Week In Review – How Many Selfies Does It Take?

November 14, 2014

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selfie-collage Our week was cut in half on account of the Veteran’s Holiday and being in Scottsdale Saturday-Tuesday. We were visiting my bestie and her family, and had a great visit but I miss her and wish we lived in the same state. That drive across the 10 from LA to PHX is crap. I found out that another good friend is moving, at least in the same state still but definitely several hours away. Why do all my friends suddenly hate me, or at least hate Southern California? It’s hard to not take it personally when they keep leaving like this.

Yesterday, feeling a little glum from all my friends abandoning me, I decided to go to the one place I can find comfort with a toddler in tow; the mall. I’m not sure what that says about me, but I’ve always enjoyed walking the mall in the morning before it’s teeming with people and it’s fairly calm and quiet. Perhaps all those years working retail, who knows, I’m sure my time could have been better spent somewhere else, but…I’m starting to sound defensive, aren’t I? Interesting thing is, I often don’t even buy stuff, I just go to return stuff I have bought before, that either didn’t fit me or the kids right, or I had buyer’s remorse on. It’s admittedly a huge waste of time, and what’s funny is, my Grandma Tita spent a good portion of her retirement driving around returning things she had purchased. At least one day a week you’d call Grandma and she’d tell you she had just got home from “returning some things” at Penney’s or Sears. We often made fun of her and attributed it to being bored, but now I wonder if we both had/have some weird obsession with the mall? Things that make you go hmmm.

While at the mall, I discovered that Nordstrom was price matching Bloomingdale’s Friends & Family 20% off sale, and since I much prefer shopping Nordstrom than Bloomingdale’s (too many shitty hours spent working for the Federated Department stores have left me slightly bitter), I bought just a couple of things that I plan to save for Christmas gifts. Something for my sister in law’s birthday and an Alex & Ani bracelet I’ll give to my sister if I choose her as Secret Santa, and if not, I’ll save it for her birthday. So FYI, if you want to start a little Christmas shopping and are planning to purchase some items which normally don’t ever go on sale, hop on into a Nordstrom store and they’ll gladly price match any item that Bloomies also carries.

The Nordstrom thing got me side tracked. The real reason why I went to the mall was to return a swimsuit and sun hat I had bought for Taylor for Hawaii, but didn’t fit her. See, with the returns? While there, I obviously stopped by Nordstrom, and I also went into Sephora because I was out of brown eyeliner and was almost out of concealer. I visited Tarte and picked up several new things, including a brow powder and brush, eyeliner, concealer and a new lipstick which I am in LURRRVVEEE with. I’m wearing all the items above, and as you can see, I spent a good portion of my afternoon trying to get my best angle. I’m pathetic.

That lipstick though, is seriously awesome. It goes on pretty matte, and has a ton of saturated color, and the kicker was, it didn’t bleed ALL DAY! You know how red lipsticks especially tend to bleed? Not this one. It’s called Fiery by Tarte, and it has my heart.

As the beauty bag detox continues, I keep getting recommendations to try other awesome sounding brands. For now, I’m sort of loving the Sephora thing because I can cruise in and try everything on, with no obligations to buy, although who am I kidding, we always buy, right? I love supporting small brands and as I get more of the hang of this, I definitely will do more shopping with smaller natural beauty brands going forward. But for now, I still feel way too stuck on the notion of having to try everything on before I commit to buying. I’m a creature of habit. Before this, I had been using the same products from my mascara to my foundation, for over 15 years.

I didn’t spend too much time reading online this week, since I was gone for half of it and spent the other half doing kid-related things like taking them to swim meets and practices and stuff. Oh, and at the mall of course. I ran into Sarah while there, after had just meeting her for coffee the day before. She has me feeling pretty confident I can order from the Beauty Counter btw. We chatted for a few minutes before it was time to catch her plane, and then I realized I had to jam to pick up the kids. sarah-and-i

And after all that, I never did return the damn swimsuit and hat.


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Finding My Signature Scent

November 13, 2014

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LL-EDP1 I think it’s safe to say that most of us, when walking through a department store, do everything in our power to avoid the fragrance lady standing at the entrance to the cosmetic department, or strategically placed at the bottom of the escalator. If we do happen to make eye contact (big mistake), we either politely give the little hand wave as if to say “No, thank you”, or we begrudgingly take the carded fragrance sample, and then toss it in the trash as soon as we get the chance.

I worked retail in a huge department store long enough to know this is true. But avoiding the fragrance lady is often more about refusing to fall down the rabbit hole of smelling endless samples only for them all to wind up smelling the same, than it is about despising perfume. Many women love perfume in fact, and like me, would love to find their signature scent. I think this is especially true the older we get and as our kids grow. The idea of a signature scent is both romantic and sexy, as well as deeply nostalgic, often conjuring up memories of our grandmothers who always smelled a certain way (usually good). But finding a signature scent is usually quite low on the priority list of things to get done in life. LL-oil1 Enter By Rosie Jane, and their simple signature scent called Leila Lou. “With notes of pear, jasmine and fresh cut grass, Leila Lou is clean, fresh and totally addicting.” This scent is the best of spring captured in a bottle. It’s a perfect scent for this season of my life; messy, busy, toddler-y. I’ve been using this scent for several weeks now and it makes me feel fresh and clean every time I put it on. It’s for the days when I have to stretch out a shampoo and Hayden just sneezed on me, and I’m trolling through the baseball field or football field or playground or public pool once again. It sounds silly, but having a nice, yet simply scented perfume I put on everyday helps me feel a bit more feminine and a little less messy. And I love that I didn’t have to ruin my nose smelling 40 different perfumes.  LL-candle1 I keep the roll-on with me in my purse for the days I need a “refresh”, and the bottle of course stays at home for quick post-shower spritzes. The soy candle has taken up permanent residence in my office where I can keep it all to myself. I burn it while I’m writing and it fills the room with the most subtle of scents, not overpowering yet strong enough to make an impact.  LL-lotion1 LL-bodywash1 By Rosie Jane was founded by celebrity makeup artist Rosie Johnston. After creating her own signature scents and wearing them, she began receiving requests to make it for her clients, thus the brand was born. The brand is small, but growing, and is dedicated to making cruelty-free products which are paraben, sulfate, phthalate & phosphate free. They use simple recycled and recyclable packaging that is thoughtfully and stylishly designed, and all products are made in California.
Screen-Shot-2014-09-29-at-3.20 I was thrilled to be able to try out such a beautiful product which I’ve been wanting to add to my daily beauty routine for years now, and I was even more thrilled to support a local brand who is like-minded. The full line of By Rosie Jane products are available online in their store, and in boutiques across the country. Let me know if you check them out and what you think.

