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Finishing One Chapter, Starting Another

Hey all!  I’ve done a lot of soul searching the past few years and I’ve realized that it’s time to make some life changes.

One of those is saying Goodbye to Food Embrace.

This little blog started out as Off Her Cork and then saw a change over to Food Embrace as I started down a different path of food and recipe work.  Now it’s time to make a change again.

Wait, did you think I was giving up blogging entirely?  Pfffttttt.  Not happening.

No, I’m just switching gears a bit.  I want to focus more on creating a happy healthy life and all that goes with it.  I want to talk about relationships, picking out paint colors, and how to find the perfect pair of shoes for work. Seriously, I’m in need of great work shoes.

I want to talk about more than food all. the. time. Because there’s more that interests me and I want an outlet to chat. I really don’t feel like Food Embrace is the space for all that.  While I love Food Embrace, it’s time to move on to something different.  A fresh start.

My new space is over at Our Radiant Life.  I’ve changed all my social media as well.

Facebook: (I did get approval so the name did change)

Twitter:

Instagram:

If you’ve been following me on my social platforms then you should be set but double check just in case. Because technology.

So this isn’t really Goodbye.  It’s more like, “Hey guys, I’m moving down the street to a different neighborhood. Come check out my new digs.”

See you soon!

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Inspiration And Motivation

Hey you guuuyyyssss!  Happy Tuesday!  I have been feeling a little stressed the past week or so which has sent my anxiety through the freaking roof.  Ugh. Thankfully I’ve still been sleeping OK (knock on wood) but today I’m finally feeling much calmer.

I’ve been juggling a lot of things and some things have been in limbo but I have reached a place of solutions.  I know all of this is cryptic and obnoxious but until I get the ball rolling on a few things, this is as good as it gets.  Ok, so let’s talk about eats!

After an awesome gym sesh where I threw some heavy stuff around, I came home to a yogurt bowl.

With chocolate chips because that’s how I rolled today.  Grain-free granola from TJ’s because I am out of homemade, fresh blueberries, and the aforementioned chocolate chips.

Frothy coffee was coconut oil + collagen.

After doing laundry, doing some business work, but before a business call, it was time for lunch.

Scott and I have been getting down with some chicken thighs and legs for lunch but we’re ready for a new protein thrown in rotation.  Any suggestions?

Lunch today was some thighs seasoned with Flavor God’s new Buffalo Seasoning, leftover green beans, and some cut up mini peppers.  Dipped in Buffalo Sauce + Mayo and a smoothie on the side.

Smoothie was a basic one for me:

  • 3C Water
  • 3 Huge handfuls of greens
  • 1.5 Frozen bananas
  • 1/2C Frozen Blueberries

Makes 2 big smoothies.

Finished up laundry, had my business call, planned an event, AND talked on the phone to my mom for a bit. WHEW. Y’all today was a big exciting day.

Dinner was awesome and a lil fancy for a Tuesday.

Pork blade steaks (think pork shoulder sliced) seasoned with Flavor God Garlic Lovers and a bit of poultry seasoning.  Smashed crispy duck fat and ghee potatoes, and some roasted asparagus (olive oil + salt + garlic powder).

Pork was from this month’s Butcher Box shipment. (<– $10 off your first box )

YUM.

Now my pretties, I’m going to sit on the couch with my loves, a splash of bourbon, and some TV. Normally I don’t have bourbon on a Tuesday but oh man, I had such a great day I need to celebrate a wee bit.

PS: Yesterday I talked about my mission to start using safer skincare products. Today in my FB group, I shared some new products just released by Beautycounter. Feel free to join the group to learn more! I’ll also be hosting an event next week and all the details will be in the group, you don’t want to miss that!

 

Disclaimer: Some links in this post are affiliate links. This doesn’t change the cost for you ( and in some cases, saves you money!)  but goes towards supporting the site.

