My Favorite Things

My Favorite Things by cait-conner featuring a lip care

Iowa State Fair 2012

So for the past two years I have made an effort to go to the Iowa State Fair, which to some it may sound surprising because the misconception is that every Iowan goes to the State Fair all the days every single year of their life upon birth. Actually though, I can honestly say I've only been to the State Fair a handful of times. So today I woke up early, grabbed a cute outfit & curled my hair and met up with my friend Cody to have our little adventure at the ISF.

Once we got there, we parked the car in some lady's yard for $10(they really make bank up around there this time of year) and began to walk towards the entrance. We had prebought our tickets at a grocery store since they were cheaper($7) so the entry was a quick and simple process.

It was probably around 10ish a.m. when we got there and what did we do? We ate! Not just anything but a double bacon corn dog! Only in Iowa right? The ISF actually is home of over 50 foots on a stick, which is including salad, PB&J, and even beer! We kind of take pride in that little tradition and each year its interesting in seeing what the creators at the fair will think of next.

So we ended up walking around, going through the buildings and seeing what the vendors had and even looked at the fair projects the 4-H & FFA groups in Iowa did. We watched some shows(Bill Riley Talent Show and some music shows) and ate some more(chocolate chip cookies! YUM) And of course we had to go to the old soda fountain and order some Chocolate Cherry Cokes!

Honestly, I have to say the best part of my fair experience(and perhaps the most tiring) was when I had made a fool of myself on the Bungee jump attraction at the state fair. Everything was going fine...until I almost face planted due to bad landing. It was fun, but I was defiantly thirsty after the ordeal. Luckily my friend Cody saved the day and bought me a lemonade (:

I pretty much had to take a picture(left) of one of these things. With Iowa's new strive to become more energy efficient, we have wind turbines almost everywhere! My brother in law actually is certified to work on those. SCARY! I wouldn't want to climb up that high!

Elvis Duran was kind of the real reason of us going to the Iowa State Fair. BUT the line was so huge. So we simply had to watch from afar :(

I got to pet a Kangaroo!

As I said before, the Iowa State Fair prides itself in its food choices. And of course you cant go to the Iowa State Fair without sampling some of the most amazing chocolate chip cookies EVER! They are so warm and moist, even now I'm craving to hop in my car and pay the admission to just get some of these bad boys!

And of course you cant forget to hit up the Historical Village to go visit the real live Soda Fountain! I used to live in Albia,Iowa so we had a Soda fountain and I visited it frequently and ordered Chocolate Cherry Cokes(which is whats in the picture) They are delicious! So defiantly try one when you can!

 And I pet a Zebra! How many people can tell you that they have pet a Zebra and a Kangaroo(twice) in their life!?!

All and all I had an amazing day at the fair and defiantly suggest for those who have not gone to at least go once. We were exhausted by the time we go home :/ Unfortunately I literally had to leave  again right after I sat down on my futon *sigh*

Stay Beautiful!

Cait<3

Just another Thursday

Normally I get Thursdays off, but unfortunately since I want the 10th off for the Iowa State Fair(will be blogging/vlogging about it) I have gained quite a few days work-wise to make-up for it.

Right now its about noon(over slept) and I'm going to be hitting the gym before I go to work. I wanted something light, since I don't want my stomach to get upset while I'm running on the treadmill, and I still wanted a cup of coffee. (: Who could give up freshly brewed coffee!?

Coffee is simply Folgers with a tablespoon of French Vanilla Coffee mate and two Stevia packets.

The little number in the dish is Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani with whipped cream and sprinkles! Though I normally don't dress up this particular Chobani, I wanted to try something new to brighten my afternoon before I kill myself working out.

 The taste is amazing!



Whats your favorite pre-workout snack? Leave me comments below ;)
Stay Beautiful~
Cait<3

Gym Favorites

I am a soul believer in its important to be comfortable when you to go the gym; however, I always feel awkward when I go with my gym getup looking disarray. This is very similar to what I wear to the gym using the Polyvore outfit creator.
Victoria Secret T-shirts are probably the most comfortable t-shirts that you can EVER wear. Plus they are a light fabric, so even if you are running miles you wont be dying in this t-shirt. Pair it up with some Danskin athletic shorts and its a very cute, work-out combo.

