Category: Living
THE “CURRENTLY” SURVEY
| March 27, 2014 | Living |
I saw this survey on a few blogs recently, and figured that I should do it here on Simply Nicole. It comes at perfect timing, because I honestly don’t have much else to share with you this week. With the wedding almost a month away, I haven’t had much time to dedicate to much else. Every night Bryan and I are crossing little tasks off of our massive wedding to-do list. The day will be here before I know it!
So anyway, here is the survey. Hope you enjoy!
Current Book:
I am currently reading a few books I guess, which I told you about in this post. I have Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and Me Before You by Jojo Moyes on my Nook right now. Since I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had much time to actually read them. I think I’m still on chapter one for both of these. Oops.
Current Music:
I’m loving the new Rascal Flatts song “Rewind.” It’s the most recent song that I’ve downloaded from iTunes. I listen to it probably 5 or 6 times a day… maybe more. I even had my cousin listen to it and now she’s addicted as well.
Current Guilty Pleasure:
I probably have had at least two of these in the past week – Wawa soft pretzels. I’m not sure why I’ve been craving them, but the craving needs to subside a bit. LOL. They are just so delicious, and the perfect snack for my drive home after work.
Current Nail Color:
My nails are currently just painted with Essie”Grow Stronger.” It’s not a specific color or anything, it’s one of Essie’s treatment polishes. It’s my go-to whenever my nails are super short and keep breaking. 
Current Drink:
Well I’m not drinking anything right at the moment, aside from whatever glass of water is on my bedside table. But if we’re just going by my current favorite drink, I’ll say the Sugar Chai tea from My Beauty Tea. I did a whole blog post about the company and told you guys that I drink the Sugar Chai tea every morning and I still do. Every morning when I get into work, I put my bags down, start up my computer and get a cup of hot water for my tea.
(source)
Current Food:
My current favorite food is Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers. I bought two boxes in the past couple of months and I’m totally addicted. The burgers are GMO free, contain no saturated fat, are only 110 calories and contain only 250mg of sodium. I may actually have to claim that they are in fact my favorite frozen veggie burger of all time.
Current Favorite Show:
My favorite show would probably have to be Shark Tank. It’s on every Friday, so I typically DVR it and watch it on the weekends, and I honestly look forward to a new episode each and every week. My favorite Shark is Mark Cuban. Anyone else love this show?!
TALK TO ME
- What’s your current favorite drink?
- What’s your current favorite show?
- What’s your current nail color?
Lately
| December 2, 2013 | Diary, Living, Weekend Recap |
Every so often when I feel like I have a lot of things to catch you guys up on, I do a “Lately” post. I haven’t posted since before Thanksgiving so I thought today would be a good day to just post a huge update for you guys. Here’s what I’ve been up to:
Our Christmas lights are up on our balcony now. It only took me an hour and frozen hands to do so, but they are up! We are getting our Christmas tree this upcoming weekend, so inside our apartment will start feeling Christmas-y soon.
As part of A Week of Gratitude, one of the days called for writing a thank you note to a friend. I decided to send one to my dear friend Danica. She actually received when she was having a bad day, so it lifted her spirits a bit!
Haha, ok so that picture above is clearly not me nor is it my photo at all. Another task for A Week of Gratitude was to donate cans to a local food bank. Giant Food Stores has this thing where if you donate $10 you can feed a whole family with a box of food. All boxes stay local and go towards a shelter in your area. How amazing is that?! I think they are doing this all season long – not just for Thanksgiving, so if you shop at Giant I highly recommend this.
Another thing to do during A Week for Gratitude was to spend time with a loved one. One of the days last week, Bryan and I decided to just relax all night an watch TV together. Sure, we do this on most nights but we made an effort to watch TV without phones, laptops, etc. It was nice.
On Thanksgiving morning Leslee, her BF, Bryan, and I drove down to Philly for the Thanksgiving Day Parade! Holy moly was it cold! Good thing we had chairs, blankets and mimosas to keep us warm 
. Next year I think we will be watching on our TV. It was by far the coldest year yet!
