Food Hack // Freezing Yogurt.

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I love making drinking smoothies. 

I also like to buy yogurt and let it sit in the fridge until it is past it's expiry date. I become lazy and never want to put in the effort to make them. So, the yogurt sits, and sits, and sits in the fridge. I hate wasting food, so I am surprised I never thought about his before... frozen yogurt cubes!

Such a simple solution, and a brilliant one too. Using a small ice cube tray, spoon the yogurt into each section, place in the freezer over night (until solid) and transfer into a zip-lock bag (and return to the freezer)!

Oh, and you can freeze these cubes up to 1-3 months.

For Bloggers // Logo Templates.

Every time I view Creative Market's latest goods, I cannot help but be inspired. Tonight, I started viewing all the logo templates on the site, and found myself wishing I was more creative in the logo design department for my blog. The fonts, their layouts - I love it all!

01 // 10 Name Based Logo Templates
02 // 10 Photography Logo Templates

03 // ThePack - Vector & PSD Identities

04 // ThePack V Three - Vector Identities

The above links were a few of the many logo templates that really jumped out at me. 

Recipe // Roasted Smashed Potatoes.

One word .... delicious...!

Ingredients

1 bag of small yellow potatoes, scrubbed
1/4 cup olive oil*
1/4 - 1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp mixed herbs
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

1. In large pot of boiling water, cook potatoes until tender; approx 12-15 minutes. Drain and let cool for a few minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

3. Place potatoes on foil-lined baking sheet and gently flatten potatoes just until split. Combine oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper; brush over both sides of potatoes.

4. Bake 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven, turning potatoes halfway through.

Recipe adapted from canadianliving.com.

I have been itching to try this recipe for some time now! These smashed potatoes reminded us a lot of the Hasselback Potato, quite possibly because I used a lot of the same spices. However, the next time I make them, I would use less *olive oil, maybe a little less than 1/4 cup. To be honest, when I cook hasselback potatoes, I normally eyeball the spices and olive oil in a ramekin - I will probably do the same the next time I make these! 

#whereilive.

follow me on instagram chelseadward

I took the above photo yesterday afternoon. It's still a little chilly out and we've been having a lot of foggy days, but yesterday, oh what a beautiful day! The sun was shinning and I was able to walk around without my jacket for a bit. Can't wait for summer!

Linking up with rouge & whimsy.

6 Life Hacks Every Girl Should Know!

Oh how I love life hacks..! It was tough to pick only six - regardless, these simple hacks help make our lives a heck of a lot easier. These tips and tricks are not only low-budget, but they also help us organize and de-clutter space, prolong and preserve our clothes and beauty products, or teach us something that we did not know before! 

01. How to Waterproof Your Shoes.

02. Goodbye to Yellow Armpit Stains.

03. Smart Phone Speaker.

04. Double Clothes Hangers with Beverage Can Tabs.

05. Tic Tac Bobby Pin Case.

06. Revive A Dry Mascara.

What are some of your favorite life hacks?

Being Silent.

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I have been silent lately, especially online. It's been nice, really nice.

A big part of my silence is because we have had family in town, and still do. My day-to-day routine has slightly changed, and I have found myself turning on my laptop less and less while our house guests have been here... I have hardly instagrammed, tweeted, facebooked, blogged or even checked my bloglovin' account. 

While on the one hand, I feel like I have been slacking, but on the other hand, not being online twenty-four-seven has been a fresh of breath air, I guess you could say. Sometimes it's nice taking a step back from all this technology and enjoying what's in front of you!

Music // What I'm Listening To.

You were gonna come to me

And here you are

But you better choose carefully

‘Cause I, I’m capable of anything

Of anything and everything

Ad Space Giveaway!

Hey, peeps! It's that time again! A giveaway on Organized Chaos! I know the holidays were chaos for everyone and as much as we enjoyed them....some of us need some uplift for the new year! So, say hello to these lovely ladies who've stepped up to bring you more than $100 in ad space across the blogosphere!

5 Things I am Doing to Sleep Better!

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The other day, I mentioned how I have decided to follow along with The Happiness Project. January's resolution is to boost energy. Being happy energizes you; and having more energy makes it easier to engage in activities that boost your happiness.

So ... to be happier, one must boost their energy. And to do that, the physical aspect of energy must be taken into account. That means getting enough sleep and exercise!

Normally, it takes me a long time to fall asleep. I am also easily woken by noise, or having to go pee in the middle of the night (so annoying!). If I don't get minimum 8 hours of good sleep, I am not the happiest person in the morning.

Because my end goal is to be happier (and to have more energy), this is what I am doing to get a better night's sleep.

1. Turn off electronics. At least 30 minutes before bed time, I am turning my laptop and TV off, and putting my iPhone/iPad away. If I don't, it takes forever to shut my brain off.
2. Go to the bed at the same time, every night. For example, I plan to be in bed between 10 to 10:30 pm every night. Once in bed, I will usually read a book for 30 minutes, or until I am sleepy. Getting my body onto a consistant sleep schedule really makes a difference. I also try to wake up at the same time every day! 
3. Avoid Alcohol & Caffeine. I know this is an obvious one. I love soda pop, and often find myself finishing a glass right before bed. Big, big mistake - I don't think I need to explain why! 
4. Go dark. Light is a big disruptor of sleep, so making your bedroom as dark as possible is crucial! 
5. Stretch before bed. Stretching before bed helps to relieve aches, but it can also help calm and make for a deep, wonderful sleep! This is something I really need to work on and make a habit!!

Happy sleeping!

My Go-To Photography App.

I am a loyal app user.

