Recent Meals + Vegan Cobb Salad + Intuitive Eating

I managed to capture a few recent meals worth sharing with you today! 

Happy to be back to my favorite whole wheat margarita slice from Mario’s. Remember last week I went with the veggie slice instead? That was a mistake. Not that the veggie slice is bad, I just like the margarita pizza better right now.

My salads from Chopt never look like much but I always enjoy them. In this bowl was spinach, romaine, quinoa, avocado, spicy peppers, beets, and shaved brussels sprouts with lemon tahini on the side. My only issue with this combo sometimes is the brussels sprouts. I do not eat brussels sprouts like I used to so when, on a whim, I decide to have them in this salad, I totally feel the digestion process. Brussels sprouts can be hard on me when I am not used to eating them regularly!

I had this greek salad at Greek Cove the other day with the side of pita bread and hummus. I love their hummus!

And yesterday, we went to Cheesecake Factory where I chose my alternate favorite salad, the vegan cobb salad. Sometimes I go with my all-time favorite salad and on occasion, I am more in the mood for the vegan cobb. What’s in the Vegan Cobb salad? I believe it’s beets, asparagus, quinoa, farro, avocado, chickpeas, cucumber, and tomato. I order the Vegan Cobb without the almonds and sunflower seeds because I have allergies to both.

And finally, I needed the Godiva Brownie sundae yesterday. Sometimes dessert is an option and sometimes it is a necessity. Yesterday just felt like a necessity. How to know if dessert is optional or a necessity? It’s something you just know. And when you pay attention to what you just know you need, I think it’s what they call intuitive eating. I intuitively knew I needed a brownie sundae. 🙂

Have a great week!

Best meal you had over the weekend?

Where Did The Weekend Go?

 

Seriously, where did the weekend go?

Saturday for me was spent binge watching Say Yes To The Dress and the Islanders/Rangers game while I had the painters at my house (!!) painting a few rooms. Big deal over here because it took me FOREVER to narrow down my colors.

The Say Yes To The Dress theme carried over to Sunday as I worked the Bride Luxe show all day in the city.

Who remembers when I attended Bridal Fashion week at Kleinfeld? There’s a flashback for you!

The show yesterday wasn’t just about dresses, it was more a wide variety of high end wedding vendors featuring their products and services. I love this stuff!

My Florist friend Adam Leffel of Adam Leffel Productions (remember he did my aunt’s party recently?) created the most magnificent “instagrammable spot” at the show that even I took a picture under the flowers. EVERYONE was posing by his decor which really makes you realize that wedding decor now isn’t just about your table centerpieces, it’s about creating a spot for your guests to take their social media photos too.

Group picture here. That’s  my friend Rebecca who works with me at AllSeated plus Ron Ben-Israel (you may know him from Food Network and the LOVE party I attended at his cake studio last year!) and that’s Adam in there too.

You can always find me by the food.

These chocolates were to die for, I swear.

Kosher, vegan, organic, and gorgeous (made to match your event!) I need them for the next party I plan.

I wish I could share the link to the dress I am wearing but it isn’t available online at the moment. It may come back though so check this link if you are interested. The Bailey 44 items always come and go, and then sometimes come back again. EDITED TO ADD: Found the dress here!

You had to figure it was Bailey 44 since it’s all I wear these days!

I’m really not ready for Monday but nothing I can do about it — have a great week!

 

 

 

Weekend Sentence Per Picture

One of those really random times when I have Chipotle.

That feeling when you are driving through the city and Empire State of Mind comes on the radio.

Another week, another greek salad from a diner.

I honestly go to the diner for the coleslaw and pickles.

A quick stop at Trader Joe’s yesterday morning for a few necessities.

Best lip balm in a new (to me) flavor of watermelon.

Still my favorite nail polish color which really doesn’t chip!

Went to the movies (to see Vice) and will forever claim that I am too short for the new seats because my head does not fit  properly against the headrest but I love my jeans because they are so incredibly comfortable.

And my last picture for today is missing because I left my phone in the car yesterday by accident when my son and I went in for pizza so I asked him to take the picture for me, which he did, but he never sent it to me.

Oh well, have a great week!

