Health & Fitness | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

color lovin’.

8 April, 2014 by Gracie 8 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my newly BLUE hair.

No, I didn’t actually dye my hair blue (although, it IS quite trendy right now according to Pinterest…). That optical illusion is thanks to Shimmering Lights, odd lighting, and a cool-toned filter. I’d never forsake my beloved blonde, but the blue is kinda cool looking, huh?

More color has been making an appearance in my life via my accessories. I definitely tend to lean toward neutrals when it comes to my clothes, but jewelry is a fun and easy way to add a pop of color.

I got this great bracelet from Target. I don’t usually check out their jewelry section, but they had some great finds! I thought this was just so fun for the spring and summer.

Speaking of jewelry, did you know that Speakable necklaces look great with any color? 😉 Shameless plug – sorry not sorry.

On the food front, this go-to meal has continued to make an appearance quite often. I always knew this combo of avocado, eggs, and sweet potato was delicious and filling, but it’s also quite the colorful one, yeah?

And then there’s Baby Bo’s Cantina, which is one of my favorite hidden gem restaurants in the city. They have hands down some of the best authentic Mexican food I’ve ever had. Not to mention it’s clearly quite festive there.

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What do you think of the bright and bold hair colors trending right now? Would you ever try something like that?

ALL CAPS necessary.

3 April, 2014 by Gracie 11 Comments

If you’ve ever wondered why I love makeup so much, it’s because MY FACE DISAPPEARS WITHOUT IT.

Basically.

Yesterday I made the dumb decision to go to the specialty food store when I didn’t really need anything. I proceeded to make the dumb decision of spending $10 on wraps.

I’m sorry, wrawps.

Now the problem I’m left with is that I LOVE THESE THINGS and will now most likely spend $10 on wraps wrawps every week.

Damn you, raw vegan geniuses.

By the way, despite loving those flat breads I’m neither raw nor vegan…because a life without THE MEATBALL SHOP is no life at all.

Such a fun night with my small group. These girls are top notch.

Sometimes when I watch Mad Men, I get so bored, yet I can’t stop watching it.

I blame…DON DRAPER. I hate to love him.

HIS ways, HIS paths. ‘Nuff said.

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What in your life right now is ALL CAPS necessary?

#LEAN14: vegan & gluten free cookie dough for one.

31 March, 2014 by Gracie 13 Comments

I’m a sucker for single serving recipes.

…especially when they include two of the best words in the English language: COOKIE. DOUGH.

Needless to say, when I saw this healthier single serving recipe for vegan cookie dough on Pinterest, I knew it was one I had to try.

I made some changes to that recipe because a) I didn’t have coconut oil and b) I wanted to see how it would taste with almond flour. The result was not only delicious, but also gluten free.

adapted from Vegan Cookie Dough For One

ingredients:

1 tablespoon real maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons almond flour
pinch of salt
1-2 teaspoons dark chocolate chips (make sure non-dairy if strictly vegan)

Just mix the first four ingredients in a small bowl, then add the chocolate chips last. That’s it!

I was planning on using some almond milk to replace the coconut oil, but it actually didn’t need it. The almond flour soaked the maple syrup up for a perfect cookie dough consistency.

I would like to try the original recipe too, which uses regular flour, but I must say I really did love the flavor and heartiness from the almond flour. The only thing I’d say I didn’t like about this recipe is that…it didn’t make enough! Seriously, I might double it next time 😉

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Are you a fan of single serving recipes? Do you have a favorite? (I’d love suggestions!)

snapshots.

30 March, 2014 by Gracie 5 Comments

Let’s just put this out on the table. I kind of hate myself for how obnoxious my new phone cover is.

My “closet” is slowly but surely starting to look a bit more spring-like too.

The norm.

I could get the (create your own) market vegetable plate from Westville every single day.

I spent Saturday at my church’s first ever Relationship Seminar. It was a great day! And St. Paul’s German Church is just so beautiful (we don’t meet there on Sundays, just for special events).

We rushed over to Elmo for a quick lunch. I turkey burger-ed it.

On Saturday night we went to my friend Martina’s birthday party. Having a party in an NYC apartment isn’t an easy task, but she nailed it.

Loved this idea – pour champagne into glasses filled with a bit of cotton candy. How cute!

Last but not least, today’s daily devotionals were oh so good…

(First one from Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith, second from Jesus Calling)

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What has been a highlight of your weekend so far?
Have you started switching over to a more spring-like wardrobe yet?

perfect pairings {with new TWISTOS Snack Bites} + a giveaway!

