Tag Archives: photography

Guest Post – Measure Success on the Inside – Giveaway!

I’m honored to have a very special guest posting for me today – Amanda, the founder of Grow Soul Beautiful. I’m sure you know all about this site from her hugely popular Instagram #YogaADay challenge. I guest posted for her in the past and love doing little post exchanges like this. She even has a giveaway for you! Enjoy and take it away Amanda!

Marathon Finisher Photos

Somewhere along the way over the past 32 years, I turned into one of those people. The fitness freak that runs 9 marathons in 14 months. Don’t ask me how it happened- I certainly didn’t set out with such a fanatical goal. It was probably the culmination and the peak of my need to over-achieve. I’d already proved I could graduate tops in my engineering class. I’d already proved I could land a fabulous job and a handsome husband. I’d already proved I could travel the world, own a fancy house, and run the Houston marathon each January. And yet, somehow, I was still out to prove something to somebody every time I crossed the finish line after 26.2 miles.

It was near the end of this madness that it really started sinking in that life is about more than things I can achieve and prove to others. Despite all the impressive accomplishments and even a satisfying new PR time in the hellacious Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon, it wasn’t enough. I’d finally swung to the extreme of success by the world’s standards, only to find out I’d been measuring it wrong all all long. It was time for me to re-define success on my own terms.

Grow Soul Beautiful - Yoga Photography Photos

I could whip out calculus formulas like nobody’s business, but couldn’t find an ounce of creativity inside. I could pound out all those miles of running, but I still hated my body and could barely touch my toes. I had the dream life on the outside, yet I was empty, scared, and hollow on the inside. Slowly, week by week, I started a journey of self-discovery and doing a lot of inside work instead of outside work. Journaling, coaching, vision boards, retreats and e-courses helped me find myself, re-define how I wanted success to look in my life, find ways to ignite my creativity, how to trust myself and my intuition, and most importantly, why self-love is the most important thing I could ever accomplish.

Self-Love Self-Care Creativity Inspiration Health

To say it’s been life-changing is an understatement. It’s not some giant shift I noticed one day, but it’s gradual slow, evolution of how I see myself and what healthy means to me. It’s more than fitting in my skinny jeans, running marathons, or even being successful by the world’s standard. Healthy is about body, soul, mind, and spirit. I now place as much importance on meditating as I do track workouts. I value stretching myself artistically as much as I do stretching my body during yoga. I avoid filling my heart and mind with bad thoughts and experiences as much as I avoid sticking toxic and unsavory things in my mouth. My health is now evaluated beyond the physical to include my emotional well-being, my spirituality, my sexuality, my relationships, my inner creative genius, and my thought life and connection to self.

Photography Creativity Inspiration Prompts

Over the last year, the idea of Grow Soul Beautiful was borne out of my passion to share with others that health is more than exercise and self-love is more important than achievements. I wanted to encourage and inspire readers to spend just as much effort making their inside beautiful as they do their outside. My passions are yoga & photography- both incredible outlets to connect the mind+body, nurture the soul, and encourage us to be playful and creative. I strongly believe that we can share stories about ourselves and capture valuable memories through simple photos, and the power of photography, especially self-portraits, can nourish our creative juices.

Giveaway

I’m so excited to give away a set of Vision Quest Photo Assignment Cards with 36 prompts for Personal, Spiritual, and Artistic Growth to one lucky reader. Entries close tomorrow (10/26/12, Friday) at 11:59PM EST. To enter, you can do the following and leave a comment for each:

  • Comment here with your favorite yoga pose (mandatory).
  • Follow @GrowSoulBeauty on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
  • Follow Grow, Soul, Beautiful on Pinterest and comment here saying you did.
  • Follow Grow, Soul, Beautiful on Google+ and comment here saying you did.
  • Follow @GrowSoulBeautiful on Instagram and comment here saying you did.

General Giveaway Rules: No Purchase Necessary. This giveaway is only open to residents of the continental United States. The email addresses that are collected for this giveaway will only be used for the purpose of contacting the winner and will never be given out to anyone nor sold. The winner will be randomly chosen and contacted via email. The winner will have 72 hours to respond. Please make sure you check your junk mail folder.

