The Biggest Secret of College

I disappeared for a little bit.

That's not exactly a good look for a new blogger, but sometimes when you're as sporadic a person as I am , these things can seem unavoidable. I was (maybe I still am) stuck in this weird spot, where even though I'm exactly where I've always dreamed I would be, something is missing.

I'm not satisfied with....well, to be completely honest I can't even put my finger on the thing that I'm not satisfied with.

I'm stuck in a middle ground and I became stagnant. I'm only doing what I need to do to get by, and nothing more. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've left the dorm to adventure on my own.

Here's the sneaky thing nobody tells you about your Freshman year of college,

it's lonely.

You're in a new place with, new people, and none of your old vices. It can be hard and disconcerting at times to be having all these wonderful new experiences and feel like there's no one there to care or to listen, or even to go through these experiences with.

I'm still trying to figure all of this out myself, so I cannot offer you an grandiose solution. What I can give to you is my individual promise that I will try to push past it.

♡I promise not to find myself sitting in on my 6th consecutive episode of whatever I'm binge watching on Netflix at the moment.

♡I promise to make an attempt to get out of my comfort zone and leave the dorm, just to explore, just to get outside.

♡But most of all, I promise not to stop moving forward.

It's so easy to fall into a pattern of comfort and avoid any potential for new experiences. But that's a dangerous trap to fall in. No matter what you have to promise yourself that you will constantly be trying to find ways to grow into your best you. 

To anyone that has found themselves in this situation, keep moving forward.

until next time,

x kirst

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Oil Pulling || WTF is All The Hype For?

Oil pulling is an ancient all natural method used for purifying and detoxifying the body. There's loads of potential health benefits (although not too many of them have any scientific research backing them), and tons of online testimonials with people swearing by this practice.

Basically, all you do is swish an form of vegetable-based oil in your mouth for 20 minutes, many people prefer coconut oil for its MANY antibacterial properties. If you didn't already read this post, you should know that I'm a firm believer in the power of coconut oil.

How To Oil Pull

1.) Use about 1-2 teaspoons of oil. 

Again, my preference is coconut oil, but the choice is entirely your own. Another extremely popular oil used is sesame oil. I like to let my coconut oil melt down to its liquid form before I put it in my mouth, it just makes the process easier for me.

2.) Get to swishing for 20 minutes. 

Timing is pretty important in this process, so try your best to get to the suggested 20 minutes, but it's alright if you can't quite make it there. The magical 20 minutes come from the idea that it is long enough to break through plaque and bacteria, but not long enough for your body to start re-absorbing the toxins. As you swish the oil will mix with your saliva and begin to get thicker in consistency, that's normal. By the time you spit it out it will be whitish in color.

3.) Spit the oil into a TRASH CAN. 

This is especially important when using coconut oil, as it resolidifies above a certain temperature, which can lead to drainage issues (and nobody wants to deal with that)

4.) Rinse with warm water.

Just to get out any remaining oil.

5.) Brush those pearly whites. 

Now that your mouth is clean and refreshed, give everything a final brush over, for an extra clean feeling.

It's super simple and ideally you should be doing it once a day, or at least a couple of times a week. Personally, I fall in and out of the habit of doing it but the best results are achieved with consistency. But, that still doesn't answer the question of why anyone would voluntarily swish oil in their mouth for that long. So let's talk about...

The Benefits

♡ Whitens teeth, without the use of chemicals.

♡ Detoxes the body

♡ Helps to reduce headaches (and possibly hangovers too...)

♡ Promotes good oral hygiene 

♡ Improves energy levels

♡ Helps to keep skin clear

♡ Helps improve bad breath

♡ Improves jaw strength (which is especially helpful if you struggle with TMJ)

♡ Prevents cavities

♡ Soothes dry throat

♡ Boosts your immune system

Even if you don't buy into all of this, the good news is that there's no risk in trying it (that is as long as you're not allergic to the oil you swish with). For me, I instantly notice how clean my mouth feels, imagine that after the dentist feeling whenever you want. It definitely does help with bad breath, and I did notice a little whitening effect, but I don't ever do it for a long enough time period to notice drastic differences.

