Always & Forever New Kids Fans

~a post from the teeny-bopper heart of Chrissy~ Ever since Alicia’s post last year about going to see Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch together when we were teenagers, I have been meaning to write about our shared love for the New Kids on the Block.   It was actually much more then just love, we were absolutely ga-ga for those boys.  My brother once told me, years later, he was actually a little bit scared for me when I was in the height of my NKOTB craze because of how intensely I obsessed about them.  I lived, breathed and dreamed them from the 8th through 10th grade.   My NKOTB hysteria all began when I first heard “Please Don’t Go Girl” on the radio.  I didn’t know who they were, I just knew I had to find out and fast!  There was no going back after I saw a picture of them, discovering they were five, incredibly cute, teenage boys!  Oh, be still my rapidly beating teenage heart!!!!

Who’s the dork posing with her Joe McIntyre poster? Why, that would be me (age 14)!

Every girl who was a New Kid fan gravitated to her own particular favorite.  Alicia and I were no different.  We were both going to marry Joey Joe.  I’m not sure logistically how that was going to work out for both of us, but I’m glad we never did have the opportunity to find out.  It just might have ruined our friendship if Joe actually had picked one or the other of us. GASP…. LOL!  The funny thing is, now that I think about it, Joe was the only guy the both of us ever jointly fell for in all our years as friends.  I think it was those gorgeous blue eyes and his oh so sweet voice that did us both in.  Sigh!!!!

It’s pretty funny how wholly I surrounded myself with the New Kids in those days, so much so that when I think back to those years of my life I can’t do it without thinking about NKOTB, too.  I had posters up all over my wall. I blared their music from my cute, purple boom box over and over again.  I had t-shirts, buttons, books, magazines, video tapes, and anything else I could get my hands on.  Alicia had a lot of the same things as I did, but she also had a Joe doll which I was extremely jealous of!  Another thing we both did at the time was designate VHS tapes specifically for recording anything we happened to see on TV with the New Kids on it.  We filled those tapes with their appearances on Friday Night Video’s, talk show’s, commercials, the Grammy’s, MTV interview’s, and everything in between.  I think I might still have one of my tapes somewhere deep in a box.  Alicia recently came across one of hers.  As you can see in the photo above, she was (and still is) very organized, listing the exact “counter” marks of each show she had recorded!

Who is this other dork posing in front of her New Kids posters? Why, that is Alicia! Circa 1990

The New Kids on the Block had a definite allure about them which drew us girls to them.  It didn’t hurt that they were absolutely adorable, but that wasn’t the only reason we loved them.  The guys had a unique chemistry with each other and with their fans.   I can remember, sitting high up in the stands, far away from the stage at their concerts, and yet still feeling as if the guys actually made a direct connection with me.  It was like at some point or other during the show, each and every guy on stage made eye contact with me, which is literally impossible, but they just had a way of making each and every fan feel individually special and appreciated.  In my book, that is pretty darn cool.  Being a New Kid fan, is just fun….plain and simple!

Once a New Kids fan, always a New Kids fan! (circa Christmas 2012)

There is one thing Alicia and I always wanted to do but never got a chance to do with each other, which is to see the New Kids in concert together.  I’ve been able to see them a handful of times now.  As a teen, I went to a different high school for my Freshman and Sophomore year then Alicia, so I saw them in concert with my some of my friends from there.  A few years ago, I had the opportunity to see them in concert again, but Alicia was living on the West Coast at that time and couldn’t go with.  Actually, Alicia has yet to have the opportunity to see them in concert at all. The clouds never did align for her to go see them, but that is all about to change this summer!  Drumroll please………..Now that Alicia is living within a day’s driving distance, we were able to work it out so we can meet up in KC to see the guys, along with Boys II Men and 98 degrees!!!!  Believe me, we are absolutely bubbling with excitement about getting the chance to roll the clocks back, and become pre-teen screaming girls once again for a night!!!

~Chrissy

PS- Here is their newest single “Remix (I like the)”.  It’s a great, catchy tune and the video is pretty darn cool, too!!!

I Can’t Help Myself, I Heart All Things Jane Austen

~”It is a truth universally acknowlegded, that” Chrissy is a lover of all things Jane Austen~

It’s been 200 years, today, since Pride & Prejudice was first published.  Happy Anniversary P&P!  What is most amazing to me is how much Jane Austen’s novels still resonates with the world today.  Think about it, it’s been 200 years and thousands, upon thousands, of us are still obsessed with her stories.   Her fans, of which I am happy to call myself one, can’t get enough.  We devour fan fiction, we lap up every new film/tv adaptation that come our way, and we re-read her novels over and over again.  I can’t think of any other author off the top of my head (well, ok, I’ll give you Shakespeare and Dickens) who has managed to keep such a hardcore, and crazy fan base, who 200 years later are still constantly craving more.  “Please Sir, I want some more.” as Oliver Twist in Dickens states (shout out, Dickens!).

Looking back, I have to give credit where credit is due, I owe my love for all things Jane Austen to my Mother, the biggest Jane Austen fan I’ve ever known!   Since I was a young girl, she has always had a fascination with the Regency England era of history, from the clothing, to the rules of etiquette that dictated society at that time.   It was very easy for me to also fall for this period of time.  It just seems to ooze romance to my modern sensibilities.  I am definitely a romantic at heart.

My Mom’s obsession with Jane Austen herself, didn’t really begin until she saw the BBC adaption of Pride & Prejudice on PBS about 15 or so years ago.   Not long after that, she introduced me to the story.  Since then I have devoured all of Miss Austen’s books and seen most of the numerous movie adaptations of her stories.  Persuasion is my favorite novel of hers, and my favorite movie adaptation is without a doublt the BBC’s Pride & Prejudice.  Quite honestly, I don’t know how you can’t fall head over heals for all things Jane Austen after seeing this adaptation.  I also don’t think it is physically possible not to fall madly in love with Mr. Darcy, or Colin Firth for that matter, after watching it! 🙂

My latest Jane Austen related craze is a modern adaptation of Pride & Prejudice in the form of Youtube webisodes called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.  I stumbled across this webseries when I was on Reddit about a month ago.  In this series, Lizzie begins a web diary of her life for a grad school project.  The webisodes are all 4-7 minutes long.  There are currently 82 videos and counting, and new ones are posted every week to my utter delight.  The series is also very social media driven.  You can  follow all the characters on Twitter, there is a Tumblr page, a Facebook page and so much more.  You can truly immerse yourself in the lives of the characters, if you so desire, and I do!!!  I honestly don’t know what I’ll do when the series comes to its inevitable conclusion.  Hopefully, they will adapt another of Miss Austen’s stories to consume myself with.

Besides The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, I’ve also heard talk of a modern day adaptation of both Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibilites for television.  There are also a couple of fan fiction movies coming out soon: “Austenland”, and “Lost in Austen”.  I can’t wait to see all of them!

As much as I heart Jane,  I don’t know as I’ll ever get to the level of super fan that my Mom has reached.   I’m pretty close, but she is so obsessed that about 80% of the time I pop over to her house for a visit, she will have a Jane Austen dvd playing.  She has watched every movie version ever, 1000’s of times each.  We think  it is very likey she just might have been Jane in a past life!

Most recently, we welcomed a new member to our lovely family.  My brother, Bryan, and his wife had a little girl.  I knew it was highly imperative that she follow the footsteps of her Nana and Bestest Auntie Ever in our love of all things Jane, so I tracked her down a totally adorable Jane Austen onesie, which you can check out on CafePress.com!  She looks tres adorable in it, too!  I’m not sure if she gets it quite yet, but I have high hopes. 🙂

Speaking of Jane Austen themed gifts, one of the great things about obsessed fans is they make it super easy to shop for.  I don’t think a holiday goes by without either my brother, I, or both gets her something Jane related.  My absolute favorite find to date is the Jane Austen Action Figure I gave my Mom a couple years ago. I don’t believe you can truly call yourself a Jane Austen super fan without one!  (Unfortunately, it looks as though they aren’t being made anymore, so if you find one snatch it up quickly, they are a collectors item!)

If you are a fellow Jane fan, I would love to hear which novel/movie adaptation is your favorite.  If you are a romantic at heart and have not had the pleasure of either reading a Jane Austen novel or watching one of her stories come to life in the movies, please, please do yourself a huge favor and do so right away.

~Chrissy

*Top photo is a pic I took of the book “Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasurey” by Rebecca Dickson.

Hip Hip Hooray! I Came, I Saw, I Conquered a Three Day Juice Cleanse!

Yes, you heard it right.  I completed a three day juice cleanse and lived to tell the tale.  So why in my right mind did I even attempt such a crazy thing in the first place?  Over the last 6 months or so, I’ve heard all sorts of chatter (mostly throughout the internet community) about the amazing benefits juice fasting has for your body.  The concept behind it (as I understand it) is that by only consuming freshly pressed fruits and vegetables in the form of juice, one gives the stomach a break from the digestion process.  A process that utilizes a lot of our time and energy to do.  It thereby allows your body to rest a bit as it focuses on eliminating toxins and improving your overall health & wellbeing.  Of course, as anyone can well imagine, there is also a lot of controversy over the practice of juice fasting and whether or not it truly works as touted or is even healthy to do.  If you’re interested in learning more, I would urge you to do your own research, form your own conclusions and talk with your doctor about it before trying a juice cleanse for yourself.  That said, I am a believer.

My New Years Resolutions this year is to direct my attention on the health of my wholebeing (mind, body and environment).   To me, taking on a three day juice cleanse felt like it would be a perfect way to kickstart the New Year.   I hoped it would live up to all the hype I’d been hearing about, and I would feel recharged and raring to go.  Never having done one before, my main thought was, “How am I going to not actively eat/chew food for three whole days?”  I was worried hunger would get the best of me and I would ditch the juice in favor of a nice juicy hamburger.  Something I should mention is you will drink 96 fluid ounces of juice every day on the cleanse, along with a whole bunch of water.  You are not forsaking nutrition to do this.  In fact, I probably consummed better quailty nutrition on this cleanse then I get out of the foods I eat in a normal day (something I need to work on for sure this year).  Less calories, but better nutrition.  This leads me into one piece of advice: Don’t do a juice cleanse if losing weight is your goal.  People do lose a few pounds doing these cleanses, but its not a good way to diet at all as it is mostly water weight you’ll lose so you’ll gain it back pretty readily.

In order to do a juice cleanse, you can either buy your juices from one of the many companies out there that offer them or press your own juices from the comfort of your own home.  Either way, it will cost you a good chunk of change (which can also be a source of motivation for completing the whole cleanse since you paid so gosh darn much to do it).  Buying the pre-made juices will set you back at least $200 and if you want to do them at home you’ll need a juicer plus a whole lot of organic fruits and veggies to press (I have no idea what that’ll set you back).  I decided to buy mine from a company called, Cooler Cleanse.  It cost me $253, which included the overnight shipping costs.  As I said earlier, there were quite a few companies in which to choose from, so I narrowed it down from various reviews I found on blogs, newspaper/magazine articles, etc…   I was very happy with my juices, overall.  There were only two drinks (out of the 9 different flavors) that were not at all pleasant.  It was all I could do to choke those both down.  The Essential Green drink (cucumber, celery, dandelion greens, watercress, spinach, parsley, kale, pear, lemon & ginger) tasted like how I would imagine my lawn clippings to taste….disgusting!!!  The Grapefruit & Mint, was also awful but then again I don’t care a lick for grapefruits.  My most favorite drink of them all was the Almond Nut Milk (raw almonds, vanilla bean, dates & filtered water).  This one was like drinking a super delicious milk shake.  Oh my did it taste good!  I looked forward to drinking it every night, as it was the last drink of the day.  It made for a truly fantastic reward for a whole day of juicing (not to be confused with the often times used jargon of illegal steroid use)!  The other flavors (in order of my most to least favorite) are: Watermelon Lime, Coconut Water, Sweet Greens (kale, spinach, parsley, watercress, apple), Spicy Lemonade (lemon, lime, cayenne pepper, raw agave, filtered water), Essential Red (carrot, beet, apple, lemon) and Pineapple Ginger.

I’m not sure what the norm is but I felt really great the vast majority of my time juicing.  When I began this, I had thought it was going to be a constant struggle and exercise in extreme control to not eat at all, but it wasn’t like that at all.  I was even lucky enought to experience a moment of mental clarity, or “awareness” as some people call it, on the morning of my third day.  Its hard to describe how it felt but it was a sort of hyper-awareness of all my surroundings.  I felt as if I was seeing things and feeling things with crisp, crystal clarity.  It was amazing!

As I understand it, not everyone feels the exact same way as I did after completing a juice cleanse.  Don’t feel discouraged.  It doesn’t mean it’s not working for you or you’re doing it wrong if you feel tired, have a headache or are super hungry the whole time.  All our bodies are so completely unique, we’re all bound to experience things in our own way.  Just so you don’t think I breezed through this whole process like it was nothing, I will admit to a hiccup towards the end of my last day when I mistakenly allowed my mind to drift a little bit to what I wanted to eat the next day. This was a huge lapse in judgement on my part (I’m glad I didn’t make this mistake anytime earlier in the process or I probably would have bailed on it all).  Once you begin to allow yourself to think about eating food, it’s all you will then think about.  My tummy began to grumble and groan. I knew if I didn’t get back in control of my thoughts, I would be a goner. So, I refocused my mind on other things besides eating, and was able to successfully complete the rest of my cleanse thinking nothing but happy thoughts!  Waking up on day four, I was euphoric.  Not only did I accomplish the goal I had set out for myself, but I even felt as if I could have continued a few more days.   My whole being felt renewed, energized and ready to kickstart 2013 to a healthier me!

~Chrissy

One little aside – While I was juicing, I excitedly replied to a tweet I saw by Lea Michelle, who plays RachelBerry on Glee, which said she was beginning day 1 of a juice cleanse.  I don’t reply to stars tweets on any kind of regular basis but I felt like we were kindred spirits, like we were members of the same little -drinking only juice- club and we might trade a few thoughts and bond. Yeah, not so much.  She never did respond. Darn it! LOL 🙂

Kicking off 2013 Determined to Accomplish my Resolutions!

~Chrissy’s setting some goals and making the most of 2013~

In the many, many years I’ve been making New Years Resolutions, I can only successfully say I managed to follow through with one of them for an entire year.  I only made one resultion that year.  My goal was to find and prepare a new dish at least once a week for an entire year.  In order to help motivate my way through this goal I began a food blog.  The blog idea was what really helped me accomplish my goal for that year.  The act of writing out each post and then hitting the publish button, gave me such a sense of triumph that I was actually really excited to make my self-made weekly deadlines!   After the year was up and I reached my goal, I kind of sort of ditched my food blog and made other resolutions that I didn’t end up keeping.   If you’re interested in checking out my adventure in cooking in 2010, you can find it at http://recipehunting101.blogspot.com

Needless to say even though my success rate isn’t very good,  I’m bound and determined to carry out my resolutions this year.  I’m even going to take from a lesson learned from my success in 2010 and post about my 2013 resolution adventures.   I’ve decided to divide my resolutions for the year out into three key areas of focus: Mind, Body & Environment.  In each area of focus, I’ve set some intial goals but I want to leave them broad, open-ended and fluid, so as the year goes by I’ll continue to set more and more goals in each area.

1. Mind:

• Do something I normally would avoid doing.  This is something I’m going to leave wide open for whenever the moment strikes.
• Write daily.  Be it in a journal, a blog post, or that novel I’ve been wanting to write.  Once a day, I am going to sit down for at least 10 minutes, to exercise my mind and write about something important to me.
• Learn something new.  I’ve been wanting to learn how to crochet forever, so I plan on making the time to sit down with my Mom and have her teach me.

2. Body (aka.Health & Wellness):

• Improve my overall health.   It’s extrememly broad, I know, but I’m breaking this down into two areas of focus: food & exercise.
  • Food.  I’ve already began my process for improving my health through food.  I’m doing a 3-day juice cleanse, which works to allow your body to cleanse, detoxify and heal itself naturally from within.  I promise to write a post about this whole experience of drinking only juice/water/tea for 3 whole days!  I’m also planning to eat primarily organic foods and will resurrect my recipe posts here on Once Upon a Friendship by sharing healthy meatless monday recipes at lease twice a month!
  • Exercise.  Unfortunately, I have a very strong aversion to exercise but I understand the enormous benefits it has for our bodies,  so I am resolved to up my exercise game plan.  In one of my Pop Sugar Must Have Boxes (which if your interested in learning more about, I blogged about my love of these monthly subscription boxes here) I received “Mandy Ingber’s Yogalosophy” DVD.  I have had it sitting unopened next to my TV for a couple of months now.  Apparently Jennifer Aniston loves this yoga workout.  That’s gotta mean I will too, right?  🙂

3.  Enviornment 

• Start a Garden.  This ties in perfectly with my goal to eat healthy and organic foods.  What could be better then to grow my own food?  I’ll be honest and tell you I’m a tad scared about this resolution.  In fact, it worries me the most out of all my other resolutions for the year.  I have a hard enough time keeping houseplants alive, how am I going to manage to grow a garden?  This could be very, very interesting but I’m up for the challenge!

Gosh, until I wrote them all out, I didn’t realize just how much I’ve decided to take on for the year!  Wish me luck (I’m going to need it!)

~Chrissy

Happy New Year from Once Upon a Friendship

Alicia and I would like to thank everyone who stopped by our site over this past year to see what we had to say.  Our first year of blogging seems to have flown by alarmingly fast.   We’ve had such a blast sharing our thoughts, stories, hopes, dreams, and obsessions with our readers.   When we first had this idea to begin a blog, both of us thought it would be a peice of cake to think up and write posts on a continual basis.  Wow, were we wrong.  It’s darn tough to not only come up with topics to write about but also to find the time to sit down and do it!  All in all, it has been a lot of fun and we look forward to blogging in 2013.

Happy New Year!!!!

~Chrissy & Alicia

2012 Holiday Gift Ideas for your BFF

~All wrapped up in pretty, sparkly paper and set under your tree by Chrissy~

2012 Gift Ideas for your BFF by onceuponafriendship

*I fell in love with the sweet cursive lettering on this BFF necklace by Gauge. At $80, it is by far the most expensive item on my list but your BFF’s worth it, isn’t she?

* The jewel Faceted Friendship Bracelet by Anthropologie is a throwback to those girlhood years when making and trading friendship bracelets were all the rage. The fancy, vintage looking, costume jewelry updates this friendship bracelet for your grown up BFF. At only $18 it’s perfect to wear with a t-shirt and jeans or with a cute party dress on New Years Eve!
* As all BFF’s know, rules are made to be skirted! Wether your co-conspirator (a.k.a. BFF) uses this sweet pink mug for coffee, hot cocoa or tea, she’ll feel like a million bucks sipping from this designer label, Kate Spade, mug. The best part is, it only costs $20.  Kate Spade New York ‘say The Word – Skirt The Rules’ Porcelain Mug from Nordstom’s

*These Best Friends hats are perfect for a winter shopping excursion. Who better to shop those after Christmas sales with then your BFF. Sporting these fun, whimsical hats (just $29.99 for the pair) you’ll be sure to spot each other if you get lost in a crowd.  Band of Outsiders Hats : Target

*These canvas tote bags are chic yet versatile. I can’t even begin to tell you how much use your friend will get from toting around this adorable bag!  BFF Tote Bag from cafepress.com

Happy Shopping & Happy Holidays!

~Chrissy

**FYI- I was in no way, shape or form paid to promote any of these products.  I spent my morning scouring the wonderful world of the internet for some fun ideas!!!

Halloween, Past and Present

~ From Alicia’s Cob-Webbed Cauldron files…..

Happy Halloween!  This has to be one of my favorite times of the year!  Leaves are falling, the air is crisp and all of the Holiday’s are lining up before us.  I get all excited and sentimental just thinking about it!

10-31-03 Harrison, 1 year old, was a Spotted Dragon for his 2nd Halloween!

The last ten years I’ve spent the month of October helping my kids plan out their costumes.  I won’t lie.  I am totally reliving my childhood through my kids with each holiday, especially Halloween, and I love it!  And yes, I’m one of the silly parents that does a bit of a costume as well with the kids.  I don’t go all out though, just enough to have fun and embarrass the kiddos.  Ha ha.  Anyhow, I’ve enjoyed all of their costumes over the years.  Harrison’s 1st Halloween he was a “baby,” as he was only 6 days old.  The next year he was a Spotted Dragon and then he was Tiger (from Winny the Pooh) and he was OH so cute!  Since then, he has been Spider man several times, a few Batman and recently Anaken Skywalker.

10-31-07 Madalynne (19 mos) was a Princess for her 2nd Halloween

Madalynne’s first Halloween consisted of reusing the Spotted Dinosaur costume and I remember her being obsessed with the tail.  Ha ha!  For the next four years, she was Cinderella.  What can I say, she likes to stick with what she knows!  She did make a beautiful Cinderella and I loved curling her hair and putting the crown in!  Last year she broke tradition and was the Queen of Hearts, inspired by the Storybook Parade she was in at school, in which she chose to be the Queen of Hearts!  That was very sweet as well!

I did have a bit of a panic last year, however, as Harrison was exhibiting signs of being “too cool” for Halloween.  He wouldn’t pick a costume to save his life.  I even broke tradition and took him to the costume store to get him excited.  Nothing.  Oh my word, how can this be?!  What child doesn’t want to go out and get free candy?  That’s where I was wrong.  He still wanted the candy, but without the dressing up part.  No, no, no.  Over my Zombified Body I say!  I told him that if he was Trick-or-Treating, he had to dress up.  Somehow, we landed on Tony Hawk (the famous skateboarder) thanks to Scott.  Harrison was down with that because he just had to dress like a skateboarder.  The problem I had was he didn’t look much different than he did every day: jeans, Tony Hawk shirt, and a cap!  So he thought he’d carry a skateboard around.

10-31-11 Our 1st Halloween in our new home state! Harrison was “Tony Hawk”, Madalynne was the “Queen of Hearts” and Scott and I were just being silly! 🙂

I put the kibosh down on that one as we all really knew who would end up carrying that sucker around!  LOL My alternative to the skateboard was a CARDBOARD skateboard that he could carry:  lightweight, easy to maneuver.  He looked at me like I had snakes growing out of my head!  Apparently we hadn’t done enough creative costuming in our household for him to appreciate that idea at all!  So he went sans skateboard and still had the night of his life!  I ditched my traditional witches hat last year and bought a few wigs.  Somehow, Scott and I both ended up wearing wigs and we all had a fun night!

10-31-08 Batman & Cinderella

That experience made me realize the one thing I do NOT like about what Halloween (and many other holidays) has become over the years.  So many holidays have become commercialized and are filled with marketing for the toy and candy companies.  Somewhere along the road, we switched from homemade costumes being to norm to store bought ones.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done it myself almost every year with my kids!  I buy the store bought costumes too, so please don’t think I’m knocking on anyone.  But I just remember that when I was a kid (uh oh…sounding like my awesome parents there!!) we had to be creative and make our own costumes!  We would spend WEEKS working on our outfits.  When we got older, we’d spend two hours right before it was time to go out!  Ha ha!  I also came from a large family and we didn’t have extra money laying around to spend on store-bought costumes either.

We had some great creative ideas come out of those years of making our own costumes.  The costumes of mine that I remember well are those of when I was a bit older.  I remember one year, my friend Sarah and I were a Two Headed/Three Legged Conjoined Twins:  we put on my Dad’s green Army coat together (thus joining our upper bodies together) and tied our right/left legs together, giving us three legs.  What in the world we were thinking, I do not know.  This was one of those “two hour planning” type of costumes I’m sure, and it was quite the experience walking around all night with a leg tied together with your friends!  Ha ha ha!  Another year, we decided to be “Punk Rockers”.  This one cracks me up because somehow, I decided that gluing shiny foil circles to my forehead (in the shape of an eagle’s profile mind you) would somehow constitute a Punk Rocker outfit and that EVERYONE would know what I was.  Sarah wore a puple wig for her punk rocker outfit.  Here is a picture from that year and you can see us in the back row.  Sarah looks more like a clown and I look like….I don’t even KNOW what I look like!  But you know what, it didn’t matter because we were creative and we had FUN!!!  One of my brothers in as ARMY dude, one is Superman I think, and my little sister looks like Strawberry Shortcake maybe.  The rest of the kids are some of our neighborhood friends that we walked with every year.

I think this was taken around 1994. Chrissy was Nancy Sinatra and our friend Ann and I were Woodstock Hippies. How cute were we? 🙂

I don’t recall Trick-or-Treating with Chrissy too many of our early years, as I think we ended up with different groups of kids in our neighborhood.  I do know I’d pass her in the streets and we’d compare bags of loot and be so excited!!  We did, however, have a grown-up Halloween party experience during our college years.  We both dressed up in some very retro outfits.  Chrissy was Nancy Sinatra (those boots are made for walkin’!) and I was a Woodstock Hippie.  I think we dad a smashing job on our costumes, and they were homemade to boot! Those are some good memories right there!

10-31-12 Harry Potter & Hermoine Granger, from the “Harry Potter” series! They look fabulous!

It is because of memories like that, I was tempted to be all Suzy Homemaker this year and sew the kids’ costumes myself.  They are both going to be characters from the Harry Potter series:  Harrison will be “Harry Potter” and Madalynne will be “Hermione Granger” (Harry’s good friend and fellow witch).  I figured, I can sew a cape and we can snap a few branches off of the tree for their wands!  Well, between my busy schedule and those weird looks I got again, I opted for some bargain hunting on the internet.  I managed to get some smashingly great deals on all of the accessories I would need for their costumes.  I told Harrison “NO” to the face paint for his scar…my eye liner will work wonders for that! (Again, what is with the silly faces?!)  Madalynne is very happy to wear braids in her hair for school that day so we can have wavy and ratted out hair on Halloween night.  I drew the line at dying her hair brown….

There is something special about a day when you don’t have to be YOU and can be whatever you want to be, even if it is just for a few hours.  I think that it shouldn’t matter what age you are, if you want to have fun with a costume, let go of your worries and have fun with it!  I am so happy that we are making such fun memories with our kids and I hope they are at least HALF as awesome as the memories my parents gave us as kids.  Remember, your kids are only young once and you only live once, so seize the moment and have some fun!!  Happy Halloween! Boo!

~ Alicia

My latest Obsession: The PopSugar “Must Have” Subscription Box

~Bought and Paid for by Chrissy~

I have a confession to make, I am obsessed with the PopSugar Subscription Boxes.   Every month, I get as excited as a kid in a candy store on Christmas whenever  that white box with the pink PopSugar logo on it shows up on my doorstep!  Before I go on, I should probably explain a little about what subscription boxes are.  The premise is simple, you agree to pay a set price every month for a box full of different items.  You’ll find companies that gear their boxes towards the beauty buff, or pet lovers, or parents, or the eco-conscience, etc….   I’ve tried a few different companies over the last year and without a doubt, PopSugar is, hands down, the BEST one out there for the woman wishing to spoil herself with fun and exciting things.

Every month, for $35, you get a new box, filled to the brim with top of the line, super amazing products.  The variety of items sent each month is what really sets this company apart.   You’ll find food, beauty items, home goods, fitness products, books, and fashion items all stuffed inside each and every box.  The fun part is opening your box and seeing what your $35 has gotten you this month (They state each box is actually worth $100 or more, and I have found this to be true).   I haven’t been disappointed in anything I’ve gotten yet.   If the cost is deterring you remember you can cancel anytime and with Christmas coming they also would make a really fabulous gift for someone special on your list!

This is what I got inside my October Must Have Box (I’ve estimated the actual cost of each item here too):

Dylan’s Candy Bar Gummy Bears (5 oz) – $3.00                                                                                                                            

*These look absolutely amazing.  It’s been ages since I’ve torn into a gummy bear.  They are going with me to work today!

 

Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar snack bag (1 oz) –  $1.00

*Always a treat to eat.  I am a big fan of Pirate’s Booty already.

 

Unilever Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy shampoo and conditioner (13 fl.oz. each) – $5 each

*Some people feel shampoo’s have to cost a bunch in order for them to be any good.  I don’t believe that, and will gladly give this shampoo and conditioner the old college try!   

 

Red Flower Japanese Peony Candle with Rose Petals (6 oz with 50 hours of burn time) – $38.00

*I was shocked when I found out how much this candle costs.  Yowzers!  It isn’t something I would buy for myself in a million years but it is a definite treat as it smells amazing. 

 

J.K. Rowling‘s “The Casual Vacancy” Hardbound book- $35.00

*This was on my must read list, so it was a pleasant surprise to see it in my box.  I buy most of my books with my Kindle.  It feels good to have an actual book in my hands again though!

 

Crescent Moon ExerSocks for Yoga & Pilates – $8.00

*I’d like to say these will be great for all the yoga I do, however I have a feeling these will be worn while I am lounging around my home.  They nice traction on the bottoms so I won’t have to worry about slip sliding around on my wood floors!

 

O.P.I. Pink of Hearts Nail Polish Duo – $13.00

*I have always been a fan of OPI nail polish.  The colors included are: “You Glitter Be Good to Me” and “I Think in Pink”.  ~Pink is my signature color~ (Name that movie!)  I’ll have pink, sparkling toes in the next few days! 

Added all together I estimate this box to be worth $108.00!  If you’re interested in learning more about the “Must Have’ box, or subscribing, click here: http://popsu.gr/fsc.  I can always use the referrals as in no way, shape or form did I get paid or get my box for free to write this post (If you get referrals you get discounted boxes, yippee!).  I am just a proud consumer of an amazing product which I wanted to share with you!

~Chrissy

Mixed Tape Playlist for Your BFF

~a mixed tape creation by Chrissy~

I know it dates me but I really loved mixed tapes.  They were so thoughtful and took a heck of a lot of effort to make.  The song quality wasn’t the greatest, and yet they were pretty darn amazing because they meant something meaningful.  This was especially true if someone else made you your very own, one of a kind, mix.  Those tapes truly made you feel gloriously special whenever you listened to it.  Nowadays, with itunes and mp3’s, those mixed tape-like playlists have become a heck of a lot easier to make.   We’ve all got our playlists now for working out, cleaning the house, or just plain rocking out!

On my way to my homeship Target this past weekend, I happened upon a song on the radio about best friends.  The song was Oath by Cher Lloyd.  It’s a cute, upbeat kind of song.   I immediately thought of Alicia as I was bopping my head along with the beat.  In between head bops, I got to thinking about making my own BFF playlist, filled with songs that make me think about all my best girlfriends!  I’ll undoubtedly fill it up with an ungodly amount of songs over the days to come, as there are tons of songs out there that call to mind my amazing group of friends. For the sake of my post, I’ll just touch on a handful of my favorite songs to make my BFF list. You’ll probably notice I am heavily influenced by movies/tv.  Ever since I was a girl, I’ve been introduced to many great songs from the movies and tv shows I watch.   I’m a big fan of movie soundtracks!

1.  Joe Cocker “With A Little Help of My Friends” –  Originally a song by the Beatles, the Joe Cocker version was also the theme song for the “Wonder Years” tv show.

2. White Stripes “We’re Going to Be Friends” – What can I say about this song?  It is pretty freaking awesome.  If it sounds familiar but you can’t quite place why, it was part of the soundtrack for the movie Napoleon Dynamite.  That’s just a wee bit of pop trivia for you!

3. Ben E King “Stand by Me” – A classic song, that withstands the test of time.  It is also the theme to a movie by the same name.  If you haven’t seen the movie, please rent it right now.  It is such a great coming of age story about friendship.  Love it!

4. Weezer “My Best Friend” – I was first introduced to Weezer when I heard “The Sweater Song” in college.  What’s not to like about a song about sweaters?  Absolutely nothing!!!  I might have to put that one on a Winter Weather playlist.  I’m veering off course a bit here.  Anyhoo, “My Best Friend” very simply and sweetly, says it all.

4.  Green Day “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” –  The title doesn’t sound at all friendly, I know, but this song is one of my favorite songs of all time.  Green Day just so happens to be one of my favorite groups of all time, too.  To me, this song brings to mind memories of the good times shared with my friends/family/what have you.   It is especially enduring to me because of a wedding gift I received from Alicia.  She (with a lot of help from her brother Brian) made a photo slideshow of her and I growing up together, all set to music.  “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” was one of the songs she used.  I guess it was kind of like her mixed tape to me but with pictures! Whatever the case, it is one of my most favorite gifts, ever!!!

6. Natalie Merchant “Kind & Generous” – I told Alicia once that if she had a theme song, this would be hers.  She is exactly who this song was written about!  Everyone should have a person in there life who brings to mind this song and I think it should be your best friend!  Love you girl!!!

7.  They Might Be Giants “Birdhouse in Your Soul” – My friend, Becky first introduced me to They Might Be Giants.  All their songs are very silly and whimsical.  You can’t listen to them without smiling and laughing.  “I’m a little glowing friend”  Love that!

8. Bette Midler “Wind Beneath My Wings” –  A song from the movie Beaches, which if you haven’t seen it is a beautifully touching story about two best friends.   I’m might just cry thinking about this movie.  Ahhh…..so sad.   I have to warn you, if you click the link to the song have a box of tissues ready.   You’re going to need them!

9. The Rembrandts “I’ll Be There For You” – This is probably one of the very first songs I thought of when making my playlist.  “Friends” is my all time favorite tv show.  I’ve probably watched every episode a zillion times.  I could watch them a zillion more as they never get old.  The Rembrandts song is now and  forever ingrained in my head to symbolize my friends (Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and my real friends, of course, too).

10.  ABBA “Dancing Queen” – My BFF playlist would not be complete without this song.  Dancing Queen is truly a beloved favorite in my group of girlfriends.  If we are all together and this song comes on, I don’t think it’s possible for us all to not get up and hit the dance floor.  We’re all glorious Dancing Queens!

~Chrissy

*Image from Photobucket

Mango Green Smoothie Recipe

~a recipe straight out of Chrissy’s blender~

For about the last two weeks or so, I have been obsessed with making healthy smoothies.  Normally when I am in the kitchen, I follow recipes I find on-line or in cookbooks pretty much to the letter.  Rarely, do I attempt to go off the cuff, making my own creations.  This is mainly because, I want my food to taste good.  I worry if I start adding things willy nilly, I’ll screw the dish up royally!  No one wants their dishes to taste bad!

I’ve found smoothies are fairly hard to screw up though.  All you do is toss various fruits, liquids, veggies, etc into a blender and, “Ta Da”, you’ve got a yummy smoothie.   Without a doubt my favorite creation has been my Mango Green Smoothie.  The finished smoothie may look like something a Witch would brew, but trust me, looks are deceiving.  This is super easy to make, and is one amazingly, yummy drink!  You can’t even taste the spinach which gives this smoothie its green color.  I think this would be one great way parents could get their little ones to eat their spinach!

Mango Green Smoothie  (serving size 1-2)

Ingredients:

1/2 fresh Mango

1/2 frozen Banana

5-6 frozen Strawberries

2 heaping handfuls of Spinach Greens (the more the better)

1 tbsp Chia Seeds

1 cup Orange Juice

Directions:  Blend in a blender until smooth.

 

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

~Chrissy