Things That I'm Obsessed With: Workout Attire

Hello again!

I got to bed a bit late last night. I'd like to blame the Doctor Who marathon that I had going on but I'm an adult and should take responsibility for my own actions. It was the David Tennant era and I just cannot take my eyes off that gorgeous man. Sorry not sorry.

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After a lazy morning I did a couple of Blogilates workouts.

Your Royal Hotness. This I had never done before and it was A LOT harder than I anticipated. I was SHAKING. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick total body workout.

I also did a video from LiveStrong for Women, another fitness channel I suggest you take a look at if you want some more variety. Not that Cassey doesn't include variety in her videos, there's just a different range of workouts from a few famous fitness gurus such as Tara Stiles and Ashley Borden. I'll touch more on this channel in the near future.

 The workout I did today was Cassey's Sleek and Sexy Arms for Beginners.

 IT. WAS. HARD. I have terrible upper body strength and it's something I'm continuously trying to improve on. I probably wouldn't recommend this video for people who have never worked out before but for people who would like a little challenge then go for it. 

The title of this post is pretty self explanatory. I'm going to share with you a few things that I have been really into lately. This post isn't a shill for free things, nor am I getting paid to do this post. I have a lot of spare time lately due to joblessness and its really given me more time to try new and different things. So here is what I'm obsessed with currently.

Running Bare. I am really into bright and colourful workout clothing lately. I never used to be, black was always a staple in my workout wardrobe (slimming!).
But I've seen so many fun and colourful prints on Pinterest that its converted me. I now love lots of colour, especially a combination of wild prints and neon hues. Running Bare, an athletic clothing label, has really been hitting the nail on the head in terms of style and uniqueness in fitness fashion. I am currently coveting the following:

Navajo Princess 1/2 Tight

Susie Shoestring Crop Top

The Tribe Boyfriend Tank 

And lucky for me, my boyfriend saw a couple of the items of clothing I had bookmarked and he bought them for me! I am so spoiled by him its not even funny. This is what is coming to me in the mail:

Kabbalah Bikram Bra AND

Shake Your Booty Short (Image from The Iconic)

I CANNOT WAIT to do a pilates workout in these babies. 

I am also obsessed with any kind of Nike Free shoes. They come in such funky colour and patterns that it makes me want a pair of all of them in every possible combination. For outfit coordination of course. And a woman can never ever have enough shoes (no matter what my boyfriend tries to tell me).

I am currently loving this pair of Nike Free 4.0 V3 from the Athlete's Foot

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I have a thing for pink and grey colour combinations. Don't ask me why, but it always looks 'pleasant' to my eyes than either of the two colours on their own. 

 I am also eyeing off a pair of the Nike Studio Wrap shoes seen below.

I probably don't need them as all my workouts are done at my home in a carpeted living room. But If I ever decide to do a class in a studio these would be good for keeping grip on the hardwood floors when your feet get sweaty. I imagine they would be particularly useful in a hot yoga class!

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Nike is a tried and true fitness brand that I absolutely love. I have always incorporated their clothing and shoes in my workouts, sports and every day clothing as I have found their attire is both comfortable and on trend. 

But as seen above and in my last post, I'm happy to wear a mixture of clothing brands as there is always something new and different in each one. I must admit though that Running Bare is slightly in the lead with their more 'out there' and colourful attire. But until they come out with an exclusive line of shoes I will always choose Nike over any other brand.

I will try to include a few more 'Things I Love' post in the future that cover a range of categories including foods, beauty, workouts and anything else that comes to mind. Generally, if I find myself thinking about it a lot then I'll probably write a blog post about it!

Until next time,

-Tahlia XO

Slacking off!

I've been a bad blogger and have been SLACKING OFF majorly with the blog posts recently. I haven't even gotten to part 3 of my birthday weekend! I apologise to anyone who wanted it straight away- but I am positive that no one reads here so I guess I can slack off from time to time.

