Last Minute Valentine Gift Ideas

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Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and if you haven’t bought your loved ones anything yet, here are some gift ideas!

 

1. For the littles, love these Laughing Giraffe Valentine Book Sets. My kids can never have too many books.

2. And if not books, music or art activities are my favorite. Love these instruments, or just stop at your local craft store and stock up on paint, paper and brushes (washable of course!).

3. Arbonnne products for him or her. Botanically based skin and body care, vegan wellness products and gluten-free cosmetics. You can find some great gift sets for your sweetie!

4. Perfume…I’ve worn this one for over ten years now….I love it. Try it.

5. Whoever said food is the way to a man’s heart should have also said shoes and jewelry are the way to a woman’s heart.  I’m having a Valentino moment here.  Sassy, sexy heels and Sweet rainboots! (Hint hint honey, I’m a size 5 or 5 1/2)

6. When all else fails, Alex and Ani bracelets – so much to choose from, you can’t go wrong!

7. Forget flowers that die in a week, go for an herb garden! I love this one from William Sonoma.

As always, this is basically my personal “want” list and I have not been paid for these endorsements. 

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The Morning Routine

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From the time you wake up, how long does it take you to leave the house?

Ughh. It takes me a long time.

About two hours. And it seems even longer.

Let me set the scene first. I have two little ones. They go to “school” 3 days a week. I work but have a home office. Some days I have to go to client meetings. Some days I just have to get out of the house for human interaction.

My biggest problem is I don’t usually set an alarm. I wake up when one of my littles wakes up. If I have a meeting in Boston I need to get to, I will set my alarm for 6 and try to shower and get mostly ready before they wake up. They usually wake up about 7am.

So I feed them breakfast. We sometimes play a little bit. The oldest watches a show, or at least we have Disney Jr. on the TV…it takes her a WHILE to really wake up in the morning.

I shower, put on makeup, do my hair and get dressed. Sounds like a lot but I can do all that in 20 minutes max (as long as I don’t wash and dry my hair….hence the sock bun I’ve been sporting a lot recently.

There are days I don’t shower. Shhh…don’t tell. But I still wash my face, do makeup, etc. Actually, I tend to get more compliments on those days so maybe I shouldn’t shower more often :) Ha ha. And I ALWAYS get dressed. Meaning no gym clothes, sweats or pajamas out of the house!

I try to lay the girls clothes out the night before. I give my oldest input, maybe too much, but I usually ask her what color she wants to wear, and she responds with the color and if she wants to wear shirt/pants or a dress. The little one is too little so I still get to pick her clothes :)

I pack their lunches. My husband typically gets their lunches all ready, but I have to put the stuff in the lunch bags, and cook any hot food to put in each girls’ thermos.

I load the car. I often put the girls in the car first, the little one with a bottle and the eldest with a snack. We have a garage under our house and it’s warm and secure so don’t freak out on me. Then I load in their school bags. Then my purse, laptop bag, etc.

I often do a final check of the house to make sure the oven is off, no stove burners are on, irons are off, etc. Another final sweep to make sure kids have jackets, hats, mittens, etc. in the winter.

Then we are lucky to pull out of the garage two hours later.

And many times, I pull a u-turn and head back home for something I forgot.

And sometimes, I have to go back a second time.

Awesome.

Holy moly…I’m tired just typing all this. It’s exhausting.

What is your morning routine line? How long does it take you to get out of the house? Any tips to be more efficient?

 

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WWYW: Styling My Leopard Boots

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Last week I wrote a blog post about a pair of knee-high Christian Louboutin leopard boots that I adore, but I never wear. Amazing right?

WWYW? What would you wear? I wrote the post asking YOU to help me style outfits to wear with these boots. I specifically asked some of my favorite fashionista bloggers for their ideas. I was shocked that I had all the items they recommended, even the jewelry!

Cue fashion show in my bedroom.

Followed by awkward self-portrait session with my iPhone in the mirror.

DISCLAIMER: I am terrible at self-portraits. I can’t get the lighting right, my nice camera wasn’t focusing properly…but whatever. I’ll work on it :)

So here goes….

Outfit #1 Styled by Amy Tara Koch @AmyTaraKoch 

 Black wrap dress with gold necklace. 

Outfit #2 Styled by Tonya Mezrich @tonyamezrich

Little red dress, black patent belt

Outfit #3 Styled by Saucy Glossie @saucyglossie

Jeans, striped tee and a chunky necklace

Outfit #4 Styled by Mr. Kate @mrkatedotcom

 Ratty jeans, slouchy white button down shirt partially tucked in, chunky turquoise necklace, lots of bangles

Outfit #5 Styled by Charlene Chronicles @charchronicles

Black maxi dress

Outfit #6 Styled by Tonya Mezrich @tonyamezrich

Black skinnies, black fitted top, camel coat

Outfit #7 Styled by Me!

Black peplum jacket over black skinnies

What’s your favorite look with the boots? 

It’s really hard for me to select a favorite. The all black looks, whether the dresses or the top and pants are chic and classic and I’d definitely wear all of them. The red was a surprise to me….I loved it a lot more than I expected. I thought it might be too much…but it wasn’t. It was adorable. I liked the idea of the striped t-shirt but had trouble figuring out what type of jeans to pair it with. I like the look but I think on my petite frame, it wasn’t best.

What shocked me is HOW much I LOVED Mr. Kate’s styled outfit. OMG. It’s NOTHING I’d ever put together…but maybe that’s why I loved it so much!!!! So I took some extra pics!

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My Weekly Menu

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If you’ve been following my blog, you know my husband and I live a Paleo lifestyle. One of the things that makes this easier is to plan our meals. I’ve been inspired by one of my favorite bloggers Emily at Random Recycling to blog my weekly menu…so here it is!

I’m working on getting my act together to also provide links to these recipes. They are all Paleo’ish :)

 

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Starting Paleo: A Beginner’s Guide

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As many of you know, I’ve been living Paleo since May when my husband put me on a diet. Yup, you read that right. And it’s the best thing I’ve done. I feel good (healthy and more energy) and I look good (not trying to be snotty but I lost 14 lbs) and it just feels like the right thing to do.

Trust me, it was NOT easy for me to start it, especially as a life long carb lover. I once tried Atkins and lasted three hours.

I get a lot of people asking how to start, so this post is for you!

The Basics

  • Eat organic, grass-fed meats. Nuts. Veggies and fruits. Eggs (not dairy even though they are in the dairy section…but they come from chickens, not cows)
  • Do not eat anything processed. Dairy. Legumes (which includes peanuts). Grains.

Visiting the farm where we get our grass-fed beef

Follow the right people on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest

This may be the right time to hide Paula Dean, or all the Cupcake Bakers you follow. It’s not that you love them any less, but you just need to focus. Some of my favorite people to follow are:

  • Just Eat Real Food – I’m obsessed with this page. It’s not 100% Paleo but typically follows a Paleo/Primal philosophy and posts amazing recipes from other sites, as well as articles and research. It’s my favorite research. TIP: When you see a good recipe, click into the link and follow to where it originated….then Pin it to Pinterest.
  • Twitter – It’s tough to navigate the good vs the bad on Twitter sometimes. I’d like my Paleo Twitter list to grow so please offer suggestions. I love @robbwolf – this is the main Paleo guy that my husband follows and reads. Unfortunately you find a lot of heavy-duty cross-fit or body-building people who also eat Paleo…but I think it’s tough to find the right people to follow that “jive” with you.
  • Pinterest - I used to think Pinterest was making me fat, but I’ve realized you can also find really healthy, good for you recipes here.

Get a cookbook or two 

I bought Everyday Paleo by Stacey Fragoso and The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain to kick things off. I needed inspiration to start cooking and didn’t know where to find it. There are some great recipes in these books, but after a few weeks, I found that I didn’t really need them any longer…I was able to just cook things up from on my own, or learn to use “normal” recipes and replace non-paleo ingredients. I refer to the Just Eat Real Food Facebook most often now for inspiration. I also bought Paleo Indulgences and it’s awesome to test out some “baked” goods and other “cheat” foods.

Throw Away the Bad Stuff

I know this is a lot easier said than done, but I’ve done it and so can you. Throw away the processed stuff. I know this is hard if you have kids who love snacks. But as much as you can, get rid of the stuff that you snack on. Get ride of the pastas and the rice. The cookies, the crackers. Even the “healthy” things like quinoa…GONE. I had a lot of boxes of unopened food that I delivered to the local food bank.

