Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I....

1. Received my online orders from Saks during their Friends and Family event. I kinda went click happy while browsing the site and when I saw several of these rather large boxes filled with clothes, I knew this was getting a bit out of control. Thankfully a couple of the clothes didn't fit well so I will be returning those items. Phew.

2. Finally tried Bikram Yoga. I bought 10 sessions to try out several weeks ago and finally went to my first class. It was definitely...an experience. I'm not used to all that gross sweating within 90 minutes but thankfully I survived the class with out having to leave the room during the session. Gonna head back again this week and am actually looking forward to it. Not sure if it was the class itself or if I was really tired that day but I seriously had the best sleep that night.

3. Met up with my friend for brunch at Vinoteca, located in Washington, DC. I've been there several times during their happy hour and dinner but this was my first time checking out their brunch menu. They have bottomless mimosas for $15 which is always a pleasing thing to see on a menu. Needless to say, my friend and I seized that opportunity for a boozy Sunday. Good times.

4. Painted my nails with a fresh coat of Essie's "Turquoise and Caicos," which by the way is now on my travel list after hearing about my friend's recent trip to Turks and Caicos. I'm by no means talented when it comes to nail art and adding stripes on top of the polish is probably the best I can do.

5. Relaxed with a new glossie while drinking mint green tea. Ever since I bought my mint plant, I've been adding mint leaves and agave nectar to my green tea and it has been a total game changer to my tea game. I think I may have developed an unhealthy obsession with mint green tea.

How was your weekend?

NomNom: Baked Ziti

Hi everyone! Hope you're enjoying the weekend so far. It's beautiful here in Washington, DC and my agenda for the next couple of days will include baking some nutella brownies (!!), meeting up with friends to grab food, and getting last minute errands done before I leave for Germany next week. To kick off the weekend, I made this wonderful one dish wonder of Baked ziti that really was the most perfect, comforting and cheesy filled meal.

I was surprised at how much depth of flavor the dish had and I think it's because whole can tomatoes (instead of crushed) are used and the pasta is actually cooked in the sauce which makes for good sauce absorption. I recommend using whole-milk or low moisture mozzarella cheese versus the pre-shredded kind because well, Test Kichen says it best, "the flavor-to-convenience compromise simply isn't worth it."

I highly recommend making this hearty and comforting meal for your next culinary adventure in the kitchen because it is a guaranteed home run. I promise this recipe will bring a satisfying smile to your face, as it did to mine.

Have a great weekend. Xo.

Ingredients (Adapted from America's Test Kitchen) Yields: 4 servings
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed (recommend the hot Italian sausage if you like a little spicy kick)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
3 cups water
12 ounce (3 1/4 cup) ziti
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Procedure
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Pulse tomatoes and their juice in food processor until coarsely ground and no large pieces remain, about 12 pulses.

2. Cook sausage in 12-inch oversafe skillet over medium-hight heat, breaking apart meat until lightly browned and no longer pink, 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and continue to cook until fragrant about 1 minute. Stir in processed tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes no longer taste raw, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in water, then add pasta. Cover, increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat to maintain vigorous simmer until past is tender, 15-18 minutes.

4. Stir in cream, Parmesan, and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over top. Bake until cheese has elated and browned, 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Spot On

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Cardigan-J.Crew outlet (buy here)

Belt, Top-H&M (from last year)

Skirt-Maje (eyeing a similar one here)

Purse-Chanel

Cuff-John Hardy

Shoes-Pour La Victoire

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope your week is going well so far. Mine has been annoyingly busy and tiring so far which makes my upcoming vacation that much more rewarding. Officially started to count down the days;)

Have a great rest of the week! Xo.

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I....

1. Received my 1st order of skincare products I ordered from Sephora since they were having (use code CHIC until today if you're VIB member) a 15% discount on everything last week. This came at a perfect time since I had to replenish on my favorite skincare products such as Ole Henriksen's Vitamin C serum and Josie Maran's Argan Oil. Some new products I purchased was a moisturizer from Lancome and TARTE Amazonian 12 hr blush in Tipsy which is the perfect matte coral color. I also have another shipment coming in today of Fresh Rose Petal face mask (currently sold out at Sephora) and AMOREPacific eye gel. Both are also new products to me but after researching and reading several reviews, I think that they will do the job I want it to do. Well, here's hoping.