Today I was feeling usually energetic. Maybe its all the job interviews but I feel like I'm actually doing something with my life instead of just going to work and going home. I have met up with so many friends, gone to a few more parties and have been generally enjoying life at the moment. It's been sweet.

My workout today was a mixture of Blogilates videos.

I did the Hiitilates video Beautiful Burn, 

Pop Cardio Summer Sweat Fest, 

100 Burpee burnout  

AND the Call Me Maybe Squat challenge. 

(All videos are from Cassey Ho's You Tube channel, Blogilates. Her website is here)

I know. I don't know where all the extra energy has come from but I've really been enjoying my workouts and pushing myself recently.

I just got a new Lorna Jane tank too, which also helps with the energy (thank you to gift cards!). I always workout harder in cute clothing :)

So back to my birthday weekend.
I had dinner with my parents, parents 'in law' and my boyfriend at The Balcony restaurant, mentioned a couple of posts back. I of course got the seafood stone grill and everything was fresh and delicious as it always is. My dining companions also raved about how delicious their meals were, so I highly recommend booking for a function at the Balcony. It gets pretty packed out though so book a table!

Now, remember I mentioned loosing my phone? I was trying on some shoes in Cotton On and must have left it on a stand there and just walked out the store. This is why I cant have nice things-I am the biggest scatter brained person in the whole world. I have even just lost one shoe before. Yep. Just the one shoe. And no, I was not drunk at the time. I also left one of my gift card presents at the restaurant but the lovely staff there mailed it back to me when they found it. Thank God for the kindness of strangers. 

I did manage to get a picture of the frozen yogurt I ate before loosing my phone. Healthy it was not.

I then met my friends in the bar downstairs from the restaurant and at that point on the night was a bit of a blur. Too many shots of tequila were downed, although I did manage to stay away from the dreaded jagerbombs so I call that a win! I'll let a couple of pictures (from Facebook) do the talking.

My friends have been threatening me with a lot of embarrassing ones which I hope do not see the light of day! UNTAG! UNTAG!
I woke up a bit worse for wear the next day and decided to go see a movie. The boyfriend and I saw Kick Ass 2, which was OK. It was a lot darker and more crude than the first one. And a some of the fight scenes were gruesome but if that's your kind of thing then you will probably enjoy it.

For eats I was craving something fatty and cheesy and ended up getting a burrito bowl from Salsa's Mexican grill. With Chips. And a water. It was exactly what I was craving and definitely helped my hangover to be less intense. At least my stomach thought so.

The next day we picked up the dogs and left fairly early as I had a job interview later that day. All my job interviews have gone well so far, so here's hoping I hear from someone in the very near future. And now for a dog picture because you all know you want to see a picture of the two cutest fur balls in the world. Admit it. 

-Tahlia xo

My Birthday Part 2

Hello again everyone!

I had FOUR different job interviews today, so here's hoping that I hear back from them soon. I'm so impatient. 
Today I made pancakes for breakfast. I have it memorized from all the times I used to make them as a kid from my mum's personal recipe journal. Here it is if anyone was interested: WARNING: they are't protein pancakes or filled with any kind of super food so please feel free to skip if this isn't your thing. If you however love carbs and sugar then keep reading:

For one serving (makes about 3-4 pancakes)

1/3 cup of self raising flour
1/4 cup of whole milk
1 dessert spoon of sugar
1 egg

1. Whisk the egg and sugar together until combined
  (You can sift the flour for less lumps but I don't usually bother for such a small amount)
2. Combine half the portion of flour with the eggs and sugar, stir
3. Add half the portion of milk, stir
4. Continue adding flour and milk step by step like above until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps. I do it this way so that there are no lump whatsoever but you can add it all together at once just make sure you stir it well!
5. Heat up a buttered frying pan on medium heat and add a small amount of the mixture. Heat one side until it bubbles all over and you can lift it up slightly from underneath with the spatula.
6. Flip it over and brown on the other side.
7. Repeat above two steps with remainder of the mixture. 
8. Enjoy your delicious pancakes with whatever topping you desire! I used raspberry jam in the below picture.

you can add or subtract to the measurement of milk for thick or thin pancakes. I like mine on the slightly thick side but for thinner ones maybe use 1/3 cup instead of 1/4.

