I've done a few month-long challenges now: A month without sugar, my month of living zero-waste, and of course my totally failed month of waking up early (expect an update on that one as I re-attempt to become a morning person). This April—kind of in honor of Passover—I decided to give going a Kosher a try. How hard could it be?
As a kid, I always had a vision that Kosher food involved some rabbi standing in front of an assembly line of package food, blessing it as it passes. This isn't exactly how it works (unless is secretly is, in which I need someone in the know to contact me immediately!)
Read More"Never skip breakfast;" "Eat within the first hour of being awake;" "Eat many small meals throughout the day."
I've heard these statements a lot over the years so when my roommate mentioned she was going to try intermittent fasting, I was a little skeptical. The concept itself feels reminiscent of a starvation diet based on name alone. As someone who has spent years in thearpy for an eating disorder, the negative effects of a starvation diet have been drilled into me and I try to also stay away from anything that could temp me into old bad habits. But then a few days later, I suggested video popped up on my YouTube feed all about intermittent fasting—I preceded to spend the next hour doing research on the concept. Intrigued, I immediately jumped into my own 10 Day Intermittent Fasting Challenge.
Read MoreWaking up early multiple days in a row is just plan difficult for me. For my latest Gretchen Tries Stuff challenge, I tried to force myself to become an early riser for the entire month of February and it wasn't nearly as easy as I thought. Maybe I haven't found the right routine for getting up? or maybe being a morning person just isn't for me.
Read MoreThroughout a large chunk of my life, I've been pretty lazy about my beauty routine. Until recently, the most makeup I typically wore was tinted sunscreen, I had no idea what a serum was, and I rarely actually washed my face (splash of water seemed good enough...right?). This lazy beauty routine worked well for me for most of my 20s, but unfortunately, this would not last forever.
Read MoreAs the new year looms near, I want to take a moment to look back on my 2017. I tried a lot of "stuff" for my blog series, but how many of those things am I keeping up with after the challenge is over? What would I do differently? And what do I have planned for my 2018?
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I did No Shopping November this past month and it turned out to be one of the most difficult challenges I set for myself (going 100 days without drinking was actually easier).
Read MoreSo far this year I've done a month without sugar, a month with no trash, and I'm currently in a month-long challenge of not shopping (for the exception of groceries). But by far the longest project I've decided to take on has been 100 Days Sober....
I went sober for 100 days to learn more about what it's like to be an alcoholic. The experience grew into life lessons I'll value forever.
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I went zero waste for the entire month of September, "Trash-free September" as I like to call it. It was a difficult experience that altered pretty much every aspect of my life and has changed the way I look at plastic and packaging forever.
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I was pretty slow to the makeup game, never really advancing beyond tinted sunscreen until after I turned 30. Learning to apply makeup (and not look like a clown) has been a much tricker skill to learn than I ever anticipated...
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I own too much stuff... In particular, I owned too much clothing and I lived in absolute denial about this. For many years my bedroom had a very small closet, and I naively believed that as long as I could fit all that clothing into my tiny closet, I had my clothing problem under control.
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I went without processed and added sugars for a month; here's what I learned
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I've scoured Pinterest, YouTube, and beauty blogs for some of the best tips and products to try. But as all things in life, sometimes even well-researched plans just don't pan out. Here's a round up of things I have tried to achieve the coveted baby soft feet that just kind of flopped.
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If you've ever dealt with dry, itchy scalp issues, you're probably familiar with the wormhole of advice on the Internet: Special shampoos? Home recipes? Dry shampoo? No shampoo? The slew of advice usually makes me flustered, in which case I shut my computer and ignore the issue until the next time a "helpful" human points out that I "have fuzz or something" in my hair. Deep sigh.
Read MoreOkay, it's January and every year I attempt to follow a New Year Resolution. Traditionally I pick something very specific and doable, such as running at least one race every month (New Year Resolution 2013) or learning proper boxing technique (New Year Resolution 2015) or living abroad (also New Year Resolution 2015).
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