On Saturday, Bryan, his friend Jonathan, and I went out to Jim Thorpe in the Poconos to walk around for a bit. Of course I made Bryan pose for the obligatory holiday picture (seen above). It was such a nice day. We checked out some really cool vintage jewelry stores, Bryan sampled different types of jerky, we walked around Country Junction, and had an amazing lunch at a diner in Lehighton.
On Saturday night when we got home, I had a package in the mail from our wedding photographer. Inside were the cutest Moleskine notebooks and a thank you card. If you’re wondering, we are having Jeff from Brooke Courtney Photography do our wedding. So if you are looking for a wedding photographer, I highly recommend him! His work is amaazzzzzing.
On Sunday, Bryan and I went over to the mall for a quick store in Bloomingdales. Bryan saw a phone cover he thought he liked while we were there on Black Friday and wanted to go check it out again. Turns out it doesn’t fit on his phone properly. While he was doing that, I tried on some more clothes from Free People. I had no idea Bloomingdales had it’s own little Free People section! Wahoo! The pullover above can be found online here. I’m waiting for the pullover to go on sale, so I didn’t purchase it yesterday although it FOR SURE will be coming home with me at some point. If you’re wondering, the size I’m wearing is a Small. The website suggests you size down because they run big. However, the pic on the Free People website has the model wearing it almost as a cropped sweater and I hate that look so I actually sized up.
Another highlight of my week – an iPhone5S in gold! Bryan’s mom surprised me on Friday by buying me an early birthday present. I was due for an upgrade for a while now and Apple actually wanted to buy back my iPhone4 so it all worked out perfectly!
Talk to Me
- How was your week?
- What did you do for Thanksgiving?
- Did you shop on black Friday? What did you buy?
A Week of Gratitude
| November 20, 2013 | Diary, Holiday, Living |
Good morning! If you’re in my area, you probably are freezing right now. I do have to say that my J.Crew Camp Socks are definitely getting use today; which by the way is on sale for $14.50! They are by far my favorite purchase in the past month or so and keep my toes warm on days like today.
Anyway, back to the purpose of this post. Sometimes we can be so wrapped up in all of the negative things going on that we forget to be grateful for what we do have in our lives. My friend Leslee created this thing called “A Week of Gratitude” which you can read about on her post today. Basically, she put together a list of things to do every day next week in order to show gratitude. Her post inspired me to make my own list of things for “A Week of Gratitude”.
Like Leslee, I’ll be posting my acts next week on Instagram with the hashtag #weekofgratitude. So if you are interested, follow along and upload your own pics!
Talk to Me
- Will you be taking part in A Week of Gratitude?
- What’s one thing you like to do every holiday season to give back?
- What are your Thanksgiving plans?
Shannon from Bird a la Mode
| November 13, 2013 | Advice, Interview, Living |
Hey readers! Today I’m bringing you an inside scoop on one of my favorite bloggers, Shannon from Bird a la Mode. If you don’t already know who she is, you’re surely missing out. She’s a mother of two and a self proclaimed “fashionable mommy blogger.” And that is completely true. Her blog is a mix of motherhood and fashion. Over the past few months, I’ve come to absolutely adore Shannon’s blogs and get super excited when I see a new post. I’m sure you will as well.
That being said, I was so happy when Shannon agreed to do an interview here on the blog to share her tips and tricks to staying fit and healthy and balancing all facets of her life. If you’re interested, keep reading!
What inspired you to start your blog, Bird A La Mode?
Bird A La Mode was started when I was half way through my second pregnancy, I felt I needed an outlet where I could capture my daily life and share it with those who were interested. I love my life and have worked so hard to have what I have. I want to inspire people who are in whatever situation that hard work really does pay off.
What does a typical day look like for you from start to finish?
