Inspirations for April 2014

This month I've decided to post about things that inspired me to keep chugging. These things and people have unknowingly kept a constant light in my life, so I'd like to share a little about each one:

#100HappyDays:

On the first day of this month, I decided to go ahead and accept the challenge of finding at least one thing to be happy about for 100 days. My first day, I posted one sentence about having strawberry banana jello for dessert. Now, I may post two or three posts in one day with that #100HappyDays tag, followed by a long paragraph listing everything I appreciated that day.

This site claims many things if you follow through this whole challenge. I may not be able to vouch for all of it, but I can say that it has helped with my mood. Now I automatically try to look for the more positive side of things. To be honest, I don't remember when my last melancholy and sullen day was! I'd say that's a huge hurdle to overcome within itself.

Alexandra Elle:

This 24-year-old woman is a beautiful, and inspiring soul who shares her everyday struggles and strengths with the rest of the world. She has gotten to the point where she has become her own boss by building her own brand, is a mother of a little sprouting girl, and is also an author.

The first things I saw from her a year or two ago were quotes sprinkled all across Tumblr. She'd write brief diary entries to herself, self-righteous, strong posts that spoke on a lot of levels. As she grew, she posted all of her impactful words into a book a few months ago, and she's finishing up book two. She has many social media sites where she has posted many, many gorgeous photos of her life and food she has put together. Recently, she has become vegan, and the food and drinks she puts up are always so gorgeous. I love that supports local and small businesses, too.

She just keeps growing, and growing! It is much-deserved, because you can tell how hard she works. The end product is always something beautiful and inspiring.

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I ran across this post on her instagram, and it really hit home for me.

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I'm sure at least her website is over on my inspiration bar to the left, but here are all of her links that I know of:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/alex_elle

Breakfast with Alex blog: http://breakfastwithalex.com

Her book, Words from a Wanderer: https://www.createspace.com/4270960

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AisforALEX

Rachel Brathen:

A friend introduced me to this yogi named Rachel. I ran across her at a sullen time, though. Her soul sister had died in a car crash and her posts were beautifully-written ones filled with stories that draw you in. It was such a crazy situation... At the same time her best, best, best friend crashed, Rachel collapsed at the airport in pain. I think her appendix ruptured, but for it to happen then and to see the tremendous love that they shared... I truly believe a part of her died within that moment.

Here's a peak at a post she did on Instagram a day or so ago. How deep she gets into her writings is a God-given talent.

She likes making short spurts of inspirations, too. Just scrolling through Instagram and coming across short words of inspiration have radiated in my spirit all throughout this month.

Her life-- internal and external content-- is stunning.

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I love her Instagram and blog, so I shall share those two things:

Blog: http://rachelbrathen.com/blog/page/2/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/yoga_girl

April 2014 Favorites: Music

I wouldn't say Amy Winehouse has become a staple, "on repeat", artist this month, but her music has been perfect for finishing final assignments and studying for finals.

The first time I heard any music from her that wasn't "Rehab" was when my friends and I took a road trip down to IU last month. I was absolutely enticed by what I heard: a gentle, honey-like voice (that still had the infamous Amy Winehouse pitch, mind you), surrounded by jazz beats and instrumentals.

Her lyrics were like a diary, and her soulful voice spoke its truth. I didn't know or recognize this side of Winehouse, because everyone focused on the bad, and if not that then the one and only consistent praise she got for her strong-willed voice in "Rehab." We as people need to dig deeper and not just get spoon fed what the media gives you.

I feel like looking past just the mainstream in everything is extremely important. Check out books written and published locally or that you come across on, on someone's page. Goodness... Support the people on writing sites that can't even get published yet. Check out music in your area, or look past the one sone that play on the radio to the point where you're ready to crash your car. Look up recipes on more than Food Network... buy local honey! I just truly believe gems are buried everywhere, and we can't just expect them all to come right to us. You're got to explore for yourself.

But I digress...

Check out Amy Winehouse's Spotify to listen to all her beautiful work. I'm a sucker for jazz music, so there might be a huge bias as to why I like what I heard so much. But I think just this change in what we know of Amy Winehouse shows us that she's versatile enough for the lot of us.

Indy Gems: Pho 54

Catching up with a friend led to my first Pho experience, and let me tell you...

It was PHOnomenal!! 

I HAD to do a Pho pun... It was absolutely necessary.

Anyway, we dined at Pho 54. A tiny Vietnamese restaurant/shack on the west side of town. The outside looks sketchy and faded, but the inside is clean, crisp, and open.

The two people waiting on us were an ADORABLE elderly couple. Did I mention that they were absolutely the sweetest and cutest?

No? Well they were ADORABLE. Their hospitality made the experience feel like I was eating at someone's home.

I ordered the Rare Beef Pho (Pho bo tai) and a French Iced Coffee with condensed milk (Cafe sua da).

The French Iced Coffee came out first, and OH HO HO SCREW YOU, STARBUCKS!! Sure, I drink Starbucks, but I like to support local businesses. I've heard about this coffee and I am so glad I got it. It's not too far from where I live so if nothing else I'll probably stop by to get myself some more of that iced coffee fairly frequently! $3 bucks well-spent and to a local eatery, which is absolutely fine with me.

