New Adventures

I've just returned from my trip with my family - it was great! We visited the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Salt Lake City, and Mt. Rushmore. Now that I'm back, I can pack and get everything ready for college. Xuewei and I have decided that we'll put blogging on hold while we're in school, to give us more time to transition to the new environment. As a parting message, here's one last outfit post, from earlier this summer. I've been making friendship bracelets nonstop - it's so fun and rewarding when you can wear your own creations. I get my designs from friendship-bracelets.net. 

Outfit details: Shirt: American Eagle / Shorts: LOFT / Necklace: DIY / Bracelets: DIY / Sandals: Merrell

The top bracelet was made by my friend. I made the bottom two bracelets.

It's been a great experience writing this blog and I hope to continue blogging in the future. 

Have a lovely day!

Recipe of the Week: Kale and Fruit Salad

Today's the last day of camp. It's been a lovely six weeks, full of learning new things alongside the children and learning to be patient with myself and them. I've made countless friendships and friendship bracelets, and realized how much energy I have. After camp, I still have the energy to cook, tutor or meet up with friends! As I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow, I won't be blogging for a while, but I'll keep it up when I get back. I'll take lots of photos! 

This salad was made during my week of cooking with kale. This summer, I tried to cook with fresh ingredients (read: short amount of time before they go bad) so I had to be creative and really plan out recipes in advance so I could use up all the ingredients. I made a kale and fruit salad, just improvising like last time, and basically tossed in a bunch of different fruits. 

Kale and Fruit Salad 

Ingredients

Kale, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces

Avocado, cut into bite-sized pieces

Mozzarella cheese, cut into bite-sized pieces

D'Anjou pear

Peach

Walnuts

Chia seeds (I added these after the photos were taken to my lunch the next day)

Balsamic vinegar and olive oil for drizzling

One tip I've found online is to rub the kale to release more of its nutrients. According to this, it softens the leaves and essentially "wilts" them. I think it tasted nice and crisp, while reducing some of the bitterness. 

Mmmmm...fresh and just the right balance of salty and sweet.

Have a lovely weekend! See you in two weeks.  

Garden Updates: Cucumber Harvest!

Now that the end of the summer is approaching, the garden is really beginning to grow. My dad has been taking great care of it and we've already harvested some cucumbers and tomatoes. I just wanted to share some photos of how tall it's gotten - the tomato plant is about 6.5 feet tall! 

Recently, we went to a family friend's house where they are growing a ton of tomatoes, cucumbers, and other plants. I ate one of the tomatoes the other day and it was so juicy and sweet - it tasted nothing like a tomato from the supermarket! I'm going to miss home cooking and home grown food so much when I go to college. 

Have a beautiful day.

Rosette Half-Up Hairstyle

It's the last week of camp and while I know I will miss the students, I also feel ready for the two-week trip to the American Midwest with my family. We're leaving this Saturday, and I'm probably going to take a two-week break from blogging. When I'm back, I have to pack for college! I'm thinking of starting a new blog for college...I'll keep you posted.

This hairstyle was fun and simple to create! It was perfect for a breezy and cool camp morning. I'm so glad the heat wave of a few weeks ago has come and gone. The weather has been gorgeous! Isn't the sunlight in these photographs simply magical? 

Rosette Half-Up Hairstyle 

Part hair in the middle. Braid two 2-inch sections of hair on each side of the head and secure with elastics. Use an elastic to tie the two braids together in the back of the head. Take the end of one of the braids and twist it around itself into an O shape. Secure with bobby pins. 

My hair is wavy because I put it in braids the night before. I like how it gives the look some more texture. 

Have a fantastic day! 

Recipe of the Week: Egg and Kale Pizza

As I'm getting more experienced in the kitchen, I've been experimenting more with my own ingredients, getting basic temperatures and cooking times from sources online and then improvising on my own. It reminds me of the improvisation that is so essential to becoming an individual in art forms such as music and painting. Cooking is the same. Initially, I depended heavily on recipes found online, but now I've become much more independent and relying on my intuition. 

This time last year, I was at a summer program called the NJ Governor's School in the Sciences. In addition to great classes about Neurobiology, Molecular Orbital Chemistry, and Anthropology, I participated in the talent show. I joined up with two of my friends to play a jazz version of Eleanor Rigby. I played the flute and my two friends played the piano and cello. We had no sheet music; we arranged the piece on our own. I remember how uncomfortable I felt at one of our first rehearsals, having been accustomed to always following along on a sheet of paper with carefully delineated measures, notes, and rests. On the night of the talent show, however, I stopped worrying about how it would sound and just let it come together naturally. It was an eye-opening learning experience for me and taught me that it's okay to not plan ahead so much - to just go with the flow.

For this recipe, you will need:

Ingredients

Pizza dough

Cheddar cheese, grated 

Mozzarella cheese, grated

Kale, stalks and stems removed, washed, dried, and cut into bite-size pieces

Egg

Thyme

Tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe's Organic Marinara Sauce)

Salt

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Spread out pizza dough until it forms a thin, flat sheet. If holes form, seal them up gently with your fingers. Spread tomato sauce on the dough. Add the kale, followed by the cheeses. Crack an egg over the top of the pizza and sprinkle with salt and thyme. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown at the edges. Enjoy! 

 I love this variation on a breakfast pizza. I made another pizza that day too - recipe coming soon! :) Have a gorgeous day.

Lovely Findings

I'm going to introduce a new section to my blog, called Lovely Findings. I've come across some great sites online lately and I wanted to share them with you! 

Found these free downloadable desktop wallpapers recently...aren't they gorgeous? I'm currently using the "You got this" one. It's a great affirmation to keep me motivated and positive!

This site is surprisingly accurate...if you put in your birthday, it tells you some major traits of others born on that date! You can also check relationships with other people. I don't completely believe in these, but I find them fun to read and ponder about! 

I've been meditating everyday for the past few months and it has been great for me. I feel more calm and less anxious. I like to meditate twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, before bed. I found this website and its guided meditations have worked wonders. If you're new to meditation, I would recommend giving this a try!

I hope you enjoy these suggestions. Have a beautiful day.

Camp Style and Swiss Miss Braids

A typical day at camp for me begins with deciding how to wear my hair. This is usually dependent on the weather forecast for the day. Today's forecast was a high of 82 degrees and sunny. That meant an updo! I decided on this style by The Beauty Department, but also found online in many places. The Beauty Department has a great tutorial. I modified it by making a side part in the front and Dutch braiding the first two inches of hair behind my hairline. I have some short hairs by my hairline and the little front braid helps keep them out of the way. The shirt says Summer Super Stars, the name of the camp. 

Outfit details: Shirt: Old camp shirt / Shorts: American Eagle / Sandals: Merrell / Earrings: Anthropologie 

Here's some inspiration for your day.

In high school, I changed my mindset. I learned to enjoy the process of the events in a day, instead of always focusing on the destination. That's really helping me feel more fulfilled each day. I hope you're having a wonderful day.