Book Review: The Blender Girl Smoothies by Tess Masters

I'm not exactly a breakfast or a lunch person. Somedays I can get so caught up in all the task that I need to do that I forget to eat an actually meal. I'll admit that's not the most healthy lifestyle but it's something I've always done since I started jr. high school. It's definitely a habit I never learned to break. However I do love making smoothies so far I only ever made smoothies with yogurt and a few fruits. I've always wanted to up my game and make more unique and flavorful smoothies but I never really know where to start or what goes and what doesn't. So I was excited when I saw The Blender Girl Smoothies on Blogging for Books.

I tried a variety of smoothies that were really tasty though the ingredients might say other wise.I thought I'd list a few things I enjoyed about this book. 

Teaches You How To Create Your Own Smoothie:

Most recipe books don't really teach you how to put together your own recipes from scratch but this book does. It teaches you the fundamentals of how to make a smoothie, how many servings you're meant to put for each, and how to incorporate nuts, seeds, grains, dates, and etc. I was able to make my very own smoothie and it turned out great. 

Find The Right Recipe For You: 

Each recipe has little symbols to explain what kind of benefits you can get from the smoothie. So if you have inflammatory, need something energizing, or need something detoxing. You can choose a smoothie based on what you need or how you're feeling. There's a wide selection within the book. Also there's different categories of smoothies you can choose from light & fruity, clean & green, an exotic ride, and dessert. I got a chance to try one from each. They really are delicious. 

Learn All About Flavoring & Combining Different Things:

In the back of the book it teaches you all bout the different liquids, spices, grains, nuts, fruits, veggies, and etc that you can add to a smoothie. It gives you tips on how to combine the different flavors to make your own unique smoothies. 

Easy To Make & Easy To Find Ingredients: 

This is the ultimate reason why I love this book. These smoothies are fairly easy to make and it's not time consuming, which is perfect for me since I'm always too busy to get something to eat. Also the ingredients aren't too hard to find I prefer fresh but I realized unless your making smoothies everyday maybe frozen might be the way to go. 

I love this book, it couldn't have came at a better time. I've been making smoothies for breakfast that hold me off until lunch. I believe if you're mom on the go, college student, or you're a smoothie fanatic then this book is definitely for you.

Click these links to learn more about Tess Masters & The Blender Girl Smoothies. 

Book Review: Between The Dark and The Daylight by Joan Chittister

The conscious and the subconscious it's one of the many things we learn in psychology. Your conscious is apart of the brain that usual functions while your awake unless your day dreaming then that's your subconscious. Your subconscious is where you keep all the unwanted feelings or thoughts you don't want to deal with during the day. It's a mechanism we all seem to have one way or another.

Once you're headed to bed and the day ends those unwanted thoughts and feelings come out and play. Since the day is ending there's nothing we can really do to keep our mind off of those thoughts so you're forced to think about them. Most of us just continue this process daily never really resolving those issues we keep hidden in our subconscious. However the more you ignore them the worse those feelings get, which eventually will take a toll on you. If that sounds like something you do or something you struggle with. Between The Dark and the Daylight: Embracing the Contradictions of Life is a great book to help guide you on that journey towards figuring those thoughts that haunt you at night.

Joan Chittister definitely touches on some big internal struggles we have in life. She talks about contradictions in life I never really saw before like how to find liberation in loss or the emptiness of accumlication. I enjoy her perspective on these contradictions, their enlightening. I like that she just doesn't come out and say "You need to this.. or you need to do that.."

She shares personal experiences, stories, quotes, and other forms of examples to explain each chapter. I believe setting it up like this is easier to relate to or understand. The chapters seem to be just a few pages long in that way it's not an overload of information. All those aspects put together allows you to truly ponder on each chapter, take the information and apply it to your life in a way that the lessons are more meaningful to you. I love that way of learning. It's not enough just to read it and learn it but you need to be to apply it.

Overall I believe this book has helped me on my journey through self-actualization and contentment. It was an eye-opening book that has truly changed the way I deal with internal struggles. I know it doesn't happen overnight and it starts with me.
I enjoyed reading this book and give it 5 stars.

Check these links out to learn More About the Author or More About The Dark and The Daylight: Embracing the Contradictions of Life

Disclamer: I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for this blog post. However all opinions are solely my own.

