Hello friends. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I thought I would finally do a post dedicated to our wedding day, which was over six months ago already!!! Everyone said that it would fly by, and it really did…but I can honestly say that we enjoyed every single second!!! We had so much fun!
Leading up to the wedding, all I kept saying to everyone was “I have a vision” and my family thought I was crazy! But I really knew the vibe that I wanted and Rob and I made it happen. When we walked into the reception for the first time we were so incredibly happy because our “vision” came to life. It took my breath away. Even my dad commented and said “now I get why you were being so crazy – I see the vision”.
The best thing is, we really did almost everything ourselves and I would recommend that to anyone getting married. It saved us a ton of money and it really was fun to do these little projects. It’s also so rewarding when the wedding day arrives and everything comes together. So this post, I just figured I’d share some pictures, ala Pinterest, and hopefully maybe inspire some brides out there to DIY!
Well friends, it’s been a long, long time. I believe my last post was in April of 2015. It is now January of 2016. A lot has happened in that span of time. I got married. I went to Hawaii. I turned 30. I celebrated the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. And so on, and so on. So why haven’t I posted you ask? Well, there are two reasons why. Number 1 – I’ve been busy as you can see. But I really don’t think that is a good enough excuse not to write. I should make time. Number 2 – I lost my motivation. This is the biggest reason. I guess I’ve been feeling a little blue these days. That probably sounds crazy because of all the wonderful things that have happened in that span of time but it’s true. Don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly happy with my life and feel very fortunate for the good things I have. However, I’m the type of person who always has and always will question my life and my choices, particularly when it comes to my career. I guess I had been so preoccupied with planning a wedding that I really didn’t put too much thought into my unhappiness with my job. But now that the wedding is over I’ve been constantly thinking about if teaching is the right career path for me. I also feel like the world that we live in is so incredibly messed up lately that it makes me sad. I just didn’t want to bring that negativity on here. To be honest, I almost deleted the blog but then I figured if I keep it, even if I go away for a while, I can always go back and write.
Basically, I need a positive outlet in my life. I miss working out and singing and dancing and doing things for me but because of time restraints, as well as, exhaustion because of my job and commute, I don’t really do anything for me anymore. I come home; cook, clean, lesson plan and then plop myself on the couch for as long as I can keep my eyes open. It’s not healthy and it makes me even more blue. Anyway, writing always makes me feel better so I want to start it up again. And I don’t want to just come on here and complain. That isn’t why I started this thing.
I have a few ideas for a few blog posts that I want to write soon. I need to do a re-cap of my wedding day because honestly, it was the BEST day of my entire life. I also need to do a tribute to Hawaii because I absolutely fell in love with that place when we went on our honeymoon. And besides that, well…you’ll just have to come back to find out what I’m up to!
Hope to see you soon…unless I don’t write for another year…in that case, have a happy 2016 😉
I haven’t done a recipe in a while but I made a pretty good one today and I wanted to share…
So when I say “healthy”, the only thing that some people may consider unhealthy is the parmesean cheese, obviously you can omit that if you like, it will still be delicious. But I’m a cheese kind of girl so I added the cheese. Sorry to my paleo friends…but I just can’t do without the cheese. End of cheese rant.
Anyways, here is the recipe for this delicious twist on a classic. I hope you enjoy!!
Healthy Chicken Parmigiana
Ingredients:
Chicken breast, sliced thin (1 – 1 1/2 lbs)
Grape tomatoes (1 package)
Garlic (2 cloves)
Basil (A few leaves will do)
Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan cheese for my non-Italian friends – 1/2 cup)
Olive Oil (use as needed)
Spaghetti Squash (1)
Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste
Directions:
I need a better camera! P.S. Do you see my dessert back there? Kind of negates the healthy, huh? 🙂
1. Like so many meals that I try to make healthier, I served this over Spaghetti Squash. Before you do anything you want to get that spaghetti squash in the oven. If you don’t know how to cook a Spaghetti Squash click on this link for directions from a previous Lost Girl Post! Spaghetti Squash Directions
2. Once that’s in the oven and cooking, you can make your fresh marinara sauce. Cut up your garlic, tomatoes, and basil. Sauté the garlic in olive oil for about a minute and then add your tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and some Italian seasoning if you have it. Let that cook until it starts to look saucy (aka about five minutes). Add basil and cook for another few minutes. Once that is done set it to the side and begin working on your chicken.
