Tag: 2018

Road trippin’

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Happy Monday everyone! As most of you know, I spent 2 weeks ago in Florida. What some of you may not know is that my family and I road tripped there, making a couple stops along the way to Universal and one on the way back! I’d never been to the three cities we visited so I wanted to share my road trip experience and the places we visited.

Chatanooga Tennessee

While I’ve driven through Tennessee many times (on trips to Florida) + I’ve visited Graceland in Memphis but I’d never been to Chatanooga. My parents always remarked on the “Come visit Ruby Falls” signs when approaching Tennessee but we never decided to pay it a visit. However, on this road trip, we wanted to see what Ruby Falls was and if it was worth the extreme advertising.

So, after 9 is hours of driving ( and lots of bathroom breaks) we made it to Chatanooga and headed over to Ruby Falls.

Ruby Falls is a 145-foot high underground waterfall inside of Lookout Mountain. It was discovered by Leo Lambert in 1928 while drilling.

After taking an elevator down 100 or so feet, we walked through this cave (guided by our very southern tour guide Doug) for about a mile seeing various cave structures before reaching Ruby Falls, which was definitely worth the extensive advertising. Once at the falls, we watched a light show which lit up the waterfall which played along with some music!

Sadly, we had to walk back to the elevator an head back up into the heat. However, despite having to re-enter the 90-degree weather, we were able to see lookout mountain which is basically just a deck that looks out to all of Chatanooga.

We only had one night in Chatanooga, so after leaving Ruby Falls, we ate dinner at the Waffle House, swam in the hotel pool, and hit the sack for another long day of driving Saturday.

St. Augustine, Florida

Driving to Florida from Chicago is honestly one of the worst things ever. You start driving at 4 am, don’t stop until it’s dark, and then finish however much more the next day. Not this time though!

We drove about 9 hours day one, and about 7 hours from Chatanooga until we reached St. Augustine, the oldest (colonized) city in the United States.

We arrived in St. Augustine at about 5 or 6 in the evening on Saturday, so we opted to relax in our hotel and just swam and ate dinner to gather up our energy for another long day on Sunday.

Sunday morning, we packed up our stuff and headed to the heart of St. Augustine. Initially, we thought we would be visiting the Spanish Fort, but found SO much more.

The Spanish fort was incredible, made of coquina (Spanish for small shells), and aged wonderfully. I loved learning about how so many tried to take down the Spanish, yet the coquina held up and no one succeeded in entering the fort.

Once I’d had my history lesson for the year, my family and I all wanted to see more of what St. Augustine had to offer so we decided to take a trolley tour of the city. The trolley tour is something I would 100% recommend to anyone who visits. On this tour, you’re carted around St. Augustine for about an hour, seeing historic buildings, museums, Flagler College, plantations, restaurants, specialty (chocolate factories, wineries, boutiques) shops and so much more! I wished we had more time to hop off at every stop to see everything St. Augustine had to offer. If I ever go back, I’m definitely going to make sure I spend at least 2 whole days to see everything (and eat everything!). Sadly, our time in St. Augustine had to come to an end. Onto Universal!

Sarasota, Florida

Something I never wanted to do was leave Orlando. Universal was all I could have hoped for and more (in my opinion better than Disney World) but eventually, we had to part ways. On the way back (well sort of out of the way) we visited Sarasota for a few days to visit some friends of ours. They retired to Florida a few years back and they are loving the laid-back atmosphere of Florida, and so did I. Their house was cute and cozy with a lovely lanai off the back. To top it off, they have 2 Shih Tzus and they’re both vegan (for health reasons) so needless to say I was in heaven! We spent the first full day there just relaxing, swimming in their community pool, and eating good food.

We were exhausted and had hurt feet so doing nothing was the only thing on our agenda for the day. However, we ended up going to the beach to see the sunset, shelling, and taking really cute pictures!

Day 2 of our visit we woke up bright and early, hit the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru, and drove about an hour to Myakka River State Park see some alligators! At the State Park, we took an hour-long airboat ride around the river and got to see so many birds, fish, and alligators.

