Shopping & Sledding

Soooooo guys, I kinda lied to you last time at the end of my post when I said we were going sledding. We actually ended up going sledding yesterday since the state park we were going to didn’t have any facilities open on Monday or Tuesday and we didn’t want to be stuck up there without a bathroom–ummmm TMI!

What we did end up doing on Tuesday was even better–shopping! Obviously I am such a shopaholic, I will almost never turn down a shopping trip, clothes or grocery or otherwise. It’s just so much fun. We headed up to our favorite Denver mall for a day of shopping and eating out.

One major disappointment of the day was driving to Gelazzi (aka the best gelato place ever) and realizing that it was closed for remodeling! Yeah, uh, what is that all about? But no worries, we ended up checking out a new-to-us froyo place called Peach Wave and the disappointment ended when I realized they had several seasonal flavors to choose from. Me and seasonal flavors are BFFs, of course, so I ended up getting peppermint stick and chocolate froyos with raspberries on top. Boy was it delicious! I also sampled a few other flavors, including peanut butter, which was outta this world! But then again nut butters rock my world 😉

Shopping was hella fun, as expected. My sister and I headed out on our own, only to be surprised by how crazy the crowds were! I don’t think we’ve ever gone shopping that soon after Christmas so it was quite a shock. We even had to wait in a line outside of Hollister for about 5 minutes before they’d let us in since so many people were in the store 😯 It was hectic to say the least, but we got a ton of good deals and we both scored a ton of things! I seriously don’t think I’ve ever bought that many things at once!

I'm starting to really love stripes--especially in my favorite color (A&F Audrey pullover sweater)

 

I can always use another cute tank top...especially when it has the same name as me 😉 (A&F Ashley tank)

Abercrombie & Fitch, usually the calmest store at the mall, was packed with so many people that my sister and I got really frustrated! We did end up leaving the store with two purchases each in hand (for 40% off, too)–a pair of flare jeans and a lacy top for her, a pink striped sweater and ruffly grey cami for me.

I'm obsessed with lace...and bows! (Abercrombie Kids Dessa tank)

Abercrombie Kids was also a zoo, but practically everyone in the store was much shorter than me–that’s what I get for shopping in a kids store, I guess. I did score this adorable lacy tank with a pinstripe bow ‘belt’ for less than $20 though!

As if I really need more necklaces in my life... (AE)

How cute is this ring? (AE XO Ring)

 

American Eagle is the best place to get good jewelry cheap (okay, Forever 21 is too). I had a gift card to here that I spent completely on a necklace and a ring. I am basically jewelry obsessed and rarely go a day without wearing at least a necklace or some bangles. Apparently this Christmas I was really blessed with jewelry, since I also got another necklace and another ring as presents…

You can never have too much plaid (Hollister Manhattan Beach shirt)

 

Still in love with jeggings (Hollister Cord Jegging)

At Hollister, I continued my recent obsession with plaid shirts and jeggings. I’ve been eyeing these corduroy jeggings for the longest time, and once I took the plunge and bought my first pair the other day I decided to get these too. Since they’re tan, they’ll look good with anything and will fit well with my brown suede boots and the new boots I got for Christmas!

I also did a little online shopping back at home, where I ended up buying grey lace shorts from Abercrombie Kids and a pinstriped oxford-type shirt from Gilly Hicks.

We ended our day in Denver with dinner at On the Border, courtesy of a gift card my mom got. I haven’t been there in years, not since I’ve gone vegetarian, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a delicious veg-friendly meal of grilled veggie fajitas. Fajitas are always good and this one did not disappoint–it was mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, squash, zucchini and topped with super-hot fresh jalapeno slices. You can bet I was downing a ton of water throughout the meal, but it was delish! The fresh guac on the side was also amazingly good. I’m also pretty sure that the fajitas are vegan-friendly, as long as you don’t eat the side of sour cream that it came with–so I was able to find a yummy vegan meal in a regular restaurant..wooooo!

Sledding yesterday was also oodles of fun! We drove up to a state park up in the mountains and spent a couple of hours racing down the hills on our sleds. On one really fast run, I ended up tearing our inner tube on a stick and it deflated 😦 But it was fun while it lasted, and we still had two other sleds to have fun on. I was surprised by how fast and far we could go, and also by how bumpy the runs were. It was also reeeeeeally hard to walk up the hills, but it was an awesome workout without really feeling like one! On our way back home, we hit up Starbucks and I bet you can guess what I got–my usual holiday drink, a tall skinny soy peppermint mocha. Definitely a day to remember!

What fun things have you been up to lately? Have you gotten any good after-Christmas deals yet?

WIAW: I Can Almost Taste Thanksgiving!

Purple cauliflower fans unite! Oh, hi guys, sorry I was just excited about all the great responses to my last post! I love seeing that you could relate to my stressage about signing up for classes and all the foodie-type things I included in the post.