I wake up the same time my kiddo’s do, I love sleep! We eat breakfast, a protein shake for me. Get ready for the days activities, gymnastics, dr.’s appointments, gymnastics, park, or play dates. I like to try to get out of the door by 10:00 everyday, home for lunch, another protein shake for me & naptime. During naptime, I workout or clean hard, by lunch I start thawing out frozen chicken or laying out dinner. The kids wake up and I nurse my 5 month old, and give my 2 year a snack. We play, do work books, watch an episode of Arthur, read. Around 4:00 PM we start to cook. Hudson loves this. We usually eat dinner at 5:30. My Husband takes the kids while I spend an hour blogging. I join the “party” after I am done we bathe the kids, tuck them in bed and have our time.
How do you balance being a stay at home mom, a blogger and still maintain a healthy lifestyle?
Water, seriously the answer to all of those questions is water and sleep. It is amazing what we can do when we are well hydrated and well rested. I can get so much done when I am able to think clearly. I also avoid sugar. Sugar is hard on our bodies.
What is a typical workout for you?
If I am able to I love going to Barre classes. But most days I run 3 miles on my treadmill or even better outside.
You have 10 minutes to make a healthy dinner. What’s your go-to meal?
I love quesadillas. I get a tortilla, shredded chicken, rotisserie chicken is my favorite, shredded cheese, heat up in the microwave, slice up avocado and tomato and enjoy!
What are some of your favorite workout clothing brands?
I like Albion Fit a lot! I have a bunch of LULU Lemon clothes, but I gravitate to my Albion Fit clothes more.
What are some of your favorite clothing brands in general?
For denim I like rag & bone and Hudson, I like Anthropologie, Victoria’s Secret, and Kate Spade.
I’m getting married in May. What is a few pieces of advice for brides to be out there?
If I could get married again I would of just had a destination wedding. Too much drama LOL. I would say enjoy and don’t sweat the small stuff. Plan ahead. So that the day of the wedding is stress free.
Talk to Me
- Have you ever read Bird a la Mode?
- Are you interested in more interviews here on Simply Nicole?
- What’s your favorite meal to make in 10 minutes or less?
The Healthy Living Checklist
| October 16, 2013 | Advice, Living |
Good morning, friends. This week is flying by! It’s already Wednesday. That being said I forgot to do a lot of the things I normally do each week, such as staying hydrated and going outside for some fresh air.
Not sure I shared this on the blog or not, but I left my f/t job at the end of August and have since been freelancing at home part-time. I’m still currently looking for another f/t gig, but in the meantime I’m doing PR/marketing/writing for a few companies and I absolutely love it, BUT I do forget to actually leave my house sometimes. I’m not even kidding.
Last night I decided to make my own healthy living checklist to make sure I’m getting the things I care about completed each week. A happy body is a happy mind!
This image in pin-able! Scroll over and click the pin button!
I wanted to highlight some of my favorites:
Make your own green juice. By now you all know that I love my juicer. I use it at least a few times a month and I wish I remembered to use it more frequently. I added it to this list because it’s important to take the time to craft your own juices at home. Pre-made juices at the grocery store are NOT the best thing for you and the fresh, cold pressed juices at Whole Foods sure can get pricey. Do yourself a favor and invest in a juicer. It will become your favorite kitchen gadget ever. I promise.
Take a group fitness class. I rarely ever pay full-price for a group fitness class. Groupon and Living Social offer great discounts for fitness events and classes!
Keep a journal. Is it just me or do you also love writing things down? I can’t get away from keeping my to-do list on my computer. It’s something with just writing it on paper and crossing off when I get a task done that feels great. I think the same is for journaling. Sure, I have a blog but that doesn’t mean that I can’t keep more personal things down in a journal. This journal is one that’s on my wishlist. You can buy it from Amazon and from Barnes and Noble. Gosh I love a good journal.
Talk to Me
- What are some items on your healthy living checklist?
- Do you keep a paper journal? How often do you write?
- What is one thing you do everyday for your health?
