The day I realized I was poor

I'm a part-time grad student (I know I mention this in practically every post but indulge me) and I also work part-time. I live with my boyfriend, have a puppy who is very expensive and live within 5 miles of a Target. 

This is a lethal combination to make one incredibly poor. 

And this can sometimes make me a little... depressed. 

And then I get into a funk where I become obsessed with supplementing my income. 

Past endeavors have included stealing borrowing cans from my parent's house to redeem for 5 cents (I made a good $5 on this), filling out surveys online (made about $10), offering erotic massages on Craigslist (JK, but I imagine I could rake in at least $15 for that. Can you wear latex gloves during an erotic massage? I feel like there would be a lot of Purell involved if I were to ever go down this route). 

Anyways, I have been exploring different options and narrowed it down to two:

1. Become an Avon representative

2. Sell crack cocaine

Both require some start-up money. For Avon it's $10 and for the crack... I am not exactly sure. I will definitely need to do some more research on that. 

I figure, I like make-up and I like money and I don't mind putting myself into awkward and uncomfortable situations, so why not sell Avon? They're cool. 

And yes, the same logic applies for the crack cocaine. I have not personally ever tried the substance, but I assume it follows the same structure as Avon: hand out samples, take orders, host parties...

Have any of you guys ever been an Avon rep or a drug dealer? Any recommendations or tips? Or better yet, anyone interested in an above-the-shoulder Purell and latex erotic massage? I will perform the massage and for the erotic component, we can play this:

Yard Sale Scores

My favorite thing about the warmer weather is yard sale season. 

Yes, yard sale season. There is nothing more that I enjoy than rummaging through some random person's cast off's in search of more stuff to bring into my house and clutter it up even more. 

This Saturday, after finishing a 13 hour overnight, I left work on the hunt for some yard sale goodies. This was my first yard sale hunt of the year and I was pleasantly surprised. Here is what I scored:

 

I got this killer spice rack for $5 and I totally did a Google search and saw this retails for around $45. I have been wanting a spice rack for awhile because I think they look sleek and make me look good since it looks like I know what I am doing. With a quick wash, this one looked seriously brand new and had almost all of its spices still in there. I don't know if I will ever use it but it's nice eye candy. 

I got all the following items below for $5 as well:

 These little gold candles with 6 extra gold candles to use for later. I love that they are gold and I think I will put them in the bedroom where they should fit in nicely with my black/gold Moroccan retreat bedroom makeover that is currently very much in progress.

I love this little lamp for my vanity. I need to find it a lightbulb and I am debating if I want to spray paint it or not. I actually love the rustic look of the silver but am not so sure it will fit in with my room decor, we shall see. 

Here is everything together. I also got a little gold bowl and a brown storage bin that has already found a home in my vanity as a catch all. I love everything I got, especially because all together each item was less than $1. Score. 

The star of this show was this piece which I picked up for $20. It is currently sitting on my porch mid-makeover and I am so excited to reveal it all beautified. I loved it as a shabby-chic piece for the kitchen and can't wait to bring it into the house and use it to house all my miscellaneous kitchen utensils. Maybe seeing them all out and displayed will motivate me to cook more?

 

Maybe?

Sunday Social- My Amazingly Boring Childhood

I am linking up with A Complete Waste of Makeup for this week's Sunday Social that focuses on childhood. Mine was pretty uneventful as evidenced by my boring answers below.

Did you sleepwalk as a child? 
Nope. And to this day, I still sleep like a log. Once I am down, there is no way to wake me up. It's incredibly convenient for living in an apartment where our neighbors violently argue about laundry softener (true story). It's also incredibly inconvenient for when masked robbers/serial killers break into your apartment, steal all your treasures and shove a fork through your neck (not a true story... knock on wood).

Did you ever try to run away or sneak out of your house?
I believe one day I "ran away" for like 2 hours. I went across the street and forgot to pack snacks so naturally I had to return home. I also had no way to know how much time had passed so I thought I had been gone like 17 months and when I walked back in triumphantly expecting this grand reception, I was very sadly disappointed.

Did you have any imaginary friends?
None. I did (still do) talk to myself a lot, though. And by talk to myself, I mean I have legit conversations with myself. Does that count?

Did you ever go toilet papering?
No. I participated in no such deviant behavior. I was a good girl.

Did you ever sneak tv shows you weren’t allowed to watch?
After TGIF, my brother would stay up awake while my parents passed out on the couch and watch 20/20. I think that is where I developed such an... imaginative childhood where I was convinced every neighbor was secretly a serial killer with some collection of body parts in their potting shed. My parents were convinced for awhile I would end up as a detective, but the sight of blood causes me to pass out (true story).

