You're Melon me Jealous

I couldn't help myself.

One of my favorite parts about summer is fresh fruits and veggies. New England does not bode well to either of these 3/4 of the year. Summer is our only season - and a painfully miniscule short one. My family and I always stock up. We flock to farmer's markets, supermarkets, and local farmers to get fresh, in-season fruits and veggies. What we cannot eat, we freeze or bake. (We eat a lot.)

For my mother and I, our go-to summer breakfast starts off with a green drink or juice. Something quick to get a jolt of nutrients into our hungry cells and give our digestive system the ol' kick-in-the-pants start up. To make our juices we use a powerful juicer - Wolfgang Puck Juice Press - so that we squeeze the most out of the greens, veggies, and fruits used. For our smoothies, though, we use our Vitamix. We've had our Vitamix for at least 12 years and it is still kicking - I cannot imagine not having it! We use it for everything. (Homemade almond and cashew milk, homemade flours and nut-meals, soups, smoothies, and more!) It is so powerful that you waste nothing. Mom drops in whole fruits and veggies, giving us the full potency of all of its healthful goodness.

Our beloved drinks include a apple-carrot juice or a green drink (consisting of greens and other veggies, sweetened only with an apple or some berries). Mom has gotten to the point where she does not use a recipe book. She grabs whatever vegetables and fruits are lying around and throws together the perfect combination. I bow to her culinary skills. (The only "fly by the seat of my pants" cooking I do is with grilled cheese and pasta dishes.) Every drink is an entirely new creation.

Next to an amazing cucumber drink she made recently, Mom's latest combo is my new favorite! (Side note: I highly recommend trying any smoothie that includes cucumber - you will rarely find a more refreshing summer drink!)  This time she wrote down the instructions so we can make it again.

Now I'm passing it along to you.

Ingredients
1 cup coconut water *
1 whole small watermelon
1 whole small cantaloupe melon
1 whole small honey dew melon


* While any coconut water can be used, my family and I have a favorite. For years we were forcing - or, uh, trying unsuccessfully to force - ourselves to drink several other brands. They made us gag. The didn't taste like coconut. They all tasted funky, disgusting. They just weren't good.  This one, though! Oh my goodness. Taste Nirvana's Real Coconut Water with pulp (packaged in glass) is amazing. Although it is not organic, the company does attempt to have a more eco-friendly business. Plus, it was refreshing, revitalizing, and incredibly flavorful - just like coconut water should be. My local health food store has me addicted.

Instructions
1. Dice the whole small watermelon, cantaloupe, and honey dew melons.

2. Mix the three together in one huge bowl or storage container, so that they form a mixed melon dish.

3. Place 4 cups of this mixed melon mixture into a blender or Vitamix.

4. Add 1 cup of coconut water

5. Blend until smooth, frothy, and well-combined. When complete, pour into glasses, kick up your feet, grab a good book and sip your way into paradise bliss! Enjoy as summer sweetness dances upon your tongue. You won't regret it!

Serving size: roughly three tall glasses (~12oz each) of juice.

**Drink within 24 hours to maintain nutritional benefit.

Guest Post: Back To School Goals

It's coming in, it's coming in! My beautiful, wonderful Sky has officially been shipped is en route to my home. You will have bundles of post from me yet! Until then, enjoy this awesome guest post brought to you by my fellow Her Campus Blogger Network blogger, Beth. After reading this post, go to her social media links and show her some love!

You can find Beth...
On facebook: Wandering Forevermore
On Bloglovin: her blog's page and her personal one
On Twitter: here
On Pinterest: here
and on her blog: Wandering Forevermore

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be sharing my back to school goals with you today. To share just a little bit about myself... My name is Beth and I blog at Wandering Forevermore. I am a sophomore transfer student at Georgia Southern University with a double major in biology and psychology. I spend my free time pinning crafts and procrastinating instead of doing them!

I am unsure about you, but for me classes start back in less than a week. It is a scary thought and I have felt all emotions from anxiety to excitement, stress to hopefulness. I did not set goals for myself my freshman year of college which led to me having no expectations to hold myself up to... big fail on my part.

This semester I am setting [reasonable] goals and sticking to them!


Goal 1 - Plan my week out each Sunday
           Sunday's are easy days for me. Last semester, I used Sundays to do absolutely nothing. Even though this was nice, I do not need to allow myself to have non-productive days! So each Sunday, I will be planning out my classwork, blog needs, social life, and anything else that may come up. From this I hope to secure a sense of control of my life!

