My Workout Routine with Crunch Fitness

 This post was sponsored by Crunch fitness.

Fitness means something different to everyone and if I am being completely honest, it has meant wildly different things to me as my tastes and schedule change. Although there have been different workout routine obsessions that have come and gone in the life of cathclaire, there have been several aspects of my workout that have remained constant. When Crunch offered me a membership to their gym with #NOJUDGEMENTS, I was elated to see that all of my work out priorities were easily accommodated with their facility in Scott’s Addition in Richmond. Crunch fitness is an inspiring company that makes working out fun and diverse with room for everyone. Who doesn’t love working out at a gym with this kind of manifesto?

Growing up as a dancer and a cheerleader, one of my priorities when working out has always been stretching. I have been taught time and time again the importance of flexibility and I always feel my best when I am making an effort to stretch regularly day in and day out. Whether I am taking a Yoga or Barre class at Crunch, I always make a point to do an extra stretch before or after my class in one of their stretching areas surrounded by mirrors. No, not because I’m vain, but because I like to make sure my form is correct, duh!

Sidenote: Sometimes when I finish stretching, it is easy for me to let myself leave the gym before even working out. How do I avoid this? Priming myself with some good motivation before getting to the gym (a few picture of my dream bod will do) and equipping my phone with a bomb playlist. Whether that includes music or a lecture from one of my favorite gurus, this will keep me focused during any workout. Follow me on Spotify here.

Another constant throughout my workout routine has been 3lb weights for arm workouts. I will never forget when I learned that Tracy Anderson, LA based trainer to celebs and beyond, recommended no heavier than 3 lb weights to get toned arms. Maybe it was more relief that I didn’t have to 
continue to strain on 10lb weights to have Gwyneth Paltrow arms but whatever, I usually stick 
around the 2-3 lbs consistently for arm 
workouts!

My Morning Routine with Bulletproof Coffee

I have implemented a lot of new habits in 2018 (yes, I know we are only 15 days in..) and I am so excited to share them with you guys.

First up: my new morning routine with bulletproof coffee. 

I have become addicted to this bulletproof coffee recipe...so much so that yesterday morning I woke up to make it (I look forward to it every morning) and realized my husband had used the last of the butter for it. Solution? Head to Saadia's Juicebox in Jackson Ward to grab some! She has it on the menu, along with all kinds of delicious concoctions. (I also ordered a wellness shot and it was the perfect addition to my Sunday morning!)

I have always been a person who considers their mornings sacred (working out, meditation, and journaling with coffee are a must) but adding bulletproof coffee to the dock has been a game changer that I am very excited to tell you guys about in hopes that it can be just as much of a game changer for you as well. 

If you're like me, you have probably heard the words bulletproof coffee tossed around over the past couple of years..but let me tell you - throwing MCT Oil, grass-fed unsalted butter, and your favorite coffee into a blender to start your morning is nothing short of magical. The crash that coffee usually comes with? Forget it. Starting your day off with pesky cravings that distract you from what you need to get done? Forget that ish as well. 

As if it can't get any better, bulletproof coffee is just as frothy as your favorite latte and it doesn't have the dairy that goes along with it! This frothy, energy igniting concoction is a must-try and something that I have really enjoyed adding to my daily routine.

How do you do it? Here are some directions I got from the BYRDIE website:

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. filtered water

• 2 1/2 heaping tbsp. freshly ground Bulletproof Upgraded Coffee beans (or, if you don’t want to buy the Bulletproof brand of low-mold beans, just make an 8 oz. cup of regular coffee, ideally using fresh-roasted beans)

• 1 tsp. MCT Oil (coconut oil can work as a substitute)

• 1 tbsp. grass-fed, unsalted butter (or ghee)*

*Asprey recommends graduating to two tbsp. once you acquire the taste for it.  

