Courtney Hardy

April Favorites

Long time no see. I've been busy with school, and I've honestly forgotten to post for a couple weeks because I was thinking of other tasks. Oops. At least I remembered this week. But for reals my posting schedule may be a little weird until summer break, just because there's a lot going on with school and all that. But anyways time to get into this.

1)Going to the strawberry farm

Since it's strawberry season, that means it's time to go get a nice batch of juicy strawberry's from Hunt's strawberry farm. Me and my mom go to Hunt's strawberry farm every weekend and pick strawberries. Guys I gotta tell you, once you go pick your own strawberries, you will never buy store bought strawberries again. Hunt's strawberries taste almost 100% more better than store bought strawberries. Not trying to bash on store bought strawberries too much, but they don't even really taste like anything. Organic, farm grown, fresh strawberries that you can pick yourself are the way to go.

2)Jane Filer's art show

I don't know if any of my viewers/audience know who Jane Filer is, but she is basically a really good artist who doesn't paint like anyone else, and has her own style of art. Her paintings also sell for a lot because they are amazing, and very unique. So my family really likes Jane Filer's art, and she was having an art show, so we went a couple of weekends ago, and the whole show was so good. In this photo I am standing in front of my favorite painting from the whole show. I really like the three creatures at the bottom. I really have an appreciation for Jane Filer's work because her paintings have so much detail, and they are museum worthy. If you guys haven't checked out Jane Filer yet, I would do that because her work is so good, and I really enjoyed her art show.

3)My friend, Sarah's birthday party sleepover/campout

So my friend Sarah turned 16 and she had a birthday party, and my whole squad managed to keep me up till 2 am, so kinda crazy because you'll catch me in bed by 8. So at her birthday party everyone brought tents, and we camped out in her backyard, or at least we tried. And it was really fun because we did water balloons, watched grease, and just hung-out. The whole squad tried camping out, but at 2 in the morning we went back into the house because it was uncomfortable because we didn't have an air mattress, and we also didn't have enough blankets. We also kept hearing these weird banging sounds, it was almost like someone was hitting something up against a tree, but we don't know. But anyways it was really fun.

4)Spring Break

Spring break was so relaxing, and I just hung around the house and watched Jerry Springer, Fix it Upper, and House Hunters. I also hung out with gabs too. It felt so good to have a break, I wish It could be spring or summer break right now. Preferably summer break. I'm so overwhelmed with school right now to be honest. I spent my entire Friday and Saturday doing work, because I want my lazy Sunday. I'm glad I did that because today was nice.

5)Easter
Easter was fun, we didn't really do anything special except eat good food. There is a photo of flowers as the picture because we didn't take any Easter photos. Easter was just like Thanksgiving because we had the same meal for both holidays. Literally the meal tastes so good, it includes turkey, and mashed potatoes. And it's like you gotta dump the whole thing of gravy on it otherwise that ruins it. But yeah Easter deserves to be put on here because it's one of the best meals ever!!!

3 Delicious vegan recipies

1)Banana Peanut butter ice cream

Ingredients:

-3 frozen bananas

-Water

-2 spoonfuls of peanut butter

Steps:

1)Peel 3 bananas and pop them in the freezer overnight

2)Take them out 8-10 hours later and let the bananas dethaw for 15 minutes
3)Pop all the ingredients in the blender
4)Blend until it reaches a thick, but not too thick texture
5)Enjoy!

2)Berry delight cereal

Ingredients:
-Berry medley mix
-1 banana
-1 kiwi
-A couple of blackberries
-Orange juice
-Green super food
Steps:

1)Cut up the kiwi into 7 or 8 slices, you will use these to decorate it
2)Put a couple spoonfuls of berry medley into the blender. Also add in the banana, the orange juice, and a half scoop of green superfood.
3)Blend all the ingredients together
4)Put the smoothie in a bowl and then add your slices of kiwi on the sides of the bowl
5)Add the blackberries in the middle
6)Enjoy!

3)Fruit bowl
Ingredients:
-1 orange
-1 banana
-1 kiwi
Steps:
1)Just cut it up and put it in a bowl, it's pretty self explanatory
2)Enjoy!

March Favorites

1)Eating more "vegetarian/vegan"
I've been trying to be vegetarian and a little vegan, but I'm not fully committed to it or anything. I'm really enjoying it, and I've been eating lots of fruit and it's just so good. It just feels so good to know that I'm not supporting animal cruelty. Like yeah I'll still eat some chicken and all that every now and then, but I'm just eating meat and dairy less. I noticed that everything has become easier to digest, I feel more lightweight, and I have more energy. Also guys, get excited because I want to put some vegan food recipes on my blog that are really good.

