Fancy Party Cocktails

Parties and girls nights (or game night for the matter) are no fun without cocktail drinks and snacks! You make think they’re a hassle to make but truth be told, it’s actually quite easy. Why not take those couple extra steps to make your party that much better? 

A shot of vodka or a cocktail? Hmm 

Warm Winter Sangria: 

• 1 bottle of red wine- whatever wine you desire 

• 2 Pomegranates (cleaned and seeded) 

• 2 Granny Smith apples cut into rounds 

• 1 Lime cut into rounds 

• 2 Cups of red grapes (seedless) 

• 2 Cups of green grapes (seedless) 

• 2-3 Prickly Pears, skinned and cut into rounds or cubed 

• 1 Handful of mint (optional- looks nice as a garnish or you can even mix it in!) 

• 2-3 Cups of either ginger ale or club soda (if you want to avoids making to sweet) 

The Raspberry Pomegranate Cocktail 

• 1 bottle of Prosecco 

• 3-4 cups of fresh raspberries 

• 1 1/2 cups of pomegranate juice 

• A handful of fresh mint 

• 1/2 cup of vodka (Raspberry vodka or any vodka for the matter)  

• 1-2 tablespoons of sugar (if you want to try to avoid using white sugar, try agave) 

• 2-3 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice 

• Garnish with a round of lemon or lime and a screwer of raspberries or a few floating raspberries and pomegranate 

Pineapple - Lime Cocktail 

• 6 cups of pineapple juice (no added sugar - definitely do not need the extra sweetness) 

• 2 cups of spiced rum (give or take a little) 

• 1/2 cup of like juice 

• 2 cups of cubed pineapple

• 1-2 limes cut into rounds 

Lemon Drop on the Rawk 

• 2 1/2 cups of lemon juice 

• 1/2 cup of sugar (or 1/2 cup of agave if you want to try to keep it a little healthier) 

• 2 1/2 - 3 cups of vodka 

• 1 lemon sliced into thin rounds 

• And well of course ice! 

Soo have your cocktail (and cake) and drink (eat) it too! Happy party organizing!

Getting back in the swing of things

So this holiday has been a deadly time when it comes to sweets and sugar and well any insulgencies for that matter. The new year has come and motivation is highly driving our desire to get in shape… Right? Well that’s what we  had planned on and hoped - buuut. Still struggling? - I know I am. With all the left over holiday goodies still lerking around at home it’s difficult not to sneak a little cheat in once in a while and after it you regret it and promise yourself not to do it again… Time to draw the line and make some progress, okay?

Soooo how can you and I both get started…. for real this time…? 

Here are 15 key things I’ve come up with to help us kick start our success - we are in this together!

1. Get rid of the temptations. Stop keeping it around and just throw it all out. Putting all your tempting sweets and savoury treats in one spot and promising yourself that you won’t touch them won’t cut it.. Soo just toss them and refrain from purchasing them again! 

2. Pre-portion your snacks. You may not think this works but it does, especially when it come to those high cal tastey snacks that tempt you to reach your hand back into the bag once, twice or five times more after you said you would stop - aka nuts!

3. Avoid letting temptation break ya. Cake… Chocolate… Icecream… Chips…. Once you have had one mouthful the ones that follow just seem to, well, happen.. and then before you know it you find yourself with an empty bag or a left over wrapper. If you can stop yourself and just resist the temptation you will thank yourself. An important thing I should touch on is being realistic. When I say to resist temptation that doesn’t mean never have a sweet again because that’s a little rediculous. It’s okay to cheat once in a blue moon (say, having a slice of cake at a birthday party or going out with some friends for drinks) just don’t make a habit of it. 

4. Reward yourself. Maybe once you loose your first 5-10 pounds or go down a size you buy yourself something you have been dying to have - something new, something you’ve wanted!

5. Friendly competition (well fairly friendly) is something worth considering. Put something on the line… Say $50 or better yet $100 dollars and throw it into a pot with a friend or maybe even a few and set a goal. This will be sure to motivate you especially when  $100 of your hard earned money is at stake. Set a goal - for example the one who logs the most hours at the gym in a month (or two) - gets the WHOLE pot. You’ll find yourself running to the gym left, right and center and racking up your hours! (Don’t go too crazy though haha)

6. Stop eating out. Sadly as yummy as it is… Eating out is cheating in disguise. Even if you ask for your dressing on the side what’s to stop you from tasting it and then using it all. You don’t know what was used to make the food you order so that’s why you’re better off just making your own food because you can actually choose how much oil or salt is put into your food or if you even want to put it in for that matter. Don’t find yourself saying - well I can’t help it, the food was made the way it was and I guess I’ll just have to suck it up (Ohhh what a pain… Well it actually is because you’re the one who’s going to regret it afterwards). 

