TGIF

Hi friends! It's been a really busy week and I just haven't had any time to write a post. But I have had time to follow my favorite bloggers! Check them out - they are listed at the bottom of my blog (and actually needs to be updated). 

Until I get a chance to write a real post, I thought I'd leave you all with a new resource in case you're interested. It's a link to the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program that I'm starting on Monday. Although I've cut out eggs and reduced dairy products, I still have my lovely serving of cheese daily and want to completely cut it out and see what happens. I thought joining this 21-day plan would be helpful. Sometimes, plans, challenges, whatever they may be called, make it easier for me to stay on track. Depending on how the 21 days go and how I feel throughout, I may or may not wish to continue a vegan diet...we will see. In theory, I love the idea but sometimes things don't always work out in practice. 

Have a great day and I will be back with another post soon - not about veganism, I promise! ;)

T's and S's

Hi there! Hope you're having a great weekend! My weekend has been good, but a little lazy today. Yesterday was a fun and eventful day. One of my favorite friends and I hung out in the evening and had dinner at a Thai restaurant. We both ordered Pad Thai, and it was so yummy. We then went to browse around at TJ Maxx, picked up a few things at the Indian grocery store, made a Target run, and got some ice cream to take home while we watched some television. Thai food, TJ Maxx, and Target. No, the T theme was not planned, but it worked out pretty well.

While at TJ Maxx, we both found some nice sunglasses and I found a pair of beautiful BCBGeneration shoes. The moment I put these shoes on I knew I had to have them. They are the kind of shoes that make you feel sexy. They are gold-ish colored, 3 inch or so peep-toed stilettos. Best part, they were only $40!!

Sorry for the bad pictures - my camera does not take good blog pictures, but you get the idea!

How was your weekend? What did you do that was really fun?

Food Fix Friday: Sandwich Spread...or Filling?

Hi guys! I meant to post this earlier but ended up having to take care of something...and now that I'm posting it I realize I forgot to take a picture of the food. I was really hungry and so was hubby, and I just didn't think to take a picture before clearing my plate.

Vegetarian or Vegan Sandwich Spread/Filling

• one can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• about 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise or Vegenaise (I tried this and it was pretty tasty, just like mayo!)
• about 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (fresh or from concentrate)
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• about 1/2 or one whole roasted red bell pepper, chopped up (I have a jar of these in my fridge)
• whatever bread or wrap or pita you want to use the filling in (I used a pita pocket for fun)

1. Mash up the garbanzo beans - they don't need to be smooth like a paste, just mashed up
2. Mix in the mayo, lemon juice, celery, red bell, and you can add in salt & pepper too if you want
3. Fill the pita pocket or spread onto your choice of bread and eat with a huge salad beast!

We ate these with a simple salad of romaine lettuce, avocado, feta cheese, and sesame ginger dressing. It was a very satisfying dinner!

*I didn't really measure out the lemon juice and mayo, just mixed them in to my taste and kept testing it until I liked it. Super easy recipe.

gettin some happy in my day

Hello blog friends! I hope you've had a nice Wednesday. The week has just been moving along quickly, no? I must say that I've enjoyed this week thus far. Some things that have made me happy over the last few days:

• beautiful weather in TX, finally!
• a couple appointments were cancelled at work this week, giving me more time to do other stuff
• jumping on my neighbor's trampoline on a beautiful Tuesday evening
• going for a walk after dinner with hubby and the dogs earlier tonight
• seeing my doggies swimming in the pool - they LOVE swimming, it's so fun to watch!
• getting yummy food from Central Market, including this dinner:

I picked up veggie spring rolls and a broccolini-tofu-mushroom side dish with balsamic and garlic (I think). It was really yummy, healthy, and filled me up after my quick strength workout. The one thing that didn't make me smile this week: a very busy gym this evening! I don't like working out in the evenings because it gets so busy, but sometimes that's the only time in my schedule to work out. I wanted to do squats with the oly bar but the weight room was crazy busy with big muscle-y men. I used the seated leg press instead and did some cable kick-backs. Also did vertical chest press, seated row, and ab work (plank). It was quick but effective. :)

How has your week been so far? What's made you happy this week?

Yesterday's post

Hi blog friends! Someone posted that they weren't able to access the link I posted yesterday to another blog. The website is happyherbivore.com, in case anyone is interested in seeing the post I talked about.

Also, I hope nobody was offended by anything I wrote yesterday about being vegetarian or vegan. I'm not trying to get anyone to convert or to feel bad about consuming animal products by any means. I just wanted to share my journey through this process and what I've been reading about and thinking. My husband is a meat-eater and I'm the one doing the cooking for him, so you can see I don't push my values onto him, although I do tell him about what I learn and why I'm trying new things. Okay, maybe I do persuade him to eat more vegetarian-ish a little, but he doesn't mind. ;)

Don't be a bully!

I had some down time in the office this morning and was browsing through blogs and came across this post about vegan bullying. Had never heard of it before, but since I've been trying to eat more of a vegan-ish diet, I was curious to read it. I'm glad I did, because it makes me feel better about not yet being 100% vegan. And I'm not even sure I will be 100% vegan. I would like to be, because I appreciate the idea and what that means, but in practicality, I don't know if it will work for me. And anyway, making such dietary changes takes time...at least for me.

Not eating meat anymore wasn't that difficult since I've been an on-and-off vegetarian throughout life. Getting rid of eggs and dairy, not so easy. I cut out eggs a week ago and that hasn't been too hard because I had been considering it for a while, but even in just a week, there were a couple days where I would have just like to scramble some eggs for breakfast, or dinner. It's not so much about the taste (although I do like the taste of scrambled eggs with cheese and hot sauce!) but about convenience sometimes. Eggs and dairy are easy sources of protein. However, I'm not really sure what I believe about how much protein our bodies really need after all the conflicting information I've read recently. (This is something I'll have to research some more.)

