Book Review: Battle Royale
This book will take you on quite a ride. I just put it down moments ago, and all 500+ pages of it were thrilling, horrifying, tragic, exhilarating, and extremely stressful. It never lets you stop to catch your breath, and you will experience a myriad of emotions while reading it. Continue Reading →
Benefits of Lemon Water
Let me start by saying, lemonade this is not. This isn’t something you drink in the summertime because it’s sweet and refreshing and tastes great. In fact, you’re likely going to make some hilarious facial expressions while forcing yourself to drink it. I certainly do! Continue Reading →
The Perfect Nude Nails.
After going through the long and arduous ordeal of removing my pink ombre glitter manicure, I was in the mood for classic, clean-looking nude nails this week. I immediately reached for my favorite pinky nude polish: OPI’s Coney Island Cotton Candy. The ideal nude nail polish is a slightly lighter version of your skin color. It gives the illusion of elongated fingers, and clean, healthy fingernails. Continue Reading →
My Gym Style.
While I enjoy going to the gym, sometimes it’s difficult to find the motivation to actually get out of my pajamas and get there in the first place. Sometimes I go in the early morning (4 am!) sometimes midday, and sometimes very late at night, around midnight or 1 am. But regardless of the time, there are days I’d rather just stay at home or in bed instead.
And this is where cute workout gear comes in, for me. This might be something you can relate to, or maybe this’ll just sound silly – but when I put on fun workout clothes in bright colors, they give me the energy and motivation to actually want to go to the gym.
I thought it might be a nice idea to share what I wear and bring with me when I go to the gym. Maybe you’ll be inspired to go as well! :)
So on any given workout day, this is what I’ll have on:
- A sports bra – I really love the VSX ones (The Supermodel Racerback bras, with no padding/push-up.) I have a neon green and a neon pink one – they make me so happy when I put them on! And they’re very comfortable too.
- A tank top – I generally go for slightly loose-fitting ones – I just find them a little more breezy and comfortable. Again, I love bright colored tanks! While I do also wear black ones to the gym, my favorite is a vibrant coral racerback from Forever 21.
- Running leggings – my favorite (and most used) pair are my Nike running capris. Yes, they are pricey, but they are comfortable, flattering, and great quality. I find the capri style makes your legs look nicer than the full-length leggings, but that’s just personal preference.
- Running shoes – The pair pictured are the exact ones I have: Nike Lunarglides. I’m not sure if these are still available, I’ve had them for a few years now. They feel like you’re walking on clouds!
- Socks – I don’t think this needs much explaining. I like black ankle socks.
That’s it for clothes! A hair tie is also essential for me. I have thick, long hair, so I need it off my neck when I exercise. I either put it in a high ballerina bun or a ponytail when I workout.
As for things I bring with me, I have to bring my house and gym keys (my gym is in my building), and also:
- A water bottle – The bottle I have is the pink Vapur bottle – it’s plastic, but BPA free, and can collapse and be rolled up when it’s empty, so it’s very light to carry around! Staying hydrated is essential when exercising.
- My iPhone – I couldn’t go anywhere without it. I use it to play music when I run (check out my workout mix here), and to watch my shows on Netflix while I’m on the elliptical. I’m currently watching 24, and it’s so intense that it makes me want to stay on the elliptical longer so I can find out what happens!
I’m not sure if this is a psychological thing or what, but I find that when I’m running, I can push myself further when I can’t hear my footsteps hit the treadmill, because my music is loud. It works for me! - Headphones – I love my lavender Urbanears Plattan. They’re noise cancelling and have great sound quality. They help me focus on my workout and my music and not get distracted by anything else. Plus, they never fall off your head or out of your ears, like the small earbuds can.
So those are my gym necessities. What are yours? Let me know in the comments! :) xx
5 Beautifying Foods
It’s no secret that living a healthy lifestyle will make you look and feel great, because health radiates from the inside out. In fact, what we traditionally perceive as beautiful (clear skin, shiny hair, white teeth, bright eyes, etc.) are all actually signs of health.
While all fresh wholesome foods are great for your health, there are certain foods that are particularly beautifying, and they are: Continue Reading →
Exciting Blog News!
I’ve been featured on Whim Online Magazine – check out the post here!
Also, I’m planning on doing my first ever giveaway to celebrate this blog turning one in April. What would you guys like me to give away? I’m thinking makeup from Sephora or MAC, but I’m open to other ideas.
I want it to be something you guys would really love to win, so leave me giveaway ideas by replying to this post or commenting with the Disqus feature! xx
Five Easy Spring Hairstyles
I came across these beautiful illustrated hair tutorials (by Samantha Hahn) on sheletsherhairdown.com, so I thought I’d share them with you guys!
This hairstyle uses crown braids to create a polished yet effortless hair look. This hairstyle is also ideal for the warmer months because it keeps your hair off your neck! You can learn how to do crown braids from this video tutorial. Continue Reading →
The Art of Salad.
I love salad. Past Sara (the Sara from a few years ago) would never have believed it possible to utter those words and actually mean them. I probably would have rolled my eyes and gone back to my family-sized bag of chips. But times have changed, and I really do love salad. Continue Reading →
Tutorial: Easy Ombre Nails.