27 March, 2014 by Gracie

After a long day at the office or running around on meetings, there’s nothing better than a relaxing evening at home, complete with a comforting meal. I don’t know about you, but a big bowl of soup is just about as comforting as it gets.

The other day I came home after a snowy, work-filled Monday, so I decided to make a big pot of one of my favorite soups – Easy Butternut Squash Soup. I’ve followed this recipe a few times, and it really is so easy! But more importantly, it is comforting and delicious. I finish mine off with a drizzle of Sriracha.

Whenever I have soup, though, I always like to pair it with something crunchy and flavorful. I was recently sent a bag of TWISTOS™ baked snack bites to try, so I figured I’d see if they paired well with the soup.

The TWISTOS™ snack bites turned out to be such a great pairing to go with my soup! The combination of the warm soup and light & crispy textured snack bites made for the perfect addition to my soup. Not to mention the creamy goodness of asiago gave the TWISTOS™ a delicious twist to the sweetness of the butternut squash.

The TWISTOS™ were so great on my soup that I topped my salad with them too. The TWISTOS™ Parmesan & Garlic flavored snack bites made for a fun alternative to croutons, adding the perfect crunch and sharp Parmesan flavor to every bite.

TWISTOS™ baked snacks come in three flavors: TWISTOS™ Parmesan & Garlic Flavored Snack Bites, TWISTOS™ Asiago Flavored Snack Bites and TWISTOS™ Bruschetta Flavored Snack Bites.

I added the Asiago flavor to my soup, Parmesan & Garlic to my salad, and really enjoyed eating the TWISTOS™ Bruschetta Flavored snack bites on their own. The tomato, garlic and basil flavors almost taste as if you’re eating real bruschetta!

What creative way would you enjoy eating TWISTOS™ Snack Bites?

Leave your answer in the comments section for the chance to win a bag of each flavor of TWISTOS™ snack bites for yourself!

How to enter:

1) Leave your answer in the comments section
2) Tweet about the giveaway: “I entered @alagracie’s #Twistos giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/oxhoyh9” and leave a comment with the link to your tweet.

~~The giveaway will end on Thursday April 3rd, so get your entries in! The winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Good luck 🙂~~

Winner has been chosen and contacted!

This post is brought to you by a partnership with Frito-Lay & Girl Meets Life. All opinions are my own.
Please note I was compensated for this post.

11 things.

26 March, 2014 by Gracie 23 Comments

Apparently you guys enjoy the all over the place posts, so I guess I’ll keep ‘em coming!

(I like them too – they remind me of what makes blogging such a fun outlet.)

Let’s see…

1) I’ve started using Twitter again. Sort of. I’m trying to, at least. I didn’t really think anyone still used it, but it seems they do! You can follow me @alagracie, if you’d like.

2) Speaking of social media, I’ve been really fascinated about how Instagram seems to be becoming the new blog. Anyone else notice that? It makes sense, since Instagram is so much easier to post on, follow, and more interactive in a sense. Guess I had better step up my Insta-game…

3) Over the past month or so I’ve been working on simplifying my life. I do this thing where I’m constantly overcommitting myself (sometimes to others’ projects, but mostly to my own). I definitely love working on multiple things at a time because I do tend to get bored easily, but I’m finding what my healthy balance looks like when it comes to how many projects I can actually manage at any given time.

4) I love watching the news, and I watch it often. Not knowing what’s going on in the world makes me feel dumb.

5) I’m in PA for a few days. I always feel a sense of guilt when I come here – like I should be “braving” the city more. But the truth is that I need to escape and go back to the simple life from time to time, and that’s been more common lately (I go through phases). But instead of feeling bad about it, I’ve learned how to embrace it and be thankful that I have jobs that allow me to do that.

6) I’m going to be the most stereotypical blogger ever right now and share the awesome bowl of oatmeal I had for breakfast yesterday. It included almond milk, cinnamon, sliced banana, walnut butter, and some mixed nuts. I forgot how cozy and comforting oatmeal is.

7) I also made this lil’ snack plate, which I thought was cute. It included strawberries, Mary’s crackers, hummus, and some coconut dark chocolate.

8) I just referred to my food as cozy and cute. I’m such a girl.

9) I’m so glad that hip thrusts are the new squats, except for the fact that they’re called hip thrusts.

10) It’s almost creepy how perfect daily devotionals can be exactly what you need on given day. Maybe creepy is the wrong word but…you know what I mean.