Wordless Wednesday

Spring Break

In years’ past, when I thought of Spring Break, I thought of “sun, sand, and lounging by the pool.” When you become a mother, all that changes. As many of you moms know, Spring Break doesn’t mean a “break” for you. It just means lots of preparation to go somewhere and lots of cleaning up to do when you return home.

This year Doc Lancelot is on call, so I decided to take Bookworm and Sassypants to see their grandparents in Mississippi. We’re having a great time and the girls are having a blast playing with their cousins and exploring the outdoors.

Yesterday all the kids played near the grandparents’ pond and searched for tadpoles and minnows. I’ve never heard so much giggling and sheer enjoyment from them. It just goes to show you…..you don’t need a fancy, expensive trip to Disney to have a fun Spring Break.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Hyacinths & my new camera.

Cage is All the Rage

No, not Nicolas Cage, sillies.

Cage Shoes!

This spring, every shoe designer is featuring some form of gladiator or “cage” shoes and sandals. I LOVE them. Cage shoes add a little “rocker” edge to all the sweet, prissy spring/summer clothes. 

I’ve included some of my favorites. I didn’t include any versions in black, ‘cause quite honestly, I’m over black shoes right now. And, um, ignore some of the price tags. We can all dream, can’t we? 

L.A.M.B “Faith” heel

Joie “Picasso” Cage Flat Sandals

Vera Wang Lavender Label "Sally" High Heel Cage Sandals

Aldo “Frans” Gladiator Sandal

Pour la Victoire 'Dierda' Platform Sandal-

These are my favorite! I'm loving dove gray shoes for Spring!

*****My one tip for buying cage sandals or shoes.******

Make sure the leather on the straps are not too “twisty”. I bought these BCBGeneration shoes, and I love them! I wore them from December through February with black tights. They’re very comfortable, but on a warm day, I decided to wear them without tights. All the twisted straps made the tops of my feet irritated and look like I had a set of ribs permanently engraved on them. So these will be a fall/winter shoe with tights!

Make sure you look for straps that lie FLAT on the top of your feet. Think sweaty feet and twisted leather during the summer.  So not fun….or cute!

BCBGeneration “Devon” Cage Shoes

A Little Motivation for Summer

I’m one week down of my 30 day makeover. I’m really enjoying my workouts and my trainer is a perfect fit for me. She’s not too perky, and she pushes me---but not to the point of me wanting to punch her in the ovary. She’s a mom, so she totally gets the fact that if one of my girls is sick, this mama won’t be at the gym pumpin’ and a sweatin’.

Unfortunately, I’ve not changed my eating habits at all. I know I would get better results if I cleaned up my diet. I don’t know about you girls, but I have to have serious motivation to want to exercise and eat light a starving rabbit eat healthy. Being an interior designer, I’m a very “visual” person. I have to have “visual motivation”. I can’t just think in my mind, “Oh, I have a beach trip planned in July. That gives me such and such weeks to get the lard off.” I have to have things like this taped to my refrigerator~~~

Photo: Shape Magazine, Dec. 2007

AND THIS:

Victoria Secret model Marissa Miller

Okay, I’m going to go do some sit-ups now.

We’re Just Going Through a Transition

From my last post, you can tell I’m more than ready for Spring. The trouble is….it’s still in the low 40’s here. That makes it a little difficult to wear those cute rompers and sleeveless floral dresses.

There’s nothing more uncomfortable than having your legs freeze, but on the same note, you’re tired of wearing heavy sweaters and cords. What’s the solution? For me, it’s layering for warmer afternoon temperatures and wearing florals and prints in bolder colors and saving the lightweight fabrics and pastels for later in the Spring.

Here are some great transitional pieces to get you through this last bit of Winter.

Laundry by Shelli Segal Bell Sleeve Eyelet Shift Dress

Love the sleeves on this dress! Break the old fashion rules of not being able to mix navy and black, and pair this with black tights. Flats will complete a day look, and throw on some chunky heels for nighttime.

Milly 'Garden' Batik Print Silk Dupioni Dress

Wow! How many seasons could you wear this dress?

Pair it with bittersweet Spanx tights and brown booties.

Throw on a cute cardigan, and here’s an outfit you can wear Spring or Fall. I love pink with dark brown!

