Crumbs (Gluten Free) Bake Shop

Crumbs Gluten Free

fldksjfkljwefkljlvjljsdflflvsfhjflgkjfsklgjklj!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

That jibberish is my excitement that CRUMBS, delciously yummy bakery, opened an exclusive GLUTEN FREE bakery in NYC. This makes me want to jump on the next bus to NYC and go and find this place and eat as much as I can and then head back home with goodies in hand. The best part of this bakery- its Gluten AND Peanut free.

Anyone want to come along?!

Baby, it's cold outside!

BRRR! As I walked outside to my car, I was hit with the cold weather that has made an early appearance in New Jersey. I am very grateful that fall is finally here, but I was hoping to ease into it a little more slowly. New Jersey weather is always funny and some days I have no idea how to dress, but today I wasn't expecting it to be THIS cold!

I really wanted to be more consistant with my blogging but sometimes life gets in the way, and by life I mean, I get really tired at night and all I want is my bed. I am going to try to make a more conscience effort to blog more regularly.

It's 8:30 am, I have my first tall glass of water and I am off to catch up on my favorite blogs. I am also eagerly awaiting 1:00pm because that is not only my lunch but I am treating myself to a delicious gluten free pizza down the street from my office.

XX, the everyday jersey girl

Lots to say.....

                                          

Five Things That Happened Today:

1. We were CRAZY busy today. My office is one of the busiest, i totally understand that but today the people that were coming in, were CRAZY. We were short staffed and I had a headache the size of Montana today which means its the perfect recipe for craziness. We got through the day, with only a few hiccups but I can only be thankful for having a job and being happy to go to my job. (My Photo of the day: Curious George kept reminding me to breathe and just take your time. People were thankful that I was so pleasant to them even if i didn't feel well. )
2. I don't know if anyone else noticed but it's SEPTEMBER and its HUMID and HOT out. Me no gusto! I decided to forgo my lunchtime walk because of the weather. Stepping outside at 5pm to walk to the parking garage with C, I was over come with the humidity that was waiting for us outside.Tomorrow is supposed to be even HOTTER! EEK, Mother Nature can you cool the weather off because I have some cute fall outfits to wear!
3. Since I eat Gluten Free, my tastes change probably weekly- I will eat something one week and fall completely in love with it and eat it for the rest of the week and then the next week will come and I hate it. My mother especially hates this due to the fact that she doesn't like seeing me not being able to eat a lot so when I do find something that I show some interest in, she likes to stock up. Luckily I will re-like the same item again in a week. Its odd and I cannot explain it to anyone who doesn't eat gluten free for allergy reasons. The whole point of my story is that I found such good fruit snacks. They just so happen to be Kellogg's Disney Princess ones too! I probably will hate them in a week but for now, they make me happy.
4. On my sorta relaxing lunch break, I decided to finally dive into the Ladies Home Journal Magazine that I received in the mail the other day. One of the articles was entitled: "All By Myself: Why Alone Time is Good For You" I was so excited to read this because I try to tell people about this ALL the time! Since being an only child, I am used to being alone and occupying myself.As I've grown up, I feel like I have become more independent in the sense of going places by myself, eating lunch or dinner alone in public, exploring new things and my favorite, people watching. You should try it sometime, being alone and being alone means without your smart phone too!
5. I am thinking about September 11th a lot lately and since tomorrow is September 11th, I will have a heavy heart for all that lost their lives in the heartless attacks on America.I cannot believe its been 12 years already!

What Am I Thinking:

• How should I start this book I am writing?
• What should I be for Halloween this year?
• Did my paycheck get deposited yet?
• How excited I am to see E on Thursday and possibly Ms. S
• How excited I am to start this crazy adventure with A and her road to getting married.
• Am I really going to complete what's on my to do list tonight?

What's on my To Do List Tonight

• Clean up memo board
• Put receipts away orderly
• Look through bookcase
• Read

Notable Quote :

"Like the caterpillar, have faith in the extraordinary." from E's facebook status update tonight.

XX,

the everyday jersey girl 

ps. While I was typing this, I was multitasking and I finally painted my nails- white- I like to mix things up. =D

Four months.

Today is the four months anniversary since I've been on a gluten free diet! Wahoooo!!!! I am a completely different person today. Who would have thought that just taking something silly as gluten out of my diet , I would become so healthy again. I'm happy that I am feeling better but I sure do miss piZza, bagels and pork roll. I know pork roll and cheese on a bagel is a jersey thing but there has to be good ( delicious, ) gluten free bagels somewhere and some company has to be developing gluten free pork roll. They have gluten free hot dogs, please someone develop gluten free pork roll. Pretty please!!!

