I am so stressed out right now. I have a midterm in my Research Methods class on Tuesday and I want so badly to do well. I've been studying, going to/having review sessions, and doing my best to prepare. But today, I hit a wall and had to do something to release the tension I'm feeling right now. When my study group comes over, we all contribute something and have a very nice meal in the middle of our studying. So I think I used today's break to do some stress relieving via cooking. I made a quiche, a salad, and soup. Nothing too crazy and involved, but in complete silence, I just spent 2 hours in my kitchen cooking, cleaning, and generally being as calm as possible.
I had some leftover squash and needed to make something with it so created a soup recipe based off of one in my Barefoot Contessa cookbook that Nick got me for Christmas last year. It is Butternut Squash and Pumpkin and it came out much better than I thought.
Ingredients:
- half of a Butternut Squash
- 1 sugar pumpkin
- 1 half of an onion
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1/2 cup of cream
- 2 1/2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon (or more depending on taste)
- 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut your squash and pumpkin in half and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Place directly on oven rack and roast for 45-60 minutes. You'll know it's done because the insides will be soft when you poke it with a fork.
2. When you have about 10 minutes left for the squash to cook, melt butter and olive oil together in a medium-large pot (you don't need a soup pot for this). When the butter is melted add your sliced up onion and cook.
3. Once the squash and pumpkin are done cooking, remove from the oven and scoop out the edible insides (ie. you don't need the skin).
4. First put the butternut squash in a blender and add the cooked onions (leave the butter and oil in the pot). Add one cup of stock and blend until liquified. Once this is done, dump it back in your pot. Next take the pumpkin and repeat the same process with one more cup of stock.
5. When everything is back in the pot (and the heat turned on low), add the last 1/2 cup of stock and the 1/2 cup of cream. Then add your seasonings. (I didn't add salt because the stock itself was very salty.)
6. Taste test and see if you need to add any more seasonings. Nick and I thought it needed a bit more cinnamon, so we did another sprinkling, but not everyone likes their squash soup with that much.
We cut up some sourdough bread and dipped it and it tasted so good. I'm not a big fan of broth soups, and I made chicken soup last week, so I'm really happy to have something else in the house. The fall and winter are obvious great times for soup eating, and what better soup to celebrate Halloween with than with the seasonal vegetables of pumpkin and squash? I guess my stress was good for something!
Hope you enjoy it!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Designer Online Outlets
I'm sure by now many people have seen the ads for websites like Ideeli or HauteLook. Essentially, they are like online outlet malls for designers. You sign up for access to each day's sales that typically last 1-4 days (depending on the designer), and you get last season's stuff at a greatly discounted rate.
Bluefly.com - One website that your don't need a membership for. Their items for sale are not time sensitive and they have a much broader range of selection, but unless they are clearance their prices aren't as good as the others.
HauteLook - HauteLook has new sales every day and features a bigger variety of types of products than some of the other websites. They have clothes for men, women, children, and babies but also accessories, home products, and food. Items go FAST so if you are looking at a top designer, these sales are essentially sample sales meaning there are only a very limited number of items. If you don't sign in when the sale begins, you may not get your item. Also, if you join and get your friends to join you can get credits towards your purchases.
Beyond the Rack - (this merged with The Top Secret) mainly features fashion. Many different designers, but also many I had never heard of before. Good or bad thing? I guess it depends on how label conscious you are and your style.
ideeli - I think ideeli is probably the best/my favorite of these websites as far as discounts and designers goes. I have only seen fashion on here and most of the designers are all big name ones with some MAJOR discounts. The one downside is, they offer a paid membership on top of the free one. You get access to sales an hour earlier. For a website like HauteLook, this makes a major difference (although they don't have this option), I'm not sure if it makes a huge difference here. I guess it depends on the designer and item since they typically have more inventory. This website (like the other two) also feature the friend incentive program.
Bluefly.com - One website that your don't need a membership for. Their items for sale are not time sensitive and they have a much broader range of selection, but unless they are clearance their prices aren't as good as the others.
HauteLook - HauteLook has new sales every day and features a bigger variety of types of products than some of the other websites. They have clothes for men, women, children, and babies but also accessories, home products, and food. Items go FAST so if you are looking at a top designer, these sales are essentially sample sales meaning there are only a very limited number of items. If you don't sign in when the sale begins, you may not get your item. Also, if you join and get your friends to join you can get credits towards your purchases.
