So I’ve been getting super excited about moving in with Ben and, after talking it through, we’ve decided that our theme colors for our new place will be blush, navy, and gold.

Since I don’t have much artwork up on my walls, I figured I’d start decorating my place with these theme colors in mind so we can start deciding what we like and don’t like.

I knew exactly where I wanted to start for decorations: spray paint striped canvas art. I’ve seen other people do it, and I wanted to try my hand at it.

I drove to the store and picked up some navy and gold spray paint and got to work. After picking out a nice large canvas from the thrift store for only four bucks, I wiped it down and sprayed over it with gold paint.

I waited a few hours for the paint to dry before placing painter’s tape down over it. I measured out the space between the tape to make it as straight and neat as possible.

Then, I sprayed over it with the navy spray paint I had gotten. Note: the spray paint will get everywhere if you’re not careful. If you’re doing this outside, be aware of the wind so it does not get all over you.

After I had sprayed it with the navy spray paint, it needed to dry for a few more hours. I strongly recommend watching Netflix or doing some errands during this part because you will be tempted to rip the tape right off just to see how it turned out.

Finally, after waiting for a while, the paint was dry and I was able to peel back the tape to reveal…

This beautiful finished painting! I was very enthusiastic when I showed Ben (I asked him, “Do you like it?” at least 5 times in an hour), and he was very happy with the finished product.

Let me know if you try this project!

dating, lifestyle

Should You Ask the Father for Permission?

November 2, 2017October 31, 2017 Elizabeth Yuen

I was looking for some good love advice articles to read (I’m always looking for new ways to improve my relationship), when I stumbled across a Cosmopolitan article entitled: “Don’t Ask Your Girlfriend’s Dad if You Can Marry Her.” I immediately paused, and decided to read through it.

The argument of the author, Jill Filipovic, is that asking your girlfriend’s father for her hand in marriage is not a sign of respect, but a sexist practice. She proceeds to tear apart the tradition and dismisses it as something we need to get rid of.

According to a 2015 survey from TheKnot.com, more men have been asking for the father’s or parent’s permission before getting down on one knee than in 2011. We went from 71% of men asking for permission up to 77%. This respectful tradition is not dead – it is growing.

When it comes to marrying the right or wrong guy, your parents are your last line of defense. If you’re about to marry someone who isn’t going to cherish you to the best of their abilities, then your parents’ blessings are the only thing standing between you and a life with someone who isn’t right for you. An article from the Wall Street Journal states that “Kellie Gould, editor in chief of The Knot, says she has heard anecdotal reports of fathers rejecting boyfriends’ requests. One father told a 19-year-old teen he and his daughter, also 19, were both too young to marry.”

Jill Filipovic is correct on one thing: asking for her father’s permission is not a sign of respect to the woman.

It is a sign of respect to the family.

Marriage is not just between two people, it is a joining of families. When you ask your girlfriend’s father and/or mother for her hand in marriage, you are asking to be a part of her family. You trying to join yourself with her in every possible way, and that includes being a part of her family.

Asking for permission is also a way of letting the parents know that they don’t have to worry. That when they are gone, he will be there to stand strong for their daughter and help her through tough times, just as they have done throughout her life.

Regardless of whether her parents say yes or no, the ultimate decision is hers, but it is still respectful to her family to ask them for their blessing. Their blessing is something to take into consideration when moving forward with the wedding.

Let me know in the comments below if your husband asked your parents for their blessing.

lifestyle

Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe

October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 Elizabeth Yuen

This past Friday, my workplace had a “dessert-off” where employees could bring in their desserts and our three anonymous judges would taste test, determining which dessert they liked the most. My pumpkin cupcakes came in 3rd place.

Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe

Makes 24

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (or just use your own homemade puree)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester (AKA toothpick) inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
Once cool, top with your choice of frosting (I picked cream cheese).

Try it out for yourself and let me know how it turns out!

lifestyle

Pumpkin Puree Recipe

October 26, 2017 Elizabeth Yuen

Ben and I went pumpkin picking with the UNC Kenan-Flagler partner group Kenan Connection. There’s this cute little farm in Raleigh, NC called “Page Farms” that we went to.

After an adorable and short hay ride from the farm to the pumpkin field, we arrived to a wide array of pumpkins. A lot of the kids and families that had attended ran for the larger pumpkins to carve, but Ben and I were on a mission to find the perfect pumpkins to puree.

We picked out the smallest pumpkins we could find! The first one we found immediately. It was in plain sight as soon as we got off the wagon. There were no weird bumps or lumps in it to be seen, and it was already removed from the vines.

Ben and Me at Page Farms with our Pumpkins

The second one we had issues finding. We had to really go into the pumpkin patch and dig around a little. Once we found it, Ben, being the strong guy he is, manage to rip it away from the vines after a bit of pulling and twisting.

We took our pumpkins, hopped on the hayride back to the farm and headed back home.

After setting these bad boys on my kitchen table, I quickly got to work on making pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin Puree Recipe
Ingredients: 2 small pumpkins; 1 cup of water
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Cut out top of pumpkins like you would to carve a pumpkin
Cut pumpkins in half, scoop out the seeds. If you want to roast the seeds, save them for later.
Cut the halves down to quarters.
Pour 1/2 cup of water into each pan.
Lay pumpkins down (skin touching water) in the pans.
Cover pans and pumpkins with foil.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until tender. You should be able to poke the pumpkin meat with a fork easily.
Scrape pumpkin meat from shells, and puree in the blender. I found that using a paring knife worked best – simply peel off the pumpkin skin with your paring knife to get the most out of your pumpkin meat.
Puree pumpkin meat in a blender. Add 1/4 cup of water if it’s not coming out smooth.

