That 70's Wishlist

I think I was born in the wrong decade. I'm seriously obsessed with the 1970's, fashion-wise and not. I don't know what it is. Maybe the effortlessness of it? Maybe Stevie Nicks had something to do with it?

I've had a major craving for some 70's swag lately, and I know it's a little late for Santa to get my list but I figured I'd put it out there anyway. 

Free People

Zara

1st Dibs 

Farfetch

One Kings Lane

Dot & Bo

Etsy

I'll keep it short because I could go on for literally pages with this 70's wishlist. I love it, I really do. I'm glad John likes interesting pillows, because the 70's had some bangin pillow designs. 

What's your favorite fashion or decor decade, or just decade that's been catching your interest lately? 

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas! 

Personalized Stationary

Hey hey! I'm taking a break from cleaning right now and it's absolutely freezing in my room right now. I have no idea why it's not warming up.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I geek out over pens. Fountain pens in particular, though I don't own one of my own. I enjoy writing, and by writing I mean physical writing. I enjoy looking at people's handwriting, I like old script, I like writing by hand over typing (except when writing articles, writing by hand is just not practical since I edit so much).

I don't mean to be, but I'm kind of a bad family member in that I don't make phone calls just to say "hello" and all that stuff that good family members do. It's that that I don't care, I love my family! I don't have a phone, which is of course a problem. But I just don't think to do it. I prefer to write, but I don't really think to do that either!

I'm on the hunt for some personalized stationary to write thank you letters, happy birthday cards, hello notes, and all that jazz. I bought this set of 20 note cards from Papyrus last year and they've lasted me a while because I haven't thought to use them very much, but I plan on writing more notes and letters this year. Resolution maybe?

We have a Papyrus store here in Charleston so I might go browse. I like these.

Set of 16 notecards for $14.95 is not bad at all! I still think I'd prefer some monogrammed or personalized stationary though. I don't think Papyrus does that. They have some writing paper with single letters so I could get paper with a "G" on it, but the styles are very limited. 

These note cards are cute and simple but expensive. $20 for a set of 6. There isn't an option to customize them but the website (Sugar Paper) has a "custom" section of the website that doesn't show options - rather you give your name, email, and a message and I'm assuming they will email you and go from there. Since these non-customized cards are so expensive I'm not going to bother, but if they weren't so expensive I'd be all over it!

They are also pretty small - 4.25 x 5.5 inches

I've found a lot of the stationary I like has been around that size and I'd like some a little bigger, but if I can't find any then I'll at least try to get one with a blank back so I can write on the back if I need to. 

I think I prefer the non-obnoxious customization options like this one. My name on the bottom or just initials at the top would be enough. Nothing too huge. This is a serious consideration - $25 for a set of 20. The only thing I don't like is the size. You can tell by the picture comparison to the pen how small it is. These are from Curio Press on Etsy. 

Perhaps? I swear if I ever get married I'm going to take a year just to pick out invitations. These are from Modern Pink Paper on Etsy. The size of the notecards wouldn't be a problem if I didn't write so big, maybe I should start practicing my handwriting. These are $18 for a set of 10. 

No matter what I decide on, I'm 100% getting a wax seal stamp. Now I'm not sure if I should get one with my initials or one with a shark, because that's my House sigil I have decided. I have also decided that there is something wrong with me, heh. Really though, I'm getting one. This is from Back to Zero on Etsy. 

Well now you know all of my current stationary struggles. 

Let me know which stationary you like, or if you have any other stationary stores you'd like to suggest! 

Baked Salmon & Asparagus (Gluten Free and Dairy Free!)

I've started attempting to cook and I'm going to start sharing recipes!

I usually cook at night so I don't normally have natural lighting on my side, so my picture may not be the best. And since I'm not used to blogging my recipes I have to start remembering to take pictures of the cooking process (this one only has 2, sorry!).

Also, John has a wheat and cow's milk allergy so most of my recipes will be gluten free and dairy free. His particular allergy isn't life threatening, it's more of an inconvenience and annoyance so we don't worry too much about butter (because butter makes everything amazing!) but if you are sticking to a dairy free diet you can always switch out regular butter for dairy free butter.

With the exception of this post, my intro to "Gracey is cooking?!" posts, I'm going to try not to write a novel before we get down to the recipe, because I know when I'm searching for a recipe I really am not interested at all in what is being said above it (sorry if I'm offending, I get angry when I'm hungry).

Umm what else...I've given thought to the Keto diet because of my epilepsy but I haven't had a chance to talk to my doctor about it yet. I'd like to give it a shot in combination with my medication if he thinks it's a good idea, and if that's the case then there will be some Keto recipes coming up!

Anyway, my recipe inspiration came from a few different salmon recipes I mashed together from Pinterest, but here is the main one.

I'm hesitant to put a prep time because it takes me AGES to prep because I still suck at everything, so I'm going to kind of take my prep time estimate what a normal person prep time would be.

Note: This was before it was cooked. I am a dingus and didn't take any after pictures because I got excited and ate it. I didn't even think about it because I'm not used to taking pictures of my food before I eat it. Sorry! I'll hopefully get better. 

