L'Shanah Tovah!

Wishing you all a happy and sweet new year!

xoxoxo,

b

The Writing on the Wall

I'm pretty picky about my art and what I like to hang on my walls - overall I like it to have some sort of meaning to me and be something that makes me happy whenever I look at it. So I thought it might be sort of fun to show you all what I have on display in my house!

(Side note: I live in a studio, so please take terms like "living room", "bedroom", and "entryway" with a grain of salt and pretend like I don't live in my kitchen.)

First up, we have a pinterest-inspired creation that I made myself hanging in my living room. It's supposed to be modeled after the Kate Spade confetti pattern, but I made it with blues and gold/silver glitter paper. 

*Oops. You can see where I had to take my DEMONIC SMOKE DETECTOR down. It beeped when I boiled water. Ignore please.*

This is a picture of my great-grandparents that I keep framed by my bed. We think that it may have been their engagement picture, but we're not sure. I just love the flapper outfit - obviously my great-grandmother was quite the fasionista!

 

Here is a little collage of things that I like:

From Clockwise: A print of New York Steve gave me on my birthday last year; a postcard from my study abroad in the Netherlands (translates to "Bike missing?"); A picture of the Negev desert from my trip to Israel; a photo of my grandmother on her wedding day (they eloped!); a print of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss"; a postcard from my trip to San Francisco last year. 

 My mom made this for me...it's actually a picture that she took in Italy and stretched out over canvas to make it look like a painting. It's in my kitchen.

A few years ago my mom found these plates on sale at Home Goods and thought that I would like them. I did but I had absolutely no idea what to do with them until I cam up with the idea to hang them on the wall! They hang over my bed now.

And finally, this is hanging in my entryway. It's a print that I picked up in Tzafat, Israel and it translates to a benediction that my rabbi always closes our services with. So it's doubly sentimental to me!

So there you go -- my "gallery tour."  What's on your walls?

xoxo,

b

The Circus is Coming

For those of you who don't follow me on Twitter, on Monday I posted the following:

littlebindc

What should I get my bf for his birthday? He likes bourbon, hockey, economic charts, and being midwestern.

I'm usually pretty good about gifts - at least I like to think so. And I always prefer to get my loved ones something they've really had their eye on, even if it means that I have to ruin the surprise and ask them what they want. So last night, Steve told me something that he's never ever been to. Something he's had his eye on for a long time. Something.......magical.

Buckle up, y'all. We're going to the circus!

xoxo,

b

Menu Monday and MADONNA

 Last week, my older sister called me to let me know that she'd won tickets to see Madonna at Yankee Stadium in a company raffle and did I have any interest in joining her?

Um. Did I have any interest?

Yes, yes I did.

Or rather, OMG OMG OMG MADONNA YESSSS!!!!!

I took the bus up on Friday night and spent the weekend at her apartment. After taking BHB's advice and taking a SoulCycle class on Saturday morning and meeting Michelle at the adorable Sarabeth's for brunch, we were on our way to the Bronx to realize a dream 27 years in the making.*

Yes, it was raining. Yes, we wore garbage bags for the majority of the concert. Yes, we only had one umbrella. Was it worth it?**

I'll let you decide for yourself. The evidence:

The hearts are for anonymity, and to show our love for Madonna. Look at our seats!

*Vogue*

Cone bra, as seen from the jumbo-tron

Madonna wants us to think that she can play guitar. (side note: She can't. But she looks awesome faking it!)

I like this just because you can see how hard it was raining.

 

The set list included:

1. Opening Prayer /Girl Gone Wild
2. Revolver
3. Gang Bang
4. Papa Don’t Preach
5. Hung Up
6. I Don’t Give A
7. Best Friend / Heartbeat (Interlude)
8. Express Yourself / Born This Way
9. Turn Up The Radio
10. Give Me All Your Luvin’
11. Open Your Heart
12. Masterpiece
13. Justify My Love (Interlude)
14. Vogue
15. Candy Shop
16. Human Nature / Erotica
17. Like A Virgin
18. Nobody Knows Me (Interlude)
19. I’m Addicted
20. I’m A Sinner
21. Like A Prayer
22. Celebration

She also played "Holiday" as a special treat for the NY audience - a fan favorite!

Once she started playing the rain didn't even matter. It was just amazing to be there, hearing all her classics, dancing with everybody in the stadium. I'm so happy I got to go!

On to a Menu Monday Update:

Last week, I challenged myself to cook a healthy meal for myself every night and not buy lunch or dinner all week. While I had some hits and some misses, overall I was pretty happy with myself for achieving those goals.

Last week:

Monday: Skinnytaste Turkey Stuffed Peppers: These are always a hit. Plus I made a double recipe and have a tray in my freezer for emergencies now.

Tuesday: Cheese Tortellini with Spinach, Peas and Brown Butter: Know what would be helpful on this one? Remembering to buy spinach.  I made do with just peas and it was a tasty (and extremely fast!) dinner.

Wednesday: Ginger Fried Rice: I've had this recipe bookmarked for years now, and I wanted it to be amazing so badly. So I was disappointed when it came out just.....meh. It's decent. I love SK and I don't doubt that her's turned out beautifully, I'm just not sure where I went wrong on this one. Plus it made a TON of rice and I have leftovers for another full dinner tonight.

*Fried Rice in progress*

Thursday: Roasted Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and CousCous: This one was another that was just okay, but fast. I mixed a cut up chicken breast with a box of Near East cous cous, a tomato, and a sauteed zucchini. I also threw in a can of chickpeas and it was pretty tasty! Next time I would add feta.

For this week I've planned:

*Sunday: Pizza with Prosciutto, Blue Cheese, and Fig Jam* (Since it's Monday, I can already report that this was delicious.)
*Monday: Stir-Fry with leftover Fried Rice*
*Tuesday: I have class so I'll probably buy dinner, but if I don't I've got Portobello quesadillas planned*
*Wednesday: Pumpkin-Peanut Curry Noodles
*Thursday: Class again, so I'll probably do leftovers or pick something up at Trader Joe's across the street*
*Friday: Back to New York! We've got a late bus so I'm not sure what I'll whip up before we head out.*

Happy Monday everyone!

xoxo,

b

* I like to think that I was Madonna's youngest fan, since I was fanatical about her music that they would play in my toddler dance classes. I even had a t-shirt (with shoulder pads!) with her face on it when I was in kindergarten. And please believe if I could find that t-shirt today I would wear it in a heartbeat.

** In case you hadn't decided for yourself, the answer is "OMG OMG OMG MADONNA YESSSS!!!!!"

Guess what I'm doing this weekend!

If you guessed OMFG SEEING MADONNA IN CONCERT, you would be correct!

My sister won tickets in a company raffle, so tomorrow night she and I are going to see her perform at Yankee Stadium. I AM SO EXCITED!

Stay tuned for a full, extensive recap on Monday.

MADONNA!

xoxoxo,

b

The Game Changer: What I'm Loving Wednesday

Confession time!

I.....am not the neatest person.

In fact....some might call me downright messy.

One of my least favorite chores is folding laundry. Without fail, my (clean! oh, the shame) clothes will wind up in what I have affectionately dubbed "my pile" on my couch. Then, far too many times and far too many rushed mornings, I dig through the pile, find something presentable, and either bring it into the bathroom with me while I shower in hopes of getting the wrinkles out, or throwing it in the dryer until it looks okay. It's how I roll. Judge away.

At least, it's how I used to roll.

Enter the Conair Extreme Hand Held Fabric Steamer with Dual Heat.*
 

GAME-CHANGER.

Nay, LIFE-CHANGER.

 

It takes about a minute to heat up. It steams your clothes in about another minute. And you can use it on just about anything. I brought it to Chicago (for wedding attire) and Aruba (for dinner-on-the-beach) attire and it works like a charm.  

So there you go. My not-so-secret pile is out there for the world to know about. But at least now it's a wrinkle-free pile.

xoxoxo,

b

*I bought this. I did not get this for free and nobody asked me to endorse it. I just really, really, really like it. 

Pseudo-Foodie Shame, or Menu Tuesday

So Steve is out of town this week on a business trip. Which means I am cooking for one -- one of my least favorite things to do.

I don't consider myself to be a gourmet by any means. I like to cook, and I love to eat. But while I've gotten a pretty decent system in place cooking for two (that usually grants me leftovers for lunch the next day), I still haven't gotten the hang of cooking for just myself.

Last time Steve went away, I talked a big game. I was going to cook every night for myself. I would make meals that he wouldn't touch, vegetarian meals, "lady food", you get the idea. I was pretty smug.

Do you know what I ate every. single. night. that Steve was gone?

QUESADILLAS.
(Albeit extremely delicious cheesy ones.)

This was the night I put extra effort in and actually cut up the avocado.

 
Granted, I love quesadillas. And technically the meal was vegetarian, so Steve would have protested. But the points that I gained in taste I certainly lost in plating, technical difficulty, and originality.

Some nights when I'm alone I get a little classier (read: even lazier.)

Peach, brie, wine, bread. Turns out woman can live on wine and cheese alone.

This week I am determined to do better. I've been to the grocery store (including a trip to suburban Mecca, Costco), planned my menus, and am holding myself accountable. So for this week:

* Monday: Skinnytaste Turkey Stuffed Peppers*

*Tuesday: Cheese Tortellini with Spinach, Peas and Brown Butter*

*Wednesday: Ginger Fried Rice*

*Thursday: Roasted Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and CousCous*

Friday I'm taking the bus to NY so dinner will probably be a sandwich or salad picked up at Union Station.

Next week I'll let you know how I did!

xoxo,

b