Anyway, although choosing not to eat scrambled eggs or an omelet isn't that difficult, letting go of dairy products is a whole other story. There are just so many things I love to eat that involve dairy in some way. Or even include eggs as an ingredient for that matter. Certain things, like desserts, sauces, pasta made with eggs, ice cream (although I've found good alternatives), and many other things. Ordering pizza would not be the same - what about the cheese?! I LOVE cheese, and that is something I have reduced over the week, but not sure I could cut it out completely...at least not anytime soon.

However, to help make these transitions I've been trying to focus on what I will have more of in my diet, rather than solely focusing on what I will have less of or not have at all. I've been enjoying really yummy salads (you can get pretty creative), lots of fresh fruit and fresh juice (remember our new juicer), snacking on my favorite nuts (cocoa almonds), and making my own creative desserts. What it really comes down to is time and being able to plan out meals and be creative. We live in a busy world, and being able to create a yummy and healthy meal is not always easy, but this is one thing I try to do at least a couple times a week, if not every day. I'm beginning to understand that if we invest in our health now, we will reap the benefits in the future.

Well, I guess this post took a different direction than where it started but I hope you had a chance to read the post I linked at the top and are assured that vegans and vegetarians are not haters! Overall, be compassionate in whatever way you are possible...if that means eating less meat, that's great. If not, that's okay too. There are many ways to be compassionate toward others (humans and animals). Have a great Tuesday!

Crunch No More

Well, getting back to a "real" Monday after a week off from school wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Actually, it was pretty productive. Started my day off with the usual green juice, then I finally hit the gym! Last week I worked out at home and even though I have weights and a stability at home, my work-outs are usually lame. My workouts at the gym are always much better. But for some reason, getting my butt to the gym is sometimes difficult...

Luckily this morning that wasn't the case! I had a great workout with some weighted walking lunges, wide-grip lat pull-down, chest flys, leg curls, squats with the olympic bar, assisted pull-ups, and ab work. For my abs, I didn't do a single crunch! I'm in the "no-crunch zone" now. What's the no-crunch zone you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

I just bought The New Rules of Lifting for Abs last week...gotta work on that six-pack for summer, haha! just. kidding. A flat stomach would be nice to start off with. Anyway, this book basically says that crunches don't do anything for you. One of the exercises it suggested was the plank. I often do the plank, but this book offers many progressions to the plank that work your core. For example, there's the 45-Degree Plank, Plank with Leg Lift, Swiss-Ball Plank, and many more. 

This book offers a lot of information, including some simple nutrition guidance. If you want to try something new and work on getting those sexy abs, pick up this book!

New Name

Hi friends! I decided to change my blog's title and address. The other one wasn't really feeling like a good fit and I had created it just on a whim, while messing around one day. But now this blog is sort of going in a direction, which happens to be the direction I'd like my life to go in...to be healthy and happy.

I'm pretty happy right now, and I think I'm healthy, but I know there are definitely ways to improve my health. Thus, I'm always trying to work on that. Earlier today I came up with many cute blog titles but they were all taken, so my lack of creativity left me with this: Healthful and Happy. The kind of life I want to live. And there you have it.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Food Fix Friday: What's cookin'?

Well...it's more like what's not cooking. Even though I've been home all week, I've only cooked a couple times. I made indian lentils for hubby one day and there were leftovers for dinner the next day. We had some huge salads a couple other nights, and earlier in the week I made turnips (indian dish with roti).

My lunches have mostly been salads or veggies with hummus and I've been doing more snacking than usual. My favorite snack this week has been hummus with sugar snap peas. The one thing I made this week that was new, but not cooked, was white chocolate almond butter. I bought my first "real" food processor, a Cuisinart. I was so excited to use it that I tried making almond butter. Well, it worked! But almond butter alone wasn't that exciting, so I added in white chocolate chips and it came out so creamy and yummy...mmm.

As you can see, I didn't make very much since I was just trying it out. But since it came out so good I will definitely be making it again soon!

Btw, I haven't eaten eggs all week...except I haven't been checking ingredients of packaged treats, so that's another thing I will have to look out for. It's going to be a lot more difficult to go vegan than I thought, but I'm willing to go for it!

adios huevos!

Over the last couple days I've been reading CSD and really thinking about whether or not I want to make changes in my diet, and why I would be doing so. I definitely decided that I want to make some changes, like eliminate eggs and reduce dairy products after the things I've read and just my feelings about using animal products in general. I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes. The first thing I'm letting go of is eggs....so from this Monday to Sunday = no eggs. I'm also going to reduce dairy products this week, starting with milk. I think reducing or eliminating cheese is going to be the hard one. I LOVE cheese, especially in my salads!

For now, letting go of eggs will be enough of a change. Actually, I had been thinking of letting go of eggs for a while now because of one specific reason. WARNING: If you love eggs, don't read the following sentence because I don't want to gross you out. I've been noticing what I assume is blood in eggs lately...for like the past few weeks, but I've just ignored it and continue to eat them. I use cage free brown eggs, so you'd think they are healthy...anyway, glad I'm finally going to give it a try. With the rest, I'll take baby steps!

The day has started off nice - slept in till about 10 (I woke up a couple times this morning and ended up turning off the alarm). Had a yummy green juice. I should have written down the amounts of stuff I used since it tasted good. This is roughly what I put in:

• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 green pear
• 4 or 5 celery stalks
• 2 or 3 romaine leaves
• 2 or 3 kale leaves
• 2 or 3 twigs (?) parsley
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 1/2 inch lemon slice with rind

It was very refreshing and felt clean. I know it probably sounds weird that a juice felt clean, but that's the description that came to mind. 

Did a quick weights workout at home and had a yummy salad beast for lunch, the same as the other day. 

