Celebration Shopping

After the law school acceptance packet on Monday, I thought a little celebratory spending was in order.

Although my original intention for the trip to the mall was to return a few things for my mom, I ended up in a few stores, spending much more than anticipated.

My most exciting purchases:

Glee Nail Polish - Sephora by OPI

I am a GLEEK.  i love love this show, and although I recieved an email about some glee nail polish, I didn't actually look that much into it and therefore was completely shocked when I arrived at sephora to see this on the nail polish display.  I also recently became nail polish obsessed - I never painted my nails before last spring, but now I'm sad when they chip or are bare.  Although suzi skis just made its way onto my nails on thursday morning, I'll be doing one of these babies (either miss bossy pants, the rachel berry-esque pink or the gleek out lime) tonight.  don't worry, I'll post pics!
This mini-pack comes with 3 exclusive colors (the glittery topcoat - celebacy club, the navy blue - sue vs shue, and the coral - express yourself to yourself), and there are also four other colors to complete the collection - a pink, purple, glittery grey, and peacock green.  I didn't realize that I was missing 4 colors when buying the little one, so I might have to go back for more.  We'll see ;)

Reebok EasyTone Reeinspire

I'm always interested in things that claim to do this thing for your health or that thing for your health (see PowerBalance bracelets) (also if you really want to buy one of these, order it from amazon where they are WAY cheaper.  dont be dumb like me).  I always take their claims with a grain of salt, but I'm still always drawn in, just enough to justify the purchase if its something I want.  So now, see the EasyTones.  Luckily these are pretty cute for tennies, and a steal of a deal (1/2 off at von maur!), and I think that their weird circles will at least help with my balance, even if they fail to actually shape my buns.  and with the power balance band, I should be a yoga queen. 

Things I love Thursday - 1/27

Things I Love Thursday

 Acceptance packets from MICHIGAN LAW

Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees 

this is technically a charcoal grey, but in certain light its blue-ish, others its deep deep green, and i even get purple sometimes and i LOVE it

 (oh and thats me!  i dont think i've introduced my face to the blogging world yet, but there i am!  hi blogging world!)

source

broccoli

apparently this cruciferous veg is in season?  whatever i love it.  esp dipped in humus or ranch.  

trader joe's has bags of it in organic form, already washed and cut.  LOVE IT.  

Pretty Little Liars

hello guilty pleasure.  i want to have ezra's babies, spencer's wardrobe, and creepy anonymous texts

(here)

  lululemon wunder unders

holy cow, most comfortable piece of clothing EVER.  i am so not a proponent of leggings as pants, but i will do anything to work these babies into my wardrobe.  i've worn them with dresses, under pants - i've even branched out into long-sweater + leggings wearing.  look at me, living on the edge.  they rock.  so worth the price tag.

Things I've learned 1

Things I've learned...

 - asking your boyfriend if they have dual flush toilets in the engineering buildings is a silly question

source

 

 -the best way to get into law school is to submit your  letter of continued interest.  your acceptance packet will have been mailed 2 days before.

-sometimes working on the cancer floor of a children's hospital takes its emotional toll

-gorilla pose is incredible

source

  
-donate your baby's cord blood.  the chance that someone with cancer will need it is greater than the chance your child will need it. 

-outback salmon + sweet potato is a pretty awesome celebratory dinner

-i love "all those pretty lights" by andrew belle

-working out consistently is its own reward

-attempting to not get sick when your roommate is sick is tough work. 

-it is possible to have super delicious "dessert-like" foods.

plain greek yogurt, frozen organic wild blueberries, organic dark chocolate chips + a touch of honey

 

Crochet Motivation

I was on etsy the other day looking up narwhal things. because lets be honest, narwhals are pretty freaking cool animals. a lot of my love stems from mr. narwhal of elf fame, but I've always loved whales, and narwhals are some of the coolest (along with belugas, humpbacks, and porpoises). etsy is honestly the best for little animal crafts. 

And I came across this...

These two esty patterns are the motivation for me to become better at crocheting:

narwhal!!

manatee!

These crochet pattern are available from needleNoodles, on etsy here!

How adorable would they be on a keychain?

These little animal patterns along with the huge desire to make one of these:

pattern can be found here: hooks and knives

will hopefully be enough motivation to get crocheting to the point where I can handle the single-crochet!

Also this:

makes me wish I knew how to knit as well.
looooove cable knit
pattern here: winter knits kit

So hopefully I can get my act together, and find the time to make adorable craft-y things.

Dry Hands Cures

I work in a Children's Hospital, and am constantly hand washing with harsh soap, purell-ing, and cleaning with nasty chemical cleaners.  So toss that in with some cold winter air, baseboard heating, and terrible water, and you've got a perfect combination for dry painful hands!

I've been especially careful with hand washing lately because one of the little ones I adore at work is severely immuno-compromised, but I'd still like to visit him.  So that means hand washing after being in public places, before eating, etc.