Anyways, on with this week’s WIAW. I was lucky enough to get to go home this weekend sorta unexpectedly, because I have a humongo stats test on Friday that I’m pretty sure I’ll fail without getting some help, so I recruited my math-whiz dad. But the weekend wasn’t all studying, because how blah would that be? Basically though, it was just like a mini tease of Thanksgiving break, which is making me really anxious for break to start. Unlike a lot of weekends at home, it was pretty chill, which was exactly what I needed before this crazy week hit. Why do professors/teachers assign so much the week before a break? It makes me nuts! But, let’s just move on to the WIAW and weekend recap and talk about school craziness latah!

Friday afternoon started out with me taking a stats quiz (ick) and then finally getting picked up by my mom and sissy. We headed straight for the campus bookstore, to pick up some Christmas gifts for my g-parents. Since we were already at the student center, my mom suggested we eat at the food court and use my RamCash, which is basically money the school gives you to spend on laundry, food at the food court, etc. I barely use it, besides every once in awhile for laundry, so I have a buttload on my card, since they add more every semester. My mom first told me that only Panda Express was open on Friday evenings, and I wasn’t too excited about that. They apparently have nothing that’s certified vegetarian, since things get mixed around and veggies may touch meat, plus their food is just greasy and ugh.  But luckily, the soup and salad place was still open, so I got a cup of winter squash soup. It was pretty decent, not the best I’ve had from there (their vegetarian chili is BOMB!) but I definitely prefered it to Panda. My mom and sister got it though, and it ended up costing $16! Call me crazy, but that’s a lot for two people’s dinners at a fast food-type place. But we enjoyed our dinners in the awkwardness that was the empty food court. Usually it’s packed with people, but who wants to eat there on a Friday night when almost everything else is closed?

Not soup (obviously) but my hodgepodge dinner from last week: plain Greek yogurt mixed with cinnamon, Pink Lady, chocolate PB2 sauce, baby carrots, pumpkin protein frosting. So weird but really hit the spot.

Back at home, it wasn’t too late so I had dinner part 2, since I didn’t finish the soup and I was starving. I had my first sweet potato in probably 3 weeks (it was a happy reunion, that’s for sure 😀 ) topped with some PB2 that I brought home. Okay, is this sad or what–I’ve gone through most of the jar in basically 5 days! 2 tablespoons of it is supposed to be 15 servings, what a lie! I’ve mostly been having 1 or maybe 2 tablespoons of it per day, and it’s almost gone! What?

A seasonal variation on the banana whip--banana pumpkin whip. Enjoyed straight outta the blender, how classy am I?

Saturday I could barely make myself sleep in til 8. I think my schedule this semester has been screwing me up, I used to be able to sleep in til 9 easily if I stayed up past 11 or so. Well, I’m not complaining, 8 is fine with me! I hate sleeping in so late that I feel like the day is wasted, so I totally don’t get people that sleep in past noon or whatever. I had a nice breakfast of leftover pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes and my usual veggie sausage, alongside a homemade Starbucks peppermint mocha! I’ve been totally craving Starbucks, and since I rarely go (that’s gonna change in less than a week 😉 ) I wanted to make a drink that’s almost as good. My mom got some Silk Mint Chocolate soy milk (best stuff ever!) so I steamed it and added it to some Starbucks VIA.

Almost as good as Starbucks, for way less, and in a cute snowman mug!

For lunch, I ended up burning the last 2 pieces of tempeh bacon (whoops) while I was cooking my second sweet potato in two days. Obviously, they have been very missed. I topped it with more PB2 (addicted much?), and plated it and the burned bacon with some frozen raspberries. Oh so good.

Who can beat a nut butter topped sweet potato? Especially with tempeh bacon and frozen raspberries?

After lunch, my dad and I headed out to the store. Well…stores! I was only planning on getting some apples and grapes to tide me over for the 5 days I’d be on campus before break, but knowing me, I got a lot more. Well, not a lot more, but definitely some. But it was all needed, so it’s justified. I did get the apples and grapes I needed, plus some Silk Pumpkin Spice (haven’t tried it yet), Whole Foods fresh-grind crunchy almond butter, butternut squash cubes, my crack Late July green mojo chips, peanut butter pows cereal (apparently renamed peanut butter balls?), full moon brownie kid Clifs, dates, rolled oats, vegan chorizo taquitos and my personal favorite, Oikos frozen Greek yogurt! I’ve been dying to try it since I saw it on Tara’s blog awhile back. I got it in chocolate, and it is heavenly. Better than their original chocolate froyo, since it’s a little tangy just like Greek yogurt. Plus it’s got a little more protein, which is always a win. I can’t wait to try the blueberry and honey…and I hope they come out with superfruits, because that is my favorite flavor of their yogurt! Whole Foods was pretty lame this time as far as samples go, but I think I found a good vegan alternative to the Thanksgiving turkey–Field Roast Grain Meat loaves. They’re made from vital wheat gluten and veggies and they look pretty decent. I hope I can convince my mom to buy it for me, since my dad seemed to think it looked good.

I dressed up my first bowl of Oikos froyo with frozen raspberries and PB balls cereal. Love the mix of textures and flavors.

