Freckled Italian

Weekend in Photos // R & R at SML

2012-02-13T00:00:00.002-05:00

I spent Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday with Rob and my parents at the lake. I announced on Saturday night, "I won't be doing anything tomorrow," and that's exactly what I did. Nothing. All day. I didn't even get out of my pajamas.

I also forgot my camera's memory card, so I used my dad's camera to snap some photos of the nothingness in all its glory.

You know there were snacks.

And tea in pretty cups.

And books.

And some quality time with this cute guy.

Hoping you had a relaxing weekend as well. Happy Monday!

If Only One Could Come Back to This Quiet Place

2012-02-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

I went to Longwood on Wednesday.

My brother Sean is still there, and it's only an hour away from Charlottesville, so when I have the afternoon free, I like to go spend the day there. This time I got to catch up with one of my favorite professors and meet with my thesis advisor who, luckily enough for me, teaches at both Longwood and Hollins. And of course, I got to spend some time with Sean.

I learned two things on Wednesday.

From my advisor: I'm a lot further along with my thesis than I thought I was.

From my old professor: I don't have to know what I'm doing with my life just because I'm in grad school.

You just have to keep doing what you're doing and let what's supposed to happen, happen.

So I got some tea and sat down to read.

Recipe: Paleo Applesauce + Carrot Muffins

2012-02-09T00:00:00.001-05:00

There are things that I never knew I loved until I went paleo. Like muffins. I mean, I've always liked muffins, but I've never been someone who sees a muffin and thinks, I need to eat that thing. More often than not, when I used to see a muffin, I wouldn't really even look at it twice. But now that I can't actually have a muffin, sometimes a muffin is actually all I want.

You know?

This recipe came from here.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups almond flour

3 large eggs

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix together dry ingredients.

3. Add in beaten eggs, honey, vanillla, applesauce, and carrots. Mix well.

4. Grease a muffin pan with coconut oil. Do it well--these babies stick!

5. Pour in muffin batter.

6. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

Enjoy them for breakfast. With tea.

The Elephant In the Room

2012-02-07T15:30:00.003-05:00

Alright guys, I think it's time for me to finally say something.

I hear it a lot, and yes, I know.

Sometimes, I look a little like Zooey Deschanel.

But she's not the only person to whom I've been compared.

I've heard that I look like:

Emma Stone in Superbad

Brunette Rachel McAdams

A 10 year-old Lindsay Lohan

This got me thinking, which of these actresses would I cast to play me in a film about my life?

It's a legitimate question.

I love Zooey dearly, but sometimes I don't think I'm quite as quirky as she.

Emma is one of my favorites. I like her general attitude. I think I might go with her.

I asked some of my sponsors the same thing.

BLOG // SHOP // TWITTER // GIVEAWAY

BLOG // TWITTER

BLOG // SHOP // TWITTER

Do you have any celebrity doppelgangers?

Who would play you in a movie about your life?

Who should I pick to play me?

(Interested in sponsoring next month? View rates here.)

Grey Ceiling on the Earth

2012-02-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

Your Winter by Sister Hazel on Grooveshark

Winter came back this weekend.

The sky turned dark and rain drizzled incessantly.
The temperature dropped. Everything was grey.

As I reintroduced my water-resistant trench coat into my wardrobe and wrapped yet another scarf around my neck this weekend, shivering as we walked along the cold sidewalks of The Corner to stop by all of our favorite places and then return home to sit on the couch under a blanket, I was reminded that these sorts of weekends are, in fact, my favorites.

I mean, at least until Spring comes along.

"How beautiful a street is in winter! It is at once revealed and obscured. Here vaguely one can trace symmetrical straight avenues of doors and windows; here under the lamps are floating islands of pale light through which pass quickly bright men and women, who, for all their poverty and shabbiness, wear a certain look of unreality, an air of triumph, as if they had given life the slip, so that life, deceived of her prey, blunders on without them." --Street Haunting, Virginia Woolf

Some Other Friday Thoughts

2012-02-03T09:30:00.005-05:00

I think it might be the weather, but I have been so productive these past two weeks. Pages of a thesis have been written, part-time jobs where I work from home have been acquired, and a magazine article or two are in the works. It's good.

