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GETTING ACTIVE AFTER THE HOLIDAYS

BlueCollarPrep

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Trying to stay in shape these days feels harder and harder – especially during the holidays! Between juggling work, the blog, house chores, and spending time with my family, it doesn’t leave much time for fitness. These days I’m finding that if I want to work out as much as I would like to, I need to find ways to include my son. We’ve been bringing Nate to the track lately. He loves trying to race mommy and I around. Sometimes we’ll even have an imaginary game of baseball and run the bases over and over. The kid loves to run, so it works out! It actually started lightly snowing when we were shooting, but it made it all the more fun for Nate! I also recently starting going to a Cross Fit gym by me a few times a week. The gym actually allows me to bring my son to watch while I’m taking my class. It’s adorable watching him try to copy the moves and workouts from the corner. He’s a big fan of burpees and box jumps LOL. Not only does he enjoy being included in getting active with my wife and I, but he also loves that he can match daddy. One of the many reasons we like going to Marshalls is that they have something for the whole family. They also have some great workout equipment! My wife recently got a yoga mat, I got a muscle roller, and I also picked up this jump rope, which I’ve really been into lately! (Of course we had to find one for Nate as well, so he can join in). I’m a big fan of keeping it simple when it comes to activewear so I love an all-black fitness look. The long-sleeve RBX shirt is great for winter. It sort of has a mock turtle-neck and the inside has a fleece feel. I’ve been looking for fitted & tapered workout pants for a while now. They’re actually not so easy to find, and most activewear pants that I come across are baggy and sloppy looking. I was so happy when I found these! I LOVE the neoprene material that was used in this outer jacket! I love the silhouette with the scoop hem in the back and the fact that you can take half of the sleeve off and still be able to rock it in warmer weather. I’ll definitely be purchasing more of these technical looking sweatshirts by PUMA for 2017. Love the look and versatility of them! I wore these black ECCO sneakers to complete my fitness look. They’re very clean looking since there are no laces, and they’re also very comfortable and easy to slip in and out of. Its like wearing a slipper that you can run in! We lucked out and found some coordinating all-black activewear for my son as well. Marshalls really is our one-stop shop for brands we love for my entire family! Check out my feature on the Marshalls Blog!

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NEW CHELSEA’S IN MY CLOSET

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know that one of the hottest trends not only in men’s fashion but in footwear alone is the Chelsea boot, and I’m a huge fan! Some of these brands sell them for upwards to $1000, so it was nice to see that Shoeology makes and sells them for less than $100! (You don’t always have to break the bank to follow trends) I paired these Thompson Brown Chelsea Boots with black pants, this rust vintage button down, my black leather and this green fedora (just to add a little pop of color, but not over the top) I felt like the look was sort of that old school Brooklyn vibe ๐Ÿ™‚ The distressed brown on the boots gives them that worn-in, casual look but the subtle sheen on the leather keeps them a little dressy. If you don’t own any yet and are hesitant to try a chelsea boot, due to the more refined look and narrow shoe silhouette, these are a good pair to start off on – price-wise and they’re one of the more rugged styles I own, for you manly men! ๐Ÿ˜›
Family Reviews Style

