New Year's Resolutions

As 2013 draws to a close, I wanted to wish each of you a blessed & Happy New Year!

2013 was filled with incredible memories for me:

• I graduated Undergraduate and Graduate School in ONE DAY 
• I traveled cross country with D in his Mazda for a grand total of 9,000 miles
• I took a summer off to go to the beach
• I found a job in my field, which I am so fortunate to have!
• I moved into my first real girl apartment with a good friend
• I paid my first bill
• I celebrated my Golden Birthday! I am so happy to be 24 (It's my lucky #)

On a sad note, I was also witness to the Boston Marathon Bombing, as I volunteered at the finish line that day. Also, my loving and beautiful dog, Lily, passed away earlier this year.

I am so grateful that my incredible memories far outshine the painful memories of this year. I hope the same for you!

My New Year's Resolutions for this year will be to continue to cross items off of my 101 in 1001 list. Also, I plan to rid myself of people who I secretly despise in my life. I wish to surround myself with people who are going to lift me higher to reaching my goals and dreams.

If you are having trouble coming up with a resolution, take a look a the links below.

20 Things to Let Go of Before the New Year

25 New Year's Resolutions Everyone Should Follow

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Only The Good Die Young

12 years ago today, my family and I lost a very dear person in our lives--my Uncle George. Thinking of you today. Your spirit is never forgotten.

xoxo

The F Word

Hey everyone, another guest post from Adriana!

What does a feminist look like?

A lesbian, who doesn’t shave her armpits, and screams about how “men suck!”…right?

Wrong, actually. I am a feminist. And yes, sometimes I prefer to shower every couple of days and shaving is usually a tremendous success for me, but my hygiene routine has nothing to do with my beliefs on gender equality. In my opinion, feminism has received a bad name in the media. Instead of “feminism” being a word describing determination, strength, courage, and equality, it has become a word to describe bitchiness, loudness, annoyance, and a joke.

The real definition of feminism is the desire for the complete equality of men and women. That’s it. No gimmicks. No men hating. Just equality! Not so extreme, right?

Although this stress-free definition is the true meaning of feminism, women and men seem afraid to label themselves as it because of the stereotypes. Well, I’ve decided that my life will be best served if I stand up for what’s important to me and to society. If I, a relatively “normal” person, can identify as a feminist, then hopefully others won’t be so afraid to join the cause.

You might be wondering… “What is there to fight for? Aren’t we equal? Hey, we have voting rights!” True, my friends. But there is still a lot of ground we need to cover. And in my opinion, it’s the small things that individual people have the power to change! For example, if you’re a woman…Do you ever feel worried about walking alone at night because you’re wearing a short skirt? Do you casually omit your opinions in front of guys out of fear of rejection? Do you hear “feminine” terms used as derogatory insults for men? Do you feel as though your worth is your body, in the eyes of men and the media? These are small examples that I’ve noticed from my life. All I want is to feel safe, respected, and validated as a person.

I want to embrace the term “feminism” to shatter the glass ceiling for women in all domains of life. Women and men should be able to pursue whatever brings them happiness. Although women face critiques in the public and private spheres often, men also have a role to fulfill: a tough, autonomous, “masculine” demeanor. If men represent any kind of emotional competence, automatically they will be considered homosexual. The small boxes of masculinity and femininity create unhappiness because they are unattainable standards. I try to use my knowledge of feminism to promote acceptance of all behaviors of men and women, without the strict guidelines of masculinity and femininity.

Summary on how to use our gender knowledge:

• Accept the behaviors and activities of men and women (ex. Little boys learning ballet, fuck yeah! Adult women taking control of their sexuality, rock on!)
• Feminism is the desire for the complete equality of men and women! (Promote this accurate definition. If you’re interested in learning more, the links below are awesome and interesting resources!)
• Do you. Don’t let gender restrictions control your life. Act the way you feel and eventually the dichotomous gender boundaries will start to blur, and society will begin to accept all forms of identity expression.

Peace & Love,
Adriana

Some interesting videos and websites:

Miss Representation

Women in the Media

The Daily Show

We Should all be Feminists

I am a Feminist

Tough Guise

Invest in Positive Friendships

Hey everyone, another guest post from Adriana!

You could call me a true optimist. During good or bad situations, I always believe that the Universe planned my life to happen that way. Even in a downright awful circumstance, I think the situation can be manipulated once I change my cognitions about it.

However, there are days when people are sucking the life out of me. All I want to do is cry, verbally abuse them on Facebook, or leave an angry voicemail to get my point across. I get frustrated; I try to cope; and, sometimes, I forget the skills to overcome this negativity.

