Yoga In the Park!

Like free stuff? Like Yoga? Like Cookies? ....Then this post is for you!

I got home tonight at the lovely early hour of 6:15pm and debated between going for a jog around Prospect Park while taking in the still sunny day, or waiting it out for my Bikram class. As much as I LOVE Bikram yoga (and someday I will get around to telling you why I love it so much), I've been meaning to take a good-ole Vinyasa yoga class lately, just to break it up, and see how my body reacts to yoga without intense heat.  

It was my lucky day, because while browsing through my roommate's just-arrived Time Out issue, I came across an article mentioning free yoga in New York parks. There it was right in front of me...the best of both worlds - yoga and the sunny outdoors in one place! And I could test out my old vinyasa skills for free!  So I dashed on over to Prospect Park...

Obviously I couldn't get a photo of the actual yoga happening, since I was doing it along with everyone! It was so fun practicing yoga outdoors, and the 1-hour all-level vinyasa class was a perfect way to test out my old skills (and my new ones - apparently practicing Bikram for 3 years HAS greatly increased my flexibility!)

And just because I want you all to know, despite all my attempts to live the healthiest life possible, I have weaknesses too....this is what I ate after the yoga class...

Ok, I admit it was before the class. Definitely not would I recommend for a pre-yoga snack, but hey I had a craving and they were delicious! It was worth it, and luckily I have 2 roommates to share the rest with!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Why I Love the 4 B's of Memorial Day (+ The Main Love)

My love for Memorial Day weekend can really be summed up with the three B's: Beach, Boat, and BBQ. I'm adding a 4th one: Brooklyn Bridge Park outing. Luckily, the weather held up was gorgeous this weekend, and I was able to participate in these 4 events in full force. But keep reading till the end to find out the real reason I love Memorial Day so much.

The Beach

I've been consistently spending my free Saturdays at Long Beach for 6 summers now. Every year I tell my friends we need to venture over to other beaches, and every year we pay the increasing entrance fee and park ourselves in the same spot at Long Beach for a weekly all-day affair ...its just tradition. Its also tradition to bring a bunch of magazines, my travel Scrabble, travel Apples to Apples, and a deck of cards. The magazines always come out, the games almost always stay in the beach bag.

The Boat

Thanks has to go to our friend Scott for always letting us join him on his boat, located on a serene lake in Westchester. Its a bit of a drive from Brooklyn, but completely worth the trip. The view around the area is amazing, and I always find myself fantasizing while I stare at the beautiful homes that surround the lake. With a 9-person limit on the boat, you know you're in for a much quieter day then at the beach, and that can be a really nice change of pace sometimes!

BBQ (and other Food Ops): 

Our weekend this year included 1 fancy and 1 not-so fancy BBQ. Taz and I hosted an impromptu BBQ at his place on Saturday night (bringing all our beach-going friends with us to Westchester). I made a batch of margaritas and Taz dished out dozens of hot-dogs and hamburgers (even after finding out the grill wasn't working!!) A friend brought flying saucers for dessert, YUM! It was a fuss-free, last minute event and everyone had a blast. Monday we were upstaged (food-wise) at Taz's friend's BBQ (also in Westchester) that featured  pulled pork, ribs, marinated chicken, fresh guacamole, and lobster. Oh, and a never-dwindling supply of mojitos. Did I mention this was all served on an outdoor kitchen island, that was located near their bocce court?!

I neglected to snap pictures of all this grilled-deliciousness, but I did take pics of the equally-deserving restaurant food I ate this weekend... ceviché at Colombia in Park Slope and mussels at Alchemy.

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Before we hit-up the fancy BBQ on Monday afternoon, Taz and I had some alone time on a walk to Brooklyn Bridge Park.  I drank an all-natural smoothie, followed shortly by ice-coffee. He wore ridiculous yellow 'sunglasses' he picked up at a club in Miami. We both ate soft-serve on the way back...it seemed like a pretty-perfect morning to me!

And the #1 Reason I Love Memorial Day:

Its Taz and I's Anniversary! Truthfully, we have different opinions of when our 'official' anniversary is (he insists its August 7th), but to me its always going to be Memorial Day (no date...just whenever Memorial Day falls!) Taz and I actually met back in 2006, when mutual friends had set us up on a blind date. We were both finishing up our last years of college and never pursued each other after that initial date (or 2?? we can't remember exactly how many it was!). We crossed paths only a couple times in the years following (both of us each settling into long-term relationships that subsequently ended), and re-connected when we ran into each other on Long Beach on Memorial Day of 2010. (It was the 31st day of the month, but I prefer to mark it as the holiday!) 

So as much as I love how this weekend marks the beginning of summer for me, I love it much more because it marked the beginning of my relationship with Taz! These first 2 years have been amazing, I'm a very lucky girl!

For more Weekend Love, click here, here, here, and here!

