Spend the Summer with Heidi Klum!

I was recently on Twitter and saw that Kim Kardashian went running one morning with Heidi Klum.  Later, Heidi posted a picture of the two of them running and linked her website in her tweet. 

I clicked on the link and loved what I found!  Heidi's AOL website is great for everyone.  She posts everything from her Outfit of the Day (just a picture and details of what she is wearing that day) to posts about good, healthy snacks to feed your kids/yourself. 

One of the links on her blog goes to her "Summer Run" page.  As someone who is training for two half marathons this winter, I was so excited to find this page.  Heidi is challenging herself and everyone else to run every single day until July 25 (that is the site's only downfall is that her run calendar does not go on indefinitely).  Her goal is to get all members to run/walk one million miles!  Heidi posts a blog about every run she does and allows you to post about your runs as well.  When you sign up for the website, you must enter your name, email, age, and weight.  Then, after you run or walk, you enter in your time and distance.  The site calculates how many steps you took as well as how many calories you burned.  It keeps track of everything on the site.  It even has a tracker which combines every one's totals together.  So, as I write this, everyone who has joined the site has completed 8,610 miles, taken 16,160,487 steps, and burned 21,328,128 calories!  That is awesome!  There are still a lot of miles to go to reach her goal of one million miles, but what a great goal!  Let's help her accomplish it!

You should definitely join this site to help yourself stay active this summer!  It is also a fun website to track your miles and times if you are training for a race such as myself.  Heidi is really motivational and repeats constantly that the hardest part is getting out the door.  (so true!) She posts tips for running such as run with a buddy and dress cute to give you running confidence! (I agree with this!)  She also is very real with her readers.  In her run with Kim Kardashian, she admitted to not wanting to get out of bed and to walking some of her 4 miles.  She also admitted today that she was going to skip running for the day because she had a late night last night promoting her new cover of Hamptons magazine.  I just love Heidi and her website because it is helpful, but relatable! 

Lastly, if running isn't your thing, she blogs about other topics as I mentioned before.  She has a Fashion and Beauty page, a Fitness and Nutrition page, a Lifestyle page, and soon she will have pages for Parenting and Relationships.  Definitely check out her site and leave a comment below telling me what you think!

DIY: Swirly Nails!

I saw a picture of swirly nails on Pinterest.com and totally loved them!  They seemed like such a fun idea, so I looked up how to recreate them.  Since the 4th of July is coming up soon I was thinking I would practice with red, white, and blue nail polish!  After doing research, I realized that to get really good at this it takes some practice.  Also, any design can happen so you never know what you are going to get (downside if you want them a certain way).  Below is the picture I saw on Pinterest.com that inspired this blog post.  I can tell you that this was not this girl's first time trying to get swirly nails because they look perfect!:

First, gather all of your supplies.  You will need a cup of room temperature water, your polishes, a toothpick, tape or Vaseline, a top coat polish, Q-tips, and polish remover.  I recommend doing this on a magazine or newspaper as well. 

Next, paint your nails a base coat.  I would use the lightest color, which is why I picked white.  White also makes your colors pop more.  (You can still use this base coat in your water color design.)  While I was doing my nails, I decided to just go ahead and do my toes too.  I think swirly nails would be super hard to do with your toes, so I just painted mine white (like my fingernails) and put red and blue dots using a small paintbrush on them for 4th of July. 

Next, either smear Vaseline around your nails or tape them like I did.  I heard the Vaseline makes the water oily and is harder to remove, so I chose to tape my fingers to help with clean up.  Just tape along your nails all over...like you were going to commit a crime and didn't want to leave fingerprints behind!  I didn't think the tape would work that well, but it really did.  Plus, it was super easy to clean up!

Then, drop your colors into your room temperature water.  They will spread out into larger circles like in the picture below.  I dropped a blue dot and waited for it to spread, then a red dot, then a white dot, etc.  Obviously, you can do this however you wish. 

After you have all your colors in the water, use a toothpick (or I had kabob skewers) to make a design such as the one below.  Like I mentioned previously, you cannot really control how the design will look on your nails and in the water, so just move the colors around. 