Plans for the rest of the day include trying to be productive! Here's what I'm aiming for:

• finish CSD
• do a load of laundry
• make Indian food for hubby
• work on writing an essay (school-related)
• play with the doggies, get some outdoor activity in

Hope you all have a great Monday! Since I'm on Spring Break, I actually like this week's Monday! ;) 

Crazy Busy Fun

Hi there! Hope you all had as great a Saturday as I did! It was the best day I've had in a while...probably because I didn't worry about school and just enjoyed the day with my doggies and hubby, did some housework, shopping, and ate yummy food.

Started my day with this:

Green juice - green apple, cucumber, celery, romaine, parsley, ginger
Orange juice - 2 oranges and one pink grapefruit

I had the orange & grapefruit juice, hubby had the green juice. There was only enough cucumber for one juice, and I really wanted the green one, but let him have it instead. See how nice I am. :) Btw, I am NOT a fan of grapefruit - next time I will have to add in another orange or something to reduce the bitterness.

Then, as hubby went to work out and be all healthy, I decided not to hit the gym and instead spend some time with the doggies outside since it was such a beautiful day. We went to visit my neighbor who loves the doggies and they love her. I jumped on her huge trampoline while they swam in her pool. It was great!

Lunch was a "salad beast" as Gina and other bloggers refer to huge salads:

Salad beast - romaine, red bell pepper, feta cheese, avocado, sesame ginger dressing
For extra protein - crispy tofu in soy ginger sauce

After lunch I got ready to do some shopping with hubby. We were out for a few hours trying to take care of a couple errands and look for specific items. He found what he was looking for but I only found some random things that were not on my list...but bought them anyway. I don't know why I've been having such trouble finding clothes lately. It's an unusual problem. However, I did find these two lovely dresses at Nordstrom Rack:

I saw this dress last week at the Max Studio outlet but it was double what I paid for it today. Score! My two fave colors - red and black, and I can wear it to work. It fits nicely and gives me some shape.

close up of the lace

I like the color and lace on this dress, and it seemed appropriate for spring. I could wear it to work with a cardigan. It was only $25!!

I also got these shoes...they were so comfy and I figured they would be cuter than flip flops to wear to the pool or something...but hubby thought they were weird. What do you guys think?

They are like so jelly shoes or whatever they were called. They were only about $17 and super comfy, but maybe not so stylish?

Our evening continued with a trip to Whole Foods. Here are a few new things I picked up to try:

I tried the choco macaroons as soon as I got home and they were amazing! YUMMY and healthy apparently!!

Oh, and we had dinner at Bliss Raw Cafe. It's a raw, vegan, organic restaurant. I had the spaghetti and "meatballs". It was pretty good. Here are my leftovers:

Hubby didn't get any food because he ate at the mall, and I also think the menu items didn't appeal to him...but he had a healthy drink of goji berries and some other stuff in it. He said he liked it. I can't wait to go back and try some more of their dishes!

Well, I think I'm going to read some CSD and get to bed. Hope to make it to church in the morning! Have a great Sunday!!

Food Fix Friday: Ice Cream...for breakfast?

Yes, you read that right. Ice cream. For breakfast. Haven't you always wanted to eat ice cream for breakfast? Well, now you can, and not feel guilty about it! I got this idea from Gina's blog (I love her blog! Check it out when you get a chance). She made protein ice cream and I was so tempted to try it that I finally did a couple weeks ago, and then again this morning after my workout. It's a good way to get some extra protein in and also feel like you're having a treat.

Protein Ice Cream:
1 scoop of protein powder of your choice (I use Syntrax Nectar Sweets chocolate truffle)
1/2 c almond milk
about 1 c frozen mixed berries (or other fruit of your choice, and it doesn't have to be frozen)

blend in blender/magic bullet/Vitamix

Note: I also like using bananas instead of berries, it's a bit more creamy and tastes yummy! The more fruit you add in the more ice cream-y texture you will have.

Enjoy!

Crazy Sexy Diet

I just downloaded this book on my new Kindle!! Well, mine and hubby's new Kindle to share. ;) It's kind of fun to read on here. Looking forward to reading this book and sharing my thoughts about it with you all.

The week has gone by quickly! Just been busy with school and work, and getting those dishes clean every night before bed, haha. No sink full of dishes in the morning!

I hope to get in a good cardio workout tomorrow and make plans for Spring Break...even though I won't actually be going anywhere, I need to plan out how I want to make the most of my time off - getting some work done, organizing/cleaning the house and my home office, eating healthy and working out, and spending time with others!

Hopefully I will have a good food post for you tomorrow. We shall see!

Monday thru Sunday and plans for Spring Break

Things have been crazy busy and I haven't really had much time to blog about fun stuff...not much fun has really been going on. At least not blog worthy. :) Pretty much whatever I write on here is related to my life at the moment, and right now my life is all about getting thru graduate school (with all its ups and downs) and trying to live a healthy lifestyle. As you may have noticed, I started entering my workouts for the week in the box on the left. One of these days I'll post a whole workout - from The New Rules of Lifting for Women, which I used to follow a few months back and am trying to get back into once in a while.

As for food, I will have to post a nice recipe on Friday. Until then...here is a new post idea I'd like to try, called Monday thru Sunday. It's mostly for me to stay on track and try something for every day of the week, whether it be something to do, something to include in my meals, or whatever. Basically to help hold me accountable for my goals for the week. This week, my goal is to go to sleep without a sink full of dishes! Sounds simple enough, but my the middle of the week I get so tired when I get home that I'll leave dishes to wash the next morning. And who wants to wake up to a sink full of dishes? Plus, I don't like using a dishwasher...there aren't enough dishes to justify using it unless we have a dinner party or something. However, I would probably waste less water with the dishwasher...

So, this week's Monday thru Sunday: wash all dishes before bed!!

Spring Break, you are so close...I can't wait! I'm going on a wild cruise for a week! I'm super excited!! Just have to get everything done before I leave...NOT. I'm not going anywhere. I could, but it wouldn't be a wise decision. See, I have all these requirements for my grad program and Spring Break would give me a whole week where I don't have to go to work or be on campus, and can actually get some work done on those requirements. Sounds fun, right? Yeah, tell me about it. But I am definitely going to have some fun things planned during the week...hopefully. Any ideas?

