TIP: The best work out clothes!

If you do not already own one or many pieces of Lululemon workout apparel, you need to visit their website or stores: http://www.lululemon.com/.  

The clothes are amazing -- they are made out of a special material (luon) that dries quickly and absorbs moisture.  They are preshrunk, so you can throw them into the dryer without worrying about shrinking them.  

In addition to functionality, the clothes look great & stylish -- they fit in all of the right places, compliment your figure & if you are unsure, the reader reviews are really helpful on their website.  As an example, their shirts are longer in the back so that you do not show any skin when doing downward dogs or leaning forwards while spinning.  

Remix Lulu Hoodie ($98)
http://shop.lululemon.com/Remix_Lulu_Hoodie/pd/c/550/np/550/p/1656.html

The clothes are great for working out (I use them for yoga, spinning & running) and also for running errands because of the cute styles.  

Wunder Groove Crop ($72) http://shop.lululemon.com/Wunder_Groove_Crop/pd/c/570/np/570/p/1764.html

Groove Crop ($86) http://shop.lululemon.com/Wunder_Groove_Crop/pd/c/570/np/570/p/1764.html

Astro Crop ($86) 
http://shop.lululemon.com/Astro_Crop/pd/c/570/np/570/p/2186.html

In addition to the clothes, local Lululemon stores provide free workout classes.  In San Diego, there are bootcamp classes and yoga.  

I never liked to spend money on workout clothes, but now I am a convert.  They are worth every penny! 

Scoop Neck Tank ($54)
http://shop.lululemon.com/Scoop_Neck_Tank/pd/c/530/np/530/p/1399.html

The back of the Scoop Neck Tank.

Posted above are some of my favorites!

Additional tips: 

• There is free shipping (no code needed)
• Under the "loot" tab, you can search based on your size and see what products are available.  Today, I purchased a pair of pants that I was admiring on another girl in yoga for $30 off!  http://shop.lululemon.com/women_loot/pl/c/830.html 
• Except for the "Loot" items - you can return and exchange any of their clothes. 
• Read the reviews -- people leave really helpful tips on sizing, body shapes, activities, etc.

                         You get these adorable and inspirational bags for free with your purchase.

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• Retail Therapy: Lululemon tank, crops survive boot camp (arts.nationalpost.com)

TREAT: Delicious Vegetarian Chili (5 Bean & Butternut Squash)

A coworker provided me with this delicious recipe for vegetarian chili.  It is easy to make, serves about 6 people, is healthy & filling.  I really recommend it!  

Ingredients:  

• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 diced green bell pepper
• 1 diced red  bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Mexican style chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1  1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, broken up with your hands
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained great Northern beans
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained pinto beans
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained kidney beans
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained black beans
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained navy beans
• 3 cups cubed butternut squash (I used a bag of frozen squash from Trader Joe’s)
• 1/4 cup rough chopped cilantro

Mix the spices & other ingredients before you begin cooking -- it will help A LOT in the process.  The chili flavors really impact the taste of the chili.  The amount in this recipe makes the chili medium-spicy.

Steps: 

In a Dutch oven or large pot, over medium-high heat, cook the onions, bell peppers, garlic, chili powder, salt, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, coriander, and cinnamon until vegetables are soft, 4 to 6 minutes.  

Add the tomatoes, stock, and bay leaves; bring the mixture to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add the beans, squash and cilantro, stir to combine, and continue to cook another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the flavors have come together and the chili has a nice, thick consistency.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Serve with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro

TREAT: Planning My Sister's Dr. Seuss Baby Shower!

I just finished looking through pictures of my sister's recent baby shower that we threw for her at my house, and I figured this is something I could share with some tips! The theme was Dr. Seuss' Oh the Places You'll Go! and so we kept with the soft pastel color scheme (especially because she is having a little girl).  It was SO much fun to plan for my wonderful sister!

We set up a crossword puzzle for guests to answer for a gift & we had index cards that we placed on colored construction paper, together with Dr. Seuss cut-outs for the guests to leave notes for the mother and baby. We then placed them all into an album for a keepsake for her.




For a shower gift, we put together a candy table and bags for people to fill with sweets as their "take home treat." The bags we purchased from Target, and the stickers we purchased from a Dr. Seuss vendor.

In the entry way, we had a diaper cake (recipe below), a welcome sign, some flowers & cut out circles from colored paper:

We purchased a lot of different foods from Costco and the grocery store (we kept them cold so that we did not have to worry about cooking times or the food getting cold). We bought a lot of different cheeses for a cheese platter, sushi, shrimp cocktails, wraps, meat platters, etc. It was quite the spread! We also made cupcakes that we used food coloring & pastry bags for the icing & placed Dr. Seuss stickers at the top of the cupcakes. We purchased utensils, napkins & plates with matching colors:

Recipe for Diaper Cake:

Purchase:

- Approximately 100 infant diapers (if possible, purchase plain white or diapers with minimal designs)

- At least 100 rubber bands

- Five large rubber bands (I could not find them in Target, so I purchased really thin headbands to use around the larger layers)

- One 12 oz. bottle of baby lotion, oil, etc.

- Ribbons for the outside of the cake (I purchased different colors and layered some of the colors)

Steps:

• Take all of the diapers and tightly roll them up & bind them with a rubber band
• Take the bottle of oil, lotion, etc. that you purchased, and begin to place the rolled up diapers around the bottle to create the inner tier. Once a complete circle is formed, bind it with the larger rubber band. Continue on the lower level until you are 3 rows deep of diapers.
• Repeat step for second tier (but only do two rows)
• For the final tier, you will only do 1 row & then you can place additional diapers in the middle to secure the cake in case your bottle of oil, lotion, etc. is not high enough.
• To make it whimsical, I put piping & colored balls on the top of the cake & covered the rubber bands around the tiers with ribbons & Dr. Seuss pictures.
• You can place pacifiers and other baby-related items on the tiers to help decorate
• I gave the mom-to-be an additional gift bag with "extra cake batter" written on it, which contained any additional diapers, pacifiers, etc. that I did not use on the cake.

Here is a link I found very helpful in creating my cake: http://www.plan-the-perfect-baby-shower.com/diaper-cake.html

GAMES:

• As mentioned above, I prepared my own cross-word puzzle for my sister's guests to complete for a prize.
• I had her husband answer questions about the baby, etc. and I recorded his answers. I placed his answers on You Tube and, during the shower, I asked her the same questions and after she answered, I would play what he said on You Tube.
• I played songs to my sister's husband involving babies (i.e. Baby Love, Baby Baby from Mariah Carey, etc.) and he had to "guess" what the song artist and song was. During the shower, I had my sister guess at the same play list, which was pretty difficult. Once she was done, we then played the You Tube video of my brother-in-law getting the correct answers for each one (he may have received some coaching....). People thought it was really funny & it was definitely different than the typical shower games!

TREAT (for me): My First Post!

This blog will be used for FOOD and trying out different recipes (and combinations of recipes).  As a disclaimer, I am a vegetarian who eats fish, so unless I make something for my husband, meat eaters will not find much here (sorry!).