25 Before 25: Yoga

During Spring Break I accomplished the first thing on my 25 Things to Do Before I Turn 25 List, which is to try Yoga! I have to admit, it was quite a bit different than I thought it would be. I'm a pretty big fitness buff, so I thought it would be a piece of cake. But whoa was I wrong, I'm not as flexible as I thought I was.

But it was a great experience, and I cannot wait to go back. I learned a few things though. It's a fantastic stress reliever because (at least for me) it completely cleared my mind and really got my happy endorphin's flowing. However, it's not a good work out unless you do more advanced versions of Yoga. 

Here is where I took my class, it's in the downtown of my home town and it's a wonderful place with an equally wonderful teacher, Jody. Ground Works Yoga was great and I can't wait to try it again.

I really think everyone should try Yoga at least once in their life. 

Namaste

My First Venture Into Baking.

For the first time ever I baked something from scratch today! One reason I've yet to bake anything from scratch is because my mom is a big believer in box mixes for cakes, cookies, and muffins, canned frosting or when all else fails just order it from Publix! My grandma likes to bake, too bad she's absolutely horrible at it, so I've never really felt the urge to learn from her.

I decided to use up some expiring ingredients in my pantry and this recipe fit the bill! I cut the recipe in half, because it make a lot! I baked it in a 9x9 in brownie pan. There were a couple of problems with the recipe, it used too much flour and next time I would make it in a sheet try, because the cake came out too thick. But it was a fun experiment, and it was fun baking something that didn't come from a box!

This isn't what mine ended up looking like, they weren't as pretty.

Hero Of The Week: Oklahoma Senator Judy Eason McIntyre And Her Rad Sign - The Frisky

Hero Of The Week: Oklahoma Senator Judy Eason McIntyre And Her Rad Sign - The Frisky

I want to give this woman the biggest hug possible!

Happy Heart Day!

Today is Valentine's Day and I hope everyone is having a great holiday! Whether you're having fun being single or in love I hope you're enjoying yourself.

For the first time I haven't really done anything for this day. The only gift I got was a blender from my grandma (yes, it's random, but this is what my grandma does...) and I'm ok with that. As for my parents, I made them two batches of brownies from Ghirardelli box mixes my mom bought ages ago! I made one in a heart shaped pan and the other batch in cupcake tins. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Super Bowl

Well, sadly my beloved Patriots didn't win. BUT I still had a blast watching the Super Bowl, the commercials and after the game, The Voice. Overall, it was a really great night and an end to an awesome season!

I even got a little domestic this weekend! On Saturday I helped my mom make a chocolate and peanut butter pie, which I wasn't a big fan of but it turned out looking great. And I made chocolate covered strawberries that were decorated like footballs. They came out a little sloppy looking, but I'm still really proud of them!

Valentines Day Facts

How to say "I Love You" in other languages:

Spanish: Te Amo

Italian: Ti Amo

French: Je T’aime

Chinese: Wo Ai Ni

Random Facts:

• Many believe the 'X' symbol became synonymous with the kiss in medieval times. People who couldn't write their names signed in front of a witness with an 'X.' The 'X' was then kissed to show their sincerity.
• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. This was the origin of the expression "to wear your heart on your sleeve."
• The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
• Approximately one billion Valentines are sent out worldwide each year according to estimates by the U.S. Greeting Card Association. That's second only to Christmas.
• Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
• In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, and Italy.
• According to the condom company Durex, condom sales are highest around Valentine's Day, which are 20 percent to 30 percent higher than usual.
• More at-home pregnancy tests are sold in March than in any other month.

In a Funk

When I'm in a funk (like I am tonight) music always helps. And lately I've been on a French music kick and this is my favorite song at the moment. You might recognize it from 500 Days of Summer. This is such a beautiful song!

{The Ardent Sparrow}: Weekend Project {Poms}

This is such a beautiful project! I'll be making these for my next party, no matter what the occasion is. 

{The Ardent Sparrow}: Weekend Project {Poms}: via ' A Beautiful Life '

Pro Bowl Game

Which can only mean one thing...

ONE WEEK UNTIL THE SUPER BOWL!

Tonight I'm rooting for the AFC, but next week is all about the Patriots. 

I cannot tell you how excited I am! I'm in the process of planning what food to make, and I'll post those later.

Go Patriots!

