Tuesday, January 31, 2012

1,2,3 - Work

This song's a little bit older - I was listening to it a bunch this summer - but it popped up on my iPod shuffle mode, and I was reminded how delightful it is. Their album New Heaven came out back in June of last year.



1,2,3 is a Pittsburgh based band, and they're touring a bit this March.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Gray & Black

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{Sweater: Anthropologie (old); Tee: Target; Pants: Vintage; Boots: Arturo Chiang (old, similar to these); Jewelry: Michael Kors, Fuchsia bangles, Kate Spade pink bangle, J. Crew tortoise bangle, Viki earrings}

Satin pants and a soft, black sweater with a large cowl for a cold, windy day.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Sauteed Green Cabbage & Scalloped Tomatoes

It's been quite cold and clear here in Portland, so the other night I wanted comfort food. While these were both new recipes for me, they're pretty easy and similar to other things I've made before. Best of all, they're quick, so it was only about 45 minutes from walking in the door that I was in front of the TV with a plate of hot food.

I really like cabbage, and this recipe is great for that extra half you sometimes have lying around, but I wanted to try something new. Orangette is great for ugly vegetables (and cookies, incidentally), so that's where I turned. (I made this while the Scalloped Tomatoes were in the oven, and the timing was just about perfect.) As I was sauteing the cabbage and then tossing it all together, I realized it's basically a warmed slaw, which I think is pretty much perfect for the cold winter months.

Sauteed Green Cabbage with Apples and Red Onion, from Orangette:
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I love any and all combinations of bread and tomatoes, and this treatment is especially good in the winter when you do not have access to great tomatoes. A little time in the oven really brings out a better flavor. All I had were a bunch of grape tomatoes from Costco that needed to be used, and they worked out fine. I also added some chili flakes and just a splash of balsamic vinegar to the tomato, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper mixture before I threw it in with the bread cubes, because everything is better with chili flakes, right?

Scalloped Tomatoes, from Ina Garten:
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All photos mine.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Yellow & Gray

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{Sweater: Gap (old); Shirt: Banana Republic; Skirt: J. Crew; Tights: Target; Booties: Cole Haan; Sunglasses: Karen Walker; Jewelry: Kenneth Cole, J. Crew, Spike the Punch}

A quick outfit post on a cold but clear day: trying to punch up my gray pencil skirt with a bright sweater and necklace and my favorite booties with a sweet zipper detail down the heel (and which are super comfortable despite the height because they have a Nike Air sole).

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Nneka - Heartbeats

This song's been out for a couple years, but I've just recently become a fan. Nneka is German-Nigerian, and just released a new album last year, Soul is Heavy.



She is touring in North America in March.


Photo via.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Momofuku in New York

I spent a long weekend in New York visiting friends from college, and had the chance to grab some food at two of the Momofuku restaurants, Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Milk Bar.

I've owned the Momofuku cookbook for a while now, but still haven't made anything from it. I more use it as a coffee table book and just enjoy flipping through the pages. The recipes are pretty involved, but this blogger cooked her way through the whole thing.

Molly and I got the ramen at the noodle bar, and it was delicious. The broth was super flavorful and a little smoky, and the pork belly was so so tasty.
My sister made her own version of the crack pie for her office Pie Day, and almost won her category, so I was excited to try the original. I was doubly excited that there's a location only a block away from Arden's on the Upper West Side. I also got some of the cereal milk soft serve, and while I couldn't eat it every day, it was a fun treat.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Head and The Heart - Down in the Valley

I've been listening to the entire self-titled album from Seattle-based The Head and the Heart, which was re-released earlier this year. (It was self-released in 2010.) My favorite might be Down in the Valley, but there are a bunch of good ones.




They're also touring this spring, including performing at Coachella. They don't have many west coast dates up yet, but here's hoping they come to Portland. Some of their shows are already sold out, so get to it.



Photo from here.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Winter Wrap Dress

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{Dress: Zara; Jacket: Banana Republic (old, similar to this); Tank: J. Crew; Scarf: Target; Tights: Target; Boots: Arturo Chiang (old, similar to these); Sunglasses: Smith; Jewelry: Bauble Bar, Viki (from here), Kenneth Cole, J. Crew}

Finally wore my new Zara dress (now on sale!) to work the other day. It was so cold out that the scarf and jacket were necessary.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Bookstores at Night

I love this. I can only imagine the amount of work that went into producing it. I pulled it from here, after being directed to it by Go Fug Yourself. They do these great internet round-ups of random and interesting things on Friday afternoons, called Fugs & Pieces. I highly recommend both the entire website and their Friday round-ups.





Image via.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Swiss Lips - U Got the Power

I love love this song. It's the perfect happy, bop along song. Also, the music video is amazing, such an 80's throwback.



You can also stream some of their songs on their website.



Image via.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Red pants

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{Pants: J. Crew; Blouse: J. Crew; Belt: J. Crew (old, similar to this); Pumps: Guess; Jewelry: H&M, Michael Kors, J. Crew}

Just a quick work outfit, with tan and gold accessories. I felt like keeping the accessories neutral evened out the crazy (for me) color pairing.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Smitten Carrots!