Now, breakfast sausages are on the stovetop and I am trying to find out how to best use my morning. Today's the last Friday I'm working in the afternoon before my boss comes back from his trip. I'm ready to get my normal all-morning schedule back, but these quiet Friday mornings at home have been a nice change of pace. Plus some Spring Fever.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with some coffee and a vacuum.

Have a sunny weekend, friends.

Valentine GIVEAWAY c/o Five Sixteenths

2012-02-02T00:00:00.004-05:00

My friend Moe makes some really pretty stuff. I've seriously had my eye on this turquoise little baby forever.

And how cute is this thing?

If you fancy it, and you should, you can enter to win it! Just in time for Valentine's Day. Everybody say "thank you, Moe!"

Good luck! Giveaway ends Wednesday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Finishing Off January with a Little Spring

2012-01-31T16:00:00.005-05:00

Any time there's a shift in the weather, I find myself longing for my undergraduate life. The way that an afternoon spent in warm sunlight makes my skin smell is enough to send me into a daydreaming spiral of nostalgia. I just want it to be socially acceptable for me to be reading books on a deadline and talking about them in a classroom all the time. And live in a library.

When I was living in Roanoke last year, these days would make me feel so blue. But this past week of warm days has made me really grateful to live so close to the University of Virginia. I just walk around and get some coffee, and when I get home I'm inspired to sit down and work on my thesis. It's been a sunny, happy past few days, and really, my only concern is that I'm going to have to reside in college towns for the rest of my life. We'll see.

My friend Patrick and I spent the afternoon walking from our neighborhood over to The Corner, stopping by The Lawn to let his little dog explore. We ended our walk at Para for iced chai lattes and I learned that they have homemade almond milk! We sat outside and talked for a while.

Goodbye, January.

Sometimes I think I could get used to this.

Restaurant Week Done Right

2012-01-30T12:40:00.001-05:00

First of all, it's been like 60+ degrees around here the past few days. So that was weird.

I wore this ModCloth dress and walked to work on Friday. No leggings needed.

This weekend, we ate.

It was Restaurant Week in Charlottesville, which means that a handful of nice restaurants had a special menu that offered three courses for $26. My friends and I chose Maya and had dinner there on Friday night. Despite the manager being a real asshole on the phone, we had a lovely meal and the service was surprisingly wonderful. The food was delicious.

Then on Saturday my parents came to have lunch with us. So we ate again. And took more pictures.

I slept until 11 AM on Sunday morning. We headed to Chipotle and ate.

Good weekend, good food.

On Being Ordinary

2012-01-29T13:30:00.001-05:00

[Raindrops on my window, taken December 2011]

In Old Friend from Far Away, Natalie Goldberg talks about the worth of ordinary lives. How we don't have to be special and exciting people with extraordinary habits in order to write something of value. And, as usual, she says these things in a way that makes me subconsciously reach for a notebook and get started again with renewed hope.

"We need you--the ones who had a cough and your mother or grandfather was there to administer the syrup...

The important thing is to go below the cliches to touch the texture of your experience. Your mind is hungry to be alive. You give us that gift by laying down your true mind on the page. We read it and you open up fields of our own imagination." (OFFA, 121).

I'm only twenty-three years old, but I'm afraid of the dark. I love to read. I drink too much coffee. I do not skydive, have an exciting job, or make very much money. But I do have dreams and a lot of thoughts. These things are worth writing.

Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Avocado Wedges

2012-01-26T12:00:00.002-05:00

There is laundry all over my living room floor. It's clean, but it's taking up space because as I write this, it's still a little damp. The dryers in our apartment complex just don't do their job, and every time we end up with damp laundry. For just one more dollar, we could have dry laundry, but I don't want to encourage bad behavior. And sometimes, I'm out of quarters.

