Bringing Sexy Back

Saturday my boyfriend and I planned a special date night because we hadn't seen each other in a week. It sucks when we're both that busy, but we always find a way to make it up to each other. So how do we bring the sexy back?

I wear high heels...

...and he takes me out to a nice sushi dinner. We went to Blue Ribbon in SoHo--it's one of my favorites! In addition to the usual suspects (california roll, tuna/salmon/egg/eel sushi pieces), we tried the Blue Ribbon roll.

It was pretty to look at (caviar, anyone?), but I didn't love it. Lobster doesn't have much flavor, and the shiso had an um, interesting taste. I don't know, maybe a sushi expert would have given it rave reviews, but it wasn't my cup of green tea!

My boyfriend and I went here on one of our first dates, so it was fun to recall that memory when we were still getting to know each other. (Actually, it's a bit of a blur--I drank waaaay too much in the beginning of our relationship!) He made a comment the other day about how I rarely wear heels anymore and I freaked. Nooo! I don't want to be THAT girl! So I put on high heels and gave myself a D.I.Y. mani. And I had planned to wear something a little sexier, but I didn't like anything in my closet, so I borrowed Liza's DVF jumper. It did the job.

**Ohh, I've got giveaway winner announcements! BerryFine won the Bumble and Bumble hair products and Mary Allen won Carmindy's Crazy Busy Beautiful book! Shoot me an email ladies with your mailing info! And I *pinky promise* I selected the winners at random. I gave everyone a number and had the bf pick 'em :) (Does anyone have any suggestions on a better way to do it??) An.Y.way...

So yeah, it doesn't take much for my bf and I to bring the sexy back into our relationship when things get a little crazy. High heels, sushi, vino and we're good! What about you: What special things do you (or have you done in the past) with your partner to keep the flame a burnin'? And how important do you think it is to fix up and make the effort to look good for each other?

What's the food diary of your life?

Ok, so I'm doing something I've never done before—I'm straight up jacking an idea I saw on someone else's blog. But that someone happens to be my bloggy friend, Kelly, so I don't think she will be too upset with me! So here it is, the food diary of my life.

Milk. When I was a baby, I was OBSESSED with milk. My mom said I'd chug down my bottle and then chuck it out of my crib when I was ready for more. This lead to my love of cereal...

Cereal. I could have cereal for EVERY meal. Oatmeal is cheaper, which is why I've been eating it so much lately, but nothing is better than a big bowl of cereal. One time when I was like six, my grandmother let me eat four bowls of Special K for dinner. I couldn't believe it! It was easily one of the best nights of my child LIFE.

Peas. I despised peas as a kid, and my parents wouldn't let me leave the dinner table until I ate them. I made a big dramatic scene about it, too. I'd put just a few on my fork, hold my nose and scrunch my face up in disgust as I swallowed 'em down. I always snuck some into my napkin too, but I'm pretty sure I got busted every time. Looking back, I don't know what the big deal was—peas don't really taste like anything. 

Eggs. This was the first thing I learned how to cook, and still to this day it's one of the only things I can make! Shameful. I had this dish at Balthazaar several months ago—I wish I could make my eggs look this fancy!

Ice cream. By now you know that my love for ice cream runs DEEP. My first job was at Graeter's, so that might explain something there. I actually didn't eat much of the ice cream while I worked, but one time my boss totally caught me shoveling spoonfuls of Double Chocolate Chip into my mouth! It was soooo embarrassing! I quickly put the spoon down, wiped my mouth and went back to work. We both acted like it never happened! 

Ohh, and a funny ice cream story about Liza: When she was little, my mom gave her a scoop of low-fat vanilla (Oh no she di'n't!). After one little taste, she exclaimed, "WHAT THE HECK KIND OF ICE CREAM IS THIS?!?" Bless her little heart—she knew something wasn't right. The Collis girls don't mess around when it comes to ice cream!

Sushi. Leah, one of my best friends from college, introduced me to it junior year when the food court in the student union started serving it. I'd always get a California roll and dunk the hell out of it in that yummy orange sauce. I didn't like it much at the time, but I thought it was the cool thing to eat, so I went with it. Now, I LOVE sushi. When my boyfriend and I first started dating, we ate it as much as possible—like pretty much every time we went out to eat! I've tried some more adventurous rolls with him, but my favorite ones are super-basic: California, spicy tuna and cucumber. Mmm.

Pizza. It's cheap and yummy and I LOVE it. My bf and I shared this pizza at a casual restaurant in Park Slope last weekend. Shoot, I'm forgetting the name of the place! (New Yorkers, it's on Seventh Ave near 10th Street.) It's not the healthiest thing in the world, but I usually eat it by the slice with veggies on top, so it's not so bad. 

Wow, now I'm officially starving! Your turn: What's the food diary of YOUR life?

Do you eat the same foods over and over?

I do, I'm a creature of habit. I've eaten oatmeal for breakfast for the past two weeks, and I don't know how many 6" turkey subs on wheat bread with cucumbers, green peppers, swiss cheese, lettuce and just a few jalapeno peppers for lunch. The order is always the same, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm actually enjoying what I'm eating or if it's just a reflex.

I worked late last night, so my boss offered to buy me dinner. (Yes, folks, FREE FOOD). I was in the mood for sushi, and typically my order would be: edamame, cucumber roll, two pieces of eel sushi, one piece of salmon sushi and one piece of black pepper tuna sushi. I almost went with my usual order, but decided to switch things up at the last minute. Here's what I got:

I ordered from an all-natural, organic Japanese restaurant in Soho called Souen. I started off with part of my usual order--a cucumber roll. The organic rice added a different twist though. It had a softer texture than white rice, and it definitely tasted healthier. I liked it.

My entree was two pieces of salmon wrapped in rice paper with a side salad. This is where I mixed things up. The old Ellen would never have gone this route, but I'm glad I broke my stale routine. It made the meal more exciting and enjoyable, and lord knows I need a little variety in my life when it comes to food.

After all this, I'm still thinking about getting my usual turkey sub for lunch (Subway's $5 footlong is just so economical because it can be split for two meals). I know people say that eating healthfully doesn't have to be expensive, but those people are damn liars. All of the health/food blogs I read feature meals that have at least eight different components in them. I can hardly afford milk and eggs these days, so sprinkling coconut, brown sugar, almonds and fruit on top of my oatmeal is just not realistic. Liars I tell you.

So tell me: Do you eat the same things over and over like I do? Or do you mix it up?