My long had romance with adrenaline, has been altered for an affair with my new love, dopamine.

-On making a transition in loves...  from being obsessed with running to being obsessed with climbing.

 



“True, some high-tech gear will make your run more fun, but really, all you need is a good pair of shoes, and a supportive sports bra. It couldn't be simpler.  You were born knowing how to run, may not have perfect form yet, but you already know how to place one foot in front of the other and settle into a comfortable pace.  No new skills to master, no equipment to buy—just get out there and run.” -Women's Health Magazine

 

“Climbing is an exceptionally thrilling experience.  There is nothing more frightening and exciting than holding onto the side of a cliff and ascending to the top. On the journey, you usually have nothing more than your own strength, a tether line, and possibly a friend to keep you from falling to the ground. Obviously, a lot of people can't get over that fear, but it's such a great experience if transcend your reservations and just start climbing. Thrilling isn't a strong enough word to describe what climbing is.” -Yahoo Sports on Climbing



A Fresh Motion...  Freshly Refreshing...
A blog about food, fashion, fun and fitness...

Trends are what we did in high school, fashion is what we are doing beyond high school.

 

This is a style challenge.  First I have two questions...  Do you have an endless closet, yet your find yourself constantly wearing the same 5 outfits?  Or...  Do you have a limited closet and find yourself having a hard time diversifying what you have?

 

To those of you, whom of which, answered yes to the first question...  I challenge you to take those few pieces of clothing you wear all of the time, and hide them in the back of your closet, or in a deep drawer for 30 days.  Take time to analyze the rest of your closet.  Why is there so much of your closet being neglected?  How can you change this?  What will you put together to make a "new to you outfit?"  This should help you discover a new wardrobe inside of the wardrobe you already have.

Take pictures and tell me about your experience.

To those of you, whom of which answered yes to the second question...  Those pieces you wear all of the time, because you don't have much else...  Think about how you can make new and different outfits by accessorizing and coming up with different combinations to make these basics you love more versatile and appropriate for all situations.  Make your favorite black sweater, into 4 "new to you outfits".

 

Take pictures and tell me about your experience.

 

This is your challenge.  If you take it.  Please tell me about it, and I will post your pictures and experience.  Thank you!!! and good luck!

 

 

Winter Color and Print

This is a how to on printed and colored jeans.

 

Do layer, accessorize, treat as a semi-neutral, have fun, and never be boring.

A night time look...  leopard print jeans, a band T (Lady Gaga), velvet disco heels, feather earings, and an over the shoulder monochromatic knit bag.

 

Daytime put together play on hues...  burgundy cheetah print jeans, harvest gold sweater, over a pin point polka dot button down, taupe suede oxfords, mineral jewelry rings, clock necklace, and a vintage burlap bag in blue

 

Polka dot heaven...  Lavender polka dot ankle zip jeans, pin-strip button down, under a boysenberry swoop cardigan, 80s vintage black clutch, and 80s metallic color block kitten heels

More pretty in dots...  lavender polka dot ankle zip jeans, silken drape water color print top, under a boysenberry swoop cardigan, beaded layered shades of blue flower necklace, with 80s studded metallic kitten heels.

Neutral colors...  tan fade washed jeans, red flannel, cropped acid wash denim jacket, knit scarf, and black buckle hobart ankle boots
 

Floral me, floral me not...  pastel floral print jeans, two-fer periwinkle blue loose knit sweater, taupe petty boot, and shell decorated hand bag

 

 beatin' the winter blues, with these many shades of blue...  Royal blue jeans, chambray button down, black military studded sweater, salt wash light blue cross body bag, and black buckle holbart ankle boots.

 

 

 

 

 

A how too...  Tie Dye Cup Cakes...  For a Grateful Dead Theme Party

Find a basic white cake mix.  Mix it according to directions, and divide batter into separate containers to add your desired colors.

 

 

 

 

 

This also works for cakes.

 

 

 

 

 



Check out the cool things our cool local friends are doing! Help support a cause for creativity.

It's a kickstart project by Blackstrap Pictures for their new film DIFFERENT DRUM (Blu-ray/DVD release).

 

 

 

 



I love to cook, and I have been progressing threw some new recipes.  Here are a few of my weekly meal staples.  I use Spark Recipes.  I love this site.  You can post your recipes and the recipe generator can calculate calories, portion sizes, and all the nutritional stats for you.  With Spark Recipes I never have to second guess my own cooking.  It's a cool tool in a fitness journey.

 

 

Cauliflower Mash - Cucumber Dill Salad - Bigger Better Mustard Potato Cauliflower Salad - Flourless Low-Carb Chocolate Mini Muffin Brownies - Light Lemon Blueberry Mini-Muffins - Mushroom Gravy - Low Carb Vegetarian Tofu Shepherd's Pie - Stuffed Baked Spaghetti Squash - Tofu Scramble - Better Vegan Biscuits - Fresh Vegan Tofu Ranch

I also make seitan on a very regular basis.  It's wonderful!  High in protein, low in carbs and unbelievable versatile!  So good...

          sei·tan
          /ˈsāˌtan/ (say-tan)
          noun: seitan
          1.  a high-protein vegetarian food made from cooked wheat gluten.

