Monday, March 31, 2014

Healthy Balsamic Chicken Pita Pocket Recipe!

Hello everyone! I am finally posting a new recipe! I found this delicious recipe for these 'Chicken Pita Sandwich's' from Laura in the Kitchen. They are full of super yummy and fresh ingredients and the fun part about it is you can completely customize yours! These would be awesome for lunches if you are going to school, work etc. Just make sure to keep the inside ingredients separate from your pita pocket so it doesn't get soggy. I hope you guys like these and try them out yourself, and if you do post them on Instagram and use the hash tag - #deepitapocket so I can find them easily, Enjoy!


What you will need:

6 6-inch Pita Pockets
1 lb of Cooked Rotisserie Chicken
3 Tbsp of Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped (I forgot these!)
1 Clove of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cups of Spring Mix Lettuce
¼ of Red Onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar

Dijon mustard to taste
Dried Basil to taste
Salt and Pepper, to taste

*If you visit her site, she mentioned a couple of ingredients that aren't listed above and that is just because I preferred mine without those*


How to make them:

1) In a bowl, add the chicken, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, olives, red onion and salt and pepper, toss together to mix well. 

2) To serve, place 2 slices of tomatoes in one half of the pita pocket, add about half a cup of the spring mix and a couple spoonfuls of the chicken mixture. 

Serve immediately! 



 Mince and chop up onion and garlic
 Add in your chicken 
 Didn't get a picture of the olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar
but add that in after your chicken and mix all together - 
then add in your seasonings to taste
 Take your pita bread and cut it in half
 Add in your greens, I used Spring Mix
 Spread a layer of the Dijon Mustard on one side of the
bread, then add in lettuce

Add in your chicken mixture and you are done! 
I served mine with two 'cuties' or little mini oranges!
(I could seriously eat 100 of these...!)

I cannot begin to explain how good these were! They were so fresh and the dijon mustard adding a tangy flavor to it that went perfectly with the balsamic vinegar. I could seriously eat these any time of the day, because it was not heavy at all and filled me up perfectly. I cannot wait to see if anyone tries this recipe out, and make sure to take a picture and post it on Instagram with the hash tag #deepitapocket so I can see what you added to your pita pocket!


Sunday, March 30, 2014

Flowers, Pastels & Pollen, OH MY!


Spring is officially here and I am so excited to start this new season! Spring to me means three things.. flowers everywhere, pastel colors, and pollen....You see, me and the spring time have a love hate relationship. I absolutely love the fashion, colors, flowers and sunshine with a slight breeze in the air, BUT the spring time does a number on my allergies. All of the pollen in the air mixed with my all ready horrible allergies makes for a lot of days huddled on the couch with a tissue box. 

That is besides the point because one of my favorite parts is the fashion. I am going to share with you today some spring fashion inspiration I have been collecting. Throughout the spring season I will be posting many outfit of the days you could call them, of me wearing some of my favorite spring time outfits but for now here 5 of my spring fashion staples. Enjoy!




Black tank (similar) - Target
Yellow Shorts (Similar) - Lulu's
Statement necklace (Similar) - Forever 21

1. This first outfit is one I can definitely see myself wearing this spring. With a simple black tank top on top, the shorts are what makes the outfit. The first spring fashion staple for me is a statement short. They are everywhere in stores now and it seems to be a trend for spring. At least a trend I will be rocking! These are a fabulous bring yellow color with a slight texture detail to them along with the folded pleating in the center which adds dimension to the simple outfit. A statement necklace to finish off the outfit and you are ready to go.  


Skirt - Boca Leche

Skirt - Tobi

2) My second spring staple is a maxi skirt! I am a sucker for maxi skirts, they are so easy to slip on and all you need is a simple top and your outfit is ready. They have so many different types of maxi skirts but I loved this one that has so many different bright colors in it. You can see a trend with me, simple top, bright bottoms! I love the easy going feel of this skirt and you can easily wear this super casual or dress it up with wedges, a blazer and some nice jewelry. The second skirt is perfect for spring as well with the lace cutouts along the middle and bottom of the skirt!





