Service for Six

What I haven't told you....

2011-10-10T10:53:00.004-04:00

There are actually three people in this photo. :)

In June Dave and I got a little unexpected news. We had talked about having kids (more for him - a first for me) and we figured due to the fact that I am considered ancient in the baby making world we'd start...after the wedding.

Life had some other ideas.

So this is the reason I didn't keep on my expected weight loss regime prior to the wedding, while I've had less energy than usual and zero time to blog and why the name of this blog is now "Service for Six" because I have gone from cooking for just me in my little itty bitty kitchen to having 4 (and 5 in February) other mouths to feed.

It's all very exciting, and everything I always wanted. I just never expected to get it all in the span of a few months.

I'm still thinking about moving everything over to Wordpress but for now I just wanted to give you all the scoop.

My mom has three granddaughters and in February she will have a little boy to spoil.

A boy whose father and I christened "Veruca" in my early stages of pregnancy. He'll pay me back for that later for sure!

Of course, there is plenty more to the story but that's the latest for now. I've got honeymoon recaps and more about the wedding and I may actually cook something and tell you about it soon.

Thanks for hanging in there. It's nice to be back.

Update soon! (and some housekeeping items).

2011-09-22T12:58:00.002-04:00

Hi all!

I’m back – not sure how many noticed I was gone since my blogging has been sparse to say the very least. There is so much going on – I keep waiting for things to slow down but it appears there is no such thing.

I’m moving on Monday and soon after Jen is moving into my old apartment and I’m so excited for her to be a city girl. She loves Long Island but I really do think she’ll enjoy living in the city. I resisted for the longest time and now I’m dragging my feet to leave. :(

I also need to change the name of this blog. I still want it to be about life and food and things like that but I am no longer single (obviously!) so the name seems silly.

Any and all suggestions as to a new name would be MUCH appreciated!! I’m pretty much at a loss. Second Helpings seems to be a no-brainer but there are multiple catering companies and others using that name and I don’t want to have to switch AGAIN.

Also if anyone knows how I can switch this puppy over to Wordpress that would be awesome. I’m thinking it’s time for a change.

I promise you I will be posting more soon. Once the dust settles next week I will update you with all the goings on around here.

In the words of Rachel Zoe - “It’s pretty major.” :)

9-4-11

2011-09-11T12:50:00.001-04:00

Two weeks….

2011-08-22T20:47:00.001-04:00

Stopping by for a quick update. I am the world’s worst blogger and an even worse food blogger. I had to opt out of a Ghirardelli Tastemaker offer today because I was ashamed to admit when my last blog post was. :(

I made 4 completely different meals yesterday (I decided I didn’t want to cook again this week due to stress level) and took nary a picture.

So what’s new? My shower was on the 13th. My mom and Jen did an amazing job. I am very fortunate to have such generous friends and family.

I am pretty well set for the wedding. Of course the following things have occurred lately:

Jen’s shoes were too big. I ordered another pair and they sent a completely different style shoe. Status: Currently waiting for replacement

My catering manager quit. I found this out when I sent an email and got her “I no longer work here” auto reply. Status: New girl seems responsive but I am not happy to switch so late in the game.

Amenity gift bags were 8 sizes too small. Status: Returned – awaiting replacement.

We’ve submitted our marriage license application and need to go there in person on Thursday to get it. Rings are pretty much done. My first fitting was last week – my dress was HUGE which again was a huge relief. I had this nightmare my dress would be too small. Of course this wouldn’t have been a problem 30 lbs ago but bygones.

Anyway – that’s where we are. I promise PROMISE a huge wedding/honeymoon/life recap after the wedding.

Now if I can just keep from having meltdowns in the car in the parking lot of Stop & Shop for the next two weeks I’ll be golden.

I don’t…

2011-07-28T12:44:00.001-04:00

I don’t believe that my wedding is only 37 days away.

I don’t like traffic or driving in New Jersey. (This is not news). Dave and I both had cars yesterday. We met at a Costco in Clifton. It was very romantic. I tell Dave I am in bumper to bumper traffic. He says he sailed right there and that it should clear up and I’ll be there in 5 min.

I called in 15 min later to say you better start shopping without me because I had moved only about 20 centimeters.

Moral of the story: New Jersey hates me.

I don’t know why this guy in the McDonald’s on 42nd and Madison sits in the vestibule wearing a black SECURITY t-shirt. He is not there all the time. It is not a particularly crime ridden location (that I know of). It’s not like it’s so hot and trendy you need a bouncer.

I don’t know if there will ever be a time that I won’t want a burger for dinner. At least last night Dave and I shared one.

After we shared a buffalo chicken quesadilla for an appetizer but you know.

I don’t know how we are all going to survive a 10+ hour (I think) drive to the Outer Banks (beginning tomorrow). At least we are stopping near Baltimore on the way down!!

I don’t know what I want to eat for lunch.

I don’t know if my wedding dress will fit. I am hopeful as I went to M yesterday and have not gained anything significant since the last time I saw her which was ages ago.

I don’t know why I don’t work out/walk more as I love that half hour all by my lonesome on the treadmill or walking by the water.

I don’t know how to end this post. So I’m just going to. :)

I’ve come to a conclusion

2011-07-22T13:47:00.003-04:00

I’m just not going to post much this summer. Please know the intent and the desire are there.

Time is what I’m lacking.

I cleared out my DSLR camera yesterday. I had 125 pictures. Some are pictures like this:

which are taken by landscaping obsessed Dave in our backyard.

Some are from the absolutely DELICIOUS five star dinner my good friend Kelly hosted for us.

Butternut squash soup Lobster salad with avocado. Filet, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Chocolate peanut butter pie for dessert. Incredible.

Some are of Father’s Day weekend. When Ellie and Matt came out for a barbecue.

Dave found a frog in the backyard and showed it off to Miss Ellie. She wasn’t quite sure about it – but she and Maddie are sure about Dave. He has them both eating out of the palm of his hand. Not frogs of course - but you know... The next morning my mom made breakfast before we headed back to New Jersey. Egg, bacon and cheese biscuits anyone? That night for dinner I made shish kebobs. Dave got a few gifts.

I also found some pictures of this girl on my camera.

This is Dave’s dog Genevieve, who came out to Shelter Island last weekend but never came home. :( He wrote a post about it here. (Which is Dave’s blog btw). It was a no good very bad day full of vet visits and she is sorely missed. She helped me keep the floor clean and from eating all the leftover bacon. She was my only source of company when I worked from home alone. She filled I void I’ve felt ever since this lady of all ladies said goodbye.

I also found a picture of this girl. I’m not sure what she’s even doing.

What I’ve been up to

2011-07-15T11:23:00.001-04:00

I’ve mentioned it before – but I’ve got a lot going on.

My wedding is officially 51 days away.

I’m moving from an itty bitty apartment to a big house in the suburbs. I’m going from living alone to living (most of the time) with four other people. All of whom I adore so that’s not the issue.

The issue is that – contrary to the state of my apartment – I really like things clean. I like my living space to look…lived in…but I don’t like things like plates and cups in the dining room, using a new plate or cup for every morsel you eat or drop you drink, wrappers from food tossed on counters and floors, things from the fridge (esp milk) left out to get warm, things cooked in the microwave without plates and or a cover, kitchen cabinets left open….

Let’s talk about that last one. Is it just me or does a kitchen IMMEDIATELY look untidy if the kitchen cabinets are left wide open???? I’m thinking of asking Dave to take the doors off because it is a rare occurrence that I walk through that room without having to close…SOMETHING.

Come to think of it, my major complaints all really center around the kitchen. Don’t get me started on the NEW family of birds in the stove vent or the beige countertops that mock me with every crumb or spill.

Everyone is really trying which I absolutely appreciate and I am completely aware I might have a touch of OCD.

Last weekend Maddy invited me, Cortney and Carrie to her dad’s house in East Hampton. The house is awesome and our hosts were even better. It was such a lovely relaxing weekend.

We went to the beach in Montauk.

And had dinner at Gosman’s Dock.

Last night I met Maddy and Kristen for a Bastille Day celebration. I had a burger. And French Fries. I don’t think that qualifies as French food but oh well.

Sidenote: There is an episode of The Office where Pam goes out on a date and the guy makes a joke about Freedom Fries. I went on a (emphasis on the singular) date with a guy who told me he called them Freedom Fries.

I don’t think Dave has anything against the French thank goodness. He specifically LIKES frogs as a matter of fact. :)

That reminds me I have a picture I need to post here that includes frogs.

Tomorrow at the crack of dawn Dave and I are heading out to Shelter Island. We are staying at my cousin Nancy’s house at her gracious invitation. It’ll be bittersweet. Last year my dad was with us and he was truly in the best spirits of the whole time he was sick. He was driving, cooking and he felt good.

I miss him lots. Especially now as my wedding is 51 days away.

Still I am very much looking forward to relaxing this weekend by the beach and for some fantastic people watching.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer! Be back with more pics and tales from this weekend.

Maddie and Ellie are going to be there. Last year they spent the whole time singing Lady Gaga. Who knows what they have in store for us this time.

Things my nieces say….

2011-07-14T17:37:00.001-04:00

A six and four year old can be the best form of comic relief.

Well….Ellie actually may turn out to be a comedienne. It’s highly possible.

Here are a few examples:

“What are you even doing?” (uttered whenever you are doing….anything)

“Dave, I’m not sure about your shoes” (Ellie trust me. I’m not either!!)

“These are my American armpits” (A song by Maddie – sung wearing a bathing suit in the driveway)

“Krissy, don’t you have a nice skirt or shoes you can wear?”

“Krissy, why are you wearing jeans? Didn’t you know it was Poppy’s birthday?”

The above is proof Maddie is a bit of a fashionista.

“I’m going to get my own dress and my own shoes” (Ellie in regards to her flower girl dress. She’s a fashionista too)

“We only had two cookies for breakfast”“ (Way to sell me out on the phone to your parents, kid)

“How can you marry Dave if he’s already married and has kids?” Maddie, luckily, has no concept of divorce.

I am sure I am missing out on some of the best ones. Now that I have finally posted (slacker!) Jenny – help a sister out!

If I don’t post today my fiance might just leave me

2011-07-07T18:17:00.001-04:00

That might be a tad melodramatic but he does ask EVERY DAY.

My sister is also on my case.

So here I am – with tales of where I’ve been.

The truth is saying that my life is hectic is a severe understatement. There is pretty much NOTHING in my life that has not changed in the past year.

I’m not complaining about all of it – but it’s just…a lot.

I need time to process.

Luckily in the last few weeks I’ve had some time to relax. I went to Orlando. Or Hogsmeade. Or both.

Three Broomsticks Butterbeer anyone? Tastes like vanilla cream soda. Get the frozen version. Hogwarts.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is very cool. It’s tiny but you really feel like you are stepping on the movie set. My advice if you want to visit is to stay at a Universal property. We did and got in as soon as the park opened. About an hour later the wait time for the ride was over an hour.

Craziness.

PS: People LOVE Harry Potter a little too much. Teenagers galore dressed in capes and Hogwarts school uniforms.

Here’s some food I ate. Or Annie ate. Or Dave ate. I cannot even remember where these were from. They were yummy though. Come to think of it – the above (and the below) was dinner with Dave at The Station.I went for an early dinner with Patti upstairs at Bryant Park Grill

I had a solo lunch at Lillie’s on Friday. It was a burger. I don’t know where it went. This I remember. Dave and I went to the Hester Street Fair.

And had tacos. Then we went to dinner at The Mermaid Inn East Village location.

Lobster truffle mac and cheese. Nothing wrong with that.

I think part of the problem is that my blog is experiencing an identity crisis. I am no longer single. I no longer cook for 1 person.

Today I made a chicken casserole with Campbell’s Cream of Broccoli soup.

I’ve become June Cleaver.

Greetings from (fake) Italy!

2011-06-23T14:03:00.001-04:00

Hi there everyone! I know I am super lame with the updates. Jen has threatened to guest post soon so hopefully you’ll actually see something here more days than you don’t.

I have been in Orlando for work since Monday. I started my stay at the Grand Floridian. Yesterday afternoon I moved to the Portofino over by Universal. I can’t get away from the Casey Anthony trial.

Disney is great. I love a lot about it but the culture is sort of…cultish for lack of a better term. And as hard as I try not to look for hidden Mickey’s I find I cannot help myself.

I’m here with my mom and Jen. Mom has a business presentation with her trusty sidekick Lauren and my cousin Erin drove up from Boca. We’re basically loving it by the pool every day. It’s like 100 degrees in the shade. We plan to go to Harry Potter World tomorrow (very early – like at 7 am) and then the spa in the afternoon.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

I went to the gym 2x since I’ve been here. That’s a pretty big deal.

We had a terrific dinner at Mama Della’s last night. The service was great, the food delicious. The downside was the portions were gigantic and we had no place to take the leftovers.

Erin also thought she saw Kimora Lee Simmons – but that’s another story.

I’ve been lax on the pictures, sadly. Just wanted to check in and say overall things are good. This trip came at a perfect time. I needed a little break from reality and it’s always good to be with my mom and Jen.

Poor Dave is home alone. He’s not even with the kids this week. Just a man and his dog and a backyard full of wildlife.

Hope all is well with all of you. Next week I’m going to try and get my act together and use this space more frequently.

Thanks for hanging in!

Guess where I am?

2011-06-22T09:24:00.001-04:00

More fun to come.

Lost & Found

2011-06-16T20:41:00.001-04:00

Just a quick update. I don’t have much to report these days – but I have a bunch of events this weekend so hopefully they’ll be more to do/see.

My current schedule:

Fri – NY - Haircut - Jen’s birthday celebration begins at Otto.

Sat – LI. BBQ in the afternoon in honor of Jen’s birthday. Dinner and Kelly & Chris’

Sun – Hang out on LI – go back home to NJ

Mon – go into NYC in the AM – head to Orlando for work/play for the week.

Wow I’m tired looking at it!

Sweet Mora found my nook this morning. I’m going to load it up with some juicy summer reading for my trip.

And that, my friends is that.

Except for my catching up with 30 words:

Wednesday

First a drive to Long Island then a drive to the Bronx

A winning game with twelve runs scored

I’m annoyed. Nathan’s fries shouldn’t taste that good.

But they do.

Thursday

I totally forgot to start watching So You Think You Can Dance until all the auditions were over.

I’m really mad. Now I have no idea who to root for.

I can’t find my nook

2011-06-14T13:20:00.002-04:00

I will explain further but first – 30 words:

Dave thinks he is more hard core than me at the gym.

He also wears shorts, sneakers and black socks when he works out.

Who’s cooler? You be the judge.

So. I can’t find my nook. I bought it with my unexpected gift check bonus at Christmas. I am a lover of books, I have many and I actually reread them on occasion. I love the smell of bookstores. I can spend hours in them. But I love the nook for the simple reason that I can add more books the minute I finish with my current read.

I read really quickly.

My nook is MIA. :(

I hate losing things. Mostly because (shh don’t tell him I’m saying this) but Dave loses things ALL THE TIME. So often that he always has faith they’ll turn up and can move on and do other things till they do.

I have this thing where I can’t rest until I find what I am looking for.

It’s not that I don’t misplace things. I totally do. Often. But there is a very short list of things that I can’t take losing. They basically turn me into a bit of a crazy person.

1) Keys. It’s not been an issue for a while – since I have not driven in quite some time – but I’ve had Jen’s car for about a month and I’ve lost the key 2x. If I really have to think of it my panic might be because I now have my own mode of transportation. Not that I was a prisoner every time I was in NJ but my resources were limited. Now I like that I can run to the store or to Zumba completely on my own. Me time is at a premium these days. I’m trying my best to adjust to this new life I’m going to live. And it’s not a bad thing. It’s absolutely a life I want – it’s just….A LOT. All the time.

2) Wallet. I am a lunatic when I lose my wallet. One night (right before I met Dave) my wallet mysteriously disappeared and I’m still not over it. I have no idea where it could have gone. One second I had it – next second – gone.

3) Important papers. Think passport, drivers license, birth certificate. They are all now in a plastic envelope under my coffee table thank you very much. One of the good things about getting married is I have a chance for a new passport picture. My current one looks like I ate myself and then went back for seconds.

Sidenote: I remember that day. I went to CVS with Jen. I got ready at my parents’ house. I looked in the mirror and thought I actually looked ok. Better than ok even. But I was a huge gigantic hot mess and now people in foreign countries get to see me look that way.

4) Expensive electronics. I don’t doubt that my nook is somewhere at the house. I mean it has to be. I didn’t take it with me anywhere since last Monday night when I looked up the recipe.

I just want to find it is all. :(

In other news – Dave and I have been going to the gym (see above). It’s early yet – but we’ve been 3 times in the last 4 days. Not too shabby.

I made a yummy shrimp and zucchini dish last night.

I have a bologna sandwich for lunch today.

Dave keeps catching groundhogs. They ate some of his plants so it’s all Caddyshack up in our backyard these days. I have this nightmare one night they’ll find their way back and be outside our house with pitchforks setting fire to their old home, (underneath) the shed.

There are still birds in our stove vent for the record. :)

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday

2011-06-13T13:38:00.002-04:00

Thursday

Thursday trivia. Nice to be in a new place with the same people (give or take two).

I like flat bread pizza. Houlihan’s serves Cavit.

Pretty much a win/win.

Friday

I took a long walk and a half day to be home on time.

I also like Margherita pizza.

I write about food more than normal people do I think.

Saturday

Zumba for an hour then thirty on the treadmill.

Grocery shopping. I’m not an extreme couponer but I do like saving money.

Plastic string cheese wrappers = my new nemesis.

Sunday

I ran while watching The Food Network.

I took Maddie shoe shopping.

I heard the greatest quote ever from Tamra on The Real Housewives OC Reunion.

Andy Cohen owns me.

Monday

It’s a very good thing I’ve started exercising again.

My love for pretzels is a huge threat to my wardrobe (and wallet).

It’s an illness. I can’t help myself.

Very Vegetable-y

2011-06-09T12:21:00.001-04:00

I’m trying not to jinx it – this renewed passion for eating better and exercising. Maybe it’s the fact that half my summer clothes don’t fit. Maybe it’s the two dresses my mom bought me that I can’t zip up all the way. I’m not going to analyze it too much. I think that’s what gets me in trouble.

Anyway for the last few days I’ve been making vegetables more of a part of what we’ve been eating. Steam them or grill them and add some spices and done.

I love pasta – but pasta doesn’t love me so much. I wanted to try something a little bit different. My initial idea was Shrimp w/Cannellini Beans but we were out. I have been threatening to make my own hummus one day so we had lots of chickpeas. In an effort to eat less pasta – I subbed orzo.You basically throw all the ingredients in a pot – even the pasta and simmer away. For the record I always steam my broccoli and then throw it in at the very end so it doesn’t over cook. Plus I threw in some spinach.Simmer simmer. I will definitely make this again. The other day I had a sandwich for lunch. It was turkey and cheddar w/spinach and hummus and honey mustard on Nature’s Promise Flax and Whole Grain Bread. You can now go back to your regularly scheduled program.

Dinner on Tuesday was my attempt to get the kids to eat more vegetables. 2 out of 3 children approved. Dave got me a new charger for my DSLR battery. He’s so….great. :) I basically sauteed onions, garlic and peppers in a little olive oil and soy/teriyaki sauce. I used a Newman’s Own Sesame Marinade and grilled a steak, sliced it and put it on the side. I added shrimp to the stir fry mix, some broccoli and spinach and brown rice. DELICIOUS. Last night Dave and I had Caprese Salad.I know. I’ve never made that before. :) I also grilled some chicken – marinated in white wine, lemon juice and Montreal Chicken Seasoning. Served with Alexia Sweet Potato Fries and Grilled Asparagus.

In other healthy living news - we are joining the gym tomorrow – I’ve been weaning myself off Diet Coke. It’s not easy and I’m not sure subbing Crystal Light is actually doing me any favors since they are pretty much sweetened the same way. My goal is to drink more seltzer and less soda. White wine spritzers instead of gallons of Pinot Grigio. On special occasions Vodka and Soda w/a splash of cranberry. Like that. You know. Baby steps.

Aaaaaand that’s all I’ve got – EXCEPT the story about the Dave and the bug in my apartment.

Probably not the best to tell after I show you all that food but I’m afraid I’ll never get to it.

SO. I got home on Friday last week to find a huge bug near my front door. I mean HUGE. Like all the bugs in Manhattan morphed into one giant bug.

OK. I might be exaggerating but it was definitely big.

Anyway I got one of Dave’s sneakers and tried to kill it but it scurried into the bathroom. In a total novice move I tried to spray the bug with bathroom cleaner. It was then it decided to go live in my closet.

I called Dave. Told him to leave work immediately and come kill it. Then I ran out of the house and went to Old Navy.

I came back, huddled on my bed biding my time. By around 3:30 I couldn’t take it anymore and went out for another walk.

FOR THE RECORD – my apartment is ONE ROOM. Just one. In the 6 years I’ve lived in NYC I have seen about as many bugs and nothing this big unless you count the Palmetto bug that stowed away in my luggage on a trip back from Florida.

(Dear The South – You are not kidding anyone with that fancy name. A roach is a freaking roach. Love, NYC)

Suffice it to say there is not room for me and any sort of critter in that small space.

Dave comes by after work. He roots around the location of the bug for a bit and finally admits defeat. Laden with various bags and boxes (You don’t think for ONE MINUTE I am leaving any garbage in that place) we get on the elevator.

Dave shrieks like a ~~schoolgirl~~ man in great distress.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he says “but I think the bug’s in my pants”

I glare and say “NOT FUNNY”.

Until I realize he is not kidding.

I am such a wimp at first I won’t even follow him down the hall to the laundry room so he can drop his drawers to find the thing. Then I decide to go be lookout because HELLO I don’t want him to be the creepy pantless guy in the laundry room.

I have never seen a pantless guy – creepy or no - in my laundry room btw.

So he still can’t find it and gets dressed. We head out to the sidewalk.

Moments later we see the bug from hell casually crossing the street.

Apparently it had jumped to another location while Dave was trying to find it.

Moral of the story – Dave is stronger than me because I would be in a freaking mental ward at the moment if it had been me rather than him with the bug in my pants.

PS – Thank the Lord for skinny jeans. They are virtually bug proof.

The end.

Falling behind

2011-06-09T09:19:00.001-04:00

Monday

I’m trying to do this 30 word thing because I feel like it’s a challenge.

I find that the challenge really is getting myself to blog on a regular basis.

Tuesday

I walked 3 miles and then went to Zumba.

I think I’ve finally gotten my groove back – so to speak.

I know I still dance like a white girl.

Wednesday

Dave and I worked from home.

I barely got off the couch and never changed out of my pajamas.

Dave thinks my wedding dress should contain LED lights. (Long story)

Things I’m trying to do

2011-06-07T11:39:00.001-04:00

Exercise more.

Eat healthier.

Drink less Diet Coke.

Figure out our summer plans without pulling my hair out.

Watch less reality TV lest my fiance run for the hills. :)

Three days of thirty

2011-06-06T11:34:00.001-04:00

Friday

Bug is long gone – but not how you think.

Dave should go into the pet control business on the side.

A bit of traffic and Happy 50th to my cousin.

Saturday

Ellie is four. Someday I am sure she'll be a comedian.

I made Maddie spray Matt with water to avoid it myself.

For some reason I don't feel too guilty.

Monday

I made a smoothie for breakfast.

It was made mostly of chocolate.

I'm not so sure that's what the healthy living people are talking about.

And now I'm still hungry.

More details to follow on the bug situation. And also a yummy recipe featuring Shrimp and…chickpeas. :)

Constructive Eviction

2011-06-03T10:50:00.001-04:00

There's a squatter in my apartment. A bug the size of a compact car scurried into my closet. I tried to kill him with Comet.

I need to move out.

Memorial Day 2011

2011-06-02T10:40:00.001-04:00

A year ago over Memorial Day weekend Dave and I went to New Hope, PA.

This year we went crabbing.

I mean Dave, his dad, his sister, the kids and his nephew went crabbing.

Dave’s mom and I went to the beach.

And then came back and watched them crab (?) is that the verb?

And then we went to Dairy Queen.

I love Dairy Queen.

On Monday we had our ~~geek fest~~ I mean barbecue. To explain – when Dave was first separated he joined (and now runs) a MeetUp group of people who like to play board games and trivia. I have never gone to one of the board game events so I only knew the trivia folks. I’m being mean. The truth is they were all lovely (if slightly eccentric) people and everyone seemed to have a great time.

I made a corn salsa that was to die for if I do say so myself. You can find it in this month’s Food Network Magazine. And bruschetta. A lot of people brought pasta salad. Guess which one was mine? The other best seller was dessert. I made a flag cake. It was noted it was not historically accurate.

I said eccentric people attended earlier didn’t I? :)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. We’re heading to Miss Ellie’s (my goddaughter) 4th birthday bash this weekend. I am sure there will be plenty to report.

Tardy

2011-06-02T09:55:00.001-04:00

Last night my fiancé asked me if I was participating in a blogging challenge. Thirty words a day for the month of June.

I guess so - a day late.

Ellicott City, Maryland

2011-05-26T14:29:00.001-04:00

Dave and I went to visit friends in Ellicott City over the weekend. They used to live right in the center of town but now live in a lovely woodsy retreat miles away. It was a nice, restful, fun weekend.

I ate (mostly) vegetarian this weekend and walked 4 miles 2 days in a row.

Still the scale is not my friend and did not budge when I went to M’s today.

BIG HUGE SIGH.

Anyway – the weather was lovely and I love the shops there.

This is where I heard Dave enter the store saying “I think she’s in here – it’s very girly” or something to that effect. I may have done some damage – wallet-wise. To be fair – I bought more presents for other people than presents for myself. I did not buy any Barbies but I’m thinking I should have. This goose is not blue. Just saying. I love the name of this store.

Tonight it’s trivia night. Dave and I are hosting all the ‘gamers’ (for lack of a better word) for a BBQ on Monday. It’s our real event together and I’m betting he will be happy I made him go to Costco last night instead of this weekend.

I am also admitting to the internet that I had the membership card in my wallet and forgot that fact at check-out.

Anyway – I’m sure that there will be something off in the universe on Monday with so many geeks (I say this without malice – I am geeky myself) in one location but it should be a good time.

Stay tuned for a recap of that. :)

For the birds

2011-05-24T09:58:00.001-04:00

There are creatures living in our stove vent.

Baby birds have taken up residence so that every time I cook I feel like Snow White. Our backyard is like a scene out of Bambi. I knew there were deer ‘round these parts but we also have:

Bunnies

Chipmunks

Your requisite squirrels

A groundhog named Chester* who lives under the shed

Birds (in the oven vent and elsewhere)

A fox named Lefty*

* I had no part in naming these animals.

Dave’s kids used to have a hamster (no longer) and a guinea pig (no longer) and a Golden Retriever named Genevieve (who is alive and well and curled up sleeping near me – I like her a lot). I’m iffy on rodents you see.

I mean…I am not someone who would like to give a mouse a cookie. I don’t want to be nice to mice.

($10 if you got the Ally Sheedy reference)

SIDENOTE: Speaking of Ally Sheedy – I am reading If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster right now. If you ever liked or enjoyed a John Hughes movie it’s pretty much a must read.

I simply don’t like critters. These birds are freaking me out a little to say the very least.

So – let’s see what else is new. I am trying to find shoes to match the bridesmaid’s dresses. Did I show you the dresses? They are kind of hard to see in this picture. They have spaghetti straps and pockets (!!!) I kind of want one myself. They’re dark blue but not exactly navy or royal.

My dress is BEHIND that dress but you can’t see that till much later. :)

Plus ummm….Dave reads this blog.

This is the current shoe contender. They have a heel but are not too high. They come in a size Mora could wear. I am not loving any silver shoes but these are the best of the bunch. I think they could be cute but we’ll have to see. PS: Any ideas or shoe suggestions would be welcome in the comments. :)

There’s Zumba tonight. I weigh in again on Thursday. I don’t think I’ve gained anything but I’ve not lost much either. :( I might take a break from going to M because it’s less helping and more hindering me at this point. This whole wedding planning thing comes with weird pressure. It’s all good – it’s full of people wanting to do nice things for me – but I don’t know. I’m a tad bit stressed.

I’m also perpetually sad. It’s been months since we lost my dad and I still can’t quite believe he’s really not here anymore. It’s not consciously constant yet it’s always there. Yesterday I went to the supermarket to pick up a few things. They had rhubarb in the produce section.

My father was slightly quirky – as am I – I am fully aware. He often would just be sitting around and ask us inane questions such as “So Kristen. What do you think they’ll do with the rhubarb this year?”

When I was younger I had no idea what rhubarb even was. Once I learned what it was I would reply with all sorts of preparations. It’s a stupid little thing but when I saw those red celery-esque stalks yesterday I really missed him. :(

Last night I did not take pictures as I made turkey chili and it wasn’t too exciting. Tonight I’m taking (kinda) the easy way out by making meat sauce (homemade) and cheese ravioli (not homemade). I’ve also made some bread to go along with it.

Have I mentioned how much I love having the ability to work from home?

I caught up on some On Demand stuff last night/this morning. Oh man. Friday Night Lights – such a fantastic show. Real Housewives of NJ – what a train wreck. I forgot it was the new season of The Bachelorette last night. Tim – you give Long Island a bad name. Bentley – you’re a scumbag. Mask Guy – WTF?

Dave – I am forever thankful I will never have the want or need to go on a show like that. :)

Bouley

2011-05-23T10:11:00.001-04:00

Thursday night Patti and I went to an event for the Langham Hotel Group. Patti says their Pasadena property is one of her very favorites.

We thought it was at the restaurant – but it was actually at the test kitchen. The chefs from various hotels made a bunch of delicious treats.

It was dark and I only had my iPhone but here’s what I could capture.

I’m very much into flowers these days. Must be the wedding planning!!! A duck ravioli with sweet peas. Delish! Chocolates. Asparagus all lined up. Roasted shrimp with grape tomatoes in a shot glass. Soft shell crabs. More chocolates. Pear vodka. Not really a fan but the cocktails they made looked yummy.More flowers.

There was lots of interesting wall decor. Chefs in action.

Ice cream pops. I was told it was vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Methinks the bottom layer was actually pistachio.Patti and me with Chef Denis.

Everything was so well done and it was definitely an experience I would not have had if not for this event!

I have more pics from my weekend in Maryland and if I keep my head about me – maybe even pics from me making dinner tonight! Stay tuned!!

I always do what my sister tells me to do

2011-05-19T16:56:00.001-04:00

Jen asked me to update – so I am. I will tell you what I did today.

I woke up – ate peanut butter on an English muffin.

I drove to NYC from NJ after whining to Dave about taking a different way than I am used to.

I got to my apartment – did 3 loads of laundry while working.

I ate a grilled goat cheese and balsamic onion jam sandwich with oven fries for lunch.

I love goat cheese.

I took a 3 mile walk along the East River.

I came home – talked to Jen – ran the dishwasher and then showered.

I need to look presentable as I’m off to an industry event at Bouley in the next half hour or so.

My apartment is a total mess – it looks like a homeless person is squatting here.

Ewww. That doesn’t sound too good. Mostly I think because I don’t like the word squat.

Jen doesn’t like the word moist – fyi.

You can now return to your regularly scheduled program.

Reasons I love Zumba (and…Brunch)

2011-05-18T09:29:00.001-04:00

1) I just like to say the word. It’s fun.

2) I love people who love Zumba. Believe it or not (Jen) – there are people who love Zumba more than me. People who wear Zumba clothes to Zumba class and hang out in the front near the instructor. Now don’t get me wrong – I might be persuaded to buy this top.

Or these pants (which are less Zumba-y but still look comfy).

But really I just like to stand off to the side and do my thing.

3) You never stop. It’s one hour where you can’t think because you are too busy trying to keep up.

4) But most of all – the number one reason I love Zumba is because of stats like this. 1hour and 2 minutes = 705 calories burned.

I just wish I could take this class 5 days a week!!!

Lots of stuff has gone on since we last spoke. My mom threw an engagement party for Dave and me. It was a good time with good friends and family and lots of good gifts. :)

It’s difficult having parties now (and honestly all this is difficult) without my dad. Not only do I simply miss him – he was a master at organization when it comes to preparing for a party. Still – my mom and Jen did the bulk of the hard work and the result was absolutely lovely.

We got tons of flowers. A lot of hydrangeas as those will be our centerpieces at the wedding. Also – I just love them. Jen made homemade muffins (Blueberry Corn) and Bacon & Cheddar Biscuits (in a muffin shape) Action shot of the egg and bacon casserole and a lovely fruit tray.French Toast and Silver Dollar Pancakes and some Chicken Tenders for the kids – except they were eaten mostly by the adults! Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s BACON! And potatoes! My plate.And then there was dessert. Angel Food Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Bavarian, Strawberry Cheesecake, Berries and Cream and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (made by Dave’s mom)

Looking at all that food is making me think of what I can do today to exercise a little. It’s ugly and rainy out. Blech. Honestly that calorie reading on the heart rate monitor was pretty inspiring. If I can exercise like that and enjoy it that much there is no reason I should be hanging on to all this weight.

Plus I saw my dress again this weekend. I really want them to have to take a yard of fabric out of that sucker.

Hope all is well with you and yours. Be back later.

Lighten Up

2011-05-10T14:24:00.001-04:00

It’s been another busy weekend. We were out on Long Island helping my mom & Jen clean out the basement. Dave fixed a hose, Jen and I fixed brunch.

All in all a lovely time was had by all.

It’s been a while so I thought a food oriented post was in order. I really am trying to go on the light side these days. Some days I’m successful – others not so much.

You will shortly see that I am a big fan of potatoes cooked with onion. And wine made by penguins.

Mother’s Day.

I opted for a fried egg over easy. Dinner on Sunday – Dave and I used the new grill. Shrimp marinated in olive oil, Old Bay, garlic and lemon.Orso with onion, garlic, tomato and goat cheese. Last night Dave and I went to see Something Borrowed – which I very much enjoyed even though the book was much better. Beforehand I made us some dinner. More potatoes. Pork chops – marinated in buttermilk, covered in panko, baked for 35 min at 375. More potatoes! More penguins! Dave and I are working from home today. I made us some lunch. Grilled chicken – teriyaki for him over a salad.

Barbecue for me on a Goldfish thin.

The weather here is so beautiful. I went for a 3 mile walk yesterday – I could have walked for days it was so nice to be outside. Tonight dinner is Chicken with the Sauce and I’m heading to Zumba.

I’m still craving chocolate but at least I’m getting some exercise.

Hope you all are enjoying the spring. I’ve realized I’m so much happier when I can get out and walk. Yesterday I kept thinking I should have started running at some point but I’m still not sure where I will end up once I get started. I’d walk to Zumba if I could but I have to walk on the highway and that might not be a great idea.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Things, the Friday Edition

2011-05-06T10:15:00.001-04:00

I don’t have a real post for you today. I am conflicted in general as to what I want to do with this little space of mine. There are so many places I can go. Most of them, however, seem quite finite.

I could blog more about the wedding – but that’ll be done with in about 3.5 months.

Seriously. I’m getting married in 3.5 months. (!!!!!!)

I like writing about food but cooking and taking pictures as you go is really difficult to do alone. Plus I am almost always ravenous by the time I am done.

I could write about losing this weight but I just slid back a little so I have now lost 6.5 lbs instead of 8. I think my biggest culprits for weight loss sabotage are the following:

Wine

Cheese

Chocolate

Not that I eat massive amounts of any of them. Okay. I might have had a lot of wine last Thursday at Diane’s house. And then more wine on Saturday at Cortney’s party. And then champagne w/my Mom at brunch on Sunday.

But still.

I’m in a celebratory mood. And to me – good friends and good wine go together. Like – peanut butter and jelly.

Except I don’t like jelly with my peanut butter. I don’t like jelly at all.

Dave asked me today how I felt about the new trend in restaurants – where you order off a touch screen. I told him I’m too picky to trust a computer to get my order right. Will they have a million options like “I’d like the cheeseburger but with mozzarella cheese instead of American, no bacon, no mushrooms but sautéed onions instead of raw. I’d like the salad with no olives and the dressing on the side and I’d like balsamic not Caesar.”

Just call me Sally Albright.

Anyway – I’m vowing to eat more salad in the coming weeks. My goal is 20 lbs before the wedding. More than that would be lovely but 20 would be perfectly fine with me.

Here’s a lovely salad I made the other day for lunch. Spinach with 2 chicken tenders (whole grain baked Perdue) with sautéed pepper and onion, goat cheese and Light Honey Dijon dressing.

The other night Dave and I ate outside. I made turkey chili. I ate the leftovers last night in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

What else??? Someone took my box of tissues off my desk at work but also left me $3 under a post-it. That’s pretty nice. At least they didn’t steal them outright.

For Mother’s Day Dave and I are heading out to Long Island to help my mother clean the basement. That’s what she wants to do so that’s what we’re doing. We’re also going to Fork & Vine for dinner where I am not going to get the goat cheese mashed potatoes again.

Things I have noticed lately:

My TV viewing is rapidly declining. Turns out when you are living in a house with 3 kids and 1 TV you don’t watch as much as you used to. Also – when your fiancé tells you his children are not allowed to watch The Millionaire Matchmaker (he has a point) you sort of have to respect his wishes.

If you want ice cream just eat ice cream – don’t get these bars from Breyer’s that promise they are less fat and calories and look like someone took a Dove bar and put it in that shrinky TV thing from Willy Wonka and handed it back to you. Just eat a scoop of good ice cream and be done with it.

People in NYC can’t take the change of seasons. When the weather starts to get warm you either have people still wearing hats and winter coats and other people wearing shorts and tank tops.

Here’s something else. Today on the PATH train (because I commute from NJ now. I mean…what is going on???) a woman got on. A man 2 seats away from me offered her his seat and she replied.

“No thanks. I’m not pregnant – I’m just overweight.”

Now – I will admit – the day over the winter when I decided it was a fabulous idea to wear one of Dave’s flannel shirts and my Dad’s old jacket and the check out woman at Shop Rite asked me when I was due was not one of my finer moments but I gotta say – as much as I might be mortified at the thought I would have probably taken that seat.

Seats are a premium on the PATH train.

Really I just felt so bad for both of them – for the woman who clearly must be tired of people making that assumption and the guy – who was doing the chivalrous thing and got smacked back for it.

On that note I shall get going. Have a lovely weekend one and all. Be back with tales from the basement and other exciting stories.

Wanted

2011-05-04T21:48:00.001-04:00

See this dog? She single handedly ate about a dozen and a half mini doughnuts today. Nevermind that those doughnuts were chocolate (EEEK!). Do you think she looks appropriately contrite?

Anyway. Mora and I made doughnuts. Mora came with Dave and me to register and procured a mini doughnut pan and mix in the process. I pretended not to know how to make my own buttermilk in order to put her off till Wednesday to make them.

I’m not a perfect person.

Anyway – the mix itself tasted divine.

Mora was an expert piper. Before Genevieve the dog got a hold of them. There was a full plate at one point.And after….Mora was inconsolable. Until I went to the grocery store and brought back some ice cream.

The end. :)

Doughnuts

2011-05-04T13:38:00.001-04:00

I’m here. I know my posting is as irregular as it gets but I can’t seem to find enough time these days.

Case in point – I was asleep at 8:30 pm on Sunday night.

This afternoon Mora and I are making doughnuts. We hope you will join us for a recap of that adventure along with a lot more food related catching up.

Be back soon. Promise!

Happy Easter

2011-04-26T21:14:00.001-04:00

Dave and I spent our first ever holiday together. Strange I know - but this was a weird year. We went to church, went to brunch (which was surprisingly difficult. Is it against the law to have brunch that is not a buffet in New Jersey??) and then – I made dinner.

A table for two. We like to sit next to each other because we are adorable.

I made roasted shrimp cocktail. If you have never made this you must. Roast the shrimp on a cookie sheet at like 400 for 5 ish minutes. I drizzled with olive oil, S&P and crushed red pepper. Served with a side of cocktail sauce.Caprese Salad.This is champagne we’ve had in the fridge since our rocking New Year’s Eve. I think I got a little tipsy.My mom sent us pretty new glasses from Tiffany’s.I love Tiffany’s. I don’t love that they are holding my ring hostage for like 2 weeks while it gets resized. :(

Dinner was broiled rib eye with sautéed onions, 1/2 a baked potato w/light sour cream, a slice of garlic ciabatta and some roasted asparagus.It was better than anything we could have gotten out if I do say so myself.

We registered over the weekend. I have five lists with hundreds of items total. Dave’s freaking out thinking we’re going to get all of it and he has no idea where we will keep it all. I - having upgraded to a 5 bedroom house instead of a studio apartment – can figure out where to put four truckloads of stuff.

Just sayin’

I quit chorus and went to Zumba tonight, then came home and ate a peanut butter sandwich.

Wedding planning is still going. I have a ton done but I’m looking forward to meeting with a second florist this weekend.

Winter left, spring lasted a minute and summer came early. It was about 80 degrees today.

I’m slowing down. All of the sudden I got a little sleepy. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Decades in the making

2011-04-22T12:22:00.001-04:00

Hello lovelies! I am back after a whirlwind 3 weeks (give or take) in which I have done the following

1) Lost 8 lbs. (!!!)

2) Picked a wedding date & venue

3) Picked bridesmaids dresses

4) Bought MY dress (!!!)

5) Booked a DJ, booked a quartet for the ceremony

6) Gone cupcake tasting – and picked the flavors we’d like (not finalized but close)

7) Picked a photographer (pretty much – again it’s not finalized but close)

8) Decided on favors

9) Purchased a sample flower girl dress (we’re going to have 3)

10) Met with a florist (who was AMAZING! Like someone out of a movie. I kept waiting for Howard Weinstein to show up)

SO. We’re in pretty good shape. :)

Everything is just as I imagined it. Actually - my dress is not at all what I thought I’d pick but I couldn’t be happier.

Oh. Let’s talk about dresses for a second. Why does the bridal industry think only size 6 women get married?? Because according to them I am a size 20. I was a size 20. Once. That was 48 pounds ago.

The place I got my dress was lovely – even though I could not zip it up to save my life. We did a test run at David’s Bridals (where the Vera Wang’s only go up to size 14 (read 10) fyi). At least there I could try things on but the Bridal Consultant – if you can call her that – left a lot to be desired.

I was basically given dresses that were the exact opposite of what I asked to try, a bra that was 14 sizes too big and left to my own devices. I’ve heard people who have had great experiences there but this girl isn’t one of them.

The dress I chose couldn’t zip up but I know exactly what I’ll look like in it. I was able to customize the top to make it the style I wanted. It’s stunning – if I do say so myself. :)

I know it might seem crazy to be doing things so quickly but c’mon. This is what I do. I plan for a living. I know what I want and I want to get it settled. I might be giving Dave a coronary in the process but he tells me his health is fine. I’m trying not to push it. ;) Honestly though – even though it’s been quick there’s no settling involved. I am so excited about every single thing we’ve done so far.

Can you tell??

Pictures to come (of everything but the dress – sorry but you know. Dave reads this blog people!!) My cameras and cords are in NJ which is where I’m headed after work today.

Dave and I are registering tomorrow. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend – whether you celebrate or not.

Wait till you see what I’ve been up to.

2011-04-21T15:45:00.001-04:00

I’ve basically planned an entire wedding in about 2 weeks.

I will share (most) details starting tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

:) K

Gym, Tan, Laundry

2011-04-18T12:22:00.001-04:00

1) I fear I won’t be back here with any regularity until this wedding planning is near finished. I’m like a dog with a bone. I can’t leave it alone till it’s done.

Or buried – as the case may be. :)

Today Dave and I are going cake tasting. Before I walk myself there I am going to go do some C25K at the gym.

2) I used Kiehl’s Self Tanner on my feet and legs prior to Carrie’s wedding last weekend. My feet are 2 different colors and I looked like an Oompa Loompa.

3) I have clothes all over my apartment, all over the bedroom in NJ. I haven’t done a full load of laundry in weeks.

4) I haven’t been in NYC with any regularity. I have to bring food from Dave’s and will need to go get toilet paper on my way back from the gym before I kill this box of tissues.

5) I have lots to tell you but not too much time to tell it in. Hopefully I can catch up with you all tomorrow.

Until then!!

This just in: Diamonds make you lose weight

2011-04-11T12:57:00.001-04:00

Hello lovelies. I am sorry to be MIA for a bit. This weekend was spent moving some of my stuff from NYC to NJ (eeek!) and at Carrie & Chris’ wedding. The “City Girls” were chauffeured by this hot guy driving a white 12 passenger van.

But that’s another story.

I am here to tell you in the first week since being engaged I went to M’s and lost…5 lbs.

So basically it’s not that I can’t lose weight – it’s just that I’ve not had the motivation I guess.

I am not motivated today let me tell you. I went a little heavy on the Malbec last night.

Wedding planning is…going. I haven’t tried on a dress yet – we don’t have flowers or a photographer or a cake but we’re looking!!

I’m so lazy today and it looks nice outside. I hope I can find some motivation soon.

I’m going to be making a yummy (light) dinner for me and the fiancé tonight so stay tuned!!

Planning – Phase 1

2011-04-07T10:51:00.001-04:00

I’m a planner by trade and I’m pretty sure it’s in my DNA. When we first started dating I used to say all the time to Dave “I am really not trying to nag – but I need to know basic plans in order to function. The plans can change – but I need to sort of know what is going to happen when.”

Back then it was simple things like “What time should I meet you?” or “What do you think we’ll do this weekend?”

Planning has taken on a whole new meaning this past week. :)

I had all these grandiose ideas about my wedding. The one thing I am adamant about is that I don’t want to have the wedding or reception in a hotel ballroom. I want light and outdoor space.

My first choice – right off the bat – was the Midtown Loft and Terrace. I called them immediately and they gave me pricing – which was thousands of dollars just to walk in the door.

Then I contacted a caterer I have used for corporate events. They gave me a quote that had labor and rentals amounting to more than food and alcohol.

(insert sad face here)

Deep down I already knew it. I do this for a living. There is a reason that people use hotels for this kind of thing. The staff is already there, the tables and chairs and barware and plates and silver are already on site. Your costs drop considerably when you factor all that in.

Luckily, however, I live in NYC. And so I think (cross your fingers we are signing on the dotted line tomorrow) we’ve found our location.

Oh. And a date. Sunday, September 4, 2011.

Yep. You heard me. :)

The ceremony will be upstairs – with a view of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We have the option to have the ceremony outside but a) it’s more expensive b) I do not want to fret about the weather. It’s Labor Day Weekend. It might be sweltering.

Cocktails downstairs in a bright sunny room. There’s also a full bar that you cannot see. Everything is white and modern. I like that.Outside those windows is an outdoor patio. So during cocktails people can sit outside if they choose. The reception itself will be back upstairs which also has two terraces so that people can mingle outside then as well.

So that’s where we are right now. We have to find someone to do the ceremony. We need hotel rooms for out-of-towners, flowers, a cake, music and a photographer. The upside of a city wedding is that we don’t need limos and the like – and Battery Gardens offers valet parking. Jen found a dress she thinks she might like. Now I…gulp…need to try and find mine.

I’m heading to M’s today to see what wedding madness has done to reverse the upward motion of the scale as of late. I have to say this all has been terribly motivating. :)

From now on expect less food, more wedding planning posts.

I trust you’ll be OK with that.

So where should I begin?

2011-04-05T11:58:00.001-04:00

I’m guessing you all are most interested in my work trip to Orlando right?

OK. It would be cruel to keep it from you any longer.

No?? That’s not what you wanted to hear about??

OK. I’ll tell you about the night I got engaged then. :)

Dave and I went on our first date on March 29, 2010. I remember it was raining and I met him at a now defunct wine bar. It was a frequent first date place of mine. Close to my apartment but not too close. He sat at the same table where I had my last (horrific) first date. We even had the same waiter.

We basically closed the place down and he offered to walk me home. Being a savvy New Yorker I was loath to let anyone I’d just met walk me home but I let him.

Let me say this. I am sure Dave has had as tough a year as I have. He patiently stood by while he thought I stood him up right before my gallbladder surgery. He came out to Long Island to see me right after. He was there the whole time when everything was happening with my dad. I told him last night I’m not sure I could have made it through all that without him. It might have broken me. :(

But luckily I didn’t have to.

When people close to me meet Dave they all say the same thing. He’s very nice to me. That sounds weird but it’s the simplest way to explain it. As much as he says I do for him he does for me. I guess that’s the point of a good relationship.

Anyway – on Wednesday to celebrate the occasion of our first anniversary Dave took me to Tabor Road Tavern – where we went for New Year’s Eve. I was sick. Still am. When Dave saw me he asked if I still wanted to go as I looked miserable.

Sidenote: (I didn’t know he was going to propose. I thought maybe there was some chance he MIGHT. I was also starving and had been looking forward to this dinner. No way I wasn’t going to go.)

First thing – I made Dave valet park when he tried to self park. The ring – unbeknownst to me – was under my seat in the car. It had been there all day in a commuter parking lot as well but I didn’t know that yet. So now he had to go back to the car and get the key from the valet and get the ring.

We were seated at a regular table but then Dave asked for a booth so we had to wait at the bar. We had a glass of wine and then were finally seated in a big booth.

We had a lovely meal, during which we were just talking about our year together. During dessert and simply during our conversation he asked. I said yes. Then he gave me a sparkly ring in a blue box. :)

Then he took me to CVS to get NyQuil because I was really sick.

For the record, diamonds shine even brighter in fluorescent light. :)

We told the kids on Friday and they were all very excited. Mora wants us to do crafts at the wedding. I told her maybe at her next birthday party.

We’re already deep into planning and it looks like 5 months from now (give or take) I might need a new name for my blog. :)

It took a while but I finally got here.

I have been kinda busy…

2011-04-03T08:25:00.001-04:00

Big huge catch up post tomorrow.

(PS: It’s 10x more sparkly in person!)

A little list

2011-03-29T18:47:00.001-04:00

1. I am finally done with weeks of suckiness, business and everything in between.

2. I ate seafood in not one but 2 hotel kitchens last week. More on that later.

3. I’m done with my major concert and I’m kinda sad to see it go.

4. A guy sitting near Jen at Avery Fisher Hall last night asked her to put away her cell as the light was shining. Her answer? Maybe. :)

5. Cedars Garlic Lovers Hummus. Still the best ever.

6. My true love told me he would drive me back to the city so I can cheat on him with my Zumba soulmate on Thursday. That might be one of the sweetest things he’ll ever do.

7. I’m struggling. I can’t get on track to (literally) save my life. I eat a salad, I get a Happy Meal. I run, I sit on my ass for days.

8. I’m getting a cold. F-in winter. It won’t leave.

9. I made Pasta Carbonara the other night. And then again the next night. More on that later.

10. I miss you guys. Better, more substantial posts to come. Thanks for hanging in there.

M-I-C….See you real soon…

2011-03-22T09:11:00.001-04:00

Hey there!

I know my posting has been…let’s say…erratic. It’s been a tough week or so in SS land. I’m super busy with work – I live in 3 different places (essentially) and…it was my dad’s birthday last Friday.

Just when you think that you’re doing OK it comes back and hits you in the face. I had a bit of a meltdown about it all. I’m better but still a little shaky.

I’m heading away for work this week so foods will be….hotel banquet related. In order to combat that culinary festival let me give you a little retrospective of where I’ve been.

I went to a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters and wore a dress Jen bought for her Christmas Cotillion in 1996.

Dave and I drank this in New Hope, PA. And had soup, black bean burgers (very dry – not very good) and a fish sandwich. We had a couple of drinks at the Ritz in Philadelphia. And then ate soup and sandwiches at Cracker Barrel. I watched Dave try and win the golf tee game. He sacrificed his non-mayo bread to appease his picky girlfriend. And also ordered her a biscuit. Diane and I went out on St. Patty’s Day.

We had profiteroles instead of birthday cake on my dad’s birthday. This is all that’s left.On Saturday my brother, sister-in-law and the girls were there for the weekend. Jen and I made Surf & Turf for dinner. Roasted shrimp. (Olive Oil, S&P, in the oven at about 400 for about 8 minutes) Garlic Mashed Potatoes. 3 1/4 lbs of Yukon Gold – boiled till fork tender. 1/4 stick of unsalted butter, a generous amount of sea salt, 1 cup of steamed milk, 3 cloves of roasted garlic and cracked black pepper. The best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made. Filet mignon roasted in the oven. Roasted asparagus – with just a little olive oil, S&P and granulated garlic. My plate.

And there you go. I’m trying to get back to it. I’ve been walking more and trying to eat less. I’m headed to the gym, then the airport to fair Orlando for the remainder of the week.

Jen promised a video post soon as she makes one of her specialties.

Stay tuned.

Paper Spaghetti with Newman’s Own Cabernet Marinara

2011-03-16T13:28:00.001-04:00

I received a bunch of products (and a Flip camera!) from Newman’s Own as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. As soon as I got the package I knew I’d have to have my lovely assistant, Miss Mora help me out.

You will soon see she’s really the star of the show.

Even though I am a control freak who won’t let the poor kid touch the spoon to save her life. :)

We had a terrific time making the video last night. Thanks again to Dave for his fine camera work and direction and to Maddie and Alex for being so patient.

Dave and I once had Spaghetti al Cartaccio at Barolo in NYC. Once I got these ingredients and was asked to make a quick and easy recipe I knew what I had to do.

The video (at the end of this post) will show you step-by-step but here’s some pictures from the shoot to help you out.

I have to say the sauce was pretty delicious all on it’s own. You could really taste the wine and to me wine is an important ingredient in my homemade sauce. I would definitely use this again in a pinch. This recipe looks fancy but is super simple and really takes less than a half hour all told.

Disclaimer: The camera adds 10 lbs. The sweater adds another 10. Less Pinot Grigio and Girl Scout Cookies + more salads and Zumba will get me to minus 20.

PS: No comments on my corny jokes or my Long Island accent thankyouverymuch.

Hope you enjoy!

Salads Galore

2011-03-16T12:16:00.001-04:00

I am here to report that my latest project has done it. I filmed my first video last night and though I do stand by making an unfortunate wardrobe choice (I should not have worn my dad’s old XXL sweater) it is clear now that I have to get my ass in gear.

I hate the way I look. I haven’t hated the way I look in a really long time and I don’t like it one bit.

Last night’s pasta dinner notwithstanding (more on that later) Dave and I have eaten a lot of salads in the past 2 days.

Dinner on Monday was Salad ‘n Steak.

I bought a new cast iron pan for $14.99 when Dave and I stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel on Sunday.

Yes. We eat at Cracker Barrel. This pan has already changed my life significantly.

I marinated a London Broil Joe Malone style with Gravy Master, soy sauce and garlic powder. Served over spinach with caramelized onions and peppers & crumbled goat cheese. I also made a quick dressing of dijon balsamic vinaigrette. With a baked red potato on the side. The steak was cooked pretty perfectly if I do say so.Yesterday’s lunch were his and her salads. Iceberg, grilled chicken, soppressata, tomato, onion, carrot and celery and parmesan for him….Grilled chicken and leftover spinach salad from dinner the night before for moi.

Tomorrow I will also show the scientific way I decided who will win the Multigrain Cheerios prize pack. (I know this was like 100 years ago).

Later I will show you how I used the 3 things below to make a recipe video.

Until then….

Fun, Food, Flowers, Philadelphia

2011-03-14T12:46:00.001-04:00

I haven’t gotten to the gym as much as I wanted to last week – but I’ve done a ton of walking and I’ve been eating better. There have been some slip ups – but I’m eating half more than whole these days. I’ve skipped fries in favor of vegetable soup. These things are steps in the right direction.

Also – it’s been fun. I mean – look how cute these sandwich thins are!!!

This is roasted chicken breast, spinach, red bell pepper, onions and fresh mozzarella. Tomato soup with spinach and goat cheese. This is what you can do with a can of Campbell’s!Roasted chicken, brown rice, tomato paste, yellow bell peppers, peas, spinach, fresh mozzarella.

Dave and I went to Philadelphia for the weekend. We spent some time with his parents and some time just running around the city.

I had a lovely time.

On Saturday I had the best pretzel ever at Miller’s Twist at the…. Dave wants to come back for Scrapplefest. I, unfortunately, have plans that weekend. Drats!We bought some yummy treats at Di Bruno Bros. Market. 3 types of cheese, homemade pepperoni and soppressata. After a looooooong walk we ended up at Bridget Foy’s. Dave liked these chairs. We started with hummus. Dave and I split this delicious burger – we even left some of the fries.

And also this Mac & Cheese. We still have some left over. And it was just as good as it looks. More even. It had a potato chip crust!

We walked some more.

Then we headed over to the Flower Show. We were met with a free wine tasting as we walked in but sadly there was nothing special about any of the wines we tasted. :( Disappointing. At one point I told Dave I’d rather stop tasting and wait and get a good glass of wine later. That’s how mediocre it was.

The flowers however were pretty amazing. It had a French theme. This just doubly confirms how much I need to go to France. I’ll let most of the pics speak for themselves. These purses (and pictures) are made with pressed flowers. So cool. A Bonsai Tree – which was not made by a 180 year old man trained for 5 years – but is a 180 year old tree trained for 5 years. :) There was also Antique shopping, drinks at the Ritz, a delicious Italian dinner, and a Penn State basketball victory. And about 6 ish miles of walking throughout the day.

Pretty much perfect.

Stay tuned for some blog housekeeping, such as me flipping a coin to award Cheerios, and the great possibility of a video post starring me and Mora.

Hope you all had a good weekend. Be back shortly.

I promise. :)

A feast for the eyes

2011-03-08T15:39:00.001-05:00

I am sure I am forgetting something here. I’ve eaten in different cities, different states, in 80 degree temperatures and in places below freezing.

Some of it was great – some of it was so-so.

Greetings from Club Red in beautiful Boca Raton. Mom, Jen and Jen’s friend Marge went to visit my Uncle Red and cousin Erin. We ate at Duffy’s Sports Bar.

(say that with a South Boston accent. It’s funnier that way). It’s the official spot of the Florida Panthers.

I had a very delish Black Bean Buirger and yeah… fries. Lunch at the Boca Town Center. Say hi to my cousin who works at Macy’s if you stop by. Short Rib and Grilled Cheese with a side salad.Super cute shoes courtesy of Jessica Simpson. See this? This is me trying to tell you I didn’t make a waiter sit down at our table and ask him to explain to me what “We don’t have any more Pinot Grigio in the place” actually means in a way I can understand by making you think all I had was Diet Coke. Mellow Mushroom where your waiter will keep telling you if you order too much you can have the rest at 4:20 in the morning. Me thinks he knows a lot about the numbers 4 and 20. The Office – not to be confused with where Jim and Pam work.I don't even own *a* gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack. Uncle Red’s B-Day featuring an old school canned ham.Bruschetta is better.My plate.Some people like these.I am not one of those people.

Hotel, motel….Holiday Inn.A Vanilla Mudslide And chocolate ice cream.Jen got sick. :( I made dinner. She ate rice at 11 PM. Back in NJ – and the Muscle Maker Grill. I ate half the wrap and all the potato. Dave wanted Lamb Chops, Brown Rice and Brussel Sprouts I wanted a Pork Chop, Asparagus, potatoes and creamed corn. So I made both. And I also tried to make my dad’s meatloaf. It’s not quite there yet – but closer. In the NYC - Salad with chicken, made at the cafeteria yesterday. A small potato with low fat sour cream, roasted asparagus….

And a Foreman Grill Burger – with grilled onions and mozzarella on an English Muffin.

It’s good to be back.

Excuses vs. Facts

2011-03-07T12:19:00.002-05:00

I have a lot of pictures to post – lots of places I’ve been and people I’ve seen and food I ate. Fun stuff and I promise I’ll get to it. First I wanted to post this before I get distracted.

I think I’ve finally had a bit of a breakthrough on the diet/exercise front. Don’t quote me yet – but I feel different about it today.

Nothing like having to face your nutritionist after drinking your weight in wine for a week straight to do the trick.

Two years ago when I was the fattest I ever was or ever want to be my life was at a crossroads. Traveling for work had slowed down considerably for me – I literally couldn’t stand myself one more minute and I was motivated to change things. I began working with M feeling like this was the last resort. I had pretty much determined there was no way in hell I’d ever lose the weight.

And then – I did.

I maintained for about a year and then – things got crazy. Instead of traveling I was dealing with my dad’s illness and a new relationship. I didn’t have a lot of time to give to myself – I was focused on other things. I was OK through the summer because I am more active in the summer – but September hit and I just basically gave up.

All I know is that I can’t watch the scale go up one more pound. I have dealt with a lot this year but the fact is that there is always going to be SOMETHING. The facts that got me to where I am now are also excuses. There’s no denying things have happened and my life has changed but I can change the way I deal with it.

I’m not going to come here and tell you I’m going to be perfect. I’m not going to list promises to myself about what I’ll eat and how much I’ll work out. I’m simply going to be selfish. I’m going to quietly carve out time every day where I’m simply thinking of ME. A salad for lunch, a half hour walk, the refusal to let Pinot Grigio enter the confines of my apartment. Any – and all – of these things will help.

It’s a start.

My next few weeks are JAM PACKED. I am away this weekend – and then away for work next week and the week after. My dad’s birthday is next week. I’m going to be rehearsing for my concert (in the fugly dress I’m going to have to take to the tailor to have them let it out so I can breathe). If I can get through the next few weeks – the way I got through the first few weeks 3 years ago when I started this I’ll at least see the scale start to go down.

It’s not so much about how I look as about how I feel. This time around I have clothes that fit. I’d just like to fit into more of them. I want to feel better. I’m tired of feeling….just OK.

The fact is there are no more excuses.

Wish me luck.

Greetings and Salutations

2011-03-02T09:57:00.001-05:00

I’m back. I’m alive and well rested after a trip to sunny Florida.

Food, fun and other updates to come soon.

Hope you all are well.

April Showers

2011-02-22T12:09:00.002-05:00

OK. Not quite but in my mind it makes sense.

Carrie is getting married in April.

We had her shower this weekend.

I love it when champagne greets me at the door. And when it’s mixed with fruity punch it doesn’t make me feel so bad about having some at noon. :)Table 3 was where it was at. Gifts for us.Gifts for Carrie and Chris. Mixed green salad. Chicken (fit for a) Princess. This is quite like my favorite Chicken Madeira at Cheesecake Factory. I don’t know why I don’t ever make this for myself because I can for sure cut the calories from it. We had Canyon Road Pinot Grigio. It might be a new favorite. Cavit – watch out. I like sweets but this type of cake never really tempts me.Still didn’t stop me from eating the cake and icing part and leaving the filling.A sweet end to a sweet meal for a sweet couple. Can’t wait for the wedding!!!

Dave is already getting ready for me to leave him in favor of the dance floor. :)

Diametrically Opposed

2011-02-21T17:02:00.001-05:00

I am a complete contradiction.

I am pleased to report that since Thursday I ate more salads, did more walking, did actual intentional exercise. I walked for 2 miles at my mom’s on Saturday and then did 5 miles on the bike on Sunday.

Friday Jen made yummy pizza and I ate 2 small slices plus some sauce on the side.After my walk I got some mini bagels. They reminded me of my dad. He used to go out to get these for me all the time. Then I ate on Saturday night I ate 1/3 of this eggplant rollatini (I made the mistake of bringing the leftovers to Dave’s and left them as free game in the fridge) And shared this brownie sundae.

Hopefully it’ll all even out.

Heat Wave

2011-02-18T14:58:00.001-05:00

Let the record show it is super warm here in NYC today. Also we won at trivia last night despite the fact that my team did not acknowledge that I knew coconuts have water, California has the most National Parks, that Backdraft came before A Bronx Tale and that Candice Bergen was the first female host of Saturday Night Live.

Still…despite that…my losing streak appears to be over. :)

Dave and I have decided though we’re not eating there anymore. There’s nothing good. (Except the pretzels. I stand firm that the pretzels are worth it.) The burgers aren’t even all that spectacular.

It was very cute last night. Dave started walking uptown from his office. I started walking downtown from mine. We met on W 4th Street and made our way to the PATH train.

My gaining streak might be over too. Despite less than a stellar week I went to see M today (another thing I avoid when I don’t want to face the scale) and I maintained. Given the butternut squash puree alone from Monday that’s a big deal.

I don’t have much else to report. I’m headed to LI tomorrow to spend the day with 2 different sets of friends.

I ate a Vitatop for beakfast and had a grown up version of chicken fingers and fries for lunch.

I was saying to M today that at least I’m THINKING about what I’m doing these days. I’ve gotten used to simply not thinking for a lot of months and it’s obviously taken it’s toll.

So here’s to thinking more about what I eat for the next week – and to moving just a little bit more. Downward movement on the scale the next time I weigh in would be a lovely lovely thing.

TGIF everyone! Don’t forget to COMMENT HERE and win some Cheerios!

Cheerio!

2011-02-17T11:06:00.003-05:00

Things that have happened since I last spoke to you:

1) I did week 5 day 3 of the C25K AND I walked 3 miles.

2) I ate shrimp with pasta for lunch.

3) I waited for my boyfriend to pick me up from the bus stop. By bus stop I mean I walked from the bus stop to Applebee’s and sat and read for 10 minutes before he got there and drank Diet Coke while I had 2 glasses of Pinot Grigio. I started to tell him a story about something and went on a tangent.

4) I ate an entirely different kind of shrimp and pasta for dinner.

5) I fell fast asleep on the couch before the opening credits for Restaurant: Impossible ended, was guided up to bed and did not move an inch till 6 am.

6) I finally finished the story on the train into work this morning.

It’s a rough job dating me – or maybe just having a conversation with me. Either or.

A while back I got a pack of goodies from MyBlogSpark. It contained a box of Multigrain Cheerios.*

*That link brings you to the page that has a Biggest Loser tie in. More on that in a bit.

I used the containers yesterday. The water in my bottle looks pink because it was flavored with some Crystal Light. And yes. That is a Jim Halpert bobblehead in the background. He and Pam hang out with Dwight all day. :)

I tried these once before and went back to regular old O’s but I’m finding that I really like the bit of sweetness these have this time around. I like my cereal sweet - but not too sweet. Back in the day I was a Frosted Flake fiend but something with sugar hidden in the title can't be all that good for you. Even if it tastes grrrrrrrrrreat!

Ahem. Anyway - inside the Cheerios box there’s a code to enter to access some tools to help you if you are in a weight loss situation (like I am currently). You can get your BMI, some workout hints and a 7 day meal plan.

I’m working on eating these for breakfast for the next week – which is not exactly the plan – they give you many more choices – but Cheerios have long been my breakfast of choice on weigh in days. They make me feel lighter somehow.

It’s mostly in my head – I know – but whatever works right??? I figure it can’t hurt!

Soooo - if you’d like your own box, bag and handy dandy containers just comment here before midnight (ET) on Saturday. Winner will be announced on Monday!!

Woo hoo!!

Tonight I’m headed back to NJ. It’s supposed to warm up considerably so I’m thinking of walking to the World Trade Center to meet Dave after work. We may – or may not – head to trivia tonight.

I weigh in again tomorrow. Wish me luck. My Valentine’s meal and penchant for Pinot Grigio might get the better of me.

Scarlett O’Hara Syndrome

2011-02-16T13:52:00.003-05:00

Hi, I’m Krissy and I suffer from Scarlett O’Hara Syndrome. I wear hoop dresses made out of curtains, super tight corsets and go around saying “Fiddle dee dee” when someone tells me to do something I don’t want to do. I steal other people’s boyfriends and marry them immediately – including one that belonged to my sister.

Like Prissy – I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthing no babies and could not stomach working at a hospital in wartime.

It’s quite the affliction.

Actually Scarlett and I do have a lot in common - one thing in particular. We both put off till tomorrow what we don’t want to deal with today.

I’ve been doing that for months now in regards to my weight loss and even at work. I get things done and haven’t gone far off the tracks but it’s no way to live. As much as I’m prone to do it – procrastinating completely stresses me out.

How do I procrastinate? Let me count the ways.

1) My glasses from…2006 got too loose to wear about a year or so ago. Instead of going to Lens Crafters and having them adjust them I wore some old pairs I had lying around. After my mom and Jen both told me to never wear the gold wire rim Brooks Brothers pair out of the house again I settled on a different pair that I probably got in 2003 or 4. When I had my eye exam last year they asked me to read the chart with my glasses. Apparently that prescription is a little off because I couldn’t read the teeny tiny letters on the bottom. I finally got new glasses yesterday – as well as getting the 2006 glasses tightened so I can wear them. Now I will have 2 functional fashionable pairs.

I got a cute pair of tortoise shell Ray Bans with a bit of light blue on the inside. The interior color is a light blue and the outside is a little lighter tortoise. This is the closest I can find to what I bought.

I realllllllllllly wanted this pretty dark blue pair from Tory Burch but my newly fixed pair are red and I wanted something more neutral. I also wanted something that said - “I wear GLASSES.”

Jen will know what I mean by that.

2) I went to the gym a few weeks ago and they stopped me on my way out and told me my membership expires on 2/22. I couldn’t afford to pay for the renewal till this week so instead of just going and saying “Yeah I’ll catch you on the 15th” if they asked - I AVOIDED GOING ALTOGETHER. Why? Because I’m a scaredy cat who thinks that they somehow won’t let me use a treadmill till I pay up. This morning I not only renewed – I ran – for 20 minutes straight – ending up with about 2.5 miles total.

3) My last haircut was before a wedding I went to in October. I’ve keep up with the color but not the cut. I am trying to grow my hair out but really? When you wear ponytails for 4 weeks straight maybe that’s a sign you should get a haircut. I finally took care of it at lunch today. It took all of 40 minutes.

This morning I took a little extra time. I straightened up and took out all the trash – including the recycling. I filled the dishwasher and ran it. I packed breakfast* and lunch for today AND tomorrow as I am going to be in the office and not working from home. I got dressed in something besides jeans (a skirt even – with high boots!!) and headed to the office like a real working person.

Sometimes it’s good to deal with tomorrow today. :)

* I opted in for an offer from MyBlogSpark,General Mills and Multigrain Cheerios. More on that, how it ties into my Biggest Loser obsession and how you can win a prize pack in tomorrow’s post.

Love means never having to say you’re hungry

2011-02-15T13:06:00.004-05:00

As part of my job I’ve been able to go to a lot of really really really good restaurants in many different cities. Living in NYC I have been able to attend events at the NYC Wine and Food Festival for the past two years. In New York you can pay a lot for your dinner and it can end up being mediocre. But sometimes you (or your sweet boyfriend) could pay a pretty penny and find every bite worth it.*

Last night was one of those nights.

I didn’t take pictures at all while we were there – mostly because I didn’t want to be ‘that girl’ as my sister is fond of saying. I wanted to relax and just enjoy every morsel. And I did. I really did.

When you arrive at craft you are greeted warmly. The hostess offers to take your coat to an undisclosed location. When you meet your dining companion at the bar and he gives you flowers someone else walks by and asks if they can store them in a cold place for you until you are done with dinner. The smiling bartender pours you a delicious glass of Cabernet Franc (we had the Beatrice et Pascal Lambert, Cuvée Danaé, 2006. I can’t tell you what all that means except it was light and luscious) which a server carries for you when you move to your table.

We ordered a bottle of the same wine, ate a delicious slice of bread and butter and then ordered our meal. I started with the Ricotta Cavatelli
& Guanciale. Have you ever had guanciale? I know I’ve heard of it but had to Google to make sure it wasn’t something like Scrapple. I’ve never had scrapple but I’m going to bet guanciale blows it out of the water.

Dave had a salad of Beets and Tarragon.

They serve ‘family style’ so there was plenty for each of us to have a taste. The cavatelli had a runny egg on top and the yolk made it taste almost buttery.

I had Beef Short Ribs for my entree and Dave had Braised Halibut. I had short ribs at Fork & Vine the other night and they were really good.

These were ridiculous.

(translation: Ridiculous = amazing. See also – something I’m going to obsess over and order multiple times – sort of like crab cakes).

On the side we had Duck Risotto (with crispy pieces of duck skin on top) and the creamiest butternut squash puree I ever tasted. We had three types of ice cream for dessert – caramel (this was the BEST), vanilla bean and chocolate peanut crunch. Dave had an itty bitty coffee and I had a yummy hot chocolate.

In addition to the most lovely card and the sweetest smelling flowers my true love also gave to me…the leftovers.

(which are also taken from you in return for a claim check that you can turn in at the hostess stand upon leaving. No doggie bags on the table at Tom’s place.)

I just had lunch.

That’s (clockwise) the leftover butternut squash, risotto, cavatelli and short rib.

My love for Tom Colicchio and Top Chef shows no signs of waning after this meal I’ll tell you what. I want to say hi to him and buy his cookbook and have my friend tell him personally how much she adores his restaurant while tipsy after a 5 course meal.

Oh wait. That actually happened. :)

However you chose to spend it - whether you were like me a few years ago an hosted a ‘Cupid Can Kiss My Ass' party for all your single friends serving Rachael Ray’s You Won’t Be Single for Long Vodka Cream Pasta (the bitch lies btw) or like the girl in front of me at CVS wearing sweats and buying a pregnancy test or at a delicious dinner with a wonderful person you adore – I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s day.

* I have to say I by far got the better end of the deal. My Valentine’s gift to Dave included…an Applebee’s gift card. :) It's a long story but...still!

Start your day the chocolate way

2011-02-14T10:55:00.002-05:00

One of my dreams in life is to go to Paris and eat pain au chocolat for breakfast everyday. Not like I can’t get that in NYC but I have this image of me sitting at a little sidewalk cafe eating chocolate for breakfast.

And after that I’d go to Christian Louboutain and buy some shoes.

But that’s another story.

Today – I had chocolate for breakfast because when my boyfriend went to Costco I slyly slipped a box of these in his cart.

I love these things. Just sweet enough and full of chocolaty chips.

We had a lovely weekend. Friday night we went to Codmother’s for dinner. I had a cup of clam chowder.

I ordered Shrimp Parmesan and split it in half. I didn’t finish that half and ate the leftovers for lunch on Saturday AND still have some leftover for lunch today. I don’t know if the portion sizes are just that enormous but it’s making me feel better about my vow to take home leftovers when I eat out.Dave had a salad and Black Sea Bass with Mushroom Risotto, Spinach and Broccoli.

Saturday I sleep super late (9 am – which is really late for me) and then sat like a lump on the couch watching many episodes of Top Chef while Dave ran around doing errands. I got up – finally – and did something productive – which was to make dinner for Dave and the kids for Tuesday night – a chicken casserole-y type thing. I should have taken pictures throughout but I get so caught up in cooking that I totally forget.

Bad food blogger. Bad.

I am not a big person for casseroles. We really didn’t eat many growing up but I gotta say – I think this one came out pretty great. Here’s what happened.

1) I put a pot on to boil and made about 3/4 a pack of Barilla Mostaccioli per package directions (actually slightly more al dente than usual) and set aside. I drizzled some olive oil and sautéed some onion and garlic. Then I browned some boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2.5 of them) seasoned with a little kosher salt and fresh ground pepper till almost cooked through and then set aside.

2) I made a rue with a little flour and butter then deglazed the pan with some white wine. I added one can of Cream of Asparagus soup and 2 cans of lowfat milk and another splash of wine and stirred until creamy.

3) I added some cayenne (about 1/4 teaspoon) and about the same of poultry seasoning. I also threw in about 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan. I added some chopped baby spinach and green onions and about 3/4 of a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Then I added the chicken back in + the pasta and stirred till everything was coated. I added some fresh ground pepper as well – no salt as the cheese and the soup have plenty of sodium already.

I put it all in a shallow pan and added about a handful of breadcrumbs and some more freshly grated parmesan on top (about 1 oz).

It tasted sort of like chicken pot pie with pasta. I felt very Good Housekeeping after I made this.

Saturday afternoon, Dave and I headed to Long Island to go to dinner with my mom and Jen. We went to Fork & Vine which was awesome. It was very difficult to try and pick what I wanted to eat off the menu. It was dark and hard to take pictures but if you ever find yourself on the North Shore of Long Island you should give it a try.

They have small plates as well as entrees. Dave and I split a roasted beet salad. Mom got the baked St Andre’s Cheese which was very brie like. We also split the Philly Cheesesteak Spring Rolls.

I had Short Ribs over plantain puree with black beans. Jen got Pork Tenderloin. Dave got Skirt Steak. Mom had Grilled Sole. The only downside of this meal was the goat cheese mashed potatoes I ordered on the side. I expected creamy goodness. They were seasoned with chopped tomatoes. Wrong color, wrong consistency. To their credit once I inquired about the ingredients and mentioned I didn’t care for them the waitress whisked them away and off the bill.

Dessert was…I mean…I am having trouble forming words.

There was chocolate.

There was peanut butter.

It was all mixed together in something called a Tasty Cake.

I almost licked the plate.

Sunday we had a delicious breakfast made by my mom aka Annie V. Later she watched Inception while Jen, Dave and I went for about a 35 min walk. Dave brought his dog – the lovely Genevieve with him and she proved that the snow is melting here in NY based on her condition when we got back. She wound up in the tub.

In the meantime Jen heated up some White Chicken Chili and we had that for lunch.

It’s a totally different taste than regular chili but it was really, really good.

I’m going to ask Jen to guest post again soon since she has virtually kicked me out of the kitchen at my mom’s.

We helped to clear out some books from the basement and then headed back to NJ to have Thai & Vietnamese food for dinner. We went to Lemongrass and started with Shrimp Rolls – which are so delicious. The peanut sauce on the side is perfect.

I had Thai Style Lo Mein. Half of this is sitting in Dave’s fridge I’m proud to report.

Dave had Pho with brisket. He loves Pho. I think he also likes to say Pho.

And that leaves us with today.

Today when I signed into MSN Messenger there was an article from Glamour where they talked about what ‘his Valentine’s Day gift means’. Supposedly if your significant other gets you a frying pan you should break up with them.

Being partial to frying pans I wholeheartedly disagree.

I’ve got some work to do today before Dave and I head out for an early dinner. I’ve tortured him for nearly a year with every culinary reality show known to man and tonight he is taking me to craft. I’ve been to craftbar and ‘wichcraft and Williams-Sonoma where I asked Tom Colicchio if his hand hurt from signing so many cookbooks but this is the first time I’ll be dining there.

Happy Valentine’s Day. Tell those you love you love them today. You should do it every day – but today you have even more of an excuse.

In a little bit I’m going to go pledge my love to this box of beauties.

Knife & Fork Breakfast Sandwich

2011-02-11T08:49:00.003-05:00

Today I am taking a bit of a half day. I have to meet Carrie to give her her invites (almost done!) so I figured I would knock off early.

I think it might do wonders for my disposition.

I realized why I’ve been hibernating for the past two weeks. It’s so cold and all the pants I have to wear to work need the hems fixed.

Note to self: Take them to the tailor on Monday. You might as well get them dry cleaned too.

Anyway – because I know I won’t be tied to the computer till 5 it feels a little like the weekend is here already. And weekends for me mean eggs for breakfast.

This won’t take long to make if you have a few key ingredients on hand. What makes this sandwich great however are the ingredients I used.

At least I think so.

Above you will find what’s left of my loaf of No-Knead bread, what’s left of my Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam, some baby spinach and the best cheddar cheese ever created.

All you need to add is a slice of bacon and an egg. Cook the egg sunny side up. The runnier – the better.

For those of you cooking for one or two – or who are watching your weight – let me tell you about bacon. Dave just bought some turkey bacon and it looked like that fake bacon you buy for kids to play with in their toy kitchen. And it didn’t have that smoky taste. Suffice it to say when we went to Costco I helped him purchase 4 packages of the real thing.

It’s only because I care. :)

I use bacon sparingly. When I get a package I take it apart, wrap it in wax paper (sort of accordion style – one piece, fold, another piece, fold) so that they don’t stick together and I can take out a slice at a time. I wrap the final result in foil and freeze.

1-2 minutes in the microwave and the bacon is done.

Warn the bread (it’s hard to fit this bread in the toaster so I put it in the frying pan before I made the egg for a few moments). Spread with the jam. Layer on the cheddar and the bacon. Cover with the egg and garnish with spinach.

When you assemble the items I have mentioned you have a delicious combination so special you need to savor every bite. So sit down like a grown up, put a napkin on your lap and take a knife and fork to this bad boy.

If you really feel the need have some skim hot chocolate to wash it down.

Pasta with chicken, red pepper and goat cheese

2011-02-10T10:15:00.002-05:00

My sister keeps a running list of foods I despise and those I ~~adore~~ obsess over.

The former includes such things as:

Rosemary

Raisins

Olives

Rye bread with caraway seeds

(Most) Mushrooms

Any kind of melon

Lemon Pits in my Diet Coke. Seriously. I have a really difficult time drinking a Diet Coke if there is an errant lemon pit swimming around in there.

The latter includes most of the things in the title of this post.

Last night I walked home from work and made a detour to Trader Joe’s because in NYC there is no place else that you can get Dubliner cheese, goat cheese, a dozen eggs, a pack of English muffins, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, baby spinach, a bag of potatoes, an onion, a quart of milk and a tub of sour cream plus a Valentine’s surprise for a little over $20.00.

Things you will need to make this:

1/4 cup diced roasted chicken (you could definitely use rotisserie chicken for this)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/4 cup sliced red bell pepper

1/4 cup sliced sweet onion

1 cup fresh baby spinach

a pinch of crushed red pepper

1 oz goat cheese (you could use about 2 tablespoons of crumbles if you have them)

1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta (I used TJ’s whole wheat penne) cooked to package directions – reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water

S&P to taste

Upon arriving home I put a chicken breast in the oven to roast.

This is a skin on, bone in chicken breast. I drizzled it with olive oil salt and lemon pepper and some sliced onions and garlic. I roasted it for nearly an hour (covered in foil) at 375, turning up the heat to closer to 400 for the last 15 min. I used about a quarter of this breast in the pasta.

I added a little olive oil to a pan and sauteed some onion and peppers. This was tossed in the pasta with the baby spinach and goat cheese.My cute ceramic nesting measuring cups from Anthropologie include a measure for a pinch. I guess you could say I used about a quarter of a pinch here.

Sidenote: It doesn’t look like they have them anymore :( Here is what they look like.

Sidenote #2: Going to the website was a mistake. Now I am obsessed with having these…and one of these…and maybe these too. And STOP IT with this apron.

I drained the pasta, put it back in the empty pot and added the veggies, spice and about 3/4 of the goat cheese over very low heat to get things all melty. I added the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce out a little. I crumbled the remaining goat cheese on top and added a crank or two of pepper.

The result was a simple, filling, slightly tangy, mildly spicy, creamy dish. I wish I had some left over.

Turning the switch

2011-02-09T13:05:00.001-05:00

The truth hurts. The truth is in 6 months I gained back almost half the weight I lost 2 years ago. Sure. I had a lot of stuff going on and maybe that’s a good enough excuse but the fact remains.

I’m not happy about it.

And I could just keep on doing what I’ve been doing and gain it ALL back 6 months from now but I’m not going to let that happen.

Really if you asked me what it was about going to a nutritionist that worked for me is that it’s sort of like counseling + nutritional advice. We talked about what happened to me in the past 6 months.

I lost my father.

I almost lost my job.

I lost my dog.

All those losses equaled huge gains on the scale.

I told M today that it was like I turned off a switch in September. I was feeling so unbalanced it was just easier to shut that part of my life off. My workouts were done halfheartedly and I ate whatever I felt like eating. I’m going to be honest here. I’m not sure that I’m 100% back in the mindset I need to be in but I’m really going to make an effort in the next few weeks. There are all sorts of sayings about how long it takes to break a habit. And the conclusion of that article is…you basically have to keep working on it for the rest of your life.

Depressing – but if I’ve learned nothing these past few months it’s that it’s absolutely true.

The new game plan? Get back to the old one.

1) Portion size. I don’t eat things that are terribly bad – I’ve just been eating too much of them. More salads. Half of what I eat out goes home or goes back to the kitchen.

2) Moderation. I’m going back to the drinking wine mostly when I go out or on weekends. I’m going to do the 1 drink 1 water or Diet Coke rule.

3) Put away the Metrocard. It’s 25 degrees today. I walked from M’s to the office and I didn’t die. I need to walk to and from work more.

4) Exercise. I’m committing to doing something 4 days a week. Jen and I already have plans to do this run. While in Cancun I did C25K – week 3 and I did it easily. I have to stop babying myself and just work out already. To mix it up I’m going to try for yoga at home + the stairs and the gym or Zumba 2x a week. All the extra walking is just icing.

5) I probably should have used another word besides icing.

So that’s that. Look for more healthy recipes here, new ways that I find to exercise, and just basically getting back to the old (new) me.

What I ate – A Photo Essay

2011-02-08T13:49:00.001-05:00

I originally named this post “Weight Loss Sabotage” but that didn’t seem fair – considering my whole food philosophy is to eat what you want – but in moderation.

It’s just that moderation and me – we don’t seem to be communicating lately.

I’m not sure how to get my healthy mindset back. I know that I feel better when I exercise – that I feel better when I eat better. i know that I won’t have to deprive myself entirely if I just…basically…MOVE.

SO.

Tomorrow I am facing the music. I don’t want to see the number I know I’ll see on the scale at M’s tomorrow but I’m going to go anyway. I’m crossing my fingers that the worst of the winter weather is behind us and that I can actually do more exercise outside than inside. I’m putting away my Metrocard and walking more. First up – a walk to chorus tonight.

I’m renewing my gym membership next week and trying Zumba in NJ.

But first I’m going to go back to Ben. :)

And that’s that. I have an ugly dress I need to fit into. I don’t want to have to alter it – and I don’t have time or want to spend money on a new one.

With all that said….look what I made for the Super Bowl. It was fun to make all this food for a “crowd”. Dave and the kids seemed to really enjoy it – which makes me happy.

Sidenote – I feel like I’m doing everything half assed these days – as these photos will show. I need to start taking better – and more complete – pictures. I tried to fix them with Photoshop but…it’s not really working.

Probably because the shutter is broken on my point and shoot and I muss up the lens with smudges from my fingers anytime I try to take a picture. Could be the biggest problem of all. What’s the point of showing you half of what I’ve done??? It’s like me showing you an empty plate and telling you how good whatever I ate was.

Blue Corn Nachos. This recipe is simple. Brown 1 package ground turkey with an onion and a drizzle of olive oil. Add 1 package of taco seasoning – I used a low sodium version. Add 1 can of black beans – rinsed and drained.

Top with shredded extra sharp cheddar and throw into the oven (at about 375) until cheese is melted. Garnish with chopped scallions. Serve with sour cream, salsa and….Jen’s guacamole. Everyone loves hot pretzels. I served these with yellow or honey mustard. I wimped out and did the frozen version.

Mora helped to set the “table”. I made Giada’s Balsamic Wings…. And Baked Buffalo Wings. These could have stayed in the oven for 5 more minutes I think.

And chocolate chip cookies for dessert – Toll House recipe – with double the brown sugar as Dave was out of white.

And then I fell asleep during the game and Dave had to tell me who won.

The end.

Moment of truth tomorrow people. I hope I’m ready to finally make a change. I hope a nice long walk today will help get me motivated.

There’s bread in the oven (will be making a sandwich to take with me for dinner). It smells divine in here. Lunch tomorrow will be tuna on homemade bread.

I’m really looking forward to it!

Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-04T09:55:00.001-05:00

Football is not really my thing. My dad was a Giants fan and I halfheartedly watched them through the years. I used to work in a bar/restaurant and participated in a football pool or two. With Dave having gone to Penn State I have watched more football in the past year than I have in my lifetime I think.

And he doesn’t even watch that much football.

He, however, has watched more reality TV in the past year than he had in his lifetime. Poor guy.

One thing I do enjoy is the Super Bowl. Yeah I like the commercials and I like the idea of people getting together to watch a game. Still - it can’t be denied.

I’m a huge fan of the food.

This Sunday I’ll be making the following:

Nachos.

My recipe is pretty simple – and I’ll let you know step by step on Sunday but I usually make them with black beans and turkey. Yum.

Giada’s Balsamic Wings.

I’ve also been asked to make buffalo wings. I’m planning on half and half. I’ve never made buffalo wings before though so…we’ll see how that goes. Can’t be too hard can it? Anyone have a tried and true recipe? Let me know!

We’re also having hot pretzels.

The first and only time I made homemade hot pretzels the pot overflowed and my father talked about the mess I made of his stove for days after. In his honor I should just go and buy a box of these.

Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead.

And now – I’m starving!!

Happy Friday everyone! What are you doing/making for the Super Bowl??

What is it about….

2011-02-03T12:18:00.001-05:00

reality shows? I’ve got a problem. I watch way too many. This morning I made Dave watch Restaurant Impossible which basically showed a restaurant and an episode of Hoarders combined.

It’s getting bad out there.

I have learned a valuable lesson in the past week or so.

Chipotle peppers are hot.

This shouldn’t be a surprise I know but Bobby Flay always talks about them just being smoky. I’ve used them twice – once in making enchiladas and last night making chili and they really pack quite a punch.

Red wine cooled it down quite nicely. My chili recipe was pretty basic. I browned some turkey with onion and garlic, added 1 red bell pepper, 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained) a can of diced tomatoes with chili peppers, 2 chipotle peppers (diced), a cup of frozen corn, some chili powder and cumin, S&P a few tablespoons of tomato paste and a whole lotta water.

And once again a meal I made caused my boyfriend to pass out cold at like 8:30.

This morning I made egg sandwiches. And coffee for Dave.I am going to go to the gym today at lunchtime. It’s time people.

I’m also embarking on a little task I promised to do for Carrie’s wedding. I’m addressing all her invitation envelopes – taking breaks so as not to get a cramp in my hand. :)

I’ll be back at some point tomorrow. Tonight is trivia. I need to redeem myself. We haven’t won in a while. :( I also need to just get a chicken sandwich and stop trying to eat super healthy while I am there. I always end up disappointed when I do that.

Over the weekend I’ll be making some Super Bowl food for Sunday and will post some pics and recipes. Pretty standard but also pretty yummy.

I honestly don’t care who wins the game though. I really like cheddar cheese so maybe I should root for Wisconsin.

C is for….

2011-02-01T17:35:00.001-05:00

Chorus. I am going back tonight. The horrific dress I have to wear will not look good if I keep eating like it’s going out of style. I know. I just tried it on. I couldn’t complete the zip up process without outside assistance.

It would be better if I lost 5 lbs. Better still if I lost 10. Awesome if I lost 20.

I’m going for something between 5-10. I have 2 months before our first performance (at Avery Fisher Hall – I’m EXCITED). Cross your fingers ladies and gents that I can get it done.

It’s integral to my mental health as well. I’m feeling very sloth like. I’m full of good intentions – not quite there with the follow up.

C is also for – Chicken.