‘LIFE IS GOOD’ AT MARSHALLS

BlueCollarPrep for Marshalls

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Usually a perfect Friday night for my family and I is a little date night. Nothing too fancy but something that has a little something for everyone…a trip to our local Marshalls. On the surface it might not sound that exciting, but it’s a night that has everything we need after a long work week. We’re able to spend some time together doing something we all love…SHOP! We’re lucky enough to have our favorite pizza place, Home Depot (we’re homeowners, we live here), and liquor store (for after Nate’s asleep) all in the same shopping complex. We usually start our night by getting some pizza and filling our bellies so we don’t have to rush shopping and Nathan’s not cranky. We then head over toย Marshalls to do some shopping! It’s a great store to bring our son Nate to because it not only has clothes for him, but we can also bribe him with a toy if he behaves and let’s us shop LOL. Depending on how good he is during the week also determines the size of the toy. Usually we just get him a little toy truck, book or puzzle (we shop at Marshalls way too much to be getting a full-sized jeep every time we go). Sometimes we’ll even grab a little snack from the checkout or home goods area to snack on while we’re walking around. We actually grabbed a bag of Jalapeno chips ($2.99) to take to the park with us, but unfortunately we were too hungry and the chips were too good and never made it to the park to be in our shots. Before we head to the fitting rooms, we always hit up the home goods section – a good portion of our house decor and kitchen utensils are from bothย Marshalls & Home Goods. We love the hopes of finding that one unique piece! The outfit I picked up had a great variety of brands…which is another thing I love about Marshalls. What other store can you have access to all these top brands at such affordable prices?! I’ve been trying to grow my hat collection but with such a small head I have a hard time finding a hat that fits just right. This plaid ‘Life is Good’ hat ($9.99) is a perfect fall pick up and goes great with the preppy look I was going for. The green in it was really brought out in combination with this Vineyard Vines vest ($59.99). Fall is a good time to break out the vests and a great way to add some color or texture to your outfit. I kept the shirt simple with a classic white button down from Jack Spade ($24.99)…which happens to be one of my favorite menswear brands. I also got a great pair of New Balance sneakers ($39.99) which I wore with no socks. I know some people aren’t a fan of going sockless but it’s comfortable for me and I do it all the time, and most importantly I like the way it looks with most of my outfits. However, you can easily go to theย Marshalls sock section and pick up a pair of no-shows to get the same look. While I was shopping in the shoe section I also found and bought Nate the cutest all black Onitsuka Tiger sneakers ($19.99). I own two pairs of sneakers from the brand already and love their retro style. Of course he looked adorable in them! We took our Marshalls finds to one of our local parks to play, explore and shoot. Unfortunately one of our favorite little streams was a little dry, but it didn’t stop us from exploring (Nate loves exploring and hiking). We still got to throw some rocks…just with a lot less splash. Heading over to the playground, Nate was a little too excited and wasn’t watching where he was walking and tripped and fell. Poor little guy got a boo boo on his knee but was excited he didn’t mess up his new sneakers LOL That’s my boy! My family and I pretty much have the same routine at least 2 Friday’s out of the month LOL What can I say…we love pizza and love our Marshalls, in hopes of finding that perfect hidden piece! We also love the fact that you can hit up another Marshalls location and find completely different pieces. Boy do we get excited when we’re away for the weekend and drive past a newย Marshalls to scavenger LOL We love the shopping rush of finding that perfect #MarshallsSurprise! Check out my post on the Marshalls site as well!

Style Travel

G.H. BASS MAINE TRIP (LOOK 7 )

BlueCollarPrep for GH Bass

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When Styling the GH Bass Ranger Moc II Lyndon Hi Bison Boot (in Medium Brown), I wanted to go with a denim rugged look. I wore this mostly denim look, pairing these awesome polo carpenter jeans with this G-Star denim jacket. To try and edge it up I wore an olive turtle neck….which are currently two of my faves: the color olive and turtlenecks! (need more) These boots are different than most because they come right out of the box with that comfortable broken-in feel. The leather is sooooo soft, and the rigid sole adds to the softness that you feel when you’re walking…by far the most comfortable boot I EVER wore! I also love the texture of the leather. I might be in love with these ๐Ÿ™‚