A Few Previous Weekend Sentence Per Picture Posts:

Weekend Sentence Per Picture NOV 2018

Weekend Sentence Per Picture NOV 2017

Weekend Sentence Per Picture MAY 2016

[bctt tweet=”Weekend sentence per picture on the blog today! #weekend #traderjoes #diner #ontheblog” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

How was your weekend? Did you watch Golden Globes?

Any recent new purchase from Trader Joe’s?

Dinner At The Bryant!

 

I’ve been really excited for the opening of the The Bryant which is the latest restaurant in the Poll Restaurants dynasty.

Local readers may be aware that the same owners of Bryant & Cooper (where we had dinner for my son’s birthday) as well as owners of Toku (which I last had around my birthday), Cipollini, Major’s, Bar Frites, and Hendricks Tavern, were planning to open The Bryant this fall — and it finally opened a week or so ago!

The hype over the opening has been SERIOUS. Usually, you don’t like to try a new restaurant until it’s been around for a while but this restaurant group doesn’t mess around which means it’s ready to roll when the doors open.

Rumor already had it that the spinach and artichoke dip was a must. We ordered it as soon as we sat down. Delicious, but terrible picture which I didn’t realize until I got home.

There were SO MANY excellent menu choices for me (me meaning, a meatless eater) that I wasn’t quite sure which direction to go in with my meal! I was choosing between pizzas, salads (really wasn’t in the mood for salad), zucchini noodles, sushi, and the house made veggie burger.

I ultimately went with the veggie burger which doesn’t look like anything amazing in the photo but it was very good. It had great taste and a good bite with crunch to the outside rather than mush.

With molten chocolate cake on the menu, even the warm brownie didn’t tempt me.

I only wish that molten chocolate cakes were bigger! The waiter had apologized that dessert took a long time (which I didn’t think it did but he felt bad anyway which was nice) but he explained it was because the molten cakes are made fresh to order. The ooze of chocolate was everything you could ask for in a molten cake.

I will definitely be back to The Bryant soon to try everything else on the menu! One thing you need to know, make a reservation in advance. If you expect a day of reservation, think again!

That’s basically all I’ve got for today, aside from this snapchat picture. I haven’t a true clue or need for snapchat but sometimes if I remember, I check the filters for some fun.

^This Generation Love top is still available and on sale!

[bctt tweet=”Dinner at The Bryant reviewed on the blog today! #dinner #weekend #restaurantreview #longisland #longislandeats #thebryant” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Best thing you ate over the weekend?

Workouts + Islanders Are Home + Latkes!

I was going to share my workouts per usual yesterday morning BUT I slept late and hadn’t scheduled the post. You didn’t miss much though — it was a pretty blah workout week since I was sort of sick with a sore throat followed by a cold. I didn’t run much and probably won’t run again until my cold symptoms really go away. Most of the week I was sitting on that fence of am I breaking out into a cold or not?! And then, the cold symptoms finally came out which for me, does not combine well with running in that it can make the congestion worse. Or at the very least, linger longer than I need.

You will see that I did run Friday and Saturday. I am CONVINCED this is why my cold symptoms broke out and are still here even though I didn’t run long or hard or anything like that. I thought I was okay but the congestion ended up worse. I felt better yesterday in terms of my runny nose so I won’t run today or even tomorrow, just to ensure this thing goes away. Like I’ve said before, I don’t get sick often AT ALL so when I actually have a cold, it’s as if I don’t even know what to do with it!

Quick look at my workouts:

Monday – 30 Min Pure Barre

Tuesday – 3 Miles

Wednesday – 40 Min Pure Barre

Thursday – Gym Day

• 10 minute incline walking
• 10 min elliptical
• 10 min incline walking
• 10 min elliptical

Friday – 3 Miles/20 Min Pure Barre

Saturday – 5 Miles

So the best part of my weekend was DEFINITELY the Islanders game Saturday night back at the Coliseum. It was seriously electric in the building with a playoff atmosphere (even though it was a regular season game) like you cannot imagine!

Everyone was just SO HAPPY. You heard and felt the happiness around you, and saw it too. People were smiling the entire night. You said hello to the person next to you and maybe even stopped to make conversation with someone you didn’t know.

