StyleCarrot

Foodie Friday: 15 Fruity Breakfast Smoothies

I’ve finally started an exercise routine. Every fall when I return to Boston, I vow I will not be deterred by the overabundance of work. I make plans with friends to walk on the Esplanade around the Charles River, lift my pretty chartreuse weights every afternoon, and stretch out diligently at night. I even joined a gym before I left for the summer—David Barton—but it’s not opening until January. Spurred by the need to eat better too, I’ve pulled together over a dozen recipes of gorgeous fruity breakfast smoothies for today’s Foodie Friday post.

A few weeks ago on Facebook, I spotted a childhood friend of my husband’s, Sarah John, touting her exercise program for long, feminine muscles. Commenting that yes, I definitely wanted those, she encouraged me to sign up for her workout sessions via Skype, SarahJohnFitness. I took her up on it. We set a time, I downloaded the newest version of Skype, added SarahJohnFitness to the address book, bought a yoga mat, cleared a spot in the living room, and yes, I worked out. (You can find Sarah, of the long, lean muscles, on FB at Sarah John Fitness/virutalates —you won’t believe she just had her 3rd baby!)

I have my fourth session this morning. It’s getting easier. While I generally detest exercise, I like the core-centric, floor barre exercises, which are reminiscent of my dance class days in college, but way harder. I did Core Fusion at Exhale regularly, about five years ago, but didn’t keep it up. This is similar and takes a lot less time, seeing how I don’t have to leave my house. Plus, the sessions are only 30 minutes and private. Sarah says I’ll be able to join the longer group sessions soon; we shall see. My tummy is feeling a bit tighter.

I need to stop my morning chocolate habit. And afternoon chocolate habit. I’ve been attempting a more disciplined approach to eating, though that leads me to eat more somehow. Since I love smoothies, and like yogurt in the morning, I thought I’d consider concocting smoothies. Seems like a lot of effort, but they look delicious. Here are recipes for 15 fruity breakfast smoothies.

Cranberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie • Something the Wiser

Peach Recovery Smoothie • Healthy Seasonal Recipes

Strawberry Banana Smoothie • Dashing Dish

Peach Mango Smoothie • Andrea’s Recipes

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie • Averie Cooks

Pomegranate Yogurt Smoothie • Diethood

Raspberry Banana Smoothie • Vega

Apple Pie Smoothie • Ginger Snaps

Vegan Raspberry Coconut Smoothie • Creme de la Crumb

Dragon Fruit Smoothie • Jennifer Chong

Blueberry Muffin Smoothie • Teaspoon Of Spice

Blueberry Muffin Smoothie • Yeah…Immaeatthat

Vegan Peach Oat Smoothie • Minimalist Baker

Tropical Fruit Breakfast Smoothie • Half Baked Harvest

Tropical Sunshine Smoothie • Lovely Little Kitchen

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Concoct your own fruity breakfast smoothies >

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Very Vignette: Skateboard Art Over A Cot

Domino, Spring 2014

This is a corner of an art-filled house owned by Leanne Citrone, hair stylist and co-owner of Andy Lecompte Salon in L.A. Citrone and her husband, who began their art collection with a beach scene by Massimo Vitali, hired interior designer Lauren Soloff to help integrate their artwork with their decor.

A cot, with what I suspect is a spray painted base, is topped with a ticking covered cushion and stripey kilim pillows in pinks and oranges. Hanging above is a print of a skateboarder by photographer Hugh Holland, just one of three the couple owns. (The others hangs in their son’s room.)

Hugh Holland, who is represented by M+B Photo, documented the skateboarder scene in Los Angeles starting in 1975.

S H O P the L O O K
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ARTmonday: 36 Obscured Portraits of Women

If you follow the ARTmonday posts, you’ll know that as much as I love abstract art, I am especially drawn to artwork featuring female figures. Among my many posts highlighting specific female painters or more frequently, photographers, who create quirky or elusive images of women (Cig Harvey, Viviane Sassen, Natsumi Hayashi), I’ve also curated a number of roundups, including Women Thinking, Women In the Kitchen, Figures in the Landscape, Women In Water, and Girls At Play. (For more, you can also peruse my Pinterest boards Female Figures in Art, Portraits, Nudes.)

I have so many images of women turning their backs on the camera, that I thought for sure I did a post of those, but I can’t find it, so maybe not. Today’s post features 36 portraits of women whose faces are obscured in some way. The overall image might be blurry, her head could be wrapped in twigs (or a shower curtain!), perhaps her hair is in her face, or she’s wearing a blindfold. Or, the image might show what could have been a perfectly straightforward rendering, but then he or she dripped paint over the visage, or whited out all traces of personality.

Some of these obscured portraits of women are cloaked in mystery, others are silly, and still others, a tad subversive. I find them all appealing. (I left out the more disturbing of the finds this time around.)

Smooth #1 • Agnieszk Maria Zieba

Melodie Mousset

“Hunger” • Jovana Lakovic

unidentified

Julia Skopnik

Annija Muižule

Human Sculptures • Joakim Heltne

Jose Romussi

Wilkosz & Way

“Portrait with the Cat” • Chiara Elisa Ragghianti

Wool and the Gang

Yann Faucon

“Portrait with a Spectrum 3” • Chad Wys

unidentified

“Paper Butterflies” • Ping Homeric

Maia Harms

“Sky of Tears” • Tabitha Vevers

“Essäché” • Flora Borsi

Grace Coddington • Tim Walker

Face-Kinis • Peng Chen

“Ubearable” • Alessandro Passerini

“A Bundled Mass of Confusion” • Robert Flynn

Sarah Bodri

Urs Fischer

Lalla Essaydi

“Portrait of Petra Collins” • Neal Turner

Marianne Faithfull by David Redfern

Sunday Bouquet: Thinking About Fall Florals

Fall floral bouquet with succulents from an Alabama wedding.

Photo by Morgan Trinker • Flowers by Michelle Johnson

• • •

Buy pretty art prints >
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Montage: 13 Bathrooms With Tiled Vanity Countertops

I still haven’t figured out what to do about the pink Formica countertop on the vanity in Florida. Buying a piece of stone is out—definitely no budget for that. And really, it’s a basic, white tiled bathroom, so it doesn’t call for a slab of luxurious stone anyway. There’s no way I am paying for an updated lamintate countertop. Blech. So I’ve been looking at tiled vanity countertops.

I think tiling the vanity countertop is the way to go. I’ve come across a number of how-to articles for installing tile over laminate; how-to tile is a rather popular DIY project. We also need to swap out the light fixture above the mirror. The vanity lighting fixture that’s there is now more appropriate for a C-lister’s dressing room. Maybe we can tuck some LED strip lights behind molding and add a more contemporary light fixture. This industrial-style bathroom light bar could also be an interesting look.

Perhaps my husband could get to work on some simple changes over winter break when we’re there. After all, he has all sorts of tools—step ladder, pliers, wrenches, and plenty of stuff I can’t even name. It’s nice that he’s handy : )

It’s hard to find examples of cute bathroom vanity countertops with tiles, I’m guessing because it’s a low budget solution and gorgeous, photographed homes showcase more upscale materials. I did find 13 bathrooms with tiled vanity countertops that are quite nice. I should go for it, right?