Bust a Move!

For those of you who don't know, I hate Tuesdays. Least favorite day of the week by far. So every Tuesday morning, I PUMP UP THE JAM! I make a little playlist for my walk from the train to my office that is so upbeat, I have to try not to dance across the parking lot. 

Today's Tuesday jam is "Move" by Little Mix. I am obsessed with Little Mix and this video is all the reasons why. So go ahead and turn it up and try not to bust a move. I dare you....

Valentine's Day

I've always liked Valentine's Day. Maybe because it's my sisters birthday, so we always had a reason to celebrate as a family. I never really felt any pressure around it. I just figure any chance you have to tell someone - a friend, relative or significant other - that you love them is a good day, in my opinion. 

One Valentine's Day will forever stick with me though. I was in 10th grade in Spanish class. Before class started my teacher, Ms. Sansota, stood up and said she wanted to make an announcement. She said today is just another day, and she wanted to remind everyone that their self worth is more important that being single or not, than getting flowers or chocolate on Valentine's Day or any other day. That it is up to each of us to decide our value, not base it on someone else deciding that we're worth over priced roses, and to always remember that. 

To this day, I have never forgotten those words. And every Valentine's Day since, I've thought of her and how lucky I was to have a teach delivering such an important and powerful message to young students. She taught a much greater lesson than whatever we learned in Spanish that day.

I hope that there are teachers out there trying to teach this message to young people every day. Though I've not kept in touch with her, I hope somewhere Ms. Sansota is still teaching, and I hope she knows how many students lives she has touched over the years. And I hope I am able to spread and continue this very important message of love and self worth to anyone who feels like they need a little extra love today.

You are loved. Happy Valentine's Day. 

The Tipping Point

The tipping point has happened! It's here!

The tipping point is very unscientifically chosen day, when winter starts tipping to spring. It's the first day I leave work and there is still light left. A gleaming, sliver of hope that that we're now on the upswing toward spring. It may not be getting warmer, but it is getting lighter, which is a step in the right direction.  And sometimes, that's all you need. 

My glimmering ray of light!
(Also you can see how clean they keep the CTA windows.)

Ich lerne Deutsch

One of the most exciting things about wedding planning has been honeymoon planning. Though it took us a really long time to narrow down where to go (we both have a travel list about a mile long), we finally picked Austria & Prague! 

We'll be doing a few cities in Austria, then finishing up in Prague, and I couldn't be more excited. Also, it gives me a reason to learn a new language, something I've been wanting to do for some time but never really got around to doing it.  Now I finally have a reason. 

I've been using Duolingo, but I'm looking for suggestions on what people have used and has worked. I think my biggest challenge will be that I don't know anyone who speaks German, so I won't get to practice with someone as much as I would like.

I'm open to suggestions - let me know what has worked for you!

RPM: The best meal I've had since 2007.

Though I've been really advocating our GMO-free, organic lifestyle, I also believe in treating yourself on occasion (like Chicago's restaurant week). Depriving yourself is a sure fire way to go crazy and binge, so when we go out for a special occasion, I order what I want and just enjoy myself. And last night, I REALLY enjoyed myself. Like, the best meal I've had probably in 7 years (when I was in Italy).

Sean and I went to RPM Italian (Bill & Giuliana Rancic's restaurant) and it was AMAZING. The atmosphere was lively and fun, the waitstaff was beautiful and friendly, and the food was out of this world. 

We each got an appetizer - fresh, homemade ricotta with crusty semolina bread and zucchini fritte. The ricotta was perfection. Creamy, rich, flavorful, covered in herbs, served with big chunks of crusty bread and tomato sauce for dipping. It was fabulous. The zucchini was okay - cut super thin and flash fried with a tempura batter - but it paled in comparison to the ricotta. 

For our meals, I got carbonara and Sean got lobster ravioli.  I don't eat lobster, so I didn't try Sean's dish, but mine was incredible. It came out with a raw egg yolk that a server hand tossed into the pasta at the table. The pancetta was super crisp and peppery, which really helped cut through the creamy sauce. Though they say they have small plates, but this dish was heavy enough for me to have leftovers.

We finished the meal off with dessert. Now, I'm not much of a sweets person, but this was the best dessert I have had in my entire life. This picture say it all: 

That is fried dough, rolled in sugar, served with mascarpone cheese and nutella. MASCARPONE AND NUTELLA, people. I died and went to heaven. (In the background is Sean's coffee gelato, which he said was good, but I was too busy licking mascarpone out of the dish to care).

Seriously, this was probably the best Italian food I have had since I was in Rome all those years ago. I will dream about this meal. I will remember it fondly whilst working out today. Yes, I splurged, and it was worth every bite! 

Natural Hair Care

My wonderful cousin Katie posted this link on her Facebook about cleaning your hair the natural way - with baking soda, apple cider vinegar, and coconut oil. She and my sister nominated me to give it a try, since I'll try almost anything once. (Except anything with mayo. Never mayo.)

Anyway, I have been using this method for two weeks now and I am OBSESSED. My hair is amazing, and not loaded up with the toxins and chemicals that fill our shampoos and conditioners, and it's so easy. Here's what to do:

For shampooing: Wet your hair thoroughly in the shower, and then put 1/3 - 1/2 cup of baking soda in it. I usually put it in a measuring cup, then pour some into my hand and massage into my scalp. (The first time I just poured it all over my head and that was a mess). Rub it all in and then let it sit for a minute. Rinse thoroughly.

For conditioning: Mix 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with a cup of water. I let the ends sit in it the cup for a minute or two, and then pour it over my whole head. I let that sit for a bit and then rinse thoroughly. 

Your hair will NOT feel soft and silky after using the apple cider vinegar mix, like it does after using conditioner, but when it dries it is great. 

For deep conditioning: Once a week I've been using coconut oil on the ends of my hair for a great deep conditioning, especially because my hair is naturally VERY dry. I just rub organic coconut oil (purchased at Trader Joe's) on the bottom half of my hair, and let it sit for a few hours (you can also do this overnight if you like). 

You do need shampoo to get the coconut oil out of your hair, so I use an organic shampoo on the bottoms when I do this and just use baking soda at the roots. 

My hair feels amazing, and I feel amazing knowing I'm not consuming extra toxins. And here's the photographic evidence:

And if you're interested, this blog also has the science behind what makes this so great. Test it out and let me know what you think!