Mango-Lime Sorbet

Remember how I told you about my sweet tooth? Well, I've been finding quick weeknight healthy desserts to help me satisfy my cravings. This mango-sorbet takes about 5 minutes of active cooking time (15 minutes non-active), it's refreshing and healthy - so it's just right!


Mango-Lime Sorbet
Source: Vegetarian Times, March 2011 Issue, "Guiltless Pleasures"
Serves 6

Ingredients
4 cups frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
SS: I halved the recipe to serve 3, and used one 10 oz bag of frozen mango chunks

Directions
Thaw mango chunks 15 minutes. Place in blender or food processor, and puree with agave nectar and lime juice. Transfer to shallow glass or metal bowl, and place in freezer. Freeze 30 minutes. Stir puree every 15 minutes until ready to serve. SS: I put the blended sorbet in my glass and ate it right  with my mom - forget the freezer!

The fingertip rule

Shirt - Anthro; Dress - J. Crew; Tights - Urban; Shoes - Anthro; Frames - Urban

Date: Sunday, March 27, 2011

Growing up, I had to wear uniforms for a couple of the schools I attended. I remember wearing kilts to school, and always getting them hemmed in the beginning of the year so that they were a little bit cute. Mid-calf skirts were not stylish in the 90s. Back then, I used the fingertip rule to deem whether or not my skirt was too short...

I was self-conscious about my dress the entire day. I felt like the wind was blowing it up and away, Marilyn Monroe style. However my friend re-assured me that I was fine. So, I thought, "This is fine, and surely this dress passes the fingertip rule." Errr...how about it doesn't! I clearly thought I passed the rule, now that I see these pictures, I just hope I didn't look ridiculous. Oh well, the main point of me wearing the dress was getting an outfit with this dress in before I can't wear it anymore. I've decided to go ahead and hang this dress up until next spring.

Lancaster is cool

Dress - H&M (2009); Blazer - Banana; Tights - Hue; Scarf - Gift; Necklace - Anthro; Boots - Vintage via Franklin Square Boutique

Date: Saturday, March 26, 2011

This weekend, I visited one of my besties, who is currently in a show in Lancaster, PA. Lancaster is about an hour away from Philadelphia. The town has a couple of colleges nearby, but I've always thought of it as a small town. Just google'd the population in Lancaster and it's 500,000 - perception and reality are two totally different things!

I like to call myself a "big city girl", however my brief time in Lancaster left me wanting to know more about the "little" town. They had a cute downtown section including a central market with tons of local organic food, a fair trade coffee house, AND the houses were brownstone-style. SCREAMING LOVE! We had a blast hanging, talking and such, as is evident in my last picture. There will be at least one Lancaster event mentioned in my "Smile" post this week!

Don't do that

Top - Urban; Blazer - Banana; Leggings - American Apparel; Shoes - Seychelles via Anthro

Date: Thursday, March 17, 2011

This is a two-week old outfit pic. I wasn't going to post pictures originally because all of the poses just came out awkward. I tried some new poses with this photo shoot, and they turned out to be #epicfails. Well, maybe I'm being a little bit harsh, but I think I look silly.

These pictures were photographed on the day I got an ultra sound. I wore silk AGAIN to get an ultra sound - FYI - not the brightest idea. I found out I'm having a girl! She is very healthy and active - she moves all the time these days. Her name is going to be Naja Simone. Naja is pronounced Nah-jah, not Naw-jah or Nai-jah or Nay-jah or any other pronunciations you can decipher. I'm having serious issues with people already mispronouncing her name. It's quite irritating...to the point where I'm considering changing her name. However I doubt I'll find something I love more.

In summary...cue tie-in to post title...don't do the following:

• Try new poses (this is only true for me, other style bloggers have varied poses down pact)
• Wear silk to get an ultra sound
• Pronounce my daughter's name wrong

Happy Monday!

Smile

Three things from my week that made me smile...plus one quote my pastor said in church on Sunday - I've been meditating on it all week, "God's delays are not God's denials."

1. Weather in the 70s accompanied by a 5-mile run on the Wissahickon Trail. Note: It felt a lot better DURING the run than after.

2. BumbleBeads: Awesome jewelry store in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia that allows you to purchase beads, chains, et al to create your own jewelry. They provide you with the tools to create - you bring creativity to make it happen. They also do parties and offer jewelry making courses. I went there to make a hoop nose ring - I wanted a wire with a very thin gauge.

3. Roller's Express-O in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. Picture below: Challah French Toast stuffed with Nutella, served with strawberries for $7.75. If you didn't know, Nutella is my first love.

Curly Shirley & 3in6 Update

Both of my outfit posts this week feature my "Curly Shirley" hairstyle. To achieve this style, I did a simple roller set using the snap-on magnetic rollers pictured below.

