Prepping for Mother's Day Lunch

Easter cooking with the family

While I may have been extremely busy with work I did have time for family during Easter.  I was also lucky enough to be able to cook for a lot of the meals.

(My father studding the lamb with garlic.)

(Pictured: 2 of the 3 legs that were cooked over potatoes.)

(Paleo salad of squash and zucchini.)

I was my dad's sioux chef for making the lamb and potatoes.  Can you see them under the lamb?  I cannot tell you how good those tasted when they crisped up in the oven saturated with lamb fat.  And that pasta/salad shown is actually crookneck squash and zucchini that have been julienned and tossed with lemon olive oil and salt and pepper.  Tossed in some basil leaves and topped with tomatoes, it made a fine side dish and I liked it so much I have made it a few times since.

Then there was Easter brunch a week later at my mother's home.  This time she as my sioux chef and we cooked from a Gourmet Today cookbook I purchased for a steel in the bargain section at Barnes & Noble.  The menu was 

Lemon-Craisin Scones

Baked Eggs topped with a Sweet Potato Hash

Fresh Fruit

Spinach Salad

Okay, so the scones were suppose to be Orange-Raisin scones but my mother has the best lemon tree so we used those and who eats/likes raisins anyway?  Yuck! You mean your mother did not make you eat a bowl or gummy oatmeal with raisins and no sugar for breakfast growing up?  (Thanks mom for making us eat healthy food but no more raisins!)

I have to admit, I loved that hash so much that I made another batch the net day to take with my for my breakfasts during the week.  And those scones were perfect!  

I love cooking and it was a much needed and appreciated break from work.

Ciao, and bon appetit!

Pinterest Inspiration

Another Pinterest Inspiration comes from one of my current fashion guru, Emmanuelle Alt, Editor in Chief of French Vogue.  She dresses simply, always true to her casual style, but always classy.

What I wore...

From Pinterest...

Pinterest Inspiration

What I wore...

From Pinterest...

Pinterest Inspiration

What I wore...

From Pinterest...

Pinterest Inspiration

What I wore...

From Pinterest...

Lucky Dozen...Again | Week 2

This week was a little tougher for me to find new combinations.  I say that because I did layering a few times and my clothes felt really bulky.  I have thick material for all of them so I in a way felt like I was wearing a parka.  Also, my jeans are too big again.  I have not lost any more weight, but perhaps my weight is shifting.  I am irritated because now I once again have no pair of jeans that fit me correctly.  I have the belt as tight as it can go but the jeans bunch out at the waist and I fell a bit awkward.  Maybe it was just an off week and next week will be better.  Here are the outfits (except Sunday as I was cleaning all day and did not really get dressed in clothes for going out).

(These were the black pants I had taken in, unfortunately they are still big.)

(I loved this outfit.  I am really glad I bought this skirt.  I feel like it is really flattering.)

Pinterest Inspiration

What I wore...

From Pinterest...

Pinterest Inspiration

So to start off I had this whole blog post on Evernote and when I went to email it the program crashed and the post was deleted.  Every time I try to use Evernote something like this happens so I am now going to uninstall it.

That being said, I am now typing my blog post directly from blogger.  As you are aware, March is another Lucky Dozen month for me.  And unless you have been living under a rock you are acutely aware of the website that is a time-suck called Pinterest.com.  I have spent many a nights in the black hole of pinning fabulous pictures onto my Pinterest boards.  One of such boards is called "Get In My Closet" in which I pins pictures of outfits I love.  Recently I started scrolling through my old pins and much to my surprise discovered that some of the pictures or inspirations I pinned were actually outfits I am planning on or have worn for this month Lucky Dozen.  I was pleasantly surprised and figured I might inspire some of you to do the same.  I will post a few blogs posts with examples of what I mean starting with this one.

{Source}

I hope you too will look through your pins and closet and get inspired.

Cheers and here's to a better dressed world.

Lucky Dozen...Again

So my efforts to watch how much I eat, what I eat, and exercise more consistently are finally catching up with me.  I have been working diligently for almost a year and have finally gotten to the point where my old clothes are no longer cutting it.  I have not bought a single piece of new clothing since last September which is kind of a big deal for me.  All that being said, when a good friend took me aside and told me I could no longer where my black slacks as they were just too big and unflattering on me I knew it was time to reward myself for my hard work this far.

I had wanted to lose about 5 more pounds before I bought more clothes but sometimes you don't get to pick when things happen.  Even though I have been sticking to what works I have been on a plateau weight-wise for the last month.  Even though the pounds are holding on I feel my body shifting a bit so I will take that as progress.

As for some old clothes, I bagged up (once again) a lot of clothing that no longer accentuated my positive and gave them away to the willing arms of friends.

