homemade gluten-free banana pancakes

Happy Saturday! Who doesn't love pancakes? I've been a fan of pancakes for a long time but I haven't always made them using the healthiest ingredients. I've been practicing maintaining a gluten-free diet for the past year, because with my PCOS condition, gluten-free helps my body digest food more easily, and also helps eliminate the bloating one can feel after a meal. Breakfast foods are my speciality, so I've come up with an easy and delicious pancake recipe for you to try this morning. I picked up my favorite King Arthur Flour gluten free pancake mix at my local grocery store - Dominick's. I use 1 1/3 batch of mix at a time, which will make between 8-10 medium-sized pancakes. I also love that it includes brown rice flour and no wheat! Moreover, you can really play around and concoct your own recipe (I follow the box but add a few key ingredients). For this recipe, I used 1 banana, almond milk, a combination of coconut and olive oil, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract.

the art of networking - 5 things to learn

Me networking at a fashion meets charity event in NYC, last December at Roberto Cavalli

I'm sure many of you have read articles about networking - how to do it in order to get a job or how women need to improve on this skill. However, I truly believe your approach to networking is based on your personality and how you go about meeting people. In essence, there's an art to networking. Our twenties are basically spent networking to find a job, keep a job, make new friends and keep up with trends in your field (this is especially true for those of us in social media). Whatever your intentions are for networking, make sure you're being true to yourself. Here are 5 things I've learned over the years:

1. Don't force it. If you don't feel a connection with someone, be nice but move on to the next person you connect with. Just be natural about it and keep it simple. If you're in social media, I highly recommend attending the Bloggers Meet Startups Meet-ups (because it's intimate and allows each person to speak about themselves after a presentation), so afterwards you can pinpoint the folks you'd want to learn more about. This way, it isn't forced and you won't feel overwhelmed by talking to 30 people before you're talking to someone you actually connect with.

Met these beautiful ladies during Social Media Week. We all had an immediate connection!

weekend in photos - lake geneva, wi

Hey guys! This past weekend (for Halloween), my fiancee and I spent a few days in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The colorful leaves, tall voluminous trees, crisp air and big waves brushing against the piers - all embody what beautiful fall days are about. After the rain, we took a 20 minute walk along the lake path and then enjoyed coffee while taking in the refreshing fall air. Just envisioning it now makes me feel a sense of ease and tranquility. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! x

coconut oil is my new bff!

Oi! This past summer, my fiancee and I took multiple trips to Walmart - the most convenient store us midwesterners frequent to stock up on home supplies, groceries and basically anything else you can think of. I was reading a dinner idea blog post on one of my fave blogs - joyoushealth.ca - and I noticed she mentioned coconut oil as a key ingredient for all her meals. I've tried her dishes before and they are super delicious but I've never added coconut oil (just my fave portuguese olive oil my grandma sends me from Boston). If you're in search of healthy food ideas or maybe learning about how you should eat, you'll get hungry from just looking at Joy's instagram. In any case, I decided to buy my first jar of coconut oil thanks to Joy and let me tell you, I often ask myself "how could I only just be finding out about you now?!" I cook breakfast, lunch and dinner with coconut oil - eggs, beans, rice and fish never tasted better. I mix a bit of olive oil with coconut oil for an extra boost of antioxidants.
 

Benefits of coconut oil
- adds natural moisture to your foods, making it more delicious
- keeps your food from sticking to the pan! Ha, I know you're probably thinking "oh, I use pam no biggie". Well, pam is messy and second it's not the healthiest option.
- added bonus: you can apply it to your hair (eliminates damage), skin (as a moisturizer but seek dermatologist advice before trying this) and your body (as lotion).
- it doesn't taste like coconut for those of you who aren't fans
- it helps reduce heart disease, contains good fatty acids, and can aid in belly fat reduction + more!

I love to cook, and you'll get to see some of my cooking on the blog
so I'll start with a few instagram pics of meals I've made using coconut oil.

x your flower girl,

V

eventbrite rocks + why you should reconnect with old friends

Since I just moved back to Chicago, I've been meaning to reconnect with my old friends from high school and colleagues at NBC. I'm also pretty active on twitter and discovered the perks of attending "free Eventbrite events - which you should totally check out in your city. Last night, my high school pal Natalie and I met up after ten years at Prasino, a trendy restaurant in Wicker Park one block away from where the Eventbrite Game of Thrones event was taking place. At Prasino's, Natalie wanted to try the lobster stuffed avocado - just to die for! After a few laughs while reminiscing about the good old days and stuffing our bellies with a little teaser, we headed over to Jerry's Sandwiches.

As a blogger, I've attended many networking events and this one didn't resemble the usual events in any way. In fact, it felt like date night with two friends having a great time, enjoying delicious beers and discussing old times. This is what I enjoy most about Eventbrite - you're always in for an unexpected treat when you RSVP for any event.

Nat and I both agreed that Jerry's Good Ol' American grilled cheese sandwiches are a must and we're planning our next visit soon. Meeting up with an old friend reminded me of three important things: 1. Who you were then and how you are now makes you realize how you haven't changed much in hindsight 2. You always pick up right where you left off (if it's a friend you always connected with) 3. Don't lose your old friends. If you've just moved into a new city like I have, give that old pal a call. I'm pretty sure they will be happy to hear your voice. Nat sure was! That is my tidbit for my first Nu Bai post which is creole for "let's go!" Here's to hoping you'll come back and read more of my adventures on the blog.

xx flower girl, V 

#smwchicago + flower girl blog!

Dear old and new friends,

I'm happy to announce that I'm back on the blogging game after moving back to Chicago from New York City, reading a bunch on creating a better image online and realizing how much I love to blog!

In addition, I had an exceptionally enlightening experience at Social Media Week Chicago two weeks ago (September 23rd - 27th) which further confirmed my decision. I attended as many panels, presentations and parties as I could. I even got to see and speak with my old co-worker, Bill Rancic about our days working for the live TV show In the Loop with iVillage.

One particular presentation, "Save My Blog", conducted by Jimmy Greenfield and Julie DiCaro from the Chicago Now blogging network, got me thinking about revamping my old blog 24 Blogazine as I'm now an engaged woman, slowly and happily leaving my twenties. Jimmy and Julie asked us questions that had us all thinking about whether we really want to blog or just be on Facebook sharing our ideas. They also said the solution to our blogging woes is to find our platform and most importantly, just start blogging and soon enough the inspiration will come.