Things I Love Thursday #17: cinco de mayo, lansing lugnuts

lansing lugnuts games on a saturday night

The weather over the weekend was perfect. So J, B, and I headed to the lansing lugnuts game. the lugnuts are a minor league baseball team, and their game saturday night was so fun. fireworks, food, beer. perfect weather. go nuts! (also this is the incredible team song)

celebrating cinco de mayo (and uno, and seis)
i've been eating all the mexican food. I made jessica's strawberry margaritas and carnitas nachos. so so so good.

little loves: new skimm swag | maizey finding a spot in the grass that she loves to roll in like this | puppy play dates | 14 mile runs followed by ice baths | flexcity and lunch with the bff | flextreme challenge | winning ebay auctions | starting to gather prints for a gallery wall | emily mcdowell's empathy cards

TiLT #12: origins original skin, dagne dover, pizza ramekins

Things I Love Thursday #12

Dagne Dover

Very very luckily got my hands on a very slightly used turquoise leather mini tote and i'm in love! The bag itself is beautiful. Now the only issue is going to be actually remembering to put things in the pockets, instead of just tossing my phone in the bag or my pen or whatever. and preventing myself from purchasing the big tote. ::speak no evil monkey emoji::

Pizza Ramekins

with mushrooms, banana peppers, spinach, nom

Almost as satisfying as pizza as I get through the final "no-pizza" push. eeeep! Thanks tracy!

origins original skin

i won this badboy in their #quarterlifecrisis app and I'm so excited because I was honestly considering buying it. I've been looking for a serum and since this is formulated for 20-somethings, I figured it'd be a good serum for me. I used it last night. Smell = pleasant. consistency = i needed about four pumps to cover my face, so its not thin or watery. results = we'll see!


little loves: julep oxygen bonding base coat | lusting after these tights (thanks cecile!) | dressing thats so good you'll eat it with just lettuce (but that doesn't mean you should, toppings are the spice of life (or something)) | midweek mid distance runs in SHORTS AND A T-SHIRT | flex city (again and again) | having a law student-esque thursday night drinking too much oberon | starbucks birthday cake frappuccino | small pleasures of dog people (so much truth) |

TiLT #9: skimm day and skimmbassadors, acacia scarves, maizey

Acacia Scarves & Jaclyn Day's blog

This is my second scarf from acacia scarves and I'm in love. At one point this winter, I considered going to Jo-Ann's, getting some fabric, and making my own scarf. but the material is just not comparable at all. So I splurged a little and bought another scarf.
Acacia Scarves is run by Jaclyn Day (and her husband Brandon) -- who's blog I've been obsessed with lately, moreso for her life and book updates than the fashion, since I'm trying not to buy clothes currently. Her suggestion of ballet beautiful has made me add "ballet shoes" to my list of things to retrieve from my parents house.

Sip & Skimm

yesterday was skimm day! A day to blitz social media with the skimm, and celebrate the awesomeness. Skimm partnered up with Netflix for this one, to commemorate unbreakable kimmy schmidt's release. And because Kimmy's last time in the real world was the 90s, its perfect 90s nostalgia, and a perfect skimm day theme.

yes that is my hand digging into the pizza while the photo is being taken #impatient

Some fellow Michigan skimmbassadors and I met up for drinks and dinner and swag last night which was so much fun! It was so easy to chat with these girls about life and the skimm, and current events because we were all equally informed! Go #skimmlife.

This little nugget eating snow on Friday 

When maizey and I were walking around on Friday she decided she was literally going to chomp at the snow. 

little loves: pineapple and cashew fried rice | papersource |  this article | trader joe's | sunshine and warmer weather | extra hour of daylight (even if it means feeling like I'm waking up way earlier) | unbreakable kimmy schmidt (that autotuned theme song is so damn catchy. "they alive dammit!") | baking (even if I can't eat the final product) | oiselle flyte shorts on sale on amazon | communicating with j through instagram comments | me before you (i'm not finished yet! no spoilers!)

note: this post does contain some amazon affiliate links!

TiLT #8: GR edition -- brewery vivant, rehabbedhandmade

Brewery Vivant

A friend and I went here last week for Grand Rapids Beer week. It was great! We each got a flight and liked all the beers we got -- my favorites were a paczki beer (are you surprised? I'm not) made with powdered sugar and prunes, and one called Nun's garden, which was a pale ale aged in a wine barrel (again, are you surprised?). I also got the duck nachos which were crazy huge but crazy good. all in moderation, right?

