money can't buy you class

flashback to 35 days ago....

me: maybe i should give up something for lent just to see what it's like.
hubs: that's a good idea. what do you want to give up?
me: i don' know. what do you think?
hubs: how about sugar?
me: no way. i don't eat that much sugar but i already know my mom is baking next week and i want to eat sweets. so it would be one week of no sugar. and it's the one week that matters most. NEXT.
hubs: ok, how about caffeine?
me: no way in hell. i live off coffee.
hubs: yeah, that would be impossible for you.
me: what about shopping? 
hubs: wow, really? that's actually a good one. 
me: yeah, that would actually be giving up something that means the most. think of all the money i'd save. (sigh) i already regret this.

so to keep it legit, we made some rules. namely, we decided to differentiate the types of shopping - want vs. need.

for example, the cute dress on giltgroupe = want. groceries = need.

my hubs also informed me that asking my mom to buy something for me was a violation (good try, mom. but the hubs was on to us).

so the next month consisted of me going online, building up an enormous shopping bag/cart, and then exiting the site. this basically happened every. single. day. but, i didn't break (i know. i'm really surprised too.)

near the end it has been getting a little desperate. i think "what if i just buy nail polish? does that count?" (yes. the answer is yes). i actually look forward to going grocery shopping (more so than usual...who doesn't love to buy produce?) and probably, the most cruel and disturbing of them all - i took my hubs shopping for new clothes. nothing says i love you like watching a significant other try on clothes for 3 hours.

but in a few days, lent will come to an end and so will my hiatus from shopping. admittedly, the past month has taught me several valuable lessons -

1. i'm not catholic. lent is optional.
2. every item i've ever wanted went on sale in the past 30 days.
3. jcrew sends me coupons only when i can't use them.
4. my will and stubborn nature are stronger than my love for shopping. think of what i could do if i only applied myself?

so now the question is do i keep saving or do i buy the most expensive item on my wish list?

i don't know about you but i agree with carrie....

"i like my money right where i can see it - hanging in my closet."  - carrie bradshaw, satc

two tickets to paradise...

last month, my husband and i decided to ditch the city for paradise. no, we didn't decide to move, although that would actually make more sense. we just needed to get away. as much as i love the city, there are no palm trees here and my heart was longing for them. anyway, after throwing out a bunch of possible destinations, we finally decided late one night, as we were huddled over our mac, to book two tickets to maui....ah, palm trees, sunshine, and mai tais.

staring at my ticket in disbelief. this is really happening.

the next couple weeks pretty much consisted of me counting down the days, hours, minutes until our flight. i purchased my bikinis (yes, multiple), planned and styled my outfits (special thank you to my jcrew personal shopper), and lived at the gym (think full house episode with dj tanner passing out on the treadmill...am i the only one who remembers the episode when dj had to go to a pool party and decided she wouldn't eat and would run on the treadmill. until one day, she passed out at the gym and we all learned the moral of that episode...which escapes me at the moment).

alright, so the day finally arrived. per usual, my husband booked a super early morning flight. apparently i only travel when the rest of the planet is still sleeping. all was forgiven (this time) because the early flight meant we still could enjoy some final hours of the day in maui. after our million hour flight, we land and get to our hotel.  we make our way to our room which is about the size of our condo....except better...because it's in maui. exhausted from our trip, we decide to order room service that night and stay in. the vacation went a little like this:

• day 2 (sadly day 1 was our travel day) - we head to the beach bright and early. we go for a little swim in the ocean. i turn to tell my husband that i'm going to go back on the beach to lay out and i notice that he has an uh-oh expression on his face and just as i hear him say "watch out!" i'm slammed by a mega wave and dragged under water. as i am scraped along ocean floor for the next 10-12 seconds, clinging to my bikini top, sunglasses, and wedding ring, i find myself thinking "i've been in maui less than 12 hours and i'm going to die. well, it was worth it." the good news, i did not die, nor did i lose any of the things i was so dearly clinging to during my brush with death. i did, however, enjoy the ocean water that streamed out of my nose each time i bent over the rest of that day. my fellow beach goers also were able to enjoy that lovely show.
• day 3 - new plan, serenity pool. the adult only pool that includes being waited on nonstop - fresh muffins? ice pops anyone? how about a light spritz and cucumber slices for your eyes? care for a foot massage? basically, we decided we were coming here everyday.
• day 4 - i decide that my break up with the ocean was only temporary and we head to our windsurfing lessons.  we show up and discover that we're the only students so we basically get a private lesson. after 30 minutes, we get the hang of it and surf our laps in the "safe zone" our instructor has designated.  we're feeling good until the wind picks up and one of us (me) goes flying down the water until i execute my escape plan and jump off the board (and almost hit my head on the sail). so much for my pro-windsurfing dreams.

my husband trying to prove he's more of an athlete than me

• day 4, continued - the 2nd half of the day was our whale watching boat ride. we'd had the pleasure of seeing some whales from the comforts of the serenity pool but decided we needed to see these creatures up close. i will admit that at first, i thought that whale watching meant we'd be instant members of AARP but it was actually pretty amazing to see the whales up close. 

marine life, in town for mating season

• day 5 -  this was our death trip to hana. our valet suggested an alternate route to hana which consisted of a scenic ride through what looked like the outback, one lane dirt roads weaving around the edge of the mountain, and single lane bridges that you had to dart across before you encountered oncoming cars. it was one continuous game of chicken. death traps at every corner. hana was gorgeous - we climbed rocks, dipped in the lagoon, picnicked at the black sand beach. surviving the car trip was, however, the highlight of day 5.

death road. please note the "blow your horn" sign cuing us to honk in case there was an oncoming car.

the paradise part of hana.

• day 6 - i spent the morning at the serenity pool, laying under palm trees, reading my book, and tanning responsibly. my husband went golfing that morning and i'm sure played the best golf of his life while no one was there to witness it. that afternoon he met me at the serenity pool and drank about 5 mai tais. we got a little rain that early evening but how do you expect those palm trees to grow without rain? i'll take it.

my view from the pool. are you dying?

• day 7 - a little overcast so we decided to head to the nearby shops. fortunately, we booked a hotel within walking distance to a rolex dealer, louis vuitton, and gucci. unfortunately, i didn't purchase any items from said stores. oh well, nothing like picking out your future rolex to bring some imaginary sunshine to your cloudy skied reality.
• day 8 and 9 - serenity pool, serenity pool, serenity pool. if i could build my dream house, it would have this pool....minus the $30 lunch salads. 

i should mention, that our nights included some of the best meals of my life, as evidenced by my ordering the same dish from spago 3 of 7 nights. i'm a creature of habit.

but alas, the trip came to an end. early evening on day 9, we cleaned up and headed to the airport...back to the cold, harsh world of 50 degree days, long work days, non-spago meals, and our credit card bill.  oh serenity pool....i miss you so.

(gross) food inc.

about 10 months ago, i decided i was going to get "food, inc" on netflix.

biggest, life-changing decision ever.

if you haven't seen the film and currently love all forms of protein, then perhaps it's best you remove the dvd from your queue. immediately. if you are in market for a vegetarian lifestyle, then this is your kind of movie.

needless to say, i've been living a meat-free life for the past 10 months...well, i eat fish.

i suppose i'd be more accurately known as a pescatarian (pescetarianism is the practice of a diet that includes seafood, and excludes other animals. In addition to fish and/or shellfish, a pescetarian diet typically includes some or all of vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, beans, eggs and dairy. )

...i'm fancy. in any case, i won't even get into how disgusting meat is. it really is. animals are gross. and dirty. i'm throwing up in my mouth just thinking about it. (ok, so i got into how disgusting it is...but just slightly). but it amazes me that prior to this film, i wouldn't think twice about it. ok, before you stop reading, i won't go on about how awful meat is. the point is that a vegetarian/pescatarian lifestlye is a lot easier than i thought it would be. let me clarify that by saying that aside from the occasional burger i've never been a huge fan of red meat. chicken, i loved. mustard coated chicken rolled in wheat panko and baked in the oven. oh i used to love that. USED TO. smoked turkey wraps. truthfully, sometimes i miss that. but then my brain cues a lovely montage from the film and that yearning comes to an abrubt halt. and yes, i also understand that if i were to think about fish, i'd find faults there too but listen, i'm not eating tofu. i can't do it. so let me have my fish.

so what do i eat? what does a fancypants pescatarian eat? (i know you all are on the edge of your seats!)

1. well, at first, it was pasta pasta pasta. but then i rejoined reality and came to the understanding that i was not on an all-carb nutrition plan nor do i want to weigh 3000 lbs. so pasta in moderation. super, major moderation. i recently discovered a recipe for a red lentil sauce with whole wheat fettucine and spinach (i substituted the fettucine for the linguine and i ommited the artichokes). trust me it's delicious and i could eat an entire pot of it. but i'm still a mac and cheese girl at heart....just thinking about it makes my heart melt (cue a collective sigh).
2. then it was sushi (who am i kidding saying "then"...that implies that it's past tense. it should read, "now" as in "now, it's sushi"). i think i eat more sushi than most humans would deem acceptable. tuna rolls. yes, please. avocado and cucumber rolls. yummy veggie goodness. these treats c/o whole foods are special favorites, mainly because they offer brown rice options. and when i come home and top the them with a little sriracha sauce and wasabi. YOWZA....annnnnnnnnnd delicious. i'll probably die of mecury poisoning but it'll be worth it.
3. SOUPS! i love soups - tomato barley soup, ribolitta (tuscan white bean and kale soup) pumpkin soup. soup soup soup. and it's so easy. and healthy. if i can put it in a pot, i can make it a soup. it's just that magical.
4. anything indian. bless the indians, their adoration for the sacred cow, and their vegetarian dishes. i really love making a cauliflower chickpea creation (i buy the jafreezi sauce from whole foods which is just divine) over brown rice. i have no idea what the dish itself is called but it does not conjure up any "food, inc." montages in my head and i love all the delicious goodness. oh and i feel worldly, and therefore superior.
5. any baked white fish with a veggie side. halibut, sea bass, cod. all delicious. and no i don't eat steamed broccoli on the side. i've discovered a whole new world of veggies - cauliflower mash (a sneaky alternative to mashed potatoes), roasted brussel sprouts and parsnips with a balsamic glaze, cooked sweet pototoes and caramelized onions. who knew i'd grow up to love veggies this much? hard to believe that not too long ago, i lived off gummi bears (ok, so i still do. don't judge).
6. homemade blackbean burgers...a replacement for my famous turkey burgers which were already pretty granola (and, yes, i do have some granola tendencies. i mean, jeez, i make homemade blackbean burgers). the homemade blackbean burgers are also recommended in moderation. unless you'd like to spend extra time admiring your bathroom. in which case, good luck.

really, the best part is that there are so many veggie cooking blogs that offer great ideas and options. here are a few of my favs:

• mycookingdiary.com
• shoottocook.com
• veggienumnum.com
• healthygreenkitchen.com

 boun appetito!

my boots! my boots! my lovely lady boots!

i really love my seasons depending on the clothing and accessories. i love fall because of long sleeve shirts, crisp air, falling leaves, and pumpkin-flavored anything and everything. it's also the start of the boot season. but really, honestly, boots don't really have their shining moment until the cold, harsh months. when a normal shoe that barely covers your ankles just won't do. when your feet need full on warmth and shelter. AH, BOOTS! I HEART YOU SO MUCH.

now, i live in a very cute condo with an equally cute size closet. one that doesn't fit the high maintenance needs of my wardrobe, let alone my shoes. my shoes hate each other. they fight for space. they bury one another. it's not fair. and to stir things up, there are a couple new boots fighting their way into the closet! you're welcome, hubs. there's now even less room for your stuff in the closet. love you. xoxo.

for christmas, i received these lovely high-gloss violet hunter boots. no more soppy shoes from the gross rainstorms. nice dry toes, paraded around in bright, glossy, happy boots. it makes you want to just jump into a big puddle.

