Creative Bloggers Award

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Much love and gratitude to The Beautified Blogger for nominating me for the Creative Bloggers Award.  She always delivers a wealth of blog posts on beauty from retro chic to present fab!  I love her weekly nail polish choices which always deliver the most lush and glamorous colors!  She is such a sweet heart and her nails are always on fleek.

 

The Rules:

Nominate 20 other blogs and their links.

Thank and post the link of the blog that nominated you (very important).

Share 5 facts about yourself to your readers.

Notify all nominees via their social media/blogs.

Pass these rules on to them.

Five facts about me:

l.  I love blogging about health, fitness and beauty!

2.  My passport just arrived so I’m planning to travel the world.

3.  I love meeting people!

4.  I’m creating my Bucket List and will be blogging about it in the near future.

5.  I love to walk and jog along the beach it’s so relaxing!

I will be nominating several bloggers and posting soon!!!!!

 

Peace and Love,

Pink Running Kicks

 

Check out and follow my other social media:

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/pinkrunningkicks

Facebook Page:  http://www.facebook.com/pinkrunningkicks

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/copperlady2009

 

 

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Making Your Grocery Shopping Fun!

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To make grocery shopping for healthy meals fun, easy  and motivational you should give a designed shopping list a try. I created a shopping list for myself to help me stay focused in picking up items that are necessary for my “clean eating” meal plan.  My first grocery list was something that I made with a notepad and my label maker.  It was a little time consuming to create, but it really kept me focused.

 

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In order to cut down on prep time, I then decided to go to Vistaprint and design my own shopping list. The notepads that I designed only cost about $5 each and you get 50 sheets/notepad.   This really motivates me to pick up my items on time (every 3-5 days)  so that I can meal prep and bring my healthy lunch and snacks to work on a daily basis.

 

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So, now I just clip my grocery list to my agenda and go!  I check off items as I pick them up.  This keeps me away from any aisle with items that can sabotage my grocery trip (e.g. pastries, candy, chips, soda, etc.).

 

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Question:

How do you plan for shopping?

 

Peace and Love

 

Check out my other social media sites:

Instagram:  pinkrunningkicks

Facebook Page:  Pink Running Kicks

 

 

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

 

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Very Inspiring Blogger Award

It’s such an honor to be nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.  I’d like to thank 3 phenomenal and beautiful bloggers who nominated me and write fantastic posts on a daily basis:

l. chantalandshekinah.wordpress.com

2. courtenaysbeautybox.wordpress.com

3.  vogueinfatuation.wordpress.com

 

Chantal of chantalandshekinah@wordpress.com you have such a beautiful spirit and your beauty and fashion insight is impeccable.  I always enjoy your OOTD and makeup and hair photos.

Courtalex95, of courtenaysbeauybox.wordpress.com I enjoy all of your fashion updates, makeup tutorials and knowledge of trends in fashion and entertainment.    Despite the fact that you are a full-time college student you still find time to provide us with several great blogs everyday.  Your determination and dedication will definitely payoff.

Amy of vogueinfatuation.wordpress.com you are a such an inspiration and provide me with makeup, fashion updates, a great eye for jewelry and snippets into your life.  I always look forward to your next post.

 

The rules for this award –

  1. Thank the person who nominated you and add their link to your blog
  2. List the award rules so your nominees will know what to do.
  3.  State 7 things about yourself.
  4. Nominate other bloggers.
  5. Contact your nominees and provide a link to your post.
  6. Display the award logo (button) on your blog, whether on your sidebar or about page, or special award page.

7 Things About Me:

l.     I was a vegetarian for 3 years and I recently became a pescatarian (I think I’ll be switching back though).

2.  I love decorating my Lilly Pulitzer Agendas and I think that washi tape is the greatest invention of all times.

3.  I love my Nike+ App.

4.  I wish I owned a blueberry farm.

5.  I love Chococat, Hello Kitty’s buddy.

6.  I collected stickers when I was a girl up to my teens and I’ve started collecting them again.

7.  I like to watch fishing shows on television and I like to fish.  However, I’ve never caught a fish LOL!

 

I nominate all of my friends who follow and support my blog.  You all inspire me!  More nominations to come!

 

Peace and Love!

Falafel Salad

I decided that I wanted to make something low calorie and satisfying for dinner tonight.

I chose to use my Falafel Mix that I purchased from Wholefoods.  I decided to bake the falafels rather than fry them.  Directions for preparing the falafels are on the side of the box.

