Summertime Slim Down -- On My Way to a Healthier Me

Green Smoothie
with Kale, Apple, Cucumber and Banana

This year I've been learning lots about the importance of eating a diet heavy in fruits and vegetables.  I even found out a thing or two about juicing and how beneficial it can be.  Still, it took my upcoming summer vacation to finally get me motivated to lose some weight.  I've been telling myself how great it would feel if I could just lose the 7-10 lbs. that have been keeping me from looking my best.  There are all sorts of reasons why I fell off of the exercise wagon so I'll save the long story.  Thankfully my diet only needs a few tweeks here and there because my family and I eat pretty healthy.

After watching the movie, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead," earlier this year, I decided to start juicing more.  At first, there was a bit of a learning curve but I'm used to it now and can whip up a glass of juice for breakfast with no extra fuss.  I'm happy to say that it helped with my psoriasis which was crazy out of control for most of the winter.  One of my favorites is a green smoothie with Kale, Cucumber, Apple and Banana.

Now that my skin is looking better, I've been trying to exercise more in hopes of losing a little extra cushion around the middle and thighs.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that I've been around the same size for years.  It would be nice though to not have to rely so much on help from shaperwear when it's time to dress up.  Plus, I want to have more energy to help me get through these long summer days with the kids.

As for my hair, I'm hoping that the cardio and strength workouts will lead to a faster metabolism.  This in turn can lead to faster hair growth (maybe).  So for now the Wash n' Go hairstyle is super easy for me.  Since I use a heavy gel product like Eco Styler, I can just wet my hair in the shower to reactivate my style.  Co-washing is also pretty easy because it removes most of the product without stripping my hair or causing my curls to go into shock.  Sometimes I even use a light oil on my hair either in the shower or right after to seal in the moisture and combat dryness.  The wash n' go style is so much easier now and great for the summer.

Becoming Catwoman (Eartha Kitt Style) for Denver Comic Con -- Pic Heavy

Me as Eartha Kitt style Catwoman and
Wolverine from the X-Men
at this year's Denver Comic Con

Yes, I finally did it!  I have wanted to dress up as Catwoman from the Batman Television series and attend a comic book convention for ages.  When I heard that Denver finally had it's own Comic Con I knew it was time to put a costume together.

For those of you not familiar with what a Comic Book Convention is let me fill you in.  It's usually a three day event where fans of comic books can gather to meet people from the industry and other fans.  Science fiction movies and television series are also showcased.  There are conventions each year in several major cities and this year was the second convention for Denver.

At the Denver Comic Con my family and I were able to meet many comic book creators, illustrators and graphic artists.  There were even classes, gaming and a film festival.  One of the other fun things about a Comic Con is that there are people who dress up as their favorite characters or superheros.  Knowing this, I decided long ago that if I ever had the chance, I would dress up as Catwoman (Eartha Kitt style no doubt) from the Batman TV series.

We took the kids and had a blast people watching and looking at all of the cool comics and artwork.  My husband has a huge collection of X-Men comics and his favorite character is Wolverine so we were very excited to see someone dressed like him.  It was a long day but we had lots of fun.  I'm just glad I was smart enough to bring a comfortable pair of shoes because those Catwoman high heal boots were just too much!

Old Denim Belt I painted gold with
Acrylic Paint

Rit Dye to turn the Satin Gloves Black

old satin gloves

The costume took some time to put together but I managed to get it done in time.  I purchased the pants at Ross and went thrifting for the top.  The belt I already owned but had to change the color to gold with acrylic paint.  I also had a pair of vintage satin gloves that I died black to match the outfit.

Took this apart and attached
Cat Ears

Gold Belt for some
Catwoman Bling

I really had a lot of fun constructing the mask and ears for the costume.  They were probably the most time consuming but I loved how they turned out.  I took apart an old halloween bat headband and attached cat ears to it constructed out of material and foam from an old cami.  I used more of the same material for the mask after making my own paper template.

Used an old black Cami for
mask and ears

The mask took forever but totally
made the outfit

Now for the hair, my favorite part of course.  I googled the hairstyle Eartha Kitt wore on the Batman Series so that I could see it up close.  Come to find out she wore a braid crown just in front of the cat ears and a long flowy ponytail.  The ponytail was a sinch because I've bought drawstring pony's before but the braid was a little tricky.  I ended up buying a pack of braiding hair and cutting a big section of it to form one long braid.  I put rubber bands on both ends and used bobby pins to secure it.  I used Eco gel to smooth my hair into a high bun and placed the drawstring pony over it.  The style was so cute I didn't want to take it down!

Section of the braiding hair secured
with a rubber band

Braided down to the end and used another
rubber band to keep from unraveling

Slicked MY hair into a high bun using Eco gel

Attached the braid using bobby pins

Added the drawstring ponytail

Final look with the Mask and Ears

The Denver Comic Con was a blast and I can't wait to do it again next year!