A Little Bit About Me

It's been about a month since I started this blog, and I realized that it's time to formally introduce myself. Plus, there's a great thing happening at Kelly's Korner today: a Singles linky party! I thought this would be a great way to tell a little more about myself. 

I'm 28 and single. I haven't dated a lot, but I've also been pretty picky. I'm looking for a guy who's driven and has goals, but who is also family-oriented and loves Jesus! That's not too much to ask for, is it?! ;) Of course, that's just the short list, but those are my main concerns. 

I've lived in FL my whole life. I'm definitely open to living in another state someday, so if the right guy lives somewhere else, that's fine! I'm really close to my family (which is the main reason I've stayed in FL so long). My parents live about 10 minutes away from me, and my brother and I were actually roommates for a little while before he moved to Dallas. I have a master's degree in business and work in marketing/communications. I enjoy cooking, being outdoors, traveling, running, and of course... shopping! I also love country music and reality TV shows, like The Bachelor! Oh, and I'm 5'8", so I'd appreciate a taller guy! ;)

All of these photos are of me and my family. My brother is single, too! He's 25, a pilot, and lives in Dallas. If you'd like to know anything else, just ask! I love meeting new people!

Pinterest told ME to!

My very favorite bloggers, Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Mix and Match Family, and Sheaffer at Pinterest Told Me To are hosting a linky party on Friday with their friend Mel at The Larson Lingo. Basically, you find outfits on Pinterest and re-create them using what you already have in your closet. This is the concept for Sheaffer's blog, which is part of why it's so amazing!! On the first of each month, the linky party will appear on all three of their blogs. So, I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to finally try to re-create my own Pinspired outfit!

Below is my first attempt. Please excuse the poor quality. But I was pretty proud that I was able to re-create a whole new look that I never would've thought to try on my own! 

Black and white striped top: LOFT (last season)

Yellow pants: LOFT (last season)

Mint green bubble necklace: Etsy

So, Pinterest told J to at J's Everyday Fashion, and then they both told ME to!! :)

If you haven't checked out the blogs I've mentioned, what are you waiting for?! Shay has a beautiful family, and her little brother, Sean Lowe, is the current Bachelor! Sheaffer is hilarious and has an awesome closet full of adorable clothes. (She has a cute family, too!) And in case you were wondering, Mel's family is pretty adorable as well, and her blog is like a real life magazine! 

Get Organized

January is "Get Organized" month, and just because the month is almost over doesn't mean it's too late to get started! On Sunday, my friend and I spent the afternoon organizing our recipes. Yes, I do have a Pinterest account, but before that I printed a lot of recipes from websites and never really organized them. I also see recipes in magazines from time to time and needed a good way to organize them.

We bought decorative binders from Target, sheet protectors, tab dividers, and used glue sticks and card stock to secure the smaller magazine clippings. It definitely took some time, but I feel so much more organized now! All my recipes are categorized and easy to find. Plus, while I'm cooking, it's much easier to refer to a page in a binder, rather than running back and forth to my laptop. Plus, if I spill anything on the recipe, it'll wipe right off the sheet protector! Pretty genius, huh?! Eventually, I might print out some of my Pinterest recipes and add them to my notebook.

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This is the notebook I bought (in the pink color). It's only sold in stores, but isn't it adorable?! How can you not want to get organized with something like that?! ;)

My Favorite Stir-Fry

I love me some Asian food. It's usually packed with veggies and lots of great flavor, so of course it's one of my favorites. But sometimes getting Asian food from a restaurant or take-out place is just not great. It's a lot greasier and a lot less healthy. By making it at home, I'm able to control the ingredients, and it's actually just as cheap as take-out!

I love vegetable lo mein, but every time I tried a recipe for it, it called for corn starch and ended up taking on the texture of glue. Not very appetizing. I finally gave up on that idea and decided to just make a yummy veggie stir-fry and add noodles. You can use whatever kind of noodles you like. You could even sub the noodles for rice. I always use packaged egg noodles because they're inexpensive and yummy! Just be sure to boil them first, but don't overcook them since they'll be added to the stir-fry and cook a little longer. Also, feel free to use whatever veggies you like best. I typically use scallions, carrots, and broccoli, but I'm sure just about anything would be delicious!

