17 Friday Apr 2020
Posted in what's ringin' our belle
Tags
Hello, stay-at-home belles! While we haven’t been out hitting the stores as much lately – nothing can stop us from some valuable online shopping-
Our latest favorite is from Splits59. The Icon sweatpants are the bomb! They hug you in all the right places but give you the freedom of movement at the same time. A belle can look good and feel good at the same time – just sayin!
How cute -right?!
Available at Shopstyle
Love, love, love
a&a
14 Thursday May 2015
Posted in what's ringin' our belle
Tags
accessories, amazon, bezelsandbytes, fitbit, fitness, jewelry
We belles love our fitbits. We both use the Fitbit Flex, and you can get yours at Amazon.com. By the way, if you haven’t, you should, really…how many times do we have to tell you????
via Pinterest
We can wear this one tres simply… 
Or wear it a la race to the elbow….which of of course we belles are partial to…more is more and accessories galore…just sayin!
Now that’s fashionabelle!!!
Bezels and Bytes has some beautiful options…so don’t be shy, be fit. Time to step with style!!
a&a
FlexOffers
31 Friday Oct 2014
Posted in belle-icious, friday friend 1-1
Tags
Here’s a yummy fall friday friend-1-1 for you, belles!
Butternut squash soup is a favorite in both of our homes this time of year. In fact, we get requests quite often, but we never let the fam in on a little secret…it’s super-easy to make! With fresh, pre-cut or frozen butternut squash in markets everywhere, the stuff practically makes itself!! Pick from any number of recipes out there, and you’re in business…you can’t go wrong!
However…we do have one old stand-by that adds a little spicy twist to the ordinary. One belle discovered it a decade ago (in the October 2004 Fitness magazine) and has adapted it over the years to suit her tastes…and ingredients on-hand (again, we seldom follow ANY recipe “by-the-book”…no fun!).
Moroccan-spiced Butternut Squash Soup
the ingredients:
1-2 butternut squash (about 3 lbs) halved and seeded
1 gala apple, peeled (or your favorite variety…we’ve even used a pear)
1/2 t extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t kosher salt
2 cloves garlic
1 1-inch piece fresh gingeroot, peeled and cut in half
1 t curry powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t coriander
heat oven to 400 degrees
Rub olive oil and sprinkle salt on cut sides of squash. Place a clove of garlic and a piece of ginger on a foil-lined cookie sheet, then place a squash half, flesh side down, over the garlic/ginger combo. Continue with the remaining garlic, ginger, and squash. Roast for 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly.
Scrape squash flesh, garlic, and ginger in blender or food processor. Add broth, spices, apple, and 1 c water. Process until smooth. Pour into saucepan and heat, covered, over low heat until heated through.
The finished product…with a little popcorn garnish…belleicious!!
You might have a new fall family favorite!!
a&a
27 Sunday Jul 2014
Posted in just sayin'
30 Monday Jun 2014
Posted in healthy belle
Tags
Ok…time for a mid-year check-in. Yes, believe it or not, as of midnight tonight, 2014 will be 6 months down, six months to go. Heavens to Betsy! Remember those resolutions you made back in January? How’s that workin’ out for ya?
Now, we must admit…each year, by about January 31 (or before), we usually can’t remember whatever it was that we resolved to do in the heat of the moment as the ball dropped in Times Square just a few short weeks earlier. (Sound familiar? We thought so!). Well, we have discovered yet another “perk” of blogging…we now have a published record of all that we have shared with our fellow belles…including any advice that we might have given about diet and fitness (two MAJOR themes of the typical New Year’s resolutions, duh)
One such post had to do with the Fitbit fitness bands we started wearing at the beginning of the year.
We were loving the friendly competition the bands had inspired in us and we were intrigued by the information we were suddenly able to gather about our bodies and fitness routines. And, guess what? We are still going strong! Our goal was to become AWARE…we wanted to know how many steps we got in a typical day, how far we could push ourselves (at the end of a 20,000 + step day, we are dragging!), how efficient our bodies are at burning calories, how restful (or not) our sleep is each night…
For example:
– It takes petite belle about 15 minutes to fall asleep…and once she’s out, she’s out!
– sadly, even on a very active day, we don’t burn as many calories as we thought…we now know that little treats are wonderful…we just can’t go overboard (good to know!)
– we have walked around 2 million steps and covered over 800 miles on foot since January
We now know all of this and more! Armed with all of this informationā¦and being accountable to our Fitbit friends, we are ready to tackle the body changes that seem to come as we age (yes…belles DO age…they just try to do it as gracefully as possible).
So…you still have half of 2014 ahead, belles. It’s not too late to revisit that resolution and accomplish that goal!
Go for it, belles!
a&a
21 Friday Feb 2014
Posted in healthy belle
Tags
“Workout” and “exercise” can sometimes sound like dirty words. Granted, a good run alone or a walk with the dogs can be great for clearing your thoughts and boosting the mood, but doesn’t it seem so much more pleasant (and less of a chore) when you have a partner (or a few) to keep you company and share the misery?
We kicked off our new year by wearing our new Fitbit fitness bands to help keep us on track, but we had both already bought into the whole “take care of you” idea. We support each other and other friends on our quest to stay fit by planning activities together and holding each other accountable. On Sundays, we have a group who meets for a power walk and talk session. Honestly, I think we could solve the world’s problems with this group of get-the-job done girls in no time flat!! We also each have a workout (there’s that dirty word again) partner. We both actually go somewhere with a friend and PAY someone to make our muscles ache! Now, we aren’t saying you have to do the same…we just want to encourage all of our sweet belles to pair up and get busy if you aren’t already doing it. You won’t believe how great it feels!! Strong body, check. Clear head, check. Girl time, check check š
You go, girl!
a&a
30 Thursday Jan 2014
Posted in healthy belle
One really cool new find is this sporty piece of bling we recently started wearing. Even though we work out like crazy women and do a pretty smart job of eating well (while enjoying more than an occasional treat), this little jewel is pretty nifty at keeping us on track and even more aware of just how well (or poorly) we are treating ourselves. With a quick set-up and the download of an app, we can now keep track of steps, sleep, distance covered, water intake…all of the little things that add up to success in taking care of these bodies!
It inspires a bit of internal and external competition, too! If we happen to notice that we might fall short of one of our goals, we are quick to remedy the situation with a quick walk, some stair running or some jumping jacks. Whatever it takes to stay ahead (and not be outdone by the other belle or, heaven forbid, one of our husbands!). Go get ’em!!
a & a
the RARE belle 