Review: #GirlBoss by Sophia Amoruso

So many bloggers I know have been talking about how amazing #Girlboss is. I'm not one to pick-up books about business. However while I was waiting for my nephew in the library #Girlboss caught my eye and I thought why not try reading it. The first few chapters and I was hooked. I understand why this book was on everyone's Must Read list and it's definitely on mine as well.

Currently reading #GirlBoss. Such an inspiring & motivating book. #summerreading #summerreadinglist #reviewcommingsoon

A photo posted by Jazmine (@withlovejazmine) on Jun 11, 2015 at 2:14pm PDT

Sophia Amoruso is the founder and CEO of Nasty Gal clothing company. In Girlboss she shares her story as to what lead her to who she is and what she has created. I believe what made me admire her is she shared the not so glamorous parts of her life. I think it's great that she was being honest because sometimes we believe that success just happens over night with no failures what so ever. Which isn't true and she's open about her failures and is humble about her success and I find that inspiring.

I love her perspective and the personality she put into her book. It makes it interesting and enjoyable to read. There was never a dull moment for sure. We don't have to be rich to accomplish greatness. It's truly a start from the bottom now you're here story for several of us. The advice and lessons you read in the book to me are universal. You can use them for your business or you can use them in other areas in your life. Overall I enjoyed the book and never wanted to put it down. All there's left to say is you better get ready to tap into your inner Girlboss when you read this book.

What's on your reading list this summer?

Book Review: The Happiness Project

It’s been forever since my last blog post. I feel horrible for abandoning my blog like this. However school always comes first, it has been quit a course load for me the last few weeks. It feels like after spring break the homework came piling in not to mention the semester is ending next month. I really don’t know where all the time has gone. Somehow I managed to get in some leisure reading. So today I have another book review for you. I just got done finishing The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

I know I am a little late as seeing the book came out in 2009. I’ve seen a lot of people saying how good this book is. However this was my very first official self-improvement book.  I’m not really a fan of them but when I saw this book on the self I thought why not. At that moment I thought it would be the perfect book for my goal of self-actualization and possibly an inspiration to my own journey of happiness. Since my break-up I’ve been attempting to find my own happiness and so I decided to buy The Happiness Project. I have to say it was exactly what I needed.

The book is all about Gretchen and her journey through finding happiness. She’s a wife and a mother of true. One day she realizes that she’s not as happy as she could be and comes up with her very own happiness project to get her there. She actually started her happiness project in January and it lasted the whole year. Each moth she had different goals she accomplished that she thought would make a difference in her happiness and life.

Throughout the whole book she always makes it clear that everybody’s happiness project is different. So your happiness project depends on you. It could last a year, a few months, or even longer. I think reading her story and journey was really inspiring. While reading I was thinking about my own happiness. ”Am I the happiest I can be?” “What could possibly make me happier than I am?” This book has really changed my perspective on certain aspects of my life. I’ve been thinking of starting my own happiness project soon.  

Are you the happiest you can be? What could make you happier?

Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear by Hugh Macleod Book Review

I found this book while thrift shopping last month and all I can say is "Another man's trash is another man's treasure". I know that's cliche but in this case I don't care because it's true.

As soon as I started reading I fell in love with the book. In the beginning he explains how the book is all about personal freedom and how the internet provides us with that freedom. However throughout the whole book I was just thinking that no one could've explained why I blog better than he just did. I know that sounds dumb because it's my blog in the first place but he explains it in a way that someone who doesn't blog or doesn't see the point in blogging could understand. 

Illustration From The Book

I enjoyed the order of sequence he put each topic he addressed. He explains the internet and why it's opened this new door to all these different possibilities. Then he proceeds to go in and share how it's benefited him and how it can benefit us. Lastly he explains how magical the internet and blogging is. He goes in depth how it allows us to build connections and relationships with people around the world, how we want share experiences or knowledge, and most importantly how we can become beacons of the internet. A great point he made is that blogging and our real lives aren't separate things. I completely agree with him blogging is apart of my life it's not just something I do on the side. It's become a huge part of my life and I love ever second of it. I think towards the end he really makes you think. He ask "Are you a beacon? If not, don't you think you should be?" 

