A New Start: The Healthy Life!

I won't go into detail, but recently I have been going through some health problems. I had begun to make a change in my diet previously, but this had solidified the idea that it was time to make a lifestyle change. Now, I am struggling to live away from my parents and to maintain this "healthy" lifestyle, while also balancing school and a social life.

Now, I am someone who can never stick to anything! I will start a project and never finish it, or I will begin to have a healthy diet and right away start to eat snacks whenever I can sneak them in. However, I have finally found one of the easiest ways to maintain this new exercise regimen! I found this girl called Blogilates a while ago on YouTube through another YouTube user. She was bright, fun and super energetic! When I started her first video, I was astounded. I could actually keep up and she was amazing! She kept track of every video that you needed to do for the day (all place in one easy peas-y convenient location). I completed my fifth day of this "beginners poppilates" and so far I can happily say that I am constantly sore and it feels great!


Her website is www.blogilates.com and from there you can find the beginners workout on there! - E.

A Few Changes

For those of you who have frequented Rustic Beau before, you may have noticed a few changes that have taken place on our blog.  To start off the New Year, Erika and I decided to give Rustic Beau a little updating. We renamed our blog A Penny for Your Thoughts and widened our range of blogging topics to include more personal topics of interest, such as our experiences during our last year as undergrads, our quest to become physically and emotionally healthier, and our thoughts and feelings about beginning post-college life in just a few short months.  By expanding the subject matter of our blog, we hope that we will feel more free to share the happenings of our daily lives (in addition to posting beauty reviews, decor/organization ideas, and DIY projects) and therefore post more frequently.  It'll be interesting to see how things actually pan out considering how well our blogging quest went at the end of last summer...  However, what better time to set new goals and challenges for ourselves than the beginning of a new year!  (:

Well, that's all for now folks!  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stay tuned!

- M.

Happy 2014!

Hi everyone (...anyone?!).  We know it's been a while...  Despite the fact that we haven't posted in a few...err...quite a few months, Erika and I thought that a good way to start off the new year would be to write a post sharing some of our New Year's resolutions!

E.
- become healthier (cardio 3x a week)
- begin yoga
- be less selfish
- eat less candy

M.
- walk Penny at least 3x a week
- read more
- floss my teeth everyday
- drink more water
The last two are past (and sadly, unkept) resolutions.  Hopefully I'll do better at keeping them this year!

E. and M.
- post two times a month! (haha... but really...)

We hope you all had a wonderful and safe New Year's eve and wish you nothing but the best for 2014!  Here's to a great new year!

- M. & E.

P.S.  Stay tuned!  Erika and I have some updates in mind for what is currently "Rustic Beau!"

I Love Apples. This Is My Apple Song.

After a longgg summer of summer school and work, a day trip with one of my besties was just what I needed.  Once summer school finallyyy came to a close, my friend and I decided to venture up to Apple Hill.  To say that it was an awesomely fun day is an understatement.  Below are just a few of the photos from our apple adventure.

Apple Hill in Apple iPhone photos.

 

 

There's nothing that a day filled with car singing, donut eating, hay riding, llama feeding, and apple picking can't cure.  Absolutely nothing.  Thanks for the amazing day Apple Hill!  Until next time...  Pumpkin patch-ing anyone?  (:

- M.

Unbelievably Easy French Nails!

I used to always pay to have my nails done at my local salon. I would love the classic french tip nails, which would end up costing more than the regular basic polish. When I first saw the way that the nail technician did it, I was astounded! I could easily do these nail! I didn't need any tape or stickers. This is how I did them:

1. For this nail tutorial I used OPI white nail polish (no idea what it's called, but the nail polish is white), a brush (E.L.F., $1 eye lining brush), a tissue, nail polish remover and Essie 3-way glaze. All of these products are relatively cheap, but for nail polishes, any white nail polish will work. Don't be afraid to try different things with your nail colors! I once did the galaxy nail, but decided to do just the tips of the nails as galaxies.
   