I was craving carrots the other day, so I went ahead and bought a 10 pound bag of carrots at Costco. Needless to say, I've been trying to figure out how to work my way through them ever since. Luckily Smitten Kitchen has very handy recipe tags, including one for carrots.

After not cooking much over the weekend, I went on a cooking marathon on Monday night, just in time to stock up the fridge for my darling roommate's return from two weeks in New Zealand.

For dinner that night I made the Roasted Carrot & Avocado Salad from Smitten Kitchen:
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However, I made it with these Miso Roasted Carrots that my sister makes all the time. I didn't have any red miso though, so I just used the white miso I usually have on hand (which you can find at most grocery stores, or certainly any Asian grocery store). I also served it over a bed of spinach to make it into a whole meal.

To stock up the fridge, I made some Carrot-Ginger Dressing, from Smitten Kitchen:
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Have you ever had it on those sweet little salads that you can sometimes get at sushi restaurants? I'd been meaning to try to make an approximation, when a little google research showed someone else had already tackled the project. I plan to throw it over spinach and avocado later this week for quick lunches or dinners. I'm not sure about the red onion though. I think I used too big of a shallot in the dressing, so it has quite a kick, and in my opinion, enough onion flavor.

Edited to add: Sorry iPhone picture of said salad. I did not add red onion, and I was glad for it. The dressing was kicky enough on its own and quite tasty with the spinach and avocado.


I also made some Carrot Soup with Miso & Sesame, from Smitten Kitchen:IMG_1294

I had it for lunch yesterday, with some more avocado added on top after it had been heated, and it was delicious. I also didn't puree the soup all the way. I don't know what it is, but I never feel full after eating totally smooth soups. I feel like I need to chew something for it a be a real meal. So I just use an immersion blender and stop short of totally pulverizing all the solids.

All photos mine.


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

St. Vincent - Cruel

I was introduced to this band by my new friend Brandon, after the thoughtful thank-you gift of the record (which came with a digital download - genius, I tell you). It just came out in September and is great.


I really like the title track a lot, but this music video is just so great:

Monday, January 9, 2012

Fall Colors in January

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{Jacket: Banana Republic (old, similar to this); Cardigan: Olivia Moon; Pattern shirt: Weston Wear; V-neck Tee: J. Crew; Belt: vintage (it was my dad's when he was in high school); Skirt: Halogen; Boots: Fergie; Sunglasses: Karen Walker; Jewelry: Michael Kors, Bauble Bar, Seaworthy (from here).}

Friday, January 6, 2012

Soup & Salad

My sister came over for dinner this week, and we had one of my most favorite salads, along with a new soup, and of course a Grand Central Bakery baguette.

This salad is great, and highly adaptable, you can throw in whatever you want or have on hand. Our version last night had endive, radicchio, radishes, cilantro, fennel, celery, avocado, feta, and goat cheese. I use my mandoline to slice all the vegetables, since there is so much slicing to be done. Or more appropriately, my sister did so much slicing. At one point she was worried she was ruining it by slicing the endive too thinly, so there wouldn't be enough crunch, but I think it's just about impossible to ruin this salad.

Sliced Spring Salad, from Orangette:
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This soup was perfect for a cold winter night. The recipe warns you about the spiciness, and I have a tendency to make things too spicy, so I was quite careful, and ended up with a pretty mild, albeit tasty, soup. It's a good thing it tastes so good, because I seem to be incapable of making soup without filling the pot, meaning I'll be freezing some and still eating it a couple of times this week.

Carrot & Red Lentil Soup, from Wednesday Chef:
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All images mine.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Gray Study



{Cardigan: Halogen, similar to this; Stripe tee and tank: J. Crew, similar to this and this; Belt: Target; Pants: J. Crew; Boots: J. Crew; Jewelry: Michael Kors, Bauble Bar, & Harlow, from this line, bought here.}

Just some quick outfit photos today, pretty standard work wear: pants, shirt, & cardigan. My aunt is really talented at monochromatic dressing, so inspired by her I've been trying it. I used to think everything had to match, but the beauty of an all gray outfit is that they don't all have to be the same color gray, but it still pulls together.


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

SBTRKT - Wildfire


After discovering Little Dragon a couple of weeks ago, I seem to have stumbled back across her as I've been loving this song in which she's featured with SBTRKT. His self-titled album came out back in June, and he's touring now.


Image from songkick.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Black & Brown

I'm still working out my camera issues, so please excuse the sad, sad, reflection camera photos.


{Sweater: JustSweet, from Pin Me Apparel, Shirt: J. Crew, Pants: Gap (old), Boots: J. Crew, Necklace: Christmas gift, I think from Nordstrom Rack, Watch: Michael Kors, Bracelet: J. Crew (old), Purse: Longchamp 'Le Pliage' in graphite, Jacket: Mountain Hardware 'Monkey Woman' in Jewel Blue}

I've been loving these new J. Crew boots, but my default work outfit is usually all black. I've also been wanting to wear this new necklace my mom gave me for Christmas, and so thought I'd see if I could pull off an black and brown outfit, albeit with a pop of bright blue in my favorite jacket. Do you think black and brown work together?

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