Favorite Workout Videos!

For today's post, I wanted to jot down some of my favorite at-home workout videos. Ever since Netflix took down their multitude of fitness videos, I have literally been on Youtube scavenging for hours looking for some of my faves. I haven't found them all, but I have found a good number of cardio, pilates, and toning videos that are absolutely amazing and kick your butt. I have below a list of both high and low impact videos that I have tried out in the past and love for when I don't feel like hitting the elliptical or attending my regular zumba class. I believe most of them are full-length workouts (> 20 minutes)

Cardio 

Low Impact Cardio and Toning

Low Impact Cardio

Quiet Cardio - Low Impact/No Bounce

Tummy Tone Party Zone

HIIT Cardio

Dance Workout for Dummies

Cardio Kickboxing

Advanced Cardio Kickboxing

Pilates Burn & Firm

Pilates & Yoga

Pilates Burn & Firm

Rapid Results Pilates

Beginner Yoga Workout

Super Slimdown Pilates & Yoga Blend

Low Intensity Pilates & Yoga Blend

Toning

Boot Camp Workout

Toned Lean Arms

Abs & Obliques

Tight & Toned Beach Body

Hot Body Bootcamp

Current Read: February

To be honest, I got this book back in mid-December, but I had forgotten about it until recently. It's been sitting in the bottom of my backpack, since I had originally thought I would read it on-the-go in between studying. As always, that never happened and this book has stayed in the bottom of my bag for almost two months now. I was cleaning my backpack the other day and re-discovered this book and felt a twinge of guilt because this book is really good and I completely neglected to finish it in the midst of all my other responsibilities.
In a recent article, I read that instead of watching TV, playing on your phone, or surfing the internet before bed, it's better to read a book or listen to music to help you fall asleep easier. I've since put this desk on my nightstand (aka my dresser that acts as my nightstand), and plan on reading a chapter or two every night before bed. It's a short, cheerful book with 1-3 page "chapters" on different aspects of life and how to find happiness and balance within them. Oftentimes during medical school, I find myself extremely stressed out and that somehow translates into me being alone, depressed, and engaging in negative behaviors like binge eating, giving up, demeaning myself, etc. I actually got this book to help myself overcome all that inciting stress and to be more optimistic. I've read the first few chapters and it's quite affective at boosting my mood. I'm hoping that reading this every night before bed will help relax me, have positive thoughts, and relieve some of the built up stress/tension that's been accumulating due to all this studying. A very appropriate February read!

Product Craze: Wet & Wild Eyeshadow Palettes

This morning, while watching some old YouTube videos, I saw palette being featured in a makeup tutorial and fell in love. It's one of the W&W Eyeshadow Palettes in Comfort Zone, which has beautiful neutral, pink, and green shades. I can't believe I had completely forgotten about these!
They came out about a year ago, but I was obsessed with my Naked palette at the time and decided to skip this one. Now that I'm on the hunt for drugstore eyeshadows, this one has come back on my radar. At only $5 a pop, they're absolutely amazing! From the reviews I've read online, they are super pigmented, last all day, are true to color, have a lot of product, and of course are super cheap. Many gurus have raved about what a steal this palette truly is. And the green shades are absolutely perfect for the spring, and the shimmery brown eyeshadow is perfect for everyday wear. Cannot wait to get my hands on this!

Cupcake Inspiration

I was at Barnes and Noble with my mom and brother today and while they were checking out the kids section, I decided to peruse the crafts/cooking section of the bookstore. Immediately my eyes drifted to the "cake" books in the cooking section, which were all super girly, pastel and bright, mostly pink, with pretty covers. This book, however, attracted me the most with its sleek packaging, beautiful cover, and interesting contents. It's Betty Crocker's Just Cupcakes and it comes in this really pretty pink binding that almost resembles a binder. And the cover is just so freaking attractive, I can't stop staring at it!! I'm such a sucker for packaging. The cover for this book screams sunshine and rainbows to me, and it literally brightened up my entire day. Yummy cupcakes with pink ribbons, come on! How can you not feel a bajillion times happier after seeing that? 

I peeked inside, expecting to see some crazy expert-level cupcake recipes. But I was actually surprised to find how easy some of the cupcakes were to make! I really liked this book because it had something for bakers of all levels and interests. Some of the recipes focused mainly on cupcake decorating, while others focused on fancy cake batter ideas. It also had an index of classic recipes (yellow cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, frosting, etc) for those new to baking. It also had some recipes made with boxed cake mix for people who just want to focus on cake decorating rather than cupcake recipes. Needless to say, I loved this book for its diversity in contents and the fact that it had something for everybody and all moods. And even the decorating ideas were so well explained and the pictures were clear cut. Among the recipes that caught my eye were the Easter bunny cupcakes, Halloween-themed cupcakes, the confetti cupcakes, turtle cupcake cake, and the classic recipes. 

I'm really really thinking about purchasing this book sometime in the spring. I hesitate to get this now because I have a lot of reading material I want to catch up on and a lot of Pinterest recipes I want to try first before investing in this one. I most likely will end up getting this book sometime in the middle of the black hole called Step 1 studying because it is just too damn attractive to pass. And I'm sure seeing the cuteness that is this book will cheer me right up out of my study slump. 

Now, making cupcakes from scratch again has LONG been on my bucket list. Last time I made cupcakes from scratch was back in high school, and I really really miss it. There's just something therapeutic about baking and cake decorating. This book really inspired me to want to try and bake cupcakes from scratch again. I brought this up to one of my good friends and he suggested that I try making some from scratch for his Superbowl party on Sunday. After Pinteresting around, I found an allegedly-delish yellow cake recipe and a really adorable decorating idea for football-themed cupcakes. I think it would be such a cute idea to try making these! And the ingredients really shouldn't cost more than $5-10. And plus, a willing audience to test my baking creations? I'm sold! 

Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

I finally got around to making a breakfast sandwich! I've wanted to try making my own ever since I fell in love with the breakfast power sandwiches from Panera. It was actually quite simple to make it, especially since I'm at my parents house and they have a little sandwich pressor. Even without one, I'm sure it would be just at delicious made on the stovetop or toaster oven. 