Then my wonderful daddy surprised me with some Pinkberry. I was so excited when it first came to my city, and I loved the watermelon froyo I got the first time around, all the way back in June! Unfortunately, I hadn’t been back there since but I got my fix this weekend. If you’ve never been to a Pinkberry, they only have 6 flavors at a time, but they rotate based on season, and their yogurt is better quality than most froyos. I’m such a sucker for all things seasonal, as you probably know by now, and peppermint is by far my favorite seasonal flavor–especially paired with dark chocolate! So when I saw the peppermint froyo on the front door, I knew exactly what I wanted to get. I also decided to branch out (and piss off my ED a bit) and topped it with some peppermint bark, which was the perfect pairing. Usually, I only stick with fruit as a topping, but I have no regrets getting the bark instead. And I don’t care what ED says about it, it was crazy good and I didn’t get fat overnight by eating it. So there!

Perfection in a cup. I love that they swirl it so perfectly, and that it's light pink!

The rest of the night was devoted to church, eating Amy’s cheeseless pizza with a side of Silk Mint Chocolate (can’t get enough of the mint/chocolate combo obvi!), showering, studying up on stats with the padre and watching some SNL. Emma Stone was the host, she’s so funny and I love her voice. It makes me less self-conscious for having a deeper voice than most girls 😛

Sunday's (very orange) lunch of Gardein chickenless nuggets, sweet potato tots (ob-sessed), more raspberries and spicy three pepper mustard. Like fast food but...not!

Sunday was pretty leisurely. Breakfast and lunch were had over the Sunday pap-ah, I went for a nice walk with my dad and sister and then it was sadly time to head back. Most times when I have to go back, I’m a little sad, since I won’t get to see my family for 2 weeks, but this time I wasn’t because I knew I’d be seeing my madre’s lovely face again on Friday–for a whole 9 days, in fact! I was just annoyed with the fact that I had a full 5 days of school to deal with 😦 Before dropping me off, we had a delicious dinner at Garbanzo, my favorite fast-casual place. I think I’ve mentioned it about a bazillion times already, but it’s just that good. Mediterranean food is my all-time fave.

Ninja shot of my dinner. The best falafel ever, red cabbage, vegetable salad, lettuc, grilled eggplant, hummus and tabbouleh, with a side of cilantro and curry sauces. Can I live in the bowl? Kthx.

So there you have it, my weekend-before-Thanksgiving-break in a (big) nutshell. I always make these recap things way too long, guess it shows how excited I am about the weekends I get at home. Now I’ve just gotta focus on studying for my Friday stats test and…PACKING! I love packing, so I can’t wait!

What was the best part of your weekend? Mine was probably Whole Foods shopping, ’cause I’mma nerd like that! What is your favorite seasonal flavor? I luuuuuurrrrrvvvve peppermint, especially paired with dark chocolate and coffee. Starbucks Skinny Peppermint Mocha, here I come!

Weekend Food & Fun

Ya wanna know what my least favorite part of the weekend is? When it’s coming to an end. I hate that feeling you get on Sunday night when you realize that the weekend’s pretty much over and tomorrow it’s back to the daily grind. Can you tell that I’m sick of school already? 😉 I know how sad that sounds, I mean come on, I’m only like 5 weeks in! Honestly, I actually love school this year (nerd alert!) but sometimes you just want a nice little break. Especially when you’ve got a crazy busy next few weeks ahead–in my case, 2 tests this Friday (eek!), 2 tests next week and a paper due in 3 weeks. Gosh, these professors are insane!

This is my "You've gotta be kidding me, 2 tests in one day?" face.

 But the point of this post is not to complain about school but to talk about my weekend! It started out when my mom picked me up around 6:30 on Friday. We grabbed dinner at Garbanzo, which is this really awesome fast casual Mediterranean place. It was a little too awkward taking a picture of my amazing dinner, so I’ll just explain it: baby greens, tabbouleh salad, fresh red cabbage, hummus, falafel topped with spicy cilanto sauce and grilled eggplant slices on top. It was drool-worthy.

I finally changed my nail polish! My sis got the shatter polish for homecoming, so I def had to try it out once I got home. Verdict: love it! And every time, it's a different design!

Saturday started out bright and early (if you consider 8:15 early, which sadly I don’t anymore since I’m used to being up by 7) with some Kashi Honey Sunshine-topped overnight oats. Oh how I’ve missed Honey Sunshine! I haven’t had it for months and forgot how much I loved it. Topped with frozen nanner slices and mango chunks, it was heaven in a bowl.

Please take me back, Honey Sunshine! I can't live without ya 😉

Around 11:30, my mom turned on the TV so we could cheer on my college’s football team in their big annual rivalry game. The Rammies did so well in the first quarter, but then they lost a lot of steam after the half. It was getting way too depressing so I stopped watching 😦 Luckily, my dad and I ended up going to see “Crazy Stupid Love” (I was shocked it was still in theatres) so it ended up being a great afternoon. I love comedies, and it was  really good one, so definitely see it if you have the chance. Then my dad took me to get froyo nearby–how could I pass that up? Despite the fact that I was freezing cold all day (seriously, the weather changed so drastically!), I still enjoyed my frozen yogurt. I got a new-t0-me flavor, apple pie. It tasted as good as it sounds 😀 Perfect for an almost fall day.

