So if you've read this blog for any length of time, you might know about the love affair I have with the Aveda salon I go to here in town, Nurtur the Salon. Every year, Aveda salons celebrate Earth Month by having special events and raising money for various charities. In the Columbus area, the charity is the Central Ohio Sierra Club's Clean Water Campaign. And for Nurtur, the events are twofold.
First up is Beauty for the Earth, next Monday (the 22nd) from 11 am to 9 pm at both the Upper Arlington and Grandview Nurtur salons. At the Upper Arlington salon, you can get a haircut, facial or makeup application for $20. At the Grandview salon, you can get a haircut, color gloss or shampoo style for $20. All proceeds--you read that right, 100 percent of your $20, not to mention any additional donations--will benefit the Central Ohio Sierra Club Clean Water Campaign. Both salons will also have a bake sale, raffle baskets, an art silent auction, a giving tree and a prize wheel (You can read more about the giving tree and other cool things here.) Just make sure you call and schedule an appointment if you want a $20 service; spots fill up fast! (Addresses and phone numbers for both locations are available on the website, linked in the paragraph above.)
The second big event is the annual Earth Jam fashion show/fundraiser. It's a week from today (the 23rd), from 6:30 to 10 pm at the LC Pavilion in the Arena District. (You might remember my post and photos from last year. If you didn't catch it then, click over for a second. Go on. I'll wait.
You back? Ok. OMG HOW SWEET DOES THAT LOOK? Pretty sweet, I know. That hair! That makeup! Those clothes! I can say that, based on last year's show, this year's is not something you want to miss. It was a blast. This year, the beneficiary of the event's fundraising portions is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio and its Camp Oty’Okwa in Hocking Hills, which focuses on educating children about the environment. So not only will you be entering raffles and bidding in live and silent auctions for the chance to win some truly incredible prizes, but the money you spend will benefit a truly awesome cause. On top of the auctions and fashion show, Earth Jam also will feature mini spa services (score!), door prizes (double score!) and an in-house DJ. Plus, I'll be there, so we can meet up! (Not that meeting me is nearly as sweet as the rest of that, but you know, I'm a little bit cool.)
You can buy tickets to (and find out some more info about) Earth Jam here. Or you can enter to win two tickets below!
(Giveaway runs from now until Friday, April 19, at midnight. I will contact you within 12 hours of the giveaway ending to arrange for a time to give you the tickets. Giveaway is open to anyone, but the show is here in Columbus, so please don't enter if you're not actually going to be in town on Tuesday :) Thanks!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
UPDATE! I got free stuff for hosting this. Namely, two tickets to Earth Jam and a free service at Nurtur. Sorry, guys. I'm not trying to be sneaky, I promise.
A mashup of style, food and anything else that interests me right now.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
Prayers for Boston
Hi everyone. As I'm sure you've heard, there was a tragedy in Boston today. I wanted to get a giveaway started this evening, but I just don't feel right being frivolous and bloggy in light of the bombing. I haven't found any relief effort funds yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to post them. In the meantime, please take a moment to send your prayers (or, if you don't pray, your positive thoughts/vibes/energy) to those affected.
Friday, April 12, 2013
(Just barely) Food Friday: Pork kebabs and sesame rice
Well, I've just been a little bundle of productivity this week. Another freelance project came into my inbox, about Columbus' art scene this time. It's a tight deadline, but it should be a lot of fun to write. (For those of you who were interested in the fashion piece I mentioned a while back, that link will be up here soon!) Anyway, I stayed home tonight to tackle some stuff, get a head start on this project and have a long-overdue Skype date with by bff Emily...and I've only just now realized that I haven't yet posted the recipe I wanted to post today!
So here's a Food Friday post, just a half-hour shy of Saturday. This is slightly adapted from a Real Simple magazine recipe. Sorry for the poor photo; Matt and I were halfway through this meal when I realized it was a) good enough to blog and b) hadn't been blogged yet! Matt graciously allowed me to take pictures of his food, since his plate still had all the ingredients on it (I had already eaten all my pork).
