The Bluebell Cafe in Gramercy

Posted on April 12, 2012
Filed Under Daily | Leave a Comment

I’m at Beauty and the Feast today talking about French Toast filled with curd. Lemon curd that is.

Click HERE to read my restaurant review!

Silly me

Posted on April 10, 2012
Filed Under Daily, In Connecticut, Teaching | Leave a Comment

Me: Alice, can I fix your hair before we start phonics?

Alice: Yeah. Why?

Me: Because they’re falling out and all your hair is in your face, which means they’re not doing their job.

Alice: Tee hee hee hee.

Me: What’s so funny about that?

Alice: Miss Sabrina, clips don’t have a JOB!

It’s simple, really.

Posted on April 9, 2012
Filed Under Daily, Newlyweds-Dish | 2 Comments

My mom always says that sincere appreciation for what God has given you creates space for Him to shower you with more blessings. But when you complain or show ungratefulness you create a shield that blocks all the wonderful bounties God was going to send your way.

The Boss and I will celebrate our 4-year anniversary this July and we’ve been incredibly blessed to have a wonderful friendship, partnership and marriage — and yes, I think each of those words carries its own meaning. We have our moments where we get annoyed with each other; moments when we talk passed each other in an argument; moments where other people’s opinions and judgements can rub us the wrong way. But what I’ve found to be most useful in our marriage is to remind each other that we’re on the same team and at the end of each day, it’s our decisions as a couple that will shape our future.

The Boss and I consistently show each other gratitude for what the other brings to this life we’re trying to build together. It’s a saying as simple as, “Thank you for working so hard for our family” that can take a job rejection from painful to promising and a long day at the office from exhausting to re-energizing. In some homes it’s obvious who adds value in what capacity whereas in other homes it might not be so obvious. We’re all guilty of having searched for and exploited other peoples’ flaws so now it’s time to reverse engineer that process.

I think a lot of the reason that marriages end in divorce (especially during the first 5 years) is because people don’t appreciate their partners. The abuser, the cheater, the one who neglects, the miser, the over-spender — all these people have one thing in common: they are not grateful for what they have. When you’re grateful for who you’re with you don’t hit, or degrade, or cheat; you don’t use your financial worth as a pawn or spend heedlessly. And somehow another person’s happiness becomes as valuable as your own.

Tony Soprano said, “You know, there’s this Russian woman. She told me something that’s very true. She said, only here, in America, do we expect to be happy…”

As individuals and as a society this is incredibly true about us. We have a sense of entitlement and a little part of us that’s always ready to do whatever it takes to come out ahead. But assists can be just as valuable as points scored but sometimes the term “partnership” can be too easily mistaken with the idea of that couples should split everything in half.

A partnership in a marriage is never 50/50. But like The Boss always says, “It all evens out somewhere.” I find that to be incredibly true. Some days I can be making dinner while The Boss kicks his feet up and plays Angry Birds while other times The Boss can be cleaning the bathroom while I’m taking a nap.

My advice to other newlyweds and even engaged couples is to remember that person you marry/married was a whole and complete person with likes and dislikes and personal experiences and family ties and idiosyncrasies for TWENTY TO THIRTY YEARS before they shared a life with you. And the only way to be successful in any relationship is to let others know that they’re valued.

Internet, help me organize my photos!

Posted on April 7, 2012
Filed Under In Connecticut, Photos, Videos | 9 Comments

Maybe “30 million photos” is a slight exaggeration, but I kid not when I say that I am incredibly overwhelmed at the idea of trying to organize my pictures. Every year-ish I try and tackle this project. The last time I went into Photo Organization mode was when we were living in Los Angeles. Between working retail, freelancing and my perpetual job hunt I decided to carve out some time to buckle down and start organizing, categorizing and cleaning up all my photos. Obviously since I’m still talking about this you know that I have yet to create a strong framework that will help keep my photos neatly filed away.

So I’m turning to you, Internet. In your vast oasis of information and various skills, I’m asking for help regarding how to tackle this massive project. What’s the best way to categorize photos? How many categories should you have? How long should you keep photos? Do you always keep multiple copies of every photo? I got my first digital camera somewhere around 2006 so that’s how far back the photos on my computer date; I am not even ready to tackle my photo boxes yet — though organizing my printed photos is actually an item on my Life List. Because IT’S THAT SERIOUS.

WANTED: Relationship experts, SEXperts, fashion, health, food and beauty writers!

Posted on April 7, 2012
Filed Under Daily, Newlyweds-Dish | Leave a Comment

For all you relationship gurus, lovers of style, food and fashion, Newlyweds-Dish.com (the site I write and film for) is looking for people to write and/or film on topics such as: how to whip up quick meals, fun and free date ideas, relationship exercises, tips for creating an intimate space and how to keep yourself beautiful and healthy.

Interested in joining the dynamic group of newlyweds, new moms and professionals who write for Newlyweds-Dish? E-mail editor@newlyweds-dish.com.

Be sure to include the following information in your e-mail:

Your name
A valid e-mail address
Where you live (i.e. country and/or state)
Your area of expertise (i.e. fashion, beauty, sex, etc.)
Whether you’d like to write, film, or both!

This is a great opportunity for budding writers and on-camera personalities to get their name and talent out so send your ideas and get started!