Throwback Thursday - Catalina Island

Throwback Thursdays (a.k.a #tbt) are some of my favorite pictures to go through on Instagram.  I have yet to post one, but I thought it would be fun to do so here on my blog.  It was a bit hard to decide which memory to share but I settled with our trip to Catalina Island from two years ago.  This little island quickly became one of my favorite places to visit and now holds a very special place in my heart.

After a very demanding and stressful couple of months, I am beyond ready to be magically transported back to this little island.  I experienced some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets I have ever seen.  Keep scrolling and you will see....

The villa was quite spacious with lovely french doors leading to the balcony.  Upon arriving, we immediately noticed candles lit all around the place.  The placed screamed romance...all we were missing was a bottle of champagne and rose pedals on the bed, hehe. 

This trip was an all R & R mini vacation.  Maybe that is why it was just perfect. 

Sunrise

 See what I mean?

Sunset

Just looking at this beautiful sunset makes me feel at peace (again).  This mini-vacation allowed us to be still for a moment and reflect on the God who made and gave us life.  Enjoying this moment without an agenda of places to go to or people to see.  God is truly wonderful!

 

The best part about this trip was spending it with my wonderful husband.  How cute is he with that smile, huh?

I hope to go back soon, like really really soon!  Do you have a place you wish you could visit this very moment?  Maybe it's a place you've never been to or one that holds a special place in your heart, just like Catalina Island?

I hope you have a fantastic day and an even better weekend.

Until next time,

Karina

Salad in a Jar

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  My husband and I took today off from work and truly enjoyed having that extra time to spend with each other.  We started our day with some  protein pumpkin pancakes (recipe here) then headed to the theater to watch Iron Man 3 (loved it!).  After that we went to our local bookstore where we spent a couple hours browsing through some of our favorite magazines, and then concluded our date with some delicious sandwiches from a local shop.  What a blessing it was to take time off to recharge and relax. 

We were blessed with absolutely wonderful weather.  It was perfect!  I so wish it was like this every single day, but so much for wishful thinking.   According to the Weather Channel, we will be enduring 100 degree weather sometime next week, yikes!  Oh, and speaking of hot summer days, I tried an idea I found on Pinterest a few weeks back.  Salad in a jar.  If you are a salad enthusiast like me, then you will understand my excitement.  Besides, anything in a mason jar is way cuter. :)

I was intrigued by the concept, yet it took me a while to actually try it because I was a bit very skeptical on whether the ingredients (especially the lettuce) would stay fresh for a whole week.  One day while trying to find new lunch recipes for work that would help keep our grocery budget under control, we decided to give this a go.  By the way, if any of you have any tips on how to save money on groceries, please feel free to leave your tips in the comment section below.  We can't seem to find the magic formula. 

I even tried planning my meals - here is my proof.  Okay, back to the subject at hand, the salads were not only easy to assemble but they lasted all week.  The best part about the salads is how versatile they are.  I made mine with quinoa, egg whites, garbanzo beans, cherry tomatoes, black beans, romaine lettuce and spinach, and my dressing consisted on lemon mixed in with balsamic vinegar.  They were so good!   I added grilled chicken to my husband's salads and he loved them as well.  I have tons of different ingredients I want to add to mine next, such as grilled veggies with some nuts for a little crunch. 

Please keep in mind that how you layer your salad is key for this to work.  The last thing you want is to open your jar and realize that your leafy greens went from fresh and crispy the night before to soggy and not so appetizing the next day.  If you follow this guide, you will have fresh and ready to eat salads all week long.

• Salad dressing
• Grains 
• Hard veggies
• Protein
• Leafy greens

When ready to eat, simply shake the jar to incorporate the dressing well into the other ingredients and pour into a bowl.  Voila! 

Let me know if you have tried or plan to try this salad in a jar concept.  As always, I would love to hear all about what combinations worked best for you!

Until next time,
Karina

What She Wore

Hi!

It's been a while, right?  I know!  Although I haven't posted on here for a while, I have been working behind the scenes to give this blog a little makeover.  If you've visited my blog before you may have noticed the new design.  What do you think?  Do you like it? It's still a work in progress but I like what I see. :)

This next post is different from what I've shared in the past, but I thought it would be fun to share some ideas of the types of outfits I wear to work.  I work in an office environment, so I try to keep it as professional as possible Monday through Thursday, but kick it down a notch or two for casual Fridays (my favorite!).  Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with an eye for fashion so I quickly learned to be resourceful and "borrow" ideas from the experts. :)  I like to wear pieces that can be easily paired with basics, so that means lots of neutrals!  I don't have a set style as I like to wear pieces that are comfortable yet versatile. 

By the way, please excuse the bad quality pictures (these were taken with my iTouch).

