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Let me start by saying that this photo is the before that comes after I tidy up a bit...(the real before was too embarrassing). This little acrylic piece of heaven is a relationship saver. Mike is constantly overwhelmed by the attack my girly face-fixins' have on our tiny bathroom counter space. While I do feel bad that he is forced to sift through lipstick, makeup primer, wrinkle cream,and nail polish to find the floss, I was reluctant to change my ways as I need easy access to everything to get out of the house on time for work. Cue this amazing makeup organizer and you've got a happy boyfriend and easy access to the things I use most often from day to day. Hallelujah!
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Mike made these absolutely delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies the other night when we were craving something sweet but didn't want to be too over indulgent. They are low fat and tasty so they got our stamp of approval. Try 'em out!
Ingredients
1 cup
all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup plain unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet
with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour,
baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter
and the sugars. Beat in the egg, followed by the applesauce and the vanilla
extract. Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just
combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the
prepared baking sheet, flattening each cookie slightly. Bake for about 10-12 minute Cookies will be
light brown at the edges when done.
The deets: J.Crew cardi; Collective Concepts blouse; LOFT cords; ZARA booties.
Okay this is a new post theme that I will be doing every so often asking for fashion advice (as I clearly need some) because you guys always look so great and the blogosphere is teeming with fashionable ladies. So here is my first question for you guys: is wearing just two colors throughout your entire outfit okay?
I pulled a third grade move today before a brunch with girlfriends and just put on things that were the same color form my closet (aka takes no fashion sense at all whatsoever). The two colors of choice happened to be very light pink and black. I feel like there's so much color blocking/pattern mixing going on these days that regular old putting two colors together is probably a no-no. Am I sporting a major faux pas here peeps? HELP.
Love,
Erin
Check out my new bling! This week my phone plan finally went up for renewal and I got me a fancy new iPhone. The one I was using was in such bad shape I couldn't even see where the letters were anymore to text (gasp). This is life-changing for me and thus is my favorite part of the week. I ALSO was super psycho and got this case a month before my plan was up because I was so in love with it. They sold out everywhere and I got it because someone else returned to the Georgetown J.Crew. It's better than new jewelery! LOVE IT.
The deets: LOFT shirt and skirt; Seams to Be hat; Betsy Johnson chain necklace.
To my dear friends and family,
WHY HAVEN'T YOU TOLD ME I NEED A STRIPED SHIRT INTERVENTION? Seriously, this is a shot of my laundry pile (I haven't done laundry in longer than I care to admit on the Internets..) which was my immediate wake up call, or I guess they would say if this were a real intervention "when I hit bottom." Where were you guys on this one? I am forbidden to buy another single stripe!
I, like many of you, have an addiction to caffeine. I especially love fancy pants drinks from the one and only Starbucks. This love is not conducive to saving money as each beverage costs no less than $4 dollars each so I decided to concoct my own cafe mocha and it worked marvelously! It was just what I wanted while I relaxed on a lazy Sunday and got half-way through the Hunger Games. Just add a couple tablespoons of good quality hot coco mix to the bottom of your coffee cup, brew as you normally would (I use the Kurig), add creamer and top with whipped cream. Perfect pick me up.
The deets: Ann Taylor LOFT pants and top; DV Dolce Vita shoes; eBay necklace
I had a pretty tough week personally. Since I was pretty bummed the last couple days and I had a fun dinner with old friends on the schedule, I decided to throw on every bright colored thing I own and go shoe shopping for an instant mood boost. I have to say, it kinda worked! These pretty little things are what I came home with, aren't they too adorable?
Hi everyone, the winner for last Friday's digital
scrapbooking software giveaway is listed below.
Congrats, Jessica! Again, if I
totally made you fall in love with the tool but you didn't win, no worries, you
can get $10 off the software AND another $10 off additional templates using
this promo code: STMMMS8968
Happy Scrapbooking!
Just to brighten up your Friday, look who has shunned her kitty bed for the bathtub. I guess someone wanted to upgrade her diggs. I snapped these pictures with Mike's phone so the image quality isn't steller but you can still tell that this is the cutest. thing. ever!
The deets: H&M dress(old); Gap tights; Aldo mary-jane wedges (way old); Michael Kors watch.
I wish every dress I owned had pockets! It's the best feature ever. If I ever marry, pockets in my dress are my one absolute must. I don't, however, wish that all my dresses were as easily blown up in the wind. I only went about 10 steps out of my building before I was able to flash about 10 people my booty (including my front desk man). So I had to march said booty right back upstairs to change into pants before we could leave. This dress is better left for a non-windy day.
Sunday night Mike (you read right, these were all the boy) made these chocolate chip blondies that were unbelievable. They were warm and gooey right out of the oven and chewey and chocolate-chunky after we refriderated them for the next day. I can't decide what way was better. Mmm. Mmm.
