Over the past year I gained 12 pounds.  It was a particularly stressful year and I actually started out about 5 pounds heavier than I like so I REALLY ended up 17 pounds heavier than where I was just a few years ago! OK – I did lose 6 pounds between September and March but that means I still have 11 more to go to be at where my “high end” used to be.  I will be blogging a few times over the next six weeks about what I’m doing since summer is coming and you may be needing inspiration as well.  Today is just a little peak into my battle with full details to come later.

I have joined a boot camp at MomShell Fitness and I’ve started a Detox.

Beth Roth is the owner of Momshell Fitness and her philosophy won me over. She passionately believes that women, moms in particular (but not exclusively) need to put exercise into their everyday life.  If we are not showing our kids through our own actions that exercise matters, then we are raising them to believe that “If it wasn’t important to Mom, I guess it’s not important to me.” That’s harsh seeing it in those terms.  But it’s reality.  And, I have been finding extra time in my life by pushing exercise away.  No more.

A boot camp class. That's Beth supervising. She was once trying hard to maintain a size 12, now LOOK at HER!

So, I’ve only been doing Momshell for 1 week and I’ll report back to you after 6 weeks for a full report. But I will give you a sneak peak: Beth runs boot camps at 2907 12th Ave South, across from Sevier Park (where Las Paletas used to be) that are just about $10 a session (when bought in packages of 12 sessions) and the workout is HARD (in a good way).  She holds classes throughout the day to make it work for you and your schedule.  If you miss a class, jump into another class – that’s what she wants you to do.  Miss a class all together and she’ll be calling you.  You have accountability here.  If you, too, have aspirations of becoming a momshell, find out more at www.momshellfitness.com.

I don’t want to give away TOO much as I won’t have much of a post after I finish my 6 weeks! BUT- I do want to tell you about her Zumba class.

With a maximum of 10 spots, this class is so much fun. You will be shaking that thang and you WILL get a great workout.  Classes are $10 and held most weeknights nights at 6:00 and Saturday mornings at 10:00.  BUT- and I LOVE this, if you want to put a Girls Night Out (GNO) together, they can accommodate you any weeknight, except Mondays.  You’ll need at least 8 people, but no more than 10.  (I’m sure if you have 6 they can work something out) I promise, this makes the best GNO.  Go eat something healthy afterward while sitting on a great patio enjoying the Spring weather.  You’ll be sweaty enough to want to sit outdoors!  Email Beth at momshellfitness@gmail.com to set up.  This makes a FUN night for teenagers, moms or grandmas – really!

David Kirsch is the fitness guru responsible for getting Heidi Klum's figure back into shape for the cat walk 8 weeks after giving birth.

OK- The Detox.  I know detoxes are controversial, but I’m not doing a 30 day, just a 5 day.  I’ll let you know how it turns out, but I’m in the midst of it right now and I’m very happy. My energy is sky high and I FEEL good. I’ll blog about the Detox later and tell you how it went and how much I was able to keep off after a couple weeks.  If you want to start this amazing Detox with me, I’m doing the 5 day David Kirsch Detox available at Maxwell Aesthetics for $200 (I know that is steep- but sometimes you lay down the gauntlet and say “today is the day”). Maxwell is the only place in TN that sells the David Kirsch line.  And – I have lost 6.5 pounds in the last 3 days on this Detox and I have still have 2 days to go!  I don’t care if you say it’s water weight as I seem to sometimes GAIN 8 pounds in 3 days and it’s still frickin’ hard to get it off!

If you call Momshell Fitness or *Maxwell Aeshetics, tell them you read about it here at StyleBlueprint. And, I’ll write more results later….I’m so excited!

*Maxwell Aesthetics can look intimidating to walk into as it has tinted windows and is on the ground floor of an office bldg near Tayst on 21st Avenue.  Don’t be intimidated just b/c it doesn’t classically look retail.  Go on in and say what you are looking for and look around as they have some great products in their lobby.  You’ll probably see some women getting ready for a facial or some other procedure as the lobby and retail part of MA are one and the same.

We’ll be posting some of our favorite past posts and have a guest blogger (or two) over the next week as we are off for Spring Break!

My friend, who will go unnamed, is a planner and a do-er. I knew when she and her husband decided to build a few years back that every detail would be thought of.  They fought to keep the home as small as possible and focused on high quality construction which was environmentally friendly.  One of their mandates was that while this would not be a LEED certified home, they would make Green decisions throughout the process.  Specifically, they wanted to avoid adding potential toxins into their new home (studies show that indoor air is 3X more polluted than outdoor air). This is not a modern house by design, but the decisions that went into the construction reflect modern concerns about the environment.

