January Wish List

These are just a few things that have caught my eye this Month and will be possibly saving up for in the future.

Grafea Salt White Leather Backpack $270 (165 pounds) _ Opposites Attract Collection

Crystal Point Necklace $28_Nasty Gal

Nike Air Max Thea $120_Nike.com

Music Monday_ Pursuit of Happiness cover by Lissie

Now I recently found this song in a Spotify playlist. I think this cover of Kid Cudi's song Pursuit of Happiness. It adds a great soul mix to it.

Update_Back on the East Coast

I am back on the east coast for school in NY. I am happy to be hear because I get to do what I love which is Fashion Design, but I will have to say that I am already missing the weather of Los Angeles. It is very cold here and has already put a layer of snow on the ground. I am not complaining yet since I chose to go to school here. I may not post as much in the next couple of day since I am still trying to get into the swing of things, but I will not forget about you guys and I have some food posts that i think I want to include soon.

Tumblr Tuesday_Landscape

Music/Movie Monday_The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Now it may be strange to have a movie be my favorite Music and Movie for this week, but I will have to say that the soundtrack for this movie was just amazing. It added this great sense of adventure and lust for the great outdoors and to experience something new. The movie as a whole was very good and very inspirational. What I mainly got out of it was that I need to travel more and as much as possible. The cinematography in the movie was amazing the the landscape views were just beautiful.

If you haven't seen the movie yet you should go out and see it as soon as possible. Also go check out the soundtrack if you can, you won't regret it.

Weight loss / Health Update

Since I have been home and trying to eat healthier and for the most part staying away from sugar, dairy, dough, and fried foods I have lost 9 lbs in 4 weeks. Now I am not saying that I was always eating the best, at the beginning of the weight loss journey, I had thought I would be exercising more to counteract the eating habits, but since I don't have the time at the moment to give the time for that, I have been eating healthier eating dried fruits and cashew ice cream to compensate for my sweet tooth.

This brings my BMI to 21.66 at 151 lbs
Starting at 160 lbs with a BMI of 22.96
I have 21 lbs left to go

For the next week, I am going to start incorporating more cardio exercise on a daily, as well as incorporating more salads and water as well as smoothies and juices.

OOTD_Errands

Lips: M.A.C _ Hang-up

Necklace: Zara

Shirt: Express

Kimono: Urban Outfitters

Belt: Goodwill 

Jeans: Topshop

Shoes: Converse 

Tumblr Tuesday_Geometrics

Tumblr

Music Monday: Snoh Aalegra_ Burning Bridges

This Scandinavian singer has the soul of a 90s R&B with a mix of modern day beats. I think she can really go big and I can't wait to see what else she will bring forth in her music. The fashion in this music is great and I love the way the music video was filmed. It allowed for you to focus on the lyrics and the the singer rather than focusing on what she is actually doing.

Side Note: Am I the only one who thinks she looks like a mixture of Natalie Portman and Eva Longoria?

Fitness_Gym

I love going to the gym once in a while so that I can get the weights and elipticals that I don't have at home.

Start: Cardio
-Treadmill : 45min - I alternate between running, jogging, and walking sometimes going in 5-10 min intervals for each. If I am wanting an extra push I will change the incline to a higher one to work the butt more.

Strength
- Weight Macines: 2-3 cycles - depending the time I have and how tired I am after the treadmill, I will either do a total body weights or focus more on more of a specific section that  I feel is troubling me that week. On each machine I will do about 20-30 reps. The weight change depending on my strength what muscle is being used.

- Crunches/Squats/ Push-ups: I use apps that help me map out how much of each I should be doing an to progressively do more over time. The apps I use are SitUps and Squats. There are many different ones in the App store that you can find for free.

Make-up Haul

On the monday before christmas my mom and I made a trip to Sephora to do some make-up shopping that was much needed. I thought I would share with you what I got a quick review of how I feel about the products so far. There are a few things that I got at the drugstore as well.

Nars Tinted Moisterizer: I am loving this foundation/ tinted moisturizer. It gives enough coverage to even out my skin tone, but its light enough to let my skin breath.

Nars blush: This color is beautiful, Seduction. What I love about the formula is that it is very pigmented. So you just need a light hand for a light flush of color.

Nars transulent powder in Crystal: I really like this setting powder. It gives the skin a matte dewy look, which is a nice mixture. It also doesn't show up the skin or give a ghost like appearance which is great for my dark complection.

Nars eyeliner- this eyeliner is waterproof and doesn't budge which is nice since I always feel like my eyeliner is the first to go.