Then stick your finger into the water with the top of your nail down.  During my first finger (my thumb) I messed up because I forgot a specific step.  Leave your finger in the water for a few seconds.  While you are doing this, take your toothpick and scrap out all of the extra color around your nail.  This is actually really easy because the polish will suck up to the toothpick just like a magnet.  If you do not do this, all of the color will come out of the water when you lift your finger and you will have a big old gooey mess like I did pictured below.  You can see on the left that the design would have worked, except that I forgot to scrape the excess paint out of the water before lift off.

Here is a picture of my next nail that turned out a lot better, but once again you cannot really decide on an exact design and make it happen.  It is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get!

I went ahead and completed all of my fingers.  This is the finished project.  Not bad for my first time if I do say so myself!  Remember: this will take some practice, but I don't think it was to difficult at all. 

To finish the nails, use a Q-tip to clean around the edges.  Next, put on a clear top coat to help protect the colors.  Let this dry and then do the other hand!  I have pictured some successful 4th of July swirly nails I found online.  I cannot wait to try this again soon!

Comment below and let me know what you think of this trend.  Would you try it?  What colors would you use?  If you try it out, send me a picture of your finished nails!

June Favorites!

Favorite Hair Style:

The new waterfall braid is my favorite hairstyle.  My cousin wore it while I was in California and I loved it, so she taught me how to do it.  I have worn it a few times this month, but it definitely looks better if your hair is all one length.  My layers kind of stick out when I wear it unless I straighten my hair really well.  I love the wavy look above though! DIY:  To do this hairstyle you just let the hair fall and pick up a separate piece of hair instead of adding hair to the regular french braid.  It is hard to explain without viewing it, so it might be better to watch a YouTube video about it instead. 

Favorite Bachelor:

I have been watching this season of The Bachelorette even though I am not a huge fan of Ashley.  She is growing on me though.  Although I think Bentley is pure evil, he is kind of funny.  Although I would die if I was being played like Ashley was.  Bentley truly is heartless/soulless.  His opposite is Ames.  He is just so nice and seems like a great guy after I saw his one-on-one date with Ashely.  I also love that on the "fighting date" we found out that he is a lover not a fighter and has never been in a fight before...too cute!  I hope he wins!

Favorite Face Product:

The L'Oreal Go 360* Clean Anti-Breakout is my new favorite face wash and I am super picky about anything and everything for my skin.  Not only does it smell super good and fresh, but it also comes with a scrublet to help deep clean my pores.  I use this in the morning and when I shower at night, but I only use the scrublet at night to help get rid of all of my makeup.  Plus, I have sensitive skin so too much scrubbing is bad for it.  There are a few other types of this facewash as well (example: for sensitive skin).  Each kind is a different colored bottle. 

Side note: Always take off your makeup with makeup remover or wash your face twice!  If you don't, you are only washing off your makeup and not cleaning your skin.  So, wash once to get rid of makeup and again to clean your skin/pores :o)

Favorite Lip Products:

I got these Clinique Two-in-One (Different Lipstick and Longlast Glosswear with SPF 15) products for Christmas but actually didn't end up using them until June.  I love them!  My favorite is the pink one (surprise, surprise!) with "airkiss" gloss and "think bronze" lipstick.  It is probably my all time favorite lip combination!  It is so hard to find a good lipstick color because they never look good on my lips as opposed to being tested on my hand.  This one is the perfect shade!   It makes me feel like a Real Housewives of Orange County girl because they always have perfect lip gloss on, I swear!  All three combinations work really well together actually.  I think this was only a holiday special, but Clinique still has these shades available in other products such as with their chubby sticks. 

I love the EOS Lip Balm Sphere because it is odd shaped so it won't get lost in your bag as easily as regular chapstick.  It smells wonderful and it is easy to apply because it is so huge.  i do both lips at the same time, LOL (The picture above is about its real size).  Although I love the PINK/"summer fruit" one, they have multiple flavors.  They are also 95% organic and 100% natural!  They make other products as well.  You should definitely check them out because they all have the cutest shapes/packaging just like the lip balm sphere.   

