NY Spender

People at GROM, sorry but you got the ALMOND GRANITA all WRONG!

2017-08-22T14:30:00.003-04:00

I am a Sicilian woman transplanted here in New York since the Nineties. Before that, I was born and raised in Sicily. This preface to say that I know a lot about both Sicily and New York.

One of my favorite foods from Sicily is the glorious GRANITA, and to be more precise the ALMOND GRANITA, which, in Sicily, you religiously eat accompanied by one or two warm brioches. Let me show you a picture of what this food of the gods looks like:

The white, cold and creamy stuff in the glass is the above mentioned almond granita.

As I said, it's creamy and refreshing when it hits your palate. It's better than any ice they sell here in New York, as it doesn't have any of the grittiness, and it feels so smooth in your mouth that it's hard to believe that it's made out of ice. The flavor is of delicate, sweet almonds.

The two warm brioches in the background are anything but secondary to the granita. They elevate the already deliciousness of the meal to something impossible to describe: you must to taste it to really understand the fortune of the few to which this experience is readily available every day (my fellow Sicilians!)

But let me try and give you an idea: You start by pulling apart the warm top bun of the brioche and you dip it in the granita. You scoop a little granita up with the brioche and eat both the granita and the brioche together. The mix of warm and cold takes the taste buds to an exhilarating roller coaster ride of textures and flavors, but also amazement that something so good only costs three Euros.

I was on vacation in Sicily just a few weeks ago, and I always try to squeeze in as many granita breaks as I possibly can in my daily meals. I even tried taking a few brioches back home with me, but they don't fly well and don't last long before they go stale.

In the past, I've tried making the granita and the brioches from scratch here at home, and I would rate my results a seven out of ten, but the work involved and the time it takes to get this meal together is just too much to do on a daily or even on a monthly basis.

So you can imagine my happiness (obviously mixed in with a bit of skepticism) when I heard that there was an Italian gelateria named GROM in New York that made my almond granita, and that it now had a store close to my job!

The next day I decided to give it a try, but before heading to Grom, I stopped by Whole Foods to buy a makeshift brioche so that I had something to dip in the granita.

When I reached Grom, I could feel the excitement growing inside me while I anxiously looked around the counter for my granita. When I finally found it, my super happy taste buds started sending messages to my brain that the fun was about to begin!

I asked the person behind the counter for a cup of almond granita, but instead of an answer I got a warning:

"You might want to have a taste before you buy it."

Wait, what?!? Who would ever say anything bad about my almond granita? Maybe this person had very different food preferences than mine (it's possible)? I accept the offer on a small spoon and get ready to taste this New York almond granita, which hopefully will taste just as good as the one they make in Sicily.

OMG! (And I never say OMG, but OMG!) It was DISGUSTING!

I couldn't believe, actually I couldn't understand what was in my mouth! I asked to see the container with the granita: it looked like pancake batter!

Almond granita looks nothing like pancake batter!

And it tasted like pancake batter with a bunch of fresh crushed almond in it! It's horrible, just horrible what they are trying to pass for almond granita at Grom New York!

My granita, made at home, with my Kitchen Aid Mixer tastes a hundred times better! It's such a shame.

I understand that maybe Grom has this idea of fresh ingredients (crumbled almonds) on their products, but this is not how they make it in Sicily. We don't chew a granita. This one was so gross, and I am not that one disgruntled and opinionated customer... the employee knew that it tasted horrible, and felt that it was necessary to give me a warning!

So now I am talking directly to you, Grom, New York. You have three options:

1) Stop calling it a Sicilian Almond Granita, because it is NOT a Sicilian Almond Granita. Call it a chilled, crunchy almond concoction, because that's what it basically is.

2) Take a trip to Catania, Sicily, and go to any granita places on Via Etnea. I can suggest Savia and Spinella as two great granita makers. Sit down and order an almond granita with a brioche and after you finish it, cry and feel the shame on having sold such gunk to your customers.

3) Give me a call. I will teach you how to make it.

Federico e Guido, ma voi siete mai venuti a New York ad assaggiare questa granita alla mandorla che fanno nelle vostre gelaterie? Ma l'avete mai assaggiata una granita a Catania?

Before I go, let me show you another picture of a REAL almond granita:

There! I hope this post won't fall on deaf ears, and Grom will learn how to make a decent almond granita (and toss that crunchy concoction in the garbage for good, because that's where it's going already anyway)!

The strange noises of a Staten Island night

2016-04-26T11:30:00.001-04:00

It's a bird, it's a plane... at least that time they figured out it was Superman! Not the same can be said about what people heard last night in Staten Island, NY.

I am a light sleeper and I'm usually woken up by thunder, cars roaring down my street, or unusual noises in general, but what woke me up last night, at around 3:40 AM, was something more than unusual. It was downright scary and eerie.

Because Spring has finally sprung here, I was sleeping with the window a bit open and my side of the bed is quite close to it: I like feeling the cool breeze of the nicer weather lull me to sleep, but alas, last night I got more than a breath of spring air.

It was raining and it was coming down pretty hard, and this is when I think I started to come out of my sleep, also because at this point lighting was stricking and my eyelids must be just eyes accessories because they don't shield me much from nuisances like these. So the pit pat pit pat of the rain coupled with the flashing lights at the window, and now I was up.

In my grogginess, my ears slowly started to capture a weird noise beside the pit pat and the occasional thunder: it sounded like... it sounded like... and this is where I started to get a little scared. It sounded like nothing I heard before and while half asleep I struggled to understand what was happening.