But then, clarity strikes. I see the negative people as they are: Negative. Never changing. Soul-sucking. Fucking horrible. I realize that their pessimism is exactly why I got rid of them in the first place.

In middle school and high school, it is acceptable to keep friends who serve you no purpose. They may be gossipers, arrogant, self-absorbed, or ignorant, but you keep them around anyways. Worst of all, you never stand up to them. You let them bully others and even yourself. You begin to believe their bullshit banter and you leave your opinions in the dust because of fear. The fear of rejection. But, as you age, you realize, “WHY AM I FRIENDS WITH ASSHOLES?”

Great question, right? Why do we settle for shitty friends? Guess what! We don’t have to. There is a choice involved. As Oprah once said, “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” Let’s dedicate our time to those who bring us support, love, and acceptance. It’s important to be surrounded by those who celebrate your achievements as though they are rejoicing their own. Mumford & Sons has a song, “Awake My Soul,” which lyrics say: “And where you invest your love, you invest your life.” So, let’s invest our love wisely. Get rid of the negative people.

But if you don’t trust me, trust Miley when she says...

“Forget the haters, 'cause somebody loves ya.”

Peace & Love,

Adriana

Making Peace With Yourself Post Breakup

Hey everyone, another guest post from my sister, Adriana!

I don’t know about you, but my transition into college wasn’t as smooth as I had expected. I had recently broke up with my boyfriend of 2.5 years, left my hometown in New Hampshire and my best friends, and moved to Boston to start a new life (Cue the song Boston by Augustana!). I thought this new adventure would be pretty easy. I have an outgoing personality, so I figured I would make a huge friend group within weeks that resembled my crazy friends from back home. Well, I did make a bunch of new friends with all different perspectives and personalities but not necessarily the group of partygoers and heart-to-heart seekers as I pride myself to be. However, these people, thankfully, were my sanity during a rough period of my life at 18-years-old during a sort-of quarter-life-crisis.

To hide my semi-depressive emotions and newly found anxieties, I jumped right into psychology classes, a program to teach underprivileged preschoolers, and a student group that my sister was involved with. These activities kept me incredibly busy, so my mind didn’t have time to process or care about my unhappiness in Boston. On the weekends, I would avoid my pain by getting so drunk and trying to find cute guys to get my mind off of my ex. This usually would result in shitty pizza (Go BHOP!) and vomiting the next morning. Casual, casual times.

After two years of venting sessions, tears, drunken calls, and an on-again/off-again relationship, I finally realized that my high school relationship was just that: a high school relationship that should stay in high school. It was April of my sophomore year of college and the bad vibes and stress of my previous relationship were finally in the fucking past. But, something was still lingering in my mind. Anxiety and occasional bits of depression. It’s strange…when you’re going through a break-up, all of your behaviors are directed to your happiness and recovery. I would go to the gym all the time, download new music, read intriguing books, and make time for friends. However, once you’re over the relationship, those self-loving behaviors go out the window. That’s exactly what happened the spring of my sophomore year. I wasn’t proactive about my happiness anymore. I was dormant. Additionally, my unhappiness translated in to my social life. I didn’t want to meet new people or go to parties. I was content with spending time with the same old people and doing the same old things. To make it worse, I went home to New Hampshire all the time to hide the fact that I hated my social life in Boston.

After spending a significant amount of time with my best friends from New Hampshire, I learned some critical lessons. Be who you are. Be crazy. Be weird. Be smart. Be philosophical. Be fucking you. If people can’t hang with your fantastic qualities, fucking PEACE! It’s strange, I know my personality is sometimes larger than life…and I always felt like I had to underplay it. I was worried I was too much to handle. But whooooo cares?! Here are some quotes that I re-blogged on my tumblr page that have really reflected my consciousness recently:

"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” - Nelson Mandela 

"There are times when you don’t know yourself. There are times when you don’t want to know yourself. There are times when you want to be what you have never allowed yourself to be before." - Aidan Chambers

"Stop being tormented by everyone else’s reaction to you." - Joyce Meyer

"Self belief does not necessarily ensure success, but self disbelief assuredly spawns failure." -Albert Bandura

"There is no beauty without some strangeness." - Edgar Allan Poe 

"One of the greatest journeys in life is overcoming insecurity and learning to truly not give a shit." - J.A. Konrath

“If you cannot find a group whose consciousness matches your own, be the source of one. Others of like consciousness will be drawn to you.”  -Neale Donald Walsch

In this last quote from Neale Donald Walsch, I have taken his advice. I have become a person who is true to myself. Eventually, I will find a group of people that reflect my consciousness. Luckily, I already have some fantastic friends who do! In 2011, I embarked unknowingly in to a philosophical journey that led my soul back to they way it felt when I was 12. I’m that crazy kid again, just trying to generate some laughs and save the world through psychology. Who knew it would take a heartbreak, a change of scenery, and some philosophical lessons to get my soul back to its comfort zone. Thank God.

