One to Nothin'

What I Wore

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top: Kohl’s / leggings: Agnes and Dora / boots: Nine West (similar)
The best thing about a new haircut is trying all the hairstyles you’ve gotten so used to doing and seeing how different they look. I think these flat iron curls are my favorite so far. Using less shampoo, clogging the drain less and cutting down on drying time are also pretty high on the benefits-of-new-hair list. But let’s be real here, the star of this photo shoot is definitely the Agnes and Dora leggings. Acquiring them was one of my November goals and they’re the comfiest, softest, cutest things in my dresser. They were a gift, too, so they’re extra special. Now I just need collect them in every pattern and pair them with the softest sweater ever so I can snuggle myself until the end of time. That is all.

Linking up here.

This juice made everything better

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I’ve been whining a lot about being sick on all the social media things and for that I apologize, but I’m here to tell you the story of my triumphant return. Kind of. Friday night I went to bed around 8pm and then after spending all day Saturday lazing about and renting Rebox movies with Ziggy for the third night in a row, I decided to do something about it. That something just so happened to involve a very dusty juicer that was hastily purchased with a LivingSocial deal approximately 12 months ago and used maybe thrice since (that’s not even true, it’s more like eight times. I just wanted to say ‘thrice’). I Googled “immune system juice” and chose the one that suited me both in tasty and readily available ingredients: an apple, four carrots and a 1/4 inch ginger root. I juiced ’em up, poured them into a mason jar (duh), added a fancy straw and took selfies like a pixilated champion in need of a manicure.
But wait! The story doesn’t end there! Sunday morning I woke up feeling slightly less zombie-like. Maybe it’s because I did nothing except sleep, drink water and down cold medicine for several days, but I’d like to say it’s because of this here juice. Either way, I loaded up the sausage pup and met my BFF Emma in San Francisco for Ziggy’s first time in the city. We hiked and saw beautiful things, played on a pebble beach and then ended a lovely day with lunch at Hopscotch in Oakland where we ate yonsei oysters and beef tongue. 
Basically Sunday was a perfect day and, justified or not, I’m giving the juice credit. So if you want to have a wonderful day after spending a lot of time being sick and lame, make this juice. Boom, logic.

2014 Resolutions

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I know I’m a little late to the game, but I’m doing it. Resolutions. To all those people who keep saying resolutions are stupid and they’re not going to last anyway, I say “Bah Humbug!” Last year I made resolutions I’m assuming, but I didn’t write a post about them, so I don’t even know if I accomplished them which I find disappointing. I do know that I made goals for the month of November, however, and I was so pumped to check each one of them off because I wrote them down. So my resolution for 2014 is to make little goals for each month of it. By the end of 2014 I’d like to be able to sit down and look at 12 different blog posts about my little goals and hopefully see how all the little goals came together to accomplish bigger and better ones. I hope to reread this post in December of 2014 and feel freakin’ fantastic about all the goals I conquered and I believe the best way for me to do that is a little bit at a time. So here we go, my goals for January:
Change over my Florida license plate and driver’s license to California. Yea, apparently 8 months is long enough according the the po po who pulled me over (for my headlight, which I got fixed finally) and blinded me with his flashlight so I could prove I wasn’t drunk (because I wasn’t!). In case you couldn’t tell, this daddy’s girl used to have a motivating factor for doing car-related things that had nothing to do with monthly goals (he still texts me saying things like, “Did u get ur headlight fixed yet?!”).
Drink 2 liters of water every day. I was doing really well for a while there drinking three, but no longer having a schedule completely threw me off. It’s a lot easier to make yourself chug water when the alternative is just sitting at a desk and not moving for eight hours as opposed to chilling at home on your computer drinking coffee ’til 2pm. Now that I’m caring for a 5-month-old for a living, however, having to pee every five minutes will be less than ideal, so we’ll see how this goes.
Complete the Love Your Body Challenge by Tone It Up. I already feel super behind because I’ve been a useless pile of snot buckets since I got back from Florida, but I hope to make up for lost time by working my butt off extra hard when I’m well to make it to 150 miles by Valentine’s Day (although 100 might have to do).
Explore California. There are tons of places I have yet to visit in this crazy awesome state, and I want to check out at least one new place this month. Whether it’s a new hiking trail in SF, a super cool bar in Oakland or a weekend trip to Santa Cruz, exploring is a must.
Eat mostly paleo. There will definitely be hiccups and I’m not going to berate myself for them (as explained in this post), but I do want to cook the majority of my meals and cut out most grains and sugars and blog about recipes more often.
Freelance. Write, write, write.
And a couple that will surely be in future monthly goal posts:
Visit Brooke & Jessi in Portland. This is happening sooner rather than later.
Attend a blog conference. I missed the most perfect opportunity to attend a blogging conference a few months ago because I’m a big wussy baby who was afraid to go by herself. No more of that shiz. Any suggestions of great Bay Area blog conferences? 
I’m ready to kill it this year, guys. 

