Been a While

Alrighty, it's been a while since my last blog post =P In a nusthell, I've been baking, hiking, and gardening!

standing on the highest mountain of Los Angeles County! 10,068 ft elevation- Mount San Antonio (Mt. Baldy)

The 11+ mile hike took the entire day but it was so fun! 

baby corn! tomatoes and cucumbers at a distance

natural energy bars made with dates and mixed nuts!

I'll update with more pics soon! :)

I met Brett Hoebel at UCLA

So Friday, I woke up super early and drove to Westwood, CA for my best friend's graduation.  He received his master's degree in Latin American Studies and Urban Planning! I'm so proud of him! So anyways, I see Brett Hoebel (from RevAbs and The Biggest Loser) walk in and I'm like OMG! I sent him a tweet to make sure it was him haha I met up w/him outside and talked for a few minutes! 

Earlier this year, I waited in line for hours to meet Jillian Michaels hehe 

I can't find the darn pic on my computer.  (I'll add it in when I find it)

Here's the bestie showing off his 200 page thesis.

What I've been up to- Part 1-Goodies

Bf and I went to a local flea market today and I bought a ton of great things at ridiculously low prices!! =)

The first 3 items I purchased from a booth selling them for $2.50 EACH! I had to hold back my squeal! The elf tinted moisturizer I purchased from Target a few weeks ago.  It's $3.00 and is a decent deal for the products.  My only gripe is that it leaves my skin oily =/ I'm not sure if this is just me, though.  I have combo skin, oily t-zone normal everywhere else.  I wouldn't purchase it again just cuz I don't like carrying around powder to not look shiny all damn day lol

I bought some L'oreal hair dye (medium dark brown-not pictured), and it came w/that mini Elnett hair spray! I've been wanting to try it for such a long time! I also got a daily moisturizer with SPF 15- I use moisturizer w/spf on the daily so I'm always up to try new ones.  I've got through a few bottles of the Avenno and Up & Up  Target brand.  They also had that Yes To Carrots Hair & Scalp mask which I'm going to try tonight! These products came out to $2-3 each! Again, I had to hold back- you know like those Ikea commercials where the wife comes out running, yelling start the car!! I felt like a was stealing! hahaha 

close up off the mask

Organic Wear mascara wand

Maybelline Define-A-Lash wand

What I've been up to- Part 2-My Lil Organic Garden + DIYing

Dad and I are almost done w/the shade for my outside washer/dryer, needs roof

need to put more cement, this is the first chunk of it

my tomatoes!! I can't wait for them to turn red!

lemon tree, fenced off cuz of the doggies

my first cucumber!

cactus, I'm shocked you just stick these things in the ground and they take off!

maize /corn

zucchini 

roma tomatoes

bell peppers

yikes, forgot what this is haha I want to say lettuce or spinach?

something my dad planted... umm, radish? onion? :P

neighbor's peach tree growing into my yard 

Mac, upset cuz he's not allowed in the veggie garden

not pictured are honeydew plants, watermelon plants, habanero peppers- I couldn't tell which was which!

What I've been up to- Part 3-Good Eats (& Juices!)

Blueberry Oatmeal n Banana Bake =) this was seriously insanely good!!! I think the best thing I've ever baked! I made this again for my coworkers and they loved it! 

Recipe Here

Vegan Gingerbread w/Pumpkin

Ugh, let's just say it's not entirely healthy to make this cuz you end up wanting to eat the entire thing!!

Recipe Here

  Juicin' Mad

Boyfriend surprised me with a juicer several weeks ago and we've been putting it to work! His favorite combo is oranges, carrots and pineapple.

I prefer mine with sugar beets.  This is the only way I find them enjoyable :)

yummy

 not pictured is an amazing flu/cold fighting juice - made it a few times and the flu symptoms were gone! Yes, your breath will stink, BUT it works! I swear, I felt like crap-had the juice and 45min later I was full of energy and symptom free! I drank this juice and other fruit/veggie juices for about a day and a half.

The Immune System Juice Booster

One serving - about 8 ounces


This juice is great for building and maintaining the immune system.