I have so many froyo pics on this blog, it's a bit ridic. But each one is unique and a piece of art (baha). Apple pie froyo topped with raspberries and blueberries.

After a Target run, we got home and I was able to make my own dinner–for realsies this time, I actually used the oven, which totally counts as cooking. I miss being able to do real cooking, but I’ve got a whole lineup of recipes that I want to make come Thanksgiving break. Everyone better stay outta my way–the kitchen will be mine 😆

I also appreciate the slightly better lighting I get at home! My dinner was a Gardein veggie burger topped with General Tso sauce, baby carrots, chipotle seasoned sweet potato fries and sweet potato tots. I think I OD'd on the orange.

The rest of the night was pretty low-key: SNL-watching, shower-taking, beating my dad at an UNO tournament. I am beast at UNO–no really!–I mostly always end up winning against my dad.

I think a big trend for me this fall will be layering--I love how cozy I felt in this outfit. Grey knit duster cardigan (A&F), burgundy plaid tunic (A&F Kids), navy culotte shorts (A&F), navy sparkle tights (AE).

Today was even more chill–at least until I had to head back up to school. When we finally got up here, my mom suggested Larkburger for dinner. It’s basically this pretty simple place with all-natural gourmet burgers and fries and such. Usually I end up getting the portobello burger but I wasn’t too hungry tonight and settled for the field greens salad topped with a grilled tuna filet and some edamame on the side. The tuna was amazing and the edamame was too (of course!) but the salad wasn’t great, mostly because they served it in this plastic container that was extremely hard to eat out of, plus the tamari ginger dressing  that sounded so promising, turned out to be totally nast. I hate when that happens, but I pretty much usually expect restaurant dressings to be sub-par. Luckily, it was on the side so I could just toss it without having the whole salad be ruined. I ended up saving the salad to eat sometime this week–in a more convenient way, like on a plate!

More Kashi Honey Sunshine? Yep, I'm a woman obsessed.

Now it’s back to the real world 😕 Oh well, not every day can be a blast and I know I’ll have some awesome days in the near future!

Oh, P.S. an update on my foot. Thanks so so so much for the well wishes! It’s still in pain, I wrapped an Ace bandage around it and hope it might help–hey, if it doesn’t, at least people will know why I’m limping around 😀 Plus I feel cool with it on, please don’t ask me why!

 

What fun things did you do this weekend? What is your dream froyo flavor?

WIAW: Randomness

Some weeks, I just don’t get around to taking pictures of all my meals for WIAW. Blame it on laziness busyness. I was running around like a crazy person this last weekend and I kinda forgot to snap some pics of all my food. Most of it was pretty boring (aka using up whatever I could find at home since there wasn’t much Ashley-friendly food) but with the stuff that was good, well…I was too busy having fun to really remember to get pictures.

So for this week’s WIAW, it’s pretty much some random food pics that I managed to take within the past couple of days, plus some non-food stuff (aka outfits and such). Oh, and a random survey. Just the way I roll. Random is good, peeps.

Early morning breakfast (hence why the lighting sucks). Coffee overnighters topped with PB Puffins. Probably my favorite overnight oats combo right now.

What was the last thing you bought? The necklace in the picture below. Not even kidding. I’ve been dying to buy the owl necklace since I first saw it and I finally had to cave and buy it online, since I never saw it once in any American Eagle store. Stupid shipping & handling, but it’s well worth it for this beauty.

This picture looks reallllllllly awkward. I was wearing a grey lace-front shirt so it's kinda see-through. But the owl really pops!

What’s the weirdest thing anyone’s ever asked you? If I’ve skipped a grade. IDK where that came from, especially since I didn’t know the person who said it. I guess I am small for my age, though. Someone thought I was a HS freshman when I was a senior. Ugh.

A GIANT date! Okay, so it doesn't look so big, but trust me, it was like almost the size of my palm!

A typical yogurt mess: plain Greek yogurt mixed with blueberry protein powder, topped with Bear Naked Fit triple berry granola. It's even better in a pink bowl.

Best Halloween costume? Oh gosh, I loved so many of them. I was a blue M&M once (funny story: a few years after I wore this costume, a guy in my class said he was going to be Eminem for Halloween, and I was so naïve that I said “What color?” since I thought he was talking about M&Ms. Silly child!), bride of Frankenstein and a pirate. Uh, yeah, I think that was my favorite, since I wore obnoxious boot covers with jangly coins on them. I like being loud.

Amazing froyo (when is it ever NOT amazing)? Irish mint swirled with Oreo froyos, topped with raspberries and strawberries. Bliss in a cup.