Thanks for stopping by and hope to meet some new bloggers that hopefully had more exciting/less violent childhoods!

Cara Box Reveal

I was so excited to participate in Kaitlyn at Wifessionals' Cara Box exchange. This month's theme was "green" which was challenging for me since I am sometimes the very opposite of green and have a closet filled to the brim with plastic bags. 

I was lucky to get the sweetest pairs, I sent to Chelsey at the Bubblehead Bride and I got an amazing box from Laura at Simply me, the way I see it. 

Here is the Texas swag I got from Laura:

This is everything together. Laura was sweet enough to add some salsa that unfortunately didn't make it all the way (RIP). 

Even Mr. Moose got some treats. They are fancy ones, too and not the cheap ones I get from Ocean State Job Lot. They came at a perfect time too. I have been stuffing Moose's pain meds into the middle of the meatball so he'll eat them. Love these!

I also got some tortillas and a cool tortilla warmer and salsa dish. Notice how they're green! Pedro was more excited about this than I was seeing as he will be the one using them (I microwave, not really cook so much). 

And lastly some awesome water bottles. I have been wanting to try a filtered water bottle for awhile, especially because the water filter at my job worked and I hate that awful feeling of wondering whenever I take a sip. After I finish a glass, I am always convinced I have some weird incurable waterborn disease. And how cute is the coffee mug? It's pink! With bling! I am enamored. 

So yes, I got spoiled this month. I got some awesome goodies allll the way from Texas. I loved doing this and will definitely sign up for a May Cara Box as well. 

Now I am off to watch some Hallmark movies, lounge in my PJ's and eat some burgers. I have been a very busy girl today and am excited to show you some of the exciting treasures I picked up rummaging through other people's yard sales!

RIP Moose's Balls

So today was a sad day in the house. Mr. Moose lost his balls. But, alas it had to be done. 

My little boy got neutered today. 

And he was paaaaaathetic. Almost as pathetic as I was. 

I may or may not have cried after dropping him off and after picking him back up. 

How could I not though? The whole car ride back he was whimpering and crying. Even as I am typing this up now, roughly seven hours later I still hear a little cry every now and then. It's heartbreaking. 

He sat curled up against his papa's chest the whole ride home and once we got home, we decided to order in so we could be with Moose. I ordered his favorite (yes my dog has a favorite Chinese food delivery) which is basically steamed chicken with veggies and white rice. 

He had his little cone on so I had to feed him directly and he gave me the saddest looking eyes. So naturally I fed him the entire carton of food in one sitting. See? I'm a sucker. 

But I think it will be for the best. Neutering is ultimately what would be best for Moose- and for us. It would mean less territory marking (I have already paid about $60 in drycleaning bills because Mr. Moose insists on peeing on the bed) and less damaged property, such as the mattress in which Moose decided to dig a hole into. 

But for the next 7-10 days, you can bet I will be holed up in my house, cradling my little boy and watching House Hunters online (it's our favorite show to watch together). 

Did you guys ever have to spay/neuter your furbabies? How did they do? Did they look pathetic as mine?

Dry Hair Don't Care

I suffer from dry hair. Except it took me awhile to realize it because as a working grad student, my hair spent about 98.7% of the time up in some form of bun on top of my head. 

For me, the sock bun was the greatest discovery because it actually made it look like I put effort in my appearance. 

Recently though, I have been letting my hair down and just getting frustrated with it. It was dry, damaged and gross. It had tons of knots and I am pretty sure that I had some unchecked dreadlocks floating around. Not pretty. 

So I did some research and discovered hair masks. Yes, I discovered hair masks in the year 2013. I promise I am not always behind the trend. Truthfully, I just always had shorter and more manageable hair and now that I have dyed it and it is pretty long (for me, at least) it has become more high maintenance. 

I picked up two during my Sunday couponing trip and worked it so that I got them both for free so if my little experiment did fail, it wouldn't matter. 

50 cents or less, ladies- but free is best. 

So these were the two guys I picked up:

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle ($3.99)

This stuff is basically a deep conditioner and is amazing. It smells really coconut-y which is like, whatever, I'll take it. It smells better than Moose's drool all over me. Within a minute of coating my hair in this, I already noticed a difference. My hair was softer, more manageable and smelled great. After getting out of the shower, my hair was so much easier to brush and dries smooth and silky. I definitely plan on using these about 3 times a week and for 4 bucks, I will definitely pick this up again. 

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mak ($7)

This is more of a mask and I poured this stuff on my head right after I bought it. They recommend you leave it in for about 3-5 minutes. I left it in for about 10. When washing it out, my hair was silky and smooth and so, so soft. It was also incredibly easy for me to brush out my hair and it detangled so easily. I was very impressed and will probably use this about once a week, alternating with the Aussie.

