Vida

Have you heard all the hoopla about Juice Cleanses? I've been hearing about them for months.  At least since November.  Then I started hearing about them more and more and more.... I consider myself a somewhat healthy eater.  Luckily, it's not because I try super hard.  I just prefer fruits & veggies & sweets in moderation.  I will eat fast food if forced or there's no other option, but I rarely crave it.  It just seems very generic and boring.  After Christmas I decided to really focus on cutting out preservatives as well.  I've never been a big frozen food fan (they're expensive!), but pretzels, El Milagro tortilla chips, those are soft spots.  I started going to grocery stores and only buying veggies & cereal (I'm on another cereal kick).   Therefore when friends starting talking to me about juice cleanses at the beginning of the year, I didn't think it was strange.  In fact I believe I said, "I go days where I o...

When you go out to eat, do you always finish your whole meal?  I do not. Do you usually take it home with you to enjoy at a later time?  I do. Because of this I started bringing an empty container when I go out to eat a couple years ago.  Yes, sometimes it surprises people, but I'm convinced the  weird looks are starting to fade, sort-of, I promise.  Maybe I'm just ignoring them or used to it? And look at NY !  Does it convince you to grab an empty container on your way out the door when you eat at restaurants? We've known styrofoam is terrible in all respects for years!  But look at New York doing something! this can prevent this Yes, everyone forgets sometimes, but every little bit helps. Go NY!  And go YOU!

So I just finished sewing a dress.  This is my first real sewing project.  I've made pajama pants out of uncomfortable fabric for girl scouts and those stuffed animal patterns for home ec in middle school.  This is the first time I've really made something for realz. I learned a lot from this process and I'm going to share it here so others can learn, but if sewing is not your thing and you couldn't care less, may I recommend skipping this post?  I don't want to waste your time. I pulled out my trusty sewing case Yes, this did not originate as mine... It was a requirement to take Home Ec in middle school so Mom put together a nice sewing box with all the requirements when my brother was in 6th grade.  He used it for the class and never again so on it went to my sister.  She used it for the class and never again so you see where this is going... on it went to me.  I kept it. Clearly it only had the basics, but I can now accurately...

My oh my stores are collaborating like crazy!  Honestly, I haven't heard of many of the high end brand names until they collaborated with these other stores because I'm not much of a high end shopper. * Prabal Gurung for Target (so cute!) I went 4 days after it opened so it was pretty picked over, but I didn't get anything. * Duro Olowu for J.C. Penney this looks adorable too.            actually J.C. Penney has a lot coming up L'Amour Nanette Lepore  & more & more * Milly for Banana Republic - that dress!!!  (I cannot afford Banana Republic so I don't have to worry about this one.) * Derek Lam  for Kohl's * Christian Siriano for Payless *Keds with  Madewell             Taylor Swift             Kate Spade Seriously the list goes on and on and on.... I've been loving the Keds trend for over a year now so I'm excited to see all these different ...

I've been cheering for high speed rail for quite awhile.  I think I first got excited about it after reading $20 per gallon . Just seeing this map makes me excited: And of course I love that Chicago is a major hub. We could travel so quickly and efficiently!  Read more here .

Yeah, yeah, I'm not really a preacher and I recognize no one likes to be preached to... But. Did you know 80% of US antibiotics sales goes towards meat? ( source ) There done. Happy Meatless Monday , if you participate.

After my post on Friday , I feel I have to comment I'm doing much better. Sometimes it just hits you. I needed a couple days to get back to normal and today I decided to  TAKE CONTROL ANNNDDDDD.... I ran 8 miles this morning so that's always good!  I could feel the callouses forming and I can't explain in words how happy this made me.

Today you could call me Nancy. Because I'm feeling very negative... clearly . Usually at the end of yoga, while I'm in savasana, I'm flooded with positive thoughts.  Today only negative thoughts in my head.   Why is it hard to be happy sometimes? How I'm trying to combat this feeling: -As we finished yoga I talked to my yoga instructor about her birthday plans, it's her birthday.  She's having a girlfriend party at the event space in Little Goat.   -Then I chatted up my gym buddy as we were leaving.  She's always friendly and up lifting.  -Ate my breakfast cereal out of a special bowl. I know volunteering with the kiddos will cheer me up tomorrow. I think lunch today is going to require some swinging. And look what I came across today: Missouri The Show-Me State.  The northern half of the state tends to be flat and fits in culturally with the Midwest.  Northern Missourians say "Miz-zur-ree".  The southern half of the state ...