3. I don’t like just throwing chicken in the oven because I always feel like it comes out kind of blah. I like to sauté my chicken in a pan with some olive oil and garlic first – it’s nice to get that golden brown color on the chicken. Before you sauté it, season it with a little bit of salt and pepper.
4. Once your chicken is cooked, place it on a baking sheet. Take your sauce and pour a little bit on each chicken. Then add your cheese.
5. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
6. Serve over spaghetti squash. Add more basil for a nice garnish!
Every girl at some point in her life (usually around the age of 13-18), will briefly find herself obsessed with a entertainer/celebrity of some sort. In most cases, such as mine, that celeb is a part of a boy band. When *Nsync came out back in the mid 90’s I was in middle school and I fell in love with them. I saw them in concert a million times, I had the tshirts, the magazines, the books, the dolls (yes, the dolls), I knew every word to every song by heart, I knew every dance move to every song by heart, my walls were covered in pictures of *Nsync…I literally could not think of anything else. When Justin Timberlake decided to go solo, I was in my senior year of high school. I was ready to let go of my teenybopper ways. I never thought that Justin going solo would turn into a whole new era of obsession for me. Needless to say, it has. It has big time.
Well I am now 29 and I can honestly say my obsession is probably at its all time high right now. Justin has just finished his world tour for The 20/20 Experience (absolutely the best record he ever put out) which I have seen 4 times. I actually feel knots in my stomach because I don’t know when he will be back with more music. Maybe he won’t. Who knows? But if we are all lucky he will grace us with new music sometime in the near future.
Why am I so obsessed you ask? Well, in true Lost Girl fashion, I have compiled a list of the reasons why JT is the greatest entertainer of our time!
The music. The reason why Justin’s music speaks to so many people, guys and girls alike, of all different walks of life, is because his music is GOOD. His lyrics are good. The beats, the rhythms, everything about it is good. His albums are the kind that you can listen to from beginning to end without skipping over songs. That’s a rare thing to find these days. He is respected in all different genres of music; pop, hip hop, r&b, rap, country…I have heard one of his songs on each of these type of radio stations. That’s pretty rare these days. His voice is amazing. He doesn’t need autotune or any of that, he is naturally talented. He can and will sing his heart out every single time.
He entertains. Have you ever been to a JT concert? If you haven’t you are truly missing out. He will have you dancing on your feet the whole entire time. He puts on an amazing show! He performs so much of his music that he actually takes an intermission and comes back for a whole second set. How many entertainers do that these days? You usually see an opening act, they set up the stage, and then the person you paid to see sings for an hour/hour and a half tops. Not Justin. He hits the ground running and does not stop! The man can dance his ass off! Seriously. And every concert truly is an experience of its own.
He’s versatile. Like I said before, Justin is respected in so many different genres. His music cannot be placed into just one category, it stretches out across the board. Also, something that is unique about JT, every time he puts out a new album it has a TOTALLY different feel from the one before. I remember hearing each and every first single that he released from each and every album he put out. I said the same thing each time “this is so different then everything that is out right now, this is so different then the stuff he has done before”. To reinvent yourself over and over like he has truly takes an artist. Not only is he well respected in the music scene, he also is respected in the acting community. He has been in some major movies with some major actors and definitely holds his own.
He doesn’t take himself too seriously. Celebs these days. They can’t laugh at themselves. Most of them seem too serious. It’s super annoying. But Justin…I mean, you’ve seen him on SNL. The dude is hilarious! There’s a reason why him and Jimmy Fallon get along so well. They are both so hysterical that it just works! There are not too many entertainers that can step out of their comfort zone the way that he can. And every time he does he knocks it out of the park!
He is freaking gorgeous. Okay, so I know this shouldn’t matter but it’s just an added bonus. Justin is absolutely gorge! He has a sense of style, he is confident, and well…just look at him! I could die! It’s too bad he’s happily married. Sigh.
So thank you Mr. JT. Thank you for years of entertainment, thank you for years of obsession and I do hope there are many more to come. And thank you for looking the way that you do. Because well, it’s nice. Very nice.
