MIMM: Work, Recipes, & Exciting New Purchases!

April 13, 2014 by Christine Skari

Ugh, Mondays. Who even invented them anyways? NOT ME.

I feel like the weekend always goes by in the blink of an eye, which is probably partly due to me always on the go. To be honest, I feel like I’m almost running myself to the ground with all the studying and work I’ve taken up. If anyone has any tips on how to increase your efficiency 500%, I’m all ears :).

So enough of this pessimistic Monday-talk. Let’s get on to appreciating all the marvelous things that life holds!

1. Marvelous is getting a ton of work done this weekend!

Even though I’ve been busy, it’s always satisfying to be productive. On Saturday, I studied physics for well over 5 hours and on Sunday I got in a good 3 1/2 for organic chemistry and an hour for biology. I don’t have exams for another week or so, but I hate cramming and find that the consistent hard work pays off. Along with that, I got some recipes developed and (finally) finished up a piece for my freelance work. Just gotta keep chugging along!

2. Marvelous is an assistant.

Also known as a boyfriend who is sweet enough to offer to help me with bloggy-related things. Since I’ve been completely drowning in work, Kyle (who has an easier workload this quarter) offered to help me with a few things like monetizing Apple of My Eye and helping test out a few easier recipes. While AoME is such a wonderful creative outlet for me and I lovelovelove all you guys (<3), it would be awesome to eventually get the site to a point where I can make a part-time living off of it to help pay for its upkeep and my need for apple pie err’day.

3. Marvelous is shopping!

Total impulse buy with this dress. I usually have a rule where I need to wait a couple of weeks to buy something to make sure I really want it, but the moment I saw this my hand clicked on the “add to cart” button. SO STINKIN’ CUTE.

I also finally got around to using a Williams Sonoma gift card I’ve had for almost a year. I’ve been wanting to add more one-pot dishes to my recipe itinerary, but need pretty baking dishes to put them in. I found some great deals and am so excited for them to come in the mail! Here’s what I ended up buying:

Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Oval Gratin for $35 (affiliate link!)
Staub Ceramics Rectangular Baking Dish for $19.95 (affiliate link!)
Stainless Steal Pastry Blender for $10.97 (affiliate link!). I’m planning on working on a recipe for Vanilla Glazed Blueberry Biscuits and know that a pastry blender will be a great little tool for me in the future!

I’m going to be on the lookout for when all my mail arrives. It’s going to be a field day!

So there’s a few marvelous things going on with me right now. It’s time to hit the hay and get ready for another busy week!

Question of the Day: What’s something marvelous in your life right now?

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!

Marvelous In My Monday

January 12, 2014 by Christine Skari

Oh, hey there, Monday. Nice of you to come around again. NOT. What kind of stupid name is “Monday” anyways? HAH- loser.

Okay, I’m done being a bully and ready to accept the fact that the weekend is over and it’s back to work! Let’s see what marvelous things I have to share from the weekend!

Marvelous is hiking!

One thing I’ve really regretted so far in college is not taking advantage of the amazing area I live in. I go to college in Santa Barbara, California and my school is framed by the ocean (I can walk to the beach in 5 minutes) and the mountains. I have a bad habit of letting schoolwork overwhelm my life and sitting out when it comes to spending time outdoors.

Today, though, I decided to leave my organic chemistry where it belongs… Shoved in a drawer all by its lonesome… And headed out with a bunch of my friends and Kyle to explore a great trail!

The other guys that came hiking with us are all exchange students from either England or Ireland, and they deemed it absolutely necessary to find fish and chips for lunch. Typical.

Fun fact, they pronounce “zebra” like zheb-rah. Oh, those silly Europeans.

Since Kyle and I had already eaten lunch on the trail, we decided to share a plate. Let me tell ya, it was deep-fried deliciousness at its best!

Marvelous is finishing my first freelance article for the site I was hired at and getting positive feedback on it!

Here’s a picture of the recipe I created/photographed for them. I’ll post a link to the site when it gets published!

Marvelous is starting to work with a designer to give Apple of My Eye a facelift!

I recently contacted Tasha from My Cute Lobster to design a new layout. After loving the look of Nikki’s site, I knew she would be the perfect designer for me! I’m going for a clean-cut layout with a few cute graphics to boot. Should be up in a few weeks!

Marvelous is cooking with Kyle!

This quarter, we’re trying to be better about making more home-cooked meals instead of eating out as much. We both are big foodies and LOVE trying/sharing new restaurants a little too much. As you might guess, this gets a bit expensive and eating out can get a bit unhealthy if you’re going 198043284 times a week like we were. Not to mention I own a food blog. So yeah, I have no excuse haha!

