Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts

Monday, February 16, 2015

Pressed Juicery 3 Day Cleanse Review

I learned about "Pressed Juicery" through a classmate recently. She had a bottle of juice on her desk and I asked her if she bought it at school but she told me she was doing a juice cleanse. I was curious and interested so when I got home I googled the brand and ordered my own 3-day cleanse. I picked "Cleanse 1" which is for beginners. For the month of January they were also doing a promotion so after I added the waters to the kit the total came to $170 which includes shipping. I could then choose a start date for my cleanse and they send it with fedex overnight. The juices are perishable so it makes sense why they want you to have the freshest stuff possible. However I got a bit busy and didn't end up starting the cleanse until 2 days after I got them...but no worries! they didn't go bad :) however if I were to do it again I would have probably planned better. 

The kit came with 18 juices (6 bottles every day for 3 days) and 9 cleansing waters. They were packed in insulation with ice packs which I recommend keeping and refreezing just in case during your cleanse you need to bring your juices with you. I'm going to tell you about the different flavors and my full experience with the cleanse.
Vanilla Almond Milk
The almond milks are probably my favorite from the cleanse and a good way to start the day. It tasted a lot better than the Silk Vanilla Almond Milk I always get. It was naturally sweet and thicker because of the ground up almonds. They're the only things in this cleanse that will save you from hunger insanity. I was pretty optimistic when I finished this first bottle but little did I know the worst has yet to come...
Greens 2
I would like to first clarify that I am a big baby when it comes to eating medicine or anything the least bit odd tasting. My mom has tried to make me eat all kinds of weird Chinese herbal medicine and exotic health foods/soups but after the first taste I always rejected them saying "I would rather die than lick that again!" So therefore I didn't like this one as much as the almond milk. But hey when you have no food and you're really hungry, you will consume whatever the heck you have. The good news is that the second day it didn't taste so bad but maybe it was because I was too hungry to tell by then.
Roots 2
Oh god...I still remember that carrot-ginger taste in my mouth. My initial reaction was "wow they just keep tasting worse and worse don't they?" I've always hated the sweetness of carrots for some reason, I just don't think a vegetable should be that sweet...it's disturbing. This has to be my least favorite of the six. No I know it is... The taste still gives me shudders but then again I am a big baby. 
Citrus 2
Now this one tasted pretty good, especially after that nasty ginger carrot one, even though the mint made it taste like a sour tropical ice breaker in liquid form. However, usually by the time you drink this you are so hungry that the sourness of it does not help at all, it just makes you want to cry.
Greens 3
For the longest time I couldn't figure out what the difference between greens 2 and this one was only that it tasted kind of like ginger so I compared the ingredients and realized that the only addition really is...ginger. I don't really have anything to say about this one except I was really glad when it was time to drink this one because I was so hanngryyy.
 Chocolate Almond
This one is the yummiest one in the kit. I looked forward to every night when I could drink this. It tastes like chocolate almond milk and has a similar thick texture to the vanilla almond milk. I guess after you go through a whole day of starving yourself and being sad and angry this is suppose to make you feel better.
Cleanse Waters
I also added the chlorophyll and aloe vera waters. One is for hydration through out the day and the other is for before bed. I regret it completely. I thought they would taste refreshing but of course since they are healthy and raw ingredients they taste exactly like aloe vera in water without anything else added. What does that taste like? It tastes like oddly filtered water. It was harder to swallow down than the carrot juice.

I do have to admit I only did 2 days of the cleanse and gave the 3rd day to my mom to see what she would say about the taste of the juices. (Ok fine I couldn't hold out until the end because I was so hungry). She said they didn't taste that bad but at the end of the day she broke down too and ate fruit. 
For the cleanse I also drank some herbal laxatives like they suggested but I felt like the juices were already helping with that aspect anyways. The bathroom became my best friend so I suggest if you want to do the cleanse do it on days when you will be home or else you will make a lot of embarrassing noises in the bathroom...just use your imagination.
After the cleanse I didn't feel a big difference but I did start eating healthier. My skin was clearer too and it helped me re-start my no dairy diet.