My sister and I agreed that we hadn’t picked enough shells the night before so we wanted to go to another beach to find some. This next beach we visited, however, had a rather pathetic selection of shells and it was excruciatingly hot so we decide to head home, pack up our stuff, and hop in the pool to prepare for the 20-hour drive that would happen over the next 2 days.

Have you guys taken a road trip lately?
❤ Alicia ❤

My Summer bucket list

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Happy Summer (again) everyone! These past few days haven’t felt very summery (it’s been raining nonstop) so to get myself in the ‘summer spirit’ I wanted to make a bucket list for summer of some things I want to do!!! Some of these I know I’ll get done and some are there for days when I don’t have anything to and want some inspiration for something to do.

  1. Read 10 books
  2. Try new foods (I’m getting a super cool vegan cookbook soon and I can’t wait to make some recipes from it)
  3. Journal
  4. Unplug at 8pm for a week (and hope it continues)
  5. DIY something
  6. Have a picnic
  7. Go hiking
  8. Go to a farmers market
  9. See a movie
  10. Have a bonfire
  11. Train my dog
  12. Tie-Dye
  13. Do a day without technology
  14. Minigolf
  15. Watch the sunrise
  16. Write a letter to a future me
  17. Make a vision board
  18. Make nice cream
  19. Reorganize my room
  20. Get settled into my apartment and ready myself for school

What are some things you want to do this summer?

❤ Alicia ❤

21 things I’ve learned in 21 years

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Happy Summer everyone! I’m back from Florida (posts on that to come) and am SO ready to get back into a routine! I didn’t even bring my laptop to Florida and it was so refreshing + relaxing (although I’m grateful my dad brought his because I had to register for 3 classes while we were down there) and I had a great 10 days just relaxing. However, like I said I’m glad to be back with my bed, my dog, and my own routine.

As some of you (or none) know, while I was in Florida, I turned 21!!! Woot drinking, gambling, blah blah. Something I LOVE reading are those “___ things I learned in ___ years” posts so I wanted to do my own! So, here are 21 things I’ve learned before turning 21.