Family Style Travel

A WEEKEND IN BOSTON

BlueCollarPrep in Boston

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As much as my family and I would love to go to the Caribbean every weekend LOL, we realize that’s not possible, so we like to take Nate on little road trips, visiting the surrounding states and exploring areas we’ve never been to before. When we got the opportunity to stay at The Revere Hotel in Boston we were super excited! We actually had plans to visit Boston previously, but never actually made the move and went. We have always heard so much about the city and how beautiful and clean it is. It’s definitely different than NYC but great and a little quaint in its own way. We started our trip, as we always try to do when we visit a new city, and headed straight to where Nate can go nuts and have fun – the Boston Children’s Museum. As anyone with a toddler knows sometimes you just have to bribe your kid ๐Ÿ™‚ We know that Nate doesn’t always want to shop and eat his way through a city like we want to, (LOL) so letting him have his fun first is always the plan! The Museum is right on the water and across the bay from the very cool looking Boston Tea Party Museum. Right when you enter the museum you’re greeted with a huge 3-story climbing jungle gym. It was pretty cool in the fact that it almost looked like a giant piece of artwork – so the fact that kids could actually climb in it all the way to the top was pretty amazing. Nate could’ve spent all day in there! On one of the floors they had these very cool water tables where kids can learn about the flow of water and play with boats. There are too many stations to list them all, but it’s definitely very interactive and hands-on while incorporating both learning and fun. Nate is still talking about how he wants to go back! After the museum and all that running around and learning, there was really only one place to go and that was Kane’s Donuts. I might be somewhat of a donut junkie because I always Google famous donut shops in the area wherever I’m headed! The Cookies and Cream donut was my family’s favorite! We then finally made our way to The Revere Hotel. It was in a great location and the lobby had some really cool musical artifacts, including a signed B.B. King guitar! Once we got to the room Nate and I did what we always do when we first arrive at a hotel…we jump on the beds and attack mommy with tickles LOL (No mommies were hurt during this) We had a nice balcony with a cool skyline view from our room and could see the rooftop lounge right below. It looked amazing, but unfortunately we had the rainiest of weekends and didn’t get to utilize it. The hotel is actually also going under some renovations and updates so we didnt’ get to see the indoor swimming pool, but doubt we would’ve had time for swimming anyways, as we were constantly on the move all weekend! Aside for all the food and shopping we did, we wanted to make one of the evenings there a little different, so we decided to take Nate to Blue Man Group. I actually took my wife to see this on our very first date together, so it was a little nostalgic for us, now taking Nathan to it for his very first show. He loved it! A week after we got home we caught him trying to throw mini muffins in his mouth, and then realized he had seen it at blue man group with marshmallows LOL Our last day in Boston we enjoyed an amazing chocolate bar & brunch and finally did some of the historic exploring. We walked the Freedom Trail, saw some of the famous burial grounds, and squeezed in a little park time even though it was still drizzling. Surprisingly, Nathan actually enjoyed himself and asked more questions than you would think a 4 year old would about history LOL. Overall Boston was a great little weekend adventure and the The Revere Hotel was a beautiful hotel to stay at. The staff was also very welcoming and gave my son a little stuffed lobster with ‘Boston’ written on it, right when we arrived. He officially named his lobster Boston, just like he named his turtle Cayman (for Grand Cayman)…unique Nate haha. We’re already anxious for the next adventure that comes our way. Stay tuned!

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DAY TO EVENING IN MSX BY MICHAEL STRAHAN

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My wife and I are always looking for ways to stay active and to try fun, new things to do together. We both recently started taking up golfing. My little man has also started…he looks too cute holding his new little golf bag! Most of the time we go golfing we usually try to make it a date night by following it up with dinner and some drinks. It can be kind of tricky to choose an outfit that I can wear golfing and be able to head straight to cocktails with little to no changing of the clothes. In comes my MSX by Michael Strahan Stretch Chino Pants from JCPenney. The polyester/spandex material makes them comfy enough to go golfing in (or to chase Nate around in) and will dry quickly to hide any sweat marks before I head out for a drink ๐Ÿ™‚ I decided to do one of my favorite color combos and go full-on monochromatic. I paired the pants with a navy form-fitting shirt and pair of navy Converse. The pants are a very classic fit (and lightweight, and did I mention super comfortable with a bit of stretch?!) and I like more of a tight leg, so I decided to tight roll the bottom of the pants (which I actually do to a lot of my pants lately). To change the look from casual to a little more dressy, I paired them with my brown monk-strap shoes…navy and brown just always look so good together! I think both shoe styles work really well with this outfit, and really shows off the versatility of these Chino Pants!

Family Style Travel

G.H. BASS MAINE TRIP (LOOK 5)