*this is not a sponsored post and all opinions are my own. I was gifted a bottle of perfume and candle for my own use, but I loved it so much I was more than happy to share the brand with my readers. 


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Currently Seeking Paid Contributors For 2015

November 12, 2014

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sfgirlbybay-inspiration-wall One of the best decisions I made this year was to take advantage of some of the wonderful connections I’ve made through blogging, by hiring two fabulous contributors. Alix and Lindsey have been a saving grace for me this past year as I’ve battled fatigue, occasional lack of creativity, and continual brain fog. Some question why even bother to keep the blog running during abnormally hectic periods, and while I did at times question my saneness, and some weeks went by where I didn’t post a thing, I still do love this space and don’t want to give up on it. I have a strong feeling this craziness is just a season, and it would be a shame to give up on blogging after all the years I’ve put into it; 7 years total, and almost 3 in this space. In the past seven years I’ve made great connections with people who’ve turned into friends, and with brands who I respect and consider myself lucky to work with. I’ve also worked so hard to be able to even call this a business and not just a hobby, that I’m not willing to throw in the towel just yet.

Which brings me to my point here. In 2015 I have hopes of feeling better and doing more here. Not necessarily a ton more content, I’d like to limit posts to 3 times a week still. But more helpful content all around. When coming up with projects and posts with my two current contributors, I usually request ideas that I want to try myself, or areas which I know I’m not necessarily gifted at but am still incredibly interested in. Finding the time to try and force creativity and areas of life which I don’t excel in is a pointless act, so I’d like to continue to focus attention on writing and creating content I am good at, yet still keep other helpful and useful posts coming, from people who are really good in that area.  So, I am currently looking to add on 2 new paid monthly contributors beginning in 2015.

Seeking Natural Living Contributor:

Natural living, with an emphasis on home and beauty. This contributor would ideally have experience in creating DIY/homemade beauty products like masks, scrubs, lip balm, lotions and other potions, and huge bonus if they can transfer that knowledge into home-related homemade products, including things like DIY all-natural hand sanitizer, counter top spray, maybe even soy candles. A good knowledge of natural beauty products currently on the market would be great too, since we can’t make everything ourselves! Basically, someone who has an appreciation and understanding of natural living which reaches across the realms of both personal health and wellness, and the home. Important to have good photography and styling skills. My current contributors do a fantastic job and you can see some of their work here, and here.

Seeking Lifestyle Curator:

I love well-curated round-ups of posts I actually could really use and need, and pin them all the time. Posts where all the links work, the destination links are an actual true representation of the subject, links are posts which are true hidden gems, and posts are both beautiful and useful. I would love to have someone on board who could do the hard work of rounding up things like the 25 best  healthy crockpot recipes. Or 20 great ways to add a gallery wall to your living space, or 15 beautiful denim and heels trend. Someone who has a great eye and loves the lifestyle niche, and who can sleuth out great posts which are timely and useful for readers. Important to have basic graphic design skills and can create nice looking, well organized collages.

If you are interested, please shoot me an email at andrea@fortheloveof.net with the subject title Contributor Position. We can discuss at that time payment, and more details. Please provide a link to your site if you have one, and/or current and past links to contributor and freelance work. I am not looking for a certain size blogger, any and all are welcome and appreciated. I would just love to find a couple of more talented people who have a good eye and good photography skills, that is most important! 🙂 As a contributor you will always get a mention/credit in social media shout-outs, a bio at the end of each post with your links and a photograph, and in 2015 I’ll be adding current contributors bios and links directly in the About Page so you’re easy to find and reach!

Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you 🙂

Image Credit SF Girl By Bay


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Week In Review – Midterm Week

November 7, 2014

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2c5df1044590efa7417cbc782df1f9c3 Wowwee, what an interesting week it’s been. Two years ago during election week, I probably alienated several friends on Facebook, so this week I took it easy and kept my mouth mostly zipped, as I’ve learned that Facebook and politics don’t really mix. But still, politics in general both fascinate and simultaneously depress me, so I spent much of the week prepping my ballot for Tuesday and then the last couple of days, reading up on several measures and candidates all across that country that passed and who were elected.

In Berkeley, a city tax for soda passed with a solid victory. The conservative in me is rolling my eyes at more taxes and big government, but my recent education on diet and nutrition over the past year is giving the city a high five and round of applause. Did you know a new study was just released showing soda can also cause premature aging, akin to the same damage done by cigarettes, and daily consumption can shorten your life by about 4 years? True story.

I’m telling you guys, I didn’t set out to be this neurotic health nut, but when I had to immerse myself into learning this stuff over the past year for my writing gig at Babble, it became sort of hard to ignore the facts and figures you read on a daily basis. Junk food is being demonized in this nation right now, and while some stuff goes way over the top (not everything causes cancer Food Babe), there is a lot of legitimate truth being learned about the junk we’ve been feeding ourselves the past 20-30 years.

GMO labeling failed in Oregon, despite a pretty heavy handed campaign in favor of it, from food advocacy groups all over the nation. I don’t talk or write a lot about GMO’s because of the controversy surrounding the discussion (the one time I did write about GMO’s, I fielded emails and facebook messages for days from groups on both sides of the debate, and it became irrationally dramatic, so now I just stay away). While I personally am against GMO’s from more of an ethical standpoint and think the whole idea is just strange, I don’t freak out if we consume them on occasion. If you are concerned about consuming GMO’s though, you don’t need a special able to avoid them. Here’s what you do:

There are currently only eight crops being grown and distributed for consumption (more are being grown but are not currently on the market): corn (field and sweet), soybeans, cotton, canola, alfalfa, sugar beets, papaya and squash. The majority of genetically engineered plants – corn, canola, soybean, and cotton – are typically used to make ingredients that are then used in other food products. Such ingredients include cornstarch in soups and sauces, corn syrup as a general purpose sweetener, and cottonseed oil, canola oil, and soybean oil in mayonnaise, salad dressings, cereals, breads, and snack foods.

To avoid GMO’s, avoid packaged foods which aren’t organic, don’t have any above listed ingredients, or carry the non- GMO verified label. I’m not saying it’s easy, and isn’t overwhelming, but once I grasped the concept and understood that the majority of packaged food for sale in conventional supermarkets, produced by the big brands, contain GMO’s, I just stopped buying them. The majority of packaged foods sold at stores like Sprouts are non-GMO verified. I just hate it when the health food industry tries to twist things,as they’re playing the same games as big food. I read the other day that gluten is genetically modified, which is just absurd. Gluten is a protein, found in wheat, which is absolutely not genetically modified. Drama, I tell you.

Not election-related, but still in the realm of food and politics, Mark Bittman wrote a response to the sociology study released a few months back, basically calling for an end to the home-cooked meal. The study sparked an intense debate online. Bottom line, the study found that the cooking mainly landed in the hands of women. Kids and spouses were often ungrateful. Many families struggled to afford to buy healthy food, and struggled even further to find the time to cook healthy meals, often due to intense work schedules and working more than one job. Some didn’t even have kitchens or the necessary tools to cook. I wrote a pretty mild response to it on Babble. The debate pretty much went like this:

A feminist writer lobbed onto the story and wrote a piece calling the home-cooked family dinner tyrannical. Oy!

In response, a conservative writer wrote a rebuttal and brought in lots of talk morals and family values, still though, I got her point, but double oy. Even dinner time conversations are now a basis for political back and forth.

This writer details it out in perfect unbiased fashion with her article titled Feminism Starts In the Kitchen, published on Bloomberg News.

Circling back to Bittman’s piece, titled Fight Poverty, Not Cooking, he brings up the studies initial concerns about income equality, privilege and advantage, and making nutritious food and supplies more readily available for the  millions fighting hunger in this country. His piece brought up some feelings I’ve been gnawing on for months now. What if we (I say we meaning me, but we meaning anyone who wants to join or offer ideas) started community movements that gave assistance to families struggling to put home-cooked meals on the table. Help via providing kitchen tools and basics like pots and pans, hot plates and knives. Help via providing transportation to inner-city families who live in food deserts and don’t have access to fresh food. Help with basic cooking classes held on a monthly basis. Help via donated gift cards to markets so they can buy their own food. Basically, basic tools and resources that could bring some empowerment and dignity to families struggling. How would even get started with something like this? I’m just putting this out there because I’ve been thinking about it for months, too nervous to let it out, but maybe someone out there reading this has some experience in this field, or knows someone who could help me get started next year with a project, who could help me put some shape into this blob of an idea??  Speak up if you may be that someone 🙂

This has  been the longest week in review ever, so I’m going to close for now. But of course, I have one more thought. I brought up the whole Lena Dunham mess on my Facebook page earlier this week. Bottom line, I don’t think she sexually abused her sister, and her sister doesn’t seem to think she was abused. But, I think we can all agree that she did some pretty weird shit, and her initial reaction to the whole thing was pretty damn troubling. She acted like a spoiled brat instead of a thoughtful adult and I think she was genuinely surprised at the backlash she got, and that the average American couldn’t really just pass this off as “weird Lena being weird Lena.” It’s like she was shocked she wasn’t living in some bizarro Wes Anderson movie. I’m wondering too why the thousands of people who read her book in the last month didn’t find these passages troubling, and a conservative site had to bring it up, calling for her head on a spike basically. Are those who read it a little entranced with rose colored Lena glasses? At any rate, this piece was one of many I read, which sort of put a timeline to all of Lena’s troubling behavior, outside of the scope of her book, and I’m wondering if this chick can just go away now?

When I brought up my agitation about the situation on my Facebook page, a reader commented that my reaction was outside the scope of my regular online persona,which I found to be an interesting statement. I may be helpful and nice most of the time, providing tips on cooking and eating well on my Instagram page, and writing about crafts and style and babies. But I am a person, not a persona, and while I don’t reveal all my thoughts every second of the day online, I still have plenty of them and if you’ve been reading me for a while, know I’m fairly opinionated and vocal on stuff I care about. In other words, I don’t keep my mouth shut to keep up appearances. How dull and sad would that be?

Have a good weekend everyone?


