The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

CANNOT WAIT!!!!

Motivation

Healthy living is hard, really hard. I haven't been at it for that long but I must say that every day is different. Some days are easier than others and then there are those days where you think you will die if you don't have that red velvet cake pop (and you do because they are delicious). So I wanted to share with you all some of my favorite motivational photos and sayings. As some of you know, I am on Pinterest a lot and people post TONS of these things, 50% of which are the "Unless you puke, faint, or die..." Jillian Michaels quote. Some, however, are truly inspiring and really make you want to be better.


This girl - who the hell is she? A robot?

 
Actually one of my favorite quotes. Put this on your fridge to keep yourself from binging.


I love a good flow chart


We're all busy, if you're serious about being healthy then it's no longer an excuse


2 reasons for liking this one:
1)It reminds me of that episode where Rachel doesn't want to run with Phoebe because she looks like a maniac
2)Minus the yellow jacket, this is actually pretty close to what I looked like at mile 12 of my half marathon (only sweatier)


NO ONE is a bigger inspiration to me than my husband. This motto reminds me of him - this is 100% his mentality, it's how he has been able to run 5 marathons in the last 3 years and it's how he manages to wake up at 5 AM every day and go running. Chris Baughman, you're a stud!

I hope these have inspired you, even a little bit. I am constantly looking for inspiration because it is not easy to keep going. Also, if any of you out there need some motivation, I will gladly come to your house and yell at you like Jillian Michaels! : )

Comfy Cozy

Whenever I think of my dream home, it always includes a very comfortable and cozy bed. Lots of elements of this dream home change on a daily basis but the enormous plush bed is a constant. Ideally, I would get to wake up in this bed every morning (with no alarm because in this fantasy I am a lady of leisure) and feel enveloped in goodness. I search for such beds all the time, here are some of my faves from across the word wide web.


I LOVE the idea of a nook. Not only does it keep me nice and warm, it also protects me from the monsters that are under the bed/in the closet.


I can't even explain how awesome this is


Cozy for the kiddies...I love built ins


Donna Karan bedding...so plush

Who Am I?

So I decided to spice things up a bit this year at Thanksgiving by playing the "Who Am I?" game with my family during dinner. For those that haven't heard of this game, everyone gets a card with the name of a well known person on it stuck to their forehead. The objective is to guess who the person on your forehead is by asking yes or no questions to the other players. We played to rounds and each was hilarious. I am still trying to decide which was my favorite part - the fact that my grandfather kept guessing that he was Silvio Berlusconi, even after being told that he wasn't or the fact that my grandparents kept cheating and telling each other who they had (that was kind of adorable actually). Here are some photos of our game. Enjoy!

5 years ago today...

...I moved to Virginia to go live with my boyfriend Chris who was in the Navy at the time.  Who would have thought that this:

Would turn into this:

Love you Skittle! Go Team!

Recipes

Happy Black Friday Friends!
I hope everyone had a happy and filling Thanksgiving! Chris and I were at my parent's house with the family eating dad's delicious turkey and grandma's amazing napoloen cake. I wanted to share two salad recipes that I made this year. Both are brought to you courtesy of Ina Garten and are very simple to make and were a big hit at dinner this year.
The first one is a Creamy Cucumber Salad that I actually made last year as well.  The only thing about this salad is that you have to do some prep work the day before (specifically let the cucumbers and yogurt drain overnight) but other than that - it is very easy. Here is the link:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/creamy-cucumber-salad-recipe/index.html


The second salad was new for this year - Roasted Butternut Squash with Warm Cider Vinaigrette.
One hint - I bought pre-cut butternut squash which made the whole process a lot easier. I also added a bit more parmesan cheese than the recipe called for which I think was the right thing to do since more cheese is always better than less cheese. Enjoy!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-butternut-squash-salad-with-warm-cider-vinaigrette-recipe/index.html

Kalpurnia's gift guide part 4 - give the gift of a gift card

The gift card. Formerly known as the gift certificate. The gift you get someone when:
A) They are your secret santa for the office Holiday Party
B) They are your father's sister's husband's second cousin's son
C) You just don't know what to get them

Let's take this opportunity to give gift cards another chance. They aren't just for Starbucks anymore. Here are a few of my recommendations that will be sure to please your friends, relatives, and that weird guy at the office.

⌘ Cooking Classes ⌘
Master Chef Cooking Classes offers classes in all types of culinary fare. Baking, roasting, basting, you name it. Just go to their website and select your city to get started. If one of my close friends is reading this, I highly recommend you taking a class and then making me something like this:


⌘ The Melting Pot ⌘
'Cause who doesn't like fondue

⌘ Amazon ⌘holida
They literally sell everything

⌘ Hotels ⌘
Consider buying your loved ones a gift card to The Mandarin Oriental or The Ritz Carlton. They will thank you.

Here I am taking a soak in the Rota Carlton Pool...I'm in great shape!

⌘ An Experience ⌘

Cloud9 Living offers action and adventure and anything else you can think of. You can choose from experiences such as:

-learning to fly a helicopter

-bungee jumping

-tandem sky diving

-bull riding 

AND LOTS MORE

The best part is you don't have to choose - just buy a gift card and let your favorite holiday gift recipient do their own choosing

Here I am learning to ride a bull...not as hard as it looks

Well folks, I hope that these gift guides have been helpful to you. Happy shopping!!

