Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me

Hey y'all! Before I descend into my cave [read: my room] to cram study for tomorrow's AP Bio test, I thought I'd take a few minutes to write about some of my weird quirks, other than listening to music and microwave cooking my little heart out. Everyone has little things that they don't post on the blog- things that people would only know about them if they knew them in real life. So, what do you probably not know about me? 

I love apples and peanut butter. It's my favorite snack. Ever. 

yum!

I've never been a superstitious person. Friday the 13th is just another day. In the last two weeks, I've become ridiculously protective of my bracelet. I wear it everywhere, and only take it off to shower. 

I've had 8 tests this week (srsly not even kidding), and I've worn this during every test. I'm REALLY hoping I did well! 

Sorry for the Snapchat picture. Sidenote: I love Snapchat- it's so fun! Add me- I'm himahearts. 

I either dress really cute or like a hobo. These are usually closely tied to how I'm feeling about my hair on a given day. Exhibit A above, and Exhibit B below. 

#juniorfashionistas

I have the cheesiest sense of humor. Ever. 

Here's my latest joke- no harm intended in anyway: 

How do Yiddish people insult one another? 

"Oh my god, you're such a yidiot!"

What are your cheesiest jokes? tell me in the comments below!

This one had me laughing out loud. 

Okay, ya'll. Time to go learn about my chromosomes. Wish me good luck! And, tell me something I probably don't know about you!

xo, Hima

RECIPE: Clean 5 Minute Raspberry French Toast Bake

If y'all have ever been over to this blog before, you know about my love for mason jars. So when it came to breakfast this morning, and I wasn't feeling the whole "oats in a jar" idea, I decided to make french toast. 

In a mason jar, of course. 

Y'all- this was definitely a home run. My favorite part? It's completely clean/healthy!

    Ingredients 

• 1-2 pieces bread
• 4 tbsp almond milk
• 3.5-4 tbsp egg whites
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 drops liquid stevia (or equivalent sweetener)
• berries- I didn't really measure this, just added in a bunch
• cinnamon
• greek yogurt - I used vanilla

    Methods: 

1. Mix all wet ingredients together in a shallow dish, and rip bread into bite-sized pieces. Let the break soak up the liquid, adding more almond milk if necessary. 
2. Fold in some fruit and transfer to a mason jar. It might look like a lot but it'll shrink while cooking! Microwave (uncovered) for 2-3 minutes. Check at 2 minutes to see if the egg whites are cooked, and if not, continue in 20 second intervals. If desired, you can pop into the oven for a while to get a crispy crust, but the microwave is great for when you're strapped for time. 
3. Take out and let cool for 30 seconds. Add more fruit as desired and top with yogurt and MOAR FRUIT. Make the top look pretty, Instagram it, and tag me @himahearts!
4. Eat it aaaaall up. 

Happy Wednesday, my loves! Don't forget to pin this recipe to Pinterest to save for later! 

xo, Hima

Monday Melodies!

Hey y'all. Happy Monday. Music makes life better. It's a fact. 

Whether you're like me and can't sit down to work without having some kind of music playing, or only listen to music in the car, music is helping you. I'm not kidding- listening to music promotes brain activity! Lately, I've been inundated with lots of great music, and I thought I'd share some of my current faves. 

Also I saw the chance to use alliteration (remember 4th grade English?) in my post title and jumped at the opportunity. 

1.  Happy- Pharell Williams. 

This song makes me so happy (duh). It's got such a positive tone to it- I dare you to listen to it and not instantly be happier!

2. Ghosts- the Presets

In all honesty (LOL remember that?), I don't know how to describe this song, except that I really like it. It's kind of sad, but it's got a "let's keep going, even though things suck" idea to it. Pleasant listening, really.

3. Simple Life- Casey Abrams

I pretty much just love Casey Abrams. He looks like a bear (no-really, that beard is insane!), but he sings with the clearest voice ever! This song has a nice little message about technology, but I really just like the way it sounds. 

4. Sunshine- Tigerweather

This is another one of those "You will be significantly happier by the end of this song" songs. I can't help it- it just screams summer and the beach and boating and friends to me! 

5. Let it Go- Idina Menzel

To be honest, if I didn't want to be shunned by half the people at school, this entire playlist would be songs from Frozen. It's been a good month- and I'm STILL singing all the songs on the soundtrack. 

At one point, you could walk through the hallways of school and hear at least 5 different people singing a song from Frozen. Have you seen it? What was your favorite song?

