Merry Christmas!

So I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a happy coming New Year! I had a great holiday. My boyfriend John and I worked up until Christmas Eve and that night was spent wrapping, baking cookies, and eating dinner (Yummy Quesadillas). We were up until about 5 a.m. We were delirious by the time we went to sleep. Christmas morning was great though. It was our first spent together!! We slept in and opened our presents and devoured cinnamon buns we prepared the night before! Then we made the rounds and saw everyone. John's mom's house for dinner and my Aunt Peggy's for dessert.

And now our schedules are so opposite, we don't have a day off till New Years Eve!!! I hate when we don't see each other... it sucks.. especially around the holidays. But we'll make it work. We always do.

I want to Congratulate all of the friends who are engaged (Jessica and Calie) and have had Christmas babies (Jenn)! Congratulations to all of you! I'm so happy for you and your fiancés and husband.

What do you all do on Christmas? Any traditions?

Until Next Time!

Erin

I have a Published Article!!

So I'm officially a published article writer!!

http://www.indiemusicreviewer.com/elenora-fagan-self-titled-release/

Please visit www.indiemusicreviewer.com I'll be posting articles every week or so and make sure to read my friends articles too...Kate Westerlund, Peg Oakes and Gina Rossi!!

Enjoy!!

Congrats to TERESA AND JAMES!!!!

This is a picture of my sister and I bustling our cousin Teresa's wedding dress. Last week at this time I was getting my nails done for my cousin Teresa's wedding. Her and her lucky husband James <3 were married last Friday October 21st on a beach in Rehobeth, Delaware. We planned for months about the pistachio and chocolate brown bridesmaid dresses, beige shoes and what we were doing with our hair. We discussed what her shower and wedding gifts should be and how she wanted everything. Her shower and bachelorette parry came and went.

Me and Kate!

Bridesmaids!

Cupcakes and cookies were decorated and devoured complements of my sister Kate! Pictures were taken each step of the way. Things went relatively smoothly! The weather was gorgeous and we all had a great time!

Me and My Love John

at the wedding!

I truly hope and wish the best for Teresa and James! I hope they will love each other more than anything, hope they'll be able to bring children into this world and love them and hope that they are truly happy! I love you both! Hope you are having a blast in St. Lucia!

Love <3<3<3

Erin

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day Everyone!

I cannot believe it's Labor Day already!! It is insane how fast the summer went.. and now everyone is going back to school, and my mom is going back to work. It's September 5th and I wish I could rewind the summer!


We had Halloween books and decorations up at work. The Halloween costume store around the corner is opening soon. I think we rush the holidays before they come. I, like most people, enjoy the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, but it comes WAY TOO FAST!! Before I know it we will be playing Christmas music, Santa will be at the mall, and it will be cold outside.

I went into Target the other day and amongst the Halloween decorations there were Christmas LIGHTS!!! I love Christmas and Thanksgiving, but I'm not ready for the busy days at work, the pissed off customers who have to wait in line, and the Deptford Mall being packed! Oh and Christmas time always brings cold weather and SNOW!!!

I'm soooooo not ready for it yet!

Sung to the Tune of 12 Days of Christmas

12 Waiting Customers

11 Steve Jobs Books

10 Stocking Stuffers

9(000) Book drive Books

8 Cashiers Ringing (Only in my Dreams)

7(00) Nook Sales

6 Cash Returns

5 MODS!!!

4 Shelvers shelving

3 Baristas Making Lattes

2 Head Cashiers Dropping

and a Great Christmas at Barnes and Noble in Deptford!

Hope this season runs smoothly!

Support Bookstores!

I found this sad picture online of a closed Borders store. I work as a Head Cashier at Barnes & Noble and the news I heard last night saddened me. Borders stores are going out of business. Most would think it's a good thing, because my store will get more business, but that's not where my head is. I am truly feeling for the fellow 11,000 booksellers who are out of jobs! It scares me, because I could lose mine as well. You just never know.

Retail workers know that their jobs depend on sales and customers. As much as we complain about customers, we really thrive on their business. We should really strive to help them and as part of the B&N handbook, put the book in the customer's hand. But now the problem is getting the customers in the stores. With the invention of e-readers like Nook, Kindle, Sony E-reader, and a few others, many customers thought fewer people were going to buying books. Though companies like Barnes & Noble and Amazon make money on the ebooks sales. We've been pretty busy recently because parents are buying their children their summer reading books!

