xoxoxo
Nina
Song stuck in my head right now: Love Yourself - Justin Bieber
Friday, March 4, 2016
Friday, February 19, 2016
Blog Update: 100
Today marks a milestone. This is the 100th post on Sixteen Once since I began the blog two years ago, and I have reached over 100 followers within the past two weeks. Its such a weird feeling to see that number pop up all over the blog. It has taken a while to really get this blog going, but I feel like today is really the start of something big.
For those of you who read my blog weekly, I am so thankful for your support and I would also like to apologize for those weeks that I didn't post. I had many reasons for missing some Fridays, but it was mostly due to laziness. Keeping up a weekly blog is one of the hardest time commitments I have ever made. I have never been able to keep up journal writing, so this platform has made me work really hard to come up with content that is worth publishing each and every week. It is much harder than I thought. But, after two years of blogging I have finally reached a point where I know what I'm doing, and I'm proud of what I'm publishing.
Something else crazy about reaching over 100 followers is that people have begun commenting on my posts. beforehand I had one friend who commented a few times, but now there are people I have never met before telling me about themselves and what they think of Sixteen Once. It is such a good feeling hearing what real people think, and I would love to hear from more people so that I can learn how to make this a blog that they really want to read. This blog is as much for me as it is for my readers, and there is no better feeling than knowing that there are more and more people out there taking their time to visit this page (and I don't have to force them to do it).
For those of you who read my blog weekly, I am so thankful for your support and I would also like to apologize for those weeks that I didn't post. I had many reasons for missing some Fridays, but it was mostly due to laziness. Keeping up a weekly blog is one of the hardest time commitments I have ever made. I have never been able to keep up journal writing, so this platform has made me work really hard to come up with content that is worth publishing each and every week. It is much harder than I thought. But, after two years of blogging I have finally reached a point where I know what I'm doing, and I'm proud of what I'm publishing.
Something else crazy about reaching over 100 followers is that people have begun commenting on my posts. beforehand I had one friend who commented a few times, but now there are people I have never met before telling me about themselves and what they think of Sixteen Once. It is such a good feeling hearing what real people think, and I would love to hear from more people so that I can learn how to make this a blog that they really want to read. This blog is as much for me as it is for my readers, and there is no better feeling than knowing that there are more and more people out there taking their time to visit this page (and I don't have to force them to do it).
I just wanted to take this week to thank everyone for supporting me. This is the first week where I really feel like Sixteen Once might be going somewhere, and it is all thanks to you. It took some time to hit the ground running, but now that I know that there are people out there, who I have never met, who care about me and what I have to say, It is only going to make me and Sixteen Once stronger and better. I do this for myself, but I also do this for anyone out there who will listen.
xoxoxo
Nina
Song stuck in my head right now: Out of the Woods - Taylor Swift
Friday, February 12, 2016
Healthy Habits: Valentines's Day Treats
Yogurt Dipped Ombre Strawberries
1 lb. strawberries
22 oz. vanilla Greek yogurt (or any plain yogurt)
Red food coloring
INSTRUCTIONS
Divide yogurt into 4 small bowls; one bowl with no coloring, one bowl with 2 drops of coloring, another bowl with 4 drops and the last bowl with 6 drops. Mix colors well and set aside.
Dip the strawberries into bowls of colored yogurt and place them on a baking sheet to set, freezing for one hour. Remove strawberries from the freezer and re-dip each into the colored yogurt. Place them back into the freezer for another hour or two until ready to serve.
- See more at: http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2016/02/yogurt-dipped-ombre-strawberries.html#sthash.oHvteTv8.dpuf
1 lb. strawberries
22 oz. vanilla Greek yogurt (or any plain yogurt)
Red food coloring
INSTRUCTIONS
Divide yogurt into 4 small bowls; one bowl with no coloring, one bowl with 2 drops of coloring, another bowl with 4 drops and the last bowl with 6 drops. Mix colors well and set aside.
- See more at: http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2016/02/yogurt-dipped-ombre-strawberries.html#sthash.oHvteTv8.dpuf
Enjoy!
Chocolate Pomegranate Candies
- fresh pomegranate seeds
- chocolate chips
- cupcake tray lined with cupcake wrappers
If you choose to do so, you should lightly oil the wrappers before placing anything in them. This ensures that the paper will come off easily, but this step may not be necessary. Melt chocolate chips to make a sauce in either the microwave for about 1 minute or on the stove in a double boiler (You can also add about 1 tsp oil per cup of chocolate chips before melting to achieve a smoother sauce). Set aside. Place some pomegranate seeds inside the pre-oiled cupcake wrappers—about 2 tbsp but depends on size. Finally, cover the seeds completely in melted chocolate and be sure to touch the sides of the wrapper to get the jagged edge effect.
Freeze to set the chocolate covered pomegranate candies. They can be kept in either the fridge or freezer, and can stay out at room temperature for a few hours if your home is not very hot.
Read more at http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2015/02/05/heart-healthy-homemade-chocolate-candies/#2pQYRxzBpM5OKY1D.99
- chocolate chips
- cupcake tray lined with cupcake wrappers
If you choose to do so, you should lightly oil the wrappers before placing anything in them. This ensures that the paper will come off easily, but this step may not be necessary. Melt chocolate chips to make a sauce in either the microwave for about 1 minute or on the stove in a double boiler (You can also add about 1 tsp oil per cup of chocolate chips before melting to achieve a smoother sauce). Set aside. Place some pomegranate seeds inside the pre-oiled cupcake wrappers—about 2 tbsp but depends on size. Finally, cover the seeds completely in melted chocolate and be sure to touch the sides of the wrapper to get the jagged edge effect.