Directions:

Combine the brewed hot coffee, teaspoon of MCT oil, and tablespoon of grass-fed, unsalted butter or ghee in a blender to get a frothy, creamy mixture like that of a latte. If you just stir the butter and oil into the hot coffee, the oil won’t blend and will sit on the surface of the drink. Then drink up! Just remember, due to the calories and fat content, bulletproof coffee is intended to be your breakfast, not to be consumed in addition to your usual breakfast.

P.S Can we talk about how hard it is to look fierce when it's freezing out? I am so excited about this Lovers + Friends coat from Revolve because it does the trick WHILE keeping you oh-so-warm. Also, silver goes with anything, like literally anything. I see myself wearing this coat constantly, especially with the way the forecast is looking. What do you guys think? xo

Zippered High-Waist Jeans: Forever 21 / Silver Ankle Boots: Saint Laurent (sold out, similar here) / Tommy Jeans Collegiate T-shirt: Tommy Hilfiger  / Calla Lily Belted Matte Silver Puffer: Lovers + Friends via Revolve / Cafe Racer Mirrored Sunglasses in White: Quay  / Belt: Gucci (backordered, similar here )

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Christmas in Kansas City

Growing up in a family full of 9 kids, traveling for Christmas was never an option. After all, how would Santa find all 9 of us if we were somewhere different every year? That being said, Christmas was always at our house. My Aunts and Uncles traveled to us, since it was usually easier for them to travel than the 11 of us that made up my family. Yes, if this is your first time on Cathclaire, I have 9 siblings, which makes for a total of a family of 11. Growing up in a big family left little old me always craving attention but now, having so many friends in my family (aka my brothers and sis) might be the best thing that ever happened to me. It doesn't get much better than big families. 

98 Degrees at Christmas Tour Review with Cathclaire

If you all the sudden feel like you are the most obsessed-with-Christmas person in the room like me this season  (and by all the sudden I mean I didn't always used to be like this) - you have GOT to go see 98 Degrees on their Christmas tour.

Even if you aren't obsessed with holiday cheer and think you MIGHT enjoy this beautiful performance or are the least bit curious about how Nick Lachey's face looks lately IRL, don't think twice. Don't think twice and go get yourself a ticket if they are touring anywhere near you.  You will thank me later because the whole time you will feel like dancing (and you will dance) AND you will feel like you are drinking a cup of the best hot coco you have ever had (in reality, it's a Bud Light.) See the video proof below:

A little recap:

Last night I went to this concert with a bunch of my girlfriends and sister for the ideal night on the town during the holiday season: drinks + best friends + live Christmas pop music. We all met at Juleps on Grace Street in Richmond to catch some happy hour cocktails (yes, this lovely restaurant has happy hour from 5-7!) within walking distance of the Carpenter Center, where the 98 degrees concert was. I ordered the Champagne Julep that wasn't on happy hour because I couldn't resist it and I was very thrilled with my drink of choice. It was a concoction of mint, bubbles, and fresh berries. Highly recommend.

The Procrastinator's Guide to The Solar Eclipse

Raise your hand if you are a procrastinator!

If you’re like me, you may have been procrastinating preparing for this solar eclipse. Everybody interprets the significance of natural events like this differently but I wanted to share three simple things that I am doing on the day of the solar eclipse to make the most of this powerful energy shift and natural phenomenon.

The solar eclipse is a strong energy shift and whether you are into this kind of thing or not, it can be the perfect opportunity to plan a day that is (a little more) intentional and acknowledges those goals you have been putting on the backburner. Here are 3 simple things I am doing tomorrow for the Solar Eclipse and don't worry, they are procrastinator friendly!

1. Wake up a little earlier and with a childish excitement. Don’t expect this sense of excitement to drop out of the sky but do expect to be able to cultivate this feeling in a couple of minutes through gratitude. If you wake up and feel like you can’t generate the feeling of excitement for the day you have ahead of you- start recognizing what you are grateful for. Today is going to be a day full of strong energy pulls and I mention this because it is up to you to decide which way this energy will pull you. How do your best days usually start? My best days start with a list of what I am thankful for and a meditation guided by Dr. Joe Dispenza. Make it a priority to start your day of the solar eclipse on a good note to set the tone for the day and get this energy generating in a direction that is beneficial!

