EMILY'S PICKS {HULA HOOPING PARAPHERNALIA}

Hello… Me again.

So, I’m starting a new venture tonight. Something I’ve not really ever done before, and something I was kind of trapped into doing. See, my friend Nicole was watching one of our local news magazine type programs, and saw a story about this hula hooping class offered locally. A woman on the segment lost a bunch of inches and like 10 pounds in 6 weeks. She came running to me to have a friend to take the class with, and I was totally down with it. Loved the idea, signed up on payday… and then Nicole couldn’t afford it (unforeseen life circumstances and such). And so, I am all alone, taking a hula hooping class. Starting tonight. I foresee extreme pain in the abdominal area tomorrow morning.

Anyway… taking this class has got all sorts of exercise ideas in my head. Afterall, what girl doesn’t want to look super cute at the gym, or at the local park, or on the hiking trails, or in my case, at the park with a hula hoop. Interesting side note, there are a TON of hula hoops on Etsy. Who knew??

My latest list… top five cutest things to take exercising…

Number 1 - Batik Yoga Pants by batikwalla

They are SUPER cute, but I admit an affinity for blue and yoga pants and batiking, thus I am biased. By far the best thing to come about in fashion in the last ten years is the increase availability of comfortable lounging pants that aren’t sweatpants. I hate Hanes sweatpants, but I so love a comfortable pair of pants to sit on the couch in. I’m sure the idea is to actually do yoga in these pants, but I’ll get there eventually.

Batikwalla has a great selection of batik designs. Batiking was one of the few crafts I was actually decent at in Girl Scouts back in the day, but I could only dream to make the cute designs that are available in this shop.

Number 2 - Skatin Worshiper Skorts by Model Citizen

These would be great if I played tennis. But I don’t. Unless the Wii counts. But I love roller derby, and if I played tennis, I’m sure I’d really appreciate this adorable skort. (Side note, Model Citizen also has a super cute pair of yoga pants as well, one track mind I know). Skorts have come such a long way in the last few years. You can do almost anything in a skort from play tennis, to hike, to dragonboat, and handstands. Plus they’ve gotten way cuter. Of course, Model Citizen merely provides the design, but still, they’re cute.

Number 3 - Peace Hoody from edgy apparel

My true favorite thing to do in Seattle is hike. I love trudging up a trail and being rewarded with a beautiful view, which are frequent around here. I also LOVE hooded sweatshirts. Perfect for a day that starts suspicious clouds and ends with sunshine. Cause you really never know when it’s going to start raining in Seattle. And this little hooded shirt seems perfect for both. The best hikes mean you start early, when it’s a bit chilly, and this shirt seems just about perfect as either a layer of many or the warm layer over a t-shirt for later in the day.

And it’s got an adorable design, that almost everyone can agree with (what kind of person doesn’t like peace and sunshine?) Really the only thing I dislike about this shirt is that it’s grey. And I have light colored cats who like to drop fur everywhere. But nonetheless, there are a lot of cute other colored items with edgy apparel.

Okay… three pieces of clothing that were made by companies and embellished by Etsy. Probably should keep my last two items completely homemade.

So - Number 4 - Fairy Garden Yoga Mat Bag by Chella Bella Designs

Now, I am not a pink girl. I’m sure I’ve made it clear that I am definitely a blue girl. But there is something about the funky print on this bag that I just adore. Maybe it’s the green, or the flowers that are just a tad daisy like but funkified, regardless, I just love it. I might even buy it for a yoga mat I haven’t bought yet. (I have a yoga mat, but it has a strap so really I have no need for it, but it’s adorable, and I like to shop). Anywho… loads of designs and options available with Chella Bella.

And finally Number 5 - Red Devil by Hoola Monsters

 

Seems like given the inspiration for this blog, I should pick my favorite hula hoop. When I signed up for this class, I thought the only kind of hoop was the 3 dollar Toys R Us model. Then, I got an email from the instructor with a comment about 30 dollar ones available for sale, and my jaw dropped. And then I realized how many hoop sellers there were out there. There were three or four different ones that I really liked at Hoola Monsters, but this one stood out. It’s not my usual thing to go for red, but I just loved it frankly. I can’t explain why. I urge you to look into Hoola Monsters, if you’re really interested in hooping and you want a custom hoop.

Of course, that really raises the question, how does one ship a hula hoop??

That’s it for now. I’ll be sure to let the informed masses know about my hula hoop class. I sincerely hope I don’t develop a nagging cough tomorrow after it’s all said and done. And, in the words of the great Maury Povich – Until Next Time America (and Canada) – I added that last part myself.