Last year for my birthday, I was taken to an all you can eat Brazilian steakhouse named Fogo De Chao.
I found this place to be very romantic and the staff to be super friendly and attentive.

This is an all you can eat, "stuff your face" adventure and it will go along as follows:
You would begin the meal at their endless salad bar full of fresh fruit, veggies, cheeses, cold cuts, soups, pickled items and much more!
However, I must warn you! Do not fill up on the salad bar if you came for the meat!

Upon sitting, you will be given a small round paper that is red on one side and green on the other. Green means go, red means stop.
Turning the paper over to the green side, indicates to the serving team to come and put more meat on your plate.

Servers walk around with large grill skewers that may contain chicken prepared in numerous styles, different types of steak (my fave!), pork sausages and much, much, MUCH more! All of the meat was cooked to perfection and the only complaints I had was that my stomach was too small in size to house it all!

Your meat will also come with various sides which are definitely worth the try! The sides included the most delicious yukka fries I have ever tasted in my life! These are all included with your per-person payment.

The restaurant as a whole is designed to allow you to be as GLUTTONOUS as you desire! So go ahead and really give yourself permission to let loose and indulge in all your heart's wishes and all your stomach can allow for.
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I highly recommend wearing a lose shirt (ha!), and coming in very hungry! 

FOGO is located at 40 West 53 street, right near the NY Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). This can make for a perfect museum - dinner date!
They also have locations on Long Island, Pennsylvania, Boston MA, Maryland and more!
Check out the restaurant website at the bottom of the page for a location closest to you.
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​Much love to my hungry readers!

I define family as the people I feel most comfortable with. These are the main people I talk to, joke with, and even fight and argue with. Often times family gatherings, while a ton of fun, may also be a setting for tension and unresolved issues. Therefore, when there is a celebration being hosted with many of people around, I watch my behavior very carefully and try my best to avoid accidentally overstepping public boundaries and cause even more tension during a holiday party. This doesn't always work as I have a very big mouth, but I do take preventative measures to avoid further difficulties by taking these next few steps very seriously. If you employ at least 2 of these, I guarantee you will have a much better time and have a good bonding experience with the people you care about most.

​Some preventative measures are taken before you even get to the party, such as serious talks with your children about proper holiday etiquette. There are two main things you would want to speak with your kids about:

- Proper gift receiving etiquette.
You may not think that you need to, but trust me you do. Kids today tend to have so many things and follow very similar trends. (Last year it was Shopkins, this year it's unicorns and LOL surprise dolls). There may be a very big chance they will either receive something they already have, or receive something they may not like because it didn't follow the proper trend. Whatever the case, let them know to be polite, say thank you, and even if they already have the item they were gifted - they appreciate the thought.

- Santa, Santa, Santa.
The second thing you MUST talk to your kids about is Santa. If your kid believes in Santa, you're fine and can skip this part. However, if you're the parent of my kid, you will find yourself at a playground with your kid screaming at the top of her lungs about the tooth fairy not being real, with all the parents looking at you with genuine hate in their eyes. True story! 
Please, do yourself and other parents a favor and tell your kid that there are children who do believe in Santa, and to simply let them have their fantasy and beliefs without ruining it for them.

Always, always, always bring something edible or decorative to the party. This shows great respect for the host and provides an immediate contribution to the event.
​Good items to bring to any party are:
- Beverages - bringing a bottle of wine or cider is always welcome and very classy.
- Dessert or cheese platters go very well and help relieve some pressure form the host who would now have to make a little less food.
- A bouquet of flowers is very simple with no effort required from you and adds to the festive scenery of the party. A lovely potted Poinsettia plant is absolutely perfect this time of year and will last way after the party is done to serve as a lovely reminder to the host of the fun that was had.

You have officially done all your behind the scenes work - spoke with your kids about their behavior, picked out your perfect outfit, got your gifts wrapped, and purchased a party offering. Now its time to party!
During the party however, unexpected obstacles may arise, and tensions may run high between family members. Arguments may ensure between siblings, children may be running around wreaking havoc on the house and uncomfortable questions may be asked - "When are you having your next kid?", "Have you applied to that graduate program yet?", "What are you really doing with your life?" - am I right or am I right?