Favorite Eye Product:

This is the Two-Faced Natural Eye palette that I got from Ulta in April.  I have worn it every day since then.  It has nine colors which you can mix and match or just wear one at a time.  I love it because it includes natural colors, but that have some shimmer to them as well.  I am no where near using this product up yet, but I love it so much that I might buy another one in case they discontinue this amazing palette!  In addition, it comes with its own brush (which I don't use because I have my own brushes) and cards that tell you how to do different eyes for day, night, etc.

Favorite Shoes:

I got these Roxy Lido Cruisers in San Diego and they actually became some great "tourist" shoes.  I love them because they are super casual but not flip flops.  They are made out of canvas so they don't hurt your feet.  I wasn't going to buy them, but my sister said I should because the Roxy products were BOGO 50% off (and I was already going to purchase the purse below).  I never really think BOGO 50% off is a good deal since you are essentially buying something you wouldn't necessarily buy just because it is now 50% off, but good thing I got them!  I can wear them with dresses, skinny jeans, or shorts for summer!

Favorite Bags:

I also bought this Roxy Forward Motion Crossbody bag while in San Diego.  Once again, it was perfect for traveling.  I really wanted a crossbody bag and they had this one in cream and turquoise.  I decided the cream bag would go with more things even though the turquoise was a fun color.  The best part is that it fits so much stuff in it.  I have been wearing it the past month for an everyday bag, but it is also perfect for traveling, amusement parks, shopping, etc. 

While eating at Yogli Mogli one day in Suwanee, I saw this super cute boutique in the Old Town shopping center.  This is one of the things I bought.  At first, I didn't buy it because I am super frugal and $70 was too much for me to spend on a bag, but I ended up thinking about it for the next couple of days after!  Because it was on my mind days later, my mom and my friend, Jessica, told me I had to purchase it.  So, the next weekend I went back to buy it (the girl at the register even remembered me LOL).  I haven't had an opportunity to use it yet, but I cannot wait to wear it!  I LOVE the bow!  Oddly enough I was watching an episode of the new Paris Hilton show and she had a similar bag.  I tweeted her asking who made it, but with her busy party schedule she never responded.  Thankfully, later that week I came across Dress Up Boutique and didn't need her help anyway!

Favorite Experience:

My favorite experience for the month of June would probably have to be cliff jumping into Lake Hartwell.  David's family has a house up there and kindly invited me up.  As we were heading out to go tubing and wakeboarding, we saw people jumping off of a two story cliff into the water.  David and I swam over to try it.  Even though many people had been before us and there was a rope to help you climb, climbing to the top was actually quite difficult because you literally had to rock climb straight out of the water (There was a slippery step to stand on though.  I'm not that amazing at rock climbing...yet ;o).  At the top, there was not enough room for both of us to jump at the same time so I went first.  I was pretty scared because it is a lot higher up than it looks from the water.  Plus, a rock with a small tree jetted out below that you had to jump over.  I was more worried about hitting that (I've seen the commercials for that Mario Lopez Lifetime movie where he is an Olympic diver who gets injured during a jump where he hits his head on the diving board....noooo thank you)!  I'm not going to lie I was probably up there for five minutes preparing myself to jump.  Even David's cousins were counting to three about ten times, LOL.  Finally, I just did it and it was actually a lot of fun.  David said I cleared the protruding rock and tree by about two feet.  (Maybe it wouldn't have been so scary if I had known that was possible the first time!)  UNFORTUNATELY, no one had a camera, so the photo above is not a generic one.  I am the queen of pictures so this is a rarity.  I really want to go back and do it again to get photographic evidence (or as I like to say: precious memories frozen in time, people! ;o) 



Favorite Outfit:

This is my favorite outfit for June (although I didn't take many pictures in June).  I made the shorts right before this picture was taken for a date night.  I created a blog post on how to make jean shorts even though it is super easy!  This was the first time I wore this shirt.  I bought it from the Dress Up Boutique.  I love the stripped design and that it is navy (my favorite color to wear).  The back is really different as well.  Sometimes I love it because it is unusual, but other times I think it makes my butt look big, LOL.  I accessorized it with a dangly necklace and hot pink Merona ruffle thong sandals. 

