What's on your Menu today today (Photo Friday)

Hello my fellow RnYers! Happy Friday!
I've been busy unpacking my 1,001 boxes. Still can't find my food scale or the scale I weigh myself on, so I finally ordered replacements which will arrive tomorrow. I need to know what I weigh and what the calories, protein, etc. of my meals are. (Of course, after these arrive, my originals will be in the next box I open!). My routine flew out the window over these past few weeks, and I want to reestabli**** now that I am finally in my new house.

I lived in my last place for 12 years, and for 17 years in the place before that. When I moved from that 17-year home, I quite literally packed everything I owned and took it all with me. This time, I jettisoned 70-80% of my worldly goods, and I still have staggering quantities of some items. Especially clothes! I am gobsmacked by just how much clothing I own! I packed my clothes hastily, without really examining or culling. Now, in unpacking, I am stunned! I hung so many clothes up in my enormous bedroom closet that the bracket holding the center of the pole groaned, then popped out of where it had been screwed. I had to have someone fix it and add two more brackets, so the entire setup wouldn't pull out of the wall and come crashing down! I swear to you, I don't remember half of these clothes. The sheer quantity and variety of cashmere sweaters alone is mind-blowing! I am thigh-deep in cashmere! Why did I buy so much? I only have one body to dress! And when did I buy all this? Expensive stuff, too - Ralph Lauren, Barney's, etc.! It's very bizarre! I have/had been obese (and then some) for 9 years, so these things were purchased before the big gain. Thankfully the styles are classic, so won't look dated. But all but a very few pieces are still too small for me to get into. Oh well - onward and downward!

Though I will not need to buy anything else to wear (for probably the rest of my life), and though after that hell of a move I have a deep, newfound appreciation for simply owning less, there are some things I do intend to buy, and some which I just purchased. I didn't take my couch with me, nor my tv. I just bought this sofa along with this chair and ottoman:

https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/broyhill-whitfield-sof a-brh7111.html

I bought it because I think it's pretty and has good reviews, I like the dimensions, etc. I looked a bit locally but didn't fall in love with anything. I'm a little nervous after reading a ton of advice about furniture shopping, written by folks who believe that anything under the level (and price-point) of Henredon, Henkel-Harris, Stickley, etc. is, essentially, disposable trash. But I decided that since I cannot spend even 3k on a couch, let alone 10k, I was going to hold my breath, cross my fingers, and hit "submit order"! I figure if it lasts 10 years, I'll be satisfied. And then I'll get the pleasure of buying another new one! So there, blogging furniture brand snobs!

I need to get a tv too. Went to Best Buy yesterday to look, and got thoroughly overwhelmed. So I left. But soon i will buy one. I watch most shows and movies on my little Brand X tablet, but I really am into watching (and reading) the news, and miss it. Hulu etc. just doesn't cut it when it comes to the news! And we live in an era of crazy, fast-changing news! So a new TV is in my future. I'm also going to get a good Persian or Tibetan type rug for the living room, and a tv stand. But after that I really want to stop acquiring new stuff, and concentrate instead on learning new skills, developing talents, and exploring the beautiful woods and beaches here. And this new city!

Here's another thing - people are very nice and friendly here, open. It's great! The trend for most women here around my age is to look very utilitarian and sporty - lots of fleece, puffer vests, performance athletic wear, sturdy hiking shoes or sneakers or crocs, definitely no makeup, no hair dye. It is a very athletic population, what with all this skiing and kayaking and hiking every which way! Geez! And everyone is super caffeinated to boot - there are Starbucks absolutely everywhere. I don't fit the mold at all, but I will try to incorporate the best of it by being more active, even if I do so wearing velvet and red lipstick.

QOTD: I always thought I looked less obese and than I actually did - unexpected mirrors and reflective plate glass always brought me an unpleasant shock. I still think of myself, inside, as a slim person, even though I'm not yet there. That doesn't mean I'm not aware of my physical flaws - yikes! I frighten myself sometimes! PS is looking more and more likely.

I was invited to a St. Patrick's Day dinner at the local country club this evening. I said I'd go, because I have decided that after a long period of laying very low, I want and need to be more social. I figure I can have the corned beef and some of the cabbage, and will avoid the potatoes, soda bread, and of course the booze!

First: huge mug of tea with cashew milk, the first of at least five today!

B: turkey

L: roast beef, smoked gouda

D: corner beef, cabbage

Thank You to everyone who posted photos! You are all slim and gorgeous! And great inspiration, to boot!

Have fun today, my friends!

Good luck with settling in!

Thank you Janet! Every day brings improvements!

DH and I bought our first matching set of living room furniture shortly after I moved in with him, and I LOVED them, they were absolutely perfect for our space and needs. We only spent about $900 for the couch and a big cushy chair-and-a-half and figured we got a good deal.

Less than a year later they were both broken. The lumbar-board broke and slipped out of the screws. We performed some "couch surgery" and temporarily fixed it but it didn't take long to break again. Now we're holding out until we buy a new house (next year hopefully) to buy new. So we have some really uncomfortable unsupportive living room furniture in the meantime, but people say the couch is great for sleeping on.

Min hindsight, the couch may have been fine but with two very large people plopping on it, it probably didn't help.

Wow, how disappointing that must have been! In one of the reviews for one of the sofas i looked at online, the writer said that she and her DH (both heavy) loved the look of their new couch and plopped down on it together, whereupon it broke in half! Geez! One thing I was surprised to find when looking for this couch was that many of them listed maximum weight ratings. I had never encountered that before and honestly never thought much about it before! I have some truly finely made antique furniture, made long ago when virtually nobody became SMO. Miraculously, it all withstood my weight without breaking - a tribute to beautifully made it all was. The couch I bought was inexpensive for a couch, and cost quite a bit less than my last one, which lasted for 17 years, though it definitely was limping to the finish line. Still, I hope the new one will hold up! It's stated weight limit is 600 pounds. The chair only has a weight limit of 250 pounds! One more reason to remain ever vigilant, weight-wise.

Oh when we shop, we'll have to keep weight limits in mind! Not that we plan on being this size by then, but useful to know! I also just feel like more and more stuff is just very cheaply made and put together anyway, nothing lasts like it used to.

when I was SMO, I wanted to buy a couple of camping chairs to keep in the trunk of the car in case they were ever needed - you never know! I was so afraid of breaking them, though, that I bought some that had a weight limit of 800 lbs!

Wow! 800 pounds! Those are some serious camping chairs! When I was gaining i bought one of those round step stools often seen in libraries. My old step stool had a weight limit of 250 pounds and I was unwilling to test that and get hurt in the process. The round library-type one I got was red and had a weight limit of 500 pounds! I loved that thing, but it was one of the many, many things left behind in my move. I just checked and see that the new ones have downgraded their weight capacity to 350 lbs. I'm going to get another at some point. They are incredibly stable:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MXHN6O/ref=asc_df_B000MXHN6O5406600/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B000MXHN6O&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167155297891&hvpos=1o6&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3989354595829898817&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033400&hvtargid=aud-416395350856:pla-275387044450

yep! Here they are (800 lb capacity!)

https://www.amazon.com/ALPS-Mountaineering-King-Kong-Chair/d p/B001RLQNSO/ref=sr_1_1?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=152 1290654&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_two_browse-b in%3A7046573011

love the red library stool! I have a library stool in my office, but it's basic gray. The red is great!

I was taking care of a woman from New York city and she was talking to her friend back home. "Leave your good stuff at home. They don't dress out here"

She looked up at me and said she was sorry but I just laughed.

We don't dress out here. That means you can always beat the minimum which is a pleasant way to live.

Velvet always works.