for my birthday, a pair of brand new tall black uggs. now i love my uggs. love them. they are warm and cozy and yes, yes,  i know that they are not "on trend"...i'm no dummy so spare me the lecture. but who am i to deny my sad, tortured toes these fluffy, cloud shoes. CLOUD SHOES, people. it's like encasing your entire foot in a marshmallow. well, that doesn't sound appealing but trust me. it is.

and then, for my "january boots" (as in, there's no official occasion but these are the last pair of size 8 boots in the US), these bow-tied beauties. these took EONS to arrive (no really, it took over two weeks to arrive from chicago)...in fact, maybe these are more accurately known as  my "february boots".  seriously, a boot AND bows? all my loves unite. aren't they grand?

winter - i hate your cold harsh ways....but i love my boots. L-O-V-E.  thank you for giving me a reason to wear them.

you call them new year's resolutions. i call them, new year's nice ideas

so i realize it's february and hopefully most of you "reso-losers" have given up on the bright hopes and dreams you had when january 1st was upon us. unfortunately for me, some of you are still hanging on to them....i'm assuming that's the reason i have to go the spin class 30 minutes early just to stand in a line for a bike.  no seriously, that's what it's come to.

but you're not alone. i too have (had) resolutions. well not so much new year's resolutions but new year's nice ideas...as in, here's a good idea but not all ideas pan out so we'll see how 2011 goes. well like i said, it's february so how about a pulse check on these nice ideas. here we go...

first up, an annual resolution - spend less!
nice idea translation - let's try not to go overboard and then regret my purchases come credit card bill time.
february update - i don't think i've spent more money in a month's time then i have during the month of january. it was almost as though i interpreted this "nice idea" as a challenge to do the exact opposite. that said, it wasn't all bad. i did manage to transfer some money to my savings account...all while having pending shopping carts on ruelala, giltgroupe, jcrew, and fill-in-another-go-to-store.com

next up -  get the six-pack abs i've promised myself.
nice idea translation - make healthier choices. doesn't that even sound more responsible? and also brilliantly vague? for example, drink more water, eat more fish (since i've given up other meat). all that nice healthy stuff that i usually do until i watch an episode of biggest loser and think "i'm not that big, maybe i should have some pizza."
february update - well my favorite pizza shop behind my house closed without any warning or explanation. yeah, it was like god forcing his healthier choices upon me. but then the superbowl came along and i binged on chips for a week after. you know, super healthy. oh and i hate water. take that, pizza-store closing gods.

finally - get organized. i love this resolution. mainly because images of spreadsheets dance in my head (i love excel). but for realsies...get organized? doesn't that just mean go to the container store and spend a $200 minimum. yes, it actually means exactly that.
nice idea translation - be less disorganized. that's a great idea. how you ask? how about a couple file folders for my tax documents? how about opening my mail from 3 weeks ago? how about cleaning out my cabinets so i can find all those cans of beans and soup that i've apparently been stocking up on for months. really, i had no idea i had so many cans of soup.
february update -  well, i did organize our papers. and i lined a drawer. yup, as in ONE drawer. oh and did i mention going to the container store and only buying $150 worth of stuff? it could have been more. trust me. but come on, i vowed to spend less!

everything's coming up roses....or is it?

when my husband asked if we wanted to go to LA for new years, i thought, that sounds amazing. when he mentioned that it was to watch a football game, i was like, "maybe we should think about this." now, there's two levels of football in my book - pre-marriage football and post-marriage football. pre-marriage, i had the luxury of deciding when to watch football and when to change the channel to reruns of the housewives of [insert a city] on bravo. then there is post-marriage football -- real football, the kind that lasts ALL DAY LONG (or at least what seems like it). but when you marry a football lover, that's what you signed up for....so deal with it. in this case, it's a trip to LA in december. yeah i'll take that. rose bowl here we come!

so we head to LA -- sunshine, warmth, palm trees, and (my favorite) celebrities.  we arrive at the airport early friday morning. we tried to check into our flight the previous day only to be told the seats were under airport control. basically that means, we'd have to pray for seats when we got to the gate. luckily, we scored seats as soon as we arrived at our gate....unfortunately, we were in the very last row of the airplane (also known as the row with rowdy kids and irritated parents). that's ok, i'll just watch the movie. note to everyone, watching "dinner for schmucks" is worse then listening to a 4 year old scream that she wants her mommy to look at her drawing. i lasted about 30 minutes at which point i threw off my headphones and tried to lull myself into a 4 hour coma.

