Author: justanothertaylor

Selfies and Why They Are Great

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I hear so many negative comments throughout the week about how annoying, narcissistic, and ridiculous selfies are. During my last semester of college, I was required to do a research study over something I was passionate about.  With those critical comments in mind, I decided I wanted to find out why selfies were viewed negatively– yet people still chose to take them. After conducting 7 interviews and 100 surveys from a variety of people, I found some interesting things.

1. When people get “likes” on their selfies, they feel better about themselves. 

“I think it confirms that people like my outfit or my hair that day.”–Haleigh

2. Selfies aren’t discriminatory. 

All ages, all genders, and all nationalities take them. Whether you’re an important person in the community (the president of my university took one at the commencement ceremony and it was AWESOME), or just some regular joe it doesn’t matter. Selfies appeal to a wide range of people.

3. It’s a creative outlet.

I have a question for people who despise selfies– why? Don’t you get tired of instagramming your plate of food or your cat everyday? Everyone wants to see your beautiful face sometimes, too! There are so many ways that you can make selfies creative and even look like art. Honestly, it’s a fun pastime if you really get into it. (do your hair and make-up different ways, find cool scenery, wear a fun headband)

4. Memories 

I think selfies are awesome and I’ve been known to take a few (or many) and upload them to my instagram. I like to go back and look at how much I have changed over the past few years. It’s interesting, and seeing those changes wouldn’t be possible if I was too afraid of what people might think when I uploaded them.

Selfies have become a phenomenon. Think of all the hashtags created by people taking them: #selfiesunday #sweatyselfie, #nomakeupselfie etc. In May 2013, instagram said that the hashtag exceeded 20 million. Self-confidence is beautiful, so what’s wrong with sharing yours with the world? If getting likes on their picture makes someone feel better about themselves for even thirty minutes of their day, why be annoyed with that? My friend, Hallie, got a selfie stick for Christmas and we recently had a lot of fun with it:

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See, selfies are awesome and don’t let people tell you otherwise. Signaiture

10 Songs That Will Help Rock Your Workout

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Working out. Meh… It’s a love/hate relationship with basically everyone in the world. I started getting really serious about exercising about 5 months ago, and although it’s been a struggle at times– IT’S TOTES WORTH IT!

We all have different things we like to do that the gym, some people love to run, others would rather rip out their front tooth. And now days, a lot more women are lifting versus just doing cardio (you go girls!) But, no matter what you like to do at the gym– here are 10 of my personal favorite songs to ensure that you don’t give in to the voice in your head saying “I can’t do this!” because guess what? YOU CAN!

1. Sex, Metal, Barbie. – In This Moment (do yourself a favor and download ALL their songs- especially if you like to lift)

2. Otta Your Mind- Lil Jon (I also like to shake my money-maker to this one at the bar)

3. Fly- Nicki Minaj

4. The Distance- Cake (Good song to run to)

5. Chandelier- Sia

6. Beg For It- Iggy Azalea

7. Still Counting- Volbeat

8. Rap God- Eminem

9. Love Bites- Halestorm (Mz. Hyde is also amaze.)

10. Eye of the Tiger- Survivor (You should already have this one!!)

Download & get fit!

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10 Songs That Will Rock Your Workout

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Playlist to Keep Your Workout GOING!

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Working out. Meh… It’s a love/hate relationship with basically everyone in the world. I started getting really serious about exercising about 5 months ago, and although it’s been a struggle at times– IT’S TOTES WORTH IT!

We all have different things we like to do that the gym, some people love to run, others would rather rip out their front tooth. And now days, a lot more women are lifting…

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For those of you who can’t live without coffee…

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Blog Coffee

(Me before coffee- the living dead)

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(Me after coffee–Let’s get some work done Y’ALL)

Coffee is a game changer. You wake up in the morning feeling weak and helpless thinking about the day ahead of you. While rolling out of bed in your oversized, stained clothing, you’re probably thinking “I can’t go on.” But then, you drink a cup of coffee with a splash of your favorite creamer and BAM. You’re alive and ready to kick this Thursday’s ass.

The problem in this equation is the creamer– I hate my coffee black, but creamer is AWFUL for you. 1. It’s dairy– not good. 2. It’s either full of sugar or artificial sweetener. 3. It has a ton of trans fat, gross.  Thankfully, I found my saving grace.

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So Delicious Dairy-Free French Vanilla Coconut Milk creamer. (YUM!)

Ingredients: ORGANIC COCONUT MILK (WATER, ORGANIC COCONUT CREAM), DRIED CANE SYRUP, NATURAL FLAVORS, COLORED WITH TITANIUM DIOXIDE, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, CARRAGEENAN, GUAR GUM.

Nothing artificial, and there are only 20 calories in a serving. Coconut milk is so much better for you than the other who-knows-what-is-in-this stuff. If you can’t drink your coffee black, kick your favorite creamer to the curb and give this one a try! My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore after having a glass and I don’t feel guilty for putting a little extra in!

And if you decide to give it a try- let me know what you think!!

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Bronde: Hair color for girls who want to be a brunette and a blonde.

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“Blondes have more fun.”

“Brunettes have beauty and brains.”

Now how exactly am I supposed to decide on a hair color with two COMPLETELY contradicting statements like that.

If you are SO indecisive like me- I have your answer. Bronde. It is in the middle of brown and blonde (SUCH a creative name -_-). Isn’t it gorgeous? I will definitely be trying this out once summer rolls around.