7. Log what you eat. Keeping track of what you eat is tedious, but when you know what your putting into your body and how much of it, you begin to notice those pesky cheats and when you probably should’ve drawn the line. 

8. Balance food and working out. Don’t kill yourself at the gym and use that as a way to justify a snacking because well you worked hard. That’s just simply throwing all that hard work down the drain. It’s true when they say the kitchen with a  healthy side of the gym (or something like that). No matter how hard you work at the gym, in the end if you keep eating poorly… You aren’t going to see the results you were hoping to see after all the long hours spent at the gym. 

9. Sleep! That is all. Make sure you get enough of it. You’re body needs it and deserves it- so make sure to get your 7 to 8 hours a night (every night). You don’t want to not get enough sleep but at the same time you don’t want to over sleep. Going to bed at a half decent hour and getting up early is a great habit to get into- I swear to ya! 

10.  3 X 3 X 3 Snacking IS good - it keeps your metabolism running on high burn. Feeding your body ever 3 hours is recommended - 3 meals and 3 snacks a day! 

11. Don’t try to justify cheating. Similar to what was mentioned above… (Just in a bit more depth): Don’t let your mind (temptation) be what justifies you cheating. What I mean by this is… say you’ve had a hard week because you didn’t meet the goal you had set for yourself.. Don’t let that failure be what brings on more failure…. You don’t want to find yourself standing infront of the fridge or better yet your ‘deadly not so hidden junk food section of your pantry.’ Use that frustration to drive you!  Bottle up that anger and put it to good use- sweat it out and tighten up on your restraints.

12. Do it for yourself and only yourself. I think my biggest problem - and many people’s problem for that matter - is the lack of confidence. I find myself trying to get in shape for other people because of the fear of being judged. Thinking about it now… It is just plain old stupid. You should want to work out to make yourself happy, so you can feel good on the beach in your bikini or in your fav pair of skinnies! 

13. DRINK WATER! Water - some people like, some people love it… And then there are people like me, who don’t like it at all. It is so tough to bring yourself to drink your minimum 8 large glasses of water a day - but I promise you it is so so so good for you. No matter if you drink it over the span of a day or all at night - try your very best to do it. Your skin and body will thank you! I’m no doctor, heck I didn’t even study anything remotely related to health in school but I do know that staying hydrated is very important! Also, try not to put any sucrouse/aspertain filled sweetners into your water… Research what they do to you and you’ll be sure to stop right now. Sure they’re tempting but so not worth it when comes to your health! Try squeezing some lemon or anything citrusy into your drink orrr mix together 1 cup of 100% fruit juice (say cranberry juice with nooo added sugar) with 3 cups of water to make it more interesting.  Fun fact for ya… I didn’t know this but when I found it out I found myself drinking lots more water: you pee our your calories haha! 

14. Peace out sugaaa…. And salt. No sugar, (unless it’s natural- aka fruit) it’s as simple as that! No if’s or but’s. Too much salt isn’t good for you, it makes you retain water and who likes water weight… no one… so be sure to consume it in moderation. 

15. Start now, not tomorrow. Even if it’s 11:30 at night and your tempted to just cheat once more - stop yourself!!! Get in the mind set, turn off your lights, get your seven hours, wake up early, eat a tastey and healthy breakfast and throw in a quick (but sweaty) 30 minute run at the gymnasium and you’re set!

Best of luck ya superstars - you got this! 

Slight Obsession...

I think it's safe to say I may have a slight obsession with costume jewellery... But if you ask me you can never have enough of it. Opposed to real gold or silver jewellery, costume jewellery is affordable. Due to the fact trends come and go, it's nice to know that you're not spending an overly expensive amount of money on something that may only fit a temporary trend. 

Costume jewellery truly does complete an outfit. It's capable of dressing up an outfit such as a black knit or a simple white tee. Some of my favourite stores to get trendy costume jewelry from include J Crew, Holts (and hr2), Banana Republic and Club Monaco (slightly pricier). 

From top to bottom: 

1. BCBG; gold cylindrical necklace with crystals. Perfect for dressing up a casual outfit or accenting your favourite little black dress. 

