As Luck Would Have It...

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Today my hubby is leaving for a nine day work trip.

Ugh.

First he is off to Europe for a few days and then he flies directly to California coming back on the eve of my birthday/mother's day. His leaving in general sucks, but this time I have a feeling it's going to suck just a little bit more.

Why?

Of course today, of all days,  my little man woke up with the stomach flu. At first we thought it was just a fluke and then we very quickly learned that he was, in fact, one sick puppy. To make things worse I now have the distinct impression that I too am about to fall victim (that or I am being completely, freakishly paranoid.) I realize that I shouldn't complain, single mothers deal with this everyday (as a total aside I would like to give a big congrats to Sandra Bullock) but I'm just wishing that this stomach bug could have timed itself a little more appropriately. Like maybe when I am the one leaving the country? Yeah, yeah, add it to the Christmas list.

So while I have much to discuss, including an awesome event I attended yesterday at Isis Parenting, I'm afraid I have an even bigger load of laundry looking at me. That and a date with a big bottle of Lysol.

We're (meaning me, remember I'm solo now) are hoping for a quick recovery and I'll spill all the dish on the event I attended, and my new favorite thing/birthday present just as soon I disinfect every inch of this house.  Oh, it's going to be a long week.


Yummy Chickpea and Spinach Stew.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

I realize that it has been quite some time since I've posted a recipe on here and believe me it has been worth the wait! I gave this recipe a try last night and it got two thumbs up from both my husband and I (this rarely happens) and since miracles do happen, my little man also approved! I wish I would have gotten a better "after" picture, but it smelled so good I forgot to take it. The cook and prep time is under 30 minutes, which means this is definitely going into the weekly rotation.

Vegetarian Chickpea and Spinach Stew
Serves 2 (and a toddler) as a main course, 4 as a side.

1 bag baby spinach
2 large garlic cloves crushed
Kosher salt
Pinch of saffron threads )
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
Two 15-ounce cans of chickpeas with their liquid
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion- finely chopped
1 large tomato- peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1/4 golden raisins (I used regular)



Preparation
1) In a large deep skillet bring the water to a boil. Add the spinach and toss over high heat until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain the spinach, pressing on the leaves to extract the liquid. Coarsely chop the spinach.


2) Using the flat side of a large knife, mash the garlic to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the saffron. Transfer the paste to a small bowl. Stir in the paprika, cumin, cloves and pepper and 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid. 


3) Wipe out the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the skillet and heat until simmering. Add the onion and tomato and cook even over moderately high heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spiced garlic sauce and cook for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas and all the remaining liquid to the skillet along with the raisins and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and simmer over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Transfer to bows and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. 


From Food and Wine, Sept. 2008. 

We Love Liam!


We all know that I have a soft spot in my heart for little boys, and even more so for little boys named Liam. A few days ago a friend of mine stumbled upon this blog, and ever since I have been telling everyone I know to enter this giveaway to help this sweet little boy to get a new bathroom. Liam will be turning 6 at the end of April and he has a neuromuscular disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2. His amazing family has created this website to help them raise money to remodel a bathroom for him this summer. There are some wonderful and generous artists who have donated thier services, and they have a great raffle set up to help raise the funds needed. I encourage you to go check out their website.

From one mother of a Liam to another, I wish you guys the best of luck!

Bathing Suit Season.... Again?

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Why is it that I always find myself in search of the perfect bathing suit? Strike that. I have found the perfect bathing suit numerous times and yet here I am again having to buy more. Is it because I am obsessed with buying itty bitty pieces of fabric at ridiculous prices? Is it because I love nothing more than trying on suit after suit in the dead of the winter when the temperatures are in the single digits? No, it must because I love the way my pale body glistens under the not so forgiving fluorescent lights in the dressing room, amplifying every flaw? Oh yes, the last one absolutely must be it (insert sarcasm here.) 

Unfortunately, the real reason I find myself  again looking at bathing suits is that I have finally learned that these babies are just not meant for the long haul. These are not what I would refer to as "investment pieces." No matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get a suit to last more than one or two trips. Somewhere between the heavy bleach that most resorts/hotels/private homes use and the daily grind from surfing/swimming/building sand castles, my suits are truly getting destroyed. As in d.e.s.t.r.o.y.e.d. This is turn brings me back to my search for a replacement (s.) Well,  this time I think I have figured out a way to outsmart the process.