Kalpurnia's gift guide part 3 - for your wee little ones

Hello again friends!
Today's gift guide is all about gifts for your little rugrats. Yes, they can be a pain and yes they can drive you nuts but that doesn't mean you aren't going to shower them with love and presents over the holidays (thanks in advance mummy!)


Giggle Monkey Zoo Backpack - send your tot off to school or to a play date with this adorable backpack, also available in owl and elephant.

Pottery Barn Kids Sherpa Sleeping Bag - I'm partial to the moose myself. Seriously, if they made these in adult sizes I would buy one for myself and sleep in it on the living room floor.


Puzzles. Some of my happiest childhood memories (and adult memories as well) are of doing puzzles. They make you smart and come in all shapes and sizes. Here are some to consider:

http://www.seriouspuzzles.com/i8259.asp

http://www.puzzlewarehouse.com/America-US-History-134-wm.html

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12176296&CAWELAID=1041343379

http://www.amazon.com/Ravensburger-Neuschwanstein-Castle-Pieces-Puzzle/dp/B003S3RGLC/ref=bt_atcg_mine_img_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0B10KMZK7YTFFPRP2VTV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1328554562&pf_rd_i=166220011

Sharper Image Stascope - great way to get your kids into astronomy

Kalpurnia's gift guide part 2 - for the men in your life

I love shopping for my main squeeze, one Christopher Michael Baughman, but shopping for  boys can be tough sometimes because they don't always react to presents the same way that girls do so it's important to really WOW them with kick ass awesome gifts. Here are some ideas:

◈ Psycho Bunny has a great collection of men's wear like this Wool Sweater Jacket

And if you are looking for a little fashion inspiration, check out their blog.

◈ A subscription to Playboy. We have one, it's great. Ladies, don't hate - there is stuff in there for everyone and getting your man one will make you look wicked awesome.

◈ Bring them to a place where they can brew their own beer. Barleycorn's in Natick, MA offers beer making of all kinds. They also offer wine and soda making, so there is something there for everyone!

◈ Cool gadgets from the The Sharper Image.  Why not get the man in your life an iphone controlled helicopter, a telescoping fog free shower mirror, or a hands free hair rejuvenation system? The sharper image offers a huge selection at every price point which makes it a holiday hot spot.

◈ The wonderful and amazing Kindle. Now I am no e-reader expert so please no hateful comments about how the Nook or the iPad is so much better - personally I think any e-reader is fine but since I own a Kindle myself, I will support the brand. Financially speaking, it will not put a big dent in your wallet with a Kindle available for $79. Plus - reading is cool. It really is, pass it on.

Kalpurnia's gift guide - Part 1

Hello friends,
I am attempting a gift guide. Now I realize that this might be too much for a blogging novice such as myself but I like a challenge so here we go. When I start my holiday shopping I always make a list (I heart lists big time). The list gets divided into sections. There are a lot of sections, trust me. After the preliminary list has been made I panic a little about the amount of money that will be spent but then settle down after I realize that I can accomplish everything without breaking the bank.

Here are a few go-to holiday gifts that I love:

..Calendars..
Calendars are highly under-rated in my opinion. They are a great way to add a little pizzazz to a room and cheaper than buying a lot of expensive art. I love this one from Paper Source. As a matter of fact, all of their calendars are really creative and awesome. Go there now and buy one.

..Socks of all kinds..


I just found a great website, Sock Dreams, for all of your sock buying needs.  They are a great stocking stuffer and if you want to be trés classy, get a pair made of cashmere.
Also, check out these adorable animal socks from Uncommongoods.com

..Anything from this store..
When visiting my bestie in Indy, we always make sure to go to Z Gallerie. Unfortunately, they don't have a store in the Boston area but one thing they do have is an awesome website with a huge selection and lots of sales. Please to check it out.

I hope you have enjoyed the first installment of Kalpurnia's gift guide...more to come!

Decorating with photos

I love decorating with photos. My dream is to live in a house with a loooooong hallway and have that hallway be filled with framed photos of the people, places, and things that I love most. I think it is so wonderful to walk into someone's home and see an expression of who they are by their display of photographs, you feel like you get to know that person instantly just by looking at their photos...plus it's a great conversation starter! Here is a small collage of some stuff I have found on the world wide web, courtesy of Houzz and Pinterest.  Enjoy!

REGIS

Regis, I love ya!


Stay classy big guy, I hope to see you on TV again very soon!

Turkey Day Parade Tutorial

Like many of you, I love the holiday season and that time begins for me at Thanksgiving - specifically on Thanksgiving morning when I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. As someone who was not born in this country, I did not grow up in a family who had a tradition of watching the parade so when I was old enough to realize what it was, I made it a point to watch every year. Combine my love for the parade with my avid curiosity and you get a whole post dedicated to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and its history.  



