My Two Favorite Fitness Apps

August 8, 2013 by Christine Skari

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t addicted to technology. It’s to the point where I feel almost naked when I go out without my iPhone or slightly distraught if my internet is down and I can’t catch up will my daily dose of blogs (I blame you guys). While my need to get my technological fix has it’s bad aspects, I have also discovered some great resources for literally every aspect of my life. Like they say, there’s an app for that.

I am a little surprised that I haven’t done a post on this already, but here are two of my favorite fitness apps!

Zombies, Run!

“You tie your shoes, put on your headphones, take your first steps outside. You’ve barely covered 100 yards when you hear them. They must be close. You can hear every guttural breath, every rattling groan – they’re everywhere. Zombies. There’s only one thing you can do: Run!”

Okay, you guys, this is one of my favorite apps of all time. The idea of the game is to turn a video game into something you do off the couch and exercising. The plot is spun around the concept that you are in the midst of a zombie apocalypse and are being transported to a town via helicopter. When it unexpectedly crashed, you are forced to run for your life and are able to communicate to a broadcaster from a headset you picked up in the wreckage. The more you run, the more vital supplies you pick up that can help build up your town and the more the story unfolds.

“The app can record the distance, time, pace, and calories burned on each mission through the use of the phone’s GPS or accelerometer” and you can set a playlist that is punctuated with fantastic audio and storytelling. The time flies by whenever I go for a run with the app and I HIGHLY recommend it!

Nike Training Club

“Nike Training Club is a full-body training app designed for you to make yourself whatever you want to be…Inspired by world-class athletes and developed by a Nike professional trainer, each one of the 90+ drills builds on the fundamentals of strength, cardio, interval and core training.”

This is one intense app, but I love how much it challenges me! You start off by choosing the goal for your workout. These range from “Get Lean”, “Get Toned”, “Get Strong”, and “Get Focused” and can be done in either beginner, intermediate, or advanced mode. Then you can choose exactly which workout you want to do.

This app is SO well done and comes with detailed instructions on how to preform each exercise (complete with a video of someone preforming it) and punctuates the time in your workout with helpful tips on proper form. You can set a playlist and basically get a free personal trainer!

I always feel like I got in an amazing workout when I finish training with this app and use it mainly for training my core, since I have not motivation to do ab exercises unless someone or something pushes me!

Since I realized this post is a bit wordy, please enjoy these pictures of my cat, Kiki, chillin’.

On that note, have a great Friday!

xo Christine

Practicing My Photography & Getting Accepted!

August 5, 2013 by Christine Skari

A while back I got my first DSLR camera, but only within the last couple of months have I been putting it to good use. If you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I use it mainly for food photography (more exciting news on that in a sec!), but lately I’ve been wanting to learn more about how to, you know, actually take pictures of things I can’t eat. For example, people. Cannibalism aside.

I made a trip to the library and spent a relaxing couple of hours browsing and reading some books on portrait photography before checking a few out. I love the quietness and general “feel” of libraries, don’t you?

I tried to expedite my learning since I was seeing my younger cousins later that day and wanted to borrow them as models. What I’ve come to learn is that nothing can teach you better than practice! I don’t have any fancy editing software, just iPhoto, but was happy with how my pictures came out for the most part. They have a lot of room for improvement, but I had a great time laughing and actually interacting with my models! As it turns out, cousins make much better company than scones or muffins.

There is nothing more satisfying than catching the perfect smile!

At first, learning how to use the manual settings was a pretty daunting task, but now I’m wholeheartedly embracing how much control it gives you and how quickly it can change the quality of your photos!

If you’re interested, Sarah at Sweet Miles is making a Photography 101 series, which I will, without a doubt, be following like a stalker ;). She’s a wedding photographer and takes the most stunning photos!

In other photography news, I was ridiculously excited to see that my Healthier Cinnamon Roll Scones were accepted to both Foodgawker and Taste Spotting! I’ve gotten a couple of rejections from them, so finally seeing one of my pictures up was a huge confidence booster. I may or may not have thrown myself a one person dance party when I saw them up on the sites. Not to mention how much traffic it drives to your blog! My jaw dropped when I happened to look at the blog’s stats. It’s an awesome feeling to know that other people are reading what you write :).

Oh, and Kyle’s back home, so I’m one happy girl!

Some of tomorrow’s plans include a group class at my gym, tennis with Kyle, a doctors appointment, and working a bit on my new freelancing job!

Hope the week is moving quickly for ya!

xo Christine

Tuesday Thoughts: Shopping Splurges & Body Love

July 29, 2013 by Christine Skari

Howdy everyone! Long time no talk. I’m back from Hawaii and ready to get back into my normal routine (especially with blogging!). I had the absolute worst internet connection in my hotel room and felt so isolated from all of you guys ;).

Anyways, here are some random musings as of late:

1. I’m missing Kyle like crazy.

He’s off in Europe with his parents and younger brother for his Mom’s birthday and currently in Rome. He’ll be back in about a week (he’s already been gone for about 1 already) and I’m excited to see him again! He sends me emails and pictures everyday, though, so I’ll survive.