Also I was very crafty today. I made a Halloween banner and started to make a turkey pin but I need to find ( in my craft boxes) googly eyes. See the photo below. Cute huh??
I have forgotten how awesome it feels to be creative. I love letting my mind wander and see what I come up with.

Be grateful.
-Elle

2 tums and some peppermints

TGIF!! Even though I only worked 4 days this week- I am exhausted. It hit me that I had only 2 more days to learn the whole process of adoptions from a lovely lady who has been doing it for 23 years. Understandably I became very nervous and overwhelmed. I had to say something and I did. They understood my point and agreed with me and reassured me that I wasn't doing this all by myself as I previously thought. That made me feel better. It's like a crash course in adoptions.

My stomach has been giving me some troubles as well.

I'm excited to relax, maybe try something from pinterest that I found.

Cheers it the weekend.
-Elle

It hurts here but not over there

Thursday- I awoke this morning to an incredible pain in my stomach. I thought I had just slept wrong but no it was persistent. Luckily I was already heading to the doctors. Luckily I was the first person there and again I was standing on line at an unlikely place (I stood online for 5 hours for a silly generator in home depot before hurricane Irene). I had to fill out paperwork then i waited... After the normal blood pressure and weight. Then I finally was able to see the doctor and he said I had an infection and gave me a prescription for antibiotics and I was on my way.
After waiting for my prescription I was on my way back to bed.
Sunday- I am feeling much better my energy is back and I feel great but I keep having these episodes where the pain in my stomach get so intense and so painful for maybe 15-20 minutes then it goes away. The whole episode lasts for about an hour then I'm fine. Weird. I also made an appointment for a gastroentrolgist. in November- it was the earliest appointment I could get. :/

I had plans for this past week to prepare for my new job but a severe fever and abdominal pain kept me in bed all week. I tried on all my work clothes and heels and most of them fit. I need to add heel pads in some of my heels. And some of my pants need to be tailored.

I am really really excited for Monday. I am a little nervous but I know I will adapt and do fine. A lot of people have a lot of faith in me and they know I can do it.

She stops and sings do doot do do do do
-Elle

Life goes on .....

Another day of feeling sick. I finally made an appointment with a gastroentolgist and I will be visiting a quick care doctor to see if there is an infection somewhere within me.

Bright point of my day: mommy found me soft (microwavable) pretzels from the health food store. I almost cried they were so gosh darn good!

God if you are really point me in the direction of really good gluten free pizza and not that fake crap either!

-Elle

A little bit stronger....

Today was another hard day for me. This is starting to become really worrisome for me. The day started out fine- I went to visit an old teacher of mine. We have stayed in contact over the past 5 years. It was a nice time. Then over the course of the day my tummy had its ups and down ( I learned that I cannot eat a half of bag of pepperoni [it's so darn good] thank god for tums) then tonight I was getting ready for bed and to watch my tv shows and I started to fell cold but I realized my body was very hot. This has happened for the past three days. It's over usually in an hour/ hour and a half. Mommy gave me her cool pad And I have been drinking water all night/day. I honestly do not know why this is happening. it actually scares me alot- what is happening to my body?! Especially because I start my full time job on Monday. What would I do if I got really sick at the courthouse??? This stressess me out even more!!!

I hope my insides finally calm down- I dont know what my tummy gets so angry. Mr. Tummy I promise I dont think I did anything to upset you.

What else can go wrong, honestly?!

An isle of calm in a sear of dispair.

-Elle

Today was a better day. I got up cleaned up my closet aka I tried on my clothes to make sure they fit and took out my summer clothes etc. Then I had the most yummiest lunch! Mommy made Nathan's bigger than the bun hot dogs minus the bun. They were soooooooo good. The last time I tried hot dogs they weren't that good but these were so good I had 2!!!! And even better they didn't make me sick!
I went to the gym, cleaners ( to see f she could take in my coat- she couldn't because it is too much work?! This is your job what do you mean this is too much work?!) and the post office to mail Brian's surprise mail.
Dinner was equally amazing- steamed flounder with string beans and baked potatoes.

Chances are if you're a good person good things will cone to you.

