everyone loves a throwback

 

I've noticed (I'm sure you have too) that Thursdays are swarmed with grainy pictures of childhoods that were taken of real film cameras and those epic parties from a few years ago that you just want to relive. For those of you who have been living under a rock, #TBT or Throw Back Thursday is when you post and old photo on social media. I for one love it, it reminds me of sitting at my grandparents house looking through their old photo albums.

 

Here's a little TBT for Lively Jax, after all it's been ten years of friendship.

 

One of our groups favorite photos.

 

 Team Prayer before we swam Zodiac at Nationals

 

 Me "baptizing" Hannah into "California-ism" I know suuuper cool.





 Darkside is still one of my favorite group of people

 

 

First day of freshman year at Ohio State



 

Football Game

 

We traveled to NYC and had to stop at Tiffany's

 



 RAQ reunion at Colligates

 Avertt Wedding

 

 

 

Some of these photos are adorable, some ridiculous, and some will probably get me in trouble with Hannah....all worth it in honor of #TBT

 

XO, Jax



lorde and other music phenoms that are totally ruling

 

 

After flipping through the radio (yes I still listen to the real radio) I realized that while those catchy tunes are hard to resist, the under the radar artists are the ones that are really catching me.

 

 

1. Lorde- She's young, fresh, and from a place that still seems to resemble a magical land. Translation: she is a super rad chick from New Zealand. I got hooked on her Royals single, but after listening to her other songs it's only the start of my musical love affair.

 

This kind of lux just ain't for us.

 

 

2. Bastille-This song I stumbled upon while searching through 8Tracks (a music app that needs it's own post) They are really engaging and have a great melody that stuck in my head hours after. Bastille formally was a French military fort, now is a British musical group. Pompeii was released in January of this year, and I'm sure they'll be around for much longer.

 

 

3. Lana Del Rey- is totally the "it" girl. Her hauntingly beautiful songs are all the buzz, and praising her barely seems necessary because she's so good. I, for many many reasons, loved The Great Gatsby movie released earlier this year. The soundtrack was one of them. Miss Lana Del Rey totally captured the craziness that is Daisy.

 

 

4. Tame Impala- Actually pretty funny story how I learned about them. I met a random guy at a bar in Newport Beach, ended up hanging out after and looked at stars. He then insisted that we put on Tame Impala, at that time I didn't even know what language it was. I learned the language was Awesome, because that's what this band is. Thanks rando for the musical introduction :)

 

 

5. Miley Cyrus- I know she's as "in your face" as any artist can be, but I couldn't very well do a post about addicting songs without her new single. I literally can't stop singing to "We can't stop" I personally find this video funny, because she's obviously not taking herself serious and just having fun with her friends.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this little musical treat.

 

XO. Jax

 



mid summer dream plan

 

 

Pre-summer workout plans are like New Year's resolutions, a great promise to improve yourself but then you realize you just cheated on that diet or are getting as much sleep as a zombie. At Lively Jax, we understand that workout plans can sadly fall into that "should do" list instead of the "done" list.

 

Here are a few tips that have help revamp that mid summer work out.

 

1. The Original Plan: Workout everyday. Mid Summer Plan: Schedule workouts.

 

I seem to over commit and take on so much, then halfway through I realize I'm some sort of crazy person and need to reassess. My original plan was to get into gym clothes and show up everyday. With a new job and all the time responsibilities that, it was next to impossible.
 I open my calendar and look at gym workouts like appointments. I schedule swims, I plan out runs every so often, and do light workouts after work. Since I'm not getting into the gym like my original plan, I am taking the stairs in the office, walking to the grocery store, and running (literally) to the gym. 

 

 

2.The Original Plan: Eat a strict healthy only diet. Mid Summer Plan: Part time vegetarian

 

I adopted this plan from a roommate and friend, she saw all the health benefits of eating vegan but also saw that it's not as easy as it seems. She decided to go 85% vegan and just let the rest slide. I on the other hand, love my egg and cheese omelet too much to go vegan. So, I just went part time vegetarian.
 For breakfast and lunch, I keep my diet vegetarian by sticking with salads and morning granola, and at dinner I stick with fish or chicken breast. I am not candidate for structured dieting but being conscience of proportions of types of foods I eat has helped me eat much healthier. Letting myself eat small portions of what I craved helped me steer away from binges.

Salmon Salad recipe

 

 

3. The Original Plan:  Get plenty of Beauty Rest. Mid Summer Plan: Rest when Possible

 

I don't know why I thought I would be getting plenty of sleep during summer because I constantly am staying up way too late, waking up early and then starting it all over again. I am a "yes" person, if you invite me to a party 2 hours away I'll be there. That in mind I have a over commitment problem, and my beauty sleep usually takes the hit.
 My new plan is to cut out T.V. for a book (helps my brain to go into sleep mode) On slow nights, turn in as soon as I feel slightly sleepy, and on late nights let myself sleep in a little bit longer by simplifying my morning routine.

 

 

 

My Mid Summer Dream Plan is really me just being more realistic about what is humanly possible, and what's not. I also see that eating healthy, sleeping, and working out isn't revolutionary, it's common sense. It's putting it into practice that's hard.

 I want to hear what your revamped summer plan is. Are there things you are doing that help you stay true to your original summer plan?

 

XO, Jax



DIY project - bedside table

I’m usually not the craftiest gal but the other day I got the DIY bug! It all started with this sad, split pea soup colored side table from Home Goods that I decided was in need of a serious revamping. Our house kind of has a shabby chic beach vibe so I wanted to give the table that same feel. It was a super easy project to accomplish and about three hours and under fifteen dollars later our home had a stylish new addition! The only problem is that because it was so fun, I now want to repaint and distress every piece of furniture in our house. Probably should refrain...

What you’ll need:

       * An old piece of furniture

       * 2 different colors of paint (1 light and 1 dark)

    * Paint brushes

       * A couple sheets of sand paper

     * Vaseline

Step 1: Paint all of the corners/edges with a darker base coat. This is the color you want to peak through. I used a dark brown acrylic paint but you can really do any color you want. You don’t have to be exact in this application because the topcoat will cover it up. Let dry completely!

Step 2: Wipe Vaseline all along those edges and corners. This prevents the topcoat from sticking to the basecoat and will make it easier to distress. 

Step 3: Apply at least one or two layers of topcoat paint to the entire piece of furniture. I again used a white acrylic paint but I’m sure a spray paint would work fine too. Let these layers dry completely!

Step 4: Now it’s the fun part…Gently scratch the corners and edges using the sheets of sand paper. You can do more or less distressing depending on how “shabby” you want it to look. The topcoat should come off easily leaving the basecoat to show through.

And there you have it folks... From drab to fab!

Meg :)