Shop and Stock Your Kitchen

I’ve written about how to shop Paleo. It’s important when you start Paleo to have a kitchen stocked with fruits and veggies and real food. Some of the key things to get include:

  • Organic chicken
  • Organic grass-fed beef
  • Nuts like almonds and pecans
  • Organic fruits and veggies. If you are trying to lose weight, don’t load up on sweet potatoes or bananas, but if you are doing it for the health value, they are fine. I’ve found having a lot of celery, carrots and peppers around to slice and snack on are great for when I’m wanting a crunchy snack (when I used to reach for chips!).

Snacks from our Paleo 4th of July Party

Beware of the so-called healthy stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Regardless of where you shop, you need to follow my guidelines for shopping Paleo. Even in the organic stores, you basically shop the perimeter of the store, unless your store has an organic section in the middle. All the stuff in the center of the store is likely processed and therefore not Paleo.

I’ve actually become a huge fan of Trader Joe’s through this process as they have great organic chicken and fruits and veggies. Even for the processed stuff I still buy for my carb-loving 3 1/2 year old, I’ve migrated away from all the “big brands” and over to Trader Joe’s. No more Cheerios, Rice Krispies, etc. (because they contain GMO’s) and we now buy all the Trader Joe’s products which do not contain GMO’s. The little one loves their version of Cheese-Its, Graham Crackers, cereals and more. (The GMO discussion is for another post…information overload! But google it if you wish.).

Make It a Family Lifestyle Change

If you are the only one in your house committed to Paleo, it will be difficult. That’s why I say get rid of the temptations. And don’t let age factors inhibit you. My youngest daughter who is almost 18 months is actually about 90% paleo…except for the oatmeal she loves and cereal bars we snack on. My older daughter, the 3 1/2 year-old carb loader is another story, but one day….

Start Strong and then Understand It’s Okay to Cheat Once in a While

I started of 100% Paleo for about 6 weeks. I had to…it was the only way. In that time, I lost about 10 pounds and felt healthier. It truly became a lifestyle, not a diet. Then, once in a while, I allow myself to cheat. Usually 2-3 times per week. At first, I felt like I couldn’t wait to cheat…and now, I realize some of the foods I want to cheat with make me feel awful.

About three months into Paleo, my kids were staying with their grandparents and my husband and I had the night and next morning to ourselves. We went out to breakfast where I ordered my favorite, coconut french toast. I felt like death after I ate it. It wasn’t food poisoning, but rather the gluten. Since being on Paleo, I’ve noticed I have a gluten intolerance, yet if I cheat with dairy, there are not issues or repercussions.

Some of my favorite cheats include ice cream, pizza and Mexican food.

Don’t be THAT Dinner Guest

Paleo isn’t a binding set of rules that if you break them, you’ll be damned. If we go to friends house and they decide to order pizza for dinner, I eat it. If they cook and serve rice or pasta with dinner, I try to load up on the meat and veggies and then skip the processed carbs. But guess what…at this point eight months in, if I want it, I eat it. I notice though I don’t WANT to eat the bad stuff nearly as much….it’s truly become a lifestyle.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

I am by no means an expert on this. I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist. I’ve been on the Paleo journey for eight months and I’ve seen results. 

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What Would You Wear: Christian Louboutin Knee-High Leopard Boots

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I love shopping for and buying accessories. In 2008, I found a pair of shoes I could not resist. Christian Louboutin knee-high stiletto platform leopard boots. That’s a mouthful. I found them on sale at Off Saks, Saks Fifth Avenue’s outlet store. I spotted the red soles from across the store… literally. I was like a moth to a flame. My husband was with me…once he saw me lift them out of the box, he knew I had to have them. I tried them on and couldn’t zip them. I have muscular calves, but these babies were made for toothpick legs. Maybe that’s why they were sooooo discounted. I think they retailed for over $1,500 and they were on sale for just over $500.

I walked around in them, unzipped, for a few minutes trying to decide on whether or not to buy them. I just couldn’t resist the price, and even my husband agreed, they were a great deal. So I bought them.

                     

I found a shoe repair spot in downtown Boston that does work for Barney’s. I had to have the boots stretched in the calf three times in order for them to fit. But after three times, they fit. And then I got pregnant. And while I continued to wear some of my heels, these were out of the question, because even after being stretched three times, they were snug in the calves, and I guess I gained weight in my calves, if that’s even possible, during pregnancy. After I had my first baby, I wore the boots a few times, but for the most part, they’ve been in my closet for 4 1/2 years.

It’s time for them to come out back out. I’ve had two kids, back to pre-baby weight, and feeling sassy!

So, my question to you is….What would you wear these with? Style me some amazing outfits to wear! Be creative…but not over the top….and GO!

