February Recommendations

Conscious Step- socks for a cause. This company has partnered with non-profits for every purchase, making each pair of socks you buy also do some good in the world. Current causes include ending poverty, fighting hunger, educating kids, and treating Malaria and HIV, among other great causes. The socks are also vegan-friendly, comfortable, and cute. What's not to love?!

L'Oreal Revitalift Volume Filler Day Cream- I received this in a Walmart Beauty Box and was skeptical of the "volume filler" aspect, but needed a new moisturizer so I tried it. It claims to hydrate within a few hours, firm within a week, and noticeable reduce wrinkles within 4 weeks. I just started using it a few days ago so I can't comment on all of that, but I could actually feel my face re-hydrating after just seconds of putting it on. It's a little pricey at $25, but totally worth it. 

Black Mirror- Obviously I'm super late to the party with this one as there are already 4 seasons out, but holy shitballs. These episodes are crazy! I could only get through the first 3 episodes, but I'm really looking forward to the rest! 

Queer Eye- I never watched Queer Eye for the Straight Guy when it first aired, but I LOVED the reboot! Loved, as in I watched the whole first season on Netflix last weekend. The general idea is the same- five gay men, "The Fab 5," makeover a straight man- from dress and grooming to their home and eating/food. What I liked most about this version though is that they touch on sensitive, hot button topics, like when Karamo (the black guy) has an honest discussion with the Georgian police officer they're making over. 

And now it's your turn- Blue is on the hunt for a new face serum since her current distributor just cancelled their subscription to Melaleuca. Got any recommendations for her? 

Linking up with Lauren and Bre! 

Shit Blue Said

It's been 6 months since I've done a one of these, so I'm back with another round!

Blue: If we ever get a pet pig I'm naming him Bacon.
Me: No you're not.
Blue: Fine, I'll name him Kevin.
Me: Why?
Blue: .... (facepalm)

Blue: Which cirque show are we seeing?
Me: The sexy one
Blue: Cirque du Get Laid?

On going vegan...

Based off of the NY State Lotto commercial...

Me: My llama socks are out of stock.
Blue: Alpaca 'nother pair for you. 


Blue: When are chickens just chickens? Why are there hens and roosters, that's a lot of pressure for a lil chick. Cockadoodledoo- Any cock will do!

Finding a gift for my brother-in law...

me: They're out of [beer] steins.

Blue: It's ok. It was either a stein or pre-packaged emotional intelligence which I think is all he needs and is probably on backorder. 

Blue: Tommy, why is my light humming?

Tommy: Because it doesn't know the words.

All read and approved by Blue before posting.
You can find other Shit Blue Said here: Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol.3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6, Vol. 7

Top 10 Memories with Blue

Happy Valentine's Day friends! In honor of this "love"-ly holiday, I'm joining Erin in sharing my 10 Favorite memories with Blue! 

Rochester, NY: This was our first trip together. I should point out that we like doing random things, and what made this was the randomness of it. The main purpose of this trip was to try a garbage plate at Nick Tahoe’s. I’m not even kidding. But we did other completely random things too, like attend a Pink Floyd laser show at the planetarium, sample hot toddies at Black Button distillery and check out the kitschy bar across from our hotel. So much fun packed into one short weekend, even with the onset of a snow storm!

garbage plate success

Puerto Rico: There were so many memorable moments in PR that I honestly can’t pick just one. Getting lost and winding up in a dead end surrounded by wild dogs with no cell service in the middle of El Yunque National Rain Forest, introducing Blue to my best friend, her family, and my godson, and checking off an item on my bucket list (swimming with sea turtles!) were all wonderful memories!

Blue and I are center top!

