pinterest picks: dreaming of summer

This was a gorgeous and good weekend spent outdoors! The weather was perfect - warm, sunny days and unbelievably warm, summer-like nights. I kept asking myself, "Is this for real? A July-like weekend in January?!" I was lucky enough to spend the weekend enjoying the beautiful weather outdoors, but a weekend wouldn't be a true weekend for me without a little bit of work. Before hitting the strand on my skateboard Saturday with my good friend Lidia, I coached soccer for a group of pee wee's with attention spans of like two seconds and major separation anxiety. Because of this, my coaching quickly became glorified babysitting exercising the use of a soccer field, soccer balls, pug goals, and stickers - A LOT of stickers (fancy scratch and sniff grape scented stickers I'd like to add!). Sunday I coached again in the morning (for older and more experienced kids this time - THANK THE HEAVENS!) then played in my own soccer game. We won 4-2, no big deal. 

I really enjoyed actively soaking up the sun this weekend and I hope the great weather carries over into the week! If not, I'll be dreaming of summer by looking at these images that remind me of a season fast approaching. 

all images via pinterest

How RAD does the art make that trailer look?! I WANT IT NOW!

documentary fat, sick, and nearly dead + juice FEASTing

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is an INSPIRING documentary following two men whose bodies have been trashed by steroids, obesity and illness. This film chronicles the rigorous healing path - including a two-month diet of fruits and vegetables - that both attempt in a bid to rescue their health. Their results of their juice feast are nothing short of amazing.

I came across this documentary as I was researching the health benefits of juice fasts, or what I like to call "juice feasts." I say juice FEAST because one gets all the calories one would normally get in a day from at least 1 gallon of fresh juice. Often when people fast they take in very small amounts of liquid/calories, the metabolism slows, their energy slumps, and they may feel quite ‘dysfunctional’. Juice Feasting works differently, supporting the feaster to be very functional in daily life and meeting all calorie needs, while experiencing massive cleansing on a cellular level (source).

I've heard from multiple people how extraordinary and full of energy they feel during and after juice feasts, but I've never really been serious about trying it myself because a) I don't own a juicer and b) I guess I've always thought I was getting enough nutrients through plant-based diet. But, its 2012 and I'm sticking to my resolution of trying new things that support a balanced and creative life! 

After watching Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead I am way intrigued and motivated to try a juice feast for 10 days in order to detoxify and cleanse my system. What I like about the juice fast is that it is designed to assist the body in detoxing through a simple and easy process that allows you to go on with your everyday life. I view myself as a healthy individual but I'm going to be even MORE healthy by juicing for 10 days straight!

*This particular feast is a good proving point to a lot of people that you can make very radical lifestyle changes without having to have surgery, medicine, or a quick fix. The results of a juice fast is going to be longer lasting because you completely change how you eat and everything about the way you live your life.

That's something to take to the bank!

This documentary is streaming live on Netflix. Check it out!!!

choose to live healthy [4]: chakra healing system

The concept of chakra originates in Hindu texts, featured in tantric and yogic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning" and signifies one of seven energy centers in the body. Each chakra in your spinal column is believed to influence or even govern bodily functions near its region of the spine - see description of each chakra center above!


In my Monday/Wednesday/Friday yoga practice at The Green Yogi with the lovely Amy Beausang, we have been targeting and focusing on a new chakra center each week, starting with the first/root chakra which is located at the base of the spine. Last week we focused our attention on the second/sacral chakra  located in the lower abdominal/navel. This week we are focusing on the third/solar plexus chakra located in the area above the navel, under the ribs. Each week, we work to open and awaken the focused chakra by first meditating and visualizing each chakra as a ball of light or a glowing flower that slowly opens. Following meditation, we usually do three rounds of Breath of Fire, a cleansing and energizing breath powered by abdominal contractions, in certain yoga postures that target the chakra. Then, throughout the majority of the yoga flow, we practice getting into different yoga postures that further open and work the targeted chakra.  


So far, these chakra focused yoga sessions have been a wonderful experience for me. I have noticed that when I work on opening my charkas in class I feel that my focused energy flows better. I feel more more aware, open, and balanced. I'm excited to see how I feel after learning how to open all seven energy centers!


Namaste lovelies!

pinterest picks: all things turquoise

Turquoise is definitely my power color, or stone if you will. It emanates power and energy and makes me feel pretty, excited, and full of YEAH's! I love anything turquoise. Let that be known. Check out my collage of everything turquoise below (all images via pinterest)! 

What colors make you feel happiest?

Anthropologie - On-Your-Toes flats; Love the tiffany blue toe cap. Possibly DIY-able?

Turquoise Triangle Ring; I want want want this as my wedding band one day. Attention future husband...take note!

Essie - Turquoise Caicos 

Greece or heaven? You be the judge. 

