How to have a nice face

After my last post, I developed a little bit of writers' block.  I haven't really made any cool food lately, except for some really tasty salads.  I made one with chickpeas, seitan, grilled zucchini, tofu "feta" and red bell peppers that was phenomenal.  But other than that, I was at a loss.

This blog is kind of all over the place in terms of content, so the possibilities are endless.  I recently really hit my stride in terms of my skin care regimen.  Right now I am proud to say that my skin is pretty great.  So I'm going to share with you how it came to be!

How I look so goooood

From left to right:
-Clarisonic brush - A few years ago, my dad handed me a wad of cash to spend while I was at college "sparingly" so that I stopped charging things on my credit card.  What did I do immediately after getting off the plane?  I went to Sephora and bought the Clarisonic brush.  Honestly, it was worth it because this facial brush is a better investment than the ten items I would have purchased at Whole Foods for that same amount.  I know it says to use the Clarisonic twice a day, but I probably only use it about three times a week.  I have the Mia2 with the deep pore cleansing brush head.  Read more about it HERE.

-Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel - I never thought that I needed a toner.  Honestly, I don't even know what a toner is.  I have no clue.  I don't even know what a toner is supposed to do.  Tone your skin?  Who knows.  But I will tell you what this witch hazel does to my skin.  It makes my skin feel refreshed, clean and I'm like 98% sure that my pores are smaller.  In the morning when I wake up I put some on a cotton pad and before I go to bed I do the same thing. Love it.  Also it smells fabulous.

-Coconut Oil - Everyone is pushing coconut oil these days.  I use it for cooking on occasion, but as of right now I've been using it to take off my makeup.  I clicked on THIS pin on Pinterest, threw away my Almay pads and have been doing it ever since.  You just put some oil on your eyes, rub off all of your makeup and wipe it off with a cotton pad.  I'm not going to lie, if I venture outside of the eye area, I break out occasionally, but that brings me to my next item....

-GlamGlow Supermud Clearing Treatment  - I do not remember where I learned about this mask sent from the heavens above, but I am thankful that I did.  This stuff is ridonkulous. I don't have bad enough skin to use an acne face wash or anything, but if I notice that my skin is looking a little off, I use this mask and everything is right in the world again.  Not only that, but my skin just looks better in general.  Even skin tone, smaller pores, etc etc.  Also it does this weird thing where it shows all of the stuff that it is taking out of your pores.  It's pretty gross but I def enjoy it.  It is VERY price ($69) but it's worth it.  I swear! It can also be used as a spot treatment. 

why am I so cute?

-Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator - I have saved the best for last.  This honestly the best skincare item that I have ever experienced and probably will ever experience.  It's an exfoliator.  You're only supposed to use it a few times a week.  I use it about every two days and you let it sit for a little bit because there are papaya enzymes in it.  The little micro beads don't irritate your skin at all.  There's also aloe in it.  Imm so excited about this stuff that I don't even know what to say about it.  I got it in my Birchbox like a year ago and since then I have been hooked.  I thought I lost it one time, so I bought a new bottle and then I found the old one, and it was basically Christmas.  This stuff is also pricey ($34) but it is SO SO SO SOOOO worth it.  You use less than a pea-sized amount every time you use it and the tube is fairly big.  I highly recommend this to everyone ever.  Get it HERE. 

Here are some other tips to have the best skin you can have.
1) Drink more water.  I have witnessed a direct correlation between the amount of water that I drink, and the condition of my skin.

2) Take a multivitamin.  There is tons of literature about whether they are good for you or not, but I really think that my hair, skin and nails are improved by taking the multivitamin.

3) Don't pick.  I know it's hard, but don't pick at your pimples.  Find something to distract you!!

Here's my fave one

There you have it! The best skincare products, in my opinion.  I left out my moisturizer, which is the Kate Somerville oil free moisturizer.  My next blog post is going to be about the raw food challenge that my friend Tasha and I are doing.  It's through THIS link and it starts on June 1st.  I'm super excited to try it!

I started a raw food board on Pinterest, you can check it out HERE.  Everything looks so good!

In other news, I recently started painting again, and I did this one in about two hours for Peter, because he likes lions.  I think it's pretty good for a two year hiatus!

ciao ciao! - Katelyn

Dear High School seniors,

 This weekend at work, I was having a discussion about naps with someone.  I said, "Naps are honestly why I dropped out of college."  The high school senior going to college in the fall was sitting near us and was like why is that? In honor of all of the graduations that are going on in these few weeks, I thought I would write a special edition of my blog with some Dos and Don'ts for high school seniors (mostly don'ts).  

I asked around to my friends and came up with a few tips with some help from my friends 

1) DO screen your Craigslist roommates.  Even if you have a friend in common, still get some references because you might end up with a pathological liar with a dog that is also a terrorist living in your basement like my roommate Synna and I did.  Michael McCoy: If you're out there.  You owe us FIVE HUNDRED dollars and we still want to sue you.   

