Friday Five: Links I'm Loving

via we heart it

I've been in my head the past couple weeks. Planning, analyzing, problem solving and dodging anxiety fun. It could be because I'm more aware or open to advice or thoughts right now, but I've found SO many internet things this week I really connected with. I love a good, mindless internet surf session, but I was snapped out of the mindlessness so many times and it suprised me so I thought I'd share my internet findings.

As I've ramped up in my new job, I've found myself feeling a lot more drained. I used to feel this way a lot and not know why, now I realize my little introvert is rearing her head. It was relieving to hear I'm not the only one when I read these 7 tips for the Introverted Career Woman.  I'm going to start putting them more to use in my everyday life.

Um. Snow + Panda = biggest smiles ever

When I mix my type-A ness with my 'realist'-ness, I find myself struggling to understand what "just knowing" means. Santa. Jesus. Love. Friendship. All those things based on rumors or 'feelings' make me really uncomfortable.  Well....I mean we all know what happened with the whole Santa thing. I read this article on the Elite Daily and the questions really sunk in for me. I think whether you're choosing a friend or mate these are all good questions to help gauge the whole feeling thing. 

Honestly, I just heart the whole The Everygirl site right now

I have been  obsessed with getting to Paris in the very near future. I was even thinking about making it the destination for my birthday last year. There is a part of me that thinks its a bit silly though since I've been there and it is so accessible. There are plenty of more exotic places in the world to discover right now, why settle for Paris? I saw these article about 5 Places to Find Paris in Chicago while I was looking at the 7 introvert tips.  It could not be more perfect to my life right now. 

Gluten... and Dairy, AND Meat !?! {aka the Migraine Diet}

About a year and a half ago I started experimenting with the Paleo diet. To be honest I've gone on and off it, but still keeping focus on eating whole foods over processed. All the while, my weight has been yo-yoing (dramatically ~15-20lbs), my migraines have gotten worse, I've become severely intolerant of dairy and developed dyshidrotic ezcema.  All of which have been super sexy and made life a blast.

I also switched General Practitioners within that time period. The first time I sat down with her, she looked at all my 'illnesses' and flagged them all as textbook autoimmune responses. She suggested a gluten free diet which seemed incredibly overwhelming. She also referred me to a neurologist, but really pushed G-free and said I would need to try it for at least 3 months. I started trying it in April, but after 3 weeks it just became too overwhelming. The more I was reading about it the more 'trying it out' seemed pointless, because if you don't know your degree of sensitivity how do you know if you are feeling the results. Apparently some people can't even tolerate non-gluten foods that merely touched gluten containing food. How am I supposed to know where I am on the scale and control my food that closely!?

After my 8 day migraine I visited the neurologist. The first line of action was looking at my diet to identify triggers and, possibly, trying this 'Low-Tyramine' diet. Recording my food I can do. Low-Tyramine was another beast. There were so many odd restrictions. Not just foods to avoid, but no meat that has been at room temperature longer than 20 minutes. No meat that was cooked over 48hrs ago. I sat there with my cook books in my lap, exasperated, wondering how the heck I could keep protein in my diet without cooking a full lunch at work! Then I reminded myself that I was vegetarian all of high school and college. If I could do it then I could definitely do it again. I've been switching my proteins to fish, but that is only on the approved food list because of 'lack of research'. Still somewhat confused I made an appointment with a nutritionist, hoping to find some clarity and direction.

I had an amazing 2 hour introductory meeting and came out of it with tons of great tips an ideas! However, one of the first things that came out of her mouth was that I should try eliminating gluten as "all (my) symptoms are reflective of autoimmune reactions." I told her I was open to it, but had the concerns about length and sensitivity I talked about above. She told me that my GP had been wrong about the time it would take to notice the affects and said if I was truly intolerant I would notice effects a few days in. I mentioned my 3 week experiment in April and as soon as I said I had stopped in the beginning of May she interrupted me. "And when did your 8-day migraine start relative to eating gluten?" she asked.  I thought back and realized that my lead-in, tension headaches started the day after and the full blow migraine 3 days after reintroducing gluten to my diet. I hadn't realized that at all and she told me that is a classic reaction to re-introducing trigger foods after an elimination diet.