But it's okay, because there are things like bacon and avocados in my refrigerator. And that's really all you need.

Make these when things are acting a lot more complicated than they need to be.

Ingredients:

Bacon

Avocado(s)

Optional:

Salt, Lime, Cayenne Powder

1. Slice and peel your avocado. You should get 6 to 8 wedges from each.

2. Wrap a slice of bacon around each wedge! If you're fancy, use a toothpick to hold them together. If you're me, just stick them in the pan edge-side down and hope for the best.
3. Cook them in a hot pan until they're nice and crispy. You'll have to turn them a couple times to get it cooked on all sides. I'm sure you could do this part in the oven, but I'm not sure how hot or for how long.
4. Finish them off with a tiny sprinkle of kosher salt or lime juice + cayenne.

Eat these for lunch. Make them again for an appetizer before dinner. Fold your laundry.

What I Wore 20: Back to Basics

2012-01-25T12:30:00.001-05:00

On this twentieth outfit post, I thought I'd show you my uniform. Now, don't get me wrong, I love fabulous dresses and really high heels just as much as the next girl. I'm a huge fan of dressing up. But my day-to-day outfit is one that I can barista in all morning, then go grocery shopping, sit at home and spend a few hours blogging and working on my thesis, and then still wear out to dinner. It's this: leggings or skinny jeans, a long v-neck, flat shoes, a thin cardigan, and a scarf.

Sometimes I'm a hat and pigtails person. But usually my hair is just in curls.

(Watch, Fossil; Nail Color, Essie Who's She Red)

What do you wear every day?

In Which Rob Shares A Bizarre Habit of Mine with You

2012-01-24T14:15:00.000-05:00

I tried to write an introduction to this post, but I can't seem to do it justice. So without further ado, I give you my boyfriend.

Hello, boys and girls. Rob here.

I was asked to take a minute out of my time to comment on what it's like to live with the Freckled Italian herself. Although she has many adorable qualities, it can be quite creepy to sleep next to Megan sometimes.

What comes to mind when you think of a horror movie? Do you think of small, pale children murmuring nonsense coupled with maniacal laughter in the middle of the night? Well, that's just a reality for me.

Megan often laughs and murmurs in her sleep. I've learned how to take advantage of the situation, so I ask her questions about what's so funny or what she's saying. Here are a few of the most recent conversations we've had while she was deep in her dreaming. (By the way, she never remembers any of these).

Megan: It's already in it.
Rob: What is?
M: The stuff is already in it.
R: What stuff?
M: I already put the stuff in it!

M: It...it just bothers me. I don't know. I just don't get it.
R: What bothers you?
M: It's just a little button!

Perhaps a Pinterest inspired chat:
M: It's so ugly.
R: What's ugly?
M: Her pins! She just has such ugly pins!

M: Naked cats.
R: What?!
[she laughs, a lot]
M: Naked cats. Just some puppies or somethin? Like a cappucino. I remember watching the puppies.

And then, sometimes I get these one-liner beauties:

"Beans!"

"Extra energy beat!"

"The kids are buried over here."

PS from Megan:
This is just a fraction of the things that I say when I'm asleep. Rob actually writes a lot of them down when they happen. He's agreed to grace this blog every month or so with some hilarious sequel posts! Also, I am awake as I write this.

Weekend in Photos // Snow and Pancakes

2012-01-23T00:00:00.001-05:00

For whatever reason, I've always been a person who gets really good at something and then randomly drops it. It's an incredibly frustrating habit. When I was younger, I water-skied and wake-boarded behind my parents' boats and jet-skis like there was nothing to it. I learned tricks and never wiped out. Then, one day, I decided that I was terrified of the lake. I didn't go in again for years.

