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January 2014

Decor & Entertaining Style

Furniture Shopping

January 23, 2014

Fortunately we’re not dealing with the “snowpocalypse” that our northern friends are currently enduring but it’s still pretty cold here in the Palmetto state. Despite that I managed to get out and do a little furniture shopping. My move is next week and while I’m really excited, there’s a lot to get done. Today I was on the hunt for an accent chair.  I checked out my favorite thrift store and found a great option but unfortunately the chairs were being sold as pairs and I only need one. I also checked TJ Maxx and found some beautiful chairs but they weren’t exactly what I had in mind. The hunt continues…

Coat: Asos, Top: Topshop, Jeans: Forever 21, Bag: Gifted (Just Fab), Shoes: Dolce Vita, Watch: Asos
just fab
tj maxx
Gorgeous chairs from TJ Maxx. I seriously love these. I’m still contemplating getting them as dining room chairs!
I hope you all are staying warm wherever you are! Happy Humpday!
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Food

Healthy Food Must Haves

January 21, 2014

I love trying new healthy foods but there are certain items that pretty much stay on my grocery list. One because I love them, and two because they’re so versatile. Check out my healthy food must haves below:

A few of my must haves

  1. Sweet potatoes – The possibilities are endless for a sweet potato. You can stuff it with lean meats or vegetables, make home made fries with it or hummus, or have it as a side with some seafood and a salad. Get crazy!

  2. Goat cheese – I love goat cheese. If it’s savory, chances are I’m putting goat cheese on it. I use this for egg white omelets, sandwiches, sweet potatoes, pasta dishes, salads, and roasted vegetables.

  3. Kashi Cereal – I have the same thing for breakfast every morning. A bowl of Kashi cereal. The kind I eat has 10 grams of fiber, 13 grams of protein, and only 160 calories in one serving (1 cup, dry). You just can’t beat that!

  4. Vanilla Almond Milk – I use this for my cereal every morning. It would also be great for smoothies and as an alternative to dairy milk in muffin recipes.

  5. Trader Joes Rolled Oats & Chocolate Chips Fiberful Granola Bars – I LOVE THESE BARS! I have one each morning with my bowl of cereal. It has 9 grams of fiber and 120 calories per bar. Add that to the fiber count from my cereal and I’ve already had 19 grams of fiber before 9:30. Most people don’t get that much fiber in an entire day! Did I mention these taste so good?!

  6. Chicken Sausage – Most of the items on this list I’ve been eating for a while but this is a more recent discovery, and I can’t imagine going without it. You can use it to make a loaded sweet potato, eat it with spaghetti squash, or make a chicken sausage dog.

  7. Chobani greek yogurt – The people at Chobani know what they’re doing. Their greek yogurts are so decadent and they truly taste like dessert. One serving usually has at least 10 grams of protein. My favorite is pineapple, but I also love apple cinnamon, mango, and their key lime flip.

  8. Bananas – I love my fruits – pineapple, pomegranate, and peach (pretty much any fruit that starts with a “p” and is a little tart), but bananas are my staple. They’re so simple, and you can eat them in a bazillion different ways. On their own, in smoothies, dipped in dark chocolate to satisfy your sweet tooth, or make some whole grain whole wheat banana bread when they get extra ripe.

  9. Spinach – You can use spinach as the base of a salmon and goat cheese salad, in a grilled chicken sandwich, a vegetarian lasagna dish, or in a banana pineapple smoothie.

What are your healthy must haves? Tell me below in the comments!
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Food

Culinary Pursuits: Holiday Leftover Club

January 6, 2014

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2014 has been treating you well. Now that the holidays are over *tear*, I wanted to bring you a recipe to get your year off to a healthy start and hopefully get rid of any leftovers you may have. My sister came up with this and it tasted great. I asked her what she dubbed her creation and she decided to call it the Holiday Leftover Club. The name says it all. If you’re struggling with what to do with your holiday leftovers (and mailing it to me is out of the question), then you should definitely make this. It’s so simple.

Ingredients:
1/2 of a medium sized sweet potato, mashed
2 cups of spinach
~1 handful of turkey
2 slices of 100% whole wheat whole grain bread
Directions:
1. Completely skin the sweet potato.
2. Once skinned, slightly dampen it. I wet my hands and then pat it on the sweet potato.
3. Wrap the sweet potato up tightly in saran wrap and heat it up for 6-7 minutes (or until soft and
mushy).
4. Cook two cups of spinach with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. You can add salt and pepper or whatever
seasonings you prefer.
5. Toast two slices of bread on the stove at medium high heat until browned. You can toast it with a
little garlic butter or use the spray form of extra virgin olive oil which has 0 calories.
6. Heat up your turkey for about 30 seconds. Make sure not to heat it up for too long or it will
become tough and jerky-like.
7. Take your sweet potato and mash it with a fork. Spread it across one slice of toast.
8. Add your spinach and turkey.
9. Enjoy!
You can thank my sister later. For now, enjoy your sandwich!
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Style

You’ve been so Good to Me, 2013

January 1, 2014
After a successful thesis defense. Cloud nine would be an understatement!
On the way to graduation!
My sister’s first time making the turkey and when I tell you she nailed it I mean she NAILED IT! Turkey has never disappeared so quickly in my house.
Getting ready to go Christmas shopping!
Going out for a celebratory dinner with my mom after landing my fellowship.
This is an outfit I wore to church a couple of Sundays ago. I swear I’ve never gotten so many compliments on an outfit. I’m ending 2013 on a very fashionable note!
I don’t really like alcohol so this is what I’ll be having when the clock strikes 12.  Peep my sparkly NYE nails! They’re graphite by Chanel.

2013 has been nothing short of incredible.  The good completely overshadowed the bad and I am immensely grateful. There were so many things I was able to accomplish this year from finally starting this blog, graduating with my masters, and landing a pretty awesome fellowship that I’ll be starting in the New Year. The growth I’ve experienced both personally and professionally has been beyond anything I could have dreamed of at the end of 2012. With all of that being said, I am so excited about 2014. I’m excited for the people I’ll meet, the opportunities to travel, to write and connect with more of you on this blog, and to continue to grow as a person. I hope you all have a safe and amazing night, and a spectacular New Year! I’ll see you on the other side:)

Lots of love,
Chioma

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