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5 Awesome Vegan Snacks
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Being vegan is a huge part of my life. One of my favorite hobbies is grocery shopping. Yes. Grocery shopping. There's a common misconception that vegans only stick to the green wall of leafs in the produce department. While vegetables are important and nutritious and delicious, I'm here to tell you that there is life beyond that beautiful section of the store.
Here are 5 products to make your vegan heart sing!
1. Silk Almond Creamer
This creamer adds the most amazing flavor to your coffee. It's even better than I ever remember milk based creamers tasting. Good bye cruelty flavored coffee!
2. SO Delicious Cashew Milk Snickerdoodle Ice Cream
If someone mentions ice cream in conversation, there's a good chance that I will start talking about this one and likely won't stop until the other participants have taken some kind of oath that they will go buy it. Cashew milk ice cream is unlike any other I've had. It is so silky smooth and luxurious. Also, the snickerdoodle cookie dough chunks are graciously dispersed throughout. Win-win!
3. Gardein Meatless Pepperoni Pizza Pockets
When I am in a hurry and craving something really sinful, I cling to these. They taste so similar to hot pockets (from what I remember) and truly knock them out of the water when comparing the nutritional facts. You definitely won't be missing hot pockets after having these.
4. Earth Balance Vegan Aged White Cheddar Popcorn
Your jaw will seriously drop when you taste this stuff. I know mine did. I have no idea how they so perfectly capture the essence of white cheddar in this snack, but it is so spot on. Also, the bag is huge so I really feel like it's worth the month.
5. Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda Slices
I followed my heart when I bought these, and I am SO much better for it. I haven't always been on board with vegan cheeses, but I can say that these make excellent grilled cheese sandwiches and go great on baked potatoes. I was especially impressed with how well they melted.
What are some of your favorite snacks? Let me know!
3 Ways to Take Better Care of Yourself in 2017
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
There's a reason there are so many jokes about breaking resolutions every January:
Resolutions are HARD!
Resolutions often trick us into thinking that we
actually have to wait all year long for a clean slate.
The truth is this: you can create a clean slate whenever you feel like it by envisioning the changes you want to make, putting your visions into plans, and then putting your plans into actions. Easy enough, right?
As someone who has failed resolutions time and time again, I now realize that the problem has been with my mindset. In years past I have come into each "new slate" wanting to change myself due to my perceived deficits. Meaning that I only wanted to change due to my own negative thoughts about myself. I wanted to be better because I was constantly comparing myself and my success to others. We live in a time when this is easier than ever to do because the people we follow or see online show us all the best details from their lives. This year, I hope that my resolutions will come from a place of love for myself. I don't want to feel like I have to keep up with someone else's wardrobe, home decor, or makeup. I want my inner voice to speak out about things that I truly desire. I want to change myself with the mindset of: "I want to ____ because I deserve that". This type of thinking is going to take a lot of work on my part. I am going to have to shut out my negative voice constantly (probably) until it eventually dissipates (hopefully).
I plan to create "resolutions" (dare I call them that... is there another word? Self projects? Project Self?) for these areas of my life: professional, personal work, and beauty/health.
1. Professional
I stay at work way too late most days working on endless piles of things. I have to remember it will always be there tomorrow. This is not a lazy mindset, this is out of respect for myself and my personal time. What can you do to better balance your personal and professional life?
2. Personal Work
I have so many passions in life. Two of my biggest passions are beauty and writing. The sad thing is, I don't always work on these two things because I'm busy working on things that aren't as important OR I'm just straight up wasting time. When I look back on things I didn't accomplish, I get so annoyed with myself because I can never remember what I was actually doing with all that time. What are some of your passions?
3. Beauty/Health
Mental and physical health are so important and are definitely linked. With that said, I need to seriously get it together in both of these departments. I allow myself to get too bogged down with work to the point of not being able to take care of myself in the way I need to. That's so unfair to myself and the others who have to put up with me!
As you can see, these goals go hand in hand with one another, which really shows how areas of our lives layer over each other. I really hope that I can use the correct mindset this year to do better for myself!
What are some of your resolutions this year?
Let me know below!
Also, tag a friend in this post who will help hold you accountable for reaching your goals this year!
5 Ways to be More Selfless
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Hello internet!
I hope that all is well. Today I finally posted another video featuring ideas on how to be more selfless this season. This is a topic I've been thinking a lot about especially since last month. It's so easy to keep yourself in a bubble and ignore the privileges you have.
I sometimes think I'm too busy to make any kind of difference and often accept that my career is one that changes lives anyway, so I don't always attempt to do anything extra. I often find myself tearing up at videos about animals (honestly, sad or happy- animals just elicit that kind of reaction from me), videos about diseases, videos about hunger, videos about homelessness, etc. There are so many large issues that living beings in our world face. Lately I find myself feeling guilty for having nice things or even semi-nice things. Of course, I then started feeling bad for feeling bad, so I tried to find some kind of solution for that instead of just simply allowing myself to feel bad. Feeling bad about things is not very proactive, so I began to think about all of the things that I, or anyone really, could do to contribute to the world. This video was born out of that feeling. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know if you have any additional ideas or if you feel inspired to do any of these things!
