enJOY it

a month of bar method.

June 23, 2011
Remember this post?

I said I'd report back.

As mentioned, I ended up buying an "unlimited classes in 30 days" package. And then (happily) I made it to 17 more classes during the 30 days.

THE PROS :
- I still shake like a leaf during the sets which means my muscles are being challenged.
- I no longer feel sore when I leave class or when I wake up in the morning.
- While I haven't lost any weight, I have dropped at least one pant size.
- I've noticed a remarkable difference in my strength, flexibility and body shape.
- The time flies. I never find myself looking at the clock wishing class was over.
THE CONS :
- My running schedule has suffered.
I assumed I'd be able to keep up a decent running plan post half-marathon. To ease into it, I cut back to about 2 runs a week. Recently though, I've noticed right knee pain towards the end of runs that wouldn't go away. Basically, it feels like my knee is tweaked and it's very difficult to maintain a good stride. Paul is describing it as Patella Femoral pain which means my knee cap is mal-tracking in the knee joint. Lots of things can cause this including overuse and the varying strength of the surrounding muscles. Both are probably contributing to my pain.

So at the moment, I'm on a running hiatus. I want to be sure it has time to heal correctly before I start challenging it again.

THE BOTTOM LINE :

I'm addicted and can not recommend this class more. Even for the price. Think of it this way : it's so much cheaper than a personal trainer and just as effective. I really wish there was a Bar Method studio in every city. Hopefully in the next few years there will be. I am already worried about what I'm going to do without one up by Ventura next spring. Secretly (or not so secretly anymore) I hope I'm good enough by then to start teaching part-time and help open a new studio.

Yep, I love it that much.

I've signed up for another six months of unlimited classes and I am going to buy the DVD for while I am up in Sacramento this fall. Hopefully it's just as good!
summer minibook update #9.

June 22, 2011

My book is growing!

On the backside of the sunglass box cardboard, I added a silhouetted photo of some flowers. My rule with silhouettes is if the shape is simple or the background is distracting – chop it. Next to that, I stuck in the packaging that my sample of kate spade twirl perfume came in.

On the yellow scalloped card (please note that later batches of summer books have moss green scalloped cards), I added a sticker that I grabbed at the park we visited on Friday.

On the backside, I added a few small photos from our hike that were printed in "contact sheet" format from iPhoto. I added a bit of journaling to the gray tag.

To the backside of the tag, I adhered a photo and then I machine stitched around the tag to give the photo and text a bit of a border. I love how stitching can make anything look complete. The gelato page was taken from this blog post and I just added a printed label with some text. The photos on the gelato page were taken with the ShakeIt app on my iPhone and then placed next to eachother in PSE.

The gelato photo page was adhered to the back of the blue circle card. I had just one photo from our trip to SeaWorld (I know, we've turned into tourists) and I printed it out and then left a border of photo paper. To give it something extra, I zig-zag stitched around the white border. I added our tickets and some journaling to the small green card.

The yellow page holds (in very small text) this blog post. The yellow paper is actually part of a "bonus pack" of papers I am currently putting together as a companion to this album. Twenty-five papers seemed like a lot to me when I started but I'm running out of room fast. Bonus packs will be on sale in mid-July.

I have to say, I'm still loving this book. It's coming together so much better than any of my "collected-over-time" albums have in the past. Part of it is I'm packing this summer with good stuff. Part of it is I'm turning blog posts into pages. And, of course, part of it is the "pressure" to share here at least once a week. It's pushing me. And I love it.

Questions? Holler in the comments. Still need a summer book? Get one here. Want to see more of this album? Go here. Are you working on your own summer book? Add photos to the flickr group!
40 loaves / cheese rolls.

June 21, 2011
Bread no. 16 : cheese rolls … my own invention!

Adjustments : I spent ages (a.k.a. 10 minutes) looking for a good cheese roll recipe online and nothing seemed right. While they're fabulous, I didn't really want Brazilian cheese rolls. I just wanted wheat bread rolls with a cheese center. So I decided to make it up (scroll down for recipe).

