Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I....

1. Finally bought saffron to add to my spice rack. I've been on the fence about getting this because it's so expensive to "experiment" in the kitchen with but I've been wanting to make a Moroccan lentil soup and chicken tagine which requires saffron in the recipes, so expect to see recipes for it soon!

2. Organized an apple picking outing for my friends and I. My friend and I have been wanting to go apple picking now that Fall is here so I looked up various orchards last week and happily found one (Homestead Farm) that grew Fuji apples (my favorite type). During the research, I found that most of the farms only sell Fuji apples in their market and not grow them so I was excited to check out Homestead Farm for that sole reason alone (they also have more varieties then any other farms I looked into such as granny smith, cameo, sun crisp). I asked Melanie if she was interested in the outing and she was just as excited as we were. The farm is one of the largest I've seen and they have a plethora of freshly grown vegetables in their market. Along with the 17 lbs of apples I picked, I also bought heirloom tomatoes.  I highly recommend this place. Great place for kids as well with pumpkin picking and hayrides going on now.

3. Went to brunch at Sugo Cicchetti (same owners as Cava) after apple picking. I've been here for dinner which left a good impression on me so I was curious about their weekend brunch. We didn't realize that brunch was unlimited ($30 including drinks) which was fine by us since it was a better opportunity to try as many dishes as we wanted to. Highlights for me from the brunch were the chicken and waffles, deviled truffle eggs, and the breakfast pizza. Great place for brunch with friendly service.

4.  Met up with my mom for a mother/daughter shopping date. She's been on the hunt for a new bag to wear casually and wanted my input on a couple of bags she had in mind. While shopping at Neiman Marcus, we noticed Christmas decorations were displayed already. What happened to Thanksgiving?? I'm still trying to enjoy Fall...let's slow it down. I mean, really.

5. Wanted to share a couple of new hair care products I've been loving lately. Aside from the fact that I need to get a haircut, the ends of my hair have been dry and damaged from the coloring. I will openly admit that I am the worst when it comes to caring for my hair so I decided to change that and look into hair products that might help. So far I've been using a keratin treatment from Pantene after showering which makes my hair feel so soft once it dries. I decided to also start using a heat protectant spray for my hair when I either curl or use a flat iron to my hair and the 'heat defeat' one from John Frieda is excellent. So...I haven't used hair spray since...high school? But I got a blowout at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon a couple of weeks ago and I noticed they used hair spray to set my curls so while talking to the hair stylist on suggestions for good drug store brands, he recommend Loreal Elnett. I've also read such good things about this hair spray in magazines so I've been using it for my curls to set and it really does its job. After being out for 14 hrs, my curls still stayed in place without it having the hair look like it has any product on it (pic on the left).


How was your weekend?

NomNom: Banana Mocha Chip Muffins

Bananas have the tendency to give me a bit of anxiety. It's the one fruit I always have in my kitchen because they're included in my green smoothies, but it's also the one fruit that ripens really quickly. Can't.keep.up.

Usually when they get to the point of looking bruised and beyond ripe, I'll freeze the bananas to use for later. But this time I had a hankering for banana bread and decided to try a different take on it with this recipe today. It involves banana, chocolate chips, and coffee granules which in my world is a nom nom nom trifecta. Not only are these muffins moist, packed with natural banana flavor, and oozing with chocolatey goodness, but they make your house smell amazing. Fact.

Since I made 2 dozen of these little goodies, I gave half of these out to friends and they texted me the day after requesting I make these again <insert huge grin>. This recipe is definitely now on my baked goods recipe file and should also be added to yours. Just saying.

Have a great weekend. Xo.


Ingredients (Adapter from Taste of Home: Recipe Card Collection) Yields:2 dozen
5 tsp instant coffee granules
5 tsp hot water
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure
1. In a small bowl, dissolve coffee granules in hot water. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Beat in the bananas, vanilla and coffee mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.

2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. 

A Little Camo

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

3/4 sleeve Painter tee-J.Crew (They're so comfy, I have these in 2 other colors)

Leather (faux) skirt-F21

Clutch-Marc Jacobs

Camo baseball cap-Express

Rings-Gorjana & Griffin, Urban Outfitters

Necklace-H&M

Shoes-Pour La Victoire

Sunnies-Karen Walker

Happy Wednesday everyone! The camo trend is something I've been having mixed feelings about. I'm personally not a fan of prints on pants so camo pants aren't something you'd find me wearing, no matter how trendy they are. However, I do like to slowly ease my way and experiment with trends that aren't in my comfort zone which is why the camo print on a baseball cap is the perfect starting point. Not only do baseball caps give you a downtown cool girl touch but the military-inspired print on the cap makes it super stylish. For now, this is all the camo I need;)

Have a great week. Xo.

 

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I.....

1. Dined at Nostos, a Greek restaurant in Vienna, VA. It was my time eating here and was completely blown away by this hidden gem. From the food, ambiance, and warm and welcoming staff, this restaurant is definitely a happy discovery. Some of the stand out dishes that night we ordered were the htapodi (grilled octopus), paidakia (lamp chops), and melitzana fournou (baked layer eggplant w/ feta, tomatoes, mint and parsley). I'm still thinking about the perfectly grilled octopus...

2. Received my online order of this moto jacket. I've been on the hunt for a reasonably priced one and this one from Cusp NM fit the bill. It has a metallic sheen to it which ups the cool factor. 

3. Started reading a new book from J.K Rowling. She wrote this crime fiction novel under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith and since I'm a fan of her writing from the Harry Potter days I'm curious to see how she branches away from fantasy writing. 

4. Finally received this necklace I ordered about a month ago that's been on back order. It finally got restocked and was delivered over the weekend. I've aways been a fan of statement necklaces and this pearl cluster necklace from Kenneth Jay Lane is a perfect addition to my jewelry collection. 

5. Went to eat at a hole in the wall, off the beaten path, Bolivian restaurant in Arlington, VA with a friend who highly recommended this place to me. It's called Perla del Valle and they only serve Bolivian cuisine on the weekends. Since this was my first time eating Bolivian food, I was asking our server about the dishes and she explained to me that all of them would have some sort of bean, rice, or potatoes which are traditional Bolivian staples. I ordered the Silpancho which is breaded beef (reminds me of a schnitzel) over a bed of rice and potatoes, topped with two fried eggs and pico de gallo. The beef was incredibly juicy and flavorful considering it was breaded and when you mix it with the buttery rice and runny eggs...OH MY WORD. Solid. And I finished my plate. Boom. 

How was your weekend?

NomNom: Chickpea and Tomato Salad with Fresh Basil

I know that summer is pretty much a goner but I've been having a hard time letting go of basil, my favorite summer herb. Attachment issues, much?

I'm pretty sure I ate my weights worth of caprese salad over the summer and I'm totally ok with that. Fresh mozzarella tossed wtih tomatoes and fresh basil leaves which are all together drizzled in olive oil and balsamic glaze is serious bliss to me. So when I came across a variation of the caprese salad, I knew I had to make it....call it my last ode to summer.

The original recipe called for just tomatoes, chickpeas, and basil but I decided to get fancy and add avocados and mozzarella to the mix. Not having any sort of cheese in my salad is blasphemous and that's just not allowed.

I decided that every time I get nostalgic about summer during the fall/winter I'm going to whip up this incredibly easy, flavorful, not to mention healthy, salad to take me back to those warm, sunny days.

Let's reminisce as we eat this awesome salad together.

Have a great weekend. Xo.


Ingredients (Adapted from http://greenlitebites.com/2011/06/20/chickpea-and-tomato-salad-with-fresh-basil/)

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
About 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (I used beefsteak tomatoes)
25 large basil leaves, chopped
1 ripe Hass avocado, cubed
Fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp honey
pinch of salt

Procedure
Toss all the ingredients together and let the flavors settle for 25 min. in the fridge.