Purple potatoes….

Hello!  So, I usually do a post about fashion or photography but today I decided to mix things up a little bit: a food post!  Last night I made an incredibly pretty dinner that I really want to brag about.  I had a big salad, scrambled eggs and (get this!) fried purple potatoes.  I was a little scared to try the potatoes because, well, they’re BRIGHT purple, but they taste just like regular potatoes and they’re twice as pretty 🙂

After dinner, my mom and I  went outside and sat by the bee hives and watched the sun go down and then we watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound.  Ahhhh,…..what a perfect night!

Yesterday, I also finished reading Friend Green Tomatoes (which was absolutely amazing!) so I need to find another book to start.  Any ideas?

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Spicy Mexican scramble

eek…i’m doing a very bad job of posting every day as was the original plan-  eliza and i gotta get it together! lately i feel like i’ve been more busy these last few weeks than i am during the school year, and it’s still summer! i’m sooo not ready to get back into the whole academic mindset yet, so thank god there’s till nearly a month more of freedom. i feel like every day, no matter if it’s filled only with mundane errand-running and work, needs to be savored at this point, cause i know that despite how busy i feel now, in a month i’m really going to be missing these long summer days.

anyway, onto the point of this post. one of my very favorite things about summer is the fact that i actually have time to cook dinner each night. last semester, after being at school and work from 8-5 every single day, coming home and making a good dinner was an unbearable thought, especially when i knew i had a good 3 hours of homework waiting for me. but lets not think unpleasant thoughts- it is still summer! i eat a lot of mexican food, especially when it’s hot out, but this is better than my standard, weeknight burritos that i usually make. i just served it with some brown rice, but it’d be extra good if you had some guacamole and chips to go along with it. try it!

oh, and on a side note, does anyone have any suggestions for good, quick, semi homemade dinners that might be handy for the aforementioned school nights in the near future? (yuck.) i’m trying to plan ahead here…and quick, easy meals are not my specialty.

Spicy Mexican Scramble

adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

1 bag of Morningstar or boca soy crumbles

1 red bell pepper

1 chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic

olive oil

paprika

cumin

chili powder (i just threw in as many spices as i wanted, i didn’t measure)

cayenne (optional, if you’d like it a tad spicier.)

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil, then add the frozen soy grounds and sliced bell pepper. Cook until the onion are clear, and the soy grounds are chewy and slightly browned. Scoop into flour tortillas, and top with grated cheese, chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado, salsa, sour cream, and any other toppings you like.

In Recent News

a good chunk of the past few days was spent mourning the loss of our local borders, which is closing in a couple of days. literally the only good bookstore in town, it’s been my#1 hangout spot for years; THE place to kill time and relax with an iced coffee and a stack of books, or to go on a rainy day when you had nothing to do. i have countless memories of time spent studying, or meeting up with friends before a movie or dinner. we all went there this past saturday night and wandered around in a daze, trying to accept the fact it would be the last time. the shelves were already just about empty, and the cafe was already closed down. it might sound melodramatic, but it was literally my very favorite place in town, and the thought that i will now have no place to just go and wander through stacks of books, and will only be able to order books online from now on, is super sad. i really can’t imagine this town without it….:(

pretty much the rest of this past weekend was spent trying to distract myself. donuts and ice cream were consumed. yay for stress eating! here’s a brief glimpse of the past week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5wcLl13a8s – Click link to listen

lots of cole porter was listened to while i blogged, played with the kitten, and hung around the house during my two half days off last week. nothing can ever beat the classics. why don’t they make music like this anymore??

my mommy brought me back super cute vintage bouys from the coast, which go nicely with the new nautical theme that i’m attempting to deck out the apt with.

french bread and really good cheese make for a nice night in.

ultra cheap, cute j crew shirts finally arrived! my financial goal was once to be able to afford j crew…now that i’ve accomplished this (and realized it’s actually rather cheap when on sale…) i guess i’ll have to set new goals. banana republic maybe?

and speaking of bargains…i got this little bag from target, which looks KINDA like the mulberry bag that i love so much, which costs roughly what it would take to keep a small country alive for a few days. i love target…

Modeling….

Hello everyone!  Several months ago, a friend of mine asked me if I would model a dress that she was making to enter in a contest – of course I said yes!!  So, the absolutely gorgeous dress was made, the makeup was picked out, the hair style was chosen and the location was selected!  Although we did not win the contest, we both had a ball taking the pictures – here are some of the best shots.

Enjoy!

Flying away on a pretty summer day!