Peace & Love,

Adriana

Setting Intentions

Happy Monday y'all!

Hope your weekend was fun-filled and fabulous. Onto another work week, and the countdown to the holidays continues. I find it hard to believe that 2013 is slowly coming to an end. It seems like just a few weeks ago that I graduated with my Masters and D and I went on our epic road trip.

Seeing that the year is almost over, it's time to start think about New Years resolutions. I know it's cliche to set New Years resolutions, but I'm a fan. It keeps me focused and driven to accomplish something outside of work. As you may know, I already keep a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I'll admit, I haven't been the best about updating my list. This will soon change...

From now on, every Monday, I plan to jot down a weekly intention. This intention, big or small, will be a goal that I wish to accomplish by the end of the week. I came interested in the idea of setting a weekly intention during a recent yoga class. Our yoga instructor had us set an intention to accomplish by the end of the class. Mine was to not give up during those intense poses and keep focused on my breath. Seems easy, but I worked hard to accomplish that intention.

I ask you to set a weekly intention with me. I always found that if I had someone holding me accountable for my goals that I was more likely to follow through with them.

My intention this week is to drink 8 glasses of water each day.

A beautiful sunset to get your week off to a good start.

Good luck setting your intention and resolutions! I'm excited to share my Christmas gift guide for the ladies tomorrow! Did you see the men gift guide?

Adriana's December Playlist

Hey everyone! Happy Monday! Enjoy another guest post from Adriana!

I am obsessed with finding music, old and new, that hits an emotional hot spot. Here are some songs that I’ve been listening to recently which have sparked my interest. I hope that one song will be unfamiliar to you and could possibly connect with you somehow. Shout-out to my friends who showed me these songs in the first place! Enjoy J

Adriana’s December Playlist 

Romantic Power Ballad: Lay Me Down by Sam Smith

Instrumental Jam: Ocean by John Butler

I Still Love You Song: Video Games by Lana Del Ray

Feelin’ Funky: Funky Tonight by John Butler Trio

Perseverance Song: Hold On by Alabama Shakes

I Moved On Song: Lesson Learned by Alicia Keys feat. John Mayer

Let’s Drunk-Dance Song: Latch by Disclosure feat. Sam Smith

I Love You Song: Love On Top by Beyonce

Casual Rock: Revelry by Kings of Leon

Sleepy Time Jazz: What Am I To You by Norah Jones

Kick-Ass Girl Jam: Another Girl by Wild Belle

Work-Out Song: Wild For The Night by ASAP Rocky feat. Skrillex & Birdy Nam Nam

Best 90’s Flashback Song: Wannabe by The Spice Girls

Current fav. John Mayer Song: On The Way Home by John Mayer

You’re Drunk & You See Your Ex: Hurricane Drunk by Florence + the Machine

You can listen to this playlist on Spotify here

Peace & Love,

Adriana

Attract What You Expect

Hey everyone, another guest post from my sister, Adriana!

“Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.” –Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde, you wise, wise man. This quote particularly stuck with me while reflecting on my recent love life (or lack of)! People, you know what I’m talking about…the trials and tribulations of an undefined relationship. Here are some of my downfalls while in an ambiguous relationship:

I can honestly say that I’ve chased love which literally provided me with nothing. Any sight of a charismatic man, and I lose my shit. I forget the fantastic qualities that I bring to the table, and I focus in on his impeccable character and never failing charm. To make it all worse, I chase them. I put in the effort and forgive way too easily. It was only until talking with my great friend, Joe, that I realized these facts.

I think it’s time for myself and all women to realize who the fuck we are and install some standards. We are bitchin’ ass women. We don’t need to settle for one-night stands, lame texts, or mediocre feelings. Demand dates! Or demand what you need!

Also, it’s important to remember why you’re awesome and reflect those feelings in all of your interactions. Every person has a fabulous personality trait they can exhibit. Once you're brave enough to show others, they will mimic your confidence and the positive reinforcement will keep on flowing!