Beyond the Rack - (this merged with The Top Secret) mainly features fashion. Many different designers, but also many I had never heard of before. Good or bad thing? I guess it depends on how label conscious you are and your style.
ideeli - I think ideeli is probably the best/my favorite of these websites as far as discounts and designers goes. I have only seen fashion on here and most of the designers are all big name ones with some MAJOR discounts. The one downside is, they offer a paid membership on top of the free one. You get access to sales an hour earlier. For a website like HauteLook, this makes a major difference (although they don't have this option), I'm not sure if it makes a huge difference here. I guess it depends on the designer and item since they typically have more inventory. This website (like the other two) also feature the friend incentive program.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday = Sales
Restaurant.com - Last Day to get 80% off orders with the code: PUMPKIN
Bloomingdales - Click here to have access to a top secret sale through 10/27 at noon. 50-65% off select items. There is also a sale going on 25-40% off select items. And through 10/31 for ever $250 you spent, you can get gift certificates for $25 in honor of breast cancer.
Neiman Marcus - 30% off clearance through tomorrow.
Lord and Taylor - Is having a Friends and Family sale, 25% off.
Sephora - Is also having a Friends and Family sale, 20% off with the code: FF2010 (I am running low on some stuff, so I will definitely be heading over there for this one!)
Avenue - $30 off your order of $100 or more with the code: AV101210
Macy's - $10 off $50, $20 off $100, $30 off $150 and $50 off $200on Macy's.com. You can also get free shipping with the code: HOLIDAY
Sak's - Through tomorrow at noon, get 40% off Alice + Olivia, 7 for all Mankind, and others.
JCrew - Online only, 20% off women's sweaters. Also ONE TIME USE ONLY CODE: NORD5YENB Get 20% off your whole purchase.
Banana Republic - Through tomorrow get 30% off all outerwear.
FragranceNet.com - 15% off with the coupon code CTFS2
Bath and Body Works - Besides all the usual sales, get 50% off Fall fragrances. Enter the code GETGORGEOUS to get a $100 gift bag for $25 with any purchase of $30 while supplies last.
H&M - 30% off select jackets
Spaweek.com - Some vendors have extended the sale for $50 off treatments
Bloomingdales - Click here to have access to a top secret sale through 10/27 at noon. 50-65% off select items. There is also a sale going on 25-40% off select items. And through 10/31 for ever $250 you spent, you can get gift certificates for $25 in honor of breast cancer.
Neiman Marcus - 30% off clearance through tomorrow.
Lord and Taylor - Is having a Friends and Family sale, 25% off.
Sephora - Is also having a Friends and Family sale, 20% off with the code: FF2010 (I am running low on some stuff, so I will definitely be heading over there for this one!)
Avenue - $30 off your order of $100 or more with the code: AV101210
Macy's - $10 off $50, $20 off $100, $30 off $150 and $50 off $200on Macy's.com. You can also get free shipping with the code: HOLIDAY
Sak's - Through tomorrow at noon, get 40% off Alice + Olivia, 7 for all Mankind, and others.
JCrew - Online only, 20% off women's sweaters. Also ONE TIME USE ONLY CODE: NORD5YENB Get 20% off your whole purchase.
Banana Republic - Through tomorrow get 30% off all outerwear.
FragranceNet.com - 15% off with the coupon code CTFS2
Bath and Body Works - Besides all the usual sales, get 50% off Fall fragrances. Enter the code GETGORGEOUS to get a $100 gift bag for $25 with any purchase of $30 while supplies last.
H&M - 30% off select jackets
Spaweek.com - Some vendors have extended the sale for $50 off treatments
Saturday, October 23, 2010
It's Fall, Shouldn't I be able to Pick my Own Apples?
In the North East, the moment September hits so does fall. The leaves start to change, you break our your scarves, and of course you start thinking about fall foods. New York is famous for its Apples (among other things), so as a friend from college and I planned out a mid October visit for this weekend, we decided that since we both miss New York we had to go apple picking. I immediately went to the website Pick Your Own.org and found an orchard about 45 minutes away from us and we were set. However, this morning when we went to look up directions we discovered that they ended their apple picking season early so we were out of luck. After doing further research on the website, we couldn't find anywhere within an hour that still had apple picking open (which was really disappointing as Nick and I go apple picking every year and I planned a ton of apple themed food for tonight and tomorrow). We ended up at Webb Ranch's pumpkin patch where we picked our own pumpkin and then bought some produce (including apples) from their farm stand, but it still wasn't as good as picking it ourselves.
