Healthy Chicks

Good afternoon ladies, and Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! This morning I decided to make a special breakfast for The Boy inspired by this recipe I found on Pinterest, and also my coworker’s story of her girlfriend surprising her with breakfast in bed.

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Yes, heart shaped “Eggs in a Basket.” Well, due to my lack of any art skills whatsoever, my variation definitely didn’t come out as pretty to say the least. My heart cut-out was not nearly big enough, so the egg kind of just exploded over the toast. Therefore, there will be no pictures of Rachel’s remake on my blog today. The Boy didn’t care though, and it still came out super delicious. We drizzled ours in some salt, pepper and hot sauce to spice things up bit!

We enjoyed our heart eggs with kiwi & sliced apple wedges served with nutella, and the leftover heart cut-outs (from the inside of the toast) spread with peanut butter. I also made The Boy some oatmeal with flaxseed, blueberries, raw maple syrup, cinnamon and peanut butter since his appetite’s a little bigger than mine. And you bet I brewed a pot of coffee (Creme Brulee flavor … Read More!

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I found this quotable image today on Pinterest, and thought it was absolutely fitting for today. After all, it is the Sunday before Valentine’s Day, you know that day of love. It was interesting reading how other people filled in the blank “Love is…”

Such as…

“Like heaven but it hurts like hell”

“a moment that lasts forever”

“that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own”

“hard work”

I’m sure all of us embody different definitions of what that four letter word means. Whether we are single or taken, a college senior or a senior citizen, heartbroken or passionate, love is a powerful thing and has a certain meaning to each and every one of us. So I challenge you to go ahead and fill in the blank. Love is________.

I shall start. Love is….

“a crazy, passionate, wild beautiful journey that makes each day a little more ‘worth it.’ It adds a lil extra spice to a bland day.”

OK, your turn. Love is…

… Read More!

[go ahead, embrace the snow & find something to love about your day  source ]

It’s snowing outside in Boston today, and while this makes some people cringe, I’m feeling especially warm & fuzzy inside. There’s just something about fresh snow on a winter’s morn’ that makes me smile extra big. Go ahead, and embrace the snowy day. Play in it, twirl in it, dance in it. Enjoy the feeling of fresh snowflakes falling on your lashes. Make yourself a cup of soothing cocoa and open up your blinds and just watch. Grab a friend and head out for a day of shop-’til-you-drop (like me).

Alright, I’m off to finish my creme brulee coffee and then head out to Newbury Street with my sis for the day to get some last-minute Valentine’s Day / personal shopping in before work!

XoXo,

… Read More!

Good morning ladies, and Happy Friday! I was going to do one of my weekly Friday Favorites posts, but Whitney over at Live Run Love Yoga tagged me in this fun activity that’s quickly making it around the blog world.

Here are the rules:

1. Post these rules.  (check)

2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.

4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.

6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

OK, here goes…11 random things about myself…

1. I am color blind, mostly with different shades of browns, greens, and reds. I got the gene from my dad, but still love him anyway! People don’t realize it’s not as bad as they think. I CAN see color, and yes, I know the sky is blue and the grass is green. But throw a box of colored pencils on the floor and have me pick up all the green ones? Now we’ve got a problem. Last … Read More!

Last night, I attended my very first Boston Bloggers Meet + Greet, which took place at the ever so chic Sonsie on Newbury. I have been to other local blogger events in the past, but never one hosted by Boston Bloggers, so I was excited to try something new. On that note, I had also never been to Sonsie before but have always heard great things about this little hot spot.

I must say, the event was unlike any blogger event I’d ever gone to before. First and foremost, it was PACKED, which while intimidating at first glance, was a good way to push myself out of my comfort zone.  In addition, there were more than 60 bloggers there, all with different backgrounds and passions which was a breath of fresh air compared to some events I’d been to in the past with ALL healthy living bloggers, or ALL fashion bloggers.

The best part was that one of my best friends, who’s also a blogger and lives in the North End, Megan (Balanced in Boston) came with her boyfriend Ross (Ross Donovan Photography) for their very first blogger event! I was so happy to see … Read More!

Remember when I told you guys I made a vision board with The Boy last month? Well, I decided to revamp it completely! You see, my first vision board was on a scrap piece of white-lined paper and it didn’t give me enough room to really express every little thing I want in life. Plus, with all the focus lately on my new health counseling business Zesty Living, I’ve been thinking a lot about goals and what I want for myself.

That’s when the vision board construction went down. For the past few days, I’ve been tearing witty words, motivating pictures, and inspirational phrases out of magazines, as well as surfing the web for ideas.

Voilà! This is the result:

I decided to break it down into sections: career, relationship, and personal well-being.

Career/Financial:

• Create and sell some sort of wellness product, be it inspirational greeting cards, all-natural body scrubs or innovative spice blends!
• Be financially stable, with a comfortable salary that I can support myself with & not have to cringe every time I “treat” myself to something nice
• Have a successful, positive, buzzing health counseling business a la Zesty Living with 1-on-1 coaching, group workshops, and (HOPERFULLY)

I am a huge fan of experimenting with new recipes, and I’ll try anything at least once. I remember when I was a young girl, I would love joining my grandmother in the kitchen, carefully watching her every move. I was fascinated (and still am fascinated) by how quick she was with her hands, and by the incredible meals she’d create solely with fresh, simple ingredients.

I also remember what a picky little girl I once was! As my grandma would hand me a “taste test” of whatever she was cooking, be it glazed carrots, celery soup, or venison, I’d always shout out with a disgusted face, “But I don’t like that!” Her go-to response: “How do you know if you don’t like it if you don’t try it?” So I’d try it, and at least I’d learn if the taste suited me or not. And 99% of the time, guess what? I liked it.

That’s when I started to expand my taste buds, and experiment with food. My childhood years helped me overcome my fears of the “unknown” and programmed me to try everything…at least once. It transformed me into the woman I am today, and for … Read More!

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I have a confession. I judge myself sometimes, and can actually be pretty darn hard on myself. Well, not nearly as much as I used to. You see, back in college I would judge everything about myself in a negative way. Either my thighs were too big or I was “fat” or I wasn’t “good enough” or I wasn’t “pretty enough” for That Guy (who looking back I realize he probably wasn’t good enough for me). You get the picture.

But now my judgements aren’t necessarily hateful or even negative, but they are there (sometimes). Not all the time. For instance, today I went to take a Vinyasa Yoga class, and realized upon signing in that I was one of the only non-yogis signed up for the class. Correction, there were already two teachers signed up for the class, and then there was me.

Granted I wore my Lululemon Power Tank and Wonder Unders hoping that’d build my confidence up a little. But still, I had that doubt in mind mind, “Will they judge me?” Then a good friend said something that really stood out to me: “There are no judgements in yoga, Rach.” That’s when … Read More!