Workin’ It and a Guest Post

In spite of a holiday weekend adorned with marshmallow fluffed chicks and sugared eggs, I worked.  And in between blowing fierce kisses at my computer screen and wiping a tear from my cheek come time for my littles to be rocked and tucked into bed but we wave and say BYEEEEEE about a million times instead because I’m over 200 miles away, I worked.  Spread smoothly and evenly, not too much and not to little… the way I’ve learned to spread butter over bread, has been times of laughing and catching up with friends, times to get a pedicure after a long day and almost fall asleep in the chairs next to each other, and otherwise? I worked.  While one of my besties snapped a photo of my sweet ones in their Easter outfits, I worked.

Thanks, Bri, for the photo!

New York has been good to me so far, a lot of work, a little fun and some great friendships sprinkled on top.  Is it the perfectly buttered, just-right toasted slice? Sometimes it can be hard to keep it all balanced, to spread myself just-right and many times, I don’t even know if I am.  But one thing is for sure, I’ll see these cuties very soon, my cinnamon and sugar babies, and then there’s no doubt… it’ll be just right.

 For now? While I wear my work heels for the next 13 hours, and work on balance… Here’s a little post on financial balance.

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Sunny days are here again and the living is easier. These days I find all anyone wants to do is be outside and eat. Go for a hike and eat. See a movie and eat. Have a drink and eat. Listen to music and eat. I think you get the point, so I’ll stop. It’s true, however, that with the increase in activity that spurts up after those long, dormant, winter months, there’s inevitably an increase in appetite. I also think it’s a social thing. Too often we forget, amongst the Twittering and IM’ing and all the other technological ings that at heart, we are social creatures. We crave interaction, and physical interaction at that. So it really shouldn’t be such a surprise that everyone’s favorite form of interacting is eating. And there is something to be said about that – I truly believe that sharing food and conversation with others is one of the most intimate acts that can take place. My fondest and most vibrant memories throughout my life, and especially from my childhood, revolve around family dinners and eating with friends. There’s just a bond that forms between people while sharing old memories, creating new ones, and indulging in delicious food. In fact, the whole experience is an indulgence in the sense that the experience is utterly rich and completely satisfying – not expensive. However, it’s easy to fall into the trap of eating out too much and spending too much on food, tarnishing the whole experience when you see your expenses at the end of every month. So here are a couple of tips and tricks to help rectify that situation and serve as a reminder that dinning with others doesn’t have to be an expense.

+ Lunch specials. Everyone automatically thinks of dinner as the meal to share but as of late, I’ve found myself “lunching” a lot more often. Most places offer great lunch specials, the pricing of which can’t be found during dinner hours. For one, opting to eat out for lunch instead of dinner is cheaper, plain and simple. Secondly, for those of us with a family and kids, lunch is a lot of times easier to do since the kids are at school or camp. Especially if you’re looking for a little girl time, or even personal time to just sit and people watch and listen to your own thoughts – lunch is highly underrated. Additionally, making lunch your indulgent meal, if you so choose, and eating a light dinner is actually preferable and healthier than vice versa.

+ Sharing is caring. It’s no secret that restaurant portions are simply enormous these days. Even high-end, expensive restaurants seem to have expanded their portion size. A great way to cut costs and avoid over eating is to split your meal with someone. Perhaps share an appetizer and entrée and get your own salad (which you can order as a side for a few dollars). There’s always the case for taking home leftovers but I find it’s never as efficient. You got to eat it for lunch the next day and something is soggy, or it just gets pushed to the back of the refrigerator, or it goes bad before you get a taste for it again. Sharing your food is a wonderful alternative. Bonus, you’re car won’t smell like food for the rest of the week.

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Happy Tuesday friends!