Dovakhin: Terrorist dog by Ivana Goal

2) DON'T spend your days drinking wine and napping instead of going to class.  You're going to kid yourself and say that you can just email the professor and you will pass the exam if you do the readings, but you are lying to yourself.  Especially if you go to a school with small class sizes.   Unless you are taking a class where the grade is 100% based on your final and midterm exams, then you will be SOL.

3) DON'T care about the hype of Greek life.  I got this one from a few of my friends, even those in sororities and fraternities.  If you're in one, cool and I'm happy for you, but don't make it the center of your life or you're going to be that girl/guy at parties years later talking about your "sisters" and "brothers" and someone is going to be like, "Oh wow you have a lot of sisters." and you'll be like, "Oh no it's my sorority sisters." and then there will be an awkward silence followed by pity.  I know, I saw it happen.    

So wise.

4) DON'T feel like you need to be set on a major.  One of the reasons that my college career was so unsuccessful was that I was set on Political Science and about 1.5 years in, I realized that I was not ready to study it for 2.5 more years, let alone deal with it for a living.  I would have been WAY better off if I switched my major then, instead of continuing on, hoping that I would change my mind.

5) DO get a pet.  Even if you live in the dorms, you can probably pull off having an animal.  I had my Mr. Buns for about three years.  He was great when he wasn't chewing on wires, but even when he did, it didn't matter because he was so darn cute!

Mr. Buns wearing his leash!

  6) DON'T build a relationship with your college roommate based on mutual hatred of someone/something else.  I feel like with my first roommate, we only really got along because we hated all of the same things.  That's not a great way to form a lasting bond.  It's going to end really badly with some paranoia and some really mean texts.  My second roommate and dearest friend, Synna and I had a stronger bond based on mutual hatred and mutual interests and mutual hotness and just all around enjoying each others company.  Our relationship might have borderlined on enabling destructive behavior but hey who is keeping track? NOT ME! 

7) DO wear a slutty Halloween costume at least one year.  You deserve it. 

 8) DONT forget to bring a towel with you to the bathroom when you're going to take a shower.  Because then you're going to have to dry off with paper towels or you'll have to put your original clothes back on and that's just awful.  The best method is going to the shower in just your towel.  If that is too much for you, then you need to not be living in a co-ed dorm.  Also don't forget to bring toilet paper to a party! EVER!


9) DON'T go to college for your Mrs. Degree.  Chances are that your education will be worth far more than your future husband


10) DON'T schedule classes before 10.  Unless you are super motivated, you will NEVER. MAKE. IT. 


11) DO utilize office hours.  Most professors are actually pretty nice and want to help you.  I definitely did not utilize office hours because I was scared of professors and look at where that got me.  
 

From Jezebel.com read more in the link I posted below

12) DON'T dabble in the sketchy frats.  I went to American University.  If you are ever on the Internet AT ALL you probably saw something abut the "Rapey" frat.  If you didn't see it, click HERE.  After finding out the identities of the men that sent those emails, I actually recognized a few of them.  People, there is a REASON that they have a reputation for sketchiness and unsavory behavior.  Don't kid yourself, "Oh I'm friends with them, they would never act that way to me" or "The other fraternities are just jealous so they made up these rumors."  Honestly, the fact that you are okay with them behaving that way towards other women as long as they leave you alone makes me want to throw up in my mouth and all rumors have a base somewhere.  


13) DON'T believe that your college has your best interest at heart.  I'm not going to go into detail, but I firmly believe that you need to look out for yourself.  Question EVERYTHING.  


14) LAST BUT NOT LEAST, College isn't for everyone.  Don't force yourself to do something that you know isn't right for you.  Plenty of successful people didn't go to college and plenty of unsuccessful people did.  Even if college is for you, don't rush it.  I'm almost starting year six and I figure as long as I graduate before my little sister, I'm good. 

Good luck!
xo -Katelyn

ps. Completely forgot to add that the Craigslist roommate from Number One also had a ferret named Skrillex whose cage he never cleaned and I may or may not have released into the wild.  Have you ever smelled a ferret? 

Pad Thai Grilled Tofu/Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from Wine and Vegan Cheese! Today my mother got the wonderful gift of my sister coming home from college to spend the summer here.  I mean, she already has me living at home as a 22 year old and she does all of my laundry, so I feel like I am just the gift that keeps on giving.  Just in case that isn't enough, I also got her this cute little chicken pitcher from Deruta, Italy.   

My family (aka actually my Dad) also got her a swing because our old one was a little decrepit and she likes to sit outside in the sun and read.  I really wish that my mother would give me the Mother's Day gift of telling me where my bottle of Pinot Grigio is because I need it.  (update: there is no wine left, she drank it all)

New swing!

 The weather has finally been nice for more than 3 days at a time!  I have the next three days off and I am looking forward to sitting in the sun in my bathing suit and reading The Fall of Giants by Kenneth Follett.  His books are addicting.  I already preordered the third book in the trilogy and I am so psyched, even if it doesn't come out for a few months.

