Forks Over Knives

The post holiday bloat started to hit the other night as I sat on the couch with my boyfriend.  All the yummy roasts, cookies, bread, dips, and other holiday delights started taking up residence in my body.  It's as thought I could feel the richness ooze through my veins.  Do I regret a moment of it?  Not in the least.  However, with the indulgences comes the consequential need to reevaluate your diet.


The day before Christmas Eve, a bunch of us had gone to Houlihans to catch up for a few hours.  While there, one of our friends mentioned that she had recently decided to go vegan after watching Forks Over Knives, a movie highlighting the absolute correlation between the food we eat and our health.


Now, having read the book, Skinny Bitch, I was already well acquainted with the nuances of the Vegan diet and one approach to trying to convert people.  Actually, after reading that book I bought their cookbook and went Vegan for six weeks.  I instantly felt healthier, more energized, and lost weight.  However, the lack of meat gave me headaches, so I readjusted slightly and went back to eating meat and cheese.


However, after having gorged myself on said meat and cheese over the holidays, watching Forks Over Knives was an excellent reminder about the effects of being conscious eaters.  What you eat truly matters.  It has extreme effects on health, on energy, on cancer, and just on your overall quality of life.  And, having been reminded, I found that my newfound plant appreciation has helped me instantly regain control over the holiday bloat.  Thank you, Forks Over Knives.


So, if you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it.  It has wonderful research, incredible doctors and stories, and excellent insight on the importance of health.  I might even go so far as to say maybe health classes should start showing it.  


Happy New Year and healthy eating to all!

Holiday Movie Classics

Every year around the holidays, I love watching a slew of different Christmas movies to really get me into the spirit of things.  It's an old tradition back to when I was a kid, and one that also usually involved making chocolate chip cookies (happily, I'll admit to eating more cookie dough than actual cookies, but, alas, that was just part of the experience).


Some of the movies I love watching are old favorites from our family's tradition, and some are newfound favorites I've come to love over the years.  If you're looking for a few good movies to watch either on your own or with your family, here are the list of my favorites:


Old Traditions:
White Christmas
A Charlie Brown's Christmas
Garfield's Christmas
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
The Santa Clause
All the Claymation Movies


New Favorites:
Elf
The Holiday
Love Actually
A Muppet's Christmas Carol (no, this is not a new movie, but I was only recently introduced to it!)


Other Good Ones, but not necessarily favorites:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (both cartoon and Jim Carrey versions)
Miracle on 34th Street
It's a Wonderful Life
Four Christmases
Polar Express


So, happy watching, and maybe even family time...and may your chocolate chip cookies actually make it into the oven!

A Class Above the Rest

I attended an event last night at the Drake, Chicago.  It's a world-famous hotel located at the corner of North Michigan Ave and Lake Shore Drive, or 1000 N Michigan Ave.  (That's the corner with Chanel & Louis Vuitton, as well as the corner next to 900 N with Michael Kors, Gucci, etc)  So, we can safely say this is the "It places" of Michigan Avenue.


For those who may not understand the prestige following the Drake, it can look a little underwhelming from the outsides, at least by today's sky-scraper, modern everything standards.  It's a modest 10 floors (guest floors) or so, the outside is of the 1920s style, but the inside demands reverence.  It's stunning.  It's like the Chicago version of the Waldorf in New York.  It's gorgeous.  In fact, on of its banquet rooms is famous: the Gold Coast Room.  Yes, the "Gold Coast Room".  The ceiling and pillars are painted in gold flakes, and it's on the gold coast.  Gorgeous!  Breathtaking.  Hi, I want to be married there.


The night ended at the Coq d'Or, a dining room on the ground floor.  It's dark wooded, heavily paneled, smoke room lounge chairs, and it just gives you the feeling of being in a 1920s speakeasy.  The menu is unique but pricey, however, it affords the price as the company and atmosphere are great.  As are the french fries.  Wow.  They're also known for their bookbinder soup.  I haven't had it yet, but it's supposed to be yummy.


In all, this is a place you need to add to your list of Chicago attractions, even if it's just for a quick walk-through.  The Christmas decorations were impeccably done.  I'm just sorry I forgot to take pictures.  Next time, maybe even soon, I'll be sure to right that.  'Til then, it's just a fond memory.

Lulu.com Holiday Deal

For all you wonderful readers, Lulu.com is having a Free Ground Shipping event from now until December 6th!  Just enter:  "SLEIGHRIDES" and you'll get free ground shipping on your order!  How awesome!  Now all those books you wanted for Christmas can come right to your door.  How convenient.  :-)  Or you can even pick up my book, Living with B: A College Girl's Struggle with Bulimia and Everyday Life, because, hey, I know it's been your "books to read" list for quite some time now.


So go for it.  Treat yourself, and enjoy some free shipping!

A Clothing Craving

I've determined that women have the same relationship with clothes shopping that they do with sweets:  A love / hate.  We love to do it, but hate when we either can't find what we're looking for or things just don't fit right.


Here's what I mean.  Tonight I went to return an item I had purchased on-line on Black Friday.  (and this is yet another reason why I don't like clothes shopping online.  Things always fit differently than you pictured.)  So, I was taking my clothes back to simply exchange them for new ones.  New whats exactly?  Sweaters.  I need more sweaters for the winter.  So, I was on a hunt for sweaters.


Tried on sweaters.  Nope.  Tried on more sweaters.  Nope.  Tried on even more sweaters.  Still nope.


Stupid sweaters.


So, I simply returned my item, pocketed some moolah and went to a different store hoping to try my luck.  This is the "love" part of the shopping.  We love to do it.  The "hate" part?  Still didn't find any sweaters.  They either fit funny, weren't flattering, or just looked plain God-awful once on.  You all know what I'm talking about.  It's the item that makes you make that atrocious face in the mirror and take the clothes off faster than you put them on.  That's the "God awful" one.  And yup, there were a few of those tonight.


In all, I ended up with a few extra $$ in my pocket, a defeated sense of accomplishment and style (because, let's face it, when nothing fits you feel defeated), and the question of when I might be able to go back and find something that fits.  And the circle begins.  Love it, hate it, love it, hate it.  But we keep going back.  


....now if only there were some chocolate cake...