Some stuff I've been into...

What do I do when I'm lacking blog material??? Talk about "STUFF!"

Here is some stuff I like:


My J. Crew Straw Beach Bag...

I have other summer bags, but this is the one I carry ALL THE TIME.

And it's on sale for $29.50.

Go buy it...now. (After you finish commenting on this post.)



Clark's Artisan Collection...

I always pictured Clark's as gooberish looking walking shoes, but they have some really cool sandals.

I got these wedges (The Erda in Peanut) and they are so cute. They look exactly like a pair I saw at Anthropologie for $200 and they only set me back $65.

I've been trying to cut down on the caffeine/aspartame consumption and I've found a marvelous alternative. Herbal Iced Tea.

My favorite....Pomegranate. Runner up...passion fruit.

So good, no calories, no caffeine, cheap...what could be better?

How about you? Any cool stuff you want to share with the class?

Shopping Bulimia

Have you ever heard of "shopping bulimia?" I thought I had it because I would often times go on one of my favorite websites, fill my shopping cart with things I love, and never buy them. Now that I've done some research, I think what I have would be described as "shopping constipation."

Shopping bulimia is, in fact, a phenomenon. There are several articles describing it in full detail.

The following are some links: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/18/1032054866525.html
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30400-1064728,00.html

Apparently their are two kinds of "shopping bulimia," one fraudulent and completely dishonest, the other merely annoying to store clerks.

The fraudulent type involves buying an item, or items of clothing for a special occasion, somehow keeping the tag on, or finding a way to reattach it and then returning said item to the store after wearing. I had a friend in high school and a sorority sister who both specialized in this type of scam. I remember feeling a little gypped that they got away with it. I never had the energy or nerve to try it myself. Now that I'm an adult with a fear of a criminal record principles and morals, I'm glad I never partook in this form of thievery. (Man, I'm judgemental!!)

It reminds me a bit of a buddy of mine who would lure me into late night feasts on Lucky Charms cereal, Haagen-Daz Ice-Cream and chocolate chip cookies after a night of heavy drinking. I gained 35 lbs. in a year, while she remained as skinny as a twig. I later discovered that she had bulimia in the true sense of the word. No fair!!! She tried to teach me how to do it, to no avail. I preferred being a size 12 to tasting my beer and Lucky Charms twice in a night! Once again, now that I am an adult with an awareness of the dangers of constant binging and purging, I'm glad I never mastered the art of shoving my first down my throat.

Back to shopping. The second form of shopping bulimia involves buying ungodly amounts of clothing and accessories. (Some people rack up bills of over $25,000 in one outing!) Once the shopping bulimic comes down from the high, she simply returns all the items for a refund. Much to the chagrin of commissioned salespeople.

Since I started my blog, my late night pretend on-line shopping sprees have come to a screeching halt. My e-bay habit has also ended abruptly. (I was a constipated eBayer also!) Now, when the house is quiet and my little ones are fast asleep, I can spend my time sharing the random thoughts and activities that make up my life. I guess you could call it "diarrhea of the keyboard!"

Princeton, Pancakes and Poker

As I mentioned, Brad and I had a little 10th anniversary getaway Friday night. Originally we planned on going to New Hope, Pennsylvania. Our plans changed when Brad had to work late so we decided to go to Princeton, NJ.

If you are ever in Jersey, you HAVE to visit Princeton. What a great town! We ended up walking into an amazing restaurant called The Ferry House without reservations. I thought for sure we wouldn't get in, but we got really lucky and someone had just cancelled a reservation, so we were seated immediately and enjoyed a FABULOUS meal. (I started with the Roast Portobello Mushroom Bisque with Goat Cheese and Fried Leeks, Brad had the most adorable little crab taco appetizer with mandarin oranges and avocado. Our entrees consisted of, for me, Seared Tuna, rare with goat cheese mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus and for Brad, a Cajun blackened grouper with crab mashed potatoes and steamed mussels.) So yummy I didn't have room for dessert OR coffee. (And you KNOW I never turn down a cup of java!)

