[friday favorites]

Friday has come once more, so it's time for this week's favorites. To be honest, I've been so busy with work I haven't tried very many new things. It's short and sweet, but here you go!

1. I got the DKNY Be Delicious gift set as a Christmas gift this year and LOVE it. Granted, my friend bought it for me knowing it's my favorite everyday scent, so I knew I'd love it. 

2. Also a Christmas gift, number two is my pair of Yurbuds. They are the green women's earbuds and they're amazing! No matter how much I sweat or how many jumping jacks I do, these headphones stay on. 

Have a stellar weekend!!!

"happiness is a habit - cultivate it."

-elbert hubbard

[food i'm loving]

I'm going on this health food kick and trying to really keep at it. Of course, it's a struggle to stick to it and then definitely hard to keep things from getting boring, but I'm trying. It's also hard what with my work schedule to be able to eat regularly and well at the same time.

New favorite salad:

Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad:
(spinach, cucumber, tomato, carrots, raisins, sunflower seeds, and grilled chicken)

Midnight snack (because I get home from work at midnight):

Cucumber slices with lime and Tajin (a chili lime powder)

Also: who even eats chips anymore? I've started buying English cucumbers and cutting them in thick slices. I use them as chips for dipping all kinds of things. (I don't have a picture but that's pretty self explanatory.)

"change is inevitable. growth is optional."

-john maxwell

[monday motivation]

By no means do I plan on doing a Monday Motivation every week, but I felt like sharing something that motivates me. I follow two bloggers on Instagram and they have positively influenced my life (and eating habits) so much in the past few months. They both post amazingly delicious, clean recipes that are easy to make.

These are screenshots of their blogs, but definitely make sure you follow them on Instagram as well!!!

Deliciously Ella

Ella used food to improve her life (read her story, it's crazy) and now she basically shares her recipes with the world!

Nutrition Stripped

McKel is a health and wellness coach and dietitian who also shares her recipes and knowledge for free with the world. I would pay her to be my dietitian but can't afford it, but even just her recipes are an amazing help!

"take care of your body. it's the only place you have to live."

- jim rohn

[friday favorites]

Starting now,  I'm going to be posting my weekly favorites on Fridays. Pretty self-explanatory if you ask me. Yes, I got the idea from other blogs, but it's also just something I've wanted to do. The number of things may vary, but for this week I have three.

1. This Yellowtail Sangria. Fruity and delicious. 

2. Midnight Memories by One Direction. Yes, the whole album. Listening to it turns my frown upside down. 

3.This fabric shaver from Brookstone. I get lints and pills in my clothing and this shaves them right off! I got it for Christmas from my Aunt and I love it.

Happy Friday and I hope you all have a great weekend!!!!!

"fall in love with as many things as possible."

- from the movie Country Strong

[meal prep & food organization]

I think one of the most important things about being healthy and staying in shape is what we eat. Obviously there has to be a balance of diet and exercise, but you can't out-workout a poor diet. So today I'm going to show you the step before meal prep: food organization.

Unless you live on your own and have only the foods you eat in your refrigerator, then your fridge likely has some food that you don't even need to touch or think about (like mine). To make it easier for me, I've organized my refrigerator so cooking will be easy and convenient and to keep the bad-for-me things out of sight.

This is what my fridge looked like before I organized.

 

This is what it looks like now. If you notice, beforehand I couldn't really tell what vegetables I had in the drawers and things were very messy. Now I know exactly what I have just by taking a quick glance!

 

           


These are most of the things I threw away. (Thousand Island dressing?!? Parkay?!? Bean dip?!?! I don't know who bought those but they are horrible for you!)

These are things I kept (but only for the sake of those I live with.) I've discovered I need to limit my cheese-eating; it really messes with my digestion.

Now the next step is going to be going shopping for what's missing and then beginning meal prep!

"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."

- benjamin franklin

[tutorial: repurposing candle jars]

So I'm obsessed with candles. Honestly. I love burning candles and having the house smell delicious from them. I'm not big on incense or those scented reeds; i'm strictly a candle gal. This being said, I don't see the sense in spending money on a cheap candle that'll only smell that first day. I buy the good candles at Bath and Body Works. Because i'm spending $20 on a candle, you better believe i'm going to reuse the container!

So here is how I clean the glass jar (or container, whatever) after the candle has no more life left. 

STEP 1: Start with candle jars. Melt them down as much as you can.

STEP 2: Boil water. Place candle jars in a glass container. The deeper the container, the better. 

STEP 3: Pour boiled water in glass container so it'll surround the candle jars. This water will melt the wax down enough to allow you to pour it right out, while also softening the labels so they come off clean too. Look at the difference in color of the wax inside the containers, you'll notice the outside is melting.

