Pretty And Preppy Outfit

Well the summer spell is gone and the temperature is back to 50s and 40s here in NC.  As nice as the spring fever was, I'm ready to start wearing winter clothes in January again! Here's a pretty little outfit to make you feel beautiful and confident all day long!

Everyday Makeup Look

I love to do my makeup. But most days, I don't have the time to do a full face of makeup. On days like this, the look below is my go to makeup routine.

Big Batch Mashed Fo-Taters

Mashed potatoes. Who doesn't love them? 

They were one of my favorite foods as a kid. I was convinced that I was healthy because potatoes were a vegetable in my mind. Now that I've grown up, I've come to know the sad truth: potatoes are not an extremely healthy vegetable. They are a starch and a carb that turns to sugar and should be limited. Although they do have many health benefits, people do not consume them they way they should. They are typically loaded with butter, bacon, sour cream, and other fattening foods. Sigh, so much disappointment. 

Until this recipe. Parsnips on the other hand are a vegetable and very healthy. So many benefits inside this wonderful little food. And they taste almost just like potatoes.

Chin Up, Darling

Chin up, darling. It's something I'm sure we've all heard or been told before.

We all have bad days. Sometimes, we have bad weeks, months, or even years. Instead of facing what's causing the pain, people just tell you to stay positive. Hold your head high. Keep your chin up. But I'm going to tell you something different. Here's a few different ways to move through the pain and become the positive person you want to be:

The Confident and Bold Outfit

So as some of you may know, I've recently been working with Dressbarn! As their slogan goes, I'm so happy and excited to label myself confident!

So I'm going to share my fashion secret with this outfit that will turn a lot of heads!

Metropolis January Glam Bag

It's time for another Ipsy post!

My second glam bag just came in the mail and I'm in love! The theme is metropolis so it's all about the city this month.

This bag is visually stunning! It has a faint, light bluish grey color with shiny silver peeking through the open circles. I also love the size of the glam bags. Not too big and not too small. Perfect for early mornings when you have to just grab a bag of makeup and go!

Red Berry and Dragon Fruit Cheesecake Smoothie Bowl

Smoothie bowls are all the rage today. I used to just make plain old smoothies, but I was curious to see what the attraction to put them in a bowl was.

Now, I don't think I'll ever look back. I like to chew my meals, not just drink them. With smoothie bowls, I feel like I'm getting all the benefits smoothies offer, but I love being able to get creative and add different toppings.

I wanted to create a smoothie bowl unlike any other. I didn't want it to be the typical banana or blueberry. I wanted it to be decadent, like you're not even eating something healthy. That's when I came up with this red berry and dragon fruit cheesecake smoothie bowl.

When I was younger, I used to love going to the store with my dad. He would let me pick out all of this exotic food even though I couldn't even pronounce the name most of the time! Over the weekend, I went to the store and did just this. Before I knew it, I had a beautiful dragon fruit in my cart.

My Workout Playlist

I love loud music when I workout. I just feel so energized and unstoppable.

Music is a staple for me when I workout. Luckily, I workout at my home gym so I can blast the music as loud as I want to and it drives my family crazy. But anything for a successful workout right?

                    So here are the artists and songs that I can't get through a workout without:

Seared Tomatoes With Balsamic Salad Pizza

So you might be thinking that there's some disconnect between the title and the season. But let me just say, this pizza is so good that you'll want to eat it year round. It's getting up to almost 70 degrees here in NC this week! So to celebrate, I'm posting this recipe as a reminder that sweet, warm summer is only a few short(ish) months away!

Who doesn't love pizza? If you're dieting and trying to eat healthier, you most likely go out for pizza with your friends just to end up feeling guilty and ordering a salad. With this recipe, you can have your cake and eat it too! Not to mention you'll never want to make another type of pizza again. Don't worry, I was a salad pizza skeptic too. I mean when you want to indulge, who wants it to be incorporated with something healthy? It doesn't even seem like an indulgence then. But rest assured, this recipe won't disappoint.

Warmest Snow Outfit

We finally got snow!

Well, more like ice, but there's a dusting of snow over it! In this area of NC, we don't usually get too much snow or even cold weather. The week of Christmas it got up to 70 degrees! But this weekend, the high has been below freezing which means we'll have the ice and snow for a couple more days!

  If you've read some of my previous posts, you know that I'm transferring to a university this fall. The school I chose is Appalachian State University. This is a huge change of environments for me. I am not used to the cold. But I am definitely not used to the snow, let alone snow storms.

So lately, I've been trying to prepare for how cold it actually will be up in the mountains in the winter. I took this snow weekend as preparation and to put my new snow outfit to the test.

New Year, New Exercises

Earlier this week, I did something crazy. I went for a run.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to workout and be fit, but I absolutely despise running. But it's a new year and I want to be well rounded when it comes to exercise.  I don't want to always do resistance training and walking. So I ran. I ralked (ran walked ;P) 3 miles and it felt great.

I have always been against running. Not that it's not great and beneficial for many people, I just never understood the appeal when there are so many other forms of exercise. But I think I have a different perspective now that I've actually tried it.

Don't get me wrong, I was exhausted afterwards, but it felt so nice doing something so different. It was this big challenge that I wanted to show myself I could complete. Now it was my first time running in many years, so I only ran about half of it. I wanted to start slow so that I didn't feel like I was killing myself! But it really was exhilarating. The brisk, damp air passing me by, I felt fast and free.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!!

So this post is probably a little late, but I wanted to share with you all of my New Year's Resolutions!

A lot of people have just one or two resolutions. I wanted to make a list of ten resolutions so that I'd never run out of things to strive for this year. I had a pretty great 2016 and was sad to see it leave, but I am determined to make 2017 a fantastic year of personal growth and fun! So here are my resolutions and a little bit about why I chose them:

Ultra Comfy Back to School Outfit

Its officially 2017! I love the new year, but what I don't love is getting up early to go to my classes. This semester, I'm taking an 8:00am class and I'm not the biggest morning person. I mean I love my college and all, but I'm not sure I want to see my professors at that time of day.

But with a new semester comes new professors and I still want to make a good first impression. This easy back to school outfit says comfy and cozy with a dash of "I tried today." It's an easy outfit and probably what I'll be living in most of this semester!