We stayed at a hotel about a mile out of town and in the morning we had pancakes at PJ's Pancake House...quite the institution in Princeton.

The town Princeton is chock full of great things to do, coffee houses, restaurants, bars, awesome shopping, and the university which made Brad and I wish we had studied harder in high school. We checked out Albert Einstein's house and did lots of walking. I can't wait to go back.

On Sunday we were stuck inside, so while the girls worked on their scrapbooks and played the Wii, we pulled out the Poker set had a really fun (and long) game of 5 card draw with my parents. Other than the tense moment, when my Dad told me I could get my fingers broken for trying to look at his hand after a bluff-a good time was had by all!

If you've never played Poker, you should learn! My nieces and nephews taught me last year at the beach, and now I'm hooked. Trust me...it's a great game. (As long as you follow the rules, I promise no one will break your fingers!)

I want to have a Poker night at our house sometime..no money involved, just chips. Whoever has the most chips at the end of the night will bring home a prize...like a nice bottle of wine. I like to do something a little different than a typical cocktail party every once in awhile.

So that was our weekend here in beautiful Central Jersey. Princeton, P.J.'s Pancakes and Poker. How about you?

Things I've Been Lovin'!

The Cranberry Reed Diffuser From The Body Shop. I bought this a few weeks ago and so many people comment on how good my house smells.

It's on sale for $18.00!

McDonald's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Three for a dollar and soooo delicious with a
big ol' fountain Diet Coke!

Ooh La Lift:

"It's an instant eyelift. De-puff and firm the eye area with tightening botanicals and light-reflecting pigments. You can use it throughout the day over your makeup. Who doesn't need this?"

I keep this in my car when it starts to get chilly (works better for puffiness when it's cold) and use it when I start to look tired.

(Which is pretty much all the time!)


I get mine at Macy's, but it's available at Sephora and lots of other stores!

Please share-what stuff are you lovin'?

One little doughnut...

A couple of weeks back I wrote about my rapturous experience with a Boston Cream Doughnut. I raved about enjoying that doughnut guilt free because I've been very disciplined about my calorie intake.

I TAKE IT ALL BACK! That one little doughnut lead to a big bag of Cracker Jacks, some turkey with gravy, stuffing, rolls, a couple of beers, a few glasses of wine, some pumpkin pie...and hot dammity damn, I put on my tennis skirt yesterday and lo and behold-I've got a tire around my belly the size of Texas!

The combination of my period, Thanksgiving and the stress of traveling a long distance with kids did me in! I was literally shoveling food in my mouth for a week straight.

My little eating rampage was tons of fun-and now-I SHALL PAY FOR MY GLUTTONY!


It's Slimfast and carrots all the way baby. :(

Peace out.

"Gluttony is not a secret vice."

-Orson Welles

NaBloPoMo Filler Post

Since we're on the subject of diet, here are some foods my children love that I would not eat in a million years. Sliced cucumbers, raw tomato, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, raspberries, clementines and blueberries. I wish I could enjoy these foods, but I just don't like them!

I really need to find some healthy snacks for myself that I enjoy. I love edamame-but not everyday. I also force myself to eat a few bananas a week. (that sounds perverted!) Raw carrots are doable (perverted again!) -although I don't eat them very often. I really need to get out of the Slimfast, Kit Kat Bar, Diet Coke rut! After all-you are what your eat-and I'd rather be a nice fresh Jersey Tomato than a can of chemicals!

How about you fine folks? What's your poison? (Bad choice of words.)

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd druther not.

~Mark Twain

PMS and Nutrition: A Case Study

This post is divided into two sections. PMS and Nutrition.