The Pickyourown.org website is really great, though. It's a nation wide directory of many different farms that offer pick your own fruits and vegetables. It's organized by state and county. You can search through to see what's offered in your area, and then there is also a listing of local farmer's markets and stands. I think a section has also been recently added for farms in other countries.
Why should you pick your own? Besides the fact that it's a fun activity that the entire family can enjoy, the produce is often better quality because you're picking something when it's in season and it's not traveling thousands of miles to get to your plate. It's also fresher, cheaper, and most importantly you're supporting a local business. Nick and I do our best to participate in pick your own all year round. One year we did raspberries, I've done currants and strawberries too, and every year we do apples. Just call us The Appleseeds...
From two years ago at our favorite orchard near where I went to college in upstate New York:
The Pickyourown.org website is really great, though. It's a nation wide directory of many different farms that offer pick your own fruits and vegetables. It's organized by state and county. You can search through to see what's offered in your area, and then there is also a listing of local farmer's markets and stands. I think a section has also been recently added for farms in other countries.
Why should you pick your own? Besides the fact that it's a fun activity that the entire family can enjoy, the produce is often better quality because you're picking something when it's in season and it's not traveling thousands of miles to get to your plate. It's also fresher, cheaper, and most importantly you're supporting a local business. Nick and I do our best to participate in pick your own all year round. One year we did raspberries, I've done currants and strawberries too, and every year we do apples. Just call us The Appleseeds...
From two years ago at our favorite orchard near where I went to college in upstate New York:
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Your Top 5
I just got off the phone with a dear friend of mine who was feeling a little down and needed to chat. We talked for an hour about life and growing up and how it takes effort to be happy, but once you are, it's so much easier than you ever thought possible. Having spent a good chunk of my life depressed, I often equate depression to a comforting warm blanket. It's always there, ready at a moment's notice to snuggle with as you lay in bed and do nothing with your life. Now that I have spent the past few years being happy I can now say that happiness (and those know how much I do not like the heat will find this ironic) is like the sunshine. It is effortlessly warm and awakens energy you didn't know you had. But usually you're so busy lying in bed to open the door and go outside to let it into your life.
When I got off the phone I couldn't help but smile. Nick is away on a business trip this week and I guess when I'm so busy working, doing homework, and generally running around like a crazy person, sometimes I forget how lonely it is to be home alone with just the cats. I needed to talk to her a lot more than I think either of us realized.
Hot off my puppies and rainbows, I browsed through some wedding pictures (the only time we have all ever been in one place together) to see if I could find one with just me and my three best friends in it and it made me start thinking of how lucky I am to have such good friends. It made me think of my earlier conversation on the phone, and the process of learning to love one's self and an exercise my grandmother's therapist made her do every day when she was grieving the eventual loss of her husband to cancer. At the end of every day, write down 5 things you're thankful for. I'm pretty sure Oprah came up with that, it seems like something she'd do. But I think in terms of loving oneself, which is something that most if not all people struggle with at some point in their lives, it's a good practice.
Loving oneself does not happen over night. It takes years. You have to force yourself to look at the good, forget about the bad, accept love from those around you, and it takes a lot of effort. Sometimes you are lucky enough to do it on your own, and sometimes it takes the help of other good and amazing people in your life. The cognitive behavioral psychologist in me was thinking it would be a really good practice to write down five different things you love about yourself every night. In doing so, it'll force you to look at the good in you and the great things you have in your life. Maybe, eventually, you'll realize how many there things there are that are wonderful and that you deserve every one of them.
For today, here are my five:
1. I love to laugh and make others laugh. Nothing makes me happier than causing a smile on other people's faces.
2. I am a firecracker. Once you get me started there's no stopping me. Jokes, curses, loyalty, cooking. It doesn't matter. I love to be riled up, run around and be crazy, and have fun.
3. I am a great hugger. When you are down in the dumps, I am the person to come to for a hug. I won't let you go until you're better. And I'm so incredibly lucky that I have a man who I love, who loves hugs (and to hug me) just as much as I do.