I hope that all is well. Today I finally posted another video featuring ideas on how to be more selfless this season. This is a topic I've been thinking a lot about especially since last month. It's so easy to keep yourself in a bubble and ignore the privileges you have.
I sometimes think I'm too busy to make any kind of difference and often accept that my career is one that changes lives anyway, so I don't always attempt to do anything extra. I often find myself tearing up at videos about animals (honestly, sad or happy- animals just elicit that kind of reaction from me), videos about diseases, videos about hunger, videos about homelessness, etc. There are so many large issues that living beings in our world face. Lately I find myself feeling guilty for having nice things or even semi-nice things. Of course, I then started feeling bad for feeling bad, so I tried to find some kind of solution for that instead of just simply allowing myself to feel bad. Feeling bad about things is not very proactive, so I began to think about all of the things that I, or anyone really, could do to contribute to the world. This video was born out of that feeling. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know if you have any additional ideas or if you feel inspired to do any of these things!
Living More Passionately
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Recently I've gotten a lot of in person comments from people about my YouTube videos. It has meant a lot to know that people have actually taken the time to watch them and have even found them enjoyable to watch! I was truly unsure of where they might take me or how I would be received. Surprisingly, I've been really learning a lot about myself over the last few months. Putting myself out there has really helped me gain some clarity on life.
The things I want in life are constantly changing or evolving. Since I made that first video, I have begun to realize that I've been settling for other people's expectations for me. It is too easy to worry about how you will be perceived by others if you follow your passion, especially if it means turning your back on the more secure pathway to "success". We have a ridiculous idea of success if you ask me. Of course the term means something different for all people. However, generally we feel success is a nice day job, money, marriage, family, etc. Please don't get me wrong, those things are wonderful for many people. However, they have become the standard "life formula" which people are expected to follow. Am I saying I don't want some of those things eventually? Absolutely not! But I also want something more.
I have turned my back on passion many times only to regret it later. I've replayed those decisions over and over, trying to picture what could have been if I had only chosen what was actually in my heart- not what I thought someone else's expectation of me was. I've taken jobs I loathed and studied courses that made me miserable. I worked tirelessly over each task I was given. Why? I knew I wasn't passionate about those things, yet I continued to do them because I was afraid of letting the other people around me down.
I've been thinking about this topic for months now. While mulling it all over, I've been trying to make sense of how people are able to take what they love and morph it into their own realities. I have heard of people loving what they do so much that their jobs don't feel like work. How often do people really feel this way though? I believe that wonderful things can be born out of our imaginations. But I also believe that we silence our imaginations so we can chase down the lives we think we're supposed to be living.
My goal is to stop planning my moves based on what is in some unwritten "How to Live" rule book. Making every attempt to abandon this damaging thought process has helped me more easily clarify what I want out of life. Yesterday someone asked me,
"if time and money were no object, what would you do?"
That was all I needed to hear to understand that I haven't been honest with myself. Of course this doesn't mean I'm going to stop working and am just going to lay in bed and watch Netflix for days (because honestly, I've considered that too), but I am going make a point to regularly check in with myself to see whether or not the things I am choosing are aligned with my personal goals so I can create a better life for myself.
I would love to hear from you!
If you had to answer the above question, what would your answer be?
Also, what do you have control over in your own life that could enable you move closer to that dream life?
My Foundation Routine!
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Hello lovelies!
I am so excited about this video. I actually had more fun making this video than I expected. A foundation routine seems so simple and commonplace, yet I loved making it!
My foundation routine has come a long way over the past 5 years or so. In high school I always opted for drugstore products that were never really quite right for my skin type. I have pretty oily skin, especially in the summertime, so it's important for me to find products that aren't too dewy or oily.
This routine has been in full swing for a while now. Occasionally I pick new products depending on the season, so I may switch it up around October, but for now this is what I'm loving!
I hope you enjoy this video!
I am so excited about this video. I actually had more fun making this video than I expected. A foundation routine seems so simple and commonplace, yet I loved making it!
My foundation routine has come a long way over the past 5 years or so. In high school I always opted for drugstore products that were never really quite right for my skin type. I have pretty oily skin, especially in the summertime, so it's important for me to find products that aren't too dewy or oily.
This routine has been in full swing for a while now. Occasionally I pick new products depending on the season, so I may switch it up around October, but for now this is what I'm loving!
I hope you enjoy this video!
June Favorites 2016
Sunday, June 5, 2016
I am so excited to finally have another video made!
Due to many technical difficulties I was not able to make a new one in the last couple of weeks. I owe a huge thank you to Stephen. I would not be back up and running if it weren't for his amazing ability to solve all of my problems.
My newest video is all about summer beauty favorites!
It can be difficult to find the right beauty products during these hot, summer months!
In this video, I'm sharing my top 5 favorite products this June! These products will keep your face looking flawless, no matter the temperature.
I'd love to hear from you!
What are some of your favorite products for the summer? Let me know in the comments below!
Also, don't forget to subscribe to my channel and share with your friends! Once my subscriber count grows a little more, I'm planning on hosting a giveaway!
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