Thrifty Girl!

I just got back from a fun trip to Greene Street Consignment in Princeton. I was so excited about the deal I got that I felt I needed to share it with you!

First off: I think it's fair to say I am modest with my spending. I rarely splurge and try to make smart choices. I am more likely to spend money at Home Depot on paint for the house than I am to spend $50 on a new piece of clothing for myself.

Up until just recently I would always wear very inexpensive jeans. I would find them on sale at Old Navy or Gap.

A few months back one of my very good friends 'handed down' a few pairs of designer jeans to me. I have to say that I had no idea what I was missing out on. They seem to fit better and just be such a better quality product. I feel more confident when I wear them and I just feel good!

Before I share a picture of my new 'Lucky' jeans I wanted to pull out some dresses that I have bought over the past year and a half at both consignment stores and thrift stores. It's amazing what a unique and vibrant wardrobe you can build without spending much! :) I bought a few of these for only $4.95 and the most expensive was maybe $15.00 at the high end!

This is the first and hopefully last time I post a picture of my butt on the blog!! I just had to share that great 'Lucky' tag that I snagged for a mere $18.00. (keep in mind folks that Lucky Brand jeans run from about $99 to $250 brand new!) I know I will be wearing these for a long time even if I am the second owner! :)

(ps. that's my dog, Jersey, and our friends dog, Archie, standing by my butt shot! I had never tried to take a picture of my own butt before. It wasn't easy!)

How to Not Waste Kale

Being a part of a CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm truly has its benefits.  There's something so deeply satisfying about getting food straight from the source. It's why something like apple-picking is so fun.  I love cooking with veggies that I know were just picked.

Problem is you don't know what you're going to get from that week's harvest.  Kale has not been my friend over the past few summers because it ends up rotting in my fridge.  But not this year!

Sausage Lentil Kale Stew

 from Katie Lee's Comfort Table

It starts off with this...

Simmers for an hour like this...

And then you eat it as this...

Super healthy for you because it's got tons of veggies. Got some heat from the andouille sausage.  Got some naughtiness from the bacon (which you saute the mirepoix from its rendered fat) and let's face it, because bacon makes everything better.

There you have it.  How to not waste kale. This will be a staple recipe from now on!

Summer Sangria

Over the 4th of July weekend we did something very nontraditional...

No beach.
No BBQ.
No swimming.
No fireworks.
No strawberry shortcake.

We went with our good friends to an IRISH PUB!
It was hard to believe that we didn't know about Dublin Square sooner! It's only about 10 minutes from our house!


http://www.dublinsquarepubs.com/bordentown/home/

It was a very authentic Irish Pub and Restaurant.
The bartender was even wearing a kilt!

And then, while sitting at the bar of an Irish Pub, I did something else very nontraditional...

I ordered sangria! And was blown away by how amazing it was. It's safe to say it was the best I've ever had!!

I got the details from my kilt-wearing bartender about how to make it at home.

So, here goes nothing!



















I started with the amazing South African wine called 'jam jar' for only $8.99. (Is that not the cutest bottle??!!)

Then I cut up some fresh fruit.

Dumped it all together with some peach schnapps...
Add a splash of OJ or seltzer if you'd like!

And there you have it!

Easy.

Delicious.

Short Lived.

Happy Summer! :)

Juice Cleanse

Last week I did a 3 day juice cleanse, which involved 6 juices per day (they're numbered and you have to drink them in order) and no eating.  They are fresh-pressed juices of mostly vegetables, some juice, and one nut milk per day.  Some are awesome such as grapefruit mint (see above, it's the second one) and watermelon lime.  Some are not so awesome, like the essential green (kale, spinach, celery, etc).

Let me answer some questions you might be thinking.

• No, you don't feel hungry.  You're constantly drinking throughout the day.  You may feel a mild hunger ache. 

• Yes, you miss food.  But not because you're hungry.  It's more psychological (more on that later). 

• You do lose weight. Mostly water weight (but who cares! I'll take it!)- by the end I was down 5.5 lbs which made me 1.5 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight. (holla!!)

Overall, it was a great experience.  Here are some take-aways I had from my juice fast.

1. Food is a privilege.  We live in a country where access to food is not a problem.  We can have fruit in the winter for goodness sakes (if you don't mind that it's getting shipped from Chile).  We are remarkably blessed to buy or make whatever food we want. It is not meant to be abused.
2. I'm no longer as afraid of hunger as I once was.  I'm the kind of person that starts to panic when I get hungry. (like I'll eat before church service or a movie even when I'm not hungry just so that I won't be stuck in a seat for a couple hours and not able to eat. I know- I'm ridiculous).
3. I eat waaaay more than I need.  Sustaining myself on juices all day and have great energy levels was proof that I eat more than I need to survive.  I need to scale back the sheer amount that I consume- it'll be better for my budget and waistline.
4. Last but not least.... I'VE GOT TO STOP PUTTING CRAP IN MY BODY.  I have to repeat my new mantra to myself.  "Ramen noodles are not my friend.  Ramen noodles are not my friend".  Only allowing nutritious juices for 3 days straight made me feel so good.  I felt better. I have a renewed commitment to nourishing my body and taking better care of it. 

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a jump-start to eating better.  Don't wait for New Year's.  I'm probably going to do this twice a year, before summer starts and after the holidays, just to keep things in check.

I'm almost tempted to buy a juicer now but I don't know if that's consistent with my anti-too-many-kitchen-appliances-lifestyle. I'll have to think more about it.

(this post is dedicated to Melissa who thought it would take too long for Kerri to get another turn. :P )

Thrift Store Chair

I have seen so many fun ideas about refinishing old chairs lately.

Since I am in the middle of re-decorating my office into a gray and yellow fabulous inspiration of a room, (ha ha... I'm trying at least) I decided to head over to my favorite thrift store in search of a new desk chair to add a pop of yellow.

When I came home with this $5 monstrosity, my husband was rather apprehensive!

I had some wood glue and screws in the basement to reinforce the bones.

I ran to Lowes and bought a $3.50 can of spray paint.

Then over to West Elm where I found this yellow and white dish towel for $9.00.

Not bad for $17.50, right?

And Voila!!

i heart street fairs

Every year Princeton blocks off the downtown area to hold Communiversity. Not sure how it started but it's a blending of Princeton University and the town coming together... oh who cares.  It means that I get to drink sangria on the street!!  Local shops and restaurants (and various organizations) set up booths to sell their food and other goods.

This is KeRRi and I (and Naomi) enjoying sangria and paella from MediTerra's booth.  My mouth waters just thinking about it.  Don't worry, the baby did not partake in the vino.

Best paella in Princeton!

Then it was off to round 2 where we enjoyed brick-oven pizza from a truck courtesy of Nomad Pizza (Hopewell, NJ).

 

The finished product. Naomi is giving the approving once-over.

We were happily full (and maybe slightly bzzzz'd).  Got to meet lots of friendly dogs and enjoy the unofficial kick-off to the summer in this local area.  (Gosh, I'm suddenly so hungry- note to self: do not blog about food during juicing cleanse)

EASY Recipes!

Ok friends, so who doesn't love a simple meal that is equally delightful?

I found this huevos rancheros recipe in REAL SIMPLE's April edition.

It was quick, easy as can be, and a BIG hit at our house! :)

(p.s. Do you write on your recipes like I do? It helps me to remember how things turned out and if I need to make any changes to the recipe next time I prepare it!)