Baked Salmon & Asparagus (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)

Prep time: 10 minutes 

Cook time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients

4 (6oz) skinless salmon fillets
1 lb asparagus
1 shallot, sliced into thin rings
4 cups spinach
1 lemon thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt & black pepper
Thyme sprigs

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Cut 4 sheets of aluminum foil about 14 inches long
3. Place 1 cup of spinach in the center of each sheet of foil *
4. Divide asparagus equally and place in the center length of foil (about 6-8 pieces per sheet) on top of spinach 
5. Thinly slice shallot into rings and scatter on top of the portions of asparagus
6. Mix together garlic and oil in a bowl, and drizzle 1 tsp over each group of asparagus and shallots. Season each group with salt and pepper. 
7. Rinse salmon and season the bottoms with salt and pepper, then lay each fillet over asparagus. 
8. Drizzle tops of salmon with 1 tsp olive oil and garlic mixture and season with salt and pepper. 
9. Place 2 thin lemon slices and 1 thyme sprig over tops of fillets 
10. Enclose the salmon in the foil by wrapping the sides inward and folding the tops and bottoms in. 
11. Place in single layer on baking sheet in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. 

*I did not do this, but we had leftover spinach and I thought about it and when I brought it up with John after he said I totally should've done it. I'm 99% sure it would be delicious. 

Again, I'm sorry for the lack of "after" pictures, this one was taken before it was cooked. I got too excited and ate before I even thought about taking a picture. 

I think this is the perfect thing to make if you need to get yo green on. John is obsessed with this spinach and goat cheese stuffed meatloaf that I make, and even though I use way more spinach than the recipe calls for, we are left with a boatload of spinach that I have to find a use for. As I said earlier, I totally should've put a bed of spinach underneath the asparagus. 

He has discovered that he really likes spinach chips though, so I guess that solves that problem. 

Anyway, I need feedback on my recipe post formatting please! I'm horrible at giving directions so let me know if these are unclear, as I'm sure they are. I'll try to fix them if they are. 

Do you have a favorite way to eat salmon? I'm on the hunt for new salmon recipes! 

The Struggles of Being a Young Writer

The title is way more dramatic than this post, haha.

After taking my internship with College Fashion, I realized how much I enjoyed it so I started taking on a few more writing jobs. I'll be posting a collection of my posts soon in case you want to read any of them. Anyway, I got a little in over my head and between school and all of the deadlines so my personal blog got a little neglected. My internship with College Fashion ends at the end of this month (so sad!) so hopefully I'll have a little more time to devote to my baby.

Writing wasn't really something I ever imagined doing as a career, and I still don't see myself turning it into a career. I love doing it though. I get asked a lot why I don't want to be a writer when I "grow up", whatever the hell that means. If I had to depend on writing for my main source of income, I imagine I would end up hating it. As you can imagine, and know if you are a writer yourself, coming up with content (especially with deadlines) is stressful.

Sometimes you just have to force yourself to come up with something, kind of like writing a paper for one of your professors. Even if you know it's not your best work, it's ok, everyone has those kinds of days and moments no matter what industry you're in. But when you write, it's published online for everyone to read, forever. I will do this for my good pieces as well, but sometimes I go back and read my "fluff" articles and become displeased with myself. I feel a bit like a failure, even though I know everybody has those days.

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Another slight annoyance is censorship. Writing for likes and shares over what I really want to talk about or what should be talked about, but that's partially why I have this blog! This is a huge problem for a lot of writers that actually do depend on getting published for money. In order to get hired, they need to write about what the newspaper/magazine/blog wants them to write about, not what they want to write about. Which is all part of the job of course. After a while your creativity just becomes stunted and you begin to hate something you once loved.

So the point of all that was just summing up why I don't want to write for a living, just to keep it as a hobby. I want to be able to stop whenever I'd like. And I've never tried writing fiction and I'm not sure if that would be my cup of tea, so I'm not even sure what that's like. Let me know if that's your thing though, I'm curious!

Talking to people at parties about it is fun though. They ask what I do and I'm in school but I'm not working so I say "I'm a writer I guess" in hopes that someone will reply "You guess, don't you know?" so that I'll have a new best friend, but nobody is worthy yet...le sigh.

To sum up the post:
1. I'm bad at balancing deadlines
2. Forcing content sometimes must be done but ends in disappointment
3. I don't want to write for a living because I will start to hate it
4. Censorship sucks
5. Nobody is worthy to be my new best friend yet

What have you all been up to lately? I have a lot of catching up to do, yeesh.

#medicated

Hello all! I hope everyone had a good week and a fun weekend so far. I survived the compressed school schedule (which means I already finished my first semester) and I start all new classes this coming Wednesday, yay! I'm only taking 2 this semester so hopefully I'll have more free time.

I've posted about my epilepsy before and I mentioned my medication, and I just started a new one. I did some research online and I've heard some horror stories about the side effects. I'm on a low dose right now so I haven't noticed any severe side effects. People say horrible things about weight loss and memory loss. Some call the model drug because it makes you space out and skinny. Carbonated beverages taste flat now is the only side effect I've noticed, which is weird and kind of a bummer. But I can live with that!