 

Skirt: J.Crew

Top: Ann Taylor

Shoes: Target black pumps

Top: Forever 21

Skirt: Macys

Shoes: Target 

Watch: Guess

Top: Unknown (bday gift)

Jeans: Express

Shoes: Target

Nude belt: Target

Top: Express

Blazer: H&M

Jeans: 7 For All Mankind

Shoes: Target 

Watch: Guess 

Bracelet: Express

I hope you had a great weekend!  I can't hardly wait for the holiday weekend coming up.  Do you have any special plans?  My husband and I are planning a trip to the beach, so I am beyond excited for a day of relaxation and delicious food!

Until next time,
Karina

TINYCHAT Addicted...?

Long time no see BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWERS!!

It has been so long since I have actually blogged about anything....

I really want to talk about this site in particularly called Tinychat. If you ever wanna meet, talk, wanna say hi to me somehow, I have been on Tinychat for the longest time and this is one way you can catch me online doing something and actually talk to me in person than giving you all my Skype or anything. There is a lot to talk about on Tinychat but I'm gonna start with when and how I started and how it's really addicting.

I may warn you, once you kinda of start tinychat, you will have a hard time stopping even during studying, family events, or anything. I will teach you ways and how you can avoid all these bad steps.

About Tinychat:

Tinychat is an online chat room area where you can chat with people online and lots of people all over the world from Germany to Japan. It's free and you can make an account if you want and pay for it and you'll be a pro..!! You can room hop and just to say, you can be a troll but if you want to make online friends that will last, I would recommend that you don't. Tinychat has been around for a short time but has made lots of people meet and have great friendships all around. The only thing about Tinychat is that people do come and go so make sure you kind of make a good first impression.

ME AND TINYCHAT:

For me, I started Tinychat about 9/8 months ago. Around the summer last year cause I didn't have much to do last summer. I suddenly became addicted to tinychat over the summer and when fall came around, I began to get on tinychat like Once every BLUE MOON. Just recently this past month have I been addicted to TINYCHAT in general. I really enjoy it and make lots of random friendships. If you have anymore questions about Tinychat, do not hesitate to e-mail me at officialitsfrany@yahoo.com and I am willing to answer all your questions.

Tinychat in General is very addicting and once you start, it get tricky to leave sometimes. You'll have so much fun talking to people and once you make fun connections and make great friends online, you kind of don't ever want to leave. If you make nice relationships  you kinda wanna make sure you have a Skype too. It's a great way of keeping contact with people on Tinychat if you don't ever get back on. Just another way to make your connections stay stronger with people you wanna stay in contact with. Sometimes you can meet them in real life depending on who you want to meet and where you are going. This all depends on how well you communicate with people and how well your friendship lies with them all the way too!!

TINYCHAT TIPS ON SURVIVING:

Now you guys are all wondering, 

"SURVIVING TINYCHAT?!! It's just a regular online chat. No need to survive or anything like that."

It is but the other thing is, If you find a chat room that you really like and want to always come back too, t's harder from there like, real hard. I say this from experience and from all the times I have been on Tinychat.

RULES:
1) When you first start tinychat or get on tinychat, depending on how you look and I am saying this because it's really true. I know it doesn't sound right at all but it's all about your looks when you wanna make a first impression, EVERYONE wants to hit on you, wants a piece of you, or wants your attention... Do not take it to heart all the time. It's not bad too but make sure you can tell the difference between people trolling and people being serious.

2) I suggest making an account because you'll enjoy it. It really doesn't have to be pro. If you go on tinychat long enough and people like you, you'll see the benefits of making friends on tinychat.

3) Dress to Impress and Choose a NAME that will last. I say this from experience  I sometimes don't but people are use to me not wearing makeup all the time. If you want to make an impression for a while, kinda look your best. Not only that, Choose a name that people will remember for sure. Some people choose names that standout like.... limbo, harhar, loveholic, marryme, and etc. It can be funny names that will make people remember.

4) Go to a chat room that you think will like you or that is suitable for you. I'll be honest, when I first started, I went to Asian chat rooms first because it would be easy to make a connection. Now, I go to a ton of random chats and enjoy making tons and tons of friends online.
5) Your information is Important. Don't say, do, or give out info that you don't want to be trolled with. Your name is something that can be shared if you want. Anything personal, THAT IS UP TO YOU! I don't give out information like that unless people ask me personally and I trust them. Only give people you feel like you can trust your information. Same with your Skype if you have one. Only give to those who you can trust. Don't just randomly give it out like crazy cause if you do, It gets really scary...!!

OVERALL, Just enjoy your time on Tinychat. If you make it fun, it will be fun for sure and always be open minded and don't take things to heart all the time. People do like trolling on Tinychat a lot.

You'll enjoy it and maybe, You might never leave. It doesn't matter what race, where you are from, and who you are. Just come join to have fun with use!!!

Here are some photos for fun that we all take:

Any questions, please do e-mail me at officialitsfrany@yahoo.com or message me on Youtube.

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING

I will blog more soon!!