DIY: Body Scrub

I always hate in magazines where they give you directions to a face mask or body scrub that contains random ingredients that only restaurants seem to have...I hate that about all recipes actually.  Fortunately, I a recipe for a body scrub that only contains three ingredients and if I have all three of them at my house then everyone does!  It is actually supposed to be good for cellulite, but I think it is just a simple, effective scrub in general.  It contains caffine which is supposed to be good for blood circulation (hence why it helps fight cellulite).  Below are directions of how to make this scrub:

1.  1/2 cup of coffee grounds (my mom doesn't need to drink these anyway ;o)

2.  1/4 cup of olive oil

3.  1/4 cup of brown sugar

Mix all of them together.  It turns out this concoction isn't that liquidy.  It should be on the drier side until you rub it on.  I put mine in a Glad container so I can use some later.  This probably makes enough to cover your whole body though. 

I stood in the shower (before I turned on any water) to use the scrub because it can get messy and fall to the floor.  You are supposed to rub it in for three minutes.  It does get all over the shower, but you can easily wash it away with the shower head. 

PS.  The water does turn brown and coffee-like as it picks up the coffee grounds...do not drink this, you coffee addicts (aka mom)!

Healthy Junk Foods?!

Yep, you heard me! Shape Magazine just released an article about 15 junk foods that have some healthy qualities to them. I am all for this! In college, my roommate, Jenna, was a super healthy eater, so whenever I wanted her to try something (such as cookies) I would have to spin it for her. Ex: “Chocolate is good for your heart!” Now, I don’t need any excuses! I have listed below some of my favorites that aren't as well known (like red wine and dark chocolate):

 

Blue M&Ms

My mom actually refuses to eat the blue M&Ms, but maybe she will now! Supposedly, the blue dye actually helps fix damage done in spinal injuries. Scientists injected it into mice and they were able to walk/recovered faster than other mice.

Butter

This one was kind of a shocker. I love butter, but I always hear how bad it is for you. Supposedly, butter helps your body absorb vitamins. Stick to whipped butter though because it has fewer calories.

Hot Sauce

I don’t really use hot sauce, but I love salsa. Supposedly, it has capsaicin, a compound that reduces hunger cravings. I can see this as being true because once I eat a lot of chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants I am no longer hungry when my food arrives ;o)

Popcorn

Popcorn is low in calories, but it is also low in nutrients. However, it does have the most polyphenols of any snack food. Polyphenols are an antioxidant that helps prevent cancer and heart disease. It also has a lot of fiber.

Beer

Everyone knows that red wine if good for your heart, but a lot of people forget about beer. Did you know that some marathons actually give beer out at the end of the race?! Anyway, having one to two beers in moderation is actually good for you because it has the same antioxidants as wine does just in a different form (hops and barley instead of grapes). Beer also has a lot of silicon in it which helps increase bone mineral density.

Non-Non-Fat Dressing

Eating non-fat dressing actually makes you eat more sugar which is what they put in place of the fat in dressings. Plus, the fat actually helps you absorb the nutrients in all the veggies!

KetchupThis one is dedicated to my friend Jenna who loves ketchup on her ketchup! Ketchup is actually full of lycopene, which helps lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. Organic ketchup is best because it has 60% more lycopene than the regular kinds of ketchup.

Bad Teacher, Good Movie

Last night, Dave and I had date night!  He got some restaurant gift cards for his birthday and from coaching LAX, so he got dinner and I got the movie tickets (we don't go to the movies much unless its something we really want to see like Harry Potter!).  We ended up going to Carrabbas and seeing Bad Teacher.  We were both looking forward to seeing the movie.  Dave thought it would be funny and I love Cameron, Justin, and Jason.  Plus, it was a teacher movie!  The movie follows Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz) as she tries to make a living after her fiance dumps her for being a gold digger.  She decides to be a teacher for all the wrong reasons such as shorter summers and hours.  She is only working until she finds a rich man to take care of her.  She thinks getting a boob job will solve this problem, so the whole movie she is trying to get $10,000 for surgery.  She thinks this will impress Scott (Justin Timberlake), a rich substitute teacher at her school.  Unfortunately, Scott has a crush on Elizabeth's goody rival, Amy Squirrel.  The whole movie is Elizabeth and Amy competing against each other especially for Scott's affection and a $5,700 bonus.  Plus the romantic plot...will she end up with Scott or witty gym teacher Russell (Jason Segel) who constantly asks her out?       

