Saturday, June 30, 2012

more food pics









in all honesty
i only ate the chocolate croissant
and it was the best chocolate croissant i've ever had.

do you see that flakiness?!?!

but
the pics keep coming
cuz iowa's got some serious eats.
mmmmm!


morning run



i stopped to smell the roses.


and by 
"smell the roses,"
i mean
"use instagram."


Friday, June 29, 2012

i ate my way through iowa



nine weeks ago
i joined Weight Watchers 
and i LOVE it.

suddenly
i was understanding a lot more about my life
a lot more about my habits
and i was TOTALLY losing weight

i lost six pounds in six weeks!!


 AND THEN
three weeks ago

everything changed.

i went on four "vacations"
and by "vacation"
i basically mean
i'm suddenly driving 10 + hours OR flying across the country with multiple stops
i changed jobs
AND work hours
my sister moved in with us
AND
i lost my daily WW buddy
AND
i changed my eating schedule and food prep
AND
my income level shifts dramatically.

EVERYTHING changed.



and then i went to iowa.
and apparently there's nothing in iowa
except corn
and weddings
and aaron's family and friends
and really, really good food.

and i just went for it.

can i just say, "YUM!"

before i dive into my food fiesta,
let me just say
that
regardless of the fact that i blew through my WW daily allowances every day
WHICH I DON'T APPROVE OF
AND AM, OF COURSE, HOPPING BACK ON THE WAGON
FOR MY HEALTH, SANITY, AND ABILITY TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES
i really, really, really notice a difference in terms of my expectations.

before weight watchers
i DREADED the scale
and i dreaded my body.

i never understood what was going on!!
i'd eat a lot
and feel like shit
and not know why

and now
i still ate a lot
and i still felt like shit
BUT
let me just say
that it was NOT NEARLY as bad as it's been in the past

i chose my food differently.
i ate better food, more nutritious food
i WALKED or JOGGED or SWAM every single day

and, honestly, i was really HONEST with myself about what i was doing and what to expect.
and next week
when i get on the scale
and see my number has gone back to the starting point
(which i know, calculating my PP (points plus) totals, and watching my face,)
i won't be SHOCKED or HELPLESS or A VICTIM.

I'll still be in charge.
I'll still work hard,
work smart,
and be proud of my ability to begin again.

I'll set my goals
plan it out
see the end result
and GO.

Weight-gain is not my affliction.
Healthy eating, and learning to eat what I want (intelligently) is my goal.



AND NOW!
the delicious run-down....

(AND LET ME TELL YOU
aaron's family KNOWS how to bake
AMAZING cooks and chefs,
AMAZING)

I had the most amazing
coffee
champagne
cabernet sauvignon
and margaritas.
i had prosecco
some sips of tasty beers
bacon
ham
carnitas
rice
bean sprouts
strawberries strawberries and so many strawberries!
bananas
french toast
DAIRY QUEEN
a root beer float
vanilla bean gelato
some Lake Okoboji fresh fried cinnamon donuts
a hot dog
some french fries
smoked salmon
lemon tart
tomatoes
carrots
celery
a few lovely mixed salads
spaghetti
parmesan creme brûlée
pizza, pizza, and pizza!
a cajun burger
wedding cake
wedding cookies
and whoopee pies.

granted
this is over eight days, various meals, a wedding, lots of wedding-related parties, a birthday party, and a reunion.

i ate fruit every morning for breakfast
and exercised every day.

seriously, you'd think i was in a new country, but hey,
turns out iowa isn't so bad.
:)


Thursday, June 28, 2012

did i ever blog about my giant valentines??



i don't think i did.

so what do you do
when it's time to celebrate the ones you love
and most of them lives miles and hours away?

you take giant pieces of butcher paper



lay them flat
find some space
prep them, organizationally



begin painting
giant hearts
giant letters
happy, lovey thoughts


let dry
fold up teensy
send away!

happy valentine's day, family!!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

how did i manage to look so hideous?


oh friends
it's true
i did

i look hideous.

look at this beautiful, happy photo
OF MY SISTER
with her gorgeous face
full of light and love 

now look at me ruining it horribly.
how did i do that so well??
have you any award-winning horror moments?

i love jeni's more than i love graeter's





i've had to defend and advise on ice cream in ohio more often than usual in the past week.

cincy has this big thing with grater's
which
in terms of ice cream
is LOCAL
but that's about all it has going for it.

it's not my favorite.
thick
icy
hard
basic

i prefer ice creams with smooth charm and delicate definition.
and as far as "local" goes,
jeni's is far superior.
______________

and if you haven't noticed, my life has obviously taken a breather 
which is why 
i'm obviously blogging.
:)
this pleases me!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Ask a Lady: Too Excited to Leave a Pseudonym



i'm having a party outdoors on friday! any decorating ideas?

______________________________________


WOO!!

FRIDAY!
OUTDOORS!

you probably need something beautiful, inexpensive, super easy, and with the ability to get torn to pieces if the weather goes sour.

you obvs need STREAMERS.





Tuesday, June 12, 2012

gnomes in love


"aaron
you get to do all the fun things."

i crabbed last week.
because i was going to work
and aaron was going to a garage party for the concours d'elegance
and i was going to work.


(look at this great pink car we found when we went to the actual concours)


but it was alright.

"i have surprises for you!"
aaron texted, at the end of my shift.

and then i got home 
and there was a gigantic bushel of balloons in our guest room
and treats and yummy things in the fridge.

i continued to be a crab.
but i was a happy crab.
<3

yay, stephanie!


just for the heck of it
this one
^^^

is gonna come live with us till the beginning of august

taking a much needed respite
and gearing up for college back in texas come august.


Monday, June 11, 2012

take the cake


two weekends ago

aaron 
went on the mods n rockers rally
and i,
being not-on-a-bike
was not allowed to partake
because,
well,
because there is no substitution for not owning a bike when everyone else does.
:)



so i went to yoga
and waited
and went to north side
which i always love
and had lunch and sat there 
and waited
until the rally showed up.


and it didn't
for two more hours
so i also had a lemonade cupcake
which made it all a little bit better.

did terribly on my weight watchers diet this past week
and have a slight inkling that sad days and cupcakes have more than a little bit to do with it.

am back on track
and feeling good about the times to come.


my spies are excellent



everyone knows you start recognizing your pals by what they drive

and aaron
who spends his time brapping around cincinnati and causing mischief
is absolutely no exception

ESPECIALLY
when one of my friends spots his bike parked outside
when he's off to "just run a couple of errands."


crepes


Friday, June 8, 2012

Senate


aaron and i had a Senate lunch yesterday
mostly
because i love fancy lunches
and i love trying new restaurants i've never been to
and i love nice daytime dates with aaron
and i don't like drinking at night
but man, oh man, give me a cocktail midday, and i'm all set and rarin' to go.



the food was great, of course.
we did quite the bout of sampling.

i got the lucy lou, a lemoncello cocktail
and aaron got the kitten fizz, a raspberry, st. germain concoction.

his was better,
and mine was a little heavier than i expected, which didn't bode well with my absolutely delicious potato and leek soup, which was creamy, flavorful, and delightful.

we ended up at the bar, as,
at 12, when the joint opens at 11:30,
it was already packed,
but such is the case when you're restaurant is tiny.

i think the small-ness of Senate works in its favor,
but also,
at the same time,
if you're trying to try out a new place
it's always going to be really difficult to get a table
and i think that might make me a little pissy after awhile.



 aaron got the Lindsay Lohan, an all-beef hotdog with bacon, goat cheese, and caramelized onions,
and i opted for the Dan Korman, a vegetarian red bean cannelini and fennel dog, with plenty of arugula, goat cheese, and balsamic glaze.

pretty good, aaron's was loads more delicious and flavorful than mine.

we shared some of the truffle fries, which were quite delicious. fat, crispy outside, soft inside fries with large salt chunks for that perfect fried, salty taste.

i ate too much
because i didn't have time to sleep it off before work
and so i napped
and got grouchy
and spent the rest of the night wishing my stomach didn't feel so full.
i guess fancy lunches are only great when one has nothing to go to, afterward.

well, NOW I KNOW.

senate was nice
and pretty on the inside
but i don't think i'll be back anytime soon.
it's not something i kick up a craving for, only a curiosity.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

it's going on


there were some european men in the bistro last night.
taking photos of their food
documenting their exploits in america

and as they left i asked them how their food was
and they told me
it was very tasty and delightful.

then
the one with the camera
a little shy
told me he'd taken several photos of me
that i was very beautiful
and lovely to watch.

it hardly phased me,
i thanked him
they left.

and then i was quietly flattered.
personally
it's been awhile since i've been "lovely" 
for art.

and since i love my art
and love my theatre

it feels good to feel
i've got "it"
going on again.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Private Parts


so
while remarkably public
there are still parts of my life
that remain decidedly private

decisions.
opportunities.
possibilities.

i posted just a couple of day's ago about how boring my blog has gotten
and perhaps that is true

but it is nowhere close to representing my real life

in fact,
i'm in the midst of LOADS of opportunities
LOADS of excitement
and LOADS of love and upcoming plans.

i write about things as they happen.
sometimes.

and sometimes,
i'm very happy
just living.

so, news to come, as it comes.
i'm just assuring everyone
that the best is yet to come
and the blog will represent the happenings when they happen.

love.
a