Holiday Helpfuls

Illustrated by Jacqueline Davis Moranti

The holiday season has officially begun, you know what that means?! Delicious feasts and scrumptuous morsels everywhere! I'm definitely a big foodie, I absolutely heart food and the holiday season tends to be the time of the year where I over satiate myself. I mean how can one resist a giant pumpkin pie sitting in front of them, or a glass full of your BFF's famous holiday eggnog? Thankfully one of my good friends is a personal trainer and nutrionist, Sean Hickman, with tons of experience for situations such as this! He was kind enough to pass along some convenient expertise. Believe me, I'm taking notes!

Confessions From a Former Vegetarian

(Old painting)Illustrated by Jacqueline Davis Moranti

Earlier in the year, I mentioned my vegetarianism and how I needed to maintain my vitamin and protein intake. Well a few months ago I decided to revert back to my carnivorous ways, eeeep! If you follow me via twitter or instagram, then you've probably noticed my fitness antics, I've started  taking my work outs more seriously and when you exercise a lot more, you develop a hunger like a raging coyote! As a vegetarian, I was never fully satiated, I was always going back for seconds while everyone else was past the digestion phase. I just accepted it, as a normal vegetarian thing. Grains and veggies alone couldn't completely satisfy my hunger, which in turn could cause injuries if I'm not getting the right nutrition.

A Very Aoki Holiday Party

Je Ne Sais Quoi Giveaway

Coffee Table Reads

Illustrated by Jacqueline Davis Moranti

I love a good book, especially on my downtime. Books have a way of sending your mind through a fantasy world, especially if it's an enticing sci- fi novel! Reading is definitely one of my favorite past times, for a period in time, I even thought of myself as a narrative writer, but lets not indulge too much in that old hobby! My passion for reading stems from being such a shy, timid child, spending weekends with my face in a book, very much like one of my favorite childhood movies Matilda. I grew up reading a ton novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, John Saul, and C.S. Lewis. Nothing like getting lost in a different world where animals speak, strange mysteries arise or where elves aren't as friendly as we make them out to be. Although, lately I find myself reading more self help books and biographies. I've rounded up a few of my current, fashionable favorites!

Beauty Bit, Vbeaute

Illustrated by Jacqueline Davis Moranti

As you may already know, I'm pretty obsessed with maintaining great skincare! I think of my face as a canvas, blank and sanded down. I won't paint on a canvas until it's smooth, without a grain in sight. Painting on top of bumps always ruin my flow and the color always looks weird around the grainy parts. That's very much like a blemished skin. Good skincare really is the window to our health and fortunately, Soft Surroundings was holding an event where I was able to speak to skincare expert, Julie Macklowe of Vbeaute recently and learn about luxurious skincare, in simplicity!

In The Background

Illustrated by Jacqueline Davis Moranti

Absence

My beloved Moleskin

American Gothic

I'm an art history buff, when it comes to learning about history, it's always been the arts that could grasp my interest, naturally! As you can probably tell, my art history courses in undergrad were my absolute favorites, aced them every single time! When I got the chance to study abroad in Greece, I jumped at the opportunity! Being able to see with your own eyes the art work that we as students only got to see in textbooks, was phenomenal. 

One of my favorite paintings, is by Grant Wood, his iconic American Gothic painting. The painting with the couple standing in front of a colonial home. This outfit, totally reminds me of that painting. I've got the overalls, all I need is a pitchfork and a dude in a dress to recreate it!