2. I started out with clean nails. This is super important. To help the nail polish stick on better, buffing the nail will help it stay on longer
3. So what now? Paint the tips of your nails white. It doesn't have to be neat, just paint the ends of them.
   
4. Pour a small amount of nail polish remover into the cap of the bottle and then take the E.L.F. eye liner brush and dip it into the nail polish remover. 
5. At this time, you will need to be extremely careful. Shape the nails into how you'd like them to look. You can either make them rounded or straight (as I did). Hold your hand however you need to make this process easier. I find that holding them like I did in the first photograph and holding the brush from behind my hand helps me have better control over the brush.
   
6. Once you have finished shaping all the white parts on your nail, put a layer of top coat over the whole nail to create the shiny look.
   
7. Ta-da! Easy, cheap french tip nails :)

- E.

Going Packing Crazy!

As the school year approaches, my life has once again turned into a frenzy of packing. I am constantly thinking about what I have to pack, so that I won't forget anything, and I even dream about packing and moving. Last year was my first year to move for the first time in my life. I had no idea what I needed and the school only tells you the basic things that you need. As the week goes on, I will try and give some tips on packing. My first problem that I found last year was that I had waaay overpacked. I had way too many clothes and things with me. Luckily, my room turned out to be a lot larger than the other rooms, so I was lucky to have enough space for all my things. This year, however, I will be in a smaller space so packing lightly is essential.

In order to pack my clothes, I am going to make sure that I only take a few jackets and clothing that I can make into an outfit. In order to do this, I will be taking pictures of outfits that I have put together, and taking only those items.

I will try and post pictures of my outfits soon. With crunch time coming up, and with all the volunteering and last minute hang outs, it may take me a while.

I did, however, recently take a vacation with some family members. I photographed the place. Here are some of the photographs of the place:

Taking a vacation like this really helped me clear my mind and rethink my life. I think that being able to get away at all is very important!

- E.

Glass-tastic!

Starbucks caramel frappuccinos are my guilty pleasure.  A while back I bought a pack of the bottled frappuccinos to see what they were like.   Although I prefer the blended frappuccinos over the bottled ones, I decided to save some of the glass frappuccino bottles thinking that they might one day come in handy.  And sure enough, they did.  Looking for an easy, inexpensive craft to do one Saturday afternoon, my friend and I came across the frappuccino bottles.  Thinking back to an old project that I did in elementary school, I had an idea on how we could put these bottles to use...

What we needed were as follows...

• Empty glass bottle (preferably clear so that the design on the bottle doesn't show through the tissue paper)
• Tissue paper(s) (any kind that you find visually appealing, but preferably one that isn't textured - it might be more difficult to glue down to the bottle); you can use more than one type/pattern/color of tissue paper and create your own quilt-like design on the bottle or you can stick to one
• Scissors
• White Elmer's glue
• Small paint brush

Directions

• Wash any dust or residue off of the bottle  (make sure the bottle is completely dry before applying the tissue paper)

• Cut the tissue paper(s) you selected into squares or rectangles
• Pour some Elmer's glue into a small cup or container

• Place the tissue paper on the bottle (one piece at a time)
• Dip the paint brush in the glue
• Gently paint directly over the tissue paper that is placed on the bottle in one fluid motion
• Notes:
• In order to avoid getting wrinkles in the tissue paper, begin brushing from the center of the tissue paper out towards the edges
• Also, be sure to keep your brush strokes all going in one direction (either side to side or up and down)
• Don't worry, the glue dries clear (:

• Repeat this process until the entire bottle is covered in tissue paper
• Allow the bottle to dry (it only took a few hours for bottle to dry)
• Enjoy your new, personalized vase!

^ If you so desire, you can add a bow or ribbon to the neck or body of the vase (I used twine to give it a more rustic feel)

You can use this same technique to decorate a plain candle.  Click here to see how!

- M.