For the Love of Etsy

Lately, Etsy has had quite the great finds for me. I love this website, because I am not crafty, but these people are, and they make cute things, at a more affordable price, and I love them.

I've found these that I think will be a great way to decorate the baby's room for our owl and bird theme, and you can order them in various colors. We also won't have to commit to painting something on as well, as these are easily removable.

Once I have the room set up and can see where these would go on the wall, I'll order either one or both of them.

I was also in love with this completely over priced J Crew Bubble necklace, but there's no way I would spend $150 for what's basically costume jewelery.

Well, wouldn't you know it, found nearly the exact same necklace on Etsy for $18! $24, with shipping; a fraction of the J Crew price.

 J Crew Version

Etsy Version

I found the perfect bridesmaid jewelery on Etsy. I've bought holiday gifts on there. It's so great to find such personalized items, that you know are handmade, and be able to get them at an affordable price.

And payment is easy and secure as well.

Also, a recipe I forgot to note in my last post I tried recently and LOVE. I'll surely be making them again. These, Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

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Welcome to August

The month of July has been a whirlwind. From a trip to LA for work, to a train ride to Connecticut for a family wedding, and a visit from my parents, it was one thing after another and I've loved this summer, especially since its our last summer of truly being carefree

And now that August has hit, we're packing up our apartment and moving in ten days; I can't wait! We decided to ditch our two bedroom apartment and are renting a bigger townhome for at least the next two years. I can't wait to have a garage, a little backyard, a deck with a grill, and two family room areas.

Since I can't do much as actually moving things, I've been packing like crazy (thank goodness for my parent's visit and all of their help) and plan to be the delegater at the new house when the movers are bringing stuff in, telling them exactly where things go.

Once we are moved in, we can also finally start working on the baby's room!! At nearly 28 weeks, I'm more than ready to start nesting and creating our child's room. I'll for sure provide photo tours of the baby's room.

This weekend we're going to purchase a dresser from Ikea and order the glider from Pottery Barn Kids.

 Ikea Dresser

The coveted Pottery Barn Glider. This is my push gift, will serve me much better than jewelery!

We've been registering for everything under the sun (registered at Target, Land of Nod and PB Kids) so that we can at least complete the registries with the 10% off. I can't wait to really start nesting and getting things ready for Baby Cush. If my growing belly didn't already make things very real, having a room prepared for it's arrival sure will.

To avoid the comments, yes, you can prepare a room when you don't know your child's gender! I find it laughable the people who think you can't put together your baby's room if you don't know their gender. Before 1990ish, most couples didn't know their baby's gender at all and they survived. And, I'm personally not a huge fan of gender specific decorating. We don't do it as adults, why do kids need do it? I love the bedding we picked out from Land of Nod that's yellow and gray and would have picked the same one had we known our baby's gender. 

So excited about this bedding and the birds & owls theme!

I had to share some recipes I tried over the last month that I recommend for all. Of course I made them gluten free (ask me if you have questions as to how), but seriously, check these out!

• Southwestern Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Skinny Enchilada Lasagna 
• Spicy Stewed Beef and Cheddar Grits (this gave me heart burn for two days, but tasted great going down. That said, I'll probably never be able to eat it again!)

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Gluten Free at Panera

 For my gluten free readers out there, I wanted to let you all know that I got an updated Gluten Free list from Panera that I had to share. Now, I know many of you think, "how can you do gluten free at a place called Panera BREAD??" But, you can. 

Tell them about your allergy, order gluten free things, and frankly, I've never had an issue there.

I was mainly wondering about their cream cheeses, as I recently bought some gluten free bagels that need some good shmear, and I got more than enough of an answer. Below is what Panera wrote back to me:

Dear Alexa,

Thank you for contacting Panera Bread. I have included below a list (including cream cheese) of our menu items that do not contain gluten-containing ingredients. However, because we bake fresh bread daily in our bakery-cafes and bread is core to our menu, we simply cannot ensure that there has been no contact between these items, or any other menu items, and gluten.

Not all of the items listed are currently on our menu and some new menu items have not yet been evaluated for the purposes of inclusion on this list. However, you can find complete ingredients listings for current menu items on our website. (When you choose a menu item in our online Nutrition Calculator, click on the "ingredients" link for ingredients information for that item.)

