photo by wholesomegal.com
salt stick
photo by wholesomegal.com
photo by wholesomegal.com
photo by wholesomegal.com
photo by wholesomegal.com
shadows of love
photo by wholesomegal.com
natures geometric
photo by wholesomegal.com
trying to be part of the holidays
photo by wholesomegal.com
photo by wholesomegal.com
photo by wholesomegal.com
photo by wholesomegal.com
My love for Scandinavian Design grew as my surroundings became increasingly more hectic. Getting older is what they call it I think 
So as a result, I wanted the environment I lived in to become more simple and calm. (We all create out of necessity even if we’re not aware of it.) At the time I didn’t know that how I was designing, and the purpose behind my designs had a specific name to it – Scandinavian Inspired. I designed with the need for simplicity, I used colors that had a calmness about them (whites,greys,burnished clay colors,sage), and everything had an echo of nature behind it. TAKE A LOOK AT MY BEDROOM PICS…..
I’m back. So get ready!
Because I’ve been gone for so long, I feel like I owe everyone a visual explanation as to where I’ve been and what I have been up to! So, without further a due, a little glimpse into my last couple of months. There’s gonna be tears! And laughs! And gasps! So hold on tight!! It’s about to start……..
First Dan and I moved out of our paper-thin-walled-apartment in Englewood, NJ…YAY FINALLY!! And into a house in Woodcliff Lake, NJ. Moving all together is so time consuming! Ugh. Especially when I’m the type of person that needs everything to be in it’s proper place, completely organized, and most importantly – looking good. Or else I feel like my world is complete ciaos! It was months before we got everything settled.
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HELLO 70′s!! Even though I was born in the 80′s I now know what it was like to have lived in the 70′s after moving into this house! We had to….and believe me, we HAD to fix up the esthetics in this house even though we’ll probably only be living here 2+ years.
So we painted, painted and then painted some more, peeled wallpaper, sanded, caulked, removed doors, and changed all the lighting. Sorry, YELLOW lighting doesn’t make anything or anyone look good! {It makes a world of difference by simply changing the color lighting in your house…just a little tip}. Almost the whole house was painted this awful peach/beige color. YUK! So by simply changing the wall colors, it gave the house a real pick-me-up. (I’m not even going to get into the weird prickly spakled walls that you literally cut yourself on if you accidentally rubbed up against it walking by…I guess they were once cool in the 70′s!)
old dining room.
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After a few months, we finally finished the house! We now just need to add some warmth and texture by adding some area rugs here and there – like in our Dining Room shown below. (I’ll post more pics later)
NEW dining room!
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Then it was off to Israel with Dan, visiting relatives and relaxing. I LOVE it there! It’s my second home! Great food, great people, great country.
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We basically ate, relaxed, ate….repeated….
(traditional Israeli breakfast…plus bagels and Lox, and Herb Omlettes which is not shown)
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and then we ate some more…
(brunch: Herbed Omlette, Pita Bread with different toppings: Nutella-White Fish Cream Cheese-Sour Cream-Baba Ghanoush, and Tuna , and some Israeli Salad)
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and thennnnn…………..I got ENGAGED!!!
He proposed at his grandmothers (Savta) 90th Birthday party. I was completely surprised:)
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……….and then my DAD got re-married!!!
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Taking a break from blogging, with the need to make some $$$, I started a job last summer, a GREAT JOB!! Did it deal with cooking? Nutrition? Health? Nope.
I started a job with my second love…..Design. I was a Design Assistant at a great company in Nanuet, NY called Stone Age Kitchen and Bath Designs. Hopefully, one day, my two loves: Nutrition and Design will meet one another, fall in love, and live side by side in perfect harmony in my life:)
I stepped away from the Design job this past March because the company was unfortunately struggling, and started a part-time job while looking for a full-time job (by the way, still looking!!).
Lastly, I started the “Certified Personal Fitness Chef” program through Spencer Institute, which I’m almost done with. Mainly to further enhance my professional position with clients and future cooking demos I’m hoping to do! Being certified in a specific area sets me apart from other personal chefs.