Ingredients
1 package egg noodles (I like Mueller's Medium noodles)
fresh veggies, chopped (I use a head of broccoli, one bunch of scallions, and a couple big handfuls of shredded carrots)
1 small piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5-6 Tbs. canola oil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
5-6 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. lemon juice

Boil noodles, but don't let them get too soft. Drain.
Heat a large skillet or wok with 3-4 Tbs. canola oil. When very hot, add veggies (except scallions or other very tender veggies) and stir fry 2-3 minutes.
Push veggies to the side of the pan. Add a little more oil. Stir fry the scallions, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes for 1-2 minutes.
Add last drops of oil to pan, along with cooked noodles. Don't stop stirring!
About about 1 minutes, sprinkle with soy sauce and lemon juice. Stir and serve!


On a side-note, Gooseberry Patch has some of the best recipes around. They're hosting a blog hop, so I thought it would be fun to participate in my first one! Check out the yummy recipes everyone is sharing!

On the Up & Up

I'm definitely not a name brand person. I have no problem buying store brands. I learned a long time ago in marketing classes that many products are often manufactured by one company that just puts different labels on them. So, in reality, you're getting the same thing, but with a different name on it. I've found that store brands cost a lot less and are usually very satisfactory.

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Hence, my discovery of a great store brand beauty product. Yes, a beauty product. Well, kind of. I am in love with Target's Up & Up brand of nail polish remover! I bought it for less than $1 and it works wonders! I recently ran out of the salon brand nail polish remover I'd had for years. It never did a great job, but I figured it was just me. I tried using cotton balls, cotton pads... you name it! But no matter what, it was still difficult and time-consuming to get the polish off my nails, especially my thumb nails. They have ridges in them (that's another blog post-- I need some good products recommendations for this issue). But with this cheap-o polish remover from Target, it swipes right off, making my self-manicures so much easier to handle! I highly recommend giving this Target beauty wonder a try!

An Unplanned Hiatus

I've been on an unplanned hiatus for a week! I kept thinking about the blog and things to write about, but I was battling the flu all week, and was just too sick to post. But now that I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to stock up on your vitamins! I highly recommend the Vitamin C gummies. I bought mine at Trader Joe's, but you can find them anywhere. After swallowing Tylenol, cough syrup and whatever else I felt like would help me, the last thing I wanted to swallow was another vitamin. The Vitamin C gummies really come in handy! I don't take the gummy multi-vitamins because they don't contain iron, but if you're ok with that... go right ahead! 

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I also highly recommend taking Emergen-C. It never hurts to boost your immune system. I bought the blueberry-acai kind at Target, and plan to take some every day when I'm around a lot of people, sick or not. Here's to a healthier year, and hopefully more fun blog posts in the future!

A Lipstick Kick

I've been on a lipstick kick lately. I used to always have one or maybe two lipsticks or glosses that I'd use, but for the most part I'd use the same one every day. Well, I've recently realized how fun it is to change your look completely by wearing a different lip color. I'm really into the pink shades right now, and a good product really makes all the difference. 

I've been a fan of the CoverGirl NatureLuxe glosses for a while. They're inexpensive and moisturizing, and they have a great line of shades. I keep one in my purse for touch ups, and to use when my lips feel dry. My favorite shade is Thistle.  

I recently discovered some of the higher end lipsticks and glosses, and they are amazing!! I especially loves Nars and MAC products. I currently own MAC's Snob lipstick and Nars' Moonfleet gloss. 

They are both gorgeous shades, and I love wearing them together. I have lots more Nars and MAC products on my wishlist, and I can't wait to try more and wear lots of different shades!

The Perfect Jeans

Everyone has a hard time finding great jeans, right? They either have a gap in the back so that every time you bend over or sit down, your underwear peek out. Or they're so tight in the waist in order to make them fit properly everywhere else that they practically cut off your breathing. Or, maybe you're like me and they're too short, or you might have the opposite problem with them being too long. Well, I've always been a fan of 7 for All Mankind jeans. I have one pair, and they're my very favorites. But I've had this pair for several years, and I don't think my budget will allow me to purchase any more in the near future. So, I was on the search for a great pair of bootcut jeans at a lower price point. In the winter, I wear skinny jeans all the time. I love to tuck them into boots or wear them with flats. But in the summer, skinny jeans are just too hot for me! They're so tight on my legs and ankles, and it just doesn't work in this Florida heat and humidity. So, I like a looser fit... hence, the bootcut. 

I've heard great things about American Eagle jeans, but I didn't believe it. I mean, isn't that store for teeny-boppers?! Let me assure you, it isn't. They make great fitting jeans. They recently had a sale where all jeans were $29.99, and shipping was free, plus I found a coupon code. So, I figured it would be the perfect time to test a pair. Lo and behold... they offer long sizes, too, which work perfectly for me! They even have x-long, short, and x-short! I ordered a lighter color because all my other jeans are dark, and I wanted something for casual for the warmer months. These are the jeans I bought, and they fit like a glove!! They are still only $29.99!

