I'll be watching you.

PLL SPOILERS!

I am a loyal Pretty Little Liars fan and watch every week! Tonight's episode was craaaaazy! The 100th episode did not disappoint at all! So many emotions attached to it. I don't like that Caleb is back. I like Hanna with Travis but I like that Caleb knows more about the situation. I loved loved loved the Ezria sexy time scene! So hot!! Mona is a bitch that needs to go. Is the new girl/swimmer Jenna's twin?! And the explosion!!! AHHHHHHHH! Loved every minute of this episode. I have too many theories of who A could be. I need a little more facts before I can make a decision.

On another note, my July 4th weekend was a lot of fun! BBQs, friends, drinks; a great time. I hope everyone else's was too! I ate more than I care to admit the past weekend/ few days, but I have been working out and I'm hoping I can change my eating habits soon. It will definitely be easier when I have a set schedule and can get in to a routine. If you have any advice or routines/eating habits, let me know! I love hearing people's success stories and I also love trying new things!

I pledge allegiance to the flag...

Although it might rain tomorrow (thanks Arthur), that doesn't mean celebrating July 4th gets put on hold! I love celebrating our Independence Day! Ever since I was young, lighting fire crackers and the delicious BBQ food and red, white, and blue every where, I have always loved the 4th of July. I love it more this year because after not having a grill for probably 10 years, we finally got one! You can see a picture of it on my Instagram (just click the link)! Here are some ideas to show your pride and celebrate the 4th!

Love this decor idea! 

My boyfriend and his friends love corn hole. A giant version would be awesome! I also love the giant beer pong in the background!

A healthy and patriotic snack!

Baked beans: the perfect side for burgers and hot dogs

While party planning is fun, take some time our for yourself! Show your pride with this easy manicure!

Pico de gallo - amazing on burgers and hot dogs or just on the side. So refreshing.

I love deviled eggs! These red, white, and blue deviled eggs are so devilishly cool!

Who doesn't love a good trifle? 

I love the idea of using Pop Rocks in desserts for the 4th of July. A firecracker experience in your mouth!

This looks incredible! I love my buns toasted and my burgers covered in toppings. I usually prefer thinner patties though. 

A healthy alternative to the normal burger. This is a corn and bean burger with pesto and tomato on top. Yum!

I like my hot dogs like I like my burgers, smothered in awesomeness. 

I hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend! Stay safe and full!

This is the year to...

Hello World!
This summer has been most eventful so far! France was amazing! Paris was how I imagined it would be. The Arc de Triomphe was the most surprising landmark we visited. Walking up those horrible spiral stairs was completely worth it! Also, Sainte-Chapelle was incredible. The stained glass was the most beautiful I have ever seen. When you enter the bottom floor you feel that maybe the long wait wasn't worth it, but as soon as you go upstairs you're blown away by the crazy amount of colors all over the place. The room itself just has a spectacular glow about it. After Paris, we went to Strasbourg, which is my new favorite place! The Alsace region as a whole was magnificent. The German feel of Strasbourg was so fun and interesting and the wine tour we booked through Ophorus was so much fun! It didn't hurt that the wine was absolutely incredible either. The food in Alsace was amazing too. I could not get enough spaetzle if I tried. I'm totally making it this summer. After Strasbourg we went to Avignon. Avignon may have been my least favorite, except for the Popes Palace. The rose ceremony was beginning when we visited which made the Popes Palace stunningly beautiful. All of the roses against the concrete was just so gorgeous. Other than that, and all of the goat cheese you can imagine, Avignon was uneventful. We took a tour of Provence, also through Ophorus, but because we were too early to see the lavender, we didn't see too much. After that we went to Villefranche-sur-mer. I can now say I put my feet in the Mediterranean. I can also say I climbed the Nietzsche Path, in flats and a skirt. Also while in France, I tried duck and escargot. Both delicious. I am so happy and thankful that I had the opportunity to travel to another country and learn and experience new things.

Now on to the rest of my summer. I started my new part-time job at Athleta and I love it! My coworkers are amazing and always positive! I love being a part of a company that really values its employees. It's a great feeling. Ever since I began working there, I started becoming more involved in fitness. I have started going to the gym about 3 times a week where I mostly only do cardio. I run on the treadmill and I can start to tell that it's becoming easier for me. Two days ago I ran 3.16 miles in 45 minutes burning 405 calories! I know compared to a lot of people that's pretty slow. That equals an average of a 14 minute mile. I have a ways to go, but I'm taking the little steps to get there. Running has never been my thing. I really want to start doing pilates again and I really want to start taking barre classes also. I'm going to push myself to stay active all summer and hopefully bring it in to my final school year.

Speaking of school year, my final year at FIT is approaching! I'm so excited. I'm doing an internship through FIT for credit next fall. I have an interview next week with DVF and one at the end of July with Marc Jacobs. I'm so happy that things are finally starting to take off! I've been trying so hard to get an internship on my own but I never had my foot in the door for it to happen. Now doing it through school gives me that chance. DVF would be a dream to work for, let alone intern for. Her iconic wrap dress is an item I want in my dream closet. I've always looked up to her and her designs and I hope I get the opportunity to work for DVF.

