NomNom: Strawberry Chia Seed Jam

The amount of fresh fruit that has been consumed this summer has been over the top. I say that it's like a bad thing and it's technically not (hello, vitamin A+C!) but considering how much I'm able to consume in one sitting is…alarming. Strawberries, watermelons, cantaloupes, blueberries, and now peaches. Fruit monster<------me.

When strawberries were in season a couple months ago, I decided to take a jab in jam making because it's one of those incredibly easy things to make that buying it at the grocery store almost seems shameful. It also made me realize how sweet store bought jam is compared to what you can make at home. Not a good thing.

I've mentioned before that chia seeds take on a gelatinous texture when immersed in liquid and the great thing about chia seeds in this recipe is that it will inflate when mixed in with the jam so it substitutes the sugar component by acting as the thickening property.

Oh chia seeds, you and your cool properties.

My breakfast as of late has been spreading my beloved almond butter on top of toast/english muffin and then adding my chia jam on top. Ugh, so good.

Even though strawberries aren't in season anymore, I encourage you to utilize whatever fruit is in season right now (peaches!) and go to town with it.

Have a great holiday weekend. Xo.


Ingredients (Adapted from www.thekitchn.com) Yields 6-8
2 cup strawberries 
Half a lemon, juiced
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons chia seeds

Procedure

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the strawberries and lemon juice. As the fruit heats up and the juices bubble and boil, smash the fruit using the back of a fork until they break down. This should take 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Sweeten the mashed fruit with 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey, to your liking. Add the chia seeds and stir once. Remove from the heat and let the jam set for about 5 minutes to thicken. Cool and transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate. (Makes about 1 cup of jam)

This jam will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge.

Daffodil

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Blouse-Alice & Olivia

Shorts-AE

Shoes-Seychelles

Clutch-Chanel

Bracelets-David Yurman

Necklace-Alexis Bittar (old but similar style here)

Hi everyone! Sorry for the week long absence of posts--work and personal life has kept me busy but I wanted to say a quick hello and post an outfit I wore from a recent date night. With only a couple more days of August left, one of the ways I'm going to hold on to summer is by wearing shorts until I possibly can't.

Hope you're having a great week:) Xo.

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I…

1. Have been snacking on juicy, sweet, ripe yellow peaches non stop. Earlier in the week I went peach picking at Larriland Farm in Maryland and picked a total of 87 lbs of peaches. We went a bit overboard but so far peach consumption hasn't been an issue;)

2.  Dined at Volt restaurant. It was a spontaneous dinner decision to dine there so we were lucky to get seated right away with out reservations (arrived when the restaurant opened at 5:30pm). After looking over the menu, we decided to do the tasting menu which consisted of 6 courses per person. Overall review of this place is that I felt like there were more misses than hits from what was presented. The flavors were mediocre and unimpressive and considering there were only 6 dishes coming out for each person, we didn't finish the meal until 9:30pm which makes no sense to me. Let's put it this way--I had a congee dish that came out and I've had better at my usual dim sum place. Points for presentation though. This restaurant is a pass for me.

3.  Went to my first Nationals baseball game. It was the perfect weather for watching baseball with amazing seats and on top of that, they won! Woot!

4. Grilled. Again. Savoring summer.

5. Went to watch Cirque Du Soleil's 'Amaluna' show at the National Harbor. The story is loosely based off Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and like all the other Cirque shows, it was definitely enjoyable to watch. Was it the best Cirque show I've seen? Ehhhh.


How was your weekend?

Sheer Summer

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Top-Parker

Shorts-Old Navy (old)

Clutch-Prada

Shoes-DKNY (old, similar style here)

Sunglasses-Celine

Happy Friday everyone! I don't know about you but I am so happy the weekend is finally here. An agenda that involves a good balance of lazy mornings (much needed) and busy fun filled evenings with lots of good food and good company is what I'm looking forward to. Tonight I'll be at my first baseball game of this summer cheering for the Nationals!! Who am I kidding? I know nothing about baseball and am only going for the beer, the awesome weather we're having today, and supposedly "really good seats!!" It's Friday. Whatever;)

Cheers to the last couple of weekends of summer. Enjoy. Xo.

The Classics

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Sweater-J.Crew

Shorts-American Eagle (sold out online but similar style here)

Clutch-Prada

Sunglasses-Celine

Shoes- Loeffler Randall (old)

There's nothing like the good ol' white top/denim combo when you just want to keep it casual yet effortlessly classic--this combination never fails. I recently purchased this light summer knit from J.Crew and love the low key, relaxed look to it which is perfect to wear on cool summer nights or use as a layering piece. J.Crew calls it the "beach sweater" which pretty much epitomizes the vibe of the top.

Hope you're having a great week. Xo.

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I….

1.  Was feeling a bit tired and didn't feel like going out so I pretty much decided to stay in the whole weekend. I know, old lady situation going on here. I also had a craving for shrimp pad thai so I cooked up the dish and had a nice relaxing night in with lots of vino. Win.

2. Finally made chia jam using strawberries. I never realized how sweet store bought jam is until I made this incredibly easy chia jam so will most likely be making my own jam from this point on. Toast+almond butter+strawberry chia jam=NomNomNom. Move over avocado toast. Will post recipe soon.

