’t feel right, back off.

Random question – did you sleep train your kids when they were babies and if so, what method did you use?

Yes! We both sleep trained and Heather did a whole post on it here. We can’t recommend sleep training enough.. and both did it around the 4 month mark.

What serums do you use for dark spot treatment? I have noticed more brown and age spots and need to help diminish them ASAP!

I have two spot treatments I use and love. The first one both my husband and I use and it’s this one here (and budget friendly). The second one was recommended by my esthetician and on the pricier side but if used consistently, really makes a difference.

Alix- can you link your bowls from your salmon bowl story?

I have these bowls in the color spice and we LOVE them!

Thank you for your questions!

xx, A+ H