Not only have I realized what I deserve in a romantic relationship, but I am more confident in these exchanges. What’s the point in dating someone if you can’t be your crazy-ass self? If there is a guy who can keep up, then that’s freaking fabulous. If not, you have your hilarious-self and awesome group of friends to keep you entertained!

To summarize: You’re awesome. Don’t chase. Be yourself. Life is amazing, regardless.

One last quote to really nail the fucking point home: "Attract what you expect. Reflect what you desire. Become what you respect. Mirror what you admire."-Anonymous

Peace & Love,

Adriana

Some interesting links:

5 Most Important Life Lessons

How to be alone, but not lonely

Show Up & Make Big Things Happen

Break Free

One Bright Moment (Adriana's Tumblr)

Lightly (KS's Tumblr)

Beauty and the Bees

My dad is a bee keeper and often shares the benefits of eating honey and getting stung by bees. You may not know that when a bee stings, it releases venom. Your skin reacts to the venom as an irritation. Accordingly, your skin increases circulation and stimulates production of collagen and elastin, which plump and firm fine lines.*

So my dad recently emailed me this article, and it sparked my interest in using bee products for health benefits. To summarize, the article suggests that bee venom could cure Lyme Disease in some people. Amazing. I wanted to share some bee health products with you that are out there. Some I already use, and others I'm interested in trying. [links are in orange]

1. Burt's Bees

Who hasn't heard of Burt's Bees? I love, love, love their chapstick. It's 100% natural and leaves my lips silky smooth. I also use their cuticle cream on my fingernails and toenails when doing at-home manis/pedis.

2. Bee Healthy Farms

I came across their body cream. It contains organic propolis, a bee product found in hives. It has many health benefits, including fighting inflammation and allergies. The cream also contains honey and shea butter. 

3. Beepharm Apitherapy

Frederique Keller, a bee expert, was featured on Dr. Oz a few years ago and told the audience of a facial mask and night cream. Both products contain bee venom. Currently, she is having a holiday sale where you can get both products for $60. I am definitely considering ordering, knowing the great benefits of bee venom for my skin.

Also, honey itself also has some pretty amazing benefits when eaten. First of all, it's a natural sweetener. My mom substitutes some of the granulated sugar from her apple pie recipe and adds my dad's honey. DELISH! Honey is also a natural cough suppressant. Feeling like you're developing a sore throat? Brew some organic green tea and add a tablespoon of honey or eat the honey on its own. The honey will instantly coat your throat, reliving some of your symptoms. Finally, honey is a natural source of carbohydrates, which is the body's primary source of fuel. Add honey over plain Cheerios or toast in the morning, and you'll be energized for the rest of your day!

It's important to buy honey that has contains NO high fructose corn syrup. Buy only organic or raw honey. It's even better to buy from local apiaries. Always read labels.

Be aware that honey should NOT be fed to infants under one year old.

Do you currently use any bee products in your beauty regime or add honey to your meals? I'd love to hear feedback.

*Info courtesy of Dr. Oz

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I am thankful for my supportive family and loving friends. I hope you eat your hearts out and spend time with the people you love.

One Thanksgiving tradition that my sisters and I always do is shop on Black Friday. We head to the good 'ol Mall of NH to shop the sales. After living in Boston for the past five years, I'm realizing how pathetic the Mall of NH is. I may forego the mall madness this year and shop online. The following are online sales from my favorite stores/sites...

DSW

Free Shoe Lover Tote with purchase
I'm eyeing these.

J.Crew

Use code HOLIDAY to get 30% off your purchase

I'm eyeing these.

Ann Taylor

Use code ANNTHANKS to get 50% off your purchase

I'm eyeing this.

Happy shopping!!!

Golden Birthday Drinks

As I've posted about here and here, my Golden Birthday celebration is this weekend! I'm so excited to celebrate this milestone with friends and family. Tonight my roommate and boyfriend are hosting a cocktail hour or two at my apartment, and then my friends and I are headed out to a bar called The Living Room. I'm happy to try out a new place to add to my repertoire of Boston bars.

During the cocktail party, I requested that we only serve drinks that are GOLD! Below are a few recipes that I found on Pinterest... I hope to try out one or two of them tonight!
[Recipes can be found by clicking on each drink title.}

Apple Cider Sangria

Hot Spiced Drunken Apple Cider

Tequila, Ginger Ale, & Lime (recipe below)

This is one of my favorite drinks!