I added pumas mainly because I LOVE my puma tennis shoes. They offer me great support since I have extremely high arches in my feet and they have less of a bulky shoe affect that I find Nikes have on my feet. To finish this look off I put Victoria Secret Athletic bands, but Walmart or any other headbands work. Since my hair is layered I have issues with keeping my fly aways in place. Especially since I do a lot of running in my workouts, my hair doesn't stay in the bobby pins. :/ Headbands just make extra sure my hair stays in place so I wont have my hair flying into my eyes while I run on the thread mill.

Gym Favorites by cait-conner featuring v neck tees

What do you wear to the gym? Leave a comment below (:

Stay beautiful!

Cait<3

Bright and Early Pineapple & Chobani breakfast (:

Okay, so a couple new things that have been happening in my life since my last little blog post.
1. I am now an official member of a gym. I decided that since I was starting to get lazy and gaining some extra weight I desperately did not want...instead of buying new clothes for my new size...I was going to try and lose weight so I can still fit into the clothes I have/maybe even buy smaller ones. (: Good plan right?

2. I wanted to get healthier/toned out because I have been feeling sluggish lately and I found out about a month ago I'm going on a cruise in February to Mexico with my boyfriend and his family.  My main plan is to spend most of the cruise in my bikini; however...I have one little problem. My insecurity....my thighs!

I've always been really insecure about how big my butt and thighs are. I swear, it's had me miss out on a lot of cute clothing opportunities because of my Kim Kardashian booty. I'm not saying that she isn't beautiful or that you shouldn't love the way you look...but I feel if I had thinner thighs I may be more confident in myself. (:

So to start out the new me, I decided to hit up the undressedskeleton's blog(I often use Taralynn's advice on munchies or even good recipe ideas) and remembered seeing her review her breakfast at a restaurant she had visited with her boyfriend.

I happen to LOVE pineapple and yogurt and decided to whip up my own little creation of Taralynn's find.

MMMM! Doesn't it look yummy!?

I used half a pineapple, one container of Chobani Vanilla yogurt with 2 packets of stevia mixed in. I topped it off with some vanilla & almond granola and a few raspberries. AND of course, since I'm the whipped cream queen...a few dollops of reddiwhip.

I paired it up with a cup of coffee and ate a way. Every last bite was very much enjoyed and now two hours later I'm not hungry at all and feel quite energized for the day.

I work today, but afterwards I plan on going to the gym to start my transformation. (:

Remember, you are beautiful the way you are...don't let anybody make you believe that you aren't. Keep your chin held up high and a big smile on your face. Like Audrey Hepburn used to say "Nothing in this world is Impossible, even the word itself says I'm Possible!"

Stay Beautiful!
Cait<3

Crafting with Cait

So I've been working with my "unofficial" mother-in-law(shabbygalsnest) on a few projects during my spare time. This one I saw on another blog and I had to try for myself!

I really should of done before and after pictures, but I really didn't think I would be blogging about this until last minutes. (: It was a pretty easy project to do and I think it turned out really super-cute. What do you think?

All it was was an old suitcase that I got from Salvation Army up in Desmoines, Iowa that I spray painted blue and modpodged a pretty patterned tissue paper to.

I got a table leg kit from Menard's and screwed them onto the bottom of the suitcase(after my boyfriend kindly cut out a piece of ply-wood for me to make it sturdier on the bottom of the suitcase table.

I had to end up taking some of the patterned tissue paper and modpodge it inside due to us having to tear out the liner on the bottom of the suitcase. I then took some padding that Traci had and covered over with drop-cloth to hide the plywood.


I think it turned out really cute! Too bad I don't have enough room in my apartment to keep this little number! :/





Stay Beautiful!
~Cait<3

Peachs N' Cream Chobani Smoothie

Whew what a weekend! Even though its the middle of the week I'm still super tired from my extremely busy weekend. Then followed work and a day of lounging around and I feel like I've gained my barrings once more.

This time of year, theres one thing on an Iowa's mind. You see it in deserts, you see it in entrees, etc etc. Peaches. As I was flipping through HY-VEE's Seasons magazine I saw come pretty tasty recipes and decided to jump on the bandwagon and create a tasty Chobani creation myself.

This little number is actually extremely easy to make(with only four ingredients!)

• 1 cup of Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 container of Vanilla Chobani
• 1 Peach
• 1 cup of Ice

Blend to desired thickness and enjoy! Its super creamy and really sweet. Enough to quench your thirst on a hot Iowa day. (:

Stay Beautiful!
~Cait<3