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 tablespoon dried cilantro
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 3 boneless pork chops, about one inch thick
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 5 or 6 green onions
- sesame seeds
- kebab skewers (we have metal ones, but wood ones will work too)
If you're using wood skewers, soak them in water for at least 15 minutes. While they're soaking, preheat your oven to 450 degrees (make sure the top rack is on the highest slot) and bring two cups of water to a boil in a pot.
While you're waiting for the water to boil, chop the bell pepper and green onions into one-inch pieces, and cut the pork into one-and-a-half-inch pieces.
When the water starts boiling, also add a healthy dash of salt, the cilantro and the butter. Once the butter's melted, add the rice, then cover and simmer over low heat until the rice is cooked (usually about 15-20 minutes or so).
While the rice is cooking, combine the hoisin sauce and rice vinegar (both of which can be found in the Asian or international section of most grocery stores) in a bowl. Line a baking sheet with foil, then thread the pork and veggies onto the skewers and place on the foil. Drizzle with half of the hoisin mixture and bake for about five minutes. Turn the skewers, drizzle again and bake for another four minutes or so. (Don't worry if the pork is a teensy bit underdone in the center; new studies have shown that it's perfectly safe to eat pork slightly rare. And that's always better than overdone and chewy!)
Just before serving, sprinkle sesame seeds over the skewers and over the rice. Cause sesame seeds are delicious and there's basically no such thing as too much sesame, if you ask me.
I love this meal because it's so freaking easy, and it's fast, and it's delicious. As evidenced by the fact that I was halfway through it before I realized photos were necessary. Enjoy!
So here's a Food Friday post, just a half-hour shy of Saturday. This is slightly adapted from a Real Simple magazine recipe. Sorry for the poor photo; Matt and I were halfway through this meal when I realized it was a) good enough to blog and b) hadn't been blogged yet! Matt graciously allowed me to take pictures of his food, since his plate still had all the ingredients on it (I had already eaten all my pork).
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 tablespoon dried cilantro
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 3 boneless pork chops, about one inch thick
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 5 or 6 green onions
- sesame seeds
- kebab skewers (we have metal ones, but wood ones will work too)
If you're using wood skewers, soak them in water for at least 15 minutes. While they're soaking, preheat your oven to 450 degrees (make sure the top rack is on the highest slot) and bring two cups of water to a boil in a pot.
While you're waiting for the water to boil, chop the bell pepper and green onions into one-inch pieces, and cut the pork into one-and-a-half-inch pieces.
When the water starts boiling, also add a healthy dash of salt, the cilantro and the butter. Once the butter's melted, add the rice, then cover and simmer over low heat until the rice is cooked (usually about 15-20 minutes or so).
While the rice is cooking, combine the hoisin sauce and rice vinegar (both of which can be found in the Asian or international section of most grocery stores) in a bowl. Line a baking sheet with foil, then thread the pork and veggies onto the skewers and place on the foil. Drizzle with half of the hoisin mixture and bake for about five minutes. Turn the skewers, drizzle again and bake for another four minutes or so. (Don't worry if the pork is a teensy bit underdone in the center; new studies have shown that it's perfectly safe to eat pork slightly rare. And that's always better than overdone and chewy!)
Just before serving, sprinkle sesame seeds over the skewers and over the rice. Cause sesame seeds are delicious and there's basically no such thing as too much sesame, if you ask me.
I love this meal because it's so freaking easy, and it's fast, and it's delicious. As evidenced by the fact that I was halfway through it before I realized photos were necessary. Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Anniversaries
I'm weird about taking sick days. Usually I feel like I'm dying in the morning (no joke, I was actually in tears as I tried to get ready this morning), but by the afternoon I'm usually feeling human again. Today is no exception. I still feel crappy, but at least I'm no longer curled up in a fetal position, whimpering softly while my cat gives me the most concerned look a cat can muster. (Yes, that happened today.)