"the cold never bothered me anyway- AHH SO PERFECT"

So, that's what I'm listening to right now! (jk it's still mostly the Frozen soundtrack). I'm always on the lookout for new music, so let me know your current faves in the comments below!

xo, Hima

You got it, Dude: Catchphrases Gone Bad

Hey y'all! It's Friday, but this is by no means a party weekend for me. I'm taking the SAT Saturday morning (yay me!), so in honor of the vocab section on the test, I thought I'd talk to y'all about the limits of my vocabulary.

It was cute when Michelle Tanner said it the first 300 times, but every catchphrase has its limits. I’ve realized that a couple of my catchphrases, aka things that I say approximately 600 times a day, are getting old. Things I say WAY too much:

In all honesty….

Maybe I think it makes me sound smart or something, but not when I start every other sentence with it. People will trust what I’m saying regardless of if I tell them I’m not lying or not.

HOLLA

Just kidding, I’m still not over this. It’s pretty much my favorite word. I will find a way to describe just about anything. New profile picture? Holla at you, girl. Rubio’s for lunch? HOLLA.

Dudes (used the same way most normal people say dude)

It has to be plural, even if I’m only talking to one person. This makes just about zero sense, but I say it maybe 4 or 5 times a day anyway. More proof of how my mind pretty much doesn’t work.

Literally

I’ve always hated when people say that they “literally just got here.” What, did you figuratively go home yesterday? The sad thing is, I say it a lot too. I’m trying to be more conscious of this though, even though it’s literally the hardest thing ever.

What do you say way too much? Any catchphrases gone bad in your vocabulary?

xo, Hima

What's in a Name?

A lot, apparently. I’ve seen some posts before about how all y’all were named, and what significance your name holds for you and your family, and I’ve always loved them. I think it’s really interesting to see how some people “live up” to their name, if it means something like “giving” or are polar opposites!

My favorite name stories are Katie’s and Noor’s, mostly because they’re the only ones I’ve heard so far. How would you feel if your name was changed after birth like Noor's? Such a cool story! Tell me your name story in the comments below!

My name, if you haven't already figured it out (HINT: blog name!), is Hima. 

In Sanskrit, Hima means snow. It also has some vaguely religious connotation that I'm not entirely sure of, but it basically means snow. 

I was born on September 24th, 1997 in Minnesota. 

September is very early for snow. It snowed on September 24th, 1997. My name is Hima. 

Logical, right? 

When I was little, I didn’t like my name very much. I could never get those personalized key chains or door hangers or snow globes or pretty much anything pre-personalized. That annoyed me. Not until I was 15 years old did I have a personalized sign for my room- courtesy of best friend Sneha.

A+ on looking at the camera mommy!

Now, I’ve grown to love it. Let’s be real- my whole name is 10 letters long. That’s precious time you’re saving when each of your teachers make you write out your whole name on each paper? It’s easy. 4 simple letters, and easy to remember. And, it’s unique. Who have you ever met named Hima? I guarantee you you’ve met a Jennifer, or a Jessica, or a Christine. (not that those aren’t gorgeous names), but never another Hima. 

With a name only 4 letters long, you don’t get a lot of nicknames. Or so I thought. People call me anything from Himster to Heemz to Himaglobin, and I love it!

(Except when teachers call me Heemz- just a tad bit weird).

My favorite is Princess. It's pretty accurate.

What's the story behind your name? Do you have any nicknames? I'd love to hear them, so let me know in the comments below!

Also, if you're so inclined, there's a pretty sweet blogger giveaway going on. Enter to win TONS of ad space right here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo, Hima

New Life

 This weekend, we went over to my neighbour's house to meet their wonderful new bundle of joy. I had the opportunity to take some wonderful pictures of her, and I've gotta say, 5 days old and she's already stolen my heart. 

Just look at those eyes!

Also she had this beautiful butterfly mobile in her room. I want one!

xo, Hima

Linking up with Monday Morning Gossip! :)

I'm Glow in the Dark

Hey y'all! We made it through another week, so now let's enjoy some pictures of me glowing in the dark okay? 

This is from my school's annual Blacklight Rally. 1700 high school students, pitch black except for blacklights, and noise worse than your average fire drill. 

Sounds like a nightmare right? 

Nope, just the second funnest day of the school year. Except for homecoming, of course.

Unfortunately, I had to do more than just glow in the dark this week, including using my dog as a GPS.

 What, your dog doesn't bark frantically to warn you of every oncoming car, stop sign, light, leaf, or breath of air? 

