The Nutcracker - my review

Here is my review. The Nutcracker always has been and continues to be flippin' fabulous. That is all.

Wegmans - my review

On Sunday, Stefanie Atkinson and I ventured out to Northborough, Massachusetts to explore the SUPERmarket know as Wegmans. Now let me preface this post by saying that I had very high expectations, probably too high, but given what I had heard about the wonderful world of Wegman's I was convinced that I was basically about to enter the Xanadu of supermarkets. 


Our triumphant arrival at Wegmans

So we pull into the parking lot and what do we see?


To be clear, I am NOT the one who is entitled to park here, No No No

My pregolicious friend Stef was VERY pleased to see this sign (she loves a good pregnancy perk) and this one was RIGHT in front of the door, I mean we couldn't have gotten a better spot (thank you Stef and Brian for conceiving your child in time for the Wegmans store opening)

After getting over the initial parking-related excitement, we went inside. It was pretty packed but they did have those adorable mini carts that some of your fancier grocery stores have nowadays which was nice.

We spent about an hour in the store and rather than boring you all with every last detail, I have put together a good old fashioned pros and cons list to describe the experience.

• Aforementioned small carts
• A FABULOUS cheese section. Soft, hard, spreadable, domestic, international, you name it - they have it.
• Chinese food, Thai, vegetarian, dim sum bars - I think this would be a really good place to come for lunch, they also have a huge eating area
• Interesting re-heatable prepared foods, although not cheap
• More greetings cards than at the Hallmark card factory
• The good Hanukkah candles, like the kind I normally have to go to Bed Bath and Beyond for
•  One end of the store is a liquor warehouse type situation. Enormous selection. I got some of my new favorite wine!
• Stef got a reusable shopping bag and some olive oil by signing up for the Wegmans card

CONS (I couldn't find a cool picture)

• The prices - nothing special. Although I wasn't expecting great prices which made it better
• The sushi - not impressed. The selection at Whole Foods in Legacy Place and the Star Market in Chestnut Hill is better. The latter being incredible for a supermarket
• Smaller produce section than I expected, it took us awhile to find the tomatoes
• Seafood department was lacking, that may have been because it was a Sunday afternoon though, I am willing to let that one slide

All in all, I am glad we got a chance to see what all of the hype was about. It will probably be awhile before I go back, but if they open one in Newton where Omni Foods used to be on Rt. 9 as the rumors are claiming, I will check it out.

P.S. How awful will the traffic be if that happens?! 

Art a la commode

As you all can probably tell by now, my mind pulls me in 800 different directions when it comes to most things that I do. This also goes for home decor, specifically when it comes to the challenge of decorating the bathroom. I think you can make quite an impression with a well decorated water closet HOWEVER the problem is that, there are so many different directions you can go in!
I have to admit, I got tired of the voices in my head telling me to decorate my bathroom in 38 different ways, so I opted for the simple yet elegant "white" approach. White walls and therefore, white shower curtain and white accessories (actually only one accessory, a soap dispenser...I hate sink top clutter) and glass containers for cotton products. Coupled with my orange and yellow towels for a pop of color, and I am very happy with how it turned out.
Had I allowed myself to pursue one of the ideas I had thought of and researched intensely before the hubs and I moved into the new apartment, my bathroom might have some of the following:
WAIT - I LIED - If I had one bathroom design related wish, it would be for this:

But I can't have it because it is out of print and I can only find it on ebay for a fortune because Herb Ritts died and now everything of his is worth millions.

So now on to my design ideas for the loo:
One idea I had was to decorate with funny celebrity photos such as these from Art.com
   

   
There really isn't anywhere in the house to put shots like these so I figured the loo was appropriate.

My next idea was inspired by a small framed print that I have hanging up in my cube at work


Ciphers and Constellations in Love with a Woman - Joan Miro

I picked this up a few years ago at the gift shop at The Art Institute of Chicago because I thought it was very thought provoking and where better to place something thought provoking than in the john?
Here are a few other Miro works that I find intriguing:

               

             

Even though I opted for very simple bathroom decor, I still feel like I have plenty of ideas for future bathrooms. Perhaps one day if I ever win the Power Ball, I can have a house with 36 bathrooms, all decorated differently!

Also, here are some more unique bathrooms for you to enjoy!


Tells you what to do, in case you forgot




Careful not to let your sink get away

C A S H M E R E

If it's made of Cashmere, chances are I want to own it. Here is my cashmere wish list:


Gorgeous cashmere throw from one of my favorite sites, One Kings Lane


Beautiful cashmere scarf available at Blooooooooomies


Cashmere hoodie - mixing casual and fabulous!


Cashmere AND argyle?!?! WOWZA!!