Recipe:

Fill a glass with ice

Pour in 2 shots of gold tequila (I love 1800)

Fill the rest of the glass with ginger ale

Squeeze in a wedge of lime juice

Please drink responsibly ;)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Friday is Friendsgiving! I'm so excited for good food, drinks, and friends. My friend, K, is attempting to roast a turkey and stuffing for the first time... Ekk! I'm glad that I don't have that task. Although I wouldn't consider myself an inexperienced cook, I wanted to make sure to bring something that is easy and simple to make for a lot of people. Thus, my garlic mashed potatoes.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
3 lbs of russet potatoes
1 stick of salted, room-temperature butter
1/4 cup of heavy cream (roughly)
2 cloves of crushed garlic
Handful of kosher salt...no I'm not kidding
Diced chives for garnish (optional)

Peel and dice potatoes into equal size pieces. Add potatoes, handful of kosher salt, and crushed garlic to large stock pot. Add enough water to just cover potatoes. Heat to high and boil potatoes until you can pierce them easily with a fork. Drain water and add potatoes back into the stock pot. Add heavy cream and butter. Use a hand beater on medium until you have beautifully whipped, garlic mashed potatoes. Garnish with diced chives or anything else you prefer to add a pop of color. Serve in a large [red] ceramic bowl. ENJOY!

(Photo credit: http://blog.seasonwithspice.com)

Risotto, Prosciutto, and Bricco, O My!

Wow what a fun weekend! I had friends (R and V) come and stay with me in Boston for the weekend. I learned how to play Spades, and I think I may be slightly addicted...

My boyfriend and I along with my friends who visited, who happen to be engaged, went out to the North End on Saturday night to Bricco. DELICIOUS! I had their risotto special, and D had the pork chop special. I highly recommend anyone dining in the North End to check out Bricco. Their bread is made in-house, so on Sunday afternoon after R and V left, D and I hopped on the T and went back to Bricco to take home some of their delicious bread. We got 2 loaves of a prosciutto and cheese bread along with an Italian baguette. Yum.

R & V ordered: veal ravioli with truffle butter sauce & braised beef in drum pasta

Thanks for a fabulous weekend, friends! 

Here are a few things that I'm looking forward to this week:

1. Game night! My friends and I get together almost every Thursday and play games, such as Anomia, Things, and Wits and Wagers. We may drink more than we play ;)

2. Friend Thanksgiving! My good friends from college are hosting Friend Thanksgiving. I told them that I would make garlic mashed potatoes. Recipe to follow later this week...

3. My golden birthday! My 24th birthday on Nov. 24 is right around the corner. My roommate is hosting a cocktail party at our apartment. The theme is black and gold. My roommate shopped for decor at Michael's this past weekend, and she won't show me anything she bought! I can't wait for the surprise! Gold everything... especially drinks! Gold drink recipes to share on the blog also later this week...

Photo Credit: My fabulous friend, V. xoxo

Meet Annie!

Annie and her sister, Maggie

Check out my friend's dog, Annie! My friend, G, got Annie for graduating college! His parents loved the idea of getting a dog so much that they got another puppy from the litter, Maggie. Annie lives at my apartment on most weekends, which is awesome. (My roommate is G's girlfriend.)

We go on walks to the South End to get brunch, and she runs around my apartment like a mad woman chasing her various toys. I'll be posting more about Miss Annie in the future... How cute?!

Be a Model of Self-Love

Hey everyone!

I'm Lauren's younger sister, Adriana. I'm a 20-year-old college student living in Boston. Lauren has been asking me for weeks to do a guest-blog post. After an afternoon of french toast and heart-to-hearts, I've decided to take her up on that offer. I have many odd obsessions that frequent my conversations with family, friends, and various strangers. One of those is my curiosity with body image in our society.

In our society, it is acceptable to count calories, check your weight on a scale, and do strenuous work-outs to make up for a "cheating" day of eating. Let's be real, you must hear your friends talking about their weight gain complaints or their joyful celebrations for losing those extra couple of pounds often. BUT, are these women happy? Are they confident enough to loose the makeup and wear their hair natural everyday? Or has society taught them that their worth is the way they look? Our culture is obsessed with changing our bodies. From plastic surgery to dying your hair and getting colored contacts, it is almost lame to be who you are.

My definition of a happy life requires the following things: Spending time with friends and family, challenging yourself with projects that interest you, being healthy, and truly accepting yourself. In order to be in love with yourself, you have to be your biggest support system. We are so eager to help a loved one, but when are we being kind to ourselves? Two years ago, my best friend said, "I'm AWESOME!" She was serious, and I thought, "what the fuck?" That's a little awkward...who ever acknowledges their awesome-ness to others? This moment has stuck with me for a while. Why don't we accept our strengths and love ourselves first? Now, people can catch me saying bold things like, "I'm fucking awesome. I'm hilarious. Who wouldn't want to spend time with me? If they can't hang with the crazy, then they can't hang with me."

