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

Cod with Korean Flavors

I found my first fish filet that I enjoyed in COD! Who knew! If you don't remember, I haven't really liked the taste of any of the fish dishes that I've cooked in the past. I think I just don't like the taste of most fish filets. I love other seafoods including mussels, oysters, crawfish and calamari to name a few. This dish was super easy, and the sauce on the rice was SOOOOO good. This is definitely a dish that I will re-visit and try again.

Roasted Cod with Korean Flavors
Serves 4
Source: Weeknight Fresh & Fast by Kristine Kidd

Ingredients
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons serrano chile, minced
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
4 Cod Filets SS: Original recipe called for black cod, I went with regular because the store only had "cod"
2 Green Onions, white and green parts, sliced

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C)
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the shallot, ginger, and chile, and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and water, and simmer until the mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup (6 fl oz/ 180 ml), about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Set aside a small amount of the sauce for brushing.
• Brush a small baking pan with olive oil, and place the fish, skin side down, in the pan. Brush the fish with the reserved sauce. SS: Since you're also going to pour the sauce on the rice, I'd suggest putting some of the sauce in a separate dish if you don't like to double dip in raw fish. Roast until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the fish to plates, sprinkle with green onions, and serve right away, passing the remaining sauce alongside.

I served the fish over brown rice. It would have gone perfectly with some broccoli rabe on the side, but since this was a "family dinner" and my mom wasn't sure if my brother would like broccoli rabe, she fixed green beans - which I hate! LOL!

Coral lace

Top - Urban; Tank - Anthro; Skirt - Thrifted; Boots - Aldo; Necklaces - Urban; Frames - Urban; Hair - Mini twists in french braid

Date: Sunday, February 27, 2011

This weekend I decided to really go for the maxi look, right? LOL, I promise, I only have one other maxi look in my recent purchases. Both the skirt and the top are new editions to my closet. I got the skirt from a Salvation Army in Lancaster, PA (thanks to Marie for telling me about the AWESOME thrift possibilities out there) for $4.99. I got the top from Urban, and it was $44.00 - but I got a discount for it because I have a "friend discount" there, which is totally legal. I feel like it may sound shady... Anyway, the skirt was one of two finds that I found at the thrift store, and I am really pleased with it! Additionally, this shirt was the first time that I've been able to hop on the whole lace trend, so I also love it. Coral is an awesome color for spring that will transition well to summer. Speaking of spring, it was in the high 40s on Sunday and it really felt like spring, warm weather, please stay for a while!

I LOVE Maxi

 Top - Target; Dress worn as Skirt - Urban; Blazer - Banana; Boots - Cavenders; Hair - Mini Twists in Bun

Date: Saturday, February 26, 2011

I realized that I love everything maxi. Maxi dresses, maxi skirts, if there was a maxi food dish I'm sure I'd love that too. In order for me to fully appreciate my love of maxi's, I did some shopping because I have been having some MAJOR clothing malfunctions recently. I haven't done any serious shopping since the fall season, so I was definitely due to get some new items in rotation. In this outfit - the dress (worn as skirt) is new, I got it for $19.99 from Urban - score! Everything else is at least two years old. I love this dress because I can wear it in the winter, and in the summer! I must admit that I stole this idea from Jessica. Originally, I searched for a floral maxi skirt to get the look, but when I realized I could just turn this dress into a skirt, I was ECSTATIC! To my surprise, Jessica did the same thing in her rendition. Another score in my book!