Eight.Ten.TwentyTwelve.: Wash Day x Greek Yogurt Deep Conditioner

Hey y'all!

Yesterday was wash day for me and I deep condition my hair every wash day, once a week. I was unsatisfied with my current DC by As I Am (review coming soon) and I had a tub of Greek yogurt that needed to be used, so I decided to try Kendra's Greek yogurt deep conditioning treatment.

What I Used:

4 tablespoons of yogurt

2 tablespoons of honey

1 teaspoon of coconut oil

Although Kendra's hair is much longer than mine, I decided to follow her recipe exactly to make sure I had enough. I ended up having half of the mixture left after I used what I needed, so now I will know how to modify the recipe to fit me.

Keep reading to see my experience.

Glowing Green Smoothie

Hey y'all!

I'm trying to incorporate a healthier diet in my lifestyle. So, for the past few days I've been drinking this smoothie that I made. I got the recipe from Heather Lindsey's blog and I'm so excited about it.

Ingredients:

A handful of organic spinach

1 Fuji apple

1 Asian pear (both peeled & cored) - I used an Anjou pear because I couldn't find an Asian one

1/2 cup of ice

1 banana

1/2 of an avocado

3 stalks of celery

1 cup of cold, filtered water

1/2 the juice of a fresh lemon - I used concentrated lemon juice

When I made this smoothie, there were no instructions with it. So, I put the spinach and a little bit of water in first. Then added everything else randomly. The recipe did say to blend low to high, which I did.

Smell:

The smell is not bad, it smells like fresh fruit and vegetables mixed together.

Texture:

The texture was a little weird to me. It was a bit more textured than I am used to my smoothies being. I didn't mind it too much though.

Taste:

Now, let me say, it is an acquired taste. The first sip is the hardest. I didn't know what to expect when tasting it but somehow I was still caught off guard. It's not sweet. You do taste the vegetables. You also taste the fruit though. After a few sips, it tasted better. My taste buds adjusted to the taste of the smoothie and I began to enjoy it. It is yummy but if you're not used to drinking vegetables it will take a little time to get acquainted with it. I must say, it tastes clean and it feels good knowing that what I'm drinking is so healthy for me.

What I Would Do Different:

Next time, I will definitely use two stalks of celery instead of three. I thought three was a bit much, especially for me because I greatly dislike celery, but I wanted to follow the recipe. Also, I found this green smoothie recipe last night which is very similar to the one I used to make my smoothie. I will probably follow that one tomorrow when I blend my smoothie or I may use a mixture of the two recipes.

I really enjoyed this experience and I definitely plan on continuing to drink these. I drink mine for breakfast but you can drink it any time of the day. I'm on my way to being a healthier, better me. Join me on the journey!

xo,

Rita

Seven.Twenty.TwentyTwelve.: Today's Run x Motivation

Hello loves.

Lately, I've been in a little funk over exercising. I really just didn't feel like it. I asked myself "why should I?" multiple times and I couldn't really come up with an answer. I had a true lack of motivation. I couldn't say to lose weight. I'm 114 lbs., I don't need to lose any weight. And I've never been bigger than 118 so even if I don't do anything I won't be that much larger than I am now. I also couldn't say to stay healthy. I felt like if I ate healthy then I would be healthy regardless of if I exercise or now. I came up with every excuse possible to feel justified about not working out.

Then last night I got to my lowest point. I felt HORRIBLE in my body. I was fine and there was nothing wrong with me but I missed how I used to feel in my body when I was working out daily. I had more energy then and I was more motivated in every aspect of my life. I wanted to feel that way again but I didn't know how to push myself to get up and run. Then I came across a fitness blog that mentioned The Color Run. 

I had heard about this particular 5k run before but never really paid attention to it. I thought "oh that looks like fun" but never considered participating in it. Until now. When I saw this and went to the website (linked above) I knew that I had to do this! And this was my newfound motivation. I was running one mile before and a 5k is 3.1 miles so I figured I can definitely do this. The one that I will be attending is in Houston, TX on November 11, which so happens to be World Run Day. If I start training myself now, I'll definitely be able to  run three miles by November. So this morning, I started my training by pushing myself to run TWO miles. Yes, it was difficult but I got it done. I set a goal and I'm DETERMINED to reach it. And I'm SO excited to be apart of The Color Run this year!

Hopefully this inspires you to push past yourself and know that you CAN do ANYTHING you set your mind to in any aspect of your life. I know God's got me and I know He has you too. With Him on our side, we can do anything.

xo,

Rita

Style Catalog: How I Twist My Hair

I have received many questions about how I twist my hair to achieve the look of my twist-outs. So I decided to make a video to show you all. Enjoy.

xo,

Rita