So, if I am dedicated to a life of self-love, why the FUCK would I waste my time focusing on my weight? WHO CARES?!

Yes, some people have health issues and watching their weight is imperative to their well-being (e.g. diabetes). However, I think the majority of people don't necessarily need to worry; it's just society telling us we should. So, calorie counting...measuring your weight....what's the point? These things are produced (especially scales) to make people freak out about their weight. Companies profit from these items, and that's why they are produced. Have you ever seen someone measure their height everyday? Nope. Society doesn't care about height change, but for some reason weight change matters.

Many of my friends often go to the gym because they've "eaten so much pizza" or because they've "eaten like shit all day." I rarely hear, "I like to be a healthy person, so I work out a couple times a week to stay fit." The majority of people at the gym are probably there for weight concerns. The girls are trying to lose fat, while the guys are trying to gain muscle. Why can't we enjoy the food we eat without regrets? Let's eat what we want and exercise to be healthy people!

So I have just thrown tons of my opinions at you. You can totally disagree; I wouldn't care! However, if any of these things struck you, please join me in this movement! Be a model of self-love with me. In a generation of eating disorders, unoriginality, and self-hatred, LET'S BE DIFFERENT AND PRACTICE SELF-LOVE. Your life may be an inspiration to someone who wants to practice self-love, too.

Peace & Love,
Adriana

Some interesting links:

How to talk to your daughter about her body

Effects of photo shop

Screw Those People

11 Facts About Body Image

13 Statistics About Plastic Surgery

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday Everyone!

This weekend I plan to go to upstate NY to my friend's lovely cabin in the woods. The cabin is country decorated and has a huge fireplace (hope we make a fire). The last time I went there with my friends was a blast. We built a HUGE fire in the backyard... I swear it was 20 feet high. This weekend, we plan to make another huge fire, go on a hike/nature walk, go to a brewery, and chill. I plan to bring my book. I'm sooo close to finishing it! I'll have to bring the second book in the series this weekend.

Hope your weekend will be fun as well! Here are some links to keep you busy over the weekend:

Just incase you missed it...

Marriage is NOT for you

What good kids!

Bawwwwstin

I made these this week for dinner

Girls don't poo

Piperlime is offering 25% off! Eyeing this, this, and these.


Have a great weekend!

Update on 101 in 1001

For those of you who didn't read my last post about 101 in 1001, I am keeping a list of 101 things I'd like to accomplish in the next 1001 days. 1001 days (2.75 years) is a happy medium between writing a to do list and keeping a bucket list. It's a way to dream big and make regular progress toward meeting those longer term goals. I began checking items off my list July 8, 2012, and the 1001 days are up on April 18, 2015. 

I'll be honest, I totally forgot about my 101 in 1001 over the summer. The last time I updated the list and crossed things off was before graduation in May. At that time I had 27 items crossed off my list. Now, I have 41 items crossed off!!! Yippy :) 
Here are the 41 things that I have completed:

1. Go on a bar crawl
2. Buy white bowls and plates
3. Finish writing 101 things 
4. Inspire someone else to write 101 things in 1001 days (Molly & Julia)
5. Budget my money until May 2013
6. Have a picnic
7. Wear pink or red lipstick out
8. Try an orange
9. Buy a over the door coat hanger 
10. Get a glass pitcher
11. Try a new flavor of ice cream (coffee almond fudge)
12. ride my bike on the Tremont bike path
13. buy a new perfume
14. Throw Dad a big 60^th
15. Don’t go clothes shopping for 120 days
16. Eat at an organic, local restaurant (Republic)
17. No internet/email for 24 hours
18. Buy Calvin Klein Euphoria
19. go to a Celtic’s game
20. Go gluten free for a month
21. go to NYC during Christmas
22. Read 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy
23. Cook homemade lobster 
24. Use a Kitchen Aid mixer to make a baked treat
25. Light a match
26. go on a vacation with just friends
27. Pass the Praxis exam for SLP
28. Move into my first apartment
29. Graduate Summa Cum Laude
30. Renew my CPR
31. Go through my closet & donate clothes that I haven’t worn in a year
32. Go to California 
33. Wear a fedora to the beach
34. Go to Chicago 
35. Go to Mom’s work for a day
36. Go to Ikea & have Swedish meatballs
37. do the freedom trail 
38. go to a Red Sox game
39. go to a Bruin’s game
40. pay my first bill
41. Go on a road trip

I'm hoping to continue to update my list, and I plan to accomplish a few more things before the end of the year. I'd like to:

• Drink 8 glasses of water every day for 1 week
• Go to a few new bars in Boston
• Make new recipes that I find on Pinterest or are given to me by friends/family
• Have a big Golden Birthday party in a few weeks (I'll definitely be posting about my plans for it soon!)