Please note that nutritional information on our website is updated periodically. New products may be available in our bakery-cafes before a periodic update of this site. In addition, some menu items may be available only on a regional, test or seasonal basis. Nutritional information about these menu items is available at the participating bakery-cafes. Tests of new recipes of existing products may be conducted from time to time in certain markets. These new recipes may contain different/additional ingredients, including allergens, as compared to the original version. For the most update-to-date information, please call or visit your nearest bakery-cafe to speak with a manager.

Thank you again for contacting us. We appreciate your business and value your comments.

Sincerely,
Casey
Customer Comment Coordinator

PRODUCTS WITHOUT GLUTEN CONTAINING INGREDIENTS- Panera Bread **
**Although we try to meet your special requirements, we cannot ensure that these items have not come into contact with gluten in our bakery-café.
** Gorgonzola and bleu cheeses are commonly made with mold incubated on wheat. Some may choose to avoid these cheeses for this reason and you may substitute another cheese if you prefer. Items containing these ingredients are indicated below with (G) or (BC).
Salads: (including the salad dressing) (source of modified food starch is corn)
• Greek Salad
• Caesar Salad (without croutons)
• Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (without croutons)
• Asian Sesame Chicken Salad (without Won Ton noodles)
• Classic Cafe Salad
• Fuji Apple Chicken Salad & Roasted Turkey Fuji Apple Salad (G)
• Chopped Chicken Cobb Salad & Chopped Chicken Cobb with Avocado Salad (G)
• BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad
• Seasonal Fruit Cups
• Chopped Steak & Blue Cheese (without crispy onions) (BC)
• Thai Chopped Chicken Salad (without wontons, vinaigrette, and peanut sauce)
• Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad

Salad Dressings:
• Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Caesar
• Greek/Herb Vinaigrette
• Asian Sesame Vinaigrette
• White Balsamic Fuji Apple Vinaigrette
• BBQ Ranch
• BBQ Sauce
• Cabernet Sauce
• Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
• Light Buttermilk Ranch
• Fat Free Poppyseed Dressing

Soups:
• Low Fat Vegetarian Black Bean
• Creamy Tomato (without croutons)
• Low Fat Chicken Tortilla with or without the tortilla strips
• Vegetarian Summer Corn Chowder

Beverages:
• Coffee- all varieties
• Juice, both apple and orange
• Lemonade
• Milk
• Soda, fountain and bottled
• Brewed Tea, tea bags, Chai Tea (hot & iced) and green tea
• All lattes, espresso drinks & Frozen beverages
• Low-Fat Smoothies
• Hot Chocolate

Spreads:
• All Cream Cheese Spread flavors

MISC:
• Panera Bread Potato Chips
• All meats (including roast beef, ham, turkey, roasted turkey, salami, bacon, ABF citrus pepper chicken, smoked chicken, Salmon [seasonal], Lobster [select areas only], all natural sausage patty).
• All cheeses (see gorgonzola and blue cheese reference above)


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Back with a little extra baggage

Hello loyal readers. I've taken a hiatus that wasn't planned, it just happened. I've enjoyed a breath of fresh air, and am ready to connect with you all again on the interwebs.

The biggest reason the hiatus started was because, I found out I was pregnant! I didn't know how to write about running, when running has become impossible for me while pregnant, or healthy eating, both of which I normally write about on here, when I could barely keep down anything for eight weeks and was living on crackers, ice cream and ginger ale.

But now that I'm at 21 weeks (due Nov. 1) and the morning sickness has subsided, I'm ready to blog again.

I also wasn't sure how I would handle parenthood on the interwebs because so many people are judgmental of other moms online, and frankly, I could give a crap what anyone else thinks of how I'm going to parent. If I want someone's advice, I'll ask for it.

That said, I also had to think about my baby's exposure on the internet. I chose to have a presence on the web, not them, therefore, I want to keep them somewhat anonymous, as it wasn't their choice to have an outspoken mother. Sure, there may be random pictures, or a mention of their name (still trying to decide if I will tell their real name on here once they are born, or give a little nick name to maintain anonymity like some people do, like Liz and her "baby goat."

Anyway, I'm still trying to be healthy now. Taking walks, doing  yoga, eating healthy (ish), but still enjoying what my body is craving. So, although a big focus of this blog will become my pregnancy and prepping for baby, as that's the biggest part of my life right now, it will also still be me, being me, as I've never wanted to be a person who loses their entire identity in their child.

Also, I won't be posting "bump" pics. There may be pictures of me on here that relate to posts where I happen to be pregnant, but unless you're putting pictures up of the progress of your bloated vs. unbloated abdomen, you don't need to see mine. Plus, besides parents, grandparents, close friends, etc, who really freaking cares how my stomach area looks? When women put pictures like that up, I want to say, "oh, you got wide in the middle while you were pregnant?! What a concept!"

Anyway, glad to be back!

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Leap Year

Leap Year comes but once every four years, and every time it does, I can't help but feel bad for the people born on this day. I think it would suck to only have a proper birthday to celebrate once every four years.

This year, companies are diving into leap year sales apparently. Random deals like Buy one get one free drinks at Caribou Coffee, and my husband's personal favorite, a free Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Chick Fil A.

Source

I was sad to watch the season finale of my favorite show on TV last night, "Parenthood." I love this show and am so sad that NBC made it's season so short, especially after it already took the whole month of December off.

Source

I'll use the extra TV time to catch up on the "The Good Wife," as my DVR kept messing it up due to football in the fall, so I need to start the season over from scratch, now to find those early episodes... any suggestions?

Also, the random winner (thanks to Random.org) of the Chobani give away is...

#16 Meredith M

Send me an e-mail at AlexaTaleof2Cities@gmail.com with your contact information by March 7 and we'll have a case of Chobani sent your way.

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Foodie Pen Pals

This month I decided to participate in Foodie Pen Pals after hearing about it on Mellissa's blog. It sounded like a fun idea. Send a package full of surprise treats to someone you're randomly matched with, and receive one in return from another random match!

I felt bad signing up at first because I knew my gluten allergy would limit things, but my Foodie Pen Pan Jacqueline did great!

The goods

She sent me a full package full of gluten free goodies, most of which I've never tried before, and have been really enjoying. She also went over the $15 limit and included a bottle of her personal favorite bourbon. She had asked me in our initial e-mails if I liked bourbon (yes!) and said being that she's from Kentucky she had to integrate it in the package.

She also included some treats for Cooper, Chicken Jerky sticks that are made in the USA (we only feed Cooper American made dog treats) from Trader Joes. Cooper is very picky about treats, but he loves them! He doesn't get a whole stick, but we break off a couple pieces for him, and he goes nuts when he smells them.

Enjoy getting mail that's not bills? Want a Foodie Pen Pal? Email theleangreenbean@gmail.com and get on the list for next month.

Also, today is the last day to enter the Chobani give away and have a free case delivered to your door step!

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New Chobani Flavors Give Away

As I've stated before, I'm a huge fan of Greek yogurt. I love it's creamy thickness, I love it with cereal, and I love it's versatility to be used with cooking.

Recently, my favorite Greek yogurt brand Chobani put out some new flavors, and now you have a chance to try all of them!

First let me tell you, of the three new flavors: Blood Orange, Apple Cinnamon and Passion Fruit, and all three are delicious!

Apple Cinnamon has become my absolute favorite of all the Chobani flavors! It's like Apple Pie Ala Mode. I love to open it up, stir it around, then freeze it and eat it a few hours later, it makes me eat it slower and enjoy each bite. Sometimes I think Greek yogurt of any flavor is too bitter to eat solo, but the Apple Cinnamon is not in my opinion.


I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you about the new Chobani Champions flavors (the kid version of Chobani as well), including the new Chocolate Vanilla flavor. It is absolutely wonderful and feels like a treat more than a yogurt.

The good people at Chobani have said they'll give one reader a prize package will include a case of the new flavors 12 cups total with four of each of each flavor- 0% Blood Orange, 0% Apple Cinnamon & 2% Passion Fruit.

Here's how you can win:

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite yogurt flavor
   
2. Tweet about the give away and leave a comment with your twitter name saying you did
   
3. Post the giveaway on your blog and leave a comment with the link

Leave a separate comment for each for increased chances to win.

All comments must be received by Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time in order to be eligible to win. The winner must contact me via e-mail to claim their prize by Wednesday March 7, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern or a new winner will be chosen.

*Chobani provided me with a case of the new flavors to try, but did not compensate me in any other way for this post.

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