Ladies with super thick straight hair always complain that they can't get their hair to curl or wave because it's too heavy and wont hold a curl. I say it can! All you need to do is throw in a few extra steps. My friend Lauren (thanks Summies!) was nice enough to let me borrow her hair to demonstrate. She has that super-duper thick, straight (and gorgeous) hair I was talking about. Lets see if we can get it to do that Kardashian-esque wave we all know and love, shall we?
Yup! Looks like we did a pretty good job. Here's how:
1. Try not washing your hair. Dirty hair shapes better, so skip the suds and use dry shampoo if you think it looks to greasy.
2. Use a small barreled curler (less than 1 inch). Larger ones aren't as effective in thick hair.
3. Section your hair in half from ear to ear (see third picture above) and clip up the rest. Curl your in this fashion, (barrel facing down twisting hair around it) using very small strands (see size I have pictured below).
4. Section off the hair that is left in half again and repeat step 2.
5. Curl whats left
The deets: J.Crew Factory shirt; J.Crew jeans; DV Dolce Vita heels; eBay necklace; Revlon "Love That Pink" lips.
Yeah, it's probably to early to be wearing bright blue, yellow, and pink (lipstick) but I was feelin' it and don't care about rules anymore since my attempts at putting a cute look together have a very low success rate anyway. Also, in case you were wondering that's an awesome kid we made friends with in the background on our walk with the pup, he's playing with this BA remote control car. His name is Grant and we learned he loves NASCAR, Monster Trucks, and dogs.
Onto the real subject here...I always get questions about my hair especially when I tease it or wear it wavy. As it turns out, I did a little tutorial back in the Summer for this hair. You can find it here. I also will prove that girls with crazy thick pin straight hair can have the look too (thanks to a friend that lent me her locks for the night) on Tuesday with just a few extra steps so get excited!
This is the super awesome hair trick I was talking about Tuesday. I saw it here and thought it would be fun to try out because I have always had really long hair. I am one of those girls who freaks out about getting her hair cut, finally gets a trim, and cries when it comes out the tiniest bit too short (you know the type..I'm not proud). This is a fun way for me to dip my toe in the short hair pool without the tears! It was really fun and works well with haircuts that have layers in them. I just put my hair half up, bobby pinned the bottom half down, and then curled the top layers over it. I pinned a little up from each side to finish the look. What do you guys think?
So yesterday it snowed. Big chunky flakes fell to the ground as I sat in my cubicle. Our new office has floor to ceiling windows so I really felt like I was on the inside of a snow globe! What's better than soup on a cold day? Well I'll tell you - nothing! (bold statement, I know). I stole this recipe idea from one of my new favorite foodie blogs The Douglas Kitchen Odyssey which is written by one of good friends and old roommates. I used to reap the benefits of her culinary curiosity (mwahahaha..) but now that she went and got married I just have to settle for the virtual experience or attempt her (and her hubby's) recipes myself!
Rosanne and Sean are seriously talented cooks. They love to dive into all kinds of bold flavors and techniques and really do it well. You can find the recipe I swiped here. It was super tasty, not too hard, and just what I was hankerin' for. I threw some avocado on there for garnish just because I was in the mood for it but it actually went really well! The soup warmed it up and made it really creamy. I did slightly alter the recipe by reserving 1 of the cans of black beans for after the soup is blended to add a little chunk to the consistancy. I can't wait to go home and eat the leftovers for dinner tonight. Thanks, guys!
The deets: Express blazer; Forever 21 Dress (old), J.Crew belt; Gap tights; Target shoes; Revlon "Certainly Red" lips.
So as you know, last weekend was simply magical. It's nearly mid-January and I was outside with no coat on again! What a weird concept as it was snowing today and earlier in the week it was super duper smack-you-in-the-face kind of cold. Anyway...this red lipstick is my new favorite staple shade so I had to share (also seen in yesterday's post). It took me a while to find you, certainly red, but it was worth the wait.
Doncha like the spectacular view we have of the Ballston Mall? I think it goes nicely with our luxurious two foot wide balcony. Oh and I didn't really cut my hair short. It's this super cool hair-illusion that I will show you later. Hair tricks are sa-weeet.
I <3 you. |
The deets: Seams to Be hat; J.Crew plaid boyshirt; Moda International cardigan; AG jeans; Banana Republic boots; Revlon "Certainly Red" lips.
Hi peeps, don't worry, that's me, I'm just rockin' my spectacles (I'm just full of surprises). So it's January 8, 2012, and yup, that's no jacket, hot chocolate in hand, and the sun shining like whoa (I guess I also didn't get the "put your Christmas colored outfits away" memo). Today was a fabulous day and I hope everyone in the DC area cashed in! Our morning walk with the dog was extra amazing so I thought I'd share (and the boy is becoming quite the photographer, isn't he?).