The past three days I have been letting my hair down every day and getting so many sweet compliments. I love the difference and my hair looks so much healthier. I am looking into also adding a serum for shine and de-frizz just because that's what all the YouTube girls do and I follow their every word because it's gospel basically. 

What about you guys? How do you manage your hairy heads?

Sunday Social

It's fun to be back and blogging again! And I am linking up with A Complete Waste of Makeup for this week's Sunday Social. 

1. What is your shopping weakness?

I love online shopping. My favorite spots to hit up are Asos, NYC&Co and Target. But for in-store shopping, I love Target. I make excuses to go and then end up with a cartful of random crap that I have spent the last hour justifying to myself that I need. And yes, this does happen on a weekly basis. 

2. What is your food weakness?

Carbs. Primarily in the form of baked mac and cheese and chocolate chip pancakes. 

3. What is your go to movie to watch when nothing is on?

Any kind of documentary on serial killers. 

4. What is your go to breakfast food?

Eggs if I make the effort. Otherwise, I'll just hold out for lunch.

5. Do you drink coffee?

I randomly have been getting into drinking coffee and I take it black, maybe with sugar but most of the times just half a splenda if anything. It makes me feel old to drink it and I secretly always wish I had just ordered a damn hot chocolate. 

Happy Sunday guys!

The Longest Week

It is Sunday today, meaning that the longest and most dramatic week ever has finally ended. 

Last night I ended up on in Boston and it felt great to be in the city and feel the energy. It was jubilant and relaxed all at the same time. It was a great feeling. I could probably go a few months without hearing 'Sweet Caroline' again, but then that's probably just because I'm crotchety and secretly jealous I can't sing for shit. 

Last night I also went with my future sister-in-law and mom to a murder mystery dinner at the Elephant and the Castle. 

I loved it. The actors had so much energy and the crowd was amazing and totally participated. The food was technically awful but because I love awful food, I was in heaven. 

It was nice to unwind and relax after such a crazily stressful week. Between the Boston attacks and subsequent manhunt to finishing up my last week of this semester at school to work stress, it was nice to just sit back and eat some cold chicken and enjoy a nice, old-fashioned murder while sipping Shirley Temples. 

Life is good, folks. 

Queen of DIY

I took a few days off of the internet to chill a little. Monday was a very emotional day in my state and Tuesday I had classes in Boston in the Fenway area and because I am a grad student in Social Work we spent the good first half of my class de-briefing and it was interesting to hear everyone digest. Actually one classmate had been in New York City during 9/11 and had been at the marathon as well. Crazy. 

I have been doing some really good self care though (my favorite thing!). And one of the ways I have been doing that is by investing in the home. 

My home is not... my favorite. It's not the nicest apartment, but it's close to my boyfriend's job so he can walk and it's about 15 minutes to my job, 20 from my internship and an hour from my school. I would love to live in closer to Boston but that is just not in the (financial) cards for us now. And my motto is, be poor now, be somewhat less poor later.*

My first DIY project is to attempt to make something like this:

I went and bought 2 candlesticks an 2 plates and a little bowl at Savers. I have already spray-painted the two candlesticks black and the plates gold (I always forget to take the before pictures) and today am purchasing my glue gun so I can stack these suckers up. It's a lot taller than I had expected and I am thinking I will be using it for jewelry, but I will have to see where my feelings take me. 

But even worse now, I have like a spray paint addiction. I have been just aimlessly walking around my apartment being like "Dude, I can totally spray paint that". And now I want to spray paint my dresser and my night stand. I want to spray paint my carpet. 

I also put together my vanity! It looks great and once my boyfriend wakes up (it's 6:30am on our day off so I figure I'll let him sleep in a little) I will get some pictures. 

I also randomly removed the doors from only 2 of my four cabinets in the kitchen. Again, I had just assembled my desk, spray painted some plates and had a screwdriver in my hand. Nothing in my apartment was safe. I felt like the DIY queen. I had a high, I swear. It was actually, now that I think about it, the paint fumes- but it's too late for regret, those doors are off!

This is what I am envisioning in my head:

Today is my day off and I have a 60% off coupon at Jo-Ann Fabrics and some Pinterest pictures in hand and I will DIY the hell out of today.

I am the DIY Queen!

*I'm going to be a social worker. I have by now accepted the reality I will be very, very poor. 

On Living in Fear

Today started off as a celebration for me. A celebration of the birthday of my second home, Israel. 

Around 4pm today, the day turned tragic as I learned that my home city of Boston had been the victim of two explosions. 