2. A solar eclipse in a new moon hasn’t come around since 1918 (yes, that is 99 years ago!) and I don’t know about you, but experiencing rare events like this have a tendency to make me want to reflect. Seeing such a cool natural occurrence reminds us that we are part of a much larger Universe and gives a hell of a perspective if you let it. This is the perfect opportunity to look at your life’s purpose and take an inventory of what you are doing to contribute to your purpose and what you are doing to ignore it. Take a couple of minutes to revisit your goals, short-term and/or long-term, and decide how you can put habits into effect to achieve them more rapidly. Keep these ideas in your mind as the day progresses and if you have time, write them down.

3. Last but not least, take a couple of moments to engage in some creative expression after the solar eclipse occurs in your city. For my fellow Richmonders, the solar eclipse is happening around 2:40 PM. Whether you are experiencing it on a roof at The Quirk Hotel or have the ability to feel the shift at your desk at work, take note of what you experienced during this rare time on our planet. Whether you like to dance, paint, or write, creatively express or document this experience for yourself. Personally, my go-to is writing and that is what I plan to do after the solar eclipse happens in RVA tomorrow. Creativity is a great way to tap into our spirituality and this solar eclipse is a very opportune time to do so despite our busy schedules. In the age of social media where we document everything else, why not document how we feel about such a rare and magical phenomenon?

Regardless of how you experience the solar eclipse tomorrow, I think the biggest thing to take away from this event is that darkness may come but light always cycles back into our lives and in the sky. How are you going to solar eclipse tomorrow? 

P.S Did you see that the Shape Soiree is happening in Richmond in October? Shape Soirée is a 3-day event consciously curated for the wanderlusters, entrepreneurs, and overall go-getters who are ready to endeavor beyond their wildest dreams.  Rebecca and I (The Crystal Press) will be speaking about personal branding and self-awareness and we are SO excited to be apart of such a forward-thinking event! Check out more details here. How cool is it that Shape Soiree is happening in our city? 

The Key to Morning Affirmations for Your Dream Life

Whatever you do, do not think about a pink Chanel bag.

What came to mind when you read the above statement? I would be willing to bet that you did not NOT (double negative, sorry) think about a Chanel bag and instead, a luscious pink quilted purse flashed across the screen of your mind. Funny how that works, isn't it?

I'm sure you have read about a tool called affirmations that the internet and books alike deem the fast track to your dream life and success. If there is anyone who wants to take the fast track, it's this impatient millennial right here: me, Cathclaire. When I discovered this whole affirmation idea, I couldn't get to work on them fast enough. It's as simple as writing down your dreams as if they are true and reading them when you wake up every morning, right?

I used to belieb the same thing years ago and my affirmations went something like this:

"I won the lottery." 

"I am a famous baton twirler." 

"I lost 10 lbs."

"I am a sucessful fashion blogger"

I read my affirmations and read my affirmations and read my affirmations some more not much changed over time. My fast track oriented brain got discouraged. I started thinking things like: WTF. Where is my winning lottery ticket? How about my miraculous weight loss? 

I took my discouraged butt where I always go when I'm discouraged: to get a bottle of wine and to google and well, poured a glass of wine and began googling. 

"Why aren't my affirmations working?"

I love google but at the time, my search did not reveal results that could seep into my brain and teach me the truth behind affirmations. Could've been user error but I also don't remember taking a class in the art of googling at Virginia Tech so......

Fast forward 5 years (so much for the fast track, am I right?) and I finally understand how to use affirmations as a tool for success and why like the Chanel example at the beginning of this post, it's important to be aware that your mind doesn't do what you tell it to do all the time. The key to an effective affirmation? Pay attention to how you feel and what picture flashes across your mind when you are reading your affirmation. 

