Food Adventure #29

Greetings…

 

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day and perfect for my first Food Adventure for the year! I was really craving some Mexican Food, so The Boo and I traveled downtown for what so far seems to be the best Mexican place in Atlanta. It’s not often that you will find well-seasoned authentic Mexican, but this place does.

Welcome to Las Margarita’s!

 

I tried to take more inside pictures, but the host that sat us came up a little too quickly for me to covertly snap any more than two pictures and as you can see, one is fuzzy! I’ve been here two other times to be exact. Don’t even ask me what I got before, because I haven’t the foggiest! J However this time I got the chicken quesadilla supremo.

 

 

Whenever I go to a new Mexican (or Tex-Mex) spot I always try the quesadilla. I mean… you can’t really mess that up can you? This one didn’t come with any cheese on it, which I thought that was weird. I was like, ‘Am I missing something here?’ I figured why not try something different and I proceeded to eat it though, because it was good. I’m not a true fan of guacamole, but the stuff they served was awesome so I pretty much killed it.

 

Have you had any really good Mexican or food in general lately? Pretty soon I’m going to start a breakfast quest, because well….. I love breakfast! I’m not talking about the typical IHop, Denny’s or (in the case of the south) Waffle House. I’m talking real on purpose breakfast spots that serve it all day because breakfast is the awesomest meal EVER and Granny and nem are in the back sprinkling magical delicious secret ingredients in the food kind of places! So until the next adventure…

Ciao!

A.  Sparkle

Weighing In..

Greetings!

 

I haven’t written a post about how the weight-loss was going in a while so I figured it was about time! If you’ve been following along, then you know that I’ve been reading Eat Q, by Dr Susan Albers. I was trying to go the whole ‘no dieting’ and ‘eating mindfully’ route and was getting frustrated. So after a while I was like, ‘Hm.. this crap doesn't work!’ and I put the book down and haven’t picked it back up.

After much thought though I realized that I was doing what I always do. Read half of something, get bored, and go off and do my own thing. What I started doing was going back to what had worked for me previously in losing weight and that was doing my Leslie Sanstone workout dvd and counting calories. I’ve also started taking some supplements, where I hadn’t before. I wanted to do something I knew would work, because eating all willy-nilly and trying to be mindful wasn’t doing it for me! I’ve only been doing this for a week and so far I’ve lost four pounds! Yay, for me! ::: fist pump ::: Can I just say that four pounds makes a huge difference in how your clothes fit..

So while I was doing this, this past week I realized that I had learned something from Eat Q after all and it was helping me to make better food choices and handle my cravings in a different way than I had before. Now when I was tempted by a muffin in the break room or I wanted a Baconator combo from Wendy’s, I knew that I wanted it and I accepted that. Then I thought about my end goal and it helped me to not act on my craving. Or if I really wanted it, I would ‘budget’ my calories throughout the day, so that I could splurge later.

All in all I’m pleased with combining the powers of my old methods and the new methods of Eat Q. I will continue to read the book that way I’m fully informed and know the process in it’s entirety and then maybe someday soon, I will be able to stop counting calories and just naturally make good food choices.

Anyone else in the fight with me?

Ciao!

 

A. Sparkle

On Perfectionism..

Greetings!

 

As I often try to, I watch Super Soul Sunday on OWN. For those of you that don't know, Super Soul Sunday is a shown on Oprah's network that features different talks with (for lack of a better phrase) spiritual leaders of our time.

I simply love it. It truly feeds my soul.

 

Although I'm about a year late in watching it, I watched the episode with Brene Brown. It's was total awesome sauce! One of the many topics that was discussed was perfection. I consider myself a former perfection addict. When I was younger I felt a lot of pressure to be this perfect role model, to be more mature than my peers, to never show too much emotion, and to never make any mistakes.

 

It carried over into adulthood until I became completely weighed down by it and realized that you can't be perfect and please anyone but yourself. Everyone and I mean everyone will always have an opinion of you and who they think you are instead of who you really are.

 

Brene Brown defined perfectionism as such:

 

"If I look perfect, do it perfect, work perfect, and live perfect, I can or minimize shame, blame, and judgment."

I had never thought about it before as to why it was so important to be perfect or what I was trying to avoid in making mistakes, but she hit the nail on the head on this one. I feel it to be %100 true.

