Goodwill find :D

So last week I went to Goodwill with a friend and decided to browse the men's section and get something for my totally awesome boyfriend. He looks great in long sleeve button-down plaid shirts, so I grabbed a few including this one. Each shirt was only like 6 bucks!!! I got him three in total, two of which fit nicely, and the third....well, let's just say I have a new black and white long sleeve button-down shirt of my own. :D

Vegan Power!!!

Yesterday I went to eat at one of my favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurants in the Valley: Follow Your Heart! It was such a beautifully warm Saturday that I opted for a vegan chocolate milkshake and a vegan braised tofu wrap. That's right folks, my entire meal was vegan....and it was amazing :D

Vegan chocolate milkshake

Vegan braised tofu wrap

Now that your mouth is watering for some animal-free dishes, I'm sure you want to go to Follow Your Heart like right. now. So here's the address: 21825 Sherman Way Canoga Park, CA 91303. It's right on Sherman Way between Canoga Ave. and Topanga Canyon Blvd. Happy eating!

Flower power!

I love Drew Barrymore. Not only is she like the quintessential Hollywood hippie, she's also so darn cute! Check her out at a Nylon Magazine party wearing a GORGEOUS dress that she got for $25! Yes people, she wore vintage. And not the kind of vintage that's from like the "vintage" closet of high fashion designers that still cost a ginormous amount of money. I'm talking vintage store find! But of course, being that this is Hollywood, Ms. Barrymore paired the dress with a pair of $760 YSL pumps.

Work it girl.

I had a similar kind of luck at Out of the Closet when I discovered a light pink mermaid-style dress from Vera Wang that was only 8 buckaroos! It's not red carpet worthy though, but I did wear it as a Halloween costume when I was a dead prom queen.

For those who are self-mani/pedi inclined

If you're like me and have a nail polish fetish, then you must be itching for a cheaper and greener way to satisfy your constant need to have color on your nails. For that, I direct you to none other than Chinatown! The Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles is not only a great place to browse for random knick-knacks that only them crazy Chinese people (like me) would think to sell, it's also a mecca for awesomely cheap nail polish.

All these bottles for only 5 bucks? GTFO!

How cheap you may ask? I'm talking 6 bottles of nail polish..................for 5 bucks! And if you do the math, that's less than a dollar for a bottle of nail polish. You really can't get any cheaper than that (unless you become a klepto). Compare that with a $10 bottle at MAC.

Case in point: I bought a a gorgeous dark red polish from MAC and unwillingly handed over the money because, well, I absolutely loved the color. A few weeks later I head over to Chinatown and discover the exact same color thrown in a bin with other orphan bottles of polish. For the same price as the MAC bottle, I could have gotten 12 bottles of that color! I would have been set for life.

I loved the color so much, I went back and bought another one!

As for the green part, I like to think of these hundreds, if not thousands, of abandoned bottles of nail polish just lying in baskets waiting to be picked in Chinatown, as a weird means of recycling. Those bottles obviously came from some beauty store that couldn't sell everything and essentially "threw them away" to the Chinatown shops. (Note: I could be totally wrong about this. I have no confirmed sources or anything, but I'd like to think that I'm always right haha) So if you think about it THAT way, then you're just doing good for the earth. Otherwise, where will those bottles go if they don't sell from Chinatown?? Probably thrown out and shipped to a landfill near you.

And here's a helpful beauty tip for those really old bottles that have dried up polish. Add a few drops of nail polish remover to the bottle, shake, and voila! the nail polish is as good a new!

Awesome Idea: The Uniform Project

Imagine wearing the same dress....for one year! Talk about going green, huh? Not only do you save money on buying clothes, you also get a chance to be extremely creative with your fashion choices. If I had the guts (and the right dress) I would totes do it too! Yes, TOO. Some girls have done the crazy and actually wore one dress for an entire year - all in an effort to raise money for a cause.

Check out www.theuniformproject.com to see India, the current "pilot of the month" girl working a different style with the same dress for the month of August. And you can also check out the girl who started it all, Sheena (above in her little black dress), who actually wore that one dress for a whole year!! Remember, she may have worn the same dress for a year, but every single day was an entirely different style. Craziness!!