However, my focus and goals for the future are a lot bigger:) First, I’m hopping to go back to school starting in the fall to become one of the following: a Health & Wellness Counselor/ Holistic Practitioner/ or a Food Psychologist. Second, to become a licensed Yoga Teacher. And thirdly, doing what I do best…blogging! Where they will all lead me…well that’s my little dream I hope one day to bring into reality:)
You see the FULL CIRCLE I made? Makes you exhausted, huh!
At least I gave it a go in the Design field. That I don’t regret. “…you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do.”
Zachary Scott
But don’t think for a second that it has been all roses for me. I’ve gone through rough, pot-holed roads to get here; days filled with crying, depression, absolute frustration. And “here” isn’t an end or starting point. It’s just a pause, an…..”ahhhh” relaxed sigh basically, feeling that everything is somehow going to work out. But the fear of what may be is definitely there.
The fear is in the back of my mind right now. Tapping away at my conscious that it’s there. Ready for me to run away. And all I can say to it is: Go ahead and tap. My path is only known by me. Only I can create what I want. And I can’t let what others want me to do stand in my way.
I want to transform WHOLESOME GAL into more than just recipes and nutritional articles. I want it to be about the “WHOLE” person- Exercising, Nutrition, Fashion, Health, Decorating tips, all of life’s woes & joys….you name it.
……oh I forgot to add Pinterest to my timeline. Ya, Pinterest happened to me. Major event. Major.
Hello! In case you all were wondering…”Where is lil’miss Wholesome gal??” Well if you didn’t get my Facebook update, I’ve been busy moving! Moving can really make your life even more chaotic than it already is! Okay let’s be honest…….moving is the equivalent of having to go to the dentist everyday, then once done getting a route canal, you had to pack up your Docs office and then load the boxes in your car. Yep, that sounds about right. I’ve added up the amount of times I’ve moved since I turned 18. Not even counting how many times I moved growing up as a kid – (around 11 times by the way). So I added it up – since I graduated high school, and counting this move now, I’ve moved……13 times! And I’m only 30 years old. I guess technically I’m an American gypsy. Except I don’t wear a beaded skirt around my waist or a scarf around my head. I wear pearls and Tory Burch boots:)
Right after I move all my stuff into my new place I’m going straight to Israel for 3 weeks. Yay!!! I’m super excited about going, but it is right in the middle of us moving…timing was great on that one! haha.
So I’m not doing “daily”posts for a couple of months. I really don’t have a kitchen right now, nor do I have the brain capacity to think up good articles to write. I’m all about the packn’, getting settled, finding a new job, new clients, you know…the easy things in life 
But don’t fret! Don’t cry! I’m still going to be doing WEEKLY posts and when I’m off in Israel, I’ll still be doing posts. And they’ll be really interesting ones, I can’t wait!
My gluten-free diet may have to go out the window (depending on what happens!) once I get to Tel Aviv, Israel. If you only knew all the wonderful bakeries that will be surrounding me, you’d go crazy too! A lot of the bread is made in old wood-fired ovens, HEAVEN!! The aroma that fills the air every morning is such a delight. So hopefully I can indulge without the horrible reactions:) But if not, whatever, I’ll be on the beach with a Vodka Limonana soaking up the rays. So you know what, I think I won’t mind missing the freshly wood-fired baked, soft, old-world style, wonderful, warm, cheese-stuffed, Za’atar spiced, olive specked, sesame seed crusted, meat-filled, types of breads………..ok crap, yes I will.
fresh flat bread
za’ atar spiced bread
cheese bourekas, a popular choice for breakfast or a snack in Israel. Can be filled with cheese, meat, or vegetables.
meat bourekas
freshly made famous Druze pita bread, in the Druze Village high up on the slopes of Mount Carmel.
sesame crusted bread
I don’t know how this turned into a post about bread in Israel…but whatever! All I wanted to do was just tell all my beloved readers that I won’t be posting daily, but weekly cause I’m wicked busy moving, and that somehow turned into a bread fest!