Food earrings

Ordered these from rehabbedhandmade last week and I'm in love. the avocado with its pit on one side is particularly adorable. also who doesnt think donuts are cute? no one, that's who.

little loves: Free barkbox for you and me! | pancakes as big as my face (and their leftovers) | loopy mango blanket kit | long runs with a running group | one of the kind ladies in the day designer facebook group who sent me sticky flags to decorate/designate | mini luna bars | Olivia's tirade against Fitz on Scandal | baked fruit in ramekins

TiLT #7

source: huffingtonpost/nbc

Parks and Recreation Finale

I laughed. I cried. I was worried it wasn't going to be that funny in the beginning (SPOILER ALERT: let's be honest, donna's future just wasn't that funny), but i laughed so much (SPOILER: and couldn't believe I didn't think of sandra dee o'connor), and cried at the end, and just loved it. (ALSO SPOILER: J and I are def. on the Ms. Knope becomes prez train). I made waffles to mark the occasion.

howsweeteats bites

I made two things from Jessica this week. #1 is pictured above -- crispy egg tostada, and #2 was her shallot and spinach goat cheese pasta. both of them were sooooo good.

unique pretzel splits

these are AMAZING. i demolished them in less than a week, but holy cow they are so good! just like the greatest pretzel. My no bread during lent ban means my carb consumption should suffer but not with these bad boys around. they're just perfectly crunchy and perfectly salty and delicious. 

little loves: hard root beer | parenthood (again) | tiny beautiful things | fleece lined leggings | sending off maizey's DNA to wisdom panel | 90 calorie luna bar minis | misfit's great customer service | this wedding dress designer who designed an ebola suit | geranium toes | running every day during lent

TiLT #6: go w/ the flow, station eleven, austin half marathon

Station Eleven

this book is fantastic. Post-apocalyptic post-pandemic that takes place in post-apocalyptic michigan of all places! I read it over the course of 5 days and looooved it. It was great to see how all the characters intertwined, and its not a strictly chronological story, but it worked better that way. Seriously 5/5, go read it now! 

Austin Half Marathon Shirt

source: justanothermrunner on insta

i am in love with this race shirt. even if this race was my PW, and a swift kick in the butt saying "hey maybe you actually do need to train for things like half marathons," this shirt will be great and awesome and a fantastic reminder that working hard gets results. not "occasionally running." 

go w/ the flow sweatshirt

source: youniquejes on insta

so yes, just like i mentioned in my 31 days of go w/ the flow review, i am in love with this sweatshirt. i am temporarily using a fellow go w/ the flow'er insta picture, but will update with my picture soon. my sweatshirt is totally the same except it is in the very-much-in burgundy color. 

little loves: eating everything cheesy and sweet and carby over the weekend and now cutting that all out --> no bread or sweets for lent | parenthood (starting it up at season 4. forgot how much i loved it. can't wait to get the the finale) | traveling | drinking outside in february | seeing all kinds of adorable puppies | yoga followed by beers | humidifier

TiLT 2015 #2

Maizey

This dog. In the snow. I just die. She makes me squee, and want to take all the pictures of her snow covered nose, and frozen whiskers. Life is so much better with a dog

Space Heater

Without this bad boy I'm pretty sure I would freeze constantly. I'm trying to live that fellowship life, and save money on things like heat, but even with multiple layers of clothing and big fuzzy patagonia sweatshirts and a dog resting on my feet I still freeze without the space heater. It's also all kinds of awesome for my 31 days of go w/ the flow yoga practice. love in a electric box.

New Real Deal Snow Boots (Sorel Caribou)

so heavy. so massive. so much love.

Little loves: Invisibilia | the winter CSA including the perfect veggies for recently posted recipes | surprise roses | movie theatre popcorn | day designer (yes, still) | sephora favorites: the great cleanse

TiLT 2015 #1: make29 resolution, day designer

Things I Love Thursday!

it's back!

image from: make29

Elise's Make29 Resolution Page

Paid $4 for this download and it is making me accountable for flossing every day in 2014. or close to every day. but we're on day 8 and I'm 7/8 (only because i floss at night). sometimes i do it while i'm on the phone with my boyfriend who is sadly driving home very late, because he is sadly rocking that (public interest) firm life. sometimes i do it while maizey stares at me inquisitively, and hesitantly because bathrooms are scary places where baths happens, and you never know when you're going to get tricked into a bath. but EVERY day i'm flossin'.