First scarf - Target
Second Scarf - Forever 21

3) Scarves! Scarves! Scarves! You would think that scarves wouldn't be practical in the spring/summer because you usually wear them in winter but there are so many light weight scarves for the hotter months that are so cute! There are two different kinds of scarves, there is regular scarves and then there are "infinity" or circle scarves which have no ending point. The first one is an example of a circle scarf and the second is a regular scarf. Going along with my the trend of these fashion staples and my personal style I love having a more plain outfit and adding colorful accessories or one colorful piece that can make an outfit pop. A cute pair of shorts, a nice blouse and a fun scarf is a perfect spring outfit, and you don't have to spend a lot of money on them either!


Fuchsia Bag - H & M 

4) I love switching up my bags when the seasons change and a pop of color with this adorable fuchsia bag from H & M is perfect! You don't need to go out and buy a new expensive bag, just go to your local H & M or Forever 21 and find a fun funky bag! You could use this for every season if you style it correctly, and you didn't break the bank. Also there is something about switching up a hand bag that gets me super excited and I tend to center it around my whole outfit!


Necklace - Forever 21
Necklace - Forever 21
Earrings - Forever 21
Ring - Forever 21

5) So, it's no secret I am obsessed with Forever 21... it's kind of embarrassing but oh well! They just have so much of a vast selection for so cheap! I especially love their jewelry because when it comes to jewelry for the spring time I think the more the better, well not too much, you know what I mean. Layering fun colorful jewelry is one of my favorite ways to spice up an outfit. I will wear a vintage t-shirt and add boho jewelry with stacks of bracelets, rings and a fun necklace and I instantly have a cute outfit and I am in a t-shirt people! Forever 21 has so much jewelry to choose from it can be a tad intimidating but I swear if you take your time and sort through everything you can find some awesome finds. It's not going to last you forever but for the price I can justify it. These are some of my favorites off the website and they don't even have everything that is in store on the website (oh lord..)!


As you can see I am overly excited for the spring season, but not too stoked about the heat...Here in Texas it gets hot and even hotter in the summer months. I hope you all enjoyed my spring fashion staples and make sure to stay updated because I have some exciting posts coming soon involving DIY's, fashion, beauty etc!

Love you all and stay beautiful!

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Just some thoughts...

Happy Saturday everyone, today I wanted to share some thoughts with you all that has been fogging up my mind for the past couple of days. Recently in my life, there has been one too many deaths that have either effected my close personal friends or other family friends that I was close to. I know that death is apart of life and it is one thing that all of us eventually are going to deal with, but recently it seems like it has been happening way too often. 



We all go through our lives planning out what our life is going to be like. I know as a kid I would  sit and plan out how my life was going to be when I 'grew up'. I would grow up to create and run my own fashion/beauty magazine and live in a huge house with my husband and two kids. Oh and somewhere between running a family and a major business I would have time to travel the world and live in Paris. That dream can still become a reality, I have no doubt in that, but I have recently realized though that life doesn't revolve around you or your dreams. Life is going to keep on going and bad things that weren't in your plans are going to happen that you are going to have to deal with. 

So with that said, isn't it time that we start really living? I know that we are living and breathing right now, but are we really living our lives? Are you waking up every single day excited to go to work or school? Are you crossing things off of your bucket list? All of those ideas and thoughts you have written down on a restaurant napkin tucked away in your journal, are those still apparent? I ask you these questions today because these are the same questions I have been asking myself this past couple of months as I have been along this journey. Most of the songs that I have been listening to, the movies I have been watching, and the books that I have been reading have all centered around the same idea. That idea is to stop wishing you had a certain life or wishing you were majoring in something else, but to go out and do those things because if you don't you will regret it every single day. I try to not have any regrets, but I am human and I can admit that some things I have regretted but I am learning that instead of wallowing in those regrets, I need to move past those and learn from my mistakes. 

So,

-Read more books
-Laugh until you cry
-Go to the movies by yourself if no one wants to go
-Buy that shirt that you love
-Listen to more music (loud)
-Sing in the car even if people are watching
-Dance on your way to class even if people are staring
-Kiss that boy that you have been dreaming about
-Pick one thing off of your bucket list for each year and make sure it happens
-Go to the beach for the day
-Have a picnic in the park
-Wear that outfit that makes you feel good
-Spend as much time with your family as you can
-Tell the people you love that you love them every chance you get
-Cry! It's okay to cry here and there
-Sleep in
-Eat that cookie you have been staring at (guilty...)
Be Brave!