When I was in college, I was briefly a Spanish major. I had grown up with the language, so I fell into my studies with ease. I was starting to have dreams in Spanish when I dropped the major, not even considering a Spanish minor. One of my classes gave me too much anxiety and I didn't think I'd be able to go back. I've always known that pursing a degree in English was one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself, but I do regret giving up on my Spanish fluency.

My whole life, I've been a skier. I learned as a little toddler and always felt comfortable with my boots in bindings. I took lessons and mastered my skills. And my family went to ski resorts every winter. Then I turned 17 or 18 and just stopped skiing. I hadn't been on skis in years, until Thursday.

I just got the urge to go. My mom goes twice a week and I knew she'd be there, so I called her up and asked her to bring my stuff. She actually seemed confused, and called me the next day to make sure I was still coming. I met her on the mountain and clipped my boots into my bindings and skied down the mountain.

It was a nice way to start the weekend.

It reminded me of a time this summer, when some of Rob's friends came to hang out with us at my parents' house on the lake. They wanted to try wake-boarding, and, as you know, I hadn't been in the water in years. I then accidentally drank half a bottle of wine, gathered some courage, traded my dress for a life jacket (luckily I still had my bikini on underneath) and jumped off the dock with my board.

Sometimes, you just have to give yourself the benefit of the doubt and then be a little bit braver than you feel.

Looks like it might be time to break out the old Spanish books.

This weekend continued with almond flour pancakes stuffed with apples.

And, of course, coffee.

And then we woke up to a beautiful, quiet frost.

Wishing you a warm Monday with plenty of opportunities to tackle your fears.

Let's Work Together This February

2012-01-20T00:00:00.005-05:00

If you'd like to promote your blog, band, or business in February, take a look at my sponsorship details right here, then send me an email with any questions or to reserve your space! The large spot has already been purchased, but it's available again starting in March, so you can always reserve it ahead of time. I hope we can work together soon!

Today, January 20th only, all small ad spaces are 20% off!

To receive the discount, just make sure you email me about it sometime today.

Talk to you then!

megan [at] freckleditalian [dot] com

[view sponsorship rates]

On Growing Up and Still Feeling 18

2012-01-19T00:00:00.027-05:00

Holiday From Real by Jacks Mannequin on Grooveshark

Yesterday I sat at my computer and Gmail-chatted with one of my very best friends for a nice long talk. Caroline and I lived together for three of our four years at Longwood University. If you haven't read about me and Caroline and the legend that is 849, you can catch up here and then come back.

Ready?

I tried to remember the last time I had sat down to catch up with her for more than two minutes and honestly couldn't even remember it. I found myself pleasantly surprised every time we changed the subject. Neither of us had anywhere to go and we had time to actually catch each other up and make plans to see each other soon.

There was a time in our lives when we didn't even go three hours without speaking--most of the time when we did speak, it was face to face in our apartment. Text messages were exchanged constantly. Lunch together every day, dinner together every night, walking around campus together every afternoon. I had a friend with whom I was so inseparable, we'd go home and share half of an apartment together.

Where did that world go?

2006: Caroline and I at Hampden-Sydney.

We made random freshman-year friends who lived

in what ended up being Rob's junior year dorm room three years later.

How's that for a coincidence?

There are times when I feel very adult. And then there are times when I am flooded with absolute panic at the thought of what "real life" must be like. It's exhausting sometimes, living life in this liminal space between undergrad years and a master's degree and, somewhere off in the distance, a career.

I have to say that while I miss the life of academia--of actually living in your studies, reading for countless hours, where your work was constantly guided and improved--I miss the life of 849 even more. I miss things like celebrating everything for any reason at all and nicknaming people we would never actually talk to.

Last month on New Year's Eve, Caroline texted me and said "I had a dream last night that we lived together with our boyfriends. It was weird but also kind of nice," to which I responded, only half-kidding, "That sounds like the dream."

