New address, same me.

Hello bloggies! I have decided to take my blog in a new direction. Call me fickle, but I don’t really want to continue my legacy with the word “sweat” in my blog title. I am slowly moving things over, but please check out my new blog, Savor the Sweet, where you will find a more fashion-focused, artistic aesthetic but the same old me.

Quality vs. Quantity

Ever since my days at Hollywood Video as a teenager, I’ve definitely spent my fair share of paychecks on tons of clothing, shoes, accessories and fast food. Luckily, the fast food has been cut out of the bill in favor of fresh, mostly organic food I’ve learned to love more. But it’s the sheer quantity of clothing that Ive collected and rarely worn over the years that has really bothered me lately. Thousands of dollars (I’m sure) down the drain. I’ve tried many things, from shopping at different places to banning myself from shopping at all.

However,  I still end up with these pieces in my closet that haunt me in the morning as I get dressed but don’t make it into my daily outfits. Be it a  lack of outfit to wear it with or a fizzling desire to wear it again after a one-day romp due to it’s fad-tastic, fleeting nature and unworthiness of the realm of classic fashion. (Read: gaucho pants, Crocs and candy-apple, nauseating body sprays circa 7th grade).

Juggling the tough financial conditions that college and this economy create, it’s no wonder I am delighted by a $4.95 flowy shirt at Target or the slightly ill-fitting dress at the back of the sale rack at Old Navy. It’s not that you can’t find great clothing at these places, but for me the price tag as always trumped a piece’s ability to fit great or accentuate other pieces in my wardrobe.

In order to avoid the majority of my closet to go in a Good Will bag this year, I’m starting to set my sights on quality vs. quantity. Although I’m definitely going to spend more than I usually would on key pieces (like the Nine West strappy sandals I bought on Wednesday), that doesn’t mean that I have to avoid my favorite haunts like Forever 21 or Delia’s.com. QvQ just means that if I can’t find exactly what I’m looking for there, I might have to spend a little more money and stop settling (and  wasting money).

Hence, yesterday’s shopping trip. I am happy to report that I did find some things (and still for less!) I was eying for this spring and beyond.

A slouchy sweater cardigan to go with… well, I’m hard-pressed to think of something that it wouldn’t go with really. Over dresses, tees, even with my blue and pink gap rain boots.

Tarte Cheek Stain I’ve literally been reading about for years in my favorite magazines. I got eco-cheek, a fun coral color. At $30, this is definitely the most I’ve spent on any one makeup product, but with make-up stations at Sephora to play with colors, it sure beat the gambling I usually do at Target with blushes that rarely end up working out in my favor.

I also may or may not have purchased this exact skirt and shirt to re-create Emily’s look from Cupcakes and Cashmere, a new blog (two years old, but new to me ) I am obsessed with.

I know the deal-hunter in me will never fade, but it’s time to also indulge the fashion lover.  Happy Friday!

Home Sweet Kitchen

When it comes to furniture, I’ve always skated by with the bare minimum (bed, nightstand, desk and a papasan chair) thanks to the furniture collections of my various college room mates. While moving in with my boyfriend + other  couple this year has afforded me the opportunity to skate by once again, I can’t help but dream of the kitchen I’ve always wanted and try to select some pieces for next year’s new apartment.

Since I’m drawn to simple furniture with  rounded edges and bright colors, these characteristics naturally lend themselves to a 1960′s aesthetic.

These scoop-back chairs from West Elm are exactly the kind of thing I’ve been looking for to pair with my vintage olive-green mixer (it still works!)

I’m also acquiring an old powder-blue 50′s icebox from my boyfriend’s generous family that I think will lend another charming bright element perfect for storing my martini glasses and shaker.

Although I’m more prone to pick the yellow turmeric bloom print or the gray stripes, I love the idea of pairing the cream color with an espresso-colored table like this Parsons dining table (also from West Elm) to give the room a more modern style, and to avoid a kitchen looking like it belongs in the Smithsonian’s collection of memorabilia from Bewitched.

Viva la Vegan

While the rice and soy “cheez” doesn’t exactly call my name on trips to Vitamin Cottage, the more I read about plant-based diets, the more curious I am about the benefits of such a change. I know I’ll never give up my Ben and Jerry’s or mozzarella sticks for a vegan diet, but recipes like this from Opera Singer in the Kitchen make it easy to eat dairy and meat-free for the evening.

In order to save some $$ on ingredients, I used this mole recipe instead, using cayenne in place of the canned green chiles and bittersweet chocolate shavings (I only had large chocolate chips) that I zested into shavings.

Cheese… what cheese?

Quality vs. Quantity

Ever since my days at Hollywood Video as a teenager, I’ve definitely spent my fair share of paychecks on tons of clothing, shoes, accessories and fast food. Luckily, the fast food has been cut out of the bill in favor of fresh, mostly organic food I’ve learned to love more. But it’s the sheer quantity of clothing that Ive collected and rarely worn over the years that has really bothered me lately. Thousands of dollars (I’m sure) down the drain. I’ve tried many things, from shopping at different places to banning myself from shopping at all.

However,  I still end up with these pieces in my closet that haunt me in the morning as I get dressed but don’t make it into my daily outfits. Be it a  lack of outfit to wear it with or a fizzling desire to wear it again after a one-day romp due to it’s fad-tastic, fleeting nature and unworthiness of the realm of classic fashion. (Read: gaucho pants, Crocs and candy-apple, nauseating body sprays circa 7th grade).

Juggling the tough financial conditions that college and this economy create, it’s no wonder I am delighted by a $4.95 flowy shirt at Target or the slightly ill-fitting dress at the back of the sale rack at Old Navy. It’s not that you can’t find great clothing at these places, but for me the price tag as always trumped a piece’s ability to fit great or accentuate other pieces in my wardrobe.

In order to avoid the majority of my closet to go in a Good Will bag this year, I’m starting to set my sights on quality vs. quantity. Although I’m definitely going to spend more than I usually would on key pieces (like the Nine West strappy sandals I bought on Wednesday), that doesn’t mean that I have to avoid my favorite haunts like Forever 21 or Delia’s.com. QvQ just means that if I can’t find exactly what I’m looking for there, I might have to spend a little more money and stop settling (and  wasting money).

Hence, yesterday’s shopping trip. I am happy to report that I did find some things (and still for less!) I was eying for this spring and beyond.

A slouchy sweater cardigan to go with… well, I’m hard-pressed to think of something that it wouldn’t go with really. Over dresses, tees, even with my blue and pink gap rain boots.

Tarte Cheek Stain I’ve literally been reading about for years in my favorite magazines. I got eco-cheek, a fun coral color. At $30, this is definitely the most I’ve spent on any one makeup product, but with make-up stations at Sephora to play with colors, it sure beat the gambling I usually do at Target with blushes that rarely end up working out in my favor.

I also may or may not have purchased this exact skirt and shirt to re-create Emily’s look from Cupcakes and Cashmere, a new blog (two years old, but new to me ) I am obsessed with.

I know the deal-hunter in me will never fade, but it’s time to also indulge the fashion lover.  Happy Friday!

Daily Rewards

Rewarding myself with daily with a sweet treat like jelly beans, gummy bears or the occasional soda is not uncommon during the week. (Rewarding myself is a major reason why I work out in the first place, not to mention feeling awesome after)

Today, I decided to step it up a notch after a round of promising job interviews and one for tomorrow.

Nine West’s Vela strappy sandal definitely hit the spot and was a perfect treat for myself just in time for payday. My new mission for my closet is to get rid of what I truly don’t wear (I usually have a category of things I know I don’t wear and then things I’ll pretend I will, but it’s time to be honest for the sake of Mike’s side of the closet being completely taken over.)

After a day of munching on veggies, fruit and cottage cheese, I had some definite calorie-quota to fill (rarely do I have this problem), and with a boyfriend away for the evening, I heated up a frozen pot pie. It was nice to just be lazy and indulge in something that I never eat.

{Three words: flaky, warm, and gravy-licious}

More snow and silky soup

{Good morning Tanner cat}

With roomies + Deacon  up in Breckenridge,  the house was way too quiet, and we managed to sleep in past 10:00 this morning. It’s so hard to get out of bed when you’ve been in it for so long.

{Ghirardelli hazelnut hot chocolate mocha. Ah, lazy mornings with endless cups of coffee}

The coffee fueled some small projects like organizing my paperwork (I recycled a TON of old papers I didn’t need) and clearing out a drawer of jeans to provide space for my growing paint collection. With a whole drawer of all sorts of expensive supplies, I better start painting soon! I have some ideas in mind for cool decorative paintings I want to do for our apartment next year.

After a very freezing stint at the dog park (there were only a couple of dogs and their people there) we headed home and I decided to make my favorite cold-weather soup.

{Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash soup + scallions for taste and color}

Wishing for:

• Sunshine
• Strappy sandals
  
• Sundresses and skirts
• Green grass for picnicking
  
• Tomato beer with dad on the back porch of my parent’s house looking at my mother’s garden
  

What are you wishing for? Stay warm!

Cozy in the snow

I have been way too nesty this past year. All I want to do is bake and cozy up with some movies or magazines. The fact that it’s been a very emotional year coupled with my crazy-ish high school days (perhaps I’ll divulge at some point) makes me a stay-at-home-kinda gal lately. And this snow isn’t helping.

I started off my snowy day with some cream cheese and fruit spread smeared on a whole wheat sandwich thin and some strawberry vanilla greek yogurt.

I gave my coffee a sweet kick (I usually don’t do any sugar in my home-coffee) with some cinnamon today. Delish!

The rest of the day was spent running errands and eating some tortilla soup at Q’doba (I stole some of Mike’s nachos too and a sip of Coke) and making the trek down to Littleton to eat ribs (the only food my dad ever eats on his birthday). My sister also made her homemade cherry pie (I smell a guest blog about the how-to on this?) to complete the array of comfort food.

Mike and I headed back up to Broomfield at around 7:30. While the drive wasn’t too bad, the snow started piling up a bit and it was hard to see the lines on the road. It’ll be nice to be lazy and cozy inside tomorrow for Sunday, but I am ready to say au revoir to this winter and hello to spring.

Spring definitely gets the nesting out of my system, as the warmer weather is more hospitable to romping around Pearl Street all night in heels. So going out (and I better, before all my friends forget my name) means exciting new wardrobe prospects.

Here is what I am looking forward to (hopefully) giving a home in my closet for for Spring 2010:

Strappy beige gladiator

sandals from Nine West. I think these are a good solution to toning down some of the brighter colors in my wardrobe,  a like bright red sundress or the pair of cobalt blue skinny jeans I just scored a great deal on online. I am not sure I am brave enough to try the socks-with-open-toed-shoes look that’s in right now, but I would def. like to try the all-neutral look I’ve been reading in mags and hearing about on the runway after Fashion Week this week.

Ruffled top from Banana Republic. I have always loved ruffles, so it makes me so excited to see them on everything from a hoodie at JCrew, mini-skirts and sweet, simple tops like this one. I feel like you could tuck this into a pencil skirt to dress it up or wear it out with heels and dark-wash skinnies.

Although I wish these were a little more platform and boxy, I love the idea of Nine West’s cream heels to go with my light gray menswear blazer, rolled up skinny jeans  and all of the pastels that I also want to incorporate into my spring wardrobe.

Tulip skirts, like this one also from Banana. I kind of like the idea of tiered mini-skirts more, but I think I would get more use out of something like this.

Enjoy the eye candy! I am dreaming about my bed, and the warm coffee with hot chocolate mixed in that I know I’ll enjoy tomorrow.

Oh, how I miss you Big Apple

First of all, Happy 52nd Birthday to my very hardworking, strong-spirited, hilarious and all-around cool dad.

Times Square

Second, I think I’ve been watching too much Sex and the City on DVD lately. I went for the first time this summer, and I am absolutely hooked. Mike and I are already planning a trip for October, since he’s never been. I love everything about it except for the $$$$ it would cost to live there.

Other than that, I say yes to all the noise, people, walking (I logged 70 blocks one day) the Park, the loud-mouths, the smelly trash on the sidewalks on a hot day, the fake Dolce and Gabbanas being sold outside the Plaza (who picks the Upper West side as a prime location for knock-offs anyways?)  and all the random fliers that get shoved in your face just about every block.

I would gladly take it all for a Manhattan (or Brooklyn more likely) zip code, not even a view, not even a nice apartment. (I’d draw the line at cockroaches). I’d gladly buy my little Metrocard and ride the subway or walk everywhere. I don’t need the glam, I don’t need to live my life vicariously through the fictional Carrie Bradshaw, I just happen to be a gal who went to New York City once and can’t stop thinking about how effing sweet it would be to live there pretty much every day of my life.

SoHo House

In other news, we think Molly ate a cigarette today because her breath is smelling less like dog and more like tobacco. We were on the couch with her and literally, it smelled like she lit up right next to us. Either her trash-eating has reached an all-time low or she has a new habit we didn’t know about.

It’s looking like all Molly needs is a little structure in her life; or a lot. Why sitting in a kennel all day is preferable to being able to wander the apartment is beyond me, but at least she doesn’t pee or eat garbage when she’s in the kennel.

Maybe I was too rash in wanting to get rid of her. I taught her how to fetch her bear toy while I ate peanut butter Puffins for breakfast.

I had a fairly busy morning  at work, but I ate some blueberry green yogurt and had a slice of toast with PB and a Fuji apple. This kept me pretty full until about 1:30 when I ate about half of a HUGE salad I packed from home.

Romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, blue cheese, and pecans drizzled with olive oil and balsamic.

Around 4:30, I ran to Whole Foods to get my dad a treat for his birthday. Apparently, I was still hungry, because everything screamed “BUY ME” from the shelves. I got vanilla sandwich cookies, parm crisps, popcorn and then my dad’s  wasabi treat. I ate inhaled some like 8 cookies when I got in the car. I need to have a tin of almonds or something at the ready in my car for moments like these (not that they happen often, truly, they don’t, but that was scary. I was like a bear or something).

And then I ate some bears or something.

I think a food diary should be in the works.

Encounters of the dog kind

Let’s just say my love for Molly is dwindling. While you’ve been reading about what I do and eat all day, I thought you might like to find out what Molly’s been up to. Here’s her guest post:

Dear WSFS readers: Hi! My name is Molly P. I am a black lab who recently moved to Broomfield with my dad Mike and my step-mom Amanda. At my old house, I rarely got taken on any walks, and never went to the dog park. Now, I do these things almost every day! I decided to thank my loyal owners by first getting into the garbage and taking a big crap on top, just so they’d know how grateful I am. Their roommate had to clean it up because they weren’t home that day! Then, I decided to take a break for awhile and make them think I wasn’t very grateful UNTIL one day, when I decided it’d be a good idea to scratch up the door frame just for giggles.

Then, over the last few days I really wanted to show them I LOOOVE being taken on walks and to the dog park and showered with attention by eating all of the garbage again (my tummy hurts!), peeing on top of it, and then peeing over on the rug, watching Amanda clean it up, and then peeing on it again! For some reason, I’ve been in a kennel while Mike and Amanda are gone now. Oh, and did I mention I’m teaching my dog roomie Deacon to bark at people! His owners LOOOVe that too.

Love, Molly P.

My mantra for the last couple of weeks has been “At least it’s not the shoes. Your shoes are safe.” Oh, by all means, let the carpets smell like piss as long as my feet look good.

I’m not a monster. We did a nice thing for Mike’s parents put it’s clearly not working out. No, I’m not the biggest dog person in the world (just a Corgi person), the smell of a dog’s breath makes me gag a little, but I’m not a monster, right? On Mike’s end, he is still trying to work it out. And I love him for this, but he’s not the one sniffing the floor for more traces of dog pee and dabbing with paper towels all morning. Thus, I’ve begun  by dropping hints bombs that allude to a permanent Molly move-back. That’s right, I put the first card on the table. After a post-piss phone call to Mike’s office, he can barely utter “Oh, man, sorry you had to clean th..” before I swoop in with these “subtleties”. And the next thing I know we’re going to bed angry.

Sigh.

Well, despite the dog dilemma, I’ve been pretty good to my body this week with longer sessions at the gym and healthier eats.

Breakfast was greek yogurt and a handful of peanut butter puffins. At work, I mixed in chia seeds with my yogurt for some extra crunch and some Omega 3 FA’s. Love those fatty acids.

We also managed to find a stellar grocery deal at Vitamin Cottage.

On Monday night, Mike and I went to Vitamin Cottage: my new solution to natural and organic groceries. Sorry Whole Foods! I found everything I buy at Whole Foods (aside from meat) at Vitamin Cottage for MUCH cheaper.

In the mix:

• Organic pink lady and granny smith apples
• Whole bag of organic russet potatoes
• 1 bunch of carrots
• 3 roma tomatoes
• 1 bunch romaine lettuce
• 1 bag of frozen butternut squash
• 1 bag of frozen sweet potato
• 1 package of Applewood Farm’s organic, antibiotic-free sliced turkey
• 1 package of fresh mozzarella
• 1 large container of  honey and vanilla flavored Greek yogurt
• 1 box of Puffin’s Peanut Butter cereal
• 1 container chicken stock
• 2 boxes of Annie’s natural mac n’cheese
  All right around $30.00. Compared to our past trips to Whole Foods ,it’s about half of what we usually spend.

Do you have a weekly spending limit on food? Do you often stick to it?

On the menu for tonight:  ground bison burgers. Stay tuned.