Blue moon, you saw me standing alone

After bidding farewell to my sister and Gingie yesterday I was feeling incredibly blue, and it definitely reflected in my eats.

PB and BLUEberry jam oats

BLUEberry green tea in a BLUE mug

[ thought the christmas themed mug did make me feel slightly less blue ]

BLUEberry blintz with vanilla oikos and naturally more.
(p.s. so good)

I was definitely channeling Violet Beauregarde

Gives new meaning to “you are what you eat”

While we're on the topic of my sweet one's departure I figure now is as good a time as any to respond to some questions I've received regarding how I cope with a long distance relationship.

As you know, Gingie goes to school about an hour and a half away from me - which isn't bad AT ALL and is incredibly manageable. I'm able to see him about once a month - which is great, but last year we weren't so lucky and oftentimes were forced to go 3 months at a time without seeing ecahother at all (absolutely miserable). Despite our distance we've always maneaged to remain strong and devoted to our relationship and I attribute a lot of these to three very important things:

1. Trust: Perhaps the most obvious and crucial aspect of a relationship whether your guy lives across the country or right next door. Trust is imperative to any relationship and without it; well….

Need I say more?

I have been fortunate enough to snag an incredibly loyal and faithful guy who has never betrayed me in the least. I have the upmost faith and trust in his devotion to me and have never questioned that. I think a HUGE part of why he is so trust worthy is the fact that I don't hold him on a tight leash. I know that he goes out to parties and drinks and hangs out with girls (i'm an avid facebook stalker). I could very easily get on his case about this and constantly question him and press him for details, but I don't. Why? Well, why should I? Attacking your guy and constantly giving him the "third degree" makes him feel attacked and subjugated, and consequently he will more than likely want to break free from this and "do his own thing" (typical). I know it's tough, but try and remain calm and at ease unless he gives you a legitimate reason to doubt his loyalty.

2. Communication: I have had so many friends try the long distance relationship thing and tell me that they just don't talk to their guy any more. When you're together and live near each other it's simple: you see eachother all the time and rely on that as your form of communication. When you're away, however, it's incredbily easy to lose contact with someone, as you both get caught up in your own lives and doing your own thing. For Ginge and I we devote ourself to a phone call each day and ichatting a few times a week. It's great! I look forward to catching up and hearing what's going on with him (let's be honest, his life is far more interesting than mine). Focus on keeping lines of communication opened at all costs! That being said, don't overdo it...

3. Take advantage of the time apart: Sounds crazy, right? Hear me out. In some ways I feel Ginge and I have both grown and developed our own individual personas as a result of being apart. In high school we were "Sean and Jenn". Wherever he went, I went, and vice versa. We were a package deal. Now we live our own seperate lives, in our own separate places with our own separate friends and it's EXCITING! It's wonderful to meet new people and develop my own persona outside of being "Sean's girlfiend" and it's also really great to introduce each other to the new lives that we've created for ourselves. I love going up to Uconn and seeing his campus, where he goes, what he does, who his new friends are, etc, and last semester he came up to visit me at my school a view times and it was really exciting showing him around. It's crucial, though, that while you and your guy are doing your own thing you don't smother each other. The last thing you want is for your guy to CRINGE every time he sees a text or a call from you - because he gets one every 5 minutes. Give him space and allow him to live his life away from you. It sounds scary, trust me - I know.. but it's just a new and exciting chapter that both of you can share with one another! and while he's out living his life - YOU LIVE YOURS! He's not the only one who gets to have all the fun

Moral of the story: a long distance relationship is certainly not ideal, but it IS POSSIBLE. Do I wish Ginge were home all the time? Of course! But the truth of the matter is - life isn't ideal. Sometimes you have to endure pain and separation in order to fully appreciate your loved ones. Though I am miserable every time he leaves, the feeling of excitement and the butterflies that I get in my tummy when I see him again makes it all worth it. Seeing him for the first time after a long stretch of being away from each other is like a first date. It's an amazing, irreplaceable feeling! Embrace the distance and allow it to strengthen your bond. Hey, if these two nuts can do it..

