Rapunzel Wannabe

In August of 2011, I had a temporary moment of insanity and chopped 9 inches off my hair.

GAH!

I think I was itching for a change. A “new me” if you will. Well, I liked this “new me” for about a week. It didn’t take long before I started looking at old pictures of myself and missing my longer locks. I’ve been trying to grow my hair back ever since.

This is me about a year later, August 2012. I guess that’s pretty good growth for a year, but it doesn’t seem like it to me. See, right now my hair doesn’t look any longer than it did in that picture. And it’s March 2013. Does anyone else find that their hair hits a certain length and just does not seem to grow past it?

On the plus side, my hair has grown back much healthier. I went through a disordered eating phase (I supposed that’s what I’d call it) during my sophomore/junior years of college and subsequently lost almost half of my hair. I’ve always had thick, naturally curly hair and I used to consider it a pain when I was younger because it was so hard to control. Going through that bout of hair loss made me appreciate having thick hair in the first place. It probably would’ve been/looked a lot worse if I didn’t have so much of it to spare.

Old picture alert. That’s me towards the end of high school when I was 17. My goal is to get my hair to look like that again. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, huh?

I probably sound really dramatic about my hair right now, but oh well. Losing some of it a few years back was a real wake up call. Initially I thought that it was caused by stress or some other condition, until my doctor told me that my weight was too low and I needed to gain. It was then that I realized that my diet needed help.

Thinking back to that time in my life makes me sad. Not only was I not eating enough calories in general, I was eating virtually NO protein. And that’s what hair is made of, after all. Now I try to incorporate protein into almost every meal. It’s still a struggle for me, though. I don’t eat as much meat anymore and I won’t go near protein powders. I avoid processed protein as much as I can. Nothing against anyone who uses protein powders, but they’re not my cup of tea.

I’ve heard people rave about biotin supplements for hair growth. I’m not interested in taking biotin because I hear that it breaks you out, and I have acne-prone skin. I’d rather not deal with that. I took prenatal vitamins for awhile after my bout of hair loss and they did seem to help some, but I’m not sure if they’re necessary for me anymore since my diet is much better now.

 

Any hair growth tips for me? I feel like there are so many “old wives tale”-type tips out there and it’s hard to know which are legit.

Do you prefer your hair long or short?

A Few Links

Hi, everyone-

My brain is mush. There’s a lot going on at work, and I haven’t had much energy to blog. Lately, the moment that I get home, change into my sweats, and park myself on the couch = done for the night. I hope that in the next few weeks I’ll be able to get a better handle on things in my professional AND personal life…and knock my stress level down a bit.

Just dropping in with a quick little PSA. I would love it if you’d vote for my friend Gabby to become Ross Park Mall’s Style Setter fashion blogger! Click her name to check out her blog. Trust me when I say…she knows what’s up when it comes to fashion.

Click here to vote!

Thanks to a co-worker, I’m starting to dig the whole Instagram thing now. Check me out at @missangelae.

Also, because of the impending demise of Google Reader- I’ve switched over to Bloglovin’. So far, so good! Here’s my link:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

We’ll talk soon! Until then…

Beachburgh

Friends who love good food are the best. Especially ones who are always up for trying new spots around town.

Saturday night, my good friend Gabby and I treated ourselves to dinner at Luke Wholey’s Wild Alaskan Grille in Pittsburgh’s Strip District neighborhood.

The restaurant is less than a year old, but the Wholey’s are no strangers to Pittsburgh. The Wholey’s also own a fish market in the Strip that’s been around since 1912. Basically, it is the place to go for great seafood in this landlocked town.

Being that seafood is my favorite kind of cuisine (hello, beach girl over here!) I was excited that Gabby suggested Luke’s restaurant. I’ve had take-out salmon from there once before, and it did not disappoint. I was looking forward to seeing the full menu.

My IPhone pictures are never great quality, but above is a snapshot of the bar area. The restaurant is nice and spacious, but just a tiny bit too dark for my liking. Gabby and I were given a huge table that could’ve easily seated seven people. We were fine with that, though. For me, the best part of the restaurant’s ambience was the smell. It just smelled like a seafood restaurant should smell. Does that make sense? I felt like I was in a seafood restaurant in Florida or New Jersey when I walked in. Obviously, I was loving that. I tried my best to forget about the light snow and freezing temperatures outside.

