Tuesday Tips for a Safe Summer

It’s summer! Well at least for the northern hemisphere, but eventually it will be summer where ever you are. Here are some important safety tips that you should keep in mind for this sunny season.

Drink Water: I am guilty for not drinking enough water, but hey, I’m trying to change. Dehydration is more likely to happen if you are out in the sun and not filling yourself with fluids. If you don’t like the taste of water, try using Crystal Light or those Mio things (though I’ve never tried them but I hear they are tasty).

Eat an Apple: If you are having an uneventful summer, sometimes you start to eat random snack foods in your house without realizing it. If you find yourself in that situation, grab an apple! Not only is an apple very filling, but it is low-cal and 84% water, which will keep you hydrated.

Wear Sunscreen/Sunblock: It is SO important to protect your skin from harmful UV rays. I suggest you get some type of lotion that suits your needs in order to avoid sunburn. If you would like to find out if you are a Sunblock or Sunscreen person, read my previous blog post! http://mitsege.blogspot.com/2012/06/thrifty-thursday.html

Wear Sunglasses: Like you should protect your skin, you should protect your eyes from harmful UV rays. As well as protection, it is a key safety feature. Sun creates glare that can blur vision when driving. Also, because a less forceful light is entering your eyes, sunglasses improve vision and reduce eyestrain/headache.

Those are my summer tips. Stay safe everyone!

Source: http://www.eyetopics.com/articles/29/1/Five-Reasons-You-Should-Wear-Sunglasses.html
Photo Cred: http://appleadayproject.wordpress.com/
http://www.makems.com/graphics/tag/sunglasses

Thrifty Thursday / DIY Friday: Tie-Dye

Tie-Dye

During the summer, it’s not always necessary to wear your designer shirts with multiple layers. Why it may be fashionable, it can also be toasty to wear. Tie-dyed shirts display fun colors that reflect summer as well as being a low-maintenance and cool summer clothing piece.

Last month, my friend invited me to tie-dye t-shirts with her and her sister. I had never tie-dyed shirts and wasn’t expecting much out of this, but it was a lot of fun! It was interesting tying your shirts in different knots and dying the different sections. The best part was definitely seeing the results, so here are some that I did!

Swirl Technique

Bullseye Technique

You can buy tie-dye kits at Michaels and other craft stores. So go buy a kit, invite some friends and have a blast designing your own summer t-shirts!

Tuesday Tips: Summer Fruits

Summer Fruits

Yesterday I visited my local farmer’s market and realized that the summer offers such yummy fruits! But don’t be fooled, not all fruits are in season during the summer. I mean I can’t tell you how many times I went to the store to pick up a juicy looking orange, only to bite into it and be utterly disappointed because it wasn’t in season. So here are some tips on how to avoid that potentially disgusting situation!

1. Do Research: Go to the grocery store already having a list of fruits that you know will be tasty and refreshing.
2. Examine the fruit: Just because it is in season, doesn’t mean that you will be having a party in your mouth. Look at the piece of fruit you are about to buy carefully, for damages and color. (The color of a certain fruit can sometimes tell you if it will be sweet/tart)
3. Incorporate out of season fruits: I do this a lot. I will take out of season fruits (this doesn’t mean they are spoiled, just not as great) and mix them with other fruits that are in season to make a great tasting smoothie!
4. Buy different forms of fruit: If there is a certain fruit you just CANNOT live without, you don’t have to buy the actual fruit! Many fruits these days are available frozen, dried, canned, and juiced.

 So now here is a list of fruits that are in season for the summer!

Local Farmer's Market

-Apricots
-Blackberries
-Blueberries
-Boysenberries
-Cantaloupe
-Cherries
-Grapefruit
-Grapes
-Kiwi
-Limes
-Passion fruit
-Peaches
-Plums
-Raspberries
-Strawberries
-Watermelon

Some year-round fruits include: Apples, Bananas, Coconuts, Lemons, and Papayas.