Hello friends, happy Wednesday! So as most of you know, I am getting married this summer. I had planned on it being a laid back enjoyable experience with little to no stress. I planned on being “the cool bride” who didn’t care too much about small little details that in the end wont matter. Boy, was I wrong. So very wrong! Now let me start by saying, everything started off smooth. My fiance and I decided to take our time planning to avoid the stress you usually associate with planning a wedding. It was going well for a while. Then we hit the one year mark. And things started to get crazy. For one reason and one reason only, my crazy Italian family! What is with Italians and weddings? Why must it be such a crazy experience to plan a wedding in an Italian family? I should tell you that I am the first in my family to get married. I am the oldest cousin on both sides. So yea, I get it, it’s a big deal. But madone everything that I decide on seems to be a problem with these people. The politics of who gets invited…”you can’t invite Cousin Anthony without inviting Cousin Marie”…”how are you not going to invite Jack and Lisa, they’ve been our friends for so many years”…”why are you inviting this guy? I don’t know him! I never met him”. Has the whole idea that the wedding should be about two people who are actually getting married gone totally out the window?
Now look, I’m not trying to be selfish. I want to please everyone but some things that are happening with my family…I feel like these things should have been established from the start. We decided on a smaller place for two reasons 1) we wanted a more intimate/rustic feel and 2) it’s a lot less expensive. Okay great! Everyone was on board…125-150 people max! What the hell happened? We’re at 160 right now and the list keeps on growing. Pretty soon our wedding will feel like a clown car where everyone is stuffed in to a space that is way too small. I wanted to avoid that at all costs!
Italians are crazy!!! They get offended over the silliest things. Who is going to be in the wedding party? Who is doing the readings? Who is walking Nanny down the aisle? If it were up to my family my whole entire family would be in the wedding party. I’m sure everyone else would love to sit through 60 people walking down the aisle at church. I mean by the time I walked down the aisle nobody would even care! I’m told that this is very normal. I’m trying to have patience but it is wearing thin!!!
Part of the problem is me. My fiance knows enough to just yes everyone to death and then we just do what we want. Smart man! Here’s the twist guys…my crazy Italian-ness makes me such a stubborn human being that I literally don’t know how to shut my mouth. So in the end, I’m just as crazy as they are. Isn’t that wonderful?
So I guess the moral of the story is Italians are crazy!!! I love my family but they are beyond NUTS! And so am I! Good luck to my fiance on marrying into this!
Okay guys, first of all, I must apologize. I’ve been a really bad blogger. My last post was exceptionally bitter and angry and I thought about taking it down but you know what? That’s how I felt at that moment in time so it stays. Anyway, the reason I have not been keeping up with this blog is because I have been insanely busy. Haven’t really had much time to write, let alone breathe. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit sometime soon and I can get back to it. Because of the busyness and craziness at work, I’ve been what you call a “Negative Nancy”…another reason why I haven’t been updating this. I don’t want this blog to turn into a series of Kristina rants so I’m trying to spare you.
So, now you know where I’ve been and how cranky I have been BUT there is some good news…it is my favorite month of the year (besides July) NOVEMBER! It is birthday month (yes that’s a thing…I get it from my Mom) and it’s the month of my favorite holiday Thanksgiving. I looooove Thanksgiving! Probably because I am obsessed with food (my Dad is an awesome cook) and I actually really enjoy my family. It’s just such a nice holiday. I love waking up and watching the parade. I love getting excited when Santa shows up in his sleigh (and then the Christmas season is allowed to begin). I love getting ready and heading over to my parents house. I love the way the house smells when you walk in. I love how every year at the end of the meal we say “that was way too much food, next year we have to cut down a course” but we never do. I love how every year my Dad threatens to have it catered because he doesn’t want to deal with all the work but he never gets it catered, he loves cooking too much. I love everything pumpkin (call me basic for that, I don’t care…it’s delicious and you know it!). I love every single second of Thanksgiving from beginning to end.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas too but it’s just so commercialized now. The meaning of Christmas is lost on so many people. They are playing Christmas music and commercials already and we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving yet. It’s ridiculous. They skip right over Thanksgiving (I’ve always been a fan of the underdog). I like the anticipation of Christmas. I like putting up the tree and wrapping presents and making cookies but I like it AFTER Thanksgiving.
Anyway, Happy November everybody! Enjoy this nice Fall weather before it turns into…snow (ugggh not looking forward to that).
One of my favorite things about the summer is all the fresh fruits and vegetables that are available. You can be so creative in the summer with your meals. Here are one of my favorite recipes that incorporates lots of fresh fruits and veggies and that can be used in many different ways.
Mango Salsa
Ingredients:
Mango (1 1/2)
Avocado (1)
Grape Tomatoes (1 package)
Red Onion (1/2)
Garlic (1 clove)
Lime (1)
Cilantro (I used a about 1/4 cup)
Olive Oil (About a tablespoon)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Jalapeño (1 – this is optional if you want a little heat)
Directions:
1. Chop everything up. Make sure your onion and garlic are chopped up really fine.
2. Mix mango, avocado, tomatoes, red onion and garlic (and jalapeño if you’re using that as well) all together in a bowl.
