smooth operator

I've been doing a "cleanse" for the last 8 days (more on that tomorrow) but I've been starting the day with a fruit and veggie smoothie. It's only been just over a week, but I can already tell I've lost weight, and most importantly, the reason I decided to try this in the first place, I just feel better.

It's kind of hard to explain, I just feel lighter, never bloated or full or "gross" as I like to say, and I don't get "starving" anymore. One of the things I read before starting this was that it can put you back in touch with the real feeling of hunger, because you aren't eating for cravings, or out of boredom, and there is nothing really "fancy" to eat, so you are just eating basic food that you need to not be hungry, and to get vitamins and nutrients.

I still have almost 2 weeks left, so I'm excited to see how I feel in a couple more weeks, and if I can find any really noticeable changes.

Here is my morning smoothie recipe:

2 cups coconut water
1 large handful of kale
1 sprig of fresh Parsley
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp ground flax seed
1 tblsp chia seeds
4 frozen peach sections
1 handful of frozen mixed berries

Combine coconut water, kale and parsley in blender, blend well to break up greens. In a separate glass, mix one tblsp chia seeds with 1 tblsp coconut water, set aside. Mix remaining ingredients into blender. Lastly, pour in chia seeds, which will have combined with the coconut water to make a gel. Blend and serve.

Soaking chia seeds

Yum

I've been making it every morning for over a week now, and I like to play around with the ingredients a bit. Sometimes I omit the mixed berries, and instead add in 1 whole peeled kiwi, which is really delicious. I also want to try mixing in other veggies, like cucumber.

Sometimes I will add a little bit of Naked juice Green Machine for a some extra fruit, but just a splash or two.

something up my sleeve...

I've been seeing a lot of cute sweaters with elbow patches lately, so I decided to try to make one of my own. I bought this green shirt at Forever 21 a couple of years ago, because I absolutely loved the colour, but it never really looked right on me, and I was going to get rid of it in my spring closet clean out. Instead, I used it to make some patches for my favourite black cardigan.

Sweater, Target

I used a piece of card stock to cut out a heart, and then traced it onto the fabric and cut out the shapes.

Then I put the cardigan on, and marked the center of my elbow with a pen, and sewed on the patches.

The finished product.

i was trying to describe you to someone...

Saw this on StumbleUpon the other day. Love.

feeling blue

I found these glass bottles at the flea market a few weeks ago. I thought they were really cute, I have a ridiculous weakness for anything kitchen related, and I wanted to give them a makeover. I bought some turquoise glass paint from Amazon, and after a bit of trial and error, here is the finished product.

The instructions say to mix the paint with a bit of paint thinner to make it easier to coat the inside, but I found when I did that, even a tiny bit, when I left it to dry, the paint would run and leave rivulets in the blue. So I waited for it to dry completely, and then dumped the paint in undiluted, it took a bit more time and effort to get the whole inside of the jar covered, but once I did, I was able to dump the excess back into the jar, and let it dry without runs or streaks.

Wait 24 hours after painting, then bake in the oven for 40 minutes to make them dishwasher safe.

bucket list from my 13 year old self

I was organizing my dresser a few days ago and I came across my "diary" (for lack of a better word) from when I was younger.  It's mostly just a collection of quotes, favourite things, and information I found interesting, and some story ideas, but I also wrote myself a "bucket list" of things to do in order to have a successful life.

Apparently my 13 year old self was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to stay on track, and thought I could use a little extra help.

Here is the list:

1. Learn to play one song on the guitar
2. See a line brawl
3. Own a library card
4. Read every V.C. Andrews book
5. Buy a Shakira CD
6. Discover the perfect kiss
7. Own a wooden salad bowl
8. Go skinnydipping
9. Eat a whole meal with nothing but chocolate
10. Wakeboard
11. Talk on the phone in the tub
12.Knit something
13. Marry someone I love
14.See the Riders win the grey cup
15. Paint my bedroom lavender
16. Have a strapless dress
17. Bungee jump
18. Get something pierced
19. Try to do something nice for someone everyday
20. Have perfect abs
21. Have a picnic
22. Write a book
23. Surf
24. Skate in Rockefeller Center
25. Be addicted to something
26. Break up with someone
27. Have twin girls
28. Dance in the rain
29. Do a triathlon
30. Go to Australia
31. Make an article of clothing and wear it in public
32. Drink champagne in the bathtub
33. Meet Julia Roberts
34. Skydive
35. Get roses every Valentine's day
36. Stop making bad decisions
37. Be beautiful
38. Be smart
39. Go to an art museum in France
40. Figure out how to order a complicated coffee at Starbucks without sounding like an idiot
41. Hear a song by PJ Harvey
42. Go to the ballet
43. Own a cappucino machine
44. Burn a CD
45. Buy something a Pier 1
46. Own a little black dress
47. Be a bridesmaid
48. Spit off the Eiffel Tower
49. Fan myself with a large amount of money
50. Eat Creme Brulee
51. Go to a concert
52. Have a bead curtain
53. Learn to read tea leaves
54. Hold a monkey
55. Have a huge library
56. Own a purse and not lose it
57. Go deep sea diving
58. Own an old fashioned hat box
59. See a movie with Marilyn Monroe in it
60. Watch the Lord of the Rings movies simultaneously
61. Improve my vocabulary
62. Do yoga
63. Learn Spanish
64. Have my book published
65. Live in a foreign country
66. Own entire series of Sex and the City on DVD
67. Plant wildflowers
68. Read Jane Eyre
69. Go to Versailles
70. Learn to salsa dance
71. Be a good cook
72. Go to Brazil
73. Go to a belly dancing class
74. Go to Tahiti
75. Graduate from Universtiy
76. Get my Master's Degree
77. Run a marathon
78. Go to Greece
79. Go to Europe
80. Get published in a magazine
81. Get a tattoo
82. Buy a real camera and learn how to use it
83. Work on a Hollywood movie set
84. Drink a martini

So that's it, the road map laid out for my life by yours truly. While I take issue with some of them now (I don't really know that I want twin girls!) 56 out of 84 isn't too bad.

I may not ever have perfect abs, but I've definitely discovered the perfect kiss. I still have a bit of work to do, I'm not really sure how to go about meeting Julia Roberts, but maybe if I get to work on a Hollywood movie set, I can kill 2 birds with one stone. All in all, I think my 13 year old self would approve.

HI life

Last weekend I had the most amazing girl's trip with my mom and sister in Hawaii. I was so happy to be back there in the place I love the most, and my sister and I had so much fun showing my mom all of our favourite local spots.

I went into the tattoo parlour to get the islands inked on my foot, but I didn't leave enough time, and the tattoo artist I wanted to get wasn't available. I've wanted to get it done for a long time, I'm kind of hoping if I move some of my 808 love onto my foot, there will be a little bit more room in my heart for California.

Lovers for life

5 hour flight, only got to see her for 5 hours. Worth every second.

Me and my mama, she used to be taller than me a longggg time ago

Pillboxes hike

Nashville's aka my other home

our shorts are cooler than your shorts

love her

Pali Highway

Lanikai < 3

Booze Cruise

I wish you would step back from that ledge my friendddd

Waimea Bay

Huge, scary waves on North Shore

Koko Head, you win again. Everytime.

Don't you put it in your mouth...

Something that has been really bugging me lately is all of the confusion regarding food and nutrition information. Some people don't know anything about food, other than you need it to live, and it tastes good, and that's fine, those are the most important things, obviously. But there are a lot of people who actually try to learn more about nutrition, and what to eat to be healthy.

I'm not talking about diet food, or how many calories you should consume in a day to make it to your goal weight, I mean actual health, eating to boost your immune system, fight disease, and really just take the best possible care of yourself that you can.

It is extremely frustrating because everything you read is so contradictory. I do a lot of research about nutrition and healthy foods, and it seems like as soon as you read something about how you should eat, and what you should be eating less of, the next day you read something else that is telling you exactly the opposite. I'm not talking about some random lady in a grocery store, or an internet forum of interested people, these are doctors, nutritionists and experts, and the fact that they can't agree on the most basic things makes it so hard for people to make healthy choices.
 

