Escape to Lenox

A couple weekends ago we escaped to "The Blatnyre" in Lenox, Massachusetts.  We arrived on a Friday night to this beautiful sight:

Upon check-in, we found some treats in our room:

We didn't have much planned for the weekend (except relaxation) but we ended up having a great time!  We enjoyed a gourmet homemade breakfast each morning we were there.  From the whole wheat lemon poppy pancakes to the egg white omelettes -- everything was delicious!  There was hot chocolate, tea and coffee aplenty, plus a small fruit salad and biscuits served with homemade jams!  Delish!

On Saturday afternoon, we took a horse drawn carriage ride through the snow:

Check out this scenery!

The grounds were as blissfully quiet as they were beautiful. After our sleigh ride, we decided to get energetic and go snow shoeing!  It was my first time, and it was not as hard as I expected it to be.  Though my left shoe did fall off twice in one hour and I did temporarily lose my hat in the snow...

We warmed up by one of the fireplaces in the mansion before heading back outdoors to take a few spins on the tennis courts homemade ice rink!

And because no ice skating experience is complete without delicious hot chocolate and HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS (!!!!!, with banana bread!!!!!) we indulged...

The Blantyre offered a complimentary wine tasting to guests on Saturday evening, after which we received a tour of their wine cellar.  Wooo weee!!!  What a collection.  Their collection makes ours look like a few bottles in a cabinet.  Oh, wait...  ;)  After the tour, we listened to some piano music in the Music Room Lounge and then enjoyed a fantastic Chateaubriand dinner pour deux in the formal dining room.

On Sunday, we spent some time at the spa, which was very cozy and relaxing.  After getting our massage on, we headed out to visit The Normal Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.

And to cap the day off right, since it was past lunch time and getting verrrrry cooooooold, I had to enjoy one of these from a local bakery shop:

All in all, it was a great weekend and the perfect mix of fun and relaxation.  If you ever get the chance, I'd highly recommend spending some time at The Blantyre!

Alas, Monday eventually came and it was back to reality.  But our mini escape definitely made heading back to the office easier.  :)

*All photos are the property of This Is Life At Our Home*

Frankenstorm: Preparing for Sandy

"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."  ~Alexander Graham Bell

In preparation for Sandy's arrival we:

• Brought in all items from our balconies.  Since we live on the top floor of a high rise apartment building, the wind is especially strong which means that any items left outside could turn into dangerous projectiles.
• Closed and locked all external doors, and inserted towels into the tracks to pick up any water that may seep in.  We've had issues once or twice with heavy rain filling the tracks of our sliding glass doors, so we plan to keep an eye on them during the storm.
• Filled our car's gas tank.  It's unlikely they we would/could evacuate by car since the roads surrounding our apartment complex often flood to form what I like to call a moat around our building, but a full gas tank doesn't hurt, just in case.  We also parked our car on the 6th floor of our parking garage in case of flooding.
• Purchased an additional flashlight {which brings our total to 6 of various sizes}.
• Checked our candle + match supply = plentiful.
• Bought a case of bottled water.  {On sale for $3.33, woohoo!}
• Gathered and bought extra non-perishable foods.  {I'll take any excuse to eat Nutella!}
• Are keeping our cell phones on their chargers in case the power goes out.

I hope all you readers out there in blogland have your storm supplies ready, too!  Good luck and stay safe!!

West Elm Ice Cream Social

Consider this a public service announcement brought to you by an ice cream lover.  I take no credit for this offer and am receiving no perks from passing it on, except for the satisfaction of knowing I am spreading the joy that is ice cream.  ;)  Enjoy...

Source

Here are the details (via West Elm's blog):

Visit 1 of these 10 west elm stores on Saturday, August 4th from 1pm – 3pm and a store associate will gladly hand you a coupon for a free treat.

• Pleasant Pops will be at west elm Georgetown
• Westside Creamery will be at west elm Atlanta
• Feverish Gourmet Popsicles and Ice Cream will be at west elm Miami-Midtown
• Cool Haus will be at west elm Austin
• Sugar Wagon will be at west elm Nashville
• King Kone will be at west elm LA
• Scoop will be at west elm Portland
• Six Strawberries will be at west elm Seattle
• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream will be at west elm Chelsea + west elm Broadway in New York City

Summer Snacks

Summer = happiness for many reasons, not least of which is delicious summer snacks.  One of my favorite quintessential summer snacks is fresh cantaloupe.  It's sweet, easy to prepare, pretty and thirst-quenching all rolled into one!  Ahhh....

Upon arriving home from work this evening, tired and a little bit grumpy, I opened the fridge for a snack.  I'd totally forgotten about the melon we bought this weekend at the grocery store, so it was a *sweet* (pun intended!) surprise to discover it!  Tasty cantaloupe = tired and grumpy no longer!

