Category Archives: Inspire

Entertaining: Tips on how not to stress.

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One thing Mr. Sweet and I love to do is entertain. It is one our favorite ways to spend quality time with friends. We enjoy the intimacy of gathering at our home instead of a loud restaurant or lounge.

Usually hosting an evening at home can be stressful. If you aren’t ready beforehand you can find yourself scrabbling around the house cleaning, finding/washing the serving platters and trying to get everything in order. The last thing you want to do is stress before entertaining.

Here are a couple of tips on how not to stress hosting an evening with friends.

• A winning strategy is to plan ahead, know what you want to cook, whom you would like to invite and the overall theme of the party.

• Choose recipes that you can make in advance.

• If stressed for time, a slow cooker meal is always the way to go. Prepare the night before and only minimal effort is needed on the day of the party.

• DO NOT do the shopping, food, cleaning and have everyone over the same day. This is a recipe for disaster and may possibly start a fight with your significant other because you are so stressing out. (Ahem..Why you looking at me Mr. Sweet??)

• Allow more time than you think necessary. You risk being behind schedule should a problem arise.

• Shop 1-2 days before your party and make sure to double check you have everything. I can’t tell you how many times I am missing one. little. ingredient.

• If you are serving booze, remember to prepare glassware, buy straws and stock up on ice. Doubling your estimate is always a sure bet – it’s better to have too much then not enough. You could always save the extra bottles for your next event.

• Have a buffer. My husband is the perfect buffer. He keeps our guests entertained while I am in the kitchen completing dinner. Afterwards, I am his buffer as he is clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. This also gives you one on one time with your guests.

• If you can, clean as you go. No one enjoys a huge mess at the end of a great evening.

• Don’t panic. There is ALWAYS someone who is going to be early and there will always be someone who is going be late. Try not to time the dishes you are making to coordinate exactly when you have asked your guests to arrive. I have fallen into this trap and have had a couple of dried out meals to show for it.

Above all, don’t let the little things bother you. Who cares that you don’t have 20 different sodas to offer, the bread is crispier then you would like or the dessert doesn’t look bakery perfect. Don’t let these challenges ruin your evening. Let them go and have fun. Most likely your guests won’t even notice!

Now is the perfect time.

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As part of getting ready to move out, Mr. Sweet & I really want to purge our entire apartment top to bottom. Even though we have plenty of time (our lease is up in October) we would like to slowly start going through every single item in the apartment. So we’re making it a point, little by little over the course of the next couple of months to get rid of things. This way it will be easier for us to pack and move when we finally find something.

Now is the perfect time to go through our stuff and ask the often excruciating question: do I really need this? If we don’t absolutely need it, or absolutely love it, it’s going. Each weekend we tackle a closet, under the bed or a cabinet. Sometimes I just might be a drawer if we have a particularly busy weekend. A little goes a long way.

We are also in desperate need of new couches but want to wait to see what the new place will look like. We would hate to get something now and it not fit or doesn’t go with the flow of the new apartment. So we are saving our pennies and getting ready.

Plane, train or automobile.

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I have been badly bit by the travel bug. I’m just dying to hop on a plane, train or automobile. I want to explore a new city, try a new dish and experience a new atmosphere. Ultimately I would love a trip to Europe, but that’s going to have to wait until next year so we have enough time to save and plan.

Mr. Sweet & I did book a tropical vacation for August and a couple of smaller weekend trips every couple of months. But I want to get away NOW. I really crave peace and quiet, something totally different from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I want warm tea by a fireplace, laughter and finding adventure in the unlikeliest of places.

Unfortunately with the pace things are going, I am going to have to wait till our scheduled weekend trips to slow down and just relax.

This and That.

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1. I can’t believe the amount of books that I have read in the last couple of months. I think it is because I have made sure I had at least an hour each day to do something that is unplugged and purely for myself.

2. Sometimes weekends aren’t about what you do, but rather who you spend them with. During the last few weeks, Mr. Sweet and I have been so busy that we have not had time to relax. So, this weekend was wonderful. We watched too many movies, ate big breakfasts with delicious cups of coffee, chowed down on specialty ice cream, rejuvenated with a very necessary nap and attended a savory dinner.

3. I’m not looking forward to tomorrows impending snow storm. If I was stuck at home with Mr. Sweet I wouldn’t mind so much, but I know I have to go into work.

4. Our Italy trip is officially cancelled. I’m sad, but know it is for the best. Hopefully a trip to somewhere in Europe will be in the works for next year.

5. I’m on the lookout for a new camera. There are so many out there that I just feel so overwhelmed.

6. In the beginning of next week, Mr. Sweet & I are going to make a lifestyle change. Nothing as drastic as moving to a different state or quitting our jobs. Just a little something that we have wanted to do. If all goes well, you will hear about it in the future.

Delightfully Living: Day 47 – Day 53

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365 photo project – the simple act of taking a picture every day for a year. The idea behind starting the project is for me to try to get myself to slow down and take a different look at the world. The series is called Delightfully Living. This is Day 47 – Day 53.

What you will see: moments of time, food, details of the world around me and things that I enjoy.

Day 47: Hanging around the house watching movies and relaxing. I love Saturday’s where we don’t have anything planned.

Day 48: Mr. Sweet went out for the night and I decided to stay in. A little snack while catching up on all of the shows I recorded on DVR.

Day 49: Schedule our summer vacation 6 months in advance. Can’t wait!

Day 50: After a long day all I wanted to do was cuddle under the covers and watch The Mindy Project.

Day 51: New T-shirt! A Hello Kitty/My Neighbor Totoro Mash-up.

Day 52: It’s been one of those cold weeks where I don’t want to get out of bed. No Sun. Five more minutes!

Day 53: Last night I could seem to get to sleep. I was reading a book via my Kindle app and looked up to see Layla’s face. It looked like a floating kitty head!

 

Born Standing Up.

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I have been on a reading rampage lately!  My latest read was “Born Standing Up” by Steve Martin.  I grew up admiring Steve and always appreciated his self deprecating humor. He has a skill of captivating an audience beyond his stand-up routines and movies.  He is an extraordinary good writer and I have been looking forward to reading yet another of his books.  I adored both “Shopgirl” and “An Object of Beauty”.

“Born Standing Up” is primarily about Martin’s evolution as a stand-up comic over 18 years.  I felt like I had a privileged look into his comedic genius rise to fame. The book is filled with fascinating details and great insights into his family life, his struggles to gain fame, and then his ultimate struggle to handle the fame he had always wanted.

I loved this book. As with all Martin’s writing, the style of this book is crisp, the pace quick, and you should be done with it a few hours if not days.

Delightfully Living: Day 40 – Day 46

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365 photo project – the simple act of taking a picture every day for a year. The idea behind starting the project is for me to try to get myself to slow down and take a different look at the world. The series is called Delightfully Living. This is Day 40 – Day 46.

What you will see: moments of time, food, details of the world around me and things that I enjoy.

Day 40: Another snow storm hit our area. After cleaning off our cars, Mr. Sweet & I went for a walk around the complex. Right after this picture was taken a large amount of snow was dropped from a branch onto my head. Ouch & Cold!

Day 41: We dined with friends for Chinese New Years!

Day 42: In search of inspiration.

Day 43: After making dinner Mr. Sweet & my sister wanted something with chocolate. They didn’t want to wait for me to bake something so chocolate covered pretzels is what they got. Boy did they taste good. Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Day 44: While baking I had a bit of an accident.

Day 45: Even though we said we weren’t going to exchange gifts, Mr. Sweet & I ended up getting each other a little something. He got me french macaroons (my favorite cookies) and I got him his favorite coconut chocolate clusters.

Day 46: I love changing around our apartment BUT like to keep it simple and if possible cheap. I found this cute print and now just have to figure out what colors I want to ink in.

Delightfully Living: Day 33 – Day 39

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365 photo project – the simple act of taking a picture every day for a year. The idea behind starting the project is for me to try to get myself to slow down and take a different look at the world. The series is called Delightfully Living. This is Day 33 – Day 39.

What you will see: moments of time, food, details of the world around me and things that I enjoy.

Day 33: A group of us went the International Great Beer Expo in the Meadowlands. This international beer tasting extravaganza showcased more than 50 breweries from across the globe, each providing samples of their country’s proudest brewing achievement. Of course I made pretzel necklaces for the occasion (they help cleanse the palette).

Day 34: Sunday Mr. Sweet & I attended a funeral of a friends family member. Afterwards, we decided to have a quiet night with ice cream.

Day 35: Layla was transfixed with her image.

Day 36: I love Doctor Who and received this T.A.R.D.I.S which is part of a salt & pepper shaker set. My husband laughs because I use it as a decoration more then a holder for salt.

Day 37: One of my all time favorite pictures I have ever taken of Layla.

Day 38: After a long day at work, then a long night of conversations about an upcoming trip we are thinking of planning with friends all I wanted to do was cuddle in bed with a book.

Day 38: A blizzard is said to hit our area today. It started to snow when I drove in. As of 11:45 not one person has come into the office except for me. What was I thinking?