Yes, I have a lot of photography apps on my iPhone, but I do have one particular favorite which I find myself using more and more than any others. I do try to change it up once and awhile, but I always find myself going back to it. I can't help it, its an amazing, easy to use app with some pretty amazing presets. 

Hello, VSCO Cam™ - Visual Supply Company!

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VSCO Cam is available as a free app (with in-app filter purchases) for iPhone and some Android devices.

One thing I love about this app is its simple interface - probably one of the simplest I have seen in a while. This app also offers a number of image adjustment tools - exposure, contrast, saturation and much more! Unfortunately, there are only ten filters included in the free app; additional filters can be purchased for as little as ninety-nine cents, or as much as three-dollars for a collection of presets. Sometimes there are a couple of free effect downloads that are pretty sweet!

I am personally in love with almost all of the presets, so I have purchased them all. In my opinion, money well spent. Tonight, I also discovered a few new presets that became available back in December. So far, I loooove them! 

What's your go-to photography app? 

Live Simply.

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When I think about 2014, one word that keeps popping into my head is "simplicity." I  have the tendency to make things / life more complicated than sometimes they need to be. As a result, life becomes very stressful and I almost always end up getting my panties in a knot over something very stupid. It's a vicious circle and I don't enjoy it. 

I could live without the stress, my body and my health would probably thank me very much if I could eliminate it. Anyways, along with my own happiness project, I want to dedicate 2014 to making my life more simple. I like simple. 

What I'm Reading // The Happiness Project.

Back in January 2013, I started reading The Happiness Project.

I finally finished reading it just last month, December 31st to be exact (it was one of my four simple goals before 2014!) ... I am really, I mean really, really bad at reading books. I become easily distracted by the internet, television, life and forget all about them.

The book itself was fantastic. It was easy to read and even easier to relate to. If you haven't read it before, go buy it, its well worth the read!

After finishing the last few pages, I decided that I wanted to read the book again and try my best to follow along in 2014. I may not follow everything exactly, might make a few changes along the way, but I think it will be good thing. This time around, I decided that I was going to read a chapter at the beginning of each month - there are twelve chapters, one for each month with different resolutions. My hope is that by only reading one chapter, it will be easier to follow along and to be successful in my own happiness project!

For example, January's resolution for Gretchen (the book's author), was to boost her energy. And to accomplish her resolution of more vitality, she decided to focus on both the physical and mental aspects of energy. For her, these included:

01 // go to sleep earlier
02 // exercise better
03 // toss, restore, organize
04 // tackle a nagging task
05 // act more energetic

Pretty simple when you break it down. As I read each chapter, I also decided to make notes about what I related to, found helpful, wanted to focus my efforts on, etc. I will admit, I have a short term memory. Taking notes will help keep me on track, plus it will give me something to blog about!

Have you read this book before? Thoughts?

Campus Book Rentals = A Student's Best Friend!

The holiday's are over (bummer!) and a new semester is about to begin. Some would say back to school is the most wonderful time of the year ... especially when a particular website exists that allows you to rent your textbooks! 

Yes, you read the above sentence correctly, you no longer have to pay ridiculous amounts of money to pay for text books, you can now rent your text books and save 40-90% off of bookstore prices. 

Amazing right?!! It get's better ... a lot better ... here are a few additional perks of renting your textbooks through CampusBookRentals.com:

+ There are NO membership fees, NO hidden fees, and NOTHING unusual whatsoever

+ They provide free shipping BOTH ways (they even provide the return package and prepaid label)

+ You can write and highlight in the textbooks (all they ask is you try to be respectful of other students)

+ The renting periods are very flexible 

+ There's a 21 day return period (in case you drop the class)

Last, but definitely not least, with each textbook rented, they donate to Operation Smile. Operation Smile is an international charity for children. Long story short, their mandate is to heal children's smiles, thus forever changing their lives. I personally think its fantastic when a company gives back and supports charity organizations. 

In additional to all of that, CampusBookRentals.com now offers a new initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own - RentBack.com. If you already own your text books and no longer use them, this service is perfect for you. Every time your textbook gets rented, you make money! 

Happy renting!  

*This post was sponsored by CampusBookRentals.com; all opinions are 100% my own.

photo diary // favorites from 2013!

Twenty-thirteen was a good year.

I would have liked to have done a few more things and accomplished a bit more, but things didn't quite work out as I had hoped, and that's okay. There is always this year! 

What were your favorite moments of 2013?

A Look at the Year Ahead.

Happy 2014!

I'm usually not one to pay much attention to my horoscope, but I happened to stumble upon mine this afternoon and I was intrigued...

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 -Dec. 21)

Take extra time in this first two weeks of January to decide what you really want for yourself. Through the beginning of March, Venus in Capricorn can enhance your assets, your resourcefulness and earnings. Of course, you are likely to spend more too. Be especially careful regarding contract and commitment details during February's Mercury retrograde.

Over the next seven months, Mars in Libra helps you to make good strides in several areas. Firstly, you are getting wiser regarding self care. A big part of this is learning to stay committed to that which serves you best. Secondly, whether it's new or well established, a key relationship will grow by leaps and bounds. Thirdly, Mars can spark new personal interests and income streams. It perks up your social life or community involvement, and keeps you intellectually, politically and creatively well stimulated. Lastly, Mars enhances your professional status and popularity.

Look to Jupiter in Leo, starting mid July, to springboard off the good that Mars does you in the first half of the year.

I know horoscopes are normally written so that all can relate to it, but the second paragraph is basically bang on as far as things I hope for myself / hope to accomplish this year....

+ You are getting wiser regarding self care

+ A Key relationship will grow by leaps and bounds

+ New personal interests and income streams 

+ Social life

+ Intellectually, politically and creatively well stimulated 

+ Professional status and popularity

What is your take on horoscopes? Believe in them, or not?