And do tell, how were your weekends?!

Friday Faves: The Floral Edition

One (actually 2) of my favorite jewelry pieces I'm loving right now...

I bought the above pink and cream-colored stud earrings at a boutique in San Diego on my recent visit to see my friend Emily. They were so cute that I decided to splurge and buy both colors! It was a good decision, I've already worn both a few times. As seen on my last date night, I'm really into wearing statement stud earrings right now!

I'm also really into Pinterest, which is where I came across this pretty picture...

....and the colors reminded me of the pink and cream earrings! I had to use Google Reverse Image search to find the original picture, which was taken by Gil Sosa.

And because staring at pretty pictures of flowers is nothing like the real deal, I picked up these...

...fresh flowers from my local Farmer's Market.

And I've been daydreaming (and night-dreaming) about these...

...floral-print bedsheets from Anthropologie. (I only dress my bed in

floral-printed sheets, and they aren't always that easy to find.) This set

is adorable!

Happy Friday and cheers to the start of a long weekend!

Watermelon Summer Wonder

Here's a little 'no-cook',' eat-well',' get-ready-for-summer' post for you on "What's Cooking Wednesdays"!

It's not quite officially summer yet (its actually a ways off on June 20th!), but we all know this Memorial Day weekend marks the 'unofficial' start of summer! Meanwhile I've already been digging into one of my favorite summertime fruits...

I don't think I've quite explained my LOVE of fruit to you all, but I won't bore you with that (today). What I will say is that watermelon has actually never been one of my top faves.  It was only since last year (when I decided to stick to eating fruits picked during their respective growing seasons), that watermelon reached a new top spot on my list. I like it so much now,  the only drawback of which is trying to figure out how to carry a whole watermelon home from the supermarket (without a car... or a truck lift)!

Besides its obvious deliciousness, watermelon has a lot of great health benefits. Seriously, I never knew it was good for improving your vision! It's also a fruit you don't have to worry about buying organic, since it has a thick rind that's a natural defense against pesticides.

All that healthy-mumbo-jumbo being said, I don't want to leave you hanging without an actual recipe! I usually prefer to eat fruit by itself (I read Fit for Life a while back and it actually changed my thoughts about food-combining a lot), but I would make an exception for this yummy-looking Watermelon Mozzarella Mint salad I spotted on Jordan Reid's blog...

I'm thinking it would be a great dish for a Memorial Day picnic or BBQ this weekend! What do you think?

Garden Pasta Salad and Other Delectable BBQ Items

Okay I'm a little late in the day with my "What's Cooking Wednesdays" post, but better late then never, right? Also please excuse my lack of posting lately, I'm spending time working on new updates for my blog and other potential projects!

This past weekend I was home in RI for Mother's Day, on which we had a little "BBQ" celebration at my brother's house.  Although it was actually a little less barbecuing and a lot more steaming, because...

we started with a lot of this...

(Lobsters steamed by my brother, J.D.)

and ended with a little of this...

 (Lemon-frosted, Rosette-topped Cupcakes made by my sister, Kim)

and in between there was some of this...

 (Irish Potato Salad made by my Mom)

 and this...

('Garden Pasta Salad' made by Me)

There were so many other delicious food items as well, I couldn't capture them all! Pizza 'Chips', Apple Crumb Pie, Fruit Salad, Snail Salad, Brownies! The food only helped to enhance the wonderfulness of the entire day!

As far as potential recipe posting goes...

-Lobsters -no recipe needed... just a very large pot of boiling water!

-Lemon-Frosted Cupcakes - Ask my sister!

-Irish Potato Salad- Ask my Mom!

Maybe if you ask nicely (in the Comments section below) they'll share their recipes with us!

Of course I'm going to share the recipe for my dish in the meantime!....

"Garden Pasta Salad"

Note* This recipe makes enough for about 20 people.We were 9 people and everyone took leftovers for the week! (I like to be over-prepared when it comes to food). Feel free to cut the recipe in 1/2 for a smaller group!

Ingredients:

3 lbs Farfalle (Bowtie) Pasta

1 1/2 pints of Grape Tomatoes

2 large Cucumbers

4 large Peppers (assorted colors - I used red, yellow, and orange)

2 (6oz) cans of Black Pitted Olives (drained and sliced)

3 (12oz) jars of Marinated Artichokes

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper


Directions:
-Boil the pasta. (Use some olive oil in your water to prevent pasta from sticking together.) Drain and set aside in large bowls or containers.
-Cut the grape tomatoes in half.  Chop Cucumbers and Peppers into small pieces.
 Drain and chop olives (I cut each olive into threes.) Drain artichokes (reserving liquid for later use!) and chop.  
-Add all vegetables to pasta (I like to add them as I chop), mix with salt and pepper and artichoke marinade (you won't need all of it, approximately a jar full. Just add as you go and taste!)


Easy right!? This is a great side dish for a picnic, beach-day (dear beach weather, come to the east coast, please?), or BBQ. (Memorial Day's coming up soon!)

Friday Flashback: Lisa Frank

Maybe it all the brights and neons taking over stores this spring, maybe its because I love the 90s, maybe its because I work in childrenswear...or maybe its just because I love a panda bear in overalls, but I cannot stop reminiscing about old-school Lisa Frank products this week..

Images via Tumblr

If you were a female attending elementary school in the 90s, you get this. (If you weren't hopefully you can still appreciate this little bit of colorful nostalgia!) I didn't think kids today still used things like folders, stickers, and erasers, but maybe some still do because apparently the Lisa Frank Store still exists.

I don't care for their new product design as much, what do you guys think - new or old?

Zucchini, Tomato, & Cheese Stacked Wasa Crackers

Its Snack-time today on What's Cooking Wednesdays!

I'm really big on (healthy!) snacking. Because I prefer to eat small meals, I do a lot of snacking to keep from getting hungry. (You do not want to see the hungry-Melinda, it's not pretty!) 

On workdays I generally follow what I like to call 'My Elementary-School ' eating schedule:

9am - Breakfast (giant plate of Fruit..whatever's in season)

10:30-11:30 am- Mid-morning Snack (Raw Nuts/ Oatmeal/ or Hard-boiled Eggs)

1:00 pm - Lunch (Whatever I happen to be making that week! I prepare 3 to 5 days of the same type of lunch ahead of time...conserves resources and time!)

3:30-4:30 pm Mid-Afternoon Snack (And that's where the Wasa crackers come in...)

Ok just to be fair, the product is actually called Wasa Crispbread, although I just consider them really hearty and healthy crackers. The multi-grain ones are my personal favorite, but all the varietys contain whole grains and very few ingredients so you can choose any one and feel good about it!

Typically I eat these crackers dipped in hummus, but they are great for topping with a variety of cheeses and veggies!

This week I'm topping mine with a slice of muenster cheese, sliced tomatoes, and (cold) sautéed zucchini. (I lightly sautéed the zucchini ahead of time in olive oil, salt, and garlic pepper, and then stored in the refrigerator).

This is a great healthy and filling (make 2 if you're hungrier!) snack.

Mangoes and The Met Ball

What I'm doing on my Monday night....

(Cutting up 75 cent mangoes - DEAL! - for my breakfast tomorrow)

and What I wish I was doing on my Monday night...

Image found here, via Getty

Attending The Met Ball.

I don't need to be on the red-carpet or anything, and I'm not one for celebrity-watching...but I will take an invite and a glamorous backless dress thank-you-very-much. Officially adding this to my life bucket list. What the heck, I'm feeling ambitious today, maybe I'll add it to my 30 before 30 list!

This year's Gala marks the opening of Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, on view May 10-August 19.

To see some stunning red-carpet fashion from this evening click here!

5 Reasons Why I Love a Solo-Saturday in Park Slope

It was a cloudy Saturday here in Brooklyn, but that wasn't going to stop me from getting outside and enjoying my day! With Taz away this weekend I decided to partake in my typical solo-Saturday routine, which is actually one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend afternoon....

1. Sleeping in, missing my 10am Bikram class, and substituting by making it to the 12pm class. Feeling way less guilty about the late-night Papa John's pizza I ate the night before.

2. Buying a pretty bouquet of fresh-cut flowers at the Greenmarket in Prospect Park. Enjoying the eye-candy of the many ready-to-plant flowers and herbs taking over the booths. Someday I'll have that garden!

3. Splurging for a Starbucks Venti Ice-Coffee with Soy (on dreary-weather days sometimes its just necessary to get the venti!)

4. Picking up some new books to add to my "To Read" list. I usually prefer to support local business and shop at The Community Bookstore, but today was a Barnes & Nobles day. (At least a percentage of my purchase went to a fundraiser for a local school!)

5. Being able to relax, catch up on some reading, and procrastinate on my big plans to "spring clean" in my apartment. Because there's always tomorrow, and tomorrow's only Sunday!

*Bonus Weekend Love: Enjoying a new favorite healthy snack I came up with! You know when to look for it!

Want to read more about my love of weekendy-things? Check out 10 Reasons Why I Love a 3 day Weekend and 10 Reasons Why I Love a Commitment-Free Weekend.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! See you back on Monday!

Friday Find: A Little "Destination" Inspiration

I'm so inspired by this vintage paper ephemera* collection (which I stumbled across here) from Arkiva Tropika. According to the website, the extensive assortment of menus, matchbooks, coasters, (etc.) from tropical destinations is the online collection of Mimi Payne. Everything is pre-1970, and my favorite part of the collection is all of the illustrated pieces (as I've shown above!) 

I used to save some of my paper paraphernalia from my travels, but decided a while back that it wasn't really necessary. The many photographs I usually take are such a great memory in themselves! However, after seeing this great collection, I'm starting to re-think my decision!

*If you don't know what 'ephemera' means, GOOD, because neither did I.  I actually had to Google it... exact definition from dictionary.com is:   

"items designed to be useful or important for only a short time, especially pamphlets, notices, tickets,etc" 

(I just needed to know!)

Have a wonderful weekend!

And for Dessert There Was Pudding...

I was having a chocolate-craving one day this week, and scrounging through my kitchen cabinets for anything chocolate related. Sadly, since I don't keep any junk food stocked in my kitchen (for fear of devouring it in one sitting), when I opened my cabinets I was instead faced with dry beans, rice, quinoa, canned tomato sauce, and a variety of tea. (There was some Dagoba Organic Drinking Chocolate left from winter, but that wasn't cutting it for me.)  Way in the back, on the top shelf I managed to find this...

I'm going to admit right here and now, I bought this Trader Joe's Instant Chocolate Pudding solely because of the cute packaging. Good job whoever designed it, you sold me!

I haven't eaten instant pudding in years, but the thought of it gives me flashbacks to when Emily and I lived in Queens for a year after college and ate copious amounts of Jell-O Fat Free Instant Chocolate Pudding, WITH Fat-Free Cool Whip as a daily dessert. This was when we were both still oblivious to the harmfulness of processed foods. Fast-forward 5 years later, I wouldn't touch a container of Cool Whip with a ten-foot pole. (Although I will dream about the days when eating it straight out of the container seemed so delicious).

Of course I checked the ingredients on the Trader Joe's pudding, and although I wasn't thrilled that it contained "Modified Cornstarch" (modified anything just doesn't seem all that great), it did have less ingredients than Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding, and none of the artificial colors (why does pudding need coloring?!?).

Anyway I was indulging, so I didn't spend too much time thinking about it because the pudding set very fast...

And it fixed my chocolate craving for the week!

Along the way on my pudding-ingredient search, I found this recipe for quick chocolate pudding from scratch.  Try it out and let me know how it is!

Greek Yogurt Egg Salad

My past few weekly lunches of cut-up raw veggies and hard-boiled eggs was getting kind of boring, but I was still enjoying the fresh veggie + added protein combination, so this week I updated it to this...

I've heard that you can substitute yogurt for mayonnaise in egg/potato-types of salad, and I've been meaning to try it out, since I really, really don't like mayo.  I happen to have a few containers of Fage Greek Yogurt in my refrigerator so when I found this Greek Yogurt Egg Salad recipe from Monica at The Yummy Life, I figured it was a perfect time to try it!

It's a very simple (and cheap!) recipe to make - eggs, greek yogurt, mayonnaise, dill (fresh or dry), and salt & pepper.  She recommends using a food processor to chop the eggs, but I don't have one so I just chopped by hand. I also used dry Dill (even though I prefer fresh), because there wasn't a fresh option that day at my market. My biggest substitute was this...

Monica's recipe calls for 1/3 cup of yogurt and 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. I really didn't want to buy a whole container of mayonnaise, so I tried to think of something I could substitute it with that I may like better. I decided on the above Bolthouse Farms Ranch 'Yogurt' Dressing (a much healthier version than many dressings on the supermarket shelf)! My thought process was, 'ranch dressing is creamy and flavorful so it may potentially be a good substitute'...and it was!!

I really enjoyed my egg salad (its definitely more tart-tasting than a mayonnaise-based egg salad so try it out first!) To me, it tasted delicious, and I much prefer it to traditional egg salads. I've been eating it for lunch over a bed of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and sautéed zucchini. (I made the zucchini earlier this week and refrigerated it).

I'll definitely be making this again. Let me know your thoughts if you try it out!

What to Wear On those Rainy, Frizzy-Hair Days...

A Vintage Silk Scarf with a Front Knot!...

I have tons of colorfully-printed vintage scarfs that I've been meaning to wear for a long time now. I love this front-knot headscarf look that I've been seeing across the fashion blogosphere for months now. Today it was a rainy, humid morning in NYC (turned sunny and warm evening!), and since my hair wasn't cooperating, I figured why not try it out now?

It was a big hit at my job, which was kind of a relief, because if you wear a bright scarf around your head with a big knot in the front and no one says anything, its not a good sign! (For more fun ways to wear your vintage scarves click here!)

I paired the orange & blue headscarf with a coordinating tank/shrug/belt combo, my fave high-waist Levi's jeans, navy Hunter rain boots, and a long "gypsy" bead necklace...

Oh, and this is my first attempt at taking my own picture using my camera's self timer and a tripod.  It took me a few shots to get a couple of good pictures, but it was fun trying it out!