So here I am, beginning the diary-free, gluten free, low-tyramine excursion. I'm already dreading the extra cooking, but we'll see where it takes me. So far I've lost 4lbs and have noticed quite a difference with 'brain fog'. Lucky for me a lot of blogger's have already started this journey and I'm finding tons of inspiration and recipes from these lovely ladies!

Against All Grain {remember that berry tart from the 4th?}

Deliciously Ella {MEAT FREE!!}

Goop

Balanced Bites

Have Cake Will Travel

Kati Heifner

Room Sneak Peak - B Is for Bonnie Designs

As I put the final details on my room, I'm planning on posting little previews of the little projects it took to put it all together. I had most of the furniture from my old place, it was just a matter of the details like wall art.  I really love the way Ralph Lauren mixes traditional looks with pop culture. His old Hollywood pictures are stunning. After almost 4 years of searching my mom and I found similar frames at Home Goods. I did have these 2 solid black frames I had found and while I loved the black accent, I knew I had to find "lighter" prints to keep the contrast and neutral look.   If you follow my pinterest  or tumblr you know that I love quotes and after some etsy searching I found the gold foiled prints {incorporates the slight metallic) of b is for bonnie and knew they were just what I was looking for!

She has so many cute options {and an amazing blog for all you #bossladies out there} but I decided to go with these 2.

They look great in the frames and fit perfectly in this little nook on the side of my bed! So cozy!

                         

Where I've been....

Remember my New Years goals?

Well, 2014 decided to bring my a whole new life and looking back on them the only one I have left to cross off is 'Blog More'. It think it start with my move, then a new job, struggling with "abandoning" what I thought was a dream, and I guess its only appropriate that the last time I took a long 'break' from the blog was when I got caught up in the whirl wind of a relationship and I'm sad to say that this break has been, partially, due the end of said relationship. In addition my 2 closest girlfriends out here (1 quite suddenly) decided to get themselves new lives on the other side of the country. The last few months I've been soaking up every moment, traveling, remodeling, wrapping my head around new job and life challenges. I truly feel like I have a blank slate, a new energy and so much new focus on what I want.

I hope to update you on my realizations, my new aspirations, my adventures and {finally} my fully decorated San Francisco bedroom....5 years in the making!

Relationship Rules

Another one of the life events that unfolded in the early part of this month was that the BF and I decided to take some space from each other to think about the relationship. I've been working pretty hard on myself the last few years, figuring out how I work etc. Like we all do in our twenties.  Entering into my first serious relationship in the last year, has had an impact on my work and vice versus. In addition to myself getting in the way, I've been trying to figure out where and how I want a relationship to fit into my life. I've made some great strides over our 'break' and will spare you the details. However, I saw this post by Whitney at I Wore Yoga Pants to Work I follow and could not agree more.  

The things that make my relationship whole aren't necessarily going to be the things that make my best friend's relationship work, just as the things that keep my parents' marriage growing aren't necessarily going to be the things that keep someone else's marriage growing.

I think it good to remind ourselves that too, that sometimes a relationship isn't about what 'should' be because it 'should' be about what just is.

Thursday Tumbls

I thought I'd dedicate my favorite Tumbls this week to my favorite "Tumblrs"

...besides myself of course!

Prep In the Bay

There aren't a lot of prep's out here so we have to appropriately represent!

Bourbon and Pearls

Puppies, bourbon, cute preppy outfits with some vintage flair!

The Glitter Guide

This is one of my favorite blogs and the internet and their tumblr

 just embodies everything they put out there!

The Brunette Prep

This might be my favorite tumblr. Classic, elegant, preppy!

Seabelle

Good mix of romance, southern style and preppy boys!

Hollywood Assistant

I do have a minor addiction to all those gif blogs. This one hits the closest to home and is a go-to every morning. Like group therapy, but on tumblr!

The Loved Black and Gold

Kappa Alpha Theta. Elegance. Glamour. I love everything about it!

National Health Blogpost Month

Since I was slacking on the blog front in October I completely missed the chance to give a shout out to Dysautonomia Awareness month and my friend, and fellow blogger, Kingsley over at Life as Griki who was spending October blogging about her experience with P.O.T.S, a  condition of dysautonomia.  Lucky for me November happens to be National Health Blogpost Month and I can make up for it, because she's spending November continuing her posts!

