Glasses Shop

Guys! Hi, how have you been? I've been busy. You probably guessed that. BUT I have a fun post about glasses for you, and you know this girl, she rocks glasses frames every day of the week. Seriously I feel naked without them. Give me a reason to change things up and I'm down for it!

That's why I'm doing a collaboration with Glasses Shop today. They let me pick a pair for free and I'm writing a post with 100% my opinions. With tons of frames to choose from I narrowed it down to this pair.

Love them! I do wish the site had a way to search by nose width/stem length/lens width... but maybe that's just the numbers nerd in me. I know what ratio fits me well and found some great frames I loved but unfortunately the size wasn't right for me. A tool that allows you to find your range quick would be a great addition.

Need glasses? use this 50% off code GSHOT50 and try a new pair from Glasses Shop!

They also have prescription sunglasses too!


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Crochet fox hat!

You know when you find a great crochet pattern and you want to make it right away? THIS is one of those patterns. And it's free too! I saw this on ravelry (this is a generic link to ravelry because I love the site and want you to know about it, it's free to sign up and totally addicting!! so many patterns! The direct link to the pattern can be found below), added it to my favorites, and then went home and made one for a friend who just had a baby. Only issue was I didn't have any fox red yarn... so I improvised and made a wolf!

Pretty cute huh?
 
I must admit though I'm rather lazy. The ears for one required sewing 2 different pieces and then sewing them together, as you can see I skipped that part and just made them a solid color.

Another lazy thing about me, I don't like weaving in ends, so instead when I changed to the white I just kept the grey yarn in the middle of my white stitches. Take a look below, I put in a piece of red so you could see how I hid the grey so I could pick it up on the other end of the white section. This also means that at the end of this round instead of going in the round again I turned my project and worked back to where I left my white waiting. Easy right? And less ends to sew in!

Of course after I was done with the grey yarn I ran to the store to get some fox red. And then I made a whole litter of fox pups! A few have gone out to friends expecting and the rest were donated to a local center that helps new moms. I've still got some red left so you can bet I'll be making some more of these :)

You can find the crochet fox pattern here. She's got a bunch of other ones too that are great! If you scroll to the comments you will see someone figured out how to make it in newborn size.

If you're looking for a solution for a 2 year old I used the same big kid pattern but a G hook for the whole thing (ended up measuring 19 inches for the head. It's for a coworkers kid, I hope they like it!

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Hemp Bracelet

I dressed like a hippie a good portion of high school and college. My poor mother. At least I never tried to sport dreadlocks. Now-a-days I've dressed up my hippie nature a bit and added in all sorts of other styles to mix things up...but parts of me still find my way back to my old ways. Take this bracelet for example.  

LOVE IT. And it's the perfect craft to bring along to make while camping with your best friend! All you need is a ball of hemp or other type of cord, some scissors, and you're ready to go! The book says you need 2- 200inch long lengths of hemp folded in half (then tie a knot at the top to form a loop- this leaves you with 4 strands but you use two together as one thick strand, see image below). In the end we probably only needed about 2 full arm lengths worth (about 130"). Another option... use 3 strands for an even larger thicker bracelet!

It's super complicated looking, but it's super simple once you get the hang of it. The hardest part is tightening it down so the tension is correct. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it swift enough.

Image taken from Friendship Bracelets: All Grown Up: Hemp, Floss, and Other Boho Chic Designs to Make  For full instructions on how to make this check out the book!

Actually the hardest part was the book not saying you have to do the reverse of the diagrams for every other knot. Otherwise it wont lay flat... So do the above, and then for the next knot... do this:

It's just each step flipped horizontally. Sorry, a little confusing, but once you get the hang of it, so cool!


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Camping and Green Tea

Being a lover of tea I pack it no matter where I travel. What's that? You're too fussy to bother with loose leaf? Say it aint so! And to prove just how simple loose leaf is to make anywhere...

I brought it camping. Not so sure you can complain and say it's too complicated for you.