Maybe I'll try wearing the same one piece of clothing for a week and see how that goes. I think I need to stock up on lots of accessories first. Guess I need to take a trip to the local flea market ;)

DIY: Wine and Chime

Rings. Not just cute on your finger, but a great way to set your wine glass apart from others!

This one's for all the ladies: DIVA CUP!

This morning I had to endure something all women at one point or another have to deal with. It's the embarassing scenario where you get an unexpected visit from Mr. Monthly - and you have no tampons.

Luckily one of my amazing co-workers gave me a tampon, so I was saved. But this is the first tampon I've used for more than a year. Why you may wonder? Because I've made the environmentally-friendly, cost-effective switch from nasty pads and tampons to, wait for it.......menstrual cups!

So ladies, I want you to think about something for a second. There are millions of women in the world, and these millions of women at one point during the month ride "the crimson wave." What most of these women use when dealing with this bloody mess (pun intended) are tampons or pads, basically something that soaks up the blood and makes it easily disposable. But where do all those used bloody pads and tampons go? Can you just IMAGINE how many thousands of tons of used period blood is just sitting in landfills all around the world? Like, GROSS.

As an environmentalist, I thought to myself, "There MUST be a better more earth-freindly way of dealing with this mess!" And girls, THERE IS. Let me introduce to you the DIVA CUP!

What EXACTLY is a diva cup? Well unlike tampons and pads that absorb blood, menstrual cups like the diva cup collect blood. It's simple: you insert your diva cup like any other tampon, and the cup collects the blood. Then you pull the cup out and flush the blood down the toilet. After a quick rinse, you insert the cup back in and go on about your day!

Now I'm sure there are a LOT of questions that come to mind about the diva cup liiiiike "How big is this cup?" " Do you feel it when it's in your poontang??" "Doesn't the removal of the cup result in a BLOODY mess???" Well all I can say is I've been using my diva cup for more than a year, and I've had no complaints. Here are my reasons why I love my diva cup and SHUDDER at the thought of going back to tampons and pads:

1. You can wear your diva cup for up to 12 hours.

This obviously depends on how heavy your flow is, but on my light days I literally insert my cup in in the morning, and forget about it for the rest of the day. (Kind of like the rotisserie grill: "You just set it, and forget it!")

2. It's like there's nothing there!

When you insert your diva cup correctly, it's like you're a free woman. No nasty hanging stringy thingy from the tampon and no feeling like a baby in a diaper with a fat pad.

3. There's virtually NO LEAKS.

I'll admit, in my first few months with the diva cup, I would routinely check down there if I was leaking. But, as the diva cup promises, you do not leak at all. The silicon cup acts like a kind of suction cap and sticks to the walls of your vajayjay, so NOTHING comes through. Of course on my heavy days, I know to change for frequently so to avoid any possible overflow.

4. It's really easy to use.

If you can use a tampon, you can use the diva cup. I know the size of the cup is larger than an ordinary tampon, but once you get an inserting/removing technique, it's a piece of cake. After more than a year of use, I feel totes comfortable with inserting and removing my beloved cup.

5. You save MONEY and the EARTH!

Ever since I got my diva cup, I haven't purchased any tampons or pads. What's the point? I have the greatest invention for all womankind EVER, and I only got it for about 40 bucks! One diva cups lasts a few years (according to the website), but some women have used it for longer. Even if you only use it for one year, you still get your money's worth after about 3 months of use (Too lazy to do the actual math, but trust me on this). Just go to your local Trader Joe's or Whole Foods and get one! There are also many other forms of menstrual cups like the Diva Cup. Just google it!

Not only is the diva cup totally cheap and saves you money in the long run, it's good for the earth. No nasty used pads and tampons sitting in landfills on this earth. No energy and resources wasted on the production of pads and tampons. The blood is simply flushed down the toilet like all other waste). In the end, it's just the more eco-friendly choice.

So I hope I've convinced some of you girls to make the switch to menstrual cups. I've already successfully converted two of my good friends to become diva cup users and they both LOVE IT.