i guess LA didn't get the memo that it's located in california because it was about 40 degrees. we met up with my bestie who lives in LA, grabbed a late lunch, and walked around the city for a bit. then it was time to get ready for nye dinner. a nice long dinner with plenty of wine. afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to drink some pink champagne out of coffee mugs and countdown to 2011. it was glam and i'm sure you all want to know the deets but that all you get because this post is about the ROSE BOWL!

cue saturday morning. 6am, we were up, dressed, and picked up by the limo to head to the rose bowl parade....um,that's right, i said limo. that's really the only way to do the rosebowl. but why i thought i had to see the parade is a mystery to me. clearly i didn't think through the whole 6 am aspect. oh well. we headed to the parade where we got to see mrs. paula deen herself along with about 300 bands... who knew there were that many bands in the parade? i'm glad we went and i got to "experience" the parade but once is good enough for me.  i eventually sought shelter in the limo, had a couple glasses of champagne, and scarfed down a delicious donut. mmmmmmm.

go badgers!

next stop, the sponsored tailgate. a sea of red and wisconsin badger pride. upon arriving, we went to get wristbands (i guess i thought i'd get carded??) and the guy asked, so what do you think the final score will be? i said, i don't know (true). i'm a wisconsin fan by marriage (also true). he said, well what does that mean? (why the 20 questions, i'm not sure. i thought i was in line for a wristband. not an exclusive interview.) so i said, that means, i don't know anything about anything. (translation - give me my band and let me go on my way).

we soaked in the wisconsin love at the tailgate for a few hours before heading to the main event.  we make our way to the stadium and find our seats. wisconsin comes running out and i'm snapping as many pics as i can! ohhh, there's bucky badger! why is he covering his eyes while running?

then it's kickoff!

look closely....it's bucky running with his hands over his eyes? maybe he knew what was awaiting us?

now i know i'm not 100 years old, but i'm also not 19 or 21 or whatever young age you need to be to want to stand during an entire football game. i need to rest my old lady bones. the good news was that it had warmed up so i was no longer trembling. i watched the game (standing up) and cheered and groaned and then in the last 2 minutes, i watched wisconsin blow their shot. final score, 21-19....bummer. didn't they know i woke up at 5 am? that i flew across the country? didn't they realize that i am wiscosnin fan by marriage and i have expectations and hopes and dreams for them? geez.

we made our way to the limo (and by made our way i mean that we walked around the entire stadium) and sulked/passed out the entire way back to the hotel....well some of us sulked. some of us were wondering what happened to the rest of those donuts!

the next day, one by one the fam made their way back to their respective cities. the hubs and i stayed in town as we had another big night awaiting us. nobu. all i knew was that after flying out here and witnessing a loss, i better be witnessing some "celebs are like us" activities. so we arrive at nobu that evening and after taking a couple min to figure out how the door to restaurant even opens, we walk in. nobu is not for dummies apparently.

we're seated, i take off my jacket, look up and see BRENDAN FRASER. come on, you know who i'm talking about...encino man? um...hmmmm...what else has he been in? seriously, that's my best brendan fraser association?

all i know is that i had donuts, pink champagne, and squeezed in a celeb siting. official LA success. badgers - that's how it's done, you set a goal and you win, i mean you achieve it. take notes. and oh yeah,  there's always next year!

planes, trains, and automobiles (au-to-mo-beeeel)?

this past year has been my great travel-cation - park city, cabo, napa, philly, madison, milwaukee, new york...i know, i know,  you are so jealous of all my exotic travels (especially wisconsin). i'm sure at this point my employer is wondering exactly how much vacation time i actually have (not to worry, mr. employer. you have kept me plenty busy. i'm working very hard, promise.)

all this travel has been a mix of planes and trains and yes the [dreaded] roadtrip. so here's a breakdown of the experience and some do's and don'ts as you embark on your holiday travel.

planes. i usually love planes just because it's the fastest way of getting anywhere. but there are drawbacks. many of them.