Peter Pan bothers me as a character. Sometimes when I start thinking like this I'm reminded of him. He needs to grow up, you know? I'm not Peter Pan. I know I have to grow up. I think that's where the nostalgia comes from.

Hug your friends who live nearby. And call the ones who are further away. Do it today.

Apparently we really can't all live, drink too much, and get naked in fountains together forever.

What I Wore 19: Adventures in Thrifting

2012-01-18T00:00:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had convinced myself that every week, I would share a "What I Wore" post with you. Preferably, it would be on Wednesdays, because I like alliteration, but only when it's subtle. I wasn't going to tell you it was What I Wore on Wednesday With Something Else, because come on. Who do you think I am? Anyway, it worked for a few weeks, but then it didn't, because sometimes I come home from work and put on yoga pants and don't actually leave the house again.

But, sometimes I do. You don't actually get to see a full shot of this dress because the lovely zipper actually completely came apart when I was reaching for something. I guess one of the great things about finding clothes for $4 in a Goodwill is that, if it falls apart/doesn't fit, you can get it fixed/altered and still pay less for it than anything else in your wardrobe.

I'm still really new to thrifting because I love new clothes and I'm not always that patient, but I feel like I could get into it.

Dress: Thrifted in Lincoln City, Oregon

Tights: J.Crew // Shoes: J.Crew

I can't decide whether this dress makes me feel like I'm going to Prom in the 80s

or having tea with Alice in Wonderland.

Either one is pretty good.

Sharing a Few of Our Favorites

2012-01-17T00:00:00.002-05:00

I emailed a few of my sponsors last week, asking them to tell me a few of their favorite things.
I mean, who doesn't love a little game? I'm playing, too.

I'll start!

A favorite song of mine is Breathe Me by Sia.

A favorite book is Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.

A favorite quote:

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

--Mother Teresa

Next is Tori.

One of her favorite songs is We Owned the Night by Lady Antebellum.

Her favorite book is Nicholas Spark's The Notebook.

A favorite quote:

"Don't worry about people from your past. There's a reason they didn't make it into your future."

--read her blog--

--follow her on Twitter--

And finally, Heather.

One of her favorite songs is First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes.

A book she loves is Lousia May Alcott's Little Women.

A favorite quote:

"Fairy tales are more than true, not because they tell us that dragons exist,

but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."

--G.K. Chesterton

--read her blog--
--follow her on Twitter--

--

Check out our favorite books! Have you read them?
Listen to our favorite songs! Have you heard them? Here you go:

January by Megan on Grooveshark

What are some of your favorites? Tell us!

Here are sponsorship rates if you're interested in advertising in February.

Weekend in Photos // Homebody Edition

2012-01-16T00:00:00.015-05:00

After the recent holidays, I feel like I've barely actually stayed at our apartment in Charlottesville for a weekend in weeks. But this weekend, we stayed put. We spent time together. I cooked a lot. And baked! Our apartment is spotless and amazingly, we managed to keep it that way. I've never been so proud.

I made breakfast. I went to work. We went out to lunch. I made dinner. We watched LOST. I read. I woke up early and worked on my thesis. I made breakfast again. Shawna and I went for another run--we're on a roll! And then Rob and I spent Sunday evening in sweatpants with takeout from Buffalo Wild Wings. He watched a football game on television and I looked on from my computer. Then the Red Carpet coverage of the Golden Globes happened, which reminded me that I care way too much about some celebrities. We then watched the awards, ordered some more food, and went to bed.

We were lazy this weekend. It was nice. Sort of the perfect way to spend the last weekend before Rob starts class again and our apartment building fills up with noisy undergrads returning from winter break for another semester.

A weekend morning at home means I finally got to break out my new espresso maker.

Cutting carrots for beef stew.

Paleo-friendly Brownies. I can't stop eating these. Recipe courtesy of The Paleo Project.

Sunday morning productivity. Word document is open. Just doing a little research on Mean Girls.

Sunday morning procrastination. I made all this food for the two of us after I started getting antsy at my computer.