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The salad turned out to be very tasty.  I made my own dressing for the salad.

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Falafel Dressing Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 tbs of Sour Cream or Yogurt

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dill

1/2 lemon’s juice

3 small bell peppers (yellow, red or orange) diced

4 green onions diced

Combine all ingredients in a food processor.  I used my NutriBullet.

salt and pepper to taste

Peace and Love

Getting Fit and Fabulous!

I’m so excited about my new purchases.  I decided to invest in the Fitbit and the Fitbit Aria to assist me on my health and fitness quest.  I’m really enjoying the Fitbit app as well, it’s very useful.

Fitbit Charge- Wireless Activity Wristband

It monitors how many steps you’ve taken, floors climbed, sleep quality and caller ID.

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Fitbit Aria- Wi-Fi Smart Scale

It records your weight and BMI and automatically uploads it into your Fitbit computer program.

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Fitness Goals:

l.  Drinking water daily!!!!!!!

2.  Continuing with my workouts (walking, jogging, cross-training, strength training)

3.  Using my Nike+ app

4.  Meal Preparations ( I will research this and include it in another blog)

5.  Dietbet (to be discussed in an upcoming blog)

Keeping Fabulous

I’m so fancy, you already know (singing this in my head as I write tonight)

I have the distinct pleasure of being born with sensitive skin.  As a result, I have to be extra careful with my cleansers and such. I can remember being so embarrassed my freshman year in college because the toothpaste that I was using left dark rings around the corners of my mouth.  One particular guy that I was so attracted to never seemed to mind the discoloration.  One day I talked to him about it and he said, “I just thought you were born that way” (car screeching noise).  I was so embarrassed from what I labeled as my “Toothpaste Burn”.  But, I digress.

So to ensure that my skin remains smooth and even toned I use the following:

Sensitive Skin Dove ( God’s gift)-  I never have any problems and I’ve been using it for years.

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Another favorite and just about the only body wash that I can use is Shea Moistures Organic Coconut Hibiscus Shea Butter Wash (Targets).  HeyFranHey (Youtube natural hair and all things natural blogger/vlogger) hipped me to this.  She used it to help her eczema flare ups.  It smells really good too!

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I went to Walmart today in search of a new facial cleanser, scrub and moisturizer.  I have not tried these products yet, so I will give them a try and update you on my success.

Simple Skin Care

I purchased the Simple foaming cleanser, facial scrub, facial toner, moisturizer, and eye make-up remover pads.  This brand was created by sensitive skin experts.

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I also picked up some Milani Fingernail polishes (31 Pink Beige and 08  Cupcake Icing)

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I finally found a Milani lipstick that I had been searching for the past couple of weeks.    Kendra (YouTube Beauty Guru -GlamTwinz334) talked about this being one of her favorite lipsticks.

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Well, I’m heading to bed for a much needed rest.

Peace and Love

Beverly Hills Adventures

My exciting day started at about 9:00am in the morning.  I made an appointment to go to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Salon for an Eyebrow Shaping appt. and I decided to add in some fitness activity as well.

Sporting my Gel-Kayano 20 Asics today.  They are so comfortable for both walking and jogging.

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Since my brow appt. wasn’t until 11:00am, I decided to walk around Beverly Hills and sightsee.  I turned on my favorite Nike+ Running App to record my mileage.  I love this running app because you can see your activity over several months.   You can join or create walking/running challenges with your friends.  It plays your favorite playlist as you run as well.  There is a Coach feature that will create a program to train for a 5K, 10K, 13.1(half marathon) or 26.2 (marathon).  You receive motivation throughout your run from your friends or professional runners.  A+ for the Nike+ app.


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As I walked, I took a couple of pictures of some of the stores on my route.

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cartier

bvlga

armani

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Finally made it to my destination after a vigorous walk.

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My appt. was with Courtney and she did an awesome job of giving me my first professional eyebrow shaping.

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My morning ended with a nice breakfast at the Roxbury Dr. Cafe.

Later on that day I decided to go by Walgreens Drugstore to see what new cosmetics were available.

I picked up a few of the new items from the Covergirl Queen Collection.

CC Creams in the colors:  Sheer Expresso and Golden Honey

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Queen Collection Colorlicious Gloss:  Copper Bliss, Lush Lavendar, Million Dollar Mocha

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Also decided to purchase the Babyskin Instant Pore Eraser

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Put it all together for a Sassy New Years look!

