Pancakes & Beet Juice

Oh How Pinteresting: Beauty for Bookworms

2012-03-07T07:30:00.001-08:00

Tonight is the inaugural meeting of my new book club, This Is a Very Good Book Club, at my house! We are discussing my pick, The Paris Wife, and I can't wait to recap all of our fun tomorrow on the blog. I am feeling very literate and Parisian and chic this morning as I mentally prepare for an evening of sparkling conversation (and cake. and for most of us most likely champagne.) and Pinterest has been feeding the fire this morning.

I would not expect a site that for the most part feeds my urge to shop and eat to also up my literary I.Q., but I have found Pinterest to be a great resource of reminding me about books I love, putting new reads on my radar and perhaps most importantly showing me what to do with the mess of books I've made for myself in my living room!

Books I've Loved and Pinned

Seeing war through the eyes of a child gets me every time!

Franny is my little soul sister.

Books I've Bought and Pinned, Reminding Me to Someday Read Them...

I bought this for my mom for Valentine's Day.
Can't wait to borrow it from her! I know, I am a selfish gifter...

Books I've Found (or Been Broken Down into Thinking About Reading) on Pintersest

Since my "one day" girl names are currently
Scout, Heidi and Ramona, I think might be a good buy..

Not a Sci-Fi gal so I said I wouldn't do it,
but now I think I might...

Home Decor for the Bibliophile via Pinterest

I love all the stacking and spillage against the brick!

I've found lots of tips for my own white bookshelves on Pinterest.

Well I guess I must own this.

I am linking up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple. All you Pinterest fans head over to find the best of the boards this week!

Are you on Pinterest? If so, what are you loving this week?

What are some of your favorite books?

I Guess Ya Just What I Needed

2012-03-05T08:12:00.001-08:00

So on Thursday I climbed on my high and mighty blog and shared how I was going to spend the month focusing on yoga, eating good food and not being afriad to turn down a social invite when I actually needed the time at home.

Then Markus called and we went to happy hour with his work friends where I ate Londoner cheese fries (2nd only to Snuffer's), stayed out too late and skipped yoga. Let's try this again...

Even though my work life was suddenly in arms this weekend, I did make it to two yoga classes - only 19 more to go for my March goal! We also picked up a bin of produce from Urban Acres with lots of green stuff inside that I need to explore for dinners this week. Friday and Sautrday were nights in for us. Knowing I could go to bed whenever I wanted after so many weekends loaded with nights out was better than being on vacation to me.

Sunday I woke up and knew it was time to fix a week long hankering for an old favorite of mine: strawberry pancakes.

My all-time favorite pancake mix (better to me than Bisquik or even made-from-scratch) is Cherrybrook Kitchen. Their pancake mixes come in regular and chocolate chip. I was lucky enough to accidentally buy the chocolate chip version one time and it was the best mistake I've ever made and I've never looked back. I love adding different things to the mix be it Udi's cranberry walnut granola, a little pumpkin puree or bananas. This Sunday it was fresh strawberries that I mashed with a fork along with some ground flax. Note the pat of Earth Balance soy free butter on top. Heaven on Earth.

Pancakes and coffee fueled some much needed housecleaning and then it was time to get ready for a friend's wedding. Do you think this is what Kate Middleton's life looks like when she is trying to get out the door? Regal black pooch, yes. Mop drying in the corner, probably not. Refigerator magnets galore? Obviously. Wills and Kate love to travel and therefore must have quite the refrigerator magnet collection.

Pregaming with a little royal bubbly: La Croix grapefruit sparkling water.

We met up with Markus's brother and his fiance at the ceremony (where a parent let their child play games the entire 15 minute service with the sound on...NO. I could not believe my ears...) followed by some games at Top Golf. These pesky boys always know how to have a good time and where the nearest cigar shop is.

A relaxing as it was I still had a hard time saying goodbye to a certain little lady this morning. I guess Mondays can be hard no matter how well you prepare! Or maybe my Little Child is really just that cute...

What were you up to this weekend?

Did you get any goals for March or Lent that you are working to follow through on?

March Goals: Yoga, Lunch and Leisure Time

2012-03-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, it is March. For real. Summer is close and my baby Sistah is getting married in roughly 70 days. Go time has arrived.

I'm setting some personal goals for March to try to get back into some good habits that will get me feeling well and confident this spring!

1. Yogatime
I bought a 30 day pass to American Power Yoga at the end of December. I used to only do yoga for exercise and then started adding in more cardio and toning through barre and Tracy Anderson Method DVDs when I wanted to lose weight before our trip to Costa Rica last year. Yoga classes to me, espeically those in a heated environment are like pressing the reset button on my body. My goal is attend 21 classes in 30 days and really detox out this winter!

2. Time to Refuel
Dinners at home have come a long way since bringing home more fresh vegetables through the food co-op. I go home for lunch and have been surviving on cereal for lunch and snacks for most of this month. I really want to meal plan out lunches and snacks to where I am getting in more raw fruits and vegetables with these meals. This is important to me because I can NOT get sick right now with so much going on and I would also like to look and feel my best for upcoming festivities!
3. Me Time
If you look at my datebook from February, there was something written down close to every single day. Besides our retreat to Lubbock, weekend days were either booked for work or a balancing act of errands, morning activities with family and evenings out with friends. Most of it was supposed to be fun but honestly none of it is fun anymore if you aren't getting enough rest in between to enjoy it. April already looks this way and I'm in two weddings in May - the time to rest is now! I am purposefully blocking out nights and saying no to a few evenings with friends because I need it and there's no point in going out if I'm a zombie when I'm there.

Meeting goals = rewards, right? Yes. So I have my trusty Groupon to King Spa and Sauna that I want to use towards the end of the month. It will be a real treat if I can think about how well I met my March goals as I sweat the end of the month out in the sauna!

What are your goals for the month?

Is there anything that you are looking forward to now that we're nearing spring?

What I Ate Wednesday: Potato Potahto Food Truck

2012-02-29T11:17:00.001-08:00

Last night it was back to the barre for a good ballet/scuplting class at Preston Hollow Dance. A fun and intense workout after a long stretch of barely-making-it-happens left me energized, motivated and starving this morning.

I usually go home for lunch to see Little Child and make something out of the grocery budget but that just wasn't going to do it for me today. Combine my despondency with the opening of the new Potato Potahto food truck today and my discovery of my Valentine's Day $10 from Nannie my Granny and I was headed out to eat.

The food truck park at Dallas Arts District is awesome. I see it a lot on the weekends when it is a little bit slower but it was swarming with the suits today. One catch for those outside of walking distance is that there is no free parking, and after rummaging through my purse and begging change off a few coworkers I had 15 cents to my good name, buying me 10 minutes to walk from the meters, order my food and hustle back to the car.

Suburban sprawl can STHU on days like this.

Although I was starving from not being able to get out for lunch ~~until 11:30am~~ practically all day, it was hard for me to get my tater to go but I knew the drive back to the office would allow the cheese and butter to infuse perfectly into the potato, a compromise that I could sink my teeth into (heh).

Ordering at the truck is a breeze. You can pick the special of the day (the Pothato) or a build your own Russet or sweet (Potato). The special today was chicken fried steak baked potato and it was going fast. Other specials that jumped out at me were a pecan smoked brisket potato on Mondays and the shrimp jambalaya on Fridays. I'm definitely planning a return visit on a Friday but this trip I just wanted some classic spud lovin'.

Putting in my plain jane order. Classic toppings let the spud really sing.

This is the kind of fine print I like to see on my food.

Ten minutes later I was back at my desk and after gleefully reading a tweet that the truck was already out of food (you snooze, you lose Corporate desk monkeys), I opened my bag. My first reaction was that it was light on the toppings, but I'm hoping it was due to them being low on supplies from the unexpected food park rush today.

The potato itself is definetely the best I've ever tasted. Salted before it is baked and buttery smooth consistency. We were out of plastic forks at my office and I did not bring my resuables seeing as how I was supposed to be headed home, but the whole 'tato, skin and all, cut perfectly into pieces with a spoon. The skin had great flavor and was ideally soft.

Unfortunately light on toppings but still big on taste.

No joke.

For a no-fuss potato that was a little light on the extras for my choosing I definitely had no hard time choking it down. The whole experience was just the right amount of vitamin D, starch and salt that I needed to power through the rest of the day.

I can't wait to bring back Markus and coworkers. My next menu choices will definitely be the sweet potato, maybe with their greek yogurt topping!

What is your favorite mid-week lunch treat?

What do you have to have on your baked potatoes?

Hippie Moviegoing in Highland Park: Big Miracle and The Lorax

2012-02-29T06:48:00.001-08:00

I love going to the movies. I become so emotionally involved with the story and characters and pretty much always cry. Movie dates don't happen very often for us though, because they can get expensive and there is just so much to do in Dallas. We managed to see two movies last weekend, both of which had been on my hippie radar. Friday night was Big Miracle and Saturday we saw an advanced screening of The Lorax!

Big Miracle was a really cute movie about a true story of a family of whales who became stuck in the ice in Alaska and Greenpeace and drilling companies worked together to free them. I thought they did a really good job telling the story and editing the historic and movie footage together. I was really glad I saw it with my mom, the daughter of the man who established the first oil refinery in Alaska, and my godmother, who has been a member of Greenpeace for 18 years. Life imitating art, much?

My godmother and her son have a standing date with my mom every Friday at the Village Theatre in Highland Park Vilage and Markus and I were excited to finally get to join them for a night at the movies. This was my first time going to Village Theatre and I had heard wonderful things but was just blown away by the amentities.

There is a consession case with standard candies, but these case of sweets had all my attention.
Chocolate covered marshmallow, anyone?

The fully stocked lounge area should you want a martini or old fashioned with your film.
As we walked up two men were trying to buy my mom and godmother drinks. Sorry to crash the fun!

The movie was oversold by two tickets so the manager put us in one of their private screening rooms to accomodate our group. These are usually rented out for private parties to watch movies or sporting events. I would love to have an Oscars night or birthday party for Markus here! It was so fun to be able to talk during the movie and stretch out on the plush sofas.

Snuggled up on one of the sofas in our screening room!
Remember when I was pale?

Kristen Bell won "Best Hair" in the film. Curls in the Alaskan tundra? Obviously.

Saturday we woke up and headed over to Northpark for a screening of The Lorax at Northpark Center with I Heart Cinema. There are a few advance screening groups in Dallas that you can follow on Twitter or recieve emails from but I think I Heart Cinema does the best job. I mean, I am pretty much owe them forever for the Muppets screening they put on in November.

The movie was short, about 82 minutes long. There weren't as many belly laughs as you typically get from animated movies but it was very cute and, of course, pushed the hippie environmental agenda which is something I always love to see in film. The movie is in 3-D and the animation was the best I've ever seen! They changed perspective a lot so you felt in the driver's seat for many of the different adventures. I recommend this movie to moms out looking for a matinee to take the kids to that you will also enjoy. We do animated films for date night a lot but I think I would have wanted more laughs if we had been dressing up and paying full price on a weekend night. The movie of course gets an extra bonus for featuring the local Polyphonic Spree in the trailer (though not in the film)! It always fun to see a movie in a screening because it is a packed crowd and everyone is excited to be there. We got a lot of "OOOOOHHHss!" in the tone of childlike wonderment from all of the animation tricks.

The next movie I am hoping to see is The Artist (still!) and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

Have you seen any good movies lately?

What are your favorite movie theatres in Dallas?

Lent: Growing, Reflecting and Finding a Fish Fry Alternative

2012-02-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

A little late to the punch but as you might could tell from the dirty foreheads last Wednesday, Lent has arrived. On Sunday we went to the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of Guadalupe downtown and Markus received his pre-Baptismal blessing from Bishop Farrell. I can't believe in a little over a month Markus will be baptised!

The big Catholic to-do for Lent is no meat on Fridays. This has been a little lackluster for me over the past five years since I don't eat meat to begin with. Surrounded by friends who have to think twice before ordering pepperoni on their pizzas I've wondered what I could do to tell that tiny tinge of sacrifice over the next weeks fews until Easter.

I visited Community Partners of Dallas on my Junior League bus tour this year and have been very excited to get involved with them since touring their offices and learning more about their inredible work. Their programs are inventive, detailed and strive to help each child in Dallas feel respected and empowered. I'm more of an add-an-extra-good than subtract-a-kinda-bad person, so a mini-project with this organization came to mind as a great way to get the same feeling my omnivore friends do when passing on the grass-fed beef on Fridays - just that little above and beyond to remind us that we believe to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

I hit the mini-project motherlode with Community Partners of Dallas' Storyline - a hotline that any child can call at any time and hear a recorded storybook read to them. These stories make children feel special and cared for when they may not have a parent that is willing or available to read to them, and we also know the developmental benefits of reading to a child is nothing to sneeze at either.

I simply created my Storyline account on their website, picked dates to record that worked with my schedule (one a week through the end of Lent for now) and then went off to find my books. Turns out my first pick, Mean Soup, was a bit of a challenge to find and was not at any local libraries, bookstores or available for download on my Nook color. The only thing I was able to find was a YouTube video of a mom reading it to her son, which Markus helped me transcribe so I would be ready for my performance!

My next reads over the month are Enemy Pie, The Lotus Seed and The Grouchy Ladybug. I am very excited to end Lent with an Eric Carle classic! I am also not ashamed to admit that things like Eric Carle books still excite this childless 26-year-old.

Mommies, teachers and fellow picture book savants, have you read any of the books below?

Any tips for finding these titles and adding flair to my recordings?

As far as daily Lenten practice goes, instead of giving something up I am adding something in. Markus and I hope to adopt a child one day, so we've been taking this time to pray for the mother of our future baby. We don't know who she is yet, but this might be the time in her life where she is developing that part of who she is that will help her decide to help our family one day. We've prayed for her peace, her strength and her health so far. There's not much else we can do right now as we plan for a family a few years from now but this little exercise has been a great daily reminder that we're headed that way. I wouldn't be surprised if it continues to be part of the nightly routine long after Easter!

Do you do anything this time of year to take stock on your blessings?

If you practice Lent, how's it going so far?

Wild West Party - A Shootout at the O-K Corral

2012-02-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

Last night was my friend Sarah's birthday party. She has a big family and we do a theme party every year that is thought out to every last detail. This year's theme was the Old West and it was so fun!

Sarah made Wanted posters for everyone that would be there. She said mine gave her the original idea because I am always holding a baby at her house!

Tasty libations to be found at the water trough,

complete with an authentic tumbleweed brought all the way from Lubbock.

Markus and I's costumes!

I had no idea what I was going to wear and found all of this in my closet in 10 minutes. Scary, right?

A tribe of beauties all in the handmade tee-pee!

The birthday cowgirl and I.

I had to wear my otter rung as a tribute to Pocahantas.

"The heron and the otter are my friends!"

It is so much fun playing and relaxing with Sarah's family! I love a good theme party and this one was so thought out and a really playful theme.

What were you up to this weekend?

What are some of your favorite theme party ideas?

Friday Favorites

2012-02-24T07:12:00.001-08:00

Time to sink into another weekend! Here are a few of my favorites from this week.

Little Child

I had Monday off work and spent the whole day working on home projects and playing SAHM to sweet Little Child. It is so fun to spend a day with my little lady - we both work on our own projects and then regroup every few hours for a snuggle sesh. She is always playful and the bright spot in my heart but when she knows I am spending a whole day at home with her she just turns into a sweet pile of mush. We've had an especially good week together, BFF wise.

Parks and Recreation

We were desperate for at-home entertainment a few weeks ago when Markus got his wisdom teeth out. We dug deep into out Hulu account and discovered Parks and Rec. Since then it has been up to six-hour-long marathons on the weekends. We finally caught up this week and I'm pretty down about it. Only 30 minutes of Ron Swanson a week, if that, for the rest of my life? I now cling to Thursday nights with purpose. This is the Parks and Rec clip of late that has been making me lose it.

"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns"

I read this book by Mindy Kailing the first week it was out and loved it. I would read excerpts to Markus and his repsonse was "That's scary." Scary as in I cannot believe there is another young woman in the world that meticuously contemplates life the exact way that you do. My best friend's birthday is this weekend and I am excited to gift her with this book, mostly so she can have a hard copy of the extremely spot-on Best Friend Rights and Repsonsibilities.

Turnips

Introduced to me through the food co-op, I ate my first turnip this month. I was very fearful at first but after a good roasting they are now my favorite addition to our Hot Roasted Messes. I've decided only real foodies eat turnips so I like to talk about my turnip eating quite a bit. ex. "I don't know what I'll do for dinner tonight, probably something simple yet delicious to my refined taste like roasted turnips." I assume everyone in Downtown Abbey eats turnips - both those upstairs and downstairs. Turnips are the new brussel sprouts and I am on the early adopter train.

This weekend I am going to a movie screening, flower shopping for Sistah's wedding, finishing my closet revamp and going to a Coyboys and Indians party! Looking forward to sharing all the fun (besides the closet revamp thing - that one is less fun and more intervention).

What are you loving this week?

Any good weekend plans?

Discovery Date Night - Roz Savage at the Winspear Opera House

2012-02-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

One thing I love about living in a large city is it so easy to try and learn about new things. We definitely make an effort to try dates outside of just the movies to keep it fresh and interesting. Two ways we've been able to do this on the dime are Groupon and giveaways!

I love entering giveaways on Twitter. If you follow our cultural hubs such as the art museums and theatres in Dallas on Twitter you'll find that they often have extra passes to events in the city that they are willing to give out for free on Twitter for a simple RT or repsonse. Sometimes that isn't even necessary - a few weeks ago I tweeted at KXT radio that I was enjoying their playlist that day and they gifted me with the new Black Keys CD just for reaching out!

Last week the Dallas Arts District hosted a Twitter giveaway for two tickets to see Roz Savage speak at the Winspear. I blindly entered just for the fun of participating and was lucky enough to win two tickets to see her presentation last night. She was an engaging speaker and I learned a lot about her journey, our environment and, surprisingly, myself over the course of the evening.

Roz Savage is the first woman to cross the Pacific ocean solo by rowboat. She is also the first woman to cross three oceans solo by rowboat. You may think that would mean that she had been rowing all of her life, but she actually worked a desk job for 11 years before deciding that she felt compelled to do something "big" with her life and subsequently found that rowing across oceans was her big thing!

The event was held at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House. It is such a gorgeous space I always love an excuse to be inside it. Our seats were amazing as well. We've never been able to sit so close at the opera house before, so thank you, Dallas Arts District for allowing us to be your guests!

Before the presentation started you could "ask" Roz a question by submitting it through text or Twitter. You can see Markus' question at the top re: how many calories she has to consume a day while rowing and what she eats beforehand to prep. If it wasn't clear before that Markus is a "food as fuel" type of person, it was clear last night. She only answered three of the submitted questions and one was Markus'! If you're curious, she tried to gain at least 30 pounds before leaving on her rows because that is how much she typically loses - even though she consumes 4,000 calories a day when in the ocean!

As an armchair environmentalist, I was the most fascinated by her viewpoints and discoveries on our Earth and its needs from us as its citizens. Roz rows the oceans to bring awareness to martime pollution and conservation. Roz has seen some incredible maritime life and, unfortunately, pollution on her travels. The videos she shared from a plastic island in the North Pacific, called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, made a deep impression on me and it will be a long while before I use a plastic water bottle again!

Roz's message about what is takes to be an environmentalist was very powerful to me. She explained that no matter who you are, protecting our world is something that has to be done "one stroke at a time." It's those conscious desicions every day to wait to throw something out until we've found a recycling bin for it, or bringing our own shopping bags to the store and using our reusable sandwhich bags or water bottles that will add up and keep plastics out of our oceans and landfills. I get a lot of crazy looks sometimes when do things like keep my papers and cans under my desk and bring them home at the end of the week, but those items are out of the garbage and there is a tiny chance that I have set an example to someone else that recycling can be easy, even if a blue bin is not tucked under your desk at work.

I really appreciate that so many organizations in Dallas work to make their social media platforms a two way street with their followers. It makes me feel like a part of their missions and keeps me in the know about unique happenings in Dallas. Thanks to Dallas Arts District for the tickets and congratulations to Roz Savage for her success in finding what makes her happy and using it to save our waters!

What are some ways that you like to hear about events in your city?

Do you ever enter giveaways as a free way to try something new?

What are some ways that you try to make a difference for our environment?

Hot Roasted Mess

2012-02-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

I always thought February would be a month of snow days, slow moving and lots of home time to make soups and other hot meals. We've somehow subbed that for 70 degree weather (no complaints!) and either running around like crazy or sinking lifelessly into our sofa, with food and fitness taking a backseat.

Saving us is the trusty Urban Acres food co-op, where we get to pick up a bin full of organic fruits and vegetables in less time than it takes to park at most of our local health food mega-stores. Usually when we pick up our bin on Saturday I oogle all the new goods and begin devising a loose menu plan for the upcoming weeks.

No time for that lately because ..."There's never any time, Zack! There's never any time!!"

Incoroporate this video seamlessly into a personal blog post: check.

Saving our time and stomachs is my new ultra-fancy recipe, the Hot Roasted Mess. For this new favorite I take handfuls of whatever root vegetables we have in the refrigerator, toss them in a little flavoring and then roast it up.

The point of the Hot Roasted Mess is to use what you have, so there is no shopping list per se. Below are some ingredients that I often to use to put some vegetables in our stomachs and very minimal effort.

Hot Roasted Mess

Step 1: Select your Messes to Roast

Vegetables to have appeared in a Roasted Mess:

Broccoli

Calliflower

Turnips

Potatoes (we've done blue/purple, red and golden)

Carrots

Garlic

Onion

After gathering all of your veggies, chop them into small, bite-size quarters. Then throw them all in a collander and wash them, preferrably with Veggie Wash for full sanitizing.

Step 2: Toss your Mess in some Flavor

Items I've added to my vegetables:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Herbamare

Garlic Salt

Balsamic Vinegarette

Tamari Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

Bragg's Amino Acids

Lemon Juice

Fresh Organic Rosemary (from the co-op!)

After the vegetables have been washed, I transfer them to a mixing bowl and toss them in a drizzling of a liquid (pouring slowly once or twice around the bowl) above and then sprinkle on a seasoning. I toss the vegetables around with my hands until everything seems to be consistently coated.

Veggies tossed in Olive Oil, lemon juice, salt and Bragg's going into the oven.

Step 3: Roast Your Mess

Pour the seasoned veggies onto a baking sheet and put it into an oven preheated a 400F for 35-40 minutes. The best part of this recipe is, if you put the veggies in at 5:25pm, you have exactly enough time to get situated and watch the entire Wheel of Fortune program. As Vanna does her send off your timer will beep and it will be time for veggies!

A finished product! Crispy outsides and soft, flavorful insides.

Markus and I have made this 3-4 times this week because we have needed that nutrition boost to keep us going through projects but have not been able to muster the energy to stand over a stove. Different combinations of flavors and seasonings help to mix it up. We love Bragg's and soy sauce with sea salt for a Teryaki feel, and olive oil/lemon juice/rosemary as a side for pasta and pesto.

What is your go-to meal when you want to eat healthy but are lacking prep time?

February 20

2012-02-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

For the past month, I've told myself if I could get to February 20, I would take care of all of the other aspects of my life then. I had a huge work project - putting on a two day training event for 60 people from 7 different states - that wrapped last night. Thankfully, I also had today off work and knew if I could just get physically to this date, I would make the effort to re-focus on all the other things that had fallen by the wayside (basically everything else). Here I stand so it was time to jump into the deep end of my neglected life this morning!

After a day of hard(ish) work, some of the areas where I am feeling reconnected today include:

Friends
I have not one but TWO, hour long phone chats with my best friend, Sarah, today. It has only been two weeks since we last went to a barre sculpting class together, but we had a lot to catch each other up on! Sarah's birthday party this weekend. Sarah throws amazing theme parties every year so you do not want to walk in to her soirees with a bunch of catching up to do. Feels so good to be able to say that at this moment I know everything going on with my friend! These moments are far between so I am cherishing it today.

Family
Sistah's wedding is only 12 weeks away! This morning I watched the Today show and clicked away reserving hotel rooms, sailboat passes and other aspects of her girls' lake weekend in April. I'm trying to keep all of my personal wedding details like party planning on time and on point in case Sistah needs me on a last minute project.

Fashion?
Kind of fashion, mostly trying to keep my house to a point where if I had a child it would not be taken away due to my own filth. But fashion in a way that the most out of control (note that I say most, not only) aspect of my home is my closet. We have a three bedroom home, so when Markus and I moved in we picked a room to be our bedroom and then each got a room to be our place. Markus made a music and exercise room and I made mine a closet, knowing that if my closet were in our bedroom it would always be spilling into our space. Two full hours in to closet cleaning, I have trash bags for consignment or charity and I'm feeling...closer. But not finished! I am being extremely detailed this clean out, though, hoping that the more space I have, the more I will actually put clothes back and utilize my closets instead of throwing things on the floor.

After photos will have to come this weekend, and I was too ashamed to take a full before shot. Maybe you can make your own assumptions of what I faced this morning by taking a look at what was going on with just one corner of my guest bed.

This is not the closet of a woman who had her act together.

Now I am doing my most important job, acting as snuggle buddy for Little Child.

Did you have a day off from work today?

What projects are you working on or wishing you could catch up on?

The Slug Bug

2012-02-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

As you can tell by my lovey language that past few posts, the love bug has certainly been by our house this week. Also visiting is the slug bug, not so much that causes us to hit each other, although I do totally condone family fight clubs (just don't talk about it), but more so feeling like a slug and not wanting to do anything.

Not wanting to do anything entails throwing pity parties about having to get out of bed, trudging off to work a little on the late side and wanting to do nothing but imprint our bottoms into the sofa when we get home and stay there until it's time for bed. This is not a usual description of my personality, and definitely not Markus' ~~manic~~ perpetually enthused attitude.

Favorite quotes from Markus this week re: his sudden change in energy:
"I feel like dishwater."
"I feel like someone took all the muscles out of my body and replaced them with melted gummy bears."
Such dramatic and descriptive language. Maybe he should be the blog writer...

What is wrong with us? Are we ill? Vitamin D deficit? Did we get old before we had kids? Because if so, I totally said that we needed to have kids before we got old and am declaring myself the winner of that argument.

I've been saving my resources in a sloth-like way, both physically and in the kitchen, where I've been using the leftover ingredients from lover's pizza night for other lunches and dinners.

Wednesday Lunch: Leftover Bean Dip Nachos

My bean dip from The Daily Garnish (made with black beans and added corn)

over blue corn chips with leftover green pepper, cheese and Kirkland's organic salsa from Costco.

Thursday Dinner: Greeny Mac (and a coffee at 7pm because I was falling asleep, WTF?)

Gluten-free pasta shells tossed with blended avocado, veganaisse, salt, garlic and leftover pesto.

Weeks like this I am so glad that I go to a few group exercise classes a week so I have some group ~~peer-pressure~~ accountability to work out. My friends at Preston Hollow Dance have carried me on their backs this week! Figuratively speaking, that is. It's barre sculpting, not boot camp.

This weekend I am working full days for a massive training, so there's no rest for the weary. Hopefully on Sunday I can crash out and get back on track for next week!

Has anyone else been feeling the sludge this week?

How do you get back in the fitness/energy zone after a lull?

Perfect Husband Payback Time. Or Why I Could Never Be On Top Chef...

2012-02-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a big Gary Marshall movie for me. I felt like everywhere I turned I saw someone celebrating love! From my coworkers who all got sweet flowers and dates to girlfriends who tweeted about the fun girls' nights they had planned, I truly enjoyed keeping up with it all.

It is against the law to use your phone in a school zone in Dallas. I decided on my drive to work that any fine was totally worth the picture I was going to take of these babies hauling loot for their Valentine's into school. I think everyone has an elementary school sob-story re: and unrequited Valentine, but I hope all of these kiddos got the affections they were looking for.

Markus and I have a standing lunch date at Pei Wei about once a week. When our schedules were both free for lunch yesterday I decided to dress it up a little. Conversation hearts make a cameo in our Valentine's celebrations each year (Anecdote Alert: The first year we were together we were long-distance and Markus mailed me a random 8lb. box. When I opened it conversation hearts poured out with little notes tucked in like needles in a haystack. My roomates and I were still eating them in May!). I decorated our lunch table with some hearts and Markus' card. People were not shy about coming up to me before Markus got there and letting me know that they liked my tablescape. By the end I kind of just wanted it to be over but Markus had fun!

Sweet and Sour Gluten-Free Shrimp aka Cupid's Kryptonite

My Valentine's piece de resistance was the dinner I knew I wanted to make him while he was at his baptism class. I wanted to make Markus a simple and fun dinner. Nothing fancy, but complete with apps and zerts. What are apps and 'sserts, you ask? Maybe my friend Tom can tell you below.

I was supposed to have an hour and a half, so I figured I could make dinner and then do a workout DVD all before he came home. AHHHahahahahaha! I was running around for the complete 75 minutes he was gone and even had to run to the store for a missing ingredient. I climbed on counters, opened cabinets too fast and had pantry items drop on my head and stress-ate half a bag of chips. I don't think I acutally needed more time but I felt that ticking clock staring me down and it got to my head! When Top Chef calls I'm going to have to say thanks but no thanks.

Apps: "Cheesy" Vegan Black Bean Dip

I took the bean dip recipe from The Daily Garnish.

As I was prepping the pizzas I started thinking about how it might be awesome to add some corn, so I did.

I only had cans of corn so I added the whole thing, but I think fresh husked corn would be even better!

All the ingredients (minus the corn) blending into the perfect dip!

Tray Trays: Make Your Own Heart-Shaped Pizza

Shopping List:

Udi's Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts (2 in a pack)

Then all your favorite toppings!

We had:

Daiya Vegan Cheese

Mozarella

Tomato Sauce

Sliced Black Olives

Organic Fresh Cut Green Pepper

Locally Made Pesto

Quartered Artichoke Hearts

Quorn Chicken Tenders* (sauteed beforehand)

*The chicken tenders for Quorn are their only product that does not contain wheat on their ingredients list. However, they are processed in the same facility and they do not promise the product to be gluten-free. If you read my blog to know about gluten-free products, I have never reacted to this product like I have others but I would be nervous serving it to my sister and mom who are more severe celiacs. Every gut is different!

I let the pizza crusts thaw and then cut them into heart shapes for maximum cutesyness. Then simply placed all of the topping ingredients out on the counter so Markus could build his pie any way he wanted it when he got home!

The leftover crust pieces were put to the side and then popped into the oven on a baking sheet with the pies to become pita chips for our dip!

L-R: Finished Black Bean Dip, Quorn, Vegan Pepperjack, Artichokes, Sauce and Mozarrella

Fully loaded.

My finished pie!

Zerts: Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

Two of my favorite epicurial retailers, Dylan's Candy Bar and Neiman Marcus, sell chocolate covered potato chips. I always thought it would be fun to surprise Markus with an order of some for a special occassion. Then that little Type A achiever that sits on my shoulder every few years told me to go for it myself. It was an easy project and Markus loved them!

Shopping List:

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - Leftover from another project. I get mine from the bulk section at Sprout's.

Potato Chips - Kettle held up really well against the thick chocolate. Markus has a...curious pallette so I tried original and a few more unique flavors.

Pastry Brush - This was recommended but I didn't have time to get one. Definitely would have been easier!

Parchment Paper

First step is melt the choclate in a microwave or double broiler.

Then, apply the chocolate with a pastry brush. Or wooden spoon if you are a more unorganized breed of homemaker such as myself.

Finally, lay the choco-ed chips on parchment paper to harden for an hour. I read that the chips can go into the frezer or refrigerator to move this process along, but to be wary of putting them in for too long because the chips can sweat and then become soggy.

Jalapeno on the lefy, krinkle cut on the right!

Markus' shock and awe made me so happy. He is always the sneaky Pete so I can't believe I was able to throw him back a little love this year! I can see why he finds being a romantic so fun. When I walked into work this morning a coworker was sharing about the white wine risotto with fancy shamcy coco-puffs or whatever that she made her husband for dinner. I immediately felt a little less fancy but no less proud of our heart-shaped pizza party. It was a low culture love affair!

Did you have any great meals yesterday? What is your favorite part about Valentine's Day: your own celebrations or seeing how others spend the day?

Valentine's Day Playlist

2012-02-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that you are enjoying the passion and pink that comes from my favorite commercial holiday. I know I probably sound like a shmuck now that I am married to Mr. Romance, but I do believe that the holiday is about love for others and ourselves, not just cutesy, coupley stuff. Some of my favorite Valentine's memories are from my mom and when I was single on V-Days in college I still always wore my pinkest shirt with pride to class and would pass out chocolate bass fish (my Valentine of choice, sold at Walgreen's) to my friends.

Maybe Valentine's is about extending some love to someone you think might need to feel included. At my elementary school in Kentucky, Joe the janitor was an institution and everyone knew him. When my second grade teacher said we were going to have a Valentine's luncheon and we could invite an adult I wrote Janitor Joe on my invitation. Then my teacher suggested maybe asking one of my parents, so I invited my dad but not without crying that my mom might end up feeling left out. If I had to do it all over again I'd invite all three! Why should we only have one Valentine?

Markus and I have always loved music. On our first date we sat on the floor and counters of my kitchen with the ipod dock between us and played songs of each of our ipods for each other. For, like, 26 hours. Here are some of the songs that were running through my mind today as I thought of how fortunate I am to have so many people in my life that I love!

Bob Schneider - 40 Dogs

"We're like good times that haven't happened yet but will."

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Our House

"Life used to be so hard. Now everything is easy 'cuz of you."

Brandi Carlisle - Closer to You

"And when the seasons change I will too. I just want to be closer to you."

Jack Johnson - Do You Remember?

Our original, most perfect song about our family.

"You played me boogie-woogie, I played you love songs.

You said 'We're playing house,' and now you still say we are"

I'm going to make it a point to put on these tunes tonight and do a little dancing around!

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are looking for a man to spend Valentine's Day with, consider the video below my trusted field guide for scouting.

What are your plans for speading love today?

What are some of your favorite love songs?

Happy Valentine's Day from the Neubauers! Lilly, Crazy Eyes and Little Child.

Destination Dating: My Husband the Kidnapper

2012-02-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

A few months ago Markus asked me to take February 9 and 10 off work. It was before the holidays and I had just walked in the door from being gone all week for a work project, so I really didn't think much of it. That changed over the last few weeks as I got more and more excited about what these mystery PTO days could be needed for! The secret plan was finally revealed to me this weekend and it was beyond my craziest expectations.

When Markus and I were friends before we strted dating, he told me, "All I really want to do with my life is be able to have my work be able something I love, eat really great foods and have a girl that I get to do super romantic things for." We are still working on long-term career goals together but I love eating good food with Markus and this weekend was one for the wildly romantics. I guess I am just the perfect wife helping my husband live the dream, ha!

When we woke up on Thursday morning Markus told me that we were packing up for our other hometown, Lubbock, TX! He wouldn't divulge much of his plan but he did let me know that we were going to kickoff the weekend by fulfilling one of my lifelong dreams - seeing the Harlem Globetrotters! I have always wanted to see a Globetrotter game and have mentioned it a few times but never expected Markus to really take note.

After a leisurely drive we pulled into Lubbock. Markus had reservations for us at Orlando's, a local Italian favorite that now boasts a gluten-free menu. Markus used to reserve booth 5 (I am a former Orlando's hostess) - the back corner booth that has it's own set of doors for optimal goo-goo eye making. Once again Markus got us our favorite table. Lady and the Tramp meets forks moments ensued.

The "Lover's Booth" at Orlando's on Ave Q

After early dinner Markus drove us around and stopped the car by the mountain bike trails. Our favorite spot in town/the universe is right on these trails so I assumed I was in for a little after-dinner hike. I had no idea what was in store for me at the top of the hill!

First, a sweet rendition of our favorite song a la the ukelele. Sneaky video recording wife FTW.

I thought that was the extent of my sweet surprise and was already regretting putting on mascara, but then Markus reminded me that February 9 four years before was when we got engaged and then took a knee and re-proposed with a gorgeous infinity band to match my engagement ring! After Markus having to ask me if I was ok a few times, I pulled myself together and we enjoyed a lovely sunset and a few smooches (obviously, diamonds were involved, people) in our secret spot.

My engagement ring, promise ring and new eternity band stacked all in a row.
My bling is getting to a Cash Money Millionaire level of awesome.

The only group that could follow a moment like that is, of course, the Harlem Globetrotters. After years of hype these guys totally exceeded my expectations. Markus got us tickets on the very front row. Markus told me years ago I said that I if given the choice I would totally take courtside seats to the Harlem Globetrotters over an NBA game. Apparetly I say amazing things that are also true, because our seats made the whole experience. They even pulled Markus into the mix during the game to block Big Easy in the middle of a water fight! I am so glad we saw the Globetrotters in Lubbock. It was so special to me to get to do some trick passes before the game with the team in the same arena where I watched so many of my favorite basketball games. If only they can one day get my love, Bobby Knight, as their celebrity coach. Maybe he can be a little more family friendly than his golf games. Some of my favorite photos from the game are below!

Meeting Stretch before the game from the Magic Pre-show Passes Markus got us!

Markus the human basketball.

Adore this picture of Markus.

Happy people.

As you can image I am dunzo as far as Valentine's Day goes, but I do need to think of something awesome to hit Markus back for a bangup job. Any ideas for a good at-home Valentine's Day are greatly appreciated!

What were you up to this weekend? Have a good romantic story or something in the works for the week of love?

Grammy's Fashion

2012-02-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

After an amazing weekend getaway that I am so excited to share highlights of tomorrow, I am back on my trusty red sofa between Markus and Little Child enjoying the Grammy's. I can't wait for all of the performances, besides Chris Brown of course, and so far I've bee feasting my eyes on many a fashion moment as well!

I Knew My Ex Was Going To Be Here Award goes to Rihanna. Though she should have points deducted for trying to impress the official asshole of R&B, I will be fashionably objective in this moment.

I hope you find a therapist one day that is as good as your stylist.

Also up for the Looking Good Is The Best Revenge Award: my fellow big eyed brunette Katy Perry. I loved this Elie Saab look and thought it jived perfectly with her current message that she can be a pop princess without being disrespectful to her upbringing.

Russell is remorse. Mom is proud. Kudos to Katy!

Speaking of disrespectful, I am over Nicki Minaj. I understand that fashion, like music, is a form of self-expression, and that there is no church more fashionable than those charming Catholics, but with so many artists choosing to promote world peace and acceptance I find this getup is tacky. Way to ruin a chance to show off your figure by throwing a bunch of red satin sheets over it and also ruin your plus one on some confused-looking old man. Boo his, church dismissed.

By the way, saints had way cooler outfits than this.
I know because I dressed as one every November 1 in my 15 years of Catholic school.

Safe But Not Sorry Awards go to Carrie Underwood and Kelly Osborne. Carrie is my thinspiration but usually her awards outfits are as tacky as her wedding photos (as they say, take the girl out of Oklahoma and give her a spray tan...). This dress isn't pushing any major fashion envelopes but she's not drowning in ruffles or rosettes either. Same with Kelly Osborne, who also kept it in fashion neutral but looked good doing so.

Very pretty.
Now go back to wearing shorts so I can put pictures of your legs on my refrigerator.

I love sheer overlays on dresses, especially formal wear, so I was a smitten kitten for Miranda Lambert's choice. Sheer overlay was no help for the high neck trend, though. If high necks come back next year I will be a sad, sad stylewatcher.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

I never thought I would miss her sheets of sequins like I do looking at this.

I always love Grammy's fashion because it's a little more funky fresh than your standard red carpets. Who did you love tonight?

Give Me Liberty Burger

2012-02-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

So it is clear from my posts that I love a good meal at home and that we stick to it during the week. Markus and I will meet up for lunch about once a week or so but besides that I also go home for lunch to save money, get a good dose of veggies in and snug with Miss Little Child. I love eating out, though, so usually by Monday I've picked a place that I want to try over the weekend. By the time we get there I have looked up the menu numerous times, assigned Markus a list of options based on his diet habits and built logistics for any of our errands or plans completely around this meal. I yelp it, I urbanspoon it, I visit the Facebook page. I am all in.

Liberty Burger got on my hit list through the most unlikely of sources, Nannie my Granny. Nannie is a woman of refined taste, but food wise the only things I've seen her eat since my grandfather died 11 years ago are blueberry muffins, irish oatmeal, Werther's butterstoch candies and flan if we get on to her about nutrition, because it has egg for protein, naturally. So when Nannie was raving to me about a burger place I was intrigued. Then she let me know that my celiac mom was eating their gluten-free hamburger buns and I became obsessed with getting Liberty Burger checked off my food bucket list.

This is a counter service run restaurant, but in the best way possible. A friendly host staff assigns you to a table before you order your food so you're not stuck ordering and then doing the middle school lunchroom shuffle of awkwardly standing while searching for a place to eat. The wait staff delivers your food and is able to help you with anything after you've received your order and we also had a pleasant visit by the owner, who is on a romantic comedy level of adorable.

We got to Liberty Burger at around 6:30 on Friday, because once the word gets out that a restaurant is stocking gluten-free, there's always going to be a demand and I didn't want to ~~have a meltdown in a restaurant~~ miss this opportunity. Turns out when we got there that they had already gone through a pack of gluten-free buns but were bringing in more to accomodate the dinner rush.

First to the table was the caramel sea salt shake. I used to be a chocolate malt girl but no more malt after saying goodbye to gluten, so I've been looking for a replacement. This shake was incredible. There is a three-flavor rotation in each sip of creamy vanilla ice cream, salty goodness and pure, rich caramel. There is enough shake to get your meal off to a happy beginning, break up your burger and then have a little extra for lingering conversation or the ride home. Markus caught me looking longingly into the distance a few times this weekend and when he asked me what was on my mind, my repsonse each time was, "Oh, nothing. I just wish I had that caramel shake right now..."

Hi. I love you.

House made veggie patties are a huge deal to me. Liberty Burger's was definitely one of the best I've ever had. Lots of fresh veggies and chickpeas. I got it Chillerno style which means hickory barbeque sauce, a real deal slice of green chile and the thickest queso blanco I've ever had. It was oozing everywhere and I was pretty much the happiest person alive.

Liberty Burger's Chillerno with a veggie patty and gluten-free bun.

Very legitimate queso blanco and green chile.

If you order a regular bun, they are made at Liberty Burger and from what I've heard they are amazing. Nannie's companion once grabbed my arm in a moment of pleasure as she raved to me about their thick cut onion rings. We got the skinny fries and they were good. I'm really looking forward to going back with a frend and trying the sweet potato fries as well. The house made chipotle ketchup has a legitimate punch - I was reaching for my water. Markus loved their fresh mustard, noting the horseradish kick.

The point of my weekend food field trips is to try new places and maybe learn a new way to prepare something at home. It seems though, that for the forseeable future, my Saturdays will be spent at Liberty Burger slurping down the salty shakes. Doesn't bother me one bit.

Dallas hungries - have you tried Liberty Burger? Anyone else try to balance their budget with their sense of adventure by limiting dining out to a weekly (or monthly) pleasure?

Fairey Says Relax - Dallas Contemporary Phenomenon

2012-02-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

So I have been hyping Dallas Contemporary's Phenomenon event in both blog and real life for a while. And I sit here today to tell you that this party was very much legitimate and so worth the wait. Question: if you go to a party hosted by the guy who made the Obama poster and have an awesome time, does that mean you're a Democrat?

After a long week of installing stunning murals around the Dallas Design District, Dallas Contemporary and Shepard Fairey made one more night of it and threw a huge, neon dance party in the artspace. Graffiti barrels, fog, stop-motion video and custom gobos. Very abandoned meth lab chic. We were feeling it.

After checking in and getting our food truck tickets a line of volunteer staff greeted guests with glowing necklaces, bracelets and party sticks. Markus and I got into Project Runway mode with our new accessories and it was make it work time.

Markus' glow sticks tied to his shoes for optimal dance party light show.

One of the gallery spaces was open for the OBEY Pop-Up Shop, that featured a slew of Andre the Giant goodies, including a special print for Dallas and framed photos of him working on the Dallas murals.

The t-shirts and sweats were flying out of the store and are made in the USA. If you could not attend last night, the store is open through Feb 12 while supplies last (check with dallascontemporary.org for hours). I will certainly be back on my lunch break to do some extra shopping!

After doing a lap before settling on a location (chapter in my future book: Things I Learned from the Movie Clueless), Markus and I used our food truck tickets at the Green House truck. I have really been wanting to try them and they did not disappoint. Thick brown rice with exceptionally fresh vegetables and chili oil. I thought about how good this was throughout the rest of the evening, until I got another one as we were leaving that I ate in the car on the way home (see ya, Taco Bell). I am so lucky to work by the Dallas Arts District so I can start seeing these guys when they are down there for lunch! Follow them on Twitter to keep up with their whereabouts.

Amazing grub c/o The Green House truck.

Soon it was dance party time. Shepard Fairey had an amazing set - lots of Run DMC and early 90's soCal rap mixed with The Ramones and Metallica up through Tribe Called Quest and Daft Punk. It was everything that Girl Talk puts on an album but fails to do live. Markus and I non-stop danced.

When the song below came on I basically died and we tried our very best to reenact this routine. It was a top 5 moment in our relationship for me. We were so in love and popping fresh dance moves like a deleted scene from She's All That.

Thank you to Dallas Contemporary for hosting such incredible events for our community! And for all the glow sticks that woke up in my bed with me this morning.

Anyone else have a memorable Saturday night?

Fun Facts

2012-02-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

The pretty behind A. Liz Adventures posted this fun facts and survey and invited readers to join in. Partyin', partyin' let's do this on Fridayyy...

* You must post the rules

* Post 11 Fun Facts about yourself - sorry, I am cheating on this. But 11 makes me feel even more self-absorbed than I will allow myself to admit, so we are doing 6 today.

* Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you & then create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged

* Tag 11 people and link them in your post

* Let them know you tagged them

The 11 6 Facts

1. I love to decorate cupcakes. When Markus was finishing school I needed to fill some time so I took a class at Michael's. I love Tibeten mandalas and the idea that once they are finished they are destroyed, showing how the most beutiful things in the world are the most transient. My cupcakes are my mandalas. Even before realizing I couldn't eat gluten I have always refused to eat my own cupcakes. I'm very self-critical and I would freak out if I tried one and they weren't good. Some of my prevous "works" are below.

2. I inherited a gorilla costume in high school and would often show up at friends' birthday parties wearing it. The trick to being a fun female in the gorilla costume community is you need a good blow out and to have your toes done, or else you are some crazy woman wearing an animal outift.

3. I listen to a lot of independent alt-country and rock, but for a while in college I was obsessed, obsessed OBSESSED with Garth Brooks. It was essentially all I would listen to and I did very involved lyrical dance interpretations of his songs in my car and apartment. To this day if "The Thunder Rolls" comes on the radio the car next to me is in for a treat.

4. I don't think I failed to cry in a single movie I saw in 2011. I mean, I cried in Moneyball. Hard. And after I see a movie my whole day is consumed by it. I love the human condition you guys.

5. I am a pretty sarcastic, off-the-cuff person, so I think it is kind of funny that I am intensely introspective at the same time. My biggest turn off to other people is complacency or watching someone know that what they're doing is bad for them but continuing to do it anyways because it's easier or they fear the unknown. Stop that shit and start living the live that was intended for you, yo! I am super open about my love of counseling with people to the point that I freak them out. When I was a junior in college I decided my whole current life was broken so I took a leave of absence from school, went home and met with a counselor up to twice a week to set out my short term and long term goals for my adult life. She asked me what the point of my efforts were and I told her "I'd just like in a few years to know what I am looking for in a person and be a good enough person where I might be able to contribute better things to another person's life." Eight weeks later I very very randomly met Markus. I believe sometimes you just need to say it out loud to know what you want and make it possible for it to find you.

6. I have never won any sort of merit award ever. I have won a Spirit award for every non-athletic endeavor of my life - elementary school band, high school superlative, my sorority, camps, etc. There was a Spirit Award at my last company and they had to remove me from the nominations when I gave my two weeks because I was already the lead. People root for the underdog and I am the Rudy of life it seems.

The 11 Questions
1. What is your profession?
I work for a humanitarian non-profit, in the communications area. Fun work!

2. How would you describe your style?

Hopefully classic with unexpected elements. I could wear a pair of jeans with a J.Crew or Thread for Thoughts cotton tee or a button down shirt every day, and I don't know a week since high school where I haven't worn a combo like that at least once. When I can't wear jeans at work I basically rock the same top and a pair of Minnie pants. But I love colorful cardigans, quirky flats and huge dinner rings that hopefully mix it up. So dorky chic could wrap it up.

3. What one make-up product can you not live without?

I guess it is not makeup, but M.D.Forte Lotion 1 is my favorite beauty product in the world after my Clarisonic .I forget to wear makeup all the time and these two things probably make it a lot less painful for the people around me when this happens.

4. If you could be besties with one celebrity, who would it be?

I would prefer that my friend Legally Fabulous and I get some sort of long distance reality show. It would pretty much be a reality TV version of one of my all-time favorite shows, Perfect Strangers. Then I could just keep my current friend and have her be famous, because I am really bad at making new friends.

5. What is your dream vacation?

We love urban trips like Europe and Chicago but our whole lives change at the beach, so something that combines both. Maybe Rome with some time on the coast after? I am also dying to go on a silent retreat with yoga and vegetarian food and maybe some Buddhist stuff going on. It's one of my personal goals before having children.

6. What magazines do you subscribe to?

I don't have any right now! Snaps for lack of petroleum based paper coming in to my home and money leaving. I love Lonny and Matchbook. I, like everyone remotely aesthetically inclined, hoard my old Domino magazines in a box in my room. For a while Markus would surprise me now and then with one he found at Half Price Books. Redefines romance, am I right?

7. If you could have a special talent {that you don't currently have}, what would it be?

It would be nice to be able to sing. It would be incerdible to know what possessing social skills feels like.

8. What is your favorite breakfast food?

Juice! We juice beets, carrots, a lemon, ginger and some kind of "greeny" (kale, chard, baby spinach) every weekday morning. Makes a huge difference in energy and health.

9. If you could do anything, what is your dream job?

I want to be the person that thinks up those Google headings every day. Or I would like to work in the special events department at Henson studios.

10. What is your guilty pleasure?

I love facials. They are the gift that keeps on giving and help to turn my whole lack of effort thing into more of a natural glow feel.

11. What is the best piece of advice you've ever received, and who gave it to you?

Oy. Learning how to remove myself from my emotions was a big deal for me. Overall the best advice is from The Four Agreements, a book on Toltec wisdom. The accompanying book, the Mastery of Love, is also incredible. Very very much recommend these.

So you are all tagged in mine as well. If you have a blog and want to share the intimate details of your life, spill it! And then post the link here. Also, if you know me let me know if there is a fun fact about me that I left off and we can let other readers know more about me! Have a great weekend, everybody!

Friday Favorites: Fairey, Fitness and...the Fever

2012-02-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

Here are my favorite things this week!

Lookin' so gooooood.

Shepard Fairey and the People That Innappropriately Touch Him

This innovative and iconic artist is in town and has completed murals in one of my absolute favorite parts of Dallas - the ever evolving Design District! I love books as gifts, so I took Markus to Dallas Contemporary last night to meet Shepard (Mr. Fairey?) and have him sign one of his books for Markus as a Valentine's Day gift. It was a really cool signing with a artist's talk immediately following. I love this photo because I keep cracking up every time I look at it, not just because it is by far the most horrid photo of Markus and I that I've ever seen. I am an immensely socially off person, which is heightened around anyone who is remotely famous (like, if you have your own Wikipedia page, I'm not going to be able to have a normal conversation with you. Sorry.). So I am just my bubbly awkward self talking to this incredible artist and then we take a photo and completely without thinking I throw in a SIDE HUG. So inappropriate. Markus got to make fun of me for the rest of the night whilst doing his spot-on impersonation of my dorky drawl, "Well hey there sweetheart! We are just soooooo excited that you could come down here and put some pictures on our walls! Now do you mind if I take one of your little stickers? These are just precious. Let me give you a big ol' Dallas hug!"

Why do people go to these sort of things? For a memory I guess. So I gave Markus one and then some. The big, big event this weekend is the neon dance party he is hosting at Dallas Contemporary called Phenomenon. I can't wait to neon shop tonight! Do not miss this dance party, y'all!

Physique 57

I am rushing home to do these DVDs after work now. They are so, so fun. I have never liked the music on a fitness DVD and I have also never laughed while doing a fitness DVD before. So this is a big win. And I can't walk the day after. Each step makes me smile and flinch at the same time. Hoping to get one of these in tonight before Markus gets home and we start our weekend!

Babies

Actually, babies are so much my favorite right now that they're not my favorite. I've felt for the past week like somone has dropped Baby Mustard Gas all over me. I can't not think about babies at every moment of the day. If someone on TV has a baby I am sobbing and if someone on Facebook has a baby I hate them. At 26 years old I can admit that this is the closest I've come to having an imaginary friend, because in my mind I am always thinking about imaginary baby and what awesome things we could be doing right now. I've been through baby fever before, so I know it passes, but this is by far the most intense round I've faced so far. I need less of the adorable YouTube videos above and more pictures of babies crying, pulling hair, pooping - the 95% of real life with a baby moments. If you have any, please email them to me at LillyCNeu@gmail.com!

What are your weekend plans and Friday favorites today? Anyone else got the fever?

To the Groundhog! A Happy Neubauer Secret Favorite Holiday

2012-02-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

Last week at Junior League we had an ice breaker where we were supposed to go around and say our favorite place we've traveled to or a future dream destination. Most girls did a place they'd already been. Descriptions began with "we took a charter plane" or "then the sweetest local paddled us out to our private island." To be honest, I didn't listen much because all I could think about was how excited was to get to talk about my dream trip. Finally when it was my turn I blurted, "MY NAME IS LILLY AND MY DREAM TRIP IS TO GO TO PUNXATAWNEY AND SEE THE GROUNDHOG!"

Everyone laughed at me.

I'm sorry that I am lame and think that one of the finest parts of our country is that we allow an adorable rodent to predict the weather. There is so much tradition and lore to this historically significant event! Oh, to one day be able to partake in the festivities.

Some days run together in Markus and I's blissfully dull lives. But Groundhog Day is always a standout.

The night before our first Groundhog Day Markus was getting ready to drive back to Dallas from my place in Lubbock. Those were the worst. He suggested fighting off the mean reds with a movie, and we rented Groundhog Day. For two whole hours I didn't think about him leaving! Thank you, Phil Conners. Since then we go to the movie rental store every year and check it out for the night. I like to make a huge scene about how lucky we were to be able to secure such a sought-after film on its most popular viewing date. The cashier is always uninterested in playing along which makes it all the more hilarious to me.

Two years ago I made Markus these groundhog cupcakes to take to his office:

The amazing German chocolate recipe is from The Cake Mix Doctor Cupakes recipe book - one of my favorite additions to my cookbook collection. Just ice the cupcakes with one layer of chocolate frosting, roll them in choco sprinkles and add three more icing circles with a pastry bag and tip. The eyes are upside down chocolate chips, the nose is a brown M&M and the little tooths are almond slices!

Last year of course, was the best Groundhog Day. A snow day in Dallas, proving that Phil was right to suggest six more weeks of winter!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from last year. Markus and I waking up on Groundhog Day agasp of the snow piles on our back porch!

With all the recent video store closings, I was a little nervous about being able to secure such a hot title on our special family day. We went ahead and ordered the movie this year and it arrived last weekend - our first Blu-Ray! Of course, the rule is still in effect. Though we shall quote the screenplay in its entirety throughout the year, this disc is only to be watched on Groundhog Day.

Our special treat this year is making our own pizzas with Udi's crusts. As an added surprise I am making a signature cocktail for toasting that I call Drinks to World Peace! They are La Croix sparkling water with a good helping of Lite Pom added for a special touch filled with many antioxidants so we can see many a future Groundhog Day together.

How are you enjoying the day today? Does anyone actually celebrate Groundhog Day besides Makus and I?

Oh How Pinteresting: Kitchen Edition

2012-02-01T04:37:00.000-08:00

While we have spun together some warm and coziness for almost all of the other rooms in our home, the kitchen has been in need of some TLC for a while now. We are in the unfortunate holding pattern of the need for some big work - namely new counters and backsplash. I think it's a good deal that we love the current cabinets and tile, but countertops and backsplash tile aren't free so (impatiently) wait we will.

Also, it is a tiny little thing. Those walk in pantries that one might find in a suburban love nest? Not here. More like an octagon shaped cabinet with three shelves. Not a lot of room for two hungries who like to buy in bulk and eat at home. Our beloved food co-op has brought us much joy and also a few logistics issues. Namely where are we going to put all this stuff? Bless you, Pinterest, for this marvelous idea of putting wrought iron baskets on a kitchen wall to get potatoes off of my 1.5 sq ft of counter space.

Pinterest's version:

Our final product:

Poor kitchen also needed a little pizzaz. It's been a long time since I've been on the crafty wagon but there was something about these letters that I just loved when I saw them on Pinterest. When I met Markus in college I wanted to own a pie shop one day. Something about these letters made me feel like if I had them, my kitchen would be my own little diner. After our day date last weekend, we rented a movie and Little Child and I were craft buddies. These were so easy and fun to make! The only trouble I ran into was towards the end of Father of the Bride Part II, the babies are born and I started uncontrollably sobbing with commercial-strength glue all over my hands. Thank you, Markus, for ~~being completely grossed out about~~ letting me wipe my nose all over your shirt!

Pinterest's version:

Our final product:

Head over to The Vintage Apple to see how what other bloggers are finding on Pinterest this week!

P.S. Are we following each other on Pinterest? If not, let's be Pinterest pals!

The Best Video

2012-01-31T10:56:00.000-08:00

Sistah sent me a video today. I am so glad she did and I am also glad I was at home for lunch when she sent it.

Please enjoy it for yourself by taking a look below.

Love it because: her top is cute. (Possesssionista has the deets on it) Also love that she just came to know a secret her partner had planned for her and immediately felt guilt-stricken about it, as this happens all the time with Markus and I. The crying over anything that is remotely sad or exciting? I mean, I can relate.

If you need proof that I really am an easy cryer, here is a photo of me right after watching the video that I sent to Sistah with my thanks for the referral.

My ugly crying face is why I would be casting gold on The Bachelor and also why I would never go on it. That and the way that I value myself as a human. So both of those reasons together, honestly.

So, any more YouTube recommendations for me?

Dallas Day Dating

2012-01-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

Markus and I had a relaxing yet adventurous day date on Saturday. I love day dating because you can have a few plans but stay flexible and it's just more easy going. Markus and I's first date was coffee at 10am followed by, "So what are you doing the rest of the day?" The rest of our date was errands at Best Buy, a stop at our favorite dive bar for cheese fries and stealing newspaper from the dorm to hang out in my kitchen and pack up my house while playing ipod dance party. So maybe I am partial to day dating, but I've never been a huge night owl so evening dates can give me some anxiety. With or without my predisposition, this was such a fun Saturday!

First we ventured to Dallas Contemporary to see the Rob Pruitt exhibit and also check out the Gilt warehouse sale. Normally it is free admission to Dallas Contemporary, but with the sale it was a staggering $5 per person entry fee. There were lots of cool Gilt leftovers out for sale as well as a bar and DJ.

Also making an appearance was my hair's happy place: drybar! They were doing free hair touch ups so I got their Cosmopolitan (loose curls on the ends). I used to teach an art program and one of the things I really miss from the educational world is my new, adult coworkers rarely ask if they can play with my hair like my students love to do. It is so relaxing and the curls definitely dressed up our day date. As Kate Middleton has taught us all, some shiny chestnut locks and a good blow out can take the right girl from commoner to royalty in a hot second.

Rob Pruitt at Dallas Contemporary

Dallas Contemporary is tucked back from some awesome antique stores, so we decided to take a little stroll through the shops. I love The Pink Pagoda's booth at Lost Antiques!

Also by Dallas Contemporary is the world goods outpost Big Mango. I want a fat Buddha for our backyard!

We had the romantic and intimate senior special of dinner at 4pm. The recent ScoutMob deal at Villa-O reminded me we haven't been in a while and that their organic Italian menu items are so good! I also love their in-house filtration system where they make fresh sparkling water. Makes things fancy.

We did a usual trick of the gluten-free vegetarian dining out, which was to each order our own salads (Markus got the house salad and I got the wedge) and then get a few sides and share them tapas style. Their roasted poatoes and onions were amazing and I also loved the spaghetti-stlye squash and zucchini. One of the things I love about eating out is learning new ways to prepare dishes at home. I am definitely going to make some zucchini spaghetti at our house soon!

Markus got crazy at lunch and suggested a Scout Mob double header - first lunch at Villa O followed by a treat from Pacuigo, also on Scout Mob right now. Pacuigo is great for families where one of the members is dairy free, as they have lots of sorbets as well as soy-based, dairy-free gelato. The Scout Mob deal is currently for the West Village location, but we love hitting up The Pacuigo at Northpark as well and then taking a lap around the mall.

The best way to wrap up a good day date is with a movie on the sofa! And the best place to rent a movie is of course, Premiere Video on Mockingbird. I love this video store and challenge you to think of a movie that they do not have! I enjoy geeking out over their documentaries, but this time I went for a personal favorite, Father of the Bride Part II. George Banks slays me. We followed this dad-daughter classic with The Descendants on Sunday, which I also loved. If we are blessed to have a little girl one day I know I will cherish watching Markus fall in love with her, in a George Banks/George Clooney NOT Woody Allen way.

What were you up to this weekend? Any good dates, at any time of the day?

What are some good day dating ideas?

SAG Style

2012-01-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

More amateur thoughts from a non-fashionista, this time on the SAG awards!

Woman that I want to be when I grow up (see also: one half of comedy's best marriages):

Photo courtesy of People

I don't think anyone drives me as crazy as the Glee girls on the red carpet. You play an 18 year old on TV, you are in your mid-twenties in real life, so why are you dressing and vamping like a 40-something castoff of RuPaul's Drag Race? My mom would tell you to enjoy your days of youth with ladylike flair and humility. And for once my mom and I would agree on something.

This photo of Lea contemplating death to puppies courtesy of People.

This unfortunate image courtesy of People.

Thank you, other girl from Glee, for being young and fun and age-appropriate!

Courtesy of People

I love hot moms! So many funny, gorgeous hot women in our midst tonight.

This mom look sadly represents the state of her current show. Used to be hot and now just happy that people still remember that its around.

Kristen, I know you want to be artsy instead of just another celebrity hottie and that sucks for you because you are hot. But please embrace the hotness for a few awards show a year, lose the choker and aim to curb the artsiness. Then when you are done we'll work on Zooey Daschenel.

Overall worst look aka The Unfortunate Hippie award goes to my usual fave Busy Phillips. I love the hair but if I would get in trouble for wearing this dress to dinner on the Big Island with my mom and Nannie my Granny, you are not allowed to wear it to an awards show.

Favorite look of the night: Rose Bryn! Very red carpet worthy jumpsuit, in my opinion. I was actually thinking this morning about wearing a tailored jumpsuit to Sistah's rehearsal dinner. I wore pants to my own rehearsal and loved it. I felt like Mary Tyler Moore.

What do you think? What was your favorite look or one that made you a sad? Pants at a rehearsal dinner - yay or nay?

Evol Society - Socially-Conscious Shopping in Dallas

2012-01-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

Last night Markus and I stopped by The Shops at Park Ln for a little Thursday night outing. I already am a regular at this shopping center for weekly Whole Foods runs, an amazing Homegoods location and to shop at ReUse Jeans. I was so excited to see another great store, Evol Society, open its doors at Park Ln last night!

Evol Society is a unique fashion and home boutique that carries items that are made by local or global artisans and give back to society through fair trade employment initiatives or one-for-one campaigns. What I really enjoy about Evol Society's storefront is that many of their items are as fashion forward as they are socially-conscious, which is sometimes a rarity. Making doing good even better, 10% of the store's profits are donated to the Roma for All Foundation, helping provide education to the gypsy children of Central and Eastern Europe.

Here are some of my favorites from their current inventory:

These rain boots by Roma Boots are gorgeous and available in adult and children's styles.

Operating on a one-for-one business model, a child in Eastern Europe (known for it's cold, wet climates) receives a pair of boots to guard them from disease and keep them warm every time a pair is purchased.

I am crazy about the taupe matte style (below the table) and think they are a great pairing with the current neutrals trend!

Loved these handmade tote bags and the perfect layering necklace from Take Flight Boutique.

I have an affinity for tree charms. They remind me of my favorite book, The Giving Tree.

I have loved the handmade beads Ugandan women are making from recycled magazine for a long time.

I never thought it would be my style becuase they are usually so perfect and dainty, which I am not.

This interpretation by Uga Beads brings the chunk factor - I love it with a white tee and boyfriend jeans!

These sandals are gorgeous. Also perfect with a white shirt, jeans and chunky jewelry.

Buying one of these Pearl Southern Couture seersucker ties in purple for Markus to wear at Sistah's fast-approaching Southern Vintage wedding.

Of course I had to pick up something for myself as well. A classicly cut and comfortable tee from Love Nail Tree, a made in the USA apparel line run by "two young marrieds." Young marrieds who love a little Woody Guthrie? Sounds familiar.

A little blurry, as I don't really need "takes photos of herself in the bathroom mirror" added to the list of things my coworkers think about me. But a darling shirt with lots of quirk and great fit and quality!

Evol Society is definitely my new stop for gifts for friends and myself. The selection is varied but the good goes across the board!

What are you up to this weekened? Anyone else have shopping on the brain like me? I am going to the Gilt City warehouse sale and hoping to pop over to the Dallas Modern Home tour!

I Liebster You Guys

2012-01-26T15:53:00.000-08:00

If the name hasn't given it away, Markus is a native German and speaks the home language fluently and beautifully (for a non-romance language at least). Whenever we are over there visiting family I try to keep up verbally by taking in everything around me. I listen to every family member or store clerk that speaks to Markus and I try to guess what they are saying. I also read everything around me and try to use photos and context to teach myself new words. My little visual learning exercise is how I learned the German word Liebster - meaning dearest, beloved or favorite. When we went to the Christmas markets on my first visit, phrases with this word were scrawled across miles of oversized gingerbread hearts. So my retention of this new word was probably partly my visual learning style but most likely helped by the fact that it was written on a vehicle that always gets my full attention - food.

I did so well at repeating my new vocabulary that my then-boyfriend-now-husband ~~took the hint~~ romantically awarded me with my own gingerbread heart, somewhat pictured below.

The inspirtation behind my "romance across the globe" post is my friend Hillary at Happily Ever Healthy gifting me with a new Liebre heart today when she sent lil' ol' Pancakes and Beet Juice the Liebster Blog Award for being one of her favorite reads! Fitting as I love getting my daily dose of Happy Ever Healthy as well. She has a great experiment going where she is actually trying out all of those healthy yet delectable Pinterest recipes and reporting back on her successes and losses.

Passing along the Liebster love, here are a few of my other favorite daily reads that win the Liebster Blog award from Pancakes and Beet Juice:

The Concerns of Mindy Kaling

If you follow me on Twitter, you basically follow Mindy Kaling, as I RT her all day long.

She represents each of us. Mindy Kaling bleeds truth.

The Fitnessista

If you want to know if her lifestyle is working for her, check out her body two weeks after giving natural birth. Holy hell.

Hello Kiley

What up to a Dallas girl who shoots from the hip and is going after her dreams!

Legally Fabulous

My real life best friend. She really is this fabulous in real life too.

Length x Wit

If I did not know the author from youth and adolescence, I would be on her blog everyday hoping to read that she is making an appearance somewhere that I could attend and meet her. (Lies. I would still do this.)

She emits loveliness and it shows all over her blog.

Southern Charm

Liz Marie loves a good workout program, going out with the girls and trying new fashion trends. She also gets the good eater award for her inventive Tone It Up recipes. I love keeping up with her blog!

Out in the blog world - who do you love? Are you a blogger? If so, gimme a roll call so I can start being in love with you, too!

How did you used to sweat?

2012-01-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

I grew up as an energetic child in a fun neighborhood. I had hobbies that made me active but were not necessarily athletic or measurable. Then as I became an adult I learned being active isn't for fun anymore. It's to be skinny and not die. And it needs to be done all the time and on expensive equipment or in expensive classes and definitely in expensive clothes. All of a sudden I didn't like being active anymore. So I stopped. And everyone was right - I wasn't skinny and I wasn't healthy either.

It was the feeling really unhealthy that got me under doctor's orders to start being routinely active again. This time was different than my first foray into adult exercise. I didn't think about how adults like to work out. I went back and thought about what I've done before in my life where I was sweating and smiling at the same time. Most of these memories are me being in school plays, jumping around sets, and most importantly...dancing!

I've always loved to dance. And in high school, so did my friend Mandy. So we'd dance together. In her car, on our free periods, and before and after school with the dance class at our high school. It wasn't very serious but we took it pretty seriously.

Now Mandy and I are sweating like we used to every Wednesday night at Preston Hollow Dance's Adult POP Dance Series. We're still taking it pretty seriously, and even practicing on the weekends between classes. There's a new music video every two weeks, now through the end of February. We've conquered "...Baby One More Time" and are onto "Single Ladies." One of our practice clips from tonight is below!

Sometimes it's good to try something really challenging and athletic. But most days I just want to sweat and smile and feel like after school when stuff wasn't so complicated and the pants that you did sweat in didn't cost $90.

How did you used to sweat? Do you still make time to sweat that way?

Miserable Monday Mustard Greens Macaroni and Cheese

2012-01-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my own personal shit storm of first world problems. I have very few bad days. Usually when even something catastrophically awful occurs, I can find a sliver of silver lining and come back with the last-minute rebound. My bad days, instead, are those pesky little suckers of 24 hours where not one miniscule thing can go right. I even wrote this entire post last evening, told my husband that I felt like it was one of my personal bests, and then went back to publish and it had been completely deleted. Days like yesterday are why humans invented comfort food. And at about 3pm I set my mind to make me some. I wanted something out of a cardboard box with a cheese ingredient to bring my day back from the Debby Downer duldrums.

I repeat myself often when I mention that I am not a cook. I am just a girl who loves fresh dinners at home, who stands in front of her stovetop every night, asking it to love me back. Getting back on point from my foodie Notting Hill moment, my cousins are actual fancy cooks. They make gluten-free, vegetarian meals and desserts that are mindblowingly delicious and complicated. I get Facebook messages from them titled "Super-Easy Gluten-Free Pancake Recipe" with 47 ingredients. To add fanciness to the fanciful, they are also a ballerina and award-winning writer duo living in Manhattan. It don't get much fancier than that, amiright?

Thank you, fancy cousins, for teaching me the word blanching over Thanksgiving dinner. You helped me make some real fancy blanched mustard greens from our Urban Acres food co-op bin last night to complete a still-comforting-but-not-so-guilty comfort food meal.

(Miserable Monday) Mustard Greens Macaroni and Cheese

one bunch mustard greens

one box macaroni and cheese (I love Annie's Creamy Deluxe Gluten-Free!)

leftover roasted butternut squash (if you've got it)

salt

lemon juice

To blanch the mustard greens, I filled a medium pot 2/3 up with water and salt and brought it to a boil. I washed my mustard greens with some veggie wash and cut off the stems.

I dropped the clean mustard greens in the boiling water for about a minute and a half, until the greens were a really bright, kelly green.

Meanwhile, I began prepping my gluten-free mac and cheese noodles according to the directions on the box. You cook Annie's gluten-free noodles in boiling water (I add a little salt) for 8-10 minutes.

To finish the mustard greens blanching, I poured out the greens into a colander after 90 seconds in the boiling water. Then I put them in a bowl of ice water and a few squirts of lemon juice that I had prepped beforehand. I quickly made sure all the greens had been fully rinsed by the ice water and then dumped them into the colander again and patted them dry with a clean dish towel. Blanching complete!

We had recently roasted some butternut squash for pizza toppings, so I pureed the leftovers in our blender with a splash of almond milk. Markus used this as a cheese substitute for his noodles with some nutritional yeast. I added the puree to the cheese sauce that came with the macaroni to give it a little extra flavor and health benefits. This really added to the recipe and I think we'll do it often for pastas!

I cut the blanched mustard greens into small strips and tossed them with the noodles, the Annie's cheese sauce, butternut squash puree and a little Earth Balance non-butter.

My veggie-filled carb fest put me back on the road to recovery. After trying them, I am not sure if I am naturally a mustard greens girl (Markus loved them, however), so covering them in a cheese sauce was a great way to introduce a new flavor to my pallete. I felt very Deceptively Delicious with my hidden butternut squash puree and found it a great way to use leftover produce!

What are your tips for overcoming a bad day? How do you like to try a new veggie or food that might be a little outside of the comfort zone of your tastebuds?

The Unshopped for Home

2012-01-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

My favorite website, Apartment Therapy, ran a post a few weeks ago on unshopping - finding decor for your home from items you already own. I really enjoyed the article, since I love a home that has a look that shows there was some thought or curation behind it, but since I do pay a mortgage every month I don't necessarily have the means to go out and purchase a house straight from a showroom.

Here's a few snapshots of spaces in my home that have been unshopped for.

The gallery wall behind my living room sofa (which by the way, is over seven years old and still kicking - my friends joke that everyone important to me has slept on this sofa) was started when I first moved to Dallas and seriously did not have one dime to buy art for my apartment walls. I also was getting back into the groove of living in the city and we didn't have much money for dates since Markus was still finishing school. Local rock shows were/are our designated date and there were often free gig posters that we could pick up and put in a frame later. Now gig posters are a guilty pleasure of mine. I am especially fond of Dirk Fowler's work since walking by his printmaking classes when I was an Art History student at Texas Tech got me into the craft behind this art form. One of the many things I love about Bolsa in Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District is how they feature his work. The pillows on the sofa are also free t-shirts from different local shows that my best friend helped me make into pillows!

I call the posters we have in our bedroom "the reason why Markus and I don't fight before bed." How can you really argue with someone when you are looking at their first grade photo? I find it impossible. Our wedding photographer and graphic designer, Danny Hurley, made these for us for our wedding reception. We have them mounted on foam board and now they are a fun focial point of our bedroom. I don't usually put a lot of family photos out around our house so I think the scale and youthfulness of these lightens up the motherlode of frames I have below it. When do you ever get art of this scale for free?

I actually prefer the unshopped look, as it means my home is furnished mostly by memories. Of course I also love it because repurposing what we have it a great way to reduce our comsumer waste!

It's a fine line to walk, though, to insure that it never looks like I decorated with garbage.

What do you think of the unshopped look? Does it make you unique or does it come across like you don't want to purchase new items for your place? Be sure to check out the full Apartment Therapy article for more ideas on decorating with what you already have!

Date Night Diaries: A Gluten-Free Pizza Party

2012-01-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

Markus plans the best date nights. There are always multiple stops and reservations for a great dinner. He also does a bang-up job of asking me out. Short of getting to see him pull up in his car and ring the doorbell, it's all the fun of dating. And no guilty feeling when we wake up in bed together.

So yes, very fun semi-formal date nights do occur in our marriage. Last night, however, was one of those awesome date nights that just kind of come together and you realize that the guy is a total keeper because you don't need all the fancy stuff to make for a perfect evening together. The best kind of date.

Still working through our first food co-op batch, I had a pear and a butternut squash that needed a good recipe. Somewhere on the internet I randomly found a recipe for a pizza topped with roasted squash, pesto, feta and pear. Um, amazing. Unfortunately I have yet to be able to relocate this recipe so if you are the inventer of said pizza, props to you and please don't be mad at me.

I define a date as a planned and hyped event with two people that could potentially have sex later. Pizza party was totally a date as I found this recipe on Monday and things were planned and hyped all throughout the week. I am pretty sure we talked about Friday Pizza Party every day this week. Just on an added ironic note, Markus and I first met when the boss of his pizza company asked me and my sorority sisters one night if we wanted to come up and make our pizzas. I ended up working as the front counter at the store for over a year and then Markus and I started dating. So I guess I am some huge pizza lush, which I don't find surprising. This was, for some reason, the first time we had made pizza together since working at "the store" and it was pretty funny how much we got into it!

Butternut Squash and Pear Personal Pizzas

(adapted from an interwebz recipe I was lucky to find once but sadly never again)

1 pack of two udi's gluten-free pizza crusts

1 butternut squash

salt

cinnamon

1 pear cut into thin slices

feta cheese

pesto

tomato sauce (I used the one we have for pasta dishes)

Horizon organic mozzarella cheese (just because I had it in the refrigerator)

*To make Markus' pizza vegan, he used a pesto that did not have a cheese ingredient and daiya vegan pepperjack cheese.

When I got home from work I sliced the butternut squash in half, scooped out the seeds and then continued slicing it into 1/2 inch cubes and removed the outer peel. I put the squash cubes in a mixing bowl and tossed with a bit of olive oil, herbamare salt and cinnamon. I roasted the squash in a 400F oven for 45 minutes. Perfect amount of time for a quick workout or a light cleaning while you wait for dinner! Or online shopping, whatever the day calls for.

I prepped a small amount of our equally small kitchen counter space, cleaning it with an all-natural vinegar-based disinfectant. Once the squash was finished roasting we layed out our crusts and toppings and got into pizza party mode.

Personal pizzas. L-R: Markus & Lilly

This was such a great dinner for a family who loves to cook together but have different tastes!

Pizzas went into the over at 350F for seven minutes. Then onto plates for dinner time.

My stunning finished product.
I think I deserve a pizza oven in my backyard like the one Gwyneth is always using in her goop posts.

The udi's crusts were divine. A great combination of crispy and chewy and far better than many gluten-free crusts that I have paid premiums for at specialty restaurants. The feta balanced the sweet pear and butternut squash perfectly. I loved using both tomato sauce and pesto as well. Pizza night was so simple and delicious, it is definitely moving from a date night treat to a weekday dinner option. Thank you, udi's, for another great gluten-free product!

So much quality time to talk about our week. No movie theater to rush to or waiter checking in on us. It was a completely blissful and simple Friday date night.

What have you been up to this weekend?

A Family Fitness Affair

2012-01-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

Everyone is trying to keep those New Year's health resolutions at our house! And I do mean everyone, including the dog.
Last night I had a Junior League meeting until 8:30. When I got home this was what I walked in to.

Maybe if he had known he was going to become material for a blog post he would have put on a shirt. Maybe.
Markus loves to cycle but sold his bikes after college to help fund the inital months of adult life. When he started pedicabbing at the Ballpark in Arlington and Cowboys Stadium, he got a gym membership solely to use their spin bikes so he could train for the crazy grueling pedicab sessions on the weekend. Only catch in this plan was the gym is boring, full of Jersey Shore castoffs and the spin room was only available outside of their classes during very specific times. Markus found a dealer on Craig's List that sells the gym equipment that the local YMCAs can no longer use and hooked up my boy with this sweet ride for less than a third of a disocunted retail cost. He's lovin' it. Cheers to having the husband at home more! He can open jars for me while he's on the bike now so there are no more dinner delays.

Not to be upstaged, Little Child decided to practice some yoga next to the bike.

My family was my own thinspiration last night, as I popped in my new Physique 57 DVD for the first time and got my saucy ballerina on next to Hubs and LC in the living room. I tried the Express 30 minute DVD first and oh.holy.gosh...it was so good. I am so so happy I threw a little Christmas cash at these and finally purchased the three-disc set. I am looking forward to trying the full 57 minutes on Friday as well as the arms and abs over the weekend. Expect a review from me in a few weeks when I can really dish the dirt on this awesome workout! In the meantime, the video below gives a little overview about the hilarity that is ensuing in my living room right now.

Anyone else still trying their hardest to stay on the New Year's Resolution train? What are you doing to accomplish your fitness goals?

Upcoming for the Up And Comings - The Gilt City Warehouse Sale and Phenomenon

2012-01-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

For the most part, if you are 26 and trying each day to walk the line between being cultered and fashion forward but also having a few spare pence in the checking account, you've heard of Gilt. I am most totally a Gilt City girl at heart. Gilt City opens the secret discount door to hot cities in the country, with sushi classes, movie sneek previews and private event tickets. Obviously Dallas is a Gilt City hub because we are hot, right?

I did a mini-jump out of my office wheelie chair this morning when I saw an email from Gilt City re: a warehouse sale of all of their Gilt Group items in Dallas next Saturday! Lots of designer items that have appeared on Gilt will be for sale along with refreshments from smartwater and KIND bars, hair touchups and mini-facials. This event is like a party of my favorites. In case you were just generally wondering what some of my favorites are, a rundown follows.

Favorite only slightly guilty pleasure: discounted designer clothes

Favorite place for artsy fun in Dallas: very much Dallas Contemporary

Favorite hair happy place: Drybar

Favorite snack: KIND bars (I keep up to seven in my bag at a time when traveling for work.)

Favorite cardio sport: diving all after the goods at a warehouse sale

BOUGHT MY PASSES TO THE SALE. DONE.

Markus is even excited to go because he needs some new sweaters and now has a chance to take in Rob Pruitt's Failure exhibit at the artspace without me mentioning that I am hungry after a few minutes.

So to visually recap, buy your tickets on Gilt City Dallas for January 28's perfect afternoon blend of this

Photo courtnesy of Gilt

with a little of this.

Photo courtesty of Dallas Contemporary

The best strategy for warehouse sales to avoid overspending is to shop with a purpose. I myself will be using this opportunity to show for another important event - Dallas Contemporary's Phenomenon, supporting the museum's exhibition and learning programs. Markus is a big street art fan and former DJ from his glory days so he is chomping at the bit to see the infamous Shepard Fairey spin on February 4 at the museum. As for me, I just like to DANCE YO. Also, Shepard Fairey's new murals in the Design District will be a landmark in the cultural history of Dallas and I am happy to be able to one day say I was an attendee of this movement. An attendee/dancing queen, obviously. I think I am going for a look of part Teen Witch and part The Man Repeller. What do you think?

So many unique events happening in our city! All at the hipster hub Dallas Contemporary. I hope to see you at one or both of them soon! Anything on your calendar that you are particularly looking forward to?

Thoughts on the Globes

2012-01-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

What kind of amateur blogger would I be if I did not force my hot sports opinions re: The Golden Globes fashion and events with my dear readers?

Lea Michelle as usual showed up thinking she was going to rock the "I'm young and here to represent the next generation of fashion " look. Here was her constipated attempt. I think her red carpet strategy is bend, snap and then start imagining your dog just died. You have the rest of your life to be a stuck up ice queen and your TV show sells its merch at Hot Topic. Live it up a little.

Photo courtesy of People.com

Thank you, Emma Stone, for totally nailing the "I'm young and here to represent the next generation of fashion," look with stunning and inventive Lavin and a respectful, nonchalant pose. Run this town, girl.

Photo courtesy of People.com

I found the turtleneck on the red carpet look to be a lovely silhouette. Very ladylike and nods to the Vitorian admiration of swan-like necks, which I love because I have a clear foot between my head and my shoulders or so it seems. There is a right and wrong way to do this look, though.

Right way to wear a turtleneck on the red carpet:

Naya Rivera looking very fresh yet classic and "Glee" appropriate.

Courtesy of People.com

I will always adore Jessica Chastain for bringing one of my favorite characters, Celia Foote, to life on film. I thought this dress was a perfect mix of old Hollywood and contemporary minimalism, and stunning with curves and coloring.

Courtesy of People.com

Turtlenecks gone totally wrong award goes to Guliana Rancic. Oy vey.

Courtesy of People.com

On a mental health note, I would like to recommend beta blockers to the lovely yet out-of-control Miss Paula Patton. If you watched the NBC telecast you got to literally watch Paula turn around, give herself a pep talk and then turn herself to the cameras for this faux laugh shot. It was amazing to watch. The lucky lady then got to sit in the front row of tables for the awards show where she proceeded to give about 47 one-woman standing ovations throughout the evening. Straight up rookie moves all night long. My mother would say "poor dear got too excited." Paula's mother would agree and hopefully gave her a courtesy call this morning.

Courtesy of People.com

To continue ranting, let's all boycott girls like Stacy Keibler. The girl who can't believe how fortune she is to be chosen by George Clooney to sleep with him for an undetermined length of time during which she is allowed to be at his beckon call and accompany him to the events of his choosing. Of course she looks good. Her full time job is sleeping with George Clooney. I feel like for years we've watched Stacy Keibler take every avenue available to mankind to becoming famous without having talent: WWE, Dancing with the Stars, Us Weekly fitness articles and now the last stop on the train as George Clooney girlfriend.

Here is Stacy enjoying her moment as a big celebrity at the Golden Globes.

Courtesy of People.com

Just as a reminder to Stacy, who is obviously reading, here are the ghosts of George Clooney girlfriends who have walked the red carpets past thinking their lives ha finally changed for the better.

No one knows this woman anymore.

Anyone??

Ending on a non-scathing note, it is time for the Golden Globes Bestie Award. This award goes to Busy Phillips, for being Michelle Williams' bestie and accompanying her to the show and looking cute without rocking a look that would get on any best dressed lists before her bestie. I thought she looked so fresh and I would totally wear this look and dress. The duo looked so precious during camera shots throughout the evening and in the subsequent party pics. Makes me wanna call my bestie up right now and remind her that if I ever get nominated for a Golden Globe she can totally go with me in a tres cute but less star-power dress than me. And vice versa, obviously.

Courtesy of usweekly.com

Just a few random thoughts on an evening full of lovely if not sometimes comical women. Who did you love?

Oral Surgery aka the Involuntary Liquid Cleanse

2012-01-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

Our weekend started off with a very non-Wilco-reference-like shot in the arm, as Markus went under and got his last two wisdom teeth removed on Friday. We've been tucked safely in the foxhole ever since watching blu-rays and making smoothies, save for my one escape last night for the trio of fries, Southwest Cesar salad with added salmon and the s'mores station at Tillman's Roadhouse with Sistah and friends. I freaking love that salad and those housemade mallows.

Call it Stokholm syndrome, but Markus was the perfect patient all weekend. He took it all like a champ and only puked once (nothing to do with the smoothie recipes). The only time I rolled my eyes all weekend was when he was on anesthesia and kept asking the nurse if he could ride his spin bike that day. Who comes off of anesthesia and dreams of working out?

Our meal schedule all weekend had been a smoothie for Markus every four hours, smoothie remnants in a glass for me and the rest of the peanut butter on the spoon for Little Child. I went to Sprouts and the El Rancho and picked up some general "great in smoothies" ingredients. (Note to readers: anytime I refer to going to the Fiesta or El Rancho for recipe ingredients, I am just brazenly enabling my elotes additction. Out of control yet so rewarding. I highly recommend this addiction.) We mix and matched ingredients all weekend to make smoothies and there was no stopping our blending fun. Below are some is our shopping list and some of our winning combos.

Unable to Eat Solid Foods Shopping List

Mangoes

Bananas

Blueberries

Rainbow Chard

Avocados

Baby Spinach

*Toasted Carob Root

Almond Milk

**Peanut Butter Co "The Bee's Knee's"

*I used Bob's Red Mill Toasted Carob Root instead of cocoa powder because it is caffeine-free, good for oral surgery patients that want to hop out of the surgery chair and onto their spin bikes. It's also high in calcium and can prevent nausea, which Markus had all day as he was coming off the anesthesia. You can sub carob root for cocoa powder in all baking recipes as well for healthier brownies, pies - the goods.

**Peanut Butter Co's peanut butter is the best peanut butter in the world. The Bee's Knees was perfect for this weekend since many smoothie recipes call for agave or honey and with this PB it was all in the jar.

Choco PB Nanner Smoothie

chopped leaves of 2 stalks of rainbow chard

peeled mango slices

1 sliced banana

2 scoops carob powder

2-3 scoops Peanut Butter Co goodness

3 cups almond milk

Instructions: Blend it up. If it looks thick, add more almond milk and continue with your blending.

Green Machine Smoothie

1 avocado

baby spinach

blueberries

peeled mango slices

chopped leaves of 2 stalks rainbow chard

2-3 Peanut Butter Co goodness

2 cups almond milk

Instructions: Get to blending. If it's too thick, add more almond milk and get back to work.

So this is how I spent my blissful and relaxing weekend. I must say that as we wind it down I do feel more intimate with both my spouse and our blender. How did you spend your weekend? Any other inadvertent smoothie cleanses due to oral surgery appointments?

Simon [Doonan] Says

2012-01-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

I love Barneys New York. It is like shopping for your real life in an enlarged museum gift shop. Honestly, why would you buy your Nars at a bright and thumping cosmetics store when you could enjoy a more serene and aesthetically inspiring experience at Barneys? This is what I mean when I speak of being a picky consumer.

Our greeting at Barneys, and also Simon's fabulous new book cover.

Last night I was privileged again to be spending time at Barneys, this time having been invited to meet one of my idols, Simon Doonan, and hear more about his new book, Gay Men Don't Get Fat. It was by far the most relaxed, welcoming and inspiring book signing I've ever attended. My feathered hat off to Barneys New York Dallas for such a great event design and of course to Simon for being so immensely personable. I went ahead and purchased three of Simon's books - Gay Men Don't Get Fat, Eccentric Glamour and Beautiful People - just to be on the safe side.

Fresh and colorful macaroons - the food of the gay man according to Simon's tome.

Instead of a sign and dash, Simon really took the time to get to know each person that came by to meet with him, like we were new acquaintances at a cocktail party (which in my delusional mind, we so totally were). He's my idol turned new best friend. I just felt lovely and smart around him.

The thing I really love about Simon Doonan is his relationship with Jonathan Adler. My home is basically a functioning Jonathan Adler museum. What I admire about their relationship, though, is that you know of it because of their devotion to each other professionally and creatively, but other than that you never hear about their marriage. For their bright and bold world under the spotlight of every design and fashion-obsessed soul alive, no one has the gossip on their private life. They're delightfully boring on the domestic front.

Since their family makeup of two creatives and a spoiled dog is how I picture our own unit, my choice of questions for Simon pertained more to family than fashion. I asked him on behalf of all my Pancakes and Beet Juice friends, "When you're balancing work, appearances and projects, what do you and Jonathan do together to stay creative and devoted to each other as a family?"

He shared that their favorite are physical and outdoors. They love to paddle board together and ride bikes and their dog most often joins them. Simon's advice was that physical activity helps to clear the head which allows for better personal and creative connection. And I learned that Simon and Jonathan share the same ground rule that has benefitted Markus and I so many times: never, ever speak badly about your partner to anyone. If you do not value that human enough to never want to bruise their public image, than why do you think they are worthy of being with you?

After he concluded his sentiments, Simon added, "I'm so glad you see our relationship as an inspiration. Jonathan's on his way up here, you know." At this moment my heart dropped into my boots and up through my chest at the time. I could have died, though there is no way Barneys will have any of that in their exquisite storefront.

Cuz' we're the three best friends that anyone could ever have!

Such a perfect and inspiring way to start a weekend on the homefront as Markus recovers from getting his wisdom teeth out and Little Child and I play sassy nurses. What is inspiring you this weekend? Do you have any relationship idols who seem to have that je ne sais quoi you are looking for in your relationship?

Lilly's Lust List: Kitchen Edition

2012-01-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

Kitchen Lust Items by lilly-neubauer on polyvore.com

I've decided life would be better with these kitchen items in hand.

A Jonathan Adler mug to replace the mug from our Disneymoon that I broke this week.

A west elm mini colander for washing fresh berries for my lunchtime spinach salad.

And an avocado saver, as the aforementioned spinach salads only require a half and there is no husband at home during lunch to eat the remainder.

What items are you lusting for right now, inside the kitchen or otherwise?

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

Lunch: South Austin Migas from All Good Cafe and The Paris Wife on my Nook Color.

Making for a nice rebound from our water heater issues this morning.

Food Co-Opportunities: Leek and Bok Choy

2012-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

This Saturday we picked up our first bin of organic produce from the Park Cities pickup of Urban Acres Market. I was meeting with a contractor so I sent my buddies Markus and Little Child over to get the goods.

Pretty impressive for a half share, amiright?

The reason why I joined the co-op was to learn how to prepare and enjoy a wider selection of produce in my home. Urban Acres wasted no time in providing me this opportunity as my bin had this huge leek and batch of bok choy tucked inside.

After a busy weekend of Fort Worth adventures, shopping and celebrating our friends' engagement at Manny's and Uptown Pub, we settled in on Sunday night for a relaxing dinner at home.

Garlic Ginger Bok Choy

1 bunch of Bok Choy, chopped with bottom and tops of leaves removed

1 large leek, chopped with bottom and top leaves removed

Handful of Frozen Organic Broccoli (just because we have it from Costco)

1 tbsp ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Gluten Free Soy Sauce

Optional Meal Additions:

*Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids

Gluten-Free Pad Thai Noodles

Gluten-Free Peanut Satay Sauce

All purchased from Whole Foods

First I minced up the garlic and ginger in my handy oxo chop device and heated them in a large skillet with the extra virgin olive oil.

After the garlic and ginger become tender I added the chopped bok choy and onion along with the broccoli, soy sauce and Bragg's. I didn't take exact measurements of either sauce but I lightly poured the soy sauce around the skillet two times and gave the skillet about 2-3 hearty squirts of Bragg's.

*In case this is a new ingredient for you, Bragg's Amino Acids is a protein concentrate made from non-GMO soybeans. It's a great soy sauce accompaniment or substitute as it is all-natural, very high in protein and contains 16 important amino acids. I always add it in to a soy sauce recipe and very often completely substitute it for soy sauce! Markus loves to top his salads with it.

After stirring all of my ingredients around to get them equally covered in the soy sauce/Bragg's mixture, I covered the skillet and let everything simmer for about five minutes. During this time I boiled some gluten-free pad thai noodles and then tossed the cooked noodles in a store-bought peanut sauce. Just a little something extra to accompany our veggies.

Our bokchoy turned out amazing! I was craving more and greatly preferred it to the noodles, which says quite a bit given my affection for all things carbohydrates. I really loved the subtle ginger taste. We juice ginger in the morning but rarely has it appeared in a main dish.

A very fun and filling dish that did not leave me feeling heavy. I'm so excited to keep with the co-op and see what comes out of our kitchen next!

After dinner I snacked on a fresh grapefruit from our bin as Markus and I enjoyed our inaugural session with the new Blu-Ray. A sweet complement to a savory dinner!

My next co-op challenge is the bag of radishes that came in our bin. What to do with these guys besides carve them into little rosebuds? As Tim Gunn would say, it's "make it work time!"

ReUSE Jeans

2012-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

So we know by now that I am a Groupon gal and also a recycling lover. I also have an interest in what I wear and have been on the look out for three items this season: a chambray shirt, red pencil jeans and leopard loafers. I am very picky when it comes to price and production but thanks to a great Groupon find I got to end my hunt for red skinny jeans!

Groupon is currently running a deal for $50 for $125 to ReUSE Jeans at the shops at Park Ln. All of the jeans in this store are custom designed by the manufacturer and made from over 80% of recycled materials. Oh how my hippy heart sings! It is a rarity to find a clothing item that is green that I would also wear in public. Not only are many of the designs in the store extremely cute, they happen to have exactly what I've been looking for this season.

I've tried on a few pairs during my red jeans journey and these were by far the best fitting. My sales associate let me know this was due in part to the denim's four-way stretch that allows the fabric to stretch vertically as well as horizontally for a jeggings-style fit without having to say that you wear jeggings. That word grosses me out.

Twenty-five percent of the world's pesticide use going to cotton and there was 11.8 million tons of textile waste in 2006 alone, so buying cotton products made from recycled materials is a great way to help our carbon footprint. ReUSE carries men and women's jeans and most lines are priced below a respectable $125. My skinnies were $95 and I also picked up a pair of shorts on sale, bringing my total for both items to $60 using my trusty Groupon. A great perk of shopping at the ReUSE store is they give you a sturdy denim eco-tote with your purchase that entitles you to 10% future items each time you bring it with you!

I will definitely be back at ReUSE, thanks to their selection, fit, customer service and exceptional green ethics. I am already looking forward to shopping for my next pair!

Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?

2012-01-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

Nope. Not even a little bit.

For most of my life my relationship with Fort Worth was like those with girls in high school who dated an ex-boyfriend after me. I didn't really care for it and I didn't really need a reason. And for most of this time I was enabled by my friends agreeing with me. Example:

Me: "So and so says she is moving to be with her boyfriend...to Fort Worth!"
Gaggle of girlfriends: "WHAT?! Quel horror! She is giving up a life of class and urban delight to live with that punk in Cowboy town?!"

But lately the conversations have been going a little more like this:

Me: "I mean I guess nothing is worse than having to go out in the dumbest city on the planet - Fort Worth!"
Gaggle: "Um...actually Lilly, Fort Worth is really cool now. And we went last weekend and didn't tell you because we knew you would complain the whole time or start randomly crying like the last time we went to Lola's."

Ahem.

Proving I am a humble person capable of change, I re-ventured west last night. I brought cultured friend Evan because he loves to explore and would also have my back if we did in fact end up underwhelmed by our neighboring town. Markus drove the getaway car.

Our first stop was the Fort Worth Modern. I've been here once before and love the concrete and glass architecture and extensive permanent collection. Last visit we enjoyed brunch at their Cafe Modern, which overlooks their reflection pond, but tonight it was all about the art. On the first Fridays of the month they have music and libations in the lobby, so we were welcomed by a lovely jazz duo and some hip youngsters cutting a rug on a makeshift dancefloor.

Our big ticket item was the KAWS exhibit and it did not disappoint. The show is three small rooms that feature acrylic on canvas paintings and two large sculptures that are just immensely cool. We definitely stood in these three galleries as long as we explored the rest of the museum. The canvas pieces really make your eyes work. They are an energetic mix of bright and monochromatic, and his choice of paint finishes allow him to make a flat canvas seem completely three dimensional. Once you wrap your mind around his technique your eye start searching for the iconic images that he sneaks into his work. We stood in front of one installation for a few minutes excitedly pointing at canvas after canvas as we found Spongebob's teeth, Stimpy's hand and other snippets of classic animation. I definitely recommend seeing this exhibit before it closes on February 19!

After our KAWS experience we meandered through the rest of the museum for a while.

The newly opened Fort Worth Food Truck Park is in Montgomery Plaza behind the Super Target, and may have been what sealed the deal on my transition from Fort Worth hater to participator. Such an amazing family, backwoods feel tucked right behind a bustling urban center!

Of course Markus and I visited our friends at the Good Karma Kitchen. He had the vegan Southern BBQ sub and I had the meatball sub. Normally I am really hesitant to order anything on bread at a gluten-free place but I was trusting after trying their gluten-free stuffing over Thanksgiving. I am so glad I chose this menu item - the bread was soft and flavorful with a slight honey/sweet taste to it. It was the perfect complement to the savory meatballs and sauce. Meatball subs were one of my favorite foods before going vegetarian (what up, fatty) and these were indistinguishable from "the real thing" if not an improvement.

Markus went back for some more sauce on his sub, but he has never been subtle with condiments so I'm writing it off as personal choice. Either way the girls at Good Karma were happy to oblige him. I stole a bite from him and couldn't believe what I was tasting. Years of vegetarian grocery shopping has lead me to believe that all veggie meat products have to be made out of gluten to be in any way convincing. Turns out Good Karma Kitchen has unlocked this mystery somehow. I don't want to know what they use. I just want more.

Overall, Fort Wort has a new friend in me. We even stopped at Yogurtland on the way out of Montgomery Plaza to make it official. The sign on the door spoke to me on behalf of the city and I pass it on to you, dear readers, for the close of this post.

Dinner From A Bag

2012-01-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

One thing that often stops me from doing "cleanse" diets is the crazy recipe guide with meals that require super odd ingredients and boatloads of steps to prepare. If I am trying to watch what I eat at all, let alone making an effort to really diet or cleanse after a long period of happy food eating, I am typically trying my hardest not to punch someone in the face and then eat their arm. So standing over a stove reducing a balsamic apple cider vinegar glaze to a drizzle is not going to work out for me. Those moments are when Cheetos appear in my life.

I miss my "dinners in a bag" from college. A bag of pasta with a delightful synthetic powder sauce or something frozen with a zip closure that is tossed into a pan and ready in a few minutes. These were the days before I became curious about ingredients lists and the whole casual eating idea got away from me. Last night I created some great dinners from a bag, just bags that are less from the freezer aisle and more from the produce section. Easy meal additions that have less than five ingredients and steps total.

First was a new favorite guest at Markus and I's table - brussel sprouts.

I buy brussels sprouts in the little net bag in the produce section. One bag is enough for Markus and I to fill half of our dinner plates, so just right for two vegetarians.

It's a two step process to get these green nuggets table ready. First I sautee the sprouts in a large pan with a Edward & Son's Garden Veggie Boullion Cube (purchased at Whole Foods), some Earth Balance butter and a little salt. I stir them around at first to make sure the boullion has gotten a chance to hit almost every sprout and then I put a lid on the pan and try to sit still for a few minutes so they can carmelize a little.

After the sprouts tender up they go in a casserole dish and into the oven at 400F for 10 minutes. I can't believe that's all I have to do to get us to eat brussel sprouts! No cheese sauce to melt, so spices to keep in stock.

Last night we served them up with another produce bag-to-table recipe - The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes. These are so incredible and also easy to make. A perfect blend of crispy and soft.

We started off this delightful and simple meal with a just as simple salad.

A little organic baby spinach, some blueberries and half an avocado topped with feta cheese crumbles, a vinagerette dressing and the best salad topper ever - Udi's Gluten Free Cranberry Granola!

Udi's Gluten Free Cranberry granola has my three favorite salad toppings in one bag. It's got a sweet component (dried cranberries), a protein (walnut chunks) and the best part of the salad - the crunchy! Crunchy granola in every bite of my salad. Heaven on Earth.

With half a plate of brussel sprouts, 4-5 potatoes each and a hearty and fresh salad, Markus and I were both content after our dinner with no one asking for dessert or compaining about being miserably full. Plus with all the easy steps we were done cooking before Wheel of Fortune. No more complicated diet recipes. No more orange tipped fingers of shame from mid-cooking Cheetos breakdowns. I'm really not sure what more you can ask for as far as weeknights go.

New Year Nesting

2012-01-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

I love my home. Maybe it is my deep fondness for snuggling mixed with my touch of social anxiety and the fact that for so many years I was boarding with college roomates or trying to turn a 700 sq ft brownstone apartment into my urban penthouse, but there is no greater place in the world than my tiny sliver of land in the middle of Dallas and the perfect house that sits on top of it. During the spring and summer I love to be out and traveling, so I find this to be the perfect time of year to use my indoor voice and invest some time into my place.

We spent a lot of time this weekend not doing anything, but there were a few mini-projects that have me going into the new year and winter months feeling prepared and hoping for some snow days.

Mini-Project #1: State Souvenir Plates

Souvenir plates to me are fabulous. A perfect take home for the individual who loves china, travel and preppy pastels. Our Germany Oma has quite the collection so I hoped to make it a generational hobby and a way to add another touch to our kitschy kitchen. I had a working list of some of Markus and I's favorite spots and kept an eye out when we traveled ro Huntsville and my ~~weekly~~ occassional stop by Forestwood Antique Mall on the way home from work. Four makes a set so it was time to start hanging them up. Big thanks to engineer husband for keeping them so straight and equidistance!

Mini-Project #2: New Curtains and Drapes

One of my Christmas gifts from my mom this year was new drapery hardware. I chose the Antique Drapery Rod Co. Bauhous Modern Aluminum collection to blend with our mid-century coffee and side tables. All of the hardware is made from 99% post consumer waste. I can't believe when I look at how stunning they are that I have recycled soda cans for curtain rods!

Installation was a breeze and I think they look great with my West Elm cotton canvas drapes that I got on discount the day after Christmas. The drapes need to be taken down and ironed (a word rarely used in my daily vocabulary), but I am really loving everything together. We have a lot of color and stark white in the living/dining room so I thought this neutral beige was the way to go. It blocks enough light for a cozy feel and also helps to make the room feel warmer by insulating the windows.

Mini-to-Medium-Sized-Project #3: Solar Paneled Attic Fan

Our electric bill stays fairly low throughout the year, especially considering that we have an all-renewable green energy package. That said, that spike in the summer always tends to annoy me and I've issued a personal vendetta against it this year. I'm hoping the new drapes will help and I also plan on spending lots of quality time in our attic this year, insulating and poking around to optimize air flow before the heatwaves cometh. Step one was ordering a solar paneled attic fan from our home's happy place, Costco. This fan was already much lower priced at Costco than at other retailers, and I was even more excited to discover that solar attic fans are eligible for a federal tax credit of 30% of the total cost! That was an extra $100 off the price of a fan that will hopefully also save us money in the long run. Mrs. Hippy McMoneybags over here could not have been more excited. Markus was also excited about this news, expecially when he found out he was going to be able to use a power saw to cut a hole in the roof.

Little spurts of nesting mode peppered a relaxing weekend that have me excited about our future together in our home. Operation Warm & Cozy is complete. Add a trip to Costco to load up on produce to flush out Celebrity macaroons and keep cold and flu germs away and you can't ask for more happy home dwellers at the moment.

How are you preparing for wintertime? Any fun projects or new purchases? Memorizing the number for the best area Chinese delivery outlet so there's no need to trudge out on the cold nights? Note to self: do this...

Did 2011 suck?

2011-12-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

Then I hope your 2012 is great.

Love,

Lilly, Markus & Little Child

New Year's Additions

2011-12-30T12:04:00.000-08:00

The idea of never doing something again completely freaks me out. I'm historically awful at dieting because the moment I think about not eating one thing is the moment I begin obsessing over it. I've learned the trick for me is to stop subtracting the bad and start adding more good, to where I'm too happy and distracted to give into temptation. Even though, as we were all taught by Laterian, it's fun to do bad things. I pretty much wake up each morning and begin day-long negotiations with myself that it's pretty fun, and much more rewarding, to do good things too. Therefore, my New Year's resolutions are more like additions to my life in 2012. Small ways that I can change my life for the better, and hopefully have a little more fun as well.

Addition #1 - More Good Food From Good People

So at our house we choose to eat vegetarian foods that are also gluten-free. Which means we eat soo many healthy fruits and vegetables, right? RIGHT?? Or do we just eat a lot of nachos and the same 3-4 vegetables that we currently know how to prep and cook? I'll never tell. But did join the Urban Acres produce co-op this week as one of our New Year's resolutions. You can do full or half shares and there are pickup locations all over the Dallas area. We're doing the half share and I am really looking forward to getting to know what produce is in season when, learning how to cook new foods by the subtle force of them appearing in my refrigerator every other week and hopefully even getting to know some people in our area that are interested in eating well and supporting local causes at the pickups. I can't tell myself to stop eating bad foods, but I can make exploring healthy food choices a fun, family affair. Here goes nothing.

Addition #2 - Reintroduction Of A Fun Pastime From My Youth That Involves Physical Activity (Take Two)

Last Christmas Bethenny (I am not hyperlinking Bethenny - you need to know who she is if we're going to have a healthy blog relationship.) was on Skating with the Stars, an ice-skating spinoff of Dancing with the Stars. I was kind of addicted to this show, as in I would lock myself in the private bathroom at my former office and sit on the floor and watch YouTube videos of the routines to hold me over until the next week. I'm pretty sure I was the only person in America watching this show and that I cried on the finale. This inspired me to take ice skating lessons last winter. I loved skating when I was little and I was really giddy to go back. Turns out skating is really hard as an adult, but it was really fun too and amazing cardio. I also loved riding horses when I was younger and got to do so often enough living in Kentucky and Ecuador. I've always wanted to learn how to ride English so I could feel like my hero, Jackie Kennedy Onassis (obviously). I just bought a Groupon for a pack of four English riding lessons! I cannot wait to begin this!

Addition #3 - The Totally Random Goal That Is A Long Shot But You Hope Works Outs (Take Two)

So last year this resolution was the Neiman Marcus flashmob. So, so fun. This year I feel as though my goal is far less attainable but far more admirable. My New Year's resolution is to join The Polyphonic Spree. It's more like my personal project of 2012. I'm willing to audition, attend all rehearsals, make my own robe, whatever it takes. I just really want to know and say that I was able to contribute some of my energy to one of my favorite bands. So, anyone know how I get to pull this off? I should adverise here that I have long hair (seems like a must for female Polyphonic Spree members), I am good at picking up willowy dance moves and I play an amazing tambourine. Tim DeLaughter - I'm here for the movement. I mean, I have to work and probably can't go on tour but just one show is all I need to make my whole life feel meaningful. Take a chance on an unknown quasi-hippy.

So that's what I got so far re: ways I think I can make 2012 awesome. What are you thinking for New Year's resolutions? Anyone else trying to eat better, learn something new or join a prestigious rock group?

The Best of 2011

2011-12-29T14:02:00.000-08:00

It is incredible to think about what happened to Markus and I this year. We both moved from stressful jobs where we felt like we were spinning our wheels to go nowhere into new positions at new offices where we see futures and feel like normal people again. We grew so much individually professionally, emotionally and spiritually as Markus continues to take his classes to become baptized and confirmed in the Catholic church this Spring. Most importantly we grew so much together! We really worked on our communication skills and, thankfully, we still disagree sometimes. We're just able to disagree more respectfully now which means more time to spend together doing what we do best: being happy people.

We were watching TV together this week and there was a commercial on with a Best of 2011 montage of their favorite moments from the year. I asked Markus what he thought our best moments were and he emailed me the list below. I've taken his list and added small pockets of detail, since not all of us are able to communicate in four word sentences.

"1. Chicago - Gotham City, so much cool stuff to do, awesome restaurants, lots of walking and public transportation"

Our trip to Chicago to celebrate Markus' 29th birthday was so fun! I am such a New York girl I thought Chicago would be a underwhelming version of the Big Apple, but it is full of its own personality and a great place to visit or live, according to my gorgeous friends who have made it home. Markus loved Batman growing up so he gets very into urban vacations since it makes him feel as though he is in Gotham City! We saw a Blue Man Group show, ate at RL Restaurant, did a John Hughes tour of the Art Institute and, of course, took some great iPhone photos in Millenium Park.

"2. Marfa - Sky Party, Chinati, the Hotel, the jeep trip"

Markus is very hard to shop for so last Christmas I surprised him with a book I had made detailing our planned and paid for trip to Marfa for Valentine's Day weekend. This stunning small town brought us to a level of relaxation we haven't known since we lived in Lubbock. We went to the McDonald observatory sky party and looked out of huge telescopes, did the art scene, stayed at the Holland Hotel in Alpine and took a jeep tour through the Big Bend area with Angell Expeditions that included a soak in the Chinati Hot Springs. I will never forget this trip!

"3. Scary House Halloween - hilarious"

Our first attempt at decorating for a holiday. We ended up scaring some of the little kids! Hopefully they are ready for us next year.

"4. Candy Christmas - best first Christmas tree ever, even post-LittleChildification of the treeskirt"

I posted earlier how last year's trip to Dylan's Candy Bar inspired me to do a Candy Christmas theme for our first try at home decor. Holiday decrations are an expensive buy-in but I am so glad we went for it. It has filled our house with so much cheer!

"5. Costa Rica - fruits, veggies, cuban cigars, surfing, awesome climate, beach, so outdoorsy"

Our trip to Costa Rica was amazinggg. Another case of having no idea I could ever feel that healthy and refreshed. Fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere - a gluten-free, vegan dream. We stayed at Hotel Alma del Pacifico, went white water rafting and through the state parks, surfed and watched the Mavs win the National Championship from a projector on the beach! Such amazing quality time with my sister and her fiance. We love having them as friends! On the last day Markus and I laid in the hammock and took turns reading stories from David Sedaris' "When You are Engulfed in Flames." A perfect memory.

"6. Getting a Chiminea - fire anytime, don't have to use a shredder anymore for papers"

What can I say? Markus is really easy to please. And really, really likes fire. (Scorpio.)

"7. Toy Story on Ice - coolest thing i've ever seen, ever"

We started 2011 off by taking ice skating lessons as a Christmas gift from Markus. As an extra treat we bought disocunted tickets to Toy Story on Ice. Our discounted tickets ended up being in the front row! Disney on Ice was a big family tradition with my grandfather growing up so I was over the moon, but I did not expect for Markus to be so taken with an ice show. Apparently we are the same kind of weird. And I love it.

"8. Rangers Games - it's the Temple"

Markus grew up with no sports influence and I grew up in the Midwest on basketball. We fell in love with baseball together and the Ballpark in Arlington is where we want to be April - September. It's our spot. We even got to take Little Child to her first game this year!

"9. Exercise Ball for Work Chair - best thing to happen to work since Wall-E"

Markus switched out his office chair at work with one of those exercise balls. As you can see, his is lovin' it. Almost as much as the talking Wall-E figure I got him on our Disney World honeymoon. When you see him compliment him on his improved posture. And if you see him lounging on his ball please don't pop it with a pair of scissors a la The Office.

"10. Built-in Shelves - make the house look awesome"

We were desperate for a touch more stoarge space so we had these built-in shelves designed and installed. We did the painting and then had friends over when they were down for a Big Lebowski party with Wii Bowling, White Russians and toe cookies - with nail polish. Left to right is The Dude, Walter, Jesus and Maude. You can kind of see the Top 10 shelves in the background!

That concludes the obnoxious newsletter-style letter you usually get in Christmas cards. From our family to you! What were your top moments of the year? Anything I have to try in 2012?

Bucha Buddies

2011-12-28T15:01:00.001-08:00

Today I was able to leave work and head home a little before Markus. When one of us is afforded this opportunity and we have a mini event that evening we'll be the other's "bucha buddy," meaning we'll sneak by the health food store on the way home from work and pick up a set of Kombucha teas to share. It's not all the time and it's never an understood thing, but it always peps the day up and is a small sign of appreciation to the other for being a good spouse/friend/roommate.

Is there a small thing you'll do at your house to show that you have your partner's back? I can't wait to drink this tea and hit up the Granada for some Old 97's madness tonight!

Traditions Old & New

2011-12-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

Hello, lovelies!

I hope you all had a relaxing long weekend. This was a very memorable Christmas for Markus and I. It was our third Christmas as a married couple and due to that plus some family events outside our control it was time to really explore how we would do the Holiday instead of bunking up at family's house and reverting back to being our parents' kids for the weekend. Sometimes I feel holidays can be odd for couples who are married or independent but don't have children yet where there's a full house and reason to start new family traditions. Since we're really starting to stand on our own as our unique family but still have no plan for when children will be here, it was time to start to mix in some new ways of celebrating this time of year with traditions we share with our (as our Church calls it) "families of origin." The old and the new all added up to a beautiful and perfect weekend. I've broken down all the fun into old and new traditions below. Try to keep up with the happy madness!

Favorite "Old" Traditions

Going to see Scrooge at Northpark with Markus and my sister is a cherished event to me. My gradfather took us to see this puppet show every year before the big day. It is a million times more important to me than seeing Santa Claus. I love watching the kids now and got so excited when we were called on when we were younger. It is such a special part of my life in Dallas. The puppet master has been doing this show for 34 years!

My cousin's birthday is December 23 and we go to Dave & Buster's almost every year to celebrate with dinner and lots and lots of games. We go for the big tickets and then give all the goods to him to collect his mega-prize. This year he turned 23 on December 23 - star birthday!

Exciting New Traditions

Tuba Christmas in Dallas

Holiday Cheer at the Flagship Neiman Marcus

Tuba Christmas - We were looking for ways to celebrate Christmas in Dallas when we first moved here four years ago and found Tuba Chritmas. Markus first attended SMU on a Tuba scholarship so he played with the group for our first experience! This year we went back with one of our couple friends as a daytime double date. It is so much fun to sing along to all the carols! Afterwards we walked through Neiman Marcus for one last dose of their holiday decor and then had a long lunch at Iron Cactus. As an aside, the gluten-free menu at Iron Cactus is top-notch and extensive. I loved the spinach artichoke dip with green chiles (a dish that is rarely offered gluten-free at restaurants) and my salmon salad.

The pajamference - Knowing that we would be running around visiting family on the 25 & 26, Markus and I bought some much needed new pajamas and soaked in quiet time on Christmas Eve. Our darling sleepwear sets are from JCPenny (I love the champagne print on mine!). We each picked a movie to watch, wrapped presents and snugged. Sistah stopped by for a gift exchange and snapped this family portrait for us. There is always something to do in Dallas so it is wonderful to take (part of) a day to decidedly go off the grid!

Christmas Mass and Dinner - When Markus and I went to Germany for our first Christmas together, we walked to mass with his family. It was such a peaceful experience that when he suggested it this year for us I was happy to agree. It helped that I had read on my Kate Middleton ~~stalking~~ news sites that it is also a tradition in the Royal Family to walk to and from Christmas services. Our parish had the church decorated beautifully. Before we left we stuffed green peppers and put them in the crockpot. When we returned they were simmering and ready for us to enjoy!

Gluten-Free Stuffed Peppers (adapted from El Burrito)

Bell Pepper, cleaned and emptied

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and cooked

1 ear of corn, with the kernels cut off

1 package of El Burrito Soyrizo vegan chorizo

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

1 cup vegetable broth

Sautee the diced onion and garlic in a pan with extra virgin olive oil. Once they have yellowed add the cooked quinoa, walnuts and vegan chorizo (squeezing the "meat" out of the casing). Stir in the pan until fully combined. Stuff the hollowed pepper with the mixture and place in the crock pot with the vegetable broth on high for 90 minutes or until tender. Each pepper can be topped with vegan or organic cheese depending upon indivudual family member's prefernces.

After our meal Markus gifted me with my favorite of our Christmas traditions - a new member of my Jonathan Adler ornament menagerie! Markus puts a lot of thought behind his selections and when I opened it he told me, "He's here because elephants have a great memory. And I want to always remember this Christmas with you when we celebrated as our own family." It will forever be a hard Christmas to top!

How did you celebrate the season this year? Any exciting new traditions? Did any favorite old one make an appearance?

Have a Healthy and Happy Holiday!

2011-12-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

Photo by Amanda Curtis Jameson

IT'S HERE!

A four-day weekend with lots of time to relax and cherish my favorite two people: Markus and Little Child!
(Yes, dogs are people. Just not human beings.)

I am really looking forward to the days ahead. Usually during the Holidays I completely let myself go in terms of food and exercise, but this year I'm casually striving to be a little more conscious. Here are my principles that I'm hoping will have me looking like my normal self instead of some bloated Christmas casualty next week on New Year's Eve.

Cleanse As You Go - I have a jar of organic, 100% pure cranberry juice in my refrigerator that I'm drinking as "dessert" after meals since it has such strong cleansing properties. I'm also enjoying a nightly mug of Dandelion Root tea with my beloved 30 Rock reruns for the same reasons. Not an aggressive cleanse but two simple things that help me waking up feeling refreshed in the morning.

No Workout Too Small - I am not a "normal" person who can just tie up running shoes and burn some quick calories pounding pavement. This time of year is filled with wonky gym hours and class cancellations, which can start to mess with my workouts. Fitness DVDs are my best friend this time of year. If we have a morning activity and I can' do a whole DVD, half of one is better than no workout at all. Working out helps me feel relaxed when I'm sitting on my grandma's sofa for multiple hours or sitting at a table with a smidge too much food on my plate. I'm probably getting more mental than physical benefits but who ever said that was so bad for you? My list of favorite workout DVDs are here.

The Raw Truth - I feel sooo much better when I incorporate raw fruits and vegetables in with my Holiday treats. Thankfully most gatherings we go to have some sort of veggie tray or salad, so I can grab some carrots or celery before dip and chocolate time. Again, might be more mental than physical but it makes me feel a lot less heavy. I also try to keep our regular morning juicing schedule. We do carrots, beets, kale, lemon and ginger every morning and it makes a huge difference in how I feel during the day. Even if I completely fall of the wagon later I know a lot of nutrients got to hit my stomach on empty that morning!

Not anything more than I do on a normal day but not a huge break from routine either. Feeling healthy makes me a happy person which means I am in a better mood to enjoy the days and my friends and family. What are your tips to stay smiling through the weekend?

Thank you so much for your friendship, follows and comments as I began my mini-journey with the blog this year. It has been so fun to learn more about the many interesting people I share space on the planet with and to hear from you all about what's on your mind!

Merry Everything and Peace on Earth!

~The Neubauers

Hello, Huntsville, TX

2011-12-20T06:54:00.000-08:00

This weekend included one of my favorite things - a trip to Huntsville to visit Markus' cousin Amanda and her family! I love going to Huntsville. Since that is where our state prison happens to be, it reminds me of when Holly GoLightly goes to SingSing and Fred Baby says, "just visiting of course." I love some tasteful criminal justice humor.

We stayed with Amanda at her cozy bed and breakfast, Smither's B&B, and partied and steam showered at her yoga/dance retreat center/art gallery, Crazywood. Markus' favorite uncle (and close race for favorite family member - probably tied with younger brother Lukas) and aunt were in town visiting as well so it was a relaxing and entertaining mini-reunion. Markus talks to Uncle Marty at least a few times a week but we haven't been able to see him since our wedding so this was a big treat for both of us. It was actually my first time to meet my Aunt Lynette!

I am always inspired at Amanda's so it is very commonplace for me to be walking around in my pajamas taking pictures on my phone of her walls, nooks and crannies. One of my favorite things in the world are her pearlescent paint colors on the walls and ceilings and they way she outlines the architecture of her kitchen with some mirror tiles that she purchased at a craft store.

While my photos are a little elementary, her guest space is featured online and you can follow this link to get the full tour. It is seriously one of the most inspiring and nurturing spaces I've ever been in.

We took Uncle Marty's Corgi, Galahad on a morning walk on Sunday. Right down the street from the B&B is a little block of houses designed by Dan Phillips of the Phoenix Commotion. Dan works against the typical waste brought on by mass construction and creates his homes and projects out of repurposed materials. I love this house and its mismatched shingles that were acquired through other projects and landfills. I think waking up in this house every day would be like living in a Grimm's fairy tale!

We were honored to be able to attend Amon's 5th birthday at Crazywood while we were in town. His party featured a pinata, face painting, an art station and the most insane cake I have ever seen. Not one birthday meltdown by any of the children at the party! This never happens at Dallas kid parties. It must be all that fresh, country air.

Somewhere over the weekend's conversation I mentioned that in my family growing up if someone left after a weekend together, everyone would line the walk and "wave with their hats and wave with their aprons." Aunt Lyenette gathered some aprons together and family and friends gave me a surprise sendoff! I could not have imagined a more perfect way of knowing how included and loved I was in my husband's family. Can you ask for anything more than that?

The Best Lights in Dallas & Gluten-Free at Rise No 1

2011-12-19T07:38:00.000-08:00

Coming off an amazing weekend is hard to do. I love how during the Holidays we get to reconnect with so many fun people in our lives in addition to the ones we spend Christmas Day with. We got our last pre-Christmas weekend started in Dallas on a double date with my college roomate and her adroable boyfriend. We all love looking at Christmas lights. Since Jordan and her boyfriend are just getting settled in Dallas, Markus and I lent our expertise to the evening and built a robust itinerary of Dallasite Holiday cheer.

We knew we wanted to do a dinner out at someplace noteworthy that wasn't bank breaking at the same time. I had heard such good things about Rise No 1 but assumed it was on my "never in a million years" list as most good souffles need a little bit of flour. I could not believe they offer many of their dishes as gluten-free! The entire meal was such a great experience. Their wait staff is delightful and very helpful with navigating the menu to avoid gluten. The setting is beautiful. Jordan described as "if Anthropologie was real life," and Markus said it reminded him of "La Madeline meets Where the Wild Things Are." When did I meet such worldly and descriptive friends? Many of the items in the restaurant are repurposed from old wine bottles, recycled glass or French antiques. It made my green heart happy to sit beneath this stunning chandelier made of recycled wine bottles.

The food was phenomenal. I had a seasonal crab souffle and it was light in texture but with a rich, fresh crab flavor. Crab cakes are a former favorite dish of mine so to be able to enjoy a special crab recipe and have it not leave me with a migraine was a blissful moment.

Not all souffles on the dessert menu were offered gluten-free, so I chose the raspberry option. Below is a shot of the homemade raspberry sauce being poured into the top of the souffle. Markus and I were supposed to split this dish but after I'd had a few bites he gave me the rest saying, "By the look on your face I can tell that if I took any more I would be depriving you of a special experience." He knows me so well.

After dinner wrapped we were off to see the lights. I've put the list of my top light picks below, with the show stopper closing out my list. We hit all three of these on Friday and I recommend doing the same as they are all unque and make the season bright.

Best Lights per Capita

Just as a disclaimer about who I am, if I am north of 635, it's a pretty big deal. I make the long trek every year for the Deerfield lights. This housing community in Plano does a Christmas decorations contest year each and all of the resident bring the heat. Deerfield has a really good mix of classy, campy and car-stopping displays and they are all back-to-back if you follow the light tour signs as you enter.

Best Snooty-Snotty Lights

If you drive around Highland Park the day after Thanksgiving (official Dallas put-up-your-lights day) and expect to see dads with ladders and staple guns, you are wrong. Almost all of these lights are professionally installed, which doesn't bother me in the slightest when I am sitting under a messive tree draped in warm colored lights. The best route through Highland Park is to take Preston down to the area, doing a lap through Highland Park Village to see their jaw-dropping white trees, and the take a right on Beverly where it meets Oak Lawn and wrap your way back up to Mockingbird. Finish back at Highland Park Village for a cocoa from Starbucks.

Best Griswald Lights

Farmer's Branch is where the lights made for and by the hardworking middle class live. I love these lights becuase they're homespun and a little wonky at times. Drive up and down the Marsh and Valley View and see the streets glowing with Home Depot projects. The best light show in Dallas resides at 14535 Southern Pines Cove. Please go see these lights and if you can, bring a canned good for their drive. But do yourself a favor and save this spot for the end of your tour, as every other house dripping with lights will look like the dumbest thing ever after the blinding, computer programmed majesty of this cul de sac.

What are you special holiday traditions? Any good areas in Dallas for lights that I missed?

One of the light displays in Deerfield

Oh Sh*t Gifts

2011-12-15T06:19:00.000-08:00

There are the gifts of the season that are full of excitement and intention, like the great items I've picked out for my mom, sister and husband. Then you have the fun gifts that you see and know it will make a great present for someone on your list. Then there are "Oh Sh*t Gifts." The gifts for an aunt or cousin, teacher or supervisor where you don't know what you would get even if budget wasn't an issue and you also put off until the last minute.

Last year I did a little gifting experiment. Instead of going out and buying a cheap candle, traditional ornament or random bottle of wine, I shopped some charity gift catalogs. Charity gift catalogs are a great way to make a gift to a non-profit in the name of someone on your Christmas list and be able to tangibly show how the gift is going to be put to work. It went over great and I am looking forward to battling holiday stress again this year with some worthwhile, tax-deductible gifts!

Photo courtesy of churchworldservice.org

For example, my aunt is a very hardworking doctor with great taste and the ability to buy her own scented candles. This year instead of purchasing her a gift that would just clutter her home, I bought her a year's worth of micronutrients for 10 children through one of my favorite charities, Church World Service. These micronutrients come in powder form in packets and are stirred into children's food in areas recovering from famine to iron, zinc, vitamin A and folic acid to children. Markus' parents are in the process of moving out to to their organic farm full-time, where they keep gardens, chickens and goats. Instead of giving them one more thing to pack and move, we are excited to send a pair of goats to a community that can use them to make high-protein milk, an income for families and fertilizer for sustainable gardening. If you are looking for a gift for your children's teacher besides the standard coffee mug, how about sending five bundles of new school supplies overseas to give children the gift of an education? I love Church World Service becuase it is an organization about teaching people better ways to help themselves for the long haul, and I feel as though these simple items make a world of difference to someone working to stand on their own two feet.

Another great charity gift catalog that everyone is sure to recognize and appreciate is the American Red Cross. Their disaster prepardeness training and relief, CPR and first aid classes, fire response and military services are what has kept our world seeing a light at the end of the tunnel during our world and local disasters, and what allows us to be able to fundraise and respond to tragedies of all shapes and sizes. How about donating a calling card to an American solider in the name of a veteran or parent of a military member? I plan on buying my boss measles vaccinations for 25 children, a disease that can be wiped out with a simple shot but still takes 450 lives a day. If your interests are international, the American Red Cross video below shows how great their global impact was in 2011.

I am really grateful to have found some last-minute gifts that are more than just Christmas filler. Both of these organizations will send you a card to give to your recipient explaining the gift and what it is providing to a person in need. If you're ordering very last minute (like maybe 15 mintues before Christmas dinner, as I have done before) there are cards you can print from your home printer and even e-cards for relatives out of town. What do you usually do when you realize that there is someone on your list that you've forgetten?

Just Clicking Around

2011-12-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

There are a few links today that I wanted to share with you!

Two places that I usually love but try to avoid between Thanksgiving and New Year's are Costco and Northpark. I inevitably go to each place at least once during this time period (especially to fulfill my annual requirement of watching one of my favorite Holiday traditions - Scrooge at Northpark!) and I was very happy to find this article on Dallas Vegan that gives a run down on all of the vegan-friendly dining spots in the shopping and arts center. A happy and well-fed husband makes for a less exacerbating shopping experience! Check out their list here.

While the Holidays do mean crowded commercialism, they also signal the time to reflect back on another year completed and enjoyed. I was honored to be chosen to submit a guest blog at The Granada's website about my favorite concert of 2011. Can you guess what show it was?

The last thing to share is my new favorite Tuesday timewaster - Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free's Slightly Indulgent Tuesday linkup. I added my gluten-free, vegan pumpkin pie and can't wait to look through more of the recipes tonight!

Fights About Lasagna

2011-12-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

The past five years have brought phenomenal change to my life. I made some personal desicions about my health and goals and shortly after that I started dating Markus. A few months into our relationship he went vegetarian and I accepted the challenge (everything is a competition to me). Then last year, after seeing a gluten-free diet work for my celiac family members, we kicked gluten to the curb. I am a hugely emotional eater so each of these transitions have been big when you think about how much emphasis I put on food and certain meals, but actually not a huge deal when I take it a meal at a time and focus on how much better I feel. Now Markus and I are locked in a food battle of epic proportions - that being the battle of cheese.

Markus has cut free from cheese, which means something very important to me is now at risk: lasagna.

Can you make a homemade lasagna for one person? No. What is a lasagna without the cheese? It is nothing. These were the questions running through my head at night (see above re: emotional relationship with food).

When I found this FitSugar recipe for a vegan, gluten-free lasagna on Pinterest I was skeptical but intrigued. Last night we worked on a few afternoon projects at the house before our standing Sunday date-night to look at Christmas lights, so I gave the recipe a whirl.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Lasagna (adapted from FitSugar)

3 zucchinis, cut into strips lengthwise
1 jar marinara sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1 veggie soup cube
1 cup water
3/4 cup quinoa
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 package of extra firm tofu
Fresh or dried parsley

I preheated the oven to 375F and started cutting my zucchini strips. After the strips were cut I laid them out on a baking sheet a sprinkled them with salt and my beloved herbamare to help them "sweat." At the same time I boiled water with the veggie soup cube in it. After the water began to boil I added the quinoa, tomato sauce, onion and parsley. I let this all simmer together for about 10 minutes or until the quinoa had doubled in size. Continue stirring for a minute or two after you remove the sauce from heat, as mine began to thicken. After I had my sauce I crumbled up the tofu until it had the vague appearance of ricotta cheese.

Once all my parts were prepared it was time to layer. I did the marinara first, then zucchini, then tofu crumbles and quinoa sauce, repeating until the casserole dish is full. Then bake for about 25 minutes or until the sauce looks thick and any zucchini you can see poking out looks tender.

The end result was trips to the kitchen for seconds for Markus and I and no fights about cheese. Especially when I decided to put a slice of cheese on my second helping. I am so glad to know I have this dish for when I'm craving something out of my casserole pan that can accommodate all family members. Even Little Child, who jumped into the trash compactor trying to get seconds!

Currently

2011-12-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

My love/hate relationship with work travel continues. Love it because of all the new people I get to meet and how quickly the week goes by when you're on the move. Kind of hate it because there is a lot of gross chain restaurant food out there and I am no good at sleeping alone in a hotel room (I've been known to take all of the mobile furniture in a hotel room and pile in front of the door to ensure my room is wierdo-free through the night. Did I mention I work for a non-profit that teaches fire safety? Not the best idea.) This week's trip was a great experience but I am so glad to be back in the D!

While I was on the road Samarra of Just Arting Around let me know that she'd mentioned me on her blog. I used her Otomi Fabric on Spoonflower to make a window valance for the dining room bookshelves and reading nook I had built last year. I love her designs and feel like the fabric brought all my hippie hodgepodge together! What do you think? I love Spoonflower's fun prints on organic cotton and am getting a Christmas giftcard to there for my 10 year-old sister-in-law who loves to design clothes for herself and her Barbies!

I was also out for the launch of Dallas Contemporary's pop-up shop this week but got over there today as soon as I could. Their back gallery is filled with coffee table books, signed and numbered prints and fresh award-winning salsa that was used at their Jennifer Rubell Legends event. I picked up two tickets to their upcoming Phenomenon event and eyed some gifts for my artistic friends and family members. The pop-up is open now through Sunday so you still have time to get a unique gift where 100% of the proceeds help to bring contemporary art to our community through the gallery space, events and their Art Think educational program for children and teens. Some of my favorite finds from my visit are below.

Limited edition prints by Vernon Fisher and Linda Ridgway. Framed and ready for my your wall!

State Fair winning salsa made for Jennifer Rubell's interactive exhibit at Dallas Contemporary last fall. I am always trying to convince my friends that I am artsy, local and a foodie - this says it all at $5 a jar!

Some stunning coffee table books available at the Pop-Up Shop. Thank you, Tom Ford, for making the coffee table book a status symbol. These are a great way to show your family that you are smart and artsy and think that they are as well - acknowledgement of mutual literary smugness is one of the highest complitments one can bestow.

Speaking of being artistic and a foodie, I can't wait to relax at home tonight with a bowl of gluten-free cereal and almond milk with my pup while we watch The Help from redbox. What are you all up to this weekend?

Pinterest Projects

2011-12-06T07:28:00.001-08:00

So Pinterest is kind of amazing. Everyone on Pinterest is a classier, craftier, more fashionable version of their true selves and they are all going to have perfect weddings and be amazing parents according to their pins. Any pin for a craft that looks remotely interesting and would be accomplished by me in some miraculous event is captioned "super easy tailored sweater with hood made from an old t-shirt" or the like. Life is super easy and DIY on Pinterest. It is a magical land. Also, people on Pinterest are really into doing their nails and are really good at it apparently.

When I had a friend's wedding shower coming up, I decided that I would make actually make a Pinterest project and impress everyone there. I was the first of my generation to get married so at these showers I feel a little bit required to make domestic life look as easy yet intimidating as a Pinteret project, when the reality is most days my house is covered in laundry and I am worried that Little Child is going to die from preferring household objects for snacks over her organic dog food.

My mom used to make diaper cakes for showers when I was younger and people always loved them. I love using dish towels at home (they are so easy to wash and save so much money compared to always using paper towels!) so when I found a dish towel cake on Pinterest for wedding showers I was excited to give it a try. The cutting board base and spatulas are off of the bride's registry and the towels and other kitchen accessories are added flair. It was a hit at the party and I got to brag about how I really make crafts off of Pinterest.

What aspects of your Pinterest life have you been making a reality lately? Link them back using the button above from The Vintage Apple for "Oh How Pinteresting Wednesdays!"

Company Cafe on the Trail

2011-12-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

As a Dallas-based gluten-free noms seeker, I was very excited when the original Company Cafe opened on Greenville Ave. Sistah, her fiance, Markus and I all paid them a visit when they were in town for TXou and we were blown away by the extensive gluten-free options and the quality of the food. This was, regrettably for all of us, before I had rediscovered my love of blogging so I was waiting for a new development with the restaurant to do a post. I was ecstatic to hear about their new location literally on the Katy Trail and was over the moon to be invited to their dinner preview last night before they open next week.

When attending an anticipated restaurant preview and playing food editor, one must bring friends (preferably male homosexual) that can laugh and recite lines from My Best Friend's Wedding with you as you sample and review the food items. (i. e. I'm writing it up as...inventive..) I was very pleased that Markus and I's most cherished double date partners, Cassian and Jeff, were available to make such dreams reality. Cassian owns Star Fit and has more health certifications than a Type A Girl Scout so I knew he would appreciate the hearty but health conscious menu.

It was a chilly and wet night in Dallas so a delicious warm meal with good friends was exactly what we all needed. The cozy atmosphere of the restaurant helped set the tone for a intimate evening. Its re-purposed wood walls and chic lantern-style lighting made us all feel like we had jetted off to Aspen for the weekend and tucked into the lodge for the night.

Our first appetizer was the loaded sweet potato fries. Everyone agreed that this was the best bacon any of us had ever tasted. Jeff usually won't touch bacon because it is too salty and I caught him sneaking a pile onto his plate. Even I, the loyal pescatarian, forgot to take the big chunk of uncured meat off of my fries when some made their way onto my pile. I love sweet potatoes but many major restaurant suppliers bread their fries, so if they aren't made in house they are usually glutenized. These were really flavorful and light.

Next was the stuffed portabella mushroom, where we could taste the freshness of the feta (it had a really good flavor). The moist and tender mushroom sat neatly on a bed of crisp baby spinach and a perfectly blended tangy balsamic vinaigrette. I kind of though Cassian was going to cry as he took the last bite because he knew his moment with this dish was almost over.

Jeff ordered (and we all had a bite of some part of) the chicken and waffles, which were legitimately spicy. Seriously, I don't know if we got the end of the batter, but there were huge chunks of jalapenos in these waffles and my eye were watering a little by the end of my sample. These would be even better with a cream sauce on the chicken, in our table's humble opinion. Even with its extra kick, the waffle was one of the best I've ever had before or after converting to gluten-free, and hands down one of the best gluten-free products I've ever tried.

The standout dish of the night was the Smoked Salmon, crowned Miss Company Cafe on the Trail by our table. This fresh piece of fish was deep smoked with a house made rub and had an intensely smokey flavor like a Goodies from Goodman turkey. As a non-meat eater, this is one of the flavors I really miss the most and I felt like this salmon captured it better than some poultry dishes even do. The mashed cauliflower side is better than many mashed potatoes I've had and I once froze my grandmother's mashed potatoes and put them on a plane with me. I've never tried mashed cauliflower before since I thought it could never compare to my love of mashed potatoes. Turns out when Company Cafe makes them, they are even more flavorful than the original. Both the fish dishes at our table were served with broccolini, which I thought was an adventure and also fun to say. It was nice to try but a little tough so i think I can continue through life as a plain-old broccoli girl.

Overall it was such an exceptional dinner experience and evening. My only wish for the space is that they one day expand or install some black foam on the ceiling, because when it was hopping last night it was happening and quite loud. Not one dish was processed or over salted but everything was unique, memorable and flavorful. I really look forward to frequenting this new location and having some delicious and gluten-free brunches and dinner after aerobics with Little Child on the trail.

Cassian and I getting cozy at dinner. Do we look like a page out of "Who Wore It Best?"

Hope you are all enjoying a cozy weekend and that all my Dallasites are staying out of this rain!

Candyland Christmas pt. 2 - The Candy Tree

2011-12-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

After many years of not being able to justify its cost on top of buying gifts and wrapping up the year, I was ready for my big girl Christmas tree this year. I would love a real tree that I could mulch after the Epiphany, but I was allergic to them when I was younger and I work for a non-profit that teaches fire safety and has done an excellent job of convincing me that ADD Christmas tree owners get their houses burned down.

My tree could be faux, but it had to be flocked. Not white, but green and covered in crazy fake snow. My tree trimming memories consist of going with my grandfather and my sister in his Lincoln Towncar down the street to the Wolfe nursery and getting a huge flocked tree every year and filling it with bright blue lights and mismatched glass ornaments. Every time I see a pruned and elegant tree I think of how unfortunate it would look next to the chaotic, mid-century majesty of my grandfather's retro creations.

Last year I took a trip to New York during Christmastime and went to Dylan's Candy Bar. We get some of her candy here at Neiman Marcus and have had a pop-up shop at Northpark before but nothing compares to her flagship store. Everything is bright, everything is whimsical and everything is about the candy. When I started thinking about my big girl tree I made a little vision board in my mind and realized I wanted it to match perfectly with the Dylan's Candy Bar Candy Cottage Advent Calendar (which was available a month ago) so I could buy that for my place as well and bring New York to Dallas. The coincidence would be that as I finished the tree I learned that these adorable houses are no longer made so having my complete set is a long shot, but I am grateful for the inspiration!

I got the cute lollipop ornaments that remind me of the Dylan's logo at Target - where they are $2 each! My mini menagerie of ornaments are from Markus, who gifts me with a Jonathan Adler ornament each year. I am really excited to see if Santa brings me another addition this year and what it might be!

My tree all set up in our funky little living room. I love the bright felt ornaments in the traditional Dylan's color scheme. I randomly bought those years ago proving you can only connect the [candy] dots looking backwards! And yes, there is a framed (and signed) photo of Tim DeLaughter in my living room. Someone needs to remind me to follow the day and reach for the sun as I leave for work each morning.

The candy striped skirt is from Lowe's!

The gingerbread cookie tree topper from Bronner's Christmas Wonderland takes the cake for me. My heart jumped when I found it and I tracked this item on UPS every day until it arrived. If you're going to be materialistic it should at least be about something as fun as a gingerbread cookie tree topper. Very, very cute. The only quirk is it is about 100lbs so I had to jerry rig it to the tree to stay upright. Thankfully I enjoy Chinese takeout so I had a bunch of chopsticks that I could zip tie it to. Tres chic, oui?

I love the beginnings of Christmas Candy Land at the newlywed nest and cannot wait to add to it each year! How do you decorate for the Holidays? Do you pull a little bit of a theme or just go wild?

Going Bold

2011-11-30T11:34:00.000-08:00

My mother, Sistah and I had a wedding to attend on Saturday. Since Sistah has all of her wedding parties and showers coming up as well we decided to do a little beauty counter exploration that afternoon at Neiman Marcus Northpark with our trusted adviser, Bobby. You must ask for Bobby when shopping cosmetics at NM NP - he is a sales executive and has access to every counter so he can pull "the best of the best" from each to customize a plan or palette for you. Due to my mom's celiac she cannot use any products with wheat germ and he is meticulous about going through the ingredients for each item he recommends to her and making sure it won't react with her skin. Bobby and my mom and her mom (my Nannie) even swap prayer intentions. Three words describe this darling man: above and beyond.

My take away from the afternoon was Guerlain's Rouge Automatique 170 Nuit d'Amour lipstick. It transformed my whole look to very vintage glam and stayed on all night with a very moisturized-looking gleam. I met a dear friend from college last night at Bolsa and all I needed to take my work outfit to an evening dinner with a swipe of this lipstick. I know it looks really dark in the tube but it actually goes on a rich yet sheer red.

I am so excited for my personal piece of holiday cheer. I am going to be sporting this to all of my holiday parties!

Pretty Presents: The Pink Pagoda

2011-11-29T05:17:00.000-08:00

As I began my search for unique and personal gifts this year, I was so fortunate to have found The Pink Pagoda's etsy shop! Blue and white china is a cherished tradition in my family. Looking at these designs I am filled with warm memories from my mother's house and the few times we have used our blue and white at home.

I can't divulge what I've purchased from The Pink Pagoda so far for fear of a Christmas spoiler but it is definitely one of the gifts that I am most excited to pass out in a few weeks! See some of The Pink Pagoda's work below and visit her etsy shop or soothing interior design blog.

Giving Thanks & Good Karma

2011-11-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

Since Sistah had to work the day after Thanksgiving, my mom went down to Austin and we rescheduled Thanksgiving for yesterday afternoon. In our petite family we have three people who do not eat gluten (two of those being severely celiac), a vegan and a pescatarian. My mom makes amazing mashed potatoes, sweet corn, garden salads and pies. She also orders the best Goodies from Goodman smoked turkeys. However, some favorite sides such as casseroles and stuffing (called dressing at our house) can be a science experiment. Thankfully for families like us around the Metroplex, Good Karma Kitchen has been rolling out their gluten-free and vegetarian dishes (pun intended - they operate out of a chic and eco-friendly food truck) and did a special Thanksgiving catering menu. I met one of the cute girls of Good Karma on Saturday to pick up my order and loved all of the colors of their truck!

Check out that seriously immaculate kitchen! One of the biggest concerns for severe celiacs like my sister and mom who cannot process even the tracest amounts of gluten is cross-contamination from restaurants that say they are gluten-free but are actually using those same cooking utensils on foods with gluten. It is awesome to have a resource in the area that is completely gluten-free.

We ordered the herb cherry stuffing, which was devoured at our family table and described by the bunch as "savory," "moist," and "flavorful." I also got a few servings of the broccoli rice casserole. This was definitely my favorite dish as the table. My mom described the casserole as "fresh" and I agree - for a dish that was made and delivered on Saturday and then heated up on Sunday, it very much tasted like we had bought the broccoli at the Farmer's Market that morning and just taken it out of the oven that afternoon. Both dishes only required 15-20 minutes in the oven before being ready to serve and came with very friendly and idiot-proof heating instructions.

I am already looking forward to this Saturday when Good Karma Kitchen will be celebrating their grand opening in Fort Worth at the Food Truck Festival! I am also going to be checking their website come December to put in my Christmas order with plenty of time. I've heard some of the girls' ideas for what they are cooking up and am already dreaming of a Holiday table filled with gluten-free goodness!

Follow Good Karma Kitchen on Twitter @KarmaKitchenDFW to see where they're at and up to and get updates on their catering menus.