Am I More Attractive Than I Think?

Has everyone seen this recent video from the folks over at the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty?

If you don't feel like watching the whole thing I'll give you the quick summary:
Part 1: Women were asked to describe their face to a forensic sketch artist (he couldn't see them), he sketched a portrait based on their description. 
Part 2: Strangers were asked to meet the women who had been sketched. Each stranger then described the woman's face to the same artist and he drew a portrait based on their description. 

My Week in Photos: 4/8 - 4/14

Follow me on Instagram to see these in real time. 

1. Many mornings on my way to work I stop at Green Line Cafe on 15th Street. It's quite an adorable little shop and they brew some delicious java. One morning last week, I got a dud of a cup. I kept finding coffee rings all over my desk and couldn't figure out what the heck was going on! My leaky cup was a pain, but I still enjoyed my coffee. 

Caesar Salad with Lemon Caesar Dressing and Garlic Croutons

Sometimes I just crave a good caesar salad. By good, I mean one with homemade garlic croutons, a dressing that's not too thick or mayonnaisey, and flavorful chicken or shrimp to top it off. I'm lucky to now work a few block from Fuel, which boasts healthy food that is not made by a machine (their terminology, not mine.) A friend of mine recommended that I try their caesar because she really liked that the dressing had a lot of lemon flavor and wasn't very thick. So last week I ordered up a caesar salad with chicken for take out. I was really happy with the salad, the size was good for a lunch portion, the dressing was amazing and the chicken was flavorful. 

Well a few days later, the craving struck again and I figured instead of spending $10 on lunch, I'd just go buy the ingredients and make a delicious caesar salad myself. 

I wish I could share the dressing recipe with you because it was really flavorful but the truth is I just kind of winged it. I looked up a bunch of caesar dressing recipes and just kept adjusting it until it had enough lemon flavor and the right consistency. But I'll outline the process for you below anyway. 

Sorry for the blurry cell phone pic

Bedroom Decor: Where the Magic Happens

I'm one of those people that is never done decorating a room. I believe that as time passes, tastes change and a new home decor project can breathe life into a tired living space. With that being said, we moved into a new place almost four months ago, and I can finally say that I'm at near-completion with the master bedroom. 

In our former apartment, our bedroom was small and created some tension between BryGuy and I. My closet was located in the bedroom (his was in the living room), but my closet was really tiny, so things had a tendency to spill out onto the floor, which wasn't a good look. We also had somehow managed to fit two unmatched dressers into the small bedroom, one which held a television, so we were also jointly sharing the surface area of one dresser. The situation was no bueno. 

My Week in Photos: 4/1 - 4/7

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1. I needed some color and decoration in my office at work so I stopped into Lowe's and picked up this lovely little succulent arrangement. I'm obsessed with succulents. I was looking for something a little larger, but they had a limited selection, so I'll be looking for a few more plants and decorations to spruce the place up. 

Why Women Can't "Have It All"

Generations of women (and men) fought for our rights; rights to vote, to own property, and to hold public office. And many are still fighting today for other women’s rights like equal pay, or the right to choose what we do with our own bodies. You might be thinking, “Marissa, you really don't think women can have it all?” Correct. I don’t think women can have it all. But more specifically, I don’t think ANYONE can have it all. 

Even Oprah, with her solid gold toilets doesn’t “have it all.” I’m sure Oprah gets stressed, frustrated, and sad sometimes too, maybe she even has regrets. Who knows? 

This pressure that women feel to be the perfect mother and spouse, and simultaneously climb the career ladder and become a high-powered executive is unattainable. It leads to disappointment, guilt, and stress. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you can’t have a family and a career, because you absolutely can, but in order to be fulfilled and happy in both of those arenas, there are sacrifices that will have to be made. In other words, you can’t be two places at once, so focusing on work means you might miss your child’s soccer game, and quality time with family means that you won’t be at work. That’s just the hard facts. 

My Weeks in Photos: 3/17 - 3/31

Oops, I totally forgot to post my Instagram photos last week! Here they be. 

Follow me on Instagram to see these in real time. 

1. My husband and I took a fun little Saturday Trip to the Philly AIDS thrift shop, and this lovely piece of artwork was in the children's toy section.  

True Confession: I Cried at the Gym

Yup. You read that title right. I bawled my eyes out last night...
At the gym. 
In front of everyone. 

To make a long story short, I failed at something yesterday. And it totally sucked.

I'm not a big crier so, to me, this is kind of a big deal. I probably cry maybe five times a year (and I'm not counting those times I tear up for a sappy commercial or a heartfelt romcom, those aren't real cries). But serious cries are usually the result of death, pain, or an emotional breakdown typically induced by exhaustion.

So which category did last night's fall into? Most definitely it was an emotional breakdown induced by exhaustion.