She doesn't sit in the front like the queen of the world?

 Still not over Christmas. 

 Like I said on Instagram, I'm starting a new thing, called Selfie Wednesday. You should do it. 

Or I just really needed a caption and an excuse to take a selfie. In other news, I've given up on my bangs and just pin them up every day. 

We're using M&Ms to study probability in AP Bio, or as I like to call it, AP Candyology, and this is what I did instead of eating them. It's pretty. 

How was your week? 

xo, Hima

RECIPE: Overnight Oats in a Jar

Hey y'all! Happy Hump Day!

Today I'm talking about something near and dear to all of our Pinterest-loving hearts: mason jars. 

Everyone knows that mason jar makes life a billion times cuter, whether used as centerpieces, DIY candleholders, or for your breakfast. 

After 4 days of trial and error, I think I've put together the perfect mason jar oats recipe. Something about the simplicity of oats and yogurt and fruit just gets me every time, and I love that there are 29423094823049 combinations that you can make with this- you have something new every day!

Oats Base Recipe: 

• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp egg whites
• 1 tbsp almond milk
• half a scoop of your choice of protein powder (optional)

Add the water to the rolled oats in a bowl and microwave for approximately 40 seconds. Add the egg whites, almond milk, and protein powder and mix it all up. In the picture above, I used vanilla and added a few drops of raspberry extract for a "raspberries and creme" flavor and it was delicious. Then microwave again for 30-40 seconds. Mix it all up again. 

Assembly

This part is entirely up to you. I usually do 1/2 cup greek yogurt mixed with a couple drops of stevia and some berries. Then I just layer it all up until I get to the top! Refrigerate over night for the fruit to melt and the yogurt to thicken and be wonderful. 

because blue food coloring and sprinkles make life happy. 

This was a chocolate coconut parfait, and I think I liked it even better than the raspberries and creme!

There are endless flavor combos, which is what makes this recipe so wonderful. Have you ever tried overnight oats? What's your favorite way to do it? 

Before I peace out on y'all- funny/embarrassing story. Yesterday I went to Trader Joe's and asked for defecated coconut. As most of you probably know, that is not a thing. I was looking for desiccated coconut. That was embarrassing. Oh well, you learn something every day right? Any embarrassing word mishaps on your part? 

Peace out, girl scout. 

xo, Hima

WOOHOO I WON! + Yashisms

Hey y'all! I hope your weekends were super wonderful and relaxing- I know mine was. Anyway, I've got good news. Remember the Brilliant Earth Style Challenge I did last week? Well, I won! My outfit was featured on their Pinterest. It's the little things that count :)

So if you’ve been reading this blog for even a short time now, you’ve definitely read about my little brother, Yash. He’s nine years old, full of sass, and also my best friend. He's super perceptive, and always sees plot twists in Sherlock (which we just started watching!) long before I do.

He's also incredibly photogenic, which upsets me at time, because candids of me look more like this.

#nofilter #nomakeup

Like I said, he's super sassy, and so I've started to keep track of some of the crazy things he says, dubbing them "Yashisms." Take a look and tell me he's not too sassy to handle.

Yash: Are you excited for your birthday? It's in two days!

Me: Yes! You only turn 16 once!

Yash: You only turn every age once.....that's not a reason.

Yash: My entire class knows the Cup Song- we even practice at recess! How do you not know it?

Me: I'm really not coordinated enough. 

Yash: Oh. That makes sense.

Yash: I'm baaaaack

Me: Ugh, why?

Yash: Don't you know I exist to annoy you?

Me: Yashu, you're about to leave for school and your alarm- go turn it off.

Yash: Ugh, no, it needs to learn its lesson.

Me: You're so cute, Yashu. 

Yash: Umm, yeah, because that's my job!

Of course, everything he says is 10 times funnier because he's a grand total of 9 years old. Any crazy kid quotes in your life? Let me know in the comments below! :)

xo, Hima

P.S. Also, I need your help! I recently updated to Disqus so I wouldn't have to worry about no-reply bloggers anymore, because I so hated missing out on all the wonderful conversations I could be having with y'all. The amazing Areeba mentioned that I now show up as a no-reply blogger. I've reverted to the old Blogger profile and checked the "show email" box and all the jazz, but I'm still a no-reply. Is it the same for all of you when I leave comments on your blogs? Has this happened to you?