Rock Candy recipe

Azurite and Malachite

Incorporating turquoise color into wedding decor

Turquoise Braided Necklace; DIY tutorial here

Turquoise Cabinet; lovely accent to any space

Urban Outfitters - Chevron rug

this and that: bfast obsession, quick vegan sandwich, and new buys

This morning I made coconut, mango, and blueberry oatmeal sweetened with dates for breakfast after a pretty challenging yoga session.  My body felt a little fatigued so I wanted to go with a more hearty breakfast over my usual green monster smoothie or kashi cereal. 3 minutes later and one bite deep, I was in oatmeal ecstasy and way happy! It was exactly what my body and muscles needed to refuel and replenish all while keeping me satisfied and energized well into lunch. 

what you'll need:

- 1 cup of organic rolled oats

- 1 tbsp ground flax (or chia seeds)

- 3 shakes of ground cinnamon

- 3/4 cup nut milk (i used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

- 1 tbsp shredded coconut flakes

- 2 dates, pitted and chopped

- 3-4 slices dried mango, chopped (fresh mango is fine too)

- handful of blueberries

do it:

1. Bring nut milk to a gentle boil in a pot

2. Combine the oats, ground flax, cinnamon, coconut, dates, and mango in a bowl

3. Add a pinch or two of salt, then pour enough hot nut milk to just cover the oats (don’t add too much, or it will be too liquidy)

4. Cover the bowl with a plate or pot lid, and let the oatmeal stand until the oats have absorbed the nut milk

5. Stir, and add a little more nut milk if the oats look too dry

6. Let the oatmeal cool a little, and then top with fresh blueberries :)

For lunch I made an easy peezy vegan deli-style sandwich using Tofurky vegan deli slices! If you're a Seagan (like me) or Vegan (like I used to be) this sandwich will satisfy your craving for a juicy sammy! For all you animal eaters out there, give meat a break and try using Tofurky one day out of the week! The turkeys will thank you. 

what you'll need:

- sprouted whole grain bread (I use low sodium Ezekiel bread you can find at most grocery stores)

- avocado

- tahini or hummus (use as a spread)

- a drizzle of olive oil

- sprouts

- spinach

- tomato, sliced

- cucumber, sliced

- Tofurky deli slices (I used Hickory Smoked flavored)

*other ingredients you might light to use: grilled peppers, pickles, pesto aioli, arugula, olives... 

do it:

1. Toast the bread (optional). 

2. Drizzle olive oil then spread the avocado and tahini on one slice of bread. 

3. Layer on sprouts, spinach, tomato, cucumber, and Tofurky slices. 

4. Place the other slice of bread on top, cut in half (diagonally..the real way!), and EAT!

New buys from left to right: 

"Venice" tonal stripe tee by Style Mint. I love the classic style of this tee and it's not too long to where it feels overwhelming as a print. I also love the "funness" the pink and orange stripes add.

"Charis Wild" swimsuit stop by Teeki. Coachella is quickly approaching and this is the perfect bra-styled swimsuit top to keep me cool and comfy in the desert heat. Plus the print and black netting detail is way rad and different from every other suit out there! I should also mention that Teeki is eco-friendly! All of their clothing is made from recycled plastic bottles! 

My favorite candle, "Cleopatra" by Tocca. This light, calming candle is infused with crisp, fresh scent of juicy grapefruit and soothing cucumber. Perfect for soothing mind and body after a hectic day. 

honest true

[images via pinterest; collage for one life in stills]

The start to this week has been challenging for me. Monday and Tuesday I spent most of my day in my head trying to wrap my brain around a specific mishap that occurred during the weekend. A visiting friend I truly care about and have deep love for did me wrong by being untruthful and not voicing her intentions for the weekend. This left me kind of questioning whether this friendship is worth it to me or not. I'm unfortunately leaning towards the latter because I'm finding that her actions are speaking louder than her words (which are nonexistent) and that saddens me. 

At this point, I think I've done all that I think I can do to try and save whatever respect and love I have for this person and our friendship. I've tried to reach out (even after people tell me I shouldn't) but I feel like I'm dealing with someone who doesn't even want to try to meet me halfway in order to fix things.

What do I do now? Maybe it's time to let go of what's no longer serving me, move on, and surround myself with positive people I know are currently in my life and who make me happy, are supportive, and loyal. 

Here's to people who actually give a damn! :)

artist spotlight: patterns from above

Found these incredibly beautiful images on because i'm addicted today. Few things are as beautiful as the Earth from above. Agreed? Images via Patterns From Above

Eureka, CA

Salt Lake City, UT

Grand Prismatic Springs Yellowstone, WY

San Antonio, TX

San Antonio, TX

Caveman Ranch, UT

You can scoop up their 18″ x 18″ prints for $100/each on their site. 

shit girls say

hahahahhaha thank you to my friend Emily for introducing me to the "shit ____ girls say" videos! Have you watched any of them? I'm definitely guilty of saying many of those phrases :/ I am a girl after all haha. For more videos, search "shit girls say" on youtube. 

