The jewellery is beautiful! I bought my girls their bling for my wedding, too!

Caitlin,
Just wanted to reinforce the thank you for the motivational posts over the past few days. Like many readers, I have had a skewed view of eating over the past few years (eating too little, binge eating) and finally feel like I am getting to a happier place. For me, running has been a positive reinforer for this. The idea of eating to be strong and have a good run pushes me to fuel myself well and allows me to have a goal that isn’t “be x pounds”. When you say that you would binge, do you consider yourself having had a eating disorder? If you don’t want to answer, that is fine, I just wondered. Thank you for your time spent on the blog and for your great attitude on life!

sarah – wow i am SO glad that running has helped you turn your outlook around! what you’ve achieved is a lot how running has been for me – it’s helped me shift my focus from outer beauty to health and endurance!

no, i never had an eating disorder, trust me. i know how serious and all consuming they are, and it was never like that for me.

but i do think i used distorted eating to handle my sometimes overwhelming emotions (does that make sense?). so many people use food to cover up feelings of unhappiness. you eat a lot to stuff down emotion and shame, or you withhold food to feel powerful and attractive. i tended to binge when i was sad or mad or just bored. i’ve gone through my share of mental ups and downs (like most people have in life) and i didnt always understand the connection between my inner happiness and my outside appearance. i thought they were so intertwined, and that physical beauty could cause me to be happy. now i know that thinking you’ll be happy “if i was thinner” or “if my stomach was flatter” is a fool’s game. pretty much nothing changes just because you lose 5 lbs or eat a whole bag of chips at once. life goes on! most of the things that make many people unhappy or bitter are just so small in the grand scheme of things.

you’ve definitely got the right mentality. putting your focus on physical and mental health instead of appearance is so much more rewarding…. and interestingly enough, you end up lookin’ pretty hot! 🙂

love,
Caitlin

Hey Caitlin,
Great eats & beautiful jewelry! Those are some lucky bridesmaids! I can't wait for all the pictures when you get married! Where are you guys honeymooning?

I'm glad you enjoyed your rest day- we all need those! Sometimes it's so nice to just take it easy & let our bodies rest! It's physically & mentally healing.

I hope you have a wonderful evening and a great day tomorrow 🙂

ok so weird – I commented on your bridesmaid dresses and told you my bridesmaids in my wedding in July had the same dresses, but in blue. Well I’m sure we didn’t get it from the same store, but the jewelry I got my bridesmaids as part of their gift was nearly identical to the jewelry you got yours!! So weird, haha we must have a lot of the same tastes in weddings. 🙂

your bridesmaids are seriously lucky – gorgeous dresses, gorgeous jewellry, a gorgeous bride to be bridesmaids for… they’re getting a very good deal!

that tomatoey pizza looks phenomenal!

Beautiful jewelry sets! Great choice!

Caitlin, are you from the Pittsburgh area?

I went to Duquesne! 🙂 I love Pittsburgh and always will…but I’m in DC now.