3 carrots chopped into ¼" pieces
1 stalk of celery chopped into ¼" pieces
1 apple chopped into ¼" pieces
½ cucumber chopped into ¼" pieces
½ beet with the greens, beet chopped into ¼" pieces
½ handful of wheatgrass
½ handful of parsley

Source

I use the vegetable/fruit pulp to fertilize my garden plants (see garden post)

Yet another Eye it. Try it. recipe! Homemade Quinoa Cereal!

Recipe Here

spreadin' the quinoa on parchment paper- one of my kids, Indy

off you go

50 or so minutes later (w/flash)

no flash- add any milk (I prefer almond) and some frozen fruit -super delicious!

Another recipe from Eye it. Try it.

banana tofu bars

Recipe Here

my go-to green monster shake, I have this several times a week- whey protein, spinach, berries, chia seeds, almond/non-gmo soy milk

Product Reviews, Inspired Make-up, FOOD, and Weekend Recap

Whew! It's Sunday night which means tomorrow it's back to the grind! Friday was my day off work so my dad came over and helped me finally get my washer and dryer to work! I was so excited I washed and dried clothes all damn day! Lol! I've been living on my own for about 1 1/2 years w/o a washer n dryer! Yes, the horror.  Anywho, I later went to Whole Foods with my neighbor.  I got a ton of great stuff that I've been meaning to buy for some time like chia seeds, tempeh, acai fruit pulp, carob chips, raisin mochi (win!), buckwheat flour, spelt flour, fruit jam, etc etc! It was a bit of a drive but totally worth it! Friday night, the bf and I stayed in just catching up on DVR.  Saturday morning, we woke up early and went for a jog.  I haven't run in such a long time so I was afraid I'd burn out but I held up okay.  We jogged about 3 miles and I made these delicious puppies when we got back.  Whole wheat blueberry pancakes. Recipe from Eye it. Try it.

We spent the rest of the day just kinda hanging out, I made frozen yogurt cups with some items I had purchased from Whole Foods.  

I really, really loved these!! Organic sour cream, organic yogurt, sugar, frozen berries and viola!

Today, Mario woke up super sickie! Boo! I took one of my dogs (can't take both-madness) for a quick jog.  My legs felt tired from Saturday nights workout ! It was kill-ahh!!

I had a protein shake w/spinach for breakfast and went off to Target for a few things I needed.  I had purchased some yams Saturday morning so I decided to try making whole wheat yam bread. This the result. 

The online recipe didn't say how long to bake it so I had it in the oven at 325F for about 35 min and was heartbroken to see that the very top middle section didn't cook all the way through! Oh well, practice makes perfect.

Took care of the boyfriend all day, makin' teas and giving him meds.  He's still not better! We've established it's definitely allergies which neither he or I have ever experienced before.  He's now taking the right meds and hopefully he feels better soon. 

I saw this picture of Gwen Stefani last night and was immediately inspired to try out this look.  

Image Source

I whipped out my MAKE UP FOR EVER stash and went to work! Haha, not entirely happy w/it but I do like the look.

Eww, foundation lookin' light! I must be transitioning in my summer skin tone hahah time for tinted moisturizers

Jesus, can I get to the review?! Ok, here are the 2 items I've been using for the past several weeks.  I'm in love, seriously.  These babies make my hair feel so smooth and soft.  Aside from these I've tried the CHI Silk Infusion serum which is the best hair serum ever!  I've also used CHI Keratin Mist-eh, not a big winner but still a great product.  

back of conditioner label- purchased both at my local TJ Maxx! The shampoo was $7.99 and conditioner was $12.99-steal!

Also from TJ Maxx, I purchased these 2 Garnier products-eye cream and overnight cream

Meh.  The product is quite thick and I personally don't like thick creams under my eyes.  I prefer light weight creams or serums.  I wouldn't purchase this again, forgot how much it was though.  I want to say about 5 dollars.   

Winner.  This product left my skin feeling silky, soft and moisturized.  The only down side is that the container is very small.  I believe it was 6 or 7 dollars for 1.7oz.  I'm debating whether I'd purchase it again.  

bottom is Skin Renew and top whitish one is the eye cream

Now, we're both sipping on tea getting ready for bed. 

Have a great week, everyone! 

I didn't get around to recording a video but I'm going to try n get it up this week.  I'm going to be reviewing more mascaras-yay!