At 315 calories, 8 grams of fat, 37 grams of carbs, 26 grams of protein, and 605 mg of sodium it is honestly one of the most satisfying and filling breakfasts I've ever made. I'm a huge fan of warm, toasty breakfasts as opposed to cold ones and this one is super healthy, but delicious at the same time. And ridiculously easy to make as well!

Recipe:

9 tablespoons liquid egg whites (about 3 egg whites)

2 slices of whole wheat bread

1 slice of mild cheddar cheese

Pam cooking spray

A sliver of butter

I first cooked the egg whites in a Pam-coated saucepan. Once cooked, I cut the omelette in half and put each half on a slice of bread. I topped one of the slices with the cheddar slice. After putting the sandwich together, I put a little bit of butter on the outer parts of each slice of bread. I cut the sandwich in half and put it in the sandwich press. Without a sandwich press, it's easy to make it on a saucepan so it's nice and toasty/melty/warm. 

So that's it! It's pretty basic and there's definitely a lot of room to experiment with different toppings, veggies, toast options, cheese options, etc. This sandwich also took me like 15 mins tops to make. Definitely looking forward to making a snazzier sandwich next time, maybe with spinach or onions or even some sausage for more protein! 

Perfect Snowy Morning ♥

So far, my weekend is off to a very calming start. It's snowing outside and it's such a gorgeous view from my seat on the couch, facing a large window. There's something relaxing about sipping warm coffee while staring at a beautiful snowscape. It's something that I don't think I could ever give up, hence why I want to remain in the Northeast post-school. 

Last night was a lot of fun. I'm glad I decided to go to my friends' joint birthday celebration at their apartment. It was nice seeing old friends again. I'm not in touch with them too much anymore because we sort of had a falling out (long story, cliques suck). We're all still on good terms though and it was nice catching up and hanging out with them again. I also drank a wonderful peachy drink my friend made, and it quenched my thirst for a nice cocktail. As for the rest of this weekend, my plans mainly consist of studying studying and more studying. A lot on my agenda unfortunately including Step 1 Pharmacology, studying for my physical exam written final on Monday, and studying for an endocrinology exam on Friday. I am looking forward to watching The Grammys tomorrow night though! Definitely one of my favorite awards show to watch, so it will be a nice break before next week's crazyness. 

I'm home for the weekend at my parents house because my car has been having trouble starting in these cold freezing temperatures and I didn't want to risk it breaking down again. I've had a few friends whose cars didn't start at all because it's been so cold outside. It's supposed to snow storm this entire weekend, followed by chilly temperatures at the start of next week. My old car definitely wouldn't have been able to tolerate that and I don't want the pipes freezing or whatever and having to shell out another $500 to get it fixed. So long story short, trapped at my parents' house for a few days now. No loss though since all I do all day anyway is be a hermit and study :( c'est la vie!
As for today, I had a very very very relaxing morning. Slept with no alarm to wake me up! I had a wonderful eight hours of sleep and brushed my teeth and washed my face as soon as I woke up before I got lazy. Afterwards, I had delicious breakfast of chicken nuggets (microwaved, not fried!) with warm coffee. Caught up on blogs, YouTube videos, and now I'm super relaxed and ready to tackle the day. 

Mini Ulta Haul!

Here are the goodies I got at Ulta on my recent trip. I was feeling a little low and decided buying some stuff I didn't need would cheer me right up, and boy was I right :) although three of these things I actually kinda "needed". And to top it off, all these were under $25!

Pantene Smooth Conditioner -- $3.79 -- my favorite conditioner! Pretty boring purchase, but the conditioner I keep at my parent's place ran out and these were on sale so I picked up a bottle. Definitely the best frizz-fighting conditioner I've ever tried and gentle on thicker hair too.

Pantene 2-minute Deep Conditioner -- $2.99 -- oh my goodness, I tried this product last summer and it is a holy grail product for dry hair. I haven't seen it recently at Walmart, where is usually where I get my Pantene products, so I was quite surprised when I found this at Ulta...on sale! This winter has been kind of rough and my hair has been dry for the past several weeks, so I'm very glad I found this! And yes, it really only takes 2 minutes to work its magic.

NYX Butter Glosses in Apple Strudel and Peaches & Cream -- $4.99 each -- I have been waiting to get my paws on these for so long now! I ended up skipping the Tiramisu gloss and going for these two pinker-shades instead. I know the tubes look the exact same in the picture above, but Apple Strudel is a light pink, whereas Peaches & Cream is a hotter pink. I actually got these because I realized I didn't really have any sheer, pinky glosses to wear on an everyday basis or with a heavier eye. I'm very glad I got these shades because they are perfect! Peaches & Cream is a little more pigmented and brightens my face up right away. The only thing I will say that it is a bit sticky and the color fades super quickly...like within 20 minutes. But for the price, you really can't beat it. And there's so many shades to try, I can't wait to get my hands on a few more.

Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips in Warm Nudes -- $11.99 -- so this is the other product I actually needed besides the two hair products above. I stupidly lost my Naked palette, and I've been feeling super empty (and heh, naked) ever since. I don't really know where I misplaced it or left it somwhere while on vacation, but it's gone and I honestly really really miss it. How pathetic is that? Hah, anyway I decided that this was a good dupe for the Naked palette and I really like all of the shades. I love wearing shimmery eyeshadows and this set is perfect. Plus, it comes in a super adorable packaging. It was a little pricey and from the reviews, I've heard that the pigmentation isn't stellar but until I find my Naked palette or invest enough money to buy the Naked 2, this will have to do. I'm actually in love with all of the shades in this, so I think I probably will end up loving this. Maybe I'll do a FOTD with these once I open them. I was considering going to Ulta and picking up the Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush and seeing if the lady would give it to me 50% off since they have the BOG150% deal going on. Hmm, we'll have to see though. Depends on if I get my butt to Ulta sometime soon :)

Coping With Stress

As you probably deducted from my last post, yesterday was a pretty hard day. I had accumulated a LOT of stress over this past week with my relationships, Step 1, my weight loss, etc. And instead of moping around and binge eating while watching YouTube videos or Ugly Betty I decided to get out and go on a de-stressing road trip.
Here are some snaps from my latest de-stressing routine that I hope will help me in the future to prevent a stress-induced binge :)

First, I grabbed a small plate of nachos.  I figured that I would indulge a little bit so I wouldn't binge later when I went out. This is my favorite dip, the Tostitos Salsa Con Queso with some scoops. So delicious. And in all honesty, food is still my favorite way to de-stress and this baby came in only around 100-150 calories, so not much damage was done.