Fruit Craze

Hi friends! I've been a bad blogger the last few days. I was super busy on Friday and forgot my Food Fix post. Sorry about that! School has been crazy and upsetting and I've just been trying to get things on track. Unfortunately, not everything is in my control with school and it just makes things frustrating. Enough about that for now.

Weekend was fun but too short! Went to the Allen outlets with hubby but didn't find much...I think I've lost my shopping mojo! I went to the Galleria mall the day before and left with nothing. That almost never happens! Maybe it's because I'm looking for specific things and not finding them. Anyway, at the outlets the only place I bought anything was at Ann Taylor - a blue printed top, a black beaded headband, and a long silver necklace. Will try to post pics later this week.

My favorite purchase of the weekend is from today - the Jack LaLanne Juicer!! I've been on a fruit kick all week and have been eating multiple servings of fruit daily. Since trying to eat healthier, I've wanted to try making fresh juice at home but out previous juicer sucked. So today I talked hubby into buying the Power Juicer. When we got home I made orange-carrot juice and it was super refreshing! Looking forward to trying some green juices that I keep seeing on other food blogs.

That's it for now. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Wednesday Night is the Best

Reasons why Wednesday night is the best:

• I don't have to be at work until 9:30 on Thursdays, so I can leave the house at 8:30, which means I can sleep in a little bit.
• Half the week is over.
• It has ended up being my 'visit Central Market on the way home' day. Got some more fresh fruit and veggies today.
• I get to see all the fun people at work.
• It's my 'rest day' from working out...for now.

I like Thursday - Sunday too, but for different reasons. No, I didn't forget about Monday. I just don't like it. Monday should just be part of the weekend I tell you. 

Anyway...I didn't get to go on a real shopping trip yet but made a quick stop at Kohl's just to see if I could find something cute there, but I only found a necklace. I don't know how Katy always finds the cutest things there. But I do love my new necklace, and it was one of the things I was looking for, so success! It was about $8 on sale from $24!

Wish List Wednesday

Today, I only wish for time to slow down...or for more hours to be added to the day. I have a million things to do for work and school and there is just not enough time to get it all done in a timely manner.

I've been thinking about this Wish List Wednesday post - I don't really like doing it anymore. It was fun at first, but my wish list isn't always realistic and I just feel greedy posting all these things I want. I always want something. Thus, I won't be doing a weekly Wish List post, but will replace it with something that fits more in line with my values/goals/thoughts...keep an eye out for it!

A New Month, A New Wardrobe?

Okay, new month, yes. New wardrobe, not so much. Well friends, my self-imposed shopping ban is over and you better believe that I am going shopping ASAP...which means this weekend. Maybe I can squeeze in a mini trip during the week. Don't worry now, I'm not going to go all crazy. My first priority is to look for the items I mentioned in a previous post. Those are things my closet needs at the moment. Any sales going on this week?

I'm participating in Two Truths and a Lie Tuesday from Melissa's blog once again:

1. I am a vegetarian.
2. Washing dishes is the only household chore I don't mind doing.
3. I played the drums for my high school marching band.

Happy Monday....

Well, at least I hope you're having a happy Monday! Mine started off pretty badly but has gotten better. Let's hope it continues this way.

Just a quick post about an email I got from PETA http://www.peta.org/action/meatless-monday.aspx. I'm not sure why or how I received this email, but I'm already a vegetarian so I wasn't offended or upset about it. I just thought I would share it with you all in case you've ever toyed with the idea of eating less meat or cutting it out altogether. Maybe a Meatless Monday can be the place to start? I wonder if I should get my husband to try this....haha.

You may have noticed that most (all?) of the food-related posts on are meatless - it wasn't intentional, because I do cook meat for my husband and have some good and easy recipes. I will try to share those for anyone who may be interested. Gotta go for now, enjoy the rest of your day!

A Big Day Ahead

Good morning readers! I have a couple different things in my head right now so here they are, one by one:

Not So Amazing

I decided to try this Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion for breakfast this morning and the verdict: it's not so amazing. Fail. I mixed the packet with milk like I usually do with protein shakes, but that didn't seem to help. It was really chalky and didn't taste very good. I still chugged it down and plan on having my usual protein shake after I work out within the next hour or so. The packet is 110 calories, has 1g fat, 13g carbs, 6g fiber, and 10g protein. It reminds me of the this product except the Vega shake actually tastes good, and they are nutritionally pretty similar. So, I recommend you try the Vega Shake & Go Smoothie over this one if you were thinking about it.

Plans for Shopping
Can you tell how ready I am for a shopping trip? Even though I didn't complete the remix challenge, not shopping for a whole month has really helped me look at my closet in a new way. I've had a friend ask me if I will go crazy on my first shopping trip because I haven't gone in a month, and I replied that I don't think I will. I've come to learn what items I'm missing from my closet and how to approach shopping so that I actually have complete outfits to wear instead of random pieces. Now I can't promise that this will always happen, but the plan is to be more mindful when I'm shopping. Thus, I've already started a list in my head about the items I need for Spring:

• casual capri pants (I have a couple pairs but they don't fit well)
• a nice pair of jeans to wear when going out - and they can't be skinny jeans!!
• some casual jewelry that I can wear with everyday outfits - looking for a chunky necklace
• a printed/colorful blouse for Spring, that can be worn casually or dressed up

I think that's it for now...

Fight Night

Tonight we are having friends over for dinner and to watch a UFC fight. Lots to do before then - get my workout in, make lunch, do some laundry, clean the house, buy groceries, cook dinner, also order some appetizers from the Indian restaurant, and make dessert...the last one isn't necessary but I'm in the mood to bake so I'm planning on making red velvet cupcakes! No...they won't be from scratch, it's a box mix - but who cares? Still yummy!