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Faux Leather Reversible Tote, Just Like Madewell

November 5, 2014

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IMG_8085 Camo skinnies – old Banana Republic but similar from Loft, Chambray shirt – Loft, Biker boots – Madewell, Reversible Faux Leather Tote – Nordstrom

Let me begin by stating, if you love leather and all it entails; the smell, the texture, the way it wears over time, this bag may not be for you. But if you could go either way on leather, then let’s have a serious talk about it. Because this tote is pretty much the perfect answer to all those pining after the Madewell one, but aren’t interested or aren’t able to spend $168 on their own. From Nordstrom, it’s under $50 and comes in a bunch of great colors. IMG_8090 IMG_8072

While the shape of this Madewell doppelganger is slightly different, more of a rectangle than a box shaped, it does have a couple of other features worth mentioning. Starting with, it is reversible y’all! That’s right, this is like getting two bags in one. It also comes with a detachable little zipper pouch, which is great on its own as a little wristlet, or would be well suited to swapping in between all sorts of bags. This tote also has a magnetic closure, which isn’t going to prevent its contents from completely falling out of the bag when your car comes to a screeching halt, but it does provide an extra level of protection against pick-pockets I suppose. IMG_8055 IMG_8058

The thing that I should mention about the reversible aspect of this bag, is that on one color side, you will see seams. It’s not the end of the world, I know, and really, for the most part as I was carrying this bag around yesterday I didn’t even notice. But as you can see in the pictures, the seams are there. The handles are also reversible, which you can see from both color sides, however I sort of like the look this gives the bag.  IMG_8060

While leather die-hards may not be able to get past the fact that this bag doesn’t smell like leather, at least there’s the upside of this bag wearing extremely well, and as a mom, I don’t have to worry each time my babes grubby hands get all over it. My current Lily Jade bag has water stains on it that will be hard to get out, if impossible. This bag can easily just be wiped clean with a damp cloth.  IMG_8110

I ordered two colorways in the bag, the black/cognac and the oxblood/tan. I expected the cognac and tan to be different shades of brown but they are identical, in fact I’m sure you can’t tell which one is which in some of these photos.  On both colorways, the black and oxblood are the sides with the seams, so the cognac/tan colors are seam-side in. I wasn’t sure which colorway I would stick with, but since my old black tote bag is literally falling apart, I think I’ll be boring and just stick with black/tan. the gold/tan color way looks cute too. There’s quite a few other color options as well.  IMG_8118 IMG_8121 IMG_8139 The other accessories worth mentioning here are my earrings, gold rings, which are slightly twisted in these photos, and my little rings necklace, containing 5 rings for our family of 5. I wear these pieces everyday and continue to get so many compliments on their daintiness. The earrings especially, despite them being so delicate, have lasted me a year now with no problems at all. The earrings are from a local boutique called Tullemoss, and I know they still have them there, and the necklace and rings are from another local boutique called Twig & Willow. All are from local artists, and are in stock, and both stores will ship. I’ve pretty much traded all other accessories in for these versatile pieces.


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Farmer’s Market Salad

November 4, 2014

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IMG_7772 During my knife skills class, we made some simple roasted chicken thighs to use for a taco filling, we made 3 different kinds of salsas and guacamole, and we made a surprising side dish; a farmer’s market salad, using only ingredients that had come in our chef’s weekly CSA box. Having grown up a beans and rice with tacos gal, a side salad, one so far removed from Mexican fare, was quite the departure for me, but a good one nonetheless to offset all the fried chips & dip, and stuffed to the brim corn tortillas.

This type of salad is not necessarily some new invention, and exists only on the premise that you use what you have, not what you go out and buy. Thus, your ingredients for this salad are forever in rotation and changing, especially with the seasons. Since we shot this salad 2 months ago when tomatoes were still ripe and juicy, I’d probably now skip the tomatoes and use avocados or roasted squash of some sort. Your types of lettuce may change as well. The idea is flexibility here, but you get the idea I’m sure.  IMG_7680 Gather all your vegetables and start chopping away, even taking liberties and using the food processor to shred up some veggies for an even more festive display; think beets, zucchini or finely diced onions. IMG_7695 If possible, use two types of lettuce, as this really gives the salad dimension and depth. Here I used a romaine and kale finely chopped. IMG_7718 IMG_7720 Another nice addition to this salad was fresh herbs, whatever you have on hand. At the time of the class, our instructor had received a beautiful fennel bulb, with the ends still in tact. I had never eaten raw fennel, and when thinly sliced, it added a great bit of zing. She used the bulb and the wispy ends, and the feathery flowers made the salad so pretty. I didn’t have any here, but if you ever come across fennel and you don’t know what to do with it, remember that you can always add it to a salad. IMG_7727 IMG_7732 The dressing is a go-to I’ve been making for years, which an old friend taught me how to make. All you need is some olive oil, lemon juice, dijon and maybe a bit of honey if you want it on the sweeter side. Then toss in some fresh herbs and salt and pepper, and you’re done. I know some people enjoy making their own dressings, so if you do, this is a great one. But if you can’t get around to whipping up your own batch each time, I love Tessamae’s bottled dressing.  IMG_7742 IMG_7748 IMG_7755 Once you’ve mixed your dressing ingredients together, toss with the salad and let sit for a couple of minutes before serving. Top with marcon almonds, some goat or feta cheese, or nothing at all. Add in a protein for a full meal, or leave it as is and serve as a side dish. This is the perfect salad for any season, especially since it makes good use of what you have on hand already. IMG_7764 Read below for the full printable recipe, but really, once you get the portions for the salad dressing right, this recipe really needs no print-out at all. Enjoy!

Farmer's Market Salad
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
A hearty salad to serve as a side dish or a main, using fresh in-season ingredients you may already have on hand.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 head of Romaine or other leafy lettuce
  • 1 head of Kale
  • 1 red beet
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1-2 seasonal vegetables
  • small bunch of fresh herbs like parsley, dill or chives
  • 1 small fennel bulb with flowered ends in tact
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • optional marcona almonds or other nuts, soft cheese like goat or feta
Instructions
  1. Chop all vegetables and lettuces and combine in bowl. Mix in finely chopped fresh herbs.
  2. To make the dressing, combine the juice of 2 lemons, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tbsp of fresh chopped herbs, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Gently mix dressing with salad, and top with optional nuts and cheese. Serve immediately.

 


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Basic Knife Skills

November 3, 2014

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knife-skills-5 I consider myself fairly proficient in the kitchen, and have been for several years now. Even though my focus on healthier eating has really only been in the last year+, doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking all this time; it was just a different way of cooking. At any rate, since I thought I knew my way around the kitchen all these years, I was pretty surprised when I found out I had been using my knife the wrong way all these years, and I had been using the wrong knives for the majority of my cooking. A couple of months back already, geez I meant to write about this a lot earlier, I finally decided to take a knife skills class, because even though I didn’t think I was doing things wrong, I figured I could do things better. What I learned in that short 2 hour class though, blew my mind and my skills and proficiency in the kitchen have vastly improved in the last couple of months because of it.

While a blog post pales in comparison to real-life instruction, I figured it could definitely help a few of you out there, or at least inspire you to take a class of your own to get the real deal tips which will help make you faster and smoother during meal prep.

The very first thing I learned is that I’ve been holding my knife wrong all these years. Like most people, I had been holding the whole handle in my palm, using my index finger for leverage on top of the blade (major no-no), and the rest of my fingers wrapped around the handle. Wrong! This is how you hold a knife. IMG_7681 IMG_7683 You begin by grabbing the very edge of the blade closest to the handle with your thumb and forefinger, and then wrap your remaining three fingers around the handle. From the other side, it should look like this. IMG_7684 IMG_7685 This positioning will give you the best control of the knife while chopping, leaving you less prone to injury, and more prone to chopping shit up correctly! By the way, I also learned that I had been using the wrong knife this whole time. I have 2 big chef knives that I always found too heavy, so rarely used them, preferring the smaller blade knives used only for odd tasks like filleting fish. Turns out the reason these large blade knives always felt cumbersome was because I was holding them wrong. Doh! I’ve switched to only using my big chef’s knife too. A larger blade also gives you more reach and leverage when you’re chopping. knife-skills-6 knife-skills-4 When chopping, you want to use a rocking motion, trying to keep the tip of your blade on your cutting board at all times, and gently lifting the knife up and rocking it down with a rolling type motion. Here’s a good video that shows you how to hold and rock the knife back and forth. This technique takes lots of practice, and even a couple of months later I’m still not super speedy, and I still sometimes naturally want to hold the knife the old way. But with continued practice I’m getting faster and faster, and what’s more important, I’m slicing things properly and much “prettier.”
knife-skills3 Besides spending time going over basic knife holding and chopping skills, we spent a good portion of the class just practicing. There were about 10 of us in the class, and she put out several types of knives for us to try out, and had a wide array of produce to practice our chopping and dicing skills on. She shared a few ingenious tips too, including how to cut a carrot. When she was demonstrating her carrot slicing, I asked her why she was chopping them at a diagonal. Assuming it was for show, she actually revealed that it was so they wouldn’t roll off the cutting board. Anyone who has been chopping round carrot pieces for years can confirm that many round pieces roll right off the board and on to the floor. The diagonal cut stops that. This tip alone was worth the cost of the $40 class! knife-skills2 Another great tip for chopping tomatoes. Instead of slicing skin first, pierce the tomato with the tip of the knife to easily slice it in half. Then rest the tomato, skin side down, and slice the flesh first. Because the skin is so delicate, even a super sharp knife at times has trouble slicing through it first. By slicing the heartier flesh first, you get some force going and are able to easily cut through the skin. knife-skills1 IMG_7725 For years I’ve been painstakingly pulling leaves off of parsley and cilantro stems, and it turns out that was totally unnecessary. Just grab a few stems, roll them together, and start chopping leaves and stems together, while holding onto the ends of the stems. When you have chopped down to where it’s mostly stems and few leaves, stop and toss the rest. Continue mincing so that the leaves and stems get chopped finely all together, and no one’s the wiser. IMG_7680 In addition to practicing and prepping an actual meal while we were there, I also finally learned the proper technique on how to dice an onion, and here’s another great video to show you how.

I have to admit, I expected to learn a few more secret chef’s tricks on how to make myself faster or prevent silly problems like stopping foods from sticking to my knife, but really, I learned that chopping and dicing is pretty simple, it just takes practice. There aren’t always short-cuts for everything, and even classically trained chefs still have starchy foods stick to their knives. It was a great class that I’m so glad I took, even if it just taught me how to properly hold my knife and how to slice a non-rolling carrot!

Tomorrow I’ll share a recipe for the yummy salad I’m shown making in this post, and later in the week I’ll share some of my favorite, use everyday kitchen items, so you can start making your Christmas lists. But first, do you have any other knife skills tips and tricks to share? If so, please leave a comment!


