(via instagram)
You know that new show on HBO “Last Week with John Oliver?” (if you don’t know it, watch it, he’s REALLY funny). Well, this is last week with Grechen. Since my routine has been all out of whack (thanks Dagny!!), I avoided the computer altogether this weekend and skipped my “this week” post. So here it is:
What I Bought
A new pair of running shoes. Although I think my knees are toast after running on my Nike free 2.0 shoes for the last few weeks; they just weren’t supportive enough for me, and had passed their prime when I started running in them. Since I took a Pure Barre break this month but paid $100 for next month, I had $100 left in my “pure barre budget” for the shoes.
What I Got Rid of
I sent some items to theRealReal to try out their service, and because they were running a promo where if you sent them 5 items you’d get a $100 gift card to Neiman Marcus. Long story short, I’m not sure I’m getting my gift card, which is incredibly disappointing, because I wanted it to buy a new Amore Pacific CC compact. But so far, my Tibi sandals are up for sale now, and I’ll post the other items as they show up.
What I did
The whole week was pretty much consumed with Dagny: training, walking, playing…and it was the last week my step-son was here for the summer so we tried to spend more family time together.
Overall, Dangy is doing so well, she’s the sweetest girl. She’s completely house-trained now, BUT, the bell hanging from the door has definitely backfired (she uses it when she’s bored and just wants to go chase rabbits), so we’ve implemented a schedule this week so she’ll go out on our terms, not hers. I’m sure there will be an accident or two – not because she NEEDS to go, but because she wants to do it HER way (she’s very stubborn!), but we have to do this. The last few days we’ve been going out, she pees, then 30 minutes later she wants to go out again and does her #2. First, it’s our fault because we don’t necessarily keep her out there long enough to do everything, because in case you haven’t heard, IT’S HOT OUT THERE. And second, we gave her the power to ASK to go outside when she needs to.
Anyway, we’ll work through this, she’s smart – she just wants to do everything on her own terms. We also need to work on coming when she’s called, and not wanting to get in her leash, but that will come. She’s not crate training anymore; she’s been out of it for several days, but she goes in there to sleep during the day or when she wants quiet time. We crate her when we leave the house also, but she sleeps with us in the bed at night now. Something else to get used to…she’s LONG!
What I Read
I finished the Orphan Master’s Son last week, and I highly recommend it. I’m back to reading A Prayer for Owen Meany again, but I’ll admit, it’s sort of slow-going, and not as engaging as I’d like. So I’m also reading Shift by Hugh Howey, which I also highly recommend (start with Wool though) if you’re at all interested in science fiction.
What I Ate
I made this Avocado curry bisque over the weekend, and it is REALLY good, especially for dinner. I didn’t eat the whole thing at once, although it says it’s one serving (seems like 2 avocados is a lot…), and I used light coconut milk instead of full-fat. I also didn’t garnish it with anything. But it was tasty, and a good easy meal for dinner during summer.
Phew. Hopefully I’ll get back on “schedule” this week, whatever that is. It’s amazing how routine-oriented I am, and how “off” I feel when I can’t keep a schedule. But I couldn’t be happier that we let this beautiful girl into our home and hearts – she makes my day!
How was your week last week? Hope you have a good one this week!! Happy Monday 🙂
Well, a new puppy is one of the best reasons to go off your “routine”! She looks adorable!
That is such a sweet pic of Dagny! Sounds like you have been working hard with the training. That’s great! I have two 3yo bulldogs and 1 of them still has his accidents inside. 🙁
Grechen, do you re-sell your clothes on Ebay? I have some things i’d like to sell but never know where to go and if Ebay’s the best route. Just wanted to know your thoughts.
yes, i sell on ebay quite frequently – i’ve always had good luck, and get mostly what i expect from things.
i price pretty low though, i’m not really looking to “make” money when i resell things, just find new homes for them. what i don’t like is the fees, and that they come out of your account later – sometimes a month later – and they STILL hold my payments until after the item is received. i guess i don’t sell frequently enough…
overall, it’s sort of a hassle sometimes, although i ALWAYS do priority mail flat rate shipping to make it easier, and most of the time just build that into the price i want for the item so the buyer doesn’t have to pay shipping. hope that helps!
yes, i’m not complaining. much, anyway 😉 no just kidding, i’m adjusting easier to having a dog than i was to not having one suddenly 🙁
thanku, those are very good points to be aware of!
Look at her little legs! It seems like Dagny (and you guys) are adapting remarkably fast. I can remember with both of my rescues a noticeable shift at the six month mark. There seem to be a fundamental sense of trust and settling in that was different than before. I think that was the point when Scout stopped escaping from his collar, lol.
I have been making a big effort to minimalize. I’ve chosen about 30 things to donate or sell, which offsets my new acquisitions and gets me going down the right path (I hope!). I’ve chosen to shed some of the pieces that I default to wearing every single day, hoping ‘force’ myself to wear the pieces I actually like better. I am having a terrible time with eBay, however. I wonder if this is just a bad time of year? Of the 12 things I’ve listed in the last couple weeks, only one has sold. I may need to wait until the beginning of September when people feel more like shopping.
