Monday, February 25, 2013

My Trip to Raleigh Durham


I went to Raleigh-Durham this weekend for a catch-up with my college roommates.  We all met at Washington University in St. Louis a "few" years ago. Ha! Anne and Tania live in Durham and Raleigh, I live in Little Rock, Kelleen lives in Phoenix, and Josie lives in Los Angeles.  We span the country and we haven't all been together in 7 years.
I don't travel alone often so there were some comical moments in the airport - taking off a bracelet and having it bust into 20 pieces, thinking I was connecting through one city only to find out it was a completely different connection (almost missed my flight!).  The highlight was this yummy brunch in Baltimore.  No complaints about this airport food!


Arriving Thursday night we went straight to late dinner and drinks at Angus Barn in Raleigh  .  This premier steak restaurant is somewhat of a landmark having been established in 1960 at this location and remaining largely unchanged.  We had a selection of bar food bites and "one or two" drinks in their Wild Turkey Lounge!  The next day we took a tour around Raleigh including the train station, contemporary art museum and Raleigh denim workshop.  Raleigh is high end denim hand sewn in this workshop.  You can walk in and watch the designers and seamstresses (don't know the male alternative) at work in a very vintage environment.  The shop is cool and funky with a ceiling covered in paper airplanes.  Available locally, Raleigh only retailed through Barney's until opening their own storefront in New York City.  Right now you can also find some sweet deals on their denim at BarneysWarehouse.com   We continued checking out other shops in Raleigh.  I was surprised to discover Benetton is alive and well!  Probably haven't shopped in one since Wash U.  Got a couple of cute purchases and spring styling inspirations there which I'll show in another post.
Angus Barn


Raleigh brand denim workshop and store
Dinner that night at a swell Tapas restaurant, Mateo Tapas in Durham.  The food was amazing and this is clearly a hot spot because it was packed!

Our local hosts husbands' joined us for dinner.  Billy and Todd were kind enough to take over the kid duties for the weekend and allow us girls to have a nice long visit.








Brunch Saturday morning at Durham's Guglhupf, followed by a quick tour of Duke's campus.  I hadn't been on the campus since 1989 when I toured as a high school applicant!  Despite the rain, or perhaps enhanced by it, the campus quad and buildings are  just gorgeous.  We checked out Billy's office and the bookstore, only feeling slightly older than the rest of the campus tour groups!!  


More shopping in Durham commenced.  Absolutely loved the high end consignment store Fifi's which has a location in both Raleigh and Durham.  Another great store in Durham was Magpie's where I picked up great gifts.  And of course a stop at the local pub, Federal for mid-afternoon refreshments! While there I was reminded of the industry that put Durham on the map-tobacco! I, of course, associate Bull Durham with baseball via the movie starring Kevin Costner, and was reeducated on the historical facts tying this famous name to baseball.  During this trip I realized I have an affinity for a nice basic bathroom sign.  "Women" clear, to the point, no need for questions.  This after mistaking a rooster for a chicken at Angus Barn and hiding out in a stall for a few painful moments!












A great big hug to my great friends Anne and Tania for hosting the weekend, to Billy for giving up his home for the weekend so we could crash their house, all the family who helped with kiddos and to my girlfriends for valuing this old friendship enough to keep it going for 20 years. Love you.
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Monday, February 18, 2013

Wheat Belly #6 or gluten free anyway

 Sick monkeys again.  #2 and #3 are down with what looks like the flu, but could be just viral. Truthfully, I'm not sure it makes a hill of beans difference what it is.  Just hoping it moves on quickly and with no more casualties!  So with two in bed and a rainy, stormy holiday to "enjoy", #1 and I did some gluten free cooking.  This first recipe that #1 prepared is not truly "wheat belly" since it has quite a few carbs.  It is gluten free and kid friendly. These gluten free Chex cereals were already in the pantry which led to the inspiration.  Its a mash-up of recipes from the boxes.

Chex Mix Mash-Up
3 cups Cinnamon Chex
3 cups Rice Chex
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate morsels
1/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped or halves

Melt butter with sugar, syrup, and vanilla in large bowl. Toss in Chex cereals.  Heat in microwave 1 minute at a time, stirring after each minute for a total of 6 minutes.  Allow to cool a bit and then mix in chocolate chips and pecans.  Enjoy!    There are 164 calories per serving; 23 carbs; 7.8 grams of fat.

Two products I've been introduced to recently and must say LOVE, are Franks RedHot original sauce and the all breast meat canned chicken (Tyson or Hormel are the two I've tried).  I first used the Franks to make buffalo cauliflower for a maytag salad. Great flavor, totally reminds me of chicken wings.  Today I used it to make a chicken chili.  I used my own variation on this recipe found on Allrecipes.com.  The reviews said it was too soupy to be a chili, but I found by reducing the amount of liquid and letting it simmer down the consistency was just right.  

 Canned Chicken Chili Soup
2 cans chicken breast, partially drained
1 can mild Rotel tomatoes with green chili
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans, your choice(I used red beans)rinsed
1 onion, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tblsp olive oil
2 tblsp cumin
2 tblsp chili powder
2 tblsp Franks RedHot sauce
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water

In large pot, saute onion and pepper in olive oil about 5 minutes, add garlic stir for one minute. Add all the rest of the ingredients, stir well and leave to simmer for one hour.  Consistency varies and simmering another 30 minutes should reduce liquid even more.
Per serving, 114 calories, 10 grams protein, 12 carbs, 1.3 fat.
My husband said he could eat it every week.  Even went so far as to say I could sell this "soup" but he might have been buttering me up at that point!  Enjoy!
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Friday, February 15, 2013

TGIF - Valentine Recap


Friday and the start of  long weekend.  The sun is shining and we are all healthy.  The busy, bustle of Valentines is over and the sugar high continues.  Not me of course, being wheat free low carb and all...yeh right.  I indulged in a fat piece of chocolate cheesecake for date night with spouse-o.  Delightful.  Here's the holiday recap in photos.

Self portrait. Harder than it looks. Requires serious wrangling of camera and maneuvering self in front of mirror.  Plus making sure one is not being observed, not squinting, grimacing or otherwise making even bigger fool of oneself.  Its hard to be a blogger! (giggle)
Gap denim jacket; Forever XXI scarf and sweatshirt; Santuary denim jeans from Dillards; Target wedge booties

Braved the printed jeans trend with these on sale now at Target.
Jeans; Target, Wristlet,Kate Spade; Heart and Dog Tag Necklace, David Yurman
Experimenting with lighting. Outdoor and indoor natural light.  Thinking I need a tripod and maybe a wide angle lense.  Or just sit down and read the instruction manual for my DSLR .

Sweater, Forever XXI; Shirt, Old Navy; Tee, Picked up in Scottsdale boutique; Hunter boots
 My craftiness reemerged briefly for valentines for the kiddos.  The youngest two got the creative ones. 10 year old got a box set of Fun Dip and oldest passed out nothing.  Apparently its not cool to pass valentines in middle school.



My annual Valentines Outfit.  Seriously not new but it always works!
Miss Sixty hot pink cords, old.  Banana Republic white button down; Haus Werks Tshirt, local shop


 Captain Heart Break.  Could he be any cuter?  I don't think so, but I'm a bit biased!
Have a great weekend, ya'll!
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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Bloglovin

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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

wheat belly #5

Lest anyone think I've given up and gone back to gluttonous gluten laden ways,  I'm still following the Wheat Belly diet.  The flu almost derailed me.  Being ill does not equal enjoying delicious flaxseed wraps or a nice lettuce and turkey roll-up.  Fortunately having the flu meant not enjoying anything at all so made it out uncontaminated.  But then post-flu recovery left me tired and still with no appetite, so I haven't cooked much to blog about.  Now a week later, I see the light at the end of my loss-of-appetite tunnel.  

I read about this product online somewhere.  I happened upon it at my local Kroger grocery.  Very jazzed because I LOVE peanut butter.  Could live on it, really.  Picked up the plain and the "added chocolate" kind.  I made a whey protein smoothie using 2 tablespoons (one serving ) of PB2 and one scoop protein powder and one cup unsweetened coconut milk.  Calories and protein count for this smoothie = 170 & 22 (7 carbs).  It was good.  Next time I will double up the PB2 for a more peanutty flavor.  Totally worth the extra 45 calories!
The website has lots of yummy sounding recipes using this product plus you can order online.
PB2 from Bell Plantation








































Here's another gluten free product I've been giving a "go".  The Miracle noodle has no calories, yup, ZERO for the entire package.  I've used the garlic and herb flavor, the plain angel hair type, and the spaghetti with added tofu (which has 25 calories).  I've mixed with marinara sauce and with basil pesto both with success as far as flavor goes.  The texture takes a little getting used to as it is NOT the same as the al dente noodle I'm accustomed to eating.  Its slightly rubbery and a definitely more slippery, think WELL rinsed pasta texture.  I'm not opposed to eating it, but my family having tried it were not converts.  If restricting calories or avoiding gluten or insulin stimulating foods, this could be for you.  By the way I found it in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods.




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Friday, February 8, 2013

Double Collar Friday

I am making every effort to utilize layers and sweaters to the max because I know the temperatures are going to go up soon.  Then I will be forced to accept the inevitable - more skin showing.  The awkwardness of meeting my spring clothes again, "hello flip flops" and saying farewell to the winter wardrobe I have so lovingly cultivated "see later bootsie".  Well, I digress.  Here's the combo inspired by JCrew's Gayle Spannaus stellar advice.
JCrew
Old Navy sweater and print shirt, AG denim from Anthropologie
 
Hope you have a great weekend!
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Sunday, February 3, 2013

Kate Spade Wishlist

Home in bed with the flu.  A familiar scenario across the U.S. I imagine.  I even had the flu shot. Not much sympathy to be had since most everyone's "been there, done that". Spending alot of time sleeping and looking at my ipad.  Daydreaming about feeling normal and special occasions.  Maybe a little Valentines treat to cheer me up.

Kate Spade Wishlist


Kate Spade leather flat shoes
bergdorfgoodman.com


Kate spade handbag
nordstrom.com



Kate spade
bloomingdales.com


Kate spade
katespade.com



Kate spade
katespade.com

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