My first impression was that it was a plane flying low in the sky above us, but usually in that case the noise gets louder as it gets closer, and shortly after that it goes away. This noise didn't change in intensity and it wasn't going away, it just kept coming and going. On and off. It sounded like a plane yes, but as if the pilot was drunk or playing with the gas pedal, speeding up and then letting go, speeding up and then letting go. With each new noise my heart started to beat faster.

I didn't want to give in the fear and I kept telling myself that I was being silly, but with each new loud noise, it became harder and harder to keep calm. Weird thoughts of war or being attacked by 'something' started to cloud my judgment. I woke my husband up.

I told him 'Listen'.

I was afraid he was going to laugh at me, and I actually hoped he had an explanation to calm my fears so I could go back to sleep, but he didn't. He actually stood at the window listening for what felt like a whole minute. The noises were still out there. Somewhere up in the dark sky but somehow so close.

All the reruns of Twilight Zone kept playing in my head. A little bit of Stephen King's The Mist. Fortunately I never watched The Walking Dead because my next thought would have been 'Zombies are coming!'

And then, just like that, the noises stopped. The rain stopped. We heard a few fire trucks pass by. And then, my husband went back to sleep. But not I!

As a mother and a good citizen, I wanted to make sure that everything was ok, and really needed a rational explanation for what had happened. I couldn't just go to sleep. So I turned to my virtual friends on a Staten Island Facebook group. I posted a note asking if anyone else had heard what I had heard. And the comments started pouring in! All of us up in the middle of the night wondering and no one had an answer. Just a million different theories: aliens, thunders, a tornado, gas escaping from a plant in NJ, steam releasing from somewhere in NJ, a plane falling down... basically nobody knew.

Of all the good comments one described the noise perfectly for me, the way I couldn't: it sounded like a blow torch going on and off. A blow torch, yes, but not as if your neighbor was doing a little work in his backyard, no, this sounded as if Zeus was torching something up on Mount Olympus!

After reading for a good hour all the comments that kept coming in, I was finally able to relax and go back to sleep.

But waking up this morning and still finding nothing on the news about it makes me uneasy. Were all the reporters deep asleep? Is this something no one cares about? Or did Staten Island really cross, for a brief period of time, the borders of the Twilight Zone?

Dear United Colors of Benetton...

2015-08-30T09:28:00.000-04:00

Dear Benetton,

I haven't written on my blog in quite a while because I've moved on from fashion obsession, but you've managed to excite (read pi$$) me enough to pick up the "pen" again and write a few words just for you.

If you don't have enough time to read, well, I'll try to sum it up in these first few lines:

What the #*^@ is going on with you?

But let me start from the beginning.

As I am soon traveling to Washington DC, I was doing some preliminary research about things to do and places to shop at while there. Since here in New York we have only ONE pathetic Benetton store left, I wanted to see if maybe I could find a store in Washington DC to buy some fall items before the cold hits us.

Well, I wasted a good few minutes of my precious time looking up and down your list for the UNITED STATES store locator, but as you can see below, it seems that the UNITED STATES are not included in your list.

As this seemed hard to believe, I looked up the WHOLE list one more time, wasting more precious time that I could have used to read up on how many new stores Zara is opening up in the US... but, alas, you've decided that the United States do not need to be on the list (I've already notified you, so if by the time you read this the error has been already corrected... you're welcome).

So basically I had to use Google to find the store in Washington DC, but I better hurry up and get there before it closes, because from reading the reviews on Yelp, it's not looking good for those folks over there:

Benetton in Washington DC - reviews from Yelp

Not that the reviews from San Francisco look any better:

Benetton in San Francisco - reviews from Yelp

The biggest complaint is that the sales people are rude, and that is a HUGE problem for any retail business, so maybe that's a good place to start if you are in any way interested in keeping your business going here in the US.

Next is the declined quality of your clothes, and I can attest to that since a lot of my sweaters never make it past one year of wear.

Lastly, your online store is one of the worst out there (not to mention the fact that you came to the online shopping scene so late that so many people still think you don't have an online presence) with such a little selection and long shipping times.

So Mr. Benetton, what is going on???

See, when I got tired of blogging I just stopped writing, I didn't continue just because, without passion and putting horrible pieces of writing out there just to abuse my readers. No, I just stepped away, because that's the right thing to do.

But you? What are you doing here in the US?

Every time I turn around another store closes. We are left with only one store in Manhattan, when we used to have quite a few. And when I try to ask any of your sales people they never know what to say.

I was in Italy last year, and I've found many Benetton stores still open and happy to operate and help customers. But here in the States it seems that Benetton is a completely different animal, a brand that nobody cares about anymore. So what's the point of keeping it open?

I understand that it operates as a franchise here, and that is what many people are pointing at as the problem, but guess what? McDonald's is a franchise, so no, that should not be the problem.

The problem must be up top. It's the operations, it's the lack of interest and focus, it's the complicated business model, it's the resigned attitude that are going to be the fatal blows that will make Benetton disappear from the US.

Is that what you want? If yes, then congrats, you will get your wish soon.

But if not, what are you waiting for?? You need to make a serious 180 turn asap.

You need better people managing these US stores, you need better quality control, you need to care and show that you care. People in the US have far too many choices to let any sales person be rude to them more than once. They don't need to shop at Benetton.

The only thing keeping you alive is people like me, nostalgic idiots who travel miles and miles to get to a store, but how long do you think this is going to last?

So, if you are in any way interested in keeping Benetton alive here in the US, please start making tangible changes, starting with hiring people who know how to handle the US market and US customers (because it seems you are lacking on both fronts).

Best Regards,
a soon to be ex customer

The Secret to Happiness

2014-05-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've finally found that the secret to being happy... is being content!

While I'm not sure this will apply to all, it definitely applies to me. Ok, so it's my secret.