I think us girls need to respond with some "shit guys say" videos . It's only fair.

this and that

Turn your instagram photos into a totally sweet and stylishly designed iPhone case at Gizmodo! 

Hand-weaved throws by Holly Berry

Fujifilm Instax 210 Instant Film Camera. Perfect way to rekindle my teenage romance with instant photography.

Vitamin C Vitality Facial Serum by Avalon Organics. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant proven to defend against the damaging, sun-aging effects of free radicals generated by UV exposure. This liquid gold energizes my complexion with improved circulation, clarity, tone, and texture. 

OPI nail polish in "French Quarter for Your Thoughts"

A slue of lady bugs my sister and I encountered on our hike in the Santa Monica mountains this weekend. 

coachella 2012 lineup released

Yup. That lineup is a beaut! I just about died with excitement yesterday when the Coachella peeps released the lineup for this years awesomeness that is Coachella - or what I like to call, "The Happiest Long Weekend of Music Everrrrr!" It seriously is too fun for your own good and I definitely got Coachella depression after last years festival because I missed it so much. BUT, this year is going to be epic with headliners The Black Keys, Radiohead, and Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. There's also going to be a lot of bands I get to see that I've been obsessed with since forever like The Shins, Miike Snow, Martin Solveig, The Hives, Santigold, AWOLNATION, M83, and many more! There's over 140 artists this year. Yeaaaaah!

This year we are camping again simply because it's the best way to experience Coachella to the fullest. I'll challenge anyone who thinks otherwise too! Yes, you get grungy. Yes, you rough it for 4 days but thats what kind of makes it fun. If you camp, you'll wake up early to sound checks going on, maybe do some yoga, drink mimosas, swing by the roller rink or play on the swings, hit up the farmers market, play corn hole, drink mimosas, make brekky, lay out, and drink more mimosas. Then (the best part of it all) the campers usually get to Coachella park around 11am when the gates open, listen to all the early shows (there's like 6 different stages ps and a new band or artist play every 45 minutes), and stay until around 4 before heading back to home base to shower, eat, refresh, drink more mimosas, and get ready for the evening shows (which tend to be more intense because that's when the more well known artists and bands play). You don't want to miss the night performances I tell you! They are so fun! 

One pro about camping versus staying in a hotel or house is that it's convenient. If you camp, you get to see shows from when Coachella park opens its gates (11am) to when it closes (1am) and you can come and go as you please throughout the day because your campsite is usually a 5 minute walk from every stage inside Coachella park. If you choose to not camp on Coachella grounds and instead stay in a surrounding hotel or house, the likelihood that you'll make it to the early shows is slim because it takes a couple hours to get onto Coachella grounds due to all the security and car checks. Basically, non campers miss half the day and that no bueno for you.

But, it's bueno for the campers because that means it's less crowded in side! 

If you haven't purchased a ticket yet, you are in luck! On Friday at 10am sharp, go to Coachella's website and purchase your pass! Don't wait. They could sell out again fast like they did last year! Good luck and hopefully see you in April :)

Check out this video from Coachella 2011 that  my friend Alex compiled. Can't wait to go back!

choose to live healthy [3]: 21 suggestions for success

[layout for one life in stills]

These are also great suggestions for living a happy, balanced, spiritual, and inspired life. Love the last suggestion, "Don't do anything that wouldn't make your mom proud." ;) 

healing places + the peace of wild things

Found this on pinterest the other day and I completely agree with what it describes. We definitely heal from the inside in certain outside places. I personally agree that each of those outside places has healing powers and something different to offer us on our journey to feeling good :) So do your inside a favor and get outside now!

The Peace of Wild Things

by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and 

the great heron feeds. 

I come into the peace of wild things 

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water. 

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. 

For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and

am free. 

nye 2012 in the city by the bay

I was lucky enough to spend the start of 2012 in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities, with some of my best girlfriends. The weather couldn't have been any better for winter in San Fran so days were spent mostly lounging around Fort Mason, walking around Polk or Chesnut, or over the bridge at Elizas families beach house in Stinson. The photographs I took captured my time up there, but they definitely don't do us justice with how much fun we all had together. I feel really blessed to have such a supportive and solid core group of girls in my life and I can't wait to spend yet another year traveling back and forth from San Francisco to see them. Hope you enjoy some of the highlights from my New Years in a very special city :)

My new years weekend celebration in San Francisco didn't start out quite as planned. My flight was delayed three hours thanks to the very prevalent and thick SF fog. After three hours of being held hostage in LAX next to icky smells of Micky D's and aggressive coughing baby sounds, we finally boarded the plane. Seeing as how I'm a glass half full kind of gal, there was a bright side to the rather bleak and boring start of my trip - the flight attendants bought everyone drinks! 