The week the first edition Nook was released in October of 2009, I had a customer come up and tell me that we were going to go out of business, because of the Nook. He said that no one would buy books anymore. I still sell books today, I still thankfully have a full time job, and we still sell Nooks! Oh and since then 2 more editions of the Nook have been invented. Anyone ever hear of the Nook Color or the All-New touch screen Nook?

I posted a comment on Facebook this morning about the poor booksellers who are out of work at Borders, and a friend of mine commented "People love bookstores. Where else can you read books for free AND drink lots of coffee." It's very true, Books and Starbucks, how much better can it get? I recently found out that Borders serves Seattle's Best Coffee in their cafe, which is owned by Starbucks.

If you have a local bookstore, whether it be Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Borders, or a Used bookstore, please support it. Buy an e-reader, buy books, and buy a latte or a frappuccino. Smile at the booksellers, ask for our help, and we'll gladly help you! And we'll smile back too. That way we are all happy, customers get their books and we keep our jobs!

All in All Support Bookstores!!!

Love,
Erin

Fresh Pesto!

Here's a picture of one of my (our) basil plants in my (our) garden. I've been meaning to take a few leaves off to make pesto. The other day I was inspired by weeding and I wanted to treat John to a home cooked meal. So here's my makeshift recipe FOR PESTO with pictures. I didn't measure anything I just put in what I wanted of each ingredient.

I took about 20 leaves off the plant and took them home and rinsed them. I don't have a food processor, but I have a food chopper. I bought fresh garlic and chopped a few cloves really finely and chopped a few tomatoes.

I added the basil to the chopper with the garlic and then my apartment smelled like an italian restaurant. The garlic was pretty intense. I added a little bit of shredded parmesan cheese and the tomatoes masked the intense taste of the garlic.
I boiled pasta and grilled a hand full of asparagus, enough for John and I to have a serving. Oh, and to scare even more vampires away I made garlic bread! And Voila!!

Pesto pasta with asparagus and Garlic bread!

So much for my Jillian Michael's and Diet!
Stay tuned to a birthday cake fiasco that turned pretty good! :)

Erin

Trials and Tribulations of Baking my first Cake!

Happy Belated Birthday Kate!! I know it may sound stupid, but I truly haven't baked a cake on my own. My mom baked cakes, and if you know my sister Kate she is a Pastry Chef and she bakes cakes every few days. So, when my mom asked about Kate's birthday cake, I offered to make it. I took a bookmarked recipe from Kate's computer, thinking that it was her chocolate cake recipe with coffee in it. It's amazing!

I closed a lot last week, but I knew I had to buy ingredients and I would stay up to bake. Poor John had to sleep through the mixer, banging pans, and me cleaning up until 5AM!! John and I made a late night run to Wal-Mart to get all of the ingredients. Butter, chocolate chips, milk, creamer, sugar and the list seemed endless...

There are a few things I would like to point out if you are baking a cake that I found out!

1. ALWAYS FLOUR YOUR PAN!!!! I used the Pam cooking grease for the pan and EVERY SINGLE CAKE STUCK!!! I had cake crumbs all over the table and kitchen! Thank goodness two cakes were decent enough to make a cake with.

2. Don't bake at 5am!! Your family members probably don't appreciate you making noise and I was so exhausted and gave up at 4. Bake earlier and sooner!

3. When in doubt... make homemade... CHOCOLATE GANACHE ICING!! You will want to lick the bowl clean! Just ask Kate! When she is baking I try to stay away from it, but I always stick my finger in the icing.

4. Make sure you know how much batter you are making! Kate reread the recipe I made... and I made enough batter to make an ENTIRE wedding cake!!! Oops! Well I had extra for all the cakes that fell apart!!

All and all the cake turned out great and Even though it didn't look amazing! I tried my best. And I'll leave the baking to Kate next time!

Awful Bikini Pictures... Don't Judge Please..