Easy Dinners

source: howsweeteats.com

In the past week I've made:
No recipe chicken fajitas (i toss onions and peppers in my dutch oven. cook until desired softness. then in goes chicken. cook chicken until done. heat up some corn tortillas. pull out salsa, gauc. dig in)
portobello fajitas (also totally planned to make the queso but then realized i had bought gouda instead of fontina at trader joes. damn you same red rind)
turkey chili (made with quinoa, and didnt add the fresh salsa. added a bottle of honey brown beer for extra liquid)

Such great dinners -- so easy. Which is really just the best part.

image from: the grommet

Day Designer and Whitney English

Here I am again, singing its praises. I've been diligently cataloging my to-do lists and events/appointments/dailies etc in this, and I am still in love. I also recently ordered the mini, which is a smaller undated version of the regular day designer. It was kind of an impulse purchase, but I'm thinking because it's undated, there's no "feeling bad" if I don't use it right away. Because I surely will use it. Even if it has to be an in-between planner, or if, god-forbid, day designers stop being made, I can have that.

Also Whitney is just incredible. This year I also purchased the well-designed year, which is a more in depth evaluation of your goals and how to achieve them. I haven't gotten far, but what I have done has been so so great. Also there was a small fiasco on the most recent release day, and a lot of people freaked out about it, and Whitney's response was so classy and real and it just made me love her even more. So thanks Whitney!


Little Loves: trader joe's beet hummus (it has little bits of beets! i love it!) | 31 days of go w/ the flow (more on this soon!) | tackling small things each day (progress > perfect) | oyster (more on this later too) | emojiary (yes, its exactly what it sounds like. a daily diary on your phone written in EMJOIS) | going crazy shopping for healthy food at trader joes. and i mean crazy.

Things I Love Thursday - 2/20

I am currently playing the "stalk google maps until it tells me that there's not heavy traffic on my drive that should take 35 minutes but is currently projected to take me an hour." oh polar vortex, you havoc-wreaking little minx.

it does give opportunities for photos like this though:

silly little dog barking at the thundersnow.

and this:

snowflakes were really that big

so I guess I love thundersnow! thunderstorms, always a favorite. snow? pretty much always a favorite (except when it extends drives like today). it is pretty darn pretty, right?

restaurant bathroom selfie

My v-day dinner outfit. pretty proud of myself for the pink without being sickening.

new to me gu!

branching out in the "flavors of gu i tolerate" and trying chocolate and caramel. hopefully i will not regret this. Also why isn't there a butterscotch gu? butterscotch pudding is the bomb dot com.

hedgehog dryer balls

I've always been a fan of dryer balls -- I like to think that they help fluff your clothes, and increase drying speed. these are just adorable, and thus i couldnt pass them up.

chocolate and strawberry macaron

and finally free macarons, accompanied by a free pedicure at vis-a-vis salon. doesn't get much better than that.

Things I love Thursday - 3/31

So on this lovely Thursday I really could do a TiLT cold edition, but i pretty much did that yesterday, and i'm feeling much better this morning (although it could be thanks to that crazy extra strength mucinex i took before bed last night)

Also, check out my guest post over at Stacy's blog - Every Little Thing.

Weee I'm famous! Although it is a little silly that I have failed to write anything about nasty chemicals in my own blog despite that toxicology degree I'm working on. I'll get to it!

On to the themeless Things I Love Thursday

hello trader joe's knockoff girl scout cookies

(not as delicious as tag-a-long's but a good trans fat free sub)

I LOVE BETHENNY

i want to grow up and be her. and i LOVE that she promotes things like healthy eating. I own her recipe book - SkinnyGirl Dish and adore it! And Bethenny ever after is the best part of my Mondays. hilarious.

Michigan Hockey

these boys pulled through last weekend to make it the FROZEN FOUR

love them so much and hope they kick some North Dakota butt next Thursday ;)

image from mbeautylounge
Zoya's Gemma is definitely my Martian nail polish color for this weekend's 5k.
Yes, I coordinate my nail polish to race themes. be jealous.