Thank You Notes: Hima Hearts Edition

Hey y'all- happy Friday! So I saw this really cute and sassy post at Living in Yellow, inspired by the Jimmy Fallon Thank You notes segment, and I thought it would be a fun way to write today's post, because I'm clearly cute and sassy. 

Don't burst my bubble. 

Dear Blog World, Thank you for accepting my excuses for the abysmal quality of the below picture. I was clearly trying to get a picture in before the bell rang for class to start.

Dear Spirit Commissioners, Thank you for making Monday Pajama Day so I did not have to suffer through the end of break in the discomfort of jeans. I went the extra mile and went with the bed head look too! (Wait, is it even considered going the extra mile if it entails less effort? Let's not think about that) 

Dear California, Thank you for being sane while the rest of the US is a bunch of icicles thanks to that insane polar vortex. Thank you for amazing sunrises like this and warm winter weather and not being able to see your breath in the morning. It might be nice if we got a little rain- because of the whole drought situation, yaknow?

Dear Rest of the US, My heart goes out to you. I was jealous of all the snow for approximately 0.3 seconds until I read all y'all's bone-chilling (HA. Get it?) stories about it. For those of you who are freezing your butts off, I'm sending over warm thoughts! If it makes you feel any better, it is a whopping 41 degrees right now and I'm not wearing socks. 

Dear eyes, Thank you for not being able to tell the difference between dark wash and regular wash jeans, and making for very awkward #twinning pictures. They're dark wash if they're not white, right?

Dear Shruthi and Tulika, You obviously don't know what light blue means. "Wear light blue scarves!" And then the next day you walk into school with everything except light blue. Except I love you anyway because you're the bomb-diggity. Just swell!

Dear Maggie Smith, Thank you for being the sassiest grandma ever to walk the earth. Your one liners get me every time, but you've got a surprising amount of wisdom underneath it all. 

Dear Downton Abbey, Thanks for airing without ads, so a 2 hour show is actually two hours long. I love you because it actually takes me the whole week to get through the two hour episode. Thank you for attractive actors and plot twists. Nobody likes Thomas though. You should've gotten rid of him instead of Matthew. 

Dear Frozen, Thanks for being literally the cutest movie in existence. Never mind that I watched you on a Wednesday morning during a workout before school. I may or may not have changed my lock screen to a picture of Elsa. Also, Olaf is the snowman of the year.

P.S. I think Disney is moving away from the whole "damsel in distress saved by prince in shining armor" storyline and I'm loving it. 

Dear Frozen Soundtrack, I haven't stopped listening to you since Sunday. My favorite songs are "For the First Time In Forever" and "Do You Want to Build A Snowman?" because they're just so darn cute! For once, my desire to sing Disney songs in the halls of my school is acceptable because everyone else is doing it too! 

 Dear California,  Did I mention how thankful I am for your weather? It's what made this outfit possible in the middle of January.

Dear Short Hair, Thanks for being healthy again! I've come to terms with you, and I kind of love your bouncy curls.

Dear Hima, Thank you for having the confidence to wear socks and mocs. They're so warm and comfy and wonderful.

xo, Hima

Bling Bling [Brilliant Earth Style]

Hey y'all. So, half way through the first week back at school/work/regular routine- y'all doing okay? Hang in there, another weekend in two days! 

Anyway, today I'm talking about clothes, fashion if you will. Most days, I try to look presentable, because when you look good, you definitely feel good. Besides, who wants to be remembered for being the one in sweats all the time?
That’s not to say that I don’t have the homeless chic look down, but I do love my clothes and I probably spend a little too much time on Pinterest’s fashion boards.
I'm also super competitive.
That’s why when Brilliant Earth contacted me with an invitation to participate in their Personality Style Challenge with their beautiful jewelry, I was all for it. While I definitely can't afford their beautiful diamonds, I love that they're all ethically sourced. Hey, a girl can dream, right?
Still, I'm more likely to be rocking jean and a cardigan on any given day- so for me, it's all about being comfortable- and not an eyesore. I'm also a wimp when it comes to cold, so I need my layers! Here's my look, and the description/justification down below

Cream tee: Stylebop // Southwestern Cardigan: Forever 21 // Jeans: Burberry // Boots: Macy's by GUESS // Messenger Bag: DSW // Round Stud Earring: Brilliant Earth // Infinity Necklace: Brilliant Earth // Nail Polish: Essie

So tell me, would you rock this outfit if you could? What's your "personal style?" Other than homeless chic, because, well, we've all mastered that!

Happy Hump Day!

xo, Hima