Interestingly enough, the idea for the parade was thought up by people that had immigrated to America, just like my family and I did in 1988. They were so happy to be in America and so proud of their newly found heritage that they wanted to celebrate in a big dramatic way and what better way than having a parade! Coincidentally, these immigrants were also all employees of the famous Macy's Department Store which is how the store became affiliated with the parade in the first place.  
1920 marked the first Macy's Parade which was then called the Christmas Parade. Employees and professional entertainers marched in the parade along with animals that were borrowed from the Central Park Zoo.  In the late 1920's the parade was provided with large balloon animals that replaced the live animals and the tradition of enormous balloons in the parade had begun! DID YOU KNOW...that when the balloons were first introduced they were released into the sky? They were indeed and they were even designed with address labels sewn into them that allowed those people that found them after they had deflated to send them back to Macy's in return for a free gift.  



Felix the Cat - the first balloon animal introduced into the parade

The parade and its spectators grew and grew throughout the 1930's but the first half of the 1940's saw a sharp decline in attendance mostly because the parade was not put on during WWII as the supplies were needed to assist in the war effort. The parade came back in 1945 and has been with us ever since. So for those of you that love to wake up and watch the parade like I do - I hope you enjoy it! And for those of you that don't like the parade - we are no longer friends : )

The Orient Express...not just for murders anymore



The famous book written by one of my all time favs,   Dame Agatha Christie

We've all heard about the murder on the Orient Express emphasis on the murder but what about the train itself? It is in fact still in operation and one of the classiest journies you can take east of the Atlantic. The Orient Express will provide you with a sense of luxury and old time glamour that is so hard to come by in this day and age.



How gorgeous is this?!?!

The original Venice Simplon Orient Express makes several regal stops throughout Europe, including Istanbul, Venice, Paris, and London. While on board, you will enjoy impeccable service and luxurious accomodations. Here are a few photos that will make you want to board the one and only Orient Express as badly as I do.









"To travel by train is to see nature and human beings...in fact, to see life"
                                                                            -Agatha Christie

Belted

I love outerwear of all kinds but lately I have been really digging belted "puffy" jackets. While in the lovely state of New York this past weekend, Rita (my female parental unit) and I spent some time at a store called Outerluxe in Larchmont where I found lots of cute jackets of the belted variety. I had seen a few photos of these jackets before but I found a few that I really loved when seeing them in person. I think a jacket like this is a great way to add some femininity to what might be an otherwise purely functional fashion statement. Here are a few that I have found online:

From Burberry. A perfect length I think


From Miss Sixty. It looks sooooo incredibly soft.


From Ugg: Kind of a futuristic look but I dig it


Any of you that know me, know that I LOVE colorful things. I wasn't able to find a ton of these in other shades but I will be on the hunt. A little color never hurt anyone.

Catstudio pillows

I seem to see these everywhere nowadays, most recently in a little shop in Larchmont, NY last weekend.  They are pricier than you would normally see a pillow going for but I think they would make a great gift, especially for those transplanted friends of yours that could use a little reminder of home.  These two remind me of our honeymoon!




Catstudio is also the purveyor of glasses, just like this one that I bought for Chris a few years ago

Retro phone

While Perusing GOOP yesterday, I stumbled upon a fabulous little gadget that I can totally see myself using every day. It is a "retro" phone receiver that plugs into your cell phone so it looks like you are chatting on an old phone AND reducing radiation by 96% apparently at the same time. To be honest, I wouldn't buy this because of the radiation factor, I just think it looks fantastic!

Go to: http://www.yubz.com/retro-handsets/  to purchase

The Caped Crusader

For those of you that know my husband, Chris, know that he is a HUGE Batman fan. When we started dating, I have to admit, I wasn't too thrilled at the idea of listening to Batman tales but as I learned more about the Caped Crusader, I realized he is pretty amazing (even if he is imaginary).  For one thing, did you know that Batman does not actually have any super powers? He is simply incredibly physically gifted and incredibly intelligent (and incredibly hot...wink, wink Christian Bale).


Another interesting thing about Batman, comically speaking, is the number of "bad guys" that exist in the Batman Universe. There are probably hundreds of them, many more than could ever be covered in all of the Batman movies that have been made and that have yet to be made. Some of these ferocious felons are:

Bane - he will be featured in the next Batman movie...big scary guy
Calendar Man - commits crimes on holidays and other significant days throughout the year
Harley Quinn - Joker's sidekick  - also the name of Kevin Smith's daughter
Catwoman - aka Selina Kyle...meow
The Mad Hatter - he is inspired by Alice in Wonderland and always wears a fantastically big hat



So the moral of this post? Give Batman a chance, especially all you ladies out there, he is pretty damn cool

Bridal shower invitations

I am honored to be the matron of honor in my bestie Kerri's wedding in May and am in the preliminary stages of selecting the invitations for her bridal shower. I am finding it difficult to find just ONE that I love because there are so many to choose from.  Here are a few that I am loving:

From weddingpaperdivas.com

I love the make up of the umbrella - such a cute idea!


Big chunky lettering - love it!


My bestie loves damask so she would like this

From peartreegreetings:

Love the criss crossing lines and colors of this one.

Welcome!

I now have a blog and I'm not afraid to use it.