Outfit of the Day :: January 8

I have to say, I had a lot of fun posing in my new Wayfarers. This is the tunic I got from Aerie, the one that was meant to be a nightshirt. And the Dolce Vita Wiley boots, which took me a couple days to warm up to but that I now love.

Not-Spring Cleaning

I cleaned out my closet today. It’s a long story.

Remember this? Weelll, I found it here on the designer’s website on major sale. I’m looking at the stormy grey color, which unfortunately is not accurate in that picture. The color can be viewed here. So, I spent a while agonizing over whether I really liked that grey and whether I needed another grey purse. And then I noticed the availability of the ruby color in the second style and I really do like red. But I’m unsure about the hook on the front and plus also it’s $20 more. So then, I spent even longer agonizing over which one to buy. And I ended up not buying either, because I figure if I have to give it that much thought, I’m not in love enough to buy immediately. I’m giving it some thought overnight (currently leaning toward getting the red one though, if you must know)

In the process of all this agonizing, I decided to go through the purses I already own and see what I have that is okay quality, and what is just sitting there because I haven’t gotten rid of it yet, in order to hopefully help me make a decision. Mission accomplished pretty quickly (minus decision making), and it totally put me in an organizing mood. This leads me to the shoes.

Since about my sophomore year in high school. I have kept the shoe boxes of every pair of shoes I’ve bought that came in a box. I store the shoes in them. It has worked pretty well; I’m able to stack the boxes and they protect the shoes. The problem, I’ve recently realized, is that when I can’t see all my options, I end up wearing the same pair or 3 every single time I get dressed. So I pulled all the shoes out of the boxes just to see.

And I ended up with a tower of boxes. I lined the shoes up and they take up most of my closet floor. The boxes have been thrown out now, and I need to get some shelves or bins or something ASAP for shoe storage.

I know my shoe collection is pretty moderate compared to some people, but taking up most of my side of the closet is not okay. Moral of the story: don’t keep a million shoe boxes. It won’t work out in the end.

After-Christmas Shopping!

Well, that didn’t take long. I started browsing tall black heeled boots a few days ago, and, naturally, my feelings about them changed from “might like to have some sometime soon” to “need.NOW.” So I ordered a pair last night. I love the lower heel and they seem to be a little wider at the calves. If they are too slouchy, I may have to send them back, but I definitely don’t want them to be too tight.

These, from Endless. $200 is a decent bit of money for my budget, but I figure they will last forever. Black boots are definitely a closet staple that I have been missing. And THEN, while browsing today, I found them here cheaper. The icing on the cake was a code for an additional 30% off at Revolve Clothing (“DJP30″ if you are interested). $115.50. Done and done.

Merry Christmas!

This has been a nice laid back holiday for us. Our families are back in Texas, so it’s just us and the pets. Lucy’s present was a beef knuckle bone, so we haven’t seen much of her today. She’s spent most of it on the porch protecting it from the cat, who got a catnip toy that he fished out from under the tree about 5 minutes after I put it there several days ago. I have no idea where that toy is now.

I’m kind of a non-traditionalist when it comes to food. Last Christmas, which was about a week after I got to Fayetteville and I think 3 or 4 days after we finally got all our furniture into our apartment, I made phyllo-wrapped salmon fillets with goat cheese. This year we went with an Asian theme (because, really, Luke and I could probably eat Asian-inspired food for the rest of our lives and die happy): seared tuna with wasabi and soy sauce, wonton soup (very loosely based on this), and a cabbage slaw that I am not ashamed to admit contained Ramen noodles. Definitely better than turkey, in my humble opinion.

I hope all of you have a blessed and joyful Christmas!

A Recent Project

This year for my sister’s birthday I made her a necklace. Her birthday was in late October so I am a little (a lot) late, but I’ve been waiting til she got it to post it here. I sort of wanted to keep it.

This past week, I also made one for myself. Different style, clearly, but similar idea with the ribbon. I’ve been wanting a bib necklace and now I have one.

New Pretty Things

One reason I love Christmastime: my birthday precedes it by 12 days, so I usually have plenty of birthday and Christmas money to do a little shopping for the new year. Every year, I plan to use a large portion of that money to buy one nice thing, instead of a bunch of little things. And every year, my plan is foiled. This year, I really (REALLY REALLY) want this amazing Rebecca Minkoff clutch (looove the chain strap)(though I’d prefer that it be re-stocked in a pretty bright color; we’ll see about that).