2.  Started researching for my upcoming vacation to Germany. I leave in a couple of weeks and couldn't be more excited for this trip, especially after a busy month. I'l be headed to Munich and Berlin so would love your suggestions/input if you've visited.

3. My beloved Bodum French Press cracked as I was making my daily cup of coffee. I've had it for about 8 months and was surprised that the glass portion cracked already. Fortunately I still had the original box and took it to Bed Bath and Beyond and they let me exchange it for a new one.  Such great customer service.

4.  Met up with Mel to grab Korean BBQ at Honey Pig for dinner. We were both in the same area and close to the restaurant so it was a no brainer to meet up to eat, which is what we do best;)

5. I bought and potted mint. I've been growing cilantro for the past couple of months and now have included mint to the mix. It smells so beautifully fragrant. I took a Moroccan cooking class about a month ago and the class introduced me to the glorious world of mint green tea. Oh my gosh, adding mint to the tea takes it to another level. Since the temperatures unexpectedly dropped over the weekend, I brought my herbs inside so the cold temperatures wouldn't kill it.

How was your weekend?

NomNom: Key Lime Pie

When it comes to desserts, I'm a bit particular with pies. In fact, I'm not the biggest fan. Yea, I know.

Key lime pie is no exception.....until about two years ago. Not sure what exactly happened but the change of attitude began when a friend of mine ordered it for dessert and kinda coaxed me to just give it one more chance. I believe in 2nd chances so I gave it a bite. Or two.

It didn't taste as bad as I remembered it but it wasn't a game changing moment either. It was just okay. I think what happened was that over the years, my palette for all things tart and citrus changed progressively changed. I used to not like anything lemon flavored for the longest time and when I told one of my besties who happens to love anything with a citrus taste, that I was beginning to turn a corner, she was shocked. It was the equivalent of telling someone you started to eat meat when you've been a vegetarian all your life. That sort of caliber.

This recipe tops all the key lime pies I've tasted in the past, meaning I've ordered it from many restaurants. I'm a curious soul by nature, especially when it comes to food, so trust me when I say I've tried them all. The silky smooth texture of the filling is almost custard like but with the addition of some serious citrus punch. It tastes amazing buy itself, especially if you love things tart, but if you want to mellow out the citrus flavor, you can add a dollop of whipped cream. I prefer mine unadorned.

One of the wonderful thing about pies is that it yields many slices. This charming dessert is meant to be shared amongst loved ones over tea or coffee and bonus points if there's good, solid conversation involved.

Have a great weekend. Xo.


Ingredients for Pie (Adapted from America's Test Kitchen)
4 large egg yolks
4 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 1/2 cup juice (5 limes)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 recipe Graham Cracker crust (recipe follows)

Topping (Optional)
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
1/4 cup (1 ounce) confectioner's sugar

Procedure for Pie
1. Whisk egg yolks and lime zest together in medium bowl until mixture has a light green tint, about 2 minutes. Whisk in condensed milk until smooth, then whisk in lime juice. Cover mixture and set aside at room temperature until thickened, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare and bake Graham Cracker Crust. Transfer pie plate to wire rack. Do not turn off oven. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added).

3. Pour thickened filling into warm pre-bake pie crust. Bake pie until center is firm but jiggles slightly when shaken, 15-20 minutes. Let pie cool slightly on wire rack, about 1 hour. then cover loosely with plastic warp and refrigerate until filling is chilled and set about 3 hours.

4. For the topping, if using: Once pie is chilled, use stand mixer fitted with whisk to whip cream and sugar to medium low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1-3 minutes. Spread topping attractively over top of pie.

Ingredients for Graham Cracker Crust
8 whole graham crackers, broken into 1-inch pieces
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons sugar

Procedure for Crust
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Process cracker pieces in food processor to fine, even crumbs about 30 seconds. Sprinkle melted butter and sugar over crumbs and pulse to incorporate, about 5 pulses.

2. Sprinkle mixture into 9-inch pie plate. Using bottom of measuring cup, press crumbs into even layer on bottom and sides of the plate. Bake until crust is fragrant and beginning to brown 13-18 minutes; transfer to wire rack.