What are you wearing right now? Look at the picture below. That’s exactly it. A light yellow hoodless sweatshirt from Hollister (hand-me-down from the lil sis. Anyone find that weird?), khaki twill shorts from Hollister and got-wet-in-the-random-rainstorm tan mocs from American Eagle. This is what I consider casual.

I used to be scared to wear yellow. Silly me.I'm really into playing around with the color and saturation of photos. It's kinda an obsession now.

 

What is your favorite food that your mom makes? Definitely this really really good chile lime pasta (usually with shrimp). She totally came up with the recipe on her own, and it’s super simple but delish. It has roasted bell peppers, Williams Sonoma chile lime seasoning and it’s just downright amazing.

Green goodness: Late July green mojo chips (aka crack chips), spicy guac/Greek yogurt dip. It's easy being green.

Best concert? The best one I’ve actually been to would have to be Relient K. But my dream concert is Lady Gaga. Shocker, right? But I’m dying to dress up in one of her bizarre outfits without getting looked at like I’m cray cray.

Poor mocs. All wet from the freak rainstorm on my way back from classes.

Things you do for fun? Shopping. Tennis. Mountain biking. Modeling photo shoots. Texting (well, I mostly do this when I’m bored). Fashion magazine-reading. Blog-surfin’ on my iPod touch. All the stuff cool kids do, obvs.

My second-ever Halo bar! I liked this one almost as much as the S'mores kind. I think I love vegan marshmallows more than regular ones, especially when they're combined with peanuts and flax seeds...

 

Answer one (or many!) of the questions above!

Gettin’ My Schweat On!

I. Love. Sweat. Okay, just kidding, I’m usually completely grossed out by it (and no worries, I use deodorant daily!) But if the sweat comes from working out, then I love it. It makes me feel like I’ve been working hard and I’m getting stronger.

Pre-bike ride. Maybe too much navy blue?

One of my favorite ways to “get my schweat on” (and yes, you must say it that way. okay, just kidding, but it sounds a million times better like that) is biking. I’m not quite a hardcore cyclist yet but I love hittin’ the trails for some pedal pushin’. Honestly, I can pronounce my “g’s”, it just sounds cooler without them. But I’ve been kinda slacking on the bike riding this summer. Okay, so I did do a 7-miler bike event at the beginning of June and I also did a 4-miler in the middle of June, but things have been pretty dead as far as biking goes. It’s not like I’ve been lazy all summer–I’ve just been mostly playing tennis, which I’ve been loving, but I missed biking.

My "just did 4 or 5 miles" face. Please ignore the messy hair.

Today, my dad and I hit a new greenway trail.It started out fairly normal, some small hills, but nothing too bad. It was pretty quiet too–not many others were on the trail. Then we got to a major street and had to cross it in order to keep riding. No biggie. So we crossed and then kept riding…until we got to an even more major street. Silly us, we thought it would be the same deal–we’d cross at the nearest stoplight and continue on our way. Wellllllll…that’s not quite how it worked out. The sign directed us up the hill to cross at a different light, because apparently the closer light didn’t have a sidewalk so we couldn’t get to it. So we went up the hill–me pushing my bike because I was freaked out by all the cars whizzing by a couple of feet away. We finally make it up the hill (after passing by some super sketchcar repair shops), wait to cross and then make our way back down the hill on the other side of the street. At the bottom of the hill, we see the trail sign again and try to follow it. Fail. We end up walking behind a creepy closed-down building trying to find where the trail starts up again but there is my trail. Then my genius dad (sense the sarcasm there? sorry, Daddy, you’re usually very smart, but in this case, not so much) takes a closer look at the sign and realizes that the rest of the trail will be built in the future. Yep, we’re so smart for not reading that earlier. So, long story short, we walk back up and down the hill and finally head back to the trailhead.

Oh yeah, and we also went to a local parade this morning, and this is what I wore. Abercrombie Kids plaid tunic top, Hollister navy cami, Hollister navy twill shorts, American Eagle chain-and-diamond necklace. Forever 21 love ring.

Well, I didn’t notice it on the way there, but it was definitely downhill heading out. So what does that mean? Uphill heading back. Awesome. Actually, it wasn’t too bad, but I had blisters on the back of my heels from walking up and down the hill, it was super hot and my head was killing me. But I made it up each and every one of those hills. So proud of myself. Needless to say, I definitely got my schweat on this afternoon. But it was totally worth it to feel amazing and sweaty–not to mention grabbing some froyo afterwards! We checked out yet another brand new frozen yogurt shop and they were offering a 2-for-the-price-of-1 deal today, so it was cheap-o! Unfortch, I didn’t have a camera with me but I got marshmallow and Irish mint froyos topped with kiwi and raspberries. Hit. The. Spot.

Okay, so def not froyo, but I had to get a foodie pic in here somewhere, right? This was an amazing Whole Foods salad I had last weekend when I picnicked and hiked. Baby spinach, red onions, craisins, maple-glazed pecans and mandarin oranges. The dressing was nast so it went uneaten, but the salad was so good, it didn't need it!

How do you like to “get your schweat on”?

