Saturday, April 7, 2012

sweet treats: low-cal iced coffee

been making tasty iced coffee for a treat.  i like to cold-brew
the coffee instead of using old, stale coffee.  measure your coffee and water into a pitcher,
soak overnight and strain in the morning for a tasty cold-brew.  i even made myself these sweet
little heart-shaped coffee cubes so the coffee gets stronger instead of diluting.







add 2 packets of no-calorie Stevia, iced coffee cubes and dairy-free creamer for a perfect iced coffee!  *woot woot* i'm hyper now! 


recipe: healthy ginger-broccoli stir fry

continuing on our healthy meal plan.  saturday nights: veggie stir fry night!  i want to start doing it with brown rice but matt says i have to ease him into it slowly...so maybe after a few weeks i can slowly convert over to brown rice *hehe*.  don't get me wrong, i grew up on steaming jasmine rice and love it.  the smell, the perfect, firm texture...but brown rice has so many health benefits!

tonight i made a delicious stir-fry with fresh broccoli, carrots, onions, celery, ginger and chicken.  it turned out a hundred times better than any takeout i've ever had from a crappy Chinese joint that has too much sodium and fat added.  the secret to a perfect stir fry?  make sure you get a good balance in flavor of the sauce (not too salty/sweet/spicy) and the perfect crisp-tender texture of fresh vegetables.  most people who aren't familiar with wok frying or asian food think you can make a stir fry out of frozen vegetables or cooking in a regular pan...don't do it!  it will be soggy and flavorless.  here is my "healthier" than chinese takeout version:

fashion stalking: green scalloped shorts by free people

free people babes

salivating for these kelly green high waisted scalloped shorts!



my favorite green linen shorts here a couple summers ago


fashion: Tibi S/S 2012

mint green colorblocked dream.  $350
Designer Amy Smilovic founded New York- based label Tibi in 1997 while living abroad in Hong Kong, where she was inspiration by the the local culture and textiles. The brand has since evolved into a full ready-to-wear and footwear collection, lauded by the fashion pack for its effortless take on laid-back femininity. We love this season's sportswear-inspired silhouettes and block-color palettes.
ohhh Tibi how i love you.  let me count the ways.  Tibi is ALWAYS one of my favorite lines every year.  they consistently are on trend but still have a very specific aesthetic that i adore.  always uber feminine and sexy without being too vampy.  they always have the best prints and colors.  prints are always preppy with a modern twist.  and you all know how much i love a boxy shift dresses--they always have the best ones.  this season, the clothes are still vibrant and fun, the color palette is a little softer. here are some of my favorites.







a quintessential Tibi shift dress $398
fern print dress $398
these sexy snakeskin heels, i can't take it!  $365

 












































































































































































































jasmine printed maxi dress $345

















Friday, April 6, 2012

spring is here.

the weather has been beautiful.  need to get a tan for shorts season!


dinner night: grilled salmon

i was so gleeful that our local farmers market opened today!  spent $33 for a ridiculous load of fresh seasonal vegetables.

another easy healthy dinner on my meal planning schedule:  grilled fish with veggies.  tonight we had an easy grilled salmon, asparagus, and couscous feta salad.  top with a squirt of lemon for freshness.


for dessert we had freshly juiced pineapple, orange, and pear. 







dinner night: turkey burgers

part of my "healthy meal planning menu".  a super easy go-to...turkey burgers and kale chips!  i'm super excited about this whole meal planning thing because it makes my life so much easier, we'll probably eat healthier, and i'll probably save money!  you can pick up a pack of 4 turkey burger patties at Trader Joe's for $2.99.  such a good deal.  i top mine with alfafa sprouts, romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, and colby-jack cheese...switch it up and try it topped with mushrooms and swiss, sprouts and avocado, etc.






Wednesday, April 4, 2012

fashion stalking: massimo gioretti

Massimo Giorgetti.  never heard of him til i saw these gorgeous images on another blog.  i am dying for every silhouette, color, print in this collection.  i have a girly style but try to add some accessories to make it not so sweet.  i like how they styled these super femmy outfits with overtly sexy heels and leather accessories like these black gloves.  ***swoon***

















such a cool modern take on print mixing







sexy sexy heels






















oh so girly

































a showstopper of a fur.  obsessed!


home: redecorating for spring


 my mantle.  tends to get cluttery with lots of things that i love.






lots of birdcage items




living room: lots of pattern and color. quilt by APC for anthropologie, vintage chair, vintage coffee table




re-decorating:  finding a comfortable yet stylish sectional sofa.  we have a relatively small living room so it can't be huge but matt and i spend a lot of time in the living room and like having people over so comfy seating is a priority.  framing more artwork to fill in some of the wall space.  working in more solids to tone down the print.  making more DIY hanging paper balls with all the tutorials floating around.  keeping the quirk and kitsch of my style but maybe trying to make it a little more grown up.  i noticed that instead of all the crazy brights i used to be drawn too, i am leaning more towards neutrals and toned down colors and pretty prints.