The elderly man brought the Pho out to me, cautioning that it was very, very hot! He didn't have to worry about that... I was just stunned at how HUGE the bowl was! I'm almost certain it was as big as my head, and had the depth of a small swimming lake (no kidding, I forgot Pho came with noodles until I fished the bottom to mix my add-in into the broth).

Ah yes, the add-ins... You get a small plate piled high with bean sprouts, thai basil (stems and all), parsley, a fat lime wedge, and a few jalapeño pepper slices. Sriracha and Hoisin sauces were brought out simultaneously, as well. As you can see, the herbs and veggies was extremely fresh, and the Pho itself was superb.

Although I've never had Pho I've read that the broth makes it, and this one was very flavorful even before adding anything in it! Under the light, specs of fat glistened while the chives, onions, and beef floated gracefully among the broth.

It was seriously like glancing into a mini pond filled with lily pads and interesting foliage, except much more appetizing.

We got to the restaurant a little after 9 and even so, the staff was still cheery and conversational. When my friend attempted to order a mango smoothie, the woman explained how she hasn't bought any yet because they weren't in season. 

She went into detail about going from Asian store to Asian store, analyzing the quality the mangoes and deciding "not yet, but next month should be better."

Like I said, adorable.

I highly recommend this vietnamese place for anyone who wants to try it!

Juicing with a Magic Bullet and a Secret Weapon

I finally did it.

I've finally JUICED!

Quite a few months ago I had a friend let me try some of her apple, carrot, and ginger juice she made with her mom before coming to campus. It was so lovely!

Just recently, I figured I could find a way to make the juice without owning a juicer. And I did.

My Magic Bullet is quite magical.

I halved this recipe just to test the juicing waters before taking this head-on for the first time. Because I split it, it needed one carrot, and I just had the baby ones. So I shaped it to about the size of one large carrot the best I could. Gotta get creative, haha.

In a nutshell: I used one Fuji apple, "one" carrot, and the ginger is to your personal preference... I may have used a bit too much when I sliced off about an inch of the ginger root. I was the only one who liked it and even so, the ginger was quite strong.

I'll be a little more careful with my portioning the next time I use ginger.

The ginger root's skin is delicate enough to peel with just a spoon. 

Because I don't have a normal-sized blender, I decided to cut up everything and blend in increments to be sure everything was thoroughly pulverized.

I also added a little bit of water, because it became somewhat of a paste at first. Just eyeball it.

But do you know the cheap secret weapon I used to convert this from a pulpy smoothie, to a smooth juice?

$.33 stockings.

Sure, there are jelly strainers... But I couldn't find any at the time and was eager to try this method out... And it worked!

If you're working a lone, you can just wrap the elastic band around you cup/container until you're done pouring. After that comes the work of milking that precious nectar into your container of choice.

It can be messy, so it's probably best to strain in a container with a wider opening to catch a good amount of the juice.

Once you're done, you should be left with a stocking full of pulp. Now, I threw mine away, and was a bit sad about doing so. It felt wasteful. So of course, you can add a bit of the pulp to your juice or even make muffins with the pulp. I've even read people juicing the carrots first in order to collect its pulp, and using it in zucchini bread (yum!).

But I digress... Clean up of your "strainer" is a breeze: flip it inside-out and rinse. It'll look brand new and should last a few more rounds before it's well-seasoned and in need of replacement with its pair.

End result!

Hope you guys give juiceless juicing a go! Even if you're not really into the whole "smoothie versus juicing" nutrition debate, it certainly beats sugary juice concentrates!

Happiness is in Overlooked Shadows

I started finding beauty in everything this morning at 5:30am while eating steak and BBQ chips. 

I had taken a nap, overslept, and was too alert to sleep. But within those quiet hours I saw everything as something to be excited about and grateful for. 

Google Map made a Pokémon map with catchable Pokémon, and I was grateful for a phone that allowed me to enjoy that little treat. 

I was up during a five-episode Space Ghost Coast to Coast marathon, which I loved. 

I let my mind wonder, and thought of the possibility that someone out there does like me, and for once I'd like them too.

It's not a top priority, but there's some (realistic, I might add) hope that things will turn out soon enough in the love department. 

Sometimes I long for so much, and try to just reminisce without becoming bitter and/or frustrated...  

But some days it can be easier said than done.

Now though, I can think about seeing the love for me in someone else's eyes without laughing at the thought. 

I can truly believe that someday I'll be able to make someone my muse again; so filled with love that I begin to ache, and can do nothing about it but write it out. 

I miss those days, but I'm grateful that my heavy heart aches with a purpose and no longer is considered a weak burden of mine.

So in celebration of having this content calmness wash over me, I've decided to take on the 100 Happy Days Challenge.

This challenge found here wants you to find at least ONE thing that made you happy that day, for 100 days. You can make it as private or public as you want (tagging, written, pictures, etc). The site also lists positive benefits from doing this challenge.

To me, you become more aware of your blessings when you've begun to look for them more consistently. And it is said you can develop a new habit if you practice it at least 21 days in a row?

Make the ability to find happiness a habit.

Happy Blessing No. 1: Soft strawberry banana jello for dessert.