The wonderful people at Teavivre.com sent me the following sampling of their high quality and super delicious green teas:

Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea
Premium Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea
Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea
Premium Tai Ping Hou Kui Green Tea
Bi Luo Chun Green Tea (Pi Lo Chun)


I couldn't even begin to pick a favorite from the bunch! Ranging from floral to earthy these teas are the perfect way to start my day, no matter if I'm camping, or heading to work.

Are you indecisive like me? Great news, they have sampler packs just like what they sent me! You can find the sample packs here.


I was not paid for this post, samples provided by Teavivre, opinions are all mine.




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Double Chocolate Protein Cookies

They're real, and they're spectacular!

Looking for a tasty protein packed snack that is a cookie in disguise? I fed these to coworkers and they had no idea they were good for them. SCORE.

That is totally my go to test for if a recipe is a win or not. Pass it on to coworkers and see if they happily eat it, and then the most important part, ask for more :D

Check out the recipe for these chocolate protein cookies on Food Fanatic.


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Strawberry Nutella Pie

Happy June! I was called out by not 1, not 2, but FOUR people this weekend about not posting... and only ONE of those four was my mom. Just saying.

If I gave you a slice of this strawberry nutella pie would you forgive me?

Thought so.

It's a good thing I decided to make up a new recipe out of nowhere tonight. Perfect blog fodder. Not that you're looking for posts from me anymore. Maybe I should explain. We had much going on this past 1/2 year that caused a lack of posting. The thing that caused the most rukus it seems was a got a new job. Seriously awesome opportunity and great people! However the schedule is a bit more jam packed and when I get home at night all I want to do is chill with the husband and Hobbes.

Trail hike anyone?

So that brings up back to this pie. This deliciously gloriously easy to make pie. Horror of horrors I realized too late I was at the bottom of my jar of nutella, so next time I'll be adding a bit more of the sweet stuff, both to the inside and the top of this pie. But for the mean time, this hit just the spot.



Strawberry Nutella Pie
recipe by steph chows

1 pre-made graham cracker crust
4oz fat free cream cheese
2- 6oz containers fat free strawberry yogurt
2 Tbs nutella
4oz fat free cool whip thawed
6 large strawberries sliced
chocolate sauce to drizzle (or just use more nutella)

Beat cream cheese yogurt and nutella until smooth. Fold in cool whip and scoop into the graham cracker crust. Top with sliced strawberries and chocolate sauce.



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A new quick at home workout

I've been working out at home for a little over a year now. Not having a gym membership is totally foreign to me but I must admit I love the time it saves not having to drive anywhere or work my schedule around a class I like.

I do miss some of my heavy weights though, on that note I've been hitting craigslist and some garage sales to find some new workout buddies to keep me company at home.

$2!!! How awesome is that! This GoFit 25-Pound Orange Kettlebell with Vinyl Coating sells online for way more than that.

Here's my workout from yesterday. It only takes 20 minutes and by the end you feel like you had an awesome workout!

Do 12 reps each of the following exercises in a row without any rest in between.  At the end of the last movement rest 60 seconds, then start from the top. Do 5 sets and you're done!

1. Pushups
2. Narrow Squat (holding 25 lb kettlebell)
3. Burpees
4. Bicep curls (12 each arm) - I used 15lb dumbells
5. High knees (12 each knee)
6. Straight leg deadlift (holding 25lb kettlebell)
7. Regular squat (holding 25 lb kettlebell)

Rest 1 minute and then repeat! Done and done. Make sure to warm up first, I tend to do a combo of running in place/jumping jacks at the start and end. Let me know how you like it!




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Favorite Hat

OK this hat might look familiar to a good number of people... it was my go to christmas gift because I'm so in love with it. The pattern is super easy to follow and once you get past R4 it is just a repeat and easy goings! I may have a few in different colors that I made just for myself...

If I didn't already give you one... go and find the free crochet hat pattern here and start hooking! What's your favorite free crochet hat pattern?? I'm always looking for new things to make!




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