BluePrint Cleanse

This weekend I did a juice cleanse.  I can already feel some judgment from typing that, so let me explain why a girl who loves food deeply voluntarily chose to drink all of her nutrients for three days.  Get ready for a long post!

A couple weekends ago, John Paul and I went to a dinner party.  Well, he went for dinner while I ran some errands, and got there in time for some dessert and wine.  At the dinner part, he ate such a huge hunk of steak that it made him sick the next morning.  On the other hand, I had a small, meatless dinner and woke up feeling fine.  Something's weird there...I started thinking about my body, and how great a mostly plant-based diet makes me feel great, whereas a very meaty meal completely zaps my energy.  I'd also been feeling really overwhelmed with wedding and social stuff, and I needed to get back to my center.
Some of the food blogs I read had tried a BluePrint Cleanse for a long weekend, and I figured Why not?  I had some birthday money to help pay for it (totally not cheap), and would use this weekend to not focus on my food cravings and what people wanted to do; I would just drink what they sent me, what my body needed to energize itself, and make me time a priority.  (It helped that John Paul was out of town on business.)

Before starting the cleanse, BPC recommends that you pre-cleanse.  This means that for 3-4 days beforehand, cut out meat, dairy, caffeine, and no grains the day before.  I ate lots of salads and fruit, along with some quinoa and brown rice.  Already I felt really good; sleeping really well and feeling great about what I was putting into my body.  The picture above is my last meal: spinach, avocado, and red onion with lemon juice and pepper.  Simple and tasty.

On Thursday afternoon, my juices arrived in a cardboard box with lots of ice packets.  I put them right into the fridge; this is what I would grab when I got hungry over the weekend.  Six juices per day for three days.  Before you start thinking I'm going to pass out from lack of nutrients (my mom called a few times to make sure I was still among the living), let me tell you that each day is full of 20 lbs. of fruits and veggies. 

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I did the Renovation cleanse, which had 2 green smoothies (kale, apple, lemon, etc.), and 4 other juices which you drink in a specific order.  Start of the day and lunch on green juice, and then sip on the others 2-3 hours apart from each other.

 

This one was perfect for a mid-morning pick-me-up: pineapple apple mint.  Sweet and refreshing.

No. 5 was a little tangy, with beet, apple, ginger...this was basically dinner, and it hit the spot. 

This cashew milk was dessert: water, cashews, agave, cinnamon and vanilla.  I was so sad to drink my last one on Sunday night!  It was perfectly sweet and filling to tide me over until morning. 

I'm happy to report that I had tons of energy this weekend!  Summer and I went on a 4.5 mile walk on  Friday, Mia and I jogged 3.5 miles on Saturday, and I did an intense yoga class Sunday morning.  I slept deeply, no headaches, no fatigue...just lots of time to relax and do my own little projects.  

Monday, it was back to the real world and real food.  I'm not craving brownies and burgers, just brown rice and arugula.  I know I'll be back to baking soon, but I'll be looking into healthier ways to sate those sweet cravings, and you  might see some vegan recipes on here (sorry, Aunt Nesi!) among desserts and chilis.  All in all, a great experience, though definitely an indulgence.

Things that make me happy...

New beauty splurges: F21 nail polishes and Daisy by Marc Jacobs Eau So Fresh roll-on.  (I've already used the green and silver; so fun!)

Used book purchases from the DCPL city-wide sale last Thursday.  Old copies of Joy of Cooking, The Audobon Society Book of Wildflowers,  Bridget Jones' Diary, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle...all less than $3.  I love libraries!

John Paul's homemade tortillas.  Holy bananas, these were sooo good.  (I should confess that this pic is from last week...but it still makes me happy!)

What I did this weekend.  Check back tomorrow for more details...

House Tour

Can I take you on a little house tour?  A few things have changed since the last time I showed you our little abode.

My very patient fiance shrugged his shoulders and kissed my cheek when I brought home yet another owl.  This one is from West Elm, and I absolutely adore him.  His name is Winfred.

Our new(ish) runner.  It's difficult to find a rug that both JP and I like, but this one is awesome!  Plush and bohemian without being stuffy.  I especially love the colors.  Hi to our original owl holding the umbrellas, Humphrey!

We moved the bookshelves that were acting as our bedside tables.  The desk on my side is a gift from my wonderful father; I sanded off the old paint and updated it with this blue.  It pops, no?

JP is using an old trunk that also has some of our linens inside.
The bookshelves are now inside of the office, and we actually have lots of books on them!  What a novel (ha!) idea.

We put some of our books in the office, freeing up the shelves in the living room.  It does look less crowded, but I'm not sure if I'm as crazy about the silver accents between the books.  We'll see if it grows on me.

What do you think?

Blueberry Boy Bait

How could you pass up something with a name like Blueberry Boy Bait?  A couple weekends ago, JP and I were invited to a large-ish dinner party at a friend's house, and it was honestly too hot to bake a cake.  Or cookies (the idea of doing batch after batch of baking in a hot kitchen made me feel sweaty).  Brownies always seem a bit heavy for the summer, with dense, bitter dark chocolate, and I wasn't feel brave enough for a pie.  While scanning through Smitten Kitchen, I came across this wonderfully-named dessert with blueberry (I had some frozen in my freezer) treat.  No special ingredients needed, and I figured we could all use some boy bait in our lives.

I've got to say, this dessert is exactly what the name implies.  They're perfectly sweet, not cloying, and there's a slight crust on top, courtesy of some sugar and cinnamon.  I had no leftovers, and everyone loved how cute they looked with the little signs on top!  Not too fancy, but not boxed, either, this dessert was just what the doctor ordered.

Labor Day Weekend

I played my first round of golf!  Ok, I'm truly awful at it, but there's no where to go from here but up.

I wandered around Barnes and Noble for new cookbooks.  Do I have a problem?

 

My baby girl and my boo cuddling on the couch.  I love them.

 

We took some pictures with my phone.
Also saw some awesome, albeit very different, movies.  The Debt was incredibly tense, and we had a lot of discussion after.  Our Idiot Brother was such a great, fun, feel-good film; I really think you should see it if your faith in people is waning.

 

I ate the most fun cupcake I've ever laid eyes on.

Bossypants

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This book was hysterical.  Laughing until I cried, rolling around on the floor, unable to breathe, funny.  Tina Fey's kind-of memoir doesn't cover anything truly ground-breaking, but she explains her rise to comedy heavy-hitter via Tina Fey impersonations, friendly but bitchy gays from high school,  YMCA receptionist in Chicago, and Second City improvisor.  On the way, she covers her horrible honeymoon, the first years of 30 Rock, a very brief description of how she got that infamous scar, an afternoon spent with Monica Lewinsky, why she hired the people she did for her TV show, and being a powerful woman in comedy.  I call it a "kind-of" memoir because there are essays about being female in a male-dominated workplace and fake letters to the Internet (among others).  And that cover...

Although there aren't heaps on adventure in Bossypants, I couldn't put it down.  And, somehow, I appreciated Tina Fey even more after reading it.  How is that possible?  I thought I couldn't like her more.

Espresso

Well, we painted our guest bathroom together.  And lived to tell the tale.

Our guest bathroom has needed a touch-up since we moved in last October; a handyman painted a corner the wrong color when fixing a baseboard, and it's bugged me for months!  

The nice thing about the room is that there's a huge mirror spanning most of one wall, and lots of lights above the mirror, resulting in a room that looks much bigger than it actually is.  Thanks to the forethought of the first guy who lived there, it's one of those special cases where it can handle being painted a really dark color.  So we went for it: espresso brown.  Or chocolate.  Whatever.  JP and I were pretty excited about it.

But first, we had to tape off the borders (using Frog Tape) and prime the walls.  We did that one weekend, and finished the paint job last weekend, when we had more time to devote to two coats of paint.

Let me say, I'm very impressed with the visual knockout of the new color.  It really gives the room some much-needed depth, and the marble countertops now pop against the walls, rather than blend in.  

The best part is that JP and I survived a house project together!  No raised voices, no issues with techniques.. he even let me listen to Katy Perry and Adele while we painted.  Now that's a good man.

How do you like this shot of us in our comfy clothes?  We like to hang out at home in our bum clothes; please, withhold any judgment.  

Peach Blueberry Pie

I don't generally have luck with pie crusts.  This is only one of many crusts that have fallen apart on me, causing me to doubt everything I know about baking.  Honestly, if you can't make a pie crust, how can you consider yourself an amateur baker?  Pie is so easy: crust and filling.  I felt awful every time my dessert fell flat.

Enter Joy the Baker.  I came across her recipe for Peach Blueberry Pie, and her tone throughout the whole post on pie crust was so encouraging and low-key, I decided to give pie crust another shot.
Thank goodness I did!  JP, being from Atlanta, love peaches and loves pie, and he loves me more after making this dessert.  The crust, slowly but surely, came together beautifully and, though not flawless, gorgeous and tasty nonetheless.  The filling is so wonderfully seasoned and fresh, I kept sneaking bites before reluctantly pouring it into the crust.

If you've felt frustrated by other pie crust recipes, try this one out.  Joy really knows what she's talking about!

Birds and...studs?

Dress and clutch: H&M
Belt: J.Crew
Shoes: Michael Stars (I think?) via TJ Maxx
Well, I didn't take a picture of my actual birthday outfit.  No, no, not my birthday suit, but what I wore to dinner at Vidalia, where JP treated me to a feast.  This, what I wore to dessert and a drink at Blue Duck Tavern the day after the big 2-5, will have to do.  And honestly, I'm more glad I caught this outfit on film (even though it didn't come out perfectly).  This dress has such a quirky print on it, and I thought it would look cool toughened up with the studs on the heels of these heels.

Which I have had longer than I've been dating JP.  They were a little pricey for TJ Maxx, but I couldn't resist the gunmetal finish with pyramid studs on one strap and along the sides and heels.  Fabulous purchase.

Um, I was pretty psyched about my drink (a very fruit-filled sangria) with flambe molten chocolate cake.  Yes, chocolate cake that was soaked in whiskey and lit on fire when it got to the table.  Man, what a birthday!

Red Son

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Man, what a cool book.  JP has been on my case about reading this comic book, and I'm so glad he basically sat me down on the couch and ordered me to finish it.  Mark Millar came up with this simple idea: What if Superman had been brought up in the USSR, instead of Smallville, USA?  It opens in 1953, with Superman coming into fame with Joseph Stalin, while Lois Luthor (what?!) is writing about him back in NYC.  Several DC personalities pop up (Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, even Batman), although not as you expect.
There are three parts to the story: Red Son Rising, Red Son Ascendant, and Red Son Setting.  They're all great, but I particularly enjoyed the ending in Red Son Setting.  Seriously mind-blowing!  And don't get me started on the illustrations; each of the pencilers and inkers, as well as the colorist and letterer, did a superb job capturing the mood of the story.
I realize that not everyone is into comics, and that's okay.  If you're looking for something a little different, with a different take on the superhero mythology, this will take you less than a short afternoon to get through, and get you lots of points with fanboys the world over. 

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