-Elle

Struggles

Today was a hard day for me. I woke up feeling great then I ate breakfast which was 2 waffels (which were gluten free) some maple syrup and butter on them with cherry juice. Half way through breakfast I started to not feel well but I was starving and I wanted to eat. I went back to bed and my stomach was hurting and I tried to relax. Lunch came around 2 and mommy made schar pasta with Mia Cucina sauce- this didn't go over too well. I ended up eating only half of my half plate and I couldn't eat any more. I was in such pain from god knows what. Being so frustrated with this whole lifestyle change I began to cry and scream. I wanted my old gluten filled favorites and I just can't seem to find decent replacement. I even went far as telling my parents I will just live on salad, apples, spinach, bananas, and water.
Another side effect thy makes me stay in bed is joint pain. When it's going to rain, when I eat something that was contaminated, when it's raining, etc. I feel as if I am a senior citizen. Both my mom and grandma had arthritis and I am very fearful that I am slowly acquiring it.
I finally fell asleep for a while and mommy & daddy slipped out to go pick up somethings at shop rite. When I woke up , mommy made me sow mashed potatoes for dinner and showed me the new candy ( necco, jelly belly kids mix) and she found nathans bigger than the bin gluten free hot dogs too!! I would love to find gluten free pork roll (it's a jersey thing).

Right now I'm on my 5th bottle of water for the day and watching family guy.

But I'm telling myself I'll be okay
Even on my weakest days
I get a little bit stronger
-Elle

(Summer) Snow Day

  Last night, my parents and I went to the NKOTBSB Concert in Atlantic City.
Before we got into the concert, we went out to dinner at 24 Central in Trump. Since we ate there before ( before the Michael Buble Concert), I decided to bring my own dinner (due to the fact that it wasn't a gluten free establishment and I was too afraid to try something-even salad- due to cross contamination with other gluten foods. ) My parents and I asked for a booth and they stuck us in a corner which made me feel a little better because I felt awkward bringing my own food to a restaurant. I 'ordered' a salad and a water. My parents ordered grill cheese and a burger. I kept the salad in front of me and put my fork on the side of the dish as if I was eating it. My parents ate it and I ate a gluten free ham sandwich which I kept on my lap. Luckily our waiter wasn't very attentive and I didn't have to explain to the waiter why I was eating my sandwich.
After dinner, I went to Starbucks and got myself a treat- An organic apple juice juice box. HAHA I felt five.

After dinner it was close to 6:30, we decided to get online to wait for the concert. Luckily it wasn't raining, unlike the last time we were here for Michael Buble but it was extremely humid and hot out. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we were finally able to get in. We made a beeline for the concert merchandise and I got a teal Backstreet Boys t-shirt ( which later I ended up wearing!)

 Boy oh boy, did those boys grow up! I will admit, I am a bigger Backstreet Boys fan than New Kids on The Block but in the recent years I have liked them. What a wonderful high energy concert that lasted for 2 and 1/2 hours!! My mom was dancing and fist pumping and my dad even had fun. It was a great example to see how fans follow musical groups as they grew up. The audience was a mix of 20 something year olds to middle age to the older generation. Everyone was up on their feet singing along and having the best time. The opening acts were Matthew Morrison ( Yes, Mr. Shuster from Glee)and Midnight Red. Matthew Morrison was amazing- He is a dynamic performer!  My parents was very impressed! Midnight Red was cute. They are like a new school of boy bands- They had the cute one, the wild one, the young one, the old one and the shy one. I liked it.

Overall it was a wonderful night out.

I was exhausted, to say the least and I had to get up this morning for work. After being jolted out of bed by my alarm clock, I started getting ready, jumping in the shower etc. After my shower, my mom surprised me by making me my egg whites with ham and pepperoni and potatoes and onions (all gluten free! ), I went to my room and checked my phone and I saw I had a missed call and a voice mail. To my surprise, it was the store manager telling me that I didn't have to come into work because (get this!) our store was flooded and is closed today! What a nice surprise!
I was grateful for my snow day and I have been very very productive! ( and I believe I still get paid for the hours I would have worked because the store was closed for an unseen reason!!!!)

Other than work and the NKOTBSB concert, life has been quiet, which is what I like and relaxing.


Off to watch the Cops Marathon on G4!

"Jersey has the most beautiful women in the world." -Howie Dorough from last night.

-elle

hey did you go.....

