I Stuffed My Face

Say hello to James! He has been my partner in culinary crime for the passed few weeks. Here is a glimpse at some local joints to jump start your food adventures.

I introduced James to a little place in Caledonia called Soc Trang.  This is a Vietnamese restaurant in a strip mall, and a good way to ease into some more adventurous dishes. James ordered Pho (known for it's robust broth) with tripe, tendon, rare beef, and well cooked beef.  I ordered Nam Vang (clear noodle soup) with crab, shrimp, and beef.

Both soups include lime, jalapeno, cilantro, basil, and bean sprouts as add ins. We also had an appetizer of fresh rolls that had shrimp, cilantro, shredded carrots, and a sweet chile sauce. Everything was super flavorful and really delicious!

James then introduced me to Soul Food Sunday at Sandmann's,  Grand Rapids' famous barbecue joint on Wealthy Street.  We had rib tips, ribs, smothered cabbage, fried corn, mac and cheese, and collard greens with tomato and onion! So so so yummy!

Check out more about Sandmann's here:  http://sandmanns.com/index.html

If you are in search for Thai food try Angel's which is on Monroe Center, downtown.  We ordered Crab Rangoon, I had the Green Curry, and James had the House Lo Mein. They are amazing with their use of spice! I'm a huge fan of spicy hot food and this has just enough to pack a little punch but still be able to enjoy the rest of the flavors of the dish.

So if you are hungry, pick up your spoons and do a little digging, you may be surprised by the local restaurants this city has to offer!

 

Enjoy,
Mani

Brencat!

I am so stinkin' proud of my friend Brenna. She is the total package: smart, tragically beautiful, a loyal friend, and a goofball. What more could you possibly ask for?! The first time I met Brencat we were dating twins, I remember being so nervous to meet the other brother's girlfriend; what if she hates me, was a major thought going through my brain. But she hopped right off her stool at Fridays and gave me a huge hug!

We liked hanging out and we got along just fine but unfortunately, for someone I saw almost every day, we never really got a chance to know each other. Our boys took up so much energy and time that our relationship really didn't turn into all that much. One gigantic positive to parting ways with our guys stemmed from the fact that we had more room to breathe and put energy into things that are a little more lasting, our friendship.

 Bren Bren has grown leaps and bounds this year and I admire the woman she is becoming. I feel so protective of her; I've never had a little sister of my own and I feel like she is quickly taking on that role. She is so brave, works hard, makes me laugh like crazy, and gives the best karaoke performances ever! I mean you gotta love our rendition of Sandra Dee, and how she goes balls out with Limp Bizkit! This is one girl who has a personality and isn't afraid to show it, and it's one thing I absolute adore about her!

Thank you, Lovey, from the bottom of my heart, for being such a supportive friend!
-Mani

I Can Haz Internetz?!

Ah, finally I have the internet at home! As much as I love running to the coffee shop, mostly for a tasty treat, but also to post; I definitely don't get around to it enough. I always get so distracted by people watching or ::eep:: being a creepster and ease dropping on conversations, I can't help it, I find people to be fascinating and I love their stories and speech patterns and hearing about what gets them geeked.

Updates:

• I still am sans camera, this is bad news bears. Fingers still crossed that it won't be for long!
• My Birthday was yesterday, as my friend Jeremy put it, I am now 25% old...
• I was able to stow away to Toronto for Christmas and Chicago for New Years!
• Being single is awesome! (This is definitely not a place where I want to burn my bra, and I could write several posts on this topic, but another person will not complete you. Eff, Jerry McGuire and fairy tales for those silly notions. Be your most authentic self, first and if you happen upon someone, allow them to enrich and uplift the person you are, not take away from it.) Rant over... ba ha ha.
• I am so blessed with the best friends and family a girl could ask for and was able to strengthen new and old relationships over this holiday season! In addition, my clients continue to be so empowering and uplifting to my core! I really hope I am able to give back to them and return as much encouragement as they do to me!
• The February swim challenge is coming up and I'm stoked to start but mostly to be in the company of some great friends! In other recreational news: I'm not ten years old anymore and I am paying dearly for sledding; but I don't regret a second of it! Also, if it were not for this stupid blister on my foot, I would be back on ice skates in a heartbeat. It had been fifteen years, almost to the day, since I had been on the ice and I had an amazing time skating with little kids at Rosa Parks Circle this weekend. I'm pleased as punch that I only fell once!

RPC- Grand Rapids, MI

Goodnight, Sweet Friends

~Mani

Winter Brunette

I believe Marion Cotillard is absolutely stunning no matter what she does with her hair. The same goes with so so so many people I am lucky to know, but sometimes going brunette just adds a little something extra! It's mysterious, sensual, and allows for a lot more room to be creative with your make-up and wardrobe.