I am about to get really cheesy, but all of it is true. Life is short (yes I just said that) and you never know when your last day is going to be. I have seem some of the people in my life go through the most devastating times trying to cope with losing a loved one and it really made me think about how I need to start living my life the way I want to. If you live your life the way everyone thinks you should be, you will never be happy. 

Being young and trying to figure out what I want to do with my life is exhausting and I wish that I could wake up tomorrow and know exactly what I am supposed to do but that is not how life works. I now realize that if I want to for sure find out what I want to do in my life I have to get out of bed and off of Tumblr and go out into the world! My mom tells me this about three times a day and I always respond with "Okay mom, got it", but she is right. No one should settle for a life they wish they didn't have. Every single person on this planet is unique and special, and no one should have to be unhappy. Well as you can tell I can obviously go on about this topic for hours so I won't continue to bore you (: 

I hope that sooner rather than later I will overcome my anxiety and be able to go out and live my life and share all of my thoughts with the world and I believe in myself that I can do it. I have a proposition for you all! The next time you are on any social media, Instagram (mine is dbrownnn), Twitter (@deelizabethh), etc go comment on someones picture giving them a compliment. It could be a total stranger, or it could be a best friend, but when you put positive vibes out into the world, it will come back and bring even more positivity back into your own life. Trust me, when my mom and I are out and I happen to say something bad about someone that we see in a store or wherever my moms stops me and says "Dee, find one good thing about them". This has not only helped me to stop judging or making fun of people (yes I am human and I know all of you have done it as well) but it has helped me become more positive about every aspect in my life. When I am not having the best day and I feel like everything is going horribly, I stop and tell myself "Dee, find one good thing that happened today, and focus on that" or I always always always tell myself "Dee, you are alive, you have ten fingers, ten toes, two arms, two legs and you are healthy". That one is important to remind yourself daily because all of the hardships in our lives can override all of the good things we have in our lives. I take something simple like walking for granted because some people aren't able to walk. You guys get what I am saying, I told you I could go on forever! I was planning on cutting off this post the paragraph before this, hehehe! 


I love each and every one of you guys and all of you are beautiful! Do not let anyone else tell you differently. Go out and make something of today! I have a super interesting post coming to you Monday so come back! 


Sunday, March 16, 2014

Liebster Award!



Hello everyone, first off I need to apologize for being absent for so long. I have been sick with just about everything you can name for the past week and I am slowly starting to feel better. I am back and with an extremely exciting post! 

I was recently nominated for a Liebster Award from one of my favorite bloggers inthelandofjen.blogspot.com which is such an honor! A liebster award is something that goes around the blogging community to recognize new bloggers and to also help gain their following. They create ten questions for them to answer and then those bloggers will nominate ten more bloggers and create ten new questions for them to answer. It is just like playing tag but through the Internet and I think it is such an awesome chance for bloggers to learn about other new bloggers and for them to gain new followers etc. After finding out about my nomination it made me so proud of my blog, because it means so much to me and now that other people are enjoying it just as much as I do through every post makes continuing to write and create more and more for all of you that much more motivating and enjoyable! 

Jen's Questions:

1. What is your favorite drugstore beauty product?
- Picking one favorite drugstore beauty product is so hard seeing as they are all amazing, but if I had to choose a favorite I would have to say either my Covergirl Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation or my Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer. Both are amazing products that do exactly what they promise to do, and you can't beat the price!

2. What is your favorite high end beauty product?
- My favorite high end beauty product would have to be NARS Blush in "Taos". The pigmentation and payoff from this product is unbelievable! The beautiful warm pink/corral color with hints of gold shimmer give my cheeks an amazing glow. 

3. Who are your favorite bloggers to follow?
- Well first off, you Jen of course! (; Also I absolutely love makeupbytiffanyd.blogspot.com , she is amazing and does more than just makeup and she also has a YouTube channel and her username is "Makeupbytiffanyd". I love love love pinkpistachio.com , she is gorgeous and does everything from talk about her adorable family, to fashion, beauty and so much more. I also adore lovelaurenelizabeth.com , whose closet I envy and live vicariously through! So many more but these are some of my favorites.