For my meal, I went with the shrimp and scallops. This was a big deal for me…because I never order scallops unless I’m at the beach. I’ve always had this thought in my head that they wouldn’t be good anywhere else.

Well, this meal proved me wrong. Everything tasted very fresh, especially for being nowhere near an ocean. Were they as fresh as my beloved beach sea scallops? No…but I wasn’t expecting them to be. When I get scallops at the beach, sometimes I get a taste of sand in them as if they were just caught that morning. I know that I’m in Pittsburgh (ho hum…) and can’t expect the same. So, for Pittsburgh, they were very good. And I loved the gulf shrimp.

The five shrimp and two scallops were topped with a soy and sesame glaze and served on top of jasmine rice. I opted for roasted red potatoes and grilled asparagus on the side. I only left behind a few potatoes and some rice. Seafood craving satisfied.

Oh, and a glass of Moscato on the side. Seafood and white wine = perfection.

I’m not sure whether to attribute this to the newness of the restaurant or the way the Wholey’s are as people, but our service was notably wonderful. I was impressed that Luke walked around the restaurant in his chef attire, chatted with guests, and even served food himself. He came up to Gabby and me, introduced himself and made sure we were pleased with everything. Major points for that! The co-owner also came up to us and did the same, and offered to take us on a tour of the place. By the time we were ready to leave, he seemed busy and we didn’t want to disturb him. We did get his business card, though. Next time!

This was definitely a pricier night out, but in my opinion: you pay for quality. I’ll be keeping the Wild Alaskan Grille on my short list for special occasions!

In other seafood news, I have finally perfected the art of cooking salmon at home.

It only took me about a year. I know…ridiculous. Salmon always gave me a tough time; I would constantly overcook it and dry it out. I finally learned that the broiler is your friend. And now it couldn’t be easier!

 

What’s your favorite kind of seafood? Or are you not a fan?

Is there a certain food that gives you a tough time in the kitchen?

Changes, Changes

Hello blogging buddies!

I haven’t forgot about you all, I promise! I wanted to drop in to let you all know why I’ve been MIA lately.

I wish I could say “because I’ve been on vacation soaking up the sun!” …Sadly, no. I just wish I were there. (Naples, Florida)

For those who’ve been reading for awhile, you may remember me mentioning that I was working under contract at a large corporation. I took the gig solely for the money. I needed something to pay the bills while I continued to pursue my career goals. The company was nice, but I knew the job wouldn’t last forever. Plus, I was starting to get extremely restless there. Ultimately, I was not doing the kind of work that I envisioned myself doing post-grad. I knew I had to keep pushing for something else.

I’ve spent the last couple months networking like crazy and using every connection and resource available. Well, I am proof that patience and persistence pays off…because I got my “goal” job! I’ve been trying to get in with this company since the summer, and something finally broke for me there…months and months later. I could not be more thrilled. I am not kidding when I say that it is a dream come true. Sounds corny, but the position that I got was exactly what I wanted to do with my degree after college so it feels surreal that I actually got it.

This past week was my first week. So far, so good! Of course, with any new job comes an adjustment period and a learning curve to adapt to. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t overwhelmed. It’s drastically different from what I’ve done in the past, but I believe that my educational background and some internship experience that I’ve had has given me a good foundation. First jobs teach you a lot, and I know that the environment that I’m in (it’s a very small company) will allow me to get a taste of everything in the business. I’ve already learned so much, just in the first week!

To sum it up…I’ve been so wrapped up in all of this, plus a shift in my entire routine, that the old Internet has taken a backseat. Once I’m settled, I’m sure the blog world will become a time suck once again. I do miss it!

I hope this little blurb gives any frustrated job seekers out there some hope. Seriously, y’all. I felt like I was going nowhere and that nothing was going to break for me in my city. I started to think about moving (I still want to eventually *I neeeed the coast*…just not right away). I felt completely down on my luck. Take it from me and don’t give up. Keep pushing. Network like crazy. Use who you know. Something will break!

That’s all for now. I’m off to relax and enjoy my Saturday. I’ll be back with your regularly scheduled programming soon.

[Current] Diet Staples

I don’t know how many of you feel this way, but given the popularity of WIAW, I can assume I’m not alone. I love reading about other people’s meals. Maybe it’s because I love to experiment with different foods. Maybe it’s because I’m just nosy. Who knows. I thought I’d talk a little bit about my current diet staples. These are a few things that I’m currently eating almost every day without fail.

