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Archive for March, 2012

Food Pen Pal Reveal #2

Posted in Food Pen Pals, tagged , , , , , , on March 30, 2012 | 4 Comments »

drcdu9 Foodie Penpals February Reveal

Can I just say how much I enjoy food pen pals with the Lean Green Bean! I’ve only participated twice, but have tried a lot of awesome new foods that I am now purchasing on a regular basis!

This month I received a package from Alyson at Aly’s Adventures. Alyson provided me with a lot of great foods; especially snacks that can be eaten on-the-go and are healthy, which are perfect considering I started a new job that actually requires me to leave the house! A big thank you goes out to Alyson for introducing me to some great new snacks and be sure to check out her blog!

A couple of notes about my package:

  • Chocolate Coconut Milk is amazing and I’m not even much of a milk drinker!
  • Blueberry jam and granola makes for a addition to vanilla yogurt!
  • Apple crisps are a wonderful snack!

You all should definitely send Lindsay and e-mail and get in on the fun!!

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Chicago-Bound (Hopefully)

Posted in Blog, Fitness Tips, tagged , , , on March 28, 2012 | 7 Comments »

Last night a small group of my friends made a spur-of-the-moment decision to fly to Chicago for a weekend in May to do some shopping and have a little fun (this would not be the first time we’ve done this)!! We’d only be staying the night and have nearly two full days in the city. We found a great price on airfare, but need to work out the rest of the details!

Since I know some of you are Chicago-natives or travelers, I am turning to you all (yinz as we would say in Pittsburgh) for help! Especially since the last time I was in Chicago I was underage (20, I’ll be 27 eek! this time)!

  • Any hotel recommendations?
  • Shopping recommendations?
  • Restaurant recommendations?
  • Bar recommendations?

I’m all-ears and looking to make the most of a weekend trip!

Calling All Runners:

Since you all have been so helpful in the past, I’m in need of your help again! As part of a freelance assignment, I am looking for bloggers, who also happen to be runners to host a guest post. If you interested leave a comment below! Topics range from running tips for females to avoiding stress fractures to choosing the right running shoes.

Workout:

leg workout

Of Possible Interest:

From yours truly, How to Begin a Running Program

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Vanilla Smoothie

Posted in Food, tagged , , on March 27, 2012 | 4 Comments »

I’ve never been much of a smoothie maker. In fact, I really cannot remember the fast time I made a smoothie. Actually, I kind of blog-lied. I worked at a Baskin-Robbins during high school and made plenty of smoothies, but never ate them! Strawberry, strawberry banana, peach and wild berry smoothies were pretty much a fact of my life throughout high school.

Last night I was browsing Pinterest and came across a smoothie recipe of a peanut butter vanilla smoothie. I was intrigued but missing some of the ingredients and not liking bananas much, I decided to modify the recipe. After a morning full of meetings and a filling Mexican lunch, I was looking for something sweet this afternoon.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Ice Cubes
  • 1 Teaspoon of Chocolate Syrup
  • 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
  • 1.5 Teaspoon of Peanut Butter (I used PB&Co White Chocolate Wonderful, I love this stuff!)
  • 1 Cup of Vanilla Yogurt
  • 1/3 cup of milk

It was yummy!

Questions for you:

What was your first job?

What is your favorite flavored smoothie?

 

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Your Favorite Trader Joe’s Item

Posted in Food, tagged , , on March 22, 2012 | 5 Comments »

This week has been my first week at my new job. Despite the fact that I’ve worked from home for half of the week, I’ll have to admit working a full 40 hour work week again is rather weird. The last time I’ve done it was July of 2010. I’ve been crazy-busy; especially since I am continuing to do some freelance work on the side. Needless to say, I am very, very excited that tomorrow is Friday!

With an ankle that is beginning to feel much better, I am thinking out my weekend plans as I search for something to eat for lunch — so far I haven’t been too successful in finding something that is catching my eye.

I’ve been living off of this, this week. I’m addicted!

I really need to hit up a grocery store and find some other tasty lunch foods!!

