If I have a green thumb, it's kelly green.

Hey, all! I'm sitting out on my patio, trying to get a bit of a tan in the afternoon sun. It's finally getting Mississippi-warm! I was running around today in nike shorts, sandals, and a swing tank and I had one of those "oh, wow, it's SUMMER" feelings. Aren't they the best?

I've been a busy little bee these days! Going to Virginia and visiting the University of Virginia Law campus has certainly given me the kick in the butt that I've needed. As I mentioned, my mom and I found an apartment and now I have a MASSIVE to-do list to complete before my move in August--mostly crafty things, of course!

Another reason I'm tanning is because I got a bee-ay-youtiful farmer's tan while doing gardening this past week that has to be evened out before I shrug on my strapless bridesmaid dress in May. Mom, Sid, and I have undertaken a sizable container garden in the back and it's coming along nicely:

BEHOLD.

In each of the window boxes, we have two strawberry plants and spinach seeds. The strawberries are coming along nicely, but the spinach will probably still be in hiding for another week or so. Herb-wise, we have sweet basil, rosemary, fernleaf dill (for my salmon, yummmmmmmmmmmm), and sweet mint--perfect for a tall glass of sweet tea. We also have a variety of tomato and pepper plants, some of which have carrot and mustard green seeds around them. The carrots are still hiding, too, but the mustard greens have put off their baby leaves already!

I can't wait to eeeeeaaaat youuuuuuu, you delicious bearers of vitamins and minerals!
I've had to give away some of this basil because it was getting a bit outta control.
I will not, however, give any of this red gold away. Nope, into my belly you all will go.
#naptime
Baby jalepeño peppers. They're Sid's babies and way too hot for me, but I have no problem fostering them for the time being.

Right now, I'm most excited about the mint and the strawberries, mostly because they're the ones producing. Even though I've planted the mustard greens, I don't know what they're actually going to taste like-same with the spinach, since it's not a "baby spinach" variety, which is what I'm used to eating. Still, I chose two leafy greens because I know that they are the type of food that I most need to incorporate into my diet. Apparently they're supposed to be more of a cold-weather plant, but....whatever. My mindset at this point is that I paid less than $3.00 for the spinach, carrot, and mustard greens seeds, so even if we only get a few meals out of them, we've still saved money. (Have you seen what fresh produce runs these days???? $4.00 for a pack of baby spinach!) I haven't even planted half of the packs, so I can take the seeds with me to Charlottesville and plant them on my balcony in the autumn. Win win situation, I'd say!

This is as refreshing as it looks.

I will be starting some crafty projects next, so those posts will be pic heavy, too! I hope you all have a great week!!!!

HRH Skittles thanks you for your time!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's Wednesday! Hump-Day! Middle-of-the-Week Day! I hope that you're having a good week so far, like I am!

I'm linking up with Jamie's weekly "What I'm Loving" post this week because...well...I have the time, haha! And because there are a few things that I really HAVE been loving.

1) Lisa Eldridge's amazing video on Marilyn Monroe's makeup. According to Lisa, there was much more to Marilyn's look than her signature red lip, and she demonstrates on her model how Marilyn and her makeup artist, Allan Snyder, essentially turned her face into a living, breathing optical illusion. Skin prep, contouring, highlighting, and even a tricky little smudge of brown liner under her lower lashes all played an important role in creating Marilyn's look. I think it's absolutely fascinating, and Lisa really, really knows her stuff on this one!



Relatedly, I love all of Lisa's makeup videos. She's a famous makeup artist in the UK and has done makeup for the red carpet and magazine spreads in Vogue, Glamour UK, and so on. Check her out!

2) Reasons to Be Fit, a tumblr dedicated exclusively to, well, reasons to be fit! Text overlies images of super-fit women, so it's a major visual impact! My favorite reasons thus far have been:

Because my body is my temple.
To not feel the pain of atrophy.
'Cause it all comes down to survival of the fittest
To make sure that I don't carry on the Diabetes in my family
To do amazing things with my body
To KNOW you can escape the murderers in horror movies (<--This one made me laugh and is so valid!!)

In a similar vein, there is a tumblr totally dedicated to fitness goals, or a fitness bucket list.

3) My dog. Duh. But this week I've been noticing how good he is with our other pets. He's a boxer mix, so he's very tactile; he likes to lean up against people and snuggle with other animals. Here's some photographic proof:

With my mother's dog, Scout

With my cat, HRH Skittles, Queen of the Mississippi

With my dog-in-law (my brother's girlfriend's dog), Captain

So, this week, I'm loving what a sweet, loving dog-friend he is to everyone!

4) Eating clean! I'm trying to make a very conscious effort to be aware of what. I. am. putting. into. my. body. I love working out, and I'm noticing the tone that I'm acquiring through my arms and legs as I get further down the NTC road, but omg I have GOT to stop eating crap. This week I have been better about making some awesome smoothies, some awesome sandwiches with veggies instead of pickles and hummus instead of mayonnaise, and some awesome TEA. Green tea, mint tea, all of it is "Go" in my book. I'm also nursing a massive glass of water at this moment. And for breakfast this morning, I made oatmeal with egg whites and a bunch of spices to get my body "warmed up" for the day. I just have to make sure that this becomes a habit, not a fling!

Evidence of Awesomeness
V8 Splash, baby spinach, kiwi, frozen strawberries, some vanilla NutriSystem powder, and greek yogurt. Mmm!

5) Etta James. I just happened to get her Millenium Hits CD for Christmas, and I've been listening to it since. Now that she's passed away, it seems to be on constant repeat. What a woman! You just can't beat At Last or Something's Got a Hold on Me.

And 6) Hayao Miyazaki movies. Call me a nerd, but Mr. Miyazaki creates the most breathtaking and bizzare worlds in which to tell his stories. I watched Castle in the Sky this weekend and My Neighbor Totoro is in the mail from Netflix for today. I'm glad I'm finally watching these, because they are the "original" Miyazaki movies. I already own Spirited Away, which is the only non-English movie to ever win an Oscar for Best Animated Picture. My favorite movies, though, are Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle, which is based on the book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones (and was also nominated for an Oscar). I highly, highly recommend his work to anyone! It's truly escapist film-making, and the majority of his works, though targeted at children, have very pronounced themes of family, love, and environmentalism.

So what are YOU all loving this week??