Beating the Sunday Blahs

Most people feel like Monday morning begins on Sunday afternoon.  (I know I did!)  Lately, I have been making an effort to turn Sunday afternoons in to a positive time that I look forward to.  Here's my new Sunday routine:
Morning:

• Get up around 8 or so
• have my 1 cup of coffee that I allow myself per week
• have a nice breakfast of eggs and veggie browns
• read a good book for an hour or so (I'm currently reading "The Girl that Kicked the Hornets' nest".)
• around 10, I start cleaning.  I always do the kitchen and bathroom (they are the dirtiest rooms in the house), then I do the floors, laundry, and whatever else I have time for before noon.

Afternoon:

• 12 - go out to eat with my family (hubby, mom, dad, brother)
• go grocery shopping (the best time to go is when you're full!) - also:  don't forget the flowers!
• other housework (Today, I swept off the roof.)
• treat myself to TV, blogging, or facebooking
• make soup for the week's lunches (Last week was chicken soup.  Today, I'm making lentil soup.)

Evening:

• make "special treat" supper.  It's hard to come up with good treats when you can't eat wheat, dairy, or sugar but I've come up with Italian antipasta as something I look forward to.  It makes Sunday evening feel special. ..AND - there's nothing like a clean house and a closet full of clean clothes to make you feel good and ready for the week! 
• hot bath
• read silly book &/or magazines (Silly chick lit.  Nothing heavy.)
• bed at a decent hour

So far, this routine helps me look forward to Sunday afternoons, and helps me to feel good about the upcoming week.  Also, I used to spend Saturdays feeling guilty about not doing the shopping and cleaning.  Now that I know it'll get done Sunday, I can enjoy my Saturdays guilt free!  

 My antipasta plate:  (from bottom, clockwise) - palm hearts, turkey slices, roasted tomato and garlic, artichoke hearts, pepperoni slices, mixed olives, pickled pearl onions, prosciutto and figs.  In the middle - marinated mushrooms and roasted red peppers.  Topped with blanched asparagus (drop in boiling water for a minute.  Works best with skinny asparagus.)  I drizzle a vinaigrette on top, made from olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and fresh basil.  Yum!

I almost forgot this week's flowers that I chose as my treat this week:

Irises and Tully Pods.

An Affordable Luxury

I love Calla Lillies!  They are such elegant flowers.  No frills, clean lines, and just beautiful.  I have taken to buying flowers for myself each time I go to the grocery store.  It's a no calorie treat!  I used to buy myself a candy bar or something bad to eat on the way home.  Now, I pick out flowers after I'm done getting everything else on my list. 

This treat won't contribute to my weight and I get to enjoy it all week!   Every time I walk in the kitchen and see them, I feel a burst of happiness.  Worth it!

What's your favorite no-calorie treat?

The Rules of Classy-ness

Through reading other people's blog posts, I came across some rules on how to achieve a timeless, classy look.  "Chic", if you will.  Here they are:

1.  The 2 color rule - I'm still not 100% sure what this is, but French women follow this rule when dressing.  Sure, no more than 2 colors, but does this include neutrals and toenail polish?  If anyone knows about his rule, please enlighten me! 

2.  Either wear a necklace OR earrings.  Not both.

3.  Either make-up your eyes OR your lips.  Not both.

Audrey Hepburn followed these rules and, as we all know, she was the epitome of class.  People still try to emulate her simple grace.

Recently, I went to a reunion of sorts and I used these rules.  Here I am, trying to look classy:

I think I followed the 2 color rule by wearing only blue and black, but I did have pink nail polish.  Also, there is more than one shade of blue in the necklace.  Maybe I didn't follow this rule after all!  Can someone PLEASE explain this rule?

I chose to wear a necklace and no earrings.

I chose to make up my lips by wearing red lipstick (something I never do), and no eye make-up. 

What do you think?  Any other ideas on how to be classy out there?

Office Therapy

I recently read the book "Apartment Therapy" by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, and am now working through the suggestions in it.  (I found out about this book b/c one of the blogs I follow had a really great post about it.)  The premise is that you will feel much better about yourself if you get your living space in order.  Also, it's not about being "hoity toity" and having a beautiful house or apartment, but having one that is right for YOU and supports you in your activities.  I have found it very helpful. 

I was skipping around and decided to focus on my office for the past few days because it needs the most help.  Everytime I walk in here, I feel like "ugh"!  Office clutter seems to pile up the fastest, doesn't it?  I had piles of bills from over 10 years ago!  Also, my filing cabinet was crammed full of old stuff and was disorganized so files were piling up on my desk, the floor, etc.

Mr. Gillingham-Ryan suggests color-coding your files so you can see major categories at a glance.  My files are now pink and purple for personal stuff, green for professional stuff, and brown for house stuff.  I am so happy now that there is a place for all the paper clutter that has been covering my desk for years.  Also, I never knew what to keep and what to throw away, so I kept everything!  (You know....just in case.)  The following list in the book helped me greatly:

Keep:                                       For how long:
1.  Personal Letters -                permanently
2.  Tax returns -                        permanently
3.  Credit Card Statements -       7 years
4.  Mortgage Statements -          7 years
5.  Bank Statements -                 7 years
6.  Investment Statements -        7 years
7.  Tax deductible receipts -       7 years
8.  Insurance Policies -              3 years of renewals
9.  Warranties, User's Guides -   Life of Product  (or as long as you own it.)


Do NOT keep:
1.  Personal or holiday cards
2.  Utility bills (unless deductible)
3.  Rent receipts
4.  Nondeductible receipts or bills


Go ahead and declutter that office.  It doesn't take as long as you think it's going to, and you'll be glad you did!

Living (and eating) Well, a la Audrey

"I'm not a huge snacker, but I eat awfully well at meals and all the things I like.  ...I much prefer an extremely simple meal that's exquisitely done."  - Audrey Hepburn

I'm currently reading the book "What Would Audrey Do?".  The more I read about Audrey Hepburn, the more I like her.  She was a beautiful, classy, yet down-to-earth lady.  

                                    Food and diet: 
Audrey had a perfect figure, but never dieted.  Her philosophy was to eat simple, perfectly prepared food and apparently she had a big appetite.  Audrey adored things like chocolate souffle, roast duck, steak, and perfectly ripe raspberries which she ate with gusto!  Her secret to staying slim was to eat only the highest quality, organic food and to stop eating immediately as soon as she was full.  ("...a little hatch closes and I stop.")  Also, she never snacked.

Julia Child had a similar approach.  She said that you can eat all the delicious, buttery French dishes and not get fat by following these rules:  eat small portions, no seconds, and no snacking.  Neither Julia nor Audrey ever ate diet food.  Julia was known to say, "the only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook".  (Don't you just love her?)  I also LOVE that she said, "I think shopping for food is more fun than shopping for a dress".  Me too, Julia!  I find that nothing gives my self-esteem as serious a smack-down as when I'm shopping for clothes.  Food, however, always fits and makes me feel happy!    

 Hanging around the house:
According to this book, Audrey loved being home.  She did not slob around in her sweatpants and t-shirts, however.  Audrey loved to wear black leggings, a long-sleeved black shirt, and ballet slippers when she was relaxing at her house. 

Along the same lines, I came across this post about what to wear when lounging at home.  It's nice to have some classy yet comfortable things to wear when you get home from work.  I am a usually a total sweatpants-wearing, snack snarfing, slob-on-the-couch kind of girl then I get home.  However, this post made me feel like I needed something more chic.  I went and bought some "lounge-wear" at Steinmart over the weekend.  (Some flowy, soft, shirts and some pretty yoga pants and things.)  It's really just as easy as throwing on the sweats.  Now I feel much more stylish and I'm not embarrassed when unexpected company (or the UPS man) comes around!