Anyway, I've just been sitting here in bed with my laptop, and I realized something. I forgot my own blog-iversary. Now here it is, two days past my two-year mark, and I don't even have an outfit post in reserve to celebrate. How sad is that? Well, in the grand scheme of things, I guess it's really not sad at all. But in bloggerworld, where #bloggerproblems rule, it's pretty pathetic.
Fun fact: April is officially my month of anniversaries. My two-year blogiversary was on Monday, and my one-year work anniversary is at the end of this month. Also at the end of this month is Matt's and my five-year anniversary of dating. Wow.
And me being me, anniversaries tend to make me go all retrospective and nostalgic. So in lieu of an outfit post, you guys get a whole lot of words. Woohoo?
Two years ago, I was still a semi-new college graduate. I had finally landed a job I enjoyed, and was comfortable enough in it that I was ready for a new hobby (which is how this blog came about). I knew I would never be able to limit my blog to just one topic, so I embraced my tendency to get easily distracted and started chronicling my adventures in the worlds of personal style, food, home décor, DIY, and (eventually) personal finance. One of my first posts proposed a toast: To success, be it self-discovery or Internet semi-fame. I'm no blogger sensation, but I think I've definitely achieved the self-discovery succes in pretty much every area.
Style. When I started this blog, I had no real sense of style; I just wore slacks and whatever shirt my fingers touched first when I was getting dressed. Some days I mixed it up with a black skirt. My wardrobe was boring and I was bored with it. Now, there are still days that I just throw on whatever's easiest, but there are more days when I try to create something. My shopping habits have gotten a lot better, too. I used to buy whatever caught my eye, or items that I thought I was "supposed" to have in a professional wardrobe. (Seriously, who needs eight bajillion button-down Oxfords?) Now, I consider potential purchases, weighing them against what I already own, thinking about remix possibilities and longevity.
Food. Oh man. I've tried a lot of new recipes over the past two years, though at the moment I'm working with a six-week rotating menu of Matt's and my faves. I don't know if I'd say I've really "grown" in this area, though I certainly do eat a lot more veggies than I did a few years ago. So, improvement?
Home décor. This was a hard one, mostly because decorating a home, even if it's a tiny apartment, takes money. Which as you all know, I don't have a whole lot of. But my landlord recently complimented my decorating skills (in the most misogynistic way possible, but I'll overlook that), and I've definitely noticed a maturation in the way I approach our living space. Our first apartment featured white walls and posters hung up with sticky-tack. This one has a few painted rooms, framed art and a general color palate. When we move again in August, I'm hoping to convey a more cohesive palate and a real sense of who Matt and I are through decorating. So consider this a disclaimer: There will be a LOT more décor-related posts in the second half of this year :)
DIY. I've completed a few projects, and some of them actually turned out pretty well. (Framed Ikea-inspired art, homemade curtains.) Others turned out horribly, but they were great learning experiences. With the recent opening of a sewing co-op near our house (where you can rent sewing machines by the hour), not to mention a new, larger apartment to decorate, I expect to be able to accomplish many more DIY projects in the coming months/years.
Money/personal finance. Surprisingly, this is the area I feel where I've grown the most. I say "surprisingly" for two reasons: First, it wasn't an initial angle I intended to pursue here, and second, I've had a major spending problem for pretty much my entire life. In just two years, I've evolved from someone who spends money the second she gets it and then keeps spending to create outrageous amounts of debt, to someone who budgets a year in advance, plans all major purchases and hesitates to plunk down more than $50 on anything, ever. I stopped impulse-buying by forcing myself to sit on any non-budgeted purchase for at least 48 hours. I have a savings account! With money in it! Not enough to cover me for three to six months of living expenses, but enough for at least one month, or one major car repair. I went from being thousands of dollars in debt to being just six months away from having no debt at all. (Fair warning: When I do send in that last payment in October, expect a long, celebratory, rambling post about how excited I am. Whether you actually read it or not is up to you.)