Notes : the plan was to make these to go with our dinner. I got started late so I completely adjusted the rise time. I also spent most of the prep and bake time reminding Paul that these might not work out and our dinner would be carb-less.

Review : but hooray, hooray! They turned out! We loved them. Loved them. And they were quick and relatively easy. They tasted fantastic right out of the oven but were still good day two. (Although they probably would have been better after a minute in the toaster oven.)

As mentioned, this was a made up recipe. I've only used it once with success, so I hope it works for you too! I started with the soft sandwich bread and rolls recipe from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day but I made enough changes that I feel comfortable posting here.

Recipe makes 12 good-sized rolls.
- 1/2 TBSP instant yeast
- a little less than a cup of lukewarm milk (I used skim, but anything works)
- 2 C wheat flour
- 1 C white flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 TBSP white sugar
- 3 TBSP vegetable oil (or melted butter)
- 1 egg
- about a cup of cubed cheese (I used Dubliner and some good provolone)
Whisk yeast into milk and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Combine dry ingredients, egg and oil/butter into a bowl and then poor in the milk mixture. If mixing by hand, stir with a wooden spoon until combined then knead thoroughly with your hands (about 5 minutes). If machine mixing, use the dough hook. Dough should be soft and tacky, but not sticky. If it's too sticky, add a bit of dough. If it's too try add a tablespoon of water. (I kneaded by hand and needed to add a tablespoon of water.)

Form dough into a ball and let it sit in a plastic wrap covered bowl for at least 2 hours (but probably not longer than 6). I keep mind in the oven (while it's off) to rise.

When you are ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 400*.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and "flatten" them into small circles. Tuck about a tablespoon of cubed cheese pieces into the flattened dough and then fold the edges up to form a dough ball with the cheese inside. Place the dough balls into a buttered muffin/cupcake tin.

Be sure to keep the dough you are not currently working with covered with a towel so it doesn't dry out.

Bake for about 14 minutes. Rolls will become light brown and an inserted toothpick will come out clean. If not, bake for a few more minutes.

Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!
welcoming summer with a 15% off sale!

June 21, 2011

And just a heads up to my sweet Canadian friends : I know there is currently a postal strike up there. I only ship USPS (to Canadian post) and due to lack of time cannot make other arrangements. If you make a purchase, I'll mail it out and we'll assume it will get there eventually. 🙂 Thanks for your understanding.
anticipation.

June 20, 2011

This post starts with a deep breath.

We've got a plan.

I mean, we've always had a plan. But the closer we get to the actual day Paul leaves for deployment the closer the plan gets to being the Real Plan.

I don't want to get into the specifics of how our "plan" has changed in the past six months. Mostly because I hardly remember it all.

All that matters is that now we know this :

Paul is to report to Port Hueneme on July 11. He'll spend some time (a week? a week and a half? two weeks?) transitioning and then he'll take off from there (or LAX? or another random airport I don't know about?) to Afghanistan. He'll be in Afghanistan for about seven (or eight?) months. Until mid to late February (or early March? or late March?).

I'm feeling a lot of things right now, but I'm focusing on eliminating anxiety. Everything is going to be okay. I've got seven (or eight) months to be anxious and worried and lonely. (Not that I acutally plan on wallowing like that.) These next four (or five?) weeks are for anything but all of that.

Today starts Paul's final week as an medical intern. This weekend his college buddies are coming into town to see San Diego and celebrate. Then Monday, after his "graduation," we're driving over to Palm Springs to stay at the Ace Hotel for a night and then to spend a week in Palm Desert. Both of our families are going to come join us for the holiday weekend.

On July 4, we're going to drive up to Sacramento for a few days so Paul can say hi (and good-bye for now) to his Grandma and our families. Then we're driving back down to spend our last weekend in San Diego (because we'll be moving up to the Port Hueneme area as soon as he gets back) together.

