tis better to have loved and lost

"Tis better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all" - Alfred Lord Tennyson

As spring ends and summer started to fill our homes, I like to think about this quote. Summer always seems like the season for new romances and new beginning in relationships. Tennyson's quote reminds to live in the moment with the ones I love and not to dwell on the future so much. It can be easy to worry about the future and maybe losing a close love one or partner but it's more important to focus on creating new memories with that person.

Get this print for your home here!

What's In My Bag: Spring

What's in my bag have always been my favorite youtube videos. Here is a sneak peak into my bag. I currently carry a Fjallraven Kanken Mini Backpack in Pink. I love it! I live in a city and spend quite a bit of time walking and traveling via public transit. Carrying a backpack defiantly reduced some of my neck pain and back pain from carry a heavy bag. 

Inside is pretty minimal. I have gotten what I want with my at all times down to a science. I keep my current sketchbook, pens, a pencil, current book I'm reading, my wallet and phone with me. Now that the weather has gotten warmer, I also carry a tinted chapstick, deodorant, and earbuds with me. I think the oddest thing in my bag is earplugs. I keep these on me because I go to concert quite often with my boyfriend. I want to protect my hearing for years to come so they are super great to have on hand. What's the oddest thing in your bag?

Monday Meal of the Week: Roasted Summer Veg and Chicken

Even though I look the act of cooking, I have very few items under my that I have perfected. One of my recent discoveries in the kitchen is this recipe for roasted chicken with summer vegetables. It's super easy to make once you get past the chopping. It's like on of those one pot wonder recipes because after you put it in the oven, you're free to do whatever you like! Here's how you make it: 

Step One: Chop all your veg. For this batch, I used summer squash, zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, onion, carrots (i cheated and got baby carrots), and sweet potatoes which a peeled too. 

Step Two: Arrange Chicken (I used tenderloins) and Vegetables in the large over-safe dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season. I seasoned my chicken with lemon pepper and the vegetables with paprika, salt, parsley, and pepper. Mix it all together! 

Step Three: Bake at 400 F. I let mine cook for about 30 to 40 minutes. I know it's done when I can put a fork through the sweet potatoes and carrots.  

I, honestly, don't think it can get any easier than that. I like to make this before my work week in a large batch. I think it makes a great healthy packed lunch. I hope you enjoy this simple but yummy recipe! 

It's a Beautiful Day

As warm weather and the flowers bloom, I like to remember to start my day by thinking that it's going to be a beautiful day no matter what is head of me. I believe it's important to start the day with a positive thought. Starting my morning with a positive thought, my day generally goes better. This print is the perfect reminder that It's a Beautiful Day no matter what is going on in your life.

May Gift Inspiration

The end of spring and the beginning of summer is a big time for gift giving. A set of personalized monogramed notecards are the perfect gift for a bride to be, a new graduate, or birthday. This bright and colorful notecards are inspired by spring and summer colors. The fun and playful type of the monogram are great for any age. They are sure the brighten anyone's desk. 

Check them out here and here

Monday Meal of the Week: Breakfast Smoothie

Some mornings there isn't enough time to sit down and eat a full and hearty breakfast. When I have those mornings, I make tend to make a smoothie since I can drink it while I get ready and if needed take it with me to work. When I first started making smoothie, they didn't keep me full. I would be hungry in a hour. My secret to a filling breakfast smoothie is including some typical breakfast items. I started including greek yogurt and oatmeal in my smoothies and it was like magic.

For my favorite smoothie, you need: 

1/4 cup of Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup of frozen pineapple

1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries

1/2 of a banana 

1/3 cup of dried rolled oats. 

Put all of it in a blender with some water and blend until smooth. Enjoy! I, personally, like to have my smoothie with a cup of green tea or coffee to start the day. 

Hope you enjoy! Comment below if you make it! 

"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you" - Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice has been one of my favorite novels since high school. I couldn't let an this quote go by without becoming part of my Wedding Print Series for Ginger Prints. This quote is perfect reminder to any couple of how they feel for each other. Check it out HERE!

Monthly Makeup Picks: May

I am firm believer that you don't need to break the bank in order to have a great makeup. One of my biggest tips is to stick to what you know. I have about 3 brands from the drugstore that I trust to provide me with great makeup. When looking for foundation and concealers, my go-to is Covergirl. Covergirl was the first brand that I purchase any base makeup from and they haven't failed me yet. Their new Ready Set Gorgeous Line is perfect of normal to oily skin. It leave my face looking fresh. It's not overly matte or dewey. Both the concealer and foundation have a medium amount of coverage. I pair my foundation and concealer with the Body Shops Honey Bronzer to create sun-kissed summer face.