2)My planner
I love my planner!! It helps me organize all my school assignments, and I can write down what I need to do for the day. All I have to do is check my planner and then boom I know what I have to do. I like how it has a day planner and a calendar, that way I can keep up with daily and monthly things.

3)Protein shakes
Protein shakes are awesome, they are very good meal replacements and whenever I make my protein shakes, I put tons of peanut butter in it to make it taste so good. Protein shakes are very easy to make too all you gotta do is put some protein powder in a smoothie blender thing, add peanut butter, and milk and then blend. And your good to go.

4)Chilling outside on the back porch
It's been getting warmer here in North Carolina, and that means spending more time outside. I set up my little hangout spot on the back porch, I just put some cushions on the ground, and a couple pillows, and it makes for the perfect outdoor couch. I enjoy being on my laptop, or tanning out there. Being outside makes me feel stress-free too, which is great when I got lots of schoolwork.

5)Coconut omega 3 stuff
Oh my god guys this is my obsession. So there is this liquidy omega 3 stuff that I eat a spoonful of everyday, and it's so good. I'm so surprised that there is no sugar in it at all, because it tastes so sweet. You can get it at spouts market by the way.

Spring cleaning: Your closet

It's getting to be spring time, which means it's time for some spring cleaning. I mean it doesn't even have to be spring to do some cleaning. So in this post I'm going to be giving you tips and tricks on how to tackle your closet. The closet is probably the most unorganized place in the whole house. It's where we put all of our stuff. A lot of us just cram everything we own into a 5 foot space. And then when you open it, you know it's a disaster, but you're too lazy to clean it. According to closetandstorageconcepts.com, "We wear 20% of the clothes we own 80% of the time. The rest just hang in our closets”. You guys already should know what I’m about to say, but for reals why do you still have clothing in your closet that you don’t even wear?!

Step one- if you don’t wear it, donate it, because someone else could get use out of it.

Another way to remove the excess and make your closet simpler is to only have your closet be for clothes, because that should be the only purpose of a closet. I mean who wants to be going through a closet with a bunch of jungle jam in there, just have your clothing and other things you wear, like hats, shoes, etc. This eliminates stress and the feeling of not knowing what’s in your closet. It also creates a sense of organization because you know where all of your clothing is, that way you don’t have to go looking for it.

Step 2-Eliminate jungle jam from your closet and only have your closet be for clothing.

Don’t fall into the storage industry trap, bins and lockers don’t fix the problem. The only way you will achieve true organization is to let go of all the excess(the stuff that you don’t use or get joy from). Once you let go of the excess you will be more stress free. You won’t have to worry about misplacing stuff or where something is, because when you have less stuff, there is less to worry about, and you will know exactly where all your stuff is.

Step 3-Understand that bins, and lockers don’t fix the problem, and the only way to fix the problem is to let go of the excess.

Once you let go of the excess and get it down to the stuff that you use and brings you joy, color coat your clothing so that it will be even easier to pick what you are wearing. This eliminates the sense of not knowing what’s in your closet even more. I do this to my closet and I love it because it looks really pretty and organized. It literally only takes me four seconds to pick out clothes because of this feature.

Step 4-Color coat your closet

To make things easier you can even try to fit your dresser or a bookshelf in your closet that way all your clothing and accessories are right in one place. I can only fit my bookshelf in my closet and I use it to store all my shoes and my purses. That way you can just grab and go. This may not be realistic for some people’s closets, but if you can fit these things in your closet, you minus well put it in there.

Step 5-If you can fit your bookshelf or dresser in your closet then put it in to make everything all in one place.

If you have extra space you can decorate your closet with art or other cool things to make it more visually appealing. I love home decor so you will always see me spicing up my closet if I have extra room. It adds personality and makes your closet more fun to walk into. Another thing that you could do would be to make all of your hangers the same color, it creates a nice vibe, and it’s good for people that have ocd about how things look. I have all my hangers the same color because to me, it creates a more organized, fresh vibe.

Step 6-Add finishing touches

I hope you guys liked my tips and tricks on closet organization. I'm thinking of making a whole spring cleaning series on here but I'm not sure. I'm always thinking of new ideas. We will see, but I’ll be back next week with a new post on my march favorites.

How to start living a more healthier lifestyle

Health should be your number one priority. You know why? Because you know you want to get the most out of life, and be happy. If you're healthy you're happy. Mental and physical health will boost your confidence and self love, and make you more happier. You will feel better if you're taking small steps to living a healthier life. You don't have to dive in and work hard at it immediately, you can, but taking small steps is good because you won't get overwhelmed. Ask yourself, do you want to live healthier and happier?

