Prikaz objav z oznako lifestyle. Pokaži vse objave
Prikaz objav z oznako lifestyle. Pokaži vse objave

FINDING FOCUS

This blog has been a lot about everything, but never (except when I was on my Erasmus exchange) had any special focus. I have always hated that, but to tell you the truth, I always tried to focus on something, but nothing ever stuck.

I have always been passionate about food, cooking, baking, recipes and MUSIC. While posting recipes is fun and quite easy, writing anything about music scared the shit out of me. How would I know anything about music or bands or whatever. I'm just a regular girl that likes a certain type of music. Why would anyone listen to things I have to say about music.


And then I met THE BOY and he is all about music. Plays in a band, loves going to good concerts, knows tons of bands. And after some debating (and convincing), we decided to give blogging a try. As a couple. Writing about music, bands (mostly interviews) and also, about vegan food, since we both became vegan sometime in spring.

And the blog has been a success. Well, to me it has been. Especially because of the gratefulness and kindness we got from the bands we interviewed so far.

It's still hard to stick to writing, especially when there are so many other things in life trying to mess with our time, but we are not going to give up. He is my motivator and I am his. And I'm really happy that I found my focus, my blogging niche.



I can't say that I'm officially "killing" this blog, BUT, at least in the near future, there is not going to be anything new posted here. I moved my ass to SAWDUST & BEER, and if you would still like to read the stuff I write and post, follow me there. As it is appropriate, we have a lot of social channels, so you can follow us on:


Hopefully, see you there, my friends.

Love, Kaja. ♥

DETOX? WHY NOT!

Disclaimer: this is a LONG post, because it contains the description of my one week detox diet and my analysis. If you are not that much interested in detox diets, you can skip it, but if you are, just go on. It will be worth it (I hope). :)

  

This post will go well with the last one, since is in the spirit of my new year's resolutions. I tried a (detox) diet two weeks ago and I want to share my experience with all of you. Detoxing is something I have never tried before and I was (still am) really satisfied with the results.

My mom and I found a diet that is all about a "magical" cabbage soup (for all the Slovenian readers: recept in navodila lahko najdete tudi tukaj). Have you heard about it? Well, we decided to try it out. I know that the "you will lose from 5 to 7 kilos in a week" is a pile of sh*t, but I wanted to try it either way, just to see the results.

THE DIET

The magic is supposed to be in the soup, which is quite easy to make. You need:
  • 1 medium size head of Cabbage (about 1 kilo)
  • 6 big young Onions (well, my mom used 2 huge regular onions)
  • 1 whole Celery (the head and the leaves) (about 1 kilo)
  • 2 Peppers (the color doesn't matter at all :D)
  • 800 ml of canned Tomatoes (or "strained tomatoes", the so called Tomato Passata)
  • 1,5 liters of Water
  • 2 Bouillon (Soup) Cubes
  • Salt, Pepper
Cut all the vegetables into small pieces. Put the vegetables, the water and bouillon cubes into a big cooking pot and cook until the vegetables are all soft and cooked through and through. According to the recipe it takes about 45 minutes. In the end you add some salt and pepper, for a better taste.

Ok, so now that we have the soup, let's go to the main points of the diet. You are supposed to eat a lot of this soup. According to all of the articles about it, the more you eat it, the more you will lose weight. Well, no sh*t Sherlock that you will lose weight, if the soup is almost the only thing you eat (nah, just kidding, but I felt like this before I started it - I was freaking out, cause I couldn't imagine that I would eat so many bowls of the same soup in a week).

Beside the soup, which you should eat, as I said above, as much as you can (I don't really think I ate it more than 3 times per day, which is a LOT if you ask me), you can also eat:

  • Day 1: Any kind of fresh fruits, except bananas.
  • Day 2: Any kind of vegetables (fresh or canned), except for peas, beans and corn. You should eat a lot of greens (spinach, salad). You can eat two big potatoes for dinner (unpeeled, wrapped in aluminum foil and baked in the oven). You can add a spoon of butter or sour cream.
  • Day 3: Fruits and vegetables.
  • Day 4: 3 bananas and "non"-fat milk (1,6 %).
  • Day 5: 200 grams of beef and a can of tomatoes or 6 fresh tomatoes. The beef has to be prepared without fat (I prepared it in a non-stick pan on high temperature).
  • Day 6: 2 or 3 beef stakes and vegetables (preferably greens).
  • Day 7: Brown rice (cooked in water) and vegetables. Everything prepared without fat. You can drink natural fruit juices.
And this is all. Oh yeah, you can substitute the beef with chicken or fish, but since you are supposed to eat beef at least once that day (and I only ate it for lunch), I don't know if the substitutes are really useful. Oh, and you can drink coffee of course (or at least it doesn't say you can't :P).