Anyone else have a 101 in 1001? Did I inspire anyone else to create one?

Whole Body Cleanse--Follow Up

It's been almost a week since my friends and I started the whole body cleanse. It was mentally and physically tough to stay dedicated to the diet. After going to bed hungry on night 1, I knew that I would probably loose weight if I didn't supplement the juice diet with some whole foods (my goal was to maintain my weight). I had rice with my dinner drink on night 2. I used day 3 to transition back to eating normal foods. I had my breakfast tea and drink, but skipped out on the rest of the shakes for the day. I chose to eat vegetarian for the following 2 days.

Overall, a juice cleanse was interesting, and I would try it again. I would have been more successful if I was living with others doing the cleanse. I visited my parents in NH on day 2 and 3 of the cleanse, and it was harder to stay disciplined.

I'm curious... have you tried a cleanse before? Perhaps a different one than I did? I would love to know your successes with it!

Whole Body Cleanse--Day 2

Here it is... almost the end of day 2 of the cleanse.
Let's get real: I went to bed hungry last night :(

However, I pulled through today and have stuck with the juice cleanse with a few modifications:
I only used 1/2 the amount of celery in the lunch drink and added 1 gram of stevia. It tasted much better than the grassy drink I drank yesterday!

Tonight, I plan to drink my dinner smoothie with only a dash of cayenne, as opposed to a 1/4 tsp. My mom is also tempting me to eat the meal she's cooking for the family--rice and shrimp. Maybe i'll have a little rice?

I'm looking forward to eating whole foods again but will still incorporate some of the habits of this cleanse. I think I will keep the morning green tea with lemon and the breakfast smoothie--YUM!

Best of luck to all my friends cleansing with me! Love you xo

Whole Body Cleanse

So it's been a while since I've posted... Honestly, after our 4-week road trip, I needed a break to just chill out and catch up with friends and family. Now that I plan to continue to have the rest of the summer off from work, I can start posting again on the regular. YAY!

I was recently inspired from a fellow blogger to try a whole body cleanse. What is that you may ask? There are a lot of preconceived notions about cleanses--you loose a lot of weight, you starve yourself--however, this depends on the type of cleanse you do and for how long you do it for. This idea of a cleanse sparks my interests because I'm on a vegetarian kick right now, so why not rid my body of animal toxins in me? Also, my skin has been anything but fabulous over the past month (not showering for 6 days didn't help while on our trip). Cleanses have been show to decrease puffiness and acne. And third, I already enjoy eating natural or organic foods, so why not push myself a little more to do it 100%. I'm excited to get rid of the toxins (e.g. harmful metals, air toxins, pesticides, highly processed foods, MSG, aspartame, food dyes, etc.) and gain more energy.

The cleanse that I have enticed a few of my friends and I to try is Dr. Oz's 3 day detox cleanse. I loved that it came with a shopping list! The detox includes eating fruits, vegetables, coconut oil, almond butter, green tea, and a few extra supplements. You drink a cup of tea in the morning and 4 shakes throughout the day. You finish off the day with a relaxing lavender, epsom salt bath.

Are you ready to try? Google "whole body cleanse" and do your research to find the right cleanse for you and your lifestyle. It's harder to cleanse while at work, but if you buy some of these, it makes bringing the shakes to work a whole lot easier. That's what one of my friends is doing!

Today is day 1 of 3! I will let you know how the detox cleanse goes tomorrow.

"What the hell... It's Bonnaroo!"

It's been far too long since I've posted about our trip...

Since Denver, we went to Bonnaroo and the Great Smoky Mountains. Now we are in North Carolina at Lake Normand visiting with Darren's family friends. It's beautiful here on the lake. We enjoyed swimming, sleeping in a comfy bed, doing laundry, and relaxing while here. There's not many pictures to share (Victoria took most of the pictures and will post those to FB from Bonnaroo), so this post will be short and sweet.