BlueCollarPrep

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The shorelines of Vinalhaven, Maine were so pretty and spectacular to shoot on because a good percentage of them were actually made of granite. I was actually lucky enough to have part of the my new kitchen countertop cut from the shore and brought back on the boat with us. (I’m kidding! lol But wouldn’t that have been awesome!) It really was beautiful, and then surrounded by a gorgeous ocean back drop?! So peaceful. I decided to style the G.H. Bass Layton Kiltie Sneaker Weejuns (in Brown this time. I kinda have a thing for the Kiltie!) Unfortunately the brown are sold out, but they do still have them in Navy, which I also have! ๐Ÿ™‚ This style shoe is very popular right now and for good reason! Everyone looks good in this shoe silhouette, no matter your style, and you can easily style them up or down. I like them so much I have them in 2 colors AND also picked up a pair for my step father for Father’s Day and he loves them too! (look out for a collab between him and I coming soon LOL) I wore them with a pair of cropped navy chinos, which I think fall perfectly right above the shoe, and a matching workman style navy jacket from H&M. I always love brown shoes with navy pants. The jacket and pants are so perfectly matched it almost looks like they belong together as a suit. I wore a vintage style athletic’s Ralph Lauren short-sleeve sweatshirt under the jacket….because I’m just always drawn to more casual/sporty looks by nature. Overall, with my fitted full-on navy pieces, I felt both clean-cut and sporty at the same time, and that’s exactly the style shoes these G.H. Bass Sneaker Weejuns are…you seriously can wear them with just about anything!

Style Travel

G.H. BASS MAINE TRIP (LOOK 4)

BlueCollarPrep

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We really took full advantage of Vinalhaven’s landscape and explored the coast as much as we could. I can’t even count how many rocks Nate and I must’ve skipped and tossed into the Ocean. There was a beautiful blend of rocky ocean side and greens from the trees accented with all the fishing boats in the background and beautiful colored buoy’s both in and out of the water. It was great to have my wife capture these moments with Nate. We had no cellphone service on the island, so it was nice to disconnect and not have the distractions of everyday life. Just being able to hold Nate in between my legs and play eye-spy and chuck rocks into the water really makes you appreciate the little things. Onto the outfit ๐Ÿ™‚ Is there such thing as too much denim? I think I put that question to the test! (LOL) I wore my favorite Polo Ralph Lauren denim shirt with a clean and simple denim jacket from H&M, ripped jeans from ZARA and my Ranger Moc G.H. Bass shoes. The Ranger Moc shoe in Dark Brown from G.H. Bass is rugged enough to take anywhere but has the style of a shoe. I really like how versatile they can be. Their sole gives them a rugged look, and their low-top silhouette allows them to go with any look. I think this shoe is a great alternative to wearing a boot. Being a blue collar worker like myself, I can see these shoes going from office to the construction site with ease. I rolled up the bottom of my jeans to show my navy blue American Apparel socks to give the look a touch of preppy. To add a pop of color to my full-on denim look I also wore a red handkerchief around my neck. I really dig the handkerchief as an accessory to give it that Americana style. I topped off my outfit with a fitted beanie cap, slightly pulled back off the hair-line, well because, my wife thinks it looks sexy that way :p. I thought my look was perfect for the surroundings and scenery – I kinda dig that sailor-type style!

Style

NAVY IN INC INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTS

BlueCollarPrep

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The family and I decided to go to Cold Spring, NY for the day to grab a bite and check out some of the antique shops. I decided to wear my 2nd I.N.C. International Concepts look. I wore their Men’s Collins Slim-Fit Blazer and their Men’s Collins Slim-Fit Pants (both in Navy) and to give it a more sporty, casual look I paired it with their Men’s Kenny V-Neck Short-Sleeve T-Shirt in White and my navy G.H. Bass Layton Kiltie Sneaker Weejuns. Any opportunity I get to pair a v-neck shirt with a suit or pair of trousers, more likely than none, you will see me do it! I felt these weejuns were great for this look because they’re casual but still look dressy enough and the Kiltie detail always has a special place in my heart (LOL), plus, I’m really into monochromatic looks lately, so the navy and navy just worked! We actually stopped for brunch but you won’t see any pics of that because I was starving AND when you put a chicken and waffle sandwich in front of me, there’s no time for pics! lol Antique shops are always fun to stop and browse but for some reason I barely ever buy anything from them…I guess I just like to go in, window shop and check out some vintage goods. I did come across this really cool hat that had a built in green visor that I kind of regret not buying….maybe if it’s still there when I go back it was meant to be ๐Ÿ™‚ Overall I really like how this look turned out. I’ve been dying to add some more suits and dressier pieces into my wardrobe and now I have 2 more additions with my I.N.C suits – both in 2 of my favorite apparel colors…navy and gray. I really like the slim fit of the blazer. I gave my pants a slightly loose tight-roll, to play up the sportier look even more. I might be rocking one of these I.N.C suits out to a wedding I’m attending in September…stay tuned for a more dressed up and dapper Eric then! ๐Ÿ™‚