Summer Reading List

One of the best parts of summer is that I no longer have a huge pile of required class readings to do. Three months of reading things because I want to, not because I have to, is sheer bliss.

You can see the beginnings of my summer reading list, above. I like to create a big list every summer and see how far I get by fall.

My list so far:

• The Golden Road: Notes on my Gentrification by Caille Millner
• Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (this one has been on my list for a looong time)
• Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine (and I thought a 3-month spending hiatus was a long time!)
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel

What's on your summer reading list, and what do you think of mine?

Images via barnesandnoble.com

First Jobs

For the past couple of weeks I have been looking hard for a part time summer job, and this past weekend I got hired on at a department store. So it's no wonder that lately I've been thinking about some of the jobs I've held in the past.

My very first job was at Steve and Barry's, a large discount store that sold clothes and shoes, with everything being below $20. I spent entire days folding clothes, making displays look neat, and picking up after messy shoppers (fact: women are slobs when they shop). It wasn't my favorite job, but it did pay for gas and nights out with friends AND I got a 30% discount so pretty much all of my clothes for a year there were bought at Steve and Barry's. The chain finally went out of business last year, though, about a year after I left to go to college.

After Steve and Barry's, I spent a summer pulling weekend shifts with my sister at a dinky little diner that specialized in all-you-can-eat spaghetti and Yum-Yums (ice cream sundaes, essentially). Then I got a job as a lab assistant in my university's medical center, where I still work. And now I'm back to retail, albeit at a much nicer store where things generally cost a good deal more than $20. Guess I'm moving up in the world, right?

Where was your first job? Restaurant? Clothing store? Alpaca farm?

Image via bloggingstocks.com

How do you work out?

I've been thinking a lot about workouts lately. Probably because I have no more classes until mid-September and that gives me a lot more time to think about getting healthy. Maybe because I spoke to my mom the other day and learned that over 75% of her parents' generation have died of heart disease related conditions (eek) or cancer. Also, probably because it's hot now and I feel like the Pillsbury Doughboy in my tank tops (not to mention bathing suits). So today I thought we should discuss working out.

I'm not super structured when it comes to working out. I don't have a training plan, I just tend to work out when I feel like it and leave it there. Right now my work outs look a little like this:

Running: I've always been a runner. I was in track in highschool (800m, woot) and I never really lost running as a hobby, though I run more sometimes than others. Right now I run probably 4-5 days a week, depending on how stressed I am (I actually run more when I'm stressed). Usually my runs are pretty casual- I'll head out with my ipod and just let my feet lead me wherever until I get tired enough to turn around. Most of the time I don't even time myself. When I have glanced at the time, my runs are usually between 30 and 45 minutes in length, so not super long but not terribly short either. How hard I run usually varies too- I run faster when I'm stressed and slower when I just want to enjoy myself. In case you can't tell, I'm super casual about my running, and I get to wondering whether I should start planning out my runs better. But I've learned that when I plan them, they start to feel like a chore.

Yoga: This is something that I picked up last spring, when I took a yoga class at my university. For awhile there, I did yoga almost every day. It was amazing for muscle tone and posture, two things I struggle with (not to mention obvious psychological benefits). I've let my yoga slip away lately, to the point where I almost never do it anymore. But it's something I hope to bring back over the summer when my schedule is (hopefully) less hectic. Anybody know of any good yoga DVDs?

Rock Climbing: Okay, so this is something I just started doing once a week as of two weeks ago and already I LOVE it. I'm pretty lucky in that my university has a huge climbing center not too far away from me, and I'm thinking of buying a rec pass just so I can have access to it over the summer. Rock climbing is a great upper body workout for me, namely because I have almost no upper body strength. Not to mention, it's just plain fun. I'm encouraging all of you who have access to a climbing wall to give it a shot- I'm planning on going once a week over the summer if I can get ahold of a rec pass.

Those are pretty much my three primary workouts right now. I'm also thinking of picking up swimming over the summer, especially if I do get a rec pass, since my university has several swimming pools as well. What are your favorite workouts and how do you stay healthy? Got any fun suggestions for me?

PS: Thanks for all of your well wishes last Thursday as I went in for my job interview. I got the job! So now I'm a sales associate and fitting room attendant at a large department store in addition to my usual part time job, which means I can actually pay my rent over the summer. Woohoo!

Image by Per Breiehagen via runnersworld.com

Thursday Bullets

• It's Thursday and I just got done with finals week yesterday. Two tests and one giant paper later, I'm feeling pretty tuckered out. Tuckered out enough to miss blogging for a day and a half, heh.
  