 

Where do you stand on trying to be perfect? Are you a perfection addict or could you care less?

Let me know!

 

Ciao!

 

A. Sparkle 

Valentine's Classy

Greetings....

Hope everyone had a fabulous Valentine's day whether you shared it with your significant other, with friends, or by yourself!

 If I had it my way... You would see me sitting at my French vanity, completing the finishing touches to my ensemble for the evening. I would pull my favorite red lipstick (one of many) out of the drawer and apply it in three swipes... I would hear footsteps behind me and look around to see..

The love of my life looking rather distinguished. I would smile and compliment him and ask if the car was ready so that we wouldn't be late for our dinner reservations. He would walk over, kiss me on the cheek and help me up so that we could go and tell me that I was the most beautiful thing he's ever seen in life.

At the restaurant there would be quite a romantic ambiance, with many candles, servers dressed in black, crisp linen, and the aroma of mouth-watering food circulating around teasing all that entered. We would chat all evening about everything and nothing and the server would comment on how we were such a cute couple and how in love we seemed to be. 

We would finish the meal with another glass of wine and coffee and once feeling fully sated, the bill would be paid, thanks or good service would be given, and the good feelings from the evening would continue at home where a surprise bouquet of my favorite flowers would be waiting.

Valentine's Classy by ptyfashvic showing how to wear heart jewelry

Safiyaa peplum evening gown
boutique1.com

Jimmy Choo high heels stiletto
farfetch.com

BCBGMAXAZRIA white handbag
neimanmarcus.com

Tiffany Co 18k gold bracelet
tiffany.com

Halcyon Days black gold bracelet
scullyandscully.com

Kate Spade handcrafted jewelry
katespade.com

MARC BY MARC JACOBS heart jewelry
saksfifthavenue.com

Estée Lauder lipstick
lordandtaylor.com

How did your Valentine's Day go? :)

Ciao!

A. Sparkle

Art & Crochet

Greetings...

Happy Thursday! I've been in a super creative zone as of late and I've been riding the wave and will continue to do so until it has exhausted itself. Don't get me wrong.. I'm also creative otherwise, but there are moments when it's so overwhelming that you have no choice but to create something, anything, or explode! If you hadn't noticed, I have a new look and new name now (trying to get the domain name loaded has and still is a hassle!!), which is as you guessed a part of this creativeness oozing out all over the place. To be honest, it's been in the works for a while now. Something said, 'Do it now!' and so voila! I did. :)Did you notice that I know have tabs at the top of the blog?? Go check it out already!

I have to wonder if that's what happened in this instance with this street art. I was at Kroger minding my own business when this guy here on the pavement let out a forlorn moan. I don't know why he looks so melancholy. Maybe that's what the artist was feeling when he/she did it? I always wonder what time of day street art occurs... Is it all at 3 am or in broad daylight?

On to a little art of my own.. These are my newest yarn addiction projects. I finally made a slouchy hat for myself. I've made these for quite a few people now and I wanted to keep each one of the hats I made. Well now I can sport mine. Self-promotion, anyone?

If you've been following me on Facebook or Instagram then you'll know that this is my first Man Scarf of the season! Please excuse the rough quick pictures.

What's more manly than ribbing, right? And guess what else?? It's reversible! The guy that requested it wanted these colors, I guess for those light or dark khaki days at the office? You like it, I love it!

It's another snow day here in Atlanta and I'm pretty much trapped in my complex until tomorrow's temps melt it all away. So enjoy the day kiddies, because I certainly will!

Ciao!

A. Sparkle

When in Doubt #2

Greetings...

When in doubt, give thanks. Happy Wednesday all! I don't know about you, but between last week and this week, my life has been fairly busy. Although I've had some not so good times, I always like to reflect on what's good in my life to put things into perspective. The added bonus is that you feel better after said reflection too. :) So, here we go:

1) This is gonna sound simple once you read it, but sometimes it makes all the difference. I went to Wal-mart a couple days ago to get a few things. I just have to tell you that, I probably live near the worst one in existence!  They aren't consistent with the items they stock, if they are stocked at all and customer service at the check out lines doesn't exist.. and I'm totally not exaggerating here. (Why I shop there is a story for another day) Anyway, I just popped in there for something quick and when I got to the register the woman actually greeted me with a hello, asked if I found everything okay, as well as asked how I was doing. I was floored. She was..... friendly!! That had never happened at this Wal-Mart before! It was great and it made me feel like she appreciated my business. Now while I know that more often than not 'friendly' customer service is fake, (trust me when I tell you I know about these things. I have many years of customer service training) despite that factor it made me smile and feel good and that's the important part. I totally appreciated that. Thank you friendly Wal-Mart cashier. That made my day. :)