As an A personality, a perfectionist and a very "anal"itical person, I've always been very driven, but I've also realized that this way of being has made me very tired, always looking for something (better) and never completely happy with anything. Well, that's no way to be (if you want to be happy).

So I started to change my outlook on things, and while it wasn't easy, having a happiness goal at the end of the line helped tremendously.

Instead of looking for the "best" I started looking for something "good". And let me tell you, finding good is a lot easier than finding the best! Especially in our modern society, where we have so many options on anything, finding the best intrinsically means you need to evaluate every option, and there lies the problem: do you really want to spend your life looking for the best of everything and being left with no time to enjoy life itself? Me, neither.

Why having to try out every body soap ever created (read my previous post) to find a favorite one? What if you find that you really like the third one you've ever tried and there are still 10 different brands you haven't tried on the shelves? Why spend the money and time to try out the other 10 and then probably find out that you still prefer that third one? Be content. Appreciate that third one and move on.

The body soaps example is just that, an example. You can apply it to many other things in life, from big to small: a couch, a house, a dog, a job, a man...

Just don't confuse being content with settling. When you settle you're rarely happy, and you'll settle mostly because you ran out of choices (or you thought you had no choice). When you are content with something, it genuinely makes you happy (if it doesn't, then you're settling), it's a choice you can stand behind and it fills that void that kept you looking for more.

And the most important place to be content is with yourself. Appreciate what you have, learn to love what you don't like about yourself, and be content with who you are. Sometimes is not so easy, but with time and effort and a little self-love, the minute you are finally content with yourself you'll realize it will be a lot easier to also be happy.

My Favorite Drugstore Body Wash

2014-04-16T08:59:00.003-04:00

I am a bit "compulsive" when it comes to picking and choosing new beauty products. I can't just walk in, buy a product, go home and be happy with it... I need to know that my choice is the best choice out there, or at least, the best choice for me. So how do I do that?

Slowly and painfully.

Slowly because it takes me a long time, since I will try so many products before I settle on one. And painfully because I will try a few "bad" products along the way and maybe hate their smell or their overall feeling on my skin... but it's all part of the process. The process that helps me find the best product out there.

Obviously, there are more products that I can buy and test out there without going crazy, so my technique involves different steps and a few heartless ones at the beginning of the process. Let me show you how I do it:

1) The first step consist of trying to exclude as many products as possible without having to buy them. I'll exclude them based on brand and smell. So goodbye Dial, Softsoap and Suave, because you are just too low on the scale of "fancy" soaps for me.

2) Then I'll try some new ones that I've never tried before. Unfortunately, for as much as I like the Nivea brand, I didn't care much for the body wash. And I discovered too late (after I bought it) that it's loaded with parabens.

3) Lastly, I'll go over some of the old favorites to see if I like them still.

Caress is very silky and smells nice, but maybe it's too rich for my taste (I like the soap to wash off and not leave a thick film on my skin)

St. Ives is a brand I like, but it has a few shortcomings, for example this whipped silk body wash smells great, but it's too thick, and their coconut scent doesn't smell pure coconut and it's feels too "silicone-y" on the skin. There are still other scents I would like to try, but so far I haven't found a winner here.

But enough blabbering, here are the three best body washes you can find at the drugstore... drum roll please!

Number 3 is Dove. Dove has always been a winner, no matter which scent I try. I love the Cucumber for a Spring/Summer wash, cool and refreshing. In winter I usually pick a creamier one like their Deep Moisture. The consistency is creamy and moisturizing and it never leaves a film.

Number 2 is Olay. Their Ribbons 2 in 1 Essential Oils line is amazing, so moisturizing, and this scent below, the jojoba extract with the luscious orchid smells just divine!

And my winner is... Aveeno! Their Stress Relief Body Wash with Lavender is my favorite and it does just that to me: it takes my stress away. It's not too thick, it has a delicate scent and it leaves me clean and refreshed... it's just the perfect everyday body wash.

I hope you've enjoyed this stroll down the aisle with me. Please feel free to leave your favorite drugstore body wash in the comments. Until next time...

Why is our Food so Unhealthy?

2014-03-25T10:21:00.002-04:00

Let's make this part of the Summer Fit Club posting, but really, it's more of a personal rant that's been going on in my head, and maybe if I put it down in words it will torture me a little bit less.

What is happening to our food?

Going grocery shopping has become a torture for me, it's a puzzle, such a hard job. Having to pick and choose, pick up and put down, reading label after label and only finding crap and more crap put in this food we are supposed to eat.

Why?

Who wants to hurt us and kill us so much? Why do they want us sick and dead? Because it's cheaper to make something with horrible ingredients than with natural ones? So they make the big bucks and we get cramps and IBS and GERD and diabetes and heart attacks?

Before having a child I didn't care as much, but now it is my responsibility to feed my daughter "good" food. Except it's so hard to find it.

At any regular supermarket you can throw out 97% of the stuff as it's all crap. Anything boxed, crap. Most of the things frozen, crap. Non organic veggies and fruits, crap and old... I seriously get dizzy at the supermarket.

My husband asks me: do you have a list? And I say: yes, I want:

1) Cookies made only with sugar, flour and eggs - but they don't sell them
2) Fruit juices without high fructose corn syrup
3) Sliced bread without fake flour and high fructose corn syrup
4) Cereals without tons of sugar and artificial colorants
5) Chewing gum with no artificial sweeteners - but they don't make them anymore
6) Apples without shiny waxes
7) Chickens without growth hormones
8) Nothing genetically modified except it's impossible to distinguish which is and which isn't
9) Fish that hasn't been farmed-raised
and the list goes on and on

Of course my husband hates to go grocery shopping with me...

