Saturday, June 29, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013 Weekend Edition

We are so close to moving, so that trash bag will be gone very soon!  Hooray!  Three outfits in this post--Friday, Saturday, Sunday.




FRIDAY
Dress: JC Penney (2005)
Cardigan: Maurices (2012) 
Watch: Vintage, belonged to my mother

It was HOT on Friday, which means there was no way in heck I was wearing pants to work.  This is my favorite dress, so I busted it out of the closet and threw it on.  It fits me so well, even eight years after I bought it, and it's so effortless and breezy.  I bought this to wear to my ex-boyfriend's high school graduation, all the way back in June 2005. He dumped me in July, and I met my husband in August (two days after I'd worn this dress to my cousin's wedding)! I love this dress desperately, and I think it's just a little bit lucky. 

SATURDAY
Necklace: ModCloth
Shirt: Maurices
Capris: Maurices (2012)
Shoes: Maurices (May still be available in some stores)

I picked this outfit for the end-of-year swim team BBQ at Alec & Amber's house.  It was super sunny and warm, and I felt like coral pants would be a good way to pay homage to the sun!

SUNDAY
Shirt: Maurices
Shoes: ModCloth

  This is my go-to lazy Sunday outfit: Skinny jeans, denim shirt, and comfy shoes.  (In the winter, I swap my wedges for boots.)  Easy, cute, and so comfortable!  Great for a day of grocery-shopping, baking, house-cleaning, and lounging.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013

Hey, what do you know?  There is still a trash bag on the floor of my bathroom. Guess that means we are still getting ready to move!


Dress: Maurices (2012)
Similar styles here, here, and here
Denim shirt: Maurices
Necklace: ModCloth

Saturday, June 22, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013

Oh, messy bathroom.  Someday you will be clean!




Cardigan: Maurices
Shirt: Maurices
Skirt: Maurices (2012)
Shoes: Payless (old)
Pearls: Maurices (old)

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013

Hey, check out that awesome trash bag by my feet! Don't lie, I know you're totally jealous of my messy bathroom.  Hey, if you're packing for a big move, you can have messes, too!



Cardigan: Maurices
Camisole: Maurices
Belt: LC Lauren Conrad
Skirt: ModCloth
Tights: Maurices
Shoes: Jellypop

Monday, June 17, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013

Oh, that messy bathroom.  Please excuse it.  We're moving. Messes happen.




Blazer: White House Black Market (2013)
Tank: Maurices (2012)
Pants: Maurices (2012)
Shoes: Maurices (2012)

Thursday, June 13, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013

Please excuse the mess!  Moving.  Cleaning.  Stuff happens.






Dress: Maurices (2012)
Cardigan: Maurices (2012)
Shoes: Maurices (2013)
(Sold out online, but may still be available in some stores)

The flower in my hair is one of 1000+ that my cousin hand-made for her wedding in October. She made them for all the bouquets, all the boutonnieres, and all the centerpieces.  The also decorated her chuppah.  They had some left over, or maybe made more, and brought them to Seattle for their west-coast reception in April, and I snagged this one.  It was already conveniently attached to a pipe cleaner, so it goes into my hair easily.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Pages and Chapters and Books, Oh My!

I got my book list for grad school today!  Five classes, ten titles, and should come in at under $300 for the lot.  Thank you, self, for choosing to pursue a master's degree in the humanities!  I work at a college bookstore right now (but only for the next five weeks!), and it's not uncommon for our undergraduates to spend $500 or more on textbooks in a semester.  Students in the sciences can spend $800+ easily, and students in the College of Business will spend $1500 or more, per semester, for four years, without breaking a sweat.  Our university also offers a lot of graduate degrees in the health professions (OT, PT, psychology, optometry, etc), and those students usually spend about $1000 for their first semester, and then decreasing amounts after that.  Textbooks are expensive, y'all!

BUT, the most expensive book on my list for the fall is $55.00.  This is going to be a cake walk.  And I can order them all through my work now, get my sweet employee discount, and start reading them before I even leave the state!  Anything I can do to give myself a running start, man.  

Grad school.  Happening in 76 days, y'all!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013

Please excuse the messy bathroom! We're getting ready to move. Things are messy.  It happens.





Cardi: Maurices (2012)
Dress: Maurices (2012)
Flats: Payless (2006)

I love this dress.  Full disclosure: I own it in four different colors.  I bought three of them last summer, and one of them this summer (it's now sold out online, but you might still be able to find it in stores--I bought it in March).  This blue one has pockets (!!!), but none of the other colors do, which is too bad.  I love a dress/skirt with pockets!

This bird necklace is my favorite to wear in the summer.  I got it as a free gift when I bought some dresses from ModCloth last summer, and it is adorable.  The hair comb was a gift from my neighbor when I graduated high school, and I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever actually worn it.  So pretty! Don't know why I wasted all that time.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013

Please excuse the messy bathroom!  We're getting ready to move, and I just can't seem to keep anything clean.  As soon as one surface/cupboard/room is clear, something else gets dumped there.




Top: White House Black Market (2013)
Skirt: White House Black Market (2013)
Bag: White House Black Market (2013)
Sold out in this color, but similar here
Shoes: Maurices (2011)

I bought this top and skirt as an anniversary gift to myself, but then didn't get a chance to wear it until my cousin's wedding reception three weeks later!  Love everything about this look, and this bag is perfect.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Cheesy Sausage Tortellini

Oh, MAN, you guys.

This was delicious.  Like, really, really amazing.  Best new recipe I've tried all year.

I stumbled across something similar on Pinterest recently, but couldn't find it when I went looking for it again.  At this point in my cooking life, I don't really use recipes anyway, so no big deal.  I decided to go with my memory of it and see what happened.  And what happened was YUM.

I didn't measure any of this (except for the tomato sauce, and only because it's printed on the can!), so all measurements are approximate.  Adjust as necessary.




You will need:
Olive oil
Fresh tortellini (in your supermarket's refrigerated aisle)
Garlic
Heavy cream
Chicken broth
Tomato sauce
Sausage 
Mozzarella or parmesan (not pictured because I'm an airhead)

A note about the sausage: I used hot italian (so yummy!), but this is really up to you.  You can get mild sausage, or turkey sausage, or smoked sausage, or cheese-filled brats, or even something pre-cooked, like kielbasa. Or, you can use chicken.  Or tofu.  Or ground beef.  Add any vegetables you like (I think this would have been really yummy with onion and bell pepper, but I completely skipped half the produce on my grocery list this week {airhead! airhead!}, so only a couple of my meals got their green stuff).


So, slice your sausage into bite-size pieces.  Pour a little olive oil (one or two tablespoons-ish) in a skillet (with a lid!), and cook over medium-high heat until brown and delicious.



When the sausage is completely cooked, add some garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  (Now is also a good time to add any vegetables you might be using--cook them for a couple minutes now, but know that they'll have plenty of time to get soft and luscious in the sauce.)


Add in about a cup of chicken broth...


And one cup of tomato sauce....


And about a cup of heavy cream.



Stir it around to mix, then add the tortellini, and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer at least 15 minutes, until the tortellini is plump and cooked through, and the sauce is thick and delicious.  Stir in some cheese (to taste, but I used probably a quarter-cup), let simmer an additional two or three minutes, and serve!


My sauce didn't want to get thick, so I let it simmer for probably 20 or 25 minutes.  Stirring in the mozzarella really helped it on its way.  The only seasonings I used were salt and pepper; the sausage gave the sauce all the flavor it needed.  If you're using a milder sausage, it may need some seasonings--basil and oregano would be heavenly, I'll bet.  Or maybe some parsley and rosemary.  Mmmmm.  Anyway, this is delightful.  Serve it with a heaping green salad and some crusty bread to soak up the amazing sauce, and enjoy!


The boring stuff:
Takes about 45 minutes to prepare.
Feeds four.
Difficulty: 2.

QOTD

I heard the best advice today:



"There are two ways to look at fear:
F*ck everything and run, or face everything and recover."



Genius.


Fear is something I really struggle with, daily.  Big, irrational, incapacitating fears, like earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear warfare.  Regular fears, like spiders and air travel.  And normal, everyday anxieties about moving across the country, starting grad school, leaving my family and everything I've ever known.

Well, universe, I'm not a very good runner.  But I can sure as hell recover like a boss.  Bring it on.

Monday, June 3, 2013

What She Wore: June 2013

Please excuse the messy bathroom; we're getting ready to move and have lots of flotsam and jetsam floating around.  Like this awesome trash bag. And lots of toilet paper.





Cardi: Maurices (2012)
Khakis: American Eagle (2011)
It's called the "Favorite Trouser" (I think), and while it's not in stock right now, it seems like they carry it pretty much all the time--check back in the fall.
Bow heels: Maurices (2012)

I wore this top with khakis for work, then switched into jeans and my bow heels for dinner with Daven and Rachel.  How cute are these shoes, by the way?? So cute, but they are absolute murder to walk in.  Those bows will give you full-blown bleeding blisters by the time you take your 10th step.  

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Cucumber Salsa

This is a recipe that I first made last summer, when I had my very own onions and cucumbers growing in my garden.  There's something just so light and refreshing about a cucumber, and when the weather gets hot, this is all I want to eat.

You will need:
One large cucumber
One small or medium onion
One medium jalapeño or spicy pepper of your choice
Sour cream
Salt
Cumin
Red Pepper
Chili Powder


Gather all your ingredients, a cutting board, a medium bowl, and a sharp knife.  Finely dice your onion, and put it in the bowl.



Seed and dice your jalapeño, and add it to the onion.




Peel your cucumber, and dice it.  I like to remove at least half of the seeds, sometimes more, because cucumbers will put off a lot of water and make the salsa runny.


Add in a sprinkle of salt and half a teaspoon of cumin, and toss to mix.




Next, mix in a large spoonful of sour cream (probably two or three tablespoons).  Give it a taste now.


Sprinkle in more cumin if necessary, and a shake of red pepper and chili powder.  Stir, taste again, and adjust seasonings as needed.



I ended up using about two teaspoons of cumin, and half a teaspoon each of salt, red pepper, and chili powder.  Serve immediately.

If making this in advance, let it sit at room temperature for at least half an hour before storing it.  This will allow the cucumbers to release their water, and then you can drain the salsa and put it away.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.  Longer than that and it can get pretty gnarly.

The boring stuff:
Makes roughly three cups.
Takes about fifteen minutes to prepare, depending on how fast you chop.
Difficulty: 2.