Next, I stopped at McDonalds to get some coffee. Hot drinks are super relaxing for me especially when it's cold outside, and this just totally hit the spot. For some reason, the #1 thing I love when I'm extremely stressed is coffee, no matter if it's decaf or caffeinated. It's kinda bad, but I just can't help my love affair. 

Road trip time! Another thing I love when I'm stressed is driving. For some reason, driving while listening to relaxing, melodious music really calms me. I had to go down to Oakland to drop off treats for my advising group, so it wasn't just a random trip. I put on some Ed Sheeran, sipped my coffee, and took a relaxing mini road. trip.

Annnnd on my way back, I stopped at Ulta. I figured I'd just complete my wonderful de-stressing trip with a little haul because when I'm stressed, I love shopping. Plus, I really needed some stuff so it was perfect. I'll do a separate post about that a little later. 

Soul Searching

This post is going to be a rant.
I've recently started feeling quite alone and upset again. Hell, I don't even know where to begin writing this post. I feel like all my relationships are superficial and fake. I try and try and try and try to dig in deep and make lasting relationships, but they always fail. Not quite sure what's wrong with me, but every time I sit down to think, I really have nobody to depend on. No boyfriend, no best friend. I only have my family, who are amazing, but sometimes I wish I had someone else to rely on.
I know I have my own flaws. I'm actually quite well aware of them, despite what anybody else may think. But still, I try my best to be nice to everybody and get along with them, but somehow that's just never enough. I can never keep real friends no matter how hard I try.
Ever since high school, I can recall having acquintances and people I like to hang out with, but I don't remember a time when I ever had a best friend. You know, somebody I could go to with my secrets and someone who could depend on me to keep theirs. Maybe it's because I don't let anybody in, but still it would be nice to have somebody. For a while, I thought that somebody was Emma, but she's so busy with her jobs and her boyfriend that our relationship has become quite superficial. And then there's Katrina, who I thought could be my best friend. But even she found herself a boyfriend and hasn't been hanging out with me for a while. And then there's David. I thought we were good friends, but he's done some things recently to make me question otherwise and basically has diminished our relationship to one of convenience only. Even Divya, who isn't boy-crazy like other girls has somebody else now and a core group of friends that doesn't really include me. So I don't know what it is....maybe I'm an expert at driving others away. I don't exactly know. I would just like to have a single friend who is good to me, but that's become too hard to find apparently.
Just sick to my stomach really. I'm sure this post is full of grammatical mistakes but I just don't really care at this point. I don't know how to change because it's too late to make new friends. Everyone has somebody else they can rely on, except for me. I'm always alone. Still alone. Forever alone.

Recipes to Try! -- Week of January 20th

1. Lemon-Infused Water: I have a lemon sitting my fridge, and this is the perfect way to use it! I'm sort of getting bored of the drink-water constantly thing and this should be the perfect way to zest up my water so I'm actually looking forward to drinking it.

2. Ham & Cheese on English Muffin: Been meaning to try this for a while now! I absolutely love warm egg sandwiches in the morning and it's easier to make than I thought. The only time-consuming part is cooking the eggs, but once that's done, then it's just a 5 minute prep to make this wholesome sandwich. 

3. Red Potatoes: I don't have the Cajun seasoning that this recipe calls for, but I do have 3 red potatoes cut up and frozen. Not sure if they're going to thaw out just fine, but I really want to try, since potatoes = <3 I even have some frozen sweet potato fries that I may whip up with the red potatoes

4. Chicken Stir-Fry: Now for my dinner recipe this week! I've always wanted to try a stir-fry and the comments on this recipe all say that it's super simple and yummy. I bought a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies, water chestnuts, and sugar snap peas that I'm going to throw in with some chicken. Super nutritious, protein-filled, and (hopefully!) flavor-filled! Now I only need to remember not to overdose on the soy sauce...

Sunday Night Rituals

This post has been long time coming. I've always wanted to designate one day out of the week to be my de-stressing/relaxation day. The issue is that my schedule is so hectic and erratic that it's hard to pick out one, recurring day to be that day. But I think that since boards time is coming up and my stress has been peaking, it's time to plan out a weekly relaxation day. I'm thinking Sunday just because it designates the end of a week before the beginning of a fresh, new week.

List of things to do on my day off

1. Cook dinner for the week
2. Clean/organize room
3. Apply Mint Julep face mask or bleach face
4. Catch up on blogs and beauty videos
5. Sift through Pinterest posts
6. Update and review calendar/agenda for the upcoming week

FOTD/OOTD: Martin Luther King's Day!

 I had to go run some errands on MLK day and decided I'd get a bit jazzed up and do my first OOTD post! This has recently been my go-to natural look when I have a bit more time to do my makeup. Love this makeup look! Natural, yet put together :) Only thing is that I didn't add blush, but it would look super pretty with a light highlight or a light pink blush if you want a bit more color. My favorite would be adding some shimmery Tarte bronzer lightly to the tops of my cheeks to add subtle sparkle. It's lighter than a heavy bronzer, but darker than a highlight. I find that a lot of highlighting powders don't really gel well with my complexion, so I love using a little bit of bronzer on my cheeks instead when I don't want too much color. For this look, I'd stay away from a peachy blush since the outfit and lip are so pink and you wanna keep things monotone.

Face: bareMinerals Correcting Concealer SPF 20 in Medium

Eyes: Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

Mascara: L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

Lips: Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Pink Truffle

Hair: Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum

Keeping it real with a nice magenta top and my favorite, yoga pants! Chic, yet comfortable to go run around doing errands. It was somewhat nice on Monday so I decided to be bright and springy to channel my excitement for the upcoming season.

Added a nice light pink/baby blue plaid scarf to warm up my outfit a little bit. It was super chilly out! 

Spring 2014 Beauty List!

Drugstore
Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips in Warm Nudes
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Creme Brulee
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Sweet Tart
Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss in Strawberry
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Peach Pango
NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel
NYX Butter Gloss in Peaches N' Cream

Sephora
Clinique Chubby Eye Stick in Ample Amber

Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips in Warm Nudes -- $11.99 -- Photo credit = www.vampyvarnish.com

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie -- $7.50 -- Photo credit = www.cafemakeup.com

Revlon LipButter in Creme Brulee -- $7.50 -- Photo credit = www.beautizine.com

Revlon LipButter in Peach Parfait -- $7.50 -- Photo credit = www.makeuptalk.com

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Sweet Tart -- $7.50 -- Photo credit = www.vampyvarnish.com

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Gloss in Strawberry -- $7.99 -- Photo credit = www.indianvanitycase.com

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Pango Peach -- $7.99 -- Photo credit = www.ouihui.blogspot.com

NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel -- $5 -- Photo credit = www.bohovanity.com

NYX Butter Gloss in Peaches & Cream -- $5 -- Photo credit = www.painted-ladies.com 

Clinique Chubby Shadow Sticks in Ample Amber -- $17 -- Photo credit = www.musingsofamuse.com

Valentine's Day + Get Fit January/February!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and that means stores are coming out with their Valentine's collections! Now the issue is that since my favorite color happens to be pink, I'm in fricken LOVE with the cute packaging of all these new products. So I was thinking and instead of buying separate Get Fit January and February presents for myself, I figured I would just do a massive shopping spree and combine these with my V-day gift for myself :) It's going to suck to wait until February 14th, but the worth will be worth it! :) 

LUSH Neon Love Soap 

LUSH Bubblegum Lip Scrub

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface

Benefit Ultra Plush Lipgloss in Hoola

Lush Neon Love Soap - $6.95 - bergamot, rosewood, figs, passion fruit, soy yogurt

Photo credit = www.lushusa.com

What really caught my eye was LUSH's V-day collection. We just got a LUSH store at the mall and when I first went in there, I didn't really the appeal of spending $10 on a bar of soap. I love their lip scrubs because they do an amazing job at smoothing my chronically chapped lips, but I've always wanted to try their soaps. One of their V-day products is this new soap called Neon Love soap. It's only $7, which is quite cheap for their soap products. And it looks SO gorgeous! I love anything heart-printed and this soap fits the bill. I've heard that their soaps are very luxurious and moisturizing, so I'm quite excited to try it out!

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub - $9.95 - bubblegum-y goodness

Photo credit = www.lushusa.com

The main reason I need to head to LUSH: I need a new lip scrub! I got my Popcorn scrub about 6 months ago, and it expires sometime in April. I'm not all the way through with it yet, but I'm a little bit of a germophobe and I don't know, I declare it's time I buy a fresh pot! I was considering getting Popcorn again, but I think I may try the Bubblegum scrub. Plus, it's pink which fits perfectly with the V-day theme. 

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface - light matte pink

Photo credit = www.amarixe.com

Oh my, blush. Blush blush blush. It's been on my mind a lot lately for some reason. My first makeup obsession was definitely blush and it's really funny because I actually only have only 2-3 blushes I rotate between. So I think it's time to expand my blush collection by getting a light pink blush. I have quite tan skin, so I've never really purchased a lighter blush because I figured it wouldn't show up on my skin. Last year though, I got a sample of a Sephora brand blush and oh my it looked really good! It gives me a very faint color and looks super subtle. I think it would look amazing on an everyday basis, especially in these winter months when my skin is a little lighter. 

Benefit Ultra Plush Lipgloss in Hoola - $16 - sheer golden bronze gloss

Photo credit = www.xsparkage.com

This is literally the most perfect nude lipgloss. It has a very very golden color and looks beautiful with a heavier smoky eye or on its own. It's my secret weapon for looking ready in 2 minutes. It's especially beautiful for the spring-summer season. Also leaves the lips super soft, moisturized, and gives them a velvet-y feel. Tastes and smells like peach. Worth every single penny!

Cinnamon Sugared Doughnut Candle!

Photo credit = www.musingsofamuse.com

I was really disappointed this year when I didn't see the BBW Cinnamon Sugared Doughnut candle in the BBW Holiday 2013 Collection since I had really wanted to try it. Sooo when I saw the updates on the Spring 2014 Sweet Shop Collection at BBW, I was SO excited to see this scent finally return! And the packaging is soooo adorable! 

I'm actually in between these two candles (Red Velvet Cupcake and Cinnamon Sugared Doughnut). I'm waiting for them to go on sale for 2 for $22 but I'm thinking of just buying one candle since I have soooo many to go through from this past year. 

Looking at the rest of the BBW Spring 2014 collection, the packaging of all the products are all so cute! I'm definitely going to have to control myself next time I step foot in a BBW store! 