WIAW+Lucky #7

Well kiddos, it’s time once again for WIAW! This week, since I was also tagged in the 7 Links thing by the beautiful Tori, I decided to combine the two into an epicpost. Okay, just kidding about the epic part, but wouldn’t you know it…7 is my lucky number. Along with 11. I’m not sure exactly why, maybe because they rhyme and also because my birth date is 7-27. I digress. Basically, I have to choose 1 post for each category and then tag some of my readers. Sounds easy enough. And I’m totally a pro at the whole WIAW thing 😉

My most beautiful post: This is a hard one for me to answer, mostly because I’m not sure what beautiful means in this context! I’m thinkin’ it has something to do with pictures or something. In that case, definitely WIAW: I ❤ Instagram! because I’m kind of addicted to Instagram-d photos because they make anything look amazing.

The best part of breakfast--overnighters! Sadly, this was my last batch of oats since I ran out; I think a Whole Foods trip is in order! Rolled oats mixed with dark cocoa powder and topped with PB Puffins

My most popular post: WIAW: Another Week, Another Survey. This one also kind of surprised me by the number of comments I got on it, but I think a lot of people like surveys (as do I) and WIAW is always popular around these here parts!

The other part of breakfast--spicy veggie sausage, freshly-washed bloobs and sour gummy Flintstones gummies. I know you're jealous...

My most controversial post: I haven’t honestly received many controversial comments, per se, but maybe WIAW: Survey Says… because obviously not everyone has the same taste in food, and I know so many people love peanut butter, but I just…don’t. Unless you’re talking about PB Puffins, because I’m all over those 😉

Having a sweet potato at lunch just...sweetens it a little bit. Microwaved sweet tater topped with Greek yogurt/guac dip and black beans, frozen pineapple, plain Greek yogurt topped with PB Puffins

My most helpful post: Calling All Overnight Oats Lovers…. Despite not getting many comments, I thought it was helpful for me to explain how I make my overnight oats and share some crazy-cool combinations with people and possibly inspire them to make overnighters of their own. I’m also basically obsessed with them, so I loved posting my latest and greatest “recipes”.

My mom treated me and my sister to some yummy froyo today. I got strawberry lemonade, watermelon and cheesecake topped with golden kiwi (!). I can never just get one flavor!

A post whose success surprised me:Estes Park Day 2. While this wasn’t the most commented-on post (that award would go to WIAW: Survey Says…), I was honestly shocked that so many people would read my rambling vacation recaps. I mean, the vacation was fun but reading about someone else’s adventures isn’t always the funnest. I’m just really glad so many people enjoyed it!

Dinner was quick 'n easy because my dad and I had to catch "Friends With Benefits" (great movie, BTW). Gardein beefless burger cooked on the stove topped with spicy guac, with strawbs and chipotle sweet tater fries on the side. I like things spah-cee!

A post I feel didn’t get the attention it deserved: Foodie Newbie. I realize it’s only been up for a few days, but still. I thought more people would like to read product reviews. Anyways, I enjoyed eating all of that food, so it wasn’t all for nothing 😛

Great cereal mess after a great movie--MORE PB Puffins (I think I OD'd...jk), Kashi Strawberry Fields and a little Bear Naked Peak Protein

The post I am most proud of: WIAW: The Big 1-9. What can I say? I loved my birthday this year, especially since it was on Wednesday so I got to share my “big day” eats in a WIAW post. I’m proud that I had the patience to write up that monster of a post and take all those pictures throughout the day, when I could have easily forgotten because of all the festivities.

Lets end on the outfit of the day, shall we? I like taking photos from weird angles, don't judge! Neon green striped shirt (American Eagle), cuffed denim shorts (Abercrombie Kids)

 Is there one food you couldn’t live without (for me, it’s PB Puffins and overnighters, obvs)? Seen any good movies lately?

Oh, and I tag…EVERYONE! Who hasn’t done this 7 Links thing yet…have fun 😀

Estes Park Day 4 (and a half!)

If you missed my first three recap posts, go here (day 1), here (day 2) and here (day 3). This one is the last vacation recap!

TUESDAY

It was our last full day in EP, so we wanted to make the most of it. So what did we do first? Pool time 😀 Again, we got some quality water time in and not too many people were still at the condos, so we had it mostly to ourselves. A rousing game of Monkey in the Middle was involved!

Right after lunchie time, my dad, sister and I drove to the town’s little amusement park. It’s pretty small and basic compared to others I’ve been to (like Six Flags, of course!) but it’s still a lot of fun. The dark clouds were starting to roll in, but we were chill about it. We got a couple of slides in on the giant rainbow colored slide and then headed over to the mini golf course across the river. As soon as we started our first hole, it started to pour! Everyone left the golf course in 2 seconds and we were all crowded under the little awning. Fun times 😉 But like almost all summer rainstorms in good ‘ol Colorado, this one lasted like 10 minutes so we were able to finish start our mini golf tournament. Even though I lost, I was the only one to get a HOLE IN ONE! I was actually pretty proud of myself 🙂

My mom had gone into town to do a little shopping so we met her at the local brewpub for dinner. It was my mom’s choice, mostly because of the beers there. Unfortch, none of us really loved the food. We’d been there a few years back, and it had seemed to be a little better then. I got the shrimp cocktail and a side of wheat bread. They were both okay, but def not amazing. Plus the service kinda sucked, so we agreed not to go back again.