I'll start with PMS:

Those of you who have followed my blog for the past couple of months may be familiar with my general testiness and depression for a couple of days every four weeks. Well...It's that time of the month again (just in time for all the craziness Halloween brings) and according to my calendar-this little spell of emotional instability will fall right around Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. A little word of advice to any family members reading this. Please keep an industrial size bottle of Midol handy for my holiday visit this year!!! Anyway, this month I knew exactly what was going on when I started to feel extra sensitive and depressed-and I spared those in my path any of my venom by talking myself through it and realizing that my sanity would return within a day or so. Even though I know the cause, it still sucks feeling tired and bummed out for 48-72 hours every month!

Now onto the next topic: Nutrition.

My husband is convinced that my lack of energy and general nastiness once a month is associated with my lousy diet and massive intake of Diet Coke. He might be onto something. I good friend of mine who appears to be in great shape felt exhausted and short tempered by one o'clock every afternoon. She decided to see a nutritionist. Well, she tells me, the results have been nothing short of miraculous. she feels much more positive, has tons of energy and her body fat level has dropped dramatically. I don't know all the details-but she has cut out sugar and wheat, eats piles of leafy vegetables and drinks a special protein shake every morning. She says her nutritionist is expensive, but worth every penny. It really is FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

So, now in addition to cutting down on my spending, I need to work on eating healthier and cutting down on one of my favorite vices-THE BIG GULP! The quest for self improvement never ceases!!

How about you ladies and gent? Are you healthy eaters-or are you like me? Subsisting on a diet of Slimfast, pasta, McDonald's snack wraps and Swedish Fish?

If I can follow through with my goal I might need to change the title of my blog to:
"Carrot Court" The veggie, wheat germ and protein shake fueled existence of a tennis loving mom who hates to shop!

"Nutrition makes me puke."

-Jimmy Piersall

DEAN & DELUCA

Has anyone else received their Halloween 2007 DEAN & DELUCA Catalog? If you haven't, check out their website, it's beyond amazing. This is where I would shop if we won the lottery!

For all you shopping mavens out there, you simply must see the "Sweet Couture" cake. The detail is incredible.


The "Happy Birthday" Cake will appeal to all you ladies who favor the chocolate brown, tiffany blue combo.


If you really want to impress your guests, try serving them some Karaburun Caviar ($5,200 per lb.) from a mother-of-pearl spoon!

The selection of Halloween items is "scary good!" Don't these caramel apples look yummy!?

I'm drooling.

They also have a wonderful "Cheese Club" which offers two varieties of cheese along with the perfect accompaniment each month. I'm going to keep the catalog and buy their suggestions for my next party! (Of course I'll buy them from my local gourmet market for half of what DEAN & DELUCA charges!)

I could go on and on. The bottom line is, if you love food and absolutely beautiful things get this catalog!

Trick or Treat! (and hold the nuts..)

What do you think? A friend of mine received this letter from a neighbor. (Everyone in the neighborhood got one.) She felt that the letter is ridiculous and that it's the parent's responsibility to weed out nut tainted candy. I feel that this parent is extremely concerned for his children's well-being and is doing everything he can to ensure their health and safety. I think the kids in the neighborhood can sacrifice having a Snickers Bar, or M&M's to help out the allergic children. I'd love your opinion!

Just a quick reminder:

As Halloween approaches please be advised many children have severe food allergies. My 2 daughters included... Just a simple request that we all try and avoid giving out candies with peanut and tree nut ingredients. Some of the big "offenders" are of course snickers, M&M's, MR Good bar, anything with peanut butter , i.e Butterfingers...Reeces Pieces, peanut butter cups...

The problem is, that even if a child does not eat that candy directly, if the allergic child comes in contact with that product, there is still a chance they will have a reaction. For example, if a wrapper, while in the "pumpkin", gets torn or even if an adult that innocently snacks on a Reeces peanut butter cup, reaches out to place candy in a trick or treaters bag, there could potentially be peanut residue on your fingers and could "taint" the other non peanut product candy.

I know the simple solution is to not let the child trick or treat at all. However, certainly there are enough NON peanut type candies on the market that if we make the effort, it could avoid a potentially life threatening adverse reaction.

Thanks for your consideration,