Things I'm Loving: April 2015
I know April is officially over, but this week was so crazy that there was just no way this post was getting out before the end of the month. Better late than never, so whatever. I know you're all just DYING to hear what I've been obsessing over this month (hah, sure you are ....), so let's just hop right to it:
LISTENING
TBASH (Totally Beverages and Sometimes Hot Sauce)- You guys already know that this is one of my all-time favorite podcasts. I look forward to a new episode from them every Friday. A few months ago I sent them bottles of my father-in-law's hot sauces (Chef William Creations), and in a recent episode they tasted them live on the air! Check out the end of that episode to hear what they thought of them. (Spoiler alert: they liked the hot sauces.) If you're interested in trying these hot sauces yourself, you can find them in the Chef William Creations Etsy shop.
READING
Elle & Company - I've been following this blog for a few months now and I just continue to love it more and more. Lauren Hooker is the voice behind the site, and she is a full-time graphic designer and blogger. She uses her blog to give some insight into her design processes, as well as give blogging and business tips for creative entrepreneurs. She is smart, savvy and strategic, and she's basically taking the internet by storm right now. Plus, she's just straight-up delightful. Her weekly twitter #ellechats on Thursday evenings are always informative and a great way to meet other bloggers, especially ones that might not be in your niche. Some of my favorite posts of hers include "How I Design a Full Brand and Website in Just Two Weeks," "My No-Fuss Formula for Pricing My Services," and "4 Secrets for Exponential Blog Growth."
Vivianna Does Makeup - I don't wear a ton of makeup, but I do have a sweet spot for certain products and will gladly splurge on something if I think it will get the job done. (Honestly, I think I like the packaging and everything surrounding makeup more than actually using the stuff.) But since I don't wear a ton of makeup and I'd rather not put too much "junk" on my face, makeup is one area where I prefer "designer" products as opposed to "drugstore" products. I've recently started paying attention to this beauty blog, and I think it appeals to me because she seems like a pretty average girl. She goes more for that "no makeup" makeup look that I prefer. Thanks to her I started using this Laura Mercier secret camouflage stuff (which I love), and my Sephora Wish List is starting to grow ...
DOING
Tone It Up #BikiniSeries - I've been following the Tone It Up workouts since January, so I was super excited for the Bikini Series, an 8-week challenge for getting in shape for the summer. I'm currently 3 weeks in, and I recently caved and actually bought their newest DVD, which has 8 longer-form workouts on it that you can't get anywhere else. They complement the Bikini Series nicely, and I figured since I get so much free content from them anyway, the least I could do is order their DVD (especially since I don't pay a gym membership fee anymore because I rely on Tone It Up and Daily Burn for my workouts). So I've been getting up around 5am to work out since January ... that's FOUR WHOLE MONTHS of waking up literally before the butt-crack of dawn. I never thought I'd be working out in the early mornings purely by choice, but it makes it easier when you know you're waking up to do these fun workouts with the Tone It Up ladies (and when you can text your friends at 6:30am because they're doing the same workout program). If you're looking for some major workout motivation and want to find a new routine, hop on board for the rest of this Bikini Series and see if they get you hooked.
Somehow I forgot to mention in last month's roundup that I was interviewed on the Dinner Special Podcast at the beginning of March. I talked about it in my "How to Make Perfect Pizza at Home" post, but in case you missed that or if you're a new reader, here's the link to my podcast interview. I go into some detail about how Cake Over Steak got started and chat about some other fun things like one of my earliest "cooking dates" with Robert.
Illustration at top created with Photoshop and Illustrator.
Prints of my illustrations (and other products with my work on them) are available in my Society6 shop.
