Blog Archives
Recent Inspirations #2
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post that compiled some ‘Recent Inspirations.’ The format was different than my usual, and I liked the alternative to coming up with my own original content. So I bring you a second dose of things that are currently inspiring me.
Life Inspiration: Empowering Quotes
I’m sure my fellow graduating seniors can relate to how stressful of a situation it is to be 12 weeks away from the end of our college career without a clue as to where our next chapter will take us. Pinterest has some calming quotes for that!
And this wonderful reminder for any senioritis sufferers:
One more thoughtful reminder before we move on to something more colorful (because I know sometimes those winter blues/hormones/stress/whatever creep in and temporarily cloud our perspective. In reality, we are pretty lucky souls to have a life with so many possibilities. And yes, I have to remind myself this all the time.)
Style Inspiration: Dressing the Part
You will never find me in class in a sweatshirt. Nor will you catch me with leggings as pants. In fact, I avoid pants as much as possible because I find dresses and skirts so much more flattering. It takes a little bit of extra time and effort but I believe that putting together an outfit is an important representation of ourselves. Some people joke that only freshmen wake up at 6:30am to “get ready” for their 8am class…..but I’m in my 8th semester of class and I do this twice a week. What we wear and how we present ourselves can impact our attitude and confidence for the day. To me, it’s a worthwhile habit. My style inspiration (if only the weather here would cooperate…..pencil skirts and parkas kinda clash!):
The shoes! <3
(So many more outfits on my Career Path board!)
Health Inspiration: Nutritious Recipes
Some of the food photography on Pinterest is amazing. They make pictures of granola bars look so fancy! A few recipes I’ve been inspired to add into the weekly rotation:
Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Honey Coconut Apples from Simply Taralynn:
Raw Banana Bread Shake from The First Mess:
And this bouncy workout for a little extra exercise:
So what else is inspiring?
The series finale of Parenthood.
The song ‘Pretty Good Day’ by Lonestar.
A winning streak by your school’s basketball team.
Hearing a friend talk about falling in love.
Finding a new running trail.
Seeing some pretty big moments coming up on your calendar.
Earlier this week I mentioned by affinity for Echosmith’s album, and after over-playing ‘Bright’ I’ve decided that this is my new favorite:
Feel free to add your own recent inspirations in the comments section :)
Doing My (Health) Homework
Strong Like My Coffee is two weeks old today. I’m starting to get the hang of things and am so excited for all of the ideas I have for this blog! Now that we’re getting serious, I don’t want to make any rookie mistakes. I’ve decided to take the afternoon to do some “research”…. When I commit to something, I fully invest myself in it. And even though I’ve been educating myself on nutrition facts and physiology for years, I thought I’d brush up on some material today while I had a leisure afternoon at home.
I have about a two year’s worth of Runner’s World subscriptions, some Women’s Health magazines, Prevention and Self Magazines, plus some exercise books, nutrition novels and cookbooks. I grabbed a spiral notebook and my Starbuck’s Skinny Vanilla Latte (not homemade today) and FILLED our dining room table. (It felt like I was back in high school, preparing for an AP exam or something!)
While I already knew most of the material, the overwhelming amount of pictures, recipes and exercises had me scribbling down ideas for future posts on Strong Like My Coffee (starting tomorrow!). If you surround yourself with healthy images, you will be inspired to be healthy too! Of course I had to have a study snack:
But of course life is about balance…after about an hour reading dozens of health-related articles, I flipped to some more indulgent material:
Just as Ryan Hall’s article inspired me to keep a daily food journal, The Cookie Bible inspired me to bake fabulous and decorative desserts! I love looking at cookbooks and recipes, especially desserts. It’s like window shopping: appreciating the treat without the calories and guilt! I did find one recipes I have to try, which YOU can look forward to seeing Thursday :)