4. What is one goal you have for 2014?
- I love setting goals and new years resolutions for myself, and 2014 was no different. Now because I have been on track of losing weight since March of 2013, I wanted to continue that goal of mine to lose the rest of the weight I plan on losing by the end of 2014. I want to read at least 5 books and right now I am up to 3, so I am excited to cross a goal off my list soon! I want to stop using the phrase "If only.." so much, because I find myself saying that a lot and it doesn't help me which the issue that I am dealing with at the time, it just distracts me from what I need to be focusing on and it makes me focus on what I do not have which is negativity I do not need. Also mainly to grow my blog, this blog means the world to me and to have so many more people read it and love it just as much as I do would be the cherry on top (:

5. What is your favorite dish to make/eat?
- Since I have been expirementing awhile with different recipes some healthy some not so much, but I have been more involved in the kitchen! I loved a reciepe that I made a couple of months ago, it was a Spicy Coconut Shimp Soup, and let me just say it was amazing! I will post the recipe soon.

6. What is your favorite source for staying up to date on trends and current events?
- I love watching E! News to learn about celeberties and what they are wearing etc. If I had to choose one that I am constantly on it is Instagram. That is where I get most if not all of my inspiration. From fashion, to photography, to quotes, to beauty products everything. I follow so many celeberties, fashion designer, and beauty bloggers! As well as checking all of the blogs I follow (:

7. If you could have anyone's closet, who would you choose?
- Wow, that is such a tough question! There are so many people whose closet I look to for inspiration, but if I had to choose I would choose a little of Lauren Conrad's, Selena Gomez, and Kylie Jenner. It sounds like such a tween's woredrobe, but I feel like each one of these ladies represents a different take on my personal style. 

8. What fashion trend for spring and summer are you most excited for?
- Hm, I am not educated on all of the upcoming trends for this year, but one trend that I have seen just about everywhere is seperate's. Basically a high wasted skirt preferabley a pencil skirt, with a matching crop top of the same print/color as the skirt. From a far it looks like a dress, but when you get closer you can tell that they are actually two sepereate pieces of clothing and you can see a tiny skin, but nothing revealing. Also, you can wear each one of the pieces by themselves with something else so you have many more outfits!

9. What advice would you give someone wanting to start a blog?
- Some advice I would give is to first make sure what you are wanting to blog about you are passionate about. I know it might sound silly, because of course if you are blogging about it you must really love it, but I promise if you aren't passionate about whatever you are wanting to blog about you won't be motivated to post consistantly and you will most likely get bored. Also, going along with what I just said, that is to post consistantly. Your followers like to see that you are keeping up with your posts and it makes them want to come back if they see that you are coming back to post and put effort into it. I understand life gets in the way which is something that unfortunately happens (I can vouch for that one), but if you get right back to it and pick it right back up you will be fine! Also try and challenge yourself with each post. Test yourself and try to make posts that could be a little bit more difficult to post but in the end you will be proud of youself and of your finish product.

10. What inspires your blog the most?
- What inspires my blog the most in honestly my day to day life. I am mainly focused on weight loss and living a healthy lifestyle, so when I find a new recipe I want to immediately share it with you all, or when I lose weight I am so excited to post about it! Also, I try to just stay true to myself and talk about things that I enjoy and that I love. I do read a lot of blogs and yes some may come across more professional or they have a way better layout, but I am just being myself and I think that is what I want people to see and feel when they come to my blog and I am constantly learning more and more about blogging!

I hope you all enjoyed reading my answers to Jen's amazing questions, and make sure to check out all of the blogs I mentioned! 

Here are the bloggers that I nominate, and some of them may have already been nominated but if not I am excited to share this with them! 

Tiffany - makeupbytiffanyd.blogspot.com

Mary - happilygrey.com






Saturday, March 8, 2014

Inexpensive Makeup Favorites

Hello everyone! Today I am coming to you all with something different, but I am excited to share it with you all! I am in love with all things beauty related, always have been. I love everything girly from fashion, to accessories, hair but mostly makeup. I absolutely love makeup and all of the different brands and colors, it's just so fun! I unfortunately cannot afford high end makeup but if I could I would. Until that day, I wear drugstore makeup and have recently found some awesome products that you will not believe how inexpensive they are. Everyone likes to save money, am I right?!



