Eat Pray Love

In honor of one of my favorite books, Eat Pray Love and the recent film, I realized how appropriate my life at the moment fits in each of these words..

Eat- Lately I have had so much time to actually cook and try new recipes. Okay, so I'm not the best chef or baker, but I'm the best attempter :) and as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. In the past couple of years, I've really developed a love for cooking...I partially owe that passion to Giada De Larentis on Food Network. On top of that, I've been following a blog on Self.com called "Eat Like Me" by Registered Nutritionist Cristin Dillon. She shares everything she eats every day, even with pictures and recipes. It's actually helped me change my horrible habit of calorie counting. I enjoy that how she eats is how I've been eating in the last 3-4 years and she's a nutritionist!

So the other day she shared an amazing salad recipe that sounded/looked so good that I immediately went to the market, bought all the ingredients and made it myself. It's called panzanella salad ...try it out! ( http://www.self.com/fooddiet/blogs/eatlikeme/2010/08/cook-like-me---panzanella-sala.html )Her blog helped me overcome my feelings of deprivation and actually appreciate the quality of ingredients instead of worrying about the quantity of calories.

Pray- God has always been present in my life. Ever since I was a little girl I can remember praying every night before going to bed and it's still a tradition today. In the past couple of months, prayer is no longer a habitual thing but a conversation with God I look forward to every day. I've also seen the power of prayer work more in my life recently than ever. When I least expect it, God blesses me in disguise.

On a side note: when learning about new religions, I find the one commonality is prayer. Though we all ch0ose to communicate prayer differently, it's beautiful that amongst the many religions of the world we all are connected through words, thoughts, release, repentance, requests and thanks.

Love- A word too many of us question and contemplate the meaning of. For me, love is all about actions; about doing rather than feeling; and truly putting others before yourself. Lately, I've come to appreciate and understand this word more because of all the countless visits, phone calls and gatherings with family, old friends and new friends.  They have showered me with love by simply caring and spending time with me, and in moments of life, sometimes that's enough. 

Despite much alone time in my studio, I've come to love more than ever. Whether it be spending a day with my sisters, playing football with my brother, try out new restaurants with my dad, simply treating my mom to lunch and coffee and enjoying days with friends, it's  about cherishing those times and living in that moment with them. Listening, laughing, talking, and sometimes acting completely silly, I've grown a stronger love for my family and friends. 

 

Right now I am truly in love with my life. I finally feel centered and ready for anything that comes next. Once we seek the world with an open mind and open heart, we will see and feel love. 

So eat without guilt, pray without hesitation, and love without fear. Letting go is maybe one of the best remedies for any situation. 

Much love

xoxo

I Love Summer

There is a strong tie between my favorite season: summer & winter. I love winter because of the holidays and summer because of the sunshine, beach and always having a reason to be outside. Well after this weekend, I think summer is slightly out-beating my winter feelings. It was probably one the best in a long time and I owe most of that to one of my best friends, Sara.

Started out with a yummy, healthy dinner with some good friends in the OC on Friday and then later heading over to Huntington Beach to visit Sara. Although Sara has a distaste for the bar scene in Huntington, we headed over there out of convenience and to Sara's surprise, had a great time! We cut the night a little short to save some of our energy for Saturday... the U.S. Surf Opening! We woke up, rode bikes to the beach, tanned a little, ate at a good sandwich place, walked through the vendors hoping to grab some free stuff (lines were way too long for a dumb sticker), and then chilled on the beach until Weezer performed. So who cares about a free dumb vendor gift, when you get to watch a free Weezer concert on the beach! It was so good, especially when they played one of my favorites, "Holiday." That song could not have been more perfect for this relaxing, fun summer weekend.

After a long, fun day at the beach, we got dressed- up pretty quickly (Sara and I are pro at doing this) and headed to other side of town- Hollywood. Sara has some great friends who invited us out to a fun club in Hollywood. I couldn't have asked to end a better day with one of my best friends dancing the night away to "Show Me Love." (Can I say, that if that song comes on anywhere, I will dance! It is my ultimate favorite dance song.) Sunday was very relaxing- walked to the market, tried a new salad recipe (which turned out amazing...I'll share it soon), watched Pretty Woman, and ended the night with an inspiring message at church. All in all, I'm loving my age right now and this place in my life. God could not bless me enough and for that, I hope to share some summer sunshine on others.

