Leaping the Year!

Nothing new outfit wise here...you've seen this polka dot dress from Penneys before BUT I am getting my figure back after the baby! These were taken just a few weeks after I got home from the hospital. I must say I am really happy I only gained weight in my tummy and bust because it does seem to have shifted pretty quickly :D

 

And to celebrate today when traditionally in Ireland a woman is allowed to propose to her man (a silly patriarchal tradition I might add...) I watched Leap Year even though I've seen it before and the story is so ridiculous and stereotypical it is more of a comedy than I think it is supposed to be!

Xx

Broccoli, Chicken, & Noodle Casserole

We had a huge head of broccoli on its last leg, so I decided to make use of it.  I used a recipe from Skinny Taste.com that can be found here.  I have adapted it slightly though.

Preheat your oven to 375.  Start your water on high so you can boil your noodles. Fry up some chicken (I used 3 breasts) with a smidge of butter then shred the chicken pieces.

Saute your broccoli with some garlic and oil.  Cover the pan and let it cook for 3 minutes.  Set it aside.  You can use your pan with the broccoli and garlic juice to make the gravy that is going to mix everything up.  Fry onions (I didn't have chives), add 3 tb flour, then 1 1/3 cup chicken stock, and 1 cup of milk.  Whisk together.  Bring it to a boil then simmer for 6 minutes or so, until it thickens.  Then throw in the cheddar cheese and noodles.  I almost wanted to stop there because it was almost a super tasty mac and cheese!

When it is melted throw your broccoli, shredded chicken and noodles in.  Once it is all covered put the mixture in a baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  I topped it off with some cheese and panko bread crumbs. They have such a great texture!

Welcome to the World

Well it has been little over a month since I posted an outfit here. I have been quite busy and here's the reason why! Say hello to my handsome son, Rory!

And yesterday he was one month old. We took a picture with a sign my friend made to mark the day!

So you can see why I've been missing from the fashion world for a while. Haven't been wearing anything other than comfy lounge wear and that didn't seem too exciting to post about! Hope you are enjoying your Wednesday...halfway to the weekend :D

Xx

Marriage does not equal death

I went out on Friday night with a friend to Cavo bar in Lincoln.  It is a SUPER fun bar that has a drink I now love called the "Moscow Mule".  You can read about it on wikipedia here.  It basically has vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer or ginger ale.  It is so tasty when watered down a bit by the ice.

While out I was enjoying dancing with my friend and other fun people.  I wasn't interested in dancing with guys.  So usually I would keep a distance when guys came to dance with me.  One asked me if I was from Lincoln, I said no I recently moved here with my husband.  His response was to ask why I would be out and about because I'm married!??! Do single men really think that once you get married you fall into a hole and die?  I am totally cool with my hubby going out with his boys sometimes and I know that Shea feels the same way.

I don't really have my "going out" clothes here with me.  I ended up wearing a comfy paint splatter patterned dress from Forever 21.

Looking at the pictures I'm surprised anyone talked to me! I look a bit crazy!  I paired the dress with my black turtle neck, black leggings, and Aerosoles black leather boots.  I have been wearing turtle necks A LOT lately.  They keep me so toasty warm!

Wearing Wellies

So I thought I would add to Angela's post from Thursday. I do think that wellies can fashionable but it does depend on the style and what they are worn with. Here are some examples of it done right IMO.

The Hunter brand is really popular with celebs but I think there are other ones that are fun too. Like these for example...love the bows!

I actually don't own a pair of them. I have been on the look out for a pair that is perfect for me but haven't found them yet (not that I can afford anyway!).

Fabulous Friday

Once again, it is time to play "Give it a Miss, Give it a Go or Give it to Me" where I'll post pics of celeb outfits and you can tell me whether you wouldn't wear it (give it a miss), like it and might wear it (give it a go) or love it and want it (give it to me). 

 Here is this week's contender...Michelle Williams! All pics taken from Go Fug Yourself and you should check out that site too for some very witty stuff!

So, what do you think?

