5 Things I Love: Summer

1. Sitting on the deck: A few years ago, maybe when I was in college, my parents did a huge backyard makeover. They built a large deck and planted tons of gorgeous shrubbery and foliage. Every summer I enjoy sitting out on the deck, either reading, hanging out with friends and family or BBQ-ing. It's a wonderful and restful place. I love when it starts getting warm enough to hang out there.

2. Shorts & sandals: Boise recently got a Nordstrom Rack! For Easter my mom gave my sister and me gift certificates for Nordy's. I decided on Paige Denim boyfriend shorts and MIA wedges. I've been needing to update my summer wardrobe for a while. In California my wardrobe was made up of tank tops, shorts and sandals, but many of those things have passed on since then. I felt like I made a smart decision with this purchase and I've already gotten plenty of use out of both the shorts and the wedges.

 

3. Drive-in movies: I haven't been to a drive-in movie in a long time, but it's definitely a favorite summertime activity. There are four drive-in's fairly close to where I live. I'd love to be able to go a few times this summer. It'd be a great outing for when out-of-town friends visit!

4. Snake River Stampede Rodeo: I've been to many different rodeos since I was little. When I was growing up my dad would sometimes be Smoky Bear at various rodeos. Yeah, be jealous. When I was little, my sister, cousin and I would all cheer for the animals instead of the cowboys, haha! Anyway, I went to the Snake River Stampede two summers ago when two of my Seattle friends came to visit. It was so much fun! We weren't able to go last year, so I'm hoping it will work this year. It's another one of those fun summertime activities!

5. Bikinis: Summertime is always a fun excuse to get a new bikini. When I lived in California there was always a good excuse to get a new one and I have a lot from when I was there; I probably never need to buy another one again. I love going to the beach or water parks during the summer. It's a fun way to cool off in the summer heat. Target always has lots of great bikinis for reasonable prices. Here's a cute one from Victoria's Secret.

5 Things I Love

5 Things I Love

1. Bedhead After Party: When we were in Savannah Jenny let me borrow her Bedhead. It was such a life saver! My hair was bothering me and just a little bit of this stuff smoothed it out. I finally picked some up at Target last weekend. It's pretty spendy, but you don't need much and I think it'll last for a while.

2. Soy Chai Tea: I've been trying to cut coffee out of my diet and so I've switched to this. It's been the perfect fall/winter drink. Love it!

3. My old school ipod: A couple months ago my cousins were visiting and they saw my old ipod and were like "WHAT'S THAT?" haha! It's so big and chunky! I got it 5 years ago as a present to myself after working at the fire center all summer. It's freaked out a couple times in the last year, but thankfully, it still works!

4. Droid X: I got this new phone last month and I absolutely LOVE it!! I was hesitant to switch from my BlackBerry, but I'm so glad I did! It's a little burly, but it makes the guys jealous. haha!

5. Naked Juice Green Machine: I had my first Green Machine in Savannah! I love Blue Machine, but this is my new fav! It has apples, bananas, kiwi, mango, and pinapple.

5 Things I Love

1. Commander in Chic: The last couple times I've been to Target this nail polish has caught my eye. The last time I went I finally got it. It's my new fav. Depending on what I'm wearing it looks grey, taupe or purplish. It's the perfect fall color.

2. Grey Gardens: PLEASE tell me you've seen this movie! It's definitely on my top 10 movie list (or would be if I actually had one, haha). The original documentary was made by Albert and David Maysles in 1975 (a must-see too!). Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale were the aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis. They lived together at Grey Gardens for decades, in squalor and isolation. The HBO film, stars Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. It flashes back and forth between Little Edie's life as a young woman and the actual filming of the 1975 documentary. I was beyond excited that it won two Golden Globes and six Emmys.

3. Pssssst Dry Shampoo: I heard about this amazing stuff from Promise last fall. It's a life saver! I shower every night after work and use a little of this in the morning to freshen my hair. I don't know of a ton of places that carry it. I usually pick mine up at Walgreens.

