No Takeout November | Skinnytaste Meal Planner

Hello, November! I can not believe how quickly time is passing these days. Sunrise/sunset... Okay, moving on. I have a friend who's doing a No Spend November and she is basically my hero. If any of you have done something like this successfully, and saved a quick and easy thousand dollars in the process, my hat's off to you! Truly, I think I would die. But the idea inspired me to take an honest look at where most of my money goes each month (cough, cough, takeout/restaurants/bars) and I've isolated something I can SAVE BIG on without going berserk.

No Takeout November, for a New Yorker, is definitely still a sacrifice in order to save big. I typically buy breakfast, lunch, and usually dinner from various restaurants ranging from Dunkin Donuts (coffee + breakfast at work), to my favorite local Mexican restaurant (a dinnertime favorite), to Domino's Pizza (yes, I am the worst New Yorker ever...my boyfriend will be the first to point this out). Hear me: It is ridiculous to eat 3 meals out every. single. day. And, trust me, it adds up fast. Also, when left to my own devices and spur-of-the-moment decisions, I am just NOT a healthy eater. So cooking healthy for myself is a secondary benefit!

My go-to website (and cookbook) for healthy, easy, delicious recipes is skinnytaste.com and so imagine my surprise when I found that she recently released a companion to her amazing cookbook that was a tool specifically for meal-planning and calorie/activity tracking. Enter The Skinnytaste Meal Planner. It seemed like perfect considering my No Takeout pledge.

Image from Kittsona

It's got a spread at the beginning of each week to plan your meals, which I'm using to establish which nights of the week will be "cooking nights." Since I am still as busy as I ever was, and life doesn't take a back seat to my No Takeout plans, I will try to keep these to 2-3 a week, maximum and try to knock out the bulk of my planning and shopping on Sundays.

Then for each day of the week, there's space to track everything you eat (amazing if you're trying to be cognizant of that) as well as a cute space for activity tracking! Sure hope I manage to do more of that as well, but I also know the importance of focusing on one goal before conquering another.

I'm very excited about this No Takeout November project, and will definitely let you all know how it goes! Wish me luck!

The Bite-Sized Book of Bite-Sized Recipes

I am beyond excited and inspired to share my friend Catherine Murray of Photo Kitchen's latest project, The Bite-Sized Book of Bite-Sized Recipes. You may remember Catherine's stunning photography work from the Cocktail Couture series back in 2011. Now she's putting her love of cooking and food photography to use creating possibly the tiniest, most adorable cookbook ever and she's set up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project.

"At 1 3/4 inches tall and 1 1/2 inches wide, it might be the smallest cookbook in the world. With 20 photos and recipes of cute, clever, bite-sized dishes, it's perfect for kids, cookbook collectors, foodies, anyone who loves to eat, cook, or entertain, photographers, book lovers, and collectors of tiny things."

If you want a mini-cookbook of your own, donate today! It would make an amazing stocking stuffer, and there's even an option to buy 1 book, and donate 1 to a children's organization. And the Kickstarter ends in just 19 days, so every little bit counts!

Meal Planning 101

A recent obsession of mine is weekly meal planning. I've known people, mostly married couples and young families, who were able to save a ton of money by planning and cooking each breakfast, lunch, and dinner for their week. But as a young professional, a New Yorker, and unfortunately a certified takeout queen, could I ever pull this off? The answer is a resounding yes!

I'm more than 3 weeks in now, and have already saved hundreds of dollars, since I was used to buying breakfast ($5+), lunch ($10+), and dinner ($15+) out every single day. Believe me when I tell you that ANYONE can do this, and the savings alone makes it worthwhile. But there are plenty of additional benefits like added nutritional value (this is amazing for dieters), less urge to snack since you know what and when your next meal is coming, and the satisfaction of both learning new recipes and taking pride in everything you put into your body. I am a meal planning believer!

I've been scouting Etsy for some cute printables that will help me in my meal planning endeavors, and I've displayed a few of my faves below. I may eventually DIY something of my own, but wanted to share for those of you who aren't graphic designers!