For more information/FAQS/stories/etc go here: http://community.livejournal.com/menstrual_cups

DVD Review: Soul Sweat

Last week I felt like trying out a dance workout so I checked out Soul Sweat with Chantal Pierrat. WARNING: Doing a dance workout requires SOME level of dancing skills. Now, I always thought I was a fairly decent dancer, but after watching myself awkwardly shake my hips while working my core and fumbling with dance moves like the "earth walk," I realized there's more to dancing than bumping and grinding. On to the actual DVD...

I was disappointed with the DVD format. The workout was good and I actually worked up a good sweat and felt a good burn the next day, but there's only ONE workout on the entire DVD! They try to fool you by saying there's the full 45 minute soul sweat, along with a 30 minute quick sweat. So the first time I used it I did the quick sweat along with the cool down. Despite it being awkward for me, I still enjoyed the workout and looked forward to the soul sweat. Little did I know, the soul sweat is just the quick sweat with an extra 15 minutes of dance workout before it. So it's really just ONE full workout program disguised as two! Blasphemy!

So overall, I wouldn't really recommend this workout DVD, unless of course, you feel the need to humiliate yourself and lower your self-esteem about your dance skills. Or maybe that's just me. But aside from that, I'm hopeful there are better dance workout DVDs out there and I'm determined to find them and post about them here!

DVD Review: Bryan Kest's Power Yoga

Let me just start out by saying this is my FAVORITE YOGA DVD EVER! It's definitely not one of those DVDs that are catered to the lazy or time-crunched. There are three different energizing yoga segments that each last about 1 hour, which I love. This really makes it seem like I'm attending a real yoga class, and since each one is different, it doesn't get boring.

After doing the hour-long "classes," I've never felt better. I definitely feel it in my arms, legs, and core the next morning - but it's the good kind of sore! The first time was interesting because I wasn't as flexible as I would have liked to be. But even by the end of the first hour, you start to notice you can almost plant both feet on the ground during downward facing dog - and you WILL do a lot of downward facing dog, plank, and cobra.

I do get a slight creeper vibe from Bryan, who doesn't hesitate to come up behind someone doing downward facing dog just to "check their form." But aside from his slightly distracting long head of curly hair and the fact that he's wearing jean shorts while teaching a yoga class, he's actually pretty amazing at motivating you to just do the best that you can. And that's what yoga's all about! I really learned a lot about yoga, and he really helps to remind to to breathe and not worry about the pose but to just feel.

This is a good DVD because it will last you the whole week without getting boring. Because the segments are really intense, I would skip a day between each workout. And since there are three, you can work out M-W-F and voila! you've gotten a whole week of yoga done. Which is perfect because the Los Angeles Public Library only allows you to borrow a DVD for 7 days, with no renewal.

I HIGHLY recommend this to people who have done yoga before and want to step it up. Even for you beginners, try it out. But I warn you, you will be put in some interesting positions all while sweating like a pig!

Get Lent Into Shape! (I'll come up with a less cheesy title, promise)

A few months ago, I did the impossible: I quit the qym.

Why you may ask? Well, the gym that I went to was about 7 miles away from my house, so I had to drive a total of almost 15 miles 3 to 4 times a week just to go running and running and spinning and spinning to nowhere. Plus, I was paying for this torture. So I thought to myself, "What's the point of spending money on a gym membership AND gas to go to the gym, when I could get a perfectly good workout through other means?" Of course these other means include either swimming, playing tennis, (actually) running, OR working out at home with a DVD.

My mom's been a fan of at-home workout DVDs for quite a while now, and honestly, I always thought it was something only bored unemployed housewives did. But after seeing my gas bills go up and losing the motivation to further pollute the earth with my gas emissions and contribution to energy emissions at the 24 hour gym I went to, I decided to give workout DVDs a shot. And what better way to save money (and know my taxes are going to good use) than to get these DVDs at the public library!

So I've decided to do a weekly review of workout DVDs that I get from the library and post about them here!

This week: Bryan Kest's Power Yoga

"If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you can do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty."

-Paul McCartney

A week-long vegetarian diet post is coming soon!