MyWegoHealth is sponsoring the blogging event and providing prompts for everyday in November.
Yesterday's prompt (day 4) was "What do you have to carry in your purse for your health needs?".

My biggest health issues are chronic headaches and severe migraines. Mind numbing, vision affecting, limbs go numb, can't eat, can't sleep, "Am I having a stroke?" migraines. For those I carry Maxalt dissolving tablets with me everywhere because you never know when those first symptoms will hit you. When they were first prescribed I only took them when my headaches would get to that can't eat- can't sleep phase. Serious medication like that made me nervous. I've slowly begun to learn that the best way to avoid those life-inhibiting headaches is to take it BEFORE it gets that bad. Before my migraines I usually get a pinching feeling on the bottom of the right side of brain and the light sensitivity and nausea start coming in waves. THAT's when I have to pop a maxalt, not when I'm already laying in bed and can barely stomach the tablet on my tongue.

The other thing that goes with me everywhere is Advil (yes, my purse often makes the sound of pills shaking in the bottle). I used to be an all tylenol girl and then I found out tylenol can actually cause backlash headaches, especially when you take it 3-5 days a week so I've converted to ibuprofen  I've just recently read that the gel capsules absorb more quickly so I've just switched to those. Every second counts when you're living an active life!  It usually takes me a little less than a year to go through a 350 pill, family sized jug and I always joke that I have a bottle from almost everywhere I've traveled because my travel bottle ALWAYS runs out.

November Goals

Well it's finally November. Just 2 more months left in the fabulous year of 2012. October was a little hectic for me with work, out of town visitors, brunches, boys being their ridiculous selves, Fleet Week and the Giant's World Series chaos it literally flew by (and I only managed to squeeze out 1 blog post).

So I made my #1 goal for November to get my act together, organize my life and make some goals for the month! We'll have to wait and see how they pan out, but I have to start somewhere and, if anything there will have to be a follow-up post (contributing to Goal #6)!

#1) Be More Positive

One of my favorite things about myself is my sarcastic, and somewhat cynical, sense of humor. While, I wouldn't really think of myself as a "Debbie Downer" I do think those abilities stem  from a more pessimistic view of life. I've started to notice this, outside of my sense of humor a lot lately. Whether it's being sad about feeling like I have no control over my life, to getting up every morning and dreading the people I will encounter on public transportation, it's all becoming exhausting. So I've decided to put it in writing to remind myself to think out side of my usual tunnel and notice the positive things that are happening!

#2) Finish 1 Book

For the last year...and maybe longer I've been starting books and not finishing them (except for the 50 Shades of Grey series all of which I finished in 1 month). I currently have 5 partially read pieces of literature sitting by my bedside and I'm vowing to finish 1 by the end of the month.  My re-reading of The Great Gatsby seems to be the best contender, but Fitzgerald's The Love of the Last Tycoon is close behind. I do still have Decision Points, Let the Great World Spin and MWF seeking BFF as well. So many choices!

#3 Workout 3x a Week

With the start of the Junior League active year, the school year and work swinging into full production. I have had zero time to work out. Exercising has always been more efficient for me to do after work and now my weeks are jam packed full of extra-curricular commitments. Since it's not coming easy I'm going to have to make more of an effort to get myself out of bed in the morning and off to the gym. Classes are most motivating for me and I was doing Bar Method for a while this summer. I loved every part of it except for the "I already worked out today so I don't have to do cardio." that got stuck in my head. I'm looking into BurnSF a cardio and pilates studio not too far from my house. I keep reading that us 20-something gals need both Cardio and Toning to keep our slowing metabolisms up and I'm trying to find the best way to do that. Stay tuned.

#4 Be More Budget Conscious

Apparently with all the craziness of October my credit card got a little crazy too. I have a budget outlined, but it's always kind of worked itself out. I guess I'm going to have to start paying more attention to it. Any good apps or tool tips would be appreciated!!

#5 Get Christmas Shopping Done

Now that it's November is officially the Most Wonderful Time of The Year in my book. As much as I love (zero-sarcasm there) spending December weekends in the decked out stores it's always stressful (see dreading of crowded public places in Goal #1) and December goes by so quickly. I'm hoping to be a little more crafty this year; pinterest as so many amazing things, but all those things mean I need to start early! I'm hoping to ready for crafting, baking and/or wrapping by the end of the month!