This week's meals included:
Sweet Cucumber, Red Onion & Dill Salad (Eat Yourself Skinny)
Clean Egg & Zucchini Muffins (Eat Yourself Skinny)
Spinach Lasagna Rolls (Skinnytaste)
Easy Crust-less Spinach & Feta Pie (Skinnytaste)
Squash-tastic Shepherd's Pie (Hungry Girl)

Customizable PDF from AtomicaPress - $6.00

Handmade Item from askingfortrouble - $8.62

Instant Download from SweetPaperTrail - $3.00

Instant Download from LauraDraytonCreative - $10.00

Instant Download from TinyStripes - $5.00

Hello, October!

Hello, everyone! Fall is in full swing and I wanted to wish you all a very happy October! I celebrated by doing a bunch of lovely fall activities this past weekend including apple picking, apple cider (with a splash of rum, of course) drinking, apple pie baking...hmm I think that covers all the high points. Hope you are as excited as I am that the most amazing season of all seasons has arrived.

 The below photo is from Instagram. To follow my adventures, search for Jennasaisquois!

Peachy in Columbus!

Until 6 months ago, I had never lived anywhere but Ohio. And I am not even a little bit ashamed of that fact! It was a great place to grow up and, franky, it's the state with the cutest shape in the union... So there's that. Since I moved to NYC, my life has been on overdrive. So much so that it felt like I warped into this alternate reality, and when I got back to C-bus on Saturday morning, my old life just picked up right where it left off. Very sci-fi, I know. I got to see lots of friends, eat delicious food that I have been craaaaving, listen to great music, hang out in the Peach District, go swimming, dance and dance and dance some more, celebrate the Summer Solstice early, wear a crown made of flowers, sit on a front porch, lay in some grass, and enjoy a record amount of Brooklyn Summer Ale (a little taste of new home at old home prices. Score!) Here is my entire weekend in photos. Enjoy your own little taste of Columbus!

My favorite old sign on High St.

My faaaavorite swingset ever right near Aab India in Grandview

Delicious breakfast at Marshall's in Grandview

I helped make these snowflakes right before I moved. Still there!

Party at the most famous backyard swimming pool in Columbus

My fabulous friend Abigail at the Peach District Classic

Peach District Classic: Photo by Cate, aka Pearrier on Tumblr, aka my BFF

The wonderful Johnny Newman performing at the Peach District Classic

The DewDroppers, aka my favorite local band in all of Columbus

I was having so much fun, I missed the bus back to New York...
Luckily, there was another coming in 2 hours! 

Wining and Dining: Choco Bolo

Welcome to May, everyone! This is going to be a very exciting month for me because it will also be known as my Blogging Renaissance. I am back in a BIG way. Or...at least I'm planning a post for every single day of this month. It's what the real, dedicated bloggers do and I feel the need to prove to you all (but mostly myself) that I can still live my New York life and gallivant around Manhattan and work 50+ hours a week and also update regularly. So let me start by telling you about this charming little cafe that my roommate Meghan and I found on Sunday while we were en route from the 72nd street subway station to Bed, Bath & Beyond on the hunt for a trashcan. (More on that eventually, when I blog about our finished kitchen this week!)

Let me paint the picture of a New York Sunday for you. It was a sunny, spring day...definitely light jacket weather. I was walking through my favorite residential hood of Manhattan, near 72nd and Central Park West. This is the place I will live once I'm rich and successful... Or more likely when one of my roommates hits it big on Broadway, and let's me house sit and walk their dog. But I digress... It was a beautiful afternoon with no schedule and not a bit of rushing. We were headed out on an errand, but we also ducked in and out of a boutique that sells fancy bath bombs and we took a couple of laps through Century 21. And before all of that, we happened upon Choco Bolo (Upper West Side location), a beautiful little cafe that has exceptional food, tons of delicious vegetarian-friendly fare, and even serves Diet Coke in vintage-style glass bottles. I was in heaven. If I ever opened a cafe, I know it would look exactly like this one. Anyway, I snapped a few pics so you could see what I mean...It's all in the details.

To visit this location of Choco Bolo, stop by 2058 Broadway at 71st. I highly recommend the Caprese Salad Sandwich and the Nutella Croissant. MMmmm. So legit.

