Just browsing today...

Believe it or not, today I have the day off! Yey! So after this morning's household chores, I am off to do a little shopping! On the list, I'm hitting Z Gallerie in search of some cool items to jazz up the house, next up is Organized Living in the hopes of finding something to help me organize my "I don't know where to put this, so I'll just put it in here" closet. In between those two stores, who knows, I might get crazy and get a manicure or something. Whoo Hoo! I haven't had a day off in a while, can you tell I'm a little excited?

Mercy

I love this song. It makes we want to rock some smokey eyes, a sexy black dress, and some sky high heels...you better watch out Mango.

Blog Love: Kingdom of Style

I've posted about the Kingdom of Style before, however I think it's time for me to properly express just how much I love reading this blog. The UK based author appropriately calls herself Queen Michelle, and blogs daily about fashion finds and her favorite designers. I love reading her comments about different collections and what she loves and hates about them. The most recent post that made me fall over laughing was when she vented about recyclable grocery bags, mainly that if you happened to have forgotten yours and request plastic, you're looked upon as the Earth's angel of death, my personal favorite was when she finished the post by calling all of the bag boys "toss pots!" I think I might have a new favorite word.

Best of all, I love it when she puts outfits together! Always stylish and always uniquely her own, Queen Michelle creates great outfits that make you want to dig through your closet and make something new from it. She combines pieces from pretty much everywhere, vintage and thrift to high end designer pieces. Not to mention, you gotta love that awesome haircut! The Kingdom of Style seems like a magical place, I wonder if I could move there one day.

Image of the Day: Smooches

Photo courtesy of We Heart It

I'd like to kiss Mango on top of a taxi cab wearing a glamorous gown one day...I'll ask him if he's up to it.

Smile...It's Friday!

It's Friday again! Whoo hoo! This week went by pretty quick, I still keep thinking that it's Thursday. This weekend we're hoping to get together with some friends and I think I'm going to try my hand at entertaining. Yep, 8 months of being newlyweds and I still haven't officially entertained guests. I say officially because people, especially my family, come over and eventually we get hungry and we order in or I cook something. However I think this weekend I might actually invite people over for dinner...gasp!

Nishlo is coming into town, which is always a lot of fun, you never know what kind of shenanigans us four might get into. Recently we've started hanging out with another couple, let's call them Eltim, like us, they are fans of staying home to watch a movie, so I have a feeling we'll be getting together sometime this weekend for a home cooked meal and a great rental. They're also into eating healthy, so I'm go to try one of my newly found healthy recipes, wish me lots of happy cooking dust!

On a much happier note that I am sure all you ladies will understand...I managed to fit into a pair of jeans this morning that I have not been able to get into in 3 months! Yey! Mango was downstairs making breakfast when I came galloping down the stairs and into the kitchen giggling with excitement. Our dialogue basically went like this:

Me: I closed my jeans! (Stands in a Taaa Daaa pose)
Him: Okay...
Me: No, you see, I haven't been able to close them in 3 months! That means I've lost weight and am fitting into my clothes again!
Him: That's great! Okay, let's eat now, it's getting late.

So needless to say, the Weight Watchers diet is going pretty well. According to Wii Fit, I've lost 1.3 pounds in the last four days, not too shabby. Speaking of Wii Fit, I am obsessed with the hula hoop game! It is hilarious! Basically you stand on the board and move your hips around like you're spinning a hula hoop. While the exercise is only in 3 minute increments, try it twice and you're swinging those hips all over the place from exhaustion. The funniest part is watching someone else do it! Last night Mango and I were taking turns, and to make it a little more interesting, I decided to play some mental warfare (I can't let him beat my high score!) and decided to jump around to distract him...didn't work, he still beat my high score. The game basically looks like this, minus the Japanese subtitles. Keep an eye on the lower left corner, that is what you look like when playing this game...

I wish you all a happy and safe weekend! See you on Monday!

Figment

A while back I posted about the amazing portraits created by Fleur Northcote of Phunklab. I fell in love with the possibility of having a piece of art made for us using one of our favorite images and putting it in our home as a memento for years to come. Well today I was so happy to find another great artist that can be commissioned to do something similar, however she offers a different style to Phunklab. Kristen Baerlin of Figment Portraits based in New York city is an artist famous for her unique style. I love the circle effect her paintings have, they look so complicated! They sort of look like a picture too, which is so adorable. She offers a variety of different colors to choose from and you can order them on print or canvas in different sizes. I'm in love all over again!

Hello Straddie

As the cool air starts blowing our way and the sweaters come out, we all become aware that the holiday season is right around the corner, which means one thing for me...vacation time! Unlike most people in other parts of the country, we don't really take vacation in the summer, why would we? The beach is 15 minutes from my house and weekend trips to The Keys or Sanibel Island are 2 hours away. Instead, we opt to save our vacation time for the winter months and enjoy the change of seasons. So right now, I am on a mission to find our first chilly vacation spot as a married couple for Thanksgiving weekend. I have a feeling that a couple of blog posts will be dedicated to places that I would love to go.

Yesterday while reading one of my favorite blogs, Absolutely Beautiful Things, I clicked on link to the author's Straddie home in Australia. I admit, Australia is not the first place I think of when I imagine cold weather, in fact, in November it's actually spring there! But when I saw the pictures I just fell in love with it and it's actually up for rental! While I think it might be too short notice to start planning a trip to Australia, I am definitely going to keep this in my files for a future vacation spot. Maybe we'll deviate from our normal pattern and go visit in the summer, after all, it will be winter there!

Word Trend

I heard on the radio today that according to William Safire, Paris's trademark word "hot" has been booted for the word "fierce". Looks like Christian Siriano and Tyra Banks have single handedly created a new trend. Personally, I like Christian's trademark phrase of, "Now that's just one hot tranny mess!"

Image of the Day: Lovely

Photo courtesy of M.A. Belle

Healthy Recipe of the Week: Are you Chili?

This is by far my biggest accomplishment in my effort to learn how to cook healthy meals. I made chili! Who would have known that the girl who once claimed that Ramen noodle soup was her signature dish would one day make chili from scratch. It was very easy to do, if you haven't made chili before, try this recipe. I found it on the Weight Watchers site and made a few tweaks here and there to make it my own. I promise you'll love it! Bonus, it's healthy for you!

Mangonett's Homemade Hearty Chili

Source: Weight Watchers

Cooking Time: 50 min.

Prep Time: 25 min.

Serves: 6

Serving size: 1 cup

1 tsp. olive oil

Olive oil cooking spray

1 large onion, chopped

2 med. garlic cloves, minced

2 med. carrots thinly sliced into rounds

1 pound lean ground beef, 10% fat preferred

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. paprika

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 med. tomatoes, chopped

1 cup canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup Healthy Choice traditional pasta sauce (optional)

1 cup fat free chicken broth

1 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 med. green pepper, chopped

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1/8 tsp black pepper or to taste

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1. Heat a large pot coated with cooking spray on med-high heat. Add oil and onion, saute onion until soft (5-7 min.).

2. Add garlic and carrots, cook until garlic is softened. Add your ground meat and brown the meat, about 5 minutes. Stir it to break it up.

3. Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, and red pepper flakes, tomatoes, tomato sauce(s), broth and vinegar. Stir well. Bring it all to a boil, then lower the heat and let it all simmer for 30-45 minutes covered.

4. Next, add your beans and green pepper, simmer uncovered about 10 minutes until peppers are done, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in a bowl with scallions as your garnish. *You can add some non-fat sour cream or skim shredded cheese as an extra!

Working on my Virtual Body...