Well, I think that's all for today friends. I hope you have a great Saturday!

Food Fix Friday: Portabella

Happy Friday readers! I know I just posted about food last night, but trying to keep up with my weekly theme posts for all of you, so I have a post on stuffed portabellas...or just one portabella, because that was all I made. ;)

First, you need a big portabella cap...scoop off the top dark layer, but save it to use in the "stuffing".

Then, take some chopped spinach, the scooped out mushroom stuff, a bit of chopped tomato, and saute it all in some olive oil. I added some Spike seasoning and some dried oregano and basil for a bit of flavor.

Take this mix and put it in the mushroom cap (after brushing the mushroom cap with some olive oil (very lightly). Then, top it with some shredded mozzarella (or parmesan) cheese and bake at 350...until the cheese melts.

Dig in with a fork or eat it like a slice of pizza! It was SO yummy! Just a little juicy as mushrooms release water when cooked and also probably due to the tomatoes. Healthy, filling, and super easy. Give it a try!

Trip to Central Market

Yesterday on my way home from work I decided to stop at Central Market. It's been a while since I've shopped there for groceries because it's out of the way (except the 3 days I go to work) and I always end up spending too much money. However, my trip this time was pretty successful. I think the total was $42.17 and I got lots of good stuff.

Yummy, colorful, fresh fruit...all gone in one day except the pineapple.
I don't think hubby saw it in the fridge yet. ;)

I love roasted asparagus!
My favorite kind of lettuce for a salad - pre-washed and cut triple hearts.

Chia seeds - a new health food product I'm going to try because I've heard a lot about it.
I will let you all know what I think about it and how I use it. Cost was about $15 for this.

Wanted to try another brand of coconut water. 2/$5

Another health food product I wanted to try - it's a chocolate flavored shake blend.
Organic, raw, gluten free, vegan, soy free, and dairy free. I wonder how it will taste.

One of my favorite protein sources - tofu!
This is baked sesame peanut flavored tofu.
Convenient, healthy, and it tastes pretty good!

Heard about this ice cream on another blog and wanted to try it.
It's made of goat's milk and has rich dark chocolate ganache, and is all natural.
I like goat cheese so hopefully this will taste yummy too.

Protein bars for snacks when I need something quick. 

A Minor Change

Hi readers! I have another change for the little blog...for various reasons I've decided to take off and discontinue pictures of my outfits. I will still be writing about fashion, in addition to food and fitness, but just no more outfit pictures. I will still include pics of my shopping finds (once I can shop again) or the outfits laid out on my bed...just not a pic of me wearing them. Those pictures didn't appear very regularly anyway, so you won't be missing much. Just more space to write about other fun stuff, so please continue visiting the blog! Thanks!!

Wish List Wednesday

VS Off-the-Shoulder Top, $48

VS Daytime Jersey Scoopneck Dress, $65

Was browsing through the VS site yesterday and really liked these two items. I love the print on the blouse and the lace on the black dress. Don't know if I would actually buy them unless they went on sale. I can't justify ordering clothes at these prices without knowing how they will fit or look on me. I wish VS sold clothes in their stores (other than lingerie and pjs). But they are cute!

Get Naked!

Wait...don't start taking your clothes off...I meant get Naked Coconut Water.

I first heard about coconut water when I took Bikram Yoga this past summer...I was not interested in trying it, but bought some for my husband. I bought various brands, including Naked, Zico, and various other brands from the Indian supermarket and also the local health/whole foods market. He drinks coconut water or juice about once a week. As far as I know from my quick google search, coconut juice and coconut water are the same thing.

Anyway, I finally had some about two weeks ago - it was from the Indian store and was "roasted" coconut juice with coconut bits. I know, probably doesn't sound appealing with the coconut bits in there, but I wanted to try it and I thought it was really yummy. I bet all the extra sugar helped. Well, I wanted to get a healthier version so I bought the Naked brand this week and had one today. Success! It was yummy and had 0 added sugar and no preservatives. It provides electrolytes and potassium (as much or more than a banana). No wonder it's often the go-to drink after Bikram yoga. 

Nutrition Facts:

An 11 fl oz. container is 60 calories, 0g fat, 14g carbs, and 0g protein.

Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Only Tuesday?

It feels like a Thursday...can I have a weekend again? The last one just flew by! I think I'm feeling worn out because I've been getting up early the past two days: 4:30am. Why in the world would I do that, you ask? Because I'm trying to work out in the morning before getting my day started. Yesterday was hot yoga at 6am, today was a gym workout at 5:30. It feels good to get it over with, but then I feel like I have so much time left in the day...yet I'm still not very productive somehow...?

I'm participating in Melissa's Two Truths and a Lie today...

1. The Notebook is one of my favorite movies.
2. I have never cut my hair shorter than chin length.
3. I can't live without coffee - I drink it daily.

Sooo Ready for Some Shopping!

I've done really well this month with the shopping ban. Haven't bought a single clothing item, shoes, make-up, other face products, etc. This is quite an accomplishment for me. While it's been great on the bank account and amounts to less clutter in my closet and bathroom, I am so ready for a shopping trip!

Last night we went out for a friend's birthday. It was a casual thing at a piano bar, and I couldn't figure out what to wear. My other friend decided to wear jeans so I didn't want to be the only one wearing a dress...but I don't really have a nice pair of 'going out' jeans. And most of my clothes are work appropriate and not really for going out...you know what I mean? I mean, I do have some things that would work but they don't all go together - they are not outfits, just pieces. I threw something together in the end that was, you guessed it, all black. I couldn't help it. The black skinny jeans fit me best, and the top I chose just seemed right. (Plus, it was a new item that I finally wore!)