FIN

It was only 4 days, but it might as well been a month.

Yes internet world, after 4 (loooooong) days on the Master Cleanse, I've decided to quit. THAT'S RIGHT QUIT! I'm not embarrassed or ashamed at all. Okay maybe at first I felt like a failure. I did make a promise to people that I would do the full 10 days...then I chickened out and said 5...and now I've really pussy'd out and up and quit the whole damn thing. So I'm sorry to those who were looking forward to me giving great advice about the Master Cleanse, reporting about my 10 pound weight loss, seeing my skin clear up, having more energy blah blah BLAH. iFail.

But one good thing about this? I CAN EAT AGAIN! Seriously, today was the WORST of all the days. I couldn't concentrate at work at all. All I was thinking about was how much I wanted to EAT something. So as instructed, I would down a glass of the lemonade drink. But alas, the hunger monster returned with a vengeance. I literally was going out of my mind crazy. I knew I had to make a choice: either sit at work for what seemed like an eternity, go home and have a crappy night, then repeat the cycle for another 7 days OR eat something, get some of my sanity back, and just take what I learned from the short cleanse and apply it to a healthier diet and lifestyle. I decided on the latter.

So what did I learn from my 4 days of torture? Well for one thing, I really do have strong will power. I know, I know, I didn't do the full 10 days. But guess what, i did FOUR. Yes that's right FOUR. That's FOUR entire days of NOT EATING ANYTHING. So if I can go four days without eating (in addition to almost 8 years of being a vegetarian, as some may point out), I surely can so many more great things - as long as I know in my heart it's good for me or the environment.

Another thing I can take away from this experience is the fact that people really DO have a pretty crappy diet. I cannot even fathom how people can go to McDonald's everyday, or drink sugary drinks everyday, or even eat things like pop tarts and fruit roll-ups! For me the problem wasn't what I ate, it was how MUCH I ate. I did eat when I wasn't hungry. I was simply bored. Now knowing that I can go for so long without eating and NOT dying, I'm sure my servings and overall caloric intake will be cut down and I'll likely still maintain some weight loss. Also, since I haven't eaten anything at all, my stomach has most definitely shrunk in size. I drank about a half a cup of soup and was stuffed. So I guess it's bye-bye to all-you-can-eat-buffets. Good riddance I say.

Day 4 of the Master Cleanse: WTH am I doing?!

So today was a pretty crappy day. I've been in a crabby mood and I have been having serious food cravings. I've also been kind of gassy and bloated. I'm kind of regretting not doing the Salt Water Flush last night.

I just ran to the library on my break and took a looksie at the Master Cleanse book. According to that, I've been doing a few things "wrong." First of all, I'm not drinking grade B maple syrup. I'm actually not quite sure if my syrup has a grade, and if it does I'm sure I picked A. Second, I thought I had a choice of doing the herbal lax tea OR the salt water flush, but apparently you have to do both! And I skipped last night, which probably explains the bloating and cranky mood.

Now I'm just really feeling like I want to end it now, especially if I'm not following the instructions to a T - I wouldn't want to harm my body in any way. But then again I'm also thinking about how I've already invested so many days on it, it would just be a waste to end it now. I could probably go on and just finish the last 7 days by doing it the right way, but I'm feeling really antsy. I'm overcome with this crazy food craving and emotionally I think I'm going a little insane.

I'm starting to think to myself, "Hey, maybe I'm not cut out for this cleanse. Maybe I should just adopt a new diet like the raw food diet or veganism! At least then I can eat...." Ahhhhh I don't know what to do. I almost feel like a failure because I jumped into this thing without being FULLY prepared. But then again I would probably be even more of a FAIL if I kept doing it the wrong way and didn't admit to my mistakes and somehow end up dying or something.

So I don't know........what I might do is hold off on the cleanse now, do more research, and then try again next week. Plenty of people have given up halfway through and tried again and succeeded. Nothing wrong with that, right?!

Day 3 of the Master Cleanse: Video blog!

Has it really only been 2 days of no eating? It feels much MUCH longer! I got a haircut today so I decided to do a video update :)

Enjoy!