I wish you all a happy, succesful and delicious summer fruit shopping season!

Source: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/

Bandwagon Saturday!

Frozen Yogurt

So with the summer months being in our presence, a lot of people are looking for delicious frozen treats to enjoy with their friends, family, by themselves in a dark corner… any occasion! I feel like this summer, people have veered away from ice cream and taken a healthier and very delicious turn towards frozen yogurt. I have taken notice of two frozen yogurt wonderlands: Pinkberry and Sweet Frog. I've tasted both of these yummy places just for you!

First off, Sweet Frog

 

Okay, I’m not going to lie, Sweet Frog is pretty amazing. I feel like the whole idea is just perfect because it’s self serve yogurt and topping bar. To me the best part is that they charge by the weight. Yogurt doesn’t weight that much, so you can get the biggest cup and not pay that much more then you would with the smaller cup (which isn’t that much smaller). On top of that, the flavor is really delicious. If you are the type of person who likes ice cream without all the calories, Sweet Frog is the place for you. It tastes just like ice cream!

Next, Pinkberry

A lot of people will say that Pinkberry and Sweet Frog are the same. In my opinion, THEY ARE WRONG! Besides the fact that they are both frozen yogurt with toppings, the flavor and set up is different. Unlike Sweet Frog, Pinkberry isn’t self serve. The barista will ask you what flavor and toppings you want… kind of like a subway. Anyway, Pinkberry is also GREEK yogurt, so you can definitely taste the yogurt in this frozen treat. I actually really like Pinkberry’s flavor, it’s sweet and tangy and overall very tasty.

All in all, BOTH places are perfect for the hot summer weather. If you want something more like ice cream, go to Sweet Frog. But if you like the natural taste of yogurt (but in a frozen form) Pinkberry is the place for you!

Photo Creds: https://anibaez.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/weekend-inspiration/

https://www.facebook.com/SweetFrogGSO?filter=1

DIY Friday: Summer Edition

So, school is finally over and you’re probably gonna be heading to some sort of beach. Or you’ll be home the whole time. Either way, everyone wants a nice beach bag to collect stuff (or dust if you’re stuck at home).

Well let’s say you can’t go shopping to get your own bag? Well, fret not, because you can always do-it-yourself! There are plenty of tutorials that let you cut up your tank tops and shirts into beautiful bags!

Wait a second. But you don’t want to cut a tank top that you bought with your parents’ hard eacned money, do you? Of course not, because that’d be wrong. So I have a solution.

No-Cut Tank Top Bag:

If you’re all wondering who that wondrous model was, it’s my jumbo teddy bear, Logan. No he doesn’t do runway, but he’s considering commercial modeling.

Thrifty Thursday!

Sunblock and Sunscreen 

So up to this point in my life, I never really realized that there is actually a difference between sunblock and sunscreen. Naturally you are now begging me to answer your question “What is the difference?!

 So here it is:

--Sunscreen has properties in it that actually absorb the sunlight and UV rays while at the same time reducing the harmful rays that do damage to your skin. Typically when you put on sunscreen, it comes on clearer and easily washes off. Sunscreen is probably the better of the two skin protecting lotions for tanning.

--Sunblock has properties in it that block the UV rays and stop them from reaching your skin altogether! Sunblock is generally thicker and a little more difficult to wash off. This is why you can put sunblock on before going out into the sun and won’t have to re-apply if your skin gets wet from swimming at the beach or whatever.

So you can find sunscreen almost anywhere, but finding good sunblock is a little harder to find. Luckily I know just the place where you can get some!!

The Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock is the best sunblock I have found thus far! Unlike other sunblocks, it comes on like sunscreen (so without the really thick white film) yet still has the protection of a sunblock. You can find this lovely product at Target for around $10 and a little goes a long way!

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/72721-difference-between-sunscreen-sunblock/