#6 Blog 2x a Week (at least)

I always get great ideas for blog posts, but never actually sit down to write them! I'm hoping Goal #6 will give me the motivation to make the time, write them out and entertain you lovelies with my oh-so-fabulous life (read sarcasm).

Currently Crushing...

Lots going on this week and that means lots of things to love!

Febreze AntiMicrobial

I've always been a fan of Febreze, but that obsession may have just reached a new level with Febreze AntiMicrobial. There is just some peace of mind that comes knowing my running shoes not only smell good, but are also free of any microscopic critters

Ashley Brooke Designs Blog! 

Ashley Brooke

Ashley (self portrait on the right) is a fun, sassy southern gal with great style and a passion for good stationery and homemade popcorn (not microwave ladies).  Her blog has everything from recipes from her weekend baking adventures to style and career advice. She's also an amazing artist and sells her custom stationery and wall prints on her website. The Princess and the Tweet would look PERFECT  as a part of my office collage wall! She also does a, free, monthly calendar download that are always adorable. The August one is currently the desktop on my blackberry!

Home Design Magazines

I have been eating home design magazines alive (as well as pinterest and tumblr). I've been in super nesting mode lately...I even bought a dining room set. Talk about adult. I'm kind of freaking out!!

Avicii Levels Video (yes, I know it's old)

 I feel like this has been me all week and I'm so excited it's finally the weekend so I can let my crazy dance lady out!!

Office Inspiration

I'm inlove with all these office designs! Now to translate to my own....

vtinteriors.blogspot.com

Monday Musings

The weather this weekend has me  dreaming of summer and my 2 week trip to Spain and Morocco.
The lovely ladies of Glamourai have been posting pictures of their own recent trip to Marrakech and they have me itching to get there!!

Letters of Note

 In the days on a 50% chance of marriages failing I can't help but want to post this everywhere. One of my favorite blogs is Letters of Note. Shaun Usher, the blogger, collects old-school, snail mail letters (one of my favorites) and publishes them. They don't necessarily have to be from anyone particularly special, but his post yesterday was from one of my most favorite people. President Reagan (Governor of California at the time) offers some amazing marriage advice to his son.

Michael Reagan
Manhattan Beach, California
June 1971

Dear Mike:

Enclosed is the item I mentioned (with which goes a torn up IOU). I could stop here but I won't.

You've heard all the jokes that have been rousted around by all the "unhappy marrieds" and cynics. Now, in case no one has suggested it, there is another viewpoint. You have entered into the most meaningful relationship there is in all human life. It can be whatever you decide to make it.

Some men feel their masculinity can only be proven if they play out in their own life all the locker-room stories, smugly confident that what a wife doesn't know won't hurt her. The truth is, somehow, way down inside, without her ever finding lipstick on the collar or catching a man in the flimsy excuse of where he was till three A.M., a wife does know, and with that knowing, some of the magic of this relationship disappears. There are more men griping about marriage who kicked the whole thing away themselves than there can ever be wives deserving of blame. There is an old law of physics that you can only get out of a thing as much as you put in it. The man who puts into the marriage only half of what he owns will get that out. Sure, there will be moments when you will see someone or think back to an earlier time and you will be challenged to see if you can still make the grade, but let me tell you how really great is the challenge of proving your masculinity and charm with one woman for the rest of your life. Any man can find a twerp here and there who will go along with cheating, and it doesn't take all that much manhood. It does take quite a man to remain attractive and to be loved by a woman who has heard him snore, seen him unshaven, tended him while he was sick and washed his dirty underwear. Do that and keep her still feeling a warm glow and you will know some very beautiful music. If you truly love a girl, you shouldn't ever want her to feel, when she sees you greet a secretary or a girl you both know, that humiliation of wondering if she was someone who caused you to be late coming home, nor should you want any other woman to be able to meet your wife and know she was smiling behind her eyes as she looked at her, the woman you love, remembering this was the woman you rejected even momentarily for her favors.

Mike, you know better than many what an unhappy home is and what it can do to others. Now you have a chance to make it come out the way it should. There is no greater happiness for a man than approaching a door at the end of a day knowing someone on the other side of that door is waiting for the sound of his footsteps.

Love,

Dad

P.S. You'll never get in trouble if you say "I love you" at least once a day.

Sources: Letters of Note, Photo: Life Photo Archive