THE Christmas present

Some people think it's weird that in my family we let eachother know what we want.  It is actually quite helpful! This particular fur vest from Zara caught my attention.  It was $70.00, which is far more than I would pay for a fun item that is not work related.  I thought this had the perfect combo and I LOVED it.  Grandma bought it for me...and it was definitely one of my favorite Christmas presents.  I have worn it a few times, but I didn't think the outfit was quite blog worthy.  This one was fun though.  I wore a black turtleneck dress, black leggings, and black leather Aerosoles boots.  For accessories I added two gold necklaces from Premier jewelry.  The pictures ended up a bit dark...but you get the idea.

One fun memory I have from Shea's wedding is a very serious conversation I had with a lovely friend of hers. He is quite a fashionable gentlemen.  He insisted that wellies (aka galoshes) were really never fashionable.  I insisted that if worn with a dress or skinny jeans they could be fun.  I am happy to report that Shea agreed with me that galoshes COULD be worn fashionably.  I hope she'll find the look below an acceptable one.

I happen to have a leopard print pair of galoshes from Nine West that I love.  

It happened to be a rainy day I wore the above outfit.  Here is my rain-ready version :o).

Black and Tan

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

                           

Love this pic from here.

And...I love these super cute gloves made for hand holding :o).

Pic from here.

To the outfit.  Sorry...no Black and Tan Bass Ale here.  For some reason I am really into wearing summer dresses this winter.  Here is another Plato's closet special.  I wore this black and tan striped dress at work with a black turtleneck, black leggings, and brown leather Aerosoles boots.  For work I added a black Antonio Melani jacket.  For accessories I added adorable gold flower earrings (that I need a close up picture of) and a gold Eiffel Tower necklace.  For a fun mix of patterns I wore Nine West leopard print pumps with this dress.

Metal Accents

Plato's closet is definitely one of my new favorite places.  I found these brown Anne Klein leather boots for $17.00 dollars!  I wore this Antonio Melani dress with a brown tweed Banana Republic jacket.  For accessories I wore pearls strung on metal.  I thought the metal accents on the necklace paired nicely with the metal detail on the front of this dress.

Butterfly shape

I have noticed sweaters and some dresses lately with a lovely wing shape to them.  This was a dress from the clearance rack at Kohl's...another re-purposing of a summer dress for winter!  I thought the crochet work was fun also. I wore my butterfly dress for a seed exchange.  I'm really hoping to put in a garden at our new house in Lincoln.  Community-Crops, which is a Community-Supported Agriculture Program, organized a seed exchange.  I got some great seeds that I hope to put to use.

I took these pictures in the fancy part of town where there are huge and gorgeous old houses, near the old Country Club.

I wore brown leggings and brown Etienne Aigner boots, ivory turtle neck, and dress from Kohl's.

Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Tomatoes and Cilantro

I found a tasty recipe to use up some extra coconut milk that we had on hand.  This recipe was originally on Skinnytaste.com.  This ended up having such a clean and crisp taste.  I loved it! Somehow we didn't have any lime juice, so I ended up using blood oranges.  Blood oranges are creepy! They actually have a red juice!


Ingredients: 

• 1 1/4 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (weight after peeled)
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 1/2 cup cilantro - dry would work.  The taste of fresh cilantro was AMAZING!
• 4 TB garlic (I am lazy and use the pre-minced kind from a jar)
• kosher salt (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 14 oz can light coconut milk (50% less fat)*
• 1 blood orange, squeezed (1/2 in cooking, and 1/2 of the juice for when it's on the plate).

Directions:

In a medium pot, heat oil on low. Add red peppers and sauté until soft (about 4 minutes). Add scallion whites, 1/4 cup cilantro, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, coconut milk and salt to taste, cover and simmer on low about 10 minutes to let the flavors blend together and to thicken the sauce.

Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes. Add orange juice.

To serve, divide equally among 4 bowls and top with scallions, cilantro, and orange juice.

Mix & Match

I've been enjoying mixing patterns lately.  The other day I used the neutral palatte of an ivory White + Warren sweater dress to do such a mix.  I wore a brown and blue tweed jacket over the top.  I added some snakeskin boots for some fun.  I wore black leggings also.  I'm not sure how this look came off.  I cut off the tip of my boots in these pics so you can't see a proper view of them :(.  They have a square toe.