Keep in mind that it is a messy recipe, but it is so worth it! You can make all sorts of pumpkin treats with your puree.

Let me know in the comments below what you use pumpkin puree for!

health, lifestyle

Coming Clean: Cassey Ho on Dieting

January 28, 2016 Elizabeth Yuen

Written by Liz Britton

TRIGGER WARNING

Fitness guru, Cassey Ho, recently came out with a video on why she will never diet again. The founder of Blogilates and POP Pilates comes clean about her struggles with her previous extreme dieting. In the video, she lists less than ten things she was allowed to eat during her training for a bikini competition according to her competition trainer.

Apparently, as the competition came closer, her trainer got stricter and stricter with her diet. It got so bad that he even scolded her for eating iceberg lettuce because it had “too many carbs.”

[L]ooking back, I have to tell you…I felt so empty.

Empty described how my stomach felt. Empty described how my brain felt. Empty described how my friendships and relationships felt. I also a very angry person who would snap easily. This is not a Cassey characteristic.

Cassey Ho finished the competition without winning a trophy – but that didn’t matter to her. All she wanted was cheesecake.

That’s right.

Cheesecake. Yum.

But when she ate the dessert, she started showing a huge sign of starvation: cramping.

I cramped so hard and had to curl into fetal position in the car for a couple hours before I could walk again…

This is actually a real symptom of starvation. Some people even throw up after starving for so long that once they eat something, their stomachs completely reject it.

Her struggle with orthorexia (obsession with eating healthy foods) was developed in 8 weeks, but lasted much longer than that. Cassey Ho developed a fear of apples and bananas, believing fruit to have too many sugars and carbs. After the competition, Cassey Ho kept restricting her diet, but she started to gain weight.

Her body was clinging to any calories it could get, making maintaining her weight impossible. With her weight fluctuations came embarrassment, especially since she posts workout videos every week, and is well known fitness instructor.

A year later, I decided the heck with it, I’m just going to eat whatever I want. So I had pizza, Chinese food, lots of rice, boba, cake – whatever I wanted. I ate that on the daily. I also got so unmotivated that I stopped working out too. And guess what. I didn’t gain weight or lose weight. I was like what!?? My metabolism is broken! I was so confused and lost.

But eventually, she got back on track with her eating habits. She questioned why she was working out and eating the way she was. Was it really for her or to fit an image? Being a fitness instructor, Cassey Ho deals with critics all the time. There will always be petty people trying to tear her down, but through self love and self respect, Cassey Ho started her healing journey for herself.

Watch the video below or go to Cassey Ho’s blog to learn more about her journey.

lifestyle

Moving Day Survival Guide

December 7, 2015 Elizabeth Yuen

Written by Liz Britton

I am officially moving tomorrow (hello adult world), and I am running around in a frenzy trying to make sure everything is just perfect for my move. I have a fantastic partner who is ready to help me move, a loud but loving mother who is ready to get her shopping and decorating on, and a moving outfit that says, “I’m here to get work done.”

But before I even get to my new apartment (pictures to come), I need to be confident that I have everything I need for a successful move:

Goodwill It

Bag any unnecessary items and give it all away. If it’s not coming with you or you have no need for it, get it out of the way before you even start to pack.

An Overnight Bag

Because the last thing you’ll want to do is plan out your outfit for the next day or have to drag out all of your tightly packed things in order to get ready for work on Wednesday morning.

Cleaning Supplies

I am a neat-freak, and I will scrub every last inch of that place before I actually start to move in at 10:00am tomorrow. I’ve given myself an hour to get some major scrubbing done before I need to really unpack everything.

My list comes equipped with:

Cleaning Spray

Paper Towels (all of the paper towels)

Lysol Wipes

Vacuum Cleaner

Swiffer

Get Cups/Glasses (if you already have them, make them easy access!)

Or, in my case, Mason Jars! (Because ‘help me, I’m poor‘ is a real struggle, my friends). My best guess is that with all of the moving you will be doing, you’re going to get sweaty and gross. Lifting things up
and putting them down is a huge work out when you’re walking up a few flights of stairs.

Make sure you do everyone a favor and have a few of these bad boys at the ready. The people helping you out will be thirsty and will need a glass of water to keep them going strong.

Label Your Boxes

Buzzfeed suggests color-coding.

Pick a color code for each room and label that room’s boxes accordingly. Label the door of each room with the corresponding sticker/tape so that movers know where to place the boxes.

Take Pictures of Your New Place Before You Move In

Not only will this help with getting a good look at what you’re starting with, but will also help you when you need to move out in a year or ten and want your deposit back.

Last but Not Least: Make Sure You Have Everything You Need

These are just a few of my move-in survival tips! Leave a comment below with a few of yours!

Category: lifestyle

DIY: Spray Paint Striped Canvas Art

Should You Ask the Father for Permission?

Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe

Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe

Pumpkin Puree Recipe

Coming Clean: Cassey Ho on Dieting

Moving Day Survival Guide