Girls

I think I'm into HBO's Girls again. This show is just too intense for me and I need to take long breaks to get my sanity back before jumping off the deep end again, but I might be ready. It's either that or I just miss seeing Christopher Abbott. And maybe indulge in my Allison Williams girl crush.  And listening to Zosia Mamet's voice. Cause it's like the cutest. And yeah, maybe I also do miss Adam Driver. 

One More Rep

When you add that one extra weight plate and feel like dying. But nothing feels quite like the victory of a finished rep after you've pushed yourself to go harder.

Beach Yoga

I had a conversation with a friend about resolutions and how sometimes, instead of making you feel better about yourself they become this list of things that point out stuff about yourself that are negative. Not that we wouldn't want change, or to be better, but instead of making a list of all the bad things we feel we need to change why not set goals instead of resolutions and aim to achieve those. One of my resolutions goals this year was to be able to do: beach yoga.

I'm determined to cap off 2016 with me doing a split or something involving me upside down with only my arms for support. Considering my arms get all achy carrying a watermelon from one end of the grocery store to the other I'll definitely be needing practice.

(The images above are from Pinterest. I don't own the copyright to them unless otherwise stated.)

Smoothie: Banana Oat Matcha

I'm on a smoothie kick that's gone on for more than a month. At first it was just picking up a "Razzmatazz" from Jamba Juice before heading home or my standard Strawberry Yogurt paired with lunch but ever since I dug out the handheld blender from the kitchen cupboard and started stocking up on bananas, I'm hooked. I try not leave the house without the tumbler filled to the brim in some smoothie goodness. Take note, this is your standard in a cup smoothie, I have yet to graduate to the bowl with toppings and all that jazz.

I'll admit, the color isn't pretty, you'll probably avoid taking a photo and if you did it wouldn't get very many likes, but this baby is very filling and makes me happy.

Which is like, a big deal.


Ingredients:
1 Banana (frozen)
1 Cup Plant Milk (Soy, Almond, or Rice will do. I prefer Soy for this recipe.)
1 1/2 Matcha Powder
2 Tbsp Flax Seeds
1/4 cup Rolled Oats
2-3 Ice Cubes


Method:

I start by blending the banana's, half of the plant milk and the matcha first. Then when it's all smooth I add the flax, oats and the remaining milk. Afterwards I add the ice. Take note, you can put more ice than I did, but I prefer it with less so I get more shake than a melted mess afterwards.


This has become my heading-out-the-door-to-work smoothie that keeps me good until lunch. Hope you guys enjoy it is as much as I do!

Getting My Sweat On

Here we go: 2016's the year people. I'm determined to do this blogging thing right, amp up my Instagram and, yup, you guessed it, get fit. And I'm not just talking about sporadically attempting two to three months of working out, I'm talking about finally graduating from BBG 1.0 to 2.0 (I can't wait to start lifting), getting some clean eating into my diet (I'm determined to get that perfect smoothie bowl shot and eat it too) and join at least one class somewhere, be it Pilates or yoga or hip-hop (I'm kidding about the hip-hop.)

So, since I'm not ready to start posting pictures of my body (pre or post worked out) I figured I'd start this off with my top three Instagram motivation people who I follow and religiously check that just kill it on a daily basis.

#1 Hannah Bronfman

This girl, oh my goodness, this girl. She's basically that girl you didn't know you wanted to be but now cannot imagine having not known or aspired to become. She's the founder of HBFIT, DJs and does couple yoga on the beach with her fiance Brandon Fallis. Jealous yet? You know you are.

#2 Remi Ishizuka

I'm not sure what it is about her, it could be the hair, it could be the abs, it could also be that perfectly curated feed you just love to hate. Rrayyme is making me want to wake up early and have some green juice by the window with the sun streaming in and the wind rustling through my hair.

#3 Kelsey Wells

This girl is the the cutest. When I think if descriptions of "cute people" I don't normally think of petite people who look cute in vintage 60's dresses (though I don't doubt she'd look pretty great in those too), but people with personalities that seem to shine even through the web. Not to mention killer arms. If you want bright smiles and a ton of motivation this is your girl.

Here's to a good year of perfecting my form and not having too many things smothered in cheese.

what a girl wants, what a girl needs

It's official! I am now a working girl.

After the news sunk in my first though was: I need to have a gold pencil holder. 

Second thought: Go the the mall and check out the price of those oven and microwave safe glass lunch containers.

All in all, a long list of my ideal work space. If you've already sneaked a peek at the picture above you'd notice that you are dealing with a gold and Lucite type of girl. With a touch of pink and black, of course. Without further ado, here are my work space wants:

Glass Water Bottle - Preferably the one from BKR, but a girls gotta make do. There is no way I'm getting this baby unless I have it shipped in, but that'll basically double the cost of the water I'm drinking. Let me know if you see any around here in the color Lola and I'll love you forever.

Leather Lunch Bag - This baby makes the idea of a packed lunch just so much sexier. Plus, I've a spotted a DIY or two.