You should also drink a lot of water. Try drinking 2-3 liters per day. It helps a lot. It's good for you anyway. ;)

THE ANALYSIS

Did I stick to the diet? Haha, nope. :D I ate fruit also on day 5 and 6 (I ate two slices of honeydew melon for breakfast, because I cannot wake up properly without breakfast). I also ate half of a rice milk pancake with Nutella on day 6. And normal (white) rice with vegetables that also included peas on day 7. And fruit! OMG. And a piece of Snickers on day 7. Oh, and cashew nuts on day 5 for dinner. And ate a raw bar on day 6. Oh so many cheats.

Did I lose 5-7 kilos? Nope. But I did lost 3 kilos. :) Which is A LOT if you ask me. But it's the exact number of kilos I hoped I would lose (can you imagine that). I know that losing weight so fast is not healthy at that you normally gain it back even faster than you lost it, but since I'm sticking to healthy not so high-caloric eating, the number is hopefully not gonna change so fast.

THE CONCLUSION

I'm really happy that I tried this, not only because of the weight loss (which is great, but always so evasive), but also because of the realization, that I can survive without junk food and sweets. I think that I established a good (weight and habit) basis to continue with healthy eating. I'm so happy that my boyfriend is really supportive and excited about the whole "healthy/bio/eco/sometimes-vegan eating plan". Babe, thanks for the motivation. :)

Soooooo, I know it's not the beginning of January (when people normally start dieting and exercising and all that), but if you haven't started anything yet, maybe this post will convince you to at least try detoxing (like I did, or in any other way you like). ;)

Love, Kaja. ♥

NEW YEAR, NEW ME?

   
                  
Some moments of 2014 (mostly second half of the year).

 Happy 2015 everybody! I hope this year will treat you well, bring you joy and happiness, lots of love, success and personal growth.

How were your holidays? Mine were quite busy, full of food, family gatherings, some concerts and a little bit of skiing.

I realized that one of my last year's resolutions was to go back and check if I fulfilled my resolutions. So here is my analysis:
  • Nope. Unfortunately I didn't write more than last year. I guess my life wasn't as interesting as last year in regard to thing that I wanted to share with the world. I didn't go to Sweden again, I wasn't on an Erasmus exchange, etc. But still, year 2014 was the most life-changing and amazing year of my life. I have met so many new people, new friends, discovered new bands and music, met the boy, traveled a bit, graduated, had the time of my life. I also lost a lot last year. But not everything is meant to be shared, right? Some things are personal. And sometimes happiness is even stronger if you don't share it with the word (oh, you selfish bastard).
  • Nope. I posted 8 posts about food last year, 6 of them were actually recipes. So no, didn't realize the second resolution either.
  • Nope. No tea. But a lot of coffee. Good coffee. And beer. And these two are much much better than tea. :P
  • Check! I graduated! Yay! I'm doing my masters this year (and probably the next year too).
  • Check! I traveled at least once. I went to Malta and Gozo in June and had a blast.
  • Check! I have been to more concerts than I thought I could even go when I was writing my last years resolutions. So yay for me. And thanks to Ana and Izak, the main reasons I attended so many gigs last year.
  • Nope. It's just too big and the lens is crap. But I got a new phone at the end of the year and my photos got a bit better.
  • Kind of. I started going to gym and eating well in spring and I reached my "goal" weight and figure and I was soooo happy. But then the summer came and everything went down the drain. At the moment I'm not really satisfied with myself, but at least the new year is here and the chance to start everything again.
  • Check! There are for sure more than one, but if I stick to one, I have to say: my longboard. Even if it caused some bruises and pain, but it's still my best investment from last year.
  • Kind of. It's not the end of last year, but actually the beginning of the new one. But screw it. CHECK!
Should I write new resolutions for 2015? I did. But they are not much different from last year's.
  • I still want to live a healthier life, therefore I have to eat better and spent more time moving, especially outside, in the nature.
  • I want to discover new food, therefore I have to find new recipes, try them out and if they are good, share them with you.
  • I want to discover new music, therefore I have to go to concerts and use Spotify.
  • And last but not least, I want to be happy in general, therefore I have to spent time with my love, my friends, my family and have the best year possible.
This is all from me. What about you, did you make a list of resolutions or are you against sh** like this?

Love, Kaja. ♥

GOZO (MALTA)

UntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitled

Normal blogger would say OMG this post is already sooo long, because of all the photos, let's not make it any longer, but I guess I'm not a normal blogger and I'm not gonna end it here. ;)

I spent a week on Malta (sorry, mostly Gozo, which is not, if you ask a Gozitan, the same) with a friend. She is in love with Gozo and Malta and it was her third time there. She asked me to join her this year, I said yes (wow, so romantic) and we had a BLAST.

I will present you my opinion of the trip and the Maltese islands and show you that a student can actually afford a trip like this (yeah, I'm a student and I have no regular income except for my parent's allowance).