• On the other hand- it's officially summer break for me! I don't have classes or papers or homework to deal with until September! So hopefully you all can forgive me for my sporadic blogging if I promise to throw in a few extra posts over the summer?
• Summer doesn't mean I get to be lazy. Instead, it means that I have to find a (second) summer job stat if I want to pay my rent. I've got my first job interview Saturday afternoon- wish me luck!
• I want an Organic Chocolate Trio from farmsteadorganic's Etsy shop. Organic chocolate fudge goat milk soap, chocolate body balm, and chocolate lip balm. Sounds good enough to eat (not that I'd recommend it).
  
• I have a giant hot fudge sundae in front of me instead.
  
• I just realized that the first ingredient on my hot fudge is not chocolate, as you might expect, but high fructose corn syrup. That can't be good.
• I couldn't come up with a good picture for this post, so I stuck one of a cute girl from The Sartorialist up there. On a related note, I really wish I was as cute/hip/pretty as anyone that makes it onto The Sartorialist.
  
• That's about all I can think about right now (post-exam brain freeze). I'll be back in normal blogging mode again tomorrow though! :)

How has your week been going?

Image via The Sartorialist.

Greenify Your Hair

So as some of you know, awhile ago I officially jumped on the green bandwagon. I want to become more eco-conscious by looking critically at the things I own: those that I need, those that I like, and those that are inevitably wasted. What I don't want is to contribute to the idea that in order to be green you need to toss out all your old stuff and buy new, super-expensive "green" things (that may or may not be all that "green").

That said, as I have been trying to greenify my beauty routine by cutting back on the number of products I own (because, ahem, I own a lot), and picking more natural alternatives for ones that I keep around. And since I know you all will keep me accountable, I thought I'd share my new (much simpler) hair-care routine with you.

Image: drugstore.com

When it comes to shampoo, my stance is that it all gets washed out of my hair anyway, so I'm not terribly picky. I just need something that get my hair clean without drying it out to straw. Shi Kai shampoos do the trick for me- they clean my hair without the use of SLS or other harsh chemicals, and they don't strip it of its moisture. The Color Care Shampoo is my favorite for being pretty gentle and non-drying. The Everyday Shampoo does dry my hair out a little bit, but nothing conditioner can't fix. Better yet, both can be found at Whole Foods or just about any online drugstore, and they're pretty inexpensive ($5-7 for 12oz, depending on where you get it).

Image: iherb.com

My hair is thick and tends to be dry, so when it comes to conditioner I tend to be more picky. The hardest part of switching to green products was finding a conditioner that would moisturize without the use of dimenthicone, which is found is just about every drugstore moisturizing conditioner. I finally found a friend in Desert Essence Red Raspberry Conditioner, which moisturizes using jojoba oil and contains vitamins A and C plus calcium, magnesium, and almond amino acids for healthy, shiny hair. It keeps my puffy hair relatively non-puffy, without making it flat or greasy looking. It also doesn't hurt that it smells amazing, like sweet raspberries on a summer day. And like the ShiKai shampoo, it's relatively easy to find both in stores and online, and it won't break the bank ($6-9 for 8oz, and a little goes a long way).

Image: vitacost.com

As far as styling products go, my hair is admittedly non-picky. It's straight and thick, so I typically look for something that will will add shine and keep it from puffing up mid-day, plus protect it from any heat styling I might do. For me, Giovanni Direct Leave-In Conditioner has worked wonders. Just a dime-sized amount keeps all of my hair under control without being greasy-looking. Plus it does it with natural oils instead of silicone, so I don't have as many issues with build-up. And, as you might suspect, it's also relatively easy to find and inexpensive ($5-8 for 8.5oz).

What do you think of my new hair routine? Does anyone have other natural products I should test out? If so, I'd love to hear them :)

Fabric Mania!

So I get the idea of making my own pillows in my head, and all of a sudden I'm obsessed with fabric. Some of the adorable printed fabrics on Etsy really make me wish I could sew something other than a square pillow. Maybe I should have paid more attention in home ec?

A few I really love:

• Paisley in Earth at uberstitch's shop
• Marimekko Sarastaa Floral from imaginefabric's shop (my favorite, and also the most expensive- because it always works out that way ya know?)
• Fresh Start from sewhappyfabricshop's shop (cute name, adorable fabric)
• Elephant print from KawaiiLovelyFabric's shop (would not match anything in my house, but is SO cute)

What do you think of my choices? Am I the only one who looks at fabric and just wishes I could sew?

PS: Just two exams this week and then it's summerrrrr :)

All images: their respective Etsy shops (see links above)

Speaking of flowers...

Isn't this sweet?
The flower shop just down the street from me has had this sign out for a couple weeks now, every day with a different name. Okay, so the economic side of me knows that this is totally a ploy to win over new customers, but I still think it is a super adorable idea. Wouldn't it be a nice surprise to see your name on the board for a free flower? I know I've been checking it every time I walk by, hoping there will be an "Amanda" up there soon.