B-dubs on the couch and some football. Rob's really cute. I like him.

What did you do this weekend? Do you have work or school this MLK Day?

Happy birthday, Dr. King!

Thoughts on a Friday

2012-01-13T09:15:00.003-05:00

[Reflection of Downtown Roanoke in my coffee, taken December 2011]

It's almost nine this morning and I am just waking up with a raging caffeine headache. One of the owners of the coffee shop is out of the country for a month, and they need me to close instead of open on Fridays while he's gone. I was looking forward to sleeping in a little bit, but missing my 7:00 tea and 8:30 espresso really is taking its toll on my body.

You know, withdrawal.

So now I'm sitting with my computer in my favorite chair--it's all asymmetrical and artsy--waiting for espresso to brew on the stove. It looks freezing outside, my head is pounding, Rob is still asleep in our warm bed, there are episodes of LOST to be watched and I also just started a new book that has nothing to do with my thesis but has me hooked and I really just can't put it down. I'd rather not go to work this afternoon. It sort of feels like Saturday.

Rob got home from his trip to Portland yesterday and I felt kind of bad, but immediately went out to go running with Shawna. But we still had all afternoon to hang around, then I made dinner and Shawna came back over and we all watched a movie and polished off a bottle of wine. It feels really nice to get back into running. Yesterday was really warm and it smelled like spring and it made me want to drive to Farmville and visit my professors at Longwood and then walk around Hampden-Sydney. I might actually do that the next time it gets unseasonably warm. Or I can wait for real spring.

It doesn't take a lot to make me miss college.

So that's what you get when I'm home on a weekday morning instead of at the coffee shop. My thoughts, scattered as they may be, as they work their way out of this caffeine-addicted brain.

Have a really happy weekend, friends.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Bark

2012-01-12T00:00:00.008-05:00

I went to Twitter yesterday for some help deciding which of the Paleo recipes I have up my sleeve should be the first on this here blog. I was sort of looking forward to sharing an awesome muffin recipe with you or talking about my latest adventures with bacon, but Jackie insisted that she needed some chocolate. (Consider this an engagement gift, Jack).

This is how you make the most wonderful dessert/snack in the world.

In the world?

That's what I said.

Here's what you need:

9 ounces of good quality dark chocolate.

(It needs to have 85% or more cacao content if you're concerned about making it Paleo).

About half a cup of macadamia nuts.

(You could use any nuts you want, but peanuts aren't Paleo! Next time, I'm trying hazelnuts).

Half a teaspoon of salt.

Here's what you do:

In a double-boiler (that's a bowl on top of a pot of hot water), melt the chocolate.

Chop the nuts and stir them into the melted chocolate.

Add salt.

Pour the mixture onto a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Make sure the paper covers the sides, too.

(If the baking sheet is small, you'll get thick bark.

If it's larger, the chocolate will end up thinner. That's up to you).

Stick the thing in the refrigerator and let it harden. This could take more than an hour. No biggie.

When it's hard, take it out and break it up! Try not to eat it all in one sitting.

We're such good friends, that chocolate bark and I.

There's No Place Like Home

2012-01-10T07:00:00.014-05:00

Over The Rainbow by Wizard Of Oz on Grooveshark

On Saturday afternoon I found myself back at the lake.

Rob has been visiting some friends in Oregon for a few days, so I thought I'd take some time that would have otherwise been spent alone in Charlottesville and hang out with my family. Sometimes, a quiet road trip on your own can be nice.

I stopped in Roanoke first and saw my friend Andy, then met up with my mom, dad, and brother for dinner. We went home after dinner and watched a movie before I went to bed and passed out. I'm really not good at staying up past 10:30.

