Thinking Out Loud: Prom & Other Thoughts

May 29, 2014 by Christine Skari

Hi friends, hope your week is going well! I’m linking up with Amanda today for a post filled with random thoughts and reflections. Thanks, Amanda, for hosting!

1. First off, I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your kind and sincere words regarding Monday’s post. Kyle and I were fortunate to have left to go home for the weekend a few hours before the shooting started and heard the news from the safety of our hometown. My school is still in shock, but we are all doing are best to try to return to some sense of normalcy and classes have resumed after a long Memorial weekend and a designated day of mourning on Tuesday. Sending all of you big hugs.

2. Since it’s been a while since I’ve posted, I haven’t shared what my long weekend included! On Saturday, I tagged along with Kyle and his parents to go take some pictures of his little brother’s prom. It felt like just yesterday that Kyle and I were at our senior prom and it was SO bizarre to see all the youngins all dressed up! We drove over to some of the nearby cliffs for a quick photoshoot with a million other high schoolers and I snapped a few keepers.

Funny thing: whenever I upload pictures of Adam to Facebook, it automatically tries to tag him as Kyle from their Facebook recognition technology. every. single. time. Other than it being kinda annoying to have to click a million times to tag a picture correctly, I think it’s cute that they look so similar. Good genes in that family!

Annnnnnd since I couldn’t resist, throwback to our prom!

I promise he likes me 😯 😯 .

3. Remember how I mentioned that I was working on some new freelance projects? Well, here’s my latest recipe! So much cheese. So much love <3.

4. BABY CHICKS. Kyle’s family has a small barn in their backyard and just got a new batch of chicks in. Nuff’ said.

5. Meet my newfound love. We’ve only just been introduced, but I think it’s the start of a beautiful and long-lasting relationship. And no, I don’t have a new boyfriend, just a new topping for my morning oatmeal. Homemade candied sea salt pecans. Swoon.

And since it’s 12:30 and my arms feel like they’re going to fall off from the gym, it’s time to stop typing and hit the hay. Have a great Thursday, all!

With a Heavy Heart

May 25, 2014 by Christine Skari

As I write this, I find it unbelievably difficult to find the right words to express.

My heart has been heavy the last couple of days from the the grief and shock that come from the events that unfolded at my college this last Friday. As many of you have seen on the news, UCSB was subjected to a premeditated massacre by a misogynistic student from the neighboring community college. My entire school is in mourning for our lost classmates and are in disbelief that something like this could happen to our small tight-knit community. It’s impossible to fathom how something so devastating and tragic could happen to the place I call home. It is completely surreal to know the location of every crime scene on the television and to think that I had just been there a few days ago for lunch or had walked up that street the previous day. To know that my SISTER was living in the same apartment complex at the same time as the shooter last year. Now that apartment complex is a crime scene and three bodies have been pulled out of it.

My home feels violated.

I love my school and Isla Vista. My prayers go out to the victims and their family and friends. Please keep them in your thoughts.

Mini-Anniversary Date WIAW

May 6, 2014 by Christine Skari

Hello, all! This is just going to be a short, picture-saturated recap since I’m exhausted and have to get up early tomorrow morning. I finished my physics midterm today, so my brain is a bit fried and needs a few extra Zzzs.

After I got back from my bio lab, Kyle and I headed over to a new-to-us restaurant called Stella Mare’s to celebrate our mini-anniversary of dating for 3 1/2 years. Like I mentioned before, I know it doesn’t seem like a long time to most people, but we’re just wee babes and even a half year gives us a reason to celebrate with good food ;).

The restaurant focuses on comfort with a French twist and definitely wins the award for cutest atmosphere in my books!

After stuffing some warm and toasty baguette in my face, I ordered the Steak Bordelaise, which was served with shallots and a red wine sauce along with mashed potatoes. I also ordered grilled asparagus on the side to get in some extra veggies. Kyle went with the salmon and the best roasted potatoes ever. I don’t know how they cooked them exactly, but holy heck were they delicious! Perfectly seasoned and crispy. Mhm. I can’t even.