...anyone can!

Have you ever been in a long distance relationship? How did it go? What worked? Didn't work? Any tips? Dish!

fueling the addiction

I'm pretty sure the last thing I need in life is more peanut butter...

But when the nutty folks over at Cinagro foods offered to send me some samples of their PB, I couldn't resist accepting their kind offer.

I mean, who am I to pass up pumpkin peanut butter?

or honey maple?

or peanut butter with 14 grams of protein?

No, declining this offer would have just been immoral. I was simply fulfilling my duties.

From the website:

Cinagro is Organic. Cinagro is fun. Cinagro tastes great! Cinagro is GOOD FOR YOU! Cinagro is made up of health “nuts” (pun absolutely intended) who set out to create a company that caters to the all natural enthusiast in all of us. Admit it; we’ve all turned down the organic path at some point in our lifestyle – NOW - we’ve created products that ensure you stay there!

There is a little Cinagro in all of us - wholesome all natural ingredients, free of artificial flavors, preservatives and trans fats.

Plain, Honey Maple and Chocolate Peanut butter are sure to perk up your bagel, enhance your PB & J or make that spoon taste a whole lot better!

Six different nut snack mix flavors and three different peanut butter varieties, give you enough snacking selections to never get bored!

If you love peanut butter, but hate the sugary taste of traditional name brand flavors and loath the thick, tasteless all natural variety – If every mid-day craving for a healthy snack leaves you frustrated with your hand in a bag of chips – then Cinagro is for you!

Cinagro - created for those who love nuts - by nuts!

I wasted no time in diving in to these babies. Any guesses as to which one I sampled first? It rhymes with YUMpkin.. and boy, was it ever.

A great seasonal treat made with split and roasted peanuts, dehydrated pumpkin spice, canola oil, salt, organic cane sugar and Stevia for healthy sweetness.

the stats and ingredients are definitely not too shabby at all, eh?

Naturally, the only appropriate palate for such an amazing peanut peanut butter was pumpkin oats, dowsed in cinnamon and vanilla oikos.

can't forget the quintessential grahams

It was everything I hoped for and more. I've often times contemplated why no company has ever made pumpkin flavored peanut butter, so thank you Cinagro for getting with the program and making my dreams come true! It has just the right of sweetness but still retained it's warm comforting pumpkin and peanut flavors.

Next up was the honey maple peanut butter

Made from all natural organic ingredients, organic honey, whey protein isolate, ground flax seed and organic maple sugar - Cinagro’s honey maple peanut butter is the perfect blend of honey and maple. Satisfy your sweet tooth and peanut butter cravings with a touch of sweetness and DOUBLE the protein of regular peanut butter!

'atop a lovely bed of caramelized banana french toast.

nom x's 10.

The maple flavor definitely outshined the honey flavor, similar to the simpson sisters

those are some big shoes boobs to fill, Ash.

But I digress...

The peanut butter was perfection. Very similar to my mighty maple but perhaps not AS sweet. The peanut butter flavor really shined through, which I appreciate. Sometimes flavored nut butters tends to focus too heavily on the flavorings that you forget you're eating PB at all, but this was all about the PB and that's the way [uh huh uh huh] I like it. What is also AMAZING about this peanut butter is it also packs 14g of protein. Hot damn!

and finally their regular protein-packed peanut butter (try saying that 5 times fast)

Made from all natural organic ingredients, organic split peanuts, ground flax seed and whey protein isolate - Cinagro’s plain peanut butter is a tasty way to satisfy your peanut butter craving the natural way with DOUBLE the protein of regular peanut butter!

perfect for PB&J oats (with vanilla oikos, just 'cause) - a trifecta of perfection.
oat-art!

Seriously, by the time I'm done with these protein-infused PB's, Jillian Michaels better watch out. This peanut butter was another winner as well (somehow I'm not surprised). There was something slightly different in the taste than I've found in other regular peanut butters. It almost reminded me of the center of a butterfinger (um, yum!).