Eyelash glue Duo in Dark
Eyelashes: Ardell natural
Eyelashes: Ardel in 110 demi

Mascara: Maybelline falsies waterproof in Brownish Black- Now I normally get just plain black but I had accendtally picked this one up instead. I actually like this color more because it gives the lashes a more natural look as if you had just magically grew your own lashes since they are the same color as my lashes.

Sephora lip brush
Sephora airbrush 55

Eating to Loose Weight

Now as many of you may have heard when it comes to weight loss, it includes 70% diet and 30% exercise. With that said, what you eat has everything to do with how you weight and look. Now I am not showing you something that you should only do for a couple of weeks and then go back to your old eating habits. This is a changing diet for the rest of your life. You can take this for all that I say or take what you want and adapt it to your own desired eating habits.

When it comes to eating healthy, it means that you should eat clean. What this means is to eliminate processed foods and sugar. Another way to eat very clean is to also eliminate gluten , dough, and dairy. Now I know that this could be very hard and expensive to do for the rest of the life if you don't have that determination. So in regards to my own life, I am going to try to eat super clean for at least a month to easily shed off the weight and then to later integrate in small quantities dairy and some dough into my life as treats rather than main consumption of meals.

Now since I am not a nutritionist and only have limited knowledge of eating clean. I am only going to share with you a little bit of my knowledge and then link you to others who know more than I do.  A great way to take the place of gluten and dough is to integrate grains such as quinoa and wild rice or brown rice as well as including beans. These are great source of Protein that can keep you full for long periods of time. Also Oatmeal is a great option when it comes to breakfast. I know eliminating sugar can be really hard and tiring at first, but if you substitute for fruit, dried fruit and dark chocolate that has a cocoa percentage higher than 75% you will be able to curb your craving for sugar. Dairy is also a thing that is not great for your body, it is hard to process and can make a lot of people bloated without really knowing. It can also cause some skin problems. A great substitute for milk is Almond Milk. I prefer this over soy milk, or coconut milk, but it is also about taste preference so you should try to find one that you prefer.

And this goes without needing to say, you should drink a lot of water. By drinking a lot of water you could shed a couple pounds right there because you body was holding on to water because it was dehydrated. It can also flush out the toxins that are trapped in your system.

Fitness_ Yoga

In this post I will talk about the different exercises I do and what videos I find helpful and beneficial.

Yoga:
-I like to do yoga for the most part on my own in the comfort of my room. The main reason for this is because I can then work at my own pace and push myself at a level I think is beneficial for that day. I don't mind though to go to yoga classes when I am back at school and don't always have the room to do it on my own, and with a teacher there, it sometimes gives me the extra push that I need. I am going to link and post a couple of Youtubers and videos that I will be using for my Yoga Exercises. I am liking DoYouYoga.com , Yoga With Adriene, and Lionsgate be Fit. Each of them have their differences that help to keep my Yoga routine new and exciting.  I will post the Three video that I am going to be using right now because they are designed for weight loss which is my goal at the moment.

Tumblr Tuesday

Given the fact I am trying to shed some weight, I thought it was fitting to have this weeks Tumblr photo come from a fitness blog. The  username of the blog is Getfit

Music Monday_Ke$ha : Dirty Love

This is such a fun music video/song that Ke$ha has released. I think it just has a great beat and the old videos that she puts in her video has a very ironic point to it that  like. Ke$ha also look great in this video. Her hair and make is a lot fun and I think the two toned pastel hair would be great for a night out look if you are daring enough to try it out for the night.

Fitness and Health

With the new year starting, and given that I am back in the States and can focus more on my eating and exercise, I am starting a new section for this blog about health and fitness. I am planning on losing the weight I had gained from eating Crepes and French foods as well a little extra since my 21st Birthday is in March and I want to look extra great for that as well as just being in the best shape and health I can be.  So I thought I would share with you in this post more about where I am starting at, what my goals are, the exercises I am planning on doing, and how I am going to try to keep myself motivated

I will start with where I am starting at. I am 6'10" and 160 lbs with a BMI index of 22.96 which is considered Normal.  The only thing about where I stand on the BMI index is that I am near the top of the normal side and I would rather be near the bottom/middle of the normal side. My goal at this moment is to reach a weight of 130 lbs, which would put me at a BMI index of 18.65. 

In regards to exercising, I can get a little board if I do the same thing every day. So I am planning on mixing up my workouts between Yoga, going to the Gym, going on long Walks/Hikes, and Pilates. 