Today was a good day, before i went into work this afternoon, I stopped into Old Navy to return a pair of pants I bought online but they ended up being too big! (ahhhh yess!!) So I walk in and hop on line with 3 people in front of me. I had my iPhone in my hand and I anxiously was looking at it making sure I was keeping track of time. Luckily the 3 people in front of me didn't have really complex or complicated purchases so I am standing behind this man who is looking at the gift cards and then there is me, standing there in all black clothes, my bright teal bag and a small brown shopping bag with the pair of black pants, the cashier, a boy, looked at me while the man buying the gift card was swiping his credit card, said to me "oh you can put your bag up here, its alright" with my shyness, smiled and obliged. The man who bought the gift card left and this was the conversation that transpired:

cashier boy: hello
me: hi, i bought these online but they didn't fit
cashier: oh okay i can take care of this for you
cashier: ::::looking at the receipt, punching keys on the keyboard:::
me: :::smiling uncomfortably:::
cashier: okay $25 will go back on the card
me: :::rummaging through my HUGE bag::: do you need the card?? ::my voice trembling at this point::
cashier: did you go to _____? :::as he is finishing up the transaction:::
me: ::::stumbling over my words and super surprised:: uh uh yes  i did
cashier: i thought you looked familiar
me: :::racking my brain to think of something intelligent to say because I am so surprised by what he said:::  ::smiling and my face is probably red::: what year did you graduate?
cashier: 05
me: :::smiling:: 06
me: i'm gabrielle ::smiling thinking if that was okay to say:::
cashier: i'm nick :: as he is handing me the receipt:::
me: well it was nice to meet you, see you around
cashier: you too have a good day.

I walked out of Old Navy beaming, things like this happen but never to me and it got me excited and i bounced over to my job. I wouldn't say it was busy because it wasn't but I wouldn't say it was slow either. Today brought in a lot of foreigners that were quite mean and rude. I didn't mind their rudeness because I kept trying to think who this Nick character was and how did I know him besides seeing him at Old Navy.

Hmm, I'll have to see where this one goes.

Other than that I was feeling a lot better today until dinner when i ventured to eat chocolate ice cream =( oh well, i have been really doing well with this whole gluten free diet/lifestyle. Friday will be the one month mark.

with sparkling eyes, look for the beauty in everything.
-elle

Today was fun! I felt awesome this morning so I ventured out with my gluten free snacks in my Vera Bradley clutch and headed to Target and  the mall. I found the black t-shirts I need for work and some gatorade for $1 each. Then off to the mall.  Now after working at the mall about 3 years, I have noticed that  the mall has been becoming more and more delapadated over time and its kinda not where I want to go to shop. Stores are closing and there are empty suites and its really depressing. None the less, the stores I want to look in, are still there. Thank you Pink Nation for 7 for 25.50 underware this weekend! I ventured into Francesa's and found a couple of cute things but I couldnt bring myself to spend $44 dollars on a fancy shirt I have no idea when  I was going to wear. They had a notebook that said 'Life' on it so I was curious about it and I opened it up and it was a journal where you log what you eat, when you went to the gym, ect. That is exactly like the Life Handbook I have to keep track of what foods I eat and if they agree with my new Gluten lifestyle; I also keep track of when I go to the gym, where I can find certain foods and all my log ins and passwords for the websites I go to frequently.
 After awhile of windowshopping, I came to the conclusion, nothing is more going to say ' buy me! buy me!' besides Auntie Annies Pretzels, which I cannot possibly eat or I wont be feeling that well.

Currently I'm watching Sydney White and comtemplating my life. I decided my next big purchase will be a house or renting a house with an option to buy. I figured this because I already bought a car, I have my dream phone, the elusive white iPhone 4, I have a bed, a computer but I am living with my parents- Which I absolutely LOVE and my parents LOVE me being here but in the future I do want to have my own little house, nothing big- just big enough for me- 2 bedroom, a kitchen, laundry room, living room, just basic things. I would love to have a little beach house.

Though the house is years off but i like that I keep goals in my mind. It keeps me on my feet and my priotierties in line, I just want a happy life. thats it. =D

“An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.”—An ancient Chinese belief

-elle

Happy Rainy Saturday Friday. Today feels like a Saturday to me. I felt actually pretty well today and I did some errands that I have been meaning to do and I even went to the gym for a while but I ended up not feeling well (the culprit you ask- Black Bear gluten free deli meat turkey to be exact. Honestly we are just guessing at this one because it was the only new thing I ate today) I sometimes feel like a baby eating only one new food a day because we dont know how something is going to react with my stomach. Its quite a slow process, as my mother says, but I know me and I am not a slow process person. I'm like a city girl- fast paced and loving it- stuck in a suburben town. This is such a new way for myself to eat and understand things.  I feel as if only a salad can agree with me lately ( I feel like I am turning into a bunny rabbit lately).