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Candy Free Halloween Ideas

October 27, 2014

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candy-free-halloween-ideas-2014 Several times I’ve tried to broach the subject in a Babble article, of limiting kid’s sweets consumption. It’s usually met with a mixed reaction, with a fair amount of folks approving, and with an equal amount of very vocal people objecting to such a horrific idea. The most common comeback to a typical discussion of limiting junk food for kids is, “Everything in moderation” and of course “Let them be kids!”  The sad truth though, is that there really isn’t a lot of moderation in the average kid’s diet. Empty calories from added sugars and solid fats contribute to 40% of daily calories for children and adolescents aged 2–18 years, and most US youth do not meet the daily recommendations for fruits, vegetables and whole grains. And oh yeah, the average adolescent drinks more soda pop than milk each day. So when we talk about moderation, I’m not sure what we mean here.  candy-free-halloween-ideas-from-target

But this post isn’t about a guilt trip, it’s more to explain my crazy logic in offering up non-candy treats this year. Between birthday parties, play dates, church, chorus practice, baseball practice, football practice, sports games, and the well-meaning grandparents, my kids get plenty of junk offered to them on a daily basis, and I’m sure yours do too. I pick my battles, and almost always I allow them to “just be a kid” and partake in most of what’s offered to them, and when they’re not looking I may ditch the leftovers. But I’m sort of thinking, where and when it’s easy enough, it may be wise to sway from the pack and offer up entertainment in other forms. Hence, the toys and other little goodies we’ll be passing out this year, in lieu of candy. I’d take a wild guess and say our house will probably be the 1/100 houses offering up something other than candy, so it’s safe to say no kids will suffer during this process. They will get plenty of candy this Friday, I have no fear of that, and now kids knocking on our doors will also get a little different treat.  Candy-Free-Halloween-Ideas

Of course this idea is nothing new, and others have been offering up non-candy treats for years. But this year, we’re finally jumping on board and since it’s early enough to still make the switch from candy to non-candy, I thought I’d share what I found yesterday. Target made it too easy for me, and I got out of there with over 100 little items at just under $25. It’s safe to say I usually spend at least $20 on a few bags of candy, so this wasn’t that much of a cost difference. A couple of readers offered up the brilliant idea of glow sticks, which I love and will probably steal the idea for next year when I have time to order a bundle in advance. Someone else I know passed out bags of Pirate’s Booty and a healthier yet still yummy granola bar, but I’d imagine that’s gotta be expensive. And little packs of pretzels, which usually just have a couple of ingredients, is another smart and affordable option. Pretty much the possibilities, while maybe not endless, are plentiful. Candy-free-halloween

Oh! And after I posted on IG our non candy selections, a friend brought up the Teal Pumpkin Project. While I’m not sure we’ll have a teal pumpkin on our doorstep on Friday, I do feel happy knowing that kids will allergies, and their parents, will be able to enjoy what we’re passing out.  IMG_8008

Of course not everyone can make the switch and pass out non-candy options, or else the kids will revolt I’m sure. But even if we can just make a more conscious effort to take it easy on the sugary sweets, during whichever holiday or event you choose, I think our kids will be a lot better off for it, don’t you? Okay, off my soap box now! Trick or treat all! candy-free-halloween-ideas-target Clockwise, from left of the skull: stampers set of 6 $1; colored fangs set of 24 $3; glow in the dark bat rings set of 6 for $1, bubbles set of 20 for $5, bouncy balls set of 15 for $3, slime set of 12 $4, Rose Art play doh set of 4 $1, sticky eyeballs individually wrapped set of 24 $3.


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It All Started With Some Sickness

October 20, 2014

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photo It’s been a whirlwind of activity since returning from vacation, which explains my absence here for the past 2 weeks. After several doctor’s appointments over the past few months though, including some pivotal ones last week, I’m glad to say that I finally have a bit of an answer for what’s been going on with me for the past year. On Thursday, after my endocrinologist reviewed my most recent blood-work, which was an extensive thyroid panel including testing the T3, T4, TSI and anti-TPO levels, she came back with a diagnosis of Hashimotos, an auto-immune disease where the immune system basically sees the thyroid gland as a foreign object and attacks it. While it was disheartening to receive such crappy news, it was also a huge relief that I finally new what was causing my persistent symptoms that have been with me for the past year. I discussed this diagnosis on my GMMDI IG account, and I’ve had quite a few people leave comments and email me, wondering how I was able to get such a diagnosis, mainly because they have similar symptoms, and feel confused and frustrated, not knowing where to start. It’s not necessarily easy to walk into your doctor’s office and tell them you’re feeling tired, so can you order some blood work? Certainly many doctors would react positively to your complaints, but all too often they would simply order a basic CBC and check for anemia or vitamin deficiencies. So how did I get down to the nitty gritty, which led to this diagnosis? Well, thankfully, it all started with recurrent strep.

As I had discussed back when I did my cleanse a few weeks ago, I’ve had persistent strep throat for the past 18 months. While we greatly hoped that Syd’s tonsillectomy would help me, after I continued to get strep, I finally went in to see Syd’s ENT, who luckily treats both children and adults. At first glance, it would have been simple enough for her to just recommend getting my tonsils removed, and she initially did, but I pushed back and upon explaining my recurrent symptoms over the past year, she ordered a fairly thorough CBC panel, which included a basic thyroid test (TSH). My symptoms over the past year include:

Brain fog; general fogginess which often affected mental clarity and ability to do my job. Posts that previously would have taken me an hour to write took 3-4 painstaking hours, and I was often hit with intense bouts of writer’s block. While us moms can generally feel like we’re in a fog as we go throughout our day, trying to juggle it all, it’s usually when working that we notice the biggest dips in productivity. Writing for the past year has been a huge struggle for me, hence why I took a break from sponsored posts for the time being.

Chronic fatigue going beyond “mom tired.” We’re all a bit tired, especially us moms caring for kids and juggling it all, but this went beyond the regular end of day fatigue; this was constant fatigue from the moment I woke, never feeling like I had a good night’s sleep, to the end of the day where I was struggling greatly to get through bed time. Whereas I used to be very productive after the kids went to bed, tidying up, working on projects and blogging, it was all I could do to clean up the kitchen and make it to 9 pm.

