Pinterest Style Tips

Pinterest has recently had a serious up-tick in how-to tutorials for fashion and beauty. What started largely as a site filled with decor and cooking drool-worthy imagery is now even more useful. The hair and beauty bloggers and fans have migrated over the past few months, and I couldn't be happier!

Example 1: Click through to this super-useful chart on how to wear a scarf. The numbers on the original blog post (thefashionspot.com) have the how-tos. How many of these styles have you tried? How many are new-to-you?

Source: thefashionspot.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Example 2: I heard about the blog The Small Things from two different people AND Pinterest in one week, so I took that as a sign that I should try one of her up-dos ASAP. Voila - see the Chic Updo of my own!

I am already skilled at the half-up part... PS. don't you like my vintage vest of my Mom's?

The trick was flipping up my (short-ish) bottom half...
Lesson learned - cute results, but would be cuter with longer hair!

Example 3: Nails! While I am a convert to these nail strips (over the 10 day mark and counting!), Pinterest makes me want to sit down for my own DIY mani/pedi! This holiday one is freaking adorable. I bet she used tape strips to mark off the clean lines.

Source: nailartinspiration88.tumblr.com via Bonny on Pinterest

What about you? What people and/or fashion/beauty boards are you following on Pinterest? And are you following me yet? :)

Slow-Cooked on a Fast Night

Are you a slow cooker addict? This has been one of the most fun appliances I have had the pleasure of owning. Well, alright, it's tied with the stand mixer; it's hard to deny the appeal of that beauty, too :)

Over the past year, we have both enjoyed learning what types of foods and combinations work well in the crock pot, and have had a few less-than-stellar learning experiences in the meantime, too. Lean meat = a no no, cream of anything soups are amazing transformers of even the blandest ingredients, and I am still amazed at how great just onions and carrots and celery can be when cooked for 10 hours. When we walk in the door late each evening, dinner is just there and waiting. Amazing.

The learning curve has paid off. Yesterday's creation (read: I made it all up) was a pure WINNER. The best part was that I threw it together in only five minutes before running out the door to work. The meat was frozen, and all I had to do was peel and chop a few carrots. All of that "effort" later, and we had an inexpensive, healthy, gourmet meal just like Mom used to make. I have included the recipe below for you to try out in your own crock pot, if you please. The chicken shreds down and almost just melts in your mouth, and the resulting sauce is rich but healthy.

The other thing I wanted to tell you about were the noodles we served this chicken and carrots casserole over. I picked up a bag of Organic Brown Rice Pasta Fusilli from Trader Joe's on a whim - gluten and wheat free, cholesterol free and sodium free, made totally from brown rice and water. Since I am a Northern-born gal, I love me some traditional pasta, but I am also willing to try out healthier and lighter options here and there.

My take: This stuff was great! I couldn't tell at all that it was not regular pasta. Granted, I wasn't eating it plain, but I still think this pasta would be fantastic under a red sauce or tossed with cheese and oil, too.

Ok, time for the recipe! Enjoy it, all!

Chicken and Carrot Slow Cooker Casserole
Serves 4-5, WW points = 6 + pasta

1 lb. frozen chicken breasts
4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Penzey's Forward seasoning (or your own creation of paprika, etc.)
1 cup frozen green peas

Layer chicken, carrots, soups and seasonings in crock pot. Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours. Stir in green peas during last 10-20 minutes while pasta cooks. Serve over pasta of choice.

Workout Recap: Pavements and Plateaus

Last week was such a blur and filled with so many meetings after long work days that yep, you guessed it, my workouts dropped right off the radar. I stayed up too late all week, too, so morning workouts never happened, either. By Friday night, I was tired-feeling and blah, and I knew that it was a direct corrolation to my lack of energy-boosting workouts. Nothing like that kind of feeling to jolt you right back to the gym. And nothing like the knowledge of me committed to sharing my progress here to make this coming week's chart look better than last week's:

Bright and early on Saturday before we headed off to the wedding, I hit the gym and hit it hard! I did a two mile-run (shown above) and did an ab-workout, too. While I may have consumed back all (plus some) of those calories at the wedding that night, I also did a fair amount of dancing, so I am ok with my splurging :)

Tonight I am keeping up the streak and have reserved a spot in a spin class in my building. A healthy crockpot meal is heating up at home as I post, and there are a few other healthy meal options waiting for the week ahead, too. 