 

 

This Recipe is a NO fail...

Homemade Seitan Recipe - The Post Punk Kitchen

 

 

Trends are what we did in high school, fashion is what we are doing beyond high school.

 

 

 

 



 

 

Question asked...

Low-Carb Dairy Free Vegetarian?  What do I eat???

So, I have been practicing a low-carb, ovo-vegetarian diet...  This means, I don't eat any dairy, but consume eggs.  I made this change a few months ago, when I noticed that, while consuming a seemingly tofu free almost vegan diet (upwards of 130 to 200 carbs a day), I was having major fatigue issues.  There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don't even know where to begin, or how I let myself come to that place of such imbalance.  Anyway with in, two hours of my usual breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, I wanted to curl up and go to bed, and every afternoon on my way too the gym, I wanted to fall asleep and was foraging for caffeine and a granola bar pick me up. The Crash and Burn was an everyday occurrence for me. I was downing coffee, in hopes of a boost, but it was doing little to nothing for me.  So, I decaffeinated for two weeks, and was still experiencing major fatigue, naturally.  I pushed back the coffee, to my one cup a day, always at breakfast...  and found that I was still tired.  I knew I had to change something.  Aside from that 15 pounds I just could not seem to get off.  I felt horrible ALL the time.  So, I came across Atkins, the new Eco-Atkins, customizable for vegans and vegetarians.  I can't/don't want to eat dairy, and I morally can't get behind the high dairy consumption.  But, I made the egg compromise, to no more than one a day (organic, steroid and hormone free, cage free eggs for me only).  That seems fair, and healthy to me.  I feel so much better.  I have sustained energy, and feel so light and good.  Like I've got my spark back.  I've been eating LOTS of non-starchy vegetables, and a nice balance of tofu (1 net carb per serving), seitan (which I make weekly at home, super easy, 4 net carbs per serving), and eggs(<1 net carb per serving).  Along with the right amount of fat to make up for the reduction in carbs, this helps the body produce sustainable energy and fight off hunger and cravings.  Such as avocados, olives, artichokes, olive oil, and coconut oil.  I am getting complete proteins this way, good fats and plenty of nutrients.  Remember you do not have to complete the protein at the meal, just some time within that day.  Along side the reduction, of carbs, I've cut out sugar...  and this has helped with my chronic bladder infections (perk).  I occasionally have a sugar free low carb protein shake, and tofu is sooo versatile.  I make tofu scrambles when I am not up for an egg.  Vegetarian protein has really come a long way.  I consume about 30 net carbs a day now, so I know that 50 net carbs a day is completely do-able.  At 50 net carbs a day you can have some grains, nuts, fruits...  really your options are pretty versatile.
I highly recommend looking into it...  It may take a few weeks for your body to adjust to the new dietary change, but once you're past that...  you should feel great.  This has been the easiest diet I have ever been on, and I HATE diets.  Plus, I've taken of 5 lbs, just this month, and I'm eating all the time!
I mean, my path isn't perfect for everyone, but do what's best for you.  Anything is possible.

P.S. I am not a certified dietician, nor do I have a degree in nutritional studies.  I am just speaking from my heart and personal experience.

Eco-Atkins Web MD

 

The New Atkins for a New You

 

Vegangela - The Low-Carb Vegan Recipe Source - AN AMAZING BLOG

 

 

 

A Fresh Motion

 

Freshly Refreshing

 

This is a blog about food, fashion, fun, and fitness.
integrating local finds, foods, people, and places.

 

I've got a complete recipe post to soon be reveled, a spot on local style, and a yoga challenge.


Fun and Fitness

 

 

Without fun, fitness can be hard.  Likewise, without fitness, what fun can you have in that dress that doesn't fit quite right.  Honestly, the four F's, work together to help me in a daily journey for a balanced life.  When I stay fit and eat right, I usually feel better in my own skin...  When I eat right, it is easier for me to get to the gym.  When I go to the gym, it is easier for me to share the rest of my free time, feeling good, and doing other things with my amazing friends.  It is all a cycle that feeds into itself.  My confidence is boosted, and the people I surround myself with can easily see that.  Confidence is cognitive, just like a positive attitude is cognitive.  When I feel good about myself, it makes it easier for me to pass my positive energy onto others.  Thus, a room filled with smiling, positive people.

On that same note, when I feel good, I can wear what I want with confidence, and when I like what I am wearing, feel good about myself.  I can pull off anything.  I've heard other women say, "Gosh, you really can pull that off.  I could never pull off that amazing dress you are wearing."  And really, the biggest reason I am pulling off this floral 70's wrap dress, is because I am doing it with confidence.  And really, you could not pull off this dress, because when you put my dress on, it is not the dress that will make you feel confident.  Different dresses for different girls, folks.  So, my response is always, "Why can't you pull off this dress?  You can pull off anything that you want, if you do it in confidence."  That's key.

