Maine Trip, part 2: PORTLAND

"Yes. Life's good here". That is Portland's slogan and I can see why. We enjoyed exploring this city. Lovely architecture with lots of very old brick buildings, gorgeous lighthouses, Casco Bay, tree-lined streets with plenty of unique shops, and soo much good food! I think Congress Street was my favorite downtown area, it had several eclectic/vintage stores and an amazing little co-op restaurant called Local Sprouts. Their kombucha was out of this world. The Portland Headlight was such a fun stop too, postcard beautiful. Here are a few of my favorite pics:

Maine Trip, part 1: ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Last week we returned from our vacation in Maine. It was my first time visiting and I absolutely loved it! Beautiful scenery and amazing food :) This trip was also little A's first time on a plane, and she did pretty well overall...A few tantrums on the way back but it was naptime. I bought several little toys from the dollar tree store and brought them out one at a time as needed, and we had lollipops and plenty of snacks which helped. I am sharing here some (ok, a ton of) pictures from the first 7 days of our trip which we spent in Acadia National Park. It was so incredibly picturesque I filled up 2 memory cards, which is a bit much, even for me lol! I highly recommend visiting the park if you have the opportunity, especially in autumn. It's really difficult to pick a favorite spot in the park, but a few of my must-see places were Bass Harbor Lighthouse, Jordan Pond, Ocean Path, Dorr Mountain trail, Hunter's Beach (technically outside of the park but still on Mt. Desert Island, off of Cooksey Drive), Thunderhole, and of course Cadillac Mountain. Also, my favorite places to eat in Bar Harbor were This Way Cafe (quirky cute place with bookshelves lining the walls and some good vegetarian options) and Morning Glory Bakery (seriously good quiche and homemade chai).

Product Review: Remington Ceramic Elliptical Styling Wand

My hair is naturally stick straight and pretty flat. It also doesn't work very well for updos :/ So I'm always looking for ways to switch up my look. Last month I bought the Remington Elliptical Wand. It's basically a clamp-less curling iron with an oval barrel instead of the usual round shape. It comes with a glove to protect your hand from the heat. The barrel is silk ceramic and heats up to 410 degrees. I have used it a few times now and I am pleased with the results. It does give more loose waves instead of the tighter curls of a traditional curling iron. It heats up very quickly, and I can wave all of my hair in about 10-15 minutes, which is nice because I usually am running short on time. The only con I've found with it is that while I have it wound up on my head, sometimes my hand hits the buttons on the side and accidentally changes the temperature or turns it off...so I kind of wish they had put the buttons in a different place. Anyways, here is how I use it: 

1. First I spray my hair down with a heat protector.

2. I separate my hair into two sections, bottom and top, and pin up the top half with a jaw clip.

3. I start with the bottom half, wrapping each 1-inch strand around the barrel and holding it there for around 10-12 seconds. I catch the curl as soon as I remove it from the wand and hold it there for a second or two to help the curl set a little better.

4. Repeat the same process for the top half.

5. Gently separate the waves with my fingers and mist lightly with some hairspray. 

Here is what it looks like when I first finish before I've separated the waves:

And here's after I've finished styling:

And here is 8 hours later (after being in the humidity all day): 

And there you have it. It doesn't make huge, dramatic curls or anything, but for me it's a nice change to have a little extra body. It's less than $20 on Amazon.com, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone else looking for a way to change up their 'do :)

My Favorite Clean Eating Snacks

Sometimes you just need a quick, no-fuss snack to hold you over until mealtime, and it can be SO temping to reach for cookies or chips...but, since I've been gradually making over my lifestyle to be a healthier one, I've found a few favorites that you don't have to feel guilty about. They are easy to take on-the-go as well!

Fab Etsy Finds

Had to share some of the pretties from Etsy I've been swooning over lately!

Moon Phase Dress by graciechai

Hanging Planter by PotteryLodge

Cat Pillow by robinandmould

Swan Print Girl's shorts by swallowsreturn

Miniature Cob House (would be so cute for a terrarium!) by mymindsattic

Flower Crown by Eterie

Toddler craft: name painting

I picked up some cheap canvases from Hobby Lobby the other day and had to find a special project for them. This was a lot of fun for the little one and now we have some personalized art for her room :)

Materials:

1 8x10 canvas

Adhesive letters (mine are from hobby lobby, 50mm helvetica)

Washable crayola paints

Instructions:

Arrange the letters of your child's name in desired position on canvas. It's ok if they don't stick super well, I found they still stayed in place well enough even with a little toddler roughness. Have your little one pain the canvas. Let it dry, could take 3-4 hours depending on how thick the paint is. Peel off the letters. If they moved around a little during painting, you can touch up with white paint or just leave as is like I did, doesn't have to be perfect! 

vegan lunch idea: creamy avocado garlic pasta

                                

Sometimes I run out of ideas for lunch, and I get tired of the same old thing all the time, so I decided to get creative with the ingredients I had on hand. This recipe turned out to be super simple and delicious! 

Ingredients:

8 oz dry pasta (I used quinoa/rice fusili)

1 avocado

2 cloves garlic, unpeeled

Handful baby carrots

Handful kale leaves

1/3 cup olive oil or more, depending on what consistency you want

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring pasta water to boil, add pasta and unpeeled garlic cloves. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, peel and chop your avocado, and wash your other veggies. When pasta is done, drain it and remove garlic cloves. Add the avocado, kale, carrots, cooked garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper to your blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and toss with pasta immediately. Enjoy!