Friday Feature

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Happy Friday, friends. I’m still sick and not feeling it today, so I’m going let one of my lovely and talented sponsors take over for me, Emily of Designs by Emily F. 

What’s your blog story?
Basically, everyone I knew didn’t seem to like a lot of the same things I was interested in, like fashion & makeup. First I started making youtube videos doing little DIYs, but I couldn’t talk to the camera at all so it was hard to keep going and improving. Then, I decided to switch to blogging and it was the best decision I ever made. It’s been amazing interacting with so many people that like a lot of the same things as I do. I really don’t have blogging down, but I’m just trying to have fun and hopefully make friends around the world.
If you are wondering what you’ll find over on my blog, you’ll find a little bit of everything. I’ve tried narrowing it down to certain things but it’s more fun for me if I just blog about the things I’m passionate about at the time. My favorite posts to write are DIYs, beauty, and things about my life.
First five songs to shuffle onto your iPod/phone/iTunes.
Lauren Aquilina – “Sinners”
Jamie Lynn Spears – “How Could I Want More”
Dayplayer – “Neverending Summer” 
Michelle Branch – Loud Music
The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”
Biggest dude turnoff.
Long hair, I don’t find it cute at all. 
Hottest guy on “Hart of Dixie.”
Definitely Wade Kinsela aka Wilson Bethel. I’m definitely rooting for Wade & Zoey to get together in the end! George isn’t too bad looking either!
What’s your signature drink?
Dr. Pepper, I kind of have a huge addiction. If it was something I could make, it would be Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I’ve mainly gotten it from Starbucks but I really need to find a recipe and perfect it! 
Where will your next adventure take you?
Hopefully this year I’ll get my own apartment with my very own puppy (I already know what I’m going to name him), stay at my design job for a couple years and hopefully move to New York someday, unless I finally meet someone after waiting 22 years. Basically I’ll just be trying to have fun with no matter what I do, I have a picture in my mind on how I want my life to turn out but I’m sure it will turn out different. You’ll just have to check out my blog to find what happens. 😛
Check out the rest of her blog and download her free printable blog planner!
Happy Friday!

I chopped my hair off

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Finally, after spending way too much time trying to cover up the oh-so-dead blonde bits at the ends of my hair, I chopped them off. As much as I loved having long hair again, it had to happen. And since I was on a get-shiz-done kind of a roll, I also got my headlight changed, went on an interview, ordered a new pair of boots, finished season one of Community, finished “State of Wonder” and rang in the new year with some froyo and my sausage dog all while battling an SOB of a cold. This cold has been especially annoying because today launches the Love Your Body Series by Tone It Up and I fully intended to start today but even sitting up too quickly hurts my sinuses and the awkward angle of getting my hair washed by the stylist sent me into a raging cough fest, which I imagine was even more unenjoyable for her than it was for me. As soon as I’m well, though, I’m doing it up. I’m talking 150 miles by Valentine’s Day, some type of cardio every day, mostly paleo eating, tons of water and strength training with those crazy hot and adorable ladies (who have a new show on Bravo starting tonight.. Any Bay Area ladies with cable want to invite me over? Just checking.) And of course obnoxious sweaty selfies as per usual on Instagram (@mackensieg), so if you’re also participating, let me know so we can do this thing together. And to finish off this rando post…
My super cute NYE date.