This year will be my year, I can feel it.

To ends and beginnings

As this school year comes to a close, finally, so many wonderful things are beginning for me! My best friend Courtney and I are going to France in 5 days! I'm so excited for my first international trip and to experience France. I also just got a second part time job for the summer, after applying to 15 internships and only hearing back from 3, each of which I didn't get. I am now working at Athleta, a great fitness clothing brand for women that also has free classes right inside the store! I hope that this will really get me to work on my weight loss goals. I also just became a stylist with Keaton Row! I'm so excited about this and can't wait to see where this leads! Check out my look books message me if you'd like me to be your stylist! I can work with any price range and any style! Here's a link to some of my look books: 

https://www.keatonrow.com/lookbook/5373d35cb71db16551000ca1

https://www.keatonrow.com/lookbook/5373d81cb71db165510012a9

https://www.keatonrow.com/lookbook/537421645b40701258003c46

All that I know is I'm breathing.

Today was a great day considering I probably wouldn't have thought the same thing a while back. I've been really trying to be healthier and workout a lot more. I worked out yesterday, doing 30 min of cardio, two sets of lat pulls, machines that workout both the inner and outer thighs, and sit ups. Today I did 30 min of cardio again, 3 sets of lat pulls, 3 sets of seated rows, 3 sets of each machine working the inner and outer thighs, 100 sit ups, and 40 squats. I love that I can finally see some progress. I can see that I can last a little longer and workout a little bit more each time.

I have big plans for the winter. Aside from taking a class (comparative political systems) online, I am also going to make myself workout every single day. No excuses. I don't have class all day in the winter so I know I have time to do at least a 30 min workout. I am also going to try to eat as clean as possible. It's gonna be hard at first but I'm going to try to help my family make the change too. I'm also gonna do a lot of cleaning and organizing this winter so when I come back to school, my mom can stay on track at home. I'm excited for this healthier lifestyle I'm living. It's not perfect, but it's progress.

Today I will admit I was kind of mad at myself for my eating habits. I woke up somewhat late today (a little after 10) and had a cup of coffee and a glass and a half of water. Then I had a lean cuisine before class. The steam fresh versions are really great! It was only roughly 250-300 calories. Then, in between classes I went to Hale and Hearty and had a turkey avocado sandwich with walnut pesto, which was delicious. After I ate it I looked up the calories and it was 800 calories! I immediately regretted it. Heading to my night class I bought a skim salted caramel mocha from Starbucks with I can guess to be maybe 300-400 calories. All of todays food puts me roughly at what I believe my daily caloric intake should be (1,500) but because I was mad at myself for some of these decisions, the 30 min cardio I did lost me over 200 calories! This made my day better.

Looking back, I never thought the joy I received in my days would be from how many calories I eat and workout, but it is. Any joy you receive is a sign to keep going at it.

A woman walks into a bar. Except it was a metal bar. Like a pole.

Yep. That happened to me today. I didn't think it would hurt as bad as it did but boy does it hurt, and still does. Thankfully, I don't think my nose is broken or anything but the pain is really bad. Here's hoping it gets better from here.

Today at school, FIT Illustration Majors made designs on the side of the building that runs along 7th avenue using chalk. I took plenty of pictures and hope you all enjoy them!

I ate decently healthy today but not as good as yesterday and I did not work out today, aside from walking to and from school. I don't think the next few days will be any better considering Halloween is tomorrow (technically today) and then my birthday weekend! So excited for the festivities!

Always look on the bright side of life

I did not get to watch Ravenswood tonight. Instead I cooked a delicious quinoa dinner. I cooked an entire box of quinoa (will hold me off for awhile), used 2 cans of golden mushroom soup (Campbell's), and 2 cans of water. I also added some sauteed peppers and onions when the quinoa was done cooking. It was my first time making it by myself and I started off rocky, but now that I know what to do, I plan on cooking it very often. One bowl of quinoa, which for me was maybe a cup and a half roughly, filled me up completely. Next time I am certainly going to measure my portion after it cooks so I know I am eating the proper size, but either way its a great alternative to pasta or regular rice and in my opinion, just as tasty. I did really great eating all around today. I started with a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee. For lunch I had a sandwich: multigrain bread, two slices of turkey, two slices of muenster cheese, and honey mustard. And finished my day with my quinoa dinner.

I also did a cardio workout today. I did the elliptical for 30 min, which is all my school allows because of the small number of machines. I decided to choose the interval selection workout today and I actually really enjoyed it. It alternated between 2 min at resistance 1, crossramp 4, and 2 min at resistance 8, crossramp 10. The weight loss selection uses the same resistance levels but does each for 4 min so I found the interval training to be slightly easier. I burned just shy of 300 calories and did over 2.5 miles. I will admit it is discouraging to know that this workout was tough, tiring, and challenging for me towards the end, when a girl two ellipticals away from me was probably at resistance 10 for her entire 30 minutes. I know I'm showing some improvement and I know I shouldn't compare myself to her, but it's frustrating sometimes.

Life is what we make of it so it's time to stay positive!

My delicious quinoa dinner.