Thank you to Amanda for the beautiful post and inspiring message – and the lovely giveaway! Good luck to all who enter!

New Camera’s Premier!

On Black Friday (a week ago today – oh yeah, it’s Friday, hell yeah!) I got a new camera at Best Buy!

Thanks to Amazon.com for the image.

I haven’t had a chance to share any photos that I’ve taken on it – until today! This post will be a combination of show and tell for both the new camera, and food I’ve eaten in the past week.

Black Friday dinner

Turkey burger and fries with spicy yellow mustard, leftover green beans and zesty horseradish carrots. Usually my favorite part of this meal would be the fries, but the carrots left over from Thanksgiving were a  real treat. Horseradish + breadcrumbs + carrots = <3

Typical Daybreak cafe au lait

I don’t remember what flavor this particular nonfat cafe au lait was, but it doesn’t really matter because Daybreak coffee is amazing no matter what the flavor.

Saturday's dinner

I had a whole wheat spaghetti bowl for dinner that night with marinara, ground turkey and broccoli. I had seconds of all but the pasta – pasta is kinda a take it or leave it thing for me.

A second picture, you know, because I had seconds?

 

I present to you: the best Thanksgiving leftovers creation of all time.

The above caption may be a bold statement, but I’m sticking to it. My mom made a leftover turkey casserole, which I had on top of a bed of leftover broccoli. And then I had seconds. And maybe thirds were involved…

Wednesday's dinner: leftovers are still king.

I got a nice healthy dose of carcinogens in the above meal. On Tuesday my mom cooked, but I was out (more on that later), so these leftovers were new to me. Crispy, Southern-style cornbread heated under the broiler for maximum crusty-ness, and chicken chickpea chili and pico de gallo served over the last of the leftover broccoli.

Man, I sure have gotten my broc on plenty in the last week, huh?

I got more and more excited about the new camera as I inserted these photos into this post – I hope you guys have enjoyed too!

What kind of cam do you use, whether for blogging or just for life?

Black Friday 2011

First thing’s first: I recommend that you head over to a fellow FitFluential Ambassador Christine’s blog, Oatmeal in my Bowl, to check out her Oatmeal Toppings feature! It’s a great link round-up of topics like fitness, food/cooking, outdoors, and challenges. A great way to find new blogs, recipes, and routines. And I may be a bit biased, because she featured my Hotel Room Workout!

Image courtesy of oatmealinmybowl.com

Also, please head over to the lovely Katie’s blog to check out her recap of the Sunday Cafes do Brasil Week Press Brunch at Bistro Cassis! My brunch was on a Saturday at Casa Restaurant, so Katie’s recap will show you a new Brazilian coffee experience in NYC. Cafes do Brasil Week may be over, but that’s no reason you can’t learn more about the coffee and try it for yourself!

Now, let’s get to it. Happy Cyber Monday! Anyone out there doing some heavy-duty online shopping today? I would, but I had enough fun and spent enough money on Black Friday to account for several shopping trips, so I’m going to try to hold back on checking websites for deals. Try.

Does anyone else LOVE Black Friday? For me, it signals the official beginning of the holiday season. As I browsed racks of clothes and displays of accessories this past Friday, the Christmas music in every store really got me into the spirit. So did picking out gifts for friends and family! Well, a friend and a family member. I can’t lie, my Black Friday shopping is usually more about getting great deals on stuff for me than gifts for others. It’s not that I’m selfish – it’s just that most of the gifts I plan to get people don’t end up being part of the Black Friday deals!

Thanksgiving morning tradition

After finishing up a spin class on Thanksgiving morning, I grabbed a nonfat cafe au lait at Whole Foods and headed home to spend time doing an activity that I probably enjoy more than the Thanksgiving meal itself: browsing circulars and making a plan of attack while watching the Macy’s parade. I had my eyes set on a new camera, and luckily the very one I wanted was on sale at about 8 different places, and all for the exact same price! The pressure was off for my big purchase, leaving Hannah and I plenty of time to devote to shopping for fun stuff like clothes, accessories, and shoes. We decided to hit Kohl’s first, then the mall.