My 'Aha' Moment

Ugh. I’m so disappointed in myself. At first, I thought I was only craving a burger and fries because I was upset over my breakup, but no it goes way beyond that. I’ve realized that my food cravings only occur when I’m studying in the library. We have a cafeteria upstairs and I’m literally obsessed with their sandwiches and French fries, which are super fatty. On the bright side, now that I’ve realized my trigger, I’ve come up with a few strategies to reduce these hunger cravings and eat healthy while still being able to study in the library. I’m going to try and pack richer, more flavorful meals that are comforting to me and hopefully those will prevent me from running up to the cafeteria when my hunger pangs strike. I’ve realized I really really crave fried, fatty food when I’m studying or stressed. I tend to reason myself into thinking that if I eat a big fatty meal for lunch, I won’t have to take breaks to go get food and can study 6 hours straight. Really really unhealthy habit. So instead of packing salads and veggies, which aren’t really appetizing to me when I’m really stressed out during studying, I’m going to pack meals like pasta or frozen meals that are more appealing to my palate. They are a little carb-heavy, but it’s much much better than denting my wallet AND clogging my arteries with cafeteria food. And it’s a good start to what I’m hoping is progressive changes to my eating habits. I’m going to try and employ this strategy this upcoming week and I’m hoping that these work. I think that if I can successfully stop eating so much at the cafeteria, I’m definitely going to accelerate my weight loss. While I’m super disappointed in my lack of self control when it came to fatty food this week, I’m glad I’m able to recollect my thoughts and re-adjust and plan ahead instead of totally being dejected and giving up on my diet like I have in the past. I think that not giving up is really challenging during setbacks and this was a really good exercise in how to overcome roadblocks. I’ve been a junk food addict for the past 3-4 years now and I knew this habit wouldn’t be easy to break. I’m glad I’m trying my best and taking baby steps. I’m glad I was able to look back at my eating this week and reflect on how I can improve. No major damage was done this week and I think I’m even starting to look a little slimmer around my waist but like I said, if I can stop making trips to the hospital cafeteria, that weight loss will be even more drastic in the future. 

Food Adventures!

The last few days have been quite eventful. Some great memories were made these past few days and some not-so-great memories were unfortunately made as well. So this is the week I was really skeptical about because I had a lot of dinner dates planned, which involved eating crappy calorie-rich foods and spending money. But I feel like I handled it quite well. And this week was actually (surprisingly!) quite successful in terms of exercising. I worked out 4x this week and if I make it to the gym tomorrow, it will be a full 5x this week! So proud of myself. Although I did just check my credit card statement and my bill is $380 right now, which makes me a little upset :( I guess this is a good life lesson for money managing: everything adds up! Literally, most of my daily purchases are only $5-10 at the hospital cafeteria, but it's so surprising how it adds up to create a big humongous bill! 

Anyway, so stop number 1 this week was a post-exam lunch at Nicky's Thai Kitchen, which happens to be rated one of the top 25 restaurants in Pittsburgh. I got their cashew nut chicken with white rice, which was absolutely delish and quite affordable. And to top it off, it was actually really light! I didn't feel stuffed or bloated after eating that and I got hungry again around dinnertime, which proved that the dish was probably only 500-600 calories at maximum. Not too happy about all the salt in the dish, though. Loved this delicious post-exam treat. Definitely looking forward to going back there again sometime to try out their curries or other chicken dishes. 

Next up is Wednesday evening post-Wicked dinner. It was my first time seeing Wicked and oh my goodness, I LOVED it. The performers were all so talented, especially the girl who played Elfy. I cannot wait to download the soundtrack! After dinner, a group of us headed over to Meat & Potatoes for our post-show reservations. I got my favorite dish there, the lamb burger with fries. I'm not not a huge lamb person, but oh my goodness...this burger was absolutely divine! Super tender, juicy, and moist. And it went great with the fries, even though you can clearly see the salt crystals smothering them. I'm sure this dish was very high in calories, so I decided to make Wednesday my diet day off. Definitely worth every single calorie in there. Spent $20 there, however, which is super high for just a burger and fries, but the ambience of the restaurant was beautiful and it was a nice way to end the evening after a great musical performance.

Thursday evening, me and another curriculum committee member had to take the Grand Rounds speaker out to lunch. We took her to Spoon, one of the fanciest restaurants around Pittsburgh. This picture was actually taken in the bathroom.....yes shameful, but their napkins were just so beautifully printed and arranged! Also, I figured it wouldn't be very professional to be taking photos of my food during a formal dinner, so I just skipped it and decided to take a picture of the napkins instead for remembrance :) all three of us had a delicious 3-course dinner. I started off with a caesar salad (only ate half of the parmesan croutons!) followed by the chicken trio dish. It featured grilled chicken breast, spinach and mushroom stuffed chicken, and chicken coated with veloute (some sort of cheese sauce). It was SO good. The portions were super small, but it was actually quite perfect because dinner didn't leave me feeling overly stuffed. To end dinner, the speaker decided to get a carrot dessert dish, whereas I opted for some coffee. Even their coffee was delicious! It was definitely a much-needed fancy pampering experience, and I'm glad I volunteered to take the speaker out. She was such great company and gave us great advice for medical school and beyond.

Annnnddd lastly Friday night. Probably one of the worst nights I've had. The day started off fine, but towards the evening I was really disappointed and demeaned by a really good friend of mine. I don't really want to spill too many details because I don't want to re-experience the emotions, but suffice it to say that I was quite hurt and miserable last night. I decided to just say fuck it and treat myself. I was really really really craving a cheeseburger and fries...with mayonnaise. So I stomped through the snow, marched up to my hospital cafeteria, and got one. I didn't think about the calories or anything, I just wanted to treat myself and take the day off from studying. And I've got to say it was really therapeutic. I awoke feeling super refreshed and started the day off fresh by cleaning my room, catching up on beauty blogs, doing a pilates workout, and just relaxing. I'm off to the museum now with some good friends and then will be probably studying late into the night. I'm not one bit sad that I caved in yesterday because I've learned that sometimes in life, you have to just stop what you're doing, drop all your responsibilities, and just indulge. 

I'm so ready to tackle this week and the rest of this month. Bring it on! :) 

Post-Exam Meals and Studying!

Lots of things to update about! I took my Musculoskeletal/Derm exam yesterday and boy was that a nightmare. A lot of students and I felt as if we hadn't heard of half the stuff on the exam, so I was quite worried about failing right after I completed the test. Crazyness. I don't know though, I feel as if the average is going to be low, and I think I should be fine. To brighten up my day, however, I had a delicious lunch at Nicky's Thai Kitchen. The photo above is a snapshot of my yummy (and beautiful!) meal, cashew nut chicken with white rice. I ate worse than I expected on Sunday, so I decided to lighten things up on yesterday and opt for a chicken/veggie dish rather than indulging in fattening yellow curry. I'm so proud of myself for not caving in! I even skipped the super-salty soup they gave as an appetizer!