First off I absolutely refuse to spend any more money on designer suits, the use per wear is something I am no longer going to invest in. I was more than happy when I some of the new styles at J.Crew. I usually wear a bikini but I found myself oooohhinng and ahhhing over the one pieces as well. The prices are super reasonable and if I can get a few of these to last through the summer than I will be one happy (and tan) mummy. The second part of my attack plan is that I ordered 8 (yes 8) of these pretties. I plan on heating up my bathroom to a balmy 80 degrees and letting in as much natural light as possible. Then, and only then, (possibly with a glass of wine) will I begin my hunt for the perfect bathing suit. Those that don't fit the bill will be immediately sent back and those that do are welcome on my next trip. I realize that shopping for suits at home is not a novel concept but for some reason year after year I find myself shivering in that unforgiving dressing room wondering why the hell I am not doing this in the privacy of my own (warm) home.

Here is a sampling of some of the styles I selected. I'm thinking that the top three are going to be the winners, but I am also loving the one in the bottom middle. 



I never thought I'd say it but I'm actually looking forward to trying on bathing suits! What's next a pain free bikini wax? Let's not get carried away, that would be some kind of miracle!


Boys Will Be Boys.

Monday, April 26, 2010

The other night I was lucky enough to score an invite from one of my girlfriends (thank you M!) for a lecture from one the leading "experts" in  raising boys, Michael G. Thompson, Ph. D. I had heard of Dr. Thompson from a friend a few years back and remembered seeing him on Oprah, but other than that I didn't know too much about him. His book Raising Cain has been recommended to me numerous times and I coincidentally had just ordered it the day before I was invited to to hear Dr. Thompson speak. After hearing from the genius (yes, my words) Doctor I can assure you that I will be ordering everything this man has ever written. Prior to this lecture I always knew boys were a little different, from but I actually never knew just how different they really are.

The focus of the lecture discussed ways that teachers can try to get boys more involved in school. There was significant discussion regarding the fact that boys, more than ever are being diagnosed as attention deficit disorder (ADD) while at the same time the amount of recess and active time at schools is being drastically cut, causing more restlessness for boys (and some girls,) coincidence? The Dr. also presented a statistic that 60% of recent grad-school admissions are now female, and that 85% of teachers are also females. While this is great for us ladies, as a mother of a boy it definitely opened my eyes to the fact that we have encouraged girls so much in the last decade, and have developed teaching strategies to ensure their success, that inadvertently the fallout is that now the boys are the ones being left behind.

Dr. Thompson spoke about how some simple changes in a teaching style, coupled with the addition of more male teachers, can really make the difference in bridging the gap between the sexes. There was a handout which I have copied below that shows the things that we, as parents, should be looking for from our school and our teachers. While this list was meant to be directed at the grade school age, I have found this list to be extremely helpful in some of my dealings with my very active toddler. There are things that I have been doing, and ways that we have been interacting that have been very frustrating to both of us. After the lecture and reading from this list I have definitely tweaked a few things in my parenting style and I have already seen a vast improvement (that or my kid switched bodies with a much more cooperative 2 year old boy overnight.) It's definitely directed towards the behavior of boys but having been a VERY active child myself I would imagine that some of these things would have worked on me just as well.

Here is what the good doctor had to say.

Twelve Suggestions for Teaching Boys, by Bambi Betts and Michael Thompson. 

