Making the Most Of Summer – 2012 Edition

The older I get, the more I realize how fast summer gets away from me. Between work, travelling to my parents’ house for holidays and just lazing around, I really don’t take advantage of summer like I did as a kid. This year is a bit different for me too. Since making a career change, I am going to be very busy during the week, so I need to make the most of my free time! These are some things I really want to do this summer…

1. Run a half marathon (I already have one in mind and am training… let’s hope my knees hold up this time)
2. Hike somewhere and watch the sun rise over LA… preferably somewhere with a waterfall
3. Read a few books
4. Buy 90 percent of my food from Farmers Markets (you can’t find everything there, but you can definitely get some veggies!)
5. Try paddle boarding
6. Revamp my closet/wardrobe… it’s time to grow up and get rid of my bazillion t-shirts.
7. Take a staycation. There are so many amazing things to do in this city that I really need to experience.
8. Use more fresh flowers around the apartment
9. Bake a pie… from scratch
10. Get a tan. I’m usually the tannest in my family, but have been working A TON the last year or so. Needless to say, my mother thinks I’m sick because I’ve lost my color. Her words: “Natalie, when you’re this pale you just look gray. Gray and sick.” This must be fixed!

instalife

Phew! Another whirlwind week in the books! And it’s only Thursday! Here’s my life lately via instagram pictures…

Beautiful butterfly on my daily hike.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at Jimmy Kimmel

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at Jimmy Kimmel

With my friend Brittany at the concert

FINALLY up to my leg press max… in my rugby days

My next read. It’s SO good so far. Another job well-done Roland Lazenby.

Watching Lolita on a mausoleum wall at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. If you visit LA in the summer, you must do this! So much fun.

I of course love anywhere that lets me drink my black and tans in public… or anything for that matter.

Painting. It’s my favorite when words fail me.

Homemade ice cream sandwiches. My new favorite dessert. Bake some cookies, buy some ice cream, thank me later.

Gorgeous hill full of wildflowers on my hike.

Can’t wait to start reading this!

Beautiful display of God’s creation. If you know what this plant is called, do share. I need to know

Thanks for reading!! Have an excellent day. Let’s be better today than yesterday!

are you…

instalife

Updates from my Instagram…

Poolside at The Standard

New Logo for my t-shirt company. Check it out here

I got in the LA Times again!

View from Runyon

Other view from Runyon. Can’t believe I get to see this all the time!

Last minute Berlin tickets with great friends. Wow! This woman is amazing #TakeMyBreathAway

Chevron nail polish

Beach lunch break

The stack of reading that’s piled up during NBA and NHL playoffs

book review: the gifted gabaldon sisters

It’s been awhile since my last book review, because it’s been awhile since I was able to finish a book. But I finally finished my first book of the year. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do if I want to reach my goal, but I’ll get there.

Before Christmas, I was walking through a store when I saw a book that caught my eye, “The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters” by Lorraine Lopez. If intrigued me because my Spanish family, from Spain are Gabaldons. I thought it might be a fun gift for my Nana based on the name alone. Then it got weird when I read the back of the book. It was about four sisters growing up in East Los Angeles and their mother had died at a young age. I froze, was I reading my Nana’s story she’d published under a penname or something? Granted, she had more siblings than this… many more, but the similarities were uncanny. I scooped it up into my basket and gave it to my Nana as a “just because” present.

She’s a voracious reader, constantly giving me books she knows I’ll love, and I always do once I get around to reading them. So, six months later, I’m able to give it back to her, having finished this wonderfully delightful tale of these sisters. It’s a coming of age story, which I’m typically not a fan of because they’re all essentially the same. This one was different though.

Without giving away a lot of the story, I can tell you this:
1. You will fall in love with these girls. They are all so flawed, and real with themselves. It’s refreshing to find people who aren’t overly flawed or a bit too perfect, and these girls are as real as characters can get.

2. You’ll relate with them, even if you didn’t grow up in East LA. It’s impossible not to see some of you in these girls.

3. It’s an easy read. It’s not as shallow as cheeky romance novel, and it’s not as simple as a lot of adolescent literature, but it’s somewhere in between. Not quite for adolescents, because there’s a lot of “life lessons” in here. You’ll go on a journey with these girls and love every disappointment and triumph.

best cleanser ever

You know when you find a product that is so great you feel like you have to share it with everyone you know? Well, I think I’ve found the best thing ever. My skin has always been a constant soucre of frustration for me. Sometimes it’s oily, sometimes is combo skin, and I’ve tried literally every kind of cleanser. There is never one that just works, no matter what my skin feels like doing. Then I got a sample of Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser. It was a sample so I thought, sure! I’ll try it. A month later something happened that never has before.

Many products claim they’ll leave your skin feeling smooth and amazing and blah, blah, blah. This cleanser really did. It was really amazing. So when I ran out I thought, eh, it’s okay. I’ll just og back to my old one, because, let’s fact it, I’m cheap. It can’t be that different. Oh boy was I wrong. In about two days I was broken out and back to my temperamental skin. Not even my prescription moisturizer was helping. So I ordered myself a big bottle of Juice Beauty.

Then, I was hiking with my friend, raving about this stuff. She thought, yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m sure it’s great. Well, after our hike, we were waiting around for a friend, and I said, “You’re sweaty. Just wash your face real quick.” Instantly she was in love. She literally ordered it right then and there. She admitted to thinking I was full of shit and jsut hyping a product, but could now see that wasn’t the case.

So, if you’re like me, and can never find any cleaner that you’re really happy with, do yourself a favor and go HERE.

P.S. It’s organic!!

southwest veggie salad

Hallelujah! I’ve found THE most delicious, simple recipe that I literally make it at work for my lunch. Sure, my lunch bag is filled to the brim, but I assure you it’s beyond worth it. This no-cook recipe just came to me one night, when I was having the worst sort of Mexican food craving. But with Summer around the corner, I would not let myself give into bean burritos.

You probably have all or most of these things in your house too! Since I’m just rambling about my infatuation with this recipe, I’ll get to it…

No-Cook Southwest Veggie Salad

What You Need:
1 can of corn (rinsed)
1 avocado (largely diced)
3 tomatoes (chopped)
2 TBSP packed cilantro (basically a handful)
1 scallion (diced, optional)
2 limes
1 can black beans (rinsed, optional)

What You Do:
Mix corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallion and beans into a large bowl

Squeeze the juice of one lime over it all and toss. Taste it to see if you like it with more lime juice, then cut and squeeze the lime over it all.

Top with avocados and enjoy!

Messiness – Not messy at all! This is all pretty self-contained and very simple to prepare. You know I love anything that is a “no-cook” recipe too.

Simplicity – This is really simple. Again, the key word is “no-cook.” From start to finish, it shouldn’t take you much longer than 10 minutes. And it’s all really self-contained, so there’s virtually no clean-up.

Budget – Super cheap! You can get every ingredient for $1 or less. The tomatoes may be a bit more, but there’s a TON of produce in season right now.

Delicious Factor - So, so yummy! It’s one of those things that tastes really healthy, is healthy but is filling and delicious. Easily a 5/5 and I promise you’ll start making it about once a week.

TIP: To make it even healthier, leave the black beans out (unless you need them for protein like us vegetarians). Also, keep in mind that this will make several servings, so don’t eat the whole thing at once if you’re dieting (*points at self*).