Eyeshadows and liner are by far my favorite part of makeup. Maybelline and Rimmel have always been my go-to in the drugstore. For a quick summery, bronzed eye look, I like to pair the Maybelline's Color Tattoo in 70 Barely Branded with Maybelline's Single Eyeshadow in Constant Toast. It's honestly the simplest look ever! The sheer cream of Barely Branded brights the eyelid while the Constant Toast creates a golden brown crease color. Most days I don't use a eyeliner for this look but if I do, I use the Rimmel Scandal Eyes Eyeliner in 003 Brown. The Rimmel Scandal Eyes have a buttery smooth finish and don't budge throughout the day. The 003 Brown is a great compliment to brown eyes when used in the waterline. I finish off my eyes with the Maybelline Real Impact Great Lash Mascara in Very Black. This mascara is great for creating a natural look.

Products: 

Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous Fresh Complexion in 110
Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous Concealer in Light/Pale
Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 Light
Maybelline Real Impact Great Lash Mascara in Very Black
Maybelline Color Tattoo in 70 Barely Branded
Maybelline Single Eyeshadow in Constant Toast
Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel
Rimmel Scandal Eyes Eyeliner in 003 Brown

Monday Meal of the Week: At Home Burrito Bowl

Mondays are going to be dedicated to food!  Sometimes it will be healthy and sometime not so much.

This week, the feature is a healthy at home version of a burrito bowl. Burrito Bowls are my favorite thing from Chipotle. I started making them at home about a year and the best part is that they are budget friendly and delicious! They are perfect for making ahead and can be stored in the fridge for a couple days. I like to have mine with a glass of lemon-lime infused water. You are going to need to following: 

- Romaine Lettuce

- White or Brown Rice

- Half a Lime

- Cooked Shredded Chicken

- Can of Corn

- Salsa

- Peppers and Onions (I used the Traders Joe's Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions from the frozen section. 

- Can of Black Beans (if you want, I personally don't always include them) 

The hardest part of making a burrito bowl at home is cooking the chicken and the rice. I used white rice this week but you can use whatever grain you like. I, normally, make enough for 4 lunches so I made 1 cup of rice but you can make as little as you want. I cooked the rice following the instructions and added the juice of half the lime at the end for a little flare. For the chicken, I cooked 4 skinless tenderloins in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 F. I seasoned mine with taco seasonings before putting in the oven. I allowed both to cool for about 30 minutes before getting to the fun part: assemble!  

Once you have cooked the rice and chicken, it gets easy. I line up my 4 jars and all my ingredients. I start with the salsa on the bottom and build from there. It's up to you want order to put your ingredients in! I like to put the heartier things close to the bottom and leave the lettuce and rice for the top. You could add sour cream or shredded cheese but I was tried to cut down on the fat content of mine. I also think this would be great with avocado if you weren't making these ahead of time. 

Please leave a comment or picture if you make this at home! I would like to see your take! 

Friday Quote: Whatever Our Souls are Made of

"Whatever our souls are made of his and mine are same" - Emily Bronte from Wuthering Heights. 

What a beautiful quote! While doing research for Ginger Prints, I fell in love with this quote. Emily Bronte captures what it feels to truly feel connect with someone. This quote is one my newest additions to Ginger Prints. It is a great gift for newly weds, anniversaries, and the hopeless romantic in all of us. 

Ginger Prints

Well Hello Again! I thought I'd give this blogging thing another go! A lot has happened in the last year. The most exciting thing is that I have open my first ever design and stationary store on Etsy! As you can see by the title of this post, It is called Ginger Prints. I created Ginger Prints because I wanted to share my love for literature, hand-lettering and retro design with everyone. All of my prints and cards are designed, printed, cut, and folded by me in Baltimore, Maryland. Please visit my store at www.etsy.com/shop/gingerprintsco.

Please help to support my store by liking and sharing it with your friends! I look forward to running and working on this blog again. 

A Hair Mask on a Dime

As someone with long, naturally curly hair, I have tried my fair share of hair products. On thing that I couldn't bring myself to buy was a hair mask. I was afraid that they would make my hair oily and weighed down. While I look at many hair masks at the store, I finally decided to make my own. I did a lot of research before attempting anything. Many hair masks use different fruits like mango and banana. Coconut Oil is another common ingredient. One thing that I quickly notice was that almost all hair mask have two ingredients in common: honey and olive oil. Olive oil is used to tame the fizz and give the hair shine. The honey is used to hold in moisture. Mixing these ingredient creates the simplest hair masks with little fuss. I love this hair mask and use about once a week to keep my hair shiny and healthy!

This is how you do it:
The first step is to wet your hair or make in damp. Then in a small bowl or cup mix 2 parts Olive Oil and  1 part Honey. The amount you use will all depend on how much hair you have. Whisk the ingredient together. The honey and Olive Oil won't mix together super well but just mix enough so that when you apply it to the hair you get a little bit of both. And now the fun part! Apply to your hair. Once apply to your whole head, either braid your hair or put your hair in a bun and wait from 30 to an hour. Wash your hair throughly after and style you hair as you normally would.

hurry up and get here

John Mayer's music has always spoke to me. It something about his lyrics and rhythm but I find his music relatable. A few years ago, I found this live concert version of Love Song for No One I love what he has to say about dating and relationship. 

spring basics: makeup

Spring means a good excuse to buy new makeup. Last week I made a quick stop at my local drugstore and a cheeky stop at the Clinique counter to stock up on some new makeup for spring. The first thing I wanted to pick up was some new nail polish. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear is one of the few nail polishes that I can truly say is long lasting and is my first pick when choosing new polish colors. I picked up the colors Mint Sorbet and Coral Reef. Both colors are perfect for spring. Mint Sorbet is the great spring pastel and compliments most skin-tones especially lighter skin. Coral Reef is a great go with anything color and I couldn't help picking up. 