New Yorkers do not naturally walk around talking to others, smiling and looking happy but Saturday night, it happened. Because we were all home. That’s what this is about. We are passionate, creature of habit fans and being at the Coliseum is home. And it felt really really really nice.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, the long story really short is that the Islanders left the Coliseum three seasons ago to play in Brooklyn but are now scheduled to leave Brooklyn for a new arena in the next few years. In the meantime, they are playing games back at the Coliseum. If interested, here’s my post from the last regular season home game from April 2015.

I had this pizza at the game. It was just okay which is typical of Coliseum food but I didn’t care. I was just happy to be there.

My son was excited for the pretzel cart outside at the end of the game and I was excited to get in the car and easily drive home rather than trek with the train (and change at Jamaica) like we had to do for games in Brooklyn. Bleh.

Hanukkah started last night! Latkes became my dinner, along with matzoh ball soup (not pictured). I only eat broth soups when I don’t feel 100% so that’s how we know I really have a cold.

^This was not my plate! It was the latkes plate for the table.

I know it’s Hanukkah when there’s an uptick in search engine results for my sweet potato latke recipe. I didn’t make the above latkes and I haven’t made my sweet potato latke recipe in years but it’s a good one, especially if you are trying to make a healthier, grain free latke.

Oh, and before I go, I stopped into Henri Bendel over the weekend. I tried on the cashmere star gloves I mentioned in Friday’s Fashion/Gift Ideas post – you need them. Or someone on your list needs them. So soft and cozy, and there’s a matching cashmere star beanie!

Have a great week!

[bctt tweet=”workouts and weekend on the blog today including My Islanders being back home at the Coliseum! #isles #LGI #weekend #workouts #running #purebarre #bendelgirl” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

How was your weekend? Best thing you ate?

Anyone else find cold symptoms worse from running even though you aren’t even that sick?

 

Busy Weekend + Best Food At Bat Mitzvah

 

Things over here have been busy since Thanksgiving, that’s for sure!

On Friday, we headed to New Jersey to see the Islanders play the Devils for a 4:00 PM start. While I don’t love driving to New Jersey, it is honestly better than going to the games in Brooklyn. A little side note: This coming Saturday the Islanders return to playing some of their games right here on Long Island at the Coliseum again! Not that anyone reading really cares but I care so I’m telling you.

I had a slice of pizza as soon as we walked into the arena.

By the second period, I wanted cookie dough. Normally I get a Mrs. Field’s brownie when at Devils games or football games at the Meadowlands, but something told me the cookie dough looked worth the try.

IT WAS SO GOOD. I even told the cookie dough server people how much better I thought it was than Cookie Do which I usually get at Citifield.

Saturday during the day was nonstop. Starting with my run in the morning followed by Target, getting my hair blown out, nails done, makeup done, browsing the mall with a stop at Trader Joe’s too, all before going to a Bat Mitzvah in the evening.

^Bailey 44 velvet dress (not sure if still available) with my Kate Spade heels that I recently told you about!

So okay. I live and breathe event planning which means I do hyper focus on the details but I’m telling you, this Bat Mitzvah was LEGIT. Not only because it was my friend’s daughter’s party but because the decor was perfect and the food was everything I could have asked for, and more. From the way it was served (presentation for guest experience is everything) to the variety and taste, I was in heaven. I absolutely ate more than I have in a really long time and it was worth every bite.

Hello onion rings during cocktail hour.

It’s all about serving mini style right now — How cute are the little spaghetti and meatballs?!

I didn’t get pictures of everything but I really did try to do my best because the food was that pretty and worth reporting about! In addition to the abundance of awesome cocktail hour food stations (I can’t recall everything but I know I had dumplings and some sort of crispy Brussels sprouts dish), how fun are the pretzels?!

The salad was served so nicely with the pecans and cheese toppings on the side. Honestly, I was so full from everything I ate during cocktail hour but couldn’t pass up the rest of the night’s food!

I ordered the vegetarian plate.

I knew dessert would be good. Don’t even ask, it was a NONSTOP dessert party.

The servers were coming from every corner with trays of Italian ices, Haagan Daz bars, and pastries, and then came the  s’mores station, ice cream sundae bar ….and then the Hostess cart rolled on through. It doesn’t get better than this. I loved a good Ring Ding as a kid.

