I got Botox and I loved it. | Elase Medical Spa

Botox.

Wow, that has always been a word that strikes great curiosity in my mind. Over the last few years I have seen women I adore get Botox with amazing results.

Finally it was my time. I was a little nervous, but mostly anxious with excitement. I met with the gorgeous Shari Wroblewski, RN, BSN. See what I mean?



I love Shari, and would love to look just like her! Shari put me COMPLETELY at ease and talked me through what I hoped to achieve with my first Botox treatment. I told Shari I wanted the results to be subtle enough that not everyone would think, "Oh my did she just get Botox?", but I wanted to see enough results to have people notice I looked different in a good way.

We decided for this first treatment to focus on my forehead, where I noticed I was starting to get more and more wrinkles. We determined that many of these probably came from sun exposure. (Wear your sunscreen!) We focused on the area where my side swept bangs did not cover, and where the most wrinkles were.



Botox, for me, was painless! Shari explained how things would feel over the next few days and weeks, and what to look for in terms of results. The visit was fast and over quickly. One thing I learned is that Botox is affordable, and Elase has a plan to fit your budget.

Come back next week to see my results, and we'll talk about how long Botox lasts, if I love it, and if I will be doing it again.

Check out my before photos:



Normal

Surprised!

Curious about learning more about Botox? Here is some information straight from Elase's website!

BOTOX^® and Dysport™ are purified proteins that are used to inhibit muscle movement in the face. By limiting the movement that creates the wrinkles, our skin is able to smooth itself out. BOTOX^® and Dysport™ treatments consist of a few quick injections around the trouble area. Treatments are fast and almost painless. Elase is a BLACK DIAMOND STATUS Provider of BOTOX^®, which means that our medical professionals in Salt Lake City, Draper and Orem are among the top 3% of providers nationwide.

Call Elase to schedule your free consultation now! 1-801-495-2737, or chat with a representative online (You can find the chat box in the bottom right hand corner of their website)!

Vive Medical Weight Loss | Elase Medical Spa

The moment I stepped into Elase, I was drawn to the "wall of Vive", along this wall sits the Vive product line and all sorts of other goodies to pique interest. With good reason too because Vive is quite an amazing program, and I was so thrilled when Elase offered me a free week of the Vive program just so that I could tell you about it. How amazing is that?

You all know that I struggle with my weight. It goes up and down and up and down and generally up again. While I know this is part psychological and mostly physical, it drives me crazy, and the opportunity to have a coach work with me through all of the ups and downs sounded like an amazing idea.

             

Here are some of the things you get when you sign up for Vive. You get a Blender Bottle, a bottle of oil, two bags of MRP (Meal Replacement Protocol shakes) and some Real Salt.

Then you get a little blood test that measures your cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

And of course, my favorite part of any weight loss, you get weighed and measured. 

What I like about Elase is that they have the InBody 520 in office. The InBody is more than just a scale, it is a really awesome scale that measures not only total body weight, but breaks that weight down into lean body mass, body fat mass, intra and extracellular water, your BMI (which we know kind of sucks for everyone), your percentage of body fat, and a segmental lean analysis which helps determine the ratio of muscle on different parts of your body. 

Uhm? AMAZING! They do this EVERY WEEK when you weigh in. This helps to pinpoint the areas you are losing weight, whether it is muscle, fat or water...and if you are gaining in these areas as well.

   

The program consists of daily exercise routines, drinking 3 WIO Meal Replacement Protocol shakes (The shakes are pretty good, and you get to add 4 ounces of a low carbohydrate shake into them. This makes them creamy. You also have the choice to add flavor supplements to change up the shake flavors a bit. My favorite is peanut butter. I highly recommend the chocolate shakes, I did not like the vanilla MRP at all), and a healthy meal consisting of protein and healthy vegetables. After a few weeks Smart Foods are brought into your diet like yummy muffins, and my favorite, ham, egg, and cheese croissants.

My first week results were as follows:
-1.3 lbs
-.5" neck
-.75" bicep -.25" shoulders
-1.5" chest
-1.25" belly button
-.5" waist
-.5" thigh

These are some pretty impressive inch loss numbers.

I enjoyed the results of my first week so much that I signed up for the full program and extended a month. Normally Vive is a 20 week medical weight loss program, but you can extend the program to fit your weight loss needs. You learn how to add healthy foods back into your daily routine and life lessons to keep you on track.

Come back in a few weeks when I give you the entire weight loss breakdown and my final thoughts on the Vive Medical Weight Loss program from Elase Medical Spa.