They don't look pretty but they tasted amazing!

Now, back to my birthday weekend.
On Saturday we woke up fairly early so I could go see how my babies were going at my mums house. I'm such a sook that I can't go several days without seeing my two little fur children. My boyfriend thought I was being silly but I couldn't help myself. We took them for a walk in the forest just down the road from my mum's house. Gemma really enjoyed herself but I think poor Gypsy struggled with the hills a bit (OK, I did too!). 

We then went back to the hotel and dropped the car off with the valet before catching a taxi to the Adelaide Show Grounds to go to the Royal Adelaide Show- an event that has a strong agricultural focus with lots of rides, show bags and side shows thrown in for the people like me who go for the 'carnival' aspect. 

I didn't go on any rides (too expensive-some of them were $20 for one go!)  but I did try some nice wines in the TasteSA tent. I bought a bottle of sweet white for something different- usually I go for more dry white varieties but I thought it would be good to have as a dessert wine. I also visited one of my best friends who was showing sheep. Hers won in all their categories but I wasn't surprised as their stud farm clean up every year.

 I of course had a cup of cider to celebrate in her honor. 

After a few hours of wandering around the grounds we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel room for a shower and to rest our feet before the evenings festivities.

This will be a short post today as I just realized am running late for dinner plans! I promise to finish the (best) of the weekend recaps tomorrow!

(The above picture is from my birthday last year but I recently learned to make gifs and had to include it!!)

-Tahlia xo

I'm baaaaaack!

Oh my gosh what a whirlwind weekend I had.
I even had to stay an EXTRA day because I was just having so much fun. That's totally the reason, not because we were so hungover that the three hour drive home would have been unbearable.

Where to begin?
We got up bright and early on my birthday (yay!) on Thursday last week. My alarm was actually set for 6 am but I ended up sleeping through it and my boyfriend thought I looked too peaceful to wake me up. Love him.

We made good time and ended up getting to our destination, my previous home town, Adelaide South Australia, in about 3 hours. Give or take a few minutes for toilet stops. We took the fur babies with us because Lord knows that if we had left them to their own devices for several days we would no longer have a garden.

Gemma loves sitting on my lap the whole way down which is really cute but annoying when I want to do things like drink coffee or judge my boyfriend's reckless driving.

We dropped the dogs off at my mum's house then went to check in to our hotel, The Rendezvous Grand Hotel on Waymouth Street, Adelaide. I didn't take any photos of the room, but I assure you that it was comfortable and great walking distance to everything (being a five star hotel you'd hope so!). I was a little embarrassed that the concierge and valet saw my messy, dirty car surrounded by shiny Lexus and cute Mini Coopers. By the time we had dropped off our bags and played with all the light switches and tried on the fluffy robes  it was well past lunch time and I was HUNGRY. We went to Sushi Train on Grenfell Street, which is essentially Disneyland for my stomach and I was very very happy.

After that we had a few hours of shopping to do before I met up with my bestie for dinner and drinks. My boyfriend was so kind to buy me a new blazer and some shoes to wear. He saw me eyeing them off in one of my favorite stores, Cotton On, and insisted that I get them.
Dinner and drinks were at my favorite restaurant in the city, the Balcony Restaurant in the Strathmore Hotel, opposite the casino and train station. Here you can get Stone Grill, a big slab of scorching hot stone on which you cook your choice of protein from the menu. I always get the seafood one, but I have heard great things about the steaks and the 'Aussie Fare'- crocodile and kangaroo anyone?
For my meal though I went for something from the main menu, the kangaroo medallions. Sorry any foreigners reading this, I have no qualms about eating Skippy. He is delicious. I didn't take a picture because once I tried a bite of it, it was just too delicious and I couldn't put my knife and fork down. I wanted to lick the sauce off the plate but remembered that I wasn't at home but in a nice dining establishment. I assure you that it looked just as good as it tasted. The drinks were flowing a little too well and at some point we went to the casino and had some delicious and fancy cocktails. I woke up the next day just a little seedy.