And not even the "healthy" stores have all the answers. They sell plenty of high fructose corn syrup stuff, they have artificial sweeteners and non-organic stuff all over the place, so it's still up to me to pick and choose what's good and what's not.

But what do I know? Sure, I know that high fructose corn syrup is bad for me so I try to avoid it. But then the "big companies" get smart and take the high fructose corn syrup out of some products to make you feel better, so you start buying these products again. Except now they've put sucralose in them. Or fructose. Or something else that doesn't sound bad for you, but that it still is. So in the end, you feel cheated and really start to mistrust this company and that company...

It's up to us to stay informed, which is hard because at this point everyone has an opinion and there are people out there saying that splenda is bad for you and then there are the people that say that splenda is not bad for you. So who do you believe?

And let's not go eat outside, please! Greasy fast foods, unhealthy chain restaurants... everybody is out there trying to make a quick buck by feeding you anything that is somewhat digestible. Yuck. I'm seriously grossed out by our food and by all the politics and money making schemes behind it. And I am saddened by it. Because I don't know what to feed my daughter and wonder what she will feed her kids one day.

So what is the solution, you ask? There is no solution, not an easy one, at least. But there are things you can do, changes you can make, beliefs you can change.

I personally believe in the past, in the days of homemade food. Being Italian, I grew up with a lot of natural and home made foods and I still see that as the better food. So while I know that the pasta in a box I buy today is probably worse than it was 20 years ago in Italy (who knows what they do to the flour these days?), I still think it's a little better than buying a frozen dinner with some (old) chopped meat and a side of mac and cheese.

I don't get any of these things for my daughter. Sometimes I feel bad because maybe I'm being too strict but honestly deep down I know it's for the best, and if she's never had Skittles or blue lollipops or Dora the Explora's colored candies (yet!) I am sure her little body is all the better because of it (her only vice is Sprite, just because it's my vice, too, but we are not drinking it so much anymore).

I also have a secret weapon on how to discern if a food is good or bad... my stomach. It will immediately let me know if I was a fool by buying that hot dog at the corner stand. I get cramps. I get pains. I get sick.

But if you are not as lucky (!) as I am, with a smart stomach that knows better, please continue (or start) to read labels, keep yourself informed, try to stay ahead of the current that wants you to eat shit and get fat and sick. And STOP BUYING UNHEALTHY FOODS. If I stop, and you stop, and they stop... maybe those big companies that control our lives will stop making them, and they will start selling better foods again.

You need to know and care, because if you don't care for yourself and your family, sure as the sun will shine tomorrow, nobody else will.

Summer Fit Club - Week 7

2014-03-19T09:45:00.002-04:00

This week let's talk about setbacks and acceptance.

What do you do when you start to lose motivation? When the pounds stop coming off? When you're tired, bored and hungry?

You keep going. You look at yourself in the mirror, accept the fact that you're human, and you keep going. You're obviously doing this because you love yourself, so remember that. You love yourself and you want to take care of yourself. And that means not stuffing your face with all kind of unhealthy foods. Not being lazy around the house. Not saying "what's the point?"

The point is that YOU and only YOU can take care of YOU. No one else can do this for you.

And if sometimes the pounds don't come off as fast as you would like, well, it's ok. You need to accept that. And keep going. Accept yourself for what you are and then try to make it better.

So for this week continue doing what you have been doing exercise and diet wise, but start spending some time thinking about how to accept and love yourself more. That mole on your face, that wrinkle on your nose, those love handles, your big butt, your small calves... see them as your own, as what defines you, and if you can't get rid of them, then learn to love them! And then keep going...

Trying out all the Essie Nail Polishes

2014-03-14T20:21:00.001-04:00

Spring is around the corner, and you know what that means? Manicures! Pedicures!

I have a nail polish fetish. I need to try out all the nail polishes out there... well all the ones from Essie. And now that they've gone free of all the bad stuff (DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde), I love them even more.

The main problem I have with this "try them all" idea is money and time. If I had the money, time wouldn't be much of an issue because I figured I could buy the whole collection

And then try them at home a few at a time. Since I don't have about $3,000 to spend on nail polish right now, I need to be a little selective and a little bit less anal about it.

The plan is to try and eliminate a few colors right off the bat, based on the idea that they would undoubtedly look bad on me, so doing that leaves me with this:

You see my dilemma? How am I ever going to fulfill this dream?!? Not to mention the fact that they keep adding new colors and taking away old ones, which means I'm always running after them with no way of catching up (well, not counting the $3,000 solution).

BTW, have you tried the reverse french yet?

Summer Fit Club - Week 6

2014-03-10T12:40:00.001-04:00

I can't believe we've been doing this healthy new lifestyle for 6 weeks now!

I see results, especially on the scale, but I need to work out more in order to define muscles better.

This is what we are doing this week:

We're walking 40,000 steps! If you go out and walk a little each day, this is not an impossible goal.

We're still focusing on the 30 day challenge, and I have to come clean and say that I skipped a few days here and there, so I am basically going to restart once again... here is the schedule from last week:

In any case, always try to exercise one way or another every day.

Last thing is water. If you already drink enough water, good for you, but if you are anything like, me you can definitely benefit from more water. The goal is to drink at least 6 12oz cups per day. One fun way to keep track is to get a 12oz cup and wrap 6 rubber bands around it. Every time you drink a full cup of water take one rubber band out and refill the cup. Do this until you have taken out all the rubber bands. And it goes without saying, if you feel like drinking more than that, please don't stop at 6 cups.

Here is to another healthy and fit week!

Capturing the Life

2014-03-05T22:40:00.001-05:00

As the saying goes, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. Photography comes here to help you look at your past life and remember how it was or even notice something you haven’t noticed because you were busy doing something else.

We think that we are never happy, but when we look at photographs taken when we were young, we realize that there was a time in our life when our spirits were full of joy. I am not talking about that advertising joy, captured by some New York commercial photographer for a fast food ad. It is the photograph where the real and involuntary smile brings up the wild happiness one can feel.

The realness of life is what makes photography a powerful art. It can show us the existence of something in the most genuine way. A picture with a little girl hugging a puppy or the very important image of two presidents shacking hands, it is all life. Every image is an immortalized moment that can mean a lot to someone. If there is no business and Photoshop involved in the creation of one picture, we can simply say that it has to be the truth that’s portrayed in it.

Photography has one huge mission in this world, to capture the life that is happening right now with all of us. And I have to say, this is a really hard job. In 20 years when you will get old and pretentious you’re going to want amazing pictures of the young you. So when your life is really good, take a photo of your happy face. If everything goes bad, you can also capture the worst moment, so you will forever know that you’ve been through some hard stuff and you know what life is.

Sometimes a photograph can give you more details and information than the happening and this is mind blowing. Just because the time is ticking, your mind cannot capture it all and insert it somewhere in your head, looking at a photograph can make you remember or experience a new feeling about what was really going on. Capturing the life is an amazing process and we should all give it up to the photographers and cameras that can make our best moments live forever. Photography is the one that creates the personal history of every single one of us.

===========================
Disclaimer: Sponsored Post

Summer Fit Club - Week 5

2014-03-03T13:21:00.001-05:00

A few new rules (or food for thought) this week:

1) Get enough sleep: Make a point of going to sleep earlier and sleep at least 7 or 8 hours. When we don't sleep enough, we stress our body, and that means more production of cortisol, which in the end means more fat, especially around the belly.

2) If you are bored with last week's exercise routine here is a new one for you (thanks to Kathryn who likes to always take thing a step more difficult!), and remember it's ok to switch the exercises around so that your body won't get used to them (that's when they lose efficacy):

3) Lastly, continue to keep yourself motivated by reading up on foods, diet and exercises. These are some of the things that motivate me (from our board on Pinterest):

Summer Fit Club - Week 4

2014-02-24T23:16:00.000-05:00

Ok now. I'm doing pretty good with my diet, and I'm losing weight. The problem I am having is with exercise because for one reason or another I am just not exercising as much as I should. So this week is all about exercising!! One goal: EXERCISE A LITTLE EVERY SINGLE DAY!

It can be anything, a yoga session, going up and down the stairs 10 times, walk the dog 30 minutes extra, try-out free classes of something new... anything at all. The point is to MAKE time for exercising even when you feel there is NO time.

This week I'm starting three of those 30 days challenges: the plank challenge

The squat challenge:

And the push-up challenge:

Just by combining these three I will do a lot more than I am doing now... so let's go! Let's get to work!!

Kors is the new Coach

2014-02-21T13:28:00.004-05:00

While some people are getting excited about Coach's new handbags collection, I sit here and yawn. It seems that everybody loves the new Borough bag... but not me.

I feel Coach is losing touch with its own brand and with what it used to stand for, and now is trying hard to be what it is not: a high-class, highly-priced brand. Except that it's failing. The sophisticated simplicity it is trying to achieve is translating, for me, into boring handbags that are looking too masculine for my taste and too expensive for my wallet.

On the other hand, Michael Kors seems to be doing everything right these days. All I have to do is walk into one of his stores and I want to buy everything that's on the shelves! A quest I'm really excited about completing in a few years' time. ;)

From its bags to its accessories to its perfumes (have you smelled MK's perfumes?!?! Oh wow!!), Michael Kors is my go-to brand of the moment. Every things about this look speaks to me.

I want to be by the water, wearing a few gold toned things, catching a few rays and sporting beautifully toned legs. Oh, and yes, have a nice "boy accessory" ;)

This, instead, is Coach's ad for the Borough bag: just as bad as the bag. These girls look like they could use a little sun. And a boyfriend.

I mean there is no question about it, Michael Kors is going for a glamorous image for women, and I am all for that. I want to be like her (she looks like she is enjoying herself and looks so stylish)

Instead, why would I want to look like her? And wear a Coach bag that looks like it was left to shrink in the dryer?

In conclusion, definitely, Kors is the new Coach because from handbags

To wallets

To watches

To shoes

this

is now better (happier even!) than this

Summer Fit Club - Week 3

2014-02-17T08:51:00.002-05:00

This Summer Fit Club is not as easy as one would think, is it??

And here in New York is so hard these days to just go out for a walk because everything is covered in snow, so you really need to be creative and motivated to get out there and exercise.

Well, I did! When I had enough cabin fever and frustration for not being able to add up to my weekly steps, I went out there and started shoveling, and I hate shoveling!

All in all I didn't reach my walking goal this week (what else is new?), but I did walk more than the week before, almost 20,000 steps. I exercised three days: shoveling, plus swimming and yoga at home.

As for food, I am really controlling my portions, and I try to stop before I am full all the time, and I think it's working. And I stayed away from bad snacks. I still drank soda but skipped it those three days as suggested.

Here is the plan for next week:

We need to start defining muscles and define our exercise routine, so we continue with three days exercise (or more if you wish) for 30 minutes each, and one of them must include this routine:

And another day include legs! Follow these exercises and learn them because we'll keep adding to them.

Let's walk 32,000 steps!

And eat less junk less soda less snacks. We'll have one completely clean day this week, you pick the day, and that day NOTHING on your plate can be junk. Nothing. And still skip your bad indulgence for three days.

So get to work and remember to check out our board on Pinterest for more ideas!