Dark laminate floors, rustic metal chairbacks, marble counter

Wood-grain patterned vinyl upholstery, mis-matched buttons, copper mirrored tables

Vintage ice cream dishes to hold coffee accoutrements, rusted spoon napkin holder

Thick, braided rope wrapped around pipes

Fantastic salvaged molding, used as built-ins

Fresh flowers in bud vases on every table, bottled sodas

Be my BrightLine Valentine!

My new office was filled to the brim with Valentine spirit today! Actually, the entire city was... Everytime I stepped outside, I nearly got run down by five frantic delivery boys, heading towards their various recipients carrying flowers. Getting V-day gifts at work is clearly a thing here. Did you guys get any special deliveries today? My delivery must have just gotten lost in the city shuffle... Hah! Not likely. But the most delicious part of the day was when our office provided a whole table of heart-shaped cookies and all the decorating tools you could imagine; sprinkles, frosting, decorative tips, nonpareils, you name it! So of course we happily dove in and whipped up some of these spiffy creations for each other!

Top Front
A lovely honorable-mention-award-winning cookie by Kate
Left (Row 2)
A cookie I decorated for my desk-mate Amber
Right (Row 2)
"Love Bites." Another cookie by the Martha Stewart of BrightLine, Kate!
Right (Row 3)
A cookie I painstakingly decorated for Galina. But since I used "edible" spray paint, it ended up tasting a little toxic... Oops.
Bottom
The whole collection! Check out that Jenna Sais Quois inspired chevron masterpiece! Galina made that one for me, and I actually ate it, since it was sans spray paint. The middle cookie was one I made for Matt. He told me I single-handedly gave him diabetes. Um, can you say rude? Eh, he secretly loved every bite of it. And finally, the illustrative one on the bottom was depicting a wakeboarder for Jackie, who graduated with me from OSU design school, and put in a good word for me here at the new job! I'm happy to be here and eat cookies with my lovely new coworkers anyday, but especially on Valentine's day!

pop the cork

Hello! Chrissy from Harve & Polly here, and I am very excited to be guest posting on JSQ during Jenna's move the the Big Apple!

Well, its no secret that New Years Eve is around the corner, and while I may not be celebrating in Times Square, I will be drinking lots of Bubbly here in Boston!

Though Champagne is a New Years staple, its my favorite regardless of the season - so I hope these items inspire you to keep drinking those bubbles all through 2012.

01/ inside-out champagne glass $60.00  //  02/ dance on the table $22.00  //  03/ cork stool $199.00  //  04/ I would rather have champagne $29.00  //  05/ flute and bottle earrings $118.71  //  06/ antique smoke gray champagne flutes $65.00  //  07/ fun flutes $69.00  //  08/ french champagne rings $16.11

ColumBucket List: pizza with Pizza

My goodbye tour of Columbus kicked off a few weeks ago, when my amaaaazing bestie threw me the most incredible surprise bash with all my friends at our favorite local watering hole, Zeno's. Since then, I've been trying to mentally wrap my head around the fact that each time I do something I love around this town, it will most likely be for the last time! (Of course I'll visit...but for now, it's time to say goodbye!) While I'll certainly miss friends and co-workers, I'm confident that we'll stay in touch. So the thing that is hitting me the hardest is leaving behind some of my favorite quintessential Columbus foods!

If you were ever lucky enough to be a South campus student at Ohio State, you know perfectly well that the best pizza in this entire town comes from Adriatico's. It claims to be New York style, so I'm praying I'll find something comparable, but who knows!? I've been an avid customer since freshman year when their friendly door was just a block or two away from my dorm. The number has been programmed into every cellphone I've had since I was 19. I have to say, it will be pretty weird to not see it located as #2 on my contact list... Cate and I have our order down to an absolute science. A Medium thick-crust pizza, always covered with green & red peppers and onions. Half with black olives for me, and the other half with pepperoni for my non-vegetarian pal. And, of course, an order of breadsticks with garlic sauce and pizza sauce and a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke.