There were no specific plans for Friday so we (the boyfriend and I) took a walk down to the Adelaide central markets, which is, cliche as they all come, a foodies paradise. I didn't get any pictures (I know I'm a terrible blogger) because it was very crowded and I was paranoid about dropping or loosing my phone (which I did manage to do anyway, more on that later!). If I lived in Adelaide again I would do all my produce and grocery shopping here. They have everything, and I mean everything. Bakeries, butchers, produce stands, coffee, cheeses, dips and olives, dried beans and lentils, nuts, small goods, pastas, home made sauces, oils, peanut butter, flowers. I kid you not. Everything is there.

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Its all under cover so if the weather is a little inclement you can still go and get everything that you need. And if you get hungry while you shop, even with all the free samples, you can have something to eat either at the various stalls, the cafes or the extensive Asian food court adjacent to the markets. China Town is also next door if yum cha is something that is up your alley. I had salt and pepper squid from a cafe called 'Charlies Place'. I went there in search of coffee and the nice man serving me managed to convince me to get it. It doesn't take that much convincing for me to try food though.

The batter on the squid was a little thicker than I normally like, but it was still very flavorsome and the squid was extremely tender. The fries were amazing too but come on, who doesn't love fries?
After walking around for several hours we got tired and went back to the hotel room to relax and decide on our next move. That move ended up being back to the casino where I had a few pints of ciders and listened to a guy on a grand piano do cover songs. He did the new Daft Punk song, which was unexpected but awesome!

On the way back to our hotel we got peckish and stopped into the 'Felafel House' on Hindley street to grab a tray of meat, salads, tabbouleh and some fries.

 I requested extra garlic sauce to dip my fries into and, as you can see by the picture, I got my garlic sauce. It was very strong and lucky my boyfriend loved it as much as me because no amount of brushing my teeth could get the taste of garlic out of my mouth!

That is part one of my birthday weekend- I hoped you enjoyed reading. If you were interested in seeing more pictures just head to my instagram page: @tahlia_renee
Part two will be posted tomorrow :-)

-Tahlia
  ox

Do you believe in Karma?

Hello! Its very hot here, so I've got some iced tea (summer fruit flavor by Lipton) and my feet up.

We actually have a pool too so I'll probably go for a dip when the heat isn't so harsh. I'm paranoid about excessive sun exposure, gotta love being in Australia!

Today started off a bit slower than normal. I stayed in bed until 9 am because I had a very crappy sleep last night. I don't think my body is ready for this sudden onset of hot weather we have been having. I've made the most of it so far though ;)

This cider is amazing. It tastes like apple juice but its alcoholic. So refreshing.

I had my much needed ginormous mug of coffee and then I did a couple of workouts. I did the summer slim down videos on the blogilates channel: part 1 and part 2, HIITilates my thighs are dying and the 100 burpee burnout. I know. I'm insane. Its crazy how much my fitness has progressed since when I first did the burpee burnout video a couple of months ago. I thought I was going to die my heart was racing so much and my clothes were SOAKED in sweat. Today it got me out of breath but I felt strong and, you know, not like I had to plan my funeral. 

So in my last post I mentioned that I left my job. I have the belief that if you are unhappy in any aspect of your life you should do something about it. I wasn't happy in my previous job at all. It was stressful, it was tiring and I never got to see my boyfriend at all, which made me very sad. I also missed my friends and family which made me feel very "down" for a couple of months. I wouldn't say I was depressed but I didn't feel like my usual happy self. My boyfriend also commented that my moods seemed less cheerful. I tried to hold out with my job, thinking that it would get easier and better to deal with over time but it didn't. It only got worse and more unbearable. All of a sudden, on a Friday night after a particularity hard shift I thought to myself "what are you doing?". I resigned the next day and my feelings were mixed. I felt extremely relieved, as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders (such a cliche), but I also felt nervous. I wondered whether I would get a job soon or if I would be stuck unemployed for weeks or months.