I got up on Sunday and hung out with my mom on the couch. She's been kind of sick with a little cold lately, so we made some tea and just talked for a while. Then we went to mass downtown and got breakfast at Mill Mountain, which has always been my favorite place. For as long as I can remember, that coffee shop has been part of my life. When I was little, my parents brought me there so they could get coffee. When I was in high school, my friends and I would go really early before school or we'd meet up there on the weekends. And I worked there as a barista during summer and winter break when I was in college. As dramatic as it may sound, no other physical space has ever meant so much to me.

Mill Mountain Blend

Salad with my eggs and sausage. So paleo.

Some more snapshots from my weekend at home:

Family photos.

Tea

I really liked my stuffed animals as a child.

Mom

Brother--click here to watch his VLOG post.

Waiting for breakfast at MMC&T.

This is our church. It's sort of awesome.

Sean really loves his apple cider.

Bite-sized desserts that I frosted for a work party.

Choppin' dem herbs.

The more I visit, the more I miss it.

Emma, one of my lovely best friends, came to Charlottesville yesterday to stay with me for a few days. We've been relaxing together, sitting on my couch with our laptops, catching up, drinking coffee, napping, window-shopping in fancy stores, and going out to eat. And Shawna came over last night, so the three of us spent a couple hours cuddled up together telling stories. Our group of girlfriends rarely gets to spend time all together in one place, so it's always extra-special when more than two of us have a few moments together.

I really thought these few days were going to be lonely with Rob on the other side of the country, but the past seventy-two hours or so have reminded me how lucky I am to have been blessed with these friends and family.

VLOG and a SONG! // She's a Legend

2012-01-09T00:00:00.001-05:00

Guys, I'm really excited to introduce you to my brother and his friend, Alex today.
And their band. They're nice.
Here's She's a Legend.

Check them out on Reverbnation.
Like them on Facebook.
Follow them on Twitter.
Watch more videos on their blog.

You are welcome!!!!!

On Going Paleo: Thirty Days Later

2012-01-05T12:20:00.004-05:00

Well guys, it's been thirty days. I definitely haven't been perfect--I strayed on purpose a few times and sometimes I even messed up by accident. But it's time for me to come out. I've now been Paleo for a month and these are the facts:

1. I've almost completely lost the ten pounds I gained when I moved to Charlottesville and I've barely lifted a finger yet.

2. My temperamental skin barely ever breaks out anymore. If it does, it's because I found myself in some dairy or gluten.

3. The bald spot that's found a home on the back of my head (I have Alopecia Areata) has already begun growing in.

If you aren't familiar with the premise of the Paleo diet, this is sort of it in a nutshell: No grains. No dairy. No sugar. No beans. No peanuts? There are a couple things that confuse me and I'm still trying to figure out what works. For some reason, it's easy for me to think of it like this: You're like a vegan, but you're gluten intolerant, eat meat instead of soy and you don't like rice. What I know for sure is that you must eat fruit, lots of vegetables, and meat. Seriously, I eat bacon several times a week. That's probably way more bacon than anyone really needs, but you get my point.

Lately I've been thinking about that cereal commercial where the two women are talking and Woman 1 says "Wow, have you lost weight? You look amazing!" And Woman 2 is like, "You bet I did!" And Woman 1 is all, "What's your secret, girl?" and then Woman 2 is like "Whole grains!" Well, I want to make a Paleo version where Woman 2 just says "MEAT!" instead.

Going Paleo isn't just about losing weight. I have lost weight with this diet, but the word "diet" is not used in a way that's supposed to suggest some kind of weight loss program. Yes, if you go Paleo, you're probably going to lose weight. But you're also going to feel better. I've been feeling ambiguously ill for more than three years now, and my symptoms have almost completely subsided already. I no longer feel sick when I eat. I no longer get dizzy. I no longer wake up in a fog and count down the hours until I can get back in bed. I no longer vomit randomly and violently. Then there are the awesome hair and skin improvements. Life is pretty awesome this way.

So, while I'm ecstatic about returning to my normal weight, I'm also feeling better and stronger than I can ever remember feeling, I'm excited to get back into my running and start adding some weights to my exercise plan, and I generally feel like I can wake up every morning and take on the day.