These snap-on magnetic rollers are ideal for my kinky hair, because the snap-piece helps smooth my kinks to achieve this curly look. I bought the rollers from Sally's for $2.29 for a pack of 8. I set my hair on freshly washed and detangled hair. I used my Denman to smooth each section of hair before rolling it. I used the medium (pink) rollers in the front, and the back. I used the small (green) rollers on the sides. I prefer the medium size, so next time I try this style, I plan on buying more in the medium (pink) size. I can't remember exactly how many rollers I used, but I believe I used somewhere around 30 rollers. Rolling my hair took about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Since I started this style at midnight, I slept in the rollers and sat under a dryer in the morning to ensure my hair was dry. It was of the utmost importance that I made sure my hair was 100% dry for the style to come out. It was equally important to choose small sections. I applied my usual moisturizer/sealant of Aloe Vera Gel and Castor Oil after the wash to each detangled section, and used Bee Mine Curly Hold Butter on each rolled section to set my curls. Here are some pictures.

Unfortunately, it rained on Monday, and since I work outside and wear a hard hat, my hair was on the road to ruins. Since I knew it would start to kink quickly, and become difficult to manage, I did some chunky twists on Monday. Thus, I'm back into my protective styles!

3in6 Update
Now for the official update. I know what you're thinking..."Wait - I thought you HAD to wear protective styles for the challenge." Well - Loo has graciously allowed us two one-week periods to wear our hair out. I rarely wear my hair out for more than 2 days anyway, so I just used this week as one of my weeks. This is what my hair styling looked like for weeks 5-8...


Weeks 5, 6 & 7: I wore mini-twists.
Week 8: I started off with this roller set, and will wrap things up with some chunky two-strand twists done on dry hair.

PS - I definitely think I have gained some length, I will get around to a length check some time around week 9.

Tunic-like magic

Top - Urban (hand me down); Jeans - Urban (hand me down); Shoes - Urban; Necklace - Hand me down

Date: Sunday, March 20, 2011

Three things about this outfit.

1. Both the top and jeans are hand me downs from my cousin. She's going through this "new style" phase, and gives me everything that no longer fits her style. I GLADLY accept all the items she gives me. 
2. Did you know that Urban sold jeans with elastic waistbands last year? Well - that's why I can wear these non-maternity jeans with total comfort. They were ideal for women with large derrieres and small waists. However, they also work for pregnant women - apparently.
3. Tunics are magical. Now you see it...now you don't!

Chambray Goes with Everything

Shirt - J. Crew; Skirt - Anthro; Shoes - Anthro (2008)

Date: Saturday, March 19, 2011

Friday's weather was the most wonderful touch of spring - weather in the 70s. I think I got caught up, and thought it was still in the 70s on Saturday, and it wasn't. There was a high of 60 and a low of 35. I normally don't show off my legs in temperatures below 60. However, I really liked the idea of my chambray top with my (size 10) pencil skirt - I swear that's the only reason it fit, and it was still a little snug, but comfortable. I really liked the look with bare legs, so I braved the weather, and it actually wasn't that bad!

This weekend, I caught up on my magazine browsing and I love that denim is in this spring. Another plus, is that it literally goes with EVERYTHING! This top has a bit more ways to go as I grow, I'm going to make sure I get good use out of it!

PS - What do you think about my curly hair? I kept it like this for a remarkable two days - I twisted everything up on Monday. My hair doesn't like being out long...but I'll have more on that with some close up shots later this week.

Urkel/Color Blocking Twist Updo Tutorial

I follow a handful on channels on youTube. I specifically enjoy following channels of loc'd folks, because they are very creative with style options. Since I wear twists all the time, I find that I can adapt a lot of the loc hairstyles for my twists. Marktastic0 is a contributor to chescalocs channel, and he has shorter locs. I like his tutorials a lot. I followed his tutorial to a tee for the hair style shown in my Color Blocking and Grandma Urkel posts. Enjoy!

Click here for a link to the original video post.

Click here for a link to Marktastic0's channel.

Click here for a link to chescalocs channel.

Smile

Three things from my week that made me smile...

1. New Blog: Color Collective - the blog takes inspiration from art, designers and other photos and shows various color palettes - great for style/color inspiration.

2. Avenida Restaurant in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia: small-business, locally owned and sustainable. Pictured below: Grilled octopus with mixed greens, avocado, garlic and tequila-roasted tomato sauce; Coconut Tres Leches with Mango Sorbet.

3. Red Velvet Cupcakery. Pictured below: Vanilla Bean Cupcake

White Bean Pattie with Tomato, Basil, Garlic and Pesto

Ladies & Gents I am pleased to announce that I made this recipe up all by myself! Ok, I'm fibbing a little because I got the inspiration for the pattie from a pattie I got at a restaurant. However, I came up with everything else on my own. Both my brother and my mom loved this dish! It's very filling too - it fed a growing pre-teen!