After that disappointment, we did a little more window shopping in town then grabbed dessert. We went to a little place that has handmade flavored waffle cones (can’t pass that up!) and luckily, they had a strawberry froyo that I got in a marshmallow-flavored cone. It. Was. Deelish. When we were standing around eating our cones, a car drove by and someone leaned out the window and honked an air horn really loudly. It freaked my sis out, and she dropped her cone on the ground! She was kinda upset about it, but my dad bought her another one. It wasn’t funny at the time, but it kinda is now 😉

So yummy (and so colorful)

WEDNESDAY

Last day. We had to wake up at the crack ‘o dawn (aka 8 am) so we could leave by 10. Even though my mom was freaking out that we’d have to pay overtime, we got out with plenty of time.

We drove into town, car packed to the gills with our stuff (why does it always seem like you come back with more stuff than you left with?), and stopped in a Christmas boutique. It was really cute, all the different themed ornaments and decorations.

Oh hey random peppermint horse!

Then we went over to the deli where we were getting lunch-to-go. The deli is right by the movie theatre, so all the sandwiches and salads there are named after movies! I got the Strawberry Fields salad and it was truly a Hugh Jass salad. It was piled high with lettuce, fresh strawberries, sliced almonds, cranberries and a raspberry vinaigrette. We took our lunches into Rocky Mountain National Park and picnicked (I had the hardest time spelling this word, bee-tee-dubs!) there. It was really yum, but since it was ginormous there was no way I could finish it!

Now this is a salad!

Since we were right by a hiking trail, we packed the cooler back in the car and hit the trail. In the past, we’ve usually done one or two big hikes when we were in Estes (usually around 7 miles roundtrip) but since we hadn’t spent many days this time, we decided to just do a quick little hike. Luckily we didn’t do a longer one, because halfway through, it started raining and thundering so we had to get back to the car anyway.

You can kinda see the lake

This tree just looked so cool!

Rain is beautiful

The rain died down en route to another hiking spot, so we got out there for another quickie hike. The place we went to is called an alluvial fan, and it was caused by a dam breakage that led to a deadly flood back in the ’80s. Luckily, it didn’t kill a lot of people, but it brought down millions of giant boulders and killed trees in its path. It looks really cool now, though. I was stupid enough to wear a dress and flip-flops, so climbing on all those rocks was tricky business. I didn’t trip or anything (I’m such a klutz) so that was good.

Part of the waterfall

My dad. So cray-cray!

These mountains are BIG!

I wasn't kidding about the dress

One last look at the alluvial fan

What is one of your favorite vacation memories?

WIAW: Another Week, Another Survey

Can you believe it’s already Wednesday?!?! I definitely can’t–especially because this time next week, I’ll be 19 years old! Can someone say cray-cray? But seriously, I feel old haha. Oh well, I’m excited!

I’m also excited for today because it’s WIAW time again! I honestly don’t know why, but this is like an addiction for me…once you start, you just can’t stop! I really hope I can get one in next week, despite all the birthday time shenanigans and busyness.

Anywho, let’s get to it! This week, I’ve got another survey brought to you by the lovely Tori. That’s another addiction of mine, surveys. They are just too fun to pass up.

Breakfast was a new creation of mine (that, bee-tee-dubs, I loved so much I had 2 days in a row): coffee maple overnighters topped with some PB Puffins. Where have these yummy peanutty nuggets been all my life?! Oh, and I had an unpictured veggie sausage and some raisins

 Three ways I am still a kid:

1) I think baby bunnies are the cutest thing ever (but then, who doesn’t?)

2) I am a veeeeeeeery picky eater. ‘Nuff said.

3) I love to have water gun wars with my dad and sister. Funnest. Thing. Ever.

 

Three ways I am already old:

1) Most of the time, I’d rather spend a night at home with the fam, catching up on TV shows and playing board games.

2) I tend to space out some times and miss out on what people are talking about, and then I have to go, “Huh?”

3) I have reeeeeeeeeally crack-y joints. My knees crack like no other (my parents call me “Cracky”).

Lunch was my last vegan chorizo taquito (sadddddddd), salsa for dippage, fresh mango and bloobs , carrots and a slice of cinn-raisin Ezekiel bread topped with black bean pudding and almond butter. Kinda like a snack plate lunch for the indecisive girl.

Three things I want to do:

1) Go full veg. Right now, I mostly eat meat because my parents want me to, but when I move out on my own, I want to be an actual vegetarian (or at least pescetarian).

2) Get some kind of job in the fields I’m interested in. I’m majoring in broadcast journalism, but I’m also really into fashion, so I’d like to somehow combine the two. Maybe a fashion reporter?