Summer Fit Club - Week 2

2014-02-09T08:33:00.000-05:00

How is everybody? Skinnier?? ;)

Amazingly, I am... somewhere and somehow I have lost a few pounds already and I am thrilled and more inspired than ever. All I envision is the beach and me wearing a bikini after 6 years of one-pieces!!!

One thing about one-pieces bathing suits I've noticed is that no matter how hard you try and no matter how hard you look, they will always make you look "matronly". Unless, of course, you buy the ones with cut-outs in all different places, and then you'll look ridiculous for your age (at best) or sluttish (at worst).

So I'm really shooting for a bikini body this summer because I'm tired of looking matronly.

But enough about me, how was your first week on the Club?!?

I did good on 50% of the things: I gave up soda two days, and I drank a fruit juice instead of a meal. Unfortunately on the exercise camp things were hard to achieve, and I will blame the snow everywhere for my lack of walking, in fact I only achieved 12,664 steps in a week instead of the 28,000 suggested. And I only really exercised one day. Oh well, let's try again!

Goals for the 2nd week:

Walk 30,000 steps! Absolutely possible if you walk every day.

Bring up the exercise to 25 minutes three times a week.

Here comes the tough part: give up one bad addiction for three days.

Start snacking on healthy things like nuts, and forget about horrible ones like potato chips.

And if you feel a bit bummed because of the weather or the diet or the exercise, start pampering yourself, take a relaxing bath, try a new perfume, and don't forget your night cream, because we're working towards a skinny and healthy body, which also needs to be hydrated and young-looking.

Keep up the good work!

Michael Kors Hamilton North South Handbag

2014-02-05T09:28:00.005-05:00

I had a bag dream.

Seriously.

I just woke up this morning and remember vividly this dream where a co-worker had an awesome bag and I couldn't help but stare. So the first thing I did was go online and try to find this bag. Or any bag. I was like a recovering alcoholic who had a beer dream and now was craving a drink sooo badly.

I'm craving a new bag.

Hi, I'm Elisa. I am a bagaholic. There is no doubt in my mind.

But let me show you what I want... I want a white bag for Summer! It's not such a crazy idea, is it?

A Michael Kors, of course. After I bought my first MK last September for my birthday I now want more of them. And I already had my eyes on this Hamilton North South model, and now in white she looks just perfect.

One question remains, though. This model comes in the above style which is a Saffiano leather and also in the below "regular" leather.

It seems that Saffiano is a treated leather, which is harder and more scratch resistant. I honestly prefer softer leather, but I like the idea of a white bag that will not get dirty easily... oh the dilemma!

I need to get to a Bloomies asap and feel the difference, and then start saving some $358 for it, because summer is coming!!!

P.S. My first Michael Kors bag was the East West Large Tote, so it totally makes sense that now I need to buy a North South Large Bag, doesn't it? I thought so, too. ;)

Summer Fit Club - Week 1

2014-02-02T09:00:00.003-05:00

Goals for this 1st week:

Walk no less than 28,000 steps
The idea is to keep moving, find excuses to log more steps in your pedometer, park far away from the store, go up and down steps... buy the Moves app if you need to, it's totally worth it.

Exercise at least 3 days for no less than 20 minutes each time
I am not going to pick days for you because everybody's schedule is different, but make sure you exercise at least three days this week. Yoga is good to begin an exercise routine. Later on, we will make sure to add some aerobics and weights.

Give up one "bad" addiction (soda, chocolate) for at least 2 days
Rome was not built in a day and I can't give up soda all at once! We'll start with two days and we will increment slowly later, when we'll be more into "healthier lifestyle" mode.

Substitute one lunch with a Juice
I won't ask you to starve yourself. For this first week, this is the only change in our diet, have one liquid lunch. Of course, be mindful of what you put in your mouth in general, and try to pick healthier choices when you can. Check out the Summer Fit Board on Pinterest for recipes ideas.

You might want to weight yourself every Monday morning, and also take your measurements (waist, chest, hips), this way you will be able to keep track of your success (failure is not an option).

And most important of all, keep yourself in the zone. Never forget why you're doing this, tell your friends to keep you motivated, read healthy recipes, look at pictures of healthy and beautiful people (also look at pictures of sedentary and sick people to discourage you from quitting). Stick around the blog and pinterest and we'll keep each other going.

See you in a week!

Summer Fit Club

2014-01-31T15:12:00.000-05:00

Ok, here it is!

The SUMMER FIT CLUB!

It's time to get off our butts and get ready for Summer (God knows I need it!).

The course of this program will be from February until May, for a beauty of 4 full months of food deprivation and kick-a$$ exercises. Are you excited yet?!? ;)

WE START ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 3RD.

SO PIG OUT THIS WEEKEND IF YOU NEED TO!!!

I'm going to try to be as simple as possible so here are the first pointers:

1) Sign up for Pinterest and follow me there

http://www.pinterest.com/nyspender/.

There is a Summer Fit Club board where we will post inspirational pictures, recipes, exercise routines, and screenshots of our walking apps. You need to send me your Pinterest user name so I can add you to the board so that you can pin on it too. This will be a big part of our Club, so don't skip it!

2) Get a pedometer or download a walking app (I use Moves, it costs $2.99) that will keep track of how much you walk. Another big part of our routine.

3) If you can, buy a juicer, or a blender, because there will be juices.

4) Come back on Monday to get your first weekly assignment and a schedule.

5) Enjoy this weekend!!! ;)

Trending Now: Red Lipstick

2014-01-23T22:36:00.002-05:00

Take a look at these pictures...

Can you tell what they have in common?

Yes! Red Lips!

Red lips are everywhere right now!

Pick up a magazine and keep a tally of all the different colors of lipsticks on the ads and on the models, add your numbers up and I bet you that red is the winner.

So get out there and find the most bad-a$$ red lipstick you can find, and wear it with confidence.