Every season, I try to pick up a new foundation so that I'm wearing something that is too light or too dark for my current skin tone. For spring, I pick up Clinique's Even Better in 02 Fair. This foundation is light but has good coverage plus spf 15. I'm excited to see if this we help reduce so of my acne scars. As for eyes, I like to keep it basic as the weather gets warmer. Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink with a delicate cat eye gives a lovely retro look and it's quick. For the cat eye liner, I love Nyx's Super Skinny Marker! It does not move until you want it to! It's is perfect for warmer weather if you struggle with getting panda eyes or creasing on the lid. Lastly, I pick up to new lip colors. In the summer, I like to stick to nudes. The less fuss the better in my opinion. Rimmel's Let's Get Naked and Maybelline's Color Whisper in Coral Ambition are both great nudes. Both are very moisturizing and don't feel like you are wearing lipsticks. 

i'm the hero

I saw this phrase on tumblr the other week and thought everyone needs to hear this every once in awhile. It good to be reminded that we are the ones that control our lives and we don't need others to pick us up or fix our problems.

Fall in Love

I found this quote on my friends tumblr and was struck by it. (She runs the blog colormecaitie. blogspot) This is one of those quote that I hope to live my life by. I wanted to fall in love with being alive everyday. It reminds me to be thankful for the little things like new flowers outside my house and the perfect cup of coffee with a good friend. Life is a beautiful thing and it should be something that we all fall in love with. 

Weekly Pick: The Great Gatsby

This week, The Great Gatsby with Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan has added to HBO's movie list.  It made for a great start to my week. I had only seen the movie once before and didn't really pay attention. So this time, I gave the movie my full attention. Baz Luhrmann's version of the F. Scott's Fitzgerald's most well know book is very interesting. I can see why some people don't like the movie at all considering the rap music playing over scenes of 1920's dancing and parties. I, personally, like the mix of contemporary music and historic dress and setting. Leonardo Dicaprio is an excellent Jay Gatsby. He really embodies what I thought Jay Gatsby would act and look like. The only thing that I was a little put off by was that Luhrmann added a extra bit about Jay and Daisy having an affair. I feel like it was unneeded. Otherwise, The Great Gatsby will be added to my list of favorite period dramas. The scenery and costums are beautiful. It's really beautiful movie to watch even if you aren't a fan of the book.  

Spring Outfit Idea No. One

Polyvore is one of my favorite site to find inspiration for outfit ideas. This spring, I'm excited to wear maxi skirts again. My personal favorite type of maxi skirt are black pleated ones. They have a slimming and elongating effected, and for someone that is short like me, it an awesome plus.  I love to pair maxi skirts with a more fitted top like a oxford button up. This one from J-Crew is something that I have added to my fashion wish list. The pull-over style of the shirt is a fun change from the standard button-down. Spring and Summer is not complete without a great pair of flip flops. Rainbows are my personal favorite. I love how that mold to your feet and have a unbelievably long life span. I have one pair for over 2 years! They are worth the investment if you are an avid flip flop wearer. 

As for jewelry,  I like to keep it simple. I make a lot go the bracelets I wear. I like to make friendship bracelets while watching tv or a movie. I like to offset the look of the casual friendship bracelets with a more structured piece like a watch. And lastly I complete all my looks with my trusty Cambridge Satchel. It is the perfect bag to go with any outfit. I can't wait to rock a similar outfit once the weather gets warmer in Baltimore.

flaws

Bastille is my new obsession. I have been listening to their newest album on repeat from the moment I discovered it about a month ago. One thing that I have really loved about there music is their lyrics. Flaws by Bastille has been a song that I really admired that lyrics to the song. Bastille has been able to convey a very simple truth into a beautiful. We all have flaws and accepting them is the first step to accepting someone else flaws.  

Check out this Acoustic version: Bastille-Flaws

Weekly Pick: Call the Midwife

I'm a totally sucker for anything historical and british so it was only a matter of time before I watched Call the Midwife on Netflix. Last week, I was looking for something new that I could binge watch after work on Netflix and this tv shows was popping up in several of my list of suggested tv shows on Netflix. While I'm not one for watching medical dramas or shows about baby's being born, I figured why not give it a try. I almost instantly became addicted to Call the Midwife. I believe I watched 3 episode the night I discovered it. 

The show chronicles the lives of young midwives living in the East End of London during the 1950s. It confronts the poverty of the area, changes in social norms, and a little of finding love. Besides for the addicting plot line,  the costumes and makeup are wonderful. If you are a lover of British costumes drama, give it a try. Seasons 1 & 2 are on Netflix and PBS will be airing Season 3 starting March 30. 

Learn more about the show at pbs.com