This is where the concept of Karma comes in. Karma is defined by the following: 

kar·ma

  [kahr-muh]  Show IPA

noun

1.

Hinduism, Buddhism. action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either inthis life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman. Compare bhakti ( def 1 ) , jnana.

2.

Theosophy. the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in oneincarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation.

3.

fate; destiny. Synonyms: predestination, predetermination, lot, kismet.

4.

the good or bad emanations felt to be generated by someone or something: Lets get out of here. Thisplace has bad karma.

Source: dictionary.com

In a nutshell, what you send out in the world will be sent back to you. If you are good, and kind and positive towards yourself and others, you will generally have a better life outlook and experience than someone who is not as nice!

When I quit my job, I was very nervous and scared. But I was also very optimistic about my future. I had a couple of days where I could relax and not worry about what was going to happen to me. I wasn't stressed. I could spend some quality time with my boyfriend and if I was ready, start updating my resume so I could hand it out to prospective employers.

Going into this situation with such a positive outlook has definitely helped in staying focused but also, to my great surprise, it helped my likelihood of finding a new job. As soon as I told people that I resigned I had a flood of help and job offers from people that were looking out for my well-being. My friends and family (and boyfriend) were very supportive of my decision and I feel like that I can do anything because there are people who 'have my back' when the going gets tough (so many cliches in this post!). That is truly the greatest feeling in the world!

The take home message from this post is if your'e unhappy do something about it. This is easier said than done but I speak from personal experience. Nothing was going to change for me in my life if I didn't take control and do something about it. Right away. I regret the time I spent at a place that gave me no enjoyment and made me very unhappy.

The second message is to think positive. I know that this is cheesier than those motivational images that you see floating around instagram and pinterest. I am naturally a slightly pessimistic person- sometimes I make mountains out of molehills. Thinking positive helped me stay calm in a situation where I know that my thoughts would get the better of me if I let them. Stay strong, keep smiling and know that there is always someone out there that will take care of you. 

These little faces also help me in staying positive:

Tomorrow is my birthday (happy birthday to me!), and I'll be heading to my home town to celebrate with my family and friends. I probably won't be posting in this time but I will be instagramming @tahlia_renee

I hope anyone reading has a fun weekend! 

My typical day

Hello again!
Thanks for visiting, I hope you stay a while :)

So, the thing I love about my favorite bloggers is that they're a little personal. I like knowing little things about other people from their likes and dislikes to what they get up to on the weekends. I'm kind of a nosy person and have a habit of asking people a tonne of questions when I meet them. I can't help it!

So I thought I'd do a post on what I do on an average (read:boring) day. Not all days are exactly the same but it gives you an idea on how I spend my time.

Its important to note that up until the Saturday just gone, I had a casual job that had me working nights and weekends. I was a bartender and while it gave me the freedom to have the days to do what I wanted, I felt like I needed to move on onto different things. You'll find out why soon!

My day begins by being woken up at 6.30 am while my boyfriend noisily gets ready and leaves for his job. Yes, I still used to wake up at this time even when I worked up until 2 in the morning. Most of those days used to require an afternoon nap.

I then let my two dogs out for their business.

Gypsy is a six year old American Stafford-shire terrier. We got her as a 'gift' from my mother 'in law'. She was continuously eating their veggie garden. Poor Gypsy has some anxiety issues as she came from a family that we suspected used to beat her and abuse her (not my mother in law! her previous owner before that. Poor dog has had a few owners). Thankfully she has found her forever home with us and although she is a handful, excitable and sometimes naughty, she is the sweetest dog ever who loves kisses and cuddles.