Marion is lovely as a blond but it washes her out a bit, even though she has light eyes.

Shown above is Marion's natural hair color, she is so pretty and the style is fantastic but the color is a little lacking. 

This is hands down her best look. The color draws you to her eyes,warms her skin, and she overall looks healthier. Super gorgeous!

For those of you on the fence about whether or not to go dark for the winter, here are some pros and cons you may want to consider:

Negatives :(
     Womp Womp

• Going dark may be a process depending on how light or damaged your hair is
• Ask your stylist if using a filler (usually a mid level with red tones in it) would be beneficial to ensure the least amount of fading. This filler will place pigment in the cortex of the strands that is missing from blond or lightened hair. After the filler has been applied and rinsed,  permanent hair color, to the level and tone of your choice, can be applied. 
• Choosing the right shade can be tricky
• Do your research, it's kind of fun! Find pictures, your favorite celebrity brunettes, editorial spreads, choose from swatches that the stylist has and match them up to your skin tone. 
• If you decide to try a dark hair color  realize that there will be some damage to your hair if you choose later to lighten up again. Also, if you do go light at some point wherever it was dark it will pull warm.

Positives :)
     Awww Yeah!

• Your hair will have so much shine and your skin will look amazing!
• The darker color will plump up your hair, seal down the cuticle, and disguise damage.
• Some color lines ie: AVEDA, which I absolutely love love love, will act as a conditioning treatment as well; adding vitamins, minerals, and nourishment to lifeless hair! Aveda's color is up to 99% natural as well, so you are free from nasty chemicals and it is safe to color your hair while pregnant. 
• The upkeep and cost is significantly less
• Instead of having to sit through hours of foil work and harsh chemicals, retouches are quick and easy
• Root touch ups will get you through and about every 3rd visit to the salon you can freshen up the ends. 
• Bottom Line: You will save AT LEAST $30-45 per visit to the salon
•  You will be able to get away with wearing more color, play with make-up, and your eyes will sparkle!

I've also darkened my hair this winter... I AM SO IN LOVE WITH IT! I was a little nervous but I am so glad that I went for it! My hair looks and feels fabulous, I was super stoked about it and have no doubts that you will love it too if you have been wanting to try it out! A camera is on my Christmas list so fingers crossed, then I will be able to have better photos pertaining to my posts!

Love Love Love

The Sparrows Coffee Tea and Newsstand

I feel so guilty for only posting one entry in one month. I haven't written anything since high school and this may have been a little ambitious for one so out of practice.  Instead of making excuses I'm going to write. I will find my voice soon enough, for now, I'm just going to put things out there.
 

In the meantime I'm sitting in my favorite Grand Rapids coffee shop, and am fully delighted in my order! For those of you who have never been to The Sparrows, I HIGHLY reccommend it. Okay, okay, I may be a little biased because my best friend, Lori(shown above), owns it, but it really is super enjoyable. Their loose leaf tea collection is quite impressive. Right now, I am totally digging on the Dirty Hairy; it consists of Earl Grey tea, steamed soymilk, and honey. It's so yummy that I dragged my booty out of my apartment, in the freezing cold, to walk down and get one!

Be sure to support this place, it's amazing! There is always such an eclectic mix of people dwelling within; from mothers and adorable children, to students plugging away at their homework or rather procrastinating on facebook, uncomfortable first date meetings, and old friends chatting. Never pretentious, and adorned with local artist's work, this is a great place to hang out or get things done.

Love you guys,
-Mani

First Post Ever!

Hey Everyone!

I'm so excited to be starting a blog, this is something I've been wanting to do for a super long time. Please, bear with me as I fumble and bumble my way through my first few posts as I become more familiar to this whole thing. Expect edits to the layout and content as I continue to learn new and interesting ways of working a blog. I'm not as trendy or creative as my friends who have amazing fashion blogs so I hope to use this space as a platform of all things encouraging, inspiring,  and things that have helped shaped me into who I am today. I'm surrounded by incredible people with remarkable stories and I can't wait to highlight them! This will also provide an arena to showcase products, looks for less, how to's, designs, art, music etc that I enjoy!

I'll probably struggle through this for a while as I find my voice, excuse the cliches, I'm totally up for constructive criticism and if you happen to have any questions that I may help answer about hair, make-up, or anything else your cute little noggin's can think up I hope to be a person you can trust with professional opinions, tidbits, and cheer!

Thank YOU,

-Mani