The first day of summer is two days away and to celebrate, I took these awful pictures of myself in a bikini. Wow! These pictures really make me cringe, but this is what I look like. Bathing suit and bikini season is upon us. Short shorts, tank tops, and short dresses are about to be worn. But then again no one really likes how they look in a bathing suit. This is where the last minute workout comes in handy. I took these pictures to show my transformation. John and I started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred a few days ago. I will take another picture of myself in 30 days to show you how my body has changed and maybe you'll try her exercises too.

I haven't been following the Atkins diet to a tee, because I just ate chips when I came home, but everyday I go to work I try to bring a salad or fruit or something else healthy. I'm going to get back on it too. Then maybe my body transformation will be better.

I just want to feel healthy and confident about myself. I'm not fat by any means, but there is always room for improvement. I have cellulite as you can see, like every other woman on the face of the earth. I have love handles, saddlebags, and flabby areas. I just want to tone everything. Can't wait for summer to start, to swim in the pool and to go to beach! It'll be even better if I look fabulous!


Off to either eat something healthy or exercise!

Love Always,
Erin

New Experiences... and Exercises!

John and I moved in together 3 weeks ago. We're still getting situated and organized. We've been cooking at home to save money, buying plants for our garden, and getting used to having neighbors who we can hear walking above us. Thank god their dog doesn't bark. The most noise we here, like right now, are kids running around outside playing. I am sitting alone, John's at work. I'm going to start writing when I am alone and maybe it will be my time to do what I love write and drink coffee!

At the moment though, I have been trying to start an exercise routine. I am tired of feeling self conscious in a bikini. I am not that heavy, but there are parts I wish we more toned, like my stomach, butt and legs. My problem is sticking with a plan. I always start for a few days and then I get tired and stop. The motivation has been my downfall. I just have to come home and instead of sleeping for an hour, go and exercise.

I have done the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I really have to get back on that, because she combines 3 circuits of strength training, cardio, and an abs routine. It is a kick ass workout in a short amount of time. Then I'm going to progress to her other workouts. I won't do all Jillian, because I have found some great exercises on Exercise TV on Comcast On Demand. The majority of them are FREE!! That's a word I like to hear. There is a large variety of quick exercises that are 10 minutes long for those who don't have time for the strength to do a 30 minute workout. I did two exercises by instructor Cindy Whitmarsh called 10 minute Buns and Thighs and 6 Pack Ab Burn. My entire body was sore for DAYS! It was awesome!

I currently have my favorite bikini hanging on a hook in my room as inspiration for exercising and eating right. Speaking of eating right.. I have been trying to do a modified Atkins Diet. For those who don't know, with the Atkins diet I can eat cheese ,lean meat, lots of veggies, and little carbs. I cheat a little bit and eat peanut butter and I have sugar in my coffee. I cheat at least once everyday, because I love carbs. My next diet I'd like to try is the Carb Lovers Diet. The book was featured on Rachael Ray this week, and you can eat carbs in moderation.

All this talk of exercise makes me want to just do it. Off to do some 10 minute buns and thighs workout! Just remember that exercising might not be fun all the time, but the results will be so worth it! You'll look great, feel great, and the bikini shopping and jean shopping in the fall won't be as horrific!

Until Next Time...
Keep Smiling!

Erin

Looking Back on 25 years

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

My 25th birthday was yesterday. I celebrated with my Mommy, my sister Kate, and the love of my life John. I feel so loved by my friends as well with all of the Facebook posts. My birthday though makes me think about the past few years and what is to come. I have to start thinking about my career. I want to write and be a journalist. I haven't found a job, but perhaps it's my own fault. I love working at Barnes & Noble, but I don't want to work there for the rest of my life. It's not my dream. So this is the start of a new blog!!!

My mom and sister have been telling me forever to start a blog. It's been long overdue. I have tried but I never followed through. This blog will feature everything from exercise routines, to work issues, to What Not to Wear (which I am watching right now). I'll discuss fashion, beauty products I have tried, and restaurants I love. Oh, and perhaps the trials and tribulations of moving in with my boyfriend which is how my life will change this year.

I am moving in with my boyfriend of 5 years, John. We have been looking for apartments. Originally, I was just going to move in with him, but he said, "I want us to look and find an apartment that's OURS." How could I say no? I am so excited, and scared at the same time. He is the love of my life and I know we will last and love living together, but I have never lived away from home. We are the perfect example of meeting great people in a club.. He was a stranger and he asked me to dance.. the rest is history.