The Television Dilemma

When I was young friends and family all seemed to have one method for incorporating the television (my mother refers to it as the idiot box) into the decor - hide the damn eyesore in a gigantic floor to ceiling wardrobe. It's true, those gigantic dinosaurs of the 80s and 90s were hideous to look at but sometimes those media cabinets were equally awful. Thank goodness for the modern age where televisions are now sleek and thin. So sleek and thin that we can leave them in plain sight. So sleek and thin that they are perfectly camouflaged by a great gallery wall, keeping one's eyes from seeking out the idiot box when it's not in use. 

I also think from the number of mid-century dressers featured in this image round up that I really do need to buy this one to replace my bulky old ikea media stand. 

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Holiday Detoxing

I don't know about you all but when it comes to holidays I tend to overindulge in rich food and simple sugars. No surprise, I woke up the Sunday after Thanksgiving feeling moody, lethargic and not at all in the holiday spirit as a result. In order to get my energy back in time to celebrate these festive few weeks, I've planned a week of detox meals. And no, I don't mean I've ordered a fancy juice cleanse. I'm just being more conscious about eating healthy, energy-filled foods. And for me that means no meat, no gluten and very little cheese. These are some of my favorite detox meals that will leave you feeling satisfied without any of that awful rib-sticking sensations. 

I made this last night for Dinner. It's one of GP's recipes - the Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Kale Skillet. It could have been awful and tasteless. But I guarantee you'll enjoy this vegan and g-free dish with its complex flavors of cumin and sumac combined with the zip of fresh lime juice!

Next up is a Superfood Salad from The First Mess. Chock full of kale, beets, avocados & super-seeds, it's dressed with a Blueberry-Ginger vinaigrette. Yum! And it's easy to substitute or add in other ingredients like oranges and pomegranate seeds.  

And lastly another heartier dish, yet also completely gluten free, The Little Red House's Grilled Beet with Cilantro Quinoa. Lots of herb and spice goodness in the quinoa and even a little bit a warm goat cheese atop the beets. You could use the generic red beet but I prefer to use yellow beets to avoid beet-juice stains all over my kitchen. Fun fact, beets help clean out toxins from your liver! 

Deck the Halls

Recently, I shocked some of my friends with the fact that I've never had a real christmas tree. Well, at least not that I remember. My mother tells me that when I was a baby she used to drive all over Naples, with me buckled into my car seat, looking for a live Christmas tree and often only finding trees resembling Charlie Brown's for exorbitant prices. And then to odd insult to injury, they would brown before the twenty-fifth. I think one or two years of this was enough for my parents and ever since we've been dragging old-trusty, the fake tree, down from the attic. 

But not this year. This year we're celebrating up north for the first time in my twenty-eight years. We'll still leave the real tree and its messy falling needles to my brother and sister-in-law. My apartment is too small and I'm too OCD to deal with having my own tree. I usually string up some twinkly lights in my windows, light a pine scented candle and call it a day. This year I'm more inspired since I'll actually be around for the holidays. I was inspired by decorations at a local historic property this weekend to hang ornaments in my windows from ribbons and to buy some live greens. 

I'll be sure to share images on my instagram once I've added my holiday touches. How do you plan to decorate for this festive season?

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