1)Try to include physical activity in your routine

Physical activity is essential for your body because you will have better mental health. you will reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. You will also have more control over your weight. Your ability to do daily activities will increase. And you will strengthen your muscles and bones. Ever since I started working out I have felt so much better, and my mental health has increased dramatically, I feel more confident in myself, and I feel great that I'm taking care of my body.

2)Try to eat healthier

Healthy eating is also essential for a long lasting, fulfilled life. According to webmd.com, "More research is finding that a nutritious diet isn't just good for the body; it's great for the brain, too. The knowledge is giving rise to a concept called "nutritional (or food) psychiatry." Eating healthy has many health benefits, but it also improves your mental health. By eating healthy you'll know the amazing benefits that you'll be doing for yourself, and you will be happier in the long run. You can start trying to be healthier by eliminating sugar from your diet, eating more non processed food, and start eating more raw food, and whole foods.

3)Try to eliminate stress from your lifestyle by redefining success

Most of us live busy, work filled lives. We work hard to have a good future and achieve "success". When most people think of success they think of having lots of money, having the biggest house, having nice clothes, and the best car. We stress ourselves out over it, but we really don't have to. Because the word success is truly not that. Success should be based on happiness, health, relationships, and the quality of life experiences. By not overworking ourselves to achieve social status, we can live a more stress-free life. According to realsociology.edublogs.org, "We spend 57% of our waking time at work during a working life of 46 years." Now think about it what are you really working for? If it's for the American ideal of success, you're really working for your own unfulfillment. So try to relax a little bit, don't overwork yourself, and live a more minimalistic life.

4)Try to become a minimalist

In the paragraph above I briefly explained a minimalistic value. But I didn't go into detail about what a minimalistic life is so now I will. So minimalism is living a more fulfilling, happier life with less. Less clutter, less stress, less distractions, less unfulfilling things, and more time, more freedom, more meaningful relationships, and more enjoyment. You can live a more fulfilling life by letting go of all the bad relationships, stuff you don't use or get joy from, and also the things that cause you to be unfulfilled. First you can start by eliminating the physical items that you don't use or that you don't get joy from, this removes the excess from your life. The 2nd step would be to start getting rid of bad habits and bad relationships, or anything that causes you to be unfulfilled, and start adding good relationships and habits. Then the last step is to keep it that way.

5)Start trying to live more in the moment

Living in the moment improves your mental health because you're not worrying about the future or the past. You're just focusing on right now, and living in the moment. This helps you get the most out of life because you're focusing on what needs to be focused on right now. Researchers have also found that people who live in the now are happier, more optimistic, less depressed, and more satisfied with life overall.

That's all my tips on how to live a healthier lifestyle I hope you guys can try to incorporate these things into your lifestyle. Have a good day, and I'll see you guys next week with a new post.

February Favorites

I know it's kinda late for this but here's my February favorites. The reason why I haven't been posting for 2 weeks is because I honestly forgot to make a post. I want to make it a good habit to post from here on out every week. I really want to do that. So today I'm going to post 2 things to make up for my absence. I also want to start adding more health related stuff on my blog, because I'm really into that. Also, I might change the design of my blog maybe. Now let's get into it!

1)Working out

Gosh I love working out! We renewed the gym membership and I've been going there almost everyday since. I really enjoy it because it makes me feel good physically and mentally. By the way my workout routine usually consists of 30 minutes on the arc trainer and then 20 minutes doing weights.

2)Turmeric and black pepper eggs
I eat turmeric and black pepper eggs everyday. And let me tell you, I'm obsessed with turmeric and black pepper eggs. You would think it would taste gross but it actually tastes good. The benefits of turmeric and black pepper are that it improves liver function, anti-inflammatory, detoxifies your body, fights against cancer, promotes weight loss, and improves memory performance.
The black pepper makes the turmeric work 2X as much so I suggest using the black pepper when you use the turmeric to make the benefits more effective.

3)The sorta warm weather

I love how it's been sorta warm. North Carolina is so weird because the weather has been off and on and it's actually suppose to snow on Sunday but it's just so weird because all the flowers are blooming outside. But when it is warm, I have been enjoying it. But when it's cold, I get annoyed. Also look at my stinks in that photo!! So cute!

4)Quizlet

So this is kinda nerdy but quizlet has helped me study so much better and get good grades on my tests. If you didn't know quizlet is an online website that you can create digital flashcards on and then you can study with the flashcards. For me this works really well because I'd rather save the paper and have my flashcards be digital.