V8 Protein Shake and Bars Giveaway!

February 25, 2015 by Christine Skari

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of V8 Protein for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

This college quarter has involved lots of early mornings, rushing to class, and eating meals on the go. I swear, getting out of the house by 7:45 each morning to either get to my lecture or head out for a run involves some serious fast moving. While I’m usually on time, I do struggle immensely with eating a balanced breakfast and often find my stomach grumbling midway through my class or feeling the low blood sugar on my runs. That’s why, when V8 asked me to sample their new line of protein bars and shakes, I was beyond excited! The new V8 protein products blend ingredients such as quinoa, brown rice, and sweet potatoes with tasty ingredients like honey and cocoa to give you a great burst of energy that is not only nutritious, but absolutely delicious.

After excitedly opening the package that had come in the mail, I immediately tried the enticing chocolate shake and was thrilled on how smooth and sweet it was. My favorite, however, turns out to be the vanilla shake, which is a big shocker because I am usually such the chocolate girl at heart! I’ve been sampling the variety of bars I was sent (ranging from chocolate peanut butter, chocolate pomegranate, oatmeal raisin, etc) and love how filling and perfectly sweet they are! Of those, I’d be hard pressed to find one that I could call my ultimate favorite!

And in case you’re wondering about the nutrition behind these shakes and bars, have no fear! Like usual, V8 does a great job in balancing deliciousness with protein, fiber, and hidden veggies.

Shakes: 12 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, quarter cup of vegetables, no high fructose corn syrup and as much calcium and Vitamin D as a glass of milk
Bars: 10 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, no high fructose corn syrup an a quarter cup of vegetables in each bar

Click here to learn more about V8 Protein bars and shakes or, better yet, Buy now!

Bars and shakes can be purchased online on Amazon or can be found at your local store’s health and beauty aisles.

And here comes the fun part! V8 is sponsoring a giveaway in which one winner with receive 3 V8 protein shakes and 4 protein bars. Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meet Tucker!

February 23, 2015 by Christine Skari

Hi there, friends! How’s the week going for ya so far?

Things around here are about to pick up and get a bit more crazy for me. As some of you might know, my college is on the quarter system, so I am constantly being bombarded with midterms and falling behind in classes, even if just a little, will screw you over since the pace is so fast. It’s week 8, which means that the next big wave of work is rushing my way. I’m going to keep this post short and sweet since I have an essay to finish and a genetics midterm to study for, but I couldn’t help but write up a quick post about the new puppy that Kyle’s family got over the weekend.

Meet Tucker, aka the cutest, squirmiest, most lovable little black lab you’ll ever meet. He is a champion cuddler and plays so hard that he gets plain “tuckered” out 😉 . This pup can go from running (more like waddling) around chasing all of his toys to asleep and passed out in a corner in 10 seconds flat. So so so so cute and I’m dying over that face AHHHHHHHH <3.

And guess who thought of the name? ME. I joke that, since I named their new dog, I must be officially part of his family hahah! Anyways, we drove back to our hometown from Santa Barbara to meet the little booger and just had the most amazing, smile-filled weekend ever. It breaks my heart to know that we won’t be back for another four weeks! Luckily, Kyle’s mom is sending in daily updates/photos to help with the major pulpy withdrawals I’ve been having.

Kyle’s family just lost their old yellow lab, Shadow, about a year ago and have been hesistant about getting another dog. After hearing about a new litter of puppies from some family friends who were getting their first dog, though, the puppy-bug hit them again and they decided to get one of the brothers. They have the perfect house and backyard for a puppy (complete with a barn, chickens to chase and befriend/horse riding trails to explore) and Kyle’s mom is the most amazing animal caretaker you’ll ever meet. Tucker is going to have such a happy life!

And on the note of cute animals, I also was hired to photograph a family in the neighborhood and it just so happens that they have some baby bunnies. You guys, I was greeted at the door when I arrived with a basket of insanely fluffly and soft baby bunnies. SOMEONE PINCH ME. What is life right now 😯 .

Andddd it’s time for me to get back to work. Thanks for reading my semi-incoherent puppy ramblings 😉 .

Finding the Strength In Myself with Soffe!

February 21, 2015 by Christine Skari

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Soffe for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

As many of you know, I’m not a big runner.

I grew up playing soccer from the age of 5, then played on the same competitive club team for over 5 years until I graduated high school. For me, the team aspect and feeling the togetherness that comes with being part of something greater and stronger than just myself played a huge role in making me fall in love with the sport. Once I moved away to college, though, my workouts started to revolve around solitary trips to the gym and sweating and being active became more of a chore and less of something that I absolutely loved to do. Then, just about a month ago, a group of my housemates and I made exciting (albeit a bit scary!) plans to sign up for a half marathon to run together. We started pairing up for runs and BOOM. It hit me. I fell head-over-heels in love with running. Something that used to be so tedious and painful for me transformed into a new form of connecting with my body by simply experiencing it with some of my closest friends. Counting the miles turned into lots of laughs and the miles started to fly by. I can still remember the exhilarating feeling that I had when I went running with my roommate, Abbi. We were only planning on doing four miles, but ended up pushing our limits and reaching six (and sprinting at the end). That was the farthest distance I had ever run at the time and once we reached the six mile mark, we were all smiles and hugs and I felt an overwhelming amount of joy in my heart. I was part of a team again and it felt simply magical to experience that running milestone with someone I’ve grown close to.