The front porch.

One of the many well thought out details: shutters that open the kitchen wall to the stairwell and family room. I love her open shelving in the kitchen.

Floors:

First of all, my friend was the first person I knew who insisted that her subflooring contain no toxins or formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, as they will add toxic gases to the house for years to come. Hmmm, I’m immediately thinking about all the toxins to which I have exposed my three small children through the years.  Crap.  Why didn’t I know about this? An easy way around this problem is to simply have your builder use traditional exterior plywood for the subflooring/underlayment, thus skipping particle board all together.

She used Homasote 440 SoundBarrier fiberboard for the upstairs flooring underlayment. This is yet to be widely used and most conventional homes use OSB (oriented strand board) or particle board which, again, outgases formaldehyde.  You can now purchase formaldehyde-free OSB, but Homasote still has the plus of being a 100% recycled product. www.homasote.com/

A great back entry which doubles as a mudroom with Linoleum being the green choice for flooring.

wood floored hallway from breakfast room to back craft room covered in linoleum flooring.

My friend has a this great mudroom/back hall entry area. The flooring choice her was Good True Linoleum – as in the real deal, not the plastic floor.  Her linoleum was was purchased through Nashville Carpet Center and she chose Forbo brand’s Marmoleum, which they had installed in two ways: 1) large tiles for an offset/diagonal checkerboard effect in the back entry hall and 2) as solid “sheet” linoleum in the lighter of the two checkerboard colors for the adjacent rooms which include a cleverly hidden craft room that logs many hours of use. www.thisoldhouse.com

The floors in this house are breathtaking. This picture is in the well trafficked kitchen.

The wood floors steal the show. They have such warmth and depth that it actually makes the house seem older because you simply don’t find floors like this in newer homes.  Her floors are repurposed pine harvested from old barns and buildings here in TN and then milled into quarter sawn planks 6 inches wide by 6 feet long by Mr. Leo Burg of Fairview 615-533-2793 who is also the installer.

Another picture of the floors In the wide downstairs hallway

Lawrence Verchota owner of Verchota Floors, Inc. finished her floors using a Tung Oil Finish. Because Tung Oil was used, the floors never have to be sanded when they are refinished.  She has found the floors in the past three years to be “super durable, no worries, even in the kitchen with water spills, etc.”  www.verchota.com

Info about the benefits of a “natural” Tung Oil finish www.sutherlandwelles.com/

Natural Fiber rug in the family room that opens onto a screened in porch

Rugs woven from natural fibers are used throughout the house including the wool wall-to-wall carpet in the upstairs bedrooms.  My friend felt strongly about using wool carpet in her children’s rooms, because it is naturally stain resistant and water repellent as well as non-toxic.  Synthetic carpets and the bonded urethane foam pads under them are two of the most toxic components in new homes.  The carpet pads used are Karastep Casual Cushion that is made from recycled rubber.  Remember to consider your choice of carpet padding as what good is the more expensive wool carpet if you’re just putting it over something that is outgasing toxins?

The living/music room has lots of builtin cabnetry that all needed painting.

Paint:

Not only are the colors through the house calming and beautiful, they are also non-toxic.  The chosen paint was Sherwin William’s Harmony (low-odor, NO-VOC).  No-Voc paints are now a common option with Benjamin Moore and Porter Paints also carrying similar lines.  To see why you should consider a no VOC paint on your next painting project, see this link: www.eartheasy.com/

Other things of note:

• outdoor lights are on timers with CFL’s
• whole-house chlorine filter to take the chlorine our of the bath/shower water.
• cedar shake roof, because folks might need to replace the asphalt shingles on their own roofs at some point. Cedar shakes cost more but have a 30 year life, much longer than asphalt shingles, so if it’s your “forever house,” it’s worth the investment. Also it’s a renewable resource, from sustainable forestry practices.

The house is gorgeous. The Shaker roof was the perfect choice.

I love the two roofing choices: notice the metal roof on the garage.

Additional Resources:

• Builder: Ramsey-Daughtery. www.ramseydaugherty.com
• Heather Hilner of Nashville and the office of Ken Tate, Monroe, LA provided architectural design assistance.
• Cabinetry was designed by Robbie Barnhart of Nashville Custom Woodwork, Inc. and bathroom tile layouts were designed by Renaissance Tile & Bath.
• Buildinggreen.com and greenbuildingadvisor.com are good resources.