Goal 2 - Use my agenda daily
           To be honest, I love my agenda! I practically live out of it, but I have noticed if I go a day without using it, I get far behind in my work. This semester I plan to take at least 5 minutes each morning to write down important stuff and see what all I have to get done that day or week.

Goal 3 - Pamper myself weekly
           When life gets stressful, I notice the first thing I begin to neglect is myself. I will not get enough sleep or will begin eating healthy. I will let my nails go unpolished or fall asleep without removing my make-up. To beat this, I am scheduling in a weekly pamper session. Each Sunday, I will take time to give myself a pedicure and manicure as well as a face mask and hair mask. I know if I make this a thing I have to do the benefits will be great. I also plan to schedule one monthly professional massage, facial, or mani/pedi.
         
Goal 4 - Stick to a sleep schedule
           If there is one thing I know about myself, it is that without sleep I am something from the devil. When my classes are done at 10am, I find it so easy to go back to sleep until 1pm. However, this completely messes up my sleep schedule so I will aim to do better this semester. A specific bed time and daily wake up time will help me loads. This goal does not mean I can't take an occasional 30 minute power nap!

Goal 5 - Track daily fitness
           This semester I aim to workout at least 10 minutes each day (this does not count my mile long walk to class!) I also plan to track my daily fitness both on a fitness app and my blog in order to see how far I have come fitness wise from the beginning of the semester to the end!

Goal 6 - Stick to a budget
           This was certainly something I did not do at all my freshman year of college. I blew right through my graduation money within two months of college and struggled for the other eight months. This semester without a meal plan and with living off campus I will have to work extra hard to stick to my budget I create and keep my money in check.

Goal 7 - Have fun!
           I realize that college only lasts a short while and that I need to live it up while it lasts. While I am sticking to my goals, I also have to remember to do fun things with my friends. Spontaneous road trips and football games are things that will create lasting memories during this part of my life. I have to remember that sometimes it is ok to stray from my schedule and have fun!


What are your goals this semester?

Guest Post: Summer Facial Routine

I've been quiet as of late. For that, I must apologize. This summer has been filled with summer classes, friendship, responsibilities, and family tragedy. Soon I will be recapping and filling you all in; right now, however, my laptop is on its way to Repair Land. There I hope all of its cosmetic and battery issues mend so that it stays with me for another two years. You can do it, Skywalker! (Clarity: I nicknamed my computer Skywalker. His full name is Skywalker, Personal Mischief Manager and One Computer to Rule Them All. "Sky" or "Skywalker" is so much easier to say.)

    With Skywalker away on adventures, I am left to my own devices. This means it is just me and my main, hard-wired computer. This baby has been through it all; I've had her nearly a decade of my life and she still keeps trudging. She's usually retired to just a photo-editing and email hub. Doing too much makes her tired and wheezy. Worst of all, she despises blogger. 

    No blogging for 1-2 weeks?! Yikes! A few wonderful bloggers responded to my plea for help. Like true friends they swooped in to the rescue!

   Today, Emily from Emily's Life Lessons is guest posting. Her old blog can be found here, as she recently made the exciting switch over to wordpress.org and her own domain name! (The previous link, with her blog title, goes to her newest blog.) You can also find Emily at these locations on the inter-web:

Facebook: Emily's Life Lessons
Twitter: EmBeks219 

Instagram: emilybeks93 

Pinterest: ebeker 

Bloglovin: emilybeker

(As soon as my laptop is back, I will include hyperlinks to these locations for easy access.)
Thank you, Emily, for helping a girl out! Don't forget to swing by her blog and social media to spread the love!

Emily even included a photo for us all! :)

Disclaimer: this is not a sponsored post. I just happen to love their products.

I have extremely sensitive skin. Anything can make it break out even though it improved after going off dairy. This summer my complexion still hasn’t been so clear and I finally figured out why. I had been slacking in a good facial routine. This is a problem given the amount of exercising I am doing. With exercising comes sweat and it was killing my face. Now, I have it down to a science. For those who need a good routine for summer workouts or a solid, easy routine in general, take a look!

In The Morning: 

1) Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing and Makeup Remover. If you want to be extra diligent use a Clarisonic with it.

2) While my face is damp, I put on Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Pore Scrub. It is super light, comfortable and doesn’t irritate my skin like other scrubs tend to do.

     3) Neutrogena Naturals Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Moisturizer. It is lightweight so you don’t feel it on your face which always bothers me about moisturizer and makeup in general.

     The Day Time:

1) Neutrogena SPF 15 Acne Free Face Sunscreen (as needed). It is one of the first sunscreens I use that doesn’t add to my acne.

