Sugar Sugar

During a recent shopping trip, my daughter and I discovered utopia.

Utopia is It's Sugar, a new store that recently made its appearance in Arizona.  Many of you may be familiar with it, because there are locations in 17 other states and in several international locations.  We just call it utopia.

It's a feast for the eyes, with rows of loose candy in clear containers so you can buy whatever assortment you want by the pound.

  

You won't believe the selection - so many candies that we "older" people remember from our childhoods that you can't easily find: Lemonheads, Boston Baked Beans, sour gummy worms, orange slices, Spree and Sugar Daddy.  For me, the multiple chocolate covered stuff was intoxicating - raisins, every kind of nut, pretzels, cookie dough, cake batter.  Heck, they could covered about anything in chocolate and I would love it!

It's Sugar has an oversized candy collection that only exists in sugar dreams.  Look at the ones above.  Who knew there was a 1 pound Snickers bar??  This thing is huge!  You can also find the largest Reese Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzlers, Peeps and a giant sheet of Rice Krispies Treats.  Some of the fun ones, included a 5 pound gummy bear, the largest gummy worm and a box of Peeps that will send you into the most intense sugar high ever!

Mackenzie settled on the big gummy bear on a stick.  I think this thing weighed about half a pound. (Beware of those giant gummies - you need to wrap them or they will become rock hard!)














We also enjoyed the giant Hershey Chocolate sauce piggy banks.  A girl can dream, right?


As you can guess, there are lots of novelties (some of which are not appropriate for children). I was told by the nice saleslady that the stores in Las Vegas have some pretty naughty stuff. Here's a few magnets I loved (sorry for the marginal pictures).

This place was so entertaining (and intoxicating), I'm definitely going to have a hard time staying away.

Don't forget about Valentine's Day!

cindy

Feed the Love - Valentine Desserts

Food is the ultimate aphrodisiac.  I can't decide whether looking at beautiful desserts or eating beautiful desserts is better.  I do like sugar.  I went looking for the most beautiful, yummy desserts for your Valentine's Day.  Some look easy to make, some not so much.  Of course, I have neither made nor tasted any of these desserts.  (But I might sometime!)  Here are the 10 I chose, in no particular order:

1.  Pomegranate Pana Cotta.  Pomegranates are supposed to be great aphrodisiacs, but I just like the way this one looks.

Source: epicurious.com via Cindy on Pinterest

2. Valentine Cookies.  Fancy looking without too much effort.

Source: marthastewart.com via Cindy on Pinterest

3.  Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding with Raspberries - There is something beautiful about rich browns and deep raspberry colors.  You could always make this with instant chocolate pudding mix, raspberries and some shaved white chocolate, but I bet it wouldn't taste anything like this :)

Source: myrecipes.com via Cindy on Pinterest

4. Coeurs a la Creme - If you're a foodie, give it your best shot. Otherwise, just look at the pretty picture.

Source: marthastewart.com via Cindy on Pinterest

5. Strawberry "oreo" cookies - These aren't Oreos. The only Oreo about them is that they are a sandwich cookie. Not too hard to make, but I'm just not convinced they are worth the effort when they don't present well.

Source: thirtyhandmadedays.com via Cindy on Pinterest

6. Carmel-Dark Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel - Gorgeous, aren't they? You can click through to the recipe, but I would suggest leaving this one to the professionals.

Source: epicurious.com via Cindy on Pinterest

7.  Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Tart - Now we're talking!

Source: epicurious.com via Cindy on Pinterest

8. Watermelon Hearts - This is pretty, easy and light, but is that really the message you want to convey on Valentine's Day?

Source: otchipotchi.com via Cindy on Pinterest

9. Mini St(raw)berry Cheesecakes - If you like gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, egg free and more, give it a go to make other ingredients taste like all the above.  Me - I just love the picture, and it makes me want to go to the gluten/dairy/peanut/egg laden Cheesecake Factory.

Source: lexieskitchen.com via Cindy on Pinterest

10. Valentine Cake - Yes ma'am. This is stunning and really says Happy Valentine's Day. It looks pretty easy to make, but don't look at the recipe which will convince you otherwise.

Source: marthastewart.com via Cindy on Pinterest

I don't know about you, but I'm hungry (and I feel the need to turn on some romantic music). If I've learned anything from this, it's that the presentation is the thing. So I'll just be content to look, and either I'll save the calories or my husband will have to bring some beautiful dessert home.

 Cindy

Fit Friday - One Day at a Time

I'm in an intentional holding pattern right now, just trying to maintain what I've lost for a while before I continue on down the road.  I should be talking more about exercising, but I'm still stuck on food.  I've had a couple days now where I haven't been eating as I should and I have gained a couple of pounds.  (This is why I weigh myself every day so it doesn't get out of hand.)

A friend of mine who has lost about 100 pounds recently put about 40 back on.  It's hard to watch that, especially when I remember how she worked out like a fiend to get that weight off.  She's getting back on the wagon, though, so I think she's a great example.  I have this success/failure mindset - if I haven't completely succeeded, I've totally failed.  This is a dangerous game in weight loss.  I'm trying to address this head on and stay positive.  As I told my friend, this weight gain is not a failure, just a temporary setback.  That sounds so much better.

With Valentine's Day and my husband's birthday, it's been tough not to eat lots of sugar (my cryptonite).  If it's there, I eat it and I feel compelled to eat it so it won't be there anymore.  Hmmm, two problems with this:  (1) I have an issue with "wasting" food; and (2) I have made myself the human garbage disposal.  So many of us grew up with the "clean your plate" mentality, it's just painful to throw things away until they turn green in the refrigerator (although I've never seen sweets do that at my house).  Those poor children in Bangladesh may be starving, but they definitely won't be eating that leftover cake in my refrigerator!  The first problem leads to the next - eat it so it will go away.  This causes binge eating for me - not good.  I think I need to practice throwing away sweet things and then escort them out of the house into the curbside garbage can.

This is all part of the process for me - understanding why I do what I do and addressing it - one day at a time.  After all, there are no failures, only setbacks.

Have a great week and be healthy!  I'm linked up at Fit Club.  Visit there on Mondays to read all of our stories.

cindy

New Adventures - Part 5 Stabilization

The last time I posted about my weight loss journey, it was right after Thanksgiving as I began the "stabilization" phase.  During the 6 week stabilization phase, you are asked to stay within 2 pounds of your current weight.  The first week went really well, but then the holidays kicked in and kicked my butt.

It's the sweets that kill me.  Wow, we had sweets.  It seemed as if Kentster received A LOT of chocolate tributes this year.  Let's just say that my "stabilization" wasn't very stable.  I've gained a total of 6 pounds, 4 pounds over my allowed weight :(  Not much more to say about it.  I did finally dispose of all the remaining chocolate, banishing it from our house.

I'm going to take the last couple weeks of stabilization to get rid of some of the weight and then get started in earnest again.  I'm trying to stay positive because that's been one of my biggest problems in the past - the "all or nothing" attitude that makes me a complete success or a total failure.  No failures this time, just setbacks and hopefully small ones.

Here's to staying positive in the New Year!

cindy