3. Squeeze the juice of one lime over all ingredients. Add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with cilantro.
4. Mix it up real good.
5. Chill in the fridge for a few hours.
5. Enjoy!!!
The best thing about this recipe is it is so versatile. You can use it for just about anything. Top off your grilled chicken or steak. Use it as salsa for tortillas chips at your next party. Mix it up with cooked shrimp for a delicious shrimp salad. You can use it in tacos, in a quesadilla, on top of burgers, salads…the possibilities are endless!
This past weekend I was lucky enough to score last minute tickets to Jay and Bey’s On The Run tour. If you know me, you know that I love music and especially love going to concerts. If it wasn’t for the ridiculous prices I would literally go to every single concert that I could! But I digress…
Jay Z. Beyonce. Dayummm. What a show! I’ve seen Jay Z before and was pretty impressed with his performance but besides seeing Destiny’s Child as an Opening Act, way back in 1990-something, I have never seen Beyonce live. This girl deserves all the praise that she gets. She can entertain like no one else. I could not keep my eyes off of her. When her and Jay Z shared the stage, I don’t even think I looked his way once. She is that unbelievable. The show had me on my feet dancing, singing, rapping, and throwing my diamond up from beginning to end. They started off with “03 Bonnie & Clyde” and then went back and forth with their own songs and ended with (as Jay Z always does) “Forever Young”. During “Forever Young”, a montage of their own home videos played out on the big screen, including footage from their wedding and their baby girl Blue, putting to rest the divorce rumors that have been spreading like wildfire (not to mention making me cry like a losahhh). I mean, maybe I’m falling into their “trap” but they looked genuinely happy to me. I can honestly say, Saturday night is the first time I saw Jay Z giggle…which he did numerous times in response to Beyonce’s playfulness towards him.
Anyway, I am now definitely part of the “Bey-hive”. All hail Queen Bey! In fact, I left that show thinking that I was Beyonce…because you know I’m flawless (I woke up like dis)…I’m even walking a little bit more fierce. Thanks for the confidence boost ‘Yonce!
The moral of the story is if you ever get the chance to see Beyonce live TAKE IT! Oh, and if you have some extra time go see that guy she’s married to also…JK, love you HOV!
Today was a very happy day. It was my 100th happy day to be exact! Some of you may have noticed on Instagram recently a hashtag that has been reoccurring on your friends’ pictures. For those of you who are not familiar with #100happydays and what it’s all about let me explain…
101 days ago, I decided to do an Instagram challenge, something that I have stayed away from for the most part, but I was intrigued by this particular challenge. Can you be happy for 100 days in a row? It is not an easy thing to do. But I wanted to try my best to complete the challenge. So I threw myself into the challenge with my #day1 picture the very next day. I even created my own personal hashtag (#kristinaishappy) to have all my happy pictures in one place. It wasn’t easy but somehow every single day I found something to be happy about. Even on days that weren’t so happy, this challenge helped me to look at my life and realize there is ALWAYS something positive surrounding me. You may have to look harder on certain days but there should always be something in your life, every single day, that can make you happy.
Looking back now, many of the pictures were typical…the beach, my fiancé, my family…but some were not so typical and actually surprised me. This challenge has taught me to always look for the positive in every situation, no matter how bad it may seem. I plan on carrying this with me from now on. What started out as a silly Instagram challenge has turned into a life lesson. So do you think you can do it? Can you be happy for 100 days? I encourage you to try, because the outcome just might surprise you.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve probably heard of CrossFit. I was first introduced to CrossFit about three years ago. My fiancé (who was my boyfriend at the time) had been doing it for a while and suggested that I try it. When he said this to me, I laughed in his face. Me? CrossFit? It didn’t sound like a good idea. I mean, I had always kept active through dance and cheerleading and various activities but by no stretch of the imagination did I ever picture myself lifting weights. On the rare occasions when I did go to the gym, I would literally hop on the elliptical for about ten minutes, get ridiculously bored, and then would try to make my way to the door unnoticed. Needless to say, I agreed to try it. I figured I’d do it once, tell him it wasn’t for me and that would be that.