I'm so excited about them, and the fact that they were so inexpensive is icing on the cake!!

Veg-Head

Most people who know me know that I'm a vegetarian. I have been since I was about 3 years old. I just never liked meat. And no, no one else in my family is a vegetarian. Just me. But I'm not one of those weird-food-eating vegetarians. In fact, I'm not even a fan of tofu. I basically eat the same foods as most other people, just without the meat. And of course, I have to get extra protein through dairy, nuts, beans, etc. So the recipes I share will be meatless, but I promise they'll all be super yummy, and of course, real simple!

For the longest time, I would never eat anything like a veggie burger because I couldn't get past the texture. I was afraid it would seem too much like meat. But I eventually discovered some great veggie burger recipes, (and let's face it... Morningstar Farms makes a pretty mean black bean veggie burger), so now I love them! I came across a recipe for a Thai veggie burger, and let me tell you... it's really delicious and different! I served mine with a broccoli slaw straight from a kit I purchased in my grocery store's produce section. Real simple, huh? For the recipe, just go here! Enjoy!

The Power of Prayer

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how nice it would be to have someone to share my life with. I really am tired of being single, but I've come to the conclusion that it's God's plan for me right now. Plus, I realized that maybe I haven't been praying enough about it. I need to pray harder that God will send the right guy to me. I recently ordered a book that I've heard lots of great things about, Jesus Calling. I'm hoping it will encourage me to think more positively and pray more. I can't wait to get it and start my prayer journey to find whoever God has for me!

Hair Repair

I'm one of those people who always wears my hair down. Unless I'm working out or doing something adventurous or strenuous, it's down. I don't like the way my I look when my hair is up and I honestly feel pretty limited when it comes to cute ways to wear it up. This shouldn't be a problem for me since my mom is a hairdresser and has been doing hair since before I was born. Everyone thinks I should've just inherited that gene and have magic hair hands, but that's unfortunately not the case. Well, in order for me to wear my hair down, it usually requires straightening it. I recently burned my hair kind of badly! I don't know if I did it with my straightener or blowdryer, but it was not good! I, of course, asked my mom right away what I could do for it and she said there wasn't really a good solution. But she did buy me a great deep conditioner to try, and it has worked wonders! It's by Joico, and it's called K-PAK Deep-Penetrating Reconstructor. The damaged part of my hair improved after the first time I used this stuff! While it's not completely repaired (I'll just have to let it grow and keep trimming it), it's so much better and not noticeable now. Even if your hair hasn't been burned like mine, this is a great treatment to use on a regular basis to keep your hair healthy, especially if it's color-treated or dry. 

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Skintastic

I've recently come to the realization that I need to take excellent care of my skin now because it's easier to prevent problems than try to correct them. I'm not interested in baking in the sun anymore. If I'm feelin too pasty, there are plenty of decent self-tanners out there. Keeping my skin and face healthy is more important. After all, I only have one face... better take care of it!

I've been intrigued by the Clarisonic for some time now, but just couldn't justify the price. Well, I finally found a good sale on it on that was only being offered on 12/12/12 at askderm.com. They were offering 30% off plus free shipping! I caved and ordered one, and I haven't put it down since I got it! I LOVE it! My face feels so much cleaner and smoother after I use it! And the best part is that you can use whatever cleanser you like with it! No need to buy any special products. It may seem pricey, but I can vouch that it's definitely an investment worth making!

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Excited about Mondays!

So, I'm crazy, right? Mondays...exciting? Well, yes. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge fan of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. I have watched these shows from the start and still keep up with lots of the people who were on them. I'm most excited about this Monday, January 7, because the new bachelor is going to be my very favorite, I just know it! Sean Lowe was a contestant on the last season of The Bachelorette (surprise, surprise), but he is one of those guys who just don't seem to exist anymore. Watch the show Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC and you'll see what I mean!

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Welcome

Hi! I'm Jenna, and I consider myself a real simple girl. I love food, cooking, fashion, beauty, entertainment... you know, the simple things in life! It doesn't take much to make me happy, but when I discover a great new recipe or product, I'm in heaven! I'll share some of my favorite things and give you a peek inside my simple life.

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while now, but I wasn't sure I'd have the time to devote to it. Then, I decided it's about having fun and doesn't need to be treated so seriously. A friend recently told me that my dream job should be to work for Real Simple magazine because I'm full of great ideas! I started thinking about that, and I really do have lots of fun things to share with people! So, here goes nothing...