My Paleo Adventures

Greetings!! 

It's a rainy, cold day with the threat of a snow storm. It's the perfect kinda day for writing and sharing, no? Sometime back I mentioned that I was looking into changing my eating habits and giving Paleo a nudge. I like the fact that it's a lifestyle and not a diet... My bestie gave me a really good starting point by recommending Michelle's Nom Nom Paleo! Her website is fun to read, her recipes seem very easy and so far are radly delicious! I must admit tho, that I've only made one recipe so far which is her Garbage Stir Fry which included:

Chicken
Bell Peppers
Onion
Broccoli
Garlic
Carrots
Spinach

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Last week to get my feet wet, I decided that I was going to go a week without bread! I am the sammach queen, so this was a big deal for me. :) For our dinners I cooked nothing but meat and veggies and I was really pleased with the results! It forced me to be more creative with what I was cooking instead of relying on breads and pastas which is pretty standard around my house. I even ended up losing 2 lbs! Yip yippie!

I really enjoyed last weeks eats and so I figured why not try it again with the meat & veggies thang. So this week I'm going to try another recipe from Nom Nom Paleo & cook  Sauteed Shrimp & Veggies! I've got my fresh shrimp and broccoli ready to roll for tonights meal and for the rest of this weeks line up I'll prepare Grilled Chicken, Broccoli & Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Another Garbage Stir Fry, and Baked Chicken, Corn on the Cobb, & Roasted Brussel Sprouts with a Bacon Aioli sauce. Yum!

I know that I'm not full on practicing the Paleo lifestyle, but I need to bring in all the changes like a stealthy ninja. Quietly and slowly so that my brain doesn't freak out! Ha Ha. So let's consider this Phase 1 on implementing a new program. Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Ciao!

Photo Source ~ Primal GRITS 

#WorkInProgressTuesday

Greetings!

It's Work In Progress Tuesday, which means it's time to show off all of the projects you've been working on! I've been working diligently on the royal blue scarf that I showed you in last weeks post. I didn't really have long blocks of time to work on my project this week, but I've enjoyed stealing moments to get some hookin in. (crochet hookin that is) :)


It's gonna be an infinity scarf, long enough to wrap around the neck twice, and gloriously warm and comfy. There is nothing better than double wrapping a scarf when it's cray cray weather outside.

I predict that I will be finished with this project by the end of the week if not sooner. I'm really excited to complete it and move on to the next project.

Also, in the meantime, I'm still working on one of my monthly goals which was to find a new blogging platform and design a new page for my blog. I've had fun and frustrations trying to get it exactly as I want it to be. Hopefully I'll have a grand opening at the beginning of next month!


AND can I also say how exited I am to show you that The Boo & I made real.live.homemade.brownies. They were so good!! When it comes to baking, I'm a bit of a 'purest' if you will. I think things should be hand mixed and homemade, not from a box. They just taste much better. Plus they're made with love!

So what have you been working on this week? Use the hashtag #WorkInProgressTuesday  on Instagram so I can see your current projects!

Ciao!

#WorkInProgressTuesday

Greetings friend!

Although the super busy season is over for crochet, it’s still winter and scarves, hats, & the like are still in demand! Now, I don’t know how you are about your craft, but I still work even in the off season. What can I say? I have a yarn addiction! :) So in celebration of our craftiness or artisanisms (yeah.. I just made up a word). I thought it would be fun if we could show off what we are working on. The joys.. The struggles.. The Triumphs! And I shall deem this day W.I.P.T (“Whipped”) for Work In Progress Tuesday!!!

I don’t care what it is you’re working on whether it be a quilt, building a dog house, felting a hat, baking bread, or painting your living room! Let’s share our projects and encourage one another! I of course, will be posting about my adventures in crochet (for the most part), but feel free to hashtag #WIPT to whatever it is you’re working on or have just completed.

I’ll be participating with my #WIPT projects on my Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram. Follow me and share your photos of what you’re working on.

Last week I was working on a white chunky yarn scarf for a client. I can't say that I've been a big fan of chunky yarn, but I'm definitely warming up to it! This is only the 2nd chunky yarn scarf I've done and I totally dig it!

I really must make one of these for myself, but with big buttons. :) The sad part is that I've had 3 skeins of chunky yarn for years now to make a scarf for myself and I just haven't done it. Such is the life of a crocheter.. So, now I'm on to the next project which is a royal blue infinity scarf. It's gonna be nice & wide and long enough to wrap around the neck twice! I'm pretty geeked about it!!

So tell me peeps, what's your work in progress project?

P.S. Did you know I'm having a giveaway? Click here to enter the raffle!