Our latest dog is an almost one year old fox terrier x called Gemma. I got her for free from someone who was advertising that they were either going to get rid of her or put her down. Initially, I was just going to foster her until I could find her a home but she kinda hung around. Forever. She is a very independent and strong willed dog with the occasional uncontrollable urge to dig and has left a few craters in my garden. She also likes to nibble feet but I can't imagine life without her now. 

The dogs are let outside to say hello to the dog next door, aka, bark at it through the fence.Then I make myself a coffee and check my emails, Facebook, instagram, twitter...as you can tell I'm a social media addict. (My instagram is @tahlia_renne if anyone was interested in taking a look)

Next I do errands. E.g pay bills, clean the house, organised any appointments such as getting our cars serviced or visiting the physio or dentist (we recently got a very extensive health insurance plan and are trying to make the most of it). My boyfriend also has an inability to organize his own haircuts or doctor visits so that task also falls to me. Its not that he doesn't want to, his memory is like a sieve and by the time he remembers its 5pm and all the offices are shut. Still love him ;)

Next is workout time! I typically don't eat breakfast. I have never been one to be hungry in the morning (I blame a sluggish overnight metabolism!) So I typically just have a large glass of juice and my vitamins. I'm taking one for hair and nails, a multi vitamin and an extra vitamin C- I really do not want to catch a cold this year. I don't advocate that everyone not eat breakfast and I recommend to at least put something in your stomach to get your metabolism going in the morning.

My workout depends on what I'm feeling, what I've done the day before or how sore my muscles are! Sometimes its dedicated entirely to pilates. Sometimes I do a couple of HIIT-ilates videos from the Blogilates You Tube channel like this or this. HIIT-ilates are particularly effective workouts as it combines high intensity interval training and pilates, so you get a good calorie burn plus body weight toning in one workout. They usually leave me covered in sweat. Sometimes I'll just do one short HIIT video like this. Or sometimes I spend a whole hour just stretching. I listen to my body and try not to push it too much. And sometimes, I just don't feel like working out. That's OK as life is too short to beat yourself up about missing a workout. 
On most days I spend 45 minutes to one hour on a workout, including warm up, warm down and stretching at the start and finish. Sundays is my rest day.

At lunch time I make myself a big old salad. So sorry, so healthy, so boring. My boyfriend comes home for lunch too and I get to hang out with him while we eat. We're lucky that we live in a small town where its only a 5 minute drive to and from work for him. When I was working nights this time in the middle of the day was the only time i'd get to see him so I appreciated those moments. 

Next is dog walkie time! My babies love the beach more than anything and again, I'm lucky that its only a five minute walk down the road. I'm a bit spoiled for location here!

 Gypsy goes for the smells and disgusting things she can roll in and Gemma goes for the swimming. This usually results in bath-time for the girls after their walk which they don't really enjoy...

(This picture was from the dog wash which they don't go to every day. Mostly its a hose out in the yard)

At this point I should mention that the reason I live in a rural coastal town is I moved here to be with my boyfriend, who has lived here his whole life. I got tired of driving 2+ hours to see him and while I love living here with him it does get lonely without my friends and family. I try to keep in contact via Facebook, texts and calls, but nothing can compare to meeting up with someone for a coffee or a cheeky glass of wine. Fortunately the contract that my boyfriend has with his work runs out at the start of next year so a move is in the cards for the future!

When I was working I used to start at 5, so I would kill a couple of hours before work with some 'me time'. Sometimes I read a book. Or played 'tug-o-war' with the dogs and more often than I'd like to admit I'd have an afternoon nap. Sooooo Sleeeeeepyyyyy.....

While I was at work I'd snack on fresh fruit or mixed nuts. I'm not healthy all the time, sometimes I used to bring chocolate and jelly snakes. Now I'm not working I'll make dinner for myself and my boyfriend. Usually some sort of protein with carbs and veggies. Or my apparently 'famous' spaghetti bolognese (boyfriend loves it). If we're feeling slack we'll order a pizza or go out for something to eat. And dinner is usually accompanied by apple cider- a drink that we both adore. OK. I adore. The boyfriend occasionally helps me out by having some so I don't feel like an alcoholic.  