I thought the movie was good.  I wouldn't buy it or anything, but it was funny.  Dave thought it was funny as well, but he thought the commercials gave away all of the good lines in the movie.  I agree with this.  I love Jason Segel because he plays Marshall on How I Met Your Mother (1/2 of my favorite couple of all time...Lily and Marshall!) and he was good in this as well.  He had some great one liners- probably the best character!  I usually think Justin Timberlake is hilarious because of all he has done with Saturday Night Live, but I thought he could have done a lot better in this movie.  He wasn't that funny, but I guess that is due to the writers and not him.  They failed me...and Justin.  I thought Cameron played a good bad teacher.  She is really pretty, but you can tell she is a guy's girl too (you can't be too feminine and do the same workouts as A. Rod!). 

Elizabeth is selfish, she talks dirty, and she is a horrible teacher.  The only thing I liked about her is her clothes.  She was wearing Christian Louboutin shoes everyday!  I was like sell those and you will make your $10,000 a lot faster!?!  Overall, we probably wouldn't pay to see this movie in theaters again.  Coincidentally, we cannot remember any of the good lines in the movie.  I guess they were not that memorable outside of the theater.  I definitely recommend renting it though because it is entertaining! 

DIY: Jorts = Jean Shorts

I really wanted to wear this new shirt I just bought to date night last night.  I thought it would look really cute with jean shorts, but I didn't have any.  I had a pair of shorts I liked way back in the day.  They randomly disappeared my freshman year of college...I think someone stole them out of the dorm dryer! I did buy another pair at Papaya, but I think I actually just bought them because I was so desperate for jean shorts.  In actuality, they were too short and tight for what I would normally wear and Papaya has the stupidest return policy ever.  I think I might have worn them like 3 times in the past six years.  Anyway, I didn't have time to go to the store and buy some jean shorts for date night, so I decided to make some out of an old pair of jeans.  Here is what I did:

1.  Fold the jeans over so they look like just one leg and cut them about knee length.  I like to start long and cut parts at a time since you can always cut shorter but you can't resow the fabric back together. 

2.  Continue cutting section by section until you reach your desired length.  I like to try them on between cuts just in case.  Also, remember to leave about an inch so you can cuff them because it looks a lot cleaner.

3.  Once you reach your perfect length, roll up the very tip of your jeans just to get rid of all the unevenness.  Next, make a larger cuff (about an inch).  The smaller cuff is to make a cleaner larger cuff.  (Now, you won't have unevenness or stray strings sticking out at the top of the cuff.)

Below is a picture of my finished jeans and my new top (before shower, hair and makeup).  These jeans are fine for errands or something, but I still definitely want to buy some new jean shorts.  I like my jeans to be fitted (but not necessarily too tight), but I want more loose jean shorts to be honest.  These kind of made me feel uncomfortable because they were tighter than jean shorts I would normally wear. 

Ten Classic Books to Read This Summer

One of my 50 things to do in 100 days is to read ten classic novels.  Below is my list of books.  This might change depending on what books I can get a hold of and what books do not gain my interest (which is why there are 12 books).  Feel free to leave comments on classic books you recommend.  In additon, while researching classic books, I came across the website ClassicBooks.com.  On this website, one can download numerous books to your computer for free!  This is possible because the copyright usually ends after about 100 years (I think) and then the books are public domain.  I do love reading actual books instead of things like computers or Kindles, but I still think this is a great website (especially for students required to buy multiple books for school!).  Another great website is GoodReads.com.  On this site, you can make a profile to share all the books you have read, are reading, and want to read.  It is such a cool site!  I am slightly obsessed with it...especially the Quotes section where you can find quotes by people from Mark Twain ("Classic' - a book which people praise and don't read.") to Lady GaGa ("I'm just trying to change the world, one sequin at a time.").  It is like a Facebook page for books!  Check it out! 

(As I read through each book on my list, I will mark through the title on this post.)