4. Even if I do not get straight A's, I am smart and not a failure. As a friend once said to me, "I know that when you set your mind to doing something. It will get done, no matter how small, or how big." I might complain, be stressed out, and cry along the way. But I know, with my intelligence, skill, and drive if I want something bad enough, I will make it happen. As another old friend once said, "I know you, no matter what your mind may think at any given point, you've never let anything stand in your way. You may actually be one of the most determined people I know and it is one of the things I admire you most for." It took me a really long time to realize that and I still struggle with it. I have high expectations of myself that I do not always meet. I just need to remember the end goal, and that nothing stands in the way of it and me. I guess I just needed to remind myself this.
5. Considering I've been really lucky to talk to all three of my best friends in some fashion over the last two days I am really happy right now. We live in four different places, in three different time zones, and all have insane schedules. I'm lucky if I can do more than a quick email with any of them every other week. I envy women who can emulate the Sex and the City ladies, having brunch with three girlfriends every Sunday. But I wouldn't trade my best friends for anything. These women make me a better person. When I need to be selfish and vent, they listen even when they think I'm annoying. They know how to tell me the truth and they know how to take it as well. Best of all, they're all the kinds of friends who truly know and accept me, flaws and all. And I couldn't love these girls anymore if I tried.
When I got off the phone I couldn't help but smile. Nick is away on a business trip this week and I guess when I'm so busy working, doing homework, and generally running around like a crazy person, sometimes I forget how lonely it is to be home alone with just the cats. I needed to talk to her a lot more than I think either of us realized.
Hot off my puppies and rainbows, I browsed through some wedding pictures (the only time we have all ever been in one place together) to see if I could find one with just me and my three best friends in it and it made me start thinking of how lucky I am to have such good friends. It made me think of my earlier conversation on the phone, and the process of learning to love one's self and an exercise my grandmother's therapist made her do every day when she was grieving the eventual loss of her husband to cancer. At the end of every day, write down 5 things you're thankful for. I'm pretty sure Oprah came up with that, it seems like something she'd do. But I think in terms of loving oneself, which is something that most if not all people struggle with at some point in their lives, it's a good practice.
Loving oneself does not happen over night. It takes years. You have to force yourself to look at the good, forget about the bad, accept love from those around you, and it takes a lot of effort. Sometimes you are lucky enough to do it on your own, and sometimes it takes the help of other good and amazing people in your life. The cognitive behavioral psychologist in me was thinking it would be a really good practice to write down five different things you love about yourself every night. In doing so, it'll force you to look at the good in you and the great things you have in your life. Maybe, eventually, you'll realize how many there things there are that are wonderful and that you deserve every one of them.
For today, here are my five:
1. I love to laugh and make others laugh. Nothing makes me happier than causing a smile on other people's faces.
2. I am a firecracker. Once you get me started there's no stopping me. Jokes, curses, loyalty, cooking. It doesn't matter. I love to be riled up, run around and be crazy, and have fun.
3. I am a great hugger. When you are down in the dumps, I am the person to come to for a hug. I won't let you go until you're better. And I'm so incredibly lucky that I have a man who I love, who loves hugs (and to hug me) just as much as I do.
4. Even if I do not get straight A's, I am smart and not a failure. As a friend once said to me, "I know that when you set your mind to doing something. It will get done, no matter how small, or how big." I might complain, be stressed out, and cry along the way. But I know, with my intelligence, skill, and drive if I want something bad enough, I will make it happen. As another old friend once said, "I know you, no matter what your mind may think at any given point, you've never let anything stand in your way. You may actually be one of the most determined people I know and it is one of the things I admire you most for." It took me a really long time to realize that and I still struggle with it. I have high expectations of myself that I do not always meet. I just need to remember the end goal, and that nothing stands in the way of it and me. I guess I just needed to remind myself this.
5. Considering I've been really lucky to talk to all three of my best friends in some fashion over the last two days I am really happy right now. We live in four different places, in three different time zones, and all have insane schedules. I'm lucky if I can do more than a quick email with any of them every other week. I envy women who can emulate the Sex and the City ladies, having brunch with three girlfriends every Sunday. But I wouldn't trade my best friends for anything. These women make me a better person. When I need to be selfish and vent, they listen even when they think I'm annoying. They know how to tell me the truth and they know how to take it as well. Best of all, they're all the kinds of friends who truly know and accept me, flaws and all. And I couldn't love these girls anymore if I tried.
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