Glass Lunch Containers - Aside from the important stuff like being BPA free and such, how can you resist how classy this'll look coming out of your leather lunch bag.

The Quintessential Pen - I've got this one covered since my dad knows how much I love these things. All I need is a little bit of their neon coral ink and I'm good to go.

Notebook - A good black notebook never hurt anybody. Plus it looks classy when you're jotting those important notes during the brainstorming sessions with your Lamy.

File Holder - Like I said earlier, I'm a Lucite kind of girl. Who can resist something as good as shiny clear plastic.

Gold Pencil Holder - This is an absolute must for me. It can be square, hexagonal, even squat and round as long as it's gold.

Paper Weight - None of the papers on my desk fly. Or have flown. Or even will, but a paper weight is an important part of this called desk aesthetic.

Post-Its - I want them in pink.

Coffee Tumbler - Kate Spade pretty much takes the cake in most things office related.

Mouse Pad - I don't necessarily need this baby, but I'm kinda sorta very hooked.

Binder - You guessed it right, what's a binder if it's not gold.

Tea Tumbler - I will admit, I realize that two tumblers isn't that practical but one clearly can't drink tea from a "but first coffee" tumbler.

This post would have been so much longer is I let my self add all the glorious gold and lucite things available. The self battle I had about adding a gold and lucite stapler was quite long. I'm probably never gonna use it and it will double as my second paper weight, that I will probably also not need.

all about nails

I don't know if you guys know this, but I'm a big BIG nail polish fan.
So big I bought about half of the Sally Hansen "Miracle Gel Nail" polishes in one go. Then spent 3 days in a funk because I couldn't decided what color to go with (upcoming post about this). 

Now, if you live in the Philippines you'll know this: manicures are cheap. Like, doing your own nails isn't even on your list of options because it's so cheap. I think a manicure in the United States is about $30? Well, here you can get it for about $4. Make it $7-8 if you're adding the tip. This is an average cost. I've yet to splurge on a really expensive place, mind you there are even cheaper ones (not that I'd advise venturing to those places. You can be cheap but not that cheap).

As much as I adore having my nails done - the hand massages (it's just not as satisfying to give yourself one), the smell of the nail salon (I'm so addicted to it), and the nice lady who tries to get the best version of your 30-min life story while she gives you french tips - I still enjoy the novelty of having people say "I love your nails!" and then you give them a sly look and say -very proudly, I might add- "I did them myself!" Gasps of surprise are given and questions come in from all corners!

Before I ramble on too much let me tell you the secret to having the perfect tips. It's all in the prep work. The filing, buffing and most of all pushing. Yup, pushing. Cuticle pushing. Without further ado:

The Nail Kit:

4-Way Buffer - My sister bought me my first ever buffer. Its was beautiful, pink, tiring on the arms but so worth it.

Nail Clipper - There is such a thing as a perfect clipper. I had one. It was great and had monkeys on it. It's long since passed away but I am still on the hunt for it's replacement. 

Cuticle Nipper - These babies cut off those hangnails with a vengeance.

Cuticle Pushy & Cleaner -  This one seems scary but all it takes is practice and I promise you your routine won't seem complete without it.

Rubber Cuticle Pusher -  I'm not a super fan of the wooden orange sticks (plus they aren't reusable) and they start to smell weird.

Glass Nail File -  I'm putting this up even of I have yet to try it, but come on, a nail file that is cool looking, never wears out and is made of glass. This is always what I imagined the future to look like, and looks like I didn't have to wait long. Whether glass or not though I spend most of my days filing to the perfect shape (I'm a square kind of gal).

Cuticle Remover - As a kid I'd go with my mom to the salon and they'd do my nails and I clearly remember her telling them "Don't cut her cuticles!" Well, this has long since replaced cuticle cutting and it's safe and painless.

Toe Nail Clipper -  The woes of attempting to cut your toe nails with a regular clipper isn't worth it. Always have both the a regular clipper and a toe nail clipper. Your feet deserve as much pampering, if not more.

Toe Separators - Not everyone needs this, but I've often found it to be a beautiful thing. And it's cheap so you can buy one in every color!

Nail Polish Remover - Buy yourself the big bottle, you'll thank yourself later when it's 3 a.m. you can't sleep and you just want to change the color of your tips.

Cuticle Oil - I've only recently jumped onto the cuticle oil bandwagon, but let me tell you, I am never getting off. If you want those beautiful nail ad type hands get this. Plus, it's easier to do a good job painting them when your surface isn't this jagged expanse of broken and torn cuticles.

Hand Cream - I've commandeered all the bottles of hand cream in the house and lined them up for easier access. I'm a sucker for anything with a whiff of peppermint so I'd go with this. Trust me, there is a difference with a soft handshake (give a nice firm one any day) and a soft handshake.

That's all for now! I'll try to do a tutorial for most, if not all, of the things mentioned above. Just get started collecting these things and you'll have two very happy hands and lots of impressed people.