Hannah with her 2nd cup of Dunkin after we left Kohl's.

Usually my Nana Connie joins us for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. In fact, for as long as I can remember she has been up at the crack of dawn, before Hannah and I, ready to get going on finding those deals. When my Granddad was alive, he used to come with us too. There has been only one Black Friday other than this one that Nana C didn’t join us, and Hannah and I really missed her this year. She had to work, but I know she was with us in spirit as we hunted down those bargains. We owe our Black Friday addiction to her!

Nonfat cafe au lait with cinnamon.

I selected the Nordstrom’s cafe for my cup of coffee, but held off awhile before having it. I was still feeling pretty nauseous from the evening before. We hunted down some fabulous deals! Hannah didn’t really think they were that great, but I was very satisfied with my day’s purchases.

This year's loot.

Last year’s pile looked way more impressive, but it was also a combination of not just my stuff, but Hannah’s and Nana Connie’s.

You probably saw the Trader Joe’s bag creepin in this year’s photo. Of course – I was right nearby, how could I NOT make a stop? I went in to stock up on my favorite veggie chips, but ended up leaving with a bunch of goodies!

Lentil chips, veggie chips, and everything pretzel slims.

All of the above three carbalicious snacks have crazy large serving sizes, something which I am all about.

Roasted peppers for salads, horseradish hummus, dill pickles, and egg white salad.

I’ve seen the egg white salad on Monica’s blog before, but couldn’t remember whether or not she liked it. I guess I’ll find out if I do! I’ve already been devouring the pickles and peppers in my salads.

I’ve been dying to show you my favorite purchase of the entire day:

Wait…I didn't buy this. That's a joke.

KIDDING. No, that prize has to go to my new camera from Best Buy. I was correct to not be worried about finding it later on in the day. I didn’t arrive until about 1, and there were still plenty left. For $20 more, I also got a bundle with a case, memory card, and cute mini tripod!

Forever 21 wasn’t having any sales, but their prices are usually fine by me anyway, especially their cheap accessories.

Ann Taylor Loft had 50% off of every single item in the store, so I got two shirts, and the Icing‘s buy one, get one 50% off earring promo and my tendency to think of multi-packs as a good value led to me being fairly stocked on earrings for about the next ten years.

Kohl’s completely surprised and impressed me with the Lauren Conrad collection. So much cute stuff! And I’m clearly obsessed with pleats. I love how everything this season is so delicate-looking.

My old high-school standby Hollister was selling everything at 40% off, even sale stuff! So I naturally headed straight for the clearance rack, but I did spring for a full-price (before the 40%) pair of corduroy jeggings as well.

Because I really need more yoga pants, or a skirt in the winter.

Another part of my family’s Black Friday tradition is the lunch we have each year with my dad. He doesn’t shop, just meets us for the food! This year we went somewhere I haven’t been in too long, Ruby Tuesday’s. I love it there, and I was also really craving their salad bar and veggie sides after my indulgent evening.

Garlic cheddar cheese biscuits!

I devoured a biscuit when they were placed in front of us, because at that point my nauseousness had subsided and I was starved.

Good thing I didn’t have to wait long to put in my order for the salad bar and help myself! I always ask for a side of pickles and a side of salsa to dump on my salads at Ruby’s as well. Does  anyone else think their croutons are the best thing in the world? I’ve never been able to find better ones!

Grilled asparagus, grilled zucchini, and roasted spaghetti squash.

I got the Veggie Trio combo deal and chose the above items as my three sides to go with the salad bar. Ruby’s has so many sides options. I absolutely love it! How many restaurants offer spaghetti squash?! I’ve only seen it at Ruby’s and Bonefish.

My gym session later that day was less than stellar (easy elliptical), but it still made me feel better because I sweated out some of that wine, went home, showered, and got cozy.

Oh, and before heading home, I treated myself to one last Black Friday tradition: a manicure! More specifically, a polish change. As you can see, I was in desperate need.

OPI "I Brake for Manicures"

What was your best Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday purchase ever?