  1. Re-think Homework. Meaningless or make-work homework creates the greatest pushback from boys because it ruins their playtime and causes fights at home. Teachers should try to use differentiated homework, offer homework online that give immediate feedback, or give boys a way out of homework.
  2. Authenticity. Boys often consider school irrelevant to the lives they are going to lead: try to connect assignments to the real world and their aspirations to be men.  
  3. What are the stakes? Does it matter to me? Does it matter to other boys? Does it involve risk, public performance or competition?
  4. Do not use the threat of failure. The constant threat of failure, on which most schools are premised at the deepest level, does not work for boys because they eventually write off the whole enterprise.
  5. Pre-Assessment. Do the boys in your class already know a lot of the stuff you are going to teach this year? And do you know what they already know? They won't respect your teaching until they find out what you know. 
  6. *Movement. Let them move inside a classroom as much as you can tolerate. Remember that boys who hate Shakespeare will learn lines from Romeo and Juliet when they can act them out with others- and with swords. 
  7. Minimize words, maximize non-verbal cues and avoid power struggles. 
  8. Do not compare boys unfavorably to girls. Boys know they are behind developmentally. Don't rub it in. 
  9. Use humor. Irony, mystery, surprise, a well-told story, all of them work. Never resort to sarcasm.
  10. Do not set boys up for failure. They are very shame sensitive. If a boy comes into Kindergarten able to only write letters in capitals, don't tell him that's wrong. 
  11. Boys love technology. It gives them a sense of control. Do not condemn their love of technology and video games without understanding why they love it and what it does for them.
  12. Let boys read and write about (and draw!) what they love. There is often a collision between boys and teachers when it comes to reading. Teachers tend to like fiction, character development, journals and emotional openness. Boys, in general, like non-fiction, science fiction, graphic novels and stories of emotional toughness such as sports biographies. They especially love value stories of espionage, combat, and death. 

If this man happens to come to speak in your town, I cannot recommend enough that you go to see him. He has also authored 13+ books, most of which deal with the development of boys, and some that deal with issues both sexes face (such as bullying, scholastic pressure, and fitting in.) After what I learned the other night, when it comes to little boys I'm pretty sure we can use all the help we can get!


What Happens When....

Friday, April 23, 2010

What happens when you combine a two year old boy and a deflated balloon? Watch and see.


Poor Elmo, he never stood a chance.

UPDATED: Round Two.




Yeah, I don't think Elmo will be flying anytime soon.

Have a great weekend my friends!


What's In Your Makeup Bag?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Lately I have been getting quite a few emails asking me what are some of my favorite makeup picks for Spring. I am a serious creature of habit and rarely change my makeup routine from one season to another (with the exception of the bronzer that I bathe in during the Winter months) so while my makeup bag may not that adventurous it is definitely full of some tried and true products.  Here is is a glimpse into  my makeup bag (the real thing is no where near this clean so this dramatic recreation will have to do the trick.)

Some of my product "must haves" include Fresh's liquid foundation. I love this foundation,  it is  made with this "clay like substance" that is super mosturizing without being too heavy. It is also great for acne prone skin.  I also love Benefit's benetint, I wear the peony stain in the Summer and the basic rose in the winter. For mascara I cannot live without Diorshow in blackest black for night, and  Benefit's badgal mascara in brown for day. I wear MAC liquid brow set every day and I also their eyeshadow. Era is my current favorite and I always sweep it on in the morning as my base. I wear MAC blush in Pink Swoon one top of the benetint for a pop of color (yes, I love me some pink cheeks.) For lips I pretty much wear DiorKiss in strawberry smoothie when I want a little drama, but all day, every day, I live in Bonnie Bell's Doctor Pepper lip gloss (and no, I'm not kidding.) I love the hint of color, I love the taste and smell, and I love that I have been wearing it since I was 10 years old (I told you I was  a creature of habit.)

So that's my bag. Tell me, what products can you not live without? Maybe one of these days I get up the nerve to try something new. Maybe.

Back To The Drawing Board.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Did you all hear the story about the girl who wanted to have a baby so bad that she literally injected a perfect embryo into her uterus? The punch line is that by even doing something that crazy she still wasn't able to get knocked up. The sad part of course is that this time the joke's on me.

I'm sure most of you saw yesterday that we learned that our first attempt at IVF was a giant failure. Obviously this is devastating news for us. I really was so convinced that it was going to work that I honestly never considered what it feel like if it didn't. In case there was any doubt it really, really, really sucked. What also really sucks is that now we have to wait two more months until we can start again. We have to take a one month "rest" break, and because we booked a trip to Costa Rica in June, naively thinking that this was going to work, we now have to wait until July for another go. I would bag the trip completely, but as my husband says, "we can't just stop living our lives." My response is we absolutely can, but I do get his point. The only thing that would be worse than not having another baby is sitting around waiting to have another baby and then not having said baby.

The problem is that of this waiting does not sit well with me. I seem to be lacking in the patience gene,  so I spent most of yesterday hatching a plan. I am 30 years old (for another two weeks), I have had a healthy baby the natural way, and there is technically nothing wrong with me, so I'm just going to say "screw you" to the IVF and have this baby on my own (with a little help from my husband of course.) No drugs, no needles, no "magic pills" none of it. I am going to eat cleaner than I ever have before, practice yoga as much as is humanly possible, and we are going make this baby the old fashioned way. Hey, if the girls on 16 and Pregnant can do it why can't I?

I realize that I may be completely delusional but I have never been one to shy away from a challenge so why start now? My hope is that we can be one of those people down the road who joke about our little foray into the infertility world and how crazy it was that in the end we didn't even need medical intervention. If that doesn't work than we will always have another go with some new embryos in July.

Bottom line, I will have another baby.

I can't thank all of you enough for your calls, emails, and comments. Yesterday was really tough and knowing that I had so many amazing friends and family members in my corner really made things much more bearable. I would also like to thank my girls who took me out to a fabulous dinner and plied me with a significant amount of red wine. Really is there anything that some good conversation and one bottle  two bottles of red wine can't cure? Yeah, I didn't think so.


The 2 Week Wait.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Yesterday I lost it.

I have spent the last few days feeling so nauseous that I had convinced myself that I was pregnant. I woke up yesterday at 6 am so sick I thought I was going to die. Rather than dying I took a much anticipated home pregnancy test, and was 100 percent sure that I was going to run out and tell my hubby, "I'M PREGNANT." The test result?

Negative.

Negative as in "not pregnant."

What does that mean? Hell if I know. See the thing was yesterday I was 12 days past my FET (frozen embryo transfer.) Is that too early? Who knows. Am I still having unbelievable pregnancy symptoms? Absolutely. Did this make me crazy? You betcha.

So back to me losing it. After the test I went into a bit of a downward spiral. I spent the little man's entire nap tearing though infertility chat rooms looking for others who had a negative at home test, and a positive blood test days later. Luckily, there were dozens of stories of this happening. Unluckily, there were even more stories of a negative being a negative and worse there were hundreds of tragic stories of people who had literally been trying to get pregnant but sadly had ill-fated pregnancies, some one after another.

Needless to say this is not the type of thing that I should have/ or should be reading. It seems as though people turn to these rooms for support, but for me I found the opposite. It made me more depressed, and not just for myself but for the thousands of women out there who are dying to be a mother and can't. I simply cannot imagine what life would be like if I didn't have the LM and had to go through this year after year, disappointment after disappointment.

That was yesterday.

Today I woke up feeling much better. Still sick, but mentally much better. I did not take a test and have spent most of the day not thinking about it. Tomorrow is our blood test and I have to hold out hope that we will get good news. My husband kept reminding me over and over last night that there is a reason the doctor demands a blood test after two weeks and not an at home pregnancy test after 12.

He's a smart guy so I banking on him being right on this one.

So tomorrow's the day. Plain and simple. Tomorrow afternoon we should have our answer, and as soon as we let our families know I will be sure to let the world know whether our little embryo decided to take up residence here.

File this 2 week wait under things that really suck.


New Obsession: Fiorentini + Baker Boots.

Friday, April 16, 2010

I realize that we aren't even into Summer fashion season yet (although right now it feels like it's mid December day rather than the middle of April) but lately it is Fall boots that have been keeping me up at night. Well, the boots and that little embryo that may or may not still be floating around. The embryo I have no control over, but the boots? The boots I can I can touch, smell, and drool on (I would like to apologize to the entire staff at Barneys for that last one.) 

Yes, I am again a woman obsessed and this time the objects of my obsession are the boots made by Fiorentini + Baker. Ever since I saw these boots on a stylist I know I have been dreaming of owning my very own pair. They really are the perfect flat motorcyclish boots. I say ish because they have all of the draw of a tough boot without all of the severe hardware that usually accompanies this type of style. The only problem is narrowing down my favorite to just one.

I tried on the "short" boot the other day and because I was in a way too big size it didn't look quite right. Today I am lusting after the calf length boots but am I bit turned off by the effort of the three buckles. As one of my best friends put it, "I'm not sure I'm ready to sign up for all that." I found the much more manageable two buckle online, but there still is the issue of color? I am leaning towards the grey, but am wondering if I should stick to basic black. Then again the dark brown is just dreamy..... decisions, decisions, decisions. 


You know it's a good thing I'm not getting these until the Fall, all of this pressure can't be good for the baby!

The entire line can be found here.

Are You Sure You're Ready For This?

Thursday, April 15, 2010

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" This is what they kid at the hardware store asked me this morning.

"Why, should I be scared?" I replied.

"Um, do you at least have a hammer," he asked.

Hello! That's why I'm here,  I thought to myself. 

"Yes, yes I have a hammer, but that's about as far as I go home improvement wise. This is why you are going to walk me through this step by step holding my hand along the way. I brought my assistant to take notes (said while pointing to my two year old who was now "sorting" the paint cans) so we should be just fine."

(silence)

"Seriously, I can do this.... I think."

Bottom line is that kid had about as much faith in the "projects" that I am about to take on as my loving husband does. Well, I'll show them both (maybe.)

Yes, people is it home improvement time around here. I have been dreaming of a few additions to the little man's room for about a year now and finally I have the tools to do it. With the help of these things (and some molding that I am having cut):



I am hoping to turn this wall:



Into this:


And this bed:


Into this:


I see the way you are looking at me. Seriously, I have put quite a bit of time into this and I'm pretty sure it is not going to be that hard. I just have to paint and sand half the wall. Then paint the precut molding. Then glue and nail the molding into the wall. After that I just have to putty and sand the holes and then add a second coat of paint. For the bed I just have to sand, sand, sand, sand, sand and then add two coats of this super serious navy paint I got. 

It's can't be that hard, right?

This is the part where you all shake your head up and down in agreement. 

Oh boy, I'm not quite sure I have gotten myself in to. 

After pictures will be posted assuming that we still have a house left standing. 

In My Next Life...

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

 Pregnancy watch 2010 is in full effect (6 more days!) and lately I have been in some serious need of a good distraction. These past few weeks I have been tearing through my favorite design blogs like it is going out of style (pun intended) to help me to keep my mind off what may or may not be happening in my belly. Well, imagine my surprise when my three favorite blogs Design Sponge, Elements of Style, and Ohdeedoh all featured stories on what has now become my favorite new website for lifestyle inspiration; Emersonmade

This is Emerson. 


This is her too cute for words husband.



This is her home. 



And like all enviable woman, of course she has a blog, which can be found here.

The backstory on this couple is that they gave up their lives in Manhattan to move remodel a farmhouse in New Hampshire. Together they run their business in a nearby mill where they create to die for fabric flowers and home accessories. I have to say that in my next life if I could be anyone I would absolutely want to come back as this woman. Her style is truly exquisite and it looks as though she and her adorable husband are having a blast working together and growing their company. To say I have a new girl/ lifestyle crush would be quite the understatement.

I ordered this little navy linen clutch from them last week and I am totally in love with it.


I'm hoping soon they will make made to order fabulous farmhouses with a complementary perfect lifestyle. I'll take two please!



No Reason.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Alert the media, we have FINALLY moved on from our "What Happened"stage! Let me tell you in the sincerest way possible that the end of that little catch phrase barely came soon enough. As an aside I would like to thank every single friend and family member for calling me after reading that post just to ask "What Happened?" Oh, yes someday vengeance will be mine... sleep with one eye open people.

Ahem, as I was saying, I happily no longer have to respond to "what happened" every millisecond of the day. I'm not quite sure why, but the little man phased that one out all by himself (I'm sure it had nothing to do with the look in my face towards the end of the day when I would answer his innocent little question for the 1,000,000,000,000th time of the day.) So, "what happened" is out, but of course it just couldn't disappear, could it? No, because this is toddler land it had to be replaced with something. Well, if "what happened" is so last week, than "no reason" is the new hot saying around this house. "No reason," you ask? My thoughts exactly. Try to follow this conversation.

Me: LM are you hungry?
LM: No reason.

Me: Did you have a good day at school today?
LM: No reason.

Me: Did you go potty?
LM: No reason.