On exit was the candy store and bakery. Such a fun night. Gotta love a good Bar/Bat Mitzvah party!

Selfie with the Mitzvah Mom. This was her third Bat Mitzvah (she has three girls!) so she’s totally a pro at these parties.

By yesterday, I was done. Dead. Tired. I went slower than usual getting myself together in the morning but did make it outside for a nice walk. I really do love a good walk which is not something I ever thought I would say!

Are you shopping Cyber Monday? I don’t really think that I am although I probably should, right? My email inbox is overflowing with the deals! I know Bloomingdale’s is an additional 25% off everything that is already 25% off AND Henri Bendel is 30% off everything full price. I will report back if I buy anything!

[bctt tweet=”Fun weekend including an @ny_islanders game and awesome Bat Mitzvah party – best food ever! #weekend #isles #batmitzvah #mitzvahparty #food” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

What are you shopping for today?

Best thing you ate all weekend?

Random Things From The Weekend

 

Very random post today. I wouldn’t call it a weekend recap at all, just a mix of random things!

First, I already told you yesterday that I had my hair cut and highlighted on Saturday. Nothing beats happy hair.

On my wrist is a crushed velvet scrunchie from Forever 21. They come in a cute pack of two and have so many other fun accessories for really cheap.

The mirror here cut off my jeans but I am wearing my favorite 7 jeans that I told you about in Friday’s post.

I noticed a few versions are on big sale right now so I wanted to share with you:

I have this destroyed pair – you can’t refuse the price for what you are getting!

And this pair in the tranquil wash — I love this color as it’s on the dark side so it looks nice when you want to dress things up.

Oh! And the pink side stripe pair is on sale too, with a savings of 56% off regular price! I love these.

In other news, my son and I went to the movies over the weekend. We saw A Star Is Born — I definitely recommend it! I’m not much of a movie goer but it really was so good. Has anyone else seen it yet? What did you think?

Want a random universe story? Remember a few weeks ago I told you that I always get weird signs and things from the universe? Here’s a good one –

Saturday would have been my anniversary had I still been married. No big deal at all, but I don’t forget! Anyway, I kept thinking I would hear my wedding song on the radio (At Last by Etta James) during the day because things like that happen to me. Well, I didn’t hear it on the radio but would you believe that the song was in the movie? Uh huh. I couldn’t believe it either when it happened. Of all days to see the movie and of all songs to have playing at the bar in the beginning of the movie. I laughed.

Moving on now to other things like Mamoun’s Falafel.

The service was kind of terrible so I don’t know that I will go back. I had some sort of falafel sandwich? It was good but I would have liked to explore/learn more about the menu before ordering. No one really wanted to give me that opportunity.

I spent yesterday shopping for new tops to wear with those cute velvet joggers I told you about from the Gap. You have to get them, especially with the big Black Friday sales right now! Anyway, I’m still working on finding what I’m looking for (I want a nice body suit to dress them up to wear with heels) but I did get these adorable cozy socks from the Gap. They come in a ton of holiday patterns but I went with the heart. Gotta keep the feet warm.

Speaking of Black Friday sales, if I have some time this week, I’ll try to round-up the sales or put together some shopping picks. Let me know if there’s anything specific you are looking for and I can try to find you the sale for it!

How was your weekend? Best thing you ate?

Do you like falafel?

Are you starting your holiday shopping this week?

Weekend Sentence Per Picture

 

Friday night margarita pizza.

Saturday bagel and salad for lunch from Town Bagel.

If you don’t like rainbow cookies, we can’t be friends.

Saturday night dinner at Matteo’s celebrating my friend Meaghan’s birthday.

Outfit of the evening.

^My fave new top!

Meaghan’s beautiful daughter, who is barely 14, is definitely part of our inner circle.

Meaghan didn’t want a birthday cake (I don’t understand) so they came up with this delicious tartufo dessert for the table.

With the birthday girl.

No pictures from Sunday but I went for a walk, got my car washed, ran some errands and went to bed early!

Did you watch the marathon?

Best thing you ate over the weekend?

Do you love rainbow cookies? How about tartufo?

