"You look like Diane Keaton!" Really?

Dianes photo source
 Let me say first of all, that I love Diane Keaton~!  

I have thought many times that I hope I age as cool as she has~

she's got style and wit and panache and exudes 

confidence in the way she lives her life.

Yesterday after my Advanced Workshop finished up hubby and I went out

for dinner to one of our regular haunts. 
 Its a steakhouse that we have come to 

feel very comfortable at~but we have noticed all the regulars working
 there seem to have left and been replaced by new people. 
 We like to eat at the bar, and this night was like any other...

except the 30 something bartender was either brand new at her job 
or she just wasn't that good at it.

But we skipped past most of her faux pas....
until in mid bite of my steak she came 

up to me and just out of the blue said, 

"Do you know who you look like??!"

I used to be told I looked like Heather Locklear or Vanna White, 

but that hasn't happened to me in the last couple of years I confess. 

 At any rate, I waited for her to tell me 

I looked like Vanna or Heather but instead she gushes, 

" You look like Diane Keaton!!! 

Do you know who she is??"

My brain kind of stutter stepped...
I am thinking, you mean Diane Keaton who is a lot older than me??

I had a hard time thinking I looked like her, even though
 I think she is cool~but I am thinking, do I look that OLD??? 
 So I just smiled and said , Oh thanks, yeah she is great!" 
But inside I was a bit freaked out! Really? Do I look like Diane Keaton? 
 She is 13 years older than I am!!  
And I was kind of feeling pretty sitting there 
next to my hubby~wow. How to deflate a girls ego...gaaaahhhhh!

As we finished up dinner the bartender came over to clear our plates. 
Hubby always orders surf and turf, eats the surf and takes the 
turf home for his lunch the next day.  On his plate sat his sirloin steak, 
and as she grabbed the plates and was asking us if we wanted 
desert she flung his steak into the trash right under the bar in front of hubby's eyes! 
Now it was his turn to be horrified!!! As soon as she did it, 
she saw his expression, and said , "Tell me you didn't want that steak....?" 
 "Yes I did" hubs replied~she said just wait for fifteen minutes 
and I will get the kitchen to cook a new one for you...
well we were ready to split the scene. She apologized and said 
"I just wasn't thinking", to which I responded, "No, you weren't" 
 and I wanted to add something about the Diane remark 
but clearly she thought I would be thrilled to think I was 
13 years older than I actually am. We ended up with a
 credit on our bill and a memorable if unpleasant trip to 
our now former favorite steak house. 
 How to remedy a situation like that~

we drove up to hubby's favorite place for an ice cream sundae!!!

 Putnam Pantry~the place where they make home made

candies and ice cream! It's been in Massachusetts forever!

 The movie stars of yesteryear used to come to Putnam Pantry.

Some photos dot the walls of this old fashioned and old building,

like this one of Helen Hayes eating a sundae.

 Our photo is not on the wall, but here we are in line to order two regular sundaes!

 Its a sundae bar, you can see our silver bowls with vanilla icecream and the help yourself buffet. Marshmallow, penuche, strawberries, hot fudge, walnuts, homemade whipped cream, etc....can you say stuffed fat pig? That is what you will feel like after you eat your big fat sundae.

The ice cream table and chairs are so cute! 

We got a fireside table with a hokey portrait of Colonel Putnam

 watching over us.  Mr. Maison Decor jumped into the photo 

carrying the mini cups of water required to wash one's sundae down.  

He is being goofy because he knew I was going to blog this event 

(the Diane Keaton identity crisis).

 I ain't no Diane Keaton...

and I know I am no Heather Locklear anymore either...

(but neither is she probably)

Maybe a big sundae will make me feel better.

Yum. I felt better. Fat, but better.

I guess this departure of a blog is just to say its tough getting older, isn't it?

Honestly, on a day you are feeling pretty good about yourself you 

get an assessment test by your ill witted bartender. 

I hope to grow old gracefully and stay reasonably put together,

for me and my husbands sake.  Clearly Diane is doing a good job!! 

She looks like me!!! You rock Diane!

I hope I look as young as you in 13 years!!

On the horizon my plans include taking the first week of April off to head to

 New Orleans for our annual Annie Sloan stockist meeting!!

 I will be headed south with Justin where we will spend 5 days

 hanging out with Annie and company~attending seminars 

and cocktail parties and meeting fellow stockists.

 Malden Maison Decor store will be closed April 1-8,

 Boston will be open its regular Friday-Sunday on  April 5,6,7.

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The Steak Tip Diet~

This is how I looked after losing 10 pounds~

I was quite happy to dump the extra weight by getting back on my diet~

 Since I got lots of interest in my Steak Tip Diet~here it is.  I call it the Steak Tip Diet because I have been eating lots and lots of steak tips in the past month and half and have lost 14 pounds to date, and only a couple more to go to reach my goal... But long before that,  when I was recently divorced over ten years ago, I discovered the Atkins diet craze and decided to try it~I stayed on it for several years and figured out the best way to live with carbohydrate restrictions but still enjoy meals and keep my figure in check.