A Vegetarian Lifestyle

Not many people know this about me but I was once a vegetarian. I started my senior year of high school and was actually a vegan first, but that was WAY too hard for me to keep up with. So after about 6 months I decided to just be a vegetarian. I don't like admitting this, but my soul reason for becoming a vegan/vegetarian in the first place was to be healthier and lose weight. BUT after doing quite a bit of research about vegetarianism I learned about the other benefits of going meatless. I did a ton of research about animal cruelty and even wrote a thesis paper on the clinical testing of medical and cosmetic products on animals.

I was a vegetarian for 3 years and finally gave it up after my first semester away at college. It was difficult being a vegetarian when I lived at home, before I left for college, because I have a VERY southern family! Every meal was centered around meat with multiple sides drowned in butter. But as hard as it was staying away from meat at home, it was 10 times worse at college. I went to USF in Tampa and at the time it wasn't vegetarian friendly, although recently that has changed.

But lately I've been thinking about going back to being a vegetarian. It really can change your body, in many incredibly positive ways. I really miss the way I felt when I followed a meatless diet, which is my main motivation for switching back to vegetarianism. 

And on top of feeling great, how can I pass up helping animals?

Miami Vacation

One item on my "25 Things to Do Before I Turn 25" list is to take a vacation by myself, whether it's a some huge international adventure or whether I relax in a hotel 50 miles from my house. I want to go on a vacation on my own for many different reasons. I personally love doing thing on my own, I've been a loner my whole life and have recently learned how to to enjoy my "me time". Another thing I have learned is that in large doses I'm a difficult person to deal with. I would honestly feel bad if someone else (besides my parents) had to sleep in the same hotel room as me, eat every meal with me and spend every waking minute with me. I also want the freedom to do exactly what I want to do. If I want to spend my afternoon walking around a park instead of going to some world known restaurant, I can do that. And the final reason this is on my list is because (in my opinion) taking a vacation is a very big deal! My family has always made an ordeal out of traveling and vacationing. I want to prove that I can go someone I've never been to, and not only make it out alive, but also pay for everything myself and most importantly, have a blast!

One of the places I'm considering is Miami. My plan is to go either this December or December 2013 during ArtBasel. Since I found out about this event in art school I've always wanted to go! It is a four day art event at the Miami Beach Convention Center, this year starting on Thursday December 6th and lasting through Sunday December 9th. Another reason I'm strongly considering Miami is because I live about three hours north and it would save me a TON of money and stress to be able to drive down there and also have the luxury of having a car available to me whenever I needed it.

Here is I imagine myself looking fabulous walking around Miami Beach.

All That Glitters: Here, Have Some Cool New Year's Resoloutions

Here is a really cool list of out of the ordinary New Year's Resolutions. It's even given me a few ideas!

All That Glitters: Here, Have Some Cool New Year's Resoloutions

I Can Cook! It's a Miracle.

Well, I didn't burn the house down and the meal came out really good! The only down-side? The house smelled pretty bad for the remainder of the evening.

I made Lemon Feta Chicken with Oregano and it turned out fantastic! The chicken was moist and full of awesome flavor, although after I tasted the finished product I tweaked the recipe a tad.

Here is the original recipe from Skinnytaste.com

I didn't take any photos of what I cooked, because it didn't brown and looked a little pale. But here is the photo from the website. And by the way, if you haven't discovered this amazing website yet you need to! I love that she posts nutritional info for almost all of her recipes, which is extremely helpful for me.

Yes, mine didn't turn out nearly this pretty! But it was delicious anyways.

It's Time I Learn to Cook

And apparently that time is today! Sooner or later I knew that I had to learn how to cook, for multiple reasons. I'm 23 years old and it's about damn time! Another reason is that I live a SUPER healthy lifestyle, and I have to know exactly what I put in my body.

So I've been looking online non-stop for the past few days for healthy and pretty simple recipes, which is easier said than done. I'm about to start cooking in about 5 minutes and if this is success I'll post the recipe and share some photos!

Wish me luck! Hopefully I won't burn the house down, because my version of "cooking" is boiling water in a pot and throwing in pre-made pasta.

Here is a rather adorable set I put together on Polyvore of what I imagined June Cleaver would wear while cooking. But I have to admit something... this is what I wear when I cook! I actually learned how to walk in heals by cooking in them.

Tebow Time

My love for Tim Tebow is still unwavering during this epic NFL Playoffs game. I love love love both the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, but no one can win my heart the way Mr. Tebow has.

 Lets go Denver!

The Great Hair Debate

So lately (since Thanksgiving actually) I've been itching to dye my hair. Growing up I dyed my hair every color under the sun, but stopped when I was 16 because it was driving my mom crazy.

Recently I dyed my hair a really dark brown for my birthday, but wasn't exactly happy with it. My current hair color obsession is red. Naturally I have some red in my hair, but my hair is definitely brown.