I did learn some valuable lessons as I was trying on clothes last night:

1. I need to get back to doing squats and lunges and do more cardio! Not happy with what the lack of lifting and cardio has done to my thighs!
2. When shopping, I need to think more about a whole outfit rather than just buying a single item just because I like it. If it won't go with anything in my closet, what good is a random skirt going to do? (Unless I buy a whole new outfit, which is always fun!)
3. I need more casual jewelry - most of the stuff I have is too fancy, and I don't have many bold or colorful accessories that can be worn daily. 
4. Don't get drunk at a piano bar and dance on top of the piano because your friend might lift up your dress and show your booty to everyone...no, that was NOT me...just some random girl there for a bachelorette party. It was quite a show. 

A little bit of leopard

Yesterday was a mixed weather kind of day. It was cloudy at first, then there was some sunshine here and there. It started off a bit cold and breezy, then it got warmer. I decided to put on a dress for work (yes, you guessed it - a black dress) and didn't feel comfy enough with bare legs so pulled on some tights. Added a sweater and for that pop of color a red leopard print scarf. I LOVE this scarf and it was the last one left at Zara. I was so excited to find it because I had been wanting something with leopard print but not the traditional colors. And this scarf has my three favorite colors - red, black, and gray!

The only thing I don't like about this scarf is the shape - it's like a rectangle, so I don't really know how to wear it...it's not long enough to wrap around much...any ideas?

Food Fix Friday

Last night I was really tired and didn't feel like taking time to make dinner. However, I didn't want to order in or eat anything frozen, so I looked around the kitchen and in the fridge, and found ingredients for pizza. I made individual pizzas for hubby and me.

Ingredients:
2 panini wraps (we had the garlic & herb flavor - there's a sun-dried tomato one I like better)
choice of pasta/pizza sauce (I think this was roasted tomato & garlic)
shredded mozzarella cheese
a couple mushrooms
1/4 bell pepper
1/4 c sliced olives
salad tomatoes (just b/c they were sitting on the counter lookin all lonely and useless)

I baked these at 350 degrees for maybe 20 minutes (I don't remember exactly). They were yummy and relatively healthy (I didn't need the extra carbs since I didn't work out but oh well). The salad tomatoes were not a good addition, so I won't be adding those next time. Basically, this is a really easy, cheap, and tasty meal idea that takes at most 25-30 minutes. And you can always add a salad to it.

Inspired by Tim Gunn...sort of

As I sit in my office with no work to do (ok I lie, I have work to do but I'm finding it boring) I'm thinking of ways to improve the blog. First, it doesn't help that I know nothing about html and all that fancy stuff so what I can do is limited. I would love to take some time to learn about all that but unfortunately it can't be on my priority list right now...so it'll have to wait.

The one thing that I can add though and will hopefully learn to do by the time I want to get started is a weekly link-up. I think that's what it's called...what Kileen does with the Color Brigade and Melissa does with Two Truths and a Lie. My idea is called "Make it Work" a la Tim Gunn. Every Monday my outfit will include an item that is chosen the week in advance, and I have to 'make it work' in my outfit. I would love for others to post their pictures of how they used the item. So for example, one week might be a string of pearls that I have to wear and make it work with whatever outfit I'm wearing. I would love to see how others use the same item. Another example of an item might be a denim skirt as part of your outfit for the day.

Hopefully I can get this started toward the end of Feb/beginning of March. I would love some feedback on this idea and the types of items to include in "Make it Work"!!

Brown and Black?

I decided to wear a mix of brown and black today...brown boots with black clothing, and a brown necklace. I don't know that I've ever mixed brown and black before...at least not on purpose. I never thought it was 'allowed'. What do I know? I really wanted to wear this blazer but didn't want to wear my black boots. I wanted to wear leggings but only like wearing leggings with boots. To add another brown piece to the look I put on a brown beaded necklace. I think the outfit worked. I got some nice compliments on it. That's usually a good sign.

Wish List Wednesday

Benetint rose-tinted lip and cheek stain, $28
(This will be one of my first purchases after the self-imposed shopping ban is over!)

I tried this lip color on at Sephora twice and plan on buying it when I get to shop again. It gives a nice rosy-ness to lips and cheeks...double duty, can't beat that! It smells great too, like roses. Other reviews of this product have mentioned that it lasts a long time.

Crazy Sexy Diet book by Kris Carr, $14.97

I read about this book on Gina's blog and it seems like an interesting read for a vegetarian like myself. I don't have time to read it right now, so I'm going to wait to buy it until it can make way on my reading list. ;)

WOTD: Back at the Gym!!

It seems like it's been weeks since I went to the gym...it probably has (but at least I made it to the yoga studio last week). Working out at home is convenient and thankfully I've done some (weak) workouts at home with my little 8lb. weights, but the gym is actually more fun...sometimes (when big beefy men aren't grunting obscenities while trying to lift extremely heavy weights).

Here was my quickie workout for today:

5 minute warm-up on treadmill

3 sets of 12 reps of the following:

• walking lunges (20lbs.)
• wide grip lat pull-down (60lbs.)
• seated row (50lbs. - this was tough for me, and I used to do 60-70lbs. a couple months ago!)
• inverted leg press (90lbs. - this was tough too, used to be able to do more weight)

Ended with crunches, leg raises, plank, and some stretching.

I was disappointed to find out how much strength I've lost in the last couple months of not lifting regularly...actually lifting pretty rarely. Just gotta get back to it I guess!! I miss the definition I was getting in my shoulders and arms!

Hooray for Sunshine!

The weather was very nice yesterday and it was actually warm enough for me to wear a dress. Today is similar but I'm still in my yoga clothes. Took a power yoga class this morning. I feel great! Came home and made some un-fried brown rice with edamame, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, an egg, and 1T low sodium soy. 

This was yummy but I started stirring the egg around too soon and it kind of turned mushy.

Want Radiant Skin?

Anyone want an at-home facial? One of my favorite products in Clinique Turnaround Instant Facial.

