Monday, December 20, 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Mmm... Beer

The 11 Christmas (including 1 Hanukkah!) beers we sampled
 The beer class I took on Wednesday at Stein's Deli was one of my favorite things that I've done in New Orleans! Several times a year, Stein's opens up for a beer class taught by Derek Lintern, beer connoisseur and home brewer. Typically, the class takes a very instructional form, and you learn about the different ingredients in beer, how they change how the beer tastes, and then sample beers that highlight each style.

Dan Stein, owner, (left), and Derek Lintern, beer class instructor (right)

This class was a special holiday class where we sampled a variety of Christmas style beers. Some of my favorites were the Anchor Christmas Ale, Mikkeler From: and To:, and the HaandBryggeriet Bestefar. Derek described how each of the different beers were made, what styles they were, and the process how they get their distinct Christmas flavors. Dan provided insight into the business-side of brewing, like how beer distribution works here in the U.S. 

I found the class very interesting, and it was cool to learn about the different beers and their breweries. And we got to taste lots of great beers and had fantastic specialty meat and cheese trays from the deli! Overall, an excellent night and well worth the minimal fee ($17).
  
 
Derek describing how the different beers get their flavors


Stein's has a fantastic beer selection, and their sandwiches are delicious! Next time you are in New Orleans, go check them out!


Thursday, December 2, 2010

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

At least here it is; I've started decorating for Christmas! I realized the Friday after Thanksgiving that we only had 3 weekends to spend at home before we left to start traveling for the holidays, so this week, we got the tree, and I've been working on decorating it!

There's a store near our house on Magazine St. called Hazlenut, and they have the most fabulous gifts and home accessories. They have the store all decked out for Christmas, and going there gives me so much inspiration!  This week, I got the iced magnolias peeking out of the tree from there, and I also got a Bougainvillea candle in the Holiday scent. That plus some Christmas music has me in the Christmas spirit!

House Pics

I wanted to share some pictures of the house for those folks who haven't seen it yet! We are still definitely in the process of making it our own with furniture and stuff, but consider this the 'before', and the 'after' will come along, slowly but surely!

This is a new piece I just got. It's in the master bedroom


Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Beginnings of a Dining Room...

Today's been an excellent day for our house! Someone finally came and bought our sectional, and our new table and dining room chairs were delivered!

Here are some sneak peaks - the room still needs to be painted/wallpapered (I haven't decided which one, yet!), an area rug, and accessories, but I wanted to share our lovely table!


I love tha patina on the table and chairs - both look a bit antiqued and rustic, but they are different shades. The table is more gray and the chairs are more brown. I can't wait until we get more done!

At the very least, I am so thankful that these came in time for Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 1, 2010

NOPD Traffic Tickets

I totally love New Orleans, but can I just say that the NOPD traffic ticket system is a joke?!

I got a ticket for running a stop sign, when there was a police officer standing literally directly in front of me, so I thought he was directing traffic. Nope, he was standing there waving me over because I didn't fully stop at the stop sign. Aside from that, I tried to pay my ticket online and by phone this morning. My ticket says that I am supposed to pay it by 11/18 - 20 days after I received the ticket on 10/28, so I thought I would be responsible and pay it today.

The phone was the best part - I called, entered my ticket number, and waited. The ticket is not yet registered in the system, and it takes up to 20 days for it to register. Awesome. That would be 11/18, right?

Then I pressed 2 to speak to an operator. After the phone rang about 30 times, I got a voice message that said the NOPD traffic department can not answer the phone. And then there was no spot to leave a message! Ugh... sometimes I miss Madison. :)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Helluva Homecoming

This past weekend I went to New Orleans for my 5 year class reunion. Everytime I visit, I get more excited about moving back! There are so many great things about New Orleans, like Tulane, the food, the music, the fun, did I mention the food?

Tulane held a great reception on Friday evening for all of the alumni at the new Lavin-Bernick Center (the L.B.C.), and it was a pleasure to see so many old friends!

Saturday morning, I had a fantastic brunch at Commander's Palace, a quintessential New Orleans brunch spot. They have live jazz, delicious brunch options, and who doesn't love a mimosa or a brandy milk punch?!



Saturday afternoon we tailgated (for about 30 minutes... but it still counted!) And then we went into the Tulane-Army game at the Superdome. I was pleasantly surprised to find more people than normal! We didn't stay for the whole game; it was a bit of a buzz-kill, so instead we wandered through the quarter and met up with some other friends. We ended the night at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, a great little bar past the 'end' of Bourbon street, where we ran into many of our 2005 classmates!

Then on Sunday we had brunch at the Marigny Brasserie on Frenchmen and watched as much of the Saints game as we could before heading to the airport. All in all, a lovely weekend, and I can't wait for y'all to come visit, so I can show you around!
Danny and me at Jackson Square

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fall in Madison

Jon and I were able to spend this past weekend in Madison, WI. It still feels like summer here in Richmond and down in New Orleans, but Madison in September has the perfect feeling of fall.

