Protein shake with orange + honey

Um. YUM y'all. When I worked as a barista we had this frozen dreamsicle drink that mixed orange juice and white chocolate with a vanilla powder mix and it was delicious. This is my healthy version of that drink! I used two whole oranges (unpeeled, of course), honey and a scoop of vanilla protein powder. You put all of that in a blender along with half a glass of ice and about 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of your liquid preference (dairy/soy/almond/coconut milk or water). Add more liquid as necessary while blending. I'm really a guestimator in the kitchen, so just eyeball the honey. Just remember it's always easier to add a bit more later than to fix it if it's over sweetened! Don't be crazy, okay?

Protein shakes are really great post-workout meals. You can make them quickly and take them on the go if you're in a rush after your workout. They're also a really good supplement if you eat a mostly vegetarian diet like I do. I've heard complaints about how expensive protein powder can be, but the Target brand is really delicious and is very affordable. I'm talking $15 for 30+ shakes. 

I've got a tutorial on a really yummy coffee protein shake too and lots of delicious ones coming your way over the summer.

Do you drink protein shakes? How do you drink yours? And have you ever noticed how "protein" is the one exception from the "I before E except after C" rule? WEIRD.

Because I think my little sister is hilarious...

sound is automatically muted.  un-mute by hovering over the video and clicking the button that pops up at the top left

So is anyone else out there on Vine? I've found that a lot of people I follow on other platforms used it a lot at first, but, with the exception of a handful, quit using it after a few months. I love it though! I've wanted to get into capturing things on video for a long time now so this is perfect. Plus it's a new way for me to shove how much I love my dog into people's faces. SCORE.

You can find me on vine by searching for Melanie Lea.

Blogger crush: Sketchbook Closet

WOW Y'ALL. I came across Katie's blog, Sketchbook Closet, after combing through Pugly Pixel earlier today. I was immediately hooked! I'm always on the lookout for amazing illustrations because I'm trying to collect a bunch of different styles of drawing to help me figure out my own style.

So anyway. This girl's work definitely made it in the collection. Her parka and denim dress remind me of a technical drawing I did once of a lace dress. I'll have to dig the sketch out of one of my many craft piles and snap a picture of it for you guys! I'll be learning how to do the digital "painting" later on this year in school. Can't wait for that!

This kind of stuff always reminds me that I want to get back into drawing. One day!!

[split-color background first seen here]

Design party: let's get this party started!

Around this time last year I did a couple of design tutorials for Photoshop and Gimp (Gimp is a free photo-editing software). I'm picking up where I left off with this because I really think it could benefit a lot of you who feel you can't do your own design stuff (because YOU CAN!).

I'll be re-starting this series with a couple of simple tutorials to get you comfortable with Gimp. First we'll go through how to set up a basic photo/graphic collage using squares and circles along with how to add numbers for each image used (check these out for examples: a square layout with numbers and a circle layout). Then we'll work on creating a looser collage (like I do in my color party posts). This will require a little more time and concentration, but gets easier the more you practice it. After that we'll explore adding text to your photo layouts then creating a signature watermark, which is a great way to brand your blog and keep your source attached to any images you create that start floating around the internet (like I do with Jenny's hair tutorials).

I wanted to start this series off again with very manageable and extremely easy-to-master tutorials so that we have a good basic knowledge under our belts before advancing on to more involved things. I'll post a new session each week and after the first few Gimp tutorials we'll start dividing them up between both Photoshop and Gimp.

As the series goes on we'll talk about photo-editing, simple coding, blog layout, etc. If you've got an idea for a tutorial please leave a comment below, or you can leave your email address for me if you'd like to be invited to my private board for design tutorials on Pinterest.  Anything dealing with design is fair game. Can't wait to hear from you guys!