CARLO'S BAKERY- CAKE BOSS :)

So the past week was so much fun! My boyfriend and I left April 6th in the evening and headed to Atlantic City. His birthday was on April 7th. We did absolutely nothing and it was great. :] We're not much into the club scene, and plus not much would be going on on a Wednesday night. We pretty much relaxed together and bummed around in the hotel room together. The hotel we stayed at has THE BEST PIZZA we've ever tried together. SOO SOO SOO GOOD!!! We've been craving it so that's what we ate for dinner the first night there. We didn't gamble too much. The bf tried the roulette table while we were passing by to get my morning coffee. He put down $100 and was down to $20. I said put it on #34. IT HIT!!!!! :))) That pretty much paid for our yummy breakfast! :)


It was just really nice spending time with him. Its seriously been a long time since we even had a chance to just cuddle while watching a movie. =/ 


We left Friday morning and when we got back home we decided to go to this Ramen place we just discovered!!! I WAS SOOO HAPPY!!!!! I was afraid they would suck because we've never heard of this place.... BUT they are GREAT!!!! :) 


After our delicious dinner we wanted to go hang out at my cousins house but she wasn't around so we decided to go to Hoboken, NJ!!! I've been obsessed with the show Cake Boss on TLC. We watched a few episodes before we left A.C so it only made sense to visit!! 


I was so excited! :p The only thing that sucked was the traffic on the way there and the fact that there is NOOOO parking!!! NONE!!! We ended up parking in a garage. Then when we got there, there was a line outside the bakery. Then when we got inside there was about an hour wait. It's SO crowded in there I started to get cranky because people were breathing down your neck, and it just wasn't pleasant. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see ANYONE from the show. They are usually there in the morning and we got there later. =( I was still excited to be there despite the miserable workers and how I was left there alone! haha! I didn't realize their goodies were so expensive!! I dropped about $50 on a few things. It's worth it once in awhile and it was lovely to have had the chance to check out the place. I know a lot of people from all over the U.S. come to check it out and I live an hour away.  Here's a picture of the mini tiramisu! SO DELICIOUS! I wish I could make this!

YUM!!!

I think in the future. Actually, WAY future, I'll get my wedding cake from this bakery. <3 Speaking of wedding... my cousin's wedding is THIS SATURDAY! I can't believe it's so soon. Everyone is going all out! I don't have anything ready but my dress! Pretty excited about this!! =) 

Anyway, I just keep rambling. After Carlo's Bakery we headed to the city since we were 10 minutes away from NY. Since my bf works in NY he's been wanting to show me his office! :) We swung by his office and the security is crazy because they had to make me my badge just to get through. It was really amazing in there. It's so modern and it looks more like a museum than an office! I've never seen so much free food before in my life. I had the best iced coffee made by the bf and some salsa chips :) I think I may have to visit him again just for the coffee! :p

Jookie

Limitless

I watched Limitless last night and it was strange. I'm kind of confused about the ending. I guess it's something you have to piece together with your own imagination? I thought the movie instantly sucks in the viewer because my eyes were glued to the screen. There were some scenes that gave me goosebumps but other than that it was interesting. I was debating between Limitless and The Adjustment Bureau. I chose Limitless only because TAB is categorized under "Romance" and "Sci-Fi" and I wanted to see something with more action! :)


Anyway, I'm cleaning my dirty room doing some seriously needed SPRING CLEANING. I brought my Spring/Summer clothes up from the basement. I feel so lazy right now! Looking at my room makes me feel so overwhelmed! haha I have no idea where to start! I should do a before and after pic for fun but I'm just way too embarrassed by the before picture...even for my own viewing pleasure. 


My cousins wedding is on April 16th! I'm not even close to being prepared for it but at this point I really don't care! I'm just concerned about my hair because I'm not very good at styling hair. This week is my boyfriends 26th birthday!! Geez it's so weird seeing that number on the screen. We're escaping away to Atlantic City together. Just going to relax since we haven't been able to spend much time together during the past few months. I'm excited! =) 


I need to get back to cleaning before I curl up underneath my blankets and pass out!! 


Have a nice day :)


Jookie

WHOMP WHOMP

I failed my Master Cleanse! =( I really had my mind set on doing this and I thought it would be a breeze!!! I was so wrong. The first day was perfectly fine. I wasn't even hungry. But when I was about to go to sleep I felt like throwing up and kept running to the bathroom but I just kept gagging. My head hurt like it never hurt before. Eventually I drifted off to sleep and the next day I could barely get up. I felt so lightheaded! I still didn't give up. I got through the second day. Later at night however, I drank something other than water and lemonade mixture which led me to say, "fuck this!". So really, I didn't eat anything for two freakin days! I go crazy when I don't eat for 6 hours straight so this was intense for me. :p


WHOMP WHOMP.