I'm personally liking the Sephora collection because it has so many reds to choose from that you will definitely find the perfect red for you. And it's affordable, so you can buy a pink one, too (you, know, summer is coming)! ;)

Disney "Frozen" Merchandise Is Already Sold Out

2014-01-09T21:05:00.002-05:00

Dear Disney,

we recently went to see your new movie, Frozen, and we loved it very much: it had a great story, great characters and great music.

As it usually happens in this day in age, when a movie comes out, so does the movie merchandise, and with reason, because as soon as we came out of the movie theater, my daughter wanted a "Frozen" doll, specifically the "Elsa" doll.

So the next day I went to the Disney store to purchase the doll, and to my surprise I didn't find many "Frozen" things. When I asked the sales guy he responded: "We don't really have much "Frozen" merchandise right now"

Hmm. That left me a little perplexed, since the movie just came out in November, so why would you not have the store full of "Frozen" merchandise in December?

I left the store and went home, thinking about buying the doll online, maybe on Amazon.

But when I found the doll on Amazon, the price made me jump a little, since it was $60 instead of the usual $16.95 price tag of these barbie sized Disney dolls!

Again, I was perplexed.

I kept looking, but most of the "Elsa" merchandise was either sold out or priced ridiculously high. (A lot of the "Anna" stuff is available, though, even if it doesn't do me any good. Obviously, Elsa is the character that people liked best.)

What was happening I wasn't sure, but I started to get a feeling... a feeling that most of the "Frozen" merchandise had sold out, or better yet, had been bought en masse by scalpers everywhere and now they were reselling it and making huge profits for themselves.

Now I ask you, Disney: How is this benefiting you?

Not so much, I don't think...

So why wouldn't you quickly replenish your shelves with legit merchandise so that people can buy it at the normal prices instead of having to pay so much more, or, like in my case, sit and wait until you get your "stuff" together?

The only explanations I can think of are:

1) You are placing your orders in China, and for some reason, it's taking you a long time to get new shipments.

2) China is asking for more money and you have not reached an agreement and so the orders are "frozen".

3) The executive person behind the merchandise ordering strategy at Disney is a DreamWorks spy, and secretly plotting your ruin and failure.

We'll continue to sit and wait here, because I am not going to play the scalpers' game, but I am already thinking about putting together my own "Elsa" doll from others we already own (Cinderella + Rapunzel + Periwinkle).

Downton Abbey Season 4 Recap

2014-01-07T00:19:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday PBS aired Season 4 premiere of Downton Abbey.

While in the US people still think they need to wait for Sundays to find out if Lady Mary will ever kiss another man, I have already told you (and continue to tell you) that you don't need to wait, and if you take one day off work this week, you can have the whole season watched and can write your own blog post full of spoilers (just google "watch Downton Abbey free online"). Here is what happened this season in a nutshell:

NOTHING

Nothing on the show just like nothing has happened to Dan's career after Downton. But let's recap, shall we? (contains spoilers)

END OF SEASON 3

SEASON 4

Transfer Your Home Movies to DVD with YesVideo

2014-01-02T10:07:00.002-05:00

One of my New Year's resolutions is to organize my collections of music, photos and videos. When I say organize I mean get rid of music I don't listen to, print favorite pictures and create photo albums, and transfer videos to DVDs from bits and pieces of hundreds of iphone, videocamera and older home movies videos. Yeah, I know, wish me luck!

One way I am achieving my "video" goal is by using the services of YesVideo, because they are the easiest way I can transfer my home movies from Super 8 to DVD (sure, I've thought about borrowing a projector and playing the movie on the wall while recording the scenes on my iphone, but I seriously doubt the quality would be the same, or any good at all!)

After giving YesVideo a try in the past, I was so impressed with their service that I've decided to transfer over all of my old Super 8s with them, because what's the point of having all these big wheels laying around if I can't watch them?

To be honest, I was aware of other transfer services before, but their prices were ridiculously expensive, and so I've always held on to my old movies, waiting for a better deal, and I'm so glad that I've found YesVideo, because it makes this process so easy and affordable.

But let me show you:

The first step is to go to www.yesvideo.com and enter your email address to get started.

In the next page you select the types of home movies you want transferred to DVD. In this case, I selected a 5-inch reel and a 7-inch reel. You immediately see the cost to process these transfers.

You then have the option of shipping the movies to them yourself, or have them send you an EasyShip Kit.

Once they receive your movies, they will send you an email to confirm receipt, and then another email when the movies have been transferred to video (it usually takes 14 days). At that point you can access and watch your movies online on your computer, and also on your iPhone and iPad with their free apps.

After the transfer is complete, they will ship back your original media to you. If you also wish to have a copy of your movies on DVD shipped back to you, you can select that option when you place your order:

But if you think you will want to edit your movies, you should wait and customize your DVD online, after they've transferred your videos. This process is so simple, all you have to do is drag and drop the different scenes you care about.

In my case, my film reel had a lot of nothing (including a lot of a "full moon" minutes), until the last scenes, where I finally show up at the beach!

So the option of customizing the video is priceless for me, because I am able to select scenes from many different film reels and discard any useless ones.

That way I can fit 10 big and clumsy film reels in just one DVD. The cost of a custom DVD is $9.99.

Another option you have is to create "snippets" from the transferred videos, and you can immediately share them on Facebook or via email. Yes, that's me all tanned at the beach! ;)

YesVideo is a great tool to finally be able to organize your old movies and preserve their survival. Give it a try!

Update: Now you also have the option of sharing your videos on a website or a blog, just by clicking on the blue plus sign next to the videos: Create a link to this snippet, which will give you a code to embed any video you like.

Whatever Happened to Ann Taylor?