My goal this week: schedule in workouts just like all the other things I reserve my time for. Total Progress: 2lbs. lost and 19.52 miles logged

How are your New Year's (or Life) Resolutions coming along?

Mad Hatter

Another winter weekend has flown by, and this one was a hilariously fun time spent at a family friend's wedding. Combine longtime Roswell friends with a Georgia Tech crowd and a bunch of the fraternity brothers I grew up with in school, and the wedding (and the after party at my parents' house that went until the wee morning hours!) was one for the books. Congrats to the happy couple, who is off to the Western Caribbean on their first cruise - how fun! Your wedding was a blast!

Since we spent the latter half of the weekend with my family, we did a number of errands early Saturday to check some items off the to-do list that I mentioned early last week. I am excited to announce we have the painter coming in a few days to give us an official quote, and we picked out some paint options from Home Depot to get our brains thinking, too! It sounds like we will have a "new" look here at the condo come March, and I couldn't be more excited.

Of course, my errands included a little "me" time, too, and I kicked it off after a salon visit with a trip to Lenox and my fav store, LOFT. I can't WAIT to tell you about the deals I scored there in another post this week. But I just had to share this photo with you in the meantime. I did not (sadly) purchase this hat, but goodness gracious, I wanted to so badly. Too bad I live in Atlanta where it would be utterly ridiculous to own something like this ;)

Do any of my readers live in Alaska and need a snow bunny to come and visit them? Because I can run back to LOFT and snag this hat ASAP, if so! Any excuse to add this fun item to my closet :)

Have a great start to your week, everyone!

Nice Little Saturdays Ahead

I stayed home from work today, plagued by a migraine. Migraines are the worst. My mind is working in overtime because I am just sitting or lying around, but my head hurts too much to actually do anything! Thankfully, Excedrin Migraine plus a ton of caffeine has helped, and I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel (without wincing from the glare).

But after spending the day at home, plus many more relaxing ones spent here this past weekend, my mind has been running fast thinking about all the things I want to get done in upcoming weeks. My creativity is calling, as is the need for checking off a list, and springtime is the perfect season to run through those items. The weekends are quiet, the money is coming back in post-holiday and we all want to avoid the winter blahs. This spring is THE TIME for that to-do list to just get done, already!

#1 - COLOR
This spring, we have decided to forgo an actual vacation in lieu of taking care of our house to-do list. A trip to the snow-capped mountains would be nice, but what would be more enjoyable for a much longer time would be a PAINTED CONDO. I am placing a call in to our painter this week to schedule it. That's right - the gray-blue living room, painted kitchen and maybe even a gray/other color bedroom ceiling are all immediately in the future! I am so pumped. It's about time, after all... PLUS we can spend a few of our vacay days "off" enjoying our "new home" in the end, too.

#2 - PICTURES
Recent guests to the home have probably noticed the paintings propped up against walls, or frames still in their boxes. Whichever room you are in, this condo has a lot of empty walls begging for pizazz. Post-paint, we will be renting a hammer drill (a must for concrete walls) and making that gallery wall and other artful visions I have become a reality. With just two weekends' worth of time for these projects, this whole place will look like a whole new home. I am so excited.

#3 - DOCUMENT
The scrapbook is underway, my friends! I have all of the items lined up in pages, and now all I have to do is continue to put aside a night or two a week to spend pasting, stickering and labeling the past five years of my life. What a cinch, right? Ha. 

#4 - CELEBRATE
Oysterfest is upon us! I can't wait to co-host another successful pre-Oysterfest Brunch with all of our friends. Stay tuned for the invite, y'all :)

What's on your immediate To-Do list for your upcoming weekends?