Lululemon Bliss Bag Review
Normally speaking I would wait a while before writing up a review for a product, but considering that this one is one sale for nearly half off and I’m sure it will be gone soon I thought I would give you guys the rundown I have so far.
Original Price: $128 USD
Sale Price: $69 USD
I am already in love with this bag (and I am generally always a product pessimist who regrets buying things lol) and here is a breakdown of why…
Pros
It is the perfect size…perfect. As a dancer I need space to carry a few pairs of pointe shoes, a yoga mat, lunch, therabands, a tennis ball, towel for yoga, shower stuffs, dance clothes, yoga clothes, water and all the other things you usually find in a purse, and this bag packs it all…with handy dandy pockets for keeping everything organized.
It manages to pack a whole lot of stuff in a realtively small space (because all of the space is usable! There are no odd partitions or tiny strange shaped pockets it’s like this bag was designed to…hold stuff. What a novel idea. lol)
Some of the features:
Two outside cinch up pockets (perfect size for carrying your lunch, water and a few pairs of pointe shoes while they are drying. It can also fit a decent sized yoga towel)
A zip up back pocket with a vent for sweaty after class clothes (and although it’s not designed for it, it does fit my laptop, and with the fabric being water resistant I can carry it in confidence.)
On the inside of the bag there are six pockets (one of which zips up) surrounding the central well of the bag.
An extra detached zip up bag that the website advertizes as a shoe bag (but I use it to keep my shower things and makeup from leak all over the place)
A detachable yoga mat cover which is basically a cinch up hood to fit over your yoga mat (which will be awesome when it’s raining so that I can fit in my yoga mat and still tightly seal my purse)
Three straps so that you can wear it four different ways (two handle straps and one over the shoulder that can hook in two places)
Cons
Most of the complaints on the website were about the fact that the top of the purse has drawstring closure so people were worried that their stuff might fall out. For me personally I don’t see an issue with it. If you actually close the drawstring all the way you can barely force a fist through, and with a zipper pocket big enough for keys and a small wallet, and a snug fitting cell phone pocket, I don’t think I’ll be dumping my purse upside down and losing anything any time soon.
Another issue people had with the bag was that the handles are oddly placed. It is true that the long shoulder strap only detaches at one end, so you will always have three handles, but I find it to be very easy to tuck the ones I’m not using into the bag before cinching it up (that doesn’t work so well when you have a yoga mat and the mat-cover up).
Conclusion
Of those three issues there is not one that I couldn’t absolutely live with. Though it is too big for me to want to use as just a purse (only very rarely do I have the luxury of not having to haul loads of exercise stuff). It is an even rarer luxury for me to find a bag with the functionality of a gym bag and the aesthetics of a nice purse.
Overall this bag is the best gym bag I’ve owned it has replace the three bags I normally have to carry with me and, it is the perfect size for an overnight trip, a day in the life an athlete, or a day at school (I will definetly be packing in the laptop and a binder when the school year kicks in). If you are in need of a bag I strongly recommend you check this one out before it’s gone. And please if you have questions feel free to message me, or look at the more than 60 product reviews for this bag on the lulu website (for reference it got 4.3 out of 5 stars). Just click on the picture for a link to their website.
* this image was taken from the lululemon website and is copyright by them.
(via mind-of-a-dancer)
Beautiful
(Source: jedarita, via mind-of-a-dancer)
Tart Cherries are back up as the super food of the day just because I wanted to give you guys an update (if you haven’t already read my other post please do if you want a full rundown on this super food). Just today there was an article by the New York Times on tart cherry juice and its increasing popularity with Olympians. According to The Times “ tart cherry juice reduced muscle pain and weakness after bouts of intense strength training as well as after a marathon. ” The participants in the studies are usually given two 8 to 12 ounce bottles to drink per day.
The other juice mentioned (one much beloved by a friend of mine) was beetroot juice which accoring to the same article, ”seems to improve blood and oxygen flow to muscles” and “prompts muscles to use that augmented oxygen more efficiently.” Athletes in a study sited saw an almost 3% performance increase. The article did say that beetroot seemed most effective for high intensity short time exercise like sprinting and may not be a great help for long term low intensity like an hour long bike ride. In the beetroot studies they generally drank 1/2 a quart per day.
For both they recommend that you start juicing at least week before your event (with best results for people who juice regularly) so it can take effect.
The biggest drawback of having to drink so much so regularly is how expensive these juices are (tart cherry is about $18 a liter and beetroot pretty much requires you buy a juicer - I definitely haven’t seen it on my supermarket shelves - so if I manage to find a good cheap source I’ll let you all know) and a minor drawback is that they both have some serious flavor. Tart cherry is…big surprise…tart! And I don’t really know how to describe beetroot but it takes some getting used to.