2. Makeup shopping is overwhelming.

When I was in Hawaii, I went to the local Sephora to try to find some new makeuping tools. I usually stick to drugstore brands since they’re much more affordable, but vacation is for splurging, right ;)? It was fun to sit in one of the stations and have a makeup artist try out some of the products on me. When I first walked into the store, I felt SO lost. They have approximately 535,830 brands of eyeliner alone and I would have left empty-handed if a sales associate didn’t come to my rescue! They also have an interesting new tool that is based off skin graft technology that analyzes your skin tone and brings up exactly the right products. In the end, I got a new foundation, eyebrow pen (I have the most nonexistent eyebrows ever and it actually looked pretty good on), bronzer, and mascara. I mean, how could you resist a mascara named “Better Than Sex” hahah?

3. I LOVE shopping at TJ Maxx.

There is probably nothing better in the world than the satisfaction of getting a really really really good deal on cute clothes. Okay, maybe eating a huge slice of chocolate cake or petting a really cute puppy OR eating a huge slice of cake while petting a really cute puppy, but I digress. Just go with me on this one. Hooray!

4. I can’t get over how powerful this video is.

My friend posted this on facebook. It definitely spoke to me and is so worth watching. Let me know what you think.

Mary Lambert: I Know Girls (Body Love)

5. I’ve missed my kitchen and recipe experimenting.

Even though I love going on vacation (who doesn’t?), I also love my routine at home. I guess I still have Maui on my mind, though, since the first thing I cooked up was some Swai fish with a panko, pecan, and coconut crust! I accidentally used sweetened coconut, so it was a bit sweeter than I would have liked. Oh well, you live and you learn!

6. I feel like my workout have been so uninspired lately.

Not sure why, but I have basically no motivation to go to the gym and everything I do there seems to be a bit half-assed. I think it might have something to do with Kyle being gone, since he’s my “fun” workout buddy and we spend at least one day of the week either playing tennis or going hiking. You get back here quickly, Kyle, or I’ll probably turn into either a couch potato or slug! Or some weird hybrid and everyone will make fun of you for dating a couch slug. OKAY? Okay.

I don’t feel too comfortable going out on a hike by myself, so if anyone has any tips to make exercising more enjoyable, I’m all ears!

Anyways, that’s all I can think of at the moment. It’s good to be back!

xo Christine

Quick Hawaii Update!

July 26, 2013 by Christine Skari

Aloha! Hawaii has certainly be treating me well. I’m sorry for not replying to comments on my last post, the internet connection here is a bit spotty and half the time I try to comment, it deletes my message or says that there isn’t good wifi access. I’ll be able to get back to you guys soon! It’s driving me crazy to see how many unread blogs I have in my bloglovin account. I have a lot of catching up to do once I get back to California!

Anyways, here’s a photo dump of what I’ve been up to! For the most part, my days start early (Hawaii is 3 hours behind Cali) with a morning workout before grabbing some breakfast. The fruit here seriously tastes like candy. Don’t even get me started on the pineapple! There isn’t anything better than seeing a delicious breakfast spread on the table after a ridiculously sweaty workout. Grandmas are the best!

I’ve been enjoying so much good food over here. There’s a yogurtland right off the beach and for dinner today, the gang went to one of those sushi restaurants where the sushi and other delectables go around on a revolving table. So much fun!

Sorry this post has no structure, I’m beat and need to catch some Zzzs :).

Hope your week is going by quickly!

Christine

Giveaway Winner & Good Eats!

July 18, 2013 by Christine Skari

Hope everyone’s week is going well. Only a couple of days till the weekend and I’m excited for an upcoming trip to Hawaii on Monday! I’ll be going with my grandparents and younger cousins to the wonderful island of Maui and couldn’t be more excited!

Now, without further ado, let’s get to the giveaway winner! Congrats Kim H. Lee! Send an email to christineskari@gmail.com, and I’ll get the eBook sent to you asap! Thanks to everyone who participated in it and made it an awesome first giveaway for me
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you didn’t win, but are still interested in buying a copy, Lindsay is offering a 25% discount for a limited time using the code “newversion25”!

Click here to visit Pinch of Yum!

So here’s a quick recap of what has been going on lately! Yesterday I took the “Vicious Abs” class at my gym with Kyle. You guys, this class is no joke. I mean, who starts off with a 4 minute plank? WHAT?! Needless to say, we’ve both had to roll out of bed since anything that involves sitting up or using our core is out of the question ;). I also decided to super set box jumps and weighted squats while waiting for Kyle to finish benching, then played tennis for an hour after. Needless to say, I’m one sore cookie and have spent all my free time on the couch complaining and whining about my mooscles. Hahah I’m such a brat 😉

Today, Kyle and I had some froyo for the first time in FOREVER. I’m not sure why it’s been so long since I’ve had the good stuff, but I brought it back with a bang. I’ve been loving the tart flavors lately, especially paired with strawberries and mochi!

Also on the food front for me are the new Chobani Flip Cups! I’ve only tried the key lime flavor, but it is SO good! Honestly, buy them! I also bought some baby bananas for the sole reason that I thought they were freakin’ adorable. They are about the size of my fingers and perfect for oatmeal/yogurt topping since I always end up with extra if I cut up a big one.

Dinner was some fresh seafood pasta that totally hit the spot. I have to say, my eats have been on the good side today! I plan to use up some of the big bananas I have to make some banana bread later as well. Anyone have a good recipe or fun add-ins that they use in there’s? I’d love to hear about them!

Lots of foam rolling has been in order and a bath seems to be in my future as well!

Hope all is well with you!

xoxo Christine