Well, my plan didn’t go exactly the way I thought it would. I tried it once and was hooked. So what happened in between laughing in Rob’s face and calling myself a “CrossFit Girl”? The magic of CrossFit put a spell on me and I’m going to tell you why you should let it do the same for you…
Why Everyone Should Be Doing CrossFit
The Health Benefits: Let’s start with the obvious here – exercising is good for you! It relieves stress, it makes you stronger, it keeps you healthy, it gives you a sexy bod (which will make you happier, let’s be real). CrossFit takes these health benefits to another level. The stories you hear from people are absolutely amazing, people who were 50 pounds overweight who lost the weight in record time, people who rid themselves of asthma, people who were borderline diabetics that turned their whole lives around. It is inspiring.
The Progress: CrossFit helps you to see what you’re body is truly capable of. Things you would never believe in a million years it could do. A few months into CrossFit, I was doing pull-ups! For some people this isn’t a big deal but for me it was HUGE. I had little to no upper body strength when I started (I could barely hang on the bar), and now I was able to do several pull ups in a row, and eventually was able to incorporate them in workouts. And it never stops. For as long as you are doing CrossFit, you will continue to progress, to get better, to get stronger, to add more and more PRs (Personal Records) to the board. You will never plateau at CrossFit. There is always room to grow.
Mighty Mouse!
The Feeling: There was something special about picking up that barbell. There is a sense of empowerment that comes along with it. I always feel alive when I’m working out. Even if it’s an “off day”, I feel good. Not to mention, you feel pretty badass hauling weight over your head, especially if you are 4’11 like me. When I tell people that I CrossFit they are usually shocked. “But you’re so little” they say. Yeah, and what’s your point? That’s the thing about CrossFit, it literally doesn’t matter what your body type is, your weight, your height, everyone is at different levels…and that’s okay! Which brings me to my next point…
The Support: I have never seen such a supportive group of people as I have seen with CrossFit. Everyone cheers each other on. In fact, if you finish last in a WOD (workout of the day) you will get more cheers than if you finish first! People will help you as much as they can if you are struggling. They will offer you advice if you need it. They want to see you succeed. A crazy concept, I know, but it’s true! You will get more support at CrossFit than any other gym you go to, I can promise you that. You will also get unbelievable support from your coaches. They are there for you every step of the way, on call even if you need them!
The Fun: CrossFit is fun. Period. Like I said before, I used to get SO BORED at the gym. I am never bored at CrossFit. The workouts are fun. It feels more like playtime than working out. You’re there with your friends, you’re listening to music, you’re having a good time! There might be a little friendly competition going on and that makes things interesting. The fun is motivation, it keeps you going. It keeps you coming back for more.
The Community: This happens to be my favorite part of CrossFit. Your CrossFit friends will become your family. You will not only spend time working out with them, you will be hanging out with them on the weekends, going on vacations with them, inviting them to your wedding. A month or so into CrossFit, you won’t be able to remember how life was without these people. For me, after college I felt a little bummed out. I always had some sort of social aspect that went hand and hand with a hobby of mine. In college, I was involved in a dance company and all of my friends were from that company (Yay TERPS!). So when I graduated, I was missing that sense of belonging to something, that sense of friendship…I looked for a while for it but there are not too many things as an “adult” comparable to what I experienced with my dance company. When I found CrossFit and found that second family that came along with it, I felt whole again. It was what I was missing in my life and I’m sure glad I found it.
There are probably a million more reasons why everyone should be CrossFitting, and maybe one day I’ll take this post a little further but for now I think you have what you need to at least be tempted to try. Let me just say this, If you are scared to try it, don’t be!!! If I can do it, literally, anyone in the world can do it. You go at your own pace, the coaches will modify workouts if need be. It is the best thing out there right now if you are trying to get in shape, be healthy, be active, and most importantly, have fun!
If you want to try CrossFit, find a “box” near you and take an intro class! There are CrossFits everywhere these days so it won’t be hard to find! If you’re on the North Shore of Long Island, come workout with me at RADD!!! #shamelessplug 😉
ucky he will grace us with new music sometime in the near future.
ot be placed into just one category, it stretches out across the board. Also, something that is unique about JT, every time he puts out a new album it has a TOTALLY different feel from the one before. I remember hearing each and every first single that he released from each and every album he put out. I said the same thing each time “this is so different then everything that is out right now, this is so different then the stuff he has done before”. To reinvent yourself over and over like he has truly takes an artist. Not only is he well respected in the music scene, he also is respected in the acting community. He has been in some major movies with some major actors and definitely holds his own.
Lost Girl's Guide to the World 