2. LuLu's; Taupe and yellow chandelier like design with accent crystals. One of my favourite necklaces- it goes with almost everything and always pairs nicely with knits and collared shirts. 

3. Holts; Coral, orange and yellow glass necklace. Looks great with coral- works with lots but I tend to always pair this necklace with summery coral dresses! 

4. J Crew; Pink chicklet necklace with clear crystal accents. Love wearing grey with this necklace because it really makes it pop and truly adds flair to a simple v-neck tee or knit. 

5. Indigo (who would have thought); forest green and pink crystal necklace. Works well with navy and black. 

6. Holts; Forest green intricate crystal necklace. Pairs well with neutral colours and even funky colours like hot pink! 

7. J Crew; Staple grey necklace. This charcoal grey necklace can be paired with just about anything! 

8. Can't remember.....; Sapphire crystals. This is one of my favourite necklaces I own. It's one of my more expensive pieces but was completely worth it. This piece is timeless and versatile. 

9. Holts; Blue and gold necklace with clear crystal accent. This is also a very versatile piece- it can be worn on a day to day basis or with more dressy outfits!

Have any questions about your own jewellery- wondering what works and what doesn't? Comment/post below and I'll be more than happy to give you my personal opinion! 

Packing must DOs

If there is one thing you should know about me, it is that I love to travel. Traveling is most definitely one of my favourite things ever. Some people strongly dislike the actual ‘traveling’ part  of traveling whether it be by car or by plane which I think is pretty ironic… but when it comes to me, I appreciate every aspect of traveling. I love the thrill and adventure that comes with visiting different countries and cities within them. But regardless of where I go… I always am faced with the same problems- What to pack, how to pack, and how to avoid overpacking. Over the years I have developed a list of packing must DOs… 

1: Don’t Over Pack

This is probably the one thing I struggle with the most. I have an extremely bad habit of packing too much (most of which I usually don’t even end up wearing). My most impressive overpacking moment thus far is packing 17 pairs of pants… 7 of which I actually wore. To avoid overpacking try to plan out outfits. Obviously bring your essentials- aka leggings, the perfect skinnies and sweats- but you don’t need to bring 3 pairs of leggings, 4 pairs of jeans, and definitely no more than one pair of sweatpants (no matter how comfortable they are). 

2: Roll it don’t Fold it

When it comes to packing efficiently it is true- rolling takes up less space. Plus a pro of rolling your close is that you can avoid wrinkling your clothing. When you fold your clothing it tends to get fairly bad deep wrinkles.

3: Buy it don’t Bring it

Things like shampoo, conditioner and face wash are heavy things to lug along so… why not just purchase it once you arrive? If it is an option available to you, take advantage of it. If you are cutting it too close to the max weight this is definitely something you want to consider.

4: Take advantage of the carry on(s)

I like to rig the system when it comes to carry ons. I pack all my necessities in my purse (some may considered  it to be a whole other carry on in itself) and all my extras that didn’t fit in my luggage in my ‘actual’ carry on- shoes, blow dryer, straighter and so on. 

5. Make a list

It actually is really beneficial to make a list. Check what the weather will be like and then pack accordingly. I have had it happen to many times before where you pack for warm weather when you should be backing sweaters and pants. It will also ensure you don’t forget the necessities like your memory card when you have packed your camera…. (been there).

6: Organization 

Whether you use a plastic bags to help sort out your stuff or actual packing aids- this will help you stay organized. By about the 3rd day of my trip my luggage is an absolute disaster but I do find it helpful to organize you luggage (or at least attempt t0).

Hopefully this will give you a bit of hand when it comes to packing for your next vacation! I am leaving for San Diego tomorrow so plenty of new blog posts will be coming super soon!

Starting off; Here Goes Nothing

Okay so I am an amateur blogger.. as a matter of fact this is my first legitimate blog postever. Sure I have had my blogger account (unsuccessful), twitter (boring), and of course multiple tumblr accounts but those never satisfied what I really wanted to blog about. I want to be able to express myself and talk about what I really want to talk about. What inspires me, what drives me, what interests me… So here goes nothing. The goal is not to be cliche and I think I am off to a pretty good start considering I just googled “what to blog about.” It’s a lot harder than I had anticipated but I am up for the challenge. I won’t just tell you about myself right now- I want you guys to actually  learn about me as my blog develops. I don’t plan on just going to give it all up that quickly- plus I would be here for a while because there is a lot to know about me.  Anonymousness (if that even is a word) will keep it interesting (hope so).

Nicole Marie

xx