If you're interested in trying a juice detox I highly recommend this kit from Pressed Juicery because it is nutritiously balanced and a safer way for beginners to try out the whole juice detox trend.

Pros
+ Healthy, fresh, high quality ingredients
+ Helps detox body for starting special diets like the No Dairy Diet or going gluten free
+ Shipping is fast and free
+ Best almond milks I've ever tasted
+ Nutritiously balanced for a safe and healthy juice detox

Cons
- If you have sensitive taste buds might taste too "healthy"
- Cleansing waters tasted really odd and made me gag
- Have to go to the bathroom all the time
- Have to carry ice packs with you if you want to bring them with you

*also a warning don't freeze them because my classmate said she did that and when they thawed it spilled all over the place haha so take them seriously when they say "ice packs" and not "freezing them"


Monday, February 9, 2015

Single on Valentines Day: How to be your own Valentine

Be your own Valentine

To all the people who are single on Valentine's day,

Who says we have to mope around on Valentine's Day? Who says we have to stay at home and cry because we are forever alone?! Who says we have to create evil plans to break up every couple we meet on the street by saying "HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME WHEN I'M PREGNANT WITH YOUR CHILD?!" that last one is a bit tempting I admit.

I think Valentine's day is a perfect time for us to assess whether we love ourselves enough. For how can someone love you if you don't even love yourself? Maybe you just got through a break up and you don't have anyone to spend Valentine's day with or if you've never had anyone to begin with. I'm here to tell you it's ok! :) you'll be ok! Grab some single friends and spend it with them. If everyone around you seems to be head over heels in love and you really are alone, then just spend a nice day taking care of yourself. First, take yourself out for a date. Maybe there's been a movie you've wanted to watch for the longest time or a nice restaurant you've been meaning to go back to. If seeing couples out on the street is too painful (painfully annoying that is), then just make yourself a nice meal at home.

Be your own Valentine and get yourself a present. You don't need a significant other to make you feel special. You need to reward yourself for working so hard and being so strong on Anti-Singles Day! Buy that perfume, nail polish or shoes you've always wanted. Buy yourself an expensive heart-shaped box of chocolates and eat them all while relaxing in your bath tub with some nice candles and a bath bomb. Slip into some nice new lingerie that make you feel sexy yet are so comfortable you can dance in them. Make yourself a DIY detox juice to take care of your well being from the inside out. Then end the day with an overnight mask that will make you instantly gorgeous in the morning. Who knows? When you wake up the next day beautiful and radiant, you might just meet the love of your life. 

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

To All The Boys I've Loved Before...



In my hopes of becoming a "well-read" and "intelligent" young woman, one of my New Year's resolutions was to read a book per month or try to finish at least 12 books this year (gives me a little bit of flexibility). But because I am a cheap college student, I don't usually buy books but borrow them through my local library's fabulous e-book lending service. I've been on the waiting list for "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" for almost a month now, so when I finally got it I immediately started to read it and have now finished it over the weekend... And I thought I couldn't even do a book per month. Hah! take that New Year's Rez!

This post is not much of a review than a declaration of love. I love you book~

The Cover
Let's start with the cover. Being a book-cover-obsessed-designer-wannabe, I have to say what first drew me to this book was the beautiful cover. The model they chose is so perfect in depicting what Lara Jean looks like. Her room looks like something out of a tasteful Swedish teen interior design magazine and her outfit and headband beautifully displays her innocent soul (ok that was a little cheesy).

I also love! love! how the typography is displayed in sharpie-like cursive font. Everything about the cover is amazing. I'm thinking about purchasing the book in hardcover just because I love the cover so much! It'll make a great display piece on a coffee table or something don't you think?

The Story
Finally the story! I didn't read a synopsis because come on...what summary do you need when the cover is that amazing and it's called "To All The Boys I've Loved Before"? (When it comes to actual books the term "Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover" is a total lie...as Seth Godin said "if covers didn't matter you could just email people the text"

However, I didn't expect the story to be an Americanized version of a Love-Contract themed Korean Drama whereGirlneeds GuytodiscourageotherguybutactuallyinlovewithotherguyandGuyneedsGirltoosotheymakeacontracttopretenddateandthenendupfallinginloveforealz . Jenny Han is a genius! Since this theme has worked so well in all the best Korean Dramas (Goong, Full House etc.) it should work just as well as a novel! Especially for people like me who are trying to watch less dramas and read more books, what a better solution than to just turn a drama into a book. Why didn't anybody else think of that?