The explosion was not only simple and cruel, but effective: one explosion to incite chaos and panic, a second one to follow which will target the first responders. 

Having lived in Israel, I am no stranger to suicide bombs, bus bombs, cafe bombs, missile attacks, gun fire. I have had to flee to a bomb shelter and have fallen asleep to the sound of mortar crashing. 

Yet back in the States, I was always safe. 9/11 has become a distant, horrific memory. I keep my eyes peeled for events happening back in Israel and am always the first one to send a quick group text to my friends, "Are you guys OK?"

Today I was the recipient of that message and it felt really odd. 

Thinking of everyone in Boston today. Tomorrow I will be back in school and back in the Fenway area. Tomorrow we, as a city, will attempt to rebuild and regain that sense of safety we have. But until tomorrow, we mourn. Tomorrow we build, today we mourn. 

In the words of every Israeli who has lived through a terrorist attack on their country, yiyiheh besder, it will be okay. 

Moose Vacation

This past week was a tough one for me. I may or may not have spent a good half of it crying hysterically and being sick out of my brains. Seriously, my hacking cough sounded like I had been a lifelong smoker and the headaches I had made me lay in bed one day for 14 hours. I was sick of being sick and so behind on everything.

Luckily my parents stepped in and on Thursday, when Pedro and I had gone over for dinner, they volunteered to keep Moose for the night so I could catch up on some sleep and relax. I love my Moose baby, but he is still very much a puppy and wants to play 24/7.

Somehow it is now Sunday and Moose is still at his grandparents. The house is somewhat cleaner, a bottle of wine has been funneled down my throat (and sadly, a substantial amount ended up on my carpet. Oops) and I spent an amazing Saturday doing laundry and watching about 7 Hallmark movies.

It was very needed and in my opinion, very well deserved.

In the Social Work field, we often face a lot of stress. Between my stressful job working with domestic violence survivors and attending school, I definitely qualify as someone who is stressed out. Add in all the responsibilities of being a normal, functioning adult (taxes? what?) and sometimes I lose it a little. In the social work field when we make sure self-care is always on the agenda. Self-care is basically a professional version of Treat yo self. Self- care can be anything: painting your nails, reading a book, taking a bubble bath... So, I decided Saturday would be my day of self-care.

I cleaned a little, did some laundry, bought myself a bouquet of flowers, drank some wine, ate some cupcakes, after finishing said bottle of wine ordered some cheesy breadsticks from Dominos, consumed said breadsticks in under 5 minutes and put on my stretchiest pants.

In my opinion, mental health days should be given to every employee. I personally could use 1 a week, but that's just me.

How do you guys treat yourselves?

And no matter what profession you are in, self-care is VERY important and I encourage you all to partake in it! And if you need ideas, I highly suggest a bottle of Yellowtail and some cheesy breadsticks. A delightful combination!

5 Places I want to visit

I love to travel. I have the travel bug. I have bounced around all over the world but still have so much world to see! To narrow it down to just five feels impossible, but I'll give it a go:

1. Mexico

I want to meet my boyfriend's family, eat a real taco and see the everything Mexico has to offer. In real life, I make totally un-PC jokes about Mexico but I secretly would love to visit one day.

2. Egypt

I was thisclose to visiting Egypt a while back and then they had their whole revolution thing so that didn't pan out. I would love to go back and travel to the pyramids. Egypt is also where my parents fell in love so it would be fun to re-visit that, especially with Pedro.

3. Some cruise destination like Bahamas/Caribbean

I have always wanted to take a cruise. It seems like the perfect vacation: eat, sleep, sun and repeat. That being said, I know the 'hardcore' backpacker and hosteler in me would be disgusted, but I think my lazy American side would soak up a cruise hard core. 

4. Brazil

World Cup 2014. Enough said.

5. Africa

Before you judge me for being one of those ignorant Americans who automatically assume Africa is just one big country, hear me out! I have only been to Morocco and I would love to explore Africa as a continent by backpacking around. I would love to see Cameroon (where my father grew up), South Africa, Senegal... I have a big wish list. And yes, I know Egypt is in Africa so I should have thrown it into this category but it's too late! I typed it!

Table for One

Confession time: I eat at restaurants alone sometimes. 

And not restaurants like Panera or Au Bon Pain where you grab some food and can hibernate with your laptop for six hours. 

I eat at 'real' sit-down restaurants and eat a 'real' meal that, depending on my level of starvation (I am literally only in 2 states of hunger: starving or foodbabied) may include even appetizers.

I know for a lot of women in particular, this seems like the oddest thing in the world to do.

