Multimedia Monday: Don't Tell the Bride!

It's Monday again? Wow, the time moves so quickly.

My weekend was fun and exhausting -- I'm looking forward to sharing more about it in upcoming Adventure and Fashion posts.  But the weekend has passed, and you know what that means... it's time for some Multimedia Monday Short Cuts!

• I'm always impressed by the films that George Clooney directs.  The tabloids promote him as such a playboy, but from his films, it's clear to me that he has a sharp, intelligent mind and a boatload of talent.  I loved The Ides of March. It reminded me, kind of achingly, of how politics broke my heart once, too.
• After seeing - and loving - The Help, I wanted to read the novel from which it was adapted, and I finished it this week.  I'm always interested in the way things are condensed into filmic form, and I thought this one was handled very well - though I was surprised by a few of the differences.
• Tom and I have finally caught up on American Horror Story.  I can't say that I love it, but it has definitely intrigued me enough to add a season pass to my DVR.  
• We added another season pass this week, for Once Upon a Time.  One episode is usually not enough to judge, but I'm a sucker for fairy tales, especially revisionist ones.  I'm curious to see where they'll go with it.

There's one other show that I'm watching this season... and it's called Don't Tell the Bride.

  
Full disclosure - I'm totally biased about it, because Tom is one of the show's editors!

Each week, a couple is given $25,000 to plan a wedding... but the hook is that they only have three weeks to plan it... and the groom has to do it.  He can't see - or talk to - his bride for those three weeks, until she comes down the aisle.  And only his best man can help him.  (No, really. There aren't people behind the scenes aiding him or giving him recommendations.)

So far, two episodes have aired (and they are replayed during the week.)  Next Saturday, Tom's first episode premieres, and I'm really excited to see his handiwork.  I think we might have a viewing party for one of his favorite episodes, later this season.  (Let me know if you want to join us, heh.)

Clearly, the first topic that comes up when discussing the show is: "how would I [handle/have handled] this for my wedding?"

I love my groom more than anything else in this world.  Tom is a creative, thoughtful man who has such vision, and such a unique point of view.  Seriously, every day I'm grateful that he came into my life.  I'm sure that he'd do his best to be thoughtful in planning a wedding.

But let me tell you: there is NO WAY I would have had him pick out my wedding dress.  Not without me trying it on.  A wedding dress is supposed to make you feel beautiful and confident.  If I hadn't tried on all different kinds of shapes of dresses, I would never, ever have picked my own.  What you think you like is almost never what you end up liking.  (This past episode's bride had that experience, too.)

I loved, loved, loved my wedding dress.
Much as I love, love, love my husband.

When it came to our own wedding (which I wrote a little about on our anniversary), Tom did participate in the planning. He had veto power on everything, and I made sure to come up with ideas that expressed both of our personalities.  He had a few hard-and-fast rules about the wedding...

1. No groom's cake.  He'd seen them on shows like Bridezillas, and came to think of them as proof that the groom had nothing to do with the wedding except one dinky little cake.  So he nixed it.
2. No live animals as decoration.  When we saw photos of fish bowls on reception tables, he made it clear that there would be no animals used and then flushed.  Fortunately, I was never interested in that, either.
3. No garter toss.  It seemed embarrassing to all involved, and I'm relieved, too.
4. No Chicken Dance.

Funny story about #4.  My mother was disappointed that Tom ruled out the Chicken Dance, and asked him to reconsider.  Jokingly, he told her that he'd permit a chicken dancing, but no Chicken Dance.  And oh, my mother - what a prankster she was - secretly arranged for the rental of a chicken suit and the appearance of a dancing chicken at our reception.  Such fond, fond memories.

Tom's biggest involvement in our wedding was editing our wedding movie, which we screened during our cocktail hour at the local movie theater (the very theater I grew up attending.)  I'll leave you today with the wedding movie - which still makes me cry.







Don't forget to watch Don't Tell the Bride on OWN, Saturdays at 10PM.  And... don't forget to take care of you!

Garden-to-Table Recipes & Fashion

I have vivid memories of my parents' garden from my youth.  The garden spanned the whole width of their quite large backyard, and come harvest time, our little kitchen would overflow with corn, zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, grapes, peas, cucumbers, apples and peppers. Oh - the way that a just-picked tomato, still warm from the sun, feels on the palm of your hand.  The smell - of green, of earth, of hard work, of summer.  I learned early that nothing tastes better than fruit and vegetables direct from the garden. 

And thanks to the Urb Garden Girls, I was able to share a garden-fresh meal with my Supper Club guests. Today I'm sharing a couple of recipes from Supper Club 600: Garden-to-Table Edition.  (By the way, did you catch my recap of of the event? If not, you can see it here.)

Avocado & Sprout Lettuce Cups

These lettuce cups are perhaps my favorite recipe I've created so far... and one of the simplest, too.  Something about the peppery-crunchy sprouts, the smooth and creamy avocado, and the tangy dressing makes it dynamite when combined. One serving gives you a healthy portion of good fats, and a lot of protein. 

 For the cups:

• 1 cup of raw sprouted lentils, beans & legumes  (I buy mine from Jazzy Sprouts at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, but you should be able to find them at specialty grocery stores or farm markets.)
• 1 ripened avocado, diced.
• 8 cup-style lettuce leaves (Butter lettuce is good for this purpose.)

For the dressing:

• 1 tb olive oil (Use the best quality you can find.)
• 3 tb vinegar (you can use your favorite kind - but my favorite for this combination is Global Gardens' Pear Tamarind Champagne vinegar. We LOVE visiting Global Gardens, which we found on our olive oil tasting tour of Southern CA wine country. They make amazing oils and vinegars.)
• 1 tb dijon mustard (Maille is best.)

In a nonreactive bowl, gently stir together the sprouts and avocado.  Whisk the dressing ingredients together and combine with the sprout mixture.  Divide evenly between the 8 lettuce cups.  Serves 4.


Tomato & Cucumber Salad

• 2 large tomatoes, diced (preferably heirloom)
• 1 cucumber, diced (preferably hothouse)
• 3 tb red wine vinegar
• 1 tb chopped dill
• Salt and pepper to taste

Toss 'em all together in a bowl.  Wha-la!  Serves 2 to 4, depending on whether you use the salad as a side or entree.

As for my outfit at Garden-to-Table, and in the spirit of the theme, I wanted to get in touch with my roots.  My mom's parents - and many of her ancestors - were farmers.  My dad's parents also owned a farm, though they were hobbyist farmers.  Mom and Dad's own garden, as I mentioned earlier, was the source of most of our summer food, and I remember Mom in her plaid shirt, weeding around the tomatoes, telling me how - even though I didn't enjoy working in the garden at age 8 - I would want my own garden someday.  Oh, Mom.  On this, like on so many other things... you were right.

I included an industrial/urban touch, though, because although I come from farming stock, I've always been a city girl at heart.

Plaid blouse by Target
Tank dress by Lane Bryant
Studded belt by Torrid
Industrial chain necklace and earrings via Nordstrom Rack
Tights by Avenue
Boots via OneStopPlus

All right!  Have a beautiful day - and take care of you!

Supper Club 600: Garden-to-Table Edition

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of co-hosting an event with some of my closest friends in the city, Lisa and Chris.  I've known them for the better part of my time in California, and they've enriched my life in so many ways -- our "Supper Club 600: Garden-to-Table Edition" party being the latest one.

One of the veggie "crate labels" I photoshopped for event decoration, using an existing historical label as the basis.

  
When Lisa started her own urban garden this year, and began to blog about it (with her partner-in-grime, Amy) at Urb Garden Girls, I have to admit I felt the tiniest flush of jealousy.  I don't have the space to grow garden food, though I grew up with one in my backyard.  So when Lisa approached me with the idea of a dinner party that would bring the freshness of their garden straight to a community table, I was thrilled.

Another crate label. A doozy - this one used to say "Irma," not "Lisa."

  
Soon Chris offered to join in with a contribution from his own blog, The Enlightened Hedonist.  Chris is always seeking a way to enrich his life through thoughtful pleasure.  He recently described my mindful eating as my own personal enlightened hedonism - and I realized he's right!  My journey has been very much about keeping the enjoyment of food while being mindful about it.  Something that brings Chris pleasure is creative mixology, so he came up with two signature cocktails for the evening, also made with ingredients from his garden.  You can read more about it in his blog entry, here.

Lisa tended her garden - much like she tends her friendships - with care.  So she encouraged friends to donated the fruits of their own urban gardens - eggs, avocados, lemons, apples - as well as a beautiful location for our meal.  And I took that bountiful harvest (along with supplemental ingredients from my favorite farmer's market) and whipped it into a feast for 24!

Our buffet-style garden feast.

 Lisa and Amy decorated for the party, which we held in the backyard of their friend Christy's house.  And thank goodness - I love well-decorated events, but when I'm cooking for a big crowd, I just can't manage it myself.  Thanks to them, it turned out beautifully.

The decorated table, with vintage linens from Lisa's collection, as well as candles, sunflowers, and my crate labels.

  
 I was especially unable to decorate (or photograph... thanks to Rochelle for all of these pictures) because Tom had fallen ill and could not join me for cooking duty.  Originally we'd planned for him not to be there due to his work schedule, so luckily I had two sous-chefs to help me - Keith and Alexa.

The three of us, done with cooking for the day!

A serving of the harvest spoils, plus one of Chris' cocktails (calories extra.)

Chris at his "bar," a gardening table.

Baked apples for dessert - with Reddi Wip (which was within the calories) or Brown Butter Sage ice cream (which wasn't.)

  
I don't have a good picture of it, but we were also treated to an after-dinner apertif, fresh apple-carrot-ginger juice pressed by Amy.  It was, honestly, my favorite part of the meal! 

Each guest was sent home with a goodie bag with extra produce from the gardens.

  

Isn't Lisa's dress cute? And she MADE her rooster/tin-roof earrings.  She talks about them,
and the whole day, on her jewelry blog, Inspired Adornments.

It turned out to be a beautiful day, with delicious fresh food and drinks, and wonderful friends.  I'm so grateful to be a part of my community, and so happy we were able to celebrate together.

Which we did, by twinkle-light, well into the evening.

  
I'll be back tomorrow with some recipes from the party - and some fashion details from it, too.  Until then, please take care of you!

Weigh-in Tuesday

Yet another less-than-stellar weigh-in this Tuesday.  I'm up one pound from my last weigh-in, making it 69 pounds lost.  (I was at 297 a few weekends ago, and my friend Erik asked me if I just wanted to stay there for perpetuity because of the amusing number, which I do not.)

Am I bummed? Of course I'm bummed.  But I made it through two big weeks for me.

The first of those weeks was spent dealing with some considerable emotional stress (which I navigated quite well in terms of food), then preparation for vacation, and then four days in Palm Springs.  Tom and I, along with a group of friends, rent a house there every October.  It's always a time of creativity and refreshment.

I did art journaling every day we were there. This was my favorite.

It's always one of culinary pleasures, too.  I went in feeling a bit anxious about eating. Everyone usually brings a ton of snack food, and I don't keep snack food in my house. While processed salty and sweet snacks are typically small in size, if you put enough of it together, you can end up eating twice as many calories in an hour as you needed all day. On top of that, each couple takes a turn cooking breakfast or a dinner while we're there... which means that if I choose to go along with our plans, my nutrition is in someone else's hands.  And I don't know if you can tell by reading this blog, but I rarely - if ever - put my nutrition in someone else's hands.

Lucky for me, I have some very thoughtful friends who either made food that was healthier than our standard fare, or who warned me that they would not be (so I'd know to provide for myself.)  With very few exceptions, I was able to eat in moderation, and supplement with my own fruits, veggies and protein.  And over four days, I kept the snacks down to one fun-size candy bar, a few triscuits, an ounce of peanuts, and an ounce of candy corn.  (Considering what else was there and how much of it there was, I feel pretty proud of that.) And while those processed snacks probably played into the weight gain, I'm doing my best to be patient with myself.

The second week - last week - was spent laid flat with an unpleasant coldy-flu bug that specialized in body-aches and sinus pain.  Having just returned from vacation, the kitchen was a mess and Tom was working his usual crazy hours so he wasn't around to pitch in with cleaning or cooking (except late at night.)  In my exhausted state, I ordered delivery comfort food - lots of salty soup, lots of bread.  There was typically veg in the soup and I got fruit from watered-down OJ I was using to hydrate and load Vitamin C... but it was still unbalanced.

In discussing it with my therapist, she pointed out that I had trouble when I was feeling ill after my surgery, too.  It may be when my willpower is weakest, so we put a plan together for keeping a stash of very easy-to-prepare foods at the ready for the next time I'm ill.  I need microwaveable soups, frozen dinners, anything that I can make quickly and help me balance and stay moderate when I have a harder time making that decision.



As my strength returned, so did my desire to put my nutrition back in my hands.

One of the first things I did, as soon as I felt well enough, was to art journal this to remind myself of it.

And I'm taking that effort.  It feels great.  

I'm back to Slimmons tonight, for the first time since Palm Springs.  I did exercise well on vacation - I swam for at least 45 minutes every day, and did free weights and floor work every other day.  But I haven't exercised much since I got sick.  I'm sure the usual 90 minutes with Richard will be grueling... but that's how you get strong, after all.


On another note, I keep seeing a couple of different images on Pinterest that sound like an easy quick-fix for weight loss.  Negative-calorie foods!

Except for one thing... there's no scientific evidence to prove it, and a fair amount to disprove it.  The mostly widely purported "negative-calorie" food is celery, which - according to Wikipedia, if you trust it - only requires 10% of its energy to digest.  That means 90% of its energy stays with you - hardly negative.


One of the lists - which I can't locate now (the trouble with Pinterest) - claimed that honeydew melon has negative calories.  I actually responded to that link, to let them know that not only does honeydew have more calories than cantaloupe, it has less nutritive value.  

Is it better for us to eat honeydew - in moderation - instead of, say, toffee?  For damn sure.  But it's in no way calorie-free, let alone calorie-negative.  And fruit, while it has terrific nutrient value, is still high in sugar, and should be consumed in moderation.  (Like anything else.)


Goes to show that my friend Honest Abe was right all along...

Do your research before you trust something you read... and take care of you!

A Multimedia Monday post... in which, I still exist.

Hello.

Long time, no see.  I know.  But I still exist.  I promise!  And I'm still on this long journey of self-care.

I went from vacation preparation, to beautiful vacation, to a coldy-flu plague.  I was all refreshed from Palm Springs, and feeling ready to be present here on the blog... but let me tell you, this grippe had a grip on me for almost a week.  I threw my hands up and decided just to rest and try to recover my strenghth.

One thing I've noticed this year is that I face some serious some food challenges while I'm sick.  I'll talk more about this soon, but the good news is that as my energy grows, so does my will to cook for myself.  I think my stomach is feeling better as a result, as much as my sinuses feel better than they did last week.  I am very much looking forward to tomorrow, which will be my first day back at Slimmons since I left for vacation.

It's Monday, so that means it's time for some Short Cuts.

• While I was sick last week, I spent a lot of time staring blankly at the watching tv.  I learned the following:
• Even if I am only half-watching Toy Story 3, when Andy plays with his toys one last time, I will still be racked with the equivalent amount of sobs as I did upon first viewing.
• Trick 'R Treat is (as per my friend's recommendation) a fun and playful horror romp worth watching.  The horror script that Tom and I have been developing will have a different approach, but I hope it will capture the same sense of glee.
• The Parenthood TV series is underrated, and I should have listened to my friends Sara L. and Rena W. when they raved about it.
• I can't make it all the way through Stephen King's Thinner without feeling sick and turning it off.  It wasn't the rapid weight loss or the mocking of fat people or the unhealthy dieting or even the depiction of food addiction that bothered me.  It was the way that the film - and many films - portray binge-eating. Seriously. I have binged.  I know what it looks - and feels - like.  It's not like that.  It's less disgusting, and far more sad.  And geez- how many Multimedia Monday posts will it take for me to listen to myself - I ought to finish Yoga For Fat Girls, which includes a character who suffers from binging, which I hope to portray honestly and without cruelty toward the character.

In movie marketing news, I keep bumping into various ads for Adam Sandler's upcoming comedy, Jack & Jill - in which he plays a man and his twin sister.  And every time I see anything to promote the movie, I can't help but think of Funny People.

Did you see Funny People?  Or, more specifically, did you see the Funny People websites?  Perhaps some of you don't know that in a past life, I was a movie marketing interactive producer, which essentially means that I helped to conceive and (manage teams who) create movie websites.

One of the sites I produced was a portfolio for Sandler's character, George Simmons -- a past-his-prime actor who has made a lot of zany high-concept comedies. Featuring titles like Merman, Dog's Best Friend, and My Best Friend Is A Robot.  (If you read the reviews on that website, you might see some interesting fake critics named, such as the formidable Brian Powers and the remarkable Michelle Vander Missen... who happen to be my siblings. Ah, the little joys of marketing.)

Anyway, all I can think whenever I see that Jack & Jill poster is...

And in movie marketing old-news, there are bus ads all over town for this season's Project Runway, which (I think?) is about to end.  Now, don't me wrong: I love Tim Gunn's catchphrase, "make it work."  But this particular one-sheet design for demonstrates just how important it is to treat marketing copy carefully.

Yeah, it's clever and visually interesting to tuck little words into bigger ones.  But when you're doing that, you have to make sure you're not turning the phrase into something else entirely.  Whenever I drive past this one-sheet, I don't see the "it."  I see "MAKE WORK."  Which is regional slang akin to "busy-work," or work undertaken not for the purpose of completing a task, but for the purpose of keeping you busy.  This poster is telling you - though I don't think it intends to - that Tim Gunn appears on Project Runway not because he wants to be there, but merely to make him seem busy and engaged.

The moral of the story here is that one little word... be it "it," or "no," or "thanks"... can make all of the difference.  And I'll end today with four little words. I apologize for not being here to tell them to you regularly the last few weeks.  But I've had them in my heart, nonethless.

Weigh-in Tuesday: Yeah. I did it.

Yeah.

I did it.

296.  Two pounds down from last week, for a total of 70 pounds.  That's, like, 7 bags of flour.  At once.

Even though I wasn't posting much last week, I stayed committed to the food plan I wrote about a week ago:

• I cooked every meal (except for three I planned to eat out - and which fit into my calorie plan.)
• Every meal was different.  No duplicates, no leftovers, no boredom.
• I photographed each one.
• I exercised 5 times.

Although I didn't get to sharing them here, the acts of careful planning, preparation, and photography helped me break away from the great food-fight I'd been having with myself. "You want this.  No you don't.  Yes you do.  No you don't, and that's that."  I was still making good choices, but I was losing a lot of energy fighting.

After a week of solid mindful eating, the fight seemed to disappear.  So much so that yesterday, when I was in full-on HALT mode (and somehow managed to be simultaneously extremely hungry, extremely angry, extremely lonely and VERY extremely tired) I chose grilled salmon and salad instead of any of the myriad things that would have helped me temporarily numb my emotions.  And that feels like even more of a success than breaking through my plateau.

When I have a little more time, I may share some of those photos... or I may keep them and share some of the recipes I came up with, because they're definitely worth trying!

I'm vacationing this weekend, and before I do, I'll be sharing a recap and recipes from this weekend's Supper Club event, as well as sharing a little bit about how me and my body are... getting along.  Sort of.  Keep an eye out here for the next couple of days, because I'm looking forward to sharing it all with you.  And in the meanwhile - keep taking care of you. 

Multimedia Monday - checking in and checking out

Phew.  I think I finally came up for air.  Hi, everybody.

Between freelancing and preparing for another Supper Club event, I ended up so busy that I couldn't swing my usual daily posts.

The good news is that despite my total absence here since last Tuesday, I had a terrific health week.  (More on that in my weigh-in post, coming soon.)

Here are my Short Cuts for the week:

• I finally watched Splice, which I added to our DVR during HBO Free Preview Weekend. Is there anything more fun than a premium cable channel free preview?  I was mesmerized by the film, which was a surprisingly intimate character exploration, not a sci-fi horror as it was advertised.  (Much like the film I mentioned last week, I understand why the marketing team did this, but I'm bummed that it missed its audience.)
• It's nice to have our regular shows back.  I've been enjoying How I Met Your Mother especially.  The use of flash-forward (the wedding, the labor, the goat, etc) is an excellent way to entice audiences to keep coming back.  It definitely works on me, anyway.  I'd like to use that structure in an upcoming project, myself.
• It's weird not to have new 30 Rock until mid-season.  I miss it.  But it's nice to have reruns in syndication for the first time.
• This week's Saturday Night Live was the best I've seen in years.  Which brings me to today's topic.

Melissa McCarthy.

Here's my favorite sketch from Saturday.  In this sketch, she sexually harasses a coworker.  With balloons.





It was hard to pick a favorite.  She was so different in, and so committed to, each of them.  Knocks each one out of the park.  Blows almost every other guest host away.   

More proof that this is her hour: she's on the cover of Hollywood Reporter this week.  When was the last time a plus-sized woman graced that cover?  Roseanne?

It's not just that she totally stole the biggest female-starring comedy from the higher-billed actresses this summer.  It's not just that she won an Emmy for best actress in a comedy. Or even that she's plus-sized and in her forties. It's that she seems totally comfortable in her skin while doing all of it.

On top of all that, she just announced she'll be starting her own clothing line.  Count me in, Melissa.  Count me in.

Not to mention the fact rumor has it that in an upcoming film, Melissa may be paired romantically with my other favorite SNL host (who happens to be my preferred flavor of eye candy), Jon Hamm.  I. Can't. Wait.

But the thing that makes me most excited about her growing stardom is her new production company.  Because I dream of casting her in the script I've been writing (on and off) for five years - called Yoga For Fat Girls.  She would be a perfect Maggie.  And if I can just finish this thing, maybe someday, she will be.