The City that Naps. Often.

Whenever an old friend or any distant relative finds out that I work in/leave near New York City, their reaction is usually always one of these three reactions:

1) Cool! Do you go shopping/to Broadway shows/run around in Central Park like, all the time?
2) Cool! Do you hang out in Williamsburg/see cool indie shows/go vintage organic shopping like, all the time?
3) Wow! How can you afford that? Does your job pay tons of money? I’ve heard of that company you work at…

How to live with a boyfriend who has the metabolism and palate of a fifth-grader without gaining one million pounds (but maybe ten).

If I weren’t around, my boyfriend’s diet would probably consist of cocoa puffs, captain crunch, pizza, “beanie weenies” (hot dogs and baked beans), brownies, and lots of Taco Bell.  Luckily, I do almost all of the cooking (and he does almost all of the dishes, an excellent system that keeps us both happy), so I make sure he gets some fruits, vegetables, and generally healthier foods in his system.  However, I’m a firm believer in everyone’s right to choose what they eat, so cocoa puffs, pizza, beanie weenies, brownies, Taco Bell, and the like all find their way into our apartment from time to time.  And although I haven’t developed a taste for beanie weenies, I haven’t met a slice of pizza I didn’t like.

Further aggravating the problem (or maybe just aggravating me), he seems to be able to eat basically whatever he wants and remain as thin as ever, while I’m fairly certain the same does not hold true for me.  So here are four tips I’ve adapted to keep us both happy and relatively healthy.

1. Find a few healthy meals and desserts that you both enjoy.  We both love Asian flavors, so vegetable stir-fry, vegetable dumplings, and this salad (or this salad) are on regular rotation.  Other favorites include these turkey burgers, and various renditions of black-bean chili.  On the dessert side, I’ve recently been on a cookie dough kick, and we’ve both loved these vegan cookie dough balls and this vegan cookie dough fudge.  Other favorites are these cookies and any kind of fruit smoothie.
2. Supplement with vegetables.  If we’re having pizza for dinner, I try to make a salad, or cook up some broccoli or spinach so I can ensure that we eat at least something green.
3. Take advantage of his boundless energy.  Lately, with the weather getting nicer, we’ve been taking really long walks all over the city.  Another all-weather favorite is the post-dinner clean up dance party (so at least I’m burning off some of those pizza calories).  We’ve even started working out together, which keeps us both a little more accountable and motivated.
4. Eat the brownie, and like it.  If there are brownies in the apartment, I am going to be eating brownies.  So, instead of feeling guilty, I just enjoy them for all of their chocolate-y goodness.

Anyone else have a partner who can eat whatever they want with no apparent consequences?  Have any tips to share?

happy saturday + record store day.

Although it started with an extra early wake-up call for a school event, today turned into a lovely little day.  Walked down to Reckless Records, an awesome local record store here in Chicago, and shared in some Record Store Day fun with fellow Chicagoans of all ages (even a cute little hipster baby!).  We picked up a few albums, including the Real Estate album, Days, which is one of my favorites, and probably the band I’m most excited to see this summer at Pitchfork.  We also got the new A.A. Bondy album, Believers (hey Caelyn, remember that time we saw A.A. Bondy play in Pittsburgh, and there was all of that plaid everywhere?).

[record store day loot]

Then we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the couch, listening to our new records and trading new and noteworthy albums.  A very appropriate record store day, indeed.