As far as the texture of all three of these PB's they were actually fairly grainy, which irked my out at first but I came to enjoy a lot. They were the "happy medium" between creamy and crunchy, if you will. I was also a huge fan of the small flat containers which make for great easy storage.

I give all of the flavors straight 5's:

They rocked!

Other flavors include: gourmet double chocolate, gourmet white chocolate, regular chocolate, and they also offer great snack mixes.

You can find out more about their story here. or click here to order some for yourself (do it!)

Thank you SO MUCH cinagro team! you have introduced me to a whole other dimension of Peanut Butter heaven! I am incredibly grateful !!

After trying such indulgent flavors, I got to thinking: what would my ideal panut butter be? I came up with quite the list:

• gingerbread peanut butter: simply PB with gingerbread spice.. easy peasy!
• mint chocolate chip peanut butter: peanut butter with mint extract, and chocolate cookie wafers...oh! and if there were some way to make the PB green then that would make it 10x's better.
• carrot cake peanut butter: peanut butter with cinnamon and other spices, raisins, coconut, and pineapple extract.
• raspberry cheesecake peanut butter: cream cheese and raspberries, oh dear lord.. that would be amaze!
• S'more peanut butter: chocolate peanut butter with marshmallows and graham cracker pieces
• birthday cake peanut butter: white chocolate peanut butter with sprinkles (how fun would that be?)
• banana split peanut butter: banana flavored peanut butter with strawberries and chocolate swirl.
  

Obviously when I was creating this list I wasn't craving desserts AT ALL. Ah well, perhaps one day I'll just have to create my own line of gourmet flavored PB spreads in my Peanut Butter and Jenny sandwich shop. A girl can dream, right?

What would your PERFECT peanut butter flavor be?

Off to say farewell to my sis and gingie Bah, goodbyes are SO overrated!

Have a happy sunday, friends!

Black Tuesday

Hi, party people! Did you all survive Black Friday? I tried my hardest to avoid stepping outside of my house at all costs. Unfortunately, my greek yogurt stash was depleted so I had to make a necessary trip to the grocery store. Priorities!

Though I am all about discounts and clearance shopping, the thought of crazed woman in pursuit of 50% off sales and BOGOs makes me nervous, woman can be reckless! Fortunately, I have developed quite a tight-knit relationship with the clearance rack, so for me - it's black friday everyday. Just last tuesday in fact I hit up F21 (I ♥) and purchased some major steals.

Jade green skinny jeans

Navy blue cotton blazer

I blurred out (hearted out?) the size for comparative purposes because really? sizes schmizes

floral blouse

hmm, do I smell a future outfit possibility?

gray cotton turtleneck
(forgot to snap a picture the price but this was only $4, boo-yah!)

[lack of] damage done:



roughly $40 for 4 great pieces. I'll take it!

In other bargain hunting news, my beautiful friend Rebecca over at Kay's Natural company alerted me to a FABULOUS sale that they're having for their new cookie bites.

I haven't had a chance to sample them yet what with the holiday festivities, but I mean seriously? Almond butter filled cookies? I think the percentage rate that these will be bad is lower than the percentage rate that I will marry Rob Pattinson

unfortunate, but true.

Here's the dealio on the sale:
All orders over $60.00 will receive FREE shipping and a FREEmixed case of our popular new gluten-free products,
Cinnamon and Honey Cookie Bites.

Please note: Offer is only vaild from 7am November 27th through midnight on November 29th.

Tomorrows the last day to take advantage of the sale, so if you are so inclined I'd get on that ASAP! I bet these would make a great stocking stuffer (if not for someone else then at least for yourself)

Also, click here to check out the new Kay's energy food site. FYI it was designed by my love Rebecca and her hubby and it's very impressive. Check it!

Off to go hunt down this year's Christmas tree with the fam! (speaking of which, thank you for your sweet sweet words about them! I also thought it was hilar. how many of you thought my sisters were younger than I am. They hate it. I love it. So thanks )

Did you score any sweet deals on black friday?
What's the best sale you've ever gotten?

Have a great Saturday!