Ahi Poke Over Brown Rice

Ahi Poke is one of my absolute favorite dishes to order when I go out to eat. Unfortunately sometimes it can be unhealthy when served with chips that are fried in oil. In addition, many soy sauces used in the sauce contain wheat so I set out to re-create a healthier version of Ahi Poke to eat at home. Here's what you'll need to prepare Ahi poke over brown rice:
 -1/2 pound of fresh ahi
 -1 teaspoon sesame oil
 -1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce (or liquid aminos)
 -1 green onion
 -1 crushed garlic glove
 -1/2 cup cooked brown rice
 -1 avocado
 -Coconut oil spray

Step 1: Cook your brown rice.
Step 2: While the rice is cooking, whisk the crushed garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil together in a bowl.
Step 2: Chop one green onion into small pieces.
Step 3: Cut the ahi into small cubes with a sharp butcher's knife. Spray a pan with coconut oil and put all of the ahi cubes in the pan. Cook for 30 seconds on each side. The ahi will be cooked on the outside, but completely rare on the inside. You can omit this step--I cooked the outside since I picked the ahi up in the evening and knew it had been put out in the morning, otherwise I would've skipped this.

Once everything is ready, place the brown rice on a plate and flatten the top. Add the avocado pieces, then the ahi. Pour the sauce over the ahi. Lastly, add your green onions.

This is such an easy and quick dinner to make. Plus it's healthy and much less expensive than restaurant poke. The total cost to make this meal was $11.

Vinylux Review

CND's Shellac polishes revolutionized the beauty/nail industry by introducing a nail polish that lasts for two plus weeks without chipping. They've just introduced a similar product called Vinylux, dubbed a "weekly polish" that gives a seven day wear and does not use a base coat or a UV light. I was excited by the opportunity to try out Vinylux because while I love the everlasting sturdiness of Shellac, I'm paranoid about putting my hands under the UV light, and I get bored of nail colors less than two weeks in. I was a bit skeptical of the staying power of Vinylux because of these above reasons. Read on for photos of how the polish wore over the course of seven days...

Day 1

Please excuse the mess on my index finger. The color I got was Romantique, and it took four coats to appear more opaque and less streaky. It dried super fast, faster than a regular nail polish and gave a shiny finish with the top coat.

Day 4

On day four, there was a little bit of wear around my cuticles and the edges of my nails, but the polish still looked much better than a regular nail polish would've looked on its fourth day of wear.

Day 7

Day five was when things went to hell in a hand basket (pun intended). The polish started peeling away at the edges of my nails, and there was some chipping. I would have removed the polish then, but I wanted to wait and see how they would look on day 7, as CND promises that Vinylux is a "weekly polish". By day 7, I couldn't wait to remove the nail polish. It was harder to remove than removing a regular nail polish. I normally use acetone to remove my regular nail polish, and I had to let an acetone soaked cotton ball sit on each nail for about two minutes to remove the Vinylux. 

As much as I wanted to love Vinylux, I'm not a believer. I'd rather stick with my regular nail polish, which is just as shiny, lasts just about as long, and is easier to remove. Have any of you tried Vinylux? What did you think?

TWO

For our two year anniversary, I thought I'd share some of my favorite wedding photos along with our wedding video. While there are a million petty things I would love to change from this day two years ago (Pinterest, where were you when I needed you most?), it still remains the happiest day of my life. 

   

When All Else Fails

Ever have those days when you feel like you have nothing to wear? When it happens to me, my go-to, easy outfit is a pair of boyfriends and a no-fuss white tee. I added a pair of gold heels and a gold pendant necklace to glam it up a bit. 

{Please excuse the brightness. Late morning photos outside-no bueno.}

Tee: Zara//Jeans: Forever 21 (old), similar//Heels: Sam and Libby//Necklace: Target, similar//

How To Get Beachy Waves

Oribe Royal Blowout//L'Oreal Paris Elnett Hairspray//Teasing Brush//Bumble and Bumble Texture Creme//

From left to right, top to bottom: Step 1: After spraying dry hair with Oribe Royal Blowout as a heat protectant, curl hair in 1/2-1 inch sections with a 1 inch curling iron, curling away from the face. Step 2: After each curl, spray the root of the curled piece with hair spray. Step 3: Back comb for volume. Repeat these steps until your hair is all curled. You will have prom curls after these steps are completed!

To transform the prom curls into beachy waves, take your straightener to the ends of your hair and lightly run over the curls. See the difference between the two sides? Once you've completed running the straightener over the ends of your hair, use Bumble and Bumble's Texture Creme and run it through your hair with your fingers, focusing on the ends for a piece-y look that will stay in place all day. 

Voila!

Evil Eye Jewelry Obsession

 From left to right: Baublebar//Baublebar (sold out, but very similar here. I actually just purchased this one myself)//Juicy Couture//Rachel Roy//Astley Clarke//

In Islamic, Jewish, Assyrian, Hindu, Ethiopian, Greek, and Italian (the list goes on) cultures, evil eye jewelry is meant to serve as protection against negative/evil energy. These protective pieces have transformed into a full on fashion trend, and I am loving it (especially as a paranoid person, ha)! Whether you're superstitious or not, why not take extra caution and don an evil eye piece?

Styling Denim Shorts

Denim shorts are my favorite Summer staple because they go with virtually anything from a slouchy tee to a structured peplum top. These are some of my favorite denim cut-off looks...

 Here's my round-up of some of my favorite pairings with denim shorts that I'll definitely be rocking this Summer!

How would you style denim shorts?

Daytime Wedding

We attended a daytime wedding this past weekend to kick off wedding season--such a fun time of the year! Since the wedding took place during the day and was at an old barn, I went more casual with this fun H&M bright coral dress. I love the playful shape and color, which is perfect for Spring and Summer! I love taking any opportunity I get to re-wear my wedding bracelet, and this was the perfect excuse.

Dress: H&M//Shoes: BCBG//Necklace: BCBG//Bracelets: Stella And Dot, Haute Bride, J. Crew (similar), Forever 21//

Hair Update

I got my hair done today, as I mentioned last week. I'm still getting used to it since it's a pretty big change for me. My stylist put highlights in all over, and then did balayage with random pieces of hair framing my face, as well as some pieces in the back. Since my ends had bleach left over from years ago, the bottom portion of my hair will need to be toned one more time, probably in the next couple of weeks. Here's the before (excuse the iphone quality photos)...

And after:

On another note, you may have noticed that my blog got a little makeover! I hope you all like it. I'm working on adding a navigation bar among some other details. Let me know what you think! I also have a Facebook page, where I post recipes, fashion finds and other musings on a regular basis. Since Google is removing the "follow" option, this is a great way to stay updated on new blog posts as well. You can like my page here.