I know that because on the occasions that I do go out, I get:

a) weird looks

b) questions from concerned elderly women

c) awkward older men trying to gauge if I am a prostitute (prostitutes apparently frequent Applebee's a lot?)

d) all of the above

My favorite is, "You're a young, attractive twenty-something, can't you get a nice fella to take you out?" While this kind of comment usually comes from a geriatric eighty-year old woman, I tend to hold my tongue. But in reality, I just want to scream "GLORIA STEINHEIM WOULD BE LIKE SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU RIGHT NOW" and flip a table as everyone in the restaurant stands and begins to clap and some kind of power ballad plays in the background. 

But really, what is the big deal?

Today I went out for just a nice lunch by myself and noticed that there were lots of people there sitting alone. But they were all.... men. Same thing with the dinner crowd, if there is a single table it is usually a man. And today I got the same looks and even had the waitress ask me twice if I was expecting someone and then looking a little uncomfortable that I was not. 

Hello, didn't we have a women's liberation movement? Weren't some pretty nice and expensive bras burned so I could go eat some lunch on my own? I know we still get paid around 77 cents to the man's dollar, but can we at least enjoy some french toast solo? 

I get that it is intimidating to enjoy a nice dinner out by yourself. But honestly, I am my own best friend. I love hanging out with myself, so why can't I enjoy going out by myself.

And Google "Women dining alone" and the one of the first two results you get are shit-for-brains articles like this: Site Solves International Crisis of Women Dining Alone. Really, dining alone is an international crisis?

I don't see it as that. And I'm not "sassy and single" either. I'm in a committed relationship with a boyfriend who works 6 nights a week at a Mexican restaurant and goddamnit, sometimes I want to go out after a long day at work and eat some nice food at a nice restaurant and not be stigmatized for it. Is that so much to ask?

So ladies, forget this nonsense. If your friends bail on you when you are already all gussied up and ready to go, TAKE YOURSELF OUT TO DINNER. 

If your significant other is working later and you're bored at home and hungry, TAKE YOURSELF OUT TO DINNER.

If you are sassy and single and want a night on the town but all your friends are lame and have kids and stay in watching The Voice, TAKE YOURSELF OUT TO DINNER.

I promise you, the only pathetic people in the restaurant will be the ones judging you for being awesome.

Housecleaning

So after realizing that nobody uses Disqus commenting and my boyfriend telling me to stop trying to be fancy, I got rid of it. 

Unfortunately I lost all your awesome blog comments. But I looked through each post and made sure I was following you either through GFC or Bloglovin. 

Fortunately, I won't be a blogging pariah and can have normal blogger commenting.

I also changed my header for like the 1700 time. I wanted something simpler and it makes me feel accomplished to spend 10 minutes designing a header. 

Thanks for all your wonderful support!

Day 8 and a Debbie Downer Dilemma

So I just skipped Day 7 because I had a long, crazy day and honestly- you really don't need to see my desktop screenshot. It's boring, trust me. 

Day 8 is kind of interesting though, it asks for Three things you want to say to three different people.

This is tough because I have a lot of things I want to say to a lot of people. 

Let's start:

1. President Obama, please sign some kind of progressive immigration reform soon. Like soon as in yesterday. I am sick of hearing about "illegals" and how they are destroying our country from a bunch of ignorant talking heads on TV and uneducated fools on message boards. Stand with the millions of people who have to live in fear every day of the only government they know. Stand for progress and reform and change- yeah, remember when you were all about change? Sir, get on it. Please and thank you.

2. Supreme Court, it seriously doesn't take that long. Prop 8 is ridiculous. Not allowing gay men and women to marry is ridiculous. Fine, they don't need to get married in a church but damnit they need some form of legal protection. And it better be equal. Remember separation of church and state? We don't need to transfer our moral creeds onto the mass majority. It's cool if you don't like gay people. It's not cool to deny them basic civil and human rights. 

3. Soldiers everywhere, thank you for your service. I know I sometimes creep behind you in airports and stalk you until I can find an un-awkward moment to thank you for your service, but there have been times I have not been able to thank you and wish I had. I am so impressed with your sacrifice and thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know my sparse and in-between care packages of beef jerky and Maxim magazines should have been more frequent, but I will get better, I promise. I appreciate all you do and cannot wait for you all to get home safe.

I'm pretty sure this prompt was more along the lines of people you actually know IRL (in real life- I'm cool, I know all the kid lingo) but... well, it's done. I typed it. 

Speaking of IRL... I am having a major dilemma. I have a friend who constantly wants to see me and hang out. Problem is we have nothing in common and she is very socially awkward, spends a lot of our  'hang out' time complaining about her life and I feel like I am playing her therapist rather than just relaxing and enjoying a day out. 