Got to love summer for weekends like this...

Much Love
xoxo

Exercise Addict

I’ll admit it- I’m an exercise addict. If I don’t do something each day, even some sit-ups or push-ups, I feel extremely guilty. The other day my 10 year-old brother, Matthew, told my family that I need to find a man who likes to work out and eat oatmeal- funny that my brother characterizes working out as my compatibility with someone. However, most of his life he’s watched me dance but in the past 4 years, he’s also seen me run off to the gym every time I visit home, trying out some crazy new fitness move I read in a magazine (he makes fun of me often for this), and eating oatmeal every morning for breakfast. So what can I say, exercise is a huge part of who I am and there’s no way I’m going to rehab for this addiction ;)

Since living on my own, I’ve been expanding my exercise around the area and thought I’d share some new things I’ve been trying out lately…
1. Running outdoors: For someone who used to dread the mile run in P.E. or any type of run for that matter, I’ve started to run at least twice a week around my area.I guess it all started when I lived in London and couldn’t help to take advantage of the beautiful parks and city so I’d run all over. Now, I live in an area where my runs consist of a garden walking path along Santa Monica Blvd, the beautiful residential area of Beverly Hills, hip, eclectic West Hollywood, and the chic/beautiful shopping hot-spots along Wilshire Blvd. Also, running has been my way of exploration. I-pod on and I’m off to see a new place in my backyard! But I love being outside in the sunshine, and embracing God’s beauty. It’s really one of the best escapes and I’m starting to run farther and longer. I can go for 45min to an hour . ..now that is record breaking for me! New goal: run to Santa Monica Pier!
2. Dance classes @ The Edge in HWood: Okay so dance isn’t new to my exercise, it’s basically part of my genes. I’ve been dancing almost my entire life and after my last performance in college, there was no way this was the end of it! I started taking Jazz, Lyrical, & Hip-Hop over the last month or so @ The Edge and it’s really challenged me more as a dancer but I love it. It’s great to learn from different choreographers, challenge my body with new styles, and gain more inspiration from other dancers. AND it doesn’t bother me that on my first visit I not only ran into some past contestants on So You Think You Can Dance but Ryan Gosling watched most of my dance class! Can’t beat that or the fact that I continue to enjoy one of my passions.
3. Mat Pilates: The best abs workout of my life…why have I been missing out on this?! I just started taking classes at the gym and I love it. It stretches me, works my abs hard core, and it’s also really therapeutic for me (I think it’s all the breathing/control). If you haven’t tried this, I suggest you do! You’ll feel amazing all over.

It’s great that I finally have time to do all of this stuff lately. It’s really helping me explore my area but also work my body in new and fun ways. I’m blessed to have this time right now in my life to do all of this stuff and excited to try something else. I’ve been dying to learn salsa, who’s down?

Much Love
xoxo

Party of 8

Yesterday, I had a last minute surprise visit from my aunt, cousins and sisters. Quite a funny time, considering my little studio seems overcrowded with just 3 people, but it was worth all the shoes everywhere ( new rules in my place: no shoes allowed and no dirty feet) and family scattered in any area they could find a place to sit. In total, 8 of us got very comfy in my little studio until we decided to get some fresh air and head next door to "Millions of Milkshakes." This is THE milkshake place that was all over Perez and E News about a year ago which now has "celebrity" shakes and only features celebrity appearances on their plasmas, as well as a live Twitter celebrity feed...they've really taken advantage of their celeb encounters, can you tell? In honor of Kim Kardashian's fabulousness, Lauren tried the "Kim Kardashian"- vanilla yogurt and every berry imaginable; Erin stuck with a fruit smoothie; my cousin Riley had to get the "Miley Cyrus"-peanut butter cup and cookie dough; my cousins Jules & Rae got the"Lindsey Lohan"- strawberry banana- of course in honor of her jail date, and I stuck with my fav-banana and peanut butter :)

After snapping some pictures to document this touristy experience (aka Lauren) we headed back. It was quite funny walking down Santa Monica Blvd with 8 girls laughing, chatting, being loud, and goofing around- all ranging from age of 3 and above . But if you saw us, you would definitely know that we all come from the same blood. So to top the evening off, we played one of our traditional family games, "Old Maid." Yep, it's one of our favorites and gets quite intense!