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(might I add that Jesse James Decker is an absolute babe.)

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DIY: Embroidered Jeans

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DIY Rock Revival jeans. Top were $158. I made the bottom for $20. Get white skinny jeans (bought mine at JC Penny) and stitch with black embroidery thread & a needle! Cheap, cute, and it wasn’t too hard.

5 Reasons To Listen to Your Older Siblings Advice

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I am so lucky to have three older & amazing sisters. For as long as I can remember they have been giving me advice. “Taylor, don’t pick your nose or no boys will like you.” “Taylor, you have thick legs– stay away from printed leggings– but you have a small waist, so that peplum top will look great on you.” These three have also given me advise that has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life. Following guidelines has never my thing “eh, i’ll learn for myself…” But boy, let me tell you, listen to what your siblings have to say. It took me a long time to realize this, but they love you–so they are probably giving advice for a reason.

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Kylie, Mallory, Me, Milan

5 Reasons to Listen to Your Siblings Advice:

1. They are usually telling you from experience.

No, they aren’t telling you “don’t drink and drive”, because they don’t want you to experience partying, having fun, or being adventurous. They are telling you because they don’t want your entire life to be ruined/over if you get in an accident or pulled over. When they say “that happened to my friend….” your sibling is trying to say it could happen to you, too. Listen to them.

2. They are usually right.

I hardly ever listened to what advise my sisters had to give me. I always took it into consideration, but when faced with the situation at hand I would handle it in my own young-minded, immature way. And when it would blow up in my face, I would realize afterwords that I just should have listened.

3. Because their advice is still cooler than your parents.

Dads: “Don’t have sex until you are MARRIED YOUNG LADY!”

Siblings: “You better make sure that you love each other and you BETTER use protection or else you are going to 1. Get an STD or 2. get pregnant and fat.”

4. They are trying to protect you from getting hurt, or hurting others.

“Should I text my ex boyfriend back?” Siblings will always tell you no, and they mean it- they don’t want to see you cry anymore or be upset over anything for that matter. Being your family it is natural they want to protect you.

Drama with another person? My sisters always tell me to “take the high road”, or “be the bigger person.” Although it is sometimes hard for me to do so, I ALWAYS feel better in the end.

5. Because they want you to better yourself.

Siblings see your potential. There are few who really care about how you turn out. You might want to listen to them.

Without my sisters there is a high probability I would be a train wreck. One of the things that brings me the most joy in life is the relationship I share with them. If there is a time you are wondering who to turn to, look to your siblings. They will always be there for you!

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Energy Balls (That Taste Like Candy)

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I’m just going to come right out and say it–

I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth ever.

Whew, that wasn’t so bad… But seriously, I need to get a grip. I recently came across a recipe for “Peanut Butter Energy Balls” and lets just say my life will never be the same. Basically they are a healthier version of a candy/granola bar mix. In ball form. Does it get any better?  YES- it does. You don’t have to bake them! All you do is mix everything together in a big bowl and roll them into balls.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
  • 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup ground flax seed
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all that together for what seems like an eternity until it’s smooth. Then seriously all you do is set them in the fridge for 30 minutes, roll them into balls and they are ready to eat. I ate one before the gym yesterday and I don’t know if they really gave me energy or if I was just pumped I actually got to eat something that tasted amazing- but I killed the workout.. So afterwords I ate another.

100 calories per ball (I try to limit myself to one a day) Also let’s be honest, this is really how I stored them:

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Although they do look fancy in that glass bowl.

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How Changing the Foods You Eat; Changes Your Life

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My sister, who might I add is a rockin’ 10, lost 60 pounds naturally–through diet only–in 4 months without exercising at all. You’re probably like “get real” but– for once– I am dead serious. Mallory did everything she could possibly think of when she was overweight: exercised, ate “healthy”, and even tried calorie counting. Yet none of it worked. It wasn’t until she was attending Chiropractic school, that she realized what was wrong all along. She was allergic to the “healthy” foods she was eating.

Obviously eliminating all processed foods was her first step. Processed foods are AWFUL for our bodies and if you want to see how they are killing us just watch the documentary “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.” and/or “Food Inc.” (my personal favorites) She then went to get food sensitivity testing done- giving her results that shocked her. Mallory is allergic to some strange things: Black pepper, wheat, dairy, bananas, almonds, rye (the list goes on)… Weird right? These seemingly “healthy foods” were making her keep all her weight on, no matter what she did. They were also inflaming everything in her body causing stomach aches. Her and her husband, Mike, eliminated basically everything from their diets besides water, fish, chicken, and vegetables. (A really strict Paleo diet) They did this for four months as a “cleansing process” and afterwords started to gradually add more things (that neither of them were allergic to) back into their diets. Also, Mallory’s mood improved tremendously. Not only because she looked better and had more confidence- but because she didn’t feel sick anymore. I put together a video for a project while I was still in college over her story (it’s not the best quality, but it’s interesting to hear it from her)

Watch here —–>  http://youtu.be/qdRASzAZHUg

There are so many fast ways to lose weight but stop and ask yourself.. is this chemical formulated shake, “meal plan”, etc. good for me? Hell no. Stop! If you are like me and want to truly feel, look and live healthily then you need to put wholesome, natural food in your body! This hasn’t been an easy process for me. I thoroughly enjoy french fries & ketchup, but making changes even if they are small are still making a difference. As Mallory said in the video “Every meal is a new choice.” 

I am so excited to share the healthy Paleo recipes I love as well as some of the workouts I like to do during the week!

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