Now originally I was going to reward myself with a whole new wardrobe for my efforts and by that I meant 10-12 pieces that I could mix and match and live the Capsule Wardrobe way.  As it turned out I still have a few nice pieces that fit me and will work in my capsule wardrobe.  I am still a work in process I did not want to completely splurge on several pieces until I am closer to my ultimate goal.

That being said, I had to purchase a few new items to replace ones that had to go.

New purchases:

Source: Black Sheathe Dress (Ann Taylor) | Chambray Shirt (Madewell) | White Button Up (J. Crew) | Off-White Skirt (J.Crew)

The first three are direct replacements for the exact same piece in a smaller size.  The skirt I opted for off-white instead of the black one I discarded as I am going to use the new dress to double as a black skirt and I like the off-white as it is gentle and feminine looking.

Pieces I already owned and used towards my Capsule Wardrobe:

Already Owned: Black Blazer (Tahari) | Dark Jeans (Kut From the Kloth) | Grey Cotton Pants (GAP) | Black Cardigan (J. Crew) | Pink Sweater | Stripped Sweater (French Connection) | Black Cotton Slacks (J. Crew)

Confession: the blacks slacks I actually bought a size too big a while back as those were the only ones left and I had been looking forever for that style and textile and have fully intended on going to the tailor and taking them in.  Well here was finally my excuse as they were not at least 2 sizes to big for me.  Instead of buying an all new pair of pants, which with me being quite particular about what I like and buy, would have taken me years to find again. I went to the tailor and am having them taken in and hemmed to be worn with flats for only $17.  I consider myself pretty thrifty and ingenious by recycling what I already had.  I highly suggest taking clothes that are a big too big or not the best cut to the tailors.  When you are finished they fight like a glove and are quite flattering.  Warning: taking clothes to the tailor can get addictive and expensive depending on the number of pieces you take in.

Not featured, I opted to add one more piece and that is my black dress which I intend to double as a black skirt on some occasions.  

So okay, to the outfits already.  Here is what I wore the first week.  I am sorry you cannot see my jewelry in the pictures.  I usually wear pear earrings,  my "h" necklace, and/or another classic necklace like my pearl cluster I wore this week.

What you do not see are the black slacks as they are still at the tailors.  Again, as I mentioned in my previous Lucky Dozen post, I am always amazed by the amount of time saved in the morning getting dressed as I already know what I am going to wear the night before or can just consult the Lucky Dozen guide and say, okay item number 3 and 6 tomorrow.  Mixing and matching colors and textures is key.  Like my banal name suggests, I like the classic staples that are timeless and flattering.  Throw in a few pieces of jewelry and colorful scarves and belts and you have endless combinations at your finger tips.  Less clutter in the closet causes less clutter in your mind.

Hope you enjoyed and were inspired.  I will try to remember to keep taking pictures each morning.  Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Any of course accessories do not count and any excuse to wear a trench coat is welcome.  Thank you California for the rain on Friday!

COTM: Bistro Cooking at Home

Despite my lack of pictures, I have been cooking.  This month over at ChowHound.com the Cookbook of the Month (COTM) was "Bistro Cooking at Home" by Gordon Hamersley.  I was excited because I absolutely love the flavors of bistro food and was excited to have so motivation to cook some at home.

Last night I opted to make probably the most expensive recipe, that being the Lobster, Mushroom, and Spinach Tart.  I mean the title alone had three of my favorite foods.  If anyone call tell me the difference between a quiche and a tart I would love to know besides the difference in language origins.

The tart was rather large, which the recipe does warn you about.  I had to use a springform pan as my regular quiche/tart pan would have held less than 1/3 of the recipe.  I ended up cutting the tart into 8 hearty slices but you can portion however you like.  The dinner was simple and I asked my sister make one of her vinaigrettes to go over Romaine lettuce. (Her salad had a nice flavor.)

While I thought the tart was good, I felt the lobster was over cooked.  Gordon has you cook the lobster, dice it up, and let cool.  Then you reheat the lobster with the vegetables and then bake it in the oven.  I think one of those cook times needs to be cut out as over-cooked lobster, in my book, is a sin.  If you are going to use three pounds of delicious, not to mention, expensive lobster, it should really be done well.  (Yes, three pounds.)  So in that I was disappointed because I was expecting excellence and ended up ambiguous about the results.  I will say that was my opinion and others loved it, so take that for what it is worth.

To be honest, just steam or grill a lobster and I will eat it straight, no frills.  Isn't that ultimately the best way to eat it anyway?

Not in the cookbook but fitting for a bistro dessert, I made crustless banana cream pie.  I mean, how can you go wrong? Nice way to end the evening in my opinion.

All photos curtesy of everyAugust.