As with everything use in moderation because according to the article “Nitrate…a key component of beetroot juice, has been found in extremely high doses to be carcinogenic and to contribute to other diseases. And tart cherry packs a good wallop of sugar, so if your watching your sugar be sure to read labels. Talk to your doctor to figure out what’s right for you.
Gretchen Reynolds. New York Times, August 8, 2012. “Looking for Fitness in a Glass of Juice”
As always good luck getting healthy!
P.S. if anyone is trying this and has some feedback on your results I’d love to hear about it. Thanks guys!
Ok so when I am sick I have a weakness…Ramen! When I was a kid my family didn’t buy canned soup and I am a soup LOVER so every time I got sick and had to hit the slopes, (I was on a kiddy ski team) or go to school, or crawl to the tv ramen was my treat and I still turn to it as my evil evil throat comfort food.
So how do I make it something a little more than just salt and over-processed gluten…try this on for size.
Veggies: If you want veggies you can boil them first in with water and the flavor packet (or you can throw in a can of mixed veggies or beans when you put in the noodles). My personal favorite veggie addition is kale or chard and I would recommend adding them near the end rather than the beginning.
Herbs and spices: Especially if your sick finely chop a clove of garlic (it will help your immune system more than destroys your interpersonal relationships lol) and throw it in the boiling water. Next add a few shakes of cayenne or chili flakes and/or regular pepper (to help with circulation and opening your sinuses). Lastly, throw in a pinch or two of dried or fresh rosemary (because it tastes good and helps your breath smell better which you might need after the garlic - it’s also good for your immune system, memory and digestion).
Protein: Although you could add any precooked meat you like (or tofu) I much prefer to crack an egg into the boiling water, give it a good stir and serve it up!
Ok, so it’s not a health food delight but it is something reasonably within the bounds of a diet cheat and is not that much worse than pasta plus it’s delicious! The bold flavors are just enough to be tasted when sick, but once it starts opening your sinuses (which it will) are not over powering.
Let me know if you like it or would like a post on something!
Stay healthy everyone!
Science Daily.
Tart Cherries:
Not only are these good for inflammation but in animal studies they helped prevent heart disease and diabetes lowering total cholesterol and blood sugar.
Tart red cherries are packed with antioxidants including a particular type called anthocanins 1 and 2 which have pain relieving properties comparable to some pain medications. So I’m adding these in before and after my morning work out.
They come fresh, dry, powdered and in juice form. I tend to go for dry because eating 20 fresh cherries is quite a task but tossing back a handful of dry cherries is quite manageable.
My favorite way to eat them:
Sprinkled over Greek yogurt with sliced almonds and a drizzle of honey.
Or you if your looking for something to take on the go you can use dry, juiced, powdered or fresh cherries to make a smoothie using Greek yogurt, honey, cherries and chia seeds. (you may have to add some milk to thin it out). Enjoy :)
Over the last ten weeks I have gotten quite a number of injuries (it seems that an initial injury lead to a chain reaction that I had a hard time stopping). And since I am not one for taking pain medications on a regular basis, I’ve decided to pack my diet with some inflammation fighting super foods and I thought I would share.
Turmeric:
If you eat curry this is probably a familiar spice, it is what gives curry that distinctive yellow color and a good portion of the taste.
Turmeric contains Curcumin (the active portion) that fights inflammation. Curcumin/turmeric has been used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine to treat all sorts of ailments (skin conditions, depression, digestion problems, and wounds just give a few examples). Lucky for us there have also been numerous studies done by the modern medical community and it turns out this spice packs a powerful punch, having antiseptic/antibacterial, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammation properties as well as digestion benefits. And it may help protect from liver damage for more reading the University of Maryland has a nice article http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/turmeric-000277.htm
Personally I love making curry and this is just one more reason to add it to my diet (plus the ginger in curry is a strong anti-inflammatory). For some yummy curries try indianfoodforever.com
Or try sprinkling turmeric over steamed veggies or baked chicken (it’s also really good with hard boiled eggs)
If turmeric just isn’t your thing I think it is worth stopping by the health food store and picking up some turmeric capsules.
If you have any questions or would like to see a post on a particular topic let me know!
I say this all the time but I’m talking about chocolate souffle hehe
(Source: hardguy, via mind-of-a-dancer)
Um…totally agreed
(via ligh-t-deactivated20120811)
Wow if it looks this good in the studio imagine how it must have looked on stage!
(via mind-of-a-dancer)