  1. It is 100% okay to not be friends with people based on their political views – A lot of the times (especially recently) it has more to do with the other person’s morality than their choice of Democrat or Republican.
  2. Cutting negative people out of your life is so hard but so rewarding – I’ve cut out a few negative people from my life and yes, it’s shitty at first, especially if you were ‘friends,’ but week, months, and years later when you don’t have that negativity on your shoulder, your life will be so much better
  3. Always trust your gut – Something I’ve realized is that I’m very decisive. However, I always second guess myself and literally ruin my life choosing between 2 choices. One example of this was with transferring. Once I visited OU, I was certain that it was the school for me and once it had like 100x the pros than DePaul I knew I LOVED OU but what if I didn’t like it later, what if I didn’t make friends, etc. I had to visit OU again and it took 3 months for me to make a choice… UGH JUST TRUST YOUR GUT
  4. Life is too short to not have the nails, coffee, and underwear you really want – These are things I enjoy and I want to enjoy them without having to be stingy. I’ll buy cheaper food and clothes as long as these 3 things I get to enjoy.
  5. But in all real life really isn’t that short – Totally an unpopular opinion but life is literally the longest thing we ever do… so it’s not that short.
  6. Question everything – I’m one of those people whose worldview is based on the last documentary I watched. But, I’ve been learning to question things. I don’t believe something just because a person in power or the internet says something is true.
  7. Snuggling an animal can make any bad day at least somewhat enjoyable
  8. Don’t regret anything- I’ve always been that person who says “what if?” What if I’d stayed in San Diego/never even pick it? What if I never played badminton freshman year and started playing water polo instead? As I ask myself these questions wondering how my life would have been different, I also remind myself that if I never transferred, if I never chose San Diego, if I chose a different sport freshman year, etc. that I would never have met some of my best friends, never would have had so many incredible experiences and my life would be so much different. Would I probably like my life just as much as I do now? Yeah, but I love where I’m at now and the choices I’ve made.
  9. Never apologize for being yourself – people will tell you that you’re too much of this and not enough of that. But you’re you and really, that’s all that matters.
  10. Stand up for what you believe in… even if you’re standing alone – I’ve found that following the crowd is a lot less fun when you’re following for something you don’t believe in. It’s hard to stand up for yourself and what you believe in, especially if no one else is standing with you, however, in the end, it’s going to be so much more rewarding.
  11. Make time for what you love – I can’t stress this one enough. In the midst of school and work, taking time to read, write, or go to the gym is so important and can refuel myself to get everything I have to do done.
  12. Be punctual – I can only think of a few things worse [in my opinion] than being late and committing a murder is one of them. I am always early. Sometimes 5 minutes early and sometimes 30. Whether I head to the bathroom to make sure I still look presentable or I sit and tap away on my phone, I would much rather be early than show up right on time… or even worse… late.
  13. Try new things – Try a new workout, learn a language, try eating vegan for a week [yes a shameless go vegan promo] just anything to switch up your routine and remember – variety is the spice of life.
  14. Not everyone is going to like you – This one took me a LONG TIME to learn. I’m such a people pleaser and want everyone to like me and when someone doesn’t I used to try so hard to get them to. Now, I get it. I don’t like everyone and I know everyone isn’t going to like me, and you know what? I’m okay with that.
  15. Loving yourself is extremely hard but even more rewarding – Self-love is one of those things that seem rather ‘new.’ People everywhere are seeing that businesses all over are making billions of dollars on people hating themselves and we’re sick of it. Loving yourself can be one of the hardest things you do in your life, especially when you aren’t that seemingly ‘perfect’ person as shown in magazines ( even though the people in magazines aren’t as perfect as they are shown ).
  16. Getting enough sleep is VERY IMPORTANT – I know that when I get less than 7-8 hours of sleep I don’t feel as refreshed, healthy, and alert as when I get 8 or more.
  17. Travel – I learned far more about life from being in Peru than I ever have in a classroom. I can’t wait to keep traveling and learn even more.
  18. Staying in on a weekend can be just as (or more) fun as going out – I’m the definition of a homebody. I like to be my own company in my own bed. I’m usually down for a night out but cozy pajamas, a movie, and some snacks can definitely be better.
  19. Failure and rejection are a part of life – This took me until this past school to realize. Coming from a high school where I got everything I applied for, to a place with 30,000 other students and a lot more competition. Now, I have to work my butt off to get things I want and it’s taught me so much.
  20. Taking risks, while scary, can be so rewarding – Going against the norm, being different, and trying something so far out of your comfort zone can be frightening, but can be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made (at least all the risks I’ve taken have been)
  21. I have so much to learn – I’ve learned a lot in my first 21 years but I still have so much to learn. I learn something new every day and can’t wait to keep learning

What have you guys learned that I haven’t?

❤ Alicia ❤

Blogs I’m loving

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Happy Friday everyone! I’m currently en route to Florida! I’m visiting Universal in Orlando and Sarasota as well and I’m super duper excited to be there, especially because I’ll be turning 21 while I’m there!

To keep spreading all of this love going during the month of June, I wanted to share some of my favorite blogs to share them with you guys!!! I love reading SO many blogs (so these are just a few of my faves) but I wanted to share some of the blogs I’ve been loving currently!

Jamie

I’ve followed Jamie for a while now (I think she was one of the first people I followed when I started blogging) and I absolutely adore her blog! From her vlogs, her Netflix reviews, and monthly favorite posts she always gives me ideas on what to buy/watch!

 

Emily

Emily (whom I don’t think I’ve ever met) and I came into contact sometime during or before freshman year at SDSU. There was probably a follow train of nervous freshmen and we ended up following each other on Instagram. We are both from the Chicago suburbs and she makes me want to get more into fashion because of all of her ‘how to style’ posts. Maybe one day a post of hers will spark me to make a wardrobe change instead of sporting leggings and t-shirts 24/7

Alys

Although I’m pretty sure Alys has only been blogging for half a year or so I feel as though I’ve followed her for much longer. She posts about mental health, traveling, college, and bullet journaling to name a few. Her bullet journal is SO AMAZING! I have tried to get into bullet journaling for a while and whenever I see one of her posts about it, I always try to restart mine because of how aesthetically pleasing it is.

