A Girl's Guide To A Gluten-Free Lifestyle

[Picture Source: Pinterest]

Okay, so we have all heard of the word "gluten" and even Jimmy Kimmel joked around here when he interviewed people and they really didn't know what it meant {haha}. But, in all seriousness, gluten has been something that negatively affects many, including Co-Founder, Karen. The affects can include IBS or extreme bloating that can last days or even weeks. According to WebMD, gluten is a protein found in anything made from wheat, rye, or barley. It can also be found in products less obvious like soy sauce and lunch meat. The best way to avoid gluten is to start by reading the labels of all the food you encounter. Look for trigger ingredients such as barley, wheat flour, rye bread or flour, oatmeal, semolina, malt flavoring and the list goes on. Check out a full list here! "Gluten-free" shouldn't sound daunting and a lot of grocery stores have many gluten-free and tasty selections. Karen reached out to some of her friends to get some tips on great foods to consume that are gluten free so here are some of the suggestions:

• Corn based pasta from Trader Joe's 
• Trader Joe's gluten free oatmeal 
• Fruits
• Vegetables (especially green and dark green veggies)
• Lean meats (like grilled chicken, fish, pork tenderloin and beef tenderloin)
• Ezekiel bread or sprouted grain bread
• Pure, plain Greek yogurt

Special tip from TSS Reader, Brynn: "Be careful with food labeled "gluten free" because for the gluten they've taken out, they've also added 5 crappy ingredients in it! It's definitely all carb based products too!!"

Stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Udis have great gluten-free products. One suggestion that Karen received is to avoid Maltodextrin and Dextrose. Those are terrible preservatives that are in spices and a lot of foods. Again, LOOK AT THE LABELS.

At the end of the day, cooking at home is the best way to avoid processed food that can contain gluten so that is the best option when trying to live a gluten-free lifestyle. Above all else, consult with your doctor or nutritionist before you adopt any new change in food lifestyle. All of this is new to us so we want to hear from you! What are some of your favorite foods to eat that are gluten-free? Please share them below!

Bananas for Banana Leaves

clockwise from top left: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
{photo sources: 1, 2, 3}

We have a pattern crush on banana leaves!  The classic design-- originating from the 1940's-- is having a trendy moment this summer, and it's prettier than ever.  The tropical print looks fresh on everything from phone cases, to stationery, to bikinis.  The bikini is a total steal, found at Target!  Co-Founder Ali couldn't wait to get her hands on the iPhone case, and even showed it off on our Instagram the other day.

Banana leaf prints look great when styled simply; pair it with black, white, or tan/nude shades.  Or, take inspiration from the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel (where the walls are decorated with wallpaper in the pattern), and pair your print with a shade of light pink!  You can also add a taste of the trend to your home, with pillows in the print from Kate Spade.

We're totally bananas for banana leaves.  What's your favorite print for summer?

TSS Favorite Things {June}

Sakura- Book | Bangle | Lipgloss

Ali- Dress | Shoes | Lipgloss

Karen- Scrub | Speaker | Nail Polish

Oh boy, June is coming to an end already and our summer has been absolutely crazy!  Like every month, we gather our favorite things of the month and compile them just for our readers!  This month, we have a little bit of everything from books, lip glosses, to speakers!  Check them out and share with us what your favorite things of June are!

Happy Summer!

10 Ways To Make Traveling Easier

It's summa, summa, summa time! Time to sit back and unwind so what better way to do that than traveling?! But, wait. There is nothing more stressful than being an unprepared traveller. How many times have you made it to the airport and you've experienced every possible delay of things you could have controlled, from wearing better shoes so you're not struggling at TSA to having airline personnel tell you your carry on is too large/heavy and you have to go all the way back to check it? Whomp, whomp. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, right? Well, we have come up with ten ways to make traveling easier. Take out a pen and paper!

1. Plan Out & Pack Your Outfits
2. Roll Your Clothes When Packing
3. Download Your Airline's Mobile App
4. Take a Picture Of Where You Parked
5. Use the Curbside Check-In
6. Wear Laceless Footwear
7. Pull Your Laptop Out Before You Get In the TSA Line
8. Just Check Your Luggage
9. Wear Comfortable Clothes To the Airport
10. Use the Restroom Before You Load Onto the Plane

Do you have some traveling tips? Share them below!

Happy Traveling!

DIY Fabric Covered Mason Jars!

Things you’ll need: Glue, scissors, fabric, a mason jar (duh), and a small sponge brush.

We feel silly writing steps, because really all you need to do is cut the fabric into strips that are the length of your jar, dip them in glue, and stick them to the walls of your jar. Once they are dried, you can begin using them! It also works best to use fabric with a pattern that doesn’t get too mismatched when layered on top of itself!

Have fun crafting!

EDM Workout Playlist

Nothing boosts your workout quite like the right music, so we've put together a playlist of songs guaranteed to pump you up... especially for the EDM lovers out there.  Co-Founder Ali is a devoted Kaskade fan, so naturally we had to include a little from him, and lots of other favorites too!  For those of you who went to Electric Daisy Carnival this past weekend (or wanted to go), these beats will take you right back to EDC.  Go hit the pavement, the gym, have a dance party, and get that heart rate going!

Press play below for our EDM Workout playlist... and be sure to check out our TSS Summer 2014 playlist on Spotify too!

What songs motivate you for a workout?  We would love to hear below!

DIY Humongous Piñata Letters!

If you're a Pinterest fanatic like we are, you've probably already seen these adorable piñata letters!  They're so fun and festive but we have always wondered how to make these darn cute things!  They seem really complicated, but they're actually pretty fun and easy to make.  They are a bit time consuming so we would recommend grabbing a few of your girlfriends to make it a group project or keep the word simple and short!

Things you’ll need: Cardboard letters (we found ours at Joann’s), hot glue gun, tissue paper in a few different colors, scissors, a ruler.

Step 1. Keeping the tissue paper folded, cut into sections about 3″ wide.

Step 2. Cut a fringe about 0.5″ long onto either side of the tissue paper section. Make sure you aren’t cutting the folded sides or else you’ll end up with tons of small pieces instead of a nice long strip of fringe.

Step 3. Unfold each section and re-fold it in half lengthwise. Using a hot glue gun, attach strips of tissue paper to the cardboard letter. A ruler comes in handy for making sure you’re gluing each strip straight across.

Step 4. Alternate colors to create your pattern. Continue gluing your tissue paper fringe pieces onto the cardboard until the entire letter is covered. Repeat with as many letters as you want, and spell out something fun!

Have fun crafting!