bane of my existence/ love of my lif--dilemma.  i love this freaking cozy chair i bought last summer.  i got it for my studio room but couldn't get it through any of the doorways!!!  so it is trapped in the living room for now which limits our sectional sofa space.  also the kitties love it, see photo.
























lunch at cafe monte

one of my favorite sandwiches:  a croque madame.  topped with ham, gruyere, and a sunnyside egg.  i love open-faced sandwiches, especially with a perfectly runny egg on top.
















Lobster and Crab Crepes with tomato and tarragon creme.  So rich and delicious!  This is probably my new favorite french bistro.  It will be a cute go-to place for a nice meal.  We are coming back for dinner next week!

lunch at cafe monte

lunch today at a sweet little restaurant i've been dying to try.  cafe monte is a little french restaurant over in the southpark area.  i loved the ambience right away...they even had this cute super frenchie guy as the host *lol*.  as soon as you walk in, there are cases of gorgeous and tempting french pastries like this stack of freshly made French Macaroons.  we tried a coffee, mango, and my favorite...pistachio!  i also had a couple of palmiers (my favorite!) and a couple of coconut macaroons.







bedroom inspiration part 1

rivulets quilt from anthropologie $348
one thing i never get tired of is new bedding!  i have many that i love and get softer and break in over time.  matt is really picky about bedding though and only likes the weight of one of the duvets...my least favorite one of course, so i think it's time to freshen up and bring in some new bedding.  i've been eyeing the rivulets collection from anthropologie for a while now and almost bought the coral, until the goldenrod color came out.  now the yellow is sold out and this gorgeous cobalt blue is available which is my absolute favorite of them all.  the cobalt is a season-less color and i will be able to mix and match bedding accessories to make is fit for spring or winter.  it is also a luxurious, breathable jersey which i love also.  what do we think?

spring re-decorating

irene's apartment
what is it about Spring that makes everything seem new again?  all the beautiful flowers, nasty inchworms, and farmers markets makes me want everything to feel fresh and new again.  time to re-decorate!  my decorating scheme has ALWAYS been buy what you like and make it work.  i don't really believe in the pre-planning and "buying" a whole room at once, but then again, my apartment is also cluttered with junk! *lol*  strange, my sister and i have a really similar home style.  a well-curated display of crap.  one man's crap is another one's treasure! 


anyhoo, matt and i decided that instead of up and moving to a new place like we like to do when we start getting bored...is try to make our space work better for us.  we love our apartment location in Dilworth (less than 2 minutes from both of our jobs!) and other things about it.  the cats love the windows and being able to sit and look out into the street and greenery.  we definitely aren't making the best use of our extra room and attic, that's for sure. 

cluster of artwork from my last apartment
we decided we would focus on re-vamping our bedroom to make it lovely and cozy instead of a "sleeping room" like it currently is.  i have a hard time keeping the room nice looking because i am bratty about my closet space and the closet space in these quirky duplexes always suck! 

our second room i would love to convert to a music room for matt and art studio room for me with a comfy maybe pull-out sofa or something so it can double as a guest room.  we are also finally getting a new sofa, even though i am scared my evil cats will shred it to pieces like they have my favorite huge chair.


a table of accessories at my apartment




irene's shoe rack.  so smart!  the horrors of a huge wardrobe and tiny space.
i've always lived in pretty small spaces for how much "stuff" i have and been pretty good at the challenge of utilizing wall space for storage.  i own a ton of hooks for jewelry and accessory storage.  i also use hooks to display oven mitts and anything else that can be hung on a wall!  fortunately, every apartment i've had recently has had huge walk-in closets for my large wardrobe and shoes....until this one!  now i have clothes and shoes scattered everywhere and need to come up with creative solutions to how to store all my crap. 
 


irene and i both worked in retail as merchandisers so we are pretty creative with coming up with display and storage solutions.  like her ingenius shoe display shown here.















irene's displays her glasses



Monday, April 2, 2012

recipe: healthy tuna noodle casserole





tonight i made a "healthier" version of a tuna noodle casserole.  i know tuna noodle casserole isn't healthy, but we had leftover tuna salad to use up unfortunately.  turned out super yummy.  i tried to cram it with as many veggies as i could.


a root beer float

yesterday was such a nice, warm day.  the PERFECT day for a big, frosty mug of root beer float!  it was my treat of the day!  been eating so much delicious food since
i broke my fast, lol.