On July 11, we'll be up by Ventura for as long as it takes to get Paul prepped and ready to roll out. We'll be crashing at some yet to be determined on base (or off base?) hotel.

I have no idea what my schedule (work or otherwise) is going to be like the next four weeks. But I do know that I am going to celebrate every moment that Paul and I get to spend together. This is our first real break that has lasted longer than two days in over a year. It will be followed by our longest and most difficult separation so far and I want to soak up all this extra time then store it in some sort of basket so I can pull it out when I need it most.

(They sell those sort of baskets on Amazon, right?)

I'm looking forward to the calm before the storm and the work slow-down before the "OMG it's the second half of the year and you have a long way to go to get to the dollar amount you wanted to hit by the end of 2011."

So…YES. Look for regular blog posts this week and most of next. And then look for random but heartfelt updates until I get my footing with this new adventure.

This post ends with a deep breath.
another favorite.

June 19, 2011

There is a little place just down the street from us (and another one in the neighborhood next to us) that sells authentic Italian gelato. I don't remember if we actually looked it up or just stumbled into it last summer.

But either way : we love it & make a point to go after dinner every couple weeks.

My favorite flavor is pistachio, but really, you can't go wrong with any of them and you get unlimited taste tests before you make your pick. They also serve coffee, pastries and sandwiches. But on the rare occasion I'm there midday, I go with iced tea. I don't know what they do to it, but it's fantastic.

Be sure to stop by if you're in town.
LINKwithlove.

June 17, 2011

Hopefully you've heard already about the new LINKwithlove intitive. This project was the brainchild of Kal Barteski after one of her rad art pieces was hijacked & misused too many times to count.

Out of a negative experience came something pretty awesome and I was honored when Kal asked me to help get the movement off the ground. This project is about being pro-active. About being supportive. About fostering a creative environment. About sharing links with respect. And of course, about linking with love.

I think it's easy to get caught up the in magic that is information sharing online and forget that every single image, song, story, blog post, art piece and photo has a creator. Once about a time, someone spent time, effort and money coming up with an idea and putting it online. LINKwithlove celebrates the original creator and hopes to build awareness about content credit.

You can read more about what Kal has to say here. You can learn more about LINKwithlove.org here. And if you want to join the movement, please grab a badge for your blog, follow @linkwithlove on twitter and like LINKwithlove on facebook.

Happy weekend. Thanks for reading. xo, elise
summer essentials.

June 17, 2011

Just for fun, I thought I would do a round-up of my favorite summer beauty products. Most of them are actually my favorites year round – but summer especially. It's important to note : I have very fair skin. Sun protection is my number one goal. I have very fine hair. Not shedding what little I have left is my number two goal.

Neutrogena ultra sheer dry-touch sunblock, Bare Escentuels face bronzer, Maybelline great lash, Neutrogena ageless essentials continuous hydration, night

I don't really wear a lot of make-up and the summer heat is an even better reason to cut back. Sunscreen is obviously priority one and I have been wearing this brand everyday since college. It goes on so light – I haven't found anything that beats it. Usually in summer, I skip all makeup except for bronzer (and I always wear some form of Bare Escentuels) and mascara. I have been using the cheap Maybelline stuff since college too. The trick is to put on a lot of thin coats and your eyelashes will appear much bigger no matter what brand you are using. My year round go-to is Neutrogena night cream. I use it right after I wash my face (with cheap Clean and Clear face wash) and notice a difference in my skin if I don't use it for a few days. Nighttime face lotion feels especially important during the summer when my face is getting sun exposure all day.