Speaking of rambling, I'm kind of going off here still. I guess I'll stop giving you all eye strain, if you've even read this far. And if you have, thanks! You're a real trooper. Here's a gold star.
Anyway, I've just been sitting here in bed with my laptop, and I realized something. I forgot my own blog-iversary. Now here it is, two days past my two-year mark, and I don't even have an outfit post in reserve to celebrate. How sad is that? Well, in the grand scheme of things, I guess it's really not sad at all. But in bloggerworld, where #bloggerproblems rule, it's pretty pathetic.
Fun fact: April is officially my month of anniversaries. My two-year blogiversary was on Monday, and my one-year work anniversary is at the end of this month. Also at the end of this month is Matt's and my five-year anniversary of dating. Wow.
And me being me, anniversaries tend to make me go all retrospective and nostalgic. So in lieu of an outfit post, you guys get a whole lot of words. Woohoo?
Two years ago, I was still a semi-new college graduate. I had finally landed a job I enjoyed, and was comfortable enough in it that I was ready for a new hobby (which is how this blog came about). I knew I would never be able to limit my blog to just one topic, so I embraced my tendency to get easily distracted and started chronicling my adventures in the worlds of personal style, food, home décor, DIY, and (eventually) personal finance. One of my first posts proposed a toast: To success, be it self-discovery or Internet semi-fame. I'm no blogger sensation, but I think I've definitely achieved the self-discovery succes in pretty much every area.
Style. When I started this blog, I had no real sense of style; I just wore slacks and whatever shirt my fingers touched first when I was getting dressed. Some days I mixed it up with a black skirt. My wardrobe was boring and I was bored with it. Now, there are still days that I just throw on whatever's easiest, but there are more days when I try to create something. My shopping habits have gotten a lot better, too. I used to buy whatever caught my eye, or items that I thought I was "supposed" to have in a professional wardrobe. (Seriously, who needs eight bajillion button-down Oxfords?) Now, I consider potential purchases, weighing them against what I already own, thinking about remix possibilities and longevity.
Food. Oh man. I've tried a lot of new recipes over the past two years, though at the moment I'm working with a six-week rotating menu of Matt's and my faves. I don't know if I'd say I've really "grown" in this area, though I certainly do eat a lot more veggies than I did a few years ago. So, improvement?
Home décor. This was a hard one, mostly because decorating a home, even if it's a tiny apartment, takes money. Which as you all know, I don't have a whole lot of. But my landlord recently complimented my decorating skills (in the most misogynistic way possible, but I'll overlook that), and I've definitely noticed a maturation in the way I approach our living space. Our first apartment featured white walls and posters hung up with sticky-tack. This one has a few painted rooms, framed art and a general color palate. When we move again in August, I'm hoping to convey a more cohesive palate and a real sense of who Matt and I are through decorating. So consider this a disclaimer: There will be a LOT more décor-related posts in the second half of this year :)
DIY. I've completed a few projects, and some of them actually turned out pretty well. (Framed Ikea-inspired art, homemade curtains.) Others turned out horribly, but they were great learning experiences. With the recent opening of a sewing co-op near our house (where you can rent sewing machines by the hour), not to mention a new, larger apartment to decorate, I expect to be able to accomplish many more DIY projects in the coming months/years.
Money/personal finance. Surprisingly, this is the area I feel where I've grown the most. I say "surprisingly" for two reasons: First, it wasn't an initial angle I intended to pursue here, and second, I've had a major spending problem for pretty much my entire life. In just two years, I've evolved from someone who spends money the second she gets it and then keeps spending to create outrageous amounts of debt, to someone who budgets a year in advance, plans all major purchases and hesitates to plunk down more than $50 on anything, ever. I stopped impulse-buying by forcing myself to sit on any non-budgeted purchase for at least 48 hours. I have a savings account! With money in it! Not enough to cover me for three to six months of living expenses, but enough for at least one month, or one major car repair. I went from being thousands of dollars in debt to being just six months away from having no debt at all. (Fair warning: When I do send in that last payment in October, expect a long, celebratory, rambling post about how excited I am. Whether you actually read it or not is up to you.)