A blog year in review

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2012 saw an egocentric review, so I thought 2013 deserved one too. Here goes.
The beginning of 2013 brought on an ambitious 10-day juice cleanse that ended as quickly as the relationship I jumped into. At the going away party for my BFF Emma (who moved to SF a few months before me) I remember describing the juice cleanse as my second great fail of 2013, but I held onto the belief that I’d soon be making my way to the West coast and started my “Making Things Happen in 2013” board on Pinterest. Oh, and I started a new relationship.. with myself.
Ziggy turned three years old and my sister and I convinced the entire family (including Grandma) to take pulls from a bottle of Jager at my cousin Katie’s wedding. I embarrassed my exes and started Whole30 cleanse numero dos.
I set out to destroy my Florida bucket list (having decided that April was go time for my cross-country trip) by seeing mermaids at Weeki Wachi, attending my first basket ball game and going to St. Augustine. 
This month I introduced my drunk alter ego, Rose, and set off on my road trip to California with my sister and sausage dog. We hit up Bourbon Street in New Orleans, braved tornados in Texas, survived wolves chomping on my car in Arizona, explored the Grand Canyon and finally arrived in California where we got shwasted with my cousin slash new roommate.
May saw the beginning of Operation: Shakira Bod and non-stop job hunting (and the realization that it’s a lot like dating). Then one of my BFFs from College Liz came visit and we biked across the Golden Gate Bridge! Oh, and we saw lots of naked people running while we ran in sheep costumes at Bay to Breakers.
I completed my sixth half marathon with Emma and it was absolutely the hardest and most beautiful race I’ve ever done. I started a babysitting job which led to a goat eating my hair (and eventually a full-time office job). Then I decided as a single lady it was my duty to give out some unsolicited dating advice.
After completing Operation: Shakira Bod, I spent a week in Lake Tahoe where I pretty much destroyed any progress I made in my month of healthy eating and exercise (worth it!). The rest of the month was spent trying to adjust to a normal 8-5 job with the occasional hang out with Jon Mulaney and cringe-worthy song lyrics post.
The end of July/beginning of August was crazy. My parents flew to California the same day I moved into my new apartment. While they were here, we experienced the tour guide from hell in Yosemite, an awesome winery tour, my 24th birthday and a trip to San Diego to watch my sorority big sis get married (this trip also contains a story that has yet to be told around these parts..).
I saw the best Fun. concert yet, experienced my most epic running fail so far and realized how TV has been setting me up for relationship failure for years.
In October I flew to New York for a friend’s wedding and reunited with my family for the first time in about six months. Then I completed my first mud run with Emma, carved pumpkins and enjoyed my first Halloween in California. 
This was my first Thanksgiving away from home. It was a weird feeling being away from family at this time of year, but a good friend from college came to visit and we made the best of it. It was actually a pretty epic Thanksgiving. My sister also did an awesome DIY post about wooden center pieces and I wrote about douchey song lyrics that make me lol.
December ended several chapters in my life and prepared me for the start of new ones in 2014. It brought the end of one job and the start of a couple others. I wrote my first freelance article for one of my favorite websites, visited Florida for the first time in 8 months, chopped off my hair and saw a bunch of awesome bands in concert.
It’s been an eventful and sometimes completely terrifying year. It blows my mind that I’ve lived in California for the better part of a year, but I still love it here and I’m still completely proud of myself for actually making things happen in 2013. Now it’s time to make even bigger things happen in 2014. Look out, world.

Happy new year!

Florida in a nutshell

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Since I spent the last two weeks in Florida with the family drinking obscene amounts of alcohol and not sleeping, I am now a sickling to the highest degree. Therefore I am photodumping instead of going into the dirty deets. Here we’ve got the best sushi roll in all the land (If you ever go to Ocala, FL and I’m not sure why you ever would, go to Sushi Bistro and order the Alexander Roll. You’ll thank me later.), my new epic onesie (follow @norasnark on Vine to see extra onesie weirdness..), gingerbread house decorating, Christmas caroling in the back of a truck, party time with my Yamato ladies, the creepiest wax fingers, DIY gift tags, Cedar Key fishing with the nephews, reuniting with my sausage dog and a sweet painting of me with antlers wearing a fox by my friend, Jon.
I hope you all had as Merry a Christmas as I did. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get used to being a normal human being again. I’m pretty sure the best way to do that is by watching all of the episodes of Community while wearing head to toe neon sweats, amiright?

Sunni Chic Giveaway!

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I got a dino on my head, but don’t call me a dino head! 
I’m giving one of these awesome dinosaur planters from Sunni Chic as featured in OTN’s Quirky Gift Guide to one of you lucky ducks. Fill out the ole Rafflecopter below for your chance to win between now and the 31st (for US residents only, sorry!). 
Merry Christmas Eve Eve!!

Healthy Hot Chocolate

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I’m going to be honest with you, I’m still nursing a hangover at 10:30pm and not even watching “Muppet Christmas Carol” and eating sugar cookies could rid me of its evil. It’s one of those days where I finished off the rest of the tea in my parents’ fridge, made a Sonic run (Umm they have pretzel buns for hotdogs now and I was too sick to even try one. This will be remedied before I go back to no-Sonic-land.) and I couldn’t even muster up the strength to write a blog post until now. I can definitely say all the vodka sodas were worth it to catch up with an old friend and shut down the empty bars in my home town. I was a bad blogger and didn’t take a single picture, however, so instead I bring you my healthy-ish vegan take on hot chocolate (adapted from this recipe and photographed by my iPhone).
I used 2/3 cup soy milk, 2 tablespoons cacao powder, 1/3 cup coconut cream (from a can), 1 tablespoon agave nectar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Since I’m lazy, I just put the soy milk in the microwave for a minute, added all the good stuff and nuked it for another 30 seconds or so, but I imagine it would be smoother and look prettier if heated on a stove instead. Either way it was super delicious and totally beat the powder stuff with the shriveled up marshmallows in it. I feel like homemade marshmallows might be going on the list of things to try this season.
If I’m inconsistent for the next week, just know it’s because I’m hungover squeezing in as much family and friend time as possible, but I do have some fun things planned for next week so get excited. 
Have a fabulous weekend!

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