4. Simple Joys: This company was started by my mom's cousin. She recently got a bunch of stuff from them and I've fallen in love with it. They use pure, natural ingredients without artificial color, fragrance or preservatives. Their website says, "We are passionate about offering a superior quality soap that is safe, healthy, natural, environmentally friendly yet effective and enjoyable." Their soaps are made with goat's milk, which has health benefits. It is rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals. They also create their soaps with aromatherapy qualities. Each bar is $4 and there are over 40 kinds to choose from.

5. MiiR: This company was started by a fellow SPU alum and they are doing great things! "At MiiR, we believe in changing the status quo. We believe in thinking differently about what we create and who it may impact. We do this by making our products highly functional, well designed while giving back to those in need. We decided to start by making great bottles with significant purpose behind them."

One dollar of each MiiR bottle provides one person with clean water for one year. Their one4one initiative goes straight to charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe water to people in developing nations.

During the month of September (yes I know it's the last day of the month), for every new fan on Facebook they are donating $1 to charity: water. Also, they were also giving away two bottles a day during September if you signed up for their newsletter on their website. I got an email on September 20th saying that I won one! I was pleasantly surprised when my pretty new water bottle showed up just 4 days later! I uploaded one of my pictures for a customized skin. I can't wait to get it!

Check out MiiR on Facebook and Twitter.

MiiR Digital Short // 001 from MiiR on Vimeo.

5 Things I Love: Workouts

I am not a gym girl. I've been to the gym like one time in my life. I don't know what to do there. Besides the fact I don't have money for a membership, I find it pretty intimidating. In my journey to be healthier and more toned, I've come across these gym-alternatives. These are my absolute favorites and they don't take much time. I come home from my 10 hours at work and try and do one of these things. If I can do it then so can you! NO EXCUSES (gotta love Jillian Michaels). :) I've seen results (aka more definition) in less than two weeks.

1. The Biggest Loser: Cardio Max (approx. 30 min): INTENSE! This dvd is crazy and amazing. It has so many options for workouts. You can choose warm-up, cool-down and 3 levels of workouts or there are 3 separate workouts for the 6 week maximum results program. I like that this pushes me beyond what I think I'm capable of. Plus, nobody's as motivating as Bob and Jillian.

2. The Girls Next Door Workout (approx. 15 min): Laugh all you want, but it works. Senior year of college I became a GND fan. I was extremely excited and curious as to what the workout dvd would be like. Each of the girls have their own 15 minute workouts. This is my go-to workout. I start with Bridget's warm-up and leg routines and end with Holly's arms, abs and cool-down routines. It still ends up being around 15 minutes. I've only attempted Kendra's twice. It's not as easy to follow, but I'm sure if I did it more frequently I'd be able to catch on.

3. Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred (approx. 20 min): Unfortunately I don't have my own copy of this, but my local library does. I love her 3-2-1 interval system. This workout is simple and very effective. My goal is to get my own copy and consistently do it for 30 days for maximum results.

4. From Couch to 5k (approx. 12-30 min): Anyone love a free workout? I know I've mentioned this before. Heather and I got through week two and then life (and bad weather) happened. We're planning to get back into it next week.

5. Winsor Pilates (approx. 20 min): This workout is not strenuous, in fact I find it very relaxing. I usually just do the 20 minute workout and haven't ventured much into the accelerated. This is a good option to do in between the more intense cardio workouts.

If you cannot afford to purchase any or all of these, check your local library. Check outs for dvds are between one and two weeks long (at least at mine they are). If the library doesn't have it, you can always check youtube for snippets of the different workouts. I got my copy of BL Cardio from the used section of Hastings. I'm pretty sure I'll go there to get Jillian's too. The one thing I love about Hastings is that they guarantee their used dvds, so if it doesn't work you can always exchange it for one that does. I think the most important thing is to stay active, whether it's working out or even just going on a walk. Like Bob says on BL Cardio, "Just keep moving." Also, when looking for a workout (or a way to stay active) find something that you enjoy doing. Working out is much more bearable when you're having fun. I'd love to hear your favorite workouts or workout motivations.