Illustration From The Book

I think my favorite part is the the ending he says "I spent the last few thousand words telling you about the power of the internet, when all along the power wasn't there.... The power is within you- the same place it's always been" I loved this book because it's such an inspiration.  He shares parts of his journey and experiences throughout the book that help give you a little motivational push. 

Illustration From The Book

Throughout the book he also has his cartoons to help illustrate parts of the book. I loved that this book didn't have to be over 200 pages long to inspire me. He kept it simple yet intriguing. It was really a fun book to read. This was also my first time reading a book about blogging and I don't regret it all. 

What Are Some Of Your Reasons For Blogging?

Girl Online Book Review

If you read my Beauty Guru's & Websites that inspire me you'd know I'm a big fan of Zoe Sugg, when I heard she was making her very first novel I just had to read it. Girl Online was not what I expected it to be at all. I assumed that it would be about Zoe and her online journey, more of like a bibliography. However after reading the book I was quite amazed. I've never read a book that captured the struggle of being a teenage girl. 

I am going to give a little summary of what the book is all about, don't worry I am not giving anything away. Girl Online is about a teenage girl named Penny who has a secret blog and suffers from constant panic attacks. Penny's life gets completely turned upside down. She's given the adventure of a lifetime when her mom and dad have some business to take care of in New York and she's asked to join them. While Penny overcomes several of her fears while in New York, she's also falling in love with a boy she just met. However this boy has a few secrets of his own. This secret may affect Penny in several ways. 

I love how this books captures the awkwardness of being a teenager. In most books they always seem to make the girls completely flawless and it's always been that feeling I wish I was one of those girls. In Girl Online you can tell Penny is very social awkward and quirky which makes it more relatable. Instead of wishing you were that girl you realize you are that girl, it makes you feel normal. Girl Online goes over every major event you encounter when growing up your first relationship, friendships, maturing, and the digital age. This book was more than just a story, when these events unfold throughout the story you see the way Penny handles them and it actually inspires you to conquer the same events in your own life with the same attitude. I think another element I loved about it was that Penny was a blogger so it's very relatable. During the book you actually get to read some of her blog post that's where she becomes a big inspiration. Of course like every teenage book there has to be a little romance. I believe the relationship between Noah and Penny was my favorite thus far. Since Penny is social awkward she tends to embarrass herself throughout the book, it shows you that someone can  like you for who you are quirks and all. I love watching the way their relationship grow through the book. 

Overall I think this was amazing book for Zoe first novel. I think I can see a lot of her personality throughout the book. The best thing I loved about this book is how Penny could any one of us, and we were her in some point of our life. I also enjoyed how inspiring the book was even if it was just fiction. I think I recommend this book for girls everywhere to read. I was thinking of buying a copy for my niece because she loves reading it'd be a great book for her. I think mothers and parents are always looking for a way to explain life to teenagers and think this is a wonderful book to somewhat do that. It has a lot of problems we've all faced as a teenager and Penny handles it very maturely and she's brave. I think regardless whether it's fiction or not it's inspiring.  What is your most awkward moment?

Pretty Little Liars Book Review

"Life's so much fun when you know everything. Just how do I know so much? You're probably dying to know, aren't you? Well relax. All in due time. believe me, I'd love to tell you. But what's the fun in that. I'll be watching."     -A 

I am obsessed with the Pretty Little Liars TV show and I get too self involved. I like coming up with so many theories as to what's going or what's going to happen next. Finally I decided I wanted to stop guessing and I wanted to know,so I wanted to read the books.Though I am pretty sure I'd finish the series before I am done with the books. My lovely boyfriend decided to surprise me by getting the box set of the first 4 books. I was very excited and ready to dive in. I finally finished the first book. At first I was worried that by watching the series it would make the books less interesting but I was wrong. They happened to change some details in the book while making the TV series. I was so happy because it's a lot more interesting knowing that they changed some things. However I wish I wouldn't have seen the series because sometimes I like to imagine how the characters are based on the information given to me, but since I already watched the TV show I just base myself on that. I think Sara Shepard is an interesting creative woman for coming up with quite a story line and she's very good at cliff hangers that keep me interested. If you're a Pretty Little Liars fan I suggest you read the books. If you like mystery, drama, and some romance read them and you won't be sorry.