This is just a little information, that you can either choose to add to your beauty arsenal, or completely enjoy.

either way,

keep smiling,

until next time.

x kirst

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♡Shop The Post♡

Veganism || Why I'm Going Back

I'm a little hesitant to post this, just because of the stigma that goes along with this topic, so before I dive into things I just want to make a quick disclaimer.

I try my best have complete respect and understanding for the choices anyone makes. I would never push my beliefs on someone else, or make someone feel inadequate because of their choices. We all have to make the choices that we think are best suited for us, so before you make any decisions or judgements, please do your own research and form your own opinions.

{source}

Now on to the post,

After a lot of thought (and maybe one too many documentaries), I've decided to at least attempt to make my return to veganism.

For years I've bounced back and forth between being a vegetarian, a vegan, and a full on lover of chicken nuggets. I even ventured into the Raw til 4 lifestyle for some time.

Usually my reasoning behind returning to eating meat is the convenience factor. I've never liked being the girl with the high maintenance order, or the one not eating anything at the family gathering, and sometimes those situations can feel unavoidable as a vegan.

These past two months have definitely been very strenuous for my body, both mentally and physically. From the stress of classes and living in a new environment, to being responsible for making all my own meals.

For the first time in my life I find myself struggling with acne.

My energy levels have been low, my skin is rebelling against me, and my emotions are all out of whack. So I've decided to listen to my body in the best way that I know how and go vegan for a trial period and see if any of these issues are relieved.

I'm not making any long term commitments just yet. I think it's important to listen to your body and really pay attention to what it needs. I'm starting with an achievable goal of being vegan for one month, after that I'll make assessments, and adjustments if necessary.

Although my return to veganism is motivated by my own health benefits, the more universal benefits are not lost to me.

♡Sustainability

♡Animal Welfare

♡Global Climate Change

{source} 

The list goes on. I can do a series of blog posts about the ethics of becoming vegan if there are requests to see things of that nature on Simple & Spice.

listen to your body, mind, and soul,

until next time.

x, kirst

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When in Doubt Zen it Out

{source}

Hello beautiful people of the internet.

Since I've gotten to college I've been feeling a little bit unbalanced. Today especially I'm feeling as though I needed to ground myself, to find and return to my center (cue lots of deep breathing exercises and soothing music).

Stay in touch with your body, mind, and spirit.

It is endlessly important to stay connected with yourself. Take a break and listen to what your body is telling you, then respond. 

♡ Make sure you're getting enough sleep.

♡ Are you eating a well balanced diet?

♡ Have you challenged your brain to think in an interesting way lately?

♡ Are you giving yourself enough positive love and attention? (self love is so crucial to happiness)

♡ Move your body, go for a walk, a hike, a run, dance alone in your room, anything to get you on your feet.

♡ Put your phone down and be alone with your thoughts.

♡ Have a good laugh.

♡ Maybe, you need to have a good cry.
♡ Take a bath.

♡ Just do something to remind yourself of all the love, light, and happiness surrounding you.

Just take some time out of your day to do something positive for yourself.

In the city that never sleeps, I've found neither does my mind. I have to make a conscious effort to relax my racing thoughts. I take time out of everyday to be alone with myself and try to ease my swirling thoughts into a calm stream of consciousness. It keeps me grounded in all this craziness.

What do you do to stay centered during times of chaos?

let the light into your life,

until next time.

x, kirst

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Chia Seeds || Healthy Shit I Have No Idea What To Do With

For the most part I'm a pretty health conscious eater, and I try to keep a pretty balanced diet and even occasionally throw in some exercise.

That being said, this summer I ate like a recovering junk food junkie, and even the thought of the gym was enough to make me cringe.

But now I'm back, and with a vengeance.

On my quest to start eating less like a 5 year old and more like the 18 year old (not yet fully formed) adult I am, I realized

There's a lot of healthy shit, I have no clue what to do with...

Chia seeds being one of them.

Like okay, I know they're good for you (obviously! my mom bought a bag on a health kick one time that remains untouched in my fridge to this day) 

But why?