White Bean Pattie with Pesto
Serves 4

Ingredients
WHITE BEAN PATTIE
2 cans white beans
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 egg, beaten
1 cloves garlic, minced
A handful basil, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon EVOO

PESTO
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup Parmesan
Bunch of basil
3 Tablespoons EVOO (or more depending on desired texture)
Salt & Pepper to taste

POTATOES
6 yellow (or red) potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons EVOO

Directions
WHITE BEAN PATTIE
Mix all of the ingredients together and form four patties. Drizzle EVOO in pan, and cook patties, about 3-4 minutes per side.

PESTO
Combine all ingredients in a food processor, blend until smooth.

POTATOES
Soak for 30 minutes in cold water. SS: Soaking them supposedly reduces the amount of acrylamide in the potatoes - click here for more info. Preheat oven to 425 F. Dry the potatoes. Spread them on a baking pan and cover with EVOO. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

I also served this dish with some sauteed spinach also. Bon a petit!

Grandma Urkel

Cape - H&M; Button up - H&M; Leggings - Anthro; Shoes - Urban; Necklace - Target; Frames - Urban

I'm an 80's baby. As such, I was an avid fan of Steve Urkel and Family Matters growing up. In fact, I loved Steven Q. Urkel so much that I had Urkel paraphernalia! I had an Urkel doll with a pull string that quoted some of his most famous phrases like, "Got any cheese?" or "No sweat my pet!" I also had an Urkel stencil drawing tool that allowed me to mix-match different Urkel faces, shirts, and pants. I would follow up the stenciling by coloring the pictures. I also knew how to do the Urkel Dance very well - I was a super cool kid guys!

I feel like I look like Urkel's long lost grandma in today's post. I'll at least say that I feel like I'm a cute/fashionable version of his grandma, however that last pose reads Urkel's grandma to me. It makes me laugh!  Something cool about this Grandma Urkel look, is that I bought the cape for $19.99 from the H&M in NY in October last year. Who knew Urkel's grandma was so fly?

An Ode to Pants

SN: Yesterday, I felt inspired to write - this does not happen often. FYI, this post is random, and irrelevant to most of you. However, for those of you who plan to have children, take this as a heads up - a fair warning to let you know about the pros and cons of maternity pants. Note that this "written word" is all in fun - serious (almost) not joking fun!

As I got up and got dressed, I looked in the mirror and this is what I thought...Maternity pants, I loathe you. It was all good in the beginning, and it has continued to go downhill from there.

Maternity pants, I loathe you. You make me look like I have a man crotch. How did I miss this in the dressing room? Perhaps it was your stretchy top that didn't suffocate my growing belly. Now, although comfortable, I'm sure I leave bystanders very confused.

Maternity pants, I loathe you. You slide down during the day, causing me to have to reach under my top and pull you up. I'm sure this leaves people wondering if I know how to wear proper under garments.

Maternity pants, I loathe you. I should have gotten you in long, instead I got you in regular. Now, I look like I have a man crotch, don't know how to wear the proper under garments and wear floods.

To you maternity pants - I love to hate you and hate to love you.

"Color Blocking"

Top - Anthro; Cardigan - Anthro (2008); Jeggings - Gap Maternity; Boots - Aldo; Necklace - Etsy; Earrings - Anthro (and borrowed from mom); Lips - MAC (Satin)

Date: Thursday, March 10, 2011

I'm using the term "color blocking" very loosely for this outfit. I'm not sure if the "official rules" for "color blocking" don't include patterns/prints. Thus, I kept quotes around the term to make sure I'm not breaking any rules. See how easy that was? Add quotations, and I make a farce totally legit...if only that worked on other things in real life. On another random note - I've never paired these two items together, but I really like the contrast. The additional pop of turquoise really added a lovely touch to this whole color palette look.

PS - These are the only maternity pants I have purchased and liked. I won't be buying anymore. You probably won't ever see the other 3 because I save them for work, which requires pants. I dread wearing them every day.

Smile

Three things from my week that made me smile:

1. The Adjustment Bureau (and not just because Matt Damon is one of my secret loves)

Source

2. Apple Crumble Pie with chocolate glaze, a shot of caramel and toffee ice cream - dessert from Max Brenner's Restaurant in Philly

3. Cookie bouquet from a new and awesome friend

Ginger Cupcakes

I've had a sweet tooth recently. Correction - I always have a sweet tooth, but I'm actually giving in since I've been on a regular workout schedule. Instead of munching on lots of Girl Scout cookies, I've opted to make some homemade desserts so that I know what's going in them, and also because I know I will only eat one cupcake. As far as the Girl Scout cookies, well - let's just say I have to hide the box from myself.


