Laina Turner's Blog, page 51

Fab 5 Friday

1.Minimalist Baker – Blueberry Quinoa Salad

This salad warranted two recipe posts in this weeks fab 5. The frozen yogurt below sounds sinfully good, but this salad looks just as delicious without the calories. Plus, I love me a berry salad in the summer!

 

2.apartment therapy – Best Cotton Summer Blankets

I always want to be under a blanket, even in the summer. I just love having something over me when I watch a movie or read a book. This gave me some great ideas for lightweight summer throws to have around the house in the warm weather!

 

3.Everyday Reading – Coconut Cherry Frozen Yogurt

This sounds (and looks!) so amazing; I cannot wait to try it! Coconut has truly become the flavor of the year and combined with the tartness of cherries you’ve got yourself the taste of summer all freezed up in a bowl!

 

4.Chickpea In The City – Weekly Grocery Haul Favorites

All these foods look beyond delicious and super healthy! Also a good reminder to always try to cook at home – even if it’s something you’ve never made before – over dining out.

 

5.Who What Wear – The Best Blogger Outfits of the Summer

This is one of those posts where I’m really here just to gawk at what other blogger’s wear, how they put together outfits, etc. Find anything you like and the post has a link for you to buy it! That could be dangerous…

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Before and After Paint Job

If you’ve been reading my blog you know we bought a new house in May, and it needed a bit of updating. Part of the work it needed was cosmetic, and some were more intensive remodeling.

We are about in the middle of the intensive remodeling piece and thank goodness I’m excited about it, or I’d be really tired of living in the basement and not having most of my things. We’ve lived in the house a month now, and I feel so unorganized and scattered.

Half our dining table and chairs somehow mistakenly got put in the POD headed to storage, so we haven’t even been having regular dinners. Not only is that expensive but our family routine has been thrown out the window and while I’m not a rigid person routine is beneficial in many ways.

I’m just praying that all the work is done by the time the kids start school mid-August because for the sake of my sanity I HAVE to be in a routine by then and have all our stuff out of storage. Though I’m tempted to toss it all. We’ve lived without the stuff for the last month. Maybe we can live without it altogether.

The main floor was mostly cosmetic and while there is still a lot of work to be done we did paint the walls and trim and WOW a coat of paint makes such a difference.

We also changed the flooring and those 2 things even made the brass fixtures look better. A coat of paint can go a long way to improving the look of something.

Of course, it’s very plain right now as nothing is decorated but baby steps.

What room in your house would you love to repaint?

 

 

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Out of Control Spending

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Fab 5 Friday

1.Green Wedding Shoes – SUMMER SOLSTICE FLOWER PARTY

If you’re planning any type of event with your gals, this post is a must-see. The photos are gorgeous and the concept is great: catching up with old friends and introducing new ones. Even only as a fantasy, this event is so beautiful you’ll want to have one!

2. My Whole Food Life – Avocados with Mango Salsa Colorful fruits and veggies are  a staple of summer eating. And avocado may be the trendiest green food right now! The fact that this colorful snack is vegan and gluten-free is just the cherry on top of a very healthy cake!

Chickpea In The City – Farm-to-Table Brunching: Presidio

Brunch is a must. This little place in the Chicagoland area sounds cozy and delicious! It also inspires me to try new places around my neighborhood and get to know who does brunch.

The College Prepster – Summer Jewelry

A good reminder to throw on a few of those pieces that you look at in the winter and think “That’s a bit too summery…” Now’s the time!

Gal Meets Glam – Beauty Updates

Here is a good reminder about drinking enough water to help your skin! As well as some info about products if you’re looking for something new! Bonus: all the pictures are floral and lovely.

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Get Rid of Frizzy Hair

I have naturally curly hair and while I like loose flowing curls (which isn’t my kind of natural curl) and blowing it out straight, it doesn’t happen without a lot of product and perfect weather conditions.

If there is any humidity in the air, I might as well forget it. It’s a frizzy mess. Though the dry air of winter isn’t that much better. It sucks the moisture out and makes it dry and coarse and just feels like steel wool.