5 Things I Love: Summer

1. NOOK: Our parents got Heather and I Nooks for our birthday on Sunday! I absolutely LOVE it! This past weekend we ended up getting covers for them. Mine is a little boring, but I couldn't justify spending $125 ($90 on sale) for the gorgeous Kate Spade cover. One thing that I love about the Nook and Barnes and Noble is that we can download books from different resources, not just B&N. I found this website that has a bunch of free books. PLEASE let me know if you have any other resources (free or otherwise). We ended up buying a couple new books too and I just started reading Sense and Sensibility for my 25 before 26 list. What's a great summer read?

2. Bright nail polish: I love bright, fun nail polish colors for summer! These are a few of my favs. The top three are Sonia Kashuk for Target: Ocean Breeze, Purple Rain and Tutti Frutti. The bottom two are Chinese Glaze, Pink Voltage and Sinful Colors, Innocent.

3. Victoria's Secret PINK pjs: For my birthday last Sunday, Heather and I decided to get ourselves new summer pjs from VS. Since we're an Angels card holders, we get $10 giftcards for our birthdays. But we had also got $10 giftcards in catalogs, so we each had $20 to spend there. I know the shorts I got are a little creepy (my mom hates them), but they were the best choice and I love them a little more every time I wear them. I love how the lacey design on the shorts go with the print on the tank.

4. Platinum Beauty Lounge: I'm kind of picky when it comes to my hair, well picky when it comes to who I have cut it. I think it's because I had the same woman cut my hair from the time I was in elementary school through high school. When I was in California, I found an amazing stylist, Melissa, at Urban Renewal in Claremont. I was extremely sad to say goodbye to her and unsure about finding a new salon and stylist in Idaho. I asked around and heard about Platinum Salon in downtown Boise. The salon opened last fall and has a great feel to it. Karina is my new stylist and I LOVE her! My first time I went I just got a cut, but the last two times I got cuts and color. She's fabulous and fun!

April 2010

July 2010

5. Kind Campaign: A movement and documentary, based upon the powerful belief in KINDness, that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-against-girl "crime". "Look, we know it's hard to be a girl sometimes. We aren't asking for everyone to become best friends...that's simply unrealistic. However, we are suggesting something very simple: to STOP the competition, STOP the cattiness, STOP the hate, and to BE KIND."

The documentary will display the often-cruel way in which females treat each other, and shows the detrimental effects those relationships and experiences can have on girl's self-esteem and personal growth.

Kind Campaign is currently entered to win the Pepsi Refresh grant for $250,000. Pepsi Refresh is looking for people, businesses and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact. Please go HERE to vote for Kind Campaign. You can also text to vote, text 101818 to Pepsi (73774) (standard text messaging rates apply).

Find Kind Campaign:

Twitter

Facebook

Youtube

My amazing friend Amanda is selling bracelets here to support Kind Campaign. Heather and I ordered some and we LOVE them!

5 Things I Love

1. Gladiator Sandals: I got a pair of gladiators at the beginning of the summer and I wear them ALL the time. I love the look! Forever21 has some great, inexpensive ones. I need them all! haha.

2. The Big Bang Theory: This show is absolutely HILARIOUS! Kaley Cuoco is fabulous and I've fallen in love with Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons.

3. Air1 Radio: I LOVE Air 1!! I've been listening since I've been in high school. Luckily, if there's not a radio station near you, you can listen online. It's "family friendly" and play awesome Christian music.

4. Margaritas: Delicious and refreshing! Perfect summer drink. Best if you drink while sitting by the pool with your girlfriends.

5. Boyfriend Jeans: I love this look, but haven't found a pair that look good on me yet. Anyone have a pair they love? Where'd you find them?

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