Breakfast and lunch anyone?

I hope all of you guys had a great weekend! I did some bridal dress shopping, but I will  get into that at a later post. However, I did promise you guys my fruit smoothie recipe and I also have this great soup recipe (especially with the cold months coming in, who doesn't want a great soup recipe?) that I got from my Martha Stewart Living magazine, because I love everything Martha Stewart (and also Barefoot Contessa).

My fiance makes my fruit smoothies the night before. We buy frozen fruit and I usually buy blueberries, raspberries and a fruit mix with mangoes, peaches, and strawberries (I get the Welch's brand). I am usually one that likes to save a couple of dollars, however, I had the worst experience with the Stop and Shop store brand of mixed fruit, which contained mangoes, strawberries, peaches, and pineapples. It was gross. Left a horrible after taste in my mouth and I couldn't even finish it. That bag was promptly thrown out. Make sure you pick your frozen fruit wisely!

So I don't know how much my fiance puts into it, but he eye balls it as he tells me. You need three ingredients:

- Frozen fruit of your choice (about a cup)
- Whole milk (or almond milk if lactose)
- Greek yogurt (plain) or Whole Milk Plain Yogurt (I either buy Chobani when it is on sale, or Stonyfield for regular yogurt) - if lactose, don't use it!

Blend ingredients together. Add milk and yogurt depending on how thick you would like the smoothie to be.

You can substitute ingredients with your own, but this is how I make them. Seth plays around with how thick my smoothie will adding more or less yogurt. I like mine a little thicker. It's flavorful and filling, but I always add either two hard boil eggs or a Fiber One granola bar. And that is my breakfast after my morning workouts during the week.

This is a blueberry/raspberry smoothie

Last night, I made a spicy sausage, lentil and escarole salad soup. You can find it here

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 12 ounces spicy Italian sausage, removed from casing
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped (3/4 cup)
• 1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (2 tablespoons)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1 small head escarole, thinly sliced (5 cups)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add sausage, carrots, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up sausage into bite-size pieces, until meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, 3 cups water, and lentils. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toss escarole with lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Top stew with escarole salad, drizzle with more oil, and serve.

Side notes: I definitely used a medium sized onion, but I love onion. This was really easy to make and I heated up leftovers for lunch today and it was great. You can substitute spicy sausage to sweet, but I love a little spice in my food. 

Thanks Martha Stewart Living for an awesome October recipe :)

Happy cooking, everyone!

Disconnecting from Facebook

It has been over a week since I posted last! I am telling you, work and school have me in a bind because whenever I have a free moment, I either A) have to study B) clean the house C) clean the house D) exercise E) Sleep F) All the above. I am hoping that after Monday, (I had an exam last night and another one on Monday) I can be a bit more regular with the blog posting. This is what happens when you have a lot going on, plus wedding planning. So much to do, and so little time. So little time, in fact, I really haven't had a chance to read because all I am reading these days are stuff for school. Reading is my favorite thing to do above anything else, so not being able to read as much as I was this past year is bringing me down! However, I will definitely get some reading in when I travel to Guatemala in two weeks!
However, this post today is steering away from some of passions. I have decided, that after one too many racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, xenophobic posts on Facebook from one too many people, I am going to take a break from it. You ask, well Karina, why don't you delete the people who are basically scum? I say, because I want to know how people really feel and not what Facebook projects. I grew up in a very white, Italian town. I was one of the minorities, being half Latina. However, I am pretty light skinned though "exotic looking" as people would say so I never had a problem blending in. My town did not have many Hispanic or black families. We had a small Asian population, but that was really about it. While a lot of people grew up and went out of state for school and others just were open minded, there are still some people who can't see out of there own back yard and I find it very sad. I could never live a life where I hated anyone who was different then me or from a different religion. There is too much hate and I don't need to see that. The sad thing is, their children will continue the cycle of hate. That is the saddest thing. I will miss follow Humans of New York, so I hope he's on Instagram.
I believe that if you exude positive energy, you're going to get positive energy back. "Life's tough, get a helmet" as Eric Matthews said in Boy Meets World, but you don't need to be a miserable and hateful person. I don't need to see the stupid memes people can't research that are blatant lies or whatever garbage they need to rant about that day. So, this is my good bye letter to Facebook. It can't be forever. I have family overseas who do see my pictures of my family and I want to make sure they get to view those. My next sign on will be to upload photos from Guatemala, and then take another break. Also, I may or may not have messaged my fiance's girlfriend, but she can get my number from someone else. Whoops!