This weekend, a friend of mine and I are planning what we call our old lady shopping day. We go grocery shopping, eat dinner extremely early and get frozen yogurt. (sounds like an old lady day, doesn’t it?) Oh well, you’d think I was going on 80 instead of 27!!

This time we are heading to Trader Joe’s! I love this store, but seriously never know what to buy. That’s why I am turning to the blog.

What are your favorite Trader Joe’s products?

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So Much For an Injury-Free Year!

Posted in Blog, tagged , , on March 20, 2012 | 7 Comments »

Long time, no see! So shortly after announcing my new job, I did something stupid (for anyone who knows me this should not be at all surprising). I was hitting some wiffle balls in a pair of flip flops. When I stepped forward to hit the ball, I lost my footing and successfully rolled my ankle. The end results: an ankle sprain (granted I came to that conclusion myself). As if I have not had enough foot/ankle problems in the past three years. This will definitely be putting a damper on my running plans. However, its much better to just let it heal than to keep going on it.

On the plus side, my new job is awesome. I will be working from home for the remainder of the week creating a series of blog posts for various wellness companies, which I am very excited about.

Aside from the ankle issue (which I am still debating whether or not it is necessary to see a doctor about. The swelling is gone, but I am enjoying the constant burning pain and instability. I’ve never sprained anything before, so I am all ears on any suggestions as to how to fix this, I know some of you have advice for me!!), this week is looking good for it only being Tuesday afternoon.

So far:

  • Started a new job.
  • Got my food pen pals package in the mail, which I will be posting more about at the end of next week. I’ve got lots of awesome goodies to try.
  • Free Rita’s Italian Ice today.
  • The weather is amazing (I actually wore shorts to work today. It seems more like the first day of summer rather than the first day of spring. I will most definitely be working outside tomorrow and hopefully the remainder of the week.

What are you most looking forward to this week?

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And It Happened!

Posted in Blog, Freelance Journalism, tagged , on March 14, 2012 | 6 Comments »

It finally happened! After a long search and a whole lot of uncertainty as to where I wanted to take my career, it finally happened. I find a full-time writing job that meets my criteria with a local marketing firm. The job is salaried, so I may or may not be working a full forty hour week and I can work from my house or the office depending on my own personal preference. There is a lot of room for advancement, which is something I feel is majorly lacking in a career as a freelance journalist. Additionally, this job involves a lot of writing for health, fitness and nutrition clients, which makes me happy.

I’m excited to be bringing some more structure to my life, but this does not mean that I will be giving up on freelance writing. I still plan on working for some of my existing clients and if I feel I have a great idea for a magazine/website I will still be pitching that idea!

I am extremely content with the decision I have made and cannot wait to see where this career path takes me. And I start Monday, so I won’t be waiting long to get moving!

P.S.: I am still majorly blog-slacking for the past couple of weeks! I’ve got so much going on it is crazy!

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Finally Friday!

Posted in Blog, tagged , , , , on March 9, 2012 | 4 Comments »

It’s been a long week. Thankfully, only a few hours of work and one meeting until my weekend begins! Yesterday was a long day of watching tragic events unfold on TV across the street from the hospital in which my sister was working in. Thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of yesterdays shooting.

Instead of making a gloomy post, I want to do a things that make me smile/happy post. I swear next week will resume with healthy living posting…otherwise I may be needing to change the name of this blog! :-) .

This guy is likely to return to the ice this weekend! It’s been a long time coming for the second time!!

Great sale on this bag!

 

Peanut butter by the packet! Perfect snack!

Knowing next weekend should be plenty of fun!

 

A new freelance gig with a local magazine!

Have a great weekend!

 

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Couponing and Saving Money

Posted in Couponing, Fashion, Food, tagged , , , , on March 6, 2012 | 3 Comments »

I figured it’s about time I make a post…I’ve been blog-lazy recently! Anyways my weekend was filled with what I like to refer to as free and/or low-cost shopping. Upon a few requests, I’m going to share some tips, tricks and secrets for getting the most for your money!