Read more at http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2015/02/05/heart-healthy-homemade-chocolate-candies/#2pQYRxzBpM5OKY1D.99
xoxoxo
Nina
Song stuck in my head right now: Summer Lovin' - Grease
Friday, February 5, 2016
Life Update: Making the Most of a Snow Day
I woke up this morning, and received the best news ever. School was canceled due to snow! So then I had to decide what to do all day.
I started off by going to the gym, and yes I walked there. Then after an awesome Zumba class I came back home and ate a light breakfast while watching Netflix (I just started Glee from the beginning). Then I took a relaxing bubble bath along with a cup of coffee. Exactly what I needed after a stressful week of school. And finally, I painted my nails and took some fun shots in front of the mirror. It wasn't very eventful, but there is nothing more rejuvenating than a calm day at home.
xoxoxo
Nina
Song stuck in my head right now: The Only Exception - Paramore
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Helpful Tips: 7 Ways to Truly Enjoy Winter
The winter is cold, and I'm not really a cold weather person. But there are ways to make this season more enjoyable. Tricks for healthier and brighter skin, sweet treats, and tricks for rejuvenation on snow days.
Whatever it is you need more of in your life lately, long winter days are the perfect time to restart and begin new routines and habits.
I did my research, and found some bloggers with expert tips for this winter season. I will definitely be trying these out, and you should too.
Even if you start with one thing, your winter is bound to be the most enjoyable yet.
xoxoxo
Nina
Song stuck in my head right now: Everybody Dance Now - C&C Music Factory
Friday, January 8, 2016
Life Update: Its Only 2016 Once
Hello! Yes yes, I know it has been a while but I have a lot to tell you about. The past few weeks I have been away on break. I left school 10 days early and flew with my family to Israel. We spent those days visiting family and friends, traveling the country, and eating a lot of food.
This vacation was also a very pivotal couple of weeks. Before we left our house for the airport, and I mean literally only a second before, I received my first college rejection. I was crushed, and spent the entire taxi ride and most of the plane ride in tears. I experienced all five stages of mourning throughout the course of the 13 hour plane ride. Fist came Denial, then Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. It took a bit longer then I would have hoped, but I got over it and I actually gained a lot of strength from it. To make it a bit easier, my mom and I decided a while back that if I got rejected from college then I would get a cake and eat my feelings. So we brought a whole cake onto the plane and I throughly enjoyed every bite of it.
Once we arrived in Israel, every bit of news I received on the trip (which was quite a bit) happened to have been good news! One piece of news was that I actually got in to The New School, and the more I think about it the more I am convinced that this is really the perfect school for me. It is a small university that specializes in interdisciplinary studies and really excels in art and media studies. Exactly what I was looking for in a school, and it is in New York City, the place where I really wanted to be!
If it interests anyone to see some of the photographs I took over the course of the trip, let me know and I would be happy to dedicate a post to some.
But now to the cliché portion of this post, new years resolutions. As you all know, the year is now 2016. What you should also know by now is that 16 is a very important number to me. I would go as far to say that it is my 'lucky' number. Of course there is this blog, Sixteen Once, my Birthday is August 16th, I am my school's class of 2016...and I could come up with a few more. That is why, I know for a fact that this year will be AMAZING! This is the year where I graduate high school. This is the year where I move away from home. This is the year where I start college. This is the year where I will end and begin two stories of my life. Thankfully this is all happening in the year 2016, because that number assures me that everything will be perfect. I can't wait to see what this year holds.
xoxoxo
Nina
Song stuck in my head right now: Cry Me a River - Michael Bublé
Friday, December 11, 2015
DIY: Whoopie-Corn-Mallows
For thanksgiving, I decided to make dessert. I don't really love traditional thanksgiving desserts, so I decided to troll the internet and find a dessert that fulfills my chocolate desires. That is where the idea for the Whoopie-Corn-Mallow came from. Basically a thanksgiving inspired chocolate covered whoopie pie.
The first thing you will need is the base of the treat, the cupcake. feel free to make any type of cake, but because this is "thanksgiving inspired" I used a cornbread mix and just followed the instructions on how to bake that.
The most important part of this process is baking the cake in cupcake tins rather than baking a normal cake. Again, just follow the instructions for baking, and modify cooking time for size.
While cupcakes are in the oven, melt the chocolate. Any chocolate will do, but I usually use semi-sweet chocolate chips because they are delicious and easy to melt.
Add two tablespoons of butter or margarin. This will thicken up the melted chocolate and make it the perfect spreading consistency.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. What this does is melts the chips without burning them. Fill a pot halfway with water and set it to boil. Put the bowl of chocolate chips and butter/margarin in the water and let it melt (make sure you use a glass or metal bowl that won't melt with heat).
If you find that your melted chocolate is too thick to be spreadable, than add oil a bit at a time until consistency is perfect.
Next step is the filling. Feel free to use any marshmallows desired, but ,in my opinion, vegan marshmallows are the best! Once you have had one there is no going back to normal marshmallows.
Take the muffins out of the oven and let them cool down on a cooling tray.
Then, cut each muffin in half and set the tops off to the side.
Take a marshmallow and a muffin bottom, put one on top of the other, and put in the microwave. Time may vary, but I basically put each one in for about 5 seconds/whenever I saw the marshmallow puff up. Then I quickly take the bottom out and wiggle the muffin top till is sticks to the bottom.
Then comes the messy but yummy part. Cover your muffins in chocolate. This part is open to interpretation.
Then stick them in the freezer...
... and ta da! Your Whoopie-Corn-Mallows are complete.
Enjoy!
xoxoxo
Nina
Song stuck in my head right now: Twist and Shout - The Beatles
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