Chia Seed

Thanks to the blog world, I tried chia seeds for the first time about a year ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. I love that they’re rich in Omega-3s. A bowl of oatmeal or a smoothie just doesn’t seem right without them. I love the thickness that chia seeds add to foods. They save my oatmeal from becoming a soupy mess on a regular basis. Sometimes I get a little heavy-handed with the milk…

Coconut Oil

As I’ve mentioned before, I love anything coconut-flavored. I use it sparingly- about a teaspoon or so a day. Lately, I’ve been stirring some into my morning bowl of oatmeal. It’s also great spread on cinnamon raisin toast.

Larabars/Rise bars

I rarely go a day without eating some kind of raw food or snack bar. I’m fairly particular about the kinds that I eat. I used to eat Luna bars all the time in college but have since gotten away from them because of one ingredient: soy. I’ve drastically cut back on the amount of processed soy that I eat over the past few months due to some things I’ve read, health concerns, etc.

I’ve noticed that people don’t like Larabars and Rise bars for various reasons: too high in sugar, not enough protein, too many calories, etc. The reason that I love these bars as much as I do (besides the fact that they taste oh my gosh so good) is that they’re made with minimal ingredients that are recognizable. My absolute favorite Larabar, cashew cookie, has just two ingredients: cashews and dates. And yes, some are caloric, but I don’t calorie count so this is not an issue for me. I need to try making a version of these on my own, since I got a food processor for Christmas!

Spinach

Easily my favorite vegetable. I try to eat spinach once a day, and its versatility makes it easy to do so. I love using it as a base for salads, throwing it into a stir fry dish, and of course, in stereotypical HLB fashion…adding it to smoothies.

Chickpeas

Chickpeas have become a main source of protein for me. I don’t regularly eat meat products anymore (I’m talking chicken, beef, etc.) and so that leaves me with seafood or vegetarian options. My favorite source of protein is and will always be salmon. If I could eat salmon every day, I probably would. But…I’d be broke. Chickpeas are easy to find in any store, plus you can’t beat the price. I love them both raw and roasted in the oven. I should add that another diet staple of mine is chickpea-based, good old hummus. My favorite, by far, is the red pepper hummus from a local company/restaurant, the Greek Gourmet. I make special trips to my Whole Foods for it!

(A few of my staples all together!)

Just like anything else in life, my diet never says the same. I get in food ruts, I get sick of certain things and vow to never eat them again, I discover new food obsessions, etc. But these are just a few things that have stuck as of late.

What are some things that you eat/drink daily, without fail?

*Note: I am not a nutritionist. This post is not intended to serve as nutrition advice. I am simply stating some foods I like to eat, and why. That’s it.

“Taste the Rainbow”

Happy New Year! There’s nothing terribly exciting going on with me, but I wanted to share a few pictures of what I’ve been eating recently. I’ve been making a conscious effort to eat foods with lots of color (like a rainbow…) and I think I’ve been doing a good job thus far. And no, I’m not talking about Skittles here. I prefer M&M’s anyway.

My favorite soup recipe- Gina’s minestrone, made in my brand new Crockpot! Santa brought me both a Crockpot and a food processor this year. I’ll be geeking out in the kitchen all winter with those two. If you have any great Crockpot recipes, send them my way.

My go-to salad combination as of late: spinach, chickpeas, red peppers, carrots, green onion, and roasted red pepper hummus. Nothing too crazy, but good nonetheless.

New Year’s Day sushi. A rainbow roll from a local Chinese/Japanese/Thai joint near my family’s house, Azan Wok. The restaurant itself is small and nondescript, but the sushi is surprisingly pretty good.

Berry “detox” smoothie. I whipped this up for breakfast on New Year’s Day. It tasted great, especially after a night full of wine drinking and lots of party snacks.

(Original recipe from Prevention magazine. I noted my changes in italics.)

Serves 2

1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries (I used 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup chilled unsweetened almond or rice milk (almond for me)
1/4 cup frozen pitted unsweetened cherries or raspberries (I can’t seem to find solo frozen cherries anywhere. I used 1/2 cup of a frozen mixed fruit blend- peaches, strawberries, pineapple, and cherries)
1 1/2 Tbsp honey (I used 1/2 tbsp)
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger (I used a little less than 1 tsp of ground ginger)
1 tsp ground flaxseed (I used a spoonful of chia seeds)
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice

COMBINE all ingredients in blender, adding lemon juice to taste.