The only place I want to be until I leave Naples

In other news, tonight my family is grilling.  I never eat dinner with them but Tara is back and it's Mother's Day so I though, why not?  They're grilling steaks or ribs or something.  I scoured Pinterest for a good grilled tofu recipe because I have a few blocks in my fridge and I've never done it before.  I was feeling wild, so I whipped up this tofu! It's inspiration was Pad Thai!

Pad Thai Inspired Grilled Peanut Butter/Lime Tofu

1 block of tofu
1/2 cup of lime juice (the original recipe says use fresh, but I'm not made of limes so I used store bought)
1/3 cup of agave nectar
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
2 heaping tablespoons of smooth peanut butter (I had to use chunky because it was all that I had)
3 tablespoons Sriracha (I think I ended up adding more)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro (set aside)

Press your tofu.  I use the tofu EZPress but you can always just use paper towels.  Cut it into strips and lay it in a tupperware container or baking dish so it is all laying flat in one layer.

Mix together all of the ingredients.  Pour the sauce over the tofu and cover.  Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least four hours.  I put some cilantro on top.
 
When you're ready to grill, take it out and put it on an oiled grill.  Ten minutes each side!  Make sure you watch it though just in case because I'm sure times will vary.  Serve hot and pour the rest of the sauce over it if you'd like! Garnish with the cilantro!

The tofu ready to marinate!

This was really tasty.  Grilling the tofu gives it a smoky flavor but because it's marinated in lime juice, it also tastes really smoky.  It's sweet because of the agave but it's salty because of the soy sauce.  Overall this was a really great dish.  

Unfortunately there was a miscommunication in the kitchen and my mother threw away my leftover sauce so I couldn't eat the finished product with it, but honestly, it didn't even need it because it was that flavorful!  

 I sat in the sun for a few hours in my bathing suit, and I just examined my body and I am still the exact same shade of porcelain as I was before.  I'm determined to at least get a little tan before the summer is over.  

Overall, a really great day off! 

ciao ciao! -Katelyn

A letter from your cashier,

I am a cashier.  However, when I fill out forms that ask me for my occupation, I write "student" because I am not about to write down that I am a cash register operator by profession.   But at the moment, cash register operating pays the bills so that is what I am.  I actually really enjoy my job, I work with a lot of people that I like the company of and I get to talk talk talk to people all day long.

This is my most frequent conversation.
Me: Hey! How are you today?
Them: I'm great! How are you?
Me: I'm alright.
Them: Just alright?
Me: Yes.

Sometimes people don't want to chit chat and the conversation is as follows:
Me: Hey How are you today?
Them: Fine. Thank you.
Me: Okaaaay then.

I've had a pretty terrible bout of cold/allergies lately, so my conversations have mainly centered around that.  But sometimes people feel the need to explain their purchases to me.  One woman who was buying like fifteen packets of balloons told me how it was her son's birthday the next morning and she left all of her balloons that she bought at work.  I thought that was sweet and I am genuinely interested in most people's lives.   

This is me

 A lot of customers come up to my register proclaiming "This must be the most random assortment that you've ever seen."  No sir, your purchase of pens, razors and toilet paper isn't random.  The guy that brought up rope, duct tape and some surgical masks raised some red flags though.

11 Things that bother me as your cashier:
1. When the item doesn't scan and you say, "must be free!" No. It's not free.  Stop. Also I guarantee that I've heard that five times today.
2. When you read my name on my name tag and address me by my name.  I know you're trying to be nice, but it's kind of creepy.  
3. When you place all of your things ON TOP of the scanner.  How am I supposed to scan your stuff if the object that I use to scan your items is covered by your items?
4. When you have twenty articles of clothing, you express that you do not want the hangers and then watch me struggle to take all of the hangers off. AND THEN you tap your foot impatiently because it's taking me so long. 
5. This one might just be me, but it really bothers me when people ask for bags for tiny items that could fit into a pocket.  Wasteful. 
6. When the light on my lane is clearly off and I am clearly trying to clean up my space and people come to my line.  Respect the light people!
7. It doesn't bother me one bit when people are on the phone, but if you completely ignore my, "Hello, how are you?" you are rude.
8. When something was on sale last week and you want a sale on it now.  Sorry, that's not how that works, I wish it was.
9.  Arguing about the wording on the sign.  I didn't write the sign, someone else wrote the sign and I'M SURE that they wrote it that way to mislead you, but they did it for a reason and it is just my job to enforce the sign.  Sorry.  
10.  Asking for $150 cash back during the first 10 minutes that the store is open.  Seriously? Use your brain. 
11.  When you reach over and rip off your own receipt.  I do not have much power in my job, but one of the teeny tiny bits of responsibility that I have is to rip off the receipt.  When you take that from me... I have nothing.  Also I have to resist the urge to slap your hand.  So stop that. 

I feel like a lot of responses to this post will be like, "You get paid to do your job" but honestly, most of the things that I just listed are common courtesy and common sense.  

I honestly like my job and 99.9% of customers but this just turned into a rant, but honestly, some of these things needed to be said.  Sorry that I'm not sorry.  And remember, the cashier ringing up your condoms and lube feels just as awkward as you do. 

ciao ciao -K