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Safer Skincare Journey

Over the past few years I’ve been working towards swapping out some of the skin and hair products I use for safer more natural alternatives.  I mentioned a few things in the past like the honey face wash challenge I did and creating an oatmeal mask. Those were from years ago and my first foray into beauty alternatives.

Before, I was so focused on eating right and working out that I didn’t really pay attention to what bath and beauty products I was using.  Since 2012 I’ve been working towards switching that and finding alternatives.  It’s taken a while and there are some things that I’m still looking for but I’m getting closer each time.

I didn’t really document my journey to more natural skin and bath products here and looking back, I realize that I should have.  I’ve learned a lot along the way and I’m still learning. It’s one of those things where there is always new stuff to discover and new techniques to try.

So I’ve decided to start discussing things a little bit more here and I’ve also created a space on Facebook dedicated to just talking about safer skincare and how we can start making changes.

Bath products, makeup, and skincare products make up a ton of products in our home. Without even realizing it, that means we have a bunch of toxic products in our home that can affect us in so many ways.  This is the part that concerns me because the United States doesn’t have very many laws when it comes to monitoring and regulating skin care.

Guys, the US hasn’t updated regulating the ingredients used in cosmetic and personal care products since 1938.  That was 78 years ago!

The EU currently has banned or restricted more than 1,300 harmful and toxic chemicals from personal care products, the US bans or restricts just 11.

AND, it only takes 26 seconds for chemicals from our products to enter our bloodstream.  That is less than a minute. It is even less than half a minute!

Seriously, that’s some bullshit.

This is what made me really focus on switching out my products.  I mean if I’m going to work hard to eat healthy and exercise, then I owe it to myself to also make sure that I’m not putting toxic chemicals on my body as well.  Right?

As I started my search, Beautycounter popped up and then I saw several bloggers linking to the products.  Then I saw almost all the bloggers I follow start linking to the products.

I will admit this turned me off a bit.  I mean, so many people pushing it? It can’t be that good.

So I avoided it for months.

Eventually I caved.  Beautycounter offers a lot of monthly deals and incentives. There’s almost always a chance to be able to try a product for free with purchase and that’s what I did.  I took advantage of a sale they were having where it was BOGO on some of their more popular products. Dude. I got a $70 bottle of rejuvenating face lotion for free. It was a crazy good deal and I jumped in with both feet!

I also got their charcoal cleansing bar as well.  I had tried a charcoal bar before from Lush but I have been looking to move away from them because their products weren’t quiet as safe as I wanted.  Since I loved that charcoal bar, I thought going in and trying this new charcoal bar from Beautycounter would be an easy transition.  Plus taking advantage of that sale, it introduced me to a wide range of products.

Y’all. I fell in love and hard.  Seriously.  This bar is a game changer when it comes to washing my face.  And it lasts forever. Seriously I’m still on my first bar and it’s been six months.  It’s awesome! It cleans my skin, pulls out toxins, and helps keep breakouts in check.  I love it!

I also really loved the other products that I got and had such a great experience with the company that I made more purchases.

Eventually I became a member to take full advantage of their products and sales. I fell in love with the company even more.

Finding non-toxic products for self-care is now a top priority for me.  I already have eliminated cleaning chemicals from our lives and have done so for years. Now it’s time to focus on the most important thing, ourselves!

I’m passionate about finding products that don’t have nasty chemicals and toxins and I want to share that with you!

I’ll be talking about it here as well but will be most active on my Facebook group where we can discuss non-toxic skincare, bath, and beauty products that we find and love. For both men and women! If you’re looking for kids products and baby products I can help there as well. I’ll be doing videos along with posts but my goal is to have an intimate group setting where we can discuss products that we’ve discovered along with the tips and tricks.

To kick this off and get started, I’ll be hosting a fun little social and giveaway there! I’ll be raffling off samples and doing some full size product giveaways as well!  So join the group so you can stay updated and get all the details!

If you have any questions about products, shoot me an email ( Andrea AT Foodembrace.com ) or comment here!

This is so exciting guys! I’m stoked to be sharing this with you!

