Hey guys! I'm so excited for this tea swap! I hosted my first tea swap back over the winter and that was a lot of fun! Now I want to link up people who want to sample some summer worthy tea! Whether it is an iced tea bag or something you  think would make a good summer tea, send 4 or 5 different bags (or loose) for your partner to sample! What better way to kick off the start of summer?




The sign ups will start today and run through next Sunday the 28th. I will partner everyone up and get you in touch with each other by Tuesday, June 30th. Get to know your partner a little and then have your packages out by July 15th. A link-up will follow to show off your favorite new tea's!

Hey everyone! So back in the winter I hosted my very first swap, a holiday/winter tea swap. It was a success for me, having 6 participants. It also helped start a new friendship for me locally, which was pretty awesome. The other awesome thing is she thought I should also host a summer tea swap. So today I want to announce the Summer Tea Swap 2015. More details and sign ups coming Friday. Just wanted to get the ball rolling and get the word out! If you are a tea drinker (yes iced tea counts!) come on back Friday and get yourself signed up.

Do you ever wake up on a Monday morning and think "This is going to be the week that I get my shit together" and then you have one of those weeks where you feel like you are being dragged down? Well that has been my week every week for the past 8 weeks. It's not because I am choosing not to make things better, but with the move, my job, and life and general I have been feeling really overwhelmed lately. Today I decided would be a good day to update you on my life, my blog, and everything in between. Kind of a wrap of the past 8 weeks of sorts.

As most of you know I made the decision to move in with R. I officially moved in with him the first week of May. The transition period has been really hard for me and work being very demanding these day I have just felt utterly drained. Between all of that I got a rare infection in my lymph nodes and that has dragged me even further down. I have decided June was going to be the month that I finally get it all balanced. I need to. It is really unhealthy to be so stressed and worn out all of the time.

The good news is R and I will be making our final move in 10 days into our new townhouse. I am beyond excited to have all of the moving done and a space to really call our own. Right now I feel like I am living in R's home, even though he wants me to make it feel like mine as well. Anyone who has moved in with anyone into their current spaces, knows this is hard sometimes.

Something else that has made me a little off lately is the misplacement of my planner. It has been missing since the initial move from my apartment to R's. I never thought I would feel so lost without a little book, but I am. I started to rely on it and now it's frustrating not to have it in front of me. Anyone else have that problem?

Okay now onto blog news. I am not the happiest with my blog content lately. I feel like it has been forced and not well thought about. I felt like I have just published stuff to get it done. I am in the process of re-thinking my writing and getting stuff in order. I want this to be a space people want to come back to time and time again. Right now I don't feel like that is true. So come July expect to see better content and more personal blogs. I have failed on a few series and such and I want to make sure those come to life soon. No more excuses.

Now as far as social media goes, I have been lacking there as well. I am more of a fan of Instagram lately and Twitter has definitely suffered. I am not trying to ignore anyone or not follow back. I've just been really scare there lately. Facebook has been neglected for a long time now. Anyone still using it? Now for the newbies. I am now on SnapChat  (Find me @thetrishlist) and Periscope (@TrishListBlog). I am still getting the hang of using both of those. I am a little late to the SnapChat party but I feel like I am happening with the Periscope! Anyone else using them?

Anything I've missed? Anything you want to know? Let me know in the comments! Thank you all for being patient with me and I look forward to more interactions with you all in the upcoming weeks!

Happy Monday!

• Trish (Real name is Tricia)
• Shorty (This is an every day occurrence at work!)
• Bumps (Don't ask)
• That's about it.. not many names.

• Los Angeles, CA
• Staten Island, NY
• Corpus Christi, Texas
• Seattle, Washington

Okay so not taken in Los Angeles, but I like this photo taken at a PA ice sculpture event I went to last winter :)

• The Craft
• Where the Heart Is
•  Pitch Perfect
• Iron Man (All of them)

Well it's time.. for real this time. I am done feeling overweight and sluggish. I am taking the plunge and doing Whole 30. What is Whole 30 you ask? It is a dietary choice to cut out all processed foods, dairy, and grains. Basically eating only whole foods. Things you do not have to alter to make it what it is. Think veggies, fruit, grass fed meats, healthy oils, and spices. Oh and no alcohol! You do this for 30 days and see how you feel. It's a reset of sorts.



When I first looked at the program I got a little nervous. I love yogurt and bread. They are the things I go to when I am lazy and don't feel like cooking. Then it dawned on me, they are easy things to eat, but I never feel good after having them. There is no point in eating something that will make me feel crappy afterwards.

Yesterday was my first official day on the program. I had watermelon, a banana, and black coffee for breakfast. I drank lots of water to fill myself because honestly I was hungry by 9:30am. I also didn't prepare well for my breakfast so I am going to do better today. You can have eggs so I plan to make myself a spinach and egg scramble.

For lunch I had an orange and a steamable bag of spinach. I have been on a spinach kick lately so this was a pretty normal lunch for me. Today I am making tuna salad with avocado, onion, and cucumber. I will put it over a bed of salad. A little salt, pepper, olive oil, and garlic will make this delish!

After work I went to the grocery store to stock up on more essentials so I won't be unprepared for the rest of the week. I picked up grass fed ground turkey. I came home and make a turkey burger, minus the bun seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and hot sauce. I paired that with a spinach, mushroom, and cucumber salad topped with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Also as a treat on the side cut up a sweet potatoes and made roasted medallions. They were so good! I haven't decided on dinner yet for tonight but I'm sure it will be yummy!

So overall, my first impression of the program is, be prepared. If you do not have the proper food you will be hungry and you are more inclined to cheat and eat something you shouldn't. I feel better prepared for today so I don't feel like I will be as hungry and I will get by easier!

Have you tried out this program? How did you do? Did you last without alcohol, bread, and dairy?

Make sure you check out my delish wine cocktail I indulged in the night before the program started. It was SO yummy!