As a diet update, I think I'm finally dropping some weight! A lot of it is probably water weight, but still, I'm so excited to see some of my stomach bloat drop and my jeans fit a smidge better. My legs feel a lot skimmer in jeans, but my waist is still a little tight. The fat area around the waist is always lost later so I'm not too worried. This is coming up on week 2 of my diet, and I'm really happy to see progress already! I'm not getting too excited because I still have a lot of work to do, but this proves that my efforts are paying off!

Also started studying for Step 1 yesterday!! Only got through 2 sections of Pathology, so I think I need to speed up a little bit. It's a lot harder than I anticipated since I don't remember learning ANY of the stuff I went through yesterday. I rather spend longer on my first pass through the material so that pass #2 and #3 will go by a little smoother and be more of a review than learning things for the first time. Another full day of studying planned today :( but, new episodes of Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars tonight! So exciting! :)

Spring Fashion Haul + Lippies!

I've been in such a spring mood lately! I love bright and pastel colors, and the new Spring 2014 makeup has been really exciting and fresh! I've been re-organizing my makeup drawer and finally separated my lip products into spring/summer vs. fall/winter. This blog post is about the current spring makeup I own and also a little haul about some of the sweaters I picked up this winter that would be beautiful for spring as well!

MAKEUP

Left to right: Revlon Sugar Frosting, Maybelline Totally Toffee, Clinique Bamboo Pink, Clinique Mega Melon, Revlon Honey, L'Oreal Everbloom, L'Oreal Vagabond Mauve

Some of the colors for some reason look different swatched on my arm than on my lips. Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting is a super pretty light pink colored balm. Usually, light pink lip products look horrible on me, but this one look absolutely flattering and summery since it's more warm toned and sheer. Maybelline Lipstick in Totally Toffee looks very different swatched above. On my lips, it comes off as a nude with no hints of pink unlike the swatch. It pairs beautifully with a nude or light gold lipgloss for the perfect nude lip look. Clinique Lipstick in Bamboo Pink is a cool-toned shimmery light pink lipstick. It's not my favorite because it makes me look dead, but it goes great with a coral-pink lipgloss on top. Clinique Chubby Stick in Mega Melon looks way more opaque swatched above than it actually is. It brings out the pink color of my lips and it's quite sheer and appropriate for everyday wear or with a heavier eye. Revlon Lip Balm Stain in Honey was my favorite summer lip product last year. It's a pink-mauve balm that looks universally flattering. Again, goes great with a pink gloss on top. L'Oreal Lipstick in Everbloom is a really bright warm pink. I put it on my lips and then dab it out with my fingers to sheer it out and pair it with a pink gloss. L'Oreal Lipstick in Vagabond Mauve is a raspberry colored lipstick. Again, super bright so I usually dab it after applying to make the color more sheer.

Left to right: L'Oreal Pucker Up Pink, Benefit Dandelion, Bare Minerals Smooth Talker, Benefit Sugarbomb, L'Oreal Raspberry Flush

These are my springtime lipglosses. Not too many, so I'm looking forward to expanding my collection this spring! L'Oreal Le Gloss Lipgloss in Pucker Up Pink is a shimmery baby pink gloss. It leans more towards cool toned in my opinion, but it still looks really nice on my lips. It's very sheer so I usually put it on top of a lipstick or lip balm, but it can be worn over the lips to brighten them up. Benefit Ultra Plush Gloss in Dandelion is one of my favorite light pink lipglosses. I'm really going to miss it when my small tube runs out (shame they're so expensive!).  It's a beautiful warm baby pink color that looks stunning on its own for a sheer wash of color on the lip. BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Smooth Talker is new to my collection, so I haven't worn it too much. It looks more pink swatched above, but it comes off more peach-gold on my lips. It's more of a summer color, but would look great on warm sunny spring days. Benefit Ultra Plush Gloss in Sugarbomb is a shimmery cool-toned pink mauve lipgloss. It's one of their more pigmented glosses and adds sparkle to my lips. L'oreal Le Gloss Lipgloss in Raspberry Flush is a cool-toned magenta. It's super pigmented so I have to dab my lips after applying. It's also very cool toned, so it doesn't look good with my complexion when it's applied thick. 

FASHION HAUL

Victoria's Secret. Quite thin, cotton hoodie. Would be excellent for cooler, sunny days.

  

New York & Company. Thick, sequined scarf. Such a pretty lilac color to wear on cooler days. 

 New York & Company. Soft, cotton, thin sweater. Way brighter than in the picture! Great paired with shorts. 

 New York & Company. Coral polyester tank. Good top for work on sunny spring days. 

  Target. Cotton long-tee. Super bright hot pink color! I imagine wearing this with shorts on warm days.

 Target. Soft, medium thickness sweater. Looks bright red here, but it's actually more of an orangey-red.

Life Updates (1 week into the New Year!)

So, life has been super hectic since Tuesday. I've been meaning to do this blog post for a couple days, but something or another has come up. Lots of deadlines, errands, and of course school work prevented me from writing this until now. But the good news is that I've finished my Scholarly Project proposal (and submitted it!) and I did my first Advanced Medical Interviewing session! That's the class I was super nervous about because we had to interview emotional patients. It was really really hard and I definitely think I could have handled my patient better, but it was an excellent learning experience. I realized things I did need to improve on (such as not saying "I understand" all the damn time). My patient even said "you know the 4th time when you said I understand, it was a little wearisome" haha. Oh well, embarrassing but a good learning experience anyway.
After AMI I was sooooo beat that I decided to take the evening off and do some much needed cleaning and make it my diet day off for this week. I also kinda started feeling a little feverish and sick, so I took a little nap and just chilled out, watching YouTube videos and stuff. Unproductive night, but I got all of my post-Xmas goodies stashed away and finished washing my dishes this morning. I just need to vacuum, fold my clothes, and do some laundry, which I was going to do tonight. Otherwise my room is pretty clean! I have been thinking of all our Christmas decorations and I think I'm going to keep them up probably until either Valentine's day or until my spring decorations come up. I don't have a lot of spring stuff, but I love decorating my apartment seasonally so I'm sure I can find something.

