Shine On

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Sequin sweatshirt-Alice & Olivia (similar here)

Blouse-J.Crew

Leather (faux) pants-BlankNYC

Shoes-Pour La Victoire

Sunglasses-Karen Walker

Happy (almost) New Year! Wishing you a joyful, prosperous, and healthy 2014. Thank you so much for following along this past year and the continued support whether it be from your sweet emails/comments or kind words while meeting in person--it truly means a lot to me. Xo.

Weekend Comfort

 

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Leather jacket-Theory (old, this years version here)

Gingham shirt-J.Crew

Leather (faux) pants-BlankNYC

Scarf-Zara

Sunglasses-Karen Walker

Purse-Celine

Beanie-Uniqlo

Ring-David Yurman

Hi everyone! Hope you had a nice and relaxing holiday surrounded by loved ones. This weekend is all about family time, hanging out with my sister who's visiting from NYC, and getting errands done before welcoming the new year.

Cheers to the last weekend of 2013! Xo. 

NomNom: Chocolate Covered Peppermint Popcorn

Happy Monday everyone! First, I want to apologize for the lack of posts last week. Some unexpected things came up in my personal life last week and I've been trying to deal with it one day at a time, so blogging was honestly the last thing on my mind. I blog because I enjoy sharing things I love with you, not because it's my job or I have to keep a "blogging schedule," so with that said, my personal life will always comes first. Social media falls after. Although blogging is such an open space to allow random people to peek into your life, I am very much a private person. The irony, right?

Be patient with me. Please and thank you.

Over the weekend, I started to slowly bounce back into my social life and get back into things that make me happy, such as being in the kitchen. Every year, around this time I make something that deals with peppermint candy because not only does it get me in the holiday spirit, but I just love the cool minty flavor when it's mixed in baked goods. This popcorn was an easy-no-BS-once-you-start-to-eat one-you-can't-stop type of recipe that also required very little thinking which is exactly what I needed.

The recipe calls you to crush/whack peppermint candies. I did so with a rolling pin. It was therapeutic.

I then decided to add another layer of chocolate at the end because….I felt like it. I mean, why stop at the white chocolate? It's the holidays so you mine as well go big. Worry about the calories after the holidays.

We'll deal with it together. Xo.


Ingredients
1 bag lightly salted microwave popcorn
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy (~12 small candy canes)
8 ounces of white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli)
4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips


Procedure
1. Pop your popcorn and transfer to large mixing bowl.

2. Unwrap candy canes and put them in a zip lock bag. Put the bag on top of kitchen towel and whack with a rolling pin to crush peppermint candies.

3. Melt the white chocolate in 30 second increments in the microwave until completely melted and smooth. Add the crushed peppermint candies to the melted chocolate and mix well.

4. Pour melted chocolate/candy mixture to the popcorn and stir well to evenly coat the popcorn.

5. Spread the popcorn mixture evenly on lined baking sheet (I used parchment paper).

6. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments until completely melted and smooth.

7. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn with a spoon.

8. Let it set until the chocolate hardens. You can also pop it in the fridge (~15 minutes) to expedite the process. Once it's hardened, break up the popcorns into chunks and enjoy. Store in airtight container for 2-3 days but trust me, it will be gone by then.

Quinoa Salad with Almonds, Apples and Dried Cranberries

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, invites to holiday potlucks and parties might be a bit more frequent. I tend to get slightly stressed when I read the words "potluck" on the invitation and my brain automatically goes into recipe thinking mode. This obviously applies to hosting as welll but that's another kind of stress we won't get into today.

When I come across a dish that is easy, tasty, and visually appealing, I immediately bookmark it under "potluck contenders" and today's recipe is such that.

To somewhat prevent the possibility of *ahem* holiday weight gain which has the tendency to creep up on us around this time of year, I present to you a healthy dish that surely will be welcomed with open arms by your guests (and your stomach).

Not only is this salad gorgeous to look at, with the vibrant colors coming from the cranberries, green onions, and apples, but it makes me feel pretty darn good knowing that a dish that tastes as good as it looks is also nutritious. Win win situation over here.


Have a great weekend. Xo.


Ingredients (Adapted from Food52) Yields: 4 servings
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 1/2 cup water, for quinoa
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 stalks of celery, finely diced
1 cup chopped, toasted almonds
1 bunch (about 5 to 6) green onions, chopped (green parts only)
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped *see note
1 gala apple (really, any kind of apple will do)
1 large lemon, juiced
Generous drizzle of any kind of oil (I used olive oil)
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Procedure
1. Rinse quinoa well. Boil the water with a pinch of salt, and add your rinsed quinoa. Turn your stove down to medium-low and let it cook for roughly 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Fluff quinoa with a fork, and let it cool in the fridge.

2. Preheat a skillet with 1 tbsp of oil and soften your finely chopped onion and celery. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Try not to brown them, 5 to 7 minutes on medium - low heat should do the trick. Set aside in a large salad bowl.

3. Add dried cranberries and green onions to the onion and celery mixture.

4. Core and dice the apple, put your apple chunks in the bowl with the other ingredients. Squeeze the entire lemon over the apple to season the salad and prevent the apple from turning brown.

5. Add your quinoa and almonds to the mixture, drizzle with the oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Season with more lemon juice if you like.

6. Mix well and cool completely. Allow the flavors to meld for 20 minutes before serving.

*Craisins also work but they tend to turn the salad a pinkish hue after a few hours.

Beanie and Booties

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Leather jacket-Marc by Marc Jacobs

Chambray shirt-H&M

Jeans-Rag & Bone

Boots-Vera Wang (old)

Scarf-Louis Vuitton

Purse-Proenza Schouler

Beanie-Uniqlo

Hi everyone! Hope you've been staying warm in this winter chill we've been having this week. I'm not a fan of the cold and am always trying to stay warm by adding on winter accessories such as hats, gloves, and scarves. My ears and hands are always the first things to get cold so it's an absolute must for me to wear earmuffs/hats and gloves when I'm out and about. You can't tell from these pics but I'm super annoyed at myself for leaving my gloves in the car.

Stay warm. Xo.