J Crew Cashmere V-Neck Cardigan

Trina Turk “Botanical” Strapless Dress

Now this is my kind of floral! I like that the flowers are tempered with the black background. I can’t wear light, girly florals. I like mine bold and with a dark background. Again, this is another opportunity to bust out some black tights until it’s warmer.

Arden B Charm Paisley Print Ruffle Dress

I am soooo in love with this dress. It has the most wonderful colors and it’s so versatile. For a more casual look, I’d pair this with a denim jacket and tall tan boots with bare legs. To make it more feminine, I’d wear a cardigan and these:

Vince Camuto “Fallon”

or these:

Born “Hydrangea”

The best part about these??? They’re made by Born, so you know they’re going to be good for Mom feet comfortable. Love the large flowers and cork.

Matty M Dolman Jumpsuit

This lightweight jumpsuit offers a lot of options. Gotta love the price….it’s only $26.70!

Add bright accessories like this:

Anthropologie “Flora-In-Focus” Necklace

or something like this

Diane Von Furstenberg “Animal Spot Gauze Scarf”

Have a great weekend!

Have a Seat….

It’s 4:30 am and I’m up with a horrible sinus headache. It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve been sick with this upper respiratory virus. Geez, this is some rough stuff! So I got up, did the routine nasal squirt, took some Tylenol Severe Sinus, and now I’m waiting on some sort of miracle to happen.

In the meantime, I decided to look online for something cute to wear for church on Easter. I came across this little beauty. Isn’t this the cutest chair ever? This screams “SPRING!!” with the enthusiasm of a Price as Right contestant shouting out the price of a box of Rice-A-Roni.

photo source: anthropologie

Conservatory Chair

My Version of Panera’s “Power Breakfast Sandwich”

I admit it. I’m a bit of a Panera and Starbuck’s troll. Panera is so tempting because it’s super close to the girls’ school. After all, I am driving by there, usually didn’t have time to eat before I left, and um…..you know the rest.
I have a major sweet tooth, but at breakfast, I have an odd affinity to heartier, more protein-rich foods. I always get Panera’s “Power Breakfast Sandwich”. It’s super yummy and is high in protein and fiber.

Photo: Panera’s Website

Not only does getting breakfast out every morning take too much time, it gets extremely expensive. So I thought I’d try to recreate this yummy sandwich at home.

Dishy Decorator’s Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients:

• Panera’s Whole Grain Miche bread (sandwich sliced)-I buy a whole loaf and freeze it.
• 1 egg and 1 egg white (You can substitute Egg Beaters or use all whites)

• Smoked ham (several slices-I use double smoked ham from the deli)
• Vermont white cheddar cheese slices

• salt and pepper to taste
• Garlic & cayenne sauce or Tabasco (2-3 drops or more if desired)

• Cooking spray

Directions:

• Whisk eggs in a bowl. Add salt and pepper and hot sauce.
• You can cook the eggs in a skillet coated with nonstick spray over medium heat, or use one of the microwave egg poachers.

*This is enough eggs for 2 sandwiches.

• Cut one slice of bread in half.
• Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat.
• Add bread to skillet to toast lightly.
• When brown, remove and put on plate.
• Heat ham in same skillet for a minute or so.
• Put ham on one piece of bread and cheddar cheese on the other piece. Return to skillet. Turn heat down to medium low. Heat for about 2 minutes.
• Add cooked egg, and assemble sandwich on plate. If the cheese isn’t melted enough, pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds. That’s what Panera does!
  
  
  

  

  
  

Enjoy!!

30 Day Makeover

Tomorrow starts Day 1 of my 30 Day Makeover. I signed up for an intense exercise program at my gym to get ready for Spring.

I’m hoping I’ll have better luck than I did last year. Doc Lancelot got me this same package for my birthday (upon my request). You start out on Day 1 doing a physical assessment, measure body fat, weight, goals, etc. At Day 30, you do another assessment. A lot of people I know that have done this program have had incredible results.

Last year, I had a young, strapping 20-something, newly graduated trainer. I explained to him that I was a little out of shape, that I had had knee surgery, and had a recent shoulder injury. I told him I had trouble doing squats and overhead lifts because of these injuries. What does he have me doing the first session? Jumping up with a kettle ball, lifting it over my head, then dipping into a squat!!! I could hear my shoulder grinding, and I finally had to ask him if he had heard anything I said. His response, “We’re working out those injuries.” Crazy meathead trainer say what?