This is a mask that you apply on your face and leave on for about 5 minutes. Then wet your face with warm water and gently massage the mask on your face. The product will exfoliate your skin, kind of like microdermabrasion, but less irritating. Rinse your face and find smooth skin! 

I love the way my skin feels after I use this product. The only thing I don't like about it is that it leaves a sparkle on my face...kind of like glitter. It's probably not as bad as it sounds, more like sparkle that is sometimes found in blush. I'm just not used to that. The product is oil free and can be used 2-3 times per week. Give it a try and get a smooth and radiant face in time for Valentine's Day!

WOTD: At Home

I had planned on getting to the gym this morning but due to running errands and other unplanned events, I did a quick workout at home.

2 sets of the following:

30 jumping jacks

5 burpees (these are tough for me)

3 sets of the following:

12 shoulder presses (16lbs.)

12 bicep curls (16lbs.)

12 overhead triceps extension (8lbs.)

3 x 12 squats (just body weight)

3 x 12 crunches

I wanted to do more but then hubby got home from the gym and it was time to make lunch. Hope to make it to yoga later today. 

* I didn't get a chance to write a Food Fix Friday post yesterday...may have to plan those ahead of time! Look for a product post later today...maybe some makeup. :)

Some Good News and Some Bad News

Good news: I wore some kitten heels today, no boots! ;)
Bad news: I decided not to complete the 28 Day Remix Challenge.

Before you call me a quitter, let me explain my reasons.

1. I have lots of winter clothes that I need to wear before the cold weather goes away. New clothes, just sitting in my closet, collecting dust.
2. My 28 items are kind of 'safe' in regards to color so I end up wearing a lot of black.
3. Some of the 28 items are not appropriate for the weather we've been having, so I'm not really sure why I picked them in the first place.
4. I just found out about two new events that I will attend this month that require clothes not in the remix items. 

I will still share photos of as many outfits as I can, and hopefully they will be good ones. And the most important part of this challenge for me was the 'no shopping' rule, which I plan on sticking with, that will not change! I'm actually feeling pretty strong that I can get through the rest of the month without shopping for clothes/makeup/skincare products. Although it has been tough since I keep getting coupons in the mail for all my favorite stores for this month. Sadly, they've been going straight to the trash...but its good for me and my closet!

I love that this sweater has a ribbon trim going down the sides where the buttons are sewn. Just adds a little something different.

WOTD: Hot Yoga

...aka Bikram yoga. I signed up for a $30 for 30 (days) at Sunstone Yoga and went to my second hot yoga class today. They offer various types of yoga classes and some are 60 minutes and some are 90 minutes. The class I went to was 60 minutes.

In hot yoga, the room temperature is set at about 98.6 degrees, with about 60% humidity. It may vary on the location you are taking the class. To the best of my knowledge, Bikram Yoga is a brand of hot yoga, so there should only be slight variations if any between Bikram and other hot yoga classes. The 90-minute hot yoga class at Sunstone consists of 34 postures and is labeled a "health & vitality" class. Here is a bit of information on Heat, Humidity, and You if you are unfamiliar with hot yoga.

The benefits I was informed about from my previous Bikram Yoga classes:

• Heavy sweating helps detoxify the body 
• Helps you improve flexibility and range of motion
• Some people claim that it helps them get rid of pain
• May aid in weight loss

Some of my tips for taking a hot yoga class:

• Stay hydrated the day before you attend a class and hydrate throughout the day of class
• Wear light, breathable clothing; perhaps a tank top and yoga pants
• Take a towel with you since you will sweat a lot
• Take a full water bottle with you to hydrate throughout the class when needed
• Just like doing any other workout, do not eat right before your yoga practice; eat at least 1.5 to 2 hours beforehand
• You may want to take a pair of clothes to shower and change into afterward since you will be covered in sweat by the end of class; there will most likely be showers available as well
• Get to class a few minutes early and set up your mat and towel; lay down and get acclimated to the environment before the yoga practice begins
• Most importantly, take breaks when you need them!!

I initially took a few Bikram classes this past summer as a way to work on my flexibility and get a different kind of workout. Due to lack of time and distance (as well as expense of it) I could not continue. I'm glad I was able to sign up for this current offer at Sunstone Yoga. So far I have only tried their hot yoga classes but they offer many other types of yoga that I plan to try soon. As for hot yoga, I really enjoy it. Every time I am done with a class I feel great! 

Wish List Wednesday

VS Very Sexy Bandeau top & ruched-waist scoop bottom
$38 for the top, $30 for the bottom
Not sure what the color would look like in person, but I like the print and cut.
Someday when I get that beach body...

Banana Republic solid ruffle shirt in dark coral
Originally $69.50, online sale $58.99
Still more than I'd like to pay for it. 

Day 7 & 8

I skipped Day 6. I actually wore traditional clothing to church that was not part of my remix so I'm not posting that pic on here...it doesn't really apply. ;)

I got really busy all of a sudden and have been trying to keep the extra computer stuff to a minimum (lots of schoolwork to get done). Thus, I've been avoiding the television too (didn't watch all day yesterday and haven't turned it on yet today either!). Went to hot yoga yesterday and felt great. Not much else to update. Oh, wait, this is big. Went to the mall after church with hubby and didn't buy a single item. Can you believe it?! Yay for sticking to the plan!

WOTD: 10lb Slimdown Yoga

This has been a lazy, snowed/iced-in week where I've sat at home in my PJs and have not worked out since Monday. I wanted to do some short workout indoors since I didn't feel like getting all bundled up to head to the gym. Although I have a few workout DVDs and weights at home, I decided to try something new. The television!

No, my workout did not consist of sitting on the couch, eating treats, and watching an hour of trash tv. I do that anyway. I browsed through the Verizon on demand channels and went to Health & Home --> Exercise TV --> Yoga & Pilates --> 10lb Slimdown Yoga. It was about a 20-minute yoga workout with Chris Freytag. Since I hadn't done yoga in a while, it felt pretty good. It was quick, gave me a good stretch, and helped shake me from my laziness. And I think I'm going to feel the burn from the chair poses and other squatting moves tomorrow.

