Friday, January 13, 2012 at 07:18 AM
Happy Friday Blog Friends! Today, I bring a blog favorite from the past: Two of My Favorite Things. It’s been way too long since I’ve written one of these posts, where I just tell you about two things that I love. Today, I have something old and something new. Let’s start with what’s new.
Unique Aprons
For Christmas, my Mom gave me a new apron, hand made in Rhode Island by Apiary Designs.
I ♥ aprons! I wear them a lot because I cook often and I don’t want to ruin my clothes. Somethings always splattering or squirting! And especially during the week, when I literally leap through the door, drop my work bag, wash my hands and start making dinner all in about two minutes time. I don’t need a Superwoman cape. I just need an apron so that I don’t mess up my work clothes.
My mom picked this apron out to go with some of the new kitchen colors that I’m starting to decorate with. More on that to come in a later post. You can see more of the aprons at Apiary Designs - and buy them there too. They also make things like yoga mat covers, totes and bunting. They have full length aprons and half-aprons too. I never understood how Julia Child could get by with just a half-apron. I bet she had to wash her shirts often! I’m a full-length apron kind of girl.
Small Plates
I ♥ my small plates. Technically, they are actually a set of 12 appetizer plates from Crate and Barrel.
While I originally bought these back in 2009 for a little party I was hosting, we’ve been using them on an everyday basis ever since.
The most remarkable thing about these plates is that we’ve had these plates for almost three years now, and not a single plate is chipped. Not. even. one. I did accidentally break one plate, just last week (boo! now I have a set of eleven), but not even a little nick out of any other plate. That’s amazing for a set of 12 plates that sells for $22.95.
Our everyday dishes, Noritake Summer Estate, are quite chipped. They are almost 15 years old, after all. They are also beginning to look oh-so-1997. So when I do break down and buy some new every day dishes, Crate and Barrel may be my choice after this marvelous appetizer plate experience.
These appetizer plates are the perfect size. My kids eat their morning fruit on them every day.
And they seem to show up just about everywhere around our house.
Yes, if you need a gift for someone who is a kitchen person (like I am) you can’t go wrong with either a great apron or a set of Crate and Barrel’s 12 appetizer plates. You will be a hero.
Question of the Day
What’s one (or two!) of your favorite kitchen things?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Two Favorite Things
Tags: Apiary Designs, Crate and Barrel, Two Favorite Things
Monday, May 2, 2011 at 01:57 AM
Sorry for the late post today, everybody! I set my post to post ahead (kind of like an alarm clock), knowing that this morning I would be out at a Big Y store. Imagine my horrors when I checked the blog from my Blackberry to see Friday’s post still up! Yikes!! I had set it to post for Wednesday instead of today. Oooops. Anyway, back at my laptop now, so here it is!! Enjoy!
It’s time for Two of My Favorite Things! Every now and then I blog about things that I just love. Not just one of them. Two of them. Things that make me want to sing like Julie Andrews on top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps.
Today’s topic? Outerwear and Footwear for your kids. Actually, for grown-ups too. We’ll talk about that.
So, First Favorite Thing: Outerwear from LLBean!
I learned the hard way that it is best to shell out a few extra bucks and buy the good stuff from Bean. Early on, I used to buy bargain winter coats from discount stores. We’d get to oh, about January, and the zipper would inevitably break. So, for the next three months, my three-year-old son, with limited fine motor skills at the time, would be trying to snap up his coat with the broken zipper. It was a disaster. Here’s the thing: your kids have to wear winter coats every day. And they have to stand out at bus stops in pouring rain. You need to get the good stuff. LLBean’s outerwear is designed for the elements. And guess what? If anything breaks, they will take it back and give you a new one for free! It’s their guarantee.
I noticed my daughter, who is about to turn 6, was out-growing her Bean raincoat. No wonder – it was a size 4!
So, while my husband and son were at Cub Scouts the other night, my daugher and I headed over to the store. We are soooooo lucky to have an LLBean store nearby.
And found the perfect raincoat in a size 6X/7. It’s a Trail Model Rain Jacket. Yes, it was $39.50, but when I think of the places we’ve been in the rain (strawberry picking, StoryLand, Downtown Disney, the school bus stop), it’s a small price to pay for a quality product.
It’s guaranteed waterproof and hooded, so I know that no matter what – she’ll arrive at school or camp nice and dry. Also, it packs up teeny-tiny, so I can put it in her backpack if the forcast calls for late-day showers.
By the way, I have a raincoat from LLBean too. Here’s why. B. C. (Before Children), I could pretty much get away with fashion raincoats and umbrellas and dash my way through puddles. But now, I need to dress for the elements too. And my Bean raincoat, while not necessarily fashionable, does the trick when my job of the day involves getting kids on and off a school bus.
Second Favorite Thing: LLBean Footwear
Not only do I want my kids to arrive with dry feet. Amazingly, my son’s boots still fit this season, but my daughter’s did not. So she needed new ones.
Aren’t they adorable? ThesePuddle Stompers were $29.50. Could I find them cheaper at a discount store? Probably. Would they be totally waterproof and guaranteed? Probably not.
Now here’s the thing about LLBean Footwear – you need to buy it at the beginning of the season because the good colors will sell out. So, if you are looking for summer sandals, buy them now. And when you are looking for those back-to-school shoes (my kids each get a pair of Comfort Mocs in the fall) you need to shop in late July/early August.
Oh – and I have LLBean rainboots too! Mine are Wellies. Red with flowers. Fashionable (at least I think so) and they sure do keep me dry out at the bus stop.
I could go on and on about how much I love things from LLBean. But one of my favorite features? Their kids clothing and outerwear come with sewn-in nametags.
That way, if your child forgets their not-cheap LLBean item at school or camp, you can get it back.
So that is my Ode To LLBean. Love them. I can see why they have been around for so many years.
Question of the Day
Do you have anything from Bean that you love? Or that you’d like to put on your Wish List?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Two Favorite Things
Tags: Two Favorite Things
Monday, January 10, 2011 at 07:31 AM
Wow! It’s been a while since I’ve written a “Two of My Favorite Things” post. So, it was about time!
Typically, I get up super-early and hit the gym first thing, but I find that I just can’t maintain that pace five days a week. Somethings gotta give and a girl’s gotta get her beauty sleep from time to time. On those days when I sleep through forgo my early morning workout, I sometimes have one more chance at squeezing in a little cardio – the Lunch Time Run. This is such a treat, actually, because typically at this time of the year in New England it’s nearly impossible to run outside with my work schedule. It’s too dark before and after work and even on the weekends – well, there’s just snow everywhere!
But near the NuVal office, there is a great residential neighborhood that has low traffic and (drum roll please) lots of hills. So, if I can pack a quick bag before I leave the house, I can do a Presto Chango, and voila – Lunchtime Run.
I bring Two of My Favorite Things: My new Asics Gel-Kayanos and my new BondiBands hat.
First, my sneakers.
How did this New Balance girl ever end up in an Asics shoe? Well, I was at the running store, DB Sports, shopping for a new pair of New Balance and I met a long-time runner (a woman probably in her late-50s) who was buying a pair of Asics Gel-Kayanos. She swore by them. She promised me less foot pain, less knee pain, more joy in my life. And I believed her – hook, line and sinker. I have the world’s flattest feet (truly, it’s a miracle I run at all) so I was up for a change. I thought I would give them a try. And you know what? I LOVE them! More joy in my running life! Worth the higher price tag. You only get one pair of feet and one pair of knees in this life.
Second, my bondiband hat.
This was a Christmas gift from my Awesome Husband. I must admit, I dropped him a really subtle hint, like a link to the very exact product I wanted embedded in an email. I was introduced to bondiband by my friend Heather (we’ll call her Pool Club Heather, so as not to be confused with my Fit Friend at 40 Heather). Anyway, Heather recommended this hat to me, since I am a Runner Girl With a Ponytail. Love it!
The Lunch Time Run
OK, so most people get time for lunch. You can work through it. You can go out to lunch. You can go shopping. You can do an errand. And yes, you can exercise. Some people say, “Oh no! I don’t want to get all sweaty.” True. I don’t recommend this on a day when you have a big presentation to clients at 2 pm. And let’s face it, most of us work right through our lunch, right? But, to prove that it can be done, I timed my lunch time run (from work clothes to workout clothes back to work clothes) and took pictures! (This is one of those days that I can’t believe I put my life on the blog!)
12:15 pm: It’s been a busy morning at NuVal. Time to break away from the desk.
12:20 After a quick trip to the ladies room, I’m dressed and ready to go.
12:25. Running – especially in New England in the Winter - requires some gear. Ipod, Blackberry, Heart-Rate Monitor, BondiBand, Warm Gloves. Check.
12:25 – 1:00 Run. Do Hills.
1:00 – 1:05 Stretch.
1:05 – 1:15 Back to the Ladies Room for Presto Chango. We don’t have showers at NuVal, but we do have running water and I bring soap, washcloth, towel and the all-important deodorant. I also recommend a hairbrush, and a little cosmetic touch-up. Let’s just say that I make do.
1:15 Heat up lunch and get back to work!
See! It can be done. And I feel so energized. I have a more productive afternoon. During my run, I even spent some time planning out some of the activities I would be working on in the afternoon. A productive day for everyone.
I was talking to my husband about this post, before I wrote it and he said, “You know, the Lunchtime Workout really could be anything – a walk, stairs in your office building, there are many possibilities.” Good point!
Question of the Day
How do you squeeze exercise into your day?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: running, Two Favorite Things, Uncategorized
Tags: Asics, bondiband, running, Two Favorite Things, Uncategorized
Friday, June 11, 2010 at 06:54 AM
Fridays call for a fun blogpost, don’t they? So today, I bring you Two of My Favorite Things. Today’s Topic: Working Out! When it comes to breaking a sweat, two of my favorite things are (1) New Workouts and (2) Working Out With Friends.
New Workouts
I admit – I am a creature of habit. I love my Spinning Classes, my Pilates Classes, my Kettlebell Class and running. If Step had not gone out of style, I would still be teaching it and taking Step classes. (Repeater Knee!) But I also love to shock my body a little by trying something new. There are fads that come and go (I had a Slide in the mid-90s!) and then there is new stuff that sticks around for a while. After trying out TRX Suspension training with my good friends, Kit and Brandy, my opinion is that TRX is here to stay.
I say that because after trying it out, I hurt for not one, not two, but three days. In a good way. Kind of.
TRX suspension training can be done anywhere. So we chose to work out on the tennis courts at our local YMCA. We pulled up Kit’s minivan so that we could have some tunes and enjoyed the sunshine!
Brandy recently completed a TRX course, so she led the way.
TRX was developed by Randy Hetrick, a former Navy Seal. It is a total body workout that uses body weight as resistance. This video shows you all the incredible exercises you can do:
Randy is right – you definitely can get a great workout in a very short amount of time. When we finished, I thought, “Wow, that was quick!” And yet, I felt, the next day, like I had worked out for hours.
I am hooked on TRX!
Workout Buddies
Brandy and Kit
While I enjoy running solo with a great Ipod playlist, my favorite way to exercise is with workout buddies. As a busy working Mom, the only way I can get a workout in on my days is by going very, very early. When that alarm goes off at 5 am, it is the faces of my workout buddies that keep me from rolling over and going back to sleep.
Of course, I do not have a photo of my 5:30 am workout buddies because they would be very unhappy with me if I shared with you what we all look like at that ungodly hour. So, instead, I bring you a pic of Brandy and Kit, my friends who workout at normal times of the day. I am able to join them on random days off and on weekends. We have a blast.
As a fitness instructor, I always recommend to people beginning an exercise program that they find a workout buddy. There is nothing like knowing that your friend is going to be waiting for you in your driveway to get you out of bed and off to the gym in the morning. It’s a great way to go.
I can’t wait to meet up with Brandy and Kit later today for another TRX session. I wonder how I’ll feel after? I’ll get the Advil out now! 
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Two Favorite Things
Tags: TRX
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 06:45 AM
Welcome to Two of My Favorite Things – one of my favorite features here on A Better Bag of Groceries – where I tell you about two things that I love.
I can tell you one of my least favorite things. That would be making lunches. I think that by the end of the day, I’m just all fooded out. I’ve just had enough of touching, thinking and writing about food. So truth be told, my husband does a lot of lunch-making in our house.
So this post realy should be called Two of Our Favorite Things.
First, Horizon Organic Milks.
I love these milk boxes because they do not leak. Back when my kids first started drinking milk (around age 1), I would send them to daycare with re-useable Rubbermaid sippy containers full of milk in their lunchboxes. And I would come home with stinky lunchboxes. And then I would try to wash the stinky lunchboxes (which didn’t work out all that well). Finally, I would buy new lunchboxes. And then I would repeat the process. I always said that I wish that someone would put milk in a juice-box-like container. Thankfully, Horizon Organic did. UHT, by the way, stands for Ultra High Temperature processing. That is what makes the milk shelf-stable. Cool, huh? I like knowing that even if the ice pack in my child’s lunch box is not doing its job, the milk will not spoil.
My only wish for these milk boxes is that they would come in a Skim version. The best scoring Horizon Organic milk is the blue one on the left (Reduced Fat Milk with Added Vitamin A and D). It gets a 55 on the NuVal scale. That is what my daughter drinks. She calls it “Vanilla Milk” and we let her believe that! My son, unfortunately, only wants the Strawberry or Chocolate variety. We have not yet scored Strawberry, but the Chocolate only gets a 27. Ugh! Our hope is that we can wean him off of the flavored milk and move him onto the plain. At least twice a week, we send him to school with one of the plain milks, and they come right back home untouched. We will keep trying!
No matter what, these milk boxes are a better alternative than juice boxes and we know that they are getting the calcium and Vitamin D that they need. And the lunch boxes stay clean. It’s all good.
On to Favorite Thing #2: Lunch Box Notes
My boss loves to shop at The Christmas Tree Shops and that is where she found these Lunchbox Notes. It was so nice of her to pick up two packs for me as well. Check out that low price!
Here’s the box without the price tag:
On the front of each note is a positive message. My son loves this one because it sounds a lot like the Cub Scout motto (Do Your Best!)
My daughter loves this one, because as a beginning reader, she can read it!
And on the back is an interesting fact. My son loves this one because he is into politics and presidents.
My daughter loves all things Human Body, so this is one of her favs.
Aren’t they the cutest? You can find them at sayplease.com. They are made of pretty sturdy paper with a special coating that you can wipe off, so we do that and re-use them. I guess it makes up for the milk boxes we are throwing away!
So there you have it – two of my favorite lunch-making things. Now, if only I could find myself a Lunch-Making Maid!
Question of the Day
What is one of your favorite Lunch Things?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Two Favorite Things
Tags: Horizon Organic, Lunch Box Notes
