A Few of my Favorite Things

A few weeks ago, the lovely Ele over at Inspirationele (how perfect is her blog title?) tagged me as being one of her favorite bloggers. And I have to say that I am beyond honored. Ele is a medical student and a fellow life & style blogger, one of those beautifully ambitious women striving to make her dreams come true. So to have such an amazing person think highly of me, well it just feels good. She asked me to answer a series of questions on a few of my favorite things, which I am more than happy to do. So Ele this one's for you. 

My Favorite Recipe

I don't have a favorite recipe per say, but my favorite food is lemon....yes the fruit. I will literally eat whole lemons. I love fresh squeezed lemon juice in water, on seafood, and to season chicken. It's the perfect food! And it's even better when baked into sweets..lemon squares anyone? So here is one of my favorite lemon sweet treat recipes...lemon cake. Thank you Martha Stewart!

My Favorite Restaurant 

I do not have a favorite restaurant as I like to try different places as often as I can because to me life is all about variety. But I love love love Italian and Indian food, so any place with a good naan and chicken tikka masala or the perfect four cheese lasanga is a favorite in my book. 

My Favorite Beauty Product 

This one is easy for me. My favorite beauty products are definitely the Mac Matte Creme Matifante and the Mac Studio Fix Foundation. I have the most sensitive skin and difficulty with shade matching, all of which was solved when I switched to Mac products back in June, you can read more about that here. Mac has completely transformed my skin and I love it. 

My Favorite Other Product 

If you wear anything other than sneakers, YOU NEED THIS PRODUCT! It's a friction guard that I always have nearby in my purse, my schoolbag, whatever. It adds hours of wear to heels, stops flats from rubbing, and no more shoe blisters. Definitely a product favorite for me.  

My Favorite City 

I typically hate repeating trips; when I go on vacation I want it to be to a place that I've never been before. However, there are a few places that I have found that I wouldn't mind going to over and over again...Philly (where I met my husband and got engaged), Virginia Beach, and anywhere in California. But my favorite city/place ever is Venice! I've had a very fortunate life and have thus far had the opportunity to go to Italy not once, but twice. And I can't wait to go again. I would love to return to Venezia, only this time with my husband as it is a city full of romance. They say that if you take a gondola ride under the Bridge of Sighs you will be together forever so one day, we will do just that. 

My Favorite Piece of Clothing

Ok I'm supposed to choose my favorite piece of clothing that is still currently available. Can you guess what that might be?  Yes, yes it's this J Crew Factory vest in herringbone. If you are a regular reader of mine, you are probably sick of hearing about this vest (I know husband is), but it really is so so perfect and comfy and warm and I think that everyone deserves to have one in their closet. 

My Favorite Online-Only Store 

This one made me chuckle a bit because almost every store is an online-only store to me. My dental school focuses on public health so we are located in a bit of a rural area. I have absolutely zero access to most big chain stores. Hence why I'm always going "into the city" on the weekends or constantly online shopping. But my favorite official online-only store would hands down have to be Etsy. From Etsy, I have scored everything from home decor to homemade accessories. My favorite Etsy purchase, the lace purse that I used on my wedding day. 

My Favorite Magazine 

Ok don't laugh, but my favorite magazine is National Geographic. Yea I know, but I love learning about different cultures and customs and NatGeo is the way to go. I have quite the little collection of National Geographic Magazines. And aside from the original, I'm a big fan of National Geographic Traveler. One day (if dental school ever ends), I will be embarking on one of those grand adventures. 

Above: Me posing in front of the largest tree in the world with the National Geographic that inspired our anniversary trip/second honeymoon to California this past summer. 

My Favorite Movie 

Ok so if you ask me this question tomorrow, I will probably have a completely different answer. But for right now, my favorite movie is Anna Karenina. Hubby and I are not movie goers, but we went to the theater to see this one. I love period films and if you ever saw this movie, you would understand why it's a favorite. It is one of those heartbreaking films full of morals and messages. What I love about it most is that it is uniquely shot with props and sets so that it is more like watching a play than a movie.  

My Favorite Book 

In the past few months, my taste in books has changed dramatically. Lately, I'm completely drawn to books dedicated to self-improvement. I love surrounding my life with positive and inspirational pieces that help me to strive to become a better person. One of my current favorites is The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Basically it helps you identify your love language and your partners love language. I read it for the first time on my honeymoon and have read it several times since then. This book was originally written to be targeted at couples, but I think that it could be applied to any type of relationship. 

My Favorite Blogs 

This one is difficult, but if I had to pick my favorites, there are two lovely ladies out there that I find inspirational in every way. 

First up is the lovely Erika, a Life & Style blogger at Stethoscopes, Style, and Grace. I have been following her blog for years and I feel as if I know her. She is a recent medical school graduate and a current resident. She is also a new mommy. What stands out about Erika is the lack of fluff in her posts. She is honest to a fault. Honest about her overwhelming love for her family, honest about her self doubts, and honest about her struggles. She is an inspiration. 

Another, favorite blogger of mine is Katie at Hope Engaged. She loves her God, she loves her husband, and she loves to travel. Together, she and her husband have used this passion to travel to 40 different countries together. More importantly, Katie uses that love for travel as an opportunity to serve and volunteer. Who donates months of their life to live in Nepal working with sex trafficking victims? Katie does....that's who.  

Thank you again Ele