June City Life VLOG 2022 The World is Yours: | Monthly Re-cap| | Collaborations, Hauls, Fitness, & Gluten Free Home Cooked Meals

 

                                  

                                 

                              

                                      

                               

                               

                               

 

                                    

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I have been shopping! The season change is always hard for me no matter how much I prepare for it and as a result I can tend to shop a little more. I like to 1. buy a few items for the season change to add to my wardrobe, but also try to find unique eco-friendly brands to share on my YouTube, blog, and social media. This month I found a few, but this one I am introducing Sezane which is French. 

Their brand is eco-friendly and made to last! It Is not fast fashion. So, being that it is not fast fashion it does come at a higher price point. My first purchase was this purple dress which came with this cute (free) bag and I can't wait to style it this Summer. It is a knit sweater material, but even during the Summer months here in Tampa if it is raining or has rained the temperature will drop enough and you can pull it off.

Jewelry C/O Ettika

Rocksbox picks for the month

This is something different, but I always go to Trader Joe's for gluten free items and staple items that are just cheaper there than at other stores. I always find the seasonal and weekly items that I would love to share, but I never thought to on the blog. So, here are the items that I picked up and thought they were worth sharing from my trip to Trader Joe's this month. 

FITNESS:

How has yoga impacted your life?

I started practicing yoga in 2011, but gave up after about 2 weeks. Then I started again in 2014 when I was a brand ambassador for Fabletics. My life has changed significantly since I decided to give it my all. I have faced many limitations on the mat, and had to learn that yoga practice isn't linear. My day 300 won't look like someone else's 300th day of practice.

Yoga has brought me through some of the toughest times of my life since 2014 and I am so grateful for what I have learned in my practice.

Since starting yoga my arthritis flare ups can be helped via practice and my sciatic pain is completely gone and before at it's worst I would have to walk with a cane sometimes! I am so glad I don't need to use it at all!!!

I feel like I have more control over a lot more with the knowledge I have now due to yoga.

WRAPPING UP EVENTS- RECAPS-

EVENTS: I did cover a lot of events in the entire quarter of Spring, so much that I had to space out all of the extra photos for the City Life posts. Below are unused photos from some of my May & June events.

Dirty Laundry

St. Pete

INFLUENCER EVENT DWELL HOME MARKET

SOUTH TAMPA

INFLUENCER EVENT- NO VACANCY

ST. PETE

EDGE DISTRICT

HOSTED INFLUENCER EVENT

FLOR FINA

HOTEL HAYA

YBOR CITY

HOME & GARDEN

DATE NIGHTS WITH MY LOVE

JIMMY'S TACO'S 

YBOR CITY

COUNTER CULTURE

SOUTH TAMPA

THE RESTORATIVE

DUNEDIN

BT BISTRO

SOUTH TAMPA

ALTO MARE FISH

ST. PETE

GLUTEN FREE MEALS COOKED BY MYSELF- RECIPES AVAILABLE BY REQUEST IF NOT POSTED.

TIKTOK TUTORIAL ALSO HERE

I actually got this idea scrolling Instagram to do yogurt marinated chicken skewers. Coincidentally, my Greek yogurt had a recipe for them on the package here also. What I did not realize was how much prep and time would go into making the full meal- it took 2 hours because of prep, marinading time in the fridge, then grilling time outside and then cooking the side dishes (making the Tziki sauce) and plating. It was really good and worth the wait though.

INGREDIENTS

Wooden or metal skewers

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

Marinade:

½ cup FAGE Total 5%, FAGE Total 2% or FAGE Total 0%

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 teaspoons paprika

1 lemon zested then juiced

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce:

½ English cucumber, halved lengthwise and minced

1 cup FAGE Total 5%, FAGE Total 2% or FAGE Total 0%

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced

1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced

½ teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

STEPS
1.  If you are using wooden skewers, soak skewers in a pan of water.
2.  Cut the chicken breast pieces into 2-inch chunks and put them into a large bowl.
3.  Add and mix the rest of the marinade ingredients into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place into the refrigerator. Marinate for at least one hour.
4.  Drain and discard marinade from chicken and thread chicken onto skewers.
5.  Heat a grill or grill pan on medium-high heat and cook chicken turning every 3-4 minutes per side until grilled chicken is cooked through.
6.  In a medium bowl, combine Tzatziki sauce ingredients: cucumber, Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, mint, dill, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
7.  Serve with lemon wedges and Tzatziki sauce.

Steamed crab boil

This was a really easy and fun dinner that I came up with on what I like to call "unplanned Thursdays" which basically means I may or may not be in the mood to cook. If not, we will go out, but sometimes I like to make something simple, like tacos. My husband loves tacos of any kind and he is usually super happy to have a taco night. I love the taste of grilled food so it is enjoyable for me when we bring out the grill and grill our meats and veggies plus hubs does the grilling and unlike most other times, I do all the prep.

Chicken tacos with "elotes" using the Trader Joes Elote seasoning

TikTok tutorial  here

So in our house we have a variety of tortillas. We always have the standard gluten free corn tortillas, but I enjoy the Siete Casava and the Almond flour tortillas. These cook up great with minimal effort and do not tear or have a strong flavor.