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?