Ciao!

Easy to Win Giveaway!!

Salutations!

How are you? What did you do for Valentine’s Day? Did you hang out with friends or spend time with your betrothed? The Boo & I made brownies together and we went to go see 50 Shades of Grey. Fun was had by all! I think it’s important to show the people that you care about, that well.. you care about them and to put out as much good energy as you can into the world. So, even though Valentine’s Day is over and done with, this is my post-holiday gift to you!

I’m raffling off my newest product, the Comfy Cozy Office Suite! 

You’re the first to see it and now you’ll have the chance to be the first one to own it! Inside the CCOS you’ll find:

Two Pencil Grips

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Two Drink Coasters

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One Cup Beanie

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One Tablet Tote

Can you really deny how cute this is? :) I like to keep things nice and neat on my desk and I don't like my cold drinks sweating all over my paperwork. Of course the coasters are perfect for this! And I don't know anyone who doesn't drink coffee or tea while at work. The Cup Beanie keeps my drink nice and warm, not to mention protects it from gross little gnats that fly around! The pencil grips to be honest are just so dang adorable and I love having something to keep my iPad in so I can tote it around and use it on my breaks.

This set is a $50.00 value & starting today I have it available for sell on Etsy! Through ordering it in my shop, you'll be able to choose the color you would like your set to be. I can also make the Tablet Tote for the iPad, iPad mini, or Microsoft Surface!

So on to the really big question! How do you enter to win?!?! Today through Monday February 23, 2015 I am raffling off this dove gray set you have seen pictured. All you have to do through my Rafflecopter below is either Visit & Like my Facebook page, Follow me on Twitter, or Tweet about this giveaway using #sparklegiveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So what do you say? Are you ready to enter to win?!?!? Good luck!

Ciao!

Weekend Rambles & a Giveaway!

Greetings!!

Happy Valentines Day friend! It seems like I've either always hated Valentine's Day or I really loved it of course depending on if I was in a relationship or not. After a while though, I became indifferent because I generally had to be at work anyway. I think everybody goes up and down depending on how their valentines day goes and who they're with at the time. How has yours been over the years? 

I can honestly say that I am truly enjoying  today. It oddly enough started out at the  laundromat. I simply had to wash my comforters today. A few months back I tried washing one of my comforters in my stackable, but that didn't turn out so well. I saw that during the spin cycle, part of the comforter hadn't touch the water at all! Some parts were clean and some weren't and that wasn't going to work!

Now it's time to run back out of the house and enjoy some movie theater action! Before I leave you though, I thought I would mention that I'm having a freakin giveaway!!!! I thought it would be something lovely to do to spread some good vibes out into the world..

If you've been following me on Instagram, then you know I've been sharing peek a boo pictures of what I'm about to roll out. Im still keeping it a secret for now, but come on back Monday 2.16.2015 to see what I'm giving away and to enter to win this raffle giveaway!!

Alright peeps, I'm off to see 50 Shades Of Grey.  The book was awesome and I hope the movie is just as good!

Ciao!

Bits of Sparkle

A. Sparkle Says...

I know it's a few days early, but I wanted to show you some love today for Valentines Day! You have a bright sparkly light that the world deserves to see. Don't let anyone take that away from you! Go forth and dazzle them baby!! 

Have an awesome day Sparkle Peeps!

Ciao!

Standing in Line at the Trendy Spot

Greetings!

I hope you've had a fabulous weekend so far! I feel like this is the first weekend we've had here in Atlanta that was sunny and somewhat warm. I'm so looking forward to Spring and Spring fashion that will accompany it. :)

Earlier this week, I was posting to the weekly weeks linkup that The Nectar Collective has and ran across Muriel who has a blog called Pies & Travel.  (I've found that I really like her blog, so you should check it out by clicking here) She's in Atlanta just like me and mentioned going to The Shake Shack and had a picture of a glorious meal! I was like, 'Hmm.. Shake Shack you say? Where is such a place??' Of course I Googled.

If you've been reading my blog for a good length of time now then you know I'm all about trying new food places! Since The Boo and I were out and about anyway, we figured why not give it a shot? So we drive to downtown Atlanta and happily find a spot in the parking garage that has a sign that says, 'Welcome to blah blah parking garage. We are happy to tell you that we're giving you a complimentary 30 mins free to park in our swell garage." I may have taken some creative liberties in writing that, but hey! you get the gist...


So I'm all ready to nom nom on a delicious grass fed burger and cheesy fries when (cue the horror music) there is a line...  Not just any line.. A big line that goes down the street. Said line is also in the shade with no sun to speak of and I have no protection against the hawk (i.e the high winds).  Soooooooo, no yummy trendy goodness for me. It's a good thing we had that gifted 30 mins from the parking garage, right?