3) Leave the U.S.. Seriously, almost everyone I know has at least gone to Mexico or Canada. My dream spots are Australia, anywhere in the Caribbean and Greece.

This was me on Monday, soon after my filling appointment at the dentist. It was the first time I had some bad reactions to the Novocaine (eye watering, a bruise on my cheek from the shot, mouth droopiness). I'm wearing glasses because the watery eyes were just getting too annoying to deal with having my contacts in.

 Three ways I’m a stereotypical “boy”:

1) I love being active in the “great outdoors”. Tennis, mountain biking, hiking, you name it. I love being outside.

2) I’m proud of my strong arms. I used to hate the fact that I actually have biceps (not huge ones, BTW) unlike some girls, but now I love that I can win arm-wrestling contests and people are always surprised that I’m so strong since I’m small.

3) Most of my jeans and shorts are “boy fits”. I just prefer my pants to be looser and I think they look better on me than a pair of skinnies (though I might buy some soon…)

Another snack plate, this time actually for a snack: sweet potato tortilla chips, Kashi crackers, watermelon and almond butter-stuffed date

 Three ways I’m a stereotypical “girl”:

1) Fashion is one of my favorite things. I adore clothes shopping (I can spend hours at the mall without getting bored), putting together outfits, taking outfit pictures and blogging about it (oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I have a fashion blog, too!)

2) Pink is my favorite color. I have wayyyyyyy too much of it: pink bed sheets, pink mini fan, pink phone and iPod covers, pink bathrobem pink sandals, pink tape dispenser…yeah, I’ll stop there 😉

3) My absolute favorite clothing items include short summery dresses (of which I have nine–obsessed much? 😛 ), cute patterned skirts and girly, shimmery sandals. I could totally live in these three things (provided I lived in a different climate). 

Three things I want to try within the next three months:

1) Driving on my own when I get back to school. I just found out that my campus is getting ZipCar this fall, which is basically like a car rental membership thing. I’ll be able to go wherever I want without relying on friends to drive me.

2) Make more “raw dessert” recipes. I’ve had a lot of luck with the recipes I’ve already tried and I can’t wait to make more!

3) Take fashion risks. I usually stick with the tried-and-true clothing combos, but I want to mix it up. Even if I don’t buy many new outfits, at least I can create new ones out of my existing wardrobe.

Outfit of the day: lime green babydoll tank (Hollister), coral bandeau bra top (Victoria's Secret PINK), light blue floral skirt (Gilly Hicks), pink polka dot headband (American Eagle). I like how bright and summery this outfit is, but the top gave me some troubles. If I leave it untucked, I have basically no waist. And it looks slightly awkward tucked in. Better luck next time...

 Three things I like about myself:

1) My independence. I don’t feel like I always have to be with other people; I can do things on my own just fine. Obviously, I do like to be with other people, but having my own space sometimes is really nice!

2) My inner strength. I have my days where I feel like I can’t get through my problems, but I always pull through. This is especially true in dealing with my eating disorder. I wouldn’t say I’m fully recovered at this point, but I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come. And I don’t want to give up and go back.

3) My hair. Yeah, that sounds kinda superficial, but I really do. Especially now that I got a new style-slash-color. You can’t really tell from the pictures (except the first one of me, maybe), but I got it slightly shortened and my stylist added lots of bouncy layers and lightened up my highlights so I’m pretty blonde now. My sis says I look older now, which is a very good thing, considering I usually look a lot younger than my age.

It was pizza night, which happens approximately once a week in my house. Even though I don't eat cheese, I can always find/make a cheeseless pizza that appeals to me. Tonight's was Whole Foods' individual vegan roasted veggie pizza on whole wheat crust (yay!) with a side of carrots and a double chocolate banana smoothie

Three of my everyday essentials:

1) Iced tea. I’ve been on an iced tea kick since I rediscovered our iced tea maker. I like mine with ice (duh!) and 1 packet of Truvia. Yum.

2) Yoga. I think I’ve done it almost every day since I first started doing it way back in February. I love how calm it makes me, not to mention way stronger and flexible.

3) Oats. Most mornings, I start out with a bowl of overnight oats. I love all the combos I’ve had so far and I’m always thinking up more!

This wasn't my dessert today, but it was too yummy not to show. I tried a new froyo place, and I loved it. Mango sorbet and cheesecake yogurt, topped with fresh melon and pineapple chunks. So refreshing on a hot day.

 Three things that scare me:

1) Fires. I live in a really dry state, so in the summer, there’s a lot of forest fires. [Knock on wood] there haven’t been any huge ones near me this summer. My mom is always worried, since we live in a treed area. Fire in general just kinda freaks me out.

2) Throwing up. I haven’t done it in several years, but it’s so traumatizing. Ick.

3) Hearing random noises in the middle of the night. It freaks me out so bad that I have a hard time getting back to sleep. Even though we hae an alarm system, I just can’t shake the feeling that someone broke in…

Pick one of the question categories and tell me your three answers! Oh, and what was the best thing you’ve eaten recently?

P.S. My last vacation recap is coming very soon!