Budget: 400€ = two-way flight with Ryanair from Treviso + 2 nights in a really modern-looking hostel in Msida on Malta + 5 nights in a huge apartment in Marsalforn on Gozo with a view of the sea and the sunset every evening + all the transport (all the bus rides + ferry from Malta to Gozo and back + boat to Comino and back) + bottled water (the water on the islands is not drinkable) + a lot of food (we ate out at least once a day, sometimes two times with a two or three course dinner :D yeah, we went crazy) + some beers and cocktails + some souvenirs.

Malta: We only spent one whole day on Malta and we spent it in Valletta (photos 4 & 5), the capital city. It's not a huge city, but I think it's a city everybody should see at least once. What is to love about Valletta? The architecture. It has been rebuilt recently and it looks magnificent (the locals we talked to don't agree with this). You enter the city center over a huge bridge (it's not good to look down if you are scared of heights) and in front of you is a huge "corridor" with stores and restaurants on the left and the right. I don't think anything I say about it would do it justice, so I think you should just go and see it for yourself.

Untitled

In the afternoon we went to Marsaxlokk (photo 8), a fishing village, located in the south-eastern part of Malta. There was a small market there and the marina was full of colourful boats with eyes on the front. Really cute and a bit scary at the same time. We went to cool down to iPlace, a restaurant where you get your own iPad with the menu and you can use it also to surf the internet and everything else you can do with an iPad.


Gozo: We went to Gozo the second day. Directly to Marsalforn (photos 25 & 26), where our apartment was located. Our huge apartment (it is probably meant for 10 people or something like that, cause it had 3 rooms) with a view of the sea. The beach was just a 2 minute walk away. When we unpacked we went for a short swim, which was interrupted by a jellyfish that burned a little Canadian girl and of course we quickly went out of the water too.

The next day we went to Ramla Beach (photo 22), an orange-sandy beach and in the afternoon to Xlendi (photos 9, 10, & 11), a really cute town with the surrounding that take your breath away. The town is surrounded with huge cliffs (yeah, they are not only in Ireland) on the right and strange yellow rocks and land on the left (kind of looks like Mars, if it was yellow). Ines thinks this is the best place on the whole island and I have to agree with her. It literally took my breath away. And all the stress. When we sat on the yellow rocks for a bit and listened to the waves ... it the most relaxing thing I can imagine.


Untitled

The day after we went to Dwejra to see the Azure Window (photos 14 & 15). If Xlendi does not impress you, this certainly will. It's so huge and it makes you feel so small and weak. There were huge waves and you can understand why there are so many signs saying Don't walk pass this sign! Danger!, cause even sitting maybe 1 or 2 meters away from the edge gave me the chills.

Untitled

On Monday we woke up really early, caught the bus to Mgarr (photo 18) and headed to Comino, the small island between Malta and Gozo, where the Blue Lagoon (photos 17, 19, 20 & 21) is. Even if you think you haven't seen a lot of photos of Malta or Gozo, you have definitely seen a photo of Blue Lagoon at least once in your life. Since we were early and it still wasn't the season, we were almost alone there. But just for two or three hours. At 2PM the place got soooo crowded, we decided to leave. We had some fun on the way back, because of the huge waves. Also, people on the islands, especially on Gozo, are really calm. An example: the guy driving the boat was driving it with his foot on the wheel while he was smoking a cigarette. Damn. What a life.

Untitled

The last day we went to Xlendi again and since it was cloudy and it rained the night before, the sea was very rough. The waves were huge and we enjoyed the place even more than the first time. At least I did. I relaxed, listened to the sea and some music and prepared myself for the depart the next day.

On Wednesday we packed our bags, headed for the bus and the ferry, made a quick stop in Valletta again and then went to the airport (ajruport) and flew back to Treviso. :(

All in all, the trip (vacation) was great. I have never seen so many people that help tourists, if they look a little bit lost, or people that are so polite and say Hi! to you on the street, even if they haven't seen you before and probably won't ever again (well, if you are not Ines of course :D). Also, I won't forget all the yellow limestone houses with an arabic vibe. I don't think I have ever seen anything like this and I have traveled quite a lot.

Soooooooo, I know I was long, but everything above had to be said. If you are impressed by the photos or the description, book a ticket and just go there. If you don't have a lot of money, trust me, you can go there and enjoy it for half of the money we spent, cause we really ate outside and tried to spend as much money as we had. The plain tickets are really cheap if you book them ahead, and you can find cheap hostels and apartments anywhere. The food is quite the same price as it is in Slovenia, but the quality ... so much better. I ate fish or seafood every day (now you understand why we spent so much :D) and it was amazing.

Oh and if you decide to go, tell me. Even though I don't see myself going there again anytime soon (definitely will do that again sometime, but not that soon), Ines would be more than happy to be your guide on the islands for sure. ;)


Love, Kaja. ♥
Copyright © 2014 RANDOM BLONDE LAW STUDENT