Although this week has been super busy, I've been somewhat annoyed with myself because I'm already slacking on some of my resolutions. For instance, I had to eat at the hospital cafeteria 2x this week because I had been so busy in the morning that I had forgotten to pack a lunch, or the snacks I did pack weren't filling enough. Wednesday was really bad...I checked my food diary at 4pm and realized I had only eaten 400 calories. Needless to say, that was a no-workout day (hey that rhymes!). I guess I just need to plan out my meals ahead of time and make sure I leave enough time in the morning to prepare and pack food. It's a learning experience! I think this is gonna put a dent in my money savings resolution, butttt hopefully no more than $350 this month? Only $50 more than intended. Not bad since I had to get all my Step1 books and everything this month right?
And then there's next week, where I have 3 dinner dates planned. AHHHH. Diet disaster, much? However, Monday is going to be my diet day off so I'm not worried about that. Wednesday I'm going to a restaurant after the Wicked show. I'm just going to exercise like crazy that morning (an hour on the elliptical = 600 calories!) so I can eat a bigger meal later. And then Thursday, I have to take a guest speaker out to a fancy dinner. The place hasn't been decided yet, but hopefully it's somewhat fancy enough that they have smaller meals or yummy salads for the super skinny rich guests they regularly have. I'm a little nervous because I'm hoping that it won't derail my diet and make me super duper bloated.

This is shaping up to be such a long blogpost, but soooo many things happened this week. Oh! I also subscribed to LaurenConrad.com, which is slowly becoming my favorite site. She's such a doll and such an inspiration! I've loved LC since Laguna Beach and I'm so glad I discovered her website. It's literally everything I love in one blog. And I love the pictures she posts of her life, they make me so happy and actually optimistic for a change :)

Anyway, back to studying I suppose. And time to workout to burn all those tortilla chips I ate yesterday! :X

Morning Routine! :)

Blah it's about 5pm and I'm feeling SO tired, exhausted, and sickly. I don't know if I'm actually getting sick or if it's from my sleep deprivation. Or it could be from the 3 cups of coffee I've chugged today :X oops! I've managed to get a whopping NOTHING done today so kind of bummed about that, but going on a light jog right after this and hope to feel better after that and pow down on some more coursework and errands. SOOO excited for Pretty Little Liars and Ravenswood tonight though! I've waited so long for PLL to come back!
Anywhos, during my break I saw some great tips in my February edition of Fitness magazine on how to cut down on time from your morning routine was super inspired by the article. So I figured I should jot down a morning routine that will hopefully get me looking glam every morning. Here's my revised morning routine for post-7am workout mornings to get ready in a jiffy!

Step #1: Shower! 
I've pretty much stocked up high on my favorite body washes, the Bath & Body Works Shower Gels. They're super moisturizing and most of the time, I don't need to put on moisturizer once I get out of the shower.
For my hair, I like washing it after workouts or every other day with Pantene Classic Clean Shampoo and Pantene Smooth Conditioner (don't know the exact name, but it's something along those lines). The conditioner leaves my hair super duper soft and only costs like $5, love love love. I've also kind of converted into a morning shower-er since I love the refreshed feeling I get, kinda like I'm ready to tackle the day. Night showers are relaxing too, but there's just something awesome about morning workouts that gets my day kickstarted. I don't know, I'm weird I guess.
For face wash, I like to use the Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser in the morning because it leaves me with a nice, clean, tingly skin that feels super refreshing in the morning.

Step #2: Moisturize
Like I said, most days I don't put on a body lotion, but on days my skin is feeling parched, I either put on a body lotion or a body butter. Currently, my favorite body lotion is Bath & Body Works Body Lotion in Winter Candy Apple, but I kinda wanna swap it out for an unscented body lotion or even a lotion spray. I also have two body butters at the moment that I'm going through for the winter-spring season and they are the Lavanila The Healthy Body Butter in Pure Vanilla and the Bath & Body Works Body Butter in Warm Vanilla Sugar. I love both of the scents, but the Lavanila butter is super duper sweet and can be a little overwhelming sometimes. And I think they just discontinued the products at Sephora, so that's really sad :( However, to continue my vanilla body butter scent fix, I just bought the B&B Warm Vanilla Sugar butter when it was on sale post-Christmas. I've tried it at the store before and it smells diiiiiivine! Vanilla's definitely my favorite body scent since it can be worn at any season and isn't super overpowering, but yet really girly and fresh.
Anyway, enough about body lotions and smells. I also like to tone and moisturize my face after I get out of the shower. For toner, I use the Clinique Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion and for moisturizer, I love the Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30. 

Step #3: Haircare
While my moisturizer is setting, I like to do my hair. If I have time, I try to blow dry my hair so I look more put together. I towel dry my hair until it's damp and spritz on my Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Healing Dry Oil and comb it through with a comb or my wet brush. I blow dry it using my Revlon hairdryer at the low setting to reduce frizz. If I'm reaaaally in a rush, I just set it to the high setting, but I try avoiding this if possible. Once dry, I put a dot of the Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum throughout my hair to provide shine and reduce frizz. Then, I pull my hair into a low bun so I can focus on mah makeup. Oh and I always make sure to wash my hands after I do my hair, because the products I use contain oils, which can cause breakouts if I touch my face after using them.