But I think I’ve already sabotaged myself.

First, I hit Rodarte for Target. I bought the navy striped shirt in the posting just below, a black lace cardigan, and a sequined tunic. I especially love the tunic; I’m not usually much for animal prints, but the grey lends a touch of subtlety. I think I’ll wear it for New Year’s.

I’m still debating over the lace cardigan. It’s only $30, but I’m thinking I’d rather spend that money on something else. Plus, I’m not sure how long it would last as it is just lace.

And, speaking of Rodarte for Target, I did like a lot of the collection. It was more up my alley than the Anna Sui/Gossip Girl-Target collab. The quality was not phenomenal, but come on, it’s Target. I tried on a couple other dresses, and I really liked the black sequin ribcage dress but the arm hole openings were much too small for my upper arms.

The swimwear was cute and looked decently made; my sister bought a good one. Most of the collection is gone already from the website and probably from a lot of stores. One advantage to living in this fashion wasteland is that stuff like this lasts long enough for me to get my hands on it.

While looking for the Rodarte lookbook online before it came out, I stumbled upon this. I hit up American Eagle and found both the tuxedo inspired tunic (nightshirt) and a great plaid one (red and black) on sale for $15 each.

All that to say, there are things I need more than a pricey little leather clutch. Like some new black flats (I’m thinking maybe these?). And to re-stock my collection of underthings. And I do want some smaller items, like a heavy chain necklace (I like some of these). I guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on the after Christmas sales and see what kind of deals I can get.

Outfit of the Day :: December 23

It’s almost Christmas!! It’s been really cold here lately for this Texas girl (read: 20’s-30’s at night and 40’s during the day), but at the moment it’s sunny and in the 50’s. I’ve done a little shopping lately and I’m finally sort of inspired again. I am feeling rather française today in my striped shirt and beret.

Tortilla Soup

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this yet. This is another one of my favorites – and it’s actually my own recipe. My mom makes a pretty basic one essentially using Rotel tomatoes, chicken, and chicken stock. I decided first that it’d be better with fresh tomatoes, and it sort of evolved from there. Sometimes I make it with chicken, sometimes without. I’ve added black beans before but I didn’t care for that very much. It could also be easily made vegetarian just by using veggie stock rather than chicken.

Tortilla Soup

serves 4

vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
4-5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 poblano pepper
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
6 cups chicken stock (1 carton plus 1 can, or 3 cans)
milk
1-2 tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander
½-1 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper, to taste
colby jack cheese
1 avocado, chopped
sour cream
cilantro, coarsely chopped
tortilla chips or fried corn tortilla strips

Broil the poblano pepper, turning it until it’s bubbly on all sides. Peel off the skin and chop the cooked pepper, removing the seeds and membrane if desired. Purée the pepper with a little chicken broth.

Heat a splash of oil in a large pan over medium heat. When it’s warm, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant and translucent. Next add the poblano purée  and seasonings, stirring to mix everything evenly, and continue to sauté for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes and cook another minute or two, until they become fragrant. Add the chicken stock and a splash of milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with a spoonful of sour cream, cilantro, shredded cheese, broken tortilla chips, and chopped avocado.

December 4

I wanted to wear my over the knee black socks. Not crazy about the green cardigan, but the whole ensemble seemed a little dark for just being out running around. Plus it was getting colder outside.

Lemon-Onion Chicken

I think I’ve probably mentioned it here before, but I’m not really the biggest fan of chicken. I think it goes back to a trip to Europe the summer after my freshman year in high school. This was in the midst of the mad cow disease scare (much bigger deal over there than stateside), so we ate a LOT of chicken. I didn’t want to see it again for months after I got back, and I still just sort of tolerate it.

That said, chicken is much cheaper and definitely healthier than too much red meat. We eat chicken at least once a week, but I at least like to change up the cooking method. Which brings me to this recipe, which was amazing. I love lemon, and I love red onion. I don’t always have the greatest of success pan frying chicken, but this was perfectly light and crispy.