We have a new addition to the family! Last night Mango showed up with the Wii Fit, I'm so excited. I've heard so many great things about it from people, mainly that it makes getting a workout loads of fun right in their own home. Mango and I saw it as an investment in our quest to get more svelte. So last night while I attempted a recipe of healthy chili for dinner, my husband hooked up the Wii Fit, he must have been having fun because all I could here was laughing coming from downstairs. While our chili was cooking, we took the time to fit in a 30 minute workout.

First off, you create your profile. This, while hilarious (especially to one's spouse), is quite a wake up call. The machine calculates your weight and BMI adjusting your Mii character accordingly, as a result, my character got a little chunkier once all was said and done...she even shook her head in dismay. After that, it's on to the workouts! As you do better and better, you can unlock new sessions to try. I completely dominated the hula hoop workout, that's right, these Latina hips did their thing. Today, I feel it in my abs, Whoo Hoo! I can't wait to try the Yoga workouts, maybe my character will get longer?

Looks like virtual workouts are my new thing!

Image of the Day: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Photo courtesy of Made by Girl

No wonder this baby girl is so happy, she has an awesome room! Complete with a drum set, flat screen TV, bean bags for chairs, and super girly skirts hanging from the ceiling. I think this is such an adorable baby room, different from the pastel and puffy animals that we usually see, this one is truly infused with New York cool. I love it!

Check out the photos of the rest of this family's awesome home here.

A Day of Leaves

It's the first day of fall, my favorite season. I love the sense of change the moment September comes around, not only is it my birthday month signalling a new chapter in my life, but everything around you changes. We bid farewell to the heat (especially here in Florida), bathing suits, and bronzer, and dive into comfy sweaters, rich colors, and falling leaves. I admit, down here in Florida there's not a very drastic change in the season. I grew up in New Jersey and still remember how the leaves would change and the weather would grow noticeably cooler. However down here, the days get shorter and the "light" changes, no longer is the sun a hot beaming spotlight and believe it or not, it does get cooler! My Jersey friends say it's all in my head, however the humidity goes away leaving nothing but a cool breeze that requires a jacket from time to time. In fact, I tell people that the fall and winter months are the best time to visit South Florida. On that note, to celebrate the day, here are a couple of my favorite things about Autumn!
Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks! Oh my how I love these!I love making the house "smell" like fall. Pier 1 has awesome fall candles, my favorites are the Apple Pie and Harvest Spiced Cake candles, combine the two and it smells fantastic. It's the season for pumpkins, gourds, squash, you name it! They are so much fun to cook with (pumpkin soup...yummm), but I love decorating the house with them. I think I'm going to create a little centerpiece for the dining room table. The change of season and cool weather...I love it.
Fall TV! All the great shows come on, my new favorite, the uber-creepy Fringe. Fall = Fall Fashion. I love dressing for the colder months, right now I'm obsessed with pretty dresses, dark tights, and booties.

Fabulous...

The official pictures are up from fashion week. That's right, every designer and their eye candy creations, are a click away. Enjoy!

Today

Once again, that oh so wonderful Friday has come along and I am excited for a brand new weekend! Nothing in particular planned, however I've been eyeing a couple of the closets in the house and they are in serious need of some reorganizing, particularly, my downstairs "I don't know where this should go so I'll just put it in here" closet. It has everything from cleaning supplies so wedding presents that I actually use but have no where to put them yet. I'm also going to spend some time working on my picture wall and maybe even be a good little student and start working on my paper.

My sister sent me this song yesterday, it's called "Today" by Joshua Radin, it sounded familiar and I realized that it's from one of Mango's favorite movies, Garden State. However, I really like this acoustic version, it's a great song to start off the weekend. Have a happy and safe weekend everyone, I'll see you on Monday! Enjoy!

For the lyrics, click here.

Image of the Day: Inspiration on the Wall

I think everyone should have an inspiration board, something that brings everything we love together. Do any of you have one? It could be a board, a notebook, or anything where you keep everything that inspires you.

* Photo courtesy of A Life's Design

Stuck on You

Today someone asked a question, "Wallpaper, is it back in?" It made me think back to design images I have seen and I realized that the sticky paper had crept up on us, and I'm starting to like it! I think the difference this time around, is that it's used as an accent piece in the room rather than something to just cover the walls. Lately some great, bold prints have been coming out making them the focal point of the room allowing you to keep everything else simple. In my little quest today to find some images and save them for future projects, I realized that you can have a lot of fun with this, it's not your grandma's old wallpaper, enjoy!

*Update on wallpaper love:

Check out these amazing papers from Graham & Brown, the creators of the frame wallpaper above. I love their metallic prints, however their paintable series is pretty cool! Sort of the happy medium between painted walls and wallpaper. I found out about these awesome papers here.

Pandora's Box has Music

Since I work by myself, the only thing I have to keep me company is the radio. Normally I tune into my local radio stations over the computer or play CDs, however lately I've been tuning into Pandora Radio. My sister discovered it a while ago and I just recently jumped on the bandwagon. It's an online radio station that allows you to customize your own station based on the artists you like. By typing in a specific artist, Pandora will create and entire station using other music in that genre. Best part, you can create as many stations as you like depending on your mood. Right now, I'm rocking to my easy going Tristan Prettyman station, exactly what I need for a hectic day in the lab. Happy listening!

Healthy Recipe of the Week: Chopping Broccoli!

Day 3 on our Weight Watchers diet and it seems like we're starting to get the hang of it. Throughout the day Mango and I call each other to see how we're doing and reminding ourselves to stay strong and resist the brownies! However, I've found a silver lining amidst all of the points and portion sizes, and that is that I have the opportunity to learn how to cook healthy. Before my entire effort was thrown into simply learning how to cook, but I didn't really pay attention to how healthy those meals were...probably explains our growing waistlines. Thanks to the overwhelming amount of recipes available on the website, I am going to take advantage and make as many of them as I can in the hopes that I will learn how to create healthy meals. Since I know healthy meals are not easy to come by, when I find one that's really yummy and easy to make I will share it with you all!

Last night, we went for an Asian flare and decided to make chicken teriyaki with broccoli and brown rice. It came out really well and was easy to make, even got the nod from my hubby.

Chicken Teriyaki with Broccoli and Brown Rice
Source: Weight Watchers
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 13 min

Ingredients:
4 cups broccoli florets, steamed
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
4 medium scallions, chopped (white and green parts)
1 lb. uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
2 med. garlic cloves, minced
Cooking Spray

Directions:
1. Begin by starting your brown rice to cook in your rice maker and start steaming your broccoli (I used one of the steam fresh bags in the frozen food aisle). Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set on med-high heat. Once the pan is hot add you garlic and allow to cook for 1 min, stirring continuously.
2. Add your chicken and allow to cook until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
3. Add your scallions and cook until soft, stirring, about 2 minutes.
4. Add chicken broth and teriyaki. Allow the mixture to simmer and reduce until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
5. Spoon your rice into a shallow bowl and top with broccoli, then add in your chicken mixture. Enjoy!

I'll take one of each please.

I love getting the mail, it's just one of those little things of mine. Mainly because I love opening that box and seeing what goodies are in store for me today. So, you can imagine how happy I was to see the new October 2008 issue of Elle magazine sitting in my mailbox with the gorgeous Jennifer Lopez on the cover. In this personal style issue, Jennifer chooses several of her favorite designer and allows them to style her for the photo shoot...brilliant! The pictures came out amazing and JLo, as always, flawless. I hope I look this good after I become a mom!

Dolce and Gabanna
Oscar de la Renta
Marchesa

Brian Atwood

Chanel

Diane Von Faustenberg

Michael Kors

Sweetface

Versace

The issue also features some great photo shoots of Lindsay Lohan and Eva Mendez. Looks like I have a lot of reading to do!