When I was affirming "I won the lottery" years ago, I got zero feelings associated with someone who wins the lottery. At the time, I got the feeling of a little girl with no magical credit cards, yet alone a winning lottery ticket, looking inside the Barneys window dreaming of fabulous things. No offense Cathclaire (sometimes I talk to myself in the third person), but that ain't the feelings someone who just won the lottery would feel or the picture they would see flash across their mind. 

Ok, so now you know what makes up an effective affirmation but that is not enough! I don't want you to walk away from this post until you know how to create an affirmation that will work for YOU personally. We are all beautifully unique snowflakes and unlike Hanky Panky underwear, there is no one size affirmation that fits all. How do you find the affirmations that will work for you personally? 

My now father-in-law said it best: See it how you want it to be and work backward. Think of your dream life as one of those pesky math problems from middle school when you had the solution but not the whole problem = _ + _ = 6 

Stripes on Stripes:

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You know your end goal, that's the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what words you need to include in your affirmation that will elicit the vision and feelings you want to experience.

Picture yourself at your end goal and decide how it feels. What do you see in your mind when you feel this feeling? Who is around? What are you doing? Dive really deep into this day dream before you try to put words to it and once you have got a good grip on this feeling vision - write down the words (think of them as clues) that will remind you of this feeling. THAT, my dear, is an effective affirmation - tailored for you by you, not google or a guru on the internet.

My affirmation today is: "This blog post on Cathclaire helps atleast one person get one small step closer to their dream life." 

5 Date Night Restaurants in Richmond, VA

I don’t know about you guys - but between working, freelancing, blogging on The Crystal Press, blogging some more here, and exercising, cooking is the last thing on my list time wise. I feel like a failure in the eyes of many people (my mother being one of them, she is a saint from another Universe who cooked for 11 people growing up. Yes, a reminder that I have 7 siblings) saying that out loud but it’s the damn truth, you know? By the time I prep the ingredients, cook the meal, eat the meal, clean up the meal, the next thing I know - it’s been hours and a bottle of wine. That being said, I do cook and I’m sure I will get better at doing it more efficiently and when I do I will share it here, but I so look forward to date nights with my new hubby! We frequent lots of the restaurants around Richmond because let’s be honest, the food scene is popping in RVA and it is impossible to stay away - even when you plan on being a good wife + cooking on a Friday night.

For those of you that are in the mood for a good date night spot, I’ve got you covered with some of Kev + I’s favorites and the secret sauce aka my go-to orders. Eat your heart out, literally.

1. The Roosevelt: The Burger. While I have no idea what rooster sauce is, I do know that it tastes phenomenal on their already phenomenal burger. Hands down best one in town and I’d go as far to say best one outside of town.
2. Heritage: 2 Orders of Pimento Croquettes and whatever tickles my fancy. The menu is always changing here, but you can’t go wrong with anything. This is one of those places where I feel comfortable closing my eyes, pointing at a random spot on the menu, and ordering. SO good.
3. Bacchus on Main: Tomatoes + Cream Pasta with Fried Goat Cheese Salad sans beets. Yes, I know beets are good for you but I don’t like them touching my goat cheese. PS This meal is vegetarian-friendly and the pasta is enough to split or take home and munch on for dayyyyys. Heats up very well if I do say so myself, and that is saying a lot because I loathe leftovers.
4. Rappahannock: Oyster Bourride. This is more like a stew but regardless of the temperature outside, I can always eat a bowl of this. The egg, oysters, and billy bread over broth is a delightful combination that I hope they keep on the menu forever and ever.
5. The Daily Kitchen: Quinoa Salad, mic drop. This salad is so refreshing and filling! I feel like the green goddess when I eat this and you want to feel like that too, trust me.

Desire Map Planner

I have mentioned Danielle LaPorte more than once across the life of my blogging career, because, well....she instigated my blogs creation. After reading her book The Firestarter Sessions (which i HIGHLY recommend to anyone), I finally got a road map to follow my dreams and passions that my soul had been craving. Her book served as the mentor I never had and I am forever grateful for that.