Then, last halloween, we met a lovely man (pictured above, mid-chew) named Will, who, as luck would have it, happened to be dressed like pizza! I'm serious. He was dressed like a slice of pizza...if pizza happened to accessorize its look with a worn out, blue Kentucky hat. And, very unfortunately for him, we kept making him hang out with us, and the nickname "Pizza" just stuck! Now, over a year later, I can honestly say I love Pizza almost as much as I love pizza. See what I did there? The proper noun and all? So I couldn't think of a better way to spend our last evening together (before he jets off to his medical school interviews tomorrow and misses the opportunity to help me lift heavy boxes into my Uhaul truck...) than by splitting an Adriatico's pizza! A farewell to both the #1 pizzas in my life!

Note: Pizza happens to like his pizza with pepperoni and green olives, which I will just never understand...I'm willing to overlook the blatant cannibalism, but green olives? Never. 10 more days!!

Winter Edible Has Arrived!

Columbus residents: come one, come all! The Winter issue of Edible Columbus magazine has officially hit advertiser locations. Support local C-bus businesses, and our fabulous Edible advertisers, and pick up your copy TODAY! I'm giving you a preview of the cover, featuring a gorgeous photo by Catherine Murray of Photo Kitchen, and my partner for our Cocktail Couture series in November. What do you think?

Fall Edible: A Sneak Peek

The fall issue of Edible Columbus drops tomorrow! You can find your copy at any of the advertiser locations around this fair city. I am pretty proud of this issue. It's my second that I've designed entirely, and was certainly even more fun to work on than the summer edition. I hope, if you get the chance, you will check it out! Isn't this cover photo by local photographer Sarah Warda incredible? Sugared seckel pears. There's an easy recipe inside for sugared fruit as well as a ton of other amazing dishes to whip up this fall using locally grown ingredients. Bon Appetit!

Photo by Sarah Warda, Design by Jenna Brucoli

Edible Columbus on Design*Sponge

Oh my goodness, my friends and coworkers are blog-famous this week. Did you guys see the gorgeous food photography and styling by Catherine Murray of Photo Kitchen, and of course the culinary prowess of Edible Columbus publisher Tricia Wheeler on Design*Sponge this week? I am so excited for their extraordinary work to be featured. They are both two of the most talented foodies I know! And of course, it reminds me that we have incredibly talented people working for our lil' old Columbus, Ohio publication. Congrats ladies! You guys have made Ohio honey look even more delicious than we already know it is...and that's a testament to your fabulous craft!

Photos by Catherine Murray for Design*Sponge

I'm On a Boat

This restaurant was probably my favorite experience in the city, for the view alone! Sunday evening, after a failed attempt at getting tickets to an Upright Citizens Brigade show, we all decided to head toward the Hudson river to a seasonal restaurant/bar called Frying Pan. And when I said "toward the Hudson," I meant on it, because this is essentially a floating restaurant, built on a salvaged Lightship from 1929. The ship actually sank and spent 3 years at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay before being rescued. This boat has certainly lived a lot of life...

And now, it's dreams have come true. It's been turned into a floating burger joint where Manhattan's twenty-somethings go for delicious garlic fries, burgers, and buckets of Corona between the months of May and October. It's completely open-air, so it's operated on a seasonal basis. And if you can make it through the crowds and score a table on top of the barge, when the sun sets you get a 360 degree view of the city lights of New York and New Jersey. It was incredible. So if you're visiting NYC, please do check it out at Pier 66, at 26th street and the West Side Highway.

Photos clockwise from top left
1  2  3  4  5 

Eva Sais Quois: Perfect Picnic

After a glorious week of sunshine, some folks in Columbus have already kicked their air conditioning into high-gear. No way, I say! This girl's been waiting for warmth for what feels like forever, and I totally plan on soaking it up until I'm just plain sick of it! This week I've had picnics on the brain as I look forward to a friend's upcoming birthday picnic in the park, and enjoyed a few gorgeous lunches outside. I am ready to pack up a basket filled with some of these suggestions from the wonderful Eva Goicochea of Monkey in Los Angeles, and head for a grassy knoll with a blanket to spread out on! Will any of you be packing a picnic lunch this weekend?

