Kelly & Katie

Whoa! It's been a while! I'm still here though and have been meaning to post about this for a while now. If you need a pair of cute shoes that won't kill your feet, I would highly recommend the brand Kelly & Katie. I find them at DSW and L-O-V-E them. I wear them to work, I wore them for 9 hours at a bachelorette party, I wear them to weddings, and I never, ever have sore feet. Plus, there are so many style options, I really don't feel the need to buy any other brand every again (okay, maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get the picture).


Oh! And did I mention they are reasonably priced? I recently bought a pair of peep toe black wedges for $39.00.

Check out the options at DSW by clicking here.

If you get a pair, let me know what you think!

--T

A New Way to Color Eggs

So yesterday I was pleasantly surprised when I was out and about running errands, and Mark texted me and asked "Do you want to color Easter eggs tonight?" I quickly said "Yes" before he could change his mind! I remembered a long time ago I pinned a link on Pinterest for coloring Easter Eggs with Kool Aid packets. I looked up the pin and went to Walmart. The Kool Aid packets are only 20 cents each, cheaper than the egg dying kits.

I followed the instructions found here and really all it involved was mixing the Kool Aid packet with 2/3 cup of water. Since I wasn't sure if this would work, I also bought an egg dying kit called Neon Eggs. We used both, but the Neon kit really sucked compared to the Kool Aid. The Kool Aid colors were so bright, and once you put the egg in, it was dyed. With the Neon kit we had to let the egg sit in the water for a while before the colors were bright enough. Some of them never ended up working.

I would highly recommend this egg dying method. Not only is it safe for kids (I don't know about you, but I'm not sure what's in those little tablets that you normally use to dye eggs), but it made my whole kitchen smell fruity! You don't have to use vinegar, let it dissolve, it was really quite effortless.

Here is a finished product of our eggs. Check out those bright colors!

--T

Motivation

So ever since I stopped doing the Insanity workout program (see previous posts) I have really been slacking in the exercise department. I have been to the gym a few times, I have started and stopped a Jillian Michaels exercise routine about three times, and I just can't get motivated again! What happened??

Actually I know what happened. My goal was to lose 15 pounds and so far I've lost 18.5. I've surpassed my goal and although there are still areas that I am unhappy with and areas that aren't as toned as when I was doing Insanity, overall I feel so much better and I know I look better. So I think now I've got the mindset of "I don't feel like working out today, I've lost weight, I've passed my goal, so no big deal" whereas before my mindset was "I HAVE to workout or I will never lose these love handles, I'll never lose weight and I'll never be comfortable with my body." Before it wasn't an option.

So, my question to those of you reading is: how does one get motivated again? Any ideas?

Does anyone want to do a buddy system? I have seen ideas like this on Pinterest.com. For every day we work out we put a dollar (or whatever) in a jar. After a certain period of time we take our money and go shopping together or for pedicures or something else fun and rewarding? Or instead of a time period what if we did it until we all reached $100 and then treated ourselves to something as a group? If we don't like money being involved are there other ideas?

Or if a buddy system isn't an option for some people, or exercising isn't part of your weight loss program, anyone have ideas as to how I can motivate myself??

--T

My New Chocolate Adventure

So a new adventure for me is becoming a Chocolatier with Dove Chocolate Discoveries. We are a catalog based company that sells exclusive high quality chocolate products. The products are seriously amazing! We sell everything from chocolate covered fruit to chocolate chipotle salsa to chocolate martini mixes.

**Need a Mother's Day gift? For the month of April ONLY we are selling a box of 24 cake-flavored truffles for $39. You can have them shipped anywhere you want and shipping is included in the $39 cost. There are three flavors: buttercream cupcake, cake truffle, and german chocolate. This would make such a unique and yummy gift**

Since we are a catalog based company, I rely mostly on people hosting chocolate tasting parties. The parties are so much fun, because I bring a ton of samples to eat and drink for all the guests. Plus, as the hostess, you get great benefits, including a ton of free products! The best part about it is the hostess doesn't have to provide anything except some beverages for the guests, and a few dipping items like pretzels, graham crackers, and carrots. I bring everything with me.