2) Makeup or cleansing wipes after workouts to clean my face. This prevented the sweat and oil from going into my pores.

At Night:

1)  Cleansing and makeup remover. I found on days I don’t wash my face twice I am more prone to acne breakouts.

2) Neutrogena Naturals Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Night Cream (again, use a Clarisonic if you want to be diligent). This cream is also low irritant and keeps my face moisturized throughout the night. 

This is a super easy routine, and the line is not super expensive. You can get it at any CVS of drug store. It is natural, and feels amazing on my skin. It also made a huge difference for me this summer.

Guest Post on Caramel and Salt

Hello Doodles! Today I'm guest posting over at Caramel and Salt, discussing my summer favorites, those summer items I just cannot live without.

Go spread the love love! <3

Check out my post here.
Check out her bloglovin' page here.
Check out her blog here.

Go, go, go, go!

Wishin' on Summer

After looking outside to see the sun greet me good morning, I cannot say that I'm disappointed yesterday's snow is melting. I'm fantasizing about summer: warm weather; hours of endless sunshine; beach walks, listening to the ocean lap against the shore, feet buried in hot sand; swimming in the lake; completing summer class homework sprawled out on blanket on our lawn; adventuring on nature trails, my camera in hand; photo shoots with friends - just for fun; painting and drawing whatever inspires my mind; blogging until my fingers fall off; seeing my friends and family, making wonderful memories with every second spent; watching afternoon turn to night by the light of a fire, my nose buried in a book while stars emerge overhead; finally getting around to some serious work on those books of mine; reuniting with my Kids Can Grow family and exercising my good friend, Green Thumb; daily meditation without time limit (rather: as long as it suits my fancy); putting my nose to the grind stone when it comes to my own business; yard sales on Saturdays and every bit of unplanned adventure that falls in between. I seriously cannot wait. ♥

I should've known that sitting in sunshine, looking through last
year's photography would've left me thirsty for salty shores.

Summer Loves

No, I don't mean the romantic kind. (Those make good stories, too!)

I can hardly believe that summer is halfway through. A gift of college is that, although the semesters are rigorous, summer starts a full month earlier than high school. (I always feel like I'm getting away with an early Christmas gift, between earlier summer breaks and a month long breather between semesters. However did I survive high school without them?) Recently, I finished a seven week summer semester. There was a lot of personal one-on-one time between Conceptual Physics and I, and we had a few rows, but we've come out unscathed and I on top. (A fair fight, I must say)

I just love the sea.

With a few weeks of summer still laid out ahead of me, I find myself loving, enjoying and anticipating my favorite parts of summer:

Warm summer breezes. The lazy afternoons spent laying in the sun, a good book in hand. Tackling my ever-growing To Be Read (TBR) list. Bonfires. S'mores (sometimes made via microwave as often as fireside).  Late nights spent outside laying on the swing watching the stars (especially when talking with a friend). The intermittent glow of fireflies. Dancing dragonflies. Curious hummingbirds. Bird watching. Butterflies. Homemade iced tea. Green drinks and juices savored in the morning air on the porch out of mason jars. Fruit salads. Fragrant flowers. Vegetable gardens. My fingers playing in dirt. Kids Can Grow. Children's bright, eager eyes. Freshly picked snap peas off the vine. Watermelon dripping down my chin. Fruit salads. Colorful, fragrant, mouthwatering salads. Country car rides, windows down and music loud - screaming the lyrics to every song. Laughter. Gathering friends. Exploring tide pools. Salty air. Barefeet. Foot prints in the sand. Warm sand between my toes. The glow of the sun. Yard sales.  Tank tops. Rolled pants. Sundresses.  Humming fans. Miniature golf. Capturing memories. Making memories. Quiet. Rekindling my hidden passions and pleasures - photography, scrapbooking, writing, drawing, reading, painting and blogging. Skype dates. Blue skies. Late night drive-in's spent munching snacks, laughing with friends and telling stories just to stay awake. Reunions. Water balloons. Overgrown fields blowing in the wind. Tadpoles. Chasing frogs. The haunting hoot of an owl in the silence of the night. Bats racing, chasing stars at dusk. Fireworks.  That feeling that anything is possible. Badminton. Little paws bounding circles around our yard. The smokey smell of burning wood. Sounds, scents, sights and feelings of a Native American powwow. The rhythmic beat of native drums. The soothing songs of native flutes. Freedom. Out with the old, in with the new. Unloading old weight (figuratively speaking). Daily meditations. Fairy gardens. Newness. Endless possibilities. Adventure. Woodland hikes. The promise of fall.

What are some of your summer loves?