I bought the dye from Sally Beauty Supply earlier today. It's a semi-permanent dye from Ion Color Brilliance and is the darkest red color they make.

I'm hoping my hair will turn out something like this...

Although to be honest, I've been obsessed with her hair since she dyed it recently!

Wish me luck.

First Date

Well in a few days I'm on my first "first date" in three years! Yes, it's true that I haven't been lucky with my more recent boyfriends because it seems none of them knew what a real date was, and that hanging out on a couch wasn't exactly an exciting date night.

This isn't a typical first date though, for starters I've known this guy for a really long time. This also isn't typical in the sense that it's kind of a casual date, we're both really laid back and easy going people. But that doesn't mean that I'm not still nervous.

The last "first date" I went on was a borderline disaster, but somehow I ended up dating that guy on and off for about three years. I wore the ugliest outfit imaginable, although at the time I was still in my goth phase and it was the only girly outfit I could pull together. I'll save you the gruesome details of this awful date, but I will share with you what I think is the perfect first date outfit!

First Date by kerovana22 featuring gold jewelry

Dorothy Perkins classic black dress
$57 - dorothyperkins.com

Lipsy biker jacket
£268 - lipsy.co.uk

Ballet shoes
$285 - my-wardrobe.com

Chanel quilted bag
portero.com

Yves Saint Laurent gold jewelry
$275 - cultstatus.com.au

Betsey Johnson buckle belt
$38 - betseyjohnson.com

Gold Stars Mega Pack 70g - £3.99 : Balloons and Party Supplies, From...
£3.99 - balloons.co.uk

Another One of My Favorite Paintings

This photo really doesn't do this piece justice. I LOVE painting, drawing, sculpting or anything else to do with creating art with flowers as inspiration. Although to be fair, nature is my biggest inspiration as an artist and flowers just happen to be part of that category.

Here it is on in my Etsy shop.

NFL Playoffs

Playoffs started today, which both excites me to no end and makes me quite sad. There are some really great teams in the playoffs this year, including some of my favorites! 

I'm really excited about the Patriots, Atlanta vs. the Giants and the team I'm most excited for?

 

The Denver Broncos! Especially Mr. Tim Tebow.

Good luck to all the teams, I'll be watching every game with great anticipation.

Happy Singles Awareness Day!

That's right! Christmas was barely two weeks ago and New Years was this past weekend and already I'm preparing for Valentines Day. Or as I like to call this holiday, Singles Awareness Day.

I'm pretty excited about Valentines Day, because it's the last "fun" holiday until Halloween in my opinion. Yes, I am single this year and have no plans on being taken on February 14th! And I am perfectly happy that way, because for some reason I've always had WAY more fun being single on Valentines Day.

I've made a few plans, but nothing major so far. I plan on making a red velvet cake from scratch (my first time ever baking something that didn't come from a box), decorating it and baking it in a cute little heart shaped pan.

Kinda like this one...

 

Another thing I'm doing for the first time this Valentines Day is sending out cards! I found the most adorable cards at Target yesterday and couldn't resist buying them.

I'm also planning on going out for a single's night on the town! A fantastic night of dancing at one of favorite clubs is just what I need for this holiday.

Happy (Late) New Years!

I hope everyone's New Year weekend was amazing! Mine definitely had it's amazing ups and horrible downs.

The few days leading up to my weekend I had every single day, Friday through Monday, completely planned out! And then, fairly quickly, everything fell apart. Every person I had planned to spend time with found some reason to bail on our plans and everything I expected to happen, didn't.

However, I ended up having a BLAST! Every day came with some unexpected surprise. Friday I decided to carry out the plans I'd made with a military buddy who was home from basic training, just on my own. I went to a local bookstore and had intended on buying "One Day", but decided I wasn't in the mood for comedy or romance and bought "Limitless" (formerly "The Dark Fields") instead. I'm 1/3 of the way through the book and it's addicting! This book is really great, just as exciting as the movie.

Saturday was spent with my parents in a last minute adventure to St. Pete. I absolutely LOVE that city, it's actually one place I dream about living in. We celebrated NYE by walking around downtown, eating fantastic Greek food, shopping, looking out over the ocean and sampling a large variety of anything we could get our hands on. I also go to try out my new GPS for the first time!

And finally, Sunday was spent (just like all other Sundays) glued to the TV, simultaneously mourning and enjoying the last day of the NFL's regular season. During my random moments of free time I began painting a vase for my mom, reading and created plans for how to successfully carry out my New Years Resolutions.

Happy 2012!