3. Received a call from my SA at Hermes. I have been eyeing the Evelyne bag for awhile now and put my name on the wait list for this bag in the classic orange Hermes color.  Well, the call finally came and I am now the proud owner of my first Hermes bag!!!!!!!!!!!

4. Had a BBQ session to close out the weekend. We had leftover veggies from last weeks CSA stash so decided to grill it all (zucchinis, corn, snow peas, fingerling potatoes). Grilled veggies are just so darn good--in fact, anything with that charcoal taste is delicious which is why we also threw in chicken thighs and a leftover peach on the grill (amazing btw). There are only a few weekends of August left so grilling is going to be squeezed in as much we can because…summer. Next up, grilled homemade pizza.


How was your weekend?

Ripped in LA

Photos courtesy of Elle Choi

Sleeveless chambray-Express (similar here)

Ripped denim-Collection J

Purse-Mulberry

Necklace-Alexis Bittar

Sunglasses-Karen Walker

A couple of weeks ago I went on a mini vacation to Los Angeles and also visited my friend Elle who recently moved out West. She was gracious enough to open up her place for a couple of days and show my sis and I around town during our stay. She's currently working as the fashion director of an online female/male clothing shop, Collection J that recently launched this week, which is where these ripped denim jeans are from. I'm usually a bit weary when it comes to denim with labels I'm not familiar with but I was pleasantly surprised with the fit, comfort, and the perfectly placed rips on the denim. 

Thanks again, Elle for being so hospitable and best wishes to you on your new endeavor! 

Have a great weekend. Xo.

Tribal

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Dress-Lovers + Friends (another similar style here)
Sleeveless blazer-H&M (old)

Shoes-KORS Michael Kors

Purse-Chanel

Sunglasses-Celine

Cuff-John Hardy (old but similar style here)

One of my favorite purchases this summer has been this cheeky cut out tribal print dress from a new to me label, Lovers + Friends.  As always, whenever I find a designer label that fits my body type my interest is definitely peaked. The vibrant colors, the cheeky cut outs, and the fit drew me to this dress and it has been worn several times over the past couple of months for the July 4th holiday, a trip to the winery, and many lunch/dinner outings. (I recently started wearing it with this sleeveless blazer for the evenings when I wanted a light layer to battle the cool evenings). It's hard to believe that we're already in the month of August which means summer will be coming to a close---SAD. But, until Fall weather starts to creep up, you can bet this dress will be on repeat;)

Have a great week. Xo 

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I….

1. Bought a pair of shoes from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I've been wanting to add another pair of leopard shoes and based off the several good reviews and the fact there is a bit of platform in the front which makes shoes more comfortable, made this an easy purchase. 

2. Met up with an old friend for dinner at La Limena (Peruvian/Latin American) in Rockville, MD. We haven't seen each other in about a year so it was a great time of catching up on each other's lives. If you're ever in that area, I highly recommend this cozy restaurant which boasts delicious, authentic Latin American dishes. 

3. Had a quiet morning to myself and when that happens, I will take the time to use my Chemex. I absolutely love this device to make my coffee using the pour over method but it's one of those coffee devices that requires patience because you are basically pouring hot water in a steady stream over the coffee grinds for about 5 minutes. It's so worth it though.

4. Baked the most delicious peach, blueberry, and basil crumble. Now that peach season is upon us, I have been eating 2-3 peaches a day. I'm pretty sure it's sort of an addiction.

5. Bought this Prada clutch I've been eyeing. I love the gorgeous blue hues on it with the saffiano leather. 

How was your weekend?

NomNom: Marinated Watermelon and Tomato Salad

Summer so far has been nothing short of amazing. Testing new recipes with fresh seasonal vegetables from the CSA, a quick and fun trip to LA, taking my running on the treadmill to outdoors, weekend trips to the local farmers market to consume my weights worth of melons/watermelons, all while hanging out with loved ones have brought along great memories for summer '14 thus far.

I'm not kidding when I say this but I could easily finish a 5 lb baby watermelon in a day. By myself. I mean, it's borderline obnoxious how much I've been eating this sweet, juicy fruit the past month and believe it or not, those deceiving looking yellow things pictured are watermelons! I discovered that yellow-fleshed watermelons existed last week (found at the farmers market) and have been consuming them like a boss. I can't get enough of fresh summer produce and today's recipe takes watermelon to the next level. After discovering this salad, I just can't be bothered with eating watermelons by itself anymore, let alone normal looking red fleshed watermelons. #Sorryimnotsorry.

#Kidding.

Summer eating should be about fresh, sweet, juicy, and citrusy things--foods that make you say, "ahhh this tastes like summer" and rest assured, this salad will do that.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend so far. Xo.


Ingredients (Adapted from Real Simple Magazine July 2014: Yields 8)
10 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 lb chopped tomatoes
1/2 sliced red onion
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Procedure
1. Combine watermelon and fresh lime juice in a large bowl. Let sit, stirring occasionally, at room temperature for 15 minutes. (The watermelon will absorb the lime juice as it sits.)

2. Add chopped tomatoes, red onions, basil leaves, olive oil, sat and pepper and toss to combine.