Two Pictures. Same Shot. 20 Months Apart.

Hey! So, the wife & I were up in Michigan over the weekend for her friends wedding (a blog post on that event to come shortly), and the reception was held at a place called Canterbury Village. It's owned by the same people who own Indianwood Golf & Country Club which is where Anne and I tied the knot, so the two venue's have a very similar look and feel. Both venue's have a medieval theme and there are suits of armor everywhere. It's very cool. Anyway, I remembered a picture that our photographer, Adam Sparkes, took of me at my wedding in November of 2009 standing in front of a suit of armor looking goofy, so of course I thought it would be funny to replicate the same photo (taken by Anne this time). Below are the two shots taken almost exactly 20 months apart. The first picture is from 11/28/2009, and the second is from 7/23/2011.

                                         

Things We're Loving Today...Michigan Edition

 Saturday my best friend is getting married and I'm a bridesmaid in the wedding. She's getting married in MI, so Nick and I decided to pack up the pup and make a week out of it. It isn't often that I get an entire week with my family so I jump at any chance that I get. Coming back to MI makes me so nostalgic and makes me realize everything I miss about MI when I'm not here. 

MI things that I'm loving:

And of course, my family!

Beach Front (Puppy) Property

Hey, Nick here! It seems that even our puppy, Barney, knows that when it comes to real estate there are three very important things to remember: Location, location, location, is everything! I was in the kitchen doing the dishes and I heard this thrashing coming from the living room. I went to see what the crazy, teenage pup was up to this time, and it seems that he was rearranging his sleeping quarters by pulling his bed out of his crate. Such a smart guy!

Macho Macho Man (I Am Not)!

If you were to ask my wife to chose some words or phrases to describe me, she would probably say that macho, tough guy, burly, Mr. Fix It, handy, strapping, courageous, valiant, daring and jock are definitely not what she would use. But that's okay with me. It's so okay, that while Derek Jeter was driving home his 3,000th hit this weekend (the fact that I know that is astonishing) I was catching up on episodes of "The Bachelorette" with Anne. That's right, I'm in touch with my feminine side and I'm proud of it! I will probably catch a lot of flack from this post, but I've been catching flack for years when it comes to this. I guess I never understood how watching a bunch of muscle-bound men in tight uniforms chasing after a ball and jumping on one another is manly.

Dictionary.com defines "Manly" as having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength or bravery.


That definition definitely does not define me. The beginning and end of my sports career was one season of tee ball when I was seven, and then I promptly opted for performing in the school musicals. My idea of fixing something means calling a contractor. To me, getting dirty is having to pick up Barney's poop. I just don't have the usual "guy" gene that is attributed to being...well...a guy. I have never been interested in the stuff that makes up ones manhood. Sports, eh. Video games, pfft. Chugging a 12 pack of Natty Ice by myself in under an hour, no interest. I know, it's strange, right? I mean, my wife has more masculine interests than I do. 

  Tools Anne used once to open a wine bottle when she couldn't find a cork screw.

My wife taking our bed apart in preparation to move to our new apartment...as I stood idly by.


Anne gets mad at me when I take the car for an oil change because she likes to change it herself. Her father is always telling her to let me do things around the house so I can learn to be more handy, but she would rather just git-er-dun. Fine by me! But you know what? I honestly think our non-traditional roll reversal of a marriage is what makes it so great. She gets a kick out of how uncoordinated I am with things you'd expect a man to be good at, and I think it's hysterical when we get a flat and she actually wants to change the tire. When we moved into our new apartment she painted the entire place herself. I wanted to help. Really, I did. But, it's for the best if I don't. I would've just ended up painting smiley faces on the wall. 


In all honesty, what we have works. So why try and fix something that's just not broken. I actually enjoy watching episodes of "The Bachelorette" if it means that I get to spend time with her. The end!

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding- OBSESSED!

Nick is out with clients all day and I can't seem to find motivation to get myself up and actually do something productive. So naturally the only logical thing for me to do is watch a marathon of crappy reality tv, DUH! Because Nick doesn't share my obsession (other than the Bachelor/Bachelorette but more on that later) this was the perfect time to catch up on one of my favorite things of all time- My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.



So a few years ago my oldest sister Laura was getting married. While on the search for her wedding dress we came across this amazing website. Featured on it were what they were calling Irish Travelers. Back before the glory that is the TLC show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, this website sucked me in and I couldn't look away. It was like a bad car crash where you know you shouldn't look but you do anyway. I then spent the next few weeks learning everything about these Irish Travelers that I could find-it was mind boggling that they existed and their weddings were so insane. I mean, who wouldn't want a chubby mini me bride on your special day? Or your bridesmaids to look like Day-Glo Hilighters mashed up with strippers?

Fast forward five years as I'm flipping through channels on tv, I almost fall of my chair. In front of my eyes was my dream come true. TLC picked up the hit British TV show "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding". How better to rekindle my obsession by a weekly show featuring one bride's wedding and everything that goes into it?! I was in Gypsy Heaven!

Here are some of my faves-


The errr, blushing bride!







And who wouldn't want guests like this at their wedding?

So here I am on this gorgeous summer day, coffee in hand, lazy pup by my side, catching up on my obsession with no one to complain!

Newlywed Nutrition: The Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen

Organic? Pesticides? Chemicals? WHAT!!! Sometimes going to the produce section of the grocery can be more of a headache than it needs to be. With every grocery store offering a wider selection of organic goodies it's hard to figure out what is really worth buying organic or not -especially when organic can be so dang expensive!! $5.00 for a red bell pepper? No thank you! So how do you figure out what produce is worth buying organic? Follow the rules of The Environmental Working Group and their list of "Dirty Dozen" high pesticide produce and the "Clean Fifteen" lower pesticide produce and you'll be off to a good start!**

The clean 15 and the Dirty dozen is a list of produce that is split between what should always be bought organically, and what is ok to buy from the regular section of the grocers produce section. If you notice, most of the ''clean'' products have a hard shell or peel that shelters the fruit/veggie from the harsh pesticides or chemicals. Also many of the ''clean'' products are heartier and tougher. 

The Dirty Dozen 
celery
peaches
strawberries
apples
domestic blueberries
nectarines
sweet bell peppers
spinach, kale and collard greens
cherries
potatoes
imported grapes

lettuce

The Clean Fifteen
onions
avocados
sweet corn
pineapples
mango
sweet peas
asparagus
kiwi fruit
cabbage
eggplant
cantaloupe
watermelon
grapefruit
sweet potatoes
sweet onions


 My Paper Crane came up with this adorable cheat sheet that you can pop into your bag when you go shopping.

Now keep in mind that these 2 lists were compiled using conventionally grown produce and no matter what, when buying non-organic produce even the ''clean'' products will have traces of chemicals and pesticides in them. There is just no getting past the fact that in order to grow thousands of tomatoes at a very low price, chemicals are needed to keep the product fresh and cheap. With that said, remember to ALWAYS clean your produce before eating (even if they have a peel) to help lower the amount of chemicals even more.


** I am in no way trying to push anyone to go organic or change their eating habits. Nick and I don't even eat purely organic foods nor do I think we need to. However, when it comes to foods such as produce I do try to be a bit more careful with chemicals/pesticides etc as the chemicals tend to be higher and much more present than in, lets say, a pasta product. I am more of a firm believer of buying locally grown in season products. This is because when produce is grown and sold in season, they have a much less need for pesticides and chemicals than those items that are trying to be grown out of season (they won't grow as big or flavorful during the off season without the help of chemicals). These farms are also trying to grow thousands of tomatoes to service a large grocery store chain- these local farms tend to have less stock but are better in quality. 

"You Look Like a Farmer in Those Clothes"

No, I didn't spend my day yesterday watching Clueless for the 1,000,000 time (for those of you who don't get it, the title was in reference to one of the greatest movies ever made), I spent the morning with Nick at the local Farmer's Market.

 Every Saturday morning from 8AM-3PM the train station parking lot near our house is blocked off and about 15 different vendors set up shop. The vendors range from fresh organic baked goods and iced coffee to meats and cheeses.

Fresh baked bread from The Bread Company, Montclair. Check them out if you are in the area!

We woke up early, had our coffee, got the pup and walked down to check it out. It was AMAZING! We decided to make kebobs for dinner so I loaded up on organic tomatoes, gold squash, eggplant, onions, mushrooms, watermelon, a free range chicken, a 7-grain loaf of bread, and a vegan/gluten free chocolate cupcake. I also picked up a beautiful bunch of sunflowers. The best part of it all? Everything together only cost us $35! At Whole Foods or A&P Fresh that would cost us AT LEAST $65!

Look at these sunflowers, GORGEOUS and cheap- only $7 for the bunch!

While Nick and I don't eat strictly organic, we do try to eat organic when we can. We especially try to eat organic when it comes to the "Dirty Dozen and Clean 15" (more on this in a later post). While we love the farmers market for the fresh produce and organic pickings, we love it even more because we are supporting local farms and businesses. We will

definitely be going back next weekend!