I will post a recipe later today on my fruit smoothies. I had a terrible one this morning, and that was not the fault of my fiance who makes them, but my frozen fruit selection!

Stay positive, guys. Life is beautiful. Just stop for a moment and take a look.

-Karina

From my hike with my friend and fellow blogger, Becky. This was taken  out in Rockville, RI at the Boy Scout Camp. They have great hiking trails. 

Engagement Party Glow

Sorry for such a belated post, guys! Work and school have been so busy this week that I haven't had a chance to give you an adequate post! 

My engagement party was wonderful. We picked a restaurant that was equidistant for everyone. I live about 60+ miles away from my parents, so picking a place in the middle of no where Connecticut seemed like a daunting tax, but after doing a little research and asking a client about it, we settled on Grille 37. It was perfect for the size of our party, fourteen people. We had our own private room and we were able to converse amongst each other. I really enjoyed the food. We kept it small on purpose. My fiancé has a large family, while mine is much smaller. We settled on immediate family plus one of my aunts whom I am close to, and then we invited a couple who we are close with. My older sister was unable to make it. I'll let you guess how I feel about that!

Seth, me, my younger sister and her boyfriend 

It was a really great night. With my weight loss and toning seeming to make a difference, I felt great in my Lulu's dress. I was worried about trying it on because I knew it was going to be a more fitted dress and when I bought the dress 2 months ago, I definitely had some work cut out for me. However, tried it on and it fit like a glove. Here is the link for the dress. It's $42 and also comes in different colors. Lulu's always has sales and you get 10% off your first order when you sign up for their emails. I have bought a bunch of dresses off of their site and I have loved each and every one of them. I also don't think I have ever paid full price! 

Link to dress: http://m.lulus.com/products/lulus-exclusive-top-notch-ivory-midi-dress/139538.html

I paired my dress with a few Alex and Ani bangles and wore my anchor stud earrings. I didn't wear a necklace because I didn't think it would pop with my dress. I wore blue Enzo Angiolini pointed pumps (not pictured) and made sure to have a spare pair of flip flops in the car! I did light make up. I do not wear makeup in my every day life, mostly because I am lazy. I did eye shadow and mascara, and that was it. 

Here is a little bit of my eyeshadow game, along with my kitten, Zelda. 

I'm not the best with make up so my smokey eye game is not up to par. One of these days. But I would like to say, I am so glad we had a small party. It was so easy to talk to everyone. I mean, yes, we accidentally scheduled it during the Patriot's game, but we DVR'd it and stayed over at my friend's place to watch. If you're someone who wants a big engagement party, go for it. Myself, I like a more intimate gathering. 

Well I am off to nurse my hip. I ran two miles this afternoon and it is pretty sore! 

-Karina 

Friday Fun Day

Happy Friday all! We are this close to a three day weekend (for some, if not most of you). I am looking forward to a weekend filled with workouts, family, football and my engagement dinner. It is a family only affair, though I did invite a couple friend of ours that we are really close with and will be coming with us on our wedding adventure. Our families are meeting for the first time, so while I am excited I am a little nervous! Also, I made a scheduling fail because my dad wanted an early dinner so I scheduled it for 5:00 and the Patriots are playing at 4:25. Basically, the night is ruined and we should just cancel.

I didn't want my first official post to be about working out because it isn't my focus, but I was so happy to put my jeans on this morning and this fit so much better then they did four weeks ago. I was dreading putting them on, because they had been uncomfortably tight, to the point where I had to unbutton my pants (sometimes while sitting at my desk at work) and I didn't want to buy new pants. I hadn't been working out as much as I should have due to injuries sustained from a car accident last November. I am only starting to get better. I still am recovering from injuries to my left shoulder, neck, back and right hip. I have been to three different physical therapist, and the third one I am with now has been the best one. I have always done my exercises, but never got the manual therapy that I needed to really get better. I have been eating healthy. I don't drink soda, fast food, candy or any other "bad foods". However, I wasn't losing weight. I was also getting depressed over it. Thankfully, I found my current therapist and now that I am finally on the mend, I am able to workout and run again.