 

2) Sometimes during the winter months when it's cold and cloudy all of the time, it effects my mood in a negative way. I am totally a person that needs to see and feel the sunlight otherwise I start to get sad. After a string of gloomy days it was nice to see the sun and not only was the sun out it shown it's beautiful sunrays! I was driving home marveling at the magnificence of it all when a memory flooded my mind and made me smile. When I was four or five I used to believe that the 'sunshine' belonged to me. I owned it. It rose in the sky because I was in existence! I believed this whole-heartedly. One day at my grandparent’s house I was standing at the screen door looking out at the sunshine and my Great Aunt Lucy asked what I was doing. So I proceeded to tell her that I was looking at the sunshine and it belonged it me. She tried to convince me that the sun wasn't just mine and that it was for everyone to enjoy. I shook my little head and begged to differ. Have you ever tried to argue with a 4-5 year old?? Once something is locked in their mind, it's not a conversation you're going to win! Of course I politely explained to her that the sunshine was mine, because I had claimed it, but still she tried to tell me differently. At some point she gave up on me and walked away and I basked in the glow of my sunshine knowing that I was right all along and had won against a grown-up. Now that I'm much older, I know that she was right and I still love the sunshine. :)

 

What's made you smile this week? Leave me a comment or email me at eclecticoasisart@aol.com.

Ciao!

A. Sparkle

Someone Got Nominated!

Greetings... 


I have been nominated for the Liebster Blog award twice! This was by this kool dude Tommye Turner and the awesome Tasneem Ahmed. Please click on their names and go check them out!

I have to tell you 11 random facts about myself and then answer 11 questions from my nominator. I must then choose 11 questions which have to be answered by the 11 bloggers that I choose to nominate. (They must have less than 200 followers) Sounds like great fun, right? Right!

My Randomness:

1. I love to write letters and mailing them off through snail mail
2. I'm obsessed with drinking tea. Green, Black, White, it doesn't matter, I like them all.
3. When I have a need to be creative I draw, paint, write, crochet, or just make things in general with my hands.
4. I'm currently in the process of writing a book! ;) Let's hope it doesn't take 15 years to complete.
6. I love hearts and am always drawn to them.
7. For some reason I'm also drawn to smokestacks. There's just something mysterious about them.
8. I actually like Ramen noodles and I add cheese and hotdogs to them.
9. I've lived in 5 different states.
10. I can name all the 50 states and in alphabetical order.
11. I want to go e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e in the world there is to see.


The 11 Questions to be answered by those who nominated me:

1. What's your favourite book? The Wake of The Wind by J California Cooper
2. Books or films? Always books!!! You get so much more detail.
3. What's your favourite colour? Yellow. Its just so damn happy!
4. How many houses have you lived in? I've lived in 14 different houses/apartments, not counting moving in and out of dorm rooms!
5. Name 3 things that you hate. Wasps, Hypocrites, & Being Cold
6. What's your least favourite animal? Least?? Er......... do insects counts?
7. What would you name your child? Girl-Amber; Boy-Andrew
8. If you had a million dollars what would you do with it and why? Pay off my debts, help my friends, and give to a charity.  
9. Who is your favourite youtuber? Chescalocs
10. What was your favourite TV programme as a child? There were so many! I'll go with Are You Afraid of the Dark, Erie Indiana, Saved by the Bell, and Ren & Stimpy!
11. What would be the perfect job? The perfect job would be being my own boss making things that would enhance peoples lives.


If I nominated you then here are your 11 questions:

1.What's your favorite drink?
2.Your favorite color?
3.If you could travel anywhere,where would you go?
4.What's your favorite thing about yourself?
5. What is your earliest memory?
6.Do you have a favorite tv show and what is it?
7.House shoes or socks?
8.If you were on a desert island what would you absolutely have to have with you?
10. Tv or movies?
11. Can you sing and if you can't do you like to?

 So that's all for now kiddos! What's your randomness? Have a Happy Sunday!!

Ciao!

A. Sparkle