Anyways, we started meal planning and have been eating pretty damn well for college students, if I may say so myself. A few meals include Lemon Shrimp Orzo, panko crusted salmon with my Garlic Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts, and this delicious plate on Saturday night.

The picture doesn’t do it justice, but we feasted on steak with caramelized onions and mushrooms, roasted sweet potatoes, mac and cheese (can’t beat Kraft, let’s be honest), and salad. In fact, I’m about to eat leftovers in 5 minutes and can’t wait! BRB.

Okay, back. And stuffed. I’m a bit like an infant in that as soon as I eat a good meal I get insanely tired and cranky (don’t I sound juuust peachy), so I’m going to end this marvelous post on that tasty note and get to reading a new book.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Getting Organized, New Shoes, and Other Marvels!

December 15, 2013 by Christine Skari

Hello lovelies! It’s Monday, but I’m free from the copious, disgusting amount of work and studying I’ve been dong for the next month :). If that isn’t marvelous, I don’t know what is! Here are some other marvelous things happening lately:

Marvelous is becoming determined to organize the blog more!

It absolutely breaks my heart that I’m not able to keep up a consistent routine of blogging. I get such a huge sense of joy and happiness from interacting with all of you, and letting my thoughts seep out into words is therapeutic when I’m stressed out. To help myself become more organized with my blogging, I made a quick calendar! I’m still trying to figure out how to make it so you guys can click on in and print it out (it should print out as a full page, but no luck so far), so please let me know if you know how to fix this!

Marvelous is finding a groupon for a local gym!

Since I’m home for break, I was annoyed at the prospect of not having a gym to attend since I was definitely not up to starting a new membership if I was leaving so soon. Luckily, I randomly checked my Groupon account and saw that my local gym had a deal for 10 visits for $50! Compared to the usual $200 price tag, I was ecstatic! Today’s workout consisted of a sweaty 30 minutes on the elliptical, a back and bicep workout, and some abs! It felt good to move after being a stationary slug at a desk for 4 weeks straight.

Marvelous are new shoes! Being the highly educated college student that I am, I forgot one of my bags at school that contained all my makeup, a ton of clothes, and all of my shoes, including my Nike’s. While they’re still in pretty good shape, I bit the bullet and bought a new pair to tide me over. Aren’t they beauties?

Marvelous is the Farmer’s Market!

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Farmer’s Markets. There’s something so wonderful about the ambiance and happy people casually walking the isles and trying all the samples of bread and fresh fruit (what, just me?). While I didn’t purchase anything today, it felt so nice to be home and go to some of my favorite spots in town.

Marvelous is date night!

Tonight Kyle and I are going to see the new Lord of the Rings movie after eating a homemade meal. Hooray for date nights!

And lastly, marvelous is Christmas decorations!

Tis’ the season!

Have a great Monday!

MIMM: Great Friends, Meteor Showers, and Giraffes

August 12, 2013 by Christine Skari

Marvelous is a new top and date night!

Yesterday, Kyle and I went out with some friends to grab some Korean barbecue for dinner and watch a meteor shower. I wore a new striped top ($16 from TJ Maxx, holla at me) and loved the slightly cooler weather and wearing my boots again! Fall is comin’, and that means the return of pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks. Woo!

Marvelous is catching up with old friends.

On Sunday, I went for a nice and relaxing walk with one of my oldest friends, Karissa, followed by the most delicious brunch at a cute little cafe. It was so nice to get to see her (she had been doing charity work in Costa Rica) and talk about what has been going on in our lives! The food hit the spot as well! I also met up with five other of my old school friends at Starbucks and just sat, chatted, and laughed obnoxiously for over two hours. It was glorious!

Marvelous is a new DIY project.

I have my mind set on creating a fun little project. I won’t go into it much now, but it involves lots of sparkly ribbon. Yes.

Marvelous is a sore butt.

I did this workout again (it was leg day), and my booty is definitely feeling it haha! I always second guess myself after a workout and wonder if I did enough to get sore, and this time I can tell it was a good one!

Marvelous is lazy mornings with my giraffe cup and netflix.

I’m obsessed with this cup, to say the least. It forces me to drink copious amounts of coffee, though, because I need to save the little guy from drowning!

And lastly, marvelous is cooking and baking!

Sorry to bombard you guys with recipes lately, but I honestly adore cooking and am thinking about making Apple of My Eye into a half fitness and half recipe/cooking blog. Hope that’s fine with you!

Have an amazing start to the week!

xo Christine