STEP 4: Using paper towel and hot water (and glass cleaner if you have too), wipe the rest of the wax off. 

DONE!

...and here are some examples of how I've repurposed candle jars in my house.

Hope that helped!

"for every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned."

-benjamin franklin

[short trip to orlando]

My cousin recently moved to Orlando for school, so I finally got two days off in a row so I could go visit her. While it was a short trip, I really enjoyed spending time with her and doing a little exploring on my own! Here's a photo journal of my two day mini vacation. 

Lunch at Seito in Baldwin Park on Wednesday afternoon.

I went out in search of a local coffee shop and came across Bikes, Beans and Bordeaux (otherwise known as B3CAFE.)  A cup of coffee and a bagel & lox later, I was one happy camper.

After running some errands (because lets be honest, I still had to take advantage of my time), I took some time to venture about Baldwin Park. This was also my way of getting some exercise in. Of course the pictures don't do it justice, but he community is absolutely adorable and soooo nice. It's like the quintessential American town. 

All in all it was a fun and relaxing two days and I love that I got to experience something different. Go on your own adventure soon! It can be very refreshing! 

"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." 

-anonymous

[resolve]

First of all, I can't believe it's already the middle of January. I meant to get organized before 2014 started, but naturally, time got away from me. So now, I'm finally getting organized.

I've been trying to get in better shape and lose weight, but when you live an unorganized life, that becomes really difficult. For me, I've been so focused on work that I let it take over my life. I wake up, do nothing around the house, get ready, go to work, come home to sleep, and do the same thing the next day. It's not that I don't have the time to get other things done, it's just that I've become lazy and complacent. 

NO MORE!!!

I bought a wall calendar and a planner for 2014 and I'm going to work really hard to stay organized. 

I've even written in which workouts I plan to do every day to help me stay on track. No more excuses! 

I would post links for you but they were from a limited collection by Sugar Paper for Target. Check out Sugar Paper's site to see the other great things they have! 

"the secret of getting ahead is getting started."

-mark twain

[skincare]

If there's something I'm very particular about, it's my skin and skin care. My face tells you everything you need to know about me. If I'm stressed: acne. If I'm not sleeping: bags. If I binged a few days ago or ate chocolate: more acne. To counteract that and to keep even-toned skin, I have a pretty strict, but very simple, skin care routine. 







Morning: morning time is shower time, which is when most of the work is done. I rinse and cleanse my face with Neutrogena Naturals fresh cleansing + makeup remover face wash. I use it to wash my face and take my eye makeup off too. I rinse that off before putting shampoo in, and get ready for step two!






While the shampoo is in my hair, I use St. Ives Blemish & Blackhead Control Apricot Scrub. This is my FAVORITE. SCRUB. EVER. Of all the drugstore brands i've tried, it has the most beads and feels the most effective. I leave that on until rinsing my shampoo out and get ready for step three. 

After I put conditioner in my hair, I use the St. Ives Timeless Skin Apricot Scrub. I actually bought it on accident, but after using an entire bottle, I saw and felt the difference in my face. My forehead and neck are both tighter and my skin feels so much more firm!!!


I finish by moisturizing my face with Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturizer. I've been using it for years and never once have I even wanted to try a new one. It moisturizes my skin but keeps it fresh all day!

The last part of my daily skin care is right before bedtime. Right after I get in my pj's, I wipe my face with some kind of makeup removing towelette. I've been trying different ones for a while but can't seem to find one I can't part with. My most recent (which I'm actually replacing today) is the Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Facial Towelettes. They clean pretty well for towelettes and leave my skin feeling clean instead of oily. 

In all reality, I should probably do more of a deep clean at night, but it's hard enough to even remember to remove my makeup at all. 

"let us all meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."

- mother theresa

[starting fresh]

Those of you who know me know I love the idea of Blogging. You also know I've tried it in the past (but failed miserably). So this is me + my computer, round two (or three or four, but who's counting?)

I have actually been thinking really hard about whether or not I wanted to start blogging again. In the past, I think I was doing it more to be like other bloggers and maybe get recognized. I stopped because that is not a reason to blog; you have to love it. You have to want to do it for you. The past couple months have been chock full of ideas and random brainstorming sessions, which got to the point where I just had to blog. I just had to post my ideas and thoughts, for whoever wants to see and read them. Because at that point I had information that I felt it was my duty to share with the world. 

So here we are, January 9, 2014 (technically), and I'm finally at it. Day 1. 

It's going to be a play-it-by-ear type of space for me, where ideas and thoughts and inspirations come together. Basically think a culmination of what's going on in my mind, what happens in my life, and anything I feel my do good for someone else to know. The end result will basically be [the world according to Kristina]. I hope you enjoy!

"make it simple, but significant." 

- don draper