1  Mason Jar Mugs from Pottery Barn
2  Seasons: The Best of Donna Hay Magazine from Anthropologie
3  Spoke to You Lately Tea Towel from ModCloth
4  Blyton 2-Person Picnic Set in Cream from Optima
5  Brillat Savarin Cheese from Dean & Deluca
6  Jamie Oliver Seville Orange Marmalade from Williams-Sonoma
7  Yellow Condiment Spoon from Crate & Barrel
8  Wool Picnic Blanket from Rag & Bone

To check out Eva's other Gift Guide posts, click here! And don't forget to check out Monkey in LA, and my Swell Sips series! This week I said farewell to Winter with a Lumberjack-worthy concoction. Check it out!

Cocktail Hour: Rose Kennedy

To bring the wonderful Kennedy-themed week to a close, I give you one of my favorite cocktails, The Rose Kennedy, also known as the Vodka Soda Splash. This is a variation on the Cape Cod cocktail that was named for Rose Kennedy, the matriarch of the Kennedy family of Cape Cod. It's basically a fancy way of saying Vodka, Cranberry juice, and soda water, garnished with lime, and a pinch of sugar added to taste. As always, drink in good taste. A Kennedy certainly would! Cheers!

Got an idea for a great cocktail recipe? Leave a comment below, and it might be featured here!

To check out my other weekly Cocktail Hour posts, go here!

Cocktail Hour: Elizabeth Taylor

In honor of the beautiful lady with the violet eyes, I am happy to bring you today's cocktail, the Elizabeth Taylor. This champagne cocktail is simple to mix, just a little bubbly with some Creme de Violette, which gives it a beautiful purple color. And oh-so-glam, just like it's namesake. So, this weekend, I suggest you rent a few of the classics, mix up an Elizabeth Taylor champagne cocktail, and toast to a lady more glamorous than any of us could ever hope to be. Cheers!

JSQ Note: This recipe was adapted from the Hotel DeLuxe recipe here

To check out my other Cocktail Hour posts, click here!

Got an idea for a fabulous cocktail you'd like to see featured here? Leave a comment, and you could see your favorite drink as next week's Cocktail Hour post!

L'Amour List: Kelley

Better late than never! Here is today's L'Amour List, featuring the lovely, intelligent, and very continental Kelley, of the blog Ma Belle Vie. She is a lovely Expatriate from Cleveland, Ohio, living in Luxembourg. Here are some of her favorite things, all the way from Europe!

1  Scarves. French women have turned wearing scarves into an art that she is  constantly trying to emulate.
2  Cézanne // photo
3  Chimichangas. She misses Mexican food like it's nobody's business over here, and chimichangas are her favorite!
4  Vintage Coats. Her collection is growing at an embarrassingly fast rate. Her favorite, she got haggling with a vendor on the side of a canal in Amsterdam.
5  Old typewriters // photo
6  Exploring the Unknown // original photo
7  Pineau des Charantes, a sweet liquor from the region where she lived in France, made with cognac. A perfect way to start your meal.
8  French cookware // photo
9  Street Art
10  Beards 

And there you have it folks, Kelley's lovely L'Amour List! Would you like to share some of the things you love?

If you're interested in having your own list, or promoting your blog or etsy shop, leave a comment below and you could be next Week's featured L'Amour Lister!

Working for the Weekend

This is what I did last Saturday afternoon.

The weather was beautiful, we had just eaten the most delicious Indian food in Columbus, OH, and then we found this playground. I can't wait until Spring is here every day.

Cocktail Hour: Hurricane

In honor of Mardi Gras this week, I wanted to feature a New Orleans classic cocktail, The Hurricane. Have any of you ever tasted one of these? Bonus points if you've had one on the famous Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana! But those of you who have tried it know the truth about these drinks...You only need one. They taste delicious, festive and fruity, but they pack a major punch with 6 different kinds of liquor. Always drink responsibly. Cheers!

To check out my other Cocktail Hour posts, click here!

Got an idea for a fabulous cocktail you'd like to see featured here? Leave a comment, and you could see your favorite drink as next week's Cocktail Hour post!

A Mystery

Why is it that immediately after you eat an apple or a pear, you are hungry again...even if you weren't even all that hungry to begin with? That'll teach me to have a healthy snack at 2:30pm.

Note: One of my New Year's Resolutions is to eat more fruits and veggies. I've been doing quite well so far. Apples and pears, however, may not make the cut...

Photo from here