There are many examples of this, but let's start with dairy. About half the time, I read about how yogurt and skim milk are the cornerstones of bone and dental health, keep you slim, and promote wellness. But there is a growing group of experts who say that people shouldn't eat dairy at all, that it is completely unnecessary unless you are a baby, that incidences of cancer and other disease skyrocket in developing countries with the introduction of dairy into their diets, and that we should be getting most of our calcium from leafy green vegetables.
 

Those are two pretty different view points, it's not really a grey area. So our choices are osteoporosis, or death? Charming.

Also, whole grains. It's fairly well acknowledged that processed flour, white bread, etc isn't good for you, and that people should eat whole wheat bread and brown rice as part of a healthy, balanced diet. But all you need to do is google Whole Grains, and you can come up with tons of article, and books by experts who say that whole grains, and the gluten they contain, is slowly poisoning us all.
 

I'm obviously being facetious, and I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert on any of this, but I am somebody who would like to eat healthier and get more in touch with my overall health, but it can be really overwhelming, and sometimes I feel like somebody is playing a trick on me, like they deliberately make it difficult so people keep buying food that's not good for them.

We are inundated with food marketing from the time we are young we learn that "Milk does a body good" and that "the incredible, edible egg" is the greatest source of protein and a great way to start the day (or possibly a great way to die of heart disease, but who knows?). These are multi-million dollar a year advertising campaigns, for billion dollar industries.

How much did the corn growers spend on that "high fructose corn syrup is no different than cane sugar" campaign? I don't know if it is better or worse,  I just wonder if some of these things really are terrible for us, would they really one day just be like, "OK, guys, we made a mistake, stop eating this thing, all of these people that produce it are going to be out of business tomorrow?"
 

I'm starting to sound like one of those Area 51 conspiracy theorists, but seriously, it kind of seems like you can't win. People try to be healthy and spend more money to eat organic and natural, but there really aren't any hard and fast guidelines for what qualifies as organic, or natural, so really it's just marketing.
 

I guess the answer is as ever, an extremely vague "everything in moderation", and "try to make healthy choices", but with the epidemic of obesity and disease that is constantly rising in this country, and all over the world, I'm not really sure how well that's working out for us.
 

Excuse me while I go sit in the corner and eat a pizza and some cookies, may as well, right?
 

My sister recommended a book for me, "Clean" by Alejandro Junger. I downloaded it today, so I'll post about it later and let you know what I learned.

Lanikai Love

I got back from Hawaii last night at 1 am, I am basically sleeping under my desk today at work but it was so worth it. We hiked Pillboxes and Koko Head, booze cruised in Waikiki, shopped to our hearts content, went to North Shore and saw the crazy huge waves, danced our little toes off at Nashville's, ate at all my favourite places, and went for nice long runs on the beach every morning. It was a perfect weekend.

I'll put up more pictures later, but here is a little Lankai love to brighten your Tuesday.

Lanikai actually means "Heavenly Waters". I'm pretty sure when you die, this is where you go. That wouldn't surprise me one bit.

mugged

I've been seeing cute "saying" mugs all over Pinterest for months now, and since I only have two mugs in my house, one with a broken handle so jagged and pointy that you take your life into your hands just getting a cup of tea, and one other one that is constantly dirty, I decided to make some of my own.

I bought some plain white mugs from Target, and these special porcelain pens on Amazon, it was $10.00 for 6 pens.

 

It's pretty easy, you just write or draw whatever design you want, and then let them dry for 24 hours. If you want them to be dishwasher safe (obviously) then you bake them in the oven for an hour at 350 to set the pen.

I feel like my tea will taste at least twice as good out of these mugs. Happy MLK day!

mini me

This is my first official outfit post. I was there, so was my new skirt and my new camera, it was almost inevitable that we would get to this point. I felt extremely awkward, I think it's safe to say I did not miss my calling as a model, but it was still kind of fun.

I also just noticed that I am not wearing a single article of black clothing here, which I'm not exaggerating, I don't think has ever happened before, so it's probably a good thing it's been documented for posterity.

 

Express skirt/ A'gaci Shirt/ Dollhouse Shoes, Michael Kors Watch