I hope you had a lovely Valentine's day! My Valentine's treat for myself was to go on a lakefront run.  I haven't run in Chicago in waaayyy too long.  I'm trying to be good and give my knee a break.  I miss it like crazy.  (judge as you wish)  It gives me a clear head and makes me feel so much better. So why was this a treat AND tragedy at the same time? I always love a run on the lake (although when it's 100+ degrees it's a bit harder to love). I was able to go the farthest I've gone on a flat surface (for some reason hills don't bother my knee as much) since probably November.  With that said, I ran 4 miles, which is quite disappointing for me.  My knee started twitching around mile 3.5, but didn't lock up like it had been.  So that's positive. The fact that I felt some pain pretty much killed my lingering hope of running a marathon in April.  This is very sad news. And why do people keep changing how you're supposed to run. ...

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Today I'm going to share a writing from The Book of Awakening , which I borrowed from the library, but I think I'm going to have to buy... The Spider and the Sage I would rather be fooled than not believe. In India, there is a story about a kind, quiet man who would pray in the Ganges River every morning.  One day after praying, he saw a poisonous spider struggling in the water and cupped his hands to carry it ashore.  As he placed the spider on the ground, it stung him.  Unknowingly, his prayers for the world diluted the poison. The next day the same thing happened.  On the third day, the kind man was knee deep in the river, and, sure enough, there was the spider, legs frantic in the water.  As the man went to lift the creature yet again, the spider said, "Why do you keep lifting me?  Can't you see I will sting you every time, because that is what I do."  And the kind man cupped his hands about the spid...

*by annual I mean this is the second year I made an evening of it... so therefore it's now annual I really like Valentine's Day.  Maybe it's because I am single and have zero pressure.  When I've been in relationships on Valentine's Day, I didn't like it, strangely enough.   That's just me. I picked a night to dive into my Valentine's cards again this year ( last year ).   I set the mood by watching The Notebook during the day.  Seriously, I think that movie has to be watched in moderation in order to have some appreciation. Then I turned on pandora love station.  I listen to this station once a year.  For card making night. I jumped in & loved it! This year I added QRC codes on the inside of some of them to songs.  (Make your own here .  So quick and easy.)  Just kind-of a fun thing to mix it up. As I was making my cards this year, I thought this could actually be a fun friend thing.  I'm not sure any of my frie...

Laissez les bons temps rouler! Last weekend, I went to St. Louis with a couple friends on a bit of a last minute trip to celebrate.  Apparently, St. Louis has the 2nd largest Mardi Gras celebration in the country (clearly New Orleans is first). We learned how it works (basically it's a huge street festival with a parade that's about 3 hours long), figured out our own tips or what we might do differently next time. Here's are some snapshots from the weekend: Of course the Budweiser tour happened... we went to St. Louis & it's free | Justin gets credit for the cup picture.  One thing that happens when you wait in line for 45 minutes for a port-o-potty. Good times! On actual Mardi Gras I didn't do much...  Jason & I stopped for ice cream on our way back to Chicago from Milwaukee so I guess that counts (pretty sure he understandably had enough of me by the time we got back to Chicago and spent 5 straight days together). Then I went ...

*When the weather is right around 32 accumulation will change from rain to sleet to freezing rain (what's the difference between sleet and freezing rain anyway?) to snow and back and forth and back and forth.  Interesting. *Walking in snow in heels is terrible. *Why does it take 2 months to get a doctor's appointment?  I mean, what if it was an emergency? *We've actually had a typical Chicago winter week for the first week this season.  Cold.  Snow every other day. *Chipotle vegetarian chili is amazing.  And my friends who made it for me at their super bowl party (I was the only vegetarian there) get the amazing title as well. *Apparently lunch time gym classes are a thing at the gym.  Can you say popular? *Carpenter (cardinals) is out for 2013.  This makes me sad.  Although, my sensible father put it into perspective for me. *How many people do you think it took to brainstorm this letter from cbs?  They had to cover it al...

Lent starts next Wednesday.  Many people make lenten promises during this time (many of my non-religious friends do too!).  Maybe it's because 40 days seems doable?   I'm not sure what I'm going to do this year. I know I'll be vegan on Fridays (since I never eat meat...).  Since I decided on this part about 5 years ago it's gotten easier and easier to manager.  I remember the first year I was reading so many labels and asking lots of questions... 'does this have eggs?', etc. It's pretty easy at this point. Last year I tried to do an act of kindness everyday.  I was almost completely successful, although I'm sure I missed a few days. I was inspired by this amazing lady .  She did it for a year!  A year!   That's hard!  I know she even ran into some bumps along the way, but I think it's inspirational to do as much as she did. I try to believe in karma and when you put positive vibes out in the world, they come back to you in som...

Did you see the cover of USA sports weekly this week? Now you have. Yes, that's Wainwright & yes it says "strong-armed Cardinals back for another run" Can't wait!