This delicious sauce was a happy accident. We were going to make pesto with my fancy shmancy new food processor that Mike got me for Christmas (which is normally made up of basil and pine nuts) but when we got to the grocery store they were completely out of fresh basil and the only pine nuts there were in a big expensive bulk bag. With the wind completely taken out of my sails I figured spinach must be some kind of relative of the leafy green herb and I usually like walnuts in spinach salads so we went for it. While I just winged it at the time, I just googled "spinach walnut sauce" and it turns out my favorite food host Rachel Ray has a recipe that's pretty close to our little concoction! (ours is detailed below)
Ingredients
1 full bushel of fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 garlic cloves
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup (or so) parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (or so) extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Place garlic cloves and walnuts into food processor and blend them for a couple seconds first. Then add the in the spinach (roughly chopped and de-stemmed) and turn it back on. Slowly drizzle in about half the olive oil while it is blending. After that blends for about a minute add in the parmesean cheese, salt, and pepper to the mixture. Slowly drizzle in the rest of the olive oil while the sauce blends.
This made a TON of sauce, we used two full boxes of pasta with it. These photos were actually taken from the second round dinner which was just as yummy. We paired it with some baked asparagus and sauteed chicken. Lots of awesome veggie nutrients!
Wow. This is cray-cray. I wasn't planning on posting today but I saw these twinnies and had to share just in case anyone is in the market for some cute black wedged booties! I am slightly ashamed that I am a member of shoedazzle.com (okay okay I bought one pair of pink faux suede breast cancer pumps and have skipped each month since..it was for a good cause!) but when I went on to do my usual skip, it turns out that these are identical to a pair I've been stalking on piperlime.com! Interesting...Happy Humpday!
I find it so daunting to make a list of things I am going to stick to for an entire year (okay maaaybe that just makes me a lazy-pants) but last year I created 12 small resolutions to complete in each month of the year and I found it to be much more manageable. In 2012 I think I want to take on a wee bit more so I've come up with 22 resolutions (or more of just a list of things I want to accomplish), and I will pick a couple to complete each month. The starred ones are for January. Mike and I started the first day 2012 off with an early morning walk with the pup through Georgetown. It was actually nice because many of the stores were closed and the streets were pretty empty and I didn't even need a winter coat! It was gorgeous out aaand I got to use my new camera toy. 1/1/12 = win for me.
A little left over sparkle from NYE: First coat - silver sparkles from Forever 21, second coat - Jewel FX in gold |
I maaay have made a stop at J.Crew (shopping bag on arm). |
- Create a workout routine I am comfortable with (I know I know, so cliche but my sneakers literally have dust on them and I have a gym at work AND in my apt. building..I am shamed)*
- Eat salad for two meals a week because I need more nutrient rich-veggies in my life (again, I basically live in the same building as a Sweet Green...shame).
- Celebrate my sisters b-day with her in some way even though she lives in another state*
- Plan annual Vegas girls retreat.
- Give up alcohol for an entire month.
- Finish at least three books.
- Enter a 5K (horrifying).
- Create master plan to have my long lost cousin FINALLY come visit me.
- Give up bread for one month.
- Be kick-ass bridesmaid by helping to plan a kick-ass bachelorette/shower.
- Create my own Erin-holiday by treating myself to a whole day of fun at a spa (or something fun like that).
- Give up chocolate for one month.
- Plan a tropical vacation.
- Drink more water (16 oz/day).
- Convince brother and his girlfriend to come visit me.
- No shopping for an entire month.
- Really quit biting nails (I'm half way there).
- Find new facial routine.
- Lay on a beach at least 10 separate times.
- Redesign my bedroom.
- Redesign my living-room.
- Learn a how to cook fish/seafood.
If I lived on fantasy island, this is what I would have worn to my glam-glam fabulous NYE party (I know, I know, it doesn't all go together that spectacularly but who cares? It's MY island..). Since I actually live in Arlington, VA and had no glam-glam plans (unless you consider cuddles on the couch with the boy and pets glam, then I'm basically a rock-star) this is what I actually wore to our little NYE dinner date with one of our favorite couples, The (soon to be) Mattens's. I totally channeled the 70's all night by wearing really high-waisted flare jeans, a sparkly disco top with polish to match, and big 70's (or snooki?) hair. The blue shoes were just for fun. They're like the fanciest pair I own so I just threw em on with out any rhyme or reason. Hope you guys had lots of fun (and aren't too hungover today), cheers!
Happy New Year!!!!
Jeans & Belt: J.Crew Top: Express Watch: Michael Kors
Shoes: Pour la Victoire
Hair: Lots and lots of Amplify hairspray
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