The ombre trend is everywhere nowadays. Hair, clothing, makeup – you name it. It’s even become a trend in nail art – one that looks impossible to replicate. If you’ve ever wondered how to do ombre nails, this is the post for you. Continue Reading →
Quick thing –
While I will continue to blog about things I want to blog about, your feedback is important to me too, and I want to create content that you are interested in seeing.
With that being said, feel free to reply to any of my posts (or use the Disqus comment feature) to tell me what kind of post you’d like to see next. I won’t promise to do so, but I will keep all your feedback in mind when deciding what to blog about next.
If you’d like to see more food-related posts, for example – let me know in the comments. Same goes for style posts, random life posts, fitness posts, etc.
That’s it for now. Thanks for following, everyone! :)
Workin’ it.
Yesterday someone asked me to do a detailed post on what my workout routine is, so here it is! I want to preface this by saying that I am no way a personal trainer or any kind of fitness expert – this is what I do at the gym, and what works for me, but I’m not recommending anyone else do the same.
I go to the gym about 3 times a week, on average, and workout for an hour and a half to two hours in total. Sometimes I’ll do my cardio first, and then strength training, and sometimes I’ll do the opposite.
- Stretches, to get my muscles nice and limber and ready for action (approximately 5 minutes)
- 50 second or 1 minute wall sit before my run
- 45 minutes on the treadmill – a combination of power walking, running, and sprinting in intervals. I’m still building up my endurance, so a lot of it is spent power walking. A good workout mix is essential for this!
- 50 second or 1 minute wall sit after my run – the last ten seconds are pure agony
- 15-20 minutes on the elliptical machine – I like to watch something on Netflix while I do this, it makes the time go by faster!
- a few quick leg stretches afterwards – it just feels great, really, and I want to keep my muscles from getting stiff.
The next part of my workout takes anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes. I don’t really have a formula to this, I just listen to my body and stop when I need to.
- push-ups (I can still only do 10 – and barely even that – at a time) But sometimes I’ll do another exercise to rest my arms and then do another 10.
- bicep curls using dumbells
- bench presses using dumbells
- chin-ups and pull-ups on the machine with the horizontal bar on a chain that you pull down (no idea what the actual name is!)
- sit-ups on the floor (50-100 the regular way), and then about 20 with my legs off the ground at 90 degrees. That one burns!
- 2 other ab exercises, but I don’t know what they’re called! But one works your obliques and the other your lower abdominals.
- 30 second plank, and side planks (for as long as I can, which isn’t very long yet!)
- squats (I do a few repetitions of 10 or 20)
- lunges, side lunges, and reverse lunges with dumbells in hand (reps of 20)
- 40 calf raises (it starts out feeling so easy, but the last couple hurt like fire!)
- sumo squats with dumbells in hand (a few reps of 20)
- leg raises (both with straight and bent knee)
And that’s it! I don’t plan on adding anything new to my routine anytime soon, since I’m still working on improving at these. I have found the VSX videos on youtube immensely helpful, so check those out if you want! :)
Let me know if you end up trying some of these exercises! x
5 Healthy Breakfasts
5 breakfasts I’ve had lately!
Breakfast 1:
- one organic banana, sliced in half
- all-natural almond butter, smeared between the banana halves
- a sprinkling of cinnamon on top of the banana
- served with sliced kiwi, raspberries, organic blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries
Breakfast 2:
- 1 slice of toasted organic Ezekiel sprouted whole grain & seed bread
- one spoonful of all natural almond butter, spread on the toast
- topped with organic banana slices and organic strawberry
- served with one sliced kiwi, assorted berries (organic blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries), and the leftover banana slices that didn’t fit on the toast
Breakfast 3:
- sliced watermelon
- one sliced peach
- one sliced nectarine
- some organic strawberries
Breakfast 4:
- organic whole grain blueberry cinnamon flax cereal
- vanilla almond milk
- one organic banana, sliced
- organic strawberries, sliced
- organic blueberries
Breakfast 5:
- one mango
- organic strawberries
- sliced watermelon
Each of these breakfast ideas are incredibly healthy, delicious, and vegan – and you can replace the fruit I chose with whatever fruit you have available that you enjoy! Happy eating everyone! :) xx
Adventures in food.
I’m really excited about everything I’ve eaten today so far, so I thought I’d share it here. (Taken from my instagram, @saradujour)
I wasn’t feeling too hungry at breakfast today, so I just stuck with fruit. 2 sliced organic bananas and all the blueberries I had left in the fridge.
Lunch (part 1) consisted of two toasted slices of Ezekiel sprouted whole grain & seed bread, with one organic avocado sliced on top. I got really lucky with this one – it was perfectly ripe, creamy, and just like butter. For flavour, I spritzed a bit of lime juice on top and added sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Every bite was a delight.
I also had a plain green tea, and I’m about to make myself an enormous mixed greens and tomato salad for lunch part 2. I love food! :)
What have you eaten today so far? xx
Two Healthy Sandwich Recipes
Recipe time! These are 2 healthy sandwich recipes I’ve invented and absolutely adore. They’re fast and simple to make, and get me really excited about what I’m about to eat. They make a satisfying lunch or dinner! Continue Reading →
Nails of the week.
This is the newest polish in my collection, and I can already tell it’s going to be a spring/summer favorite of mine. Essie’s ‘Peach Daiquiri’. A very bright, almost neon, coral-pink. Gorgeous color, and great lasting power!