There are two products that are lifesavers for my little winter hands and they are as follows:

method moisturizing hand wash in cucumber and aloe (here)

i am certifiably method-obsessed.  they are always my go-to company for cleaning products

and although this soap does use sodium coco sulfate, a chem that some people have qualms

with, its one that i'm currently okay using.

This soap is super moisturizing, and its all that I use at home. 

Method products are also available at target, but maybe not this one.  I feel like I bought

it on clearance.

+

L'Occitane Shea Butter (here)

This is the best hand cream.  Super rich, natural, and perfect for my winter hands.  

I always buy the little bottle because it fits so nicely in my purse/bag, and its recommended shelf life is 6mos,

Sephora always has these in stock by the registers too if you'd rather buy in store.

So there you go, some natural ideas for keeping those dry hands at bay in the cold winter months.

Note: I am not a cool enough blogger to receive product samples, so I bought these babies with my own money.  :)  

Things I Love Thursday - 1/20

Things I Love Thursday

Annie's Organic Snack Mix Bunnies

These babies are my go-to salty snack.  They are SO satisfying

Kate Spade 5th Ave Earmuffs

I've been dying for earmuffs ever since I realized the futility of hats when I wear my hair up.  

Earmuffs are the perfect solution.  And these ones are SO adorable.

(also when I googled for a picture of these I typed in earmuffins.  clearly I have muffins on the mind.  but also, how cute would earmuffs shaped like muffins be?!)

Kindle + Apple Green Cover

I love love love my kindle.  It's perfect for on-the-go reading, no eye strain, and I feel like I read FASTER on it.  

Is that possible?  regardless, I love it.

Google Demo Slam

Found this in a HuffPost re: time wasting sites.  Love it!  And definitely a time waster.

+

Arc Trainer + Women's Health

this is how i've been getting through cardio workouts lately.  

And I'm learning SO much from women's health.  LOVE IT.

What are you loving this week?

More Muffins

So I tried the other muffins again this morning and I REALLY liked them.  They're definitely more healthy/less sweet than the banana muffins, but I really liked them. I must have just been muffin'd out last night.

So I present:

White House Honey Oat Muffins
adapted from the recipe by Spike Mendelsohn

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

2 tsp baking power

1.5 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp corriander 

1/2 cup honey + 2 tbsp 

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup "homemade buttermilk" = 1/2 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

2 large eggs

mix together all dry ingredients

wisk honey, canola oil, buttermilk, and eggs together in a separate bowl

combine 

pour into muffin cups, 2/3 full

bake at 375* for 18 minutes, or until golden and test stick comes out clean

makes about 12 muffins

Not very sweet at all, but perfect with just a little bit of earth balance buttery spread and some tea in the morning.

just crumbs leftover

Alos, muffins always make me think of muffin films.  Especially The Muffinless.  Love Amy Winfrey!  Don't be muffinless!  

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

So I haven't quite given up on blogging yet, but I have much more admiration everyone who can keep up the consistent daily blogging so much more now!

granted, the new semester just started up, and I'm still trying to fall back into the swing of things, but no excuses (play like a champion)!

Tonight I took a much needed break from studying to bake muffins!

My all time favorite favorite muffin recipe comes from Martha (of course), and has been my standby for a few years now.  Cory LOVES banana muffins, and I sent him these for our first anniversary, and they've been around ever since.

They're decently healthy (hello whole wheat flour!) but of course there's sugar, although next time I make them I should try a little less since bananas are so flavorful to begin (they can mask the spinach taste in green smoothies!)  The sour cream gives these muffins the best texture though -- super moist.  love love love!

So without further ado:

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
adapted from Martha Stewart

4 bananas (mine always start out frozen with no adverse effect.  luckily the kitchenaid can handle anything)
1 cup light brown sugar packed
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose unbleached white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tsp vanilla (or imitation vanilla if your pure vanilla is currently MIA like mine)

mash 4 bananas
add brown sugar, oil, and egg, mix until smooth
add flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined
add sour cream and vanilla, mix until incorporated
fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for ~25 minutes at 350*F

(and yes, i just wrote that recipe from memory)

I actually made another muffin along with these, but the one I taste tested wasn't my favorite.  I'm all muffin'ed out for now, but I'll try the other kind again in the morning, and then report back.  See this is what I need, accountability to blog.

See you tomorrow!

Birthday Eats

Birthdays always means awesome food.  The birthday deals usually allow for free or discounted food that you wouldn't normally buy thanks to the expense.  And thanks to the boyfriend's 23rd birthday yesterday, I got to enjoy the birthday specials despite it not being my birthday.

Cory loves to sleep in, so brunch was around 11:30.  We headed to Angelo's for breakfast.  Angelo's is an Ann Arbor legend, and therefore the lines are usually down the block on weekends.  I think we got there at the perfect time and didn't have to wait very long.  The best part of Angelo's is their amazing homemade bread, whole wheat with butter.  Total perfection. 