I swear it took about 30 mins to just get out of the parking garage, but we did escape for free. :) All was not lost though, for I finally got a tripod for my awesome sauce camera and we did end up trying a restaurant we hadn't been to before. More on that in another blog post!

What did you do with yourself this weekend? Tell me about the exciting and mundane activities you got yourself into. :)

Ciao!

New Food, Designing, & Paleo Oh My!

Greetings Sparkle Peeps!

Its that time again for weekly wishes/monthly goals! Did you set any goals for last week/month? If so, how did they go? Are you just joining me? Let me explain what happens for Weekly Wishes..

The Happenings: You share your weekly, monthly, or yearly goals/wishes/achievements and you get to be a part of this big group of people that are doing the same thing. Yay! Wanna join in? Check out The Nectar Collective and add a link to your blog!

It’s that time again for monthly wishes! Last month I was really super burned out from blogging and from being on social media, so I made the decision to practice a little self-preservation and take a month long break. It was crazy beneficial for me. I was able really think about what direction I wanted to take with this blog, write a couple of stashed away blog posts, and think about really re-designing my space here. Plus it allowed me to just have some downtime and be in my own head for a while. It's a good thing I tell ya! Let’s get to some goal sharing, yeah?

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• Try New Foods ~ For the life of me and I can’t figure out why, but I’m really obsessed with trying Brussel sprouts right now. I’ve never had them before, they look like they would taste good. I’ve gotten either rave reviews or really horrible reviews, so it looks like the wind could blow either way. Lol. From what I understand, roasting them is the only way to go otherwise they are slimy. Me and slimy don’t mix, so I’ll be roasting them puppies! Besides that I want to try my hand at other new foods too, specifically more veggies. Me and veggies haven't been the best of friends over the years, however I think we've stopping giving each other the fish-eye long enough to interact with one another. Wish me luck in my foodie adventures!

• Designing New Site ~ For a long time now, I've been wanting a more polished look for my home away from home (i.e. this blog) and I think I've finally found suitable living arrangements! I'm choosing new fonts, colors, pages that I'd like to have, and more. It's been quite fun actually. I'm hoping to have it all done before the end of this month. #excitingstuff

• Hello Paleo ~ I was talking to one of my besties the other day and we were talking about the ever struggle that is food when she suggested that I look into going Paleo. I've of course heard of it, but never really researched it. No disrespect here, but I kinda just just lumped it together with vegetarians and vegans figuring that there's nothing you can eat! I love meat and foods made from animals far too much to ever give them up, but I can get down with eliminating a few carbs, gluten, and the like. Seeing as I eat whatever I want at the moment, going Paleo still seems restrictive, but it doesn't seem unbearable. I pretty much want to be healthier, feel better, and still have some yummy food to eat. So this month, I wanna see what I'd be getting myself into and giving it a small go. Have you gone to a Paleo lifestyle? Do you like it??

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I'm feeling pretty good about all of goals for this month and I'm excited to attack all of them. What are your goals for this month? Did you accomplish the one's you set last month? Tell me all about it!

Ciao!

30 Days to a New You!

Greetings friends!

We've made it to February and I'm still excited about doing new lifestyle changes for this year! I am determined to get back on track by taking better care of myself and one way I'm doing that is by getting my meditation on. Yes, I'm talking about sitting in a cross-legged position holding my pointer finger and thumb together and chanting 'OMMMMMM’. The effects really are glorious!

Although I tend not to show it so much in public, I carry a lot of anxiety and it hits the hardest when I’m around high strung people for long periods of time. Mediation is a great way for me to come back to center and feel balanced again. I feel more alert and calm when I meditate on a consistent basis. So what do you do when you need practice? Duh! You join a 30 day meditation challenge!

Sometime last year I happened upon a 30 day yoga challenge through DoYouYoga.com. It's a totally awesome website where you can find out everything under the sun about yoga and meditation. A major rabbit hole is what it really is, because if I read one post then I end up reading at least 5 more!

Here are a few benefits of meditation:

Reduces Stress 

Encourages a Healthier Lifestyle 

Slows Down Aging (woo hoo!) 

Improves Concentration & Clarity  

You Become More Self Aware

Reduces Pain Brought on by Tension  


What's there not to love about everything on that list? And all I did was list a few! I implore you to do something good for yourself today..... I dunno, with maybe meditating! :) So will you be brave enough to join the challenge with me?? I think you should. Just click here to sign up! 

Ciao!