 

 

Sunday Run + Pizza + Emotional Eating Cake

 

We left off yesterday with me explaining that my workouts were thrown off last week which is why I was running yesterday, instead of Saturday.

Thankfully it stopped raining although I was cautious when running with all of the wet leaves on the ground.

The air felt nice so I stayed out for 7 miles. Nothing fancy going on, just an easy run.

The best thing I ate all weekend was this thin slice of whole wheat pizza Friday night.

Oh wait, I also had this chocolate cake over the weekend.

It was kind of like an emotional eating slice of cake, you know, with everything going on. I really didn’t want to discuss the terror that has been taking place but it’s the world we live in. I can’t pretend here on the blog that the outside world isn’t happening while I write about pretty glitter shoes and sweatpants that I think I need.

It started with the mail bombings. That was getting scary for a few days and actually affected both my work plans and personal life. I was supposed to be in the city at the Javits Center on Wednesday but made the quick decision  (literally waiting to get on the train) to not head in to the city. In the back of my mind, I was pretty sure it would have been fine to go but I didn’t want to take the chance. At the time, no one really knew what was going on exactly and it didn’t seem worth the stress. Then, with each new development during the week, my personal plans were affected because the other half of my plans gets involved when things like that take place. Best way for me to describe without saying too much here.

And what happened at the synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday? I can’t even. I can’t even talk about it. I’m mentioning it here without really knowing exactly what to say.

I bought a new pair of Kate Spade heels this weekend. The heels are to go with dresses for two parties I have coming up, both taking place in synagogues. I’m not political but I am Jewish and so what happened on Saturday hits as close to home as possible when it comes to these tragedies. Although, every senseless shooting hits close to home because it can happen to anyone and anywhere it seems, at anytime. And it needs to stop.

 

 

Weekend Highlights: Cupcakes + Pizza + Velvet

 

I spent Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday driving my son to/from where he needed to be. In between, I took a few pictures to capture some highlights.

First, some cupcakes. I was in the area of Smallcakes so I decided to bring a few home. The one with the m&m’s is actually a brownie. My son said it was terrific!

Pizza again.

My son and I stopped for pizza early Friday evening. I had this slice for dinner and he had his slice as a snack before going out for dinner with his friends. Boys are funny like that.

After running Saturday morning, I rushed out the door to get my son where he needed to be. Then I got my hair blown out (my favorite thing to do) and then landed at the mall.

I hadn’t had Maoz in a while so I figured why not. The roasted cauliflower is the best although I didn’t finish the bowl. While I do love Maoz, it’s a bit heavy for my stomach so I try to avoid that feeling. It might be the oil they use? Not sure.

I’ve been resisting these Vintage Havana Camo sweats since I saw them but I am certain I will go back to get them. I mean, look at the pink velvet stripes!! Velvet is totally my thing and totally trending right now in both fashion and event decor. You know event decor and fashion trends go hand in hand? Have we discussed this fact yet? There’s your event industry lesson. Fabrics, colors, and patterns that are seen on the runway and most often seen at weddings and other events. If I was having a winter wedding, I would totally choose a velvet linen for my tables right now.

Related: I still love these Vintage Havana sweats that I purchased last week!

Sunday morning I met a friend for my second breakfast. When was the last time I ordered an omelette? Probably about a year ago? I don’t really do eggs but felt like doing eggs yesterday for a change.

Then I stopped at Trader Joe’s followed by getting my nails done.

Once I picked my son up, he requested that I take him to a specific location so that his snapchat map would register he was there. Don’t ask. This is a total teen thing right now. Life is all about where you are on the snapchat map according to your friends or where you might be since you didn’t announce it but it’s obvious on the map. Since I am cool and totally understand these things, I cooperated and took him to a specific spot.

It just so happened that this spot was near my parents’ house so we showed up there spontaneously for dinner.

Pizza and salad = My life.

Time for another week, have a good one!

[bctt tweet=”Weekend highlights with a lot of food pictures on the blog today! #weekend #pizza #food #likeit #fashion #vintagehavana #velvet” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Best thing you ate over the weekend?

Who had a winter wedding? What were your colors/fabrics? Did you go with the season or go with what you always dreamed of as your wedding decor?