dude…how sick are those outfits?! creative commons photo credit: befitter

My schedule is crazy, I have a long commute, and by the time I get home from work I’m so ridiculously tired that all I really want to do is go to bed. I usually regret those days that I follow through with that lazy plan because I feel like a huge heffer. I have to get some kind of workout in. Waking up at 4am and going to the gym before my day starts just won’t work for me because, let’s face it, I like to sleep and if I don’t get my sleep I resemble this the rest of the day:

creative commons photo credit: autumn bliss

Thus, about 45% of my workouts are done from the comfort of my own home. This can be both good and bad. Good because I can go at my own pace and can really get into whatever workout I’m doing without feeling like an idiot. Bad because, well, I can go at my own pace and tend to get distracted easily. It is far too easy to “press pause” and quickly check my email. I will say, though, that some of my most effective workouts have been at home because I pace myself a bit more. I tend to get super bored at the gym and end up going through my workout way too quickly. Also, I feel I have to try harder when I work out at home because it isn’t the “traditional” gym…I guess I feel like the home workout isn’t as effective as the gym workout, so I go really hard when I work out at home…which usually leads to better results.

Surprisingly, Netflix is my main source of home workouts. Their instant capability is genius and allows me to add a ton of workout videos to my instant queue. And if I can’t find anything I want in the instant queue, I just add it to my normal queue and get the physical dvd in a day or two. They vary from extreme ab workouts to dance cardio to yoga booty ballet…pretty much anything you could ask for. Doing one of these videos is basically the same as taking a group class at a gym and, as long as you actually do the workout full-out, yields the same results. It’s such a time-saver and is so easy to get a video or two in during the day. There is a monthly fee for Netflix, but the prices start at like $9/month so it’s totally affordable.

If I have some important show to watch..ahem, Grey’s Anatomy, I usually just break it down on the floor in front of the tv and get some traditional calisthenics in. I always had trouble figuring out which exercises to do, and would usually count on my monthly Fitness magazine subscription to give me some new at-home moves. While that helps, I also get a lot of info online. Fitness.com is an awesome community-based site that offers an insane amount of free information on everything from exercises you can do at home to healthy recipes. It’s a really cool site, actually. There’s a section where you can build a completely personalized workout….they even have videos of how to do the exercises. You just choose which muscle group you want to work out, if you are going to use equipment like weights or a stability ball (or if you don’t want to use any equipment), and it pulls up a whole slew of exercises you can add to your plan. It’s genius. It kind of reminds me of my personal fitness classes in high school and college. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but the site helps you maintain an awesome workout plan and schedule.

Finally, I have gotten some great workout videos off YouTube. There are plenty of aspiring personal trainers out there who post their workout videos online…for free. I’m subscribed to a few, check out my channel here.

In an attempt to keep things consistent and more business-like, I’m going to try and stick to a schedule of features that you will be able to count on every day and every week. These posts will be the base of Unfunded and will be in addition to my daily, sporadic completely awesome features like outfit posts, DIYs and event coverage (to name a few). Let’s see if I can stick to it!

Feel free to give me a holler if you have any ideas, content or links for any of the weekly features mentioned above. Thanks!

Spring Fever

Edited by Jennine Jacob

Do you get spring fever? Oh man… the itch to run around outside in flowery prints and frilly laces gets greater and greater each passing day. To heck with chunky sweaters! This week we have a load of great spring style posts, Holier Than Now checks out cape coats, if you’re strapped for cash Out of Order gives the perfect 45min spring skirt tutorial, so cute! And girly clothes not your thing? The Demoiselles has a great homage to genderbending unisex looks. I’ve been thinking of doing a couple of days in menswear myself. Well, as soon as I learn how to tie the half Windsor knot.

There were so, so many great links this week, it really was hard to narrow it down to 2o. Check out the full listing of Links à la Mode here.

Links à la Mode : March 11th

• 39th and Broadway – Death By Over-Scheduling
• Agent Lover – Mad Crushin’ on Pebelle
• Bobbins and Bombshells – Shop News…Hand Recovery Sale AND Give-Away!!
• Denim Debutante – Denim Advice: Why Should I Buy Premium Denim?
• Diary Of A Girl Left Behind – Sorry We Don’t Have Your (Shoe) Size
• Fashion Pulse Daily – London Fashion Week: Vivienne Westwood, Mark Fast & Burberry Prorsum
• Fete a Fete – The Frye Company SS 2010
• Glossary – Sipping tea with Sandra Beijer
• Grechen Blogs – Isabel Marant, the Internet & Social Media
• grit and glamour – Return to pretty, please!
• Hello Beauty! – Shu Uemura Spring 2010 Égérie Collection: Sparkling, rock star chic (with makeup lesson video)
• Holier Than Now – Spring (Transition) Shopping : Caped Crusaders
• Independent Fashion Bloggers – What does your ideal workspace look like?
• M.I.S.S. – Women Making History: Elisa Palomino
• Oranges and Apples – Sustainable fashion part 1: conceptualising the issues
• Out Of Order – DIY Tutorial – Spring Skirt
• Previously Owned – a PREVIEW of Private ARTS la shooting for MINT mag!
• Retro Chick – Vintage Hair Video Tutorial
• SF Indie Fashion – Good Looks: Moody Winter-Almost-Spring
• Shrimp Salad Circus – how to rock orange lips
• Smiles Go With Everything – How to Search Effectively on Etsy
• The Demoiselles – Gender-Bending: Menswear