Ginger Cupcakes
Source: Vegetarian Times, February 2011 Edition
Makes a dozen large cupcakes, or 2 dozen mini cupcakes

CUPCAKES
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
5 tbs margarine or unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup skim buttermilk
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

TOPPING
4 oz. low-fat cream cheese or mascarpone, softened
2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 teaspoon finely chopped crystallized ginger, optional SS: I did not use this

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350 F. Coat 2 12-cup mini-muffin pans with cooking spray.
2. To make Cupcakes: Combine sugar, molasses, and margarine in saucepan. Heat over medium-ow heat 3 to 4 minutes, or until margarine is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, and cool 15 minutes.
3. Whisk together buttermilk and egg in bowl. Whisk in molasses mixture.
4. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl. Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture.
5. Fill muffin cups to within 1/8 inch of rims. Bake 12 minutes, SS: I baked them for about 22 minutes, or until cupcakes are puffed and set. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack.
6. To make Topping: whip cream cheese, honey, and orange zest with fork in bowl until smooth. Dollop 1 teaspoon, SS: More like a tablespoon for the regular-sized cupcakes, topping mixture onto cupcakes, and sprinkle with crystallized ginger, if using.

The first batch of cupcakes was an aesthetic failure. They were not pretty AT ALL, and hopefully this picture doesn't reflect it too much. My mom finished the last half dozen for me, and they came out much more pretty, but I was in the bed by the time they were done, and my family devoured them quickly so I couldn't recover a nicer picture. Speaking of my family devouring these 'cakes, how about I only ate one - that's family for ya! Regardless, this is a great weekday dessert - it took me all of 30 minutes to whip these up, and they were ready to serve!

Flowers in the rain

Top - Urban; Blazer - Anthro; Jacket - H&M; Jeggings - Gap Maternity; Rain Boots - Urban; Earrings - Anthro; Scarf - Hand Me Down

Date: Sunday, March 6, 2011

This March weather is up and down on the east coast. On Sunday, it was warm - 55 degrees - but it was raining on and off, which kind of made the weather not so delightful. I always debate taking pictures on rainy days, because the outfits aren't super glamorous. However I'm not glamorous every day. Some days I wear heels, and most other days I wear flats. I also think you can still be super cute in flats, or rain boots, or snow boots. So this is my rainy day look. I love these floral rain boots, and I love this Urban top that I found for $14.99 - it will be perfect as I grow!

Plaid, Plum, and Pumps

Dress - Anthro; Shirt - J. Crew; Tights - Anthro; Shoes - Urban; Necklace - Anthro

Date: Saturday, March 5, 2011

I was considering naming this post "Plaid, Plump, and Pumps" but opted to do otherwise because I thought the title might attract too much attention. I was aiming for the alliteration piece, and also trying to tie in some relevancy with the outfit. So it's obvious why why I chose plaid, plum and pumps. SN: I LOVE my new pumps!!! However you may not know why I wanted to replace "plum" with "plump". The funny thing about blogging is that you really make a connection with the people who follow you. I feel like I have a lot of friends out there in the blogosphere that I've never met, but that are still friends nonetheless. This becomes a challenge when you want to share something with these so-called "friends" but not with everybody and their momma. I've been toying with this issue for the past couple of months, and I'm finally at the point where I'm just going to keep it real with my dedicated followers...I'm expecting! I'm 20 weeks or 5 months - due July 27, and I want everything else to be a surprise. That's why I'm a little more plump in my pictures, and that's all I'll say about that for now.

50's Trendy

Dress - Vintage Hand Me Down; Cardigan - BCBG (2005); Stockings - Berkshire (Utopia); Socks - Target; Pumps - Anthro; Broach - Anthro; Belt - Urban; Hair - Mini-twists

Date: Thursday, March 3, 2011

It was really courageous of me to try the whole sock with pumps trend. Jen does it SO WELL, and I love it whenever I see it in magazines, or on other style bloggers. However, I have been scared to try the look myself, until Thursday! Last week, I started pulling some spring items out of winter storage and came across this dress. I thought - perfect, how can I make this vintage dress work with this trend? It did take me a little while to get a final look together, but I do LOVE IT!!!

Have any of you tried a trend that "scared you" recently? If so, how did it turn out?

PS - this was my first time taking pictures with my new remote, and I was STRUGGLING!!! It was funny looking back at all of these awkward poses. I was never sure if I was actually taking the pic.

Smile

I'm going to start a new weekly series on Fridays called "Smile" that highlights three things throughout my week that made me smile, hence the name of the post. I think it will be a nice way to kick off the weekend moving forward. It also may encourage me to read a photography book...here's to hoping.

PS - Although I'd like to take credit for the idea, another blogger that I follow does something similar every Friday. What a great way to end your work week and start the weekend!

1. New music by Adele and Corinne Bailey Rae

2. Week-old flowers that are still beautiful

3. A remote controller for outfit pics