Monday Mood Booster

I think most of us know that an outfit you feel fabulous in can make you walk a little taller, boost your confidence, and generally make your day a little better.  Do you ever do this on purpose??  I did. 

My office doesn’t have a strict dress code at all, but even still everyone pretty much dresses business/business casual most days and more casual on Friday (although if I felt like wearing jeans tomorrow no one would care...)

I also LIKE dressing up and usually always prefer dresses and skirts over pants, but I tend to mix it up depending on my mood and the weather.  This past Monday wasn’t anything special, but it was sunny out and I just felt like putting a little more effort in and it really did make me happier throughout the day!

I don’t know what it was exactly, but I just really liked this outfit!

(the lighting + iphone didn’t make for the best photo) 

• Navy blazer – Banana Republic outlet
• fitted white T-shirt
• light pink skirt – Banana Republic (recently!)
• grey tights – Nordstrom (DKNY)
• navy belt – was my grandmothers
• necklace – Forever 21
• T-strap heels – Nordstrom (Seychelles)

Close up of the shoes! (Grey, gold, and yellow)

  These were one of those pairs of shoes that were on the sale rack and I loved, but of course was wondering what I’d wear them with.  I’m telling you, those are ALWAYS the shoes I end up loving most!!  Once you stop worrying about “matching” them to your outfit, they become  an awesome accessory that will add a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to a “normal” outfit!

Dinner Ideas: Quick and SUPER fast!

First, the quick.

Remember that incredible Mac and cheese I had at my aunts house??  The one that used “low carb” pasta??  Well I bought some.  I’m not trying to go low-carb or anything but it was actually really good pasta!

It’s Dreamfield’s brand pasta, and bonus points for having more fiber and less carbs :)

(source)

I like my pasta al dente and this had a superb chew to it!  LOVE it!

I had some asparagus on it’s last legs, and a handful of green beans to work with.

I was also in the mood for lemon and sun-dried tomatoes…but not just any sun-dried tomatoes!  The Santorini sun-dried tomatoes we brought back from our Honeymoon!

It’s crazy how different they are than the regular sun-dried tomatoes you buy!  The color is much darker and they have a much more rich, sweet, deep flavor.

Lemon + Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 T olive oil
• 2-3 T chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• splash (approx 1/4 cup) white wine
• juice and zest from 1 lemon (add less if you prefer…this was VERY lemony!!)
• pasta of choice – about 1/2 box ( I used penne)
• 1 bunch of asparagus, hard ends removed and cut into bite size pieces
• 2-3T ricotta (optional)

1. get water on the stove for your pasta
2. add olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat on medium
3. Add garlic and shallots, stir and sauté for 2-3 min
4. add sun-dried tomatoes, cook another 1-2 minutes
5. pour in wine, lemon juice, and zest and stir while scraping the bottom of the pan.
6. simmer on low
7. Meanwhile – cook pasta according to instructions on the box, while adding in the asparagus (or other veggies) for the last 1 min.
8. Strain pasta/veggies and add to sauté pan with the sauce.
9. Salt and Pepper to taste.

At this point I thought it was actually TOO lemony!!  Which is crazy coming from me, but this is when I stirred in a big heaping spoonful of part-skim ricotta and stirred that in.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese! (I used the Romano and it was fantastic)

BIG fan of this meal and this pasta!  Try it out!!

  

Now for something SUPER fast!!

I call this: Burrito (or tamale) Salad!

I suppose you have to like frozen burritos for this one, but I don’t think that’s a stretch for most people.  I love to cook, but having a couple savior items in the freezer is always good especially when you get home late and just want something super fast!

My current favorite product for this meal are Trader Joe’s tamale’s

(I actually like the beef version better than this chicken and cheese one)

Directions.

• Fill a bowl with your favorite salad items: baby spinach, lettuce, onions, peppers, carrots… 
• Heat burrito or tamale according to instructions
• Cut cooked tamale into pieces, and place on bed of salad
• Top with salsa and sour cream
• maybe even a squirt of fresh lime juice!

Enjoy.

5 minutes later I had dinner.  I just used some baby romaine lettuce and chopped red bell pepper.

Sure you can use Greek yogurt for the sour cream (and I’m all for that substitution in baking or cooking), but for me, nothing beats real (light!)sour cream…mmm.

Lovely.

About that salsa…  Homemade is the best, but we usually end up buying our salsa.  So what’s your favorite brand???  I can’t seem to find one I love.  This is Newman’s Own brand and so far I really like it, but I like trying out new ones!

My Computer Hates Me

Soooooo my lap top has "sh*t the bed", if you will.  I can't even turn it on without it immediately going Blue Screen of Death on me. So that would be the reason for my lack of blogging lately which stinks!!

I'm actively looking for a new laptop, but for now I'm on Brian's netbook...which is fine for browsing, but I really hate blogging on this thing! He runs Linux instead of Windows so I can't get Live Writer and therefore I'm blogging through BlogSpot which just takes SO much longer.

In light of this I'm going to basically do a re-cap for you; highlights of the past days...

Saturday Brian and I were invited out on our friends boat and we took it from Boston down to Cohasset (south shore of Mass). During low tide there is a sand bar you can beach on.

I forgot how cool Boston looks from the harbor...I love it here.

Um, yes I'll take one of these:  (this house was right near the sand bar…ridiculous)

Brian brought me fresh local peaches and local sunflowers home from Idylwilde farms.

I enjoyed said peaches on Olympus brand Greek yogurt, with some Bob's Red Mill Muesli!

First time trying this brand (it was on sale at WF's)...LOVE it!! It just seems so much more creamy than any other brands I've tried.

Sunday, dinner at Mom's!

She made some DELICIOUS grilled lamb, a fresh salad, and a citrusy Giada side dish

Fresh picked tomatoes for the salad. There are NO tomatoes better than ones you've picked within an hour of eating.

I donated the cucumber from my garden

She made an Orzo salad based on Giada's recipe for Fregola Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion.

I've actually had my eye on this recipe for a while so it was funny that she made it! Too bad I didn't know because I actually have a bag of Fregola! At least I know if I made this sometime, I would cut down the oil a little, and add some fresh orange or grapefruit juice. I needed a little more acid to cut the oil. The flavors were delicious though.

The Marinated lamb was SOOOOO good!!  I can’t believe I went so many years “not liking” lamb when I was a kid…stupid. 

Dessert: Angel Food cake (from WF's), freshly whipped cream with a little chocolate syrup whipped in, and fresh strawberries.

other things...

This is going to be my latest expensive downfall! I finally hit up the Trail Mix bar at WF's and my mixture was SO good!!

Tried a new burrito! They were also on sale at WF's, and Brian has a slight obsession with burritos.

(note the brand name is “love” backwards:)

The Veggie Fajita was pretty good! It looked very fresh, and I loved how you could see all the colorful veggies inside. I added some sour cream and hot sauce. Could of added some salsa too but didn't have any.

I tend to always "doctor" up frozen burritos so this was no different than other brands, but it was a great base and I would buy them again!

                  
Ok I think that pretty much sums things up.

Hopefully getting a new computer this weekend...any recommendations?!  I know people say Mac, but I just don't really want to spend that much right now, and I don’t need it :)

Friday is my good friend's wedding!! I'm doing her make-up and also a reading at the ceremony...can't wait to leave work early Thursday to head down to CT for wedding festivities!

Hope I see you sooner than later!

~B