I will go into more depth with each form of exercise in a separate blog post.  I will be working out from 4-5 times per week depending on the amount of school work I have to do. You should always allot yourself some rest days so that your muscles can relax and rejuvenate itself to keep you healthy. It will also allow me to use those days of rest for my extra busy days that I don't have time to exercise on. 

To keep me motivated, I have created mini goals to reach in which then I will reward myself with something that has been catching my eye or something of the sort. And again, it will apart of another blog post since I don't want this post to get too long. 

So the last thing I want to talk about in this post is that I challenge you to come along with me and make 2014 the year that you get in shape and obtain the best body for you. It won't be easy and there will be time you will want to give up, but don't because the end results will be worth it. 

A great to keep track of your progress and what you are eating do doing for exercise in a Calorie form is to use MyFitness Pal. It is a great app that helps you know how many calories you should intake per day and how much you have burned or consumed for each meal and exercise. It also can track you weight so that you can see on a line chart how fast or slow you are losing weight. 

New Years Resolutions

Given that its a new year, that means that I set new goals for myself.  I don't necessarily stick to all my resolutions, but I think it creates just a fresh mind in my eyes that I like to start the year with. For this year, I am going to only focus on goals that are completely in my control, meaning that it doesn't require another person to have the goal accomplished. I think if I focus on myself with things that i can fully change the coarse of, these resolutions will be more attainable and realistic to accomplish for the whole year.

Resolution 1_ Become a Healthier/Fitter Person

Resolution 2_Take Better Care of My Hair/Grow it Out

Resolution 3_Become Financially More Responsible

Resolution 4_Minimize the Clutter in My Life

* images found from Tumblr and Pinterest

Best of 2013

Since the year is coming to an end, it is time to look back on the year and see what where the best of the year.

Beauty
-Naked Palette: I know this didn't come out in 2013, but it is the go eyeshadow palette that I have been using. I really like this palette because it consists of warm neutral colors that are great for any occasion.

Hair
-Wen SixThirteen:: This has to be my favorite Hair Cleanser that I have found ever in my life. What I love about it is that it is a Shampoo and Conditioner in one. It is very moisturizing an I feel like my hair feels and looks healthier when I use it. Even though this product can be slightly pricy, it is totally worth it, especially since for my hair type I only wash my hair once a week.
[About $37 for 16oz on Amazon]

Fashion
-I will have to go for a trend that I found this year which is the Monochrome look, which is something I am trying to create my whole closet into.

-A piece of clothing that I loved so dearly for mainly the Fall of 2013 is this Zara coat. What makes it so amazing is that the faux fur lining can be taken out to make it a lighter jacket and the fur trim on the hood is detachable as well. It makes it great for pretty much any season of the year.

Music
- Alt-J. I recently discovered them this year in the end f August and I am glad I did. Their music is great and there is no song off their Album, An Awesome Wave, that I don't like.

- Lorde: She is another artist that I put on repeat. Even though Royals is her most popular song, I actually prefer Glory and Gone as one of my favorite songs. I can't wait to see where she takes her music in the coming years.

- Susanne Sundfor: I discovered her earlier in the year and re-enjoyed her later when I was in Paris. She has great music that has deep emotion and makes your inner artist or choreographer come out.

-Miley: I couldn't make a best of 2013 without Miley. She released her new album this year that marked a new period in her life. I think it not only was a great changing point for her but I think it was a great fashion inspirational year for her as well. I am not saying every outfit she wore was the best, but she always pushed the boundaries and made some good choices along the way. I am excited what she will bring in 2014 with her Concert Tour and everything.

Movies
-Wolf of Wall Street: This was an amazing movie that came out on Christmas. It doesn't make me want to change my life in anyway but it definetly was an intertaining one that showed a side of life that I never knew could be so crazy. It was pretty much like college life but cranked up 6 levels to a point that an average person would of probably died after trying to live that crazy life for a week. Given that it is still in theaters I would head out now and go see it.

-Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's: This was a documentary about Bergdorf Goodman, the department store in New York City. I will have to say that it was a very inspirational one just because I am an aspiring Fashion designer. I do hope that one day I can have my clothes sold in there along side some of the top fashion designers of the world.

Moments
-Paris/Europe: my favorite moment was for a glorious 4 months. I was very lucky to spend my fall semester in Paris, France and to travel around Europe visiting Croatia, London, and Amsterdam. I learned so much about myself and the world. If you are able to travel for an extended period of time go for it, you won't regret it at all. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never change for the world.

(picture from my Instagram)

* most images unless stated where taken from google image search