After dinner, we headed over to a Santa Barbara staple- Mcconnell’s ice cream. If you’re ever up in the area, go there. You won’t be sorry!

We ended up splitting a bowl of toasted coconut almond chip (<– our favorite) and english toffee crunch. Sososo good!

So there you have it! A night out of good eats. I’m currently about to pass out on my laptop, so that’s probably a sign that I should get to bed. I hope you have a great Wednesday!

Question of the Day: What’s the best thing you ate today?

Outfit of the Day and Weekend Recap

May 4, 2014 by Christine Skari

As the weather gets warmer, I find it a major struggle to try to get work done. I have a physics midterm this Tuesday and my attitude towards it has been alternating between semi-stressed and nonchalant, which is really uncharacteristic of me. Usually, I’m a ball of stress and anxiety when it comes to math-based classes and that causes me to be able to concentrate and focus on practice questions for hours at a time. The problem is that I live riiiiiiighht above the pool in my apartment complex and seeing all of my friends down there partying all day in the warm (90 degree!) California sun is a huge distraction. The weather in general here has been so gorgeous that staying indoors at my desk almost seems like a crime! I’m trying to balance work and play this weekend, but there hans’t been as much studying happening as I’d like. But you know what? Not as much work means that my weekend recaps are much more fun to read. Here’s what I’ve been up to so far!

Friday was spent watching a little Netflix, studying, taking a blissful nap, and hanging out with friends. Oh! And more s’mores ice cream because ya’ll know I can’t get enough of that stuff.

I woke up early on Saturday and went for a super short 2 mile run to stretch out my legs. If I were to pick one fitness goal I’d like to improve on, it would be running longer and faster. For me, running gives me the best overall cardio workout, but I have a love/hate relationship with it and can fall out of a good running groove in no time at all. I kept it short since a.) it was hot and b.) I went out too hard for not running consistently and burnt out early. I feel like if I signed up for a race I would be motivated to run and (hopefully) catch the running bug, but for the most part, my motivation is lacking. If anyone has any tips on how they developed a love for running, I’d love to hear them!

After my run, I came back, showered, did a little more studying, and got ready to go to State Street for a lunch date with my parents who had driven up for a day visit. I tend to only put on real-girl clothing once a week, so I was excited to wear my new floral cardigan out for the first time! If you want to know the formula for how to dress like a stereotypical California girl, just add together high waisted shorts, a crop top, sandals, and some sort of beachy-Indie flair. Voila! You fit right in.

Lunch was at a restaurant named “Jane”, which had high reviews on Yelp. My mom is yelp-obsessed and won’t go to a restaurant without scrutinizing the reviews there first.

My parents had appetizers waiting for us when we arrived, which included balsamic-glazed onion rings and french fries. Both of which were good, but the onion rings were a little too heavily battered for my taste. For my main course, I ordered a salmon shrimp salad that came with avocado and a light dressing.

After Kyle and I got back, we both tried to get some work done (unsuccessfully), before deciding that the only way we’d be able to concentrate would be with a large amount of espresso and a trip to the library. So here I am! Taking a small break to type this post up before getting back to physics :(. I’m almost done though, so I just gotta power through so Kyle and I can get back to a night of snuggling on the couch with our bff Netflix and more ice cream. Go Christine, GO!!!

Kind Bar Giveaway Winner ANNOUNCED!

May 1, 2014 by Christine Skari

Hi everyone, I’m just popping in to announce the winner of my Kind Bar Giveaway!

Can I get a drumroll please…

Congratulations to Jennifer Gilson for winning the random giveaway through her entry of leaving a blog comment! Jennifer, please shoot me an email with your mailing address so I can pass it along to the people at Kind. You’ve got some delicious snacks coming your way!

Thank you to everyone who entered and made the giveaway such a success! I can’t wait to share more of the products I love with you guys :). Stay tuned for a new recipe coming tonight!

Have a wonderful day!