I'll probably do an update post on the medicine once I've been on it for a bit longer and my dose increases. People always share the horror stories but usually not the neutral ones. Topamax is the drug by the way, do tell me if you've had any experience with it. I've heard the nickname "Dopamax" because of how "doped up" you feel on it because the side effects can be so bad. We will see!

I've been daydreaming about ways to de-stress and what I would be doing (self-medicating, if you will) if I had the time or money.

Shop, of course. 

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There are some things at Tiffany's that I've been eyeing and I'm still in the market for boots, liquid liner, and a laptop case. Just being able to go out and have a little shopping day is so relaxing. Even if it's just window shopping or trying on clothes (but of course I wouldn't mind getting those Tiffany's items!). 

Spa day

I desperately need my hair cut and colored, eyebrows waxed, and I wouldn't say no to a facial or a massage of some sort! It would be even better if I could do a mother/daughter spa day with my madre but that would be quite expensive. We could do a DIY spa day with facials and manicures though. I don't think we would trust each other to cut or color our hair, haha. 

Reading for fun

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In between school and interning I haven't had time to do any "fun" reading. I could be doing that now to be honest, but I'm trying to catch up on life before the new semester starts. I freaking love this mug by the way. John makes me feel insane sometimes because I smell my books. I'm glad I'm not the only one! I think that is actually one of the reasons I prefer reading physical books rather than books on my iPad. I do have plenty of books on my iPad and and I do occasionally read on it, I'd just rather read a book with pages that I can touch (and smell). 

Date night

Quality time with the boyfriend is always fun, and much needed since we have both been so busy and stressed. He got a gift card for his birthday that is good for any restaurant owned by The Indigo Road (I think) so I suggested we go to the Cocktail Club. Neither of us have been but they are described as "an upscale lounge dedicated to the art of the craft cocktail. An extensive selection of house-made infusions, rare liquors, and farm-to-shaker beverages features fresh-squeezed juices and modern ingredients alongside a menu of light fare. The interior in the historic 1881 building has been cleverly crafted from reclaimed wood structures, fireplaces, original beams, and salvaged doors. The club’s rooftop terrace offers a more modern escape, with a custom garden that provides fresh garnishes for Charleston’s most creative couture cocktails". Sounds right up our alley! 

Chocolate covered strawberries

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If chocolate covered strawberries can't can't relieve medicate me and relax my stress, I'm just doomed. Specifically dark chocolate covered strawberries. Oh lordy my mouth is watering just thinking about them. Sigh. Soon, hopefully! 

Anyway, that's how I would self-medicate (for stress and life in general, not for seizures) if I had the time/money. Date night is going to happen though when we both have time, so I am excited for that. 

How do ya'll self medicate your stress? 

The Problem is Bigger Than Shark Finning

Good morning everyone! I hope everyone has had a lovely few weeks lately. I'm finally on a break from school, praise that lawd. I can catch up on life now.

Before I get back to my fashion-y posts, I just wanted to share an issue that's important to me, and that is the rapid decline in shark populations lately. The issue that everyone seems to be focusing on is shark finning, which definitely is a problem, but shark finning is getting all of the publicity but it isn't the only problem and certainly not the biggest.

The demand for shark meat has gone up (even though shark fin demand has gone down), but the issue of shark fishing gets little to no attention. I'm trying to draw attention to that issue so that something can be done about it. You can read more about it here in an article with more detail I wrote for The Odyssey.

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Brutal image, eh? Seriously though, spread the word, read up, there are plenty of articles and information online about what could happen if sharks do go extinct (and some species are at risk for that). 

And remember, #sharklivesmatter.

Melaleuca Renew Intensive Skin Therapy

Hello everyone! I'm a terrible blogger, I'm so sorry. I got another writing job writing for The Odyssey so watch out for my shameless plugs, I haven't had an article published yet but tomorrow or Tuesday the first one should be up.

But like I said last week, I'm going to review a moisturizer/lotion if been infatuated with lately. I have very dry skin and lately it has been getting worse, and none of my usual moisturizers are cutting it. I've run out of options (literally, I ran out of everything), and I found the Melaleuca Renew Intensive Skin Therapy sitting on my bathroom shelf.

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I totally forgot about this! I bought it when I first got my tattoo and it did a wonderful job moisturizing and aiding the healing process. I planned on using this until I could get to the store and buy something new that would hopefully work. 

But I was pleasantly surprised. I applied it after I showered and washed my face, and I noticed my face was so smooth! All my rough and dry patches were almost gone. It has a faint scent which is a little annoying, but it's not too overpowering. 

I guess I never thought to use this because it's more of a body lotion than a face moisturizer; if you have acne prone or oily skin this may cause a breakout, but I haven't had one so far. 

I use it twice a day, once in the morning and once at night after I get out of the shower (or in the morning after I shower, whichever happens). 

So I do recommend buying a small bottle of this to try if you have super dry patches like I do. It's thick so I do worry about breakouts on other people but it just works so well for me! 

What is your favorite winter moisturizer? I'm of course always up for suggestions!