1. checking bags. i hate it. my clothes just mean too much to me to have them lost or stranded god knows where for hours, days, forever.  so the idea of checking my bags just feels like clothing neglect and abuse. 
2. miniature, elf-size toiletries. not checking bags = toy size toiletries. cute as they may be, it feels a little like i'm rationing out beauty. for the most part, i'd say i've mastered it. lots of samples and little travel jars filled my luscious creams and dreamy beauty products. but given the rationing that these little bottles require,  i probably walk around with a little too much mascara under my eyes than is appropriate.  maybe that's why i look so tired??
3. chatty folks.  on a recent trip, i had a early morning flight, which meant i woke up at an obscene hour...too early to even mention. all i wanted was to board the plane, snuggle up, and take the closest thing i could to a nap.  then SHE boarded. the 19 y.o. american university student (yes YOU) who thought that the entire aircraft wanted to hear her life story for 2 hours. from the second she boarded until the second we landed and i finally ran off the plane, she talked...and talked...and talked. i'm not sure she took a breath. i (we, the plane) had the pleasure of hearing all about her major, her hometown, her boyfriend, her theories on psychological disorders,  her knowledge and understanding of technology, her high school life, and her political and religious thoughts. basically, i could write this girl's biography. maybe my lack of patience is just a sign that i'm an old lady who feels the urge to sssshushhhh everyone. maybe when i was 19, i thought i've lived enough life and needed to share my enlightened existence.
4. security lines. no, i'm not going to complain about the new tsa policies because, personally, i'd like to feel safe when i board a plane. i just wish that people knew how to navigate a security line. get your laptop out.  take off your belt. your shoes go on the conveyer belt. and no, contrary to what you may have thought, you are not exempt from the 3:1:1 liquid rule so you'll have to leave your 20 oz bottle of lotion at home. seriously, how do you not know the rules?

trains. i've traveled by train a handful of times. mainly through europe (god, i sound so worldly, don't i?) but my last 2 trips to nyc have been by train. there are definitely pros to trains - no security lines, no elf-size toiletries required, and best of all THE QUIET CAR (not that i've ever been in the quiet car because it just sounds like it would be too much pressure to be quiet, but god bless them for having the idea).  i think for the most part, trains are a close second to planes and may actually take the lead of preferred means of travel (for short distances). but there are a couple drawbacks...

1.  the return trip. i don't know about you but i like to have an assigned gate, go sit down, and board my train in a nice, civilized, orderly fashion. i guess nyc hates this idea. it wants people to line up and stare at the big board, wait anxiously for the announcer, and remain in ready position until seconds before boarding begins to race/climb/push others to get to the train.
2. seat assignments. i like the idea that you can sit anywhere but i guess the danny tanner in me just wishes we had assigned seats. maybe that would make boarding more orderly and less of musical chairs affair. 

automobiles. au-to-mo-beeel? god, i loved 16 candles....and any opportunity to use that line from the movie. too bad i hate road trips. the idea of being in a car for more than 2 hours is excruciating. maybe it's the fact that my commute in rush hour can take up to an hour or more but being trapped in my car is not my idea of a good time. it's cramped. you have to go to some gross rest stop to use the bathroom, and if you are not the one driving, then you have to keep the driver awake with fun, amazing stories. i mean, who am i? some 19 y.o. american university student? 

so as you embark on your holiday travels, regardless of your means of transportation, remember a few rules of the skies/tracks/roads:

1. pack light and leave your adult size toiletries at home. otherwise, i'll probably be behind you in the security line rolling my eyes. and maybe this time, i'll actually work up the nerve to say something to your face. beware.
2. pack your headphones. chances are that some college kid is going to want to talk about how awesome their last frat party was so you better be prepared to ignore them.
3. wear comfortable shoes. remember, you'll need to place them on the conveyer belt in security and people are not going to want to wait for you to unbuckle, untie, unzip them. so be smart about it.  again, i might be in line behind you and there will be a serious absence of holiday cheer if you lack efficiency. also, you will need to be able to run to your gate at a moment's notice. practice sprinting with your suitcase.

happy travels :)