Rachel

Something I love about Rachel’s blog are all of her traveling tips. As a gal who definitely wants to get some more traveling done sooner rather than later, I love seeing what frequent travelers do that makes traveling a breeze. Not to mention the photos she adds to posts are unbelievable and make me want to visit every nook of this beautiful Earth!

Hope

And last (but certainly not least) is Hope! While she doesn’t post too often, the posts Hope shares are always well thought out and have great photos to boot. I love reading about her life and various DIYs and recipes she shares!!

Make sure you give all of these lovely ladies a follow!!

What are some blogs you’re loving currently?

❤ Alicia ❤

Unpopular opinions

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Happy Wednesday everyone! If any of you are on twitter (I know some of you are because we follow each other), you may have seen the “Unpopular Opinions” trend going around. I have related to SO MANY of them and I wanted to share some of my unpopular opinions with you all!

Circuses are bad

Every year when I was a kid, my friends and family would go see the circus and as I got older I began to see how terrible circuses are. Animal abuse and poorly treated employees make “The Greatest Show on Earth” not that great

Vegans aren’t protein deficient

I mean they can be but so can nonvegans. If you eat a balanced diet of carbs, fats, and proteins there is no reason a vegan should or would be protein deficient

We need to stop idealizing certain body types

I saw a tweet today idealizing the ‘dad bod.’ that’s great and all but in the process totally bashed on guys with abs and nice pecks. We need to love all bodies without simultaneously calling other bodies bad.

I hate the Kardashians

I don’t hate many people but I really can’t stand the Kardashians/Jenners. They advertise appetite suppressant lollipops, skinny teas, waist trainers, and other useless products that literally don’t work. I get that they want to make an extra buck but people are spending money on things that don’t work because their idols do ??????

13 reasons why glorifies suicide and depression and is garbage

I feel like this is becoming more of a popular opinion for anyone with a mental illness but I barely even finished the first season and didn’t start the 2nd season. Suicide and depression (and literally all other mental illnesses) need to not be glorified but shows like 13RW make it seem like that’s an okay thing that society does.

What unpopular opinions do you all have? Do we share any?

❤ Alicia ❤

10 things I love about being ME

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I figured I’d start June off on a positive note with my self love post of the month AKA sharing 10 things I love about being me! I have a feeling this is going to be a tough one for me to muster up 10 things… but here goes nothing!

1. I love that I love learning- I heard a while ago that no one can take away your right to an education and that really stuck with me, After my gap year, coming back to school reignited my passion for learning and I’ve been striving to better myself ever since.

2. I love that I’m curious- Going off of me loving learning, I’m curious about other things nonschool related and if they really spark my interest I’ll delve deeper into that subject. As the old saying goes, ‘curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back.’

3. I love that I am determined- I can be told no 1000 times (as seen this past school year) but I’m still going to keep trying until I succeed

4. I love that I’m *usually* okay with change- I’m very much behind the saying ‘don’t fix it if it isn’t broken,’ however when something does need changing, I’m quick to adapt and move on.

5. I love that I’m not going to settle for less than I deserve- This one is pretty self-explanatory but when I know I deserve something, I’m not going to settle for anything but what I know I should be getting.

6. I love that I’m confident- Over the past few years, my confidence has been gradually increasing and I love the confidence I currently have and can’t wait to see what the future of my confidence holds.

7. I love that I’m unapologetically myself- I’ve spent years trying to be less of this and more of that and I’m proud to say I no longer care what others think of me or what they want me to change. I am who I am and that’s not going to change.

8. I love that I’m vegan!- Saving animals, saving the environment, and doing something great for my health… why would I not love that?

9. I love that I’m always trying to better myself- I’m constantly working on myself in all aspects of my life and doing whatever I cant be a better person inside and out.