As an afternoon snack, we headed to Cake Nouveau for Cory's free cupcake.  He got a lemon poppyseed cupcake whereas I went with the simple Vanilla Beany.

It was so delicious.  The owner of Cake Nouveau, Courtney Clark, is a fantastic cake design artist who has been featured on a bunch of Food Network programs.  I actually stumbled upon the Food Network Challenge Last Cake Standing episode, and I am always a sucker for food network competitions, and was surprised to find that Courtney Clark owns a cake shop in Ann Arbor!  Who knew! She actually won that episode that I watched with a Finding Nemo Cake!  And I love Finding Nemo, btw.  And although Last Cake Standing is more about cake design, I must say that her cupcakes are just as delicious as they are pretty.

Finally, to round out our day of food we went to Real Seafood Company for dinner.  There I ordered the Maple Glazed Salmon which was incredible.  I like salmon, but I'm usually not impressed by it when I go out to eat.  This was NOT the case last night.

(Also, I apologize for the blackberry photos, but I didn't carry around the camera yesterday)
So all in all a delicious day with a perfect finish of Michigan hockey win remiscent of the Big Chill at the Big House, and cuddling up and watching Sherlock Holmes. 

January Goals

So here are the january goals.  Let's see if I can start 2011 off right!

1.  make time for physical activity 

physical activity four/seven days per week

I think this will be a little easier than I anticipate thanks to a yoga class on monday nights and free yoga t the lululemon store on friday ,mornings.  plus, my apartment complex has a fitness room with a treadmill and a tv.  i just need to motivate myself to walk across the street and do it.

2.  eat out less, cook more
eat out no more than 5 times per week
in the last week i ate out seven times.  and that is a total drain on my bank account and my health.  so five times it is.  which will force me to cook more.  perfect.

3.  be organized
keep up with assignments in the planner.  also keep tabs on what food is in the fridge and its expiration date.

I think this is very do-able.  And keeping track of what type of food I have, will help with #2 :)

4.  develop impeccable habits
90% face system adherence.  That means, of total 62 chances (2x's a day) to follow my skin system in January, I do 55.
 also, retainer wearing at night for 16 days 
Also very do-able.  except that I've already used one of my 7 misses for the month.  bummer.

5.  be clean
pick up room before bed every night + change pillow case twice a week
Room is clean.  Now I just have to keep it that way.

6.  do it now
finish all assignments at least 1 day ahead of time

7.  find time for me
read four books

Just started Water for Elephants and I have Still Alice and An Object of Beauty to read for book clubs :)

Seven in 2011

So already, its resolution time.  I like the idea of resolutions; I know a lot of people think they're silly, and that if you want to change something in your life you shouldn't wait until  the first of the year, and give up if it doesn't work out right away.

But having a concrete start date and a concrete amount of time to work on it is helpful for me.  So new year's resolutions it is.

I think the best way for me to do this resolution deal is to make general goals now, and each month specify exactly what those goals mean and build on them.  I also feel like this is my last semester to build habits, since next fall will be crazy with the start of law school.

The seven in 2011 thing is pretty cute, so I think I'll stick to seven!

1.  make time for physical activity 

I love how completely refreshed I feel after yoga, so I'm resolving to do more of that.  Also, two summers ago I was a running fiend.  And even last summer, I was decently committed to it.  I loved running, but it's fallen away since then.  It's time to get it back.

2.  eat out less, cook more

this one is a little vague because i think i need to work into it.   I eat out a lot, and I know its expensive, I have no idea what's going into my food.  Plus I love grocery shopping, and making things I can feel really good about eating.  


3.  be organized


every semester i start off very well, but by the end i'm scrambling to find things.  not this one!
essentials: moleskine planner, binders, label maker.  
plus keep the fridge and pantry organized so i know what i have and i don't end up a. wasting things, or b. eating out and harming goal #2!


4.  develop impeccable habits


these are a combination of hygiene and healthy habits and include:  waterpik + retainer usage, complete face system usage (i now own all the essentials for skincare.  now i just need to use them consistently), daily 2L water drinking and green tea drinking, limited sugar intake.

5.  be clean


last week my mom and i did a deep cleaning of my apartment.  by monday january 3rd, thanks to the change your life challenge #2, i'll be removing 20+ things from my life.  so now i just need to keep the cleanliness up.  this includes changing pillow cases frequently, keeping clutter to a minimum, and

6.  do it now


this one is snatched from gretchen ruben, author of the happiness project, but i think its perfect.  i like to put things off a lot, and procrastinating will not allow me to accomplish all the other goals of mine.


7.  find time for me


this means read books, paint nails, dance around the room to ke$ha, watch glee and greys with the girls, and movies with the bf.