Step #4: Makeup Time
This, unfortunately always takes me the longest time. If I don't have time to do any makeup, I always make sure to dot on some concealer on my darkest spots. Right now, I'm using the BareMinerals Correcting Concealer in Medium Tan. If I have time, I dab on some BareMinerals Mineral Veil to set the concealer. Most of the times, I do this, grab a lipgloss, and run out the door.
Buttt, if I have time, I like to put some mascara, undereye concealer, highlighter/blush, and eyeshadow (in that order!). I'll do a separate post about quickie products, but some of my favorite grab&go makeup items are the Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes in Fuller Fudge, Benefit Ultra Plush Lipgloss in Coralista, and any of the Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle. I can either put them on in a jiffy without makeup or stow them in my bag to take with me to school and apply later. I'm trying to make more time in the morning to do my makeup, but this is always really hard for some reason :( I get too bogged down in perfecting my concealer, I think.


So that was a really detailed post, but basically, my routine can be broken down into:

1. Shower/wash hair and face
2. Skincare -- tone and moisturize my face and body if I need to
3. Hair -- blow dry, put anti-frizz serum
4. Makeup -- apply concealer, powder, mascara, blush/highlighter, eyeshadow if possible
5. Stash some to-go items in my bag for later

That's about it. Doing all 5 of these steps ensures that I look put together and fresh-faced for the day. Now if only I could fit into super clothes, I'd be a bombshell ;) jk jk, haha.

New Year's Resolutions Update!

It's officially been one week into 2014! Woo! Have you kept up with your resolutions? Let's check in and see how I'm doing on my resolutions.

#1 Weight

So I'm kind of sick of weighing myself on the scale because I find that it really makes me nervous and totally derails/damages my diet if I gain even half a pound. Therefore I've stopped weighing myself religiously like I used to. As far as clothes fit, I think it's still a little too early to tell, although I kinda I'm a little less bloated! Not much, but I'm trying to take baby steps rather than make big, huge changes at one time. Currently I'm up to working out for 30 minutes at a time for about 4-5 days a week. Not too shabby, but I'd like to eventually hit 45-60 mins each day for 4-5 days a week. I'm drinking as much water as possible, but not as much as I'd like to, so I want to work on that as well.

#2 Capturing memories

UGH I hate the weather for ruining my plans!! It's been super duper chilly here the past week (-30 wind chill today! ...yeah!) so my plans of hanging out with a friend before she moved out to Greensburg for PA school kinda went down the drain. The roads are kinda icy and it's seriously SO cold outside! So glad we don't have mandatory school this morning. However, I have some pretty awesome get-togethers lined up this weekend/next week like Ikea, Thai food, Wicked show, etc. which should be tonssss of fun since I haven't seen my friends in like 2+ weeks :) 

#3 Old friends

This kinda ties in with #2, but like I said lots of get-togethers planned once I get outta Cranberry and back into the Oaks! :) As far as old friends go, I've kinda texted Dan and Emma a little bit over break, but I'll probably check in with them towards the end of the month. Kinda bummed that a few of my college friends visited over break for a wedding, but I couldn't get to see them ;( and again bummed about not being able to see Anne before she leaves for PA school. Ughhh friends moving away totally sucks! :( I have a feeling that this may be my hardest resolution this year...

#4 Processed foods/refined sugars

I'm doing pretty well with this one. I'm slowly trying to cut processed foods from my diet. I will admit I ate some white bread yesterday and white pasta but only because I'm at home and my parents hate anything whole wheat and mostly only stock refined pastas and breads. I just went grocery shopping yesterday though and didn't get anything refined and really really cut back on the processed, canned foods. I mean I'm not gonna go crazy and cut out EVERY little piece of processed food because that would just be completely impossible because of my hectic lifestyle. But I think I did cut out a good bit. Like no more Cheez-Its for snacks, no more Lean Pockets, not even Ritz crackers! I got some healthy-ish snacks, soups, and frozen foods at Whole Foods that look a lot cleaner than the stuff I was eating before so I'm really excited to try those! But yeah, I'm going to see how I handle all my January groceries and make adjustments likewise, but so far so good!! Really proud of myself for eating healthy these last few days. Like I said, not pristine clean food, but definitely much better than I had been doing last semester. Let's keep this going! 

#5 Sleeping 7+ hours a night

I'm doing well on this too! Although it's only the second day back at school haha. I've been trying to change my sleeping patterns to wake up earlier and earlier. I went from waking up at 10 am Sunday to 8:30 am Monday to 7:30 am today. So hopefully will be waking up at 6am in the next few days here! I only slept 6 hours last night though but I think that's okay since I'm still changing sleeping schedules. I'll probably be super tired tonight and end up sleeping at 9am. I love waking up in the morning with the sun, and that's a great motivator for me to get my butt up and get my day started. Can't wait until the weather clears up and I can start doing some light morning walks at sunrise too. 

#6 Money

Ah, last but not least my new year's resolution to fix my shopping problem. Alright, sooooo I may have kind of cheated on No Buy January and bought some sweaters at Target :X buttttt I've really been wanting some new sweaters since November because a lot of mine are starting to get old and worn. Target had 50% off their sweaters and so I figured what the heck, my exception to the no buy rule is only if there are good sales, and this fit the exception! So I got 2 sweaters and 1 long t-shirt for $30 and I'm so so so happy because two of them can work for spring as well. And I'm actually proud of myself for not wandering around picking up more stuff at Target like I usually do. And I still have not bought a single beauty related product this month! Woo woo! As far as my credit card bill goes, my limit was $300 a month ($250 = brownie points!) But I did just spend $115 at Walmart yesterday and $15 at Whole Foods the other day for groceries, which is gonna amp up my bill quite a bit. I literally threw away most of my food at the end of the semester because I figured it was time to get some fresh stuff, hence the high bill. Usually my grocery bills average $50 so we should be good from here on out. 

Unfortunately though I think my January bill may also top off at about $300 or more this month not only because of groceries, but also because of Step 1. I just spent nearly $75 getting study books. Combine that with groceries and sweaters, and so far my bill is around $250. Ughhhhh. Responsibilities totally suck. My expenditures have mainly been: Study books, groceries, Target sweaters, my brother's $5 Pokemon cards (his gift, don't ask). Yep so nothing crazy, just mainly groceries and study books, all of which were accounted for in my loans. Only $50 play money this month :(  I have a feeling I may not be able to keep up this resolution this month.