Insomnia. Once I hit my pillow, usually before 10 pm, I was fast asleep but have had a very hard time staying asleep, often waking between 3-4 am and never being able to fall back asleep. It’s often like I wake with a jolt, and I feel wide awake, but too tired to even move and get out of bed. At this rate, I sleep through the night 2-3 nights a week, and the rest of the time I start my day at 4 am. This definitely does not help with the chronic fatigue, but that plagues me whether I sleep all night or not.

Body aches, most often in the lower back area, but some days all over. While many thyroid websites cite hip and joint pain as a symptom of a thyroid disorder, never really discussing the back, body aches in those with thyroid conditions can often manifest themselves in different places, as it affects everyone differently. I have never had chronic back pain in my entire life, until this past year, and most days, even with consistent yoga practice, I have trouble moving and sleeping at night, finding relief only in Advil.

Moodiness. No real explanation here, but just moodier than usual.

Highly anxious and easily overwhelmed. Nothing to the levels of sparking panic attacks, but more so, I just feel overwhelmed a lot. Small tasks seem much bigger than they are, and I subsequently fail to do little things, which turn into bigger problems. I discussed this a bit a while back, but I thought it had more to do with just being too busy and having too much on my plate, but really, more than anything I now think I am just experiencing some mild anxiety.

Based on these symptoms, my ENT had some theories, one of which included a very simple explanation. Being that I had been fighting off infection consistently for the past 18 months, she thought my body was just run down and tired from working so hard. That would have made a lot of sense, and I did seem to rebound slower and slower each time I got strep throat, taking days to feel better and get some energy back, but it just felt like it was more to me.

When my blood work came back, we did in fact find that my white blood cell count and platelet count was quite low, and my TSH levels were off. She recommended I see an endocrinologist and hematologist for both of these issues, and long story short, I ended up with the Hashimoto’s diagnosis.

None of the three specialists I’ve seen have been able to successfully connect the dots on the three consistent problems I’ve had; strep throat, off blood levels, and the thyroid disorder, but I have my theories. Thyroid issues can often be triggered by stress or even infections and viruses, therefore it’s possible the strep throat may have triggered the thyroid disorder. Or the strep could keep coming back because of my body’s inability to fight off the infections due to a low white blood cell count. Neither the hematologist or endocrinologist wants to link the low wbc count with the thyroid disorder, but in reading and talking to many people who have thyroid conditions, they often have wacky blood count levels. My wbc has continued to dip lower over the past few weeks, so much so that my hematologist is monitoring me closely for the next month, and if we see consistent drops, he’s ordering a bone marrow test to see what’s going on. At this point, a full blood panel which included 13 tests resulted in nothing wrong, including vitamin deficiencies, mono, and even hepatitis. My gut tells me it’s somehow connected to the hashimotos and there’s nothing to really worry about, but what do I know?

The endocrinologist does not want to treat me at this point because even though the antibodies are clearly present and fall within the “high” treatable range, my overall TSH levels are not elevated enough; meaning the Hashimoto’s hasn’t harmed enough of the thyroid gland to warrant treatment. It is messing with my levels enough thought that I clearly feel off, and it’s affecting my day to day life. I was kicked out of a great blogging program last week because I failed to complete a project on time. I’m truly bummed that some days, I just can’t seem to get it together. I hate more than anything, this feeling of being unproductive and unmotivated. I can’t remember the last time I even wanted to touch a supply in my craft cabinet, and I spent all of 10 minutes yesterday throwing up some Halloween decorations to please the kids, a holiday I’ve come to love but feel completely uninspired to rally for.

While a thyroid condition is rarely life-threatening, it is one of those things that can wreak general havoc in your day to day life. The thyroid gland has a whole host of important functions, including regulating metabolism, and is one of many glands in the endocrine system in the body that regulate the function, growth and development of virtually every cell, tissue and organ in the body, and influences the function of many important organs in your body including the heart, brain, liver, kidneys and skin. When it’s out of whack, you can experience many of the symptoms I listed above, as well as weight gain, dry skin and extreme hormonal imbalances causing depression and anxiety. I know myself better than anyone else, and while I could have certainly received much scarier news, I can first hand confirm that my thyroid being out of whack has negatively impacted my day to day life over the past year. With that said, I don’t want to just sit around and wait for my thyroid to become so damaged that I need treatment, but would rather seek some help in the meantime.

Fortunately, autoimmune conditions like hashi’s, seem to respond positively to dietary restrictions and adhering to strict diets, including quitting sugar or following a diet along the lines of Paleo or GAPS. I visit an integrative doctor tomorrow to seek out some answers, and hopefully get some tools and information to be proactive, and start feeling better. I’m hopeful that I can help manage the Hashimoto’s with an autoimmune protocol diet, but have no qualms about trying medication if my symptoms and lab work continues to progress negatively. Of course, some of the things I’ve said in the past, mocking the “Paleo heads” and lambasting the gluten-free trend, are starting to come back and bite me in the ass. If anything, I have learned once again, to have a heart for empathy and not to judge, especially when it comes to food and health.

If you have been feeling not so normal and suspect  you may have a thyroid condition, it is very important you push beyond a simple TSH test, which is where most doctor’s start. While it’s certainly a place to start, often times, like with the case of Hashimoto’s, your doctor will not find irregularities unless they order a full thyroid screening. You can read about the complete list of thyroid tests to ask for here.

While I’m certainly not suggesting that every woman who experiences fatigue has a thyroid condition, I am suggesting that we as women take the time to slow down and pay attention to what our bodies are telling us. It was a combination of the recurrent illnesses, after I’ve been a beyond healthy woman for years, rarely getting sick, and the chronic fatigue that persisted even after I continued to let go of more and more work, that I knew something was really off with me. Perhaps a good rest and reduction of stress will help you feel better, but if not, please seek out a good doctor and push for some answers. About 200 million Americans suffer from a thyroid disorder, and they are 4-7 times more common in women than in men.