Day 2 of the Master Clease: Am I really doing this?

Today is my first full day of the Master Cleanse detox, i.e. NO FOOD! Here's an hourly update of the cleanse as my day goes on:

4:30am Getting ready to go to work. I'm feeling good from my pre-detox diet the day before. I'm not feeling too hungry, but I take a swig of water before heading out.

5:20am I get to work and start to feel that familiar hunger pang - my stomach is calling out for FOOD. So I mix up my first glass of the lemonade drink.

6:10am I realize I only brought 1 large lemon, which is good for only 2 drinks. I'm going to have to run to the market to get more, otherwise I won't be able to get the minimum 6 drinks today - unless I want to stay up all night peeing.

7:30am Starting to get really hungry. I'm drinking so much water to ease the hunger, that I'm peeing every half hour or so!

8:30am When my stomach makes a growl, I take a swig of the lemonade. It kinda helps. I'm almost done with the first drink and all the cayenne pepper is at the bottom of the bottle so the drink is kind of spicy. At least that gets my mind off food for a bit.

9:20am I think I'm over this wave of hunger. My stomach isn't growling and I don't have an urge to eat anything. Guess this is the first hump I'm over. Let's see how long this will last...

10:10am Mmmmm, someone's eating a chocolate chip cookie and I can smell it. Didn't I read somewhere that you can overcome a craving for something simply by smelling it?

11:05am Oh no, it's LUNCH TIME! The smell of people's food wafting from the kitchen to my nose is making my stomach cry out for some food. I think it's time I take a break and go get my lemons.

12:45pm I'm actually feeling quite full believe it or not. I drank so much water and lemonade drink that I can't even think about making another glass. And I *just* went out and got some lemons too! Waaaaaste!

2:30pm Just got home from work. Stopped by Trader Joe's for some sea salt for the Salt Water Flush that I'm totally NOT looking forward to. I have to do it on an empty stomach so I'm gonna take my afternoon nap, and do the flush in a few hours. Oh by the way, I hoped on the scale just to see where I'm at and according to it I lost 2 pounds! I should probably check my weight at the same time everyday for a more accurate reading.

5:30pm Took a nice nap and now drinking my third glass. I need to force myself to drink more in order to get the minimum 6 glasses in. I don't want to lose like 20 pounds (if that's even possible), and I don't want to faint from no nutrients. In a couple hours I'll do the Salt Water Flush and brace myself for what's to come after that........

7:00pm Just downed a quart of salt water. NOT EASY. I just had to tell myself I've taken shots of worse things. I literally had to look at myself in the mirror and tell myself not to throw up. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be able to drink that every day for 10 days!!! It was pretty disgusting. I just hope it works and that I will get to "flush" out toxins in a few hours. In case you're wondering why the hell I just drank salt water, it's for an extra "flush" of toxins. It's either this or taking laxatives, and I figure if I'm cleansing my body of toxins, why the hell would I take laxatives that contain ingredients I can't even pronounce?!

8:30pm An hour and a half later, and I've successfully "flushed" my body a few times, and probably will a few times more. But after posting a status update on Facebook on my salt water flush, some people raised concerns. So I googled the flush along with the word "dangers" and found a few unpleasant articles. So even though I really was "flushed" I think I might skip that part of the cleanse. But then that makes me wonder if I should even do the cleanse anymore. Hmm, I guess I'll give it a few more days.

Total pounds lost: 1 or 2

Day 1 of the Master Cleanse: Cut the crap

Today I took my first step towards the Master Cleanse! Before even starting the MC there is an optional 3 day "Ease-in" diet that sort of helps you prepare for 10 days of no eating. I decided to combine the last two in one day since I'm anxious to start.

So last night I squeezed few bottles of orange juice in preparation for today. I also gathered some fruits and vegetables to nosh on. No meat, no dairy, and nothing processed was allowed. When I got to work I was feeling a little hungry so I drank a lot of OJ. My stomach started to growl for food so I ate a banana. Then for lunch I ate some carrots and an avocado - and more fresh OJ. The rest of the day I lived on lots of water and OJ. It actually wasn't that bad. I didn't have any serious hunger pangs or a strong desire to run across the street and get a cheesecake. It was pretty easy.