 

Finding time, for yourself is important.  Finding something you love to do is also important.  Maybe you need to be actively social, or you just like the solitude of going for a trail run on your own.  Figuring out what works best for you reader, is the power of you leading a happy healthy life.

 

I find balance in my exercise routine.  I like to road run, for miles on my own.  It's my think time, my relaxation time, my alone time.  I also love to do yoga and meditate in my living room.  Are there better ways to relive stress and anxiety?  Do it without the medication?  Rely less on the man made chemicals?  When I need to be more social with my routine, I go to the climbing gym.  It's the most social sport I know.  A group of friends, sitting around talking, taking turns working on a bouldering problem, together.  Occasionally, I will grab a friend and go to a yoga class, then make it a point to go out afterward for conversation and coffee.  I have learned to love being active, I have also learned how to integrate activity into my everyday life.

 

It's a lifestyle, a necessity, not a burden.

 

 

Fashion

 

Moving on to the second F of my life...  Fashion!

 

Fashion has many meanings and definitions in the modern world.  What fashion means to one person, may not be how it is defined to the next.  One can look up the word fashion in the English dictionary, but looking outside of the literal meaning is where each and every one of us find difference in interpretation. Living in southern Indiana, I am exposed to a midwestern southern comfort style fusion.  Midwestern fashion is comfortable, practical, and anything but ordinary, when looking in the right places.  I mean the midwest is small towns and farming communities, and it's land locked, right in the center of our nation.  It is far from New York City and LA, worldly known for tends and fashion presets.  The midwestern girl is constantly changing, as quickly and drastically as the weather does in this part of the country.  She's creative, and innovative...  needingly so, in her small town hours away from a large trendy shopping destination.  She looks to her environment, and the people around her for inspiration.
Fashion far from what is seen on the runway, in the big department stores, or any kind of general consensus.  Fashion is a matter of having an open mind, personal interpretation, self expression, intelligence, and personality.  It is what you do, how you are seen, and the biggest thing your leave behind in a room.  It does not have to always be a beacon of femininity (thank you Diane Keaton at the Golden Globes for proving this point), nor does it always require 6 inch heels.  But know, that every morning walking out the door, people are going to look at you, and have a reaction.
What reaction do you want to leave?  Reader you are encouraged to be remembered, be extravagant, go all the way, and be honest with yourself.  You are encouraged to be the most fantastic version of yourself daily, because you are not boring or ordinary.


Huffington Post - Diane Keaton's Golden Globes 2014 Suit Was Tailored Perfection

Hollywood Reporter - Golden Globes 2014 Beauty: Diane Keaton Goes Gray

 

fash·ion - /ˈfaSHən/

noun: fashion; plural noun: fashions

1. a popular trend, esp. in styles of dress and ornament or manners of behavior.

"his hair is cut in the latest fashion"

synonyms: vogue, trend, craze, rage, mania, fad, style, look; tendency, convention, custom, practice; informalthing

"the fashion for tight clothes"

 •the production and marketing of new styles of goods, esp. clothing and cosmetics.

"a fashion magazine"

synonyms: clothes, clothing design, couture, the garment industry, informal the: rag trade

"the world of fashion"

2. a manner of doing something.

"the work is done in a rather casual fashion"

synonyms: manner, way, method, mode, style, system, approach

"it needs to be run in a sensible fashion"


verb: fashion; 3rd person present: fashions; past tense: fashioned; past participle: fashioned; gerund or present participle: fashioning

1. make into a particular or the required form.

"the bottles were fashioned from green glass"

synonyms: construct, build, make, manufacture, fabricate, tailor, contrive

 

 

A Fresh Motion.  Freshly Refreshing.

A LATE twenty something's view on fresh food, fresh fashion, and how it keep it in motion.

 

Let me further explain myself...

 

I live for four things in life.  I call them the four F's!  FOOD, FASHION, FUN and FITNESS!

The first one being fresh food.  I am a foodie, but I am not your regular kind of foodie.  I am a veteran vegetarian.  I have been a vegetarian since I got up and flew out of my parents coup at the age of 18.  You can ask, "How can a person be a vegetarian and a foodie?  Those things don't mix?"  My answer is, "How can one be a foodie and not be a vegetarian?"  I have a romance with vegetables.  I believe food is a cure all, for many of our worldly problems.  Food is intended to heal, satisfy, and make the body feel invincible.  If your food does not do these things for you... than, you are not eating the right kinds.  Food is a cure and prevention for disease.  The right food keeps a person happy, food wards off depression... Food...  Ha...  if everyone had food, the world would be hunger free.  And, sadly, many of us live our lives nutritionally deprived, starving in our own obesity, high blood pressure, and large array of other diseases.  My twin sister once put it like this, "Our bodies are only 20 percent what we do, and 80 percent what we put in them."  She studies nutritional science.  She hopes to someday have her PHD in it, and with that being said, I would rather be an organic turnip, than a steroid laden slab of cholesterol.  Food is not my preliminary mindless side kick in my every day, it is my life style.