Oh well! I'm a girl who needs to eat. Like I said, I wasn't doing this to lose weight (even though I could use some weight loss) but was hoping to accomplish this cleanse to clear my skin up and clean my soul!!! Maybe I'll give it another shot soon. I have $13 of lemons sitting in my room! W-T-F. 


Yum Yum. 


Jookie

MASTER CLEANSE

So I've decided to give myself a challenge-- THE MASTER CLEANSE. First off, this is not a vanity issue or something I'm doing to lose weight. Like I said in my first post, I've had a lot on my mind lately and I made this blog to write about things that make me happy. :) I'm challenging myself to do this cleanse for many reasons but mostly to clear my mind. Yes, I'm going to be dreaming of ice cream and cheeseburgers BUT I've done my research. Many people who do this cleanse end up having some kind of spiritual awakening. I'm not saying I'll experience this (or even make it through one day!!) but I want to experience it myself. I'm not a person who deprives their body to stay slim or someone who follows new diet trends. I just feel like this cleanse will clear my mind, my soul, and obviously my body of toxins that's making me feel so groggy... and weak!! 


I haven't even begun the cleanse yet and I'm already hearing negative things! My brother--- who works out regularly and lives a healthy lifestyle said it's not a good idea. He said I'm just starving myself and it's unhealthy. I agree! I would never starve myself to lose a pound. I'm always about doing things the right and healthy way. Like I said, this is not a vanity thing. I'm doing this for myself-- to hopefully find a peace of mind. :) I trust this cleanse because the three ingredients supposedly have enough nutrients and calories to keep your body functioning properly. Obviously it's not healthy to live off of this menu your entire life but it's nutritious enough for the time you're on your cleanse. If others have done this 40+ days, I'm sure I can survive a day. 


From this cleanse I hope to feel rejuvenated and more alive! If I feel like I can't make it on the first day, I'll simply stop. My goal is three days. The maximum number of days this cleanse can be done is 40 days. I find that crazy!! I'm trying to keep my goals realistic...like getting through ONE day! I've been thinking about doing this for a long time and I finally found the motivation and strength to begin this a few days ago. I decided to start it tomorrow. I have all the ingredients and I'm ready to start! I didn't choose to do this right away because you really have to mentally prepare yourself. I didn't want to just wake up and say, "Hey I'm going to do this today and that's that." I'm slowly preparing myself and reading and watching other peoples experiences. It helps a lot watching other peoples success. Every story I heard was a positive experience. They all said the first 4-5 days was the hardest but after that they started feeling extremely energized and great. 


I know this is going to be extremely difficult but I feel like I need to do this for myself. I also hope I can gain a new relationship with food! :) I've put on some weight since meeting my boyfriend in 2008 BUT I call it love weight. I'm not ashamed of it! haha :p We ate food non stop and tried different restaurants and cooked together. We were eating just to spend time together! Like most guys, he didn't gain a pound!!! W-T-F?! haha Anyway, my point is, I wasn't eating and actually tasting my food and appreciating where it came from. I just ate constantly without realizing what I was putting in my mouth. I'm saying all this now, I'm hoping I get through one day. I'll probably be updating this constantly to keep track of my cravings and current mental state! If I decide to do this again in the future I want to look back and see when and why I was struggling and how I can feel better the second time around.


I'm actually quite excited to begin this challenge but I'm sure within 2 hours of the cleanse I will be aggravated. The biggest challenge for me will be my caffeine withdraw symptoms! Can you say HEADACHE!!?!! I love my coffee but lowering my caffeine intake has been a goal of mine for years! AHHH!!! I CAN DO THIS!!! For anyone else who decides to do this...I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK!!!!! :]


Jookie

Vegetable and Tofu Stir-Fry

So I've been craving tofu and my inner Bobby Flay was feeling creative. I took the first recipe I found and tweaked it using ingredients I had. This is the link to the recipe:


http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/vegetable-and-tofu-stir-fry/Detail.aspx


It tastes so GOOD!! I was going to take pictures of my final result but my camera wasn't charged. You can find all these ingredients at your local Asian Food Market or any supermarket. I find that Wegmans would be the most convenient if you don't live near an Asian Food Market. They have an International section that have the most variety. I noticed that some people left comments saying it was too bland. Put in a dash of salt if needed. I added something called Bean Paste and it just added that extra kick. :) 


You can enjoy it by putting this dish over some steaming yummy rice. :) I need to add pictures next time. I'm definitely going to be making this dish again in the near future. Happy eating:)


Jookie

FIRST POST :)

This is my first post! :) I'm pretty  psyched about it. I'm not expecting a huge audience..or ANYONE for that matter. I'm just doing this for myself. Lately I've had a lot on my mind and sometimes you need an outlet. :) I just want to come to this blog when I come across something I love, or something that just makes me smile! When I expand my blog and add more posts, I hope some anonymous people come across it and makes them smile. To anyone who comes across this... helloandgoodbye. :)

Have a lovely day. :)

jookie.