Thursday, January 30, 2014

Phillip Lim Steal

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Sure, opening gifts one by one on Christmas morning (or in my case, afternoon) while your loved ones stare and wait for a feigned (or not) gesture of appreciation can be an overall enjoyable experience. Being with loved ones and just getting anything above that is a blessing, I think we can all agree. And just to add some butter onto that piece of sourdough, my gifts were actually pretty awesome this year. My boyfriend was ballsy enough to give this shoeaholic a pair of gold accented ankle booties. He also bought me a sweater I pinned to my "My Style" board…not knowing I already had it. Long distance relationships. I guess not memorizing each others' wardrobes comes with the territory.

Regardless of how awesome Christmas can be, I have three words for you: After Christmas Sales.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

THE bag


Here it is. The perfect bag. THE bag. The Twin bag. It's sleek, simple, classic, and beautiful - just how I like it. That, and multiple inner compartments always tug at my heart strings. 

Now, if only I wasn't a law student indebted up the wazoo…


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Cold and Healthy

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Polar Vortex weather doesn't often lend itself well to breakfast options like smoothies. Temperatures low enough to induce even the most stubborn of campuses to announce a snow day usually calls for oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, or a stack of pancakes. (Let it be known that I actually did spoil myself with some peanut butter pancakes on Sunday - in celebration of National Peanut Butter Day. If you didn't already celebrate, there's no harm in some belated festivities.)

But today, I decided to do what the unexpected. Really, for the sake of my health. After being cooped up in my apartment all day (as a result of the aforementioned snow day) I miraculously ended up with a ton of super huge, freshly baked, chocolate chip fleur de sel cookies. Nevermind how it happened, I'm now just more concerned with how quickly the pile has dwindled. 

Hence, the fruit smoothie despite the cold. It pretty much ended up a hodgepodge of everything I had. Pom, mixed berries, greens, yogurt… and I threw in a packet of Vega One protein powder. I've made it my new mission to find a neutral-flavored protein powder I actually like. The strawberry, chocolate, or vanilla thing is just not for me. Artificial flavorings should be reserved for sour watermelon slices and the like.

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I found a good review on Vega One and decided honor it with the first test in this case study. I opted for the "natural" non-flavor instead of the vanilla chai. The review for the chai flavor was good, but that seemed a little too aggressive for the fruit smoothies I'd typically make. 

The natural flavor was good. Since the protein powder is plant-based, the "green" taste is certainly noticeable however not overpowering. It added a slight sweetness to the otherwise tart smoothie, and a bit of grittiness as well. The powder didn't dissolve as much as I would have preferred but it definitely wasn't off-putting. Like the greenish taste, it's just noticeable. All-in-all, I'd definitely buy it again. Plus, the protein (15g) to calorie count (123 cal) ration was best compared to other protein options (at least at my local Whole Foods Market Heaven). 

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Mixed Berry and Greens Protein Smoothie
[printable recipe]
makes 1 really big smoothie

1/2 C Pom juice
1/2 medium banana
1.5 tsp honey
1 packet Vega One protein powder - natural
1 C frozen mixed berries
1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
2 heaping Tbsp plain greek yogurt
handful mixed greens (spinach, arugula, baby romaine)

Directions: put in blender and blend that shit up.


Happy healthy drinking!


Friday, January 24, 2014

Juice and Soba Noodles

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If you guys haven't seen the "Shit People in LA Say" you need to head to the YouTube right now. "Shit" came out a while back, during the whole trend of making "Shit [whoever] in [wherever] Say" videos. Obviously this one hit close to home. (Especially the "Are you leaving?…bitch." part.) And, of course, the part about juicing. Classic Californians jumping on the next health craze bandwagon. Damn you nutrients, you done got me again. 

Here it is. The juice of the day (equally juiced apple not pictured). I bought some carrots earlier in the week that looked like they were dunked in some TGRI ooze and figured they'd be perfect for juicing, so I put them to work (with aforementioned apple, oranges, parsley, kale, 1 celery stalk, and smidgen of lemon). Pretty tasty and healthy way to start the day if I do say so myself. And I just did, so… yeah…

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Back to the point, to which I have yet to allude. If you're ever in LA and feeling a bit lonely…perhaps you haven't put the remote control down in a while or you just CAN'T.STOP.PINNING…and you want to have an actual conversation with a real life person take the following steps:

1. Make some juice.
2. Put your juice in a bottle (preferably glass or, better yet, a mason jar)
3. Go to a shopping center.
4. Walk around with juice in hand.

I guarantee someone will come up to you and ask you some variant of "Ohmahgahd! Where'd you buy your juice?! I'm really into juicing right now."

This exact scenario happened to my friend and me when we perused the Grove. I couldn't even help my friend decide on a f*&#in top because we kept getting questions about this damn juice. Note: We bought our juice from Joan's on Third. I highly recommend the restaurant/marketplace. I highly urge you not to buy the green juice. Unless you feel like drinking a bottle of ginger.

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On another note, I felt compelled to make a soba noodle and peanut dressing dish recently featured on Cupcakes & Cashmere. She mentioned it quickly became a staple so I figured it'd be good. It was easy, quick, and healthy but I can't say it was my favorite. I felt the recipe was missing something, mostly vegetables, so I added about two teaspoons of Sriracha, carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, grape tomatoes, scallions, and roasted chicken breast. 

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Recipe Note: If you plan to store leftovers, keep the excess sauce! It dries out as it sits in the fridge. 

Happy cooking!