It's A 10 leave in conditioner, Fresh hair cream, Mark Anthony curl booster, elastic headbands

I am determined to be blow dryer and heat straightener free all summer long. My hair is naturally curly – not just wavy – so part of the goal is always to reduce frizz and tangles. I have been using It's a 10 for a few years and love it. It works as a detangler and protector. The Fresh hair cream is something new that I have seen getting great reviews on blogs. I recently added it to the routine after my hair has been combed out to reduce frizz and provide curl definition – I just smooth on a pea-sized amount and scrunch it up. It's working really well. I especially like how my hair doesn't look like a rats nest the next morning. The curl booster was my go-to before this new stuff and I'm not ready to toss it out yet. I've found that changing product (switching back and forth every few days) keeps my hair on it's toes and preforming better. The elastic hairbands are my favorite for running. They keep my hair out of my face and aren't ugly.

TanTowel self tanning towels, Nivea Creme, Neutrogena ultra sheer sunblock

I just recently purchased a set of TanTowels to give myself a bit of color before our Palm Desert trip. I usually don't have the patience for self-tanning products, but I like how being just a shade darker (without harmful UV rays) looks in the summer. The towels were highly recommended online and I found them super easy to use, non-streaky and not orange. The difference is really subtle except for on my back where you can tell I couldn't reach. #FAIL – I'll be getting Paul's help before I use these again. Nivea is my year round go-to product for keeping my hands, elbows and feet hydrated. And nothing beats spray on sunscreen. I don't think brand is super important here, but the Neutrogena stuff is really light and non-greasy. I spray this on before runs and reapply it every half hour if I am going to be laying out in the sun.

j.crew sunhat, RAINBOW sandals, TOMS classic 101 sunglasses, Old Navy maxi dress, j.crew matchstick jeans

One of my favorite bridal shower gifts was a big J.Crew sunhat that I took to Bora Bora (and then left on the plane on the way home). I bought a second one immediately. I love anything that keeps my face in the shade and this one is a perfect size and doesn't get creased when you stuff it in a suitcase. And my year round shoe go-to since sophomore year of college are my Rainbow Sandals. (p.s. here's my favorite shoe story. I'm still wearing that pair on the right four years later. But to be fair, it did experience three east coast winters.)

Did you know TOMS launched an eyewear campaign? For every pair you buy they'll give sight to a person in need. I loved the collection online and was happily surprised to find the line at my Nordstorm this past weekend. I thought I would go with the aviators but fell in love with the classic wayfarers. And I'm sure it's because they're trendy and everywhere this summer, but I'm living in maxi dresses. The one shown is Old Navy and very cute (and not too see through) in real life. And because we're currently experiencing June Gloom in San Diego, I included my favorite pair of summer jeans. Add a three inch folded cuff to the hem and a tank top and it's my summer uniform.

What about you? Any favorite products this summer?
40 loaves / cherry & rosemary focaccia bread.

June 16, 2011

Bread no. 15 : cherry & rosemary focaccia from the Martha Stewart July issue.

Adjustments : halved the recipe & used whole wheat flour instead of white bread flour.

Notes : this turned out a bit denser than I was expecting – almost like a cake – possibily because of the wheat flour or because the dough was pretty wet. I've made focaccia bread before and the same recipe could be applied here. Just add pitted cherries & rosemary to the surface of the bread before baking. Martha's steps were a little complicated and it's hard to say if they made that big of a difference.

Review : overall – pretty good. Paul LOVED it. I thought it tasted good, but was a bit of a hassle. Nice to look at though…
summer minibook update #8.

June 15, 2011

Moving right along. I filmed a video for this next update that walks through the pages. One thing that I mentioned in it was how for me it's important to not re-invent the wheel with every new page spread. You'll notice a few "repeats" in photo and text layout this time around. I like that they keep the book consistent and allow me to focus on just adding memories. Of course, I am going to incorporate more creative ideas as the summer goes on, but not everything has to be "never-before-seen."

…video of the "Currently" text layout can be seen here.

…video of the digital photo grid can be seen here.

If you want to see a video walk-through of this update, watch below :

update #8 walk-through from elise blaha on Vimeo.

Questions? Holler in the comments. Still need a summer book? Get one here. Want to see more of this album? Go here. Are you working on your own summer book? Add photos to the flickr group!