Awww (coco)NUTS!

So, you may have noted that I'm not posting so much as of late and I missed last week's wrap up entirely:

I still love you, dear reader.  And it's not that I don't want to post, it's just a nasty combo of getting used to my work schedule and my CFS giving me the middle finger all the time.  Be sure to check in though because Mary Ping, the absolute genius behind Slow and Steady Wins the Race, will be doing an interview... if I ever write it... BLERGH!  I promise to be better.  A solemn promise.

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Have y'all tried coconut water?  I just grabbed some on a quick grocery store trip and I really hate the taste despite really loving coconut, but I know people totally swear by it.  I'm interested in trying it as a sort of recovery drink for the far too few Xtend Barre classes I've been squeezing into my hectic schedule.  By the way, I just had my 1 year anniversary with Xtend on Wednesday and I'm still over 2 and 1/2 inches smaller in the hips and arse than I was a year ago... owwwww!  So, my question to you is several questions actually:  Do you swear by coconut water? Why or why not?  Are there other flavours?  Is there anywhere to get affordable coconut water?  This stuff is crazy expensive!  

Normally I drink 60 - 120oz of water a day (no exaggeration), but since I've started working at Anthro, I've been remiss both in hydration and blogging.  I understand that I can't walk around on the sales floor with my water bottle when I'm working, but 10 minutes during a 6 hour shift is really not enough time to properly hydrate.  And my skin suffers.  When I make goofy faces in the mirror trying to exaggerate the appearance of wrinkles- which I totally do- you can tell a significant difference if I'm under-hydrated.  I suppose water is my natural filler.  I'm curious to see if I can drink LESS water, but BETTER water on the days that I work.   Is coconut water the answer I'm looking for?  I smell an experiment!  I'm also asking for suggestions...

and now to wrap up: THIS WEEK FOR DINNER:

I'm really enamoured with my fat separator, so I made two roasts in the last two weeks.  The one above was a balsamic roast, which was pretty tasty.  I made that sometime last week.  Then I made another for french dip sandwiches last Sunday... an 8lb roast!  We were staying with my handicapped brother and we had one of my older brothers and his family over for dinner.  It was a huge hit.  Check the recipe out on my Pinterest.  You will thank me.  Then one day this week I threw together some spinach fettuccine with chicken and peas in a pesto sauce.  I am having cooking withdrawals!

There just isn't enough time and I don't have enough energy.  I'm hoping soon to make candied citrus peels from a recipe I pinned that sounds awesomesauce, but we shall see...  

Are you ready for Christmas?  I still need to get marzipan pigs for our families.  Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day.  Work, last minute marzipan pig shopping, liquor store shopping, and grocery shopping.  Can I get it all done?  I hope so.  

Merry Christmas, y'all!  I'll be sure to photograph our spoils.  

xoxox

I Can't Stop Doing Your Holiday Shopping for You

I have corrupted my household; this morning my husband was singing "Never Say never" by the Biebs.  It's a Biebs Christmas (and every day) up in this piece.

Guyguy fell asleep in front of the heater this morning while I was getting ready for Xtend Barre.  Asleep sitting up... be still, my beating heart.  And in a "people sit" no less!

I HAVE NEWS SO DAMN EXCITING IT REQUIRES ME TO KANYE WEST THIS SCHIZZZ... THE AMAZING ERICA WEINER OF ERICA WEINER JEWELRY DID AN INTERVIEW FOR THE BLOG!!!  Erica is a fellow Vassar alumnus and she's majorly bad-A.  Trust me.  This will be the first in a series of interviews for the blog.  The totally dreamy noses and eyes from D.S. & Durga are also working on one... well, really Durga because she is another Vassar babe.  Mary Ping, the genius behind Slow and Steady Wins the Race (and the tour de force behind my wedding dress!), is on the ticket too.  Vassar babes are the most babe of all the babes... I'm not biased or anything (winky guy emoticon or whatever).  I seriously know the coolest of the cool, y'all, and you need to know them too.  LET'S DO THIS!

In the meantime I have another small list of holiday gift ideas for you and this one's not from Anthro.  I have totally been using my posts for Anthro gifts to get my own shopping done and I'll use this one as well.

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I must reiterate the awesomeness of Smith's Rosebud Salve.  I finally had to buy my husband his own tin, so he'd leave my supply alone.  Do I smell a gender neutral stocking stuffer?  Damn straight I do.  Not even the faint smell of rose can un-neutralize it.  And it comes in more scents!  are you a Rosebud purist, a minty rose, a menthol and eucalyptus, or strawberry kind of gift giver?

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This is a dry brush and I wish I were more diligent about using mine.  People claim all sorts of results from the dry brush, which was an ancient japanese and greek ritual.  I can attest that this is an amazing way to slough off dead skin cells.  This is gross, but holiday-y; it looks like it's snowing dead skin in your shower.  It was recommended that I not use the dry brush before bed time because it gets your circulation going and that wakes you up.  I would agree with this claim, but I'm not sure that this stimulation also gets rid of the ol' cottage cheese because I am totally inconsistent about using my dry brush, something I intend to change.  Here's the deal: don't get this wet... it's a DRY brush.  Get all good and nekkid in the bath or shower and proceed to rub in circular motions over your whole body, excluding the neck and face.  I like to go top to bottom personally.  I follow immediately with a shower.  It really does feel cleansing and you can get a good dry brush for under $20.  I bought mine at Scentsations in Foothill Village in Salt Lake.  You will find an endless supply of body beautifying and SCENT-sational gifts for men and women alike in there (pun... gross... went there... would totally go there again).  Support small business, ya'll.

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For some stupid reason I couldn't find a photo of the Sabon product I love most, but how cool is the store?  Their Orange Ginger Shower Oil (it's a shower gel with essential oils in it... and these really are ESSENTIAL) is pure heaven.  First off, it doesn't dry you our because of the oils.  Second, this scent is divine.  I find it both invigorating and relaxing.  I'm really sensitive to smells (and everything else, apparently) and this one smells the perfect amount of strong in the shower and washes off to just the faintest and yummiest trace afterwards.  I would totally kiss it on the mouth.  They have other scents, but this one is just to amazecraze for me to bother caring about anything else.  For serious, Matil.

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Oddly I could not find this Kiehl's deep conditioning treatment on the Kiehl's website, but I found it on the Nordstrom website (after I'd already bought it at Nordstrom).  This is a big fat tub o' hair repair.  Seriously, I think it will take me a couple of years to use it up.  I started sleeping with it in my hair, leaving it on for 24+ hours.  After a few of these treatments, at least a week apart, I went on to using it once a week in the shower, rinsing completely before getting out.  I am now down to every other week.  Man alive, this stuff is awesomesauce!  And it's only $25.

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I am so in love with all things orange blossom, especially this fragrance from Jo Malone... We are going to get all crazy about fragrance with D.S. & Durga soon!!!  I always stick to a light scent when it comes to perfume.  This one is really light.  I am married to the original Alfred Sung for 16 years, which has been discontinued... curses!  But I keep the little bottle of this guy in my purse for quick fresh-ups.  It layers softly and nicely with other light scents.  Sometimes I just spray it in my car when I need a quick break from the smell of stale dog... what's mine is Guy's.

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I've written about this baby from Sephora already.  If you are prone to chapped lips, live in a desert, or are often facing the elements, you need this.  Just kidding; I don't care who you are, you NEED this.  It's SPF 15... whoa!  I put it on before bed and my lips are still soft in the morning.  They also make this in a range of tints.  The tint is subtle, but enough to make you look less corpse-like when "wearing" a "natural face".  It's the only amount of colour I apply when wearing a dramatic eye.  I would definitely buy the clear (pictured) for a guy... unless he prefers tint.  Duh.

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Did I not make it clear that everyone needs a Clarisonic Mia?  Give it.  Get it.

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Oh, La Mer!  If you have the cash, you could be the best gift giver in town!  And I swear on my own grave that it's worth every penny (trust me, I'm a mortuary heiress... dead serious.  Oh yeah, I totally went there... again).  I know this last suggestion is pretty extravagant, but I've been loading you up with reasonably priced gift suggestions and I have more to come.  Stay tuned!  

Totally rad interviews are on their way!  With totally rad gift ideas to boot!

xoxox

Walrusses and Weather

It is a truly glorious day today in lil' Salt Lake City, Utah.  It feels like Spring:

It's not going to last, but I am enjoying it for the time being.  I'm supposed to tell you to vote, but everyone on facebook has already jumped down your throat about it and I hate politics, so I'll move on to something significantly more important: The Walrus.  Being married to a walrus has created an even greater fondness for the beast than I had had previous to meeting my husband:

The portrait on the left was my first birthday gift to my walrus (featured on the right).  He really IS an accomplished swimmer.  But now I need more walrus in my life.  I need a BABY walrus:

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I have been following these adorable schlubs for a while now.  They are being cared for at the Alaska SeaLife Center before one is transferred to the Indianapolis Zoo and the other to the New York Aquarium on Coney Island.  Unless I get to them first, of course.  I just need a big house with a giant walrus/Mrs. Roger Federer/Guy Winston Churchill Larkin-Federer Wilson habitat.  I would totally not be stingy with my walrus either because it just wouldn't be fair to keep such a treasure to myself.  I would let the general public into the house once or twice a week and they (this means you, dear reader) could make a donation to keep my little walrus chitlin all safe and healthy.  Speaking of weather and donations.... I've had something on my mind.

I've been wanting to donate to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  And this is where I am going to boss you.  There are so many awesome places to donate, but I've decided to go with the Red Cross because I know that ALL of my donation will go to repair the damage we inherited... whoa!  I totally Troy Dire-ed you there.  SCREW YOU TROY DIRE!!! I SPENT 20 YEARS DATING TOTAL A-HOLES BECAUSE OF YOU!.  Geeze, Lainey, you couldn't have just picked Michael and spared me all that grief?!  Sorry if this whole diatribe was from a reference you're not familiar with.  And I'm even more sorry that you've never seen "Reality Bites".  Who are you?!?!?

Ok, so here are a bunch of places that were suggested to me for donating besides the Red Cross (I decided to plunk all my money in one spot, but if I had more, I would spread it around).  Remember to check that ALL of your donation is going to the cause:

https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/1Nh35?psid=bc2c189addfa47f3993a5548cbbb6c76&ref=nf

This particular campaign is near and dear to my girl and fellow Vassar alumnus, Kavs, of D.S. & Durga, whom I will be interviewing for this blog soon.  I'm super excited about it!

http://caaav.org/

http://www.goodwill.org/

http://www.newyorkcares.org/

http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/html/home/home.shtml

http://ny.eater.com/archives/2012/11/where_to_eat_out_for_sandy_relief_and_where_to_donate.php

http://www.thebrooklynkitchen.com/7982/hurricane-sandy-update/

And these were recommended to me by the lovely and brilliant designer of my wedding dress, fellow Vassar alumnus, Mary Ping!  I will also be doing a piece on Mary for the blog.  Get thee HENCE!

I truly wish I were still living back east and could also donate my time.  Maybe there is a way I can do it from Paris, er, Utah?  Please advise if there is.  At any rate, I'm not going to pressure you to vote because everyone else has, but I sure as hell am going to pressure you to help/donate to a cause because that's what I do.  I pimp out the stuff I care about.

In other news, I got this yesterday:

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I'm pretty interested in giving it a shot.  These are wet/dry eye shadows, which I am not familiar with.  Basically they go on softer with a dry brush and thicker with a wet one.  We'll see how they look.

Also, a personal shopper position is opening at Anthro and I want it SOOOOOOO bad.  Pray for me, cross your fingers, wish on eyelashes or stars.  Just send some positive stuff out there for me because this could be a really great thing!

xoxox