I know that was a bit of a rambling story, but I want to lead into a new product discovery that emphasizes the importance of the team mentality and focuses on bringing young women together to stay active and realize that the strength is in us to empower our bodies and reach new personal fitness goals. When I was contacted about Soffe ‘s new campaign titled “Strength Is In Us”, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. A few weeks ago, I received a package in the mail containing an amazing pair of performance leggings and a gorgeous blue dry-fit top. And yes, and couldn’t help but squeal when I opened up my mail and saw how cute the apparel was! I changed into them a second later and was amazed by the quality and comfortable fit. I’m usually a little weary about trying on new pants/ since I’ve always been a bit self-conscious about how my muscular legs look in them, but I fell in love with how flattering the pants were and how well they hugged my body. I took them out for a quick run with my friend Taylor and found that, unlike a lot of other fitness apparel, they didn’t ride up/fall down and I didn’t have to concentrate on my clothes staying put. Instead, I could focus on having a wonderful ocean-sidejog! Talk about literally the perfect fit!

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I would highly recommend Soffe athletic wear for anyone looking for comfortable, flattering, and affordable gear that will help you reach your fitness goals (and look darn cute doing it!)

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Want more of Soffe? Follow Soffe’s Instagram and Soffe’s Facebook

15-Minute Healthy Asian Beef Bowl

February 20, 2015 by Christine Skari

Who’s ready for the easiest, yet most mouthwatering dish ever? Mee me me.

This is the kind of recipe that saves ya. After a long day (blog work on my photography site, three classes, a 5 mile run, studying, and styling/photographing/editing 4 (!) recipes), there is nothing better than being able to relax at home with a dinner that is done in a flash. This asian beef bowl takes a total of 15 minutes (if you don’t count the rice andddd I’m totally not against the microwavable kind) and the sweet and salty flavors will have you absolutely swooning. As Kyle just told me when I asked him to describe the recipe, it’s “inhalation-worthy”. There were a couple of times when we were scarfing down our dinner that Kyle had to make himself sit back and slooooowwww down because he had to remind himself to breathe in-between bites. If that doesn’t indicate a succesfully delicious recipe, I don’t know what does!

I’m keeping this post short and sweet because I am bone-tired and still need to do a bit of sponsored work and studying for my biochem class. The clock currently says 10:55 p.m, so I’m hoping to be in bed by 1 so I can wake up around 7 and get to my genetics class. Oh! And did I mention that tomorrow, Kyle and I are heading back to our hometown because…. HIS FAMILY IS GETTING A PUPPY. A tiny, squirmy black lab that I’m gonna love on so hard. Eeeeeep.!!!

Currently..

February 17, 2015 by Christine Skari

Hi ho friends! Long time no chat! I feel like I’ve been a bit absent on the blog lately (more on that in a sec…), so I want to play a little catch up and write a post on what’s been going on lately for me.

I’ve been photographing… a lot!

AHH. So excited about all the sessions I’ve been doing lately! I feel like 2014 was a big year for me in terms of learning more about my own personal style of photography and editing, so it feels great to start off 2015 with lots of amazing people, locations, and emotions to capture. I was booked this weekend and have a fun session tomorrow, an engagement shoot on Saturday (!), and a shoot for a graduating senior on Sunday. Busy busy!

Anddd that leads into one of the main reasons I’ve been away from Apple of My Eye for a few days. GUESS WHAT I DID! I made another blog (yes, guess I’m officially a blogging addict now) for my photography. It was a huge time-suck and the technical aspects made me want to punch someone at times, but it’s all setup! If you want to follow more of my photography adventures, feel free to check it out :). I’m beyond excited to have it launched!

Kyle’s family is getting a puppy…

AHHHHHH. They’re getting a teeny tiny black lab this Saturday, which is one of the reasons (I’ll admit it, the main reason) we’re driving back to our hometown this weekend. Knowing that, come Saturday afternoon, there will be a super squirmy and adorable pup in my arms makes me want to run around in circles of happiness.

In other words… I. Can’t. Wait.

I’ve been running…

I know this isn’t much for some of you amazing runners out there, but on my last run, I did 6 miles at an average of a 9:44 pace with negative splits. I felt amazing and completely understand that runner’s high now. At mile 4 I felt like I was flying! Kyle was a trooper and ran with me since he didn’t want me running alone in the dark, and we’re both pretty sore today. This week I have a total of 20 miles to do, so wish me luck!

Giveaway winner!

And I want to end this post by announcing the winner of my “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things” Giveaway!

Congrats to… *drumroll please*…

Kim!

I just sent you an email . A big thank you to everyone who participated! It was so fun for me to read your entries and I really appreciate all of you who read/interact with me on my little corner of the internet. You guys da best <3.

And that’s just about all that’s been going on for me! Lots of photography, lots of studying, and lots of looking forward to this upcoming puppy-filled weekend. Wheee!