Darren and I highly recommend Bonnaroo! We had a great time with our friends Russell and Victoria and her family. We really want to go next year, and we think Molly and Greg would love to go too!!! I don't know the line up for next year yet, but if it looks good, you can count on Darren and me going. In that case, here are 10 things to remember for Bonnaroo 2014:

1. Pack a pop-up tent to block the sun and keep dry in the rain
2. Arrive Thursday morning
3. Get a handicap tag for the car
4. Get to the headliner stage at least 1 hour prior to the show
5. Bring body paint
6. Paint the car windows
7. Don't eat the giant burritos
8. Get your hair washed at the Garnier Fructis tent fo free
9. Pack toilet paper in your day pack
10. Bring head lamps to the last show of the day, so you can find your tent!

The best concert at Bonnaroo had to be Jack Johnson. I love him! His "What the hell... It's Bonnaroo" song was my favorite. Check it out here. My other favorites were Tom Petty and Macklemore. 

The Great Smoky Mountains were uneventful. It rained for 2 days. It was very green there. Other than that, Darren and I have seen more beautiful landscapes on our travels. 

Picture time

Professional spray painter painting of a bird at Bonnaroo

Paul McCartney!

The arch!

The mushroom fountain! Saw some interesting folks splashing around in here!

Elk Crossing in the Smokies

Great Smoky Mts.

We are headed in D.C. tomorrow to spend time with my cousin Jim! We should be in CT by Sunday. Wow... it's been over a month since we've left, and we've done and seen so much. I can't believe it's time to go home already!

Grand Canyon, Zion, and Denver Fun

Hello! After a long 10 hour journey, Darren and I made it to Denver yesterday evening. We're here visiting his friends from high school. We had a delicious dinner last night--turkey burgers, corn on the cob, and banana chocolate chip bread. YUM! Thanks Tessa, Tony, and Tyler! And a BIG THANK YOU to Brian for having us!

Before Denver, we were in the Grand Canyon for 2 days and in Zion National Park for 1 day...both had temperatures topping 107 degrees. Not my kinda weather for sure. Broke out in the typical heat rash and got a little sunburnt, but we're trying our best to stay cool!

The Grand Canyon was unlike any place we've seen so far. It's huge first of all!!! The views go on for miles upon miles. Darren and I camped just 45 minutes outside of the park at Jacob Lake campground. We spent the whole day in the park on Saturday. We hiked about 7 miles into the canyon from the North Rim on the North Kaibab Trail. The whole trail runs to the Colorado River, but we didn't make it that far. It was the hardest hike I've ever done (harder than Mt Washington). The terrain was pure sand, which makes going uphill a harder challenge. The temperature was easily 107 and damn did it feel like it! I was so happy when we finished the hike. Fighting heat exhaustion was our focus over the beautiful views from the hike. Advice: don't do a strenuous hike in that kinda weather without 3 liters of water per person. Luckily, we had enough water and snacks!

After the hike, we went to the visiters center and took pictures from the North Rim. Then we enjoyed showers at the North Rim Campground. We were glad to get all the sand and sweat off from the hike.

On Sunday we drove 2 hours to Zion National Park. We camped in South Campground. Thank goodness we got there at 8 AM because they didn't have any vacancy shortly after we claimed a campsite. We set up camp, packed up our day pack, and took the free shuttle around the park. They use a free but mandatory shuttle throughout the park to cut down on car fumes and traffic--love it! Darren and I enjoyed the breeze from the bus (another 107 degree day) as we listened to a voice recording on the bus speakers of the history and info of the park. We got off at a few stops to explore along the way and did 2 hikes. We hiked a short distance to Weeping Rock, and we did a longer 3ish mile hike on the Emerald Pools Trail. It was beautiful to see the water literally weeping from the rock faces. The dripping water from above formed pools and waterfalls below. It was refreshing to step into the pools with our shoes after the hot hike.

After the hikes, we took the shuttle back to our campground and changed into our bathing suits. Then, we walked a short distance to the Virgin Rivers that runs behind the campground. We waded and swam in the river all afternoon in the evening. It was nice to cool off from the heat. Thank goodness for all these water features!

Now we are in Denver! Darren thinks the city reminds him of Chicago--with the wide sidewalks and clean streets. It's a neat place. Brian is trying to convince us to move here. We're not opposed! haha

We are headed to St. Louis tomorrow morning and spending the night. Then we will probably spend Wednesday night in Nashville and wake up early on Thursday morning to get our car in line at BONNAROO! It's almost here! WOOHOO! :)

Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon

The plants were taller than Darren!

We ate lunch on this bench. Jealous of our view?

Zion National Park

On the Emerald Pools Trail

Shuttle ride!

Lower Emerald Pool

Waterfall