Get Fit Thursday ft. Alanna and Starla!

Hi dolls! I am collaborating with Alicia from Being Holy and Healthy and Tayler from the Morrell Tale for our series, Get Fit Thursdays. The purpose of this collab is to share our tips and motivation strategies with you as well as fresh and healthy recipes. This Thursday, things are a bit different around here as my girl, Alanna from Alanna&Company is taking it over! 

Hi Coffee and Glitter readers! I'm Alanna and I blog over at Alanna & Company. Today I'll be sharing with you some tips for running with you favorite furry pal.

One of my biggest dilemmas of working out is that I can't just go to the gym right after work because I have a furry little companion waiting for me at home. So I have to go home, take her out, and then motivate myself to get to the gym. Can I tell you the amount of times that I get done walking her and think, "Ehhh....I can workout tomorrow," or "I don't want to have to drive to the gym now..." or "There's just no way I'm changing into a sports bra now," occurs? Nope, because it's happens all the time and I can't keep track anymore. Whoops. Now that it's almost summer, I'm glad that I can get out, walk with her and actually enjoy the time outside. And what's a better way than to get your workout in and your dog walk in all at once? Nothing. It's the best. 

1. Warm up. Seriously, this is necessary for both you and your dog. Walk at a brisk pace for a bit and then slowly speed up before launching into a full-out run. This leads into the next one...

2. Let your dog relieve him/herself before you really get into the run. They should know that they are running with you and shouldn't wander off or go sniff around. BUT if they have to go, they have to go. So I usually take Starla around for about five minutes (which can be part of your "warm-up" time) to let her do her business and so then there will be no distractions during our run. 

3. Make sure you have the right equipment. I keep her on a short 4' leash because she should always be beside me while I'm running. She's pretty good about staying on one side, but she doesn't have a chance to try and cross over to the other side of the trail with her shorter leash. Some people also only run their dogs on harnesses or with hands-free belts. I'm not that fancy yet, but maybe some day. If you're going for a long run, get a portable bowl or those attachments for your water bottle. 

4. I use cue words. I say "Let's go!" if we really need to move it, for example, we need to speed up to make sure we cross the street in time. and I use "Whoa" to slow her down, that way I don't just stop running and then she gets yanked back from her neck. 

5. Keep in mind the temperature. Remember dogs don't sweat! Usually I'll only go running in the summer and luckily there are lots of streams around where I run. She often jumps right into the steams and plops down in them to cool down. Also, if the pavement is hot to the touch, it's too hot for their paws! Plan on running on the grass or running by yourself if the pavement is too hot.  

I can't wait to go running with her more. We'll be bikini ready in no time! Maybe one day we can even do some 5k runs together!

Do you go running with your dog? Do you have any tips to help running with your dog easier?

Follow Alanna here: Blog | Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Please consult a veterinarian before engaging your dog in any type of activity. Not all dogs are suited for every activity. All opinions shared here are our own and may differ from yours. 

Meagan's Paris Adventure!

Hey Yall! My name is Meagan and I blog over at Beautiful Things. I started blogging to share about the summer that I went to Kenya (read more here) but now I mostly blog about my every day adventures and all of the beautiful things (see what I did there?) in between! I also host a link-up every Thursday where I share my (mostly silly, sometimes serious) thoughts--you should join!

ANYHOW, I was thrilled when Sarah asked me to guest post while on her trip (so jealous BTW). Last June, after the best day ever (the day I got married) my husband and I spent our honeymoon in Paris! So I thought I'd share some tips if you're thinking about going to Paris anytime soon (you should totally start thinking about making it happen). Enjoy & don't forget to stop by and say hello!!

one. If you are choosing to work with a travel agent and they give you a list of hotels to choose from check them out for yourself! This might seem tedious but our travel agent suggested hotels that were not in the location we were interested in--we actually took up a suggestion from a family friend on a hotel and asked our travel agent to book it! Such a dream location--email me for details. It was walking distance from beautiful gardens, the Louvre, and tons & tons of shops and cafes.

two. Totally recommend the Paris Pass it covers transportation, a bus tour, entry into basically ALL of the museums and lots more. It was a definite bargain--of course we didn't have time to do everything but we would need a six month vacation to make that happen.

three. Travel light. If you are staying for a week or less there is no need to check luggage unless it's winter and you need those bulky warm clothes. This will free you from worrying about lost baggage and it makes the airport experience that much smoother.

four. Be willing to try new things. The food is SO delicious...baguettes, croissants, cheese, lasagnas, espressos. Don't just be safe and hang with McDonalds the whole trip.

five. Research day trips! Friends had recommended we take a day trip to see Mont Saint Michel so our travel agent booked us a deal and it was gorgeous. Just enough time to enjoy every little bit of this part of France.

P.S. Travel agents can be helpful--but it really is more fun if you do the research yourself!

Anymore tips to add to this list?!

Green Fashionista Goes To Europe!

Hey Coffee & Glitter readers! My name is Kate and you can find me blogging over at my little corner of the internet Green Fashionista where I blog about everything from fashion and beauty reviews to fun recipes to travel recaps, and weekend shenanigans which are typically shenanigans. While Sarah is across the pond, I offered to come on over for the day and talk about my first European vacation last year. Nope, I'm not jealous at all that she's soaking up all that culture and listening to amazing accents...