So, if you're stuck indoors and want a convenient workout, and happen to have Verizon television on demand, try one of the workouts from Exercise TV. You can also go to www.exercisetv.tv for free workouts or to purchase DVDs.

Now that I'm alert, I think I'll actually get dressed and go grocery shopping...we do need to eat dinner tonight!

Food Fix Friday

As I try to think of ways to improve and expand this blog, I am reminded of things that I enjoy. What better things to write about than those that I have tried and love?! So, since one of the themes of this blog and my favorite things in the world is food, I wanted to set aside a special food post for Fridays: Food Fix Friday. 

For now, I will focus on foods that I have tried or made myself and write about them, but if anyone is out there who would like to send me food products to review...I'd be happy to do that as well. Hint, hint. ;)

MaraNatha Dark Chocolate Almond Spread

Okay, for all you chocolate lovers out there, this is a healthy treat! Yes, I say it's healthy because it has almonds in it!! If you have tried almond butter, take it one step further and get a jar of this delicious dark chocolate almond spread. One serving size is 32g, has 4g protein, 12g carbs, 14g fat, and is 180 calories. 

I love spreading this on a piece of toast, adding it to plain greek yogurt to get a chocolatey flavor, or just taking a spoon and sitting down with the jar...oops. I guess that wouldn't be too healthy. Can't wait to try this in summer over a scoop of ice cream!

Work in Progress

If you've visited my blog previously, you may have noticed that it keeps changing. I apologize for all the confusion. I think I've finally found a design I like and hope to stick with for a while. As I learn more about the blogger world and how to improve my blog, it will change...but hopefully for the better! ;)

The Ladies of Beverly Hills

The ice on the roads around here has not melted, campuses are still closed, and I'm still sitting at home in my PJs. No, not in the same PJs I wore yesterday...or on Tuesday. I showered and put on a CLEAN pair of PJs and continued to stay indoors. No workout today. No cooking. No shopping (aren't you proud?).

So...what can I write about? Well, sitting around and watching television has given me a lot to write about. How about the housewives of Beverly Hills for a topic? I love this group of housewives. Wait, I take that back. I love the drama that exists in this group of housewives, but I only like a couple of them. My favorite ladies are Kyle and Lisa. Oh, and I like Adrienne too, I just tend to forget about her because she's not involved in much drama. But she's cool. I especially like her "hair bling" or whatever it's called. Too bad it probably only looks good in blond hair.

More about the fun ladies - Kyle and Lisa. I like Kyle for a number of reasons. She says what is on her mind. She has a hot husband. She seems the most real. She has dark hair (Can you tell I'm not a blond?). She gave birth to her own children and appears to be a really good mother.

Lisa - I love her sense of humor. And she tells it like it is. She is kind-hearted. A little too much if you ask me...you know, the whole thing with Cedric and all. She has an adorable accent. She lives a glamorous lifestyle.

Back to Adrienne - she's cool. I mean come on, she owns a casino in Vegas! She stays neutral in drama, which is nice...but it's no fun. Ha. I think that's all that comes to mind about her.

Now for the ladies I don't like so much...

Camille - ugh. I feel bad for her being hit with a cheating husband and divorce and all...nobody deserves that. But she's not very nice. And she really does seem delusional. And what's with the kissing another married man on the lips?! How is that appropriate? I also wonder about her true reason for using a surrogate...

Taylor - double ugh. I didn't dislike her from the beginning, but she started losing points pretty quickly. She seemed to be the "pot-stirrer" for sure, just like she was accused of being. And what is she doing in that marriage that she obviously is not happy in...living a BH lifestyle, that's what.

Kim - hmm...well, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for Kim after the finale episode. That was bad. She needs to  stop being such a little girl though and stick up for herself and her sister. And deal with that other little problem that nobody wants to mention...even though it's already out in the open now.

Well, there you have it. My thoughts on the BH housewives. If you missed out on this season, catch the re-runs! If for nothing else, at least to get a glimpse of their glamorous lives!

Wish List Wednesday

Oscar de la Renta, Resort 2011, via www.elle.com

Hive & Honey, on www.piperlime.com

Robert Longo rose charcoal drawing, via www.wmagazine.com

PJs for the Win

Well, another day stuck at home due to the icy roads. I can't complain. Since I'm still sick and there was nowhere to go, I lounged around in PJs all day. In addition to being comfy, I got to save two outfits for the 28 day challenge and I only have 26 days left! Well, it will be 25 days since tomorrow is going to be another day of PJs at home. This challenge is going to be a piece of cake! ;)

In between trying to rest and do some work, I browsed around some blogs and fashion/shopping websites. Since Wednesday is typically a tough day, being the middle of the work week, I thought it would be fun to do a weekly post called Wish List Wednesday. It gives me an excuse to browse online for things I like (that I will most likely not always buy, but can wish for anyway) and then post the items on here. A Wish List Wednesday post is soon to follow!

My 28 Items

Well, I finalized my 28 items for the remix challenge last night but didn't even put together an outfit for today (got the day off due to snow/ice on the roads and was sick, so lounged around in pjs all day). Even though I most likely won't share each outfit of the day throughout this challenge, I wanted to share the items I picked.

Okay, I just attempted to type out what each item is but I'm not very good at describing the colors and styles. I can just tell you that most of the shirts and sweaters are from Gap, Express, AT & Loft. Slacks and dress pants from Gap, jeggings from Express and F21, skirts from Loft and F21. Lace top from F21. Black blazer from Target (great find!). A random top from Nordstrom and one from Victoria's Secret. There is also a pair of black leggings and 5 pairs of shoes...one of which have not been worn yet and are in the shoe box. Oh, and I threw in a black dress from The Limited. I have to admit that there are about 7-8 items here that I have never worn...some that still need the tags taken off. This is going to be fun!!