Please let me know if you have any questions and if I’ve missed anything. I’ll keep you updated after my appointment tomorrow.

 


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Detox Your Beauty

October 8, 2014

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As I’ve spent a good deal of the time detoxing a lot of our food choices over the last year, it seemed only fitting that I eventually tackle the personal care and beauty areas. When I initially asked for advice in finding a decent, cruelty-free body lotion a couple of months back, I was overwhelmed with over 150 responses on my Instagram in just a little over an hour. I ended up settling on the Alaffia Everyday Coconut Body Lotion, and while the body lotion works well and the scent is nice, the other products I also purchased on a whim from Alaffia, including shampoo and conditioner, did not work so great. So I decided to back up and start from scratch, trying out individual beauty items as I needed them, and taking some time to really read reviews, learn a bit more about the ingredients I truly wanted to stay away from, and go from there. Some items were so reasonably priced, I also just tried a few on a whim. The results have been great, and below, are the items I’ve been personally using over the past few weeks and moths, and have really grown to love.  Detox-your-beauty 1.Babyganics Mineral-Based Sunscreen SPF 50 I originally found this line at Target, and while they no longer carry the sunscreen at my Target, perhaps more of a seasonal item, I was happy to find it on Amazon. We all used this sunscreen all summer long, and we never once got burned, it went on easily, and lasted full days in the pool, and did its job well while we were in Maui. It’s mineral based, and contains no PABA, pthlates, parabens, fragrances or nano-particles. You can purchase a standard squeeze tube, or buy the spray, which works just as well. And Amazon also has a good little bundle which I picked up for Maui, containing the spray sunscreen & deet free bug spray.

2. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara This came very highly recommended to me by several readers after I originally posted about finding the Physicians Formula mascara, which I talk about below. This mascara is vegan & of course cruelty-free, and is powered by olive esters, and works just as well as any conventional mascara product out there. It’s about twice as much as the Physicians Formula, so if you want a more budget friendly option, shop below, but I do find that this holds up to heat and humidity better than the PF mascara, and it makes the lashes look a bit fuller.

3. Primal Pit Paste Stick Natural Deodorant  While “further testing” is still needed to confirm if antiperspirants with aluminum and parabens are truly unsafe, mimicking estrogen like hormonal side effects, I figure why chance it when there are some great natural deodorant products out there now. I found out about PPP from a Facebook ad of all places, and learned it is truly one of the most natural and safe deodorants you can get. You can read about their ingredients and the possibilities of a pit “detox”, under their FAQ section, but the bottom line, this stuff works great. Both my husband and I use it, he the strong and myself, the regular, and we have noticed that we actually smell better. Recent studies show that all those antiperspirants may actually make you smell worse, and we both notice feeling and smelling more fresh, throughout the day. If you’re unsure, try out a trial size sample and give it at least a few days before you make a decision. I’m not a heavy sweater, but reviews and feedback I’ve received confirms that even those who sweat a lot, don’t have a problem with this stuff. I do find that the stick works a wee bit better than the rub-on.

4. Tarte Amazonian Butter Lipstick in Plummy Rose This lipstick has a great depth of color to it, and goes on, literally, like butter. Tarte, while recently acquired by a parent company which is not cruelty-free, remains committed to providing safe, natural and most especially, cruelty-free products.

5. Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara This ranked high in Crazy Sexy Kris’ mascara smackdown a few months ago, and while some complain that it runs in really hot weather (it does), overall, it’s a great, 100% natural and organic mascara option, which performs well under normal circumstances. Plus, it’s affordable, and widely available everywhere, including Target.
6. Organic Lavender Nail Polish Remover I’ve been thinking I need to change out my nail polish remover for quite some time, since the nauseous fumes and the way it dries out my cuticles, can’t be good for me. This stuff rates high and gets great reviews online; my bottle is on its way and I’ll keep you posted on how it performs.

7. Nail Lacquer Fabulous 10 ml by Kure Bazaar All three of the following nail polishes are rated high in terms of safe ingredients, application and color saturation. I’ve tried the Acqurella and love it, and have ordered the other two, so I’ll keep you posted.
8. treat collection Natural Nail Polish
9. Acquarella Nail Polish

Navigating your way through the health and beauty market, in terms of figuring out what’s safe and what’s potentially toxic, is extremely overwhelming, to say the least. Especially because some of the safe and benign ingredients have as strange sounded, hard-to-pronounce names, as the toxic ones, so using the old food rule of “if you can’t pronounce it, don’t consume it”, doesn’t necessarily apply here. To get a rundown of safe and unsafe ingredients by category, you can visit the EWG site, and they also have an app called Skin Deep that you can use to scan products while shopping, but be forewarned, their database is limited and many products are not listed.

The Detox Market has taken the guesswork and research out of the shopping experience by doing the legwork for you. They guarantee to only carry products that are truly safe, cruelty-free and natural. I hope to visit one of their LA stores soon!

The Beauty Counter also only makes completely safe beauty products, and while their line isn’t all encompassing, this page on their site gives an interesting rundown of the beauty industry, and why it’s important to head towards more natural products, and take a peek at their “Never List.”

I love fashion and beauty, and in many ways I was worried to start going down this path, not knowing where it would end and begin. But there really are so many great products out there, that with a little time and research, I’ve found that there’s really a great, healthy alternative for all my conventional products I’m currently using. While this is just a start, at least it’s a start in the right direction and I can’t wait to keep going. Please share any other lines or products you love and can’t live without!


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