10. I love that I’m caring- Whether it’s for my friends, peers, colleagues, kids I’m working with, etc. I do my best to be the most caring and compassionate I can be.

What do you guys love about yourselves?

❤ Alicia ❤

June goals

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Happy June! In one week from today, I will be on my way to Florida! I’m so excited for June and I hope you all are too : ) I’ve got a lot planned for this month and I can’t wait to get it all done. Here are my goals for June!

  1. Plan for CHAARG- Being the CHAARG Treasurer involves a lot of planning over the summer. I want to set aside a few hours a day [or just one whole day] where I get as much planned for the fall as I can.
  2. Start CHAARG Booty Camp or Insanity // Something I love doing over the summer are workout programs. I have way more time this summer to dedicate to improving myself and I’m going to start one (or both) once I return from Florida!
  3. Eat better // Since being home, I’ve been cooking a lot… but I’ve also been eating a lot. I’m trying to find the right balance for my body and I’m going to give meal planning and prepping a try to see if I can find a good balance for myself.
  4. 1 gallon of water daily // you guys already know.
  5. Figure my whole major thing out // I’ve officially changed my major to International Business [long story] so now I am emailing professors nonstop trying to get into classes as my major isn’t 100% changed yet.
  6. Read // In one my last posts, I shared my summer reading list. In order to get that list finished, I need to start!
  7. Go to bed earlier // This will relate to the next one but whenever I go to bed, I spend at least an hour on my phone and all of a sudden it’s 1 in the morning and my planned 6am wake-up time quickly turns into 10am. I want to shut my phone off by 9pm each night and then read before bed so that I’m ready to sleep and ready for the next day ahead
  8. Less screen time // Since I really don’t have a job this summer, I’ve been spending SO much time watching TV, scrolling through my phone, and being on my computer and I hate it. I want to spend more time outside, with friends, walking my dog, even cleaning my house.

What are your goals for June?

❤ Alicia ❤

May wrap-up

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Hi everyone! Can you believe that May is already over? I am so excited for June BECAUSE… It’s Gemini season aka my birthday is in 12 days, I’ll be heading down to Florida in less than 10 days, and summer is officially beginning!! Since I was garbage at posting during the end of April + beginning of May so I’ll be wrapping up my April goals instead, which is fine because most of them I was still working on in May.

  1. 128 oz of water daily- I don’t get it every day but I’m doing really well with this!
  2. Get my body moving every day- Most morning I wake up and walk 3-4 miles and those days (and days I’m not I’m working out) so I’ve been very active this summer
  3. Finish this semester with straight As- 5 solid As and one A-
  4. Figure out my whole switch major/graduate early situation- Still ugh but I’ll update on this later
  5. Go through my laptop files- I did this and soon I’ll be putting all my photos on an external hard drive because I have over 13000 and I need to stop them from slowing down my computer
  6. Finish CHAARG exec transition- I did and I had my first summer team meeting Sunday and I can’t wait for the fall!
  7. Don’t stress about presentations- I didn’t and I got 100% on both!
  8. Figure out my living/working situation for the fall- A few sublease opportunities fell through but I ended up signing a lease by myself so I don’t know my roommates but at least I have somewhere to live!

How did you guys do on your goals for the month?

❤ Alicia ❤

Decluttering my life

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2018 has taught me a lot so far and one of those things is to only keep things (and people) in your life that bring you joy. Since I’ve been home (and even while still at school) I’ve been trying to remove people and items from my life that no longer give me joy. Whether that be by unfollowing people on Instagram, defriending people on Facebook, or throwing a LOT of things away.

I watched Gabbie Hanna’s video about getting her ‘hoarding room’ organized and a lot of things Gabbie and the professional organizer talked about in the video I really related with, which caused me to really evaluate why I keep certain people and objects in my life.

I’m a total hoarder of so many things. From clothes that I wore on special occasions that don’t fit or I don’t like, to empty boxes, and random bags of electronics and keychains.

