July 30, 2019
3 Steps To A Perfect Staycation
Everyone travels in the summer, except me! Where is the quick trip that I’ve been waiting for? Against all odds, I pulled off the perfect staycation in 3 easy steps.
Everyone travels in the summer, except me! Where is the quick trip that I’ve been waiting for? Against all odds, I pulled off the perfect staycation in 3 easy steps.
There are some things you have to do when you come to Austin or people won’t believe you actually visited. Think: BBQ, South Congress & 6th Street. There’s absolutely no lack of entertainment, food, and adventure in Austin, Texas – it’s just a matter of whether or not you can get it all done. My thoughts are with you as you try to achieve that goal.If you knock everything off this list, you will have fulfilled your Austin experience & left nothing behind!
WOOT WOOT! Holiday times are right around the corner & this year I’m ready for it! I already have my tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet scheduled. If that doesn’t mean festive, I don’t know what does. If you’ve been following me, you know there have been plenty of years that I let the holiday season pass by me, not this time! Lez go.
Living in Austin, it’s really hard to ignore the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The city is consumed with people, music & one big party. Admittedly I’m not a big music festival person – traveling to different cities to knock out big festivals. I’m too tired. But I join in Austin’s because I can participate at my own pace & go to my own home afterwards. And I can’t say I don’t like dressing in the festival gear, minus glitter because that’ll follow you around all year.
I used to use blogging as a journal, I would write down everything I did. “I made eggs for breakfast, I’m so tired today, I’m happy it’s Tuesday”. You OG Missbassmaster readers may remember, throwback to Dubai days. But I haven’t blogged like that in a while. Today, I’m taking you back, because I’m moving – not cities, just apartments. I thought it was worthy of a full What’s Up with Me post because it falls in line with my allergy situation & I like keeping you updated on that journey.
If you assume I prefer cooking over baking, you’re 100% correct. I’m the ultimate worst at baking. And don’t think I haven’t tried. Every cookie is flat, every brownie is burnt, and every cake crumbles. Throw in the fact that I’m not a major dessert person, I leave it up to Nothing Bundt Cakes or Hu Chocolate bars & skip baking entirely.
There’s nothing better than finding a good Netflix list. It’s arguably better than finding a $20 bill in your pocket. This list isn’t solely Netflix picks, but why limit ourselves? It’s 2018, don’t act like Netflix is the only thing you have on your TV’s.
My list is excellent if I do say so myself. The perfect amount of feel-good, comedy, drama, suspense w a mix between movies & series. Also, I did my best not to include the obvious: Chef, Orange is the New Black, New Girl, Friends, ect. If you haven’t already watched those 900 times over, I don’t know how to approach you.
We shall wait no longer…
The Nordstrom Sale is my excuse to shop there! Nordstrom is not my number 1 place to shop throughout the year, but come the anniversary sale, seeing all the fashion bloggers talk about it, I get major FOMO.
I’m a professional SALE shopper. I don’t like wearing the same outfit everyday because I like shopping, therefore I don’t want to spend major money on 1 sweater. I’ll feel like I need to wear the sweater 246 days in a row to make sense of the purchase.
The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is all the rage because it’s brand name & new items w discounts. You won’t have to dig through racks of damaged clothes or items from last season – the sale is all new, trending, and ready for fall. Mmmmmmmkay.
My thoughts on the Nordstrom Sale? Look for the major savings. Get those brand name pieces you wouldn’t typically purchase, that you’ll use/wear for a long time, and stop at that
FOOD & ALCOHOL! This is a topic that I’m becoming more familiar with than I ever wanted to be. I always knew food & alcohol had a special place in everyone’s lives but had no idea the true significance.
Every time you turn on the TV I can promise you’ll see either FOOD or ALCOHOL or someone talking about one of those two things. You don’t realize it until you don’t do it anymore.
Now that I’ve been honest about my ongoing allergy status I feel like I can talk! I’ve been hesitant to share what I’ve been eating, without an explanation, because I thought you would wonder what the hell I was doing. Why aren’t you adding GARLIC!?
Now I can be freeeeee!
Here’s a funny discovery – I’ve been eating what I consider boring, bland, basic foods. I easily get full & I eat a lot of food, but it’s nothing spectacular or complicated.
HOWEVER, every single time I eat & someone is around – they’re wanting to eat my food. And not just a bite, they want it. All of it, as their meal. That came as a huge surprise to me – why would anyone want in on my Veggie Rice when they can eat french fries, pizza, hamburgers, or spaghetti?
At first I was annoyed, I was making my personalized foods & bringing my meal with me everywhere I went in order to make sure I would be comfortable eating. When everyone else wanted in on the ONE thing I could eat at the table, I was left a little… hangry.
I quickly learned. Now, I make a lot of whatever I’m eating & share it with everyone – rather than assume they won’t like it. This has also proven how willing people are to eat healthy when it’s in front of them. As much as everyone wants to deny it, simple & healthy foods can also be delicious! Sharing my food & knowing people actually like it? Makes me feel relieved about my diet situation.
{Wafiq’s the worst ever because I ask him if he wants to eat what I’m having & he always says no. Like, he would never touch it. Then I make my meal & he literally wants to trade what he’s having for mine. Highly annoying.}
All this leads me to turkey burgers!
I’ve been using ground turkey as a way to add variety into my diet. Rather than beef everyday, I mix in turkey. If you’ve ever cooked with ground turkey before you know it’s a lot harder to make into burgers than beef, because it’s ‘wet’. I knew in order to make it work for me, I’d have to add something to soak up the moisture, but I can’t do bread crumbs. So I went for my bestie – Hot Rice Cereal. Mix turkey, egg, cereal, salt + pepper and you have yourself some delicious, simple turkey burgers!
I wish I did NOT have an updated post about my allergies & I could come back to you saying everything has been excellent! OMG I dream of saying – my anaphylactic shock was a complete fluke! Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
The worst part, I still don’t have answers.
Since my first Anaphylactic Shock situation (here), I ended up having another one. I chose not to share that info because I instantly knew I wasn’t going to have a clear answer as to why this was happening to me. All my doctors said “it won’t happen again”. And when it actually did happen again, pretty close after the first time, I knew I was in trouble. Which would leave the door open for questions, assumptions & scary conclusions. I didn’t want that type of vulnerability out there for peeps to pick at.
What do you even do with a 4th of July that lands in the middle of the week? Celebrate the weekend before & after. Really make use of your red, white, blue & star fashion festivities.
I actually think the American theme can be stretched all summer, it’s the vibe of the season. I linked some of my festive picks at the end of the post, go peek!
BUT, the subject of the day: Fourth of July Drank.
I know you’re probably looking for the star fruit ice cube mocktail & the festive colorful cocktail creation but that’s not the case today. If you’re following me on Instagram you already know what’s coming.