We are going to have snacks at chorus tonight – as we traditionally do on the first day back. So I did what I used to do back in the day.

You know. Those days where I weighed 25 lbs less than I do now.

So I made myself a sammich. Just half like I used to eat in the olden days.

C is for – Confessions.

I bake for the first day of chorus – again - traditionally. Everyone raves about the things I make – be it brownies or pound cake (I usually take things that are easy to transport). Today C is also for cookies – which I baked.

Sugar cookies. With royal icing.And colored sprinkles.And Betty Crocker.

I feel so much better now that I’ve come clean.

Weekend Update

2011-01-31T21:16:00.001-05:00

This blog is called Single Serving partially because I cook for one person….most of the time. I love cooking for others and have been waiting a long time to have people (outside my immediate family) to cook for. I’m beyond happy to have Dave and the kids as my guinea pigs – which sounds weird to say because they actually have a guinea pig but there you go.

On Friday – I cooked nothing. :)

Lunch was work related. We dined at the Capital Grille. My friend Christina and I shared the lobster & crab cake appetizer.

I also had the the sirloin steak salad. For dinner Dave and I went to Casa Bella. We started with bruschetta. And split the fresh mozzarella salad with sundried tomato and roasted red pepper. I LOVE when restaurants send out individual plates when you split an appetizer. I had the Pappardelle a la Vodka. I think pappardelle is my favorite kind of pasta. Dave had gnocchi. Dave is a gnocchi expert. Dave loved this gnocchi more than he loves me.

OK. Maybe not. But he really really liked it. He had ricotta cheesecake for dessert. I promised to make this for him soon. It was light and slightly lemony. I am not a cheesecake fan but it was delicious. I had old faithful – chocolate ice cream. Needless to say we kind of forgot to eat light Friday night. Saturday morning Dave made me a delicious breakfast, An egg sandwich w/turkey bacon on a biscuit with a side of grapes. We ate our leftovers from dinner for lunch. Then I took over the kitchen. Dave always likes the kids to have a homemade dinner but he’s rushing around the weeks he has them. I made a bunch of freezer friendly things so he just has to heat them up. First - I made Chicken Parmesan. With fresh tomato basil sauce. Topped with pepperoni. I can’t wait for the feedback on this one. My nook helped me to find a mac and cheese recipe. (I didn’t wind up using this one actually) I used extra sharp cheddar and swiss for the mac and cheese. There are now 4 trays in the freezer.Next up…meatballs. Unfortunately – the messy nature of meatballs kept me from taking many pictures. Note to readers: This wine sucks for drinking but is OK for cooking. My apologies to anyone I gave this to for Christmas. That means – Dave. :) Trust me. They were in this pot and now are in 4 freezer bags. Another project for this weekend – creating a pantry. Dave put some wire shelves in a closet near the kitchen. .I’ll show you the results once there’s actually stuff in there. Right now it’s pretty bare bones.Here’s what was in the cabinets which I cleared out and put down new (green) shelf paper. Someone I know likes green a lot. Before…After… Finally I made a delicious pasta dish. I roasted some tomatoes (on a cookie sheet, drizzled with olive oil, S&P, and cloves of garlic - 250 for about 2.5 hours). I used some shrimp. Spinach, lemon and cannellini beans.Penne. All in the pot. Basically I sautéed shallots and garlic in olive oil, added the shrimp, beans (rinsed and drained), cooked pasta, spinach, the juice and zest of 1 lemon, a sprinkle of salt and about 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. Once the spinach is wilted – it’s done. It’s a combo of a recipe for a salad of shrimp and cannellini beans from Food and Wine, some Smitten Kitchen tomatoes, and a pasta dish I saw by ELR on Tasty Kitchen. All in the dish.

I should say something witty or wise but I’m getting sleepy. It’s this weather I’ll tell you. I just want to hibernate.

Snow Day

2011-01-28T17:12:00.001-05:00

I’m over this snow everyone and I don’t even have to shovel it.

There’s not much new in Krissyville. I went out to a lovely lunch with folks from work today. I ate my weight in garlic in an attempt to not eat french fries last night at trivia.

Oh and we lost too. I’m getting a complex. We haven’t won in a while.

I’m heading back to NJ tonight. I’m going to cook over the weekend so I’ll be sure Dave takes pictures. I’m going to make some Super Bowl food next weekend too including these beauties.

I’m going to work on my restaurant review and see if I still have any food writing skills.

I’m going to try and take the Multi-Grain Cheerios Challenge next week I got from MyBlogSpark. I’m going to try for 4 days of work outs and 1 week of eating like I know I should.

I’ll keep you posted.

Until later.

It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma

2011-01-26T14:14:00.002-05:00

A day after I discuss Taco Bell’s mystery meat I bring you my lunch from today.

Yes. That’s right. I had a bologna and cheese sandwich.

I’ve always loved bologna (and cheese). When I was little we used to have Oscar Meyer’s and Kraft Singles. I graduated to Boar’s Head and Land O’ Lakes sometime during my elementary/middle school days. In the last five years I’ve been brave enough to add mustard.

When I brought a sandwich to school and realized my dad got a deal on another brand of bologna and tried to trick me I’d immediately come home and confront him.

God bless my poor father. He made my lunch every day and I complained about it.

In my food writing class we had to talk about a first food memory. Mine involved – oddly enough - bologna. I remember watching Sesame Street. A little girl was eating something out of a tortilla. We didn’t have tortillas in my house (more on that below) so I used a slice of bologna with a Kraft single shredded in the center and rolled it up to resemble something like a burrito.

I still think this is the first meal I made by myself for myself.

Side story: My mom has not stepped foot in a grocery store in years – and is still not allowed to go unaccompanied lest she purchase everything at full price. One year she got Jen a quesadilla maker – one of those gadgets that you plug in – kind of like a Panini press. Anyway she was concerned she needed to go to an “International Market” to buy tortillas so Jen could use it.

I do not know what an International Market is and let her know that they sell them at Waldbaums but rest assured with her as my guide I didn’t have anything resembling Mexican food until they opened a Cozymel’s on Long Island not so long ago. When we go anywhere remotely Mexican my mom still will only eat fajitas –but doesn’t eat any salsa, guacamole or sour cream.

Me? I now love anything mole – guac or otherwise.

****

I went to the office today instead of working from home. Today – when it snowed so much this morning my hair was sopping wet by the time I got to work. I am going to NJ tonight when it’s supposed to start to snow again. I make so very little sense.

I had DVR’d an episode of What Not To Wear and am very disturbed by the commercials for My Strange Addiction where one woman wears a furry mascot suit in public and another eats the foam out of her couch cushions.

Really????? The furry thing I’ve heard about – it was on an episode of CSI once I think (and yeah it’s tres odd) but eating foam? Why would you even start to do that?

This is my problem. I admit it. I love stupid reality TV. Way too much. I have Real Housewives as my Facebook friends. I can watch those girls for hours. Give me Snooki taking out her earrings to bash Angelina over the head. I love it when Randy tells you “You did your thing” as Jenny from the block channels Paula. I will sit mesmerized as a trainer screams in your face causing you to eventually lose 100 pounds. Please show me the many ways that women in evening gowns can fight over a guy for roses. Let me watch how a bunch of chefs can make an appetizer using no utensils but please. Trust me when I say this.

I do not need to see you eating your couch.

I’ve always been scared of Taco Bell

2011-01-25T20:36:00.001-05:00

I don’t know about you – but when a restaurant (and I use that term loosely) has to say “Yes. That’s really beef” you may want to try another establishment.

Just saying.

I don’t have a lot to report. I’m going to do a restaurant review about Buddakan soon (it was delish) but other than that I haven’t done much since I returned from Cancun.

It’s about 7:30 PM and I’m yawning already.

I was on vacation still yesterday. I worked from home today. I was planning to go to the office tomorrow but they say the weather is going to be bad (AGAIN).

I made this for dinner last night. ELR also had this featured a bit ago and I cannot tell you the difference the pepperoni makes.

I modified this a bit as well. I used panko and cornmeal instead of panko and flour. I baked the chicken instead of frying. I had these itty bitty mini pepperoni leftover from a pepperoni pizza craving a while back.

I don’t know about this being a great snack – but it worked for me. The small bites of pepperoni tasted like spicy meat sprinkles on a saucy chicken sundae..

OK. Wow. That’s the worst description ever.

But so freaking good. I served mine with racquet pasta.

Today I met Dave for lunch at the place we went on our fourth date. He thought it was our second but he was mistaken. I had the ginger chicken wontons and he had vegetarian chili. We also split a bowl of chicken tortilla soup because we are adorable.

No real exercise today. I was reading old blog entries and I used to work out before I did ANYTHING. I know that once I get back to that I’ll get back to the old (new) me.

Soon enough.

Since I don’t feel like I have much to say – I’ll leave you with some things I’m loving these days.

Knee Socks. I’ve bought ones with flowers, hearts, argyle and brown with copper glitter stripes. In high school I used to do my best to achieve a perfect balance of having them sit not at my knee but not near my ankle lest a nun or twenty drag me to the Dean’s office. Now they’re just the thing for keeping me warm in this weather.

Another storm tomorrow. Really???

My nook. This one brings me such shame. You see I love books. So much so that I have them in various corners of my apartment. My room at my mom’s consists of a wall of book cases. I love the smell of libraries or bookstores. I feel like it’s a sin that you can get the complete works of William Shakespeare for $1.99.

But at the same time I can’t put this thing down.

My JPK Paris bucket bag in purple.

This is a comfortable bag to carry. It fits perfectly on your shoulder. It has a pretty paisley lining. It’s a little difficult to find something at a moment’s notice but I kind of want one in every color.

So far – I have one in tan and one in purple.

It’s nearly February so it’s time for Dove Dark Chocolate Hearts. If only these came filled with peanut butter – I’d be a happy camper.

I wouldn’t be happy with my waistline – but that’s beside the point.

Too cold for comfort

2011-01-24T21:33:00.001-05:00

Fact: Cancun is really warm. So warm someone who was in our room before we got there left something…ahem…behind on the terrace.

Apparently.

Some poor guy on the hotel staff was dispatched to remove the evidence.You stay classy, Cancun!!

Fact: New York = Antarctica. I have traded in flip flops and a beach cover up for a get up like this.

Fact: I worked out 2x in 4 days while in Mexico. This was the view from my treadmill.

Fact: I went to 2 for 1 Happy Hour 2x a day while in Mexico

Fact: Here are some things I really like….

Fish tacos – eaten poolside.

Margaritas – sipped poolside.Hamburgers – eaten poolside.Guacamole - eaten poolside.Basically – just being poolside. The fried shrimp at TGIFridays at the Cancun Airport. The only meal I had yesterday.Yoda at the TGIFridays at the Cancun Airport. These girls. Some of the best friends anyone could ever have.

Congrats to Carrie (and Chris) – the first of us to head towards Happily Ever After.

I’ll be back tomorrow. I’m still in a bit of detox.

I’m going waterskiing wearing a tiara

2011-01-19T11:37:00.006-05:00

Back in the day my Uncle Tom had an extensive record collection. One of those albums was the Beauty and the Beat by The Go-Go’s.

I thought my Uncle Tom was pretty cool. And I wanted to be Belinda Carlisle.

Though it's from a later album this video will explain where I am off to.

For the next few days I’ll be sitting by a beach and a pool and a swim up bar. I’m going away with the girls and there’s the promise of a pretty spectacular dinner on Saturday evening and the potential for a number of good stories.

I tried on a dress last night to pack with me. A dress that I wore all summer long and L-O-V-E-D.

It fits – it zips up and everything but it is not the super comfy dress of last summer. I want to wear it again and love it. I want to wear a lot of stuff and love it.

It’s time to stop talking about it and just do it already.

I couldn’t motivate myself to get to the gym this morning but I made myself do the stairs. 3 sets – 8 flights – 160-ish calories.

Speaking of stairs – this morning I got locked in a stairwell.

Yeah you heard me. I walked into my office – used my security pass to get into the building – took my usual route down the escalators to the stairs that bring me right near my desk. I went to use my badge to get out of the stairwell.

No dice.

I walked back upstairs and tried there.

Nope.

Luckily I had my phone with me. I called* Patti who did not answer her phone. I tried to think of who else to call. I’m now sweating and panicking a little bit. I mean eventually someone’s going to use the stairs right? It’s a short cut for people on our floor. Or do I call security? Do I just start banging on the door and screaming?

I took a deep breath and I then remembered that the lovely ladies who answer our phones sit right near the very stairwell.

So. I called them. And they let me in.

The end. :)

The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes but seriously – does this kind of thing happen to anyone else? I think I have a special knack for this kind of predicament.

Tonight I am going for a yummy dinner at the place where Miranda told Big he shouldn’t get married in the first SATC movie. I’m excited!!! I’ve been there for an event but never for dinner.

Review to follow. It’s time for me to get back to writing about food instead of eating so much my dresses don’t fit.

Until then….have a lovely.

PS: Speaking of (and indirectly speaking of Mr Big) something Jen and I noticed. Do any of you watch The Good Wife? They never say they call someone. They say "I phoned..." Is this a Chicago thing? I mean I know us New Yorkers say "I was on line" when we mean "I was standing in line" but this sounds so odd to me. Please advise.