Over the past week or so (and I’m still not done) I’ve been going through all of my possessions, discarding old items, boxes, and going through clothes to either donate, throw away, or sell.

As I mentioned before, I not only got rid of items that don’t give me joy but people as well. I went through the people I follow on Instagram and realized that I either don’t talk to a lot of people still, have never talked to them, or I only followed them because they followed me first. Recently, I’ve stopped caring about how many followers, likes, and comments my posts so I decided to go through my followers and only keep following people who give me joy. I unfollowed over 400 people on Instagram, 100 or so people on Twitter, and unfriended 50 or so people on Facebook.

It’s so nice having only people I care about on my social media feeds as it A. makes me spend less time on social media (because there are fewer posts to see) and B. I don’t have to see negative people crowding my feed anymore.

I HIGHLY recommend that everyone does a bit of decluttering in their lives (and often) because it has left me feeling refreshed, less stressed, and I’m learning how to let go of people and items.

❤ Alicia ❤

If we were having coffee

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Happy Monday everyone! I haven’t made a nice catch-up post in a while and I figured it was time for one! So, sit back, relax, grab a cup of coffee, tea, or your beverage of choice and let’s chat.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I’m heading to Florida in about 2 weeks. While there, I’ll be visiting Universal Studios in Orlando and my mom’s friend’s parents’ house. Complicated but I’ve known them since I was born and I have yet to visit their house so that will be nice to see them since I haven’t seen them in around a year.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I have no job for this summer… which is upsetting because I didn’t have my life together when I should have been applying for internships and the families I babysat for last summer never responded to me so I’m out of luck. I thought about applying to somewhere close to my house but no one wants someone for just the summer so we will see.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I have been drinking SO MUCH WATER.  This may seem dumb to tell everyone but it’s such a big deal for me. At school (and literally for the rest of my life) I drank either gallons of water a day or none whatsoever. However, since I’ve been home I’ve been drinking tons of water and there hasn’t been a day that I haven’t had at least half f a gallon of water so I’m very proud of myself.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I’ve been cooking nonstop. Over the weekend I posted about some of my favorite recipes recently. I never cooked before college and I’m learning so much and I feel really independent when I cook which makes me feel like I have my life together to some extent.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about the super cute dress I bought last week. My sister and I went shopping for some clothes for our Florida trip and I saw this dress a while back and HAD to have it. I tried it on and even though I can’t wear a bra with it (big boob probs) it’s the cutest thing EVER and I’ll share a photo of me wearing it in Florida.

And if we were having coffee, I’d ask you about your life lately. Tell me something that’s happened in your life recently!

❤ Alicia ❤

My TBR

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Happy Sunday everyone! I hope everyone is having/had a great weekend and that you’re all ready for Monday!! Something I really want to do this summer is read… A LOT! I have sooo many books that I’ve accumulated and I have yet to read. My goal for this summer is to read 10 of them but there are more than 10 books on my TBR (to be read) list.

Here is my current TBR list and while I would love to read all of them this summer, I’m definitely going to read at least 10.

 

  1. Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 
  2. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
  3. The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz
  4. Walk like a Buddha by Lodro Rinzler
  5. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
  6. The Harder They Come by T.C. Boyle
  7. Adultolescence by Gannie Hanna
  8. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
  9. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
  10. Needles and Pearls by Gil McNeil
  11. Local Girls by Caroline Zancan
  12. A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry
  13. Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
  14. The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz
  15. The Secret Language of Sisters by Luanne Rice
  16. The Homecoming by Stacie Ramey
  17. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
  18. Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin

What books will you all be reading this summer?

❤ Alicia ❤

Anyone can cook

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Hi everyone and Happy Saturday! I hope you all are enjoying the start of your 3-day weekend (if you’re in the States that is). Something I love about being home (and will enjoy this fall in my apartment) is a kitchen! I’ve been cooking so much since I’ve been home and trying SO many new recipes and I wanted to share them, with you guys (especially my vegan followers because I know I love learning about new vegan recipes) since I’ve been loving some of these things so much! Here are a few of my current favorite things to make!