This year has been especially hard on my hair and so I did something I had been thinking about doing for a couple years now.

A Brazilian Blowout.

I’ve been interested in this process that claimed to relax the curl but more importantly get rid of the frizz. My research discovered that there were several different types and I knew I wanted one that was formaldehyde free and free of any nasty chemicals.

I didn’t want to use anything that would harm my hair. I color it enough as it is.

I found a salon that used a process that was basically putting a keratin treatment on the hair and then blowing it out and sealing with a flat iron. I felt comfortable with that so decided why not. I figured if it turned out horrible I could just shave my head.

It’s only hair, right?

The hardest part of the process was the 3 hours it took but I had a great time chatting with the stylist.

The stylist washed and conditioned my hair with a special shampoo/conditioner and then put the treatment on, dried it, and flat ironed it.

She then washed my hair again and gave me a blowout. She told me not to wash my hair for 48 hours, but I actually went 72. I know that might sound like a long time but since my hair tends to be dry my blowouts last a long time.

When I washed my hair for the first time after the process, I was amazed at the feel. It felt so smooth. In fact, it felt so smooth I thought maybe I hadn’t rinsed out all the conditioner, so rinsed it again but it still had the same awesome feel.

I wanted to see what it was like naturally so I let it air dry only working some Moroccan oil into my hair but not nearly as much as I typically used.

After it air-dried I was pleasantly surprised. More than pleasantly surprised. It still was wavy but was also shiny and not at all frizzy. It felt soft and smooth and I LOVED it. (I also got it cut so that’s why the length difference in the before and afetr)

It wasn’t a big mop of frizzy hair and I didn’t have to spend forever trying to straighten it.

I could put those cool big curls in I like so much and the time to style it is a lot less.

The treatment lasted about 6 weeks on my hair before it started to get more curly and more frizzy. It took about 12 weeks before it was completely back to normal.

Here is what it looks like blown out with just a round brush.

I will definitely be getting another one.

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Fun on the 4th of July

This was a bit of a lazy weekend. I had grand plans of getting a huge list of things done but didn’t get to much of it in lieu of just enjoying the nice weather.

Saturday started with Syd and I biking 3 miles to eat breakfast at Vitality Bowl. A yummy new healthy eating place in our downtown.

Then we watched the 4th of July parade. Who can resist a float of pancakes?

A sleepy Elmo.

And some just plain pretty floats.

And then fireworks where I snapped this selfie with my 13-year-old son who is growing up way to fast.

Hope you had as great of a 4th as I did!

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Fab 5 Friday

apartment therapy – Dump Your Decor: 4 Times to Say Goodbye

We have spring cleaning, now we should have home summer-izing. A time where we think about what furniture pieces  and stylistic elements we really enjoy versus those that have just been around forever. I would add that that new, fresh feeling of revamping your home over the summer will last the rest of the year as you really begin to notice and appreciate new styles and pieces in the winter months when we spend most of our time indoors.

 

The College Prepster – Instagram Editing

These are some helpful reminders for all of those on the gram who wish to polish off some photographs.  I have used both the editing and processing apps that she mentions and can attest that they are really easy (and fun!) to use.

 

Gal Meets Glam – Sunday Farmer’s Market

Some beautiful photographs in this post! Farmer’s markets are by far one of the best things about summer and this post beautifully captures that weekend-morning experience. Also, as she mentions, the blogger’s patriotic outfit is absolutely adorable and should inspire a treat-yourself shopping trip for a new outfit this holiday weekend without spending much!

 

Healthy. Happy. Life. – Fruit & Nut Chocolate Bark

Bark is always a great go-to dessert as it takes practically no time, no baking creativity, and is pretty to look at. Plus, it makes a quick and easy host gift. This bark combines quirky flavors and a pop of color for a savory-sweet combo that’s perfect as a summer treat.