As a Chocolatier, I don't really have to do too much "work" and enjoy the parties as much as the guests. I do earn a commission (a pretty nice one too!) based on my sales and also earn free products (so far, in addition to my commission I have also earned about $160 in free stuff!). It is a blast!

I was actually featured in the Dove Newsletter as having the 4th highest sales at a party ($850). Among my team (at least 30 people), I was ranked #1 in party sales and ranked #4 with overall sales ($1,018.50) and that's just in my first month! I'm excited to see if I can keep up these numbers. 

If anyone is interested in hosting a party or becoming a chocolatier, feel free to contact me for more information.

Feel free to view my website: www.mydcdsite.com/tracyavignone

or

my Facebook page (which you can click "like" on to stay up to date with new promotions and specials, as well as recipes): www.facebook.com/tracysdcdpage

--T

My New Favorite Restaurant

Thank you to Nicole and Katie for telling me about this great restaurant (on separate occasions).

The name of the restaurant is Seasons 52, and there is a location in Schaumburg and also in Oak Brook. Mark and I went to the Oak Brook location last weekend.

The restaurant is named for the four seasons and the 52 weeks in the year. Each season their menu changes (so they have a winter, summer, spring, and fall menu), and every week (hence, the 52), within the seasonal menu they offer different items based on what is fresh, in season, or being sent by the farmers and providers. The best part about this restaurant is NOTHING on the menu is over 475 calories. Yes, you read that right!

Mark and I started with a flatbread pizza as an appetizer which was very thin and crispy and had tomatoes, basil, and cheese on it. We loved it! For dinner, I had goat cheese ravioli and a spinach salad. I could have actually done without the spinach salad. It was delicious, but the appetizer and ravioli was enough to fill me up. The goat cheese ravioli was amazing, and even though it was pasta, it was only 300 calories. Mark had scallops and asparagus, which he enjoyed as well. For dessert they serve mini desserts, so we each tried one (mine was double chocolate and Mark's was peanut butter and chocolate).

Now, we did over eat, mostly because we were so excited about the food options and the place in general and couldn't decide on what we wanted! So I think my meal was still around 800 calories, BUT for an appetizer, entree, salad, and dessert, that's really not bad for a restaurant. If you look at my previous post about restaurants, even salads can be over 1,000 calories! I think next time I could probably skip the appetizer and the dessert.

Seasons 52 considers itself to be a wine bar as well, so if you enjoy wine you might enjoy some of the wines they have to offer.

The dress code is upscale casual. It's okay to wear jeans, but I wouldn't go in wearing a t-shirt and shorts or a sweatshirt.

I wish they had locations closer to us - if they had one nearby I would be there all the time!

To view their website, click here.

--T

The Technology Age...

...has ruined us as friends, communicators, thinkers, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I love my cell phone, my laptop, Facebook, and all other technological tools and gadgets, but I do think that it has had a negative impact on our society.

Remember the days when we used to write letters to each other in school? I couldn't WAIT to see my friends and give them a note. Kids don't do that anymore! I have been teaching for six years and have only confiscated one note. Now, you may be thinking, "Why would a teacher WANT her students to pass notes in class?" Good question! It's not that I necessarily want them passing notes, but at least when we wrote to each other we were....well....writing! The quality of writing today is horrible. Students turn in research papers and essays without punctuation, capitalization, and they use texting shortcuts! That is definitely the result of less written communication.

Did you know that schools stopped teaching cursive? Writing has become so obsolete that students in junior high cannot read cursive (and that's the truth. I wrote a sentence on the board in cursive last year and a student raised their hand and said, "I can't read that"). 

I used to have friends that I would write letters to and put in the mail. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone and mailed it via the mailman? What about birthday cards? I used to get birthday cards from many people - probably at least 10-12 of them. How many did I get on my last birthday? Two! Everyone says "Happy birthday!" on Facebook and thinks they are covered. I have been guilty of this in the past, but I have decided that I won't take part in it anymore. I tried to avoid all the meaningless "Happy Birthdays" on my last birthday by taking my birth date off of Facebook, but once one person posts, everyone sees it and then people end up wishing you happy birthday anyways.

Last week I receive a "Just Because" card in the mail from my best friend and it seriously made my whole week! It was just what I needed and it made me realize that I need to do more of that as well.

I just want everyone to stop and think and see if technology is running your life, and if it is, maybe make it a point to send a letter, send a card, or call someone just to say hi this week. I'm sure it would make that person's day and in turn you will feel great as well!

--T

I Did It!!!

I just completed the Insanity workout program! I have to admit, I'm very proud of myself. The Insanity program is 9 weeks of intense workouts, 6 days a week. The first month is considered level one, then there is a one week recovery week which includes a lighter exercise routine, and the second month is considered level two. You can scroll through my blog to see past posts on my feelings about the Insanity program. In a nutshell, the first month was really tough, but the second month was literally "insane." The workouts got harder and longer.

If you are going to do this program, I suggest you commit to doing it 100%. It's very easy to make excuses why you can't do the workout or why you don't have time for it, but if that's the case, you are not going to see results. In 9 weeks, I only missed one workout (I had a straightening treatment done to my hair and couldn't sweat or get it wet for 48 hours). This means that sometimes I did workouts at 10:00 at night (or later!). I did not see a point in doing this program if I wasn't going to do it right.

Now, I'm not saying I can do the workouts the way Shaun T. and the other people do them in the video. Case in point: I cannot do a pushup to save my life. I just don't have the upper body strength. I did a pushup challenge a few months ago through a different company and had to do the "girl" pushups, or pushups using a wall or counter. However, that doesn't really work with this program, because of the types of pushups they do. So, when it would come to the pushup portions of the videos, instead, I would do a plank, or situps, crunches, or some other type of exercise. Additionally, sometimes I had to take more breaks than what they allot you in the video. But overall, I did my best and gave it my all.

On Day 1 you do a fit test and record how many reps of specific exercises you can do. Then you do this fit test every couple of weeks and end the program with it to see if you improve along the way. I will post my results just for Day 1 and Day 63 (the final day).

Exercise                     Day 1                  Day 63
Switch Kicks               75                        133
Power Jacks                40                         46
Power Knees               75                        106
Power Jumps               25                         35
Globe Jumps                 8                           9
Suicide Jumps              10                        20
Push Up Jacks*           15                         27
Plank Obliques            15                         32

*I did girl pushups instead.

Weight lost - I lost 6 lbs. total while doing the program.
Inches lost -  I wish I had measured myself before starting, but I did take before and after pictures (and pictures during - see previous blog posts). Again, I wish I had done it differently, because I would have taken pictures of my legs and butt too. I know those have shrunk, because of the way my pants fit. However, this is the only picture I have. I think you can see the difference though :)

 

The question people keep asking me is "What do you do next? Do you start the program over?" For me, the answer is HELL NO. I saw results, I feel accomplished, I'm happy I did it, but I think it was a one time thing for me :) However, my plan now is to go back to the gym for about 30 minutes of cardio (or more depending on my schedule), and then come home and do Jillian Michaels's "30 Day Shred" video. I have heard that this is a good workout that produces good results. I will post updates on how that goes much like I did with Insanity. I read online that you are supposed to do the program 2 days on, 1 day off, so that will be my plan. If anyone has comments or feedback on "30 Day Shred" please share!

--T

Tricky!

Restaurants are soooo tricky! As I've been becoming more food conscious and trying to eat healthier, I have realized that sometimes when I think I am eating well, I'm really not. I've been looking at nutritional information before I go to a restaurant, to make sure what I'm choosing is healthy, and you would be SHOCKED to find out how many calories are in some of the dishes. And no, I'm not talking about a burger and fries, or a plate of nachos. I'm talking about the amount of calories in salads, chicken, and fish - foods we all think are healthy for us.

For example: Tonight we are going to dinner with some friends at Gordon Biersch Brewery in Bolingbrook. I thought to myself "I will get a salad" so as to keep my caloric number low for today. Well - when I went to their nutritional information online (found here), I found out that the salad I would normally get (the Gorgonzola and Pear Salad) is 1150 calories! WHAT?! So then I thought, "Well, a hummus and goat cheese salad sounds pretty healthy" and when I checked the calories it was 1490 calories! Is anyone else as appalled by this as I am? People probably go to restaurants every day and order a salad thinking they are being "good" when really it is almost the same amount of calories to get a burger and fries (1540 calories by the way - less than 100 calories more than the salad). Granted, the salad may overall be better for you because it is not fried, it's less carbs, less fat, etc. but I'm speaking specifically about calories. I suspect that if you asked for dressing on the side and added a tiny bit, instead of dousing your salad in it like they do when they prepare it, then that would make for a healthier meal.

Another evil restaurant trick: desserts! Desserts are by far the worst items on the menu. I can't tell you how many times I ordered a dessert somewhere or wasn't hungry so said to the rest of the people in my party "I'll just get a dessert." JUST?? At Champps restaurant, their apple crisp is 1581 calories. That's 200 calories more I'm alloted for a WHOLE DAY. Their Mile High Ice Cream Pie is 1971 calories. I just can't believe it! I mean - I always knew restaurant food was worse than homemade food, but the numbers are very surprising to me.

I would encourage you, if you are trying to be conscious about what you are eating, trying to lose weight, or whatever the case may be, to check a restaurant's nutritional information before going there so you can be aware of what you are eating. I just do a simple google search, type in the restaurant's name, and the phrase "nutritional information" after it. Nine times out of ten, the company has their nutritional information available online.

So back to Gordon Biersch - what will I be ordering tonight? Half of a turkey sandwich and a side salad (770 calories total). That's still a lot of calories for one meal, in my opinion, but much better than some of the alternatives.

Don't get me wrong, I will still eat french fries, burgers, pizza when I go out to eat, but I would like to consider those foods as more of a treat, and not a "this is what I order every single time I go out to eat" kind of meal :)

--T

Homemade Applesauce

I have tried making a few homemade applesauce recipes in the past, and have liked them all, but nothing comes close to this one! I found the recipe here. I can only really take credit for buying the groceries and finding the recipe, because Mark did most of the hard work. If you decide to make this, I would definitely recommend having an "assistant" to help peel, core, and slice the apples.I did leave out the nutmeg that the recipe calls for. So my slightly modified recipe is:

6 Granny Smith Apples - peeled, cored, and cut in half
6 sweet apples - peeled, cored, and cut in half (I used Gala apples)
1 tablespoon of water
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Add all of the ingredients to a crock pot/slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve warm or chilled.

Here is a picture of the finished product once I took it out of the crock pot. Seriously - it is delicious!

--T

Ipic Bolingbrook - UPDATE

For my regular blog readers, you know I posted a while back about the Ipic movie theater in Bolingbrook (which we still love by the way). If you missed that blog post, feel free to read it here. Recently, I found out there is another perk to getting the Premium Plus Tickets. These are the ones where you are in comfy recliners, there is a waiter to serve you drinks and food, and you get a pillow and blanket. You also get FREE popcorn (and that's per person!). If you are someone who gets popcorn anyways at the movie theater, you may want to consider getting the Premium Plus tickets for this added bonus!

--T

How to Wash Your Hair

Yes, you read that right. Do you know that I have been washing my hair wrong all these years? I saw something online (I don't remember where, so I can't give credit to the website, unfortunately) that said you should not pile your hair on top of your head when you lather up with shampoo. This causes unnecessary tangles which ultimately can damage your hair when you have to comb through them. Instead, you should put shampoo on the top of your head, massage it into the scalp, and rinse. The ends will get clean as you rinse the shampoo out, since the shampoo has to travel down your hair anyways as you rinse. I've been doing this for the last few days and WOW, what a difference! My hair is soooo much easier to comb through after I get out of the shower. Who knew?!

--T

The Best Christmas Gifts...

...are those that are practical and/or thoughtful (in my opinion).

I received some great Christmas gifts this year and wanted to share my two favorites.

Water Pitcher

I had been wanting one of these for a while, because you can make fruit water, the natural way! We have already tried lemon water, and now I have orange slices in there. It's yummy and very healthy for you, not to mention easy to fill a glass anytime you want something to drink. I saw a combination online for raspberries and limes that I would like to try next. My mom had a hard time finding one that was big enough, but also had enough room underneath the spout for you to fit a glass. Many of them are designed to hang off the edge of a counter, but who wants that on the edge of their counter? If you are interested in purchasing one, this one is from Bed Bath and Beyond.

Click here for flavored water recipes and click here for the benefits of drinking lemon water.


Blanket
My husband, Mark, made this blanket for me as one of my gifts. No, he didn't make the actual "Love" part or the fabric, but rather took two pieces of fabric, cut strips all along the outer edge and tied every strip to make one of those no-sew blankets. Not only is it very practical (since I always want a blanket when I lay on the couch), but it was so thoughtful! I have to admit, I cried when I saw it (hence the reason I look weird in the photo - it was post cry!). He picked out the Love pattern and just the fact that he spent the time doing something like that really meant a lot to me.  He was very proud of himself and said "I didn't even have to ask your mom for help."

What was your favorite Christmas gift this year?

--T

Insanity Update

Feel free to read my previous post on my Insanity Adventure! I just finished the recovery week (Week 5), and start Month 2 on Monday. Month 2 is even more intense than Month 1. I can't wait (NOT!). There is not as drastic a change between the photos in Day 21 and Day 35, but I do notice a slight reduction of love handles on the left side (plus when compared to Day 1, the photo for Day 35 looks much better!) It's really weird, because I'm still not losing pounds (only 3 so far), but as long as I look better, then I don't mind :) It's hard work, and daily dedication, but I do recommend the program so far, because it is working!

--T

My Insanity Adventure

Insanity is...well....insane! One day, out of the blue, I decided to do the Insanity workout program. When I say out of the blue, I mean I literally thought to myself "I wonder how that Insanity program is?" and about 5 minutes later was in front of my television doing Day 1.

Day 1 was the fit test (where they have you record how many reps of certain exercises you do. You will do the fit test every 2 weeks to see if you have improved and can do more reps). After the fit test I thought "I am screwed." I was DYING after doing it, and it wasn't even a real workout yet!

The first couple of days I was soooo sore! I kept asking people "Do you think it's okay to keep going if I'm this sore?" Secretly, I think I was hoping someone would say no so I could have an excuse not to keep going, but unfortunately everyone said yes. On to day 2...and 3...and 4....and 10...and 15....and 21.

And here I am. I just finished Week 3 today. The Insanity program is 8 weeks with a recovery week, so I'm not even halfway done (ugh!). I have been slightly discouraged, because the numbers on the scale really aren't changing all that much. I am busting my butt, 6 days a week, 40 minutes a day, and not losing pounds?! Talk about a downer.

I decided to take a picture today, on Day 21, and compare it to the picture I took on Day 1. Now, this is quite embarrassing (I mean, does any woman really want to show her flaws to the public? Probably not.) But I am doing this to show you that exercise does work, and sticking to a schedule does help, and that it's not always the pounds that matter.

I have friends who are constantly saying "I want to be at _____ lbs by this date" or "I need to lose 5 lbs" and I feel like that's how people get discouraged and quit what they are doing (because they are not seeing the weight come off). You can lose inches without losing pounds.

My problem area has always been my love handles. I. Hate. Them. You will see in these pictures that they are my area that needs improvement. Up until this point, it seemed like nothing I did helped decrease them, so I am very happy with the results so far and feel it's just what I needed to push through the next 6 weeks.

In the picture from day 1 you can see my love handles start not too far below my sports bra line. In day 21 it the love handles start much lower and much closer to my belly button. That's where I have noticed the most improvement.

I will post an update in a couple more weeks.

--T

Need a New Book to Read?

Have you heard of Goodreads.com? It's similar to facebook, but it's for readers. You can find people you know who also have Goodreads accounts, and "follow" their page. You update what books you want to read, what books you are currently reading, and what books you have already read. It's a great way to get ideas for something new to read. I have found many books on Goodreads that I have read and loved!

Recently they published their "Best Books of 2012" list. Here were the winners:

Fiction
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - It would be neat to see what her writing style would be like outside of the Harry Potter series.

Mystery
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - Read it and loved it! Recommended it to others who also enjoyed it.

Historical Fiction
The Light Between Oceans by M.L.Stedman - I'm usually not a big fan of historical fiction, but this one sounds pretty good!

Fantasy
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King - I've never read a Stephen King book I didn't like, so I'm sure this one is good, too!

Science Fiction
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett - This one doesn't seem like my type of book, but if you enjoy science fiction, it may be worth reading.

Romance
Fifty Shades Free by E.L. James - Has anyone NOT read these books? I liked the series, but I'm not sure I would give it a "Best" of anything.

Horror
The Twelve by Justin Cronin - Looks like this is part of a trilogy, so you'd have to read the first book first.

Memoir and Autobiography
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast by Cheryl Strayed - Another book I'm not particularly interested in reading, but seems like it could be an empowering story.

Non-Fiction
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop by Susan Cain - Sounds boring to me.

Humor
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson - This sounds like a funny book, and could possibly be a quick read.

Graphic Novels and Comics
The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman - Since I LOVE the t.v. show, I wouldn't mind reading the comic books. It would be interesting to see how the story lines compare.

Young Adult Fiction
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Maybe this could be a book I recommend to my students? Sounds like an interesting story.

Happy reading! :)

--T

Quick & Easy Christmas Dessert

I think this is a great Christmas dessert, because it's not too heavy (after eating lots of other yummy food on Christmas) and has a reddish tint to it which is perfect for the holidays. I made it for a dessert exchange party, and it came in 3rd place out of 11.

Here is a picture of how I presented the dessert (in martini glasses with a candy cane)

 

I found the recipe on Pinterest (obviously!), and it's simple. For the dessert party I actually tripled it, because I needed enough for everyone to have a martini glass AND enough for everyone to take some home. Even after distributing the dessert to everyone, I still had enough to bring home and fill a medium sized bowl. The recipe listed here is the original recipe - feel free to double or triple depending on how many you are feeding.

1 can of cherry pie filling (I buy the biggest can they have)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

1 can crushed pineapple (8 oz)

2/3 bag of mini marshmallows

16-24 oz. Cool Whip (I use Cool Whip Lite)

Completely drain the pineapples (I squeezed the water out with my hands). Combine all the ingredients except the cherry pie filling and cool whip. Mix well. Then, fold in the cherry pie filling and fold in the cool whip. Cover and refrigerate - tastes better if you let it refrigerate overnight. 

The original link for the recipe can be found here.

--T

 

Need A Pillow?

Mark's cousin, Jami, has started a business making really cute pillows of all different sizes. The focus is on toddler pillows, tooth pillows, pillow cases, name pillows, and so on. These would make great Christmas gifts, and it's nice buying homemade rather than from a big name store.

Here are some pictures of some of the options. If you "like" the facebook page (Pillowsewcute), you can see fabric options, more pictures, pricing, and discounts.

iPic Theater - Bolingbrook, IL

Mark and I have been going to a movie theater in the Bolingbrook Promenade called iPic. At first I was against going here, because it was very expensive, but now that we have gone a few times, I really like it!

The Movie Watching Experience
You can reserve your seats online, and much like when you buy concert tickets or tickets to a play, you can look at a seating chart and select where you want to sit. The nice thing about this is you no longer have to arrive 20 minutes early (or more, depending on if it is a new release or not) to get a decent spot. Mark and I usually show up about 5 minutes before showtime and our seat is waiting for us.

Another thing I really like is that there are never any teenagers or children here. As far as I know there is no age limit, but because the tickets are more expensive than your average theater, I have found that teenagers and families with children go to a cheaper theater in the area. This was especially nice when we went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2 only a week after it came out and there were no screaming or annoying teenagers. Everyone in the theater was an adult and it was a very positive experience.

Ticket Prices
There are several ticket options. I highly recommend becoming a member online (it's free!) because the ticket prices are $4.50 cheaper for members (did I mention that it's free??).

Premium Seating is usually in the first five rows or so, but the theater is set up in a way so that even if you are in those rows, you can comfortably watch the movie without craning your neck. In my opinion, there really isn't a bad seat in the theater. These tickets for a member are $13.00 each (only $3.00 more than a regular theater?) and for a non-member are $17.50 each.

Premium Plus Seating is further back from the screen and the seats are recliners. They will also provide you with a blanket and pillow and the people in the premium plus seats have a waiter to bring you what you want to eat or drink. The prices are $18.50 for a member and $25.00 for a non-member. I personally don't think this is worth it or necessary, but it might be nice for a treat or a special date night.

Food
Just like the Hollywood Boulevard and Hollywood Palms theaters, the iPic serves food as well. There is a nice bar and restaurant area that is very chic looking, with modern decorations and low lighting. They have pool tables, couches, and cocktail tables. You can get your traditional movie food items such as popcorn, candy, and pop, but they also have a menu you can choose from. Unlike the Hollywood chains, a purchase is NOT necessary. However, if you are interested in the menu, you can click here. 

We did choose to eat there the last time we went and were unimpressed with the service, the food, and the price. I ordered the bite size nachos which were actually quite delicious; however, were not worth the $13.00 (since there were only 6 nachos on the plate). Mark ordered the grilled cheese panini and tomato bisque and really liked the sandwich but said the tomato bisque tasted like spaghetti sauce from a jar (which it very well could have been!). At $13.00 we could have made it at home a lot cheaper and probably a lot tastier.

The theater also sells cocktails, draft beers, and buckets of beer.

The service wasn't the best, because we were there at a popular time when several movies were starting within the hour. It seemed like the kitchen was backed up and it took a while to get our food. The waitress was pleasant though.

There are pictures on their website if you'd like to see what the theater looks like. You will definitely feel more classy going here than you would an average AMC or Cinemark movie theater.

--T

A Kitchen Tip

I learned this at a cooking class at the library that I took recently - not sure if it's old news or not:

If you need to squeeze the juice out of a lemon and don't have a small juicer (like me - I only have one of those heavy duty ones that would be pointless to lug out for one little lemon), use a pair of tongs (salad tongs, bbq tongs, whatever).

Put the lemon in like so:













and squeeze the handles of the tongs until you get all the juice out. It's really quite effortless!

--T

Homemade Dog Treats

It's no secret - my dog, Lucky, is somewhat spoiled. We love him so much! He's such a good dog (he loves everybody, loves to cuddle, he is a good watch dog, and he is great with children). So once in a while, he deserves something special! I have a dog treats cookbook that I have used for homemade dog treats in the past, but that was over a year ago. I took it out again tonight and made Lucky some "Fall Bites." They have pumpkin in them, which is good for digestion, and other healthy ingredients. Because the treats are homemade, you know there are no chemicals, preservatives, or anything nasty that shouldn't be in food.

They turned out well - although I probably made some of them way too big, so will have to break them in half. The recipe said to flatten them into round circles, but that was boring so I used a fire hydrant and a bone cookie cutter that my mom's friend (thanks Debbie M!) gave to me.

They don't look the prettiest, but the important thing is that Lucky loves them!

Fall Bites
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin is okay)
4 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together the pumpkin, molasses, water, and vegetable oil.  Stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda to form a soft dough. Roll the dough into balls, put on a baking sheet, flatten them, and prick with a fork. Bake for 25 minutes, or until hard and crisp.

Fall Bites will keep up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Recipe from: The Healthy Dog Cookbook by: Joanne Anne with Mary Straus