Edit: Later tonight:

   So I was reading on AOL and they had an article featured on the front screen and it was entitled: "What Your Mess Says About You?" Naturally I was curious so I read it and It said the following:

If your desk is messy: You're Creative
If your closet is messy: You're Nostiligic
If your sock drawer is messy: You're detail orientated and structured
If your bed is messy: You're going through a dry spell.

I couldn't stop laughing after reading about your bed being messy. Here is the article if you want to read more about it: What Your Mess Says About You


Hey yall I got something you all don't know...
-elle

My first two days back in my retail job went actually really well.  A mother and daughter came and they were in desperate need of a bathing suit top. The daughter was extremely self conscious and they couldnt find a bikini top to fit her correctly. Luckily after about 8 bikini tops we finally found one that fit her perfectly and she felt so much better. The mother was so thankful that I took time and helpped them out because the mother was running out of options and the daughter was having a graduation (high school) pool party on Sunday and they had no idea where else to turn. The daughters outlook from the time she came in to the time the mother and daughter left had completely changed for the better. The mother and daughter told my manager that i took time to really help them and they appriciated it so so much and the daughter said it made her summer. ::cue a tear coming out of my eye because i was so touched by this:::
Other than that retail really didnt change that much other than the product placements and new products.

My stomach , on the other hand is still wonky. =( 
I had a lazy day today that consisted of playing angry birds on my iPhone, watching the sentencing of Casey Anthony, Cops, Jail, and sleeping. it was fantastic. I love my lazy days.

Hopefully tomorrow I will get to the gym, Staples to look at a new desk chair and CVS to get my Quartley extrabucks. exciting life right!?

You gotta keep your head up...

-elle

Happy Birthday America!

Yikes I cannot believe today is the 4th of July! I wasnt very patriotic today because my gluten free creamy mac and cheese made my tummy very upset.  This is the one thing I dislike about my new gluten free diet is the trial and error part. Sometimes the packaging says that it is gluten free but the actual item might be made in a factory where other gluten products are made so there is cross-contamination. Its so frustrating.

I start my retail job again tomorrow- i have mixed emotions about it since my tummy is upset but I'm excited to finally be making money.

OHHHHH I have some fun news! I took an old skirt and turned it into a dress! I will post the photos tomorrow or the next day. =D

I believe in the sand beneath my toes.
-elle

Happy July

There was the scariest thunderstorm 10 minutes ago. It last about 45 minutes and it looks like the annual (recently reinstated) fireworks is cancelled for tonight =( 

Friday and Saturday my parents and I enjoyed the beautiful weather  at the beach. I have been feeling so much better that I even took a walk along the water. It was low tide and there were a ton of these jelly fish balls all along the waterline. There were thousands of them and when the sun hit them just right, it looked like glass.

My life the past two months have been crazy to say the least. I was sick for a little more than 2 months and we couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. It seemed like my Epstein Barr (its like mono all the time) was the culprit but food wasn't agreeing with me even the plain food (crackers, toast) and thankfully my mother is quite inquisitive and was reading Women's World ( i love this magazine and I recommend it highly) and they had an article that talked about a disease that is commonly misdiagnosed by doctors and they listed the Red Flags for this and EVERYTHING except 1 red flag I had- The mystery disease? Celiac's Disease, its an allergy to a protein in Wheat, barley and rye. Almost 3 weeks ago I started eating Gluten Free food. At first I thought I was going to eat rice and water- but to my surprise, there are A LOT of foods that say right on the front of the package that they are gluten free. Since I started to eat this Gluten Free foods, I have had a 100% turn around. I have much more energy, I want to do things rather than sleep all day. To tell you the truth, I feel wonderful.

During the two months of uncertainty,I finished up my internship at the courthouse(more on that later), I graduated college, went on vacation(that was a mess) and I even took a class and passed it with flying colors. I have no idea how I even did it all.

Tomorrow is 4th of July. I cannot believe this year is almost half way over.

My internship at the courthouse turned out to be one of the best experiences I have even took part in (The other best experience- interning at the legislative office this past fall) The office I was in was the busiest in the STATE and it was non stop work. I learned all the different parts of the office and they even offered me (hopefully) a job. Yes, I know in my post back in February I said i was getting paid but i ended up not getting paid. Its alright though because in September, I hopefully will be working there. Now if July and August can fly by that would be wonderful.

I'm off to watch cheesy Lifetime movies and eat plain M&M's (they are gluten free =D)

life is good.