On Saturday, we got to tailgate for the Wisconsin Badger game! I know all the conferences and schools think their tailgates are the best, but tailgating for the Badger games is one of my favorite things in fall. They don't just use one gigantic parking lot or one area of campus; an entire section of the city is devoted to tailgating! Every business on Regent street gets into the spirit, which includes several bars, but it also inclues some medical office buildings where you can tailgate, the bicycle stores, and even the Indie Coffee store sells beer!
On Regent Street, near Camp Randall

In the Stadium Bar, just across the street from Camp Randall

Then yesterday, I went to one of my favorite markets, Brennans. They have a great selection of local, fresh produce and the BEST selection of Wisconsin cheese.


Wisconsin aged cheddar
 
What would a Wisconsin market be without a fantastic beer selection where you can make your own 6-pack!?


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Describe your perfect date...

"Well, I'd have to say April 23. It's not too hot, but it's not too cold. You just need a light sweater!"
- ??? Who knows this movie reference?

If I had to describe my perfect date, it might very well be September 14 in Richmond. :)  It's absolutely gorgeous outside with so much sunshine and a little breeze in the shade.  Perfect!

New Orleans this past weekend was excellent, but it was not very healthy. Although I did bring a vegetable tray to our friends' house during football on Saturday. It's just that we also brough many beers, brats, and chips too. So it evens out?

We went to a great restaurant by John Besh on Friday evening - Lüke on St. Charles (across the street from the Intercontinental.)  It's a franco-german brasserie that specializes in lots of seafood. We had delicious gulf oysters and I also had drum from the gulf! (I am, of course, still eating the seafood. I figure people are probably checking the seafood more than they normally do anyways.)



I especially loved the wood floors that they had throughout the restaurant.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Detox officially over

Well, it's official. We went out to dinner last night, where I ate pork and had a glass of wine. The detox is officially over. Even though we didn't make it 2 weeks, we did make it through 7 days, and I felt great! We went to Kuba Kuba, this great cuban restaurant in Richmond, and I couldn't resist.

In other news, today I found the cutest little store in Carytown - Roan. I have been wanting to see the fall/winter collection from Céline, and I thought I was going to have to go to New York. Lo and behold - Roan, just 10 minutes away from my apartment! Well, they don't have entire collections, but they have a great selection of current pieces from so many designers!  Today I got a camel cashmere short-sleeve sweater by Brunello Cucinelli for 70% off (because I think it was part of the summer collection), but it will be fabulous for fall in the south! I'm so excited about it, I'm going to wear it with my Saints gear for tonight!!!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Day 7 - Oops...

Day 7 started out great, toast and coffee for breakfast, fruit for lunch, but then... one of our good friends was in town for a few days, so we went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Richmond - Bouchon.
http://www.bistrobouchon.com/

And it was there that I had an assorted meat and cheese plate, monkfish, and a couple glasses of red wine. Not exactly part of the detox, but totally worth it!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Day 6 - Pasta & The Conclusion of P90X!

We are the champions, We are the champions...
It's true! I finished 90 days of P90X (lean program) yesterday! Let's see, I can now do 2 chin-ups and almost one pull-up, I can complete the entire Ab Ripper X video, and, most importantly, I proved to myself that I can finish something! :)

Yesterday we ate breakfast of toast and a hardboiled egg. Then for lunch and dinner we had pasta. Jon made a great sauce with fresh tomatoes and onions.

We also decided that we will only be doing a 9.5 day detox, not a full 2 weeks.  We decided this for a couple reasons:
1. We feel really good already! We are sleeping better, have more energy, and workouts are easier. For example, hot yoga this morning was not great after eating the pasta. But after a day of eating fruits and veggies, it's awesome!
2. We're going to New Orleans on Thursday, and it's the Saints home opening game that night, so it will literally be impossible to not drink beer during the game. Who Dat?!

For days 7, 8, and 9.5, we're going to continue abstaining from meat, processed foods, alcohol, and soda, have a limited amount of sugar and fat, but otherwise eat normally. I'm so excited!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Day 5 - Fruit and Dairy

Day 5 was pretty tough. We had a great breakfast with toast, cheese, and coffee, but the cheese actually felt a little too heavy and gross. Then the rest of the day was only fruit and dairy, but that at least allowed us to make smoothies!

We got a TriBest smoothie blender a couple weeks ago, and we love it! I'll post a picture later, so you can see it.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Day 4 - Rice

One full day of eating nothing but rice.... wow.  It wasn't difficult, except for the fact that it was the first Saturday of college football season, and we couldn't eat brats or drink beer!  We made it through the day, eating mainly brown rice cooked in our rice maker (thanks Pete!). 

Tomorrow morning we get to have a feast for breakfast - toast with butter, an apple, 3 oz. of cheese, and coffee!

Also we decided last weekend with our friends Brian and Pavlov that we will be running the Mardi Gras 1/2 Marathon!  At least that's the plan. So that's in February, and since neither Jon or I enjoy running or do it frequently, we're going to start getting in running shape a.s.a.p.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Day 3 - Potatoes

The consesus of Day 3 was that it was pretty easy! We had fruit juice for snacks, and then otherwise we ate sweet potatoes, had a potato salad made with potatoes, onions, green peppers and lemon juice, mashed potatoes with hot milk, dill, and parsley, and hashbrowns (thanks Danny!).  I don't know if I feel very 'cleansed' eating all of those potatoes, but it wasn't too hard to do.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Day 3 - a.m.

Okay, so it's the morning of Day 3, and I have decided to break down and have a coffee. I am just too tired without a cup in the morning!

Day 2

Yesterday was the second day of our detox. It was definitely better than the first day, but I think part of that had to do with us eating dinner at 6:00 pm instead of 7:30! I had grapes for breakfast, a berry juice and an apple for lunch, and then guacamole with carrots, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and mango for dinner.  I have to admit that I wanted to quit around 3:30 pm and just have some carbs, but I took a nap instead of thinking about eating.

Tomorrow is potato day, so we will see how that goes...

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of the detox, and I have to say that it was better than expected! Definitely not pleasant, since I was hungry all afternoon and evening, but it was okay. Except that I reminded Jon that this Saturday is the first day of college football season, and that would be the day where we can only eat rice... AND aren't supposed to be drinking. So we will see what happens on Saturday.

But back to day 1! I had some tomato juice for breakfast, and then I had carrots as a mid-morning snack. For lunch, I had carrot juice and spinach with lemon as a "salad dressing". (This is what Jon had too, since I made him his lunch.)  Then for dinner, we had spaghetti squash with tomatoes and green onions, steamed broccoli and squash, and sweet potatoes. I think I might have fudged it a bit on the sweet potatoes, because I baked them, but everything else was legit!  However, the spaghetti squash without olive oil was disgusting, so we added some Crystal sauce to that. Also, not sure if that is within the rules, but it's just cayenne pepper, vinegar, and salt, so I think it's okay.  So we made it through, but it wasn't easy.

I think tomorrow will be better since we can eat fruit!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Detox Diet Plan

In an effort to improve our health, my husband, Jon, and I decided to do a two-week detox. Here's the plan we're going to follow:

General guidelines: No alcohol, no processed foods, no soda, minimal fat (and only good kinds like extra virgin olive oil and nuts), and minimal dairy. Drink eight glasses of water a day and get plenty of rest. We can also eat carrot sticks and celery sticks every day for a snack.

Day 1 -  Veggies and Juice
On the first day of our detox, we'll eat only raw or steamed vegetables and drink vegetable juices.

Day 2 - Veggies and Fruit
On day 2, we can add fresh fruit to our diet, along with fruit juices.

Day 3 - Potatoes
Today we can eat potatoes a couple different ways, including mixed with vegetables. I'm going to make a potato salad with onions and lemon juice dressing. For dinner, we'll have mashed potatoes with hot milk and chopped parsley and dill.

Day 4 - Rice
On day 4, we're going to only eat brown rice. My plan is to make rice in the morning and portion it out. Then we'll eat rice about every two hours throughout the day.

Day 5 - Fruit and Coffee!
By day 5, our bodies should have already gone through a good detoxification. Today we will be able to eat a piece of toast for breakfast with 3 oz of cheese and an apple. We'll also be able to reintroduce coffee (with no sugar) back into our diet. Then for the rest of the day we'll eat only fruit. But, from my research, we can't eat bananas, which is too bad because they are my favorite!

Day 6 - Pasta
Today we'll add pasta to our diet. For breakfast, we can have toast with butter and a boiled egg. Then for the rest of the day we'll eat a whole grain pasta with either vegetables or with vegetable soup.

Day 7 - Vegetables
Same breakfast as yesterday, and then for the rest of the day we'll eat vegetables. I plan to get some recipes for vegetable salads online.

One week down, and one week to go! Starting on day 8 of the detox, we'll add meat back into our diet. Let us know what you think of the plan!  We're going to start it tomorrow.

Note: You should always consult a healthcare professional before starting any new diet or program.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Ooh la la

I love this rabbit jacket from D&G. It will look so chic this fall paired with slim black pants.
D&G Sheered Rabbit Jacket

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Hello world!

Hello out there! Welcome to the first post of my new blog. Inspired by all of my favorite blogs and at the suggestion of my friend, Danny, I decided to start writing a blog!

I recently quit my fast-paced, corporate job, and this was my first summer in 12 years that I have relaxed and taken the entire summer off. So I had 3 main goals for this summer:
1. Learn Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies" dance,
2. Finish the P90X workout program (sans diet program), and
3. Improve my french, so I can be fluent in a second language.

As we are nearing the end of August, I am happy to report that I am 9 days away from finishing P90X and I have practiced speaking french almost daily! As of now, you probably won't mistake me for Beyonce, but I did take several dance classes this summer, so I think the original choreography I learned makes up for that one.