Great night with some of the best people in my life. Sleep over is in the works :/ Now that I am worried about. haha

much love
xoxo

My New Home (Semi-Complete)

Welcome to my new pad! (Semi-complete but slowly getting there.) I swore I wasn’t going to post pictures until it was entirely finished, 

decor and all, but who knew decorating such a 

small space could take so long! However, being that I have an eye for detail and ve

ry particular about design, it’s been a process. Now I’m kind of scared to own a house because it’s going to take me forever to decorate! Well that’s definitely not for awhile, so for now, my cute, charming studio is perfect.

This studio and I had a connection at first sight. The moment I clicked on the Craig’s List link, read the description, and checked out the website, I knew I was going to live here (ask my mom…I e-mailed her instantly). Smack dab in the middle of Beverly Hills, in between the large, swanky apartment buildings, sits a 1920’s, art-deco 18-unit studio complex. Complete with the most charming and vintage details, such as the pedestal bathroom sink, the glass knobs on all the doors and cabinets, the tall ceilings, the little window in place of a peep-hole, a refrigerator turned into a cabinet, and the classic ironing board that pops out of the wall, it makes me so happy to live here. The details sold me over!

I found this place before my parents even saw it, and after my dad helped me move in, he was astonished at the maintenance of the building (being that it is very old)but also curious as to what its purpose was before. Since the entire building has been completely maintained, we wondered who in the world used this small space in the 1920’s because it definitely could not accommodate a family let alone 2-people and each studio is complete with a kitchen and bathroom.

So I did some investigating and here's what I discovered…

The building once served as a womens-only apartment complex in the 1920’s because during that time it was unheard of women and men living in the same building. A housekeeper also used to live in the building with the women, cleaning their studios and kind of being their live-in mom. And if you walk through it now, you will find unique marks of history such as the square outline in front of each studio, which used to be where the milk man delivered each tenant’s milk, an old trash chute and the remainings of an old telephone which probably was the phone booth but now serves as our laundry room. So now it all makes sense why these are studios instead of bedroom apartments. 

(this side note is for you dad :) )

Fast forward 90 years later to 2010 and now I’m living in a studio that probably a thriving young girl close to my age cherished during the roaring 20’s (with most of the same features). Funny how in some ways history can repeat itself. God’s simple treasures are divine.

Much love
xoxo

Goodbye college, hello real world?

So I haven’t been in the blogosphere since my European adventure last year, but I’ve closed the chapter of college and have slowly entered into the world of adulthood. Figuring that I love to write and found a new appreciation for blogging  last year, I thought this moment in my life would be a perfect place to start a new journaling journey.

In the past month, I've experienced so much change. I sadly said goodbye to college, class, practice till midnight, good friends, summer break, and very little expenses and instead, welcomed a a full-time job (Monday-Friday), living on my own in an entirely new city/ area I never imagined I’d end up in, very few close friends around me and paying for EVERYTHING. I have been blessed with an amazing job in the PR industry that I love (at a fabulous hotel) and can completely support myself.  

 Since the day I walked across the stage to receive my diploma, the "real world" has been a phrase repeated way too many times to count. On top of all the congratulations, people smirked and laughed about this next chapter in life as if it was all downhill from there. I get it- bills, full-time job, etc. but why does the real world have to seem so bad? Yes, it's been hard since I officially started renting my own studio, paying my bills, working all day, and trying to figure out this entirely new lifestyle and where I belong in the middle of Beverly Hills, but I feel like everyone is trying to damper my spirits, my youth, my discovery. I'm happy to say that the real world may seem daunting for some but for me, it's been an entirely new, enlightening experience. It's weird living by myself but I have had a lot of time to think, reflect, and most importantly, grow as an individual. And even though I'm still figuring my life out, I've been blessed with dance classes, support from friends and family, a great job, a charming new home, a new church,  new friends, endless little independent restaurants, cafes and shops around me (which are my favorite!) , culture and time for myself.

So I can no longer say I'm a "college student" (so weird!), but I'm still only 21 years old and figuring out this real world for myself. It's how we choose to embrace the world; because after all, it was given to us to enjoy. 

Much love xoxo