30 DoC: Day 30

We reach the end of the 30 Days of Creativity, and I finally, FINALLY do something creative with food.



I bought a veggie tray for our 4th of July cookout last Sunday, and there was plenty left over at the end of the night. As I was putting everything away, it dawned on me that even though my husband and I don't particularly care for raw veggies, we sure like them cooked -- and everything on the tray would be perfect for grilling. (Also, it was all hardy vegetables that would last a week: broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, baby carrots.)

So last night I picked up a bison New York strip steak and some basil-pesto shrimp kebobs from Whole Foods, and we grilled everything up.





We did the veggies in a foil packet with olive oil, fajita seasonings, and some water so it would steam, and cooked those for about 40 minutes. There was so much I thought for sure it would last a couple of days, but Hubby polished them off in two heaping plates. Heh.



Delicious.

I've been trying to "eat better" without actually following a strict diet; I know I need to lose weight, I want to eat healthier, and I want it to be for the long haul. But there is something about my brain thinking "I am on a diet" that makes it feel short-term, and I end up starting and stopping until I give up and eat junk all day long. That's not what I want.

On the other hand, I am not so sure I am really "eating better" as much as I think I am. Along with the delicious, healthy dinner above, I also had 2 gin and tonics and 3 slices of seeded bread liberally smeared with pub cheese. Three slices! Plus two WW English toffee ice cream bars that night. Hrm.

Tina over at T Minus, T Plus does an interesting thing where she shows photos and WW points of all the foods she eats in a day. While I don't plan on taking pictures of everything, I am going to challenge myself for the next week to document ALL the food I eat throughout the day. I know from many years of WW that tracking food is the best way to keep yourself honest, and I haven't been honest with myself in a while. That IS what I want.

So one personal challenge has ended, and another begins. For the next week, look for My Daily Food Tracker to appear at the bottom of my posts; I will post one day behind, so today's food will appear in tomorrow's post. Anyone else willing to do it with me? If you don't want to do it in your own blog, you can just enter your food into the comments here. Whaddya say?

30 DoC: Day 29

It was my first day back at work after a wonderfully long weekend, and I used my creative chit for the day on a couple of new accessories I picked up last week.

A couple of AWESOME new accessories.



The purse was for charity! Really! As my husband drily remarked, "It was for TFTBKNP...The Foundation To Buy Kristen A New Purse." No, it was for Girl Scouts. My friend invited me a fundraiser for Girl Scouts that was held at 1154 Lill Studio, a local purse shop where you can create custom fabric purses, selecting your size bag and then all the fabrics for the exterior, handle, interior, etc. To be honest, after a while I got completed overwhelmed with the options and ended up getting the very first pre-made one I had seen when I walked in. But it was the best one; tell me you could have walked away from this!



Exactly.

(I also bought a smaller wristlet in rich teal that can be attached to the front of the yellow bag, but that one had to be custom made and will arrive next month. FOR CHARITY!!)

The second accessory was not for charity. They are for awesomeness.





God bless Clarks and their amazing sandals. These just appeared in my local store and were on sale, plus I had a 20% off coupon. Between you and me, I would have paid full price for them. They're turquoise! Totally the color of the season. But I got them with a good deal, and you can too over at Online Shoes. (Unfortunate name, though: Cow Cove.)

Of course, when you have two standout pieces like that in an outfit, it is best to let them stand out.



Black Target dress, black Forth & Towne cami, silver pendant short necklace from LOFT, new flippy haircut which no one had seen yet at work.





I really loved this outfit. Hubby did too; he rarely comments on my outfits anymore but he kept calling it "adorable" when I got home last night.

Would it be bad form if I wore it again today? :)

30 DoC: Day 26 and 27

I'm winding down the 30 Days of Creativity having missed a couple of days through the month. My plan is to finish out 30 posts of creativity into early July, then from time to time just post things I've seen or done to share with you. The photography bug has bitten me again, and I am enjoying it while it's here.

Monday was a day in which I did things, including get dressed, although I have no photographic proof. I assume I looked presentable.

Tuesday included an 8am nature walk as the kickoff to our quarterly staff meeting. I decided to dress semi-casually for it: Target knit striped dress, Gap blue cardigan (it was cool out there!), Privo sandals.



Having been spoiled by the Botanic Garden, this was a pretty mundane walk. Lots of trees and whatnot. The only interesting thing was the river.



Tuesday night we had some excitement in our complex. Even though I took them on Tuesday night, I'm counting these toward Wednesday. It was late!



That is what firetruck lights look like on the walls of my upstairs.

(There was no fire, thank goodness, and it didn't look like anyone was hurt at my neighbors.)

On Wednesday I decided that I really miss my waist (I do! A lot!) so I would try to recreate it.



Somehow I have managed to pick up 3 different black summer dresses, so I am using them as background for layering. (The rest of my dresses are all pattern/statement dresses.) I really wanted to play up a silver and turquoise long necklace I have rotated back into wearing this year, so I went with all tan neutrals to let it take center stage.

The sweater is new from ON, the belt is old from Walmart, the dress is Target (of course!), the nude cami is from Forth & Towne (can't believe how long those have lasted!), and the shoes are my trusty Clarks Laguna Reefs.

30 DoC: Day 25

On Sunday I headed back to the Chicago Botanic Garden for a sunset walk. The light while the sun is setting is amazing, even better than during sunrise; I took a photography class once and the instructor explained that the angle of the sun and the particles in the air made those two windows of time the best in the day for photographs. It's true; the glare of an overhead sun at noon ruins a lot of shots, and makes everything seem harsher. Since then I have tried to keep my photo trips to that early or late schedule...which tends to irritate my friends who are late risers. LOL.

This one is pretty photo-heavy; I stayed all the way until it got dark, waiting to see how the place looked when the lights went on. My point-and-shoot did really well on the low-light setting without a flash. I am pleased.

The sun still glowing over the flower beds, dappling and dancing in lovely ways.






Visitors enjoying the fountain in the lake.




More secret gardens


Hey, look who is here!


Lilies in the Bulb Garden


A trail of yellow flowers among the purple heather


The purple onions are blooming!


A quiet sunset




Even after that, there was still a lot of light in the Walled English Garden. I cannot get over how lush it is.
















I have taken a million pictures of that blue bench way in the back.


In the darker light, the rich purple of the clematis shows up better.

The Rose Garden was also glowing in the fading light.




The waterfalls were working again, hurray!




When the lights finally came on, some of the lights focused on the flowers.






But what I liked best was all the angles and garden design that the lights brought out.









The bonsai displays were stunning.




Finally, the fountain from the beginning was still showing off its brilliance, even if no one was watching it now except me.





Sigh. I love this Garden, in every season and every time of day.