While I am not extreme couponer, I thoroughly enjoy getting stuff at a great price; it’s exciting and makes you feel good. It’s almost like a game, how cheap can you get stuff. Despite the fact I am 26 years old, I have no shame in handing over a stack of coupons (or in some cases scanning a ton of them on my own at a self checkout line!). The one important thing to note is that I don’t put a lot of time into couponing. In fact, I really wouldn’t call it couponing at all. I refer to it as simply paying attention.

Here are some tips to get you started:

  • Pay attention to your mail. Don’t assume everything is junk mail. Look through the advertisements. Trust me, you’ll find plenty of coupons. For instance, my “junk mail” this week contained a coupon for a bag of free baby carrots and a free box of noodles. Why not?
  • Utilize offers from Victoria Secret and Bath and Body Works. When they send you a coupon for a free trial-sized item or a free pair of underwear, go use it! Just ask the sales associate where you can find the item and head to the register quickly. Don’t be tempted by other items in the store or the fact that you coupon may also be good for 20 percent off of a bra. Remember, you are just there for the free item!
  • Watch the television commercials during your favorite shows. A lot of times, you may notice and advertisement telling you to visit their website, follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook to print out a coupon for a free sample or a dollar amount off.
  • Check out this website: SweetFreeStuff.com for legit free samples as well as coupons.
  • Visit Target and Walmart’s website, they often have free sample giveaways as well as printable coupons.
  • Keep a small folder of coupons. Each week when your grocery store advertisements come in the mail, look at what is on sale and what you need. Then, check and see if you have a coupon to go along with the sale items. This should only take five to 10 minutes if you are organized. Check out the ads in your Sunday paper as well and compare it to your stack of coupons.
  • Only use coupons on items you normally buy or on items you need (unless you are getting them for free of course!). Coupons won’t end up saving you money if you buy an item just because you have a coupon!
  • Avoid convenience stores. You’ll pay for the convenience.
  • Look for printable coupons. Check out the websites of products you constantly use for printable coupons; sometimes you’ll even end up with free samples too.
  • Find out if your local grocery double coupons. This can often lead to you getting sale items for pennies if you have coupons.

Longchamp Savings!

I purchased the Large Longchamp Le Pliage tote for $107!! Regular $145 and rarely on sale. Here’s how:

  • I did a Google search for Longchamp sale and came across a website called bagshop.com (which is actually a purse boutique like store in the North East).
  • I did plenty of research to make sure this store was going to send me a real bag!
  • I checked out there website for different colors. Turns out, the fall colors are onsale. I found a color called “Praline” which is just a slightly darker variation on the beige color with a darker inside.
  • Checked for coupon codes. Retailmenot.com had a 10 percent off coupon for Bagshop.com
  • Website offered free shipping, plus no tax!

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It’s a Chocolate-y Kind of Morning!

Posted in Blog, Food, tagged , , , on March 2, 2012 | 6 Comments »

Not really sure what I was thinking this morning, but I really, really wanted chocolate for breakfast. So, that’s what I did!

  • A chocolate and caramel Atkins bar (it was a free sample that came in the mail.
  • Greek yogurt mixed with a little chocolate syrup and some vanilla almond granola.

Part healthy, part sweet!

If you follow me regularly, provided I haven’t bored you to death, I ordered a Longchamp bag at the end of the week. It arrived this week and guess what? They sent me the wrong bag. I ordered a large and got a small. While I was only charged for the small bag, there is no way the small bag can fit all of my stuff!

Needless to say, it will be returned. The good news is: I actually found a large Longchamp bag on sale online. I’ll be paying $107 for the large opposed to $145 plus tax. The small one I was charged for totaled about $133. I guess patience is a virtue. The wait is saving me money!

Now that I’ve finished up my work for today, I’m gathering up coupons to do to a little bargain shopping tomorrow. I’ve got a ton of coupons for free stuff that are about to expire. I’ve got coupons for free carrots, free pasta, free underwear, free lotion, free yogurt and free juice. Why not? I can definitely see how people become addicted to couponing. It feels great to save a lot of money on stuff you really need!

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