Loaded Oatmeal 2:54 PM

I've always eaten breakfast every day. I don't always have time to actually cook a full breakfast (I really like my sleep) but I always make sure I grab something. It's how I was raised and it definitely gets my day off to a good start – that is, as long as it's not filled with sugar. Did you know that cereal and packaged oatmeal can have upwards of 40 grams of sugar per serving? Not to mention the fact that they're so processed they have to ADD vitamins back in. And who wants that? Why not start your day off with something quick and easy – that's delicious and nutritious? That way you can enjoy those extra Z's and still get your day off to a good start.

I start my day with oatmeal at least three times a week. It's fast, healthy, and above all, delicious. There's nothing more comforting than that first bite of hot oatmeal on a cold morning (and in our apartment, every morning is cold). Granted I'm normally dashing out the door because I overslept (did I mention I like sleeping?), but luckily for me it's convenient enough to take along for the drive to work :)

This recipe is easily customized to suit what you have in your pantry. As a rule of thumb, I use one and a half parts liquid to one part oatmeal.

To prepare the oats as pictured, use:

• 1/2 cup dry oats (I use Trader Joe's Rolled Oats, they're gluten-, wheat-, and dairy-free whole grain oats that come in a big resealable 2 lb bag for about $3!)
• 3/4 cup liquid (I normally use water, but you can use any kind of milk – almond, soy, coconut, dairy)

Combine oats and liquid in a bowl and microwave for two minutes. Remove, stir, and place in the microwave again for another 30-60 seconds or until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed.

Then add your toppings:
• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup pecans
• 1/8 cup Trader Joe's Strawberry Granola Cereal
• dash of cinnamon
• a splash of almond milk to finish it off



As I said before, this recipe is super delicious and easily customized. Some other tasty ideas are:

• Slivered almonds, sliced strawberries, and toasted coconut topped with coconut milk
• Golden raisins, walnuts (I'm allergic but it'd be delish here), and a sprinkle of brown sugar
• Sliced bananas, 1 tbsp peanut butter, a drizzle of honey, and extra milk (trust me on that one, nothing worse than driving to work with your tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth)
• Sliced apples, 1 tbsp non-fat greek yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon
• Fresh raspberries, almonds, and a light sprinkling of chocolate chips (I don't normally promote chocolate for breakfast but these melt with the heat of the oats and become gooey chocolate covered raspberry goodness)

This is a go-to recipe for me and I hope it will be for you too. Do you love oatmeal too? What are your favorite toppings for your oatmeal? Please share in the comments below!

Seedy Snack Mix 9:11 PM

So there's only one kind of seed in this, but I liked that name so that's what I'm calling it :) This is just a small, quick little recipe, but it's extremely tasty and pretty healthy too! I like to throw this in a baggie and take it with me as quick snack to have at work.

Combine equal parts:

• Sunflower Seeds (salted or unsalted, your choice)
• Raw pine nuts
• Golden raisins

Mix together and enjoy!

I love the mix of the sweet, juicy golden raisins with the more savory taste of the pine nuts and (if you so choose) the salt of the sunflower seeds. You can also combine large amounts of this and store it in an air tight container to have a yummy snack on hand when you need it. Be careful though, it's kind of addicting!

A fresh start! 11:36 PM

Hello March! A fresh start, just in time for spring :)

I've been needing a new wardrobe for a while (who hasn't, right?) and I've been compiling some of my favorites into wishlists, meticulously narrowing my selections down to what I know I'm going to wear and what I can actually afford... Okay, maybe not all of them are affordable. But I started cleaning out my closet two years ago, and have continued to clean it out while only replacing two pairs of jeans and five shirts, so this has been a long time coming.

While I generally prefer to wear only dark colors (the artist's curse) I have to admit that I'm totally loving the resurgence of colored denim and all this mint, turquoise, and sea foam! I'm also totally feeling shirts with shoulder cut outs and any v-neck I can find-- it's almost impossible! What I'm NOT feeling however are these shapeless/boxy/flowy hippie shirts. I know, I know, "but it just shows how carefree I am-- like I just whimsically floated out of bed-- and they're so comfy!" but to be honest, they don't work for anyone with any kind of bust and/or over 18. There's a difference between wearing something that's oversized and wearing a sheet. But I digress...


I've had the most luck so far on nastygal.com, so I thought I'd share my the beginnings of my wantlist for you to see :)

 So now that I've shared mine, tell me yours! What are you digging right now?


- L

What's the difference... 5:33 PM

...between a comma and a cat? 

One has claws at the end of its paws while the other one is a pause at the end of a clause.

A friend of mine just posted that and I had to share. That makes the writer/English nerd in me giggle with glee.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin! 3:11 PM

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Speaking of nails... 1:44 PM

I just did mine last night! But first, a little back story for ya...

A couple of weeks ago Zoya Nail Polish had a special promotion where you could get two of their nail polishes for free and just pay for shipping! I know you're jealous you missed out. Just kidding. Not really haha. Now I’m normally a little skeptic about ordering nail polish colors online, but these were free and I’d never tried the brand before so I figured, why not? Plus there were reviews right on the site which I LOVE. Reviews are the best thing ever. And did I mention they were free? I got Kristen, a pale grey-blue, and Trixie, a silver, almost foil-y color. Like the most brilliant silver you can get without glitter chunks everywhere. Really gorgeous (and it’s Trixie Tuesday apparently, how appropriate). 

Anyway, after a bit of a hassle with the post office, I finally had a chance to use them last night! I ended up doing an ombre glitter manicure and it turned out great. I’m calling it my “Ice Queen” manicure, although the more I look at it the more it’s reminding me of Cinderella's ball gown transformation—which I don’t think is a bad thing! I ended up tweeting a picture to @Zoya_NailPolish and they responded. Awesome! Overall, this manicure was a success. What do you think?

Ombre "Ice Queen" Manicure

And here's Zoya's tweet. Looks like they approve!

@wordsandtea How pretty, and oh-so wintery!

— Zoya Nail Polish (@Zoya_NailPolish) January 31, 2012

Dive in 12:58 PM

I'm not entirely sure how to set this up so I guess I'll just dive right in. I'm Lindsey. I run a fitspo blog on tumblr called Fit, Full, and Fabulous which has kind of turned into visual fitspo and not so much detailing. I write for a living and now I'm starting this blog as a "creative outlet" of sorts. It's not really going to be able to be categorized as any one type of blog (maybe lifestyle-- such a catchall term though, amiright?), but on here you'll probably find the following:

• Yummy and healthy recipes– I absolutely love cooking

• Random fitness inspiration and tips that I use to keep active

• Photos/snapshots/instagram pictures of me/my boyfriend/the beach by our house/my nails – and that brings me to this next one:

• Nails! I used to have really bad nails and I've learned now how to grow them out successfully and I LOVE painting them. I'll probably have some beauty ish on here too.. kinda goes with that whole "being a girl" thing.

• All sorts of rants and raves (which will probably happen quite a bit)

• Other stuff

Sound good? Yay! Let's get into it

:)