Virtual Scrapbook

It's going to be a long week at school, starting off with several projects, another job interview, and a head-cold on top of everything. Icky, to say the least!

The thought of not blogging for a week is horrible, so to compromise I will be posting regularly on my Tumblr page:
Welcome to my virtual scrapbook. It is SO addicting! Posting is a snap and sharing inspiration between bloggers provides endless creative ideas and daydreams.

Check it out and have fun picture-watching,
-B.
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WF: Bag Lunch

At universities, fatty food temptations lie at every corner. No one has time to think about eating healthy, especially when you are rushing out the door for an 8:00 class.

Enter the bag lunch. This is my only tip for today, but I have a few ideas to make healthy lunches easier than your friendly neighborhood vending machine!

The one pictured above was my inspiration - Jenny at Everyday Occasions put it together with a chicken sub, pasta salad, red pear, and a brownie, all wrapped up in a pretty box. Isn't it cute?
Since time is an issue though, your bagged lunch doesn't have to be as fussy as this one. I prefer a good old brown paper bag (with maybe a Sharpie swirl or two..) or my art-deco insulated lunch sack.

A few easy-to-grab lunchables:
1. Banana and peanutbutter (buy a box of the little prepackaged containers used by bagel shops), carrot sticks (great with peanutbutter too.. What?), and a yogurt.

2. Apple and cheese, almonds, and a whole-grain granola bar.

3. Tuna, crackers or a slice of bread, and pineapple chunks. I love mixing dried cranberries with my tuna, but that's for another post.

Anyone else a fan of the bag lunch?

See you Monday!

-B.
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So Fresh

Behold, le new layout. Love? Hate? Yes? No? Calling all opinions.
Also, I would love the person who can tell me how to center my header image. I am in the process of creating a new one, but this one would look so much better in the mean time if it were centered. Excessive thank you notes in advance!
*Update: Figured it out on my own. Go me!

To celebrate, try this to die for chocolate. A friend introduced Chocolove to me at lunch this week and I am dangerously hooked on the pretty packaging. Just when I thought chocolate could not be more alluring!

The wrapper isn't even the best part. Underneath the silky, dark goodness lies a poem printed on the backside of the paper.

So the whole experience happens like this: 1 -beautiful wrapper, 2 -shiny foil, 3 -chocolate, 4 -romantic poetry.

Divine.

-B.

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Newsworthy Bits

Happy almost-Friday! Posting consistently during the school week is 100% harder than I planned. Having a few regular readers definitely keeps me motivated to try though! Although I am itching to write some content-heavy posts, time is allowing only a few snippets here and there.
So. A few thoughts that rambled around my brain today:

*Remember this post?
Supermodel Stella Tennant is coming back on the scene, walking the runways at Chanel, Balenciaga, and Giles. I am excited to see her since reading a little about her background.

*Big job interview tomorrow! My first post-grad-job callback. Kinda nervous, can't lie. After hanging up, my first thought was "What will I wear??". I have a few ideas...

*Cupcakes. I am obsessed with the tiny fat-growers. If someone can explain this illness, please do so. Some great recipes and decorating ideas would be appreciated too.

*Couture shows are the most beautiful artistic expressions that humans are capable of. I am convinced. Style.com is homework's new arch enemy.

*Experimenting with a new blog layout. It's about time, right? Maybe (miraculously) this weekend?

Here's to a successful Friday.
-B.
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Late Nights and Early Parades

*Perfect reading position*

*Pick a beach. Any beach*

*Dance in the waves*

*Jackie O. goes to the picnic*

*Aerie's delicate new arrivals*

Thoughts of summer filled my head when Aerie and StyleFind filled my inbox.
Dear Time: please fly.
-B.

PS: Your lovely comments have made my days so bright. Thank you and welcome, new readers!
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Water for Elephants

Checking IMDB for new movie releases is one of my favorite homework-avoiding techniques. But I am definitely more of a reader than a movie watcher, so I get super excited when I find a film based on a book (yes I am aware of my weirdness).
I'm no teenaged vampire lover, but a girl has to be dead not to notice Robert Pattinson. Saying that I was interested in the Water for Elephants trailer strictly because of Reese Witherspoon would be a fantastic lie. And no one would believe me anyways.
The book was available at my library - luckily no one had caught on yet... Now there is a long waiting list.
Think Nicholas Sparks meets the Great Depression, with a little Dan Brown-style guess work thrown in. That’s the fast review anyway.
I am not sure what my expectations were, and I am equally unsure of my final opinion.
Gruen can’t seem to make up her mind about whether the book is a comedy, tragedy, romance, or a mixed drama. The characters therefore are sometimes confused about their own identities.
Jacob (Pattison’s character) alternates between total pessimism and random, sarcastic optimism. His romantic counterpart, Marlena (Witherspoon), changes between helpless femininity and raging spitfire.

Fittingly, the character with the clearest personality is Rosie, the elephant who steals the show. Whether she is intended to be the main character or not, I can’t tell. But she draws your attention, making you laugh and cry through the whole story.

Read this book before you see the film, if only to have an idea of where the story is headed. It will be very interesting to see how the directors translate the characters’ dual personalities onto the big screen.

Anyone else read this? What are your oppinions?
-B.

Water for Elephants, Sarah Gruen
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Weekend Fitness: Energy Boosters

This week has been deadly for my fitness routine. Add up seven 3-credit classes, piles of homework, a snow delay which the teachers did NOT see as an excuse, a huge library project, and multiply it by sleep deprivation to the fourth degree. The result = no energy!

I was quite proud of myself for working out three times this week, despite school insanity. P90X is my new favorite at-home regime. Those ab-ripper moves are not for the faint of heart.
I also managed to follow my tips from last weekend. Extra water-drinking tip: fill a water bottle the night before so you can toss it into your bag on the way out the door.

This week's tips:
1. Treat yourself to cute workout gear. Having something new, even if only a headband or socks, will motivate you to use it!

2. Follow a few healthy cooking blogs. Some of my favorites are here, here, and here. Beautiful photos and easy instructions can help you ignore the prepackaged junk food.

3. Reload your iPod every few weeks. Listening to the same playlist a hundred million times gets boring fast. Fresh, energetic songs will get your butt off the study lounge couch!

Have a rejuvenating weekend,
-B.

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