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Peace and Love

New Recipe- Curry Shrimp

Curry Shrimp

 

I usually use this brand of curry sauce to make all of my curry dishes.  In the past I’ve made Curry Tofu and Veggies.  Today I used shrimp to make a delicious pescatarian meal.

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Ingredients:

1 box of curry sauce mix

1-2 lbs of raw shrimp (de-vein)

2 large russet potatoes

2 carrots

1 white onion

1-2 tbs minced garlic

2-3 tbs of oil (olive or canola)

3-31/2 cups of water

steamed brown or white rice

Step 1:

Dice up russet potatoes and carrots.

 

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Step 2:

Wash shrimp.  I thawed frozen shrimp which were already de-veined.

 

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Step 3:

Chop up a white onion and add 1 tbs of minced garlic to 2 tbs of oil (olive, canola, etc.).  Sauté until onions are translucent (4-5 minutes).

 

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Step 4:

Add potatoes and carrots and 1 1/2 cup of water to pot.  Add 1/2 of the curry brick and stir.  Heat for about 20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots start to get tender.

 

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Step 5:

Add another 1 1/2 cups of water and the other half of the curry brick.  Stir until curry brick is dissolved.  Add shrimp.  Add another 1/2 cup of water.  Cook until the shrimp are bright pink (8-10 minutes)

 

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Step 6:

Serve with steamed brown or white rice.

 

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Peace and Love

 

 

Let’s Get Acquainted- My Other Hobby

Those who know me personally know that I enjoy purchasing makeup.  I love to buy the newest items that hit the makeup aisles or counters in any drugstore, Target or department store.  Why do I love makeup so much?  I really just love everything in the world of beauty.  If I had another career it may have been Makeup Artistry.  Here are a few of my most recent purchases and everyday must-haves.

I normally use the BB Kiss BB cream in medium.  It is lightweight, but gives full coverage.  As you can see I use this quite often it’s one of my favs.

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Since my skin can sometimes be oily I have to wear a mattifying base underneath the BB Cream.  I love this one that I picked up from Targets.

 

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I recently purchased several press powders from Nigel’s Beauty Emporium in Hollywood.  I’ve yet to try them, but I will let you know how they turn out in a future blog.

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I splurged on two eyeshadow palettes that I can’t  wait to experiment with them soon!

 

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New brushes that I picked up, pink of course.

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Keep those brushes clean to prevent breakouts.  Here are my current brush and beauty blender cleaners.  I already tried the brush cleaner and it’s amazing.  A little goes a long way.

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My everyday fragrances.  I love, love, love these two in combination.

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A few more facts about me…..

l.  My favorite color is pink (any shade)

2.  I love to workout outdoors (walking/running on the beach is my fav.)

3.  Favorite running shoes:  Asics and Nikes (pink has to be present somewhere on the shoes of course!)

4.  Favorite fruit:  Blueberries

5.  Favorite Music:  R & B

6.  Favorite Comedian:  Richard Pryor (who else?)

7.  Favorite Shows:  (Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder -Go Kerry and Viola)

8.  Favorite Meal:  Pescatarian or Vegetarian

9.  Favorite Thing to Do:  Watch YouTube Videos, Blog

10:  Next Major Purchase:  I need another camera because I’m using my iPhone for pics.  I won’t purchase one unless I consistently blog for the next two weeks though.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask in comments below.

Peace and Love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Saves the Day!

I thought all was lost tonight when I tried to find an open Starbucks.  My usual tradition is to order my White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha and drive around the neighborhood to look at the Christmas Lights.  So, to go to three different Starbucks and find out they were all closed early put a slight damper on my cheery Christmas mood.

But lo and behold, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was OPEN!!!! I was so excited.  I ordered my festive drink and went on my merry way.

 

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Saves the Day!

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As I cruised the streets tonight, I reflected on how happy and blessed I am in my life.  I have great friends, my parents are healthy, I love my job and God is the center of my joy.

Earlier today, I managed to get all of my grocery shopping done.  As I stated in a previous blog, my love of cooking is being rekindled.  I picked up a new item today that the grocery clerk was telling me was quite delicious.

 

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I will be preparing a Pescatarian Christmas lunch tomorrow.  Pics will be up on the blog tomorrow!  My evening will be spent with loved ones who are very dear to me.