1.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

2.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

3.  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnet

4.  Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

5.  Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

6.  Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

7.  Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

8.  The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

9.  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

10.  Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

11.  Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
12.  Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

Friday Favorites!

Lauren Conrad posts Friday Favorites on her website.  It consists of anything that was her favorite during the week.  I like this idea, but I am going to switch it up a bit.  All of the pictures I am going to post on my Friday Favorites posts come from Pinterest.com.  It is a website to catalog all of your favorite things.  The site is seriously addicting...even more so than Facebook!  I am going to post my favorite Pinterest.com pictures during Friday Favorites.

Favorite Foods/Party Ideas:

This would be such a cute idea for a children's birthday party.  Milk in martini cups with sprinkles on the rim?!  Kids love using fancy cups.

Being obsessed with all things Disney, I have always thought that having an Alice in Wonderland themed bridal or baby shower would be so cute.  You can actually have one of these parties at DisneyWorld, but I am sure you can do it for a lot less money at home (although you won't be visited by Alice and the Mad Hatter).

These cookies are hilarious!  They would be so cute for a bachelorette or summer pool party!

I need this pan because I love baking cakes.  Mini tiered cakes are too cute!

Chocolate Milk ice cubes are another genius idea for children (or child-like adults (o: )

I am definitely making these melting snowman cookies during Christmas (can you believe we are halfway to Christmas?!  This year has flown by!).  They look super easy to make too.

These look like cornucopias and are so colorful.  I think they would be perfect for a summer party as well.  Plus they are a great way to serve fruits.

smores + nachos = smachos...enough said!

Turtles are one of my favorite animals.  This is so perfect for a summer party or a kids birthday party...esp a Finding Nemo themed party!

Favorite Home Decorating Ideas:

I have slight hoarder tendencies, so this idea is brilliant!  I wonder if you can only build these shelves while building the stairs or if you can add them on.  Either way it is a wonderful way to add storage space.

Once again, this idea is great for the hoarder inside of me.  I love collecting bags and usually reuse them to put presents in, but I do have special ones that i want to keep such as a Tiffany one.

For some reason, I think this is so cute.  It would be perfect for someone who has a really small room and needs to utilize space...an updated version of the fold-down wall bed!

I love this baby's room.  Mostly because 1) it is PINK! and 2) it matches a cherry blossom painting a did so I know I could recreate it.

Ties from bread?! Such a good way to organize cords. There is nothing worse than pulling the wrong cord...esp when the battery on your computer is shot and whenever you unplug your computer it automatically shuts down!

Once I buy a house, this is the first thing I am making and posting.  Such a cute idea for the backyard!

These jars are magical and they only include the jar and some splattered glow paint.  Great for kids especially ones who love to camp or who love space.

I would rather use a wine rack for crafts instead of wine too!

My future child is definitely having this Peter Pan shadow sticker in his/her room....and they will like it!  If not, it is going in mine. :o)

Cute, organized and space saving! 

I LOVE this for a summer wreath!  Heck I might even make one just for my bedroom door!

I always wondered if this was possible.  I guess it is!  David says it would take forever to dig a hole for the trampoline, but i think this is such a better idea than a regular trampoline and much more safe!

I have a map of California on the back of my door.  This would be a much cuter way to display it...especially since I do <3 California!

Other Random Photos:

Supposedly, these are from the dollar store!  My mom and grandmother love bunnies, so I think they need this ring.

This made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!

For a runner, this is genius! I have seen tall ones that have a secret compartment at the bottom, but i like this one a lot better because it is more hidden. 

I just love this picture!  Harry Potter and dogs!

I love looking at wedding photos for future great ideas.  This one is really cute and they have to wear an undershirt anyway, right?!

I LOVE leaf jewelry, but i have never bought any.  I think this necklace is so classic.  I want matching earrings as well. 

I would name him Mr. Wrinkles, and he would be mine!

I really want to buy a bike like this this summer.  They have similar ones at Walmart and Target.  Unfortunately, they do not have cute baskets like this...they only have dark brown baskets which I don't think match.

It is called a pomsky= pomeranian + husky.  Might be my new favorite dog?!

MOTIVATION!

Like I said, I love turtles.  This melts my heart!