Me: Are you ready for a big nap?
LM: No reason. 

It took me about a week but I finally figured it out, "No Reason" seems to be toddler code for "Not Really." Hungry? Not really. Tired? Not really. Happy? Not really. Ahhhhh you see it now don't you?

 All of this toddler talking has led me to decide two things.
  1. Babies should really be born with on/off switches, or at least we should have the ability to change the channel.
  2. They really do need an instruction manuel, or at a minimum a code book. 
Just so you know, I'll  soon be writing a strongly worded letter to the guy in charge of evolution,  because these two things were definitely overlooked! 


(Photo Credit: From Here.)

Cautiously Optimistic.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The discharge papers we received after our frozen embryo transfer read as follows:
Dear patient, your next step following this transfer is to wait. Anticipating the pregnancy test can be difficult. Time passes slowly and 12 days feels like forever. If this is your first IVF cycle, you may be filled with greater hope than during previous treatments. Managing expectations can be tricky. Patients don't want to be too hopeful for fear of being let down, but worry that not being positive enough can affect the outcome. Being "cautiously optimistic" feels like the goal; but maintaining that balance is tough. Feeling anxious is common and will not impact on the success or failure of your cycle. 
What they should have said:
Dear Patient, are you ready to think of NOTHING else for the next 14 days, other than your upcoming pregnancy test? Are you ready to almost completely lose your mind leading up to what is going to a) be one of the most exciting days of your life, or b) one of the biggest letdowns EVER? Are you prepared to spend the next 14 days convinced that you are pregnant? The fact that you are constantly exhausted, well that is either a sign that your are pregnant or is more likely due to the fact that you gave up those lattes cold turkey last week. Are you are nauseous 24/7? Don't bank on that being a little baby in there, more likely you may be coming down with the stomach flu. Oh, and your jeans are tighter? Please don't think that is anything more than the fact that we have forbid you from going to the gym for the past 2 weeks and since you are banking on getting pregnant I'm sure you have been stuffing your fact with anything in sight. Sore boobs, back, etc. Come on, please don't read into this, don't your remember that you are still stuffing your body full of hormones on a daily basis? Yes, you should still hold out hope, but please desperate baby crazed woman,  don't blame us if this didn't work. Oh, and best of luck to you.

Can you tell I'm losing my mind a bit over here? We are almost one week through the "wait" and for a while there I was doing pretty good. I have a feeling that this next week is going to be a lot loooooooooooonger than this past week was. I am feeling all of the above mentioned symptoms but having been down this road before I can assure you that they are mostly all psychosomatic. Yep, for at least two weeks I have somehow convinced myself that I am preggo, setting myself up for a huge disappointment in the end.

I'm not quite sure that is what they had in mind when they said "cautiously optimistic."

(Photo Credit: From Here)

It Is Decided.

Friday, April 9, 2010

After seeing the new Sex and the City 2 trailer it is decided, I absolutely must see this movie opening night in NYC. The fact that my sis-in-law recently moved to Carrie's street means that it is meant to be. May I add that my b-day is only a few weeks before and my husband has already gifted me a weekend away meaning that the timing is nothing short of pure destiny. Throw in that this movie opens Memorial day weekend meaning I get not one, not two, but (wait for it) three days to live my Carrie Bradshaw dream.... well if there is any reason to believe in god, then by all means this is it.

Without further ado may I present the second greatest trailer of all time. (The first of course being the previous trailer for this movie.)



One word: Aiden.

Second word: Aiden.

One more word: Aiden!

I didn't think it was possible but this movie just got 1 million times better!


Peep-Shi.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Okay, I realize that we are a few days past Easter, but I stumbled upon this yesterday and I just had to share this with you.

Peep-Shi!



Yes, someone MUCH more creative than I found an extremely clever way to combine two of the things I love most in the world 1) Peeps 2) Rice Krispy Treats. Throw in a little fruit roll up and I'm sorry but if this isn't reason enough to throw an easter party, than I don't know what is.

File this under ideas that I will absolutely be stealing next year.

(Photo and Genius Idea Credit: From Here.)


So Really You Just Want Tequila On Ice?

