Leap Day!!

It's Leap Day everyone! It happens every 4 years. This means we have 366 days this year, so we get an extra day! How are you taking advantage of this bonus day? Are you making the most of it?

picture above my kitchen table. kids taking a leap off a pier :)

And happy birthday to all the leaplings out there! :)

Rainy LA Nights

It's been cold and rainy the last few days. When I say cold, I mean cold by LA standards that is. I know the cold in LA doesn't come close to weather across the country, but for this native beach girl...it's cold!!!! 

I have a ritual before I go to bed and have a cup of decaf tea. I feel that it relaxes me and lately it really hits the spot with this chilly weather. Tonight, I am warming up with a cup of Calm Tazo tea while I blog and cuddle up on my couch. 

What do you do to stay happy during rainy & chilly weather?

Mantra Monday

Welcome to the first Mantra Monday of many! :)

Everyone hates Mondays. It's the first day of the week which means you probably have a lot to catch up on at work or need to get things in line for the week. I decided that every Monday is the day that you should start the week on a positive note. You should feel inspired, happy and optimistic about the week ahead! Every Monday, do something for yourself and be positive.

In a yoga class last week, I was sitting in pigeon pose and my teacher says,  "It's only a big deal if you make it a big deal."

I had a really rough work week last week and I tend to stress over the little things (which is a terrible habit) and that saying couldn't be more fitting. So this week it's time to remember IT'S ONLY A BIG DEAL IF YOU MAKE IT A BIG DEAL.

Happy Mantra Monday everyone!
xo
Erica

Decoupage: Attempt #2

After heading to the LongBeach Flea Market, my boyfriend and I felt inspired to re-do our coffee table. We felt it was a little too collage looking and a little too busy. So we decided to scrap the entire table and start from scratch.You can see pictures and process here of my first attempt at a DIY decoupage coffee table. 

Below are the pics of the new table.  We decided to use pages out of a book and not pictures this time. It allowed for a cleaner and simpler look. We opted for one of my favorite books, Catcher in the Rye. We couldn't be happier with the results.

It's that time of the year again... What will you give up?

Every year I try and give up one thing during Lent. I am not particularly religious, but I do like the thought of giving up a vice for 40 days and 40 nights. I like to see how much self- control I actually have. One year I gave up pizza, another year I gave up chocolate.

I think this year I will go for the gold and give up pizza AND chocolate. It might be a little ambitious to give up two things. But let's push my discipline to the test!

What are you going to give up this year?

An early birthday present to myself...

I LOVED my Marc by Marc Jacobs purse. It was a bright and bold eggplant purple color that I used to think went with everything I wore. It was my go-to bag for everything. I could even fit my lap top nicely into it along with everything else (my wallet, keys, etc.) But the time has come where I need to retire it. The color has faded and the stitching is starting to rip vigorously on the straps. I pretty much wore it to death and it lived an amazing long life.

For my birthday this year, I decided that I would treat myself and get a nice new bag. I saw this gorgeous Foley and Corinna bag on Gilt.com and knew that I had to get it. I snagged this new wardrobe staple for $ 224 including taxes and shipping (original price is $345)! It is perfect for everyday wear. You can hold it like a satchel purse and remove the long strap, or you can fold it as seen below and use the long strap to wrap around your body or over the shoulder. This time I grabbed it in more a neutral color that looked a little more classic than my last purse.

Foley and Corinna Lady City in Taupe

Do you ever treat yourself on your birthday? I'd love to know if you do and what do you do?

xo

President's Weekend- it's a THREEKEND!

I don't know about you, but this year started off in a whirlwind and it's still going full speed ahead! I feel constantly busy and focused at all times and its time to take a small break.

I cannot wait for the three day weekend ahead! I plan on doing lots of yoga on the westside, drinking wine and Starbucks (not in the same sitting. ha), and attending the Long Beach Flea Market for the first time ever. I'm due for a staycation and I'm ecstatic to just relaaaaaaaxx. :)

Have a fun weekend!

Decoupage: Attempt #1

My boyfriend and I just moved into a new place and learned that even together we did not have enough furniture. We bought a simple coffee table from Out of the Closet. The brown color of the table was drab and blah and nothing exciting. We decided that it needed some serious renovation and were looking to get a little bit creative with it since most of our furniture was somewhat generic. 

We thought a collage on the table might be a good look, so we got a book on 100 cities of the world and decoupaged the pictures on it. It turned out pretty well with only a few hurdles that we encountered.

Table from a local thrift store. 