PUREE until smooth.

POUR into 2 chilled glasses.

I’ve noticed a lot of people around me have been sick lately. Everyone at work seems to be sneezing and hacking. One of my brothers came home for his winter break and brought a cold with him. One of my friends got hit with a nasty stomach bug during our New Year’s Eve party. It was strange- she went from feeling fine to feeling terrible in a matter of minutes, and spent the night sleeping in one of the bedrooms. No fun for her.

Needless to say, I’ve been trying to get as many vitamins into my body as possible (in addition to compulsively washing my hands…). What better way to do that than with colorful foods, right?

How do you try to ward off illness?

How was your New Year’s?

About the Author

I hope that everyone who celebrated had a merry Christmas! Mine was filled with lots of family time, delicious food, generous gifts, and one too many glasses of champagne and cookies.

(Christmas Eve party at my Aunt & Uncle’s. A candid with a good half of the guests missing from the picture!)

While the majority of my holiday was perfect, I woke up Christmas morning feeling less than stellar. I barely had an appetite the entire day. I think it was a combination of all the alcohol and sugar in my system, two things that I haven’t been consuming much of lately. Well…up until the past few days, that is. I definitely got my fill now.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all about indulging every now and then. I did a lot of baking and I had to taste test, after all! I just didn’t expect to feel so sick from it all. I’ve really revamped my diet over the past year or so and I just can’t eat like I used to, I guess. I am more than ready to get back to my normal (albeit more boring) meals.

***

I plan on showing a couple of my gifts I received with you all soon, but for now I thought it would be fun to do a little survey.

A couple weeks ago, Alisha nominated me and some other bloggers for the Beautiful Blogger Award. Thanks, girl! Award recipients are supposed to share seven facts about themselves. I came up with seven completely random, fun facts about me. Here you go:

1. I love to sleep and I’ve always been good at it. When I was a baby, my parents called me “the corpse” because I was such a sound sleeper and barely made a peep during the night. Nothing’s changed; I’ve had multiple people tell me that I look like I’m dead while I’m asleep. I literally don’t move or make noise.

2. Anyone who knows me in “real life” knows that I am obsessed with hot summer weather and beaches. My #1 dream in life is to move to a beach one day, whether that be on a U.S. coast or outside of the U.S. There are a lot of nice things about Pittsburgh, but the climate is not one of them. I cannot stand the cold. At all. My friends like to joke that I won’t go outside if it’s less than 55 degrees out. They aren’t entirely wrong there.

(My happy place.)

3. My favorite color is white and I wear it year-round.

 

(White coats, white dresses…I love them all. Old pictures from the college days.)

4. I’ve seen half-naked and completely naked Pittsburgh Steelers…

Let me explain. In college, I was a news intern for a local TV station. A few times, they sent me to the Steelers’ practice facility in order to get sound bites from the players. This required going into their locker room after they finished practice, where they’d be changing and showering. The first time I was there, one of the photographers told me: “You’ll be fine, just keep your eyes waist-up.” A really fun and, ahem, eye-opening experience.

5. I don’t like sandwiches and I’m not crazy about cheese, but I love a good grilled cheese every now and then. Though it’s not something that I eat often because I try to avoid dairy. ? This is just one of many examples of my weird food tendencies. Also, a lot of people think it’s amusing that I don’t care for sandwiches. Is that really so weird?

6. Coconut is both my favorite flavor and scent. Coconut shrimp and chocolate-covered coconut macaroons are a couple of my favorite splurge foods. I’m also pretty sure that I own coconut-scented shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion and lip balm.

7. I promise I’m not always a hermit, but one of my favorite Friday night activities is to make a nice dinner, curl up on my couch with my leopard-print Snuggie, read a book or watch a movie (usually on the Lifetime Movie Network) and be in bed by 11pm…or earlier. And I’m not ashamed to admit that.

This movie will definitely be added to my weekend rotation. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. One of my all-time favorites. My brother got it for me on DVD for Christmas because he knows how much I enjoy it. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. So funny.

And there you have it. More than you probably ever needed to know about me.

The award says that you’re supposed to nominate seven other bloggers, but I’m just going to have you all play along, if you would like. Tell me a completely random fact about you!