Soy latte from The Grove on Chestnut in the Marina. The weather couldn't have been more perfect- crisp yet sunny :)

Bloody Mary's for breakfast? I think yes. Emily and I enjoying some on the outdoor patio at The Grove.

After "breakfast," (we really only had bloody mary's and coffee :/ ) we wanted to soak up more beautiful sun so we walked over to Fort Mason Green and sat in the park. There might have been a little Jameson and Ginger soda involved ;) Hey!...I'm on vacation!

After lounging in the park it was time to get ready for the countdown to 2012! Alec, pretty blonde in the middle below, threw a little get together slash hors d'oeuvres and cocktail party at her house before hitting up the bars in North Beach. I'd like to mention how on point our group looked Saturday night with our varying colors and textures! Love my girls!

[l to r: Caitlin, Nicole, Eliza, Alec, Emily, Me]

[gold, silver, and white balloon covered ceiling inside Fiddler's]

After Alec's, we ended up at Fiddler's Irish Pub in North Beach. The scene was great! Downstairs was more mellow with the acoustic sounds of Mumford and Sons and Journey while upstairs was a little more rowdy with the DJ and a massive dance floor. We spent most of our time upstairs dancing away the last hours of 2011. What better way to spend the last hours of my year than dancing my face off??! 

The original "714 Third Street, Santa Cruz, CA" girls flashing up our 7-1-4 addy!

New Years Day, despite a surprisingly small headache and tired eyes, Eliza, Emily, and I ventured across the Golden Gate Bridge to Eliza's Stinson beach house. I've been to Stinson with Eliza many times since knowing her and I am absolutely in love with the little beach community just northwest of San Francisco. Stinson is cozy, with only one four-way stop and their beach is long and wide and SANDY! - a characteristic uncommon in Northern California. Reminds me a bit of Southern California beaches, but the charm, the fog hugging the coastline, somehow makes this one that much better. 

[decorated tree outside Eliza's home. I spy Mr. Goodman!]

This year I want to try as many new things as possible. So what did I do New Years day? I went paddle boarding for the first time! It was a piece of cake too! I was tempted to do a yoga inversion on the board, but was too nervous I'd fall off and I didn't have a change of clothes with me haha. 

[l to r: Eiza, her sister Audrey, Emily on the deck; view off the deck; Eliza and Audrey; playing Bananagrams]

Before dinner we walked over to the beach to take sunset pictures. Audrey captured this rad photo of me in Trikonasana. 

["2012," I shall write you in the sand]

The twenty sum year olds were in charge of making dinner for the cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. We made pasta with garlicky spinach, broccoli, and shitake mushrooms and a butter lettuce and fruit salad. Eliza made the dressing from scratch which was the jam!

om henna :)

Spotted these little guys while walking down Polk street Monday. I love the yellow and blue ducks in the front.

New Years day marked the end of me being a true vegan. I am now a "Seagan," as they like to call it, which is a modified vegan who also eats seafood. I still abstain from eating dairy, eggs, and any meet that lives on land and smiles. Seagan is the new 2012 me - see my previous post about it here!

[l to r: Clay, Eliza, Nicole, Alec, and Paul]

Lounging in Fort Mason yet again!

[top to bottom: absurdly and disfigured drawings of Nicole, Eliza, and I... so horrendous haha; Nicole, Fletch, and Alec]

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and creative new year! 

once a vegan, now a seagan

[artwork made for onelifeinstills]

Since I can no longer truly identify as being Vegan (because I added fish to my diet January 1st), I'm trying to find a new title for what I am when it comes to my dietary lifestyle. I know I'm not Pescatarian because Pescatarians are vegetarians that consume dairy and eggs and I still do not eat those things. I know I 
technically can't say I'm a vegan that still eats fish because vegans don't consume any animal products...

So what am I?

I did a little research and, for now, when I must explain to people what my dietary title is, the closest answer would be that I am "Macrobiotic." More specifically, the macrobiotic diet, revered by some for its healthy and healing qualities, includes unprocessed vegan foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and allows the occasional consumption of fish. Sugar and refined oils are avoided. Perhaps the most unique qualifier of the macrobiotic diet is its emphasis on the consumption of Asian vegetables, such as daikon, and sea vegetables, such as seaweed.


or a term that's gaining more recognition ...

a "Seagan." A Seagan is a modified vegan who also eats seafood. Yep. That's me to a T! I am going to continue to abstain from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish (so long as its wild caught as opposed to farm raised).

  

"Vegan" is out the window and "Seagan" is the new 2012 me! Hello Mr. Fish, it's nice to see you again :)