But I am just as awkward because I suck at blowing people off. No, that's not true. I'm actually kind of good at it. I guess I just suck at blowing her off. It doesn't help that she has memorized my schedule (even my own boyfriend hasn't accomplished that!) and she is really sweet, but such a Debbie Downer. I've learned that when we do make plans, I have to keep them very structured and always have a really great exit strategy. 

Any tips for breaking it off with a friend? Or at least semi-believable lies for not hanging out in the future... especially because she knows I have my Saturdays off?

I have already used up: mono, leaving country for 4 weeks (tough because we live in same town so I can't use that one again), family emergency (used twice), huge paper due and my dog had to go in for emergency surgery. 

Help me, blog world! I know this makes me a total asshole but I can't do it. I spend upwards of 40+ hours a week working with domestic violence survivors and I need my one day off to be spent in happiness and with puppies and rainbows and cupcakes. </rant>

Day 6: My Favorite Quotes

As a travel addict, I cosign onto this one. 

I am not sure if this is a direct quote from God, but I like it. Not judging people is something I am working on actively every day.

Sad but true. 

Sums it up pretty well. 

I love this one. I have burned a lot of bridges in my past and a teensy part of me wonders sometimes, "what if?" and then I shake it out of my head. The bridges were burned for a reason- those friendships were unhealthy. I am so much better off and I love that there is this positive twist here. 

And with that, I leave you with a quote from my favorite author and speaker, Elie Wiesel:

Monday Funday

How is it Monday already?

This weekend flew by and I was incredibly unproductive.

Luckily I don't work until 6pm Mondays so I got to sneak in some major cleaning that was desperately needed after Mr. Moose tipped over the garbage and decided to go looking for treasure. Just an average day here.

I'm also on...

Day five of the 30 Day Blog Challenge asks, the meaning of your Twitter and/or Instagram name?

My Twitter handle is jessicaestrlla (Follow me!) It is my name (Jessica) + my middle name (Estrella) - the second 'e' because that name was already taken. 

My instagram name is freefalafel (Follow me!) and I have had that name forever. Not really sure why, maybe my love for alliteration?

Today I am also linking up for Monday Mingling! 

Sunday Socializing

I decided today to participate in my first ever "Social" (I think that's what they're called...?) And I'm linking up with Ashley and Neely for their Sunday Social, and this week's theme is Pinterest. 

1. What is your favorite outfit pin?

This is just one of many. I love clothes and I pin the hell out of them. I just am really feeling the long pencil skirt (just below the knee) and have been on the hunt for the perfect one. This outfit is amazing and perfect and I love it. 

2. What is your favorite food pin?

So I actually don't pin too much food. But this looks amazzzzzing. 

3. What is your favorite wedding pin?

This one is an easy one because this past week, I was bored and naturally ventured onto Pinterest and found my dream wedding dress. Naturally it's several thousand dollars, but the inner cheapie in me found a company in China that makes them for like 1/10th of the price (I'm a bad American... I know). I don't even have a proposal or a ring yet but I'm tempted to just go ahead and buy the dress just so I can wear it around the house, freak my boyfriend out and post pictures of it on Facebook to just confuse all my family and friends. It's definitely not the most traditional, but isn't it goooorgeous?

I was actually planning to dedicate a whole post to this dress where I could wax poetically about it's beauty and photoshop my head onto this poor woman's body so consider yourselves spared.

4. What is your favorite DIY/craft pin?

This isn't so much DIY as it is buy a bunch of tea cups and put them all together and drop your jewelry in them and voila! it's beautiful and even more beautiful when I take a picture of it with my DSLR and add a funky filter. But DIY for me is more like "Look, baby I added a sticker to this plastic box and then submerged the whole thing in glitter. I am totally crafty. I'm going to open up an Etsy store and make millions. So this tea cup ensemble is a DIY as I'll ever be. 

5. What is your favorite quote/verse/lyric pin?

Still here? I'm impressed...

6. Share one more random pin you love.

This one literally always makes me smile.

Thanks for stopping by and I can't wait to see what ya'll pinned!

Day 4!

So today we are officially on day two of the 30 Day Blog Challenge.

10 likes and 10 dislikes.

10 likes?

1. Naps
2. Couponing
3. Lazy days and staying in
4. Pizza delivery
5. Baby animal YouTube videos
6. Tacos
7. Making lists
8. Spandex
9. Googling pictures of Kim Kardashian
10. Getting packages in the mail

10 dislikes?

1. Mean people
2. Cleaning up after myself
3. Talking to the neighbors (I'm antisocial)
4. Beets
5. Sweating
6. Group projects
7. Folding laundry
8. People who drive slowly in the left hand lane
9. Roman numerals
10. Courier font

Aren't I fascinating?

