tax free

The greatest thing about being in New Jersey is the lack of tax on clothes. It really is such a welcomed change! This is probably why I never go shopping in DC. Also, knowing where you can go to get a GREAT deal on the little items you need means a lot! I haven't lived in DC long enough to find those go-to places yet, hopefully one day (soon) that will come. In the mean time, I'll wait until  my trips up North to stock up on necessities.

What type of necessities?

• Down comforter
• Pastry cutter (this will come in handy next Christmas... why wait 12 months when I can get it now?!)
• Meat thermometer that won't melt in the oven. The instant read just isn't cutting it, folks.
• Pillow covers to keep the feathers in!
• A wood cutting board because ours has a big 'ol crack in it!
• A glass pitcher... that plastic one is great for pool side, but not so much for dinner parties!
• Wine bags, because we like to gift wine and I had nothing to wrap 'em in.

So, where are my go-to places for these items? Home Goods and Amazing Savings. 

I swear the Home Goods on Route 17 South in Paramus is the mothership. They were selling Missoni Home bed sheets for $255 the other day!! My reason for going there was to buy a new comforter, so when I parked I chose not to get a shopping cart because the more room you have to put things, the more things you usually buy! I promised myself I'd purchase only what I could carry (knowing in advance I'd be carrying a down comforter). Of course my first-stop was the kitchen section... how could I miss that?! The silicone cooking utensils were taunting me, but I resisted! I had a set of sheets (no, not Missoni) in my hands but decided against them because I really don't need them. Even though they were 550 thread count... ahh that sounds soft!

Amazing Savings, if you don't know about it, is like your updated five and dime. It has all of your essentials, for really cheap! I got a nice glass pitcher, a wood cutting board, and wine gift bags (only $0.79 each!). Their crafts aisle usually ends with a stockpile of markers in my cart but I wasn't as impressed on this trip. This is definitely the store where you can easily make excuses for why you need an item you didn't know you needed previously!

But, I'm not done yet... a few more days in New Jersey, I think it's time I stop by the clothing stores! But it's so hard, how do I say goodbye to this face, even if it for just an hour! 

homemade roasted red pepper cream sauce

Last night for dinner I made a homemade roasted red pepper cream sauce with cheese tortellini - a recipe I've been meaning to try out for quite some time! I haven't roasted a bell pepper since Home Economics class in high school - so that was like a blast from the past. This was an easy recipe to put together, simple skill-wise, but a little time consuming. To break it up I had a little snack and a glass of wine, pictured above!

Since I'm only cooking for one this week, this may have been a lot of food to prepare! (I also had a salad with mandarin oranges, avocado, and cucumber.) But I had a great time putting it together. The snack was delicious but perhaps a little too much that close to dinner.

Have you ever roasted a bell pepper before? There are so many things to do with them! You can make sauces, soups, top your salad or sandwich. I don't think I've ever had a yellow, orange or green one roasted though... maybe next time!

Watching the skin blacken under the broiler!

Prep bowls lined up at the stove top... diced, chopped, and measured!

Roasted red pepper, basil, and garlic in olive oil!

After blending the above, add half-and-half, butter, and romano cheese. (Really low cal!)

Cheese tortellini with roasted red pepper cream sauce. Delish!

This guy didn't leave my side while I prepared the whole thing!

winter weather

Finally, some snow! Even though I had to leave DC to experience it. This has been a very mild winter so far. Which makes me a little nervous, because I'm now expecting Mother Nature to rear her cold, blizzarding head for an entire 4-6 weeks and then BOOM, Springtime! If my prediction is right, February is going to be rather unpleasant.

Oh well, in the meantime I'll enjoy this mild January and the fun snow from Saturday!! Lucky, my parents' Labrador Retriever, really enjoyed the snow - we went for a walk, ran around the backyard, played with toys... then relaxed inside with some fabulous wine! Okay, so Lucky had no wine - but my stepfather, mom, and I did. And boy was it delicious!!

I get to babysit this pooch for a whole week!! "Lucky" me :)

So handsome in the white snow!

Time for a walk in the snowy weather!

Cakebread Cellars = Favorite Wine!

Resting inside on a snowy day

flit, float, flutter

I have run out of creative titles for my flying trapeze escapades, so I referenced thesaurus.com for some inspiration (aka "synonyms"). "Flit, float, flutter" reminds me of The Sound of Music and it's such a pretty alliteration.

Week 2 of my Intensive Flying Workshop (IFW) this winter and I'm still working out the kinks for my turn-around (not yet video ready) but I'm seeing a lot of little improvements each week - a good sign!!

I'm starting to fly off a rise (a bar above the platform to lift you higher) - the level of thrill, excitement, and sometimes fright, is reminiscent of my first class over a year ago! Last night I caught the back-end hocks-off, off a first rise with an unassisted take-off. [The formula for the previous sentence is "I caught the {trick}, {platform or above platform, and how high} {whether or not an instructor holds my belt}" -- if that helps!]

And in case you couldn't tell, last night's theme was SPARKLES!

Not sure why it sounds like there's a helicopter hovering over head, I promise there was not.

weekend in review

The long holiday weekend was really nice and relaxing!! I started it out by painting a new mani, inspired by this post on the Cupcakes and Cashmere blog. And my surfing on Pinterest last week proved really helpful because I came across this fabulous time-saving tip for half-moon manis! The final product is a mixed mani; half-moons, glitter, and ombre.