A reader contacted me asking where Blake Lively got the shoes in this picture. Judging from the red on the bottom of the shoe, I’m guessing they’re by Christian Louboutin. I can’t, however, seem to find them anywhere. Asking for help!! Thanks! And if you have questions like this reader did, please feel free to send ‘em my way! I love a challenge…(and I’ll try my best).

if I were a housewife, I’d want my apron to be like this….this is a close-up of a women’s apron crafted of metal…can you imagine handcrafting each one of those pieces?!

feather headpiece – one of the raddest things i’ve ever seen…quite McQueen Spring 2010-esque, no? i’m loving the colors.

who knew the people in the early 19th century could be so hardcore?!

massive gold earrings from Africa

details, details, details…from ancient China

spotted this little pimp on the way out

and now I’m left with this…

…and this…peace out, yo

Fashion Flashback

Edited by Debutante
As fashion weeks starting winding down, some are looking forward to the next trend in fashion. This week, I was thrilled to see so many bloggers focusing on the past -the history of fashion. An obvious passion of mine, vintage fashion has never been so influential. fête à fête reviews a gorgeous collection of vintage inspired jewelry. Fabulous Finds narrates a 1950s styled romp through Palm Springs. Oranges and Apples shares inspiring vintage Life magazine images. In politics, if you don’t learn from history, you’re destined to repeat it. In fashion, if you don’t learn from history, you won’t know you are repeating it!

Links à la Mode : March 4th

• Bobbins and Bombshells – Fashionable History: Mary Quant
• Confessions of a Fashion Editor – Couture Cakes
• Dedicated Follower of Fashion – Spring/Summer Trends 2010 – The Tourist
• Dozen Dresses – DIY Skirt – The tutorial!
• dramatis personae – B&Lu 0 Gift Certificate Giveaway!
• Fabulous Finds Gal – Come With Me On A Sunny And Dreamy Retro Holiday In Palm Springs With The Photographer Bersa
• Fashion Pulse Daily – Marchesa Fall/Winter 2010
• Fasshonaburu – Who’s Who of Fashion Week
• fête à fête – Larkspur & Hawk’s vintage inspired jewelry
• Glossary – Please meet Paula and her pretty Pink Bow!
• hello beauty! – Bobbi Brown Spring 2010: Cabana Corals and Makeup Face Lift Collections (with video)
• JewelryWhore – Interview With Corvus Noir!
• Oranges and Apples – : Vintage fashion photo inspiration from the Life magazine archives
• Out Of Order – Bonnie & Clyde
• Prom Mafia – Betsey Johnson does DC
• Retro Chick – Estethica – Ethical Design Spotlight – Tara Starlet
• Stop Getting Low-balled As A Blogger | Independent Fashion Bloggers
• Superstylin – Total Fashion Dork Status
• The Fashion Planner – YouTube Beauty Gurus
• True Queen – One Dress That Will Take You From Work To Play in 3 Different Ways
• Tweed & tea – My name is Jacqui, and I am a perfume addict..
• ventures of jenn. – ode to the maxi
• White Rabbit – The Man Behind the Lens

photo via Evil Erin

Protests are abound in Southern California today as thousands of lay-off notices have just been approved by the local men and women in charge. I’ve heard a few conflicting stories – one said 5200 people will be laid off and another said 1500 will be laid off – either way, that’s a lot of people. Those affected by the lay offs will be pretty much anyone employed by the public school system. Just today, on my way to work, I drove by about 4 protest groups located throughout the city.

On top of that, and aside from the obvious problem the schools have with serving junk food to the kids for lunch because it’s cheaper than healthy food (french fries are counted as a vegetable by the public school’s standard), I am hearing there is talk of Physical Education being eliminated because of the budget crisis. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM? Yes, let’s go ahead and give them fast food for lunch and eliminate PE. No wonder there is an obesity problem and a diabetes problem. It’s starting in the schools. Education is so critically important in this country. How can we ensure our children’s success if we are only setting them up for failure? It just doesn’t make sense to me. I think the education system, including the way our children are taught, needs a serious overhaul. I fully believe that the typical, run-of-the-mill public education experience, including college, isn’t for everyone. Different kids have different needs.

I don’t know if this was the case for everyone, but when I was in school the two most important words in the school system were “test scores.” This is an idea that, even as a youngster, I thought was completely absurd.

Tomorrow (Friday) night I will be attending an advance screening of a documentary called “Race to Nowhere,” which deals with the exact problem of the uber-importance of the test score, and the darker side of America’s achievement culture, in our school system.

Race to Nowhere is a documentary film examining the pressures faced by youth, teachers and parents in our achievement obsessed education system and culture. Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried students aren’t developing the skills needed, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic running rampant in our schools.

Check out the trailer below, and for more information visit the site here.

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skull tee, by Sauce, $62, available here

striped wrap/cardigan, by Sauce, $108, available here

ahhhh i love this color…an instant mood booster, no? $420 by Danielle Nicole, get it here. or if you’re looking for something a little more budget friendly: