tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90300121258932454892024-03-13T22:53:24.800-07:00On This and ThatFranceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-22328652863094034002012-10-02T11:51:00.000-07:002012-10-02T11:51:21.810-07:00Playing Along: Fat Mum Slim's Photo A Day Challenge #2<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Lunchtime</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I drive home every workday to let my Chloe out and have lunch. Today, I ate leftovers from last night's spaghetti squash and roasted vegetable dinner and drank LaCroix Coconut sparkling water. I finished listening to the Sound Opinions podcast that I began this morning. I really love lunch!</span><br />
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Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-82423784578759119472012-10-02T07:53:00.001-07:002012-10-02T11:51:43.200-07:00Playing Along: Fat Mum Slim's Photo A Day Challenge #1<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Where I Stood</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night I stood in the kitchen with these beautiful squash. I made spaghetti squash topped with marinara sauce and roasted vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, onion, garlic, a little yellow pepper)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-26438223360836786642012-10-01T12:21:00.000-07:002012-10-01T12:21:09.766-07:00Playing Along: Photo A Day October with Fat Mum Slim<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Going to revive the blog a bit by playing along with the blog </span><a href="http://fatmumslim.com.au/how-to-play/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fat Mum Slim</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Photo A Day October! I especially enjoy her guidelines, including this one: </span></div>
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<em>My dog was sick. I lost my iPhone charger. And I forgot to take a photo yesterday. What do I do now? Am I failure?</em></div>
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<em>Never. Photo a day is all about having fun. So you skipped a day, so what? It doesn’t mean you have to fall off the photo-a-day bandwagon completely. You can either just pretend yesterday didn’t happen, or you can take two photos in one day. If you skipped a whole week, then just decide whether you want to make up some days or just start on the current day. Remember, there are no rules. By the way, I hope your dog gets better.</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those are rules I can play by!</span><br />
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Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-72773979540810741742012-07-18T08:42:00.000-07:002012-07-18T08:42:20.405-07:00mother IS the bride<span style="color: #444444;">My mom is getting married. So, I did what I do and threw a party. I also did what I do and researched bridal shower etiquette, especially concerning having a shower for someone who may have already had another wedding to another person at another time. I wanted to specifically find other people who had thrown a shower for their mothers where the point of the shower was not necessarily to shower the bride-to-be with gifts to set up her new home or with advice on marriage, but to shower her with love and excitement for her upcoming wedding! Typing "mother is the bride" into a search engine will produce pages and pages of "mother of the bride" results. Note to Google - had I wanted to search "of" I would have typed "of", "of" is not "is". The next search of "throwing wedding shower for mom" was also fruitless. So, I forged ahead without the advice of any blogger or wedding shower website (how very 1990 of me!) Being a fan of killing multiple birds with a single stone, the "Bridal<em> Luncheon" </em>was scheduled for my mom's birthday. (Please know that no birds were actually harmed or killed due to this party. Although not a huge fan of birds, I do not advocate or condone mistreatment of birds.) Anyway, enough of my blah, blah. The remainder of this post is dedicated to documenting the event, if for nothing else, for posterity's sake. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Event Location:</strong> </span><span style="color: #444444;">Under a tent, in the backyard at my grandparents' home. (Want to talk about childhood memories? This backyard and I go back, way back.) </span></em></span></div>
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<em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;"><strong>Guest List:<span style="color: black;"> </span></strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;">A various assortment of friends and family.</span> </span></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;"><strong>Decor: </strong><span style="color: #444444;">The big tissue paper flower - aren't these a standard staple of any DIY party these days? </span></span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em><span style="color: #444444;">Very faux milk glass vases, from the genius </span><a href="http://psimadethis.com/post/213803164/im-seeing-spots-the-good-kind-beaded-details" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">P.S. - I made this</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> with very faux flowers inspired by junk I had that needed a new life (a broken burlap purse, wine cork, scraps of Kraft paper, yarn), </span><a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10100909/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">The Ikea TEKLA dish towel</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> was folded and pressed to make a lovely little napkin. </span></em></span></div>
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<em><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The table setting also included china that has been passed down and around in the family and <strike>just happened to</strike>, <strike>completely intentionally</strike>, coordinated with my dress. </span></em></div>
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<em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;"><strong>Menu:</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"> <span style="color: #444444;">Grandma's Christmas Punch (no recipe, Grandma just throws some clear soda pop in a punch bowl with pink sorbet, and we typically only have this at Christmastime)</span></span></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia;">Tortilla chip cups with a dollop of Mrs. Renfro's mango salsa for a starter. </span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pulled-pork-tacos-10000001192494/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Apricot Glazed Pulled Pork Tacos</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"> (originally from Real Simple Magazine-minus the cilantro because my mom does not care for cilantro. Had I made it for anyone else there would be cilantro, lots of it!)</span></span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Watermelon Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing and Gorgonzola Cheese. ( I can't find the original source for this recipe, but essentially it consists of salad greens tossed with a reduction of 1/3 C balsamic vinager and 1 TBS honey, I prefer goat cheese on it, but apparently Owens in Warsaw, IN does not believe in carrying goat cheese, and cubed watermelon - tossed on at the very last minute because nobody likes watery salad! Nobody.) </span></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This sad looking 'ombre' cake. It did not look quite as sad pre-cut. As this was my first attempt at an ombre cake and it was made at 1 a.m., I am not going to beat myself up over it. The idea is to have one cup of white cake batter for each layer and add a bit more coloring to each layer. This cake barely looks ombre, but tasted mighty sweet!</span></em></div>
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<em><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Also, my brother's girlfriend brought a sweet treat that had a graham cracker base, pineapple, cream cheese, whipped cream, and I'm sure some other stuff in it. </span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;"><em><strong>Favors:</strong><span style="color: black;"><strong> </strong></span><span style="color: #444444;">On principal, I am against favors at an adult party UNLESS they are edible! I packaged these little dress cookies for our guests. </span></em></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">What's that? You wanted to see an adorable dog picture, real quick, before the end of this post? Ok. This was Chloe, the night before the party. I told her it was time to go to bed, so while I went and got ready for bed, she apparently made herself quite comfortable. </span></div>
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<br /></div>Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-84221994475972758132012-06-18T10:15:00.000-07:002012-06-18T10:15:00.913-07:00New Glarus, WI....More Than Just Beer!Who knew that New Glarus, famous for the cult favorite brew Spotted Cow, had so much charm? Certainly not this girl. Our day trip started with breakfast at a beautiful dairy farm. The farm breakfast was an event sponsored by the county Agricultural Department and part of Wisconsin's <a href="http://www.dairydaysofsummer.com/index.html" target="_blank">Dairy Days of Summer</a>. <br />
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While touring the farm, I met a chicken who I promptly named Collin. I deemed that Collin had a pretty good life and at least one buddy. (So, I live for a good opportunity to make a Portlandia reference! Here is a YouTube video of the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20width=%22560%22%20height=%22315%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/l2LBICPEK6w?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>" target="_blank">Portlandia - Is it Local?</a> which will make the naming of this chicken seem less random and more "normal"!)</div>
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Of course, we toured the New Glarus brewery and enjoyed some brews in the sunshine (current favorites are <a href="http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/OurBeers/beer/totally-naked" target="_blank">Totally Naked</a>, <a href="http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/OurBeers/beer/dancing-man-wheat" target="_blank">Dancing Man Wheat</a>, and <a href="http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/OurBeers/beer/wisconsin-belgian-red" target="_blank">Wisconsin Belgian Red</a>). The brewery is worth the trip to New Glarus, especially if you like the beer and you live out of state because you can't get it anywhere but here! They like to play hard-to-get, and it seems like it works out alright for them. </div>
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The second highlight of the trip to New Glarus, however, was the completely charming Old World Swiss town of New Glarus and our tour of the historic Swiss Village. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The School house-I liked to imagine all of the bored little eyes that have stared out those windows over the years. <br />
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Always useful-the fire department and a mustache cup!</td></tr>
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We ended the day strolling the downtown area of New Glarus and admired the Swiss Chalet style architecture and the completely inexpensive New Glarus beer on tap. Seriously, when I asked for the bill for our mid-day beer break and saw that the total was $7.50, I told the bar tender that I would like to pay for both. He was humored by, what I am sure was the confusion on my face, and proudly told me that $7.50 was the total for both. Nice work New Glarus! Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-67657235611515988452012-05-20T18:51:00.000-07:002012-05-20T18:52:19.588-07:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>It's My Favorite, Because I Like It: Indianapolis</i></b></div>
I am ambitiously calling this post the first in a series of It's My Favorite, Because I Like It lists. "It's my favorite because I like it" is a phrase that I came to enjoy using while working at Misericordia Home, a campus that serves people with developmental disabilities. I would have conversations with a friend of mine, who lives there, that went like this: "Frances, I like Coke." "Why do you like Coke?" "Because it is my favorite." "Why is it your favorite?" "Because I like it!" This is logic I can really get behind. Therefore, I bring you five things that I really like in Indianapolis.<br />
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<b>1. My Friends and Family</b> Too obvious? It is great to see them and I am always reminded that I don't see them enough! Moving on.<br />
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<b>2. 92.3 WTTS </b>This is hands-down my favorite radio station of all time. The station's self-description of "World Class Rock" pretty much sums it up. After moving from Indianapolis, I missed this station so much that I have streamed it live on my computer everywhere I have lived since (a little less while in Chicago because WXRT was a real close second). Thankfully, "they have an ap for that," and I can listen to it in my car too! "No Woman No Cry" was the first song I heard on WTTS and I was hooked after that. I like that this station plays bands that I literally never hear anywhere else.<br />
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<b>3. The Fountain Square Neighborhood </b>On my most recent trip to Indianapolis, I stopped in Fountain Square for a little walk. As I walked down the street, A guy in a V-neck t-shirt and a Kip Dynamite mustache walked toward me, and it hit me - Fountain Square is now hip! Turning the corner, the words "Fresh!" and "Local!" beamed out from the window across the street. Holy hipster. Next, I stumbled upon <a href="http://newdaymeadery.com/" target="_blank">New Day Meadery</a>. If you are in the area, do yourself a favor and stop in for a honey cider tasting. Other little gems in and near the neighborhood are Garfield Park, Radio, Radio (where I saw the band Low Millions after hearing them on WTTS, see #2), and the Indianapolis Downtown Antique Mall (where I bought the suitcase that is now the suitcase table I have had in every apartment since!) <br />
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<b>4. The Mini </b>Sure, the race has a big long sponsor name, but to most people it is just known as The Mini. Seriously though, there is nothing mini about running 13.1 miles! Running around the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is my favorite part of the race. This year, as I entered the track, the Beastie Boys "Intergalactic" was playing (RIP MCA) and it was all very emotional. This year was my cousin's first Mini and that picture above is us after the race!<br />
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<b>5. The University of Indianapolis </b>Lots of love to my alma mater!<br />
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<br />Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-4253251246429065322012-05-03T11:05:00.001-07:002012-05-03T11:12:51.544-07:00Coming Soon!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently moved away from my Sweet Home Chicago. I joined my man in Madison where he is pursuing his dream and opening a restaurant. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corey and Chloe</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He will soon be slinging sandwiches to Madison from the newest location of <a href="http://www.erbertandgerberts.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Erbert and Gerbert's</span></a>. You haven't heard of Erbert and Gerbert's? Neither had I. It is a small company based in Wisconsin and apparently serves sandwiches that makes Wisconsin-ites (ers?) very happy. The lit up eyes and excitement in the voices of the people that I tell about this newest location are the proof that I am basing this assumption on. Construction is well on the way, but I took some shots of the spot for a little preview. You can join Erbert and Gerbert's Flavor Nation on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Erbert-Gerberts-Madison-WI/372583796089380" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Facebook</span></a>, of course. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Chloe kicking it in the sun</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFyx9nlUNG8NoHvUYiShBKTEQyw6OhuQOyQtxmzzlQLU60T5jFSZ1K0cbXG2fLE4isHmnj33UK_1y1jEqoa68tk4nyt0dvQxVGEIuvrR1Pyb5AnHFztYkRJiHdqHDIaiihj_3QqGNI1st/s1600/E+and+G+Frances+St.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFyx9nlUNG8NoHvUYiShBKTEQyw6OhuQOyQtxmzzlQLU60T5jFSZ1K0cbXG2fLE4isHmnj33UK_1y1jEqoa68tk4nyt0dvQxVGEIuvrR1Pyb5AnHFztYkRJiHdqHDIaiihj_3QqGNI1st/s640/E+and+G+Frances+St.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you see what street the shop is on?! That's right, they even spelled my name correctly. </td></tr>
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</div>Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-90857595126717582142011-02-24T19:44:00.000-08:002011-02-24T19:44:15.074-08:00I Tried Bikram Yoga and Really, Really Disliked It.I have practiced yoga at at least 16 different places in Chicago, and my Bikram Yoga experience ties with the Chicago Park District and the strange place in Edgewater for "Worst Experience at a Yoga Class Ever." Bikram Yoga is practiced in a 104 - 105 degree room with 40% humidity. I love the sauna, so I really did expect to like Bikram. I arrived at the studio and was taken aback, not by the heat, but by the horrid odor permeating the room. Oh my gosh. People were beginning to fill the room, so I strategically picked a spot next to some who I believed would not stink as badly as others. (I can't share my method, as it is sure to be). As I rolled out my mat, panic set in. What if it became too hot and smelly for me to finish the class...should I stay in the room and try to get used to it....should I go outside of the room and wait until the class started?! I ended up leaving the room and came back to find that now the room was mat-to-mat full and although annoying, I found it comforting that there were so many people in the class - it couldn't possibly be that bad. I was glad that I had worn a tank top, really glad I had not worn yoga pants (thought about it because I biked to the studio), and even more glad that my yoga capris easily were turned up to be long shorts. I was less thrilled that every guy in the class wore shorts more revealing than a Speedo. The class was alright, basically it was just yoga in a super hot room. I decided that my neuroses and the smell got in the way of enjoying the class, so I decided to go back and try it again. The second trip to Bikram was the same story of being smacked in the nose with the horrible smell and leaving the room to wait until class started. When I came back to my mat this time I was mortified to find that there were dudes all wearing the skimpy Bikram uniform directly to my left, right, and both back corners on my mat. The fella to my left smelled like a guys' college dorm room and was dripping sweat onto my mat. At one point, I reached down for a drink of water and the instructor stopped instructing and said, "You in the front, what is your name?" I told her. "Ok, Frances don't drink any water. You cannot technically breathe and drink water at the same time." What is this, Guantanamo? Also, one cannot technically breathe if she passes out and dies. I had to talk myself out of leaving the class six times. At the end of the class when the instructor attempted to shame everyone into staying for a two minute savasnsa "corpse pose" saying, "This two minutes IS included in the 90 minutes you signed up for," I bolted from that hotbox of hell. Goodbye Bikram. Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-76504501413746604312010-11-21T19:54:00.000-08:002010-11-21T19:54:24.336-08:00Harnessing a Wild Pup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UXqdTqByIjNQUhbFCkblQ4grQ7jZbc_NrPabtlxCThXN5QRPW00imNPvPfUmAByjuqpIVzlyPJrJw8ciFxpht2Pq5WV8xt4WK5WeR6ORLzcGVkb4yOmCyrpNcoLqI6CokKZScyZqYeyk/s1600/Photo_101410_003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UXqdTqByIjNQUhbFCkblQ4grQ7jZbc_NrPabtlxCThXN5QRPW00imNPvPfUmAByjuqpIVzlyPJrJw8ciFxpht2Pq5WV8xt4WK5WeR6ORLzcGVkb4yOmCyrpNcoLqI6CokKZScyZqYeyk/s200/Photo_101410_003.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDK5kj13h4aRVsUEnSqhC7PaOa3H0Ed8bYXR5yvHU9g7ihBhy1u3pewz1GMv8zeDNjxgw-IyIkBwJQuahGRrRWYFlS5EyS-KoGCWFsA1QOos-fj4fBc7ggIMTWbEwbSNzmOIuZ4OXt96b/s1600/Photo_101410_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDK5kj13h4aRVsUEnSqhC7PaOa3H0Ed8bYXR5yvHU9g7ihBhy1u3pewz1GMv8zeDNjxgw-IyIkBwJQuahGRrRWYFlS5EyS-KoGCWFsA1QOos-fj4fBc7ggIMTWbEwbSNzmOIuZ4OXt96b/s200/Photo_101410_002.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Taking my Chloe dog for a walk is never a simple task- every walk is a total smelling expedition. She has a strong-willed nose that leads her to finding garbage in the grass that she likes to eat (I can't tell you how many chicken bones this girl has had pulled out of her mouth), the puke pile by the hospital that has been there for weeks</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">, and once a tamale! She is fast and loves to run and is a major leash puller. So far, she has worn out one leather collar the leash that came home with her from the </span><a href="http://www.anticruelty.org/" style="color: black;">Anti-Cruelty Society</a><span style="color: black;"> is sadly just too short for this gal. A pink nylon collar stood the test, but after a particularly tug-heavy walk, my sweet little pup's eyes turn red and she looks like a stoner. I was happy to find the </span><a href="http://www.petsmart.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4052010&utm_source=marthastewart.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=cl" style="color: black;">Martha Stewart Fabric Dog Harness and Leash set</a><span style="color: black;"> at PetSmart. The fabric seemed sturdy and I just love the Houndstooth Check leash for my little hound. Having a longer leash was like a dream come true and the harness really gives so much more control to the walker. However, I am really disappointed that the harness and the leash are both losing some of their sturdy shine. Chloe seems to be a bit too spunky for the materials and construction of both the harness and the leash. When I checked back on PetSmart.com to see product reviews, others either really loved the products or had exactly the same trouble as I have had. The fabric is beginning to fray after only 3 months of use, the metal is losing its finish, and the fabric loops on the are really hard to use to secure the harness around the pup. I think this particular harness and leash set might be better for dogs with a little less get-up-and-go because some of the reviews were really positive. So, one thumb down. One remains up due to the stylish nature of the set, the length of the leash, and the ease of using the clasp on the leash. The search continues...</span></span><br />
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</div>Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-13867032836262608022010-10-26T10:52:00.000-07:002010-11-21T18:15:45.979-08:00Silk N Disgrace<span style="font-size: small;">As I was getting to know my new surroundings during my freshman year at the University of Indianapolis, I happened upon Silk N Lace Gentleman's Show Club. What really caught my eye was the sign outside advertised that Silk N Lace trains amateur dancers. I was fascinated and interested in this possibility much in the way I was fascinated and interested in traveling and living with carnies for a summer just to see what happens. Skip ahead a few years later and I'm driving down Madison Avenue with some friends - we were probably coming from somewhere classy like Olive Garden or Old Navy. I pointed out the sign ( yes, still training amateurs!) and said something to the effect of, hey doesn't that sound like a funny thing to try? Without hesitation or any hint of curiosity in their voices, Friend 1 and Friend 2 said, "No." Um, ok. I didn't want to be a stripper, guys are gross enough to be around when you have your clothes on; I just wanted to know what the life of someone who works there was like and how can I get some of those moves! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Not one to let my dreams go unrealized, this past Friday night I took a Cardio Striptease class at All About Dance in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. (This was my second attempt at taking this class - the first time I showed up too late for one session and too early for the other and was assured that the Cardio Hip Hop class would be awesome instead. It was not awesome.) I thought a lot about what to wear to the class, but settled on my favorite bamboo capri leggings and an old pink and white "Girls on Fast Wheels" t-shirt. The instructor came in the room and she seemed too clean to be a Cardio Strip teacher. I was hoping for some old reformed stripper who turned over a new leaf and decided to mesh her passion for stripping with the common decency of physical fitness and leave the stage for the dance studio. Whatever. I did appreciate that the enthusiastic instructor turned the lights down, it seemed to help turn down my humiliation that throughout the entire class I was not able to master the first move in the routine. Overall, the class was fun. It was a really great workout and it helped to confirm that I am a horrible dancer ( I think I'm too tall or something). The 'on the floor moves' left me with bruises up and down my legs and a cut near my knee from the cute zippers in my favorite bamboo capri leggings. Final assessment- I did not miss any sort of calling as a dancer of any kind. I had a great experience at All About Dance and would love to go back and maybe take a class with a friend. *Disclaimer- I will only take a class with a friend who is a worse dancer than I am.</span>Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030012125893245489.post-83121490649802614182010-09-21T08:17:00.000-07:002010-10-26T10:56:33.577-07:00Liberté Méditerranée<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9D_3_9AJLloFvoGWtb3bsScqef8g9HSiOgvnC0Dz0BR5_D5Q27_mzQnWjYfnhk9kgv9XdYd8y3uZTKocW1Qa1cghtZxfl0MWAsfx0LQdnJyRjXwQWx-hD_dnVAQX7MBZpB86a-uiUelL/s1600/100_2125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9D_3_9AJLloFvoGWtb3bsScqef8g9HSiOgvnC0Dz0BR5_D5Q27_mzQnWjYfnhk9kgv9XdYd8y3uZTKocW1Qa1cghtZxfl0MWAsfx0LQdnJyRjXwQWx-hD_dnVAQX7MBZpB86a-uiUelL/s320/100_2125.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I adore this yogurt. I don't think it would be going too far to say it is the best ever, but I suggest you try it and determine that for yourself. The Coconut and the Plum & Walnut are my favorite and are so unique! There is no High Fructose Corn Syrup in this ingredient list and it is made with milk produced without the use of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBGH free). Yumba.Franceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08104508429703552722noreply@blogger.com0