I’d like to try that Avocado Bisque and incorporate some more veggies into my week. I’ve also been thinking about trying Pure Barre. Change is in the air…
oh!! try pure barre 🙂 i miss it so much…have to wait until the 24th for the new studio opens, but i will be there for the first class!
the avocado bisque is so good (i just finished the rest of it for my lunch), and easy to make. i think i will use a little more water/coconut milk next time though – it was quite thick. it’s really hard to get the “right” amount of veggies & fruit in a day (you’re supposed to have 7 servings!!), so i have a few tricks that i use:
buy two bunches of kale over the weekend and prepare them for using during the week. i either steam some and have it over quinoa with tamari/garlic sauce, or raw with smushed up avocado and apple cider vinegar. i also buy a couple giant things of spinach to make smoothies with: 8oz unsweetened almond milk, 3-4 HUGE handfuls of spinach and 1/2 a frozen banana. then i have about 2 servings of blueberries with my yogurt for breakfast, and i aim to have a pear or apple in the afternoon. i guess that’s 7 servings. or close to it…that is, if i make a smoothie everyday, or eat a pear 😉
it’s been a month or so since i sold anything on ebay – i guess i’ve had some times that i didn’t do so well, but i think it was also my own fault for pricing issues. you could try poshmark, or therealreal for designer stuff (they only take specific designers), or threadflip, although i haven’t had any experience with any of them so far. my favorite thing to do was take my stuff to a local designer consignment place in Austin – but i also ended up spending most of my credit there too…so….
YUM. I was much better at making smoothies last summer when I was regularly going to Costco and getting their bags of frozen berries. It was such an economical way to do it…mixed with handfuls of kale and some kind of liquid. I often have almond milk on hand and should put them in a smoothie! I have a great recipe for Quinoa and Kale where you pour a lemon/oil/shallot/garlic mixture in as well as feta cheese. It even tastes great cold the next day as “salad”. I need to get back to those kind of recipes again. Thanks for inspiring me.
I’m nervous about Pure Barre. Part of my hesitation is the cost, of course. I feel I should be able to get my act together and find a low cost way of doing the same. Plus, I drive a scooter, so a week of bad weather can make me landlocked and miss out on my membership. The other part of my hesitation is the difficulty of starting anything new and that awkward phase of being bad at it for a while. I’m going to let this brew for a while and see what happens.
yes, the cost of pure barre is pretty prohibitive. my studio in austin was always doing specials, and i went so often that i got my cost-per-class down to around $10 which was reasonable for me. anyway, after my first month (you can buy your first month unlimited for $100) i was hooked, and didn’t want to stop then! then when i moved here, the studio was much more expensive, and i had to drive much further, so the cost of classes + gasoline + tolls got really difficult. you could buy one month and do it, and if you like it, but it’s still too expensive, get the dvd or podcast and do it at home. i would not recommend trying to do one WITHOUT having taken a class first, just so you’re familiar with the moves, but i have done a podcast while traveling a couple of times and it was good. not the same, but good…
i have to prepare things ahead of time as much as possible – because i’m so busy LOL – just so i have things READY that i can reach for instead of the chips & salsa 😉 so i make enough quinoa in the rice cooker for a week, also some brown rice, soak and cook chickpeas for the week, make the tamari/garlic sauce, and cut up red peppers if i got any…that is the ONLY way i will eat remotely healthy during the week…
i also started eating sardines recently – they’re good for calcium – and i got some a while ago at costco (too many tins, of course), so i made a sauce with garlic, onions, and tomatoes with them to have with quinoa pasta and roasted broccoli (i also buy the big bags of organic broccoli at costco – already cut up and washed – so i have NO EXCUSE). i also used to make broccoli soup for the week – just broccoli and chicken or vegetable broth, onions, spices, whatever and then blended up.
lol. this makes me sound much more organized and put together than i am. as i sit here eating the rest of the jelly beans i got at whole foods yesterday 😉
I tend to make a lot of soups and not smoothies – I prefer savory to sweet and I guess I like the warm over cold. Making then freezing soups is a great way to preserve my garden veggies (or, your CSA for the week, or a field trip to the farmer’s market or stand down the road 😉 I always have soup with something to *chew* though, or I don’t feel like I’m having a meal. Can be a simple spinach salad, that’s enough. My favorite soups are ginger curry carrot (I’ve been doing well with carrots in the garden, can add chives or scallions or leeks too) and zucchini avocado – steam a couple zucchini, puree with cumin & salt, one avocado & buttermilk. Would probably be great with unsweetened almond milk or my new fave, almond/coconut blend!
Man, you guys! You’re making me hungry with all this talk about good/good for you food….and jelly beans 😉 I’m going to give some of these a try. Thx!
I had a good week, and felt highly motivated to get at my main project: Closet #1. That is, until I bent over to pick up my ipad charger and re-injured my herniated disc. I am SO upset with myself for not thinking to “use your knees”! So, it’s a huge setback for me, after feeling much better over the past month. My big worry (you’re not alone Grechen, I’m a worrier, too) is that it won’t be healed enough to go to Chicago on the 21st for my daughter’s bridal shower. I’ve got a call in to my orthopedic specialist, so keep your fingers crossed, or if you’re a prayer, please add me to your list!
I love your Dagny pictures! She sounds like she’s doing so well. And like you, I bought some sneakers by New Balance on the J Crew sale site for walking. Very colorful…they’ll see me coming!
P.S. You are SO organized!!
There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing my pup sleeping. I’m impressed that you didn’t wake Dagny up by petting or snuggling her!
haha! my husband does that, she’ll be all peaceful and relaxed, and then BOOM, here he comes! 🙂
val!! quit doing that 😉 re-injuring yourself, i mean…
fingers crossed that you’ll be healed for the 21st!!
i love carrot soup, i just don’t make soups during the summer – but when it gets cold, that’s all i want. that zucchini/avocado soup sounds interesting, maybe i’ll try that with all the avocados i bought from costco 😉
i can’t wait to have a house & yard so i can have a garden. it’s what i miss a lot about being in atlanta when my mom had her garden going, she had eggplant, basil and cherry tomatoes for days. and my grandfather’s heirloom tomatoes have spoiled from any other tomato EVER. i just can’t eat tomatoes from anywhere else anymore.
I’ve got my fingers, toes and legs crossed! That oughta’ do it!