These great earrings were a Christmas gift from my friend, homemade from lace!

In the car on the way to Friday's
dinner. New haircut all done up!

Ross and I celebrated Restaurant Week in DC with a Friday night dinner at The Prime Rib. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and service at the restaurant, though I'll admit I thought the food would be better. Typically I tell myself that during Restaurant Week restaurants are churning food out faster than usual and catering to an atypical audience so they're not trying as hard (though that sort of defeats the whole purpose of Restaurant Week). I don't expect the meal to be as good as usual, though there are those few times when you're pleasantly surprised, aka Firefly and Kinkeads, that make you think it has to be possible!

Saturday morning we had a great brunch with Ross' mom at Ardeo + Bardeo in Cleveland Park! I've been wanting to try this restaurant since I lived in the neighborhood -- note, I moved out of Cleveland Park more than seven months ago! They offer a bottomless mimosa two-course brunch for just $25 but none of us were that hungry, or thirsty. I chose the Croque Madame and thoroughly enjoyed EVERY bite... it was super delicious! Getting ready for a brunch and day of errands, I went for a casual chic look on Saturday. Ross told me I looked like a horseback rider, which was OK by me because I was on the equestrian team in college, and believe that an equine-inspired look is very polished!

My favorite over-the-knee boots, with Theory peggings (pant leggings, they have pockets & zipper!),
Theory blouse and blazer, Gucci purse, and no makeup!

Following brunch we treated ourselves to a food shopping trip at Whole Foods! Saturday I made pasta with sweet sausage and brocolette. Sunday was Denver Omelet Cups. Monday was an avocado citrus salad and turkey sandwiches -- I'm fairly certain these are the best turkey sandwiches I've ever made and ever tasted!! They were just simply delicious... made on authentic San Francisco sourdough with gouda cheese, baby arugula, sliced red onion, olive oil mayonnaise, and a cranberry orange chutney; yummmmo! -- Wednesday will be a steak and tomato stew in the slow cooker. To finish things off, Thursday will be shrimp and snow peas with rice. (I didn't include tonight, Tuesday, because I'm heading to Marcel's with some coworkers!!) Most of this week's recipes came from the most recent version of Everyday Food, a monthly digest from Martha Stewart - whenever this arrives I'm immediately inspired! I highly suggest a subscription to anybody interested in cooking.

Denver Omelet Cups - hashbrowns, ham steak, onions & red pepper, cheddar cheese, egg!

Citrus and Avocado salad!

Fresh turkey & gouda sandwich!

Back to the weekend... After Whole Foods we found our way to A Litteri, an Italian market in Northeast DC. It reminded me of the Italian markets at home (New Jersey). There were shelves and shelves of wine, tomato sauce, and canned goods (think pepperoncini, olives, etc.). I just picked up a little bit of Italian bread, hot soppresatta (salami-like meat), and fresh mozzarella. From this I created a quick snack before dinner that was so fresh and tasty, and even used the extra bread for homemade croutons at Saturday night's dinner.

Ross' friend Adriel joined us for that dinner, then we all went up to my friend's birthday party!! I brought her some homemade lemon bars for a sweet treat! Not entirely sure where the inspiration came from, but I had all of the ingredients and the lemon bars were fairly painless to bake up. To finish the night, I met up with Ross and Adriel at The Last Exit, a vintage-inspired bar inside Tonic in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. If you like handmade fancy cocktails, this is the place for you!

Bold pink lips for a night out!

Sunday was the day of rest, and I mean this in the literal sense, not the religious. Some friends came over to join Ross and I for breakfast where I made whole wheat buttermilk pancakes with fresh strawberries and bananas, baked right in!! We served up some orange juice, french press coffee, and hot tea to boot :) Other than that, most of my Sunday consisted of watching movies, napping on the couch, and making Denver Omelet Cups for dinner!!


Ross and I decided to spend Monday out and about in DC!! There are so many great things to do and see, and putting actual time aside makes it so much easier to find our way to these activities. We went to check out the Ice Rink in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art. The line was bearable but we were 45 minutes away from the next round of skaters being let on. We decided to ditch due to the facts; Ross doesn't really care for skating and I'm not a fan of public skating on small rinks since I used to compete in figure skating as a child. But next year the ice skating path will be open at Canal Park, just two blocks from our front door, and I'm (im)patiently awaiting the first day!!! So instead we hopped across the street and visited the Gallery of Art - one of the Smithsonian's that I had not yet visited. We strolled through the galleries for a few hours then found our way to Teaism for a warm drink on a cold day. From there we meandered to Barnes & Noble where I darted for the Cookbook department (duh!) though later found a book that I am tempted to buy as a gift for someone. Don't know who, just someone, but mostly because I want a reason to read it cover to cover and pass it on. What book was it that caught my attention? The History of the World According to Facebook. Never heard of it? Check it out. You will laugh so hard, I promise!

All in all, it was a great weekend!! Saw lots of friends, cooked lots of food, drank lots of cocktails, and rested! Now I have an exciting week to look forward to; dinner at Marcel's, flying trapeze & live band karaoke, dinner with a friend moving to Seattle, and train up to New Jersey!!