I’ll leave you with the festive sounds of the Whispers tonight.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

Peace and Love

 

 

 

 

Day 2 of Winter Vacay!

Another day of peace and relaxation Yaaaay!  I’m enjoying the days off to rest and recharge.  I can’t believe it, but I’m now watching Gossip Girl Season 1-5 on Netflix and I’m enjoying it LOL!  Tomorrow will probably be more eventful.  I’ve started to open Christmas gifts from my staff.  I’m now enjoying these sweet delicacies that are contained in these delightfully cute boxes.  There are chocolates, kettle corn, peppermints, and peanut brittle YUM!

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I purchased an interesting book from the Getty Villa when I visited the museum a few months ago.  I try to read an excerpt per day.  It is definitely well worth the purchase.

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My new candle from Bath and Body Works will really make the home nice and fragrant.  I love the three wick candles, especially when they are on sale.

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I will take my traditional drive through my neighborhood to look at Christmas Lights on the night of Christmas Eve.  I always enjoy cruising down each street and sipping on a White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks while listening to my favorite Christmas song by Ledisi.

Well, have a great evening.

Peace and Love

1st Day Of Winter Break

Sooooooo! I had planned to do some semi exciting activities today. However, I ended up watching YouTube videos and Netflix movies pretty much all day.  Yep! I have started my vacation as a couch potato.  Some of the reasons for my lack of activity may be due to a sudden little bug that I seem to have caught since the light showers over the past week here in sunny California.  I have been trying to treat this little affliction with the following items, but I don’t think they are working very well.

 

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Speaking of You Tube videos.  I’ve been catching up on watching some of the Makeup Gurus on Youtube.  Some of my favorites are:

l.  GlamTwinz234

2.  C Key

3.  SunKissAlba

4.  ItsJudyTime

5.  MsLizHeart

6. BeautybyLee

I have many more which I may mention in another blog.  My latest task will be to master contouring.  I picked up a couple of contouring pallets this Christmas.

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It should be a lot of phone trying out new looks.  I’ll post the new makeup items that I haul in future blogs.  I have a huge haul from Nigel’s Emporium that I need to tell you about.  I will also start adding in My Bucketlist which I am creating.  One item is to complete a Makeup Artistry Workshop and receive my Pro Card.  I love makeup!!!!!!

I’ve completed some Christmas Shopping.  I sent my parents their gifts.  I will not post a pic because they may read the blog and spoil the surprise.  However, I’ve purchased a few new perfumes for myself.

 

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I’ve decided to cook everyday for the next 3 weeks of my Winter vacation.  I will have to grocery shop tomorrow.  But, first I need to make room in my refrigerator.  I will need to make room for fresh fruits and vegetables.  A more recent bit of news is that I am now a pescatarian.  I recently added seafood to my diet.  I think it helps me with balancing my meals a little better.  I will take pics of the new recipes that I will be preparing.  Pinterest is my new best friend.  I love to try the recipes that I see on there.

 

I do have a few YouTube Chefs that I follow religiously.

l.  Cooking with April

2.  Laura Vitale

3.  Divas Can Cook

 

My running routine needs severe help.  I was doing great over the summer.  As soon as my new job started my running ended (sob).  I will have to reinvent myself once again.

My plan is to blog everyday so see you tomorrow!

Peace and Love!

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Outings!

Today was a pretty active day for me.  I’m loving breakfast these days.  I usually use my new Nutribullet to whip up a green smoothie.  I’ve become addicted to Ezekiel Bread Cinnamon and Raisin English Muffins.  I spread on about 2 tbs of Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter. Mmmm Good!  The pic below is a typical breakfast for me give or take a couple of hard boiled eggs or scrambled easy.  My smoothies are made with spinach, frozen fruit, chia seeds, flax seed and agave nectar.                                                                                

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So, before I went to workout I stopped by Sports Chalet to pick up a Polar FT7.  This little gadget should help me stay in my fat burning zone and optimize my workouts. Hmm, let’s see if this works out.  I’m totally confused by it already LOL.

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Once I made it to the beach I started my 45 minute long walking routine.  I’m incorporating the “STAIRS” into my routine.  My legs are killing me on the way up.

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But, once I get to the top I’m all smiles.  The stairs are really steep and sandy.

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I will be blogging on my trips to the gym and updating you on my progress.

Lunch today was so-so.  I usually make a mean salad, but today’s was a little bland believe it or not!  

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What was your Saturday workout routine?

What did you have for lunch?