I wanted to get a taste of the actual Master Cleanse lemonade drink so tonight I mixed a glass up and drank it. It consists of water, fresh lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. I think I put a little too much pepper in it because it was spicy (imagine that, a spicy drank!) But other than that, it isn't as bad as it sounds. The maple syrup and lemon definitely helps give it flavor. I just hope I don't start to get sick of it like four days in...

It's the (dun dun duuuuun!) MASTER CLEANSE!!!

So after many weeks of consideration, I've decided to tackle this thing called DETOX, more specifically the Master Cleanse. I'm sure a lot of people have heard of the cleanse and probably have their own formed opinions about it, so I thought I'd explain the reasons WHY I've decided to do the cleanse right here!

Now I'm sure the FIRST thing that comes to everyone's mind is "why the eff do YOU need to detox??!" (Or that's what I'm hoping your first thought is haha) Yes, I may be a vegetarian BUT keep in mind, animal style fries from In-n-Out and Cool Ranch Doritos are considered "vegetarian." I also admit that I am in NO way fat or obese and may not even need to lose weight, but I must stress that the MC is not a diet, it's a detox - two very different things. So don't fret, this isn't a cover-up for anorexia!

So now onto the reasons why I'm doing this. First of all, I've had an interesting relationship with food for a long while now. I'm what people like Dr. Phil and those diet experts on The Biggest Loser call an "emotional eater." Basically, I eat when I'm bored or when I'm emotional. So that leads to me taking in more calories (and more often that not the BAD calories) than I really truly need. So that's my first reason: mental control over the food that goes into my body.

Second, I'll admit, the idea of losing a few pounds is enticing, since I know that I CAN be a smaller size and become less "jiggly." So my second reason for doing the MC is purely for vanity reasons. (I'll chronicle each day here along with pound(s) lost ::crosses fingers::)

My final reason for doing the MC is, of course, the reason why people SHOULD do it: to DETOX. I just watched Food Inc. the other day (which will likely turn into a future post) and I am just grossed out by what I saw. It really got me thinking about the food we are presented in restaurants and markets and just where EXACTLY it all comes from. Like many people say, our body is our temple and we need to take care of it! So this MC will essentially allow me to cleanse my body of all those toxins and processed crap that I've ingested these 22 years and basically start over.

Wish me luck!

Saving the earth, one soy meat patty at a time

Hello world!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Rossana (also known as Rosy or simply "Woo") and I am 7 and a half years old. Okay, I lie, I'm really 22, but I've been a vegetarian for almost 8 years now. Yes you read correctly, I'm a VEGETARIAN. Does that mean I'm some radical hippie liberal extremist who'll tie herself to a tree to save it from being turned into a parking lot and will protest with PETA by throwing ketchup at women wearing fur coats? oh HELL NO. I value easily accessible and abundant parking spaces (especially in Los Angeles) and don't feel a need to deface a fur coat since wearing a fur coat period already pretty much defaces the person wearing it.

I am, to a degree, a hippie. But I like to think of myself a modern-day hippie. I'm not only a vegetarian, but I'm also a Buddhist, I use something called a Diva Cup, and most of my wardrobe is recycled. I understand that not everyone can understand my lifestyle of not eating meat, but I also understand that most people are idiots. Excuse me, what I meant to say was "ignorant." Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate people! I LOVE people, especially the male breed. But I do think that a lot of people these days have the wrong perception of vegetarians and hippies, and tend to categorize them in the "preacher" category. So I decided to start a blog chronicling my life as a 21st century wannabe vegan hippie living in Los Angeles.

I don't plan on "preaching" or converting people to the (awesome) side of vegetarianism, but I do plan on giving people an insight on my life as one. I don't know everything and I don't claim to know anything at all, so this blog will really be just my own comments, observations, and musings of my own life and the world around me.

So, to start off this blog, I thought I'd experiment with something that most hippies (and about 50 percent of those living in Hollywood) have tried: the Master Cleanse!