Speaking of rambling, I'm kind of going off here still. I guess I'll stop giving you all eye strain, if you've even read this far. And if you have, thanks! You're a real trooper. Here's a gold star.
Monday, April 8, 2013
At last!
chambray, jacket: thrifted
skinnies, flats: Target
belt, necklace, bracelet: H&M
You guys, I think spring has finally arrived. Today I got to experience a balmy 71 degrees and it. was. glorious. But here's the weird thing about Ohio. The lows on Friday night reached down to 29. Wednesday is looking like it'll see a high of 81...and then Friday, we're back to high 48/low 37. Seriously, Ohio? It's spring. Stop trying to pretend otherwise.
You wanna know how I know what Friday's low temp was? Well, I looked it up, but I also lived it, man. One of our friends' parents has some land outside of town, so Matt and I and about 20 of our friends camped out Friday night. There was a little pond, a campfire and lots of grilling/toasting. (And booze. There was quite a bit of booze as well.) But it was freeeeezing. I'm talking leggings under jeans under sweatpants. Two shirts, hoodie and a down jacket. Gloves and a hat. In other words, way too freakin' cold for April.
Sleeping actually wasn't too bad...for Matt and me. We had a nice, snug little tent, five layers of blankets, and super warm sleeping bags that were actually rated for that kind of weather, thankfully. Others weren't so fortunate...two people in a big four-person tent shivered all night because they only brought one comforter. For once, I was pretty glad to be one of those "just in case" types, haha.
Now that the weather is picking up a bit, our calendars are really filling up. We're planning a few fun trips in the coming weeks/months.(I don't really want to talk about them specifically until after the fact--not trying to broadcast to the world, Hey we're gonna be out of town on X days! Come rob us!) But I can't wait to blog them afterward!
Friday, April 5, 2013
Fiscal Friday: The real March budget
Ok, so I'm all about transparency and accountability (working for the government will do that to a person, I guess), so I'm going to own up to something: I blew my March budget to pieces. It was horrible. It was — quite literally — one of the worst months, budget-wise, I've had since graduating college. I'm not quite sure what happened; maybe visiting my sister put me in such a giddy mood that I overspend on everything else. Maybe I was just so bored (or should I say, am so bored) of cold weather that I spend money to make up for the lack of sunshine in my life. Whatever it was, it was terrible.
Remember that reasonable, only-$7-over-and-with-a-return-actually-$30-under clothes budget I posted about two weeks ago? Yeah, screwed that one up royally. I spoke too soon and ended up being about $65 over. And it wasn't like I bought a really great closet staple or a fun statement piece. First, I went with the gift card refund on the dress from eShakti instead of the dress, because the gift card is worth 20% more than the original purchase. Then, I promptly forgot that I didn't opt for cash back, and re-spent that $38 on a cute t-shirt at JCPenney ($10) and some slightly-gauged hoops at Hot Topic. ($13) The ball on my cartilage piercing fell out and I wanted to replace the hoop in my tragus as well, so I figured, $13 for a half-dozen new hoops was a good deal.
Lesson of the day: Seriously, don't buy body jewelry at Hot Topic. It's crap. I ended up having to go to a local piercing/tattoo shop here in Columbus to spend $30 on two quality hoops. At least the balls on these hoops are attached on one end, so I can't loose them again. There is a good chance I will wear these earrings for the next several years without ever taking them out. (If anyone in Columbus is interested, I went to Evolved. The staff was wonderful, the selection was great and they even switched out the piercings free of charge so I wouldn't have to clumsy-finger it at home.
