Thinking Out Loud: Packages, Eyebrows, and Other Thoughts

April 10, 2014 by Christine Skari

Happy Thursday, everyone! It’s almost the weekend which means a little more relaxation as well as having extra time to study and get some freelance work done. It also means that it’s one of my favorite days for blogging since today is Thinking Out Loud! Hosted by my favorite utensil, Spoons! (aka Amanda from Running With Spoons)

So let the word vomit commence!

1. One thing that’s always made me giddy is receiving packages. Or any mail in general. I think it has to do with growing up in the age of technology, but getting things by snail-mail make me feel all tingly inside. Especially if it involves an adorable gift from a bloggy friend! My friend Miranda and I have been exchanging care packages, and she was so sweet to send me some huckleberry jam! Such a thoughtful gift that’s unique to where she lives. Thanks, love!

It just so happened that everything seemed to come in the mail at once, so along with Miranda’s package, I also received a box of Kind bars to review and a crock pot I had ordered. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning with all those boxes waiting to be ripped open!

Coolest packaging award goes to the people over at Kind! You open the box and everything falls out perfectly organized. The engineer in Kyle loved it and his first words when he saw it were “I appreciate that”.

I tried the dark chocolate sea salt bar and was literally (not figuratively, I was there, I swear) in heaven. SO GOOD.

The next few months for me are going to be pretty busy, so I wanted a solution on how to keep Apple of My Eye running when I’m stretched for time. I’m planning on throwing together a mess of ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning before my 8 a.m classes and being able to come back and have the food all ready for their photo shoot as well as a nice hot lunch. Confession: even though I’m a food blogger, when I’m not actually cooking for AoME, I usually just end up grazing on cereal/oatmeal/leftovers/bagels/toast/nut butter because I’m too lazy to cook for myself. Hopefully I can get myself out of that habit!

Stay tuned for a recipe for crock pot chicken caesar sandwiches and apple crisps (<—pie’s closest kin) in the near future.

2. A while back I mentioned that Kyle had helped me with a DIY project to make a faux table for my food photography. It came out wonderfully and I love how much character the wood brings to my pictures! The only real photos I’ve taken for the blog on it were for my Blueberry Pie Oatmeal, but I can already tell it’s going to be a huge asset for improving my photography :).

My favorite part would have to be the rich color and fun accents on the wood.

Kyle wrote up a step-by-step instruction post on how he made it, so if it’s something you’re potentially interested in doing yourself, look for his post tomorrow night :).

3. So this is going to be a weird statement, but I don’t really have eyebrows. I mean, I do, but they’re pretty light and definitely not defined. I guess I have to count my blessings, though, since I’m relatively hairless except for the hair on my head so I don’t need to shave my legs too often. Not that I really shave my legs for half the year anyways when it’s cold. Jeans/legging weather=mini forrest on my legs. Too much information? Yep. ANYWAYS. Going back to eyebrows. My roommate, Kelty, has the fiercest eyebrows in town and, as we like to say, “they could kill a man”. We read a Buzzfeed article together about about “14 Before and After Photos That Prove Good Eyebrows Can Change Your Entire Face” and I had her fill them in since I was too much of an eyebrow-coward to really go over them darkly since I thought it looked weird, but I like how it looks! Penciled-in eyebrows for the win!

4. Going off makeup, I’m still going strong with my obsession with red lipstick. Everyday, all day!

Annddd that’s all for now! It’s almost 1 in the morning and I really need to get to bed. Sleep tight!

Question of the Day: Could your eyebrows kill a man?

MIMM: Weekend in Pictures!

April 6, 2014 by Christine Skari

Happy Monday, everyone!

I’m typing up this post a little late since I’ve spent today at the gym, studying at the library, getting some freelance work done, and watching the new season of Game of Thrones with Kyle. It’s been a busy day!

Anyways, this Saturday was Deltopia at my college. It’s basically a HUGE day of partying and it got insanely crazy and out of control. We have thousands of out-of-towners come, and it really wrecked havoc on our town. I’m talking full-on riots in the street and I’m so glad Kyle and I didn’t go out during the night since things got so wild. I had a fun time during the day, though! Here’s a quick picture recap!

Marvelous is a day out with my favorite girls!

Marvelous is freelance work!

I think it’s SO COOL to be be paid to create recipes and blog. Is that even called working?! I’m going to be typing up a post soon on what I do for the people I work for/how I got hired/etc. If you have any ideas/questions for me to address, please let me know :).

Marvelous (sorta) is getting a ton of work done at the library!

Sunday was a work day for me and Kyle, and after grabbing a large triple shot latte, we bunkered down at the library for almost 5 hours. I got a lot of organic chemistry and biology work done and it felt great to be productive! We also had some necessary brain-food to help power us through. Nachos as big as my face? Yes please!

When we got back, I finished up a bit of extra reading for my biology class by the pool and a drink. I guess I’m still a kid at heart, because I’m completely in love with Shirley Temples. I remember ordering them all the time when I was younger and they’re just as good homemade!

Marvelous is new recipes!

I’m a huge fan of shrimp and, of course, avocados so I loved this recipe for Honey Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad. With the weather warming up, I can’t wait to make it again for a cold and healthy lunch!

That’s all for today! I have a early morning/long day tomorrow, so it’s time for this girl to get some much-needed rest.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Recap: Workouts, Food, and DIY Project

March 30, 2014 by Christine Skari

Hi, friends!
So it’s the end of the weekend and I’m heading back up to Santa Barbara to start a new quarter of school. It’s been such a nice break and I found a nice medium between relaxing, catching up with blogging, working out, and spending time with friend and family.

Here’s a quick picture-saturated recap of my weekend!

Workouts with this handsome guy! We were really good about getting to the gym and went five times in the last week. Five days of intense cardio+weights are making me enjoy today as a rest day even more haha!

We also grabbed some delicious food at our favorite Thai restaurant after our workout. Fueling up for a fun DIY project!

After lunch, Kyle and I headed over to Home Depot to pick up some supplied for our project. I’ve had my eye on making a faux table for my food photography that’s similar to the one that Lindsay from Pinch of Yum has for a while and finally got to making it.

Here’s a picture of Lindsay’s board and I’ll put up a picture of our final product soon! It turned out SO well and I’m completely smitten by it! I feel so lucky to have a handyman to help me with my blog projects :).

(Source)

Picture vomit since I’m feeling too lazy to type up a summary:

Met up by chance with Kyle’s dad at Home Depot!

We also had some friendly animal helpers. Kyle’s family keeps chicken and geese in a small barn in their backyard and I always have a fun time playing with them when I go over. If you can actually “play” with chickens haha. It’s almost bizarre how docile their chickens are, they stand by you waiting for you to pick em up and pet them!