2013-12-29T01:10:00.001-05:00

Hurts my Eyes just to look at it

Dear Ann,

I don't know what happened. Until not too long ago all I had to do was step into one of your stores and I would find the best sweaters, the most beautiful shoes, the brightest colors, the coziest pants... but now?

What happened now?

I was shopping mid-December at a very nice mall, and most of the stores were mobbed by people picking out gifts for themselves and for others, but when I passed in front of your store I saw the sales people bored and lonely. Not one customer was in the store. I almost wanted to take a picture, but I felt bad and didn't.

A few days later, I had a conversation with a co-worker who is (was) an Ann Taylor lover just like me, and I could have easily said exactly the same things she was telling me: "I don't know, it was weird, I went into the store and I found nothing I wanted". Two years prior, she and I would go in your store and had to use all of our will power not to buy the whole collection in one shot!

What happened?

From the Must Have Looks. Really??

My mother-in-law knows how much I love(d?) your clothes and this year, just like all the other years, she gave me a generous gift certificate to spend at Ann Taylor. And for the first time ever, I was sad about it, because I didn't know if I could find anything I liked.

As a matter of fact, I went to your store on December 26th, when every other store in the mall was even more mobbed than that time in mid-December, and guess what? Your store was, once again, empty. The sale was there, lots of things at 40% off, but still empty. And I left empty handed, too. I told myself to wait until the Spring collection, hoping for the best.

What happened?!?

I think I know when all this started to go bad... it was at the Power of Presence Event, where even the host was wearing something out of my fashion disaster files (florals and stripes!), and I remember all the negative comments about the line on Facebook.

What happened then?

Did something change? Was there an internal revolution and you now have different people behind the scenes? How are your numbers? Look at the numbers (numbers don't lie), and if they are not as good as few years ago, then maybe I am not so out of line here.

And while I'm afraid it might be too late for this Spring/Summer collection, please, do something before the next Winter collection! I mean there is "technically" nothing wrong with these new arrivals, but at the same time there is nothing right, either. They all look like "safe bets" to me. Plain and basic. Except the dress, which is "ugly" to me. Maybe this collection is too masculine for my taste. The oranges and the navy blues... but I can't say it's just me, because I get the same response from other Ann Taylor fans, and let's not forget the empty stores... so it can't be just me.

And please don't be upset with me.

I used to really love you (even though I am a little ticked off I don't get invited to previews anymore...but still)!

I used to snap pictures of your windows to use for inspiration (I have both the dress and the cardigan!), so I know something is different, I've seen it happen (don't know why it happened)...

Did you lose Kate, too? I haven't seen her in a while.

And if nothing else, you should be happy people are noticing the change and complaining about it, because it gives you a chance to fix things, to make your fans/customers shoppers again.

So let's start fresh again, and please give me/us a nice collection soon, like the old times, because this gift certificate is burning a hole in my wallet!

Sincerely,
NY Spender

P.S. Feel free to call me for ideas, and I could even design part of your new collection (I swear I should be able to do better than this one!!) ;)

Winter Stockings Visual Inspiration from Pinterest

2013-12-19T08:48:00.000-05:00

Follow me on Pinterest
NY Spender

My Personal Christmas Wishlist

2013-12-13T00:16:00.000-05:00

I'm done buying presents for family and friends! Yay for me! Now it's time I make sure I get the right presents for myself, and give some ideas to anyone interested... (hubby) ;)

So what would I like this year? Hmm, let's see...

I'd like a mirrored dresser-top tray from Pottery Barn. Out of these two, I like the long one, so I can put my perfumes on it.

I don't really care about having it personalized. It's not like I'm taking it out of the house and I have to make sure people know it's mine! ;)

I think the big one is $59.

I love being pampered, and spas and massages. So a nice gift for a 1 hour massage or a 45 minutes facial always makes me happy.

Or even a mani-pedi mini getaway is something to get excited about.

A secret dream of mine is to have enough money for a whole week spa vacation (a few treatments per day must add up to a nice big number!).

It's been years since my first post about a white ceramic watch, and I've still have not found the "one". You know, the one that looks as good as a Chanel J12, but that it costs as little as an Ann Klein one.

Because I rarely wear a watch, I don't see the point of spending a lot of money for one, and this Ann Klein on the left costs $57 (discounted on Ann Klein's website), which makes it very tempting. The problem is I haven't tried it on, so I have no idea if it's as nice in person as it looks on the picture. (tip: Century 21 in New York always carries a lot of Ann Klein's watches)

A Date Night and Movie tickets to go see American Hustle.

In theathers December 20th!

I know this is a movie that is going to motivate me to get in great shape and start wearing bell bottoms again! Oh, and I love Christian, of course.

Yes, seriously, something Wonder Woman inspired, like this apron. I like to feel beautiful, strong and powerful when I cook.

They also have phone cases and socks! All on Amazon.

I also want the new Dolce and Gabbana perfume, but I'm not sure if I want the regular Pour Femme or if I liked better the new Intense.

I say the new Dolce and Gabbana perfume because the old Pour Femme has been discontinued (one of my favorite!), and I was so upset that I didn't want to smell this new one, until curiosity got the best of me and I smelled it. And I loved it!

It's different than the old one, not a lighter version of it, nothing like that, it's a new smell all together, very original (I think), as it doesn't remind me of anything I've smelled before.

Lovely. Now I need to figure out (again) which one I preferred so that I can buy it (or have it gifted to me) ;)

Lastly, gift certificates are always a great "add on" present (not good as stand-alone), and I can always use something from SEPHORA - VICTORIA'S SECRET - POTTERY BARN - WILLIAM SONOMA - BARNES AND NOBLE.

What do YOU want this Holiday Season?