When watching HGTV (nerd alert, I know) earlier today, I saw a commercial for the coolest shower head. Now you’ve got to be thinking what would make a shower head so cool and the answer is this…
I immediately headed to google to find out where I could get a Moxie Showerhead by Kohler
I’ve had some sort of bug since last Thursday and last night it really got the best of me. I couldn’t sleep at all. I ended up trying to sleep on the couch sitting up but that ended up being a fail. I ended up staying home and making my favorite soup – Lipton Extra Noodle Soup
At the beginning of 2013 Z and I started following the Weight Watchers plan. He had used in back in 2012 and found it to be really successful. I wasn’t as sure about it and thought that the program kind of cheated by not really teaching people about what things are good and bad to eat. But me counting calories, fiber, protein, carbs etc. using Daily Burn while he was counting points was a lot of things to keep track of and it made it hard to plan meals.
I lost weight doing things the old fashioned way but by the end of the year I had found most of it again. We traveled so much in the 2nd half of the year it made it really challenging to keep up with. We decided to recommit to a healthier lifestyle and had a conversation about going down to one plan. We ultimately decided on WW because it’s just one number to manage daily and we can easily talk about what to cook based on point targets.
We are now 7 weeks into the new year and as of today I’ve officially lost 10 lbs, which puts me back at my lowest weight from last year. It feels like something I should be excited about … and I am a little bit… but I’m also disappointed that I didn’t take it more seriously last year. I think the next 10 pounds will feel like more of a victory but I’m sure they also won’t come off as easily.
I’ve been growing my hair out for about a year now and I’m trying to decide what I want to do to mix it up. I’m going to keep my color the same, that’s just too annoying to mess with. But I don’t think I’m ready to chop it all off yet… which is something I generally do every few years.
So I’ve been thinking a lot about giving bangs a try. I feel like I’m seeing bangs everywhere this year and then Michelle Obama went and rocked them for the inauguration only bringing even more attention to the bang movement.
Here’s a few various shots of inspiration from Pinterest:
Source: beautyriot.com via Sarah on Pinterest
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For my surprise birthday trip to Paris we had three full days to pack as much in as possible while overcoming jet lag. While three days seems like a short amount of time it was actually the perfect amount of time to spend in Paris.
After we cleared customs we took the train from CDG to the apartment that we rented on Airbnb. Our apartment was conveniently located in Le Marais near the Saint Paul station. The neighborhood was filled with great jobs and restaurants. I think I could go back and spend three days only exploring the neighborhood.
Despite the huge desire to crawl into bed after checking in, we headed off to Spa 28, which was my final surprise to the birthday surprise weekend.
One of the highlights of Spa 28 was their water lounge which you can enjoy for one hour before your spa treatments. The water lounge at Spa28 included a large hot tub and a sauna. It reminded me somewhat of my favorite local spot, the Great Jones Spa in New York City, but it didn’t have a steam room.
When it was time for our appointment we were taken back into a small room for couples massages which was somewhat awkwardly placed next to the hot tub. But once the massage started that was quickly forgotten. I passed out about 5 minutes into my massage but work up completely refreshed. I think my lovely husband may have started a new trend for international travel, nothing beats jet lag like a few hours at a spa!
Before Thanksgiving Z surprised me with a long weekend in Paris as a birthday present. I was shocked… after our trip to the South of France in 2009 I was convinced we’d never step foot on French soil together but I was wrong! We had the best time on our trip and really packed a lot of things into it. I’m already dying to go back and having dreams of owning an apartment there.
I’m absolutely dying to start decorating for Christmas… I can’t wait until after Thanksgiving so I can put up our Christmas tree and go a little nuts with decorating.
We are hosting a White Elephant Party and going to be home on Christmas Day this year so Z is actually okay with doing more for the holidays. That is pretty effin fabulous.
Every fall growing up we’d go over to my grandparents house and make obscene amounts of apple sauce. I’m talking probably 25-30 lbs of apples and then we’d can away. Working from home today I got a little antsy and wanted to make an apple crisp with two lone apples at home. My ADD took me in a different direction… Applesauce.
I searched around for popular recipes for Applesauce but all of them required peeling the apples. When you peel the apples I think you lose some of the flavor and it doesn’t have the fabulous pink color that I’ve come in associated with homemade applesauce. So I did something that I generally find kind of dangerous… I decided to wing my recipe.
Applesauce
Ingredients:
Directions:
Wash apples then quarter to remove core and seeds. Then cut into large pieces.
Take the remaining ingredients and place in a heavy bottomed pan. I used my Le Creuset – 6-3/4-Quart
When the mixture has reached a boil turn down the heat to medium-low and cover. I’d stir every 10-15 minutes until the apples have broken down. I found that it took a little over an hour for them to fully break down.
Here you can see how the apple progress from firm to broken down. When they are broken down you should remove from heat and puree in a food processor or immersion blender to reach the consistency you desire.
Even though I kind of decided to wing it here I was very happy with the end result.
I went to college in Miami. So I know a thing or two about hurricanes and how to prepare for them and how to adjust after them. Thing number one about preparing… be prepared for the worst. We stocked up on food and water ahead of the storm. But we also stocked up on beer and wine. The key about consuming booze during a Hurricane is not to get too drunk to function.
On Monday night when Sandy hit Z and I were hanging out in our apartment, cooking dinner, watching TV, and having a few Woodchuck Apple Ciders… it was October after all. We flipped back and forth between movies we’d downloaded and TV News Coverage. It quickly became apparent that what we were experiencing on the Upper East Side was far different than what our friends and many other New Yorkers were dealing with downtown.
We were very fortunate that we never lost power, experienced flooding, or wind damage. The area we live in has Manhattan’s highest elevation so we were very lucky. At around 11pm we even took our dog outside for a walk because the winds were so low and the rain so light.
Wearing my Patagonia Torrentshell Jacket
and Hunter Wellies in High Gloss
We went out and checked out on our car… she was fine and then headed back inside. When we woke up the next morning we were shocked that half of Manhattan was still without power…. including my office. But business was as usual on the Upper East Side. Grocery Stores, Restaurants and even nail salons were open. Two of our friends came up and stayed with us for a few days while they were without power.
I’ve been working from home all week and I’m so eager to get back into the office. It’s next to impossible to not go crazy sitting in the same apartment compulsively checking email without anyone to talk to. I’m hoping that next week things will continue to become more and more normal and that New Yorkers can overcome… we are quite resilient after all.