We'll watch TV for a couple of hours before bed. I like to stretch out my back on the fit ball to iron out any lingering tightness. We finally go to bed a bit late (12 am) but while we're both young and childless for the time being I think its OK. Sometimes we get so caught up in our conversation or get hooked on a TV show that we loose track of the time. 

Some of my exercise equipment.

So that's my 'day in the life' post. Its fairly boring, and sometimes I feel like I could be so much more OMGBUSY. Or learn something new like an instrument or a language. But right now I'm enjoying my time off and looking forward to my birthday which is in 2 days. I can't wait to see my friends and family- its going to be a good long weekend for me!

Welcome

Hello!

Welcome to my blog, puppies and pilates, thank you for stopping by!
As the name suggests, my blog refers to my love of both puppies and pilates. Sorry for anyone who was looking for a doggie pilates class. 
A little about me: I am a twenty-something female currently living in a rural coastal town of South Australia. I live with my two puppies and my boyfriend. More about them later ;)


                                                                                          

                        (Yes we are dressed as majestic unicorns...just go with it...)


I first 'stumbled' onto pilates by accident. Originally I was a complete cardio addict- running, skipping and cycling were my only forms of exercise. I hated any sort of weight training because it didn't motivate or challenge me, and I would get bored after one set of exercises. 
Last year I noticed there was a considerable amount of pain in my right hip and lower back. I have scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine, yet I unwisely ignored the pain and continued with my intense cardio workouts. It was not until I was being kept awake at night by the pain that I went to a physio therapist who told me that the level of cardio exercise I was doing was putting too much strain on my joints. I needed to take rest days and I needed to stretch and incorporate strength training into my routine. I was doing neither of these things.

I left that appointment feeling a little conflicted. I loved cardio for the 'high' that it gave you after your workout, and I didn't think that yoga or weights was going to give me the same feeling. For a few months I dropped back to only walking my dogs and as much as I love walking my fur babies, it still felt like I wasn't doing enough. I wanted that high back. And I'm not going to lie, I really missed being toned and muscly, especially in my legs. 

So I tried a bunch of things. I tried kickboxing. I tried zumba. I even gave yoga another chance, giving several varieties of classes a trial, but I couldn't make the workouts a habit as I got very unmotivated during the classes. 

One day I was searching for workouts on You Tube and I came across a video by popular pilates instructor Cassey Ho, founder of Blogilates.

(Source)

It was her total body workout for beginners video. I had heard of pilates before, but I always assumed it was like yoga with a lot of stretching and breathing. I didn't think that it would be challenging enough but I thought "What the hell". I gave it a go and became instantly hooked. I had no idea that an exercise could challenge my body and make it shake and sweat so much with simple, dance like movements. I currently still do Cassey's videos because they challenge me in a way no other workout has before. I love the variety, I love the way you can pick one based on what body part you would like to workout, their intensity or the amount of time you have to spare-some videos are 10 minutes long and they give you a great workout. I finally got that 'high' I was searching for.

What I also noticed was my body changing. All of a sudden I had abs! 

     Thin but flabby to... 

                                              
                                                      Aw yea ab sandwich!)
       

I have always been slim but I have never developed any noticeable muscle definition apart from in my legs. I was very happy to see my abs, arms and glutes transform. My jeans fit so well now that I have some junk in my trunk!             
And my chronic hip and back pain that I mentioned above? Gone. Completely. Because of pilates my posture and strength has improved. I am able to carry myself around without putting strain on my joints. 

So these days my workouts consist of pilates and walking my dogs, Occasionally I will throw in a high intensity interval training workout (HIIT) like this or this to raise my heart rate. But most of my fitness comes from Pilates workouts.

Thanks so much for reading my story, and I hope you continue to read as I post about my daily workouts, my eats and everything in between.


-Tahlia xo

P.S:  I hope you like pictures of the cutest dogs in the world because you're going to see A LOT of them!