You can also have dark chocolate, red wine, and tequila. I mean, what else do you need?

If you're still with me, I've included some bits of advice that I wish I had on Day 1 of this adventure.

Don't freak out about the rules--just do your best. Some Paleos drink milk. Some eat yogurt. Some say bacon is bad. You're going to lose it if you try to do it perfectly. Figure out what's most important to you, what your goals are, what makes you feel sick, and always listen to your body.
There's always some food item that you think you just can't live without. I thought I would never be able to know happiness without sourdough toast or brie cheese in my life. My advice to you is to just try anyway. Because guess what? You aren't going to die if you can't have it anymore. I haven't had a piece of bread in a whole damn month, and I feel incredibly satisfied with my life. Here's something to think about: If I can wake up every morning and go to work and set up an entire pastry case of freshly baked scones and croissants, then I think that you can get up every morning and not buy one.
If you actually do feel like you might die if you can't have what you're craving, get yourself a small serving of it. If you've been doing Paleo right, chances are that you're going to end up feeling really sick if you have a bit of cheese or a donut or whatever it is that you want, and I think that negative reinforcement sometimes works when you're trying to figure out what's important to you and your future diet. So get all bloated and feel sick and don't beat yourself up about it, and promise yourself that next time you'll try harder not to feed yourself so much crap.
Figure out some new food habits and stick with them. I've always been a latte drinker, and it was really hard to transition to black coffee. I loved my lattes! I realized that it was the taste of espresso I was missing more than the milk, and so I make myself a double shot almost every day. I put just a splash of hot water in to dilute it. A month ago that would have sounded so boring to me, but now it's actually a part of my morning that I look forward to every day.
Find a friend to do this with. My mom is awesome and I'd be really lost without her sometimes. Rob is also amazing because he isn't completely into it, but he eats what I make without complaint, and he is constantly reading articles about Paleo and doing all this research to help me learn new things about my diet. That's another thing--read as much as you can. It's easier to adopt this lifestyle if you understand why exactly it makes sense.
Plan ahead--don't let yourself get hungry. If you're out and about or you're at work, you need to make sure you're bringing yourself a snack or you'll be able to get something to eat that's not going to ruin your whole day. If you get hungry while you're out, it's usually really hard to find something to eat. You basically can't eat anything that comes from a package, so it's not like you can just stop at a gas station and grab some crackers. I like bringing a bag of carrots or grapes, or a couple slices of turkey with me when I go to work in the morning. Hard boiled eggs are sort of awesome because they're easy to make and you can easily bring them with you for breakfast or a snack. Just make sure you're planning ahead so you don't end up torturing yourself when the only thing around you is a McDonald's or a Dunkin Donuts.
If you don't like to cook, you have to learn to do it anyway. This diet is impossible if you only eat out.

Got it? Good! Because I have some recipes that I've been waiting to share!

Let me know if you have any questions or are confused by something I said.

For this post I'll respond to all comments/questions below, in the comment section instead of through email.

LOST in Anxiety // Example #3856 Why I Am a Freak

2012-01-03T13:30:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late to the party, but I'm currently halfway through the LOST series. If you know anything about me and the ways in which I react to anything that's even remotely suspenseful, then you know that at times, I am finding this show to be absolutely terrifying.

Rob is really into LOST. Like, he could easily teach a full semester-length class on LOST and all the stuff that's happening under the surface, and people would learn. So sometimes, we go back and re-watch scenes. Or he says "Did you hear that?" to make sure I'm not missing something when I seem pre-occupied, when really I only have my phone out because I'm scared to death.

So I end up focusing on very simple things that make me feel happy. See?

Watch . Nail Color

If you're still scared after you paint your nails and do your hair, then I suggest the following cute video.

I'd love to stay and chat, but we have three seasons of LOST to go and once it gets dark, we have to stick with Glee.