Bourbon Trail: We’ve made a tradition of going away for my birthday every year and for my first birthday trip, we drove from NJ to Ohio to Kentucky and back (mostly because we wanted to bring back all that sweet, smoky bourbon!). We stopped in Ohio because one of Blue’s friends lives there, and we decided to stay there overnight. I’d never met this friend, but Blue organized for her to get me my favorite- ice cream cake!- complete with candles and all! It was so sweet and I couldn’t believe this stranger (at the time) went out of her way to make my day extra special. Other highlights included a Christmas dinner train ride with the Clauses, a Holiday Extravaganza at Jim Beam Still House, dipping my own bottle at Maker’s Mark, and attempting to see a meteor shower in a forest. I say attempting because it was too cloudy so we were redirected into a small room and trapped in a very serious small group discussion on skies and meteors (think Big Bang Theory, but no humor) and we escaped during a coffee break- but it was SO random and such a fail that it actually made a hilarious memory!

Jim Beam Extravaganza

New Orleans: This was another birthday trip, and one of the top places on my “Must Visit” list. Blue was sick but was a trooper. Top memories include freezing our asses off on a steamboat ride, barhopping down Bourbon Street, seeing Blue light up at a jazz show at Preservation Hall, and line dancing with midgets dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Clause at a Tale of the Toddies cocktail event!

should've been our Christmas card

Islamorada/Key West/Miami: Our spring getaway to Key West stole my heart so much so that it’s one of the few places I need to revisit. Unlike most vacations, I didn’t plan a whole lot for this trip, as the purpose was to relax. My favorite memories include our first night where we drank too much at the hotel rum bar and I fell out of a hammock (inciting a gigglefest), an absolutely delicious Cuban dinner followed by smoking hookah in Miami, and a sunset cruise in Key West. Magical.

sunset cruise with the captain and Mopey Batman

Philly: One of the things I love most is going to food festivals. That was the premise of our weekend getaway to Philly- The Cheesesteak Festival. We stayed at a little Air BNB in Center City and wandered into a jazz festival. We strolled through a tiny, over packed thrift shop, and took too many pictures at the Magic Gardens. We met Steph and ran into Philly Jesus by the Love statue. And of course, we ate a ton of delicious cheesesteaks!

we throw an annual Halloween party- this was the first!

There were other trips and dates, but not all of my favorite memories with Blue were some big event or vacation. Sometimes it's the smaller, seemingly insignificant at the time moments that become the most memorable. For instance...

Dr office: Have you ever brought a significant other to the doctor with you? I hadn't until last month. This wasn't a favorite moment in terms of fun, but it was a moment of feeling safe and cared for. I'm sure there's a much more eloquent way of describing this, but words are failing me right now. Hopefully you understand what I mean. 

We go glamping every year which always makes for fun memories!

Nessie: I don't think this is a big secret, but I don't like cooking. I don't like doing it, I'm not very good at it, and I've never tried to hide it. But I think this became the most apparent the first time I invited Blue over for dinner. I was making the Budget Byte's Italian Wonderpot. It calls for frozen spinach, which I unceremoniously dumped out of the packaging and into the pot with a loud "thud." Blue thought this was so hilarious that she posted a pic of it on Facebook with a caption "There are defining moments in a relationship, like when you decide who will do the majority of the cooking moving forward." To this day she still makes fun of me for this dish. (For the record, she devoured it that night, and asks for it now regularly.)

#LookingForNessie

The Couple That Binge Watches Together... or something: Some say that watching TV isn't really spending "quality time" together, but I disagree. Maybe it's because we don't just watch TV with intent (as opposed to mindlessly flipping channels), but we have shows that we've binged together from start to finish, shows that we cannot watch without the other person present, and "themes" around certain shows. The example below: at the season premiere of each Orange is the New Black, we binge with "prison foods" like chili cheese dogs and easy mac, and drinks, like Litchfield (spiked) Lemonade and Big Blue's Screwdrivers (the character on the show, not to be confused with my Blue). Also, Gilmore Girls shirts for the reboot (not pictured: lots of coffee!). 

The search for the cronuts. I’m laughing out loud just thinking about this. When cronuts first became a thing, we went in search of the original at Benny's Luncheonette. This place is about 20 min away from us, or should be. I think it took us nearly an hour after making the same wrong turn multiple times ("Big Ben! Parliament!"). Blue got so infuriated that she had to pull into an empty parking lot to try to calm down. Meanwhile, I’m trying not to burst out laughing until she finally said “Let it out, Dani!” and I couldn’t hold back any longer. She realized how ridiculous she was being and started snorting with laughter. 

Well that was a fun walk down memory lane! What are some of your favorite memories with your s/o or spouse? 

Show Us Your Books

It's one of my favorite days in blog-land, one where my TBR gets even longer but I find great new and interesting reads, so let's dive right in! 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? - Maria Sempe: 4 Stars
library e-book

I liked how this story was told mostly through letters, emails, and correspondence. I also really liked all the different points of view the story was told from, and it was interesting to see the inner workings of someone who was having a nervous breakdown versus how everyone else saw her. I loved the dry humor and sarcasm, how quirky everyone was, how the characters were fleshed out and even made me like characters I started out hating. It was a little slow moving in the beginning, but once I got into it I was hooked,staying up late just to figure out what the heck happened! I'm excited for the movie now too!

Eleven- Sandra Cisneros: 4 Stars
internet

I've never thought about age as Sandra's describes it here, but it actually makes a lot of sense. I could totally relate to Rachel's frustrations, and people from any age could actually learn a lot from it for being so short. It's 3 pages long. You can read it here or here.

Love in Lower Case- Francesc Miralles: 2.5 Stars
library e-book

Short description: A 40-ish loner linguistics professor lets in a cat, and his world opens up. He also obsesses over a girl from his childhood after a brief glance.

I feel like maybe there was something lost in the translation of this one. I thought it was going to be a cute, fluffy love story. Though it had some elements of that, it was more about Samuel and his own self-discovery, but his "woe is me" melodramatic bullshit was really annoying. Lines like this: "The wound was so deep I had to go somewhere to lick it in order not to bleed to death." Seriously?? And Gabriela- what a bitch! I didn't actually care for any of the characters except maybe the vet and Titus. Also, how are you suddenly "so in love" after never having a real conversation? I also got too involved in the whole Dark Side of the Moon elements and trying to figure out wtf Valdemar was talking about because I thought it had more to do with the story than it turned out. And had a lot of literary references and philosophical thoughts (with the exception of the one below) that just went over my head. If it wasn't such a short read, I wouldn't have finished it.

"'Let us be thankful, for if we have
not learned a lot today,
we ahve at least learned a little; and
if we have not learned a little,
we have at least not fallen ill; and if
we have fallen ill,
we have at least not died, and for
this we are thankful.'" - Buddha

Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity- Kristin Elizabeth Clark: 3 Stars
library e-book

This one is about a trans high schooler trying to convince her father to accept her as she is, and coming to terms with being in love with her best friend. I was really interested in the premise of this one, and it brought up a lot of interesting ideas and questions, but the extremely immature writing made this one hard to get through. Example: "My chest squeezes, and I want to say it's our road trip, but I don't. Instead I go all dork on his ass." What is that??! 

Jess is a self-absorbed, selfish person. Obviously Chunk is self-conscious about his size, as he's crash-dieting throughout the road trip, but Jess never thinks to call him by his actual name (Chuck), or that anyone could care about how much they look more than her.  I hated that it took Chuck so long to call her out on it. I didn't like how Chuck dealt with that or with her in general- ignoring her on a road trip is not going to make her go away or fix anything. And then the whole Lizard thing- like I understand why he did it, but the timing was terrible. And I was hoping more of what their new friend Annabelle was saying would have actually gotten through to Jess and made a bigger impression other than that Chuck might be interested in her. I didn't see her grow or change until the end, and then even though she seems to understand, she doesn't seem to do anything about it, and then all of a sudden it's the end. 

Favorite quotes:

"'People are always more than one thing,' he says."

"It's never occurred to me that I'm not the only one who sees myself differently from the way other people do. That other people struggle with image and self-image in different ways. There is Chuck and his weight; Annabelle and her cigarette-smoking, magenta-haired self, hiding the fact that she's a premed nerd. Does it make the way we see ourselves any less valid if other people don't share our vision? I decide it doesn't."

What are you reading lately?

February Goals

January Recap:

• Respond to emails/comments in a more timely manner- I think so? AT work, definitely. My personal email, still a work in progress
• Dentist appointment- nope
• Lady doctor appointment- check
• Fill in new planner- check
• Gain weight- Uncertain because I just realized that my scale is broken. 
• Participate in Erin's 8.0 Reading Challenge. (Ongoing until 4/30)- check!

(5) Freebie: Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar- Cheryl Strayed

(10) Starts with "L": Little Fires Everywhere- Celeste Ng

(10) Red Cover: Love in Lowercase- Francesc Miralles

(15) Name of Character in Title: Where'd You Go, Bernadette?- Maria Sempe

(20) Book Riot: Here Comes The Sun- Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn

(20) House/Home: White Houses- Amy Bloom

(25) Double Initials: Emma in the Night- Wendy Walker

(30) Different Language: The Invoice- Jonas Karlsson

(30) Form of Transportation(road trip): Jess, Chunk, and the Road to Infinity- Kristin Elizabeth Clark

(35) Physical Illness: Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl- Jesse Andrews Tell The Wolves I'm Home- Carol Rifka Brunt

February Goals

• Dentist appointment 
• Schedule iPhone battery fix
• Purchase a new scale 
• Get taxes done (scheduled for 2/22) 
• Continue working on Erin's Reading Challenge
• Upload, organize and delete phone pictures- there's no storage on there, again. sigh. 
• Book Florida vacation- we have a wedding in Key West in June so it's time to book it!
• Book another getaway- Blue is itching for a break in March (eek!) so need to get on that too.
• Clean out one closet- MUST. I've been throwing random things in there and gotta get it under control again! 

What goals are you working on this month? 

Linking up with The Peaceful Posse and Nicole

Currently: February

Reading: Jess, Chunk, and the Road to Infinity- Kristin Elizabeth Clark 

Listening To: Savior- Iggy Azalea ft. Quavo

Watching: My new favorite, 9-1-1. I just love Connie Britton! And the others in rotation, This Is Us, Ellen's Game of Games, Married at First Sight (S6), Grey's, Top Chef, Young Sheldon, Big Bang Theory, Blindspot, and slugging through the final season of Nashville. 

Considering: a Movie Pass subscription. For $10/month you can see unlimited movies. Just one movie is at least $12.50. I like going to the movies, and I'm not sure if we don't go more now because of the price or the time commitment, but it sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. 

Researching: this Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Mask. I've usually had pretty good skin, but adult acne is no joke and I suck at daily care. I ordered it and it's coming today. Blue already started making Storm Trooper jokes. 

Hearting: my new hat. The one I had received for Christmas was just too bulky, and I was really looking for one with a little visor. I love how slouchy this one is but also has a bit of elastic around the edges so it doesn't fall off. And it's so warm! And of course Blue, always.

not me, obvi. this was the seller on Poshmark

Wishlisting: this t-shirt  that Steph showcased from South Fellini. 

Finishing: the last of the Super Bowl leftovers.

Subscribing to: Cloud Library. I have no idea what took me so long either. I like physical books, but my library is currently transitioning to a new state-wide delivery system which is taking for-ev-er, and they've suspended placing requests during this time (as in, I've been waiting on one book for over 21 days already). BUT, I can still request e-books and it tells me the exact number of days it will take and I get an email when it's in. I love it and have been doing all of my reading this year via the app. 

Looking Forward to: An NYC-day seeing Waitress with Sara Bareilles and Jason Mraz and fancy apps and cocktails at Dutch Fred's this weekend, and a fabulous dinner at Becco next week. I freakin love Becco. We've been there twice before, and it's fabulous. Their menu changes DAILY, and they have never ending pasta. Seriously. They come around with like 4 different types and you can get as many servings as you want. The $31 bottles of wine and the hot bread with oils ain't bad either! 

Failing: At these brownie sundae bowls. I followed the instructions exactly, but it just ended up being a big burnt mess! Ugh! 

Making: This Philly Cheesesteak cheesy bread was a hit at my Superbowl party, and super easy for any busy weeknight! 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced into half moons*
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced*
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 lb. sirloin steak
1 tsp. oregano
12 slices provolone
1 large loaf of bread, sliced in half (I used French bread)
1 tbsp. Parsley (I skipped this- it's only used for topping)

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. (I didn't have parchment paper, so I just used a large cookie sheet.) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

2. Add the onions and peppers, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until onions are translucent and peppers are tender, 7 to 10 minutes.

3. Push the vegetables to one side of the pan and add meat to the other side. Season with oregano, salt and pepper.

4. Let them sit for a minute or so to get a nice sear, then sauté on the same side of pan until mostly cooked through, about another 5 minutes. Toss everything together in pan to evenly distribute meat and vegetables. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. Scoop out the middles from both bread halves to create shallow boats. Place about half of the cheese on the bread then top with the steak and onion mixture. 

6. Add the rest of the cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and the bread is slightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and cut into long slices. Serve warm.

* I used a frozen 14 oz. bag of Bird's Eye Pepper Stir Fry mix instead. Worked and tasted just fine!

Adapted from delish.com. 

What's currently going on with you? 

Linking up with Anne! 

January Reflections

I feel like this has been a really short long month. Does that make sense? Probably not, but the end sure snuck up on me. 

Usually in these posts I recap all the fun stuff I did during the month, but I really didn't do much. I've mentioned it before, but January-mid-March is my hibernation period. All I wanted to do was curl up under blankets and read, which is mostly what I did. The only social outings were two birthday dinners and a cocktail party, but one person in the group had the flu and I was so nervous I'd catch it. Seriously- don't go out if you've already been diagnosed with the flu, people! It's not that hard! Anyway, here's what else has been going on. 

Health Life: I had a bit of a health scare in late December which I kind of ignored/didn't worry about and definitely didn't talk about until I started doing research and the big "C" came up. And then I had a minor freak-out but was talked down by the support of a certain group of friends (thank you guys!). My worries were further soothed after a second "exploratory" appointment where I was given the all-clear, but it was emotionally draining nonetheless. 

Work Life: My group got a new boss after not having one for 6 months. We were kind of floundering to be honest. It wasn't just the lack of guidance, but my group is a technical support group within IT and the other groups were taking advantage of us, using us to "support" whatever they wanted us to. I'm happy to report that I really like this new boss. After meeting and talking with us, he set out specific goals individually and for our group and he really seems to have our personal best interests in mind. I feel more motivated and purposeful than I have in a long time. 

Family Life: My mom locked her keys, purse, and phone inside her apartment earlier this week. This would not have been too terrible, but her landlord is currently in Peru visiting sick relatives and she didn't know if anyone else was home to be able to let her in, not to mention if anyone was around, they usually didn't get in until 10 pm (her landlord lives above her). So she was stayed with me for 2 days. We do not always get along and it was very difficult to coordinate when/where we would meet because, no phone. Luckily she was able to get into her apartment last night. Her birthday is later this month (where I will be dragged to east bumblefuck Connecticut to pull weeds out of the frozen tundra at a retreat center because that's what she wants to do... sigh) so hopefully all will go smoothly until then and she'll find/replace her things. TBD. 

Love Life: All good here! Blue and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. I gifted her Ed Sheeran tickets and she gifted me tickets to Waitress on Broadway and pretty much the coolest thing ever- a framed print of the night sky at the exact date, time, and location of where we met. I meant to take a better picture of it last night, but I forgot. You can kind of see it here: 

Other than all that, I'm really looking forward to the Superbowl this weekend because my team, the Eagles, are finally in it! We're having a few people over so I'll be making this Philly cheesesteak cheesy bread (because, duh, Philly) and "Super" brownie sundae bowls :) 

doesn't this look delicious?!

we may add capes for the "super" effect!

What's new with you lately?