Stuffed Mushrooms

I’ve been really loving mushrooms lately but I wanted to learn to cook them myself. I had stuffed mushrooms once in Peru and they were one of the best things I’d ever eaten so, I took to the minimalist baker’s website to find a simple and quick recipe for them. These were sooo good and my non-vegan family members thought they were great too!

Protein Pancakes

I am a pancake fan like no other and since I’ve been trying to track my macros, I’m trying to eat more protein. These pancakes are SO simple and SO tasty (my sister doesn’t think so) and I could literally eat them for breakfast Every. Single. Day.

Mac & Cheese

If you couldn’t tell by now I LOVE THE MINIMALIST BAKER! She has recipes on the foods I really want to make with ingredients I already have in my house. This vegan mac & cheese recipe has made my life! I haven’t had it in so long and this recipe made my heart (and stomach) so happy.

Tofu

Tofu is awesome to cook because it is SO versatile! Whatever flavor combinations you are feeling, you can season it with tofu or add tofu your recipe and the tofu will compliment the dish perfectly!

2 types of ways I like to cook tofu is asian style- with sesame and soy sauces with sesame seeds, stir-fryed with broccoli and placed over rice. I also like to eat it (stir fried again) with garlic, salt, pepper, and various veggies. YUM

What recipes do you all like?

❤ Alicia ❤

My allergic test experience

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Hi everyone and Happy Friday! Recently (the past year), I’ve been having some issues with my stomach. I was certain that it was because I was allergic to something I’d been eating and because of this I wanted to get tested for allergies without getting needles poked into my entire arm and back (I had to get that test done when I was younger just to tell me I was allergic to cats… not fun) so, thanks to groupon, I bought an IdentAllergy test, snipped off some of my hair, sent that in (hopefully not to be cloned as well), and then waited to receive my allergy results.

Upon receiving my allergy test results, I was honestly shocked to see some of what I was (and wasn’t) allergic to.

This test showed me the following

  • My personal results for sensitivities to Food and Environmental factors
  • My heavy metal levels
  • My mineral and vitamin levels
  • My hormone levels
  • My stress levels

I’m not going to discuss my vitamin, mineral, heavy metal, and hormone levels because it was nothing too interesting. At the time I was iron deficient even though I’d given blood just fine the week before. Funny how that fluctuates. I do want to share my Food and Environmental factors and my stress levels because that’s what I was really curious about. Let’s get into it… Shall we?

For my food intolerances, I was told I’m intolerant to:

  • Carambola
  • Millet
  • Millet Seed
  • Pine Nut
  • Pumpkin
  • Rosemary

What’s comical about this is that I was certain I was allergic to coconut (after my total skin conundrum last summer) yet it’s not on here. What’s worse? I don’t eat any of these foods religiously or ever. So, I may have to take another allergy test that doesn’t use hair to see if this one missed something because I have a gut (haha) feeling I’m eating something I shouldn’t be.

For environmental intolerances, I was told I’m intolerant to:

  • Cat Dander
  • Common Wasp
  • False Ragweed
  • Jack Fruit
  • Japanese Millet
  • Mixed Moulds Sections
  • Russian Thistle

I’ve always known I was allergic to cats (how I knew this test had at least some truth to it), and it’s great to know I’m allergic to wasps. I also have pretty bad fall allergies so some of these were pretty obvious as well.

Lastly, my stress levels. I don’t know if it’s because I was in school, trying to figure out my life, or what, but this test told me I’m STRESSED. Once my hair was tested for the rest of these allergies, my hair was washed measured then ground to a fine powder (weird…) and the cortisol levels were measured.My cortisol levels are 50-60 pg (picograms of cortisol) / mg (milligrams of hair) which means Frequent acute repetitive acute stress: AKA high stress… not that this surprises me in the least, it’s still good to know.

All in all, I’m glad I took this test. However, I really want to know what’s wrong with my stomach.

Have any of you tested yourselves for allergies? If so, what test did you do? Let me know!