Almost finished putting varnish on.

The book we used to decoupage with

What you will need:

• Decoupage Glue 
• Varnish (we used a satin version for this because we wanted it to shine)
• Paintbrushes 
• a bowl to put glue in
• Book with pictures or words that you want as decor

How we did it:

Step 1: Ensure that the table is clean and dry on the top surface

Step 2: Take out pictures from the book and arrange them in the the order that you want them to look

Step 3: Glue down each piece of paper with the decoupage glue. Make sure you do this SLOWLY and take your time. Also, make sure that each piece is glues down properly without bubbles. Try and smooth each paper down with ur fingers to accomplish this. Let the glue dry for a couple hours

Step 4: When the glue is dry, you're ready to put on the varnish. Put on about 6 coats of this to really seal in the pictures. Allow time (about 1 hour or so) in between each coat to dry. 

Also note that the varnish and glue have a really strong smell that can make your head spin a little so try and do this project outside or have some air ventilation.

Lululemon - No Limits Tank Review

For my one year anniversary with my boyfriend, we decided to get each other one small gift. Nothing too ostentatious and nothing that would cost an arm and a leg. My amazing boyfriend knows that I have an obsession with yoga clothes especially from Lululemon. With that said, I had my eye on the No Limits Tank -$64 (you can find here).

Photos from Lululemon.com

To my surprise, my boyfriend got me this tank in lavender (my favorite color!). It is the perfect tank for yoga. It has a slightly sexy appeal to it because it looks like you are wearing a sports bra under a loose fitting tank. It shows a little skin under the bra on your sides, but at the same time its not a tight or ultra-revealing fit. The No Limits Tank is loose and comfortable around the waist (it's great for days where you feel like your muffin top is showing) and stays put even if you do an inversion. Its built-in sports bra is great because it keeps you intact while doing poses, so you don't feel like you have to keep checking if you are falling out of your shirt.

I love this tank and it has become my new favorite yoga top. I want it in every color they have! I recommend investing in this top, you won't be disappointed.

Crock Pot Adventure: Beef Stew

I'm not a big cooker. I've never been taught how to cook, nor did I want to learn how to. But as I get older,  I have to fend for myself and make my own dinners. I just discovered the wonders of a crock pot. I figure, let's start with easy and simple recipes and get through the basics. This was my first attempt at cooking a hearty meal like this and it turned out pretty well! 

Ingredients:

15 small red potatoes

5 large carrots

3/4 of a sweet onion

1/2 a bag of frozen peas

1/2 lbs. of lean stew beef

1 box of Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup from Trader Joes

Salt and Pepper

Recipe: 

Chop red potatoes, carrots, sweet onion into bite size pieces.

Place chopped pieces into crock pot with peas and the lean stew beef.

Pour entire box of soup into crock pot and stir it in.

Place the crock pot on low and cook for 8-9 hours.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

One of my fav yoga spots: Santa Monica Power Yoga

This week was one of those weeks where I couldn't tear myself away from the computer screen at work. Late nights have caused me to get no sleep, headaches, and sore eyes from working on Excel. To say the least, it's been a very difficult, stressful, and busy week. It was so busy that I wasn't able to do yoga in the evenings for my usual routines. So when Thursday rolled around and I was able to get out of work at a decent hour, my boyfriend and I immediately trotted down to one of my favorite yoga spots, Santa Monica Power Yoga- West on 2nd Street.

The teachers here provide a hard-core power vinyasa yoga style. This is a faster paced style that gets your heart rate up and challenges the body to do several styles of poses that vary from standing to sitting poses. You are promised to get a ridiculously sweaty workout in and you will leave calm, relaxed, and like you just got your butt kicked. The studio rooms get very hot mostly from your body heat and heat induced by other practicing students. This studio is donation-based (suggested donation is $14) which is great because it provides yoga to those who just want to practice and people can donate what they are able to.

Tonight, I took Travis's class. His classes always push me to challenge myself and just go for it. I don't normally get to take his classes as they are usually during the week at 4:30pm or 6:00pm, so when I do get to take his class its a treat! In this class, I accomplished a few wrapped binds which is pretty great as I consider myself a level 1 student. It was a hot and sweaty class, and I just let the stress from the week melt away.

Ahh! It's only Thursday! One more day till the weekend! :)

First Post!

Hi everyone! My name is Erica and I am here to share with you my love of yoga and my experiences in learning new cooking creations and savvy decorating techniques. 

Me in Koh Phi Phi Island, Thailand 

Enjoy! xo