King Rewrites History

Sir Mervyn King, Governor of The Bank of England, has stirred up a hornets nest after his recent BBC radio lecture in which he rewrote history and his/the Bank's role in the financial crisis.

Amongst other things, King said that the Bank would be very happy to co-operate with another inquiry into the collapse of Northern Rock (the bank that the Bank of England refused to bailout).

This willingness to co-operate rather took the breath away of Andew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, who said that the Bank "should get on with it at the first available opportunity".

Others on the Select Committee expressed astonishment at the Governor's comments, given that the Committee has asked the Bank on numerous occasions to co-operate with an inquiry only to have their requests refused. The Bank remains the only member of the tri-partite system not to have published a review into its role in the crisis.

My Favorite Boutique is Coming to Houston!

Happy Friday!  I'm thrilled to hear that one of my favorite boutique stores, Henri Bendel, is finally coming to Houston- June 2nd to be exact!  (For you Houstonians, the store will be located in the Galleria, on the 2nd level, near the Apple store). Until now, I've only shopped their stores in New York and Dallas, when I've been visiting those cities.  So happeeeeee!!!  Henri Bendel is known as a Girl's Playground, and sells fun stuff like unique jewelry, handbags, makeup bags, accessories, makeup and beauty products.

                                       

I recently got their catalog and fell in love with their new line of bangle bracelets.  LOVE!  They sell for $88 - $118.  Their smaller bracelets fit smaller wrists very well.  

Have a great W E E K E N D !

It's All Greek

Those of you who expect that the Greek elections this Sunday will resolve the uncertainty over Greece keeping to the bailout conditions and remaining in the Euro will be severely disappointed.

It is widely expected that the results will bring chaos, and that more elections will be necessary later this year.

Whatever the results of the elections, Fitch are of the view that out of the alternative scenarios a Greek exit is the most likely.

Casey Grace Design (Gorgeous and Affordable Interiors)

I'm so happy for my good friend Courtney and her sister, Kristin, who have just announced the launch of their new design business, Casey Grace Design.  I was fortunate to "meet" Courtney when she first started her blog (A Thoughtful Place) and we quickly became friends via our blogs, then through email and texts, and finally phone friends, chatting about design and family life and everything in between.  She is truly a genuine, funny, and talented woman.  I've grown accustomed to checking in on Courtney's blog daily and am constantly inspired by the design in her home as well as the designs she creates for her clients.  What I love most about her design aesthetic is that it is always gorgeous, inviting, and approachable.  She creates rooms you just want to BE in.  She's also conscious of expense and is always finding inventive ways to bring beauty into a space.  Her projects and designs for kiddos are awesome too.

I browsed through the Casey Grace Design portfolio and was blown away by the look of every room.  Below are just a few of my favorite designs, but you can visit their website to see the full portfolio, or to inquire about their services.  They provide online style boards for all clients and personal consultations in Orange County, California. 

So proud of you friend!  Good for you for following your heart and making your dreams reality.  

EC Fiddles Whilst Europe Burns

Eurozone unemployment has hit a record high of 10.9% (17.3M people are now looking for work), with Greece clocking in at 21.7% and Spain at 24.1%.

The EC claims that it is taking the problem seriously, and will (by the end of May) publish "country specific recommendations".

Given that the rate of unemployment rose by 169K in the last month, this means that even if the recommendations were of any use (which of course they won't be) another 169K people will be out of work by then.

The EC's only real objective is to ensure that it obtains a budget increase of 6.8%, it is fiddling whilst Europe burns!

The EC is not fit for purpose, as the people of Europe are finding out to their cost.

Eurocrisis Takes A Day Off

Today being Mayday, means that the financial markets on the continent of Europe are closed. The result being a "lull", for a day anyway, in the crisis engulfing the Eurozone.

Eating Healthily

One of my biggest goals with my family is to feed us healthy foods.  I know when I eat better, I feel better, and, as the female head of my home, I feel like the responsibility for most meals is mine.  I cringe when the "what's for dinner?" question comes my way and I'm not prepared:(  I'm working on getting an array of tasty, healthy meals in my cooking arsenal.



I spent a good part of the weekend researching past issues of Whole Living magazine and several cookbooks in an effort to find some NEW healthy recipes.  Whole Living featured a 3-week cleanse a few issues back, and while I'm not particularly interested in going that extreme, I wanted to try a few of the cleanse recipes because they featured food we don't normally eat, which contain loads of good-for-you ingredients.

I picked a couple recipes and came home with two bags full of groceries, mostly veggies.  

Also, since one of my favorite snacks is apples and peanut butter, I'm trying a natural peanut butter instead of my beloved low fat Jiffy.  I tasted the 365 version and it's good!  This is part of my effort at eating less processed food. (You can bet I'm not giving up my coffee and creamer though!) 

Some of my recipes called for things I'm not used to cooking with, like Tahini 

butternut squash (I went ahead and bought it already cut this time)

radishes

and these spices.

Also, since I really can't get James to eat veggies, I buy him these, which he calls JUICE, and he loves to drink. 

Some of you asked about my morning Greek yogurt (that I pair with granola when I'm not eating oatmeal), and Oikos honey is my favorite, even though I usually pour a little of the honey out so it's not too sweet.  It's got 13 grams of protein. 

The recipes I committed to trying this week are below.  I have to keep them listed on my fridge or I'll forget what I was going to make.  I might be losing my mind, or I'm the mother of a toddler, because I can't remember anything these days if I don't write it down.  Do you experience this?? 

And I just tore out the recipes from the magazine and stuck them on the fridge for easy reference this week. 

On Sunday, I made Orangette's Soba Noodles with Peanut Sauce (this wasn't from the magazine, but a recipe I've been wanting to try).

You combine thinly cut carrots, radishes, and strips of baby bok choy.  

Chopping these fresh vegetables made me feel so good.  Look how pretty they are!  I'm having to switch my mindset that our dinner must include a meat, starch and vegetable (something I grew up with).  Now, I'm realizing that dinner can be just a hearty salad or soup.  Add some bread and it feels more substantial.  

Make a peanut sauce: 

½ cup well-stirred natural peanut butter, such as Adams 100% Natural Creamy
1 ½ tsp. soy sauce
¼ tsp. pressed garlic (about 1 small clove)
½ cup fresh lime juice
½ tsp. sriracha or a similar hot sauce, or more to taste
½ tsp. chili garlic sauce or sambal oelek, or more to taste
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. water

Boil your noodles for 6-8 minutes, then rinse them in water. 

Add the cooked noodles to the peanut sauce.

Then combine the veggies.

I topped ours with salt and sesame seeds.  

I thought it was pretty good, but I actually like my jarred peanut sauce better- but perhaps I didn't get the sauce right, hers looked more "saucy" than mine!  My jarred peanut sauce (Bangkok Padang) was at work because I use it on my grilled chicken salads.  A lot of times for lunch at work, I take grilled chicken tenders and a bag of pre-washed lettuce and top with my peanut sauce and nuts. 

We'll see how the rest of the week goes. 

 If you have any healthy recipes, websites, or cookbooks you like, I'd love to hear.