I think the story depicts a family I wish I had (minus the dead mom part because nobody wants that). I wish I had sisters like Lara Jean who I could take care of or who would take care of me and we would tell each other everything! But in reality I am an only child. I wish I had a hot next door neighbor that would give me rides and come over to hang out. But in reality I don't have a neighbor...I think they abandoned their house? I wish I was still in high school but I'm an old lady about to join the workforce...yipeee

But I did feel like I had a lot in common with Lara Jean. Like baking...I think I could be good at baking if I actually tried (who am I kidding last night I tried to make chocolate chip cookies and they turned into these crispy sheets that tasted like salty butter). Well, I would like to be good at baking. She's afraid of driving, I'm afraid of driving. Everything she said about how scary driving was I was screaming "YESSS YESS!" She's Asianish...I'm Asian...

Jokes aside, I really do feel like a real life Lara Jean, personality wise. I'm scared of a bajillion things and I've also only experienced one-sided loves. I'm miss goody two shoes and like staying at home more than going out. If Lara Jean were real, we would be BFFs...

She's inspired me to write letters to my past one-sided loves so that maybe one day they will get sent out and then I'll have a love-contract themed happening. A girl can dream

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it's a good feeling to have finished it within a couple of days. I can't remember the last time I did that. If you haven't read this book I highly recommend it! And if any of my friends are reading this and would like to get something for my birthday *wink wink* you know what to get me.





P.S I knew it from the beginning it was Kitty who sent those letters



Monday, December 31, 2012

2013 I Welcome Thee!!!

2013 is less than a day away. We have outlived the 12/21/12 Dooms Day. We have lived through the last sequential date, 12/12/12. We have grown. We have lived. We have loved....
(Photo by Nancy)

But it doesn't stop here! Our life is just beginning.

I made this video because I needed to share my memories of the past and reflect on how I've changed. Though it wasn't always as rosy as it seems now, I'm glad I have those memories but I'm also afraid I may forget. It's a tribute to all of the Beauty Gurus that have left (physically or just mentally). I do miss the old days but we also have to look forward right? 

So, 2013 I welcome thee

Watch the video even if you can't stand my rambling ;)

New Year's Resolution:
1. Be more consistent with videos and blog
2. Work out more
3. Eat less cookies

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The Re..Beginning of My Journey!

Hey everyone!

So some of you might know that I started "The Artistically Challenged" on my tumblr but realized that I couldn't easily write long posts. So...here we are, in our new home :) How does it look?

I spent a lot of time setting it up and hopefully through time it'll get better little by little.

So if you're new here I'll begin by telling you my intentions of starting yet another fashion blog in the already clogged blogosphere. Some one once said that if you felt like you didn't have an outlet where you can be heard and you have a lot to say...you should start a blog. Ok so that summary of a quote might not be that accurate but you get what I mean.

I want to share my love for all things fashion and beauty with you all :) I like to describe it as a fashion blog with a sprinkle of beauty and personal life. A blog doesn't have to be defined so well I guess and it might later transform into other things but I guess this blog is about me...and sharing myself with the world.

I hope you enjoy the content on my blog and be inspired from it, learn from it or just laugh AT it!

If you want more of my personal life and interests (music and dramas) please follow me on Tumblr.
If you want to talk to me more then follow me on twitter and like me on Facebook!
If you just like looking at my pictures and my collection of other fashion pictures, follow me on Pinterest!
Oh and last but not least, I hope to sing a bit, make indie movies, Vlog and also fashion videos on my YouTube Channel.

They are all linked on the side bar or in the tabs bar up above so check those out

If you have any comments or questions feel free to contact me at

artisticallychallengednancy@gmail.com

Enjoy!

- Nancy
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