A B i t G r a c e f u l.

Finding the perfect gift for a loved one is such a satisfying feeling! During the Christmas season, I love browsing, choosing, and wrapping gifts for my family and friends. So I have put together a gift guide post, featuring three different sections: Stocking Stuffers, Gifts for Friends, and Gifts for Parents. I always find myself looking for unique ideas of affordable stocking stuffers. UncommonGoods has loads of cute options , including this Couch Guestboo k  and Personalized Birthstone Mineral Soaps .  If you've never heard of UncommonGoods , they are an incredible brand that focuses on sustainability, organic products, and supporting small manufacturers and artists. Here are some more stocking stuffer ideas, including a book on how to take care of indoor plants (something I totally could benefit from having) and a trivia game, perfect for Christmas day! NO DRAMA CLUB FLASK || MARIO BADESCU FACIAL SPRAY || URBAN BOTANICS || POM POM BLANKET || WORLDLY WISE TRA

I am really close with my siblings and it has been almost a whole year since we were all together. We won't all be together again until Christmas so this year I am feeling extra excited to be home for the holidays. Living in different parts of the country is tough but we are all pursuing our goals so that is the fuel behind the distance. All these photos I edited to be a little more interesting.  My older brother Patrick during a photoshoot My younger brother Connor photoshopped with some images that remind me of him Me on spring break in Los Angeles with my older brother My gorgeous younger sister photoshopped with some things My younger brother performing in Cleveland Holidays with my siblings

Committing yourself to the cruelty-free lifestyle may seem a little daunting at first. I definitely felt a bit overwhelmed because I grew up using mainstream brands like L'Oréal, Dove, Maybelline, etc. and had gotten use to the easy access and cheap prices. Little did I know, there are so many wonderful, affordable brands out there that have inspiring missions dedicated to stopping animal testing and promoting natural ingredients, like Maple Holistics , Dr. Bronner's, and more.  In my last post, I talked about cruelty-free beauty/makeup brands. Some of my favs include Kat von D, Alba Botanical, Josie Maran, and Pacifica.  Today I am going to highlight some of my favorite CF brands for personal hygiene .  SHOWER Like I mentioned above, Maple Holistics is a brand that promotes all natural, organic, US made products, like their Natural Tea Tree Oil Shampoo . Tea Tree Oil has healing and restorative properties that aid in leaving your hair smooth and dandruff free. I hav

As my New Year's Resolution for 2017, I decided to "go cruelty-free". It's been nine months and I feel like I have accumulated some good advice so far from my experiences. Going cruelty-free essentially means that you pledge to support and purchase the products of brands that are certified in not testing their ingredients and products on animals. That is the short explanation. Here are a couple good sources of information and advice/reviews of cruelty-free brands and products: Leaping Bunny is the global gold standard for non-animal tested consumer products. Their website is extremely helpful in providing a lot of definitions on the subject and if you see their logo, along with these other two below, you know you can trust that the brand has been certified as cruelty-free. Cruelty-Free Kitty is an insanely helpful website that provides info on why you should go cruelty-free. It also provides you with everything from the leading certified CF brands, to

Hope you are having a great week!  I made up my own Red Coconut Curry with Chickpeas recipe to use up some of the items I have had for a while in both my cupboard and refrigerator. It was on the milder side of curries I usually make but I enjoyed it just the same. This makes around 3 servings and since I cook for myself, I had leftovers for at least two more meals. ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 5 cloves of garlic ginger (freshly grated or powder) 1 & 1/2 tbsp red curry paste (I use this one here ) 1 can of coconut milk 1 can of chickpeas 1/2 cup of frozen peas 1/2 cup of frozen corn  1/2 carrot strips a stalk of celery cut in small pieces handful of fresh spinach optional spices to add: 1-2 tsp curry powder 1-2 tsp nutmeg 1-2 tsp turmeric directions: heat olive oil in a pot on medium heat mince garlic & grate ginger, then add to pot to fry off until fragrant (usually 1-2 minutes) stir in red curry paste and any other spices (I used cu

Today I roasted a Delicata squash and the seeds. It was so delicious! I went years not eating seasonal vegetables like squash and sweet potatoes, thinking I wouldn't enjoy them. Now I can't get enough! They are so flavorful and with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil, the taste is heightened to new levels. I definitely recommend roasting your own different types of pumpkins, squash, and gourds. Here is sort of an easy step-by-step guide for beginners, like I was, on how to properly roast a squash... and save the seeds too! ingredients:  1 delicata squash olive oil salt directions:  preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit wash the squash with warm water to remove any dirt slice the squash in half length-wise scoop out the seeds, place them in a bowl with water and set aside cut each delicata half into slices to form 1/2 inch moon-shaped pieces  arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt