I'm very excited about this group effort project- and very excited that I have photoshop now (even though I don't really have a clue how to use it!) and can have somewhat schnazy posts!! Yay.
Likely you'll see less fashion stuff on Almost Daily Ramblings as those thoughts will be redirected to the new blog! So either rejoice that you don't have to read about it anymore (yes I'm talking to you, Dad), or get excited and become a follower of Social Work Couture!
In attempt to find more sanity and gain control (hmm..) I'm cleaning out my inbox! I found this from a dear friend that is worth sharing. It is from The Art of Non-Conformity blog. I find it very much captures my feelings about my "pivotal social work moment." Enjoy!
"Most of the time, the obvious way around an obstacle isn’t the only way. Looking for another option is called the unconventional strategy—when you have the same goal as anyone else, but you find a different way to achieve it. It works in education, career, personal finance, social causes, politics, relationships, etc. Oh, and it can even work in sports and contests too.
Take 27 seconds today to watch this video of a middle-school American football team that adopted an unconventional strategy to achieve a traditional victory.”
Mom got me a new winter coat!! I absolutely love it!!! It's pea coat-esque and has a big "Elvis collar" according to dad. It just feels classy and "big girl work appropriate"! We've been on the hunt for awhile and scored it at a Macy's sale! I'm such a lazy shopper when it comes to things like this - I have to really psyche myself up to try on coats! We found it after trying on probably 20 others! Yeesh! Love it though, so it was worth it! Thanks mom! Sadly, I can't find an image of it online, so you'll have to use your imagination!
I got a free gift from Ulta for spending a certain amount in the last few months. From the list I selected a gel eyeliner. Have y'all tried it? I was nervous, but had been curious for awhile! This was a pretty easy way to give it a try! I use a slanted eye liner brush to apply and find it much easier than liquid eyeliner! I've seen a variety of brush styles for different looks! Mine is a thin brush so not a very dramatic look! Lately I've been staying away from black eye liner and mascara for a more natural, softer look. I got the brown color and it has a bit of shimmer but it's really soft!
In a related note, I picked up this new mascara as a free gift at Sephora! It's PLUM!!! How cool is that!!! I was definitely hesitant, but I really like it and it doesn't scream plum! Again, it feels "soft" - whatever that means for eye makeup!
Sydney from The Daybook did a tutorial on how to imitate her bun. She stated that it was a good style for dirty hair, so one Saturday I gave it a try! Not sure that I'd rock it on a regular basis, but it was fun!
the face of concentration! Still figuring out this picture in the mirror thing!
With my thick hair it probably doesn't look any different than a regular bun, but it felt different and satisfied my need of doing something with my hair!
Speaking of doing something with my hair... I gotta go - hanging out with the in laws today before watching my brother be incredibly awesome at his first real gig!!
Happy Monday! I survived day 1 at work feeling under the weather. It really is a somewhat troublesome thing when you realize staying home will help make you feel better more quickly and prevent the spread of nastiness, however my PTO bank is sadly low, low, lowwww. Lame on having a real job! Really though, the company is very generous with the amount of time off we get, I just have to work for it! I'm sure the is probably a sick policy and they'll let me leave, its just I don't fell bad enough to want to use it. Whatever. Call me hard working or call me a germ spreader! Either way, I plan to continue going to work! Don't worry though, I have the sneeze-tissue blow-hand sanitizer follow up down to a science. BTW, yesterday marked 2 months at the big girl job! *pats self on back* Thank you, Thank you!
So another fashion-y post - blogger Jill GG's Good Life (For Less) posted a few combination of outfits for a reader request (someone that wants easy outfits to wear, but still look fashionable - hello! who does this NOT speak to!?), and I love everything about this outfit! Oh, I have eyes of someone not on a social worker budget. Sigh! But really! How cute is that sweater, sweatery jacket thing, and those moccasins! LOVE!
Click on the link above to see her other pics and links for where to buy!
P.S. Has anyone been watching Private Practice lately? I just got caught up on Hulu yesterday, and oh my word! How intense was that last episode?? Disturbing!
Time to prepare for a fantastic evening in with soup, candles and cozy blankets - AND a new episode of 90210. Living the life! Hopefully a phone call from husband too! Bye bye!
For those of you who don't follow Kendi Everyday, well first of all, you should! She is doing another 30 for 30 challenge (click on the first link for details). I am not participating in this challenge, this time, but it's making my fashion wheels turn! For the challenge, over 300 blog readers are picking 30 items in their closet (including shoes, but not coats or accessories) and using only those 30 items make outfits for the next 30 days! Also, no shopping for 30 days!
I will be following these bloggers as they do the challenge:
I'm hoping that I'll get ideas from them on good items to select, and be able to participate in the next one - or just do it on my own! I feel like if I was in school and not working, this challenge would be much easier! Work clothes make it tricky! But maybe that's a cop out?
Would you ever do this challenge? What are your thoughts?
Hello! I've been so not up on my almost daily ramblings! My serious thoughts are percolating, so check back later!
On a non-serious note, for anyone that has decided that they too like looking at fashion blogs, I've got a new one to share!! It's called "The Daybook" and it is super adorable, charming and well - just wonderful! I love her random snip-its of info from her life with her husband. Cuteness! I really think Kendi Everyday and The Daybook are my 2 current favorites right now! I'm sure many people could easily have negative things to say about fashion blogs, but I really find that it gives me new ideas for different combinations of items already in my closet, as well as a few new cravings... (like the cute stripped turtle neck below!)
Here are some pictures of Sydney from The Daybook!
Fun, right?!
I'm off to Mike's best friends wedding this weekend (sadly without him) and hopefully will get an update in on Sunday! xoxo
Good morning! Had a decent night sleep - thank goodness - and am starting to feel a little more human!! One of the many overwhelming things to me yesterday when I got back to my apartment was the mess that I had allowed to accumulate over the 2 weeks Mike was home!! It was so easy to put stuff on the back burner and just be with him! So - this morning I did dishes and am starting to tidy, and catch up on emails and writing things down in my calendar and paying bills. Woo!
Mevy introduced me to a new blog that I want to share with you: Mila's Daydreams. I've added it to my list of fun blogs to the right side of my blog. This blogger is a creative new momma on maternity leave who tries to imagine her child's dreams and captures it! Super clever! I learned from the FAQ section that the baby doesn't actually take naps on the floor - the mom just places her into the scene and then puts her back into her crib. :)
"An Ordinary Day"
"Swing Low"
"Let's Play Beauty Salon"
Neat, yes?
Here are a random assortment of pics from the past few weeks!
We let Amelia out on our deck.. She found a new resting spot..
Fall fun at a local farm - it had a corn maze and a hay ride!!
Y'all know (or you do now!) I'm always on the lookout for another blog to subscribe to as I'm not finding facebook to be the huge time waster that it once was... and I found a good 'un today!: Kendi Everyday!! I'll add her link to my fashonistas links - check it out sometime!!! I love her About Me section: "People think that when you get married and move to a small town, that you should get pregnant. i started a blog. (it's a girl)" - cute!
And yes, I do feel like a stalker reading other peoples blogs that I don't know, but Kendi clearly has a following with 1,617 followers (as if it makes my stalking not as creepy??.. or just popular stalking?)!
'ello there! Day two of work = success! As I told my mom earlier, I at least don't feel like the bus hit me as hard today! Yesterday was waaaaaay overwhelming and info overload and today was so much better! I actually get to go on a home visit tomorrow! Not for my own client, but it will be nice to do some non-orienting stuff!
Mike got to come home Monday night and left this morning. It was so great to come home to him from work on my first day!! The sweetie that he is, he bought me be-a-utiful fall flowers that look lovely on our kitchen table! They are gorgeous shades of oranges and yellows! Love! And he took me out to dinner for thai, which provided yummy left overs for dinner tonight! I sure do love that man (and not just because he buys me flowers and thai! haha!)!!
I'll try to post more later this week, but wanted to direct your attention to my favorite wedding photographer's most recent post on her blog! The couple clearly has their own sense of style and I think it's pretty fun!!
The other day I found the perfect recipe to use my new KitchenAid for the first time!! Today was the day that it all took place!! That's right, I made homemade vanilla cupcakes and vanilla icing!! As you will see, I took plenty of pictures to document the event! I found the recipe for another blogger, Veronika - check out her cute blog here. This cupcake recipe is from Magnolia Bakery in New York City, featured on Sex and the City.
You can also find the recipe here or read below :)
Pumped to bake!! Woohoo!
Cupcakes - Ingredients (makes 2 dozen)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat(I'm almost positive I overbeat-ed.. easy to do apparently!). Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.
Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Playing with the timer function! I think I look the part of a fancy baker ;)
Vanilla Icing - Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled. Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
As you can gather from the recipe, the icing is super sweet!! I used 7 cups for my icing!
Well I think it looks dang cute!! As you can tell I picked up one of those decorating bag kits for the icing - it comes with 20 disposable decorating bags and 3 different decorating nozzles and when those run out I'll just use a ziplock bag.. but the decorating nozzle things are reusable!
I had one cupcake without icing soon after it was out of the oven - and it was pretty yummy! Not really having much prior experience baking, I wasn't able to identify right away that "oh yeah.. this mix has been overbeated" but it seemed edible so I made the icing and baked the second batch! I had part of a broken cupcake with the icing, and I think it's pretty good! I would try them again and be more mindful of how long I'm letting the mixer mix!
I'm bringing these to a family dinner tonight and will let you know what they say! Regardless, now I can proudly say that my fabulous KitchenAid is no longer just decoration in my kitchen, but an actual appliance! Done and done.
My mom scored a ring organizer for me at a garage sale this past weekend. The original board was ginormous* so I cut it down and put it in a smaller gift box - perfection!
Having my rings all in one place brought up the issue I have with my necklaces. Right now I probably have 5-8 necklaces spread out on my dresser so they don't tangle. This is SO not ideal! I have a hanging organizer like this one, but with longer necklaces, this just doesn't seem to be the best option.
I've seen a few ideas recently in blogs or magazines and couldn't find the original source that gave me this idea, but there are plenty of sites that offer DIY solutions for this very problem!
This means craft project with the pops! I love the idea of using drawer pulls.. not sure how pretty or crafty I will make this as right now I'm really just wanting a functional solution, but as you can see there are many options!!
What are your jewelry organizing tips? Does your method need updating too?
Reallll quick - this blog is listed in my links section under other fun sites, but in case you haven't had a chance to check those out, wanted to draw your attention to this crafty, creative lady!
Inspired by the movie Julie & Julia she decided to do a variation and for the next year to forgo traditional shopping and rely on thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales... "365 days. 365 new outfits. 365 dollars."
I must say, I'm very impressed with her work! She starts with a lot of bold, awful looking pieces and finds a way to make it work! Here are a few before and after shots from her blog!
She is up to day 275 with 90 days and $91 left to go!! What do you think? Could you do this?
Goooood morning! I've been meaning to copy this recipe for myself and figured I'd blog about it too!!! Unfortunately I haven't personally made it, so I can't give you step by step extra Tina suggestions to go along with the recipe, but I have tasted its yumminess. Worth sharing for sure, just not sure how easy it is to make from experience.
2 pictures of the same thing - this one from Ezra Pound Cake's blog
This recipe comes from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties! book and is called Chinese Chicken Salad. So here is my dilemma. In the copy I have from my mom's recipe (which appears that it is right from the book) the amounts are all doubled from what I found online here and here however all recipes say it serves 12? I would be inclined (thinking logically here) that the half recipe... would serve 6! Anyway, you have been warned. As you have the half recipes in the 2 websites above, I'll post what is in her book.
This image comes from Something Sweet By Karen's blog.
Ingredients:
-8 split chicken breasts (bone in, skin on)
-Good olive oil
-Kosher salt
-Freshly ground black pepper
-1 pound asparagus, ends removed, cut into thirds diagonally (we used edamame and it was delish! snow peas would work too!)
-2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
-4 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
-2 Tbl white sesame seeds, toasted*
For the Dressing:
-1 cup vegetable oil
-1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
-1/3 cup soy sauce
-3 Tbl dark sesame oil
-1 Tbl honey
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
-1 Tbl white sesame seeds, toasted*
-1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
-4 tsp kosher salt
-1 tsp freshly ground black pepper.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large, bite-sized pieces.
Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers into strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the shredded chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to tasted. Serve cold or at room temperature.
*Note: to toast sesame seeds, place them in a dry saute pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until browned.
Now I don't know if this is just my stubborn head, but I have a hard time calling something a "salad" when there isn't lettuce in it.. I know, tuna salad, egg salad.. I'm at peace with those salads.. but have the dilemma with this recipe! The first time I enjoyed it, I put it in a tortilla and made it into a wrap! Very yummy, and it made it a wrap not a salad! It really is tasty all by itself too though.. whatever you want to call it!
When my mom made it she cut everything up into small pieces. The second photo above shows everything in much larger pieces.. Just wanted to point that out. Also, she shredded the chicken all the way which made it different as well. I think both ways would work just fine! Using edamame was probably easier too - especially if you just buy the steam kind and prepare it in the microwave - no blanching and plunging necessary!
What do you think? Would you give it a try as a side dish at your next lunch or dinner party?
OK - I've been wanting to do a top 10 favorite list for the summer and finally have my stuff together to do it! Warning: this is a pretty girlie list! One of the many reasons I wanted to start this blog was to share things that I like (from new recipes to fashion to whatever!) that you may like for yourself too! So, get ready for the first ever Almost Daily Ramblings top 10 list!
Number 10: Busken's Skinny Cookie Those local blog readers know my love for the original Busken cookie - and after tasting this "half the fat all the flavor" cookie, I was impressed! Nice work, Busken!
Number 9: Purses!
I've been helping my mom find the perfect purse and it has given me the purse bug!! I particularly LOVE this shape, style and color for fall - this purse happens to be in the fall line of Doncaster! Of course we ran into a few new favorites at the Coach Outlet too, but I resisted as I'm not so much able to be purchasing new purses right now!
Number 8: Almond M&M's
There has been a lot of talk about the new pretzel M&M's, but after trying them, I must say I wasn't all that impressed! I love the sweet and salty combo, but would rather have my M&M's separate from the pretzels. On the other hand, these Almond M&M's are genius! So yummy!
Number 7: Etsy + flower earrings
For those of you not familiar with Etsy, it's time to get familiar!! It is a wonderful website that claims to be "your place to buy and sell all things handmade, vintage, and supplies." I'm currently loving flower earrings. Haven't found the perfect ones, but think that these are pretty fun!
Number 6: Opi's Hong Kong Spring / Summer Collection
I personally love "Hot & Spicy" in this collection - I think it is a fun orange that will take you into the fall. It has enough peachy / pink tones that it's not Halloween-y but still bright and fun!
The Fall/ Winter Collection "Swiss" is also out and has some promising colors - I'm liking the blues and greens: Yodel Me on My Cell, Ski Teal We Drop, & Cuckoo For This Color
Number 5: Big Rings
I know big rings have been in style for probably forever, but I just purchased my first semi-big ring not too long ago! It's a white "square stone ring" from the Limited and I love how the white jazzes outfits up for the summer! It's even on sale now and comes in other colors too!
Number 4:Summer Beer
I am in love with Samuel Adam's Summer Ale! An American Wheat Ale described as "citrusy with a hint of spice from lemon zest and rare Grains of Paradise." Makes a nice change from Bud Light Lime! Note: I think this beer is much better on draft!
Number 3: Cake Wrecks Cake Wrecks is the name of a blog that features disaster cakes - "when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong". This blogger is hilarious!! I find myself laughing out loud at times when I read her description of some of these cakes!!! Definitely worth checking out on a regular basis!!!
Number 2: Hobo International Rachel Wallet
I first became aware of Hobo International while I was living in Tuscaloosa. One of the stores I went to for jewelry had a good selection of their line! This make is pretty pricey, but the wallets are gorgeous, fun and vintage looking! Needless to say, I had been on the hunt for the "Rachel" wallet for some time, but was waiting for the fall line to come out.. yadda yadda. Anyway, after a trip to TJ Maxx I realized they sometimes carry Hobo International! That was enough for me, I was determined to find MY wallet at TJ's for a reduced price!!! Sure enough, the wallet gods (kidding, kidding) were on my side and I found it for 70% off!! SCORE!!! Side note: Maxxinistas, I noticed the other day that they started carrying designer jeans like 7 For All Mankind, Diesel, and Joe's Jeans!
Number 1: Fashion blogs!!!!!!
OMG! I'm so excited about this new discovery!! I love InStyle magazine, but magazines can be so expensive -- this is a total fix! Read: free! My favorite is a blog called The Chloe Conspiracy. Chloe posts an outfit of the day almost every day and includes the picture and links to where you can get those pieces AND similar styles!
She also does another site called See Chloe Shop where she posts daily lists of deals at various stores, and her top picks at each of those stores. My style is not always aligned with hers, but most of the time I really like what she puts together and find that it gives me inspiration for what I can mix and match in my own closet!
Another fashion blog I love is called Uber Chic for Cheap. Blogger Madeline also posts sale info at various stores, in addition to posting pictures of styles from more expensive stores like J Crew and Anthropologie and similar look-a-like styles for less! Gotta love a bargain shopper!