 

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Making It Paleo: New Year’s Eve Extravaganza

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We went all out for our New Year’s Eve party this year. We celebrated New Year’s Eve with some great friends, and my sister-in-law who was visiting from Seattle. We had an amazing Paleo’ish party to ring in the new year.

THE MENU:

Appetizers:

  • Buffalo cauliflower – my sister-in-law made this following a recipe she found here. We didn’t want to use rice flour so tried almond flour and it was good. Later in the week, we tested with coconut flour (yuck) and also tried without any flour and it was just as good! I can’t lie though, I had to dip in some blue cheese dressing :)
  • Assorted raw veggies
  • Shrimp cocktail
  • Nuts

Entrees:

  • Corn and crab chowder – dairy and gluten-free! (while I know corn isn’t Paleo, this chowder is too delish not to eat!)
  • Filet Mignon on the grill cooked just perfectly medium
  • Green beans in marinara sauce (beans aren’t Paleo but there are a few little cheats in here). My friend made the marinara herself and it was delicious. I didn’t miss the pasta!
  • Green salad with carrots and tomatoes

Drinks/Desserts:

  • Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting - these were good…these were really good!!! Even my little picky eater ate one.
  • Coconut milk creme brulee - the flavor was great but it didn’t set as firm as I’d have liked it…I’d be willing to test it out again though and try to set for longer.
  • Eggnog - the flavor of the eggnog was good…but I could do just a smaller portion next time. Maybe a shot? We also added a LOT of rum to it…maybe too much :)

THE OUTFIT:

Yeah, I’m never one to turn down a chance to dress up! And if you know me at all, whether IRL or via the blog, you’re probably not surprised at all that I’m wearing my leather leggings. They are a staple in my wardrobe this winter and I’d wear them every day if I could. I paired them with a black sweater with sequin shoulder trim, a black studded cross body bag, black booties, a leopard print scarf and a sock bun! Sweater from Forever21. (similar here and here). Leather leggings from Forever21(similar here and here). Leopard print scarf from TJMaxx (similar here). Studded bag from H&M (similar here and here). Shoes are Christian Louboutin. 

FRIENDS & FAMILY

It was awesome to celebrate with some close friends and my sister-in-law.

AND THE BEST PART….

The party started at 3pm and we were on our way home before 8pm!!!

Happy New Year and best wishes for the most amazing 2013!

 

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Starting off 2013 right

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Can you believe it is 2013? I still occasionally write 19….when I am writing the date…as in 1986 or 1997…but nope….it’s 2013. I’ve taken some much-needed time off around the holidays to spend with my family, and aside from a few Instagrams, tweets and Facebook posts, I’ve been relaxing and rejuvenating. But I’m back and ready for the new year. I’m not one for resolutions. I feel that it just breeds disappointment. Instead, I’ve made my “Sh!t I need to do” list. I feel like it’s more real and really is sh!t I need to do. So here goes!

You know when you put things off? And you then just think about them. You know you have to do whatever it is you don’t want to do, and it bugs you…and you might stress or worry over it? Yeah, those things inspired #1. I hate those things…but I am finding if I do the things I hate first, it makes life a lot easier! Case in point, I got my flu shot yesterday. I’ve been putting that one off for a while…but new year, new resolve.

#2. I’m trying hard to plan menus for my week, not only for my family but for my blog. Since we follow a Paleo lifestyle, I get a lot of requests for recipes. So whether I use my own recipes or someone else’s recipes, I hope to post my menu for the week. I’ve done this week and next week and I’ll start sharing Monday.

For my third thing, I just figure everyone sends Christmas or holiday cards in December, it may be nice to send a summer card just because, or a Valentine’s Day card. And I need to get better with birthday greetings other than the ones I send via Facebook!

#4. I need to post regularly to my blog and make sure I stick to the schedule….and make sure I’m covering all the areas, such as food, fashion and family. I don’t know what the schedule will be exactly, but hope to have it flushed out soon.

For #5, as a family, we are out and about all the time. But I don’t take both girls a lot of places by myself. I need to get better at that!

And finally, I want to develop more healthy entertaining menus. On a daily basis, we eat 90% Paleo…yet when I have a party, my comfort zone is completely opposite. I want to work on healthier menus for entertaining in 2013! We kicked 2013 off with a New Year’s Eve Paleo party and I’ll be sharing a post about that next week!

Did you make resolutions? Please share!

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