 

MindBodyGreen – 7 Strategies for Smoothie Success

Smoothies have become the trendiest staple of the summer and this post inspires me to make more smoothies at home! They’re super healthy after a workout, as a snack, and you can pack them full of nutrition – especially for people like me (or children) who maybe aren’t the biggest fan of vegetables.

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10 Awesome Instagram Tips

I was at the iRetreat Blogging Conference the last few days and not only did I get to eat the food and see the sights of AMAZING New Orleans, but I also learned a whole hell of a lot.

I wrote a post about Instagram a while back, and that list is crap compared to this list. Amazing how you don’t know what you don’t know.

If I had to rank topics in the order of how much I learned I would put Instagram at the top of that list. The ladies at FSC Interactive were full of super terrific information.

I like Instagram, it’s fun to look at everyone’s pictures, and I have a decent following, but it’s definitely got the lowest engagement of any of my social media platforms. I’ve tried to blame this on the fact that it’s not my core demographic but to be honest I’ve just never been completely comfortable with how I’m supposed to use it.

If I wrote down everything I learned it would be a really long blog post, so I thought I would distil it down into what I felt the most important pieces were (at least to me).

Think of Instagram as a visual magazine. Is it appealing? Would you want to look at your own images?
Rule of thirds. Imagine your photo in 9 equal sections. Your most interesting aspect should hit a line on the grid not be centered. Did you know there is a grid feature in the Instagram camera? Me either.
Edit your pictures. Don’t feel you have to post in the moment. If your photos aren’t all that great take the time to edit them and make them great before you post.
Take an “Instagram walk” Beauty is all around you so practice finding awesome subjects and taking awesome shots.
Take more photos than you will ever need. Instagramming is an art. Practice, practice, practice.
Instagram is microblogging. There is a 2200 character limit. I had no idea. I thought it was about pictures, not text, but you can tell a story.

     a. tricks for formatting long form content

          i. compose in Notes app and copy/paste

          ii. Use Evernote

          iii. Create on your desktop and email yourself copy/paste
Integrate with your blog editorial calendar or create an entire Instagram editorial calendar (this never even occurred to me – didn’t I feel dumb)
Schedule content

     a. Latergramme app

     b. Use Evernote and copy/paste
Use the correct hashtags and don’t use over 30 but at least 11. That seems like the current sweet spot.
Re-gramming – I had no idea this was possible either (so much for thinking I’m social media savvy). There’s a cool app called repost. I tried it a couple times yesterday, and it’s pretty cool.

I hope something on this list was of value. If you have a cool tip or trick to share, leave it in the comments. I’d love to hear it, and I know others would to.

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Walk Around New Orleans

I’m not going to lie. I could have posted another food of New Orleans post today and titled it how I ate my way around the city. Seriously, how could you not?

The food here is AWESOME.

Thank God I packed yoga pants for the plane ride home.

But since the city is so incredibly gorgeous and rich in culture I had to share some of the things I saw. Not just what I ate.

Have a great day!

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My Taste of New Orleans

New Orleans is one of my absolute favorite places. There is just something about the energy and atmosphere that I just LOVE!

And the food. OMG I LOVE the FOOD!

I’m here for a blogging conference, iRetreat2015, and I’ve probably gained 10 lbs since Saturday.

Saturday for dinner I had the taste of New Orleans and I was so hungry and it was so good I forgot to take a picture until I had inhaled the entire thing.

On Sunday we went on a bus tour and go off on Magazine street and ate at Basin’s Seafood & Spirits. I had the catfish Po’Boy and Matt had the shrimp Po’Boy and it may have been the best sandwiches we’ve ever had.

I’m not joking!

The fried pickles rivaled Scotty’s Brewhouse back home which until now were the best on the planet (in my opinion).

 

Then I finally got a beignet. Not from Cafe Du Monde, which I will get too before I leave, but at the hotel.

I was not disappointed.

Red beans and rice topped with fried crawfish tails. Can you say YUM! The empty plate in the background was fried eggplant straws.

Yeah I once again ate before taking the picture.

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