Not only is cantaloupe tasty, but it's good for you, too!  Cantaloupe is a great source of Vitamin A, folate (a water-soluble B-vitamin), B3, B6, Vitamin C, Potassium, Fiber, Vitamin K and more!  The chart below lists the % Daily Value each serving of cantaloupe provides, courtesy of "the world's healthiest foods" website.

Source

This site states the benefits of cantaloupe as including: promoting the health of lungs, preventing cardiovascular disease and reducing stress! I'm no doctor, but I can tell you that cantaloupe cured my case of the Wednesdays! ;)

So eat up and enjoy!

What's your favorite summer snack?

Sunday Evening at Home

This evening, something doubly unexpected happened...

I cooked dinner:

while my handsome hubby installed hooks on the inside of our hall closet doors:

How's that for a quick dose of Sunday evening surprise!?  ;)

Dinner is Served!

Those who know me know that I very rarely cook.  I can count on my own fingers (possibly on one hand) the number of complete meals I've made.  I'm lucky enough to have married a wonderful husband who enjoys cooking and I really don't mind cleaning up (call me crazy but I find dish-washing sort of relaxing) so we make a good team in the kitchen.  Well, tonight I got home first and was starving so I decided to make dinner for a change.  Want to see what I made?

Veggie burger on wheat bread (topped with mustard & bell peppers)

Steamed broccoli

Butternut squash souffle

Baked potato wedges

What do you think?  It's not the most elaborate meal, but it was easy to make, relatively healthy and pretty tasty!  Not too shabby for a Tuesday night dinner if I do say so myself!  ;)

Sugar... not so sweet after all??

I just watched a segment from a recent 60 Minutes episode that I had to share:

Oh how I love sugar!  Life at our home typically includes me eating sugar in some form or another (ice cream, applesauce, fruit chews, peanut butter granola bars).  But after watching this clip I might start thinking twice about my love affair with Nutella.  According to recent research studies:

• Sugar consumption is linked to 75% of preventable obesity, Type II diabetes, hypertension & heart disease.
• Americans consume 130 lbs of sugar per person per year (which is 1/3 lb per day - yikes!!)
• Sugar consumption increases LDL levels and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, after only 2 weeks of consumption.  When you consume too many sweets your liver gets overloaded with fructose so it converts some of the frucstose to fat.  The fat ends up in the blood stream, creates bad LDL, forms blocks in arteries and causes heart attacks.
• Sugar intake may also correlate with cancer development, due to spikes in insulin.  Insulin can serve as a catalyst to fuel certain cancer types.  Nearly 1/3 of some common cancers (incl. breast and colon) have insulin receptors that use glucose to grow.
• The brain responds to sugar in a similar way as it does to cocaine.  Like with drug use, we build up resistance to sugar so we need more and more over time to feel the same effects.
• Regular table sugar (and sugar in foods like bread and peanut butter) can be just as harmful as high fructose corn syrup.

 Now that I'm aware of how toxic sugar may be, I'm going to resurrect my new year's resolution of eating healthier.  Or at least I'll try.  ;)

Beer and Honey Chili

I just came across this recipe on www.thursdaynightdinner.org and it sounds so yummy I wanted to share it!

Beer and Honey Chili

by stephania stanley

Source:  www.thursdaynightdinner.org

What you need:

1 ½ lbs ground turkey meat

1 ½ bottles of beer (ambers are great)

¼ cup honey

2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes

2 6 oz cans of tomato paste

1 16 oz black beans, rinsed and drained

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs chili powder

1 ½ tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

1 Tbsp olive oil

Grated Parmesan (optional)

What to do:

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions and sauté for three minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for an additional three minutes.  Next add the turkey meat.  Mix often to ensure meat is cooked thoroughly and sauté for about ten minutes or until meat is cooked through.  Carefully pour fat out of pot (making sure to leave onions, garlic, and turkey in the pot).  Return pot to heat.  Add one bottle of beer, honey, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne to turkey mixture.  Stir to mix and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.  Now it’s time to add the remaining beer, but add to taste.  Simmer for an additional 30 minutes and then add black beans.  Stir to mix and simmer for a final 30 minutes.  Serve in big bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan.  Serves 8-10.

Banana Bread

Here's a recipe for banana bread that I got from a co-worker.  I haven't tried it so I can't vouch for its tastyness, but wanted to share anyway!

Ingredients:

2 cups very ripe mashed bananas (about 4 bananas)

1/3 cup of non-fat vanilla yogurt

1/2 a stick of butter at room temp (4 tablespoons)

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:

- Preheat the oven to 350 and grease one loaf pan or 4 mini-loaf pans. 

- Cream butter and sugar in a bowl for a minute with a hand mixer at medium speed until combined. Add eggs one by one and continue mixing. Add yogurt, vanilla, and bananas and keep mixing. 

Add salt, baking powder and flour and mix until just combined. 

Optional: Add 1 cup of blueberries, chocolate chips or nuts. 

- Bake full loaf at 1 hour, mini loafs at about 50 minutes until knife comes out clean. Also works in muffin tins just reduce bake time.