So I took to the internet for some answers (like the good Millennial I am), and this is what I found.

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds

♡ Omega-3 Fatty Acids

♥ heart health

♥ cholesterol regulation

♥ clear skin 

♥ hydrates hair

♡ Energy Boost

♥ ancient Aztec's used to refer to chia seeds as "running food" because of the supposed boost of energy they give you.  They're made up of complex carbs (and a majority of those carbs come from fiber), so they break down slowly in your system, giving you lasting energy.

♡ Absorbs lots of Water 

♥ Chia seeds can absorb around 10x their weight in water which is good for keeping you hydrated, keeping your electrolytes in check, and possibly even prolonging the amount of time you feel full for.

♡ Other Good for you Things

♥ antioxidants
♥ fiber

♥ calcium
♥ a little bit of protein

♥ potassium 

Cool beans, 

so now that I know that they're good for you...

How do I actually start incorporating them into my diet?

Basically, I just sprinkle them onto anything, salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, whatever tickles your fancy.  

They don't really have any flavor, they just add a little extra crunch to whatever it is that you're eating (which I loveeeee).

There is also these bars (basically my crack, once you go banana nut... you never go back), and below are a couple of recipes for you to try out if you want to spice things up a little bit

♥Raspberry & Vanilla Chia Seed Jam (myfussyeater.com)

♥ Chia Seed Pudding (byrdie.com)

♥ Raspberry Green Tea Lemonade with Chia (wifemamafoodie.com)

Disclaimer (because I don't really know what I'm talking, and I don't want you to think that I do): I am not a nutritionist just a girl with access to the world wide web, so before you start throwing these bad boys on everything do your own research!

stay healthy
until next time.

x, kirst

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3 Things You Should Be Doing With Coconut Oil

{aka liquid gold}

Let me lay it to you clean and simple, coconut oil is the shit.

It truly is the be all end all of the beauty world.

Any problem you have, slap a little coconut oil on that sucker and you'll be good to go (...well not exactly, but you know what I mean).  There's about a million things you can do with coconut oil, but here are 3 things you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD be doing with it.

1.) Moisturizing

I used to have so SERIOUS Keratosis Pilaris (think eczema, but nastier and a hell of a lot more stubborn).  I tried everything, like seriously everything and NOTHING was working to combat these tricky little bumps on my arms, then I tried coconut oil, and...

BAM, my skin cleared right up!

I put it on really focusing on the trouble spots on my arms every night when I get out of the shower. If you don't mind the feeling, it makes for a great all over body moisturizer but,

I don’t like the feeling of being covered in oil so I only use coconut oil for some serious moisture.  It really nourishes deep down and keeps your skin super moisturized and lush.

2.)Makeup Removing

I'm a fan of waterproof mascara,

I like knowing that if I have a meltdown, at least my lashes will still be intact.

But, I am NOT a fan of waking up with raccoon eyes because your makeup remover didn't do a job well done (c'mon dude you have ONE RESPONSIBILITY). Coconut oil gets even the TOUGHEST makeup off, without too much effort.  A little bit goes a long way, so just put the tiniest bit on a cotton ball and you're good to go.  I like to do this before I wash my face, just so i can rinse off the extra oil from my lids and really lift that last little bit of makeup.

3.) Oil Pulling

If my Mom's reading this (hey Mama) she's definitely rolling her eyes at me, she thinks this whole thing is ridiculous but...

Whatever Mom, this isn't just a phase!

I like to take a tablespoon of melted coconut oil and get to swishing for 20 minutes.

It goes by quicker than you'd think I promise.

After you swish just spit out all that gunk in your mouth, JUST MAKE SURE IT'S INTO THE GARBAGE, NOT DOWN THE DRAIN (nobody wants to deal with clogged pipes).

There are endless benefits and I'll do a full post soon but for now just take my word for it, after all who doesn't love...

 ♡ whiter teeth

♡ healthier gums

♡ maybe even some disease prevention

{read full oil pulling post here}

Coconut oil, we salute you and all that you do.

until next time.

x, kirst

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