Cashmere tank top and shorts...a great outfit to relax in inside when it is cold outside

Coming soon  - cashmere wish list, part 2!!

Word Art

Check out some of these fabulous examples of word art that I found - I think this is such a unique way to add some embellishment to your home decor!
All of these are from Red Envelope



Family tree art


Happiness quote for all you couples out there, would be great for your little ones as well!


Could I love this any more?!


Great way to incorporate all of those letters that your little ones will have to learn


Doggie art!


Best thing since sliced bread

Meal Planning

Raise your hand if you wake up in the morning and say to yourself "I am not going to overeat today. I am going to have sensible meals and I am not going to overindulge in food that is not good for me". Now raise your other hand if, despite reciting this mantra to yourself on a daily basis, you still manage to eat 3 cookies, a piece of cake, and 25 candy corns before lunch. I have been battling with weight for as long as I can remember. I have been on: The Atkins Diet, The South Beach Diet, The Zone Diet, the Hollywood Juice Diet, the soup diet, and the eat a carrot stick followed by three gallons of water diet (ok the last one was an exaggeration but you get the idea). Here's the point - I don't want to battle anymore. I want to look good, I want to be healthy, and I don't want to kill myself doing it. In order to accomplish this, I had to change THE WAY I LIVE. What does this mean? For the most part, for me, it is about acceptance. I had to accept the fact that I lead a healthy lifestyle now and there are certain things that I won't do and certain foods that I just won't eat. I won't do it, that's it, done, end of story. Part of the process of getting to this point, in my opinion, is good meal planning. How many of you know the contents of all of the food that you put in your mouth? My guess is not too many and of course it's impossible to know it all but having a good understanding of food is helpful. This is where meal planning comes into play. I use a terrific website called MyFitnessPal that helps me plan my meals, sometimes days in advance. I won't bore you with the particulars of how the website works (although I do encourage you to check it out) but basically I input my meals either in their entirety or by individual ingredient and I find out the calorie, carb, protein, sugar, and sodium content. Now keep in mind, this is not an exact science, you are dependant on the accuracy of the food entries and some can be way off base but for the most part, it works. Now are you ready for the best part? IF YOU WORK OUT YOU GET TO EAT MORE! Kind of a "duh" statement I know, but the website keeps track of all of this for you. 


Since the holiday season is upon us, I thought this was an appropriate blog to write since people are constantly struggling with balancing the holiday eating with the holiday weight gain. I find that the best thing to do is plan ahead for that meal you know you are going to have and compensate for it by not eating as much at other time. But they key is, you have to plan it out. 


Finding patterns in the way you eat is essential to successful meal planning. For example, if you notice that one of your snacks is unreasonably high in sugar, consider substituting it for something else. Conversely, if you notice that what you are eating is still leaving you feeling hungry then consider swapping out some of your food for other food that might be slightly higher calorically but keeps you feeling full for longer. 


I asked my bestie, Kerri, to provide her daily food journal for one day - here is what she ate:
Egg Caserole -  2 squares 
Small homemade pumpkin muffin 
Tomato soup for lunch 
Cookie 
Subway turkey foot long with mustard 
-60 minutes of spin class 
I won't put her on the spot by revealing the particulars of her meals but with her spinning class, she has enough calories left over to treat herself to quite the large meal 


And if you don't believe me, here is what some others are saying about meal planning: 


Meal planning gives you a daily goal rather than always focusing on the big picture. It allows you to still eat the foods you love but by compensating for it throughout the day.  
                                                                                       -Kerri Silva 


I enjoy meal planning, it is fun and it makes you feel skinnier 
                                -The future Mrs. Ban 
  
Meal planning is like a box of chocolates you can only eat one but you really want to eat the whole box. 
                                                                -Kerri "Forrest Gump" Silva 


“I get really annoyed when Karina tells me I cant have any more carbs because I should have planned my meals better. She is the meal planning dictator.” 
                                                                                                                        -Anonymous 


So the moral of this blog is the following: 


Plan your meals and you can look like this: 

Urban vs. Rural

I am constantly thinking about where I would love to live. I was born in a big city, my parents spent the first 32 years of their lives living in a big city (as my father says when discussing the reason that the shrubs in the front yard are dying "I don't know anything about plants, I'm a city boy") so I do gravitate towards city life in a way. My husband, on the other hand, hails from a not so big city in the Midwest and while I wouldn't want to live there - I must say that there is something nice about living out in the 'burbs with a big backyard and a wrap around porch and a golden retriever (I was going for a cliche country image there, did it work?)
Here are two collages that I put together that represent the best of both worlds, in my humble opinion...enjoy!

VS.