I am also going to totally make another post in like 37 seconds because there's a fun link-up I wanted to do. So 2 posts in one day. I spoil you guys.*







 *you guys= my 4.5 readers 

Day 3 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge and Yay! It's Saturday and I'm NOT Working!

It's Saturday! Lies- it's totally Friday and I have this post scheduled to post on Saturday because I am anticipating my Saturday being so completely awesome that I don't step anyway near my computer. Actually, that is also a lie because I love my computer and my life wouldn't be awesome without him (yes, him) in it. 

But, for about a year now I haven't had Saturdays off. And for the past couple of months, I had been working a Friday shift of 6pm-7am and then trucking back in 6 hours later to do another shift til 9pm. I hated it. I would wake up on Thursday (my day off) and wonder where the hell the week went. I'm spoiled, I love my Saturdays. My poor boyfriend has been working his tail off every Saturday for like 10 years, but he's made of stronger stuff than me. I'm an American. I need my Saturdays to drive around aimlessly until I find a yard sale in which I can voyeuristically rummage through other people's curbside junk and bargain down a $1 mattress pad because it's what I know and it is, quite frankly, in my DNA.

I'm elated. 

And I'm also on Day 3 of my 30 Day Blog Challenge. It's incredibly difficult for me to commit to anything longer than 7 hours so please, please be impressed with me. 

Day 3 asks for A picture of you and your friends. Awwww.

So all my friends live in other countries. Not even exaggerating a little. Sure, I have Moose and Pedro (my BFF for life, we're working on getting matching necklaces but can't seem to decide on one we both like!) but other than that, all of my good girl friends live in Europe and Israel and a few scattered in between. 

I wasn't very good at keeping my friends in high school. I just felt so different from everyone I grew up with so that when I went to college I just got lost and never really came back to my previous life. Sometimes I regret it because I am now back in my hometown and have no one to text, but I also kind of don't because I was so different back then and when I did go back to see old friends, I felt myself forcing myself to become that old person and I was always relieved to have an excuse to head home early. 

Then in college, I failed in friendships. I did really well short-term, but not really longterm. I made one best friend, which more than compensated a thousand times over for all the shitty ones in between. I had such a hard time making friends that I worried I would never really have any. Then I moved to Israel, lived on a kibbutz and made such incredibly strong friendships that are still my cornerstone today. Sure, it may be years before I see them and we can go months without talking but I know if I pick up the phone (and trust me, I have) and give them a call, they will pick up and pick me up. And it's perfect for my 3AM meltdowns because it's already 10AM over there so the time difference kinda helps!

So without further ado, I present this picture (sorry for the weird effects, I couldn't find the original):

This picture was taken in August 2012. My friend Melissa's mother had just passed and I was heartbroken. I wanted to give her a hug and I was generally in a bad place myself and needed my girls. Impulsively, I booked a plane ticket for the next week and flew out to Tel Aviv for three weeks. This is a picture from the night I surprised Mel and these are my girls. Halfway across the world, but always in my heart. </cheesiness>

But friendship is constantly something I think about. Sometimes I do feel lonely here. In all honesty, I don't have any friends here. The last time I did go out to see a friend was back in... October? Or earlier, it was before the holidays (the Jewish ones). Point being- it was a looooonnng time ago. 

And despite my lack of physical friends, I don't ever feel lonely. Loneliness really only hits me once a month, the same time my lovely period does and a deluge of every other single emotion known to man. But I'm lucky. I have my great Mom whose my best friend, Moose who is always fun to hang out with and of course, my boyfriend. And I have Netflix. What else can a girl ask for?

Nicknames

Day two of the 30 Day Blog Challenge. Yay for commitment. 

Day two asks: What are your nicknames and how did you get them?

Well this one will be easy. I have no nicknames. None. 

When I was younger, I tried to get people to call me J.Lo (the first 2 letters of my last name are Lo, so it just seemed like the most rational nickname for me to have). 

That one failed miserably. 

Don't get me wrong, I always wanted to have a nickname. Something cool that had an awesome accompanying story. But I never really had childhood friends that stuck around long enough for one to develop and I am lucky if my own father calls me by the right name (I have mistakenly called by my brother's name, my uncle's name, and my dead dog's name. I know he loves me though, so it's OK). 

So yeah, no nicknames. 

If you want, you can feel free to call me J.Lo. It's cool. I won't mind. Really... I won't. 