We stopped with the joint torture, and proceeded to do cardio. Vomit cardio. He had my heart rate up so high, that I almost fainted and had to go into the locker room. Sweating and gagging. Lovely. I’m not a marathon runner, but I’m not THAT out of shape. I don’t understand the whole mentality of some trainers. I was so miserable and sore the next day, that I had no desire or motivation to continue. More than anything….I was extremely frustrated that he had not listened to me. I risked injury and burnout because Mr. Fitness 2009 thought “30 Day Makeover” meant “30 Minutes of Hell”.

So this time I requested a FEMALE trainer that will train me in the women’s part of the gym. I think it will be better, because you know….women listen. Right?

MY GOALS

I want to be pushed beyond my comfort zone.

I want to be sore.

I want to sweat.

I want to feel like giving up.

I want to be proud of myself for not giving up.

Most of all, I need a trainer I can trust. One that can push me harder than I ever could.

So tomorrow…….I start.

And That’s a Wrap!

I’m always struggling with ways to make a quick dinner, especially one I can make ahead. This is a great recipe that can be made the day before, requires no cooking, and can be changed to suit your tastes.

This is my version of a ham wrap. Feel free to substitute turkey or chicken, add more veggies, change the cheese…..whatever. That’s the beauty of wraps. My recipe is pretty vague because it’s like any sandwich…..adjust the ingredients to your liking.

That’s a Wrap

Ingredients:

• Large Flour Tortillas
• 8 oz. plain cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz. Ranch dressing (not dry packet)
• lettuce (washed and dried thoroughly)
• smoked ham or turkey
• shredded cheese (I used a 3 cheese blend)

Supplies:

• wax paper
• tape
• paper towels

Directions:

• Put cream cheese and Ranch dressing in a mixing bowl and blend with handheld mixer until smooth. Set aside.
• Get all ingredients ready. Make sure lettuce is torn, washed, and dried thoroughly.
• Lay out several sheets of wax paper. I stack about 3 sheets of wax paper on top of one another.~~I only work with 2-3 tortillas at a time to prevent them from drying out.
• Lightly moisten 3 paper towels. Squeeze out excess water.
• On a glass plate, layer tortillas with moist paper towels, ending with a paper towel on top.

• Microwave tortillas 10-30 seconds. Make sure you don’t overheat the tortillas, because they’ll be tough.
• Lay warm tortilla on top of wax paper.
• Spread about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese/Ranch mixture on tortilla.

• Sprinkle about 1/3-1/4 cup of shredded cheese over cream cheese mixture.

• Add lettuce and ham on top of cheese.

• Start rolling up the wrap. Make sure to keep it ‘tight’ and tuck the tortilla in slightly as you roll it up. Don’t be surprised if some of the contents get squeezed out of the end. Just keep on working. It’ll be on the back of the tortilla, so there’s no need to be a neat freak.

• Roll the wrap up in wax paper.

• Secure wax paper with tape.

• Refrigerate a couple of hours or overnight. I think they’re best the next day.
• Before serving, cut sandwich on the bias. Here, I’ve taken a toothpick to secure the 2 pieces to stand up. Just make sure you tell your guests about the toothpick;-) You don’t want to pokey, pokey.

• I serve my wraps with a pasta salad I make with cheese tortellini, Durkee sauce, hard salami, red peppers, green onions, and Kalamata olives. I don’t use a recipe. I just chop and stir.

*Makes 4-7 Wraps.

New Orleans-That’s What I’m Talkin’ Bout!

I just returned from my trip to New Orleans with my sweet blogger friends. I cannot tell you how much I love these girls. Last October, we had our first trip together (AND first time meeting in real life). I was actually a little nervous. I just knew someone would be ‘weird’ or even worse, they would think I was weird. Boy, was I wrong. The instant we “met”, it seemed that we’d known one another all our lives. I feel so blessed to have each and every one of them in my life.

We had a little early celebration for my birthday, with balloons and a candle for my Commander’s Palace strawberry shortcake.

This is at Yvonne La Fleur’s boutique. That’s her to the bottom far right. She is such a lovely, gracious designer, business woman, and milliner.

She’s also famous for her unique Kentucky Derby hats and perfume.

We all said it reminded us of the boutique in the movie “The Sweetest Thing”.

One of the best parts……Billy Joel jumped in our group photo! Amazing!

For some reason, random people like to jump in our photos. he he

I can’t wait to plan our next trip!!!