Do not make many comments stating your opinion and refrain from making too many (or any) suggestions. I know most of us are experts in our work field. And possibly experts at parenting, running the household, and even that signature recipe which the host proudly serves every year. ;)  However, no matter how much better you think your suggestion or comment would make the party, please understand that the host is already under a lot of pressure. He or she are attempting to have their event flow as smoothly as possible, without sharing all the breakdowns happening behind the scenes with their guests. And there are ALWAYS breakdowns happening behind the scenes. So, while you may mean your suggestions in the best way possible, during a high stress environment, like a family party, they may be misunderstood and taken as judgements and criticism.

Getting too drunk may be very dangerous at a party where you know people's deepest and darkest secrets, and those who you may feel a bit defensive around. I mean, who does feel a little on edge around their parents, or in-laws? I highly suggest avoiding getting too drunk and deciding that this is the right time to finally get this huge thing off your chest you've been waiting to say to your mother for years, or having a drunk debate about religion with the family pastor (yes we have one of those, and yes I have to work real hard to avoid any offence!) 
Do not be the family member who people have to hide alcohol from at parties. Or worse, the one who doesn't get invited back.

​Just like saying a little less, you can listen a little more.
Everyone LOVES having attention put on them. So when you actually listen and give people the space to speak and be heard, I guarantee you, you will become the most pleasant person at the party. People will talk about how nice you are and you didn't even have to say a word!
When speaking at family parties - less is usually more. 

I also found that toward the end of family parties, people begin reminiscing and telling lots of funny, embarrassing, and often very interesting stories about their past. I always get to know my family members, old and new, so much better when I just sit and listen. I had gained so much more insight into my family members' lives, struggles, and expertise. All these things add a lot more depth to the relationships you have with the most important people in your life.

This was the most fun (and possibly the most effort consuming) costume I have ever made and worn! It looked so realistic that people all over social media kept commenting on how "flexible" I am and how much of an "inspiration" I was to them HA! And those in real life had to turn their heads a couple times to see if I was really just hanging out there on a random little table bent in half. It was such hilarious fun! I will now break this costume down for you piece by piece, so you too can attend (or host) your own carnival themed party.

There are 3 parts to this costume: the legs (hardest and most time consuming), the table and table cover (medium difficulty), t-shirt (easiest).
You will make each of these parts, and then assemble them on to your body the day of the party.

To make this costume realistic I made an actual mold of my own legs. I later ended up cutting off about 4 inches from each thigh, just because they were SO big and very heavy.

​To make the costume, you will need:
1. Duct tape, and LOTS of it. I used a little over 3 large rolls.
2. A pair of thick stockings you do not mind parting with.
3. Stuffing material. 
4. A sturdy belt.
5. Stocking to wear on top of the legs (preferably fishnets or some sort of textured design)
6. Shorts. 
7. 2 large buttons.
8. Some sort of wide and sturdy ribbon. 
9. A shirt or tank top to match your outfit.
10. Some cardboard.
11. A table cloth or a long skirt to dress the table.

***All of these items can be purchased at target, and for the stuffing, I used my daughter's old homework that I just crumpled up and stuffing from a whole bunch of her stuffed toys (with her permission of course!). I found that "Build A Bear" stuffing works best, but it is too expensive and you will need A LOT of it. (so I stuck with the old homework for the most part haha!)

​The shirt is the easiest component to make.
Step 1: choose a shirt to match your outfit. I picked this striped red and white tank top to match the circus theme of the party I was attending.
​Step 2: cut a horizontal slit in front of the shirt, across the stomach.
***When putting the shirt on, you will step your legs through the cut you made and the back flap will be worn on the "lower back" part of the legs you made. This will make the costume appear as if it is continuous with you body. 
Optional Step 3: I hemmed the 2 parts of the cut to avoid the shirt stretching during the evening. To do this, fold about a 1/2 inch of the edges, pin down and sew across. 

I hope this tutorial helped and inspired you to make your own fabulous contortionist costume! If you have any questions or comments, or something is unclear, definitely let me know in the comment section below.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Drip irrigation is the second most effective method of watering plants. It avoids overwatering, which causes plats roots to rot and provides a constant supply of moisture to the plants. 

When you have a large farm, drip irrigation is made possible by building a large system of pipes that run throughout and drip water directly onto the roots of the plants. This is used mostly for trees since those do not need to be replanted and therefore the piping system is not affected.

This is great and all, but how can you utilize the concept of drip irrigation at home with house plants without having to run pipes all throughout the house, or in my case - apartment? I use, wait for it: ice cubes! That's right! I make a few trays of ice and simply place 1 to 2 ice cubes into the pot, depending on the size of the plant.

The ice will slowly melt and drip down to the roots without immediately overwhelming the plants with a lot of water and allowing time for all the drops to be taken up by the roots. It is also much faster and you do not need to walk around with a large amount of water to feed your plants. This also minimizes your chances of messy spills. Win win for everyone!

4. Eat less meat! ​​This is one is definitely the hardest one for some, but replacing even one meal a day with an all vegetarian one can greatly reduce your use of resources, as well as improve your health.

If you look at the worksheet, eating beef alone is worth a lot more points toward your resource intake than any other action. To harvest animals for meat you need to grow acres of crops to feed them. They are then injected with lot of antibiotics and other medications which are later released into our oceans. Harvesting meat also contributes greatly to air pollution due to the methane emissions by cows. Cows fart - a LOT -  and it is very bad for the air we all breathe.

This summer I plan to explore a lot of vegetarian options and recipes, and will most definitely share them with you!
You can find them all on the Nutrition Page of the blog.

5. Go Paperless! ​​How much paper do we receive by mail each month? Super long credit card statements that are then a hassle to store. They kill way too many trees, and clutter your house. Today, it is so easy to view all your statements and pay your bills online online. Many companies even offer a monetary reward for opting out of their paper mail option. Once again, helping save the planet gets you some money.

10. Grow your own food. I know for many this is not an easy possibility, which is why I list it last. However, if you have even the smallest garden, plant some easy to grow herbs, or small peppers. Some may even be grown inside, and will help clear the air in your house, as well as serve as delicious, nutrient filled spices. If you have slightly more land, you can grow a small bush of cherry tomatoes and greens like kale.
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I feel very fortunate to have a small garden that I love so much and take full advantage of. Gardening often serves me as a meditation practice, as well as a source of food in the summer and fall, and allows me to compost my food scoring me double green points! My garden is now in it's very first blooming stages and I am so excited to try our very first harvest of the year. Stay tuned for gardening tips and tricks, (and brags), that I will be sharing this summer.

Even if you simply choose 1 or 2 of these lifestyle changes, you will cause a major difference and help prevent a lot of waste. You will also notice a trend of saving money and have a healthier body and mind. It is very easy to start small to make a BIG difference.

I would love to hear from you! What step will you take for the environment today?

Two days ago I had an upper molar tooth removed and a bone graft put in its place to prepare for a dental implant. I know all this sounds pretty complicated; pretty much, a large tooth was ripped out of my jaw, a small piece of bone was put in its place, and my gums were sewn up. This was the second time I've had a procedure like this done. The first time I had completely underestimated the healing process and how much pain I would be in! "Its only a tooth" I thought. 

But a toothache is no joke! Our teeth are connected to nerves that run all throughout our bodies. The headaches they caused were enough to render me useless, curled up like a baby in fetal position.

However, this time around, I was prepared! I had scheduled childcare help for the weekend I expected to be in recovery, went to gym all week prior to the surgery, and ate all my favorite foods. I had set myself up for a full 2 days of rehabilitation. And and in this article I share how I did it! Here are my 5 most important suggestions for the times you are recovering from any sort of illness or surgical procedures.

2. Set A Pampering Mood.

This is the time to take the best possible care of yourself. Setting a peaceful atmosphere allows you to get distracted, focus on soothing your other senses and taking your mind off the pain you may be feeling.

I opted for a candle lit bubble bath with Epsom salt and flower petals. An hour of quiet time to read (which I negotiated for with the little one), and some yummy soft foods. Throughout the day I applied a cold compress to the affected area to lessen swelling and bruising, and avoided all strenuous activity, including exercise.

​5. Water! Water! Water!

I cannot stress this enough: water is one of the most crucial items for keeping the body working properly! Not only will it help dissolve all those vitamins you have been taking and carry them to their appropriate places in the body, but it will also keep you hydrated while you are taking all those antibiotics that accompany these procedures. Water is one of the most healing substances on this planet and you should always aim to get plenty of fluids daily, especially when rebuilding any part of the body.

Stay tuned for all the soft food recipes I will be making all week!