1. NYC Bronzer in the shade "Sunny"! I have been using the same bronzer from another brand for years and never ventured out to try any other bronzers out until recently and heard rave reviews about this NYC bronzer. The things I love about it is first off it is matte which is really important for me because I love to contour and I don't want shimmer all over my face. Next is that I find it doesn't leave an orange tint on my skin after I have had it on for a few hours, and lastly IT IS EXTREMELY CHEAP! I picked this up at my local drug store for only $2.99! WHAT?!

2. Number two is a recent find for me but I am so glad I finally discovered this product. I haven't really been into the whole "Baby Lips" trend and when I saw that they came out with a primer for your face I was intrigued but never went and picked it up. I kept seeing so many good reviews about it and how it is a dupe for a lot of the higher end face primers. When I heard that I knew I had to run out and get it because I am a sucker for a product that is a dupe for a more expensive product. There is such a satisfying feeling knowing you paid way less for something that does the same thing as a higher end product. Anyway, this is the "Maybellene Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser". I put this on after I moisturize my face, right before I put my foundation on and it is supposed to minimize the size of your pores and boy it does just that! I had to use for a couple of days before I started to realize that my face makeup and face in general looked different and it was because my pores were minimized if not completely erased! It's crazy how it does it and I don't understand the logistics but I love it! It is a gel like consistency and is clear so you don't have to worry about it not matching your skin tone etc. This product only cost me $.5.99 SCORE!

3. This next product I am so lucky I found. Going along with the same brand as the bronzer, this "NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm" in the shade "Caramel Apple" is one of my holy grail makeup products. I have to be honest, when I heard about this lip product from other beauty bloggers I was very hesitant because I am a packaging person. This didn't necessarily scream "come buy me", because of the name first off..."Applelicious", really? I took a chance on it because let me tell you it was only $2.99 (why would I not?) and I FELL IN LOVE! It really proved to me that I have to stop judging products based on the packaging because you never know what you will end up loving. This is a lip balm so it is very creamy and moisturizing but it has a gloss in it which gives off the most perfect shiny tint to your lips. The actual color of the Caramel Apple shade is a mauve brown color so I was worried it would make my lips look frosty etc, but it gives your lips this perfect nude shade that I think would look good on anyone. It is a staple in my makeup collection and I cannot leave the house without it in my purse. It lasts for a good while and it is perfect to build up with other products. My favorite lip combo ever that I get so many compliments on is this lip balm on first, then with a thin layer of another nude lip gloss on top. I have tried one other shade of this product in the shade, "Pink Lady" which is your normal classic hot  pink color. Even though it does say it is lip balm, the Pink Lady shade comes off on your lips more like a lipstick! You get the best of both worlds with a moisturizing lip balm and a lip stick. 

4. This last product I honestly do not know what I would do without. I have tried SO many different foundations and never really fell in love with any of them. They were just "average", and foundation to me is one of the most important steps in my makeup routine because I love knowing that I have any blemishes or imperfections covered up. I wear makeup daily so I need to have a foundation that I can trust to last for hours and not sweat off by the end of the day. This "Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation" is another one of my holy grails. Again going off of a recommendation from a beauty blogger, I tried it out and will never be going back. It is a little more pricey compared to the above products, but to me it is completely worth it. I picked mine up for I believe around $10 which isn't bad if you compare the prices of all of the other high end foundations. I love this foundation because it is one of the first foundations where I truly believe it matches my skin tone. I have always either gotten too light or too dark and you can't test the products out in the drugstore which is the only downside. I went with the second lightest shade, "Classic Ivory and it is perfect. It is 3 in 1 because it is fused with Primer, Foundation and Concealer all in one product! Definitely one I would recommend to anyone without a doubt!


I hope you guys enjoyed this post about four of my most favorite drugstore makeup products and I will be sure to share with you guys some of my favorite hair products and skin care products shortly! Xoxo