It’s going to be a fun night – I will be there to help you assemble outfits from what you find in the clothing swap. RSVP to the party before September 5th and receive 20% off any full-priced item at Wild Child!
Couple Things…
After our night out with Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z we went out to brunch at this amazing Mexican place in Arlington called Acitron, yum!
I wore my top from the Banana Republic and Milly Collection to brunch – it’s so perfect for a summer outing!
Our backyard-grown tomatoes are almost ready…
More typing!
Can you believe platform sandals in her size even exist?! Cute, but a huge hazard for someone who hasn’t been walking even one full year yet…
Late in the week we used all of our leftover CSA veggies from the week (that all happened to be yellow and green btw) and made a salad with farro instead of pasta. Loved it! Have you made anything with farro yet?
Don’t forget to register for my handmade card class AND I have another exciting announcement on Monday!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great weekend!
Handmade Card Class
I have lots of exciting things in the works over here at Styled by Jess and I am SO excited today to tell you about the first one…I am teaching a class this fall on how to make handmade cards! If you read this little blog at all you know I totally love to make and give (and receive – ahem!) handmade cards. And there are so many types of handmade cards – using traditional stamps and ink, jazzing that up with a little embossing powder, using 3D items like buttons and ribbon, and even (as you saw recently) using fun materials like washi tape. So – if you live in the area, please sign up for my class – course description below. Register for the class now!
And for samples and ideas my crafts category has tons of past posts about handmade cards.
Baba Ghanoush
We had so many eggplants from our CSA the other week there was nothing to do but make homemade Baba Ghanoush! Baba Ghanoush is a dish of eggplants mashed with olive oil and various spices. We got our recipe from the farm where we have our share but this recipe from food.com is similar to what I used.
The first step is to roast your eggplant. To do so I cut each eggplant in half and brushed with love oil and then placed cut side down on our baking sheet.
I roasted the eggplant for 35 minutes at 400 degrees. You can also roast them whole on the grill, just make sure to prick the skin of the eggplant. Whatever roasting method you use, you want to roast the eggplant until it’s mushy and the skin blackens.
Let your eggplant cool then scoop out the flesh with a spoon into a bowl.
Add ingredients – (measurements are for 2lbs of eggplant) 3 Tbs olive oil, 1 garlic clove chopped, 1 tsp cumin, the juice of 1 lemon, and 3 Tbs Tahini paste.
Mash together with a fork….
…and that’s it! Serve at room temp with toasted bread or pita chips. Enjoy!
Fall Trend – Sweatshirts
Ok, I have waited as long as I can to really start talking about my favorite subject – FALL FASHION! I love it. I talk about this every year…every year. And this year is no different! So, first up – I’d love to talk about sweatshirts. I know you’re surprised because I literally never wear sweatshirts or talk about them on this blog… but things have changed! Sweatshirts are everywhere for Fall, 2013. Sweatshirts that are meant to be worn as a dressy top, that is. Thoughts? I kind of love it. Maybe because I’m at the stage in life where putting on a comfy cozy sweatshirt is more appealing than a form fitting top, but hey – when is that not appealing? So, I have put together a little group of some of my fave sweatshirts out right now. A few notes – I have included some affiliate links here so please and thank you. Also, you can go way high or way low with this trend (as most trends) so I have included mostly appropriately priced sweatshirts here, because really, who is spending $250 on a sweatshirt even if it’s supposed to be worn as a fancy top? No one I know.
1. Lace-front sweatshirt from J. Crew, this also comes in navy, but I love the cream one with a pair of dark jeans, brown boots, and a brown leather jacket. That’s like the perfect fall outfit right there. 2. Have you seen the new kate spade collaboration with artist Craig Redman? This Darcel Graphic sweatshirt from Bloomingdales is from that collaboration. Who doesn’t want a sweatshirt with a donut on it? 3. I love the colorful print of this Sauce Sweatshirt from Bloomingdales. You could wear this in so many ways – with black pants, colorful pants, it would look really cute with a black leather pencil skirt, too! 4. A.P.C. Blondie Sweatshirt from Nordstrom. That neckline – it just exemplifies a dressy sweatshirt. This one is my fave. 5. I love this sweatshirt trend combined with leather, like in this Foil Sleeve Textured Sweat from Topshop. The faux leather sleeves are amazing.