The program I am following is through Tone It Up (www.toneitup.com). I do not follow their nutrition plan. I will use some recipes, but my fiancé and I do our own cooking and that has been working out well for us. However, I am following their workout weekly schedule and I absolutely love it. It isn't grueling, which is great for someone like me who hasn't worked out in a long time and coming back from injury. I am back to running again which has been great. If you're looking for great workout routines, and there is something different every day, this is a wonderful program to follow. Seth calls them "the giggling ladies" when he watches me work out. He does not do this with me, haha, not that I would expect him to! Their workouts incorporate yoga and kettle bells, which I love, though I still need to purchase kettle bells, but they are so expensive! Seth and I will be getting them as a Christmas gift because we both really want them!

This morning, there was a great arms and abs workout that I've done and I love it. I felt so great this morning and putting on my jeans, I felt even better. I've lost 3.5 pounds (as of Sunday) since September 22 (when I went to my primary doc where I was at the heaviest I've been at 139). I'm 5'4", and I would love to get down to 130, at least. I let my stomach go to a little fluff and I am noticing it is becoming less fluffy. I'll take it! I will be continuing with the Tone it up program since I am in their Fit for Fall Charity Challenge, which is to run 100 miles in 56 days. While I don't think my hip can handle all of that running, I am definitely going to give it a hell of a try.

If you're coming back from injury or looking for a great way to jump start your work outs, I would definitely give Tone It Up a try. I can't speak to the nutrition program, but I did buy their Beach Babe 2 DVD (I got the digital download), and it's a great way to supplement workouts.

If you guys have any other workout programs that you think would be great, leave a comment or shoot an email. I would love to hear feedback!

Have a happy and safe Columbus Day Weekend!

~Karina

My kitty Zelda and I after our Tone It Up Arms and Abs workout this morning

Introduction and Welcome

Hello world

Welcome to my new lifestyle blog, La Vida Exquisita, meaning the exquisite life in Spanish. I believe there is so much more to life than the misery that can encapsulate us via the news and people who we interact with, so I find it very important to always focus on the positive. I know that can be hard, and I also have a tendency to find myself focusing on the negative, whether that be about my weight or not having enough money or just complaining about something inane. I have to remind myself daily that life IS good and that I am very lucky to be where I am today.

This first post will just be a introduction about myself and where I hope this blog will go. My name is Karina, I am 28 living in the glorious New England area of the United States. I love the four seasons, so until I am old and retire, you will not see me itching to leave any time to head down South. I am engaged to my awesome fiancé Seth, who inspires me and pushes me every day to be a better me. I know that sounds corny, but it's true. Owen Wilson once said "true love is your soul's recognition in it's counterpoint in another" which is absolutely true in this case. I can't wait to marry my best friend but I will talk more about that in another post. We live in a large over sized ranch shared with two kittens, Zelda and Oliver, and a dog, Rondo. We are both accountants and our love story began on Tinder, where we both swiped right even though we lived over 60 miles away. Who would have thought a app I had downloaded as a way to pass the time would lead me to such a wonderful guy? Okay, okay. Enough sap!

A little bit about my interests: I love to travel, exercise, read, and do yoga. I kind of like running. I enjoy cooking with Seth and doing typical New England things like heading to the beach in the summer eating lobster rolls and picking apples and going to farmer's markets. Seth and I do not eat out often, and do a lot of cooking at home. I love trying new recipes and I am always on the lookout for something different to try because my palette does not enjoy eating the same thing over and over again.

What I am hoping to share with you guys in this blog is travel tips, places to travel, shares places I have traveled and will be traveling to. Also, recipes and exercises. Running tips, motivation, and financial advice (I am an accountant after all, and Seth and I are both going for our CFP). I also want to share how the wedding planning is (or isn't going) and have a few contributors on fashion and food. Maybe a few book reviews and suggestions along the way.  I am excited to see this blog take shape and have been inspired from a fellow blogger and friend who started up her own holistic blog. That gave me the motivation to start planning out my own. Can't wait to get this up and running!

Just a picture of myself and Seth