 

Disclaimer: Affiliate links are included in this article. This doesn’t add any additional cost to you but helps support the blog.

 

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Moving and Grooving

Hey gang! We have so much to chat about!

First of all, I have made it to the gym three days in a row for the 7am workout. YES!  My goal is to get back to working out at 7am and then working on skills and strength during 8am open gym. It’s been hard to make that transition but so worth it.  Hooray for 7am!

After class today (which was rough), I wanted ALL THE FOOD. So I made a big breakfast and dived in head first.

Scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, and some turkey bacon.  The roasted potatoes were seasoned with a New-To-Me seasoning from Flavor God called Fiesta Sweet and Tangy. It’s so good! But it has honey in it so it can burn quickly which I didn’t realize when I put the potatoes in the oven. I set off the fire alarm and had to come running out of the shower to turn it off.  Scott and the punks were still sleeping. Not a nice way to wake up, sorry guys!

I went out to run errands today and sweet lord this zapped all my energy.  I forgot about some of the construction that’s going on around town and it took me ages to where I needed to go. There is so much construction. So. Much.

By the time I got back home, I was starving and since it was late decided to just make dinner. Then if I get hungry later and want a snack (let’s be honest, of course I’m going to have a snack), I can do that.

Linner today was pork chops, side salad, and some mashed cauliflower.

The pork chops were seasoned with Flavor God Jerk seasoning.  I set the fire alarm off again cooking up the pork chops.  I was going to make bacon today but nope to the nope. That is not happening because I cannot take that stupid alarm anymore.

Light balsamic dressing on the greens and a little bit of butter added to the mash.  Delicious!

Pork chops are from Butcher Box. (Referral link, which will give you a discount off your first purchase!)

Now I’m calling it a day. I’m in my jammies and I’m done-zo.

 

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2017 January Barbella Box

Jan 2017 Barbella Box

 

January’s box was packed full of goodies! Excuse the boxer butt in this picture. He was having an afternoon nap in the sun.

Femme Royale Lift Heavy Hoodie

This hoodie was made just for Barbella Box, you can get a peek of it here. It is a thin hoodie, more tee-shirt material and a little snug. Thankfully they warned us about this and I was able to up the size.  I like shirts to be baggy and have some room to move. Even going up in size, this hoodie is still a little on form fitting side but it is super comfortable and so so soft.  Such a fun hoodie to wear to the gym and as a light layer.

Barbella Leg Warmers

Ahhhhh! I love leg warmers and these are so cute with the little barbell on them!  However, these leg warmers are so skinny and tiny. They don’t really fit over my calves and if I wear them, I have to wear them scrunched around my ankles.  That was probably one of the biggest complaints with this box from others as well. Some said they were using them as arm warmers instead.  I might do try that out!

Doc Spartan Bad Ass Chick Scrub

This is a sugar scrub with essential oils and coconut oil.  It is so decadent and amazing! It softens while also scrubbing and exfoliating.  It smells so good in the shower and leaves skin super soft and ready for lotion. It can leave the shower floor a little slippery though so do be careful when using it.

Buff Bake Protein Cookie

Y’all know I don’t eat stuff like this.  I brought it to the gym and one of the coaches wanted it so I passed it off to her.  She took a huge bite and was like, “Uh, this is gross.” Haha!  Of course it is, it’s frankenfood!  So there you go, it’s gross. Take a pass.

Best BCAA Shredded Packets

Amino Acid packets for recovery drinks.  Again, I don’t use these so I took them to the gym for whoever wanted them.

Summary:

I loved this box despite the leg warmers being a miss.  The sweatshirt and the shower scrub are awesome! Not every box is going to be amazing but the goal is to expose you to products that you might not have heard of before.  I can totally get behind that and love getting these treats each month!

If you’d like to try Barbella Box, you can sign up here!

 

Disclaimer: None of this post is sponsored, and I paid for these goodies using my own money. Affiliate and referral links are included, which don’t affect purchase price, but allow me to earn a small kickback to support this little site.