Plus zoya nailpolish is extra fab because its free of several pretty harsh chemicals ( toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor) that are usually found in nail polish.

I am a tar-jay fiend. and when i went to buy my fancy rebel, i knew it was time to get the card that gives me 5% off all my target purchases.
While I was attempting to apply for the debit card, tarjay decided to give me, girl with zero credit whatsoever, a target credit card. Weeeeee, I'm in love.
it was the perfect encouragement to buy black swan on blu-ray. 
special 3 disc edition and 5% off? i'm in :)

Things I love Thursday - 3/17 Running Edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day! While I will probably be partaking in some activities this afternoon (probably just a green beer around lunch-time), I don't think I'll be going too crazy in the festivities.

I have a half-marathon to train for ;)

Speaking of the half, I definitely have some running essentials I'd love to share in the Things I love Thursday - Running Edition. 

 First of course is the fivefingers. The barefoot running thing can be a little intimidating at first, especially to those who either a. have not run before, or b. have ran in crazy heavy or crazy stabilizing shoes. I run better, faster, and with proper form in my fivefingers. I don't get as tired, and I honestly think they make me enjoy running MORE than I would in any other shoes. I have a pair of nike frees, which i use for treadmill runs, and a pair of asics that I bought two summers ago when I was doing all that crazy running. I like both of those shoes. But i LOVE my fivefingers.

Let me now introduce you to my ipod shuffle, Elle Woods. Elle Woods has "endorphins make you happy" inscribed on the back. She is my motivation for physical activity. Lately I've been running to the black swan soundtrack and Adele's 21. It's been great.

Running clothing - here we have the lululemon run swiftly long sleeve tee which is all kinds of incredible. yesterday was the third time i've worn it running and its NOT SMELLY. love. plus its super comfortable, doesnt ride up and has awesome thumbholes. Paired with a pair of (livestrong) nike tempo shorts and i'm good to go. this was actually my running outfit on the cruise ship and I am SO excited that I can wear it in Michigan again.

Another important part of running is the running HAIRSTYLE. now i know running is def. not a beauty pageant, but when you have long hair, it can be really frustrating to find something to do with it that isn't bothering you on your run. for me, the SIDE BRAID IS IT. it is actually my new go to hairstyle for everything, thanks to a Women's Health article talking about how its perfect for straight hair after using dry shampoo (love dry shampoo, esp. klorane)

Finally, my last necessity is my garmin (stats from yesterday's easy 2 miler). Nothing is more accurate for keeping track of your runs. I love that I can glance down and see how I'm doing in terms of distance and pace. And let's me honest, map my run sucks balls.

So that's them -- the things I need for successful runs. I do know that I'll need to get my hands on some sort of water holding device for longer-distance runs. Any suggestions?

Things I love Thursday - 2/17

Hey hey, look at that its Thursday and I have a hot minute to blog about what I love this week.

Life has been revolving around

a. midterms, for both me, and the undergraduate students in Toxicology, the course I am the graduate student instructor for.  You'd be surprised how much prep goes into writing and preparing an exam for a group of 60 students to take.  Their exam is going on right now, I have another exam in a week, and a paper due on tuesday.  Fun stuff.

b. Spring break prep!  although it is not nearly spring, The semester break at Michigan occurs next week and I am headed on a Bahamas cruise for 4 days.  very excited for sun and relaxation!

Anyway, here's what I'm loving:

clarisonic mia 

i snagged this baby from beauty.com for 20% off and i am in love.  while i have yet to see results (they say a sin cycle is 20 days, and im only on day 8 with the clarisonic), it has made me notskip a single face-washing.  so thats definitely a great start.

mott's fruit snacks

so ignore the crappy picture that someone from amazon took of the costco box that they are reselling, but these babies rock.  i dont feel bad eating them because they're made from a bunch of fruit and vegetable juices and taste great.  

lululemon slipless headband

i'll be honest, i have yet to use this in a workout situation but just from lounging around the house, its perfect.  stays in place and doesnt budge

30 rock s4 on netflix instant play

i always forget how FUNNY this show is.  its my go to for background while eating dinner, or other similarly mindless tasks.  liz lemon, you are my hero.

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.