5 Foods To Keep You Hydrated

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This summer has been hot, hot, HOT! Like, whoa. We are between Scottsdale and Seattle and with AZ's dry heat and Washington's lack of A/C, this summer has been brutal. But, luckily there's nothing a little hydration can't cure which is why we were so happy to have stumbled across United Healthcare's menu on some hydrating foods to quench your thirst during this summer heat. Check them out below!

Super salads. Watermelon, oranges, tomatoes, cantaloupe, berries, celery and cucumbers are all flush with fluid. These water-rich foods make great low-calorie snacks too!

Berry-delicious smoothies. Add berries — fresh or frozen — to low-fat or fat-free yogurt or milk. Puree in a blender.

Summer salsas. These can be made from vegetables, fruits or a combination of both. Enjoy your favorite variety as a snack — dip into it with cut-up veggies or whole-grain pita chips. Or top grilled fish or chicken with it. Have a sweet tooth? Give orange or pineapple salsa a try.

Chilled soups. You can serve these as a light meal — or as an appetizer or dessert. Here are three cool and soothing options:
Gazpacho. A summertime favorite that's typically rich in tomatoes, cucumber, onion, bell pepper and garlic.
Vichyssoise. This creamy French classic is made with pureed potatoes and leeks. To keep it on the healthful side, use low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth. For an even creamier soup, stir in a little plain low-fat yogurt or low-fat sour cream.
Fruit soups. Strawberries, raspberries and cantaloupe puree nicely. See "Chilled melon soup" for a recipe to try.

Frozen nibbles. Freeze grapes or berries. Grab them for a quick and cold snack.

Do you have a favorite thirst-quenching food or drink for the summer? Share with us below!

The Nextdoor App

Have you ever heard a really loud noise outside of your apartment, dorm or house and wondered what it was? Have you ever seen a suspicious individual in your neighborhood and really wanted to call the cops? We got wind of a super cool app to help you build a community with the people around you to temperature check your area and it's called The NextDoor App! This app is a free and private social media platform for you and your neighborhoods to stay in the know of neighborhood activity. Co Founder Karen recently found the app to be useful when she heard a car alarm go off in her neighborhood at an odd hour. Based on the app, she was able to read that a couple of blocks away there had been some car break ins. To be proactive, one of her neighbors called the police to report the suspicious car alarm going off. Though it ended up being a faulty car alarm, it made both her and her neighbor feel protected and knowledgeable about their surroundings.

Click here to download the Android version or here for the Apple version!

Healthy 4th of July Treats

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Yay for our Independence! Even though we celebrate such a major moment in US history, that doesn't mean that we should exercise our freedom to eat poorly this holiday. Consider some healthy 4th of July treats when celebrating with family and friends. Below are some healthy recipe links to help you make some delicious {semi} healthy treats:

Patriotic Popsicles

Red, White, & Blue Trifle Dessert

Basil Hummus Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers

Happy 4th of July cooking!

Quick Tips To Relieve Stress

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We understand how school, jobs, and life in general can create a lot of stress. Even if you think you have it together, just simply quickly moving from one activity to the next is adding stress to your body whether you realize it or not. Headaches, fatigue, rashes, loss of appetite, belly aches, tense muscles - those are all common side affects of stress that we know all too well. Here are some quick tips that you can reference to help relieve the daily stresses of life:

• Sign up for a massage membership. We understand that massages can get pricey, but with resources like Groupon, there really is no excuse to take advantage of massage opportunities. From sitting on the computer all day to running around campus, your muscles deserve some TLC. Loose muscles will loosen you up and relieve body stress.
• Buy some aromatherapy. Wow, you have no idea how much of an impact this can have on you, in a positive way of course. Rubbing some aromatherapy lotion on before we go to bed has significantly helped us knock out and have a peaceful sleep. The aromatherapy calms us done and puts us in a happy place. Our favorite aromatherapy lotion is the Lavender Chamomile scented one from Bath and Body Works. The Pillow mister of the same scent is a personal favorite as well. You spray it on your pillow and once you lay your head down it's lights out! Lavender and vanilla scented stuff is so therpeutic!
• Burn some incense. After you come home from a long, stressful day, burning incense in your home can ignite a calmness that we love. Here is a nice incense pack to try!
• Take a bubble bath. If you want to have the best "Me" time in the world, hop into a warm bath water (full of bubbles of course) and lay back and unwind. Bubble baths are the ultimate de-stresser. Here is a nice little bubble bath bottle that we recommend to get the bubble bath party of one started!
• Take yoga classes. Co Founder, Sakura, just tried aerial yoga for the first time and she said it was a ton of fun and such a stress reliever. Whether it's hot yoga or regular yoga, there is no substitute for how sound your mind and body feels after a yoga session. It is definitely worth the investment.