Legends of the Summer Tour at Fenway
I know, I usually don’t blog about events that are once and done, because what is the fun of that for you? But….sorry….we had such a blast the other night I just HAD to share! My sister and I and our husbands all got tickets to the Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake concert at Fenway Park Saturday night – we pretended we were 25 again, and well…had FUN! A few notes before you view: we began the night at Back Bay Social Club for dinner and drinks, I loved my kate spade Saturday dress for the occasion, and we were thrilled when Jay-Z played Big Pimpin…at the chorus about spendin g’s a guy sitting next to my sister starting tossing dollar bills in the air – it was just that awesome of a night!
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Did you go to the show Saturday or Sunday?! Wasn’t it awesome?!
P.S. You might be thinking “don’t you have a daughter and what about your sister’s kids?” Well, they had a cousin sleepover with my parents – thank you Bambam and Papa!!
Couple Things…
We started the week off right with tons of veggie dishes from our CSA, including these edamame…
…and here they are steamed with a sprinkle of kosher salt.
But by mid-week we were veggie-ed out and ordered Chinese. I got the Best. Fortune. Ever.
Sometimes I wear statement necklaces when I work from home. It’s a little much but hey, with a toddler, I don’t have many opportunities to wear them anymore!
Here I am modeling my new black and white dress from kate spade Saturday. I love the back! I’ll be wearing it this weekend jazzed up with neon accessories when we go to the JT/Jay-Z concert at Fenway – woohoo!
And last, there is nothing cuter than a tiny person wearing a tiny backpack, am I right? She looks so grown up….
Have a great weekend!! =)
What to Wear – Black and White
I have been wearing lots of black and white lately with a pop of color, sometimes in my shoes or bag, or sometimes with a brightly painted nail. Remember my MiniLuxe nail polish pedicure and how great it looked with my black and white GAP tribal pants? Or a few weeks ago when my Z and I had a black and white day? Anyway, I thought I’d put together a complete black and white outfit for you and – since it’s summer sale season – most of the items included today are on sale!
1. I love this little Three-Pocket Tank dress from Kate Spade Saturday. It’s so cute for the end of the summer, then paired with a cardigan as we jump into Fall. 2. Animal bangles are everywhere right now, this Elephant Bangle from a-thread is cute with this black and white outfit. 3. Zoya Dahlia nail polish is the perfect black for a manicure – I love the glitter! 4. I love this Zoey clutch by Milly from Bloomingdales. The pink is my POP of color! 5. Essie nail polish in Marshmallow is great for a white pedicure, and on trend right now. 6. These Sam Edelman Gigi flat sandals from Bloomingdales are great – so basic, able to be worn with everything!
Faux Leather Dress
I have been obsessed with non-traditional leather clothing pieces for a while now, including this leather jumper I mentioned last year at about this exact time. That said, I would certainly be happy with faux leather as it’s more PC and, quite frankly, much less expensive. Have you received the most recent catalog from Anthropologie yet this month? Well, open directly to page 4 and behold – the perfect faux leather dress!
And it’s less than $150!
Right now, I would style this dress as is with a cute pair of simple ballet flats. For Fall, I would wear a simple white button down underneath, polka dot tights, and chunky suede shoes. Now, as a part-time work from home gal who is a mommy to a 21-month old toddler the rest of the time…I just need to figure out when I would actually wear it…
Basil Lemonade
I was flipping through the latest issue of Food Network Magazine the other day and saw a spread of summer drinks with interesting flavor combinations. The Basil Lemonade really caught my eye because we, again this year, have a good amount of basil growing fresh in our backyard. Their recipe used a frozen concentrate so I decided to make my own using a basil-infused simple syrup and freshly squeezed lemonade. This maybe more effort than you would usually put in to make a refreshing (non-alcoholic!) summer drink, but it’s so fresh tasting and delicious that I suggest you take a Sunday afternoon and make a batch before the summer is over…
First, make your basil-infused simple syrup by mixing 1C sugar and 1C water in a pot. Then, rip about 10 to 15 basil leaves into the mixture and let come to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved after a minute or two, let the mixture cool and thicken.
Once the basil-infused simple syrup is cool, poor it through a strainer into a pitcher.
https://vine.co/v/hbXQ5HDWIiV/embed/simple//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.jsNext, squeeze your lemons! You want about 2C lemon juice for this, so I found that to be about 6 normal-sized lemons. I used this hand-held juicer we have that you can find at most grocery stores and even places like TJ Maxx. I roll the lemon to loosen the juices, cut it, and squeeze!
Last, add your lemon juice to the pitcher with the basil-infused simple syrup. To this add 2 1/2 or 3C water, depending on how tart you like it (more tart, less water).
Stir and then serve over ice. And since you put in so much effort to make this drink, use a cute straw and a little basil leaf and lemon rind for a garnish, too. Enjoy!!
Styled by Jess 