Wednesday, April 7, 2010


Saturday night I made a fatal mistake. Fatal, as in FATAL mistake. Saturday night I switched drinks, Sunday morning/ afternoon/ evening I heavily paid the price. File this under things I will never do again. See over the years I have learned (often the hard way) exactly how much I can drink and still feel okay the next day. Without any complex mathematical equations it usually goes something like this.

1 martini + 2 glasses of wine = ok
3-4 glasses of red wine = ok
2-3 glasses of white wine = ok
3 glasses of champagne =ok
4-5 light beers = ok
2 martinis = ok

Anything outside any of these equations = absolute friggin disaster.

Enter Saturday night.

Saturday night when I was out with my sister-in-law best friend we had a fabulous dinner which was accompanied by 1 martini and 1 glass of red wine. We then went over to another bar where I very specifically said, "okay I can have one, and only one more glass of red wine, then we leave." By the time we were ready to order I suddenly came up with what I though was the greatest idea of all time, "we should order Skinnygirl margaritas," I exclaimed. (Yes, I have been watching way to much Real Housewives of  NYC.) "Um, okay," she nervously replied. I asked the bartender if he knew how to make one, which he did not, and after i quick Google search I learned that it was:

  • 2 shots Patron tequila
  • A splash of Orange liquor
  • 4 limes
  • Ice
I handed over my recipe to the bartender who said, "So really you just want tequila on ice."

FAMOUS. LAST. WORDS

4 hours, and 3 Skinnygirl Margaritas (that's 6 shots of tequila for those of you counting) later I realized that there was a reason why I stick to my list. At 7 am the next day I really, really, really, really, really remembered why there was a reason I stuck to my list. 

I'm thinking next time I go out I need to pull a Sarah Palin and write down my list on my hand, better yet maybe I should get that tattooed on my forehead! 


BTW, tequila you will NEVER be on that list. It may have taken me 30 years, but believe me I have finally learned my lesson.


The Little Embryo That Could.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Today at 9:55 am we got the call that our little embryo survived his time in the freezer and is very excitedly awaiting our arrival at the fertility center today at 2:30. His bags are packed, and he has said his goodbyes, and soon he/she will be part of our family (for at least two weeks.) After we bring him/her home we will lay low for the next 14 days and then after a quick blood test we will know if he/she liked it here.

We've made all the final preparations, and hopefully he will like the uterus that he is being given. I tried to do a little redecorating, but really it worked for his/her brother for 9 months, so hopefully it will work for him/ her too.

Welcome home little embryo!

I Broke Girl Code.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Saturday night I completely, totally, 100 percent broke girl code. Not just broke it. I actually smashed it, jumped up and down on it, and then threw it in a blender "broke" girl code. 

When I was in the ladies room at Stella  I was asked, quote "where on earth did I get that absolutely stunning bolero" that I was wearing. Rather than telling the super cute girl where I purchased it, instead I lied. Like liar, liar, pants on fire lied. "Oh, it's vintage," I replied. Honestly, I don't even know where the words came from as they were coming out of my mouth. "Too bad," she said back, "it truly is fabulous."

Vintage? Vintage my ass. What I should have said is, 
"Oh this? This is from Zara (the discount retailer) I just picked it up about two hours ago on Newbury. Yes, even though it looks expensive, it is actually retailing for under a hundred dollars.  You should totally go an pick one up tomorrow, it is such an amazing find. Thank you so much for noticing."

Yes, I should have said that, but I didn't. I didn't say that not because I wanted to impress the random stranger in the bathroom, but rather because it is such a cool unique mass produced piece that I wanted to be the only one who has it. The only one not just in Boston, but in the whole world. There I said it. Oh, the shame. 

I woke up the next morning with a serious hangover (more on this later) and a big cloud of negative fashion karma hanging over me. As a girl, and especially as a blogger it is my duty to share such  amazing finds. One can not lie about where they purchased fabulous fashion, it just isn't right. So this is me making amends. Girl from the bathroom if you are reading this you have my deepest apologies. Please go and pick up this amazing piece. It looks great dressed up over a navy frock (which is how I wore it) but it will look equally as stunning with a tank, and boyfriend jeans. For the price this really is a must have. 





You know it's a good thing I'm not Catholic... I really don't think I could handle the guilt.