Anyway, clothing wasn't the only category I grossly overspent on. I was also more than $100 over my grocery budget (usually set at $200) and $60 over my eating out/bars/fun stuff budget (also usually $200). All in all, I'm pretty disappointed in myself.
Maybe I'm being too hard on myself because I had a stressful, crap day at work. But part of me worries that if I don't beat myself up at least a little, I'll spend all willy-nilly again this month and the next month and the next...
I guess I should give myself at least some credit. If I overspent that much two years ago, I would have been in a panic. I would have been cramming expenses onto a nearly-maxed out credit card, asking to borrow money, panicking. Now, I'm mostly just annoyed at myself. So I guess that's a plus?
Remember that reasonable, only-$7-over-and-with-a-return-actually-$30-under clothes budget I posted about two weeks ago? Yeah, screwed that one up royally. I spoke too soon and ended up being about $65 over. And it wasn't like I bought a really great closet staple or a fun statement piece. First, I went with the gift card refund on the dress from eShakti instead of the dress, because the gift card is worth 20% more than the original purchase. Then, I promptly forgot that I didn't opt for cash back, and re-spent that $38 on a cute t-shirt at JCPenney ($10) and some slightly-gauged hoops at Hot Topic. ($13) The ball on my cartilage piercing fell out and I wanted to replace the hoop in my tragus as well, so I figured, $13 for a half-dozen new hoops was a good deal.
Lesson of the day: Seriously, don't buy body jewelry at Hot Topic. It's crap. I ended up having to go to a local piercing/tattoo shop here in Columbus to spend $30 on two quality hoops. At least the balls on these hoops are attached on one end, so I can't loose them again. There is a good chance I will wear these earrings for the next several years without ever taking them out. (If anyone in Columbus is interested, I went to Evolved. The staff was wonderful, the selection was great and they even switched out the piercings free of charge so I wouldn't have to clumsy-finger it at home.
Anyway, clothing wasn't the only category I grossly overspent on. I was also more than $100 over my grocery budget (usually set at $200) and $60 over my eating out/bars/fun stuff budget (also usually $200). All in all, I'm pretty disappointed in myself.
Maybe I'm being too hard on myself because I had a stressful, crap day at work. But part of me worries that if I don't beat myself up at least a little, I'll spend all willy-nilly again this month and the next month and the next...
I guess I should give myself at least some credit. If I overspent that much two years ago, I would have been in a panic. I would have been cramming expenses onto a nearly-maxed out credit card, asking to borrow money, panicking. Now, I'm mostly just annoyed at myself. So I guess that's a plus?
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Style pin-spiration
blazer, button-up blouse: thrifted
cardi: The Limited
pants: really old, don't remember
flats, necklace: Target
Okay first, I'd like to address the elephant in the room/on this post: Holy crap these photos are freaking awful. I was in a rush, I was probably tired, and I'll be honest, this sweater mysteriously shrank and I was ready to get that straightjacket off. So, sorry for the terrible quality. Hopefully you can look past it and imagine this outfit in its IRL glory. Cause I liked it a lot, aside from the whole compressing-my-arms-and-torso-into-sausages thing.
So anyway, do y'all remember my Pin-spiration Monday posts that I was doing for a while late last year/early this year? No? That's okay, I pretty much forgot about them too. Until now... So anyway, I've seen a few bloggers do this look before, most recently Audrey over at Putting Me Together. Please note how much better it looks on her, probably because she doesn't decide to replicate this look at the last minute, realize the damn sweater doesn't fit but wear it anyway because she spent the last 10 minutes sitting in front of her closet pouting, unable to think of something blog-worthy to wear, and she has to put on some form of clothing RIGHT NOW or she'll miss the bus or worse, not get her coffee. Not like that's what happened to me or anything...
Also, this is the first time I've embedded a pin on the ol' blog since they updated the embed functions, and can I just say that I really hate it? Because I really hate it. I just want the image, not the description and the name of the board I pinned too... :/ Plus, now you have to embed the JavaScript on any page the embedded pin appears? Wtf?
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