Barcelona, Spain

We planned our first trip across the pond around the inaugural Mediterranean sailing of the Norwegian Epic out of Barcelona. We flew in to Barcelona on a Wednesday morning to start our journey of 4 European cities in 6 and 1/2 days.

*Saying goodbye to U.S. soil for the week as we crossed the pond - isn't Miami beautiful?*

*We stayed at Hotel Barcelona Universal right near Las Ramblas*

*Entrance to Las Ramblas*

We were incredibly exhausted since we left the states in the late afternoon, and got into Barcelona at 2:00am our time, but it was 8:00am there with little to no sleep on the plane. My biggest advice in these situations is the power through and try your best to get on their time. Taking a nap when you get in will just lead to further jet lag, and never getting accustomed to the time change. I still can't believe how much walking we did considering how tired we were, but I'm so glad we did. Barcelona was beautiful!

*Roof top pool at hotel*

3 Night Mediterranean Cruise

*Svedka Ice Bar on board*

First cruise stop - Marseilles, France

2nd cruise stop - Palma Mallorca, Spain

Lisbon, Portugal

*Descending into Lisbon on the flight from Barcelona*

We stayed at the Zenit Lisboa which was perfect walking distance to bus tours, restaurants, and shopping.

*Lisbon was by far our favorite stop*

My second piece of advice is to city hop! Once you're there, it's so cheap to fly between countries/cities. It only cost us $59 per person to fly from Barcelona to Lisbon after our cruise. Don't fly all the way over there, and only stay in one spot!

Finally crossing the pond and seeing European soil was an incredibly memorable experience. The only bad thing is, it opened Pandora's Box and now we just want to keep going back and seeing more and more. Next up on our list, is a trip to London, Paris, and Amsterdam (my pick) or to Italy and Switzerland (H's pick). Both will be incredible!

Don't forget to check out my other travels here and link up with Emily, Kerri, and I every second Wednesday of the month for Wanderlust Wednesdays.

What has been your trip of a lifetime thus far?

DIY Coconut Coffee Face Mask with Emelia!

Hi Coffee & Glitter readers...I'm really excited to be here today thanks to Sarah. I have a fun DIY to share with you, but first let me introduce myself.

I'm Emelia & I write over at Dream Big & Buy the Shoes about everything from how to bring back the spark in your relationship, what works for me as a blogger, fun recipes I like to try, handy DIY projects that make great gifts & co-host a link-up geared to empower other women and create a community of self love.

What woman doesn't love taking care of herself? *hand raised* Being a female can be expensive, so I like to find ways to treat myself and stick to a budget.

Some of my favorite DIY projects include homemade scrubs. You can find my Coffee Lip Scrub here, and read about how to make my Sugar Lip Scrub here & my favorite body exfoliant, the Baby Soft Sprinkled Sugar here.

Face masks are great to use periodically to treat your skin and bring it back to life. 

You will need:
2 tablespoons room temperature coconut oil
2 tablespoons coffee grounds

To make:

Mix the coconut oil in a small bowl alone until it's smooth in texture, like frosting

Add in the coffee grounds and continue to mix until combined

Rub on your face in circular motions

Leave on for 10-15 minutes & then rinse off

I chose to make one with coffee because I have read that many beauty companies are using caffeine to to help brighten & tighten your most beautiful features. Coffee helps gently exfoliate the dead skin and leave it smooth without irritation.

Coconut oil is great for softening your skin, breaking down dead cells, and hydrating your skin. 

This mask will leave you feeling refreshed and your face smelling great. Treat yourself and enjoy this one soon, just don't eat it. 

 Thank you to Sarah for letting me guest post and share another new experiment of mine. I hope you stop by my blog to say hi, I would love to meet you.

What's your favorite beauty DIY?

Nail Trends with Holly's Housewife Life!

Hi Guys!!

Its Holly here from Hollyshousewifelife I'm stopping by Coffe&Glitter for a guest post yayyyy!

I wanted to chat for a hot second about my Spring/Summer polish obsession!

I haven't always been Essies biggest fan, you can hear me explain why Here. But recently I've been won over by them!! I don't know what it is but their colour selection has really taken off and I am loving it!

I am all about bright bold colours for Spring/Summer!! (I live in Canada FYI and spring has barely started here, its quite depressing actually, but these bright polishes are perking me up!)

Like this beauty of a blue colour, 'blossom dandy', looooooove.

Now this Pink, omgosh this pink has been my mani/pedi go to for weeks.

Its the perfect 'I'm fun' but also 'Classic' pink, pink colour!!

You may even call it 'cute as a button'!

Another trend I am completely loving is the Ombre nail trend!

I think this is such a cool way to use a variety when you just can't pick which shade to wear!

Surprisingly its a lot harder than you would think to make that Ombre flow!!
I had to break out every colour I owned (which is a lot of colours haha)
but I wanted a very subtle close match ombre nail.
You could do this with a larger range of colours, even go blue to purple or deep red to light pink.
Its totally up to you and your nail mood!

I love taking a risk with my polish, since I wear a uniform to work I feel like my polish is the one place where I can funk it up and show some personality!

Are you feeling the brights for summer?
Are you a fan of the ombre nail?
Let us know down below!!

Thanks for inviting me to chat Sarah, looking forward to more mingling!
XOXO - Holly