Call Elase today for your free consultation! 1-801-495-2737
***Disclaimer: For the next few months I will be blogging about my experience with Elase Medical Spas. While I am receiving treatments in return for my opinion about my experience, please be assured they are my own and I have chosen to be very choosy about the things I share with my readers, and any and all opinions I have about Elase and my experiences will be my own. I have chosen to work with Elase because I believe it can benefit so many of us who may be curious about a medical spa but may not feel comfortable approaching one on their own. I hope to change those feelings. Let's take care of ourselves and treat ourselves!***

Dressing for Family Photos Tips from Kim Orlandini Photography

***This post was originally posted over at my lovely friend +Emily Hill's adorable blog, is this REALLY my life? , and I am so excited to share it with you today!***

Back to school always reminds me that fall is fast approaching, and with fall comes some of my favorite things. Layers, long sleeves, crisp air, and family photos.

I began taking photos professionally when my son was a little boy. I quickly learned what looked amazing in photos and what left people looking less than desirable. Clients ask me all the time, "What do you suggest we wear for family photos?" To which I have an easy answer which I can break down into four basic parts:

1. Coordinate: Perhaps one of the most important "rules" when it comes to choosing outfits for family photos is to remember to coordinate. I can almost guarantee that you will look a million times more awesome if everyone in your photo is coordinated and NOT matching. Long, long gone are the days of everyone wearing white polo shirts and khaki pants. (Yuck.) Coordinating allows individuality and more color into the photo which will look a lot more amazing on your wall than bright whites and khakis which will do nothing for you but wash you out and distract from who you are. Dressing this way will not take away from the most important subject of the photos: You. Your clothes will compliment you and not steal the show. I promise.

2. Prints and Solids: My recipe for choosing clothing for photo sessions, and I have done this since my first child was born, is to put one person in a print, and then coordinate everyone else around that print.

Usually I will decide on the person who will be wearing the print and then pull colors out of that print for everyone else to wear. Doing this gives you a lot of options to add colors that will be flattering on different skin tones and hair or eye color. This way, no one is stuck wearing something that makes them look and feel awful about themselves.

This year I was actually inspired by my youngest daughter's dress which is a teal green color. This was a bit opposite of what I normally do and required me to find a print with this color in it.



Dress: Walmart

Shoes: Gap

Belt: Thistles Boutique
Earrings: Forever 21

It just so happened that I was photographing a family the same week I fell in love with Camilla's teal dress. My good friend Kristina was wearing this amazing hummingbird dress with a blue cardigan and a cute coral belt and earrings. I texted her and begged her to let me copy her outfit for my family photos. She obliged and I owe her a million.



Dress: eShakti
Cardigan: Downeast Basics
Heels: Forever Young Shoes
Belt and Earrings: Target

Once the print was chosen I was able to pull navy and coral out for my older daughter.



Dress: TJMaxx
Shoes: eBay
Necklace: Downeast Basics
Earrings: Maurices

I coordinated my son's outfit with his little sister's dress by putting him in teal jeans. He coordinates with his dad through his burgundy shirt and the gray in his sweater, and I pull the blue from his sweater to coordinate with me and his sister.



Cardigan: H&M
Shirt: eBay

Shoes: Ross
Pants: Macy's

Finally, I coordinated my husband with my son's outfit by putting him in a burgundy cardigan and pulled out some of the brown from my dress to coordinate with what I was wearing.




Shirt, Cardigan, Pants: H&M

Shoes: Brazil

3. Layer: Here you can see all of our outfits together. Layers are flattering and can often hide "flaws" we may feel that we have. A cardigan will cover extra cleavage or flabby arms, or hide a bit of post pregnancy weight. Layering looks very nice in photos and allows an extra level of coordinating options. 

4. Accessorize: By accessorizing you can put the finishing touch on your photos. Just like layering helps us hide our flaws, a great statement necklace can bring the eye to your face, or a great pair of heels can give your calves a little bit of extra umph and elongation to your legs, a very feminine touch. Add a little headband to your girls, and if their ears are pierced choose a pretty pair of earrings to help coordinate with their outfit or someone else's. Other ideas to accessorize? A great watch on your hubby, a pretty belt to cinch in that waist (I promise you will look 10 lbs slimmer), or a great scarf.

Most important? Have fun! Remember to chill out and relax. A stressed out, yelling mama doesn't make anyone happy. Promise your man a delicious dinner (and dessert *wink*) as a reward for his good attitude and cooperation. Promise your kids an extra song and book at bedtime for their smiley faces during photo time.

Remember to be the real you. Love on your kids, tickle them, and squish them, most importantly, remember that they are kids. They might cry...embrace it. They might not smile, so what? Remember that this time is the time you want to take to capture the real them, the real you, not the "look at the camera and say 'Cheese!'" them. Kiss your man passionately, take family photo time as a way to remember how much you loved one another the day you got married.

Think happy thoughts and your love and happiness will shine right through into your photos.