Blog Challenge

I love getting my monthly ipsy box. I eagerly check my email in anticipation of its arrival and am constantly on the search for another subscription service. I haven't really found any that tickle my fancy so I was so excited to see Caitlyn at Wifessionals host a monthly Cara Box where bloggers send each other personalized boxes filled with fun swag. Awesome, right?

Anyways as I was scoping out the blogger that had drawn my name in the match-up, Laura at Simply me, the way I see it, was doing a blog challenge and as a new blogger myself, I thought it might be a fun challenge to try.

The challenge comes from Rachel at Randomness with Rachel and all kudos go to her for starting the challenge. So, without further to do, I present day one of the 30 Day Blog Challenge:

1. Post a picture of yourself with 10 facts

Here is a picture of me, not the most flattering but it's the most recent and includes Moose so obviously I had to choose it:

1. I have watched every single Law & Order: SVU episode. 

Like seriously. Every. Single. Episode. I am not feeling the newer episodes so much (I miss Elliot), but I will watch this show until it either gets canceled or I die. Whichever may happen first. 

2. I am a fan of FC Barcelona. 
Love, love, love the team. I haven't been able to watch as many games this year due to my crazy work schedule, but I still follow most games online and on social media. And because of my obsession with watching the matches, I ended up meeting my boyfriend today. Awwww... 

3. I am an extreme couponer. 

I am definitely not like the couponers you see on TLC, but I do coupon and when I coupon, I coupon hard. And yes, I do have a stockpile. I am planning to do a post on it later on but it needs some serious organization help. 

4. I love cheesy bread. 

Self-explanatory

5. I love to travel. 

I really do. Due to school and work, I haven't been out of the country since August (almost one year!) And since I was young, I regularly traveled either with my parents or on my own. I have been to a lot of places and I have also traveled extensively solo which I also love. I am saving up now and looking forward to traveling in the near future with my boyfriend abroad as well. 

6. I'm a really, really, really bad liar. 

I just don't like it. And I'm bad at it. 

7. I still shower with Hannah Montana body wash. 

$1.50 at Ocean State Job Lot. Worth every penny. 

8. I eat tacos at least once a week. 

Delicioso!

9. I'm a feminist. 

My idol <3

And not a "feminist, but...". A feminist. I believe men and women are equal. Simple, right?

10. I love top 40 music. 

And I will sing to ever song even though I don't know any of the lyrics. 

Gettin' Healthy

It is no exaggeration that I have been sick every single month this winter. My immune system is about as strong as a three week old baby. It's pathetic.

But it's also partly my fault. I never drink enough water. For a long time, my sole vegetable intake has consisted of pizza toppings and sleep was more of an option than a necessity. 

All these poor decisions have culminated in an overworked immune system, a few extra pounds and a lot of unnecessary stress on an already super-stressed person.

But that is all going to change. 

I am embarking not on a diet. Not on a weight loss journey. Nay. I am embarking on a lifestyle change. 

I am aiming to change the way I live so that I can just be healthier. 

Healthier as in having enough energy to make it through the day, to play more with Moose, to not put off cleaning the dishes for 3 weeks, to commit to those extra readings on the syllabus and to just generally live more and be sick less. 

One way I want to go about this is to eat way healthier. I have sadly let Shondra, my inner fat kid, dictate for too long what (and how much) I should be eating. Shondra is happy to live her life as a morbidly obese house-bound agoraphobe. I, however, am not. 

My juicer arrived Monday and tomorrow I plan on hitting up the supermarket to stock up on some fresh veggies. I also am planning to commit to a more lean protein and veggie diet and say goodbye to carbs for awhile. 

Secondly, I want to start gyming again. I was pretty consistent for awhile and I really do enjoy going.  With my stressful job and my stressful school life, self care is a top priority for me. But with me being sick and having my huge presentation to prepare for, it just fell to the wayside. No more excuses. I got some sick new beats (thanks Taytay!) and lord knows I own enough sports bras. I'm going. 

Thirdly, I want to take care of my physical space more. I want my home to be an oasis. Lately I arrive home each day and wonder if I have been robbed and then quickly realize that I have not, my puppy had just discovered how to open the cabinet and found his way into the trash. I also easily get overwhelmed by mess and rather than tackle it straight on, I sit and watch HSN for five hours. Yeah, not healthy.

And lastly, I want to healthy-fy my finances. I have recently cut back some hours in a trade-off for sanity and need to make sure my finances are in super-duper order in order to accommodate this decrease. That means spreadsheets and less visits to Target, but I'm serious about healthy-fying my life and this is definitely something that needs to get reined in. 

So that's my plan. I am going to try reallllly hard to stick with it. Hopefully blogging about it will make me more accountable. Hopefully. 

How about you guys? Do you have any trouble keeping a healthy lifestyle? How do you manage it?