American Ninja Warriors

On Tuesday morning, I woke up at an abnormally early hour (considering it's summer), washed my face, got dressed, had me a hearty breakfast of yogurt + almonds + granola, chugged a big glass of water and headed out for a hike with two wonderful ladies.

In retrospect, the day was a day of refreshment.  Even the drive there was a peaceful one, forests of green that called me to ponder and meditate and pray.

As soon as I walked into the forest, it was like a strip from Calvin & Hobbes. (I've had Calvin & Hobbes on my mind ever since being "required" to read one of the books. The husband is an avid fan.)

Okay, this may not look very high but this was a big moment for me: overcoming my fear of heights with baby steps. 

What we had thought would be a 2-3 hour hike turned into a 5-hour epic adventure. We made sure to take periodic breaks and filled them with lots of chatter. We talked about education (all three of us are educators!), church, food, life. We breathed in the fresh air, the lush scenery and basked in the glory of creation. 

Bliss.

Then we took on the "Boulder Scramble" and "The Giants Stairs" head on. We didn't really realize what we were getting ourselves into, but maybe it was better that way. We found motivation as we envisioned the hike as training to be like Kacy Catanzaro. 

Celebrating after conquering the Boulder Scramble

The Giant Stairs. that kept going and going. 

At the top! Victory! 

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a variety of cold noodles - soba, naengmyun. All in all, it was a glorious day and we plan on making it a monthly (?) tradition. 

Note to self: Make sure to stretch better next time and to stretch my entire body. 

Friday Favorites

This week, I have been babysitting a friend's daughter and it has been full of joy entering the world a seven-year-old: listening to her read me a story from the backseat while I drive her home from summer camp, reliving my childhood memories of ordering happy meals as she ordered her six-piece chicken nugget 'Mighty Kids Meal' from McDonalds, watching The Lego Movie for the first time and singing along to the soundtrack - "Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team", splash fights in the pool, the satisfaction of a simple meal. 

Wishing you a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend! 

The most delicious watermelon I have ever had

Girls night out with a wonderful group of ladies - laughing until we cried

Poolside view

My 7 y.o. friend's go-to meal: simple yet delicious. 

My go-to breakfast as of late: honey greek yogurt + granola + bananas 

Homemade Coffee Scrub

I may never have to buy a scrub ever again.

Several months ago, my fellow blogger friend, Jasmine posted an Instagram picture of herself using Frank's coffee body scrub. It left me intrigued.

Fast forward. Recently, I have been watching a Korean YouTuber, SoYoung and in one of her videos, she featured two all-natural ingredients she incorporates into her skincare routine: coconut oil and coffee. 

Today, I decided I would make my own coffee scrub. I had all the ingredients on hand and was in the mood for a mini at-home spa treatment. 

Coffee is packed with antioxidants and caffeine, making it anti-inflammatory and a great exfoliant. 

Coconut oil is a wonderful, multi-purpose ingredient. It is beneficial to your health when consumed, but it is also great when used topically as it has antibacterial, anti-fungal properties. It is also incredibly moisturizing. 

Brown sugar acts as an additional exfoliant with its coarse texture. 

Ingredients: 

• ground coffee - I used leftover French Vanilla coffee I had at home that I was not planning on drinking anymore. You can even use coffee grinds after drinking coffee or even use the grinds in pods (Nespresso, Keurig) 
• organic brown sugar 
• coconut oil - Our house was pretty warm today so the coconut oil had already been in liquid form. You could also substitute with olive oil, jojoba oil, vitamin e oil. 

I used equal parts of all three ingredients (about 3 tablespoons each. It made enough to use on my face and entire body). Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and add a bit more coconut oil, if needed, until you reach the desired consistency. You can store it in an air-tight container if you want to make a bigger batch. 

The scrub left my skin feeling soft and moisturized, without being overly greasy. I plan on making this a weekly ritual. (Next time, I may add some cinnamon and honey - both are antibacterial.) 

Warning: It may leave quite a mess in your bathtub/shower. But I can guarantee, use of this scrub will leave your bathroom smelling like a beautiful coffee shop! 

Green Juice

I have never been much of a veggie/fruit eater. I was never much of a "health nut" either. I confess, I love my occasional Flaming Hot Cheetos, instant ramen and soda too much to be considered one. 

But I have been making a conscious effort to consume more raw fruits and vegetables. And thanks to my brother buying me a Nutribullet for Christmas, I have definitely been getting my daily dose of greens. 

I don't have any one particular "green juice recipe" I follow daily. I just rummage through my refrigerator and plop in the fruit/veggie du jour. 

Here's a look at today's green juice! 

The Usual Suspects: 

• A heaping handful of leafy greens (usually spinach and/or kale- today was just spinach)
• Veggies: Today was celery and cucumber. 
• Fruits: You can put apples, oranges, berries... Today, I used frozen pineapples (from Trader Joe's!) - it makes any juice a little sweeter! 
• Coconut water

Recently, I have been experimenting with a few new ingredients here and there.

The New Guys: 

• Red beets - I love me some beets so when a friend told me she has been juicing them in her Nutribullet, I thought I would give it a shot! I bought a bunch of organic red beets from the grocery store, peeled them and threw a few in the mix. (It may be an acquired taste in juice.) 
• Parsley - We have been growing parsley (along with some tomatoes, mint and basil) in our backyard so it has become a tradition to wake up in the morning, mosey on over to our "garden" and pick a bunch of parsley for my juice. The parsley adds a "freshness" to the green juice. 
• Ginger - I love ginger. I love ginger candy, ginger ale, ginger beer! (I even made a ginger simple syrup to add to a drink recently - maybe more on that in another post!) Ginger in juice adds a kick to it! And I love it. 

My ombre juice! 

Cheers to health! 

Friday Favorites

The house has felt so empty after my parents have left. And the void is magnified especially because the husband and brother are at work all day. But I have been reminding myself of how wonderful these past few weeks have been with my family and have been trying to be purposeful in finding the beauty in the little things - whether it be an email thread with a friend, a good book, or the feeling of accomplishment after cleaning the house, doing the laundry and cooking a meal. 

Happy Friday and cheers to the weekend! 

Emerald, better known as Emmy sometimes joins me for a [brief] snuggle. This photo was taken after she had been making herself into a burrito with the comforter. 

Selfie with mamabear at the High Line

Iced tea break @thinkcoffee during our epic day in New York 

A slice of New York pizza for dinner before watching Wicked (also during our epic day in New York) 

The beauty in the small things. A midday pick-me-up: Fruit-infused water. Fresh flowers. Dried lavender.