❤ Alicia ❤

What I LIKE, LOVE, + HATE about social media

Published on by Alicia2 Comments

Hi everyone! It’s been a minute since I’ve written about my (and most people’s) relationship with social media. If you’ve been a follower for a while, you may remember that 2 summers ago, I went on a social media hiatus for the summer to recreate my social media usage habits. It was refreshing to take a break from social media and I would love to do it again.

However, all of my student organizations require social media, whether it be posting, replying, or simply keeping in contact with other students, so I really can’t take a break from it. I have been trying to limit my time on social media and especially minimizing my time on social media at night. It’s hard, especially when we are so dependent on it, but I’m doing my best to unplug as much as I can.

Something I wanted to do is share some things that I like, love, and hate about social media because I want to share AND I want to know your feelings about these things as well (and others I don’t mention as well). So, here are some things I like, love, and hate about social media.

Things I Like:

  • Social Media is great for making connections. Whether it be LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram, making connections is easy. Whether you add someone to your connections, or DM a company or person you want to work with, the sky is the limit for who you can connect with.
  • There is a different social media platform for every person. Sharing photos, witty jokes, DIYs, etc. there are TONS of social media sites to pick from which is great because everyone is different so your social media sites should be too.

Things I Love:

  • Staying in contact with people is so easy. When I’m at school I can keep up with friends back home and when I’m back home, I can keep up with my school friends. It’s also a great way for me to keep up with everyone from San Diego since I haven’t been back to San Diego since I left.
  • MEMES. I am a meme girl like no other and I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my memes if it weren’t for social media. I have thousands of pictures on my phone and almost half of them (and almost all of my happiness) are memes and they wouldn’t be possible were it not for social media.

Things I Hate:

  • How likes and followers determine worth. The more likes and followers one has the more idolized they are on social media. People start obsessing on how many likes and comments they have on each post by buying those and followers and it creates this cycle of trying to get a certain number of likes, not reaching those and trying to get more followers and likes and then failing again.
  • People are measured by their looks. Not only are girls criticized for every single they do/say/wear, we are now required to be flawless on social media. Now Instagram celebrities all over are facetuning and photoshopping themselves in photos which are causing their fans to feel far less than adequate because they don’t look like their idols when in reality their idols don’t even look like their idols.

What do you all like, love, and hate about social media?
❤ Alicia ❤

My favorite places in Athens

Published on by Alicia1 Comment

Hi again everyone!! After reminiscing about my first year at OU, I really began to miss some of my favorite places in Athens! Because of this, I wanted to share my favorite places in Athens (in case for some reason any of you end up in Athens, Ohio or I have some fellow bobcat readers). So, here are my top 5 favorite places in Athens. Enjoy!

  1. Donkey Coffee- This super cute, eclectic coffee shop has the best vegan muffins, cookies and more +++ the best red tea (I’d never had it until I went there)! It’s super cute and has a great atmosphere and I absolutely love studying there!
  2. Brenen’s Coffee- The best-iced coffee I’ve ever gotten in my life! It’s my go-to spot for coffee and they even offer a meal plan (might have to get that in the fall).
  3. Bagel Street Deli- My favorite place to eat off campus! Bagel Street Deli is a sandwich shop (on bagels of course) that have breakfast and regular sandwich bagels which has tons of vegan options! It is one of the best places to eat no matter the time of day and I love bringing my family here when they visit!
  4. Union Street Diner- There are 2 diners near campus, and while the other diner has that typical diner look and feel, Union Street’s Diner wins in my opinion because of the variety of options (especially vegan ones). It’s open 24 hours and I love going there with friends for some late night snacks!
  5. The Athena Theatre- I’ve never actually seen a movie in this Theatre, however, the history and architecture of the building are so cool. The theatre also features a lecture hall on the second floor (I attended an extra credit seminar there) which was beautiful all in its own. But, what’s great about this theater is that they have new (and old) movies for very very cheap which is great for all college students on budgets!

There are so many other places that I could talk about, but I think these take the cake as some of my absolute favorites!!!

❤ Alicia ❤