How do you de-stress? Share with us below!

Secrets To Surviving With a Roommate

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Living with a roommate can have its ups and downs, but hopefully more ups for you. We lived with roommates during our sorority house living days and it was a blast. However, there were definitely some challenges that we had to overcome with some of our roomies to make sure that boundaries were not crossed. There is nothing worse than not wanting to return to your living space because you and your roomies aren't getting along. Here are a few tips to help you survive living with a roommate:

1. Be vocal about your cleanliness. Cleanliness has got to be one of the top subjects to cause a quarrel or misunderstanding between roomies. If you know you're practically messy or practically a clean freak, then meet in the middle and agree to hiring a maid to clean the living space once or twice a month. Cleanliness should not be a major factor in a disruptive living situation.
2. Declare a chore rotation. If one person starts to take out the trash all of the time, eventually it becomes like their job. If you don't want that to happen then decide on a realistic chore rotation and stick it in a visible spot so there is no confusion as to who is responsible for what.
3. Always consult each other when it comes to bringing guests over. We can't tell you how many times this has been a problem in living situations because one roomie walked into the space to find a bunch of people she didn't know in the living space. Transparency is the best policy!
4. If something is bothering you, don't let it fester. Festering your feelings will most definitely lead into a big blow out. Living with another person isn't easy and you will try to get to know each other as you work through inevitable differences. The worst thing you can do is bottle up anything you're feeling about the living situation because a sudden burst of anger can cause a negative ripple effect on both the living situation and possible friendship.
5. Have a "Roomie Day"! We have come across situations where our roommates had some heavy expectations about living together which included hanging every night. Often times, that does not end up being the case, but you can definitely make time for what you want. To keep the roomie morale up, have a designated day to yourselves. This could be a Bachelor/Bachelorette Monday night rendezvous on the couch or walking the dog in the evening. Anything to keep the morale alive!

What tips do you have about living with a roomie?

Summer Florals We Love

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Is it just us or have you been seeing a lot of floral prints in summer fashion? We are kind of loving it! Our wardrobe instantly lights up with every perfect little floral perfection. The designer, She Inside, is giving us so much life with this gorgeous floral flare dress and it's under $40 {fashion steal!}. Have you heard of the designer Show Pony? Well, you won't forget about them when you see how amazing this cute maxi floral dress is. Not to mention it's under $45! We think you know how we feel about Sabo Skirt and their to die for fashion pieces so this crop top, maxi skirt combo definitely made the list of our top favorite floral fashion pieces. If you feel like splurging (and we REALLY mean splurging with this one) Jimmy Choo has the absolute most fabulous leather python floral heels. We drooled a little when we spotted it. If it helps, they're currently on sale! But, there is nothing like giving back with your floral shopping purchases and that can be done with Inkkas super cute shoes. For every shoe purchased from Inkkas they plant a tree. Co Founder, Karen, got her hands on the Flora African Jogger shoes and she said they're incredibly comfortable and that people have been stopping her asking her where they can get their hands on those shoes. Nothing like stopping traffic with your floral fashion pieces!

Where are some of your favorite places to shop for floral fashion pieces? Share with us in the comments below!

The Best App for Snoozers!

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We're all guilty of hitting the snooze button- we're tired, we're grumpy, and we just want 10 more minutes of sleep! Co-Founder, Sakura, says she's totally a victim of the snooze button and snoozes for about an hour until she discovered this magical app called the Wake N Shake app.

The app is unfortunately NOT free, but it is totally worth every cent!  Basically, how it works is you set an alarm, select your shake level, and once your alarm goes off in the morning you have to shake your phone until it hits 100%!  Even if you slow down a bit, the percentage will go down and don't underestimate the shake levels because they're all really hard.  The objective is for you to literally shake yourself awake!  There's a whole app review from the individual ladies of Bloguettes on the effectiveness of the app.

You hate the app, but it really works!