However, after I married Mr. Maison Decor he started encouraging me to join him in his ice cream addiction and one thing led to another, and I got off the lo-carb path....and this bad eating led me to gain 16 pounds since our wedding day 5 years ago. Not a good thing!~Adding 10 or 20 pounds can age you tremendously at this stage in life (the middle years) and I was determined to get back to my controlled and healthier eating habits.  So this is just a guide line of what works for me~so give it a try if you want to see results....because you will.

The basic rule for the first two weeks is:
NO CHEATING OR NO RESULTS
STAY AT 20 CARBS PER DAY OR LESS FOR FIRST TWO WEEKS
TAKE A MULTI VITAMIN DAILY
DRINK 4 OR MORE GLASSES OF WATER DAILY

 The first thing I recommend is having what you need in your cupboards and your fridge at home...that way you don't fall off the path. The basic shopping list to start the diet is listed below, so print this out and go to market:

• Eggs, butter, Bacon or Breakfast sausages, half and half, Splenda, Coffee
• Oscar Mayer sliced turkey,  any deli meats sliced for sandwiches, Hellmans mayo, sliced cheeses, cans of tuna and chicken, dill pickles, celery, lo-carb pitas or wraps (many found in front of the deli case)
• Romaine lettuce, Caesar, Blue Cheese, Italian, Ranch Dressings
• Dark green veggies: Asparagus and Broccoli, Zuchini and Green Beans
•  Steak, Chicken, Pork, White Fish
• Crystal Light beverages, Flavored Waters that are 0 carb/calories
• Spirits if desired:  Miller Lite or Michelob Ultra lo-carb beers, Vodka and Rum have 0 carbs and can be mixed with crystal light or diet drinks, white wine in limited amounts. Dark colored beverages like red wine or whiskey will have many more carbs than clear or light so don't use those.

This sliced turkey in the ready made deli case has been a godsend. It has a long shelf life and tastes great and is always ready for a quick rollup for my daily lunch on the go~all packages are labeled with carb content, so flip it over and read the total carbs per serving so you don't make a mistake. 

I have an egg every day~it keeps me hunger free til lunch. And the idea that an egg is bad for your cholesterol has changed~the egg is not the bad guy anymore!  I love Hellmans Mayonaisse~no carbs in this and I use it to mix up Tuna or Chicken salad for lunches or dinners. Buy the best, your taste buds will thank you!

Romaine is the only lettuce I buy~and I get it in the huge 6 pack at Costco, as I make a big salad every night for my dinner.  These are two of my favorite dressings~both 1 carb each per serving....but check the labels for dressings on the carb content, I never buy anything over 1 carb/serving. I also buy a chunk of parmesean cheese or romano from the deli and grate it for a delicious salad.

I keep a sliced cheese tray (also from Costco) in the fridge for when I am really hungry and need to stave off the hunger pangs...cut up celery sticks in a glass of water are always in my fridge too. Try to have things like this on hand and you will not cheat.  Nuts are also a good thing to snack on, some better than others carb-wise, so read your labels.

I keep both tunafish and chicken breast in a can (it tastes great) and they are instant lunches when you don't have any turkey or roast beef in the fridge. I get lo-carb pitas and wraps and even sliced bread and keep the carb count at 4 or 5 carbs for my "bread".  This wrap above is 10 net carbs and I cut it in half as my portion.  The carbs that you count are NET CARBS, that means subtract any fiber grams from carb grams and that gives you the Net carb which is what you will be adding to your daily count.

My favorite wrap brand is Joseph's Pita~also at deli-counter. You can use Mustard, Mayonnaise for condiments, no ketchup or sauces....beware there can be lots of sugars in BBQ sauces, or sweet/sour dressings etc, so play it safe.  

Dining out is a no brainer~I always order steak and a caesar salad with a green vegetable, or as shown above, steak tips and house salad with blue cheese dressing, and one glass of wine make for a very nice meal~you can have a grilled or roasted chicken breast instead of steak....order a burger and get blue cheese dressing on the side, take off the bun when it comes and eat up! Just don't get anything breaded or things that have hidden carbs. 

So this is my Steak Tip Diet....after two weeks you can start adding in more carbs, like chopped up strawberries with whipped cream, or cut up cantaloupe with breakfast mixed with blueberries~get a carb counting guide that fits in your purse, so when you are out shopping for food or dining you can quickly check to see that you are safe.

If you follow these guidelines, and stay to 20 carbs or less a day I GUARANTEE you will lose 7  pounds in a week~

When I start my diet, I keep a log of what I eat and my starting weight of the day~each day I weigh myself and write it in to the log~it is a very effective way to keep you from going over your total. Let me know how it goes for you if you are going to try this.  When cooking for your family you can always cook the meat/chicken, green veggie, salad, and add rice or potatoes for them and you just pass on the starch~its pretty easy.

Here is an example of my daily carb count:

Coffee with splenda and half and half: 2 carbs

1 Egg 1 carb

2 strips Bacon 0 carbs

Joseph Pita 4 carbs

Tuna or Turkey 0 carbs

1 Slice of cheese 0 carbs

Dill pickle 1 carb

Crystal Lite 0 carb

Steak 0 carb

Romaine Salad 2 carbs

Maries Dressing 1 carb

Parmesean Cheese 0 carb

Asparagus 4 carbs

White Wine 3.5 grams

Total: Under 17 carbs!!

I wish you luck and hope you find this works well for you as it has for me! Please check with your doctor if you have any concerns about starting such a diet.

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