Out of Africa

i’ve had books and magazines on the brain all weekend (explanation in next post…) and although as an english major, i try my best to fill my head with at least somewhat decent examples of writing, i have to admit i have a weak spot for some of the “trashier” types of literature. fashion magazines and light summer reading would definitely be a guilty pleasure of mine, and sometimes there’s just nothing as nice as sitting down with a stack of vogues or marie claires. i can’t help it…i’m girly.

on that topic, i recently stumbled across these photos from my very favorite issue of vogue. ever since i saw out of africa the first time, i’ve been obsessed with african landscapes and safaris. these have to be the most gorgeous pictures i’ve ever seen in a magazine – nothing trashy about these. makes me want to wear shirtdresses and sturdy boots and go on a safari. take a look….

the picture on the left reminds me so much of meryl streep and robert redford in out of africa

It’s Easy Being Green: B.Y.O. Bags

first of all – this week has been insane. anyone else REALLY looking forward to the weekend? 13 hour work days, random sinus headaches (i think this entire town is mildewed from all the recent rain…) and inexplicable bouts of insomnia are not exactly my idea of fun, especially when combined. ugh. however! it’s almost friday…which is my half day this week! yesss! anywho, onto more important matters…such as sharing with you guys my long overdue “easy being green” post 2.

i’m not gonna lie – i love grocery shopping. something about making an organized list, and then seeing each item checked off in speedy succession is just super satisfying for a list-making-freak like myself.

what I did last week….

I often get to the weekend and think “wow……I really didn’t do anything fun this week.  I’ll make sure that I do something fun next week.”  But, like most people, necessities tend to get in the way.  After a while, waking up at the same time everyday, eating the same thing for breakfast, picking out clothes just because they’re the only thing that aren’t dirty, vacuuming the pool and taking vitamins just get old!  So this week, I vowed that I would blog several times, eat something other than cereal and soymilk for breakfast, go to a few ZUMBA classes, wear something that made me feel simply ravishing, take silly photos, spend time with family, try to look glamorous while tending to the pool, do things for others and just enjoy myself!  Harry Potter premier one day, blueberry cobbler another, silly photo shoots with paper mustaches, lunch with family who were in town, laying on a hammock, listening to the frogs and going bowling with the family!  There went that week – time to start planning next week 🙂

Here are some photos from the week – enjoy!

Yay for Gryffindor!!

me and Emmy 🙂

Yay for funny paper mustaches!

😀

yummy blueberry cobbler 🙂

And there you have it – my week!  I hope you all had a great week 🙂

childhood memories….

I remember hearing Periwinkle stories all my childhood.  My mom would tell us the story about the fairy who lived in a polka dotted mushroom (red and white, of course), under our big oak tree whenever we were sick, scared, couldn’t go to sleep or just wanted to hear one.  Mommy would sit with us on the bed, hugging both of us to her side, and tell us all about how Bluebird and Robin flew Periwinkle where she needed to go when she had a broken wing, and how she would crush up acorns from Squirrel to make acorn bread which she would give out to all her friends.  Mommy explained to us that Periwinkle always watched those two little girls who lived in the big white house up on the hill play on the swings, play in the play house and put on shows and circuses for the neighbors.  Periwinkle never came out of her mushroom to play with the little girls because she was afraid she would scare them away.  Emmy and I grew up hearing Mommy tell us these stories and like most children, we grew out of them, grew not to believe them anymore.  But I still remember how comforting they were on a stormy night or after I watched a scary movie and after Pop had his heart attack.

A few months ago, we were having some very bad weather: tornadoes, high wind, thunder and lighting, inches of rain.  The power was out, ans as Mommy and Emmy and I sat in the hallway away from all the windows, with the cats next to us, I realized that I needed a little comfort, so I asked Mommy to tell us a Periwinkle story.  She started telling me one like it had only been a few days since the last one, not missing a beat.

can't you just see Periwinkle living under here?

I love my memories of Periwinkle – how she grew up with us, comforted us and made us laugh.  I thank Mommy for providing me with the best memories a girl could ask for.  And I have to admit, I still get a little giddy when I see a mushroom growing under the Big Oak tree!

 

Cheap vs. Thrifty

Lets get one thing straight – there is a difference.

I consider myself somewhat of an expert on this topic, and feel the need to clarify the matter, because getting them confused is almost as annoying as when people use the terms vegetarian and vegan interchangeably (it’s not that hard people! vegetarian = no meat, vegan = no animal products at all)

For example; (and this of course is purely hypothetical, it’s not like i would everrr dream of using examples straight from people i know…) cheap, is when you have something akin to a deep-rooted hatred, and in some cases fear, of spending your hard-earned cash. people who are “cheap” rarely shop, and certainly don’t enjoy it. when they do decide to plunk down some cash on something, you’d better believe it’s on sale, and often used. as a side effect of going so long in between purchases, they will often temporarily lose it, and in a fit of cheapness, combined with rusty shopping skills, purchase, say 7 pairs of identical jeans, just because they’re on sale. or purchase something no one really wants, just because there’s a deal going.

In Recent News…

it has been my observation that whenever there’s a short 4 day work week, as was the case last week due to it being the 4th of july, the following, standard 5 day week always seems extra long and terrible to get through. this was absolutely the case this week – i thought it’d never end. most days lately, i start working at 8 am, and don’t get off until 8 or 9 that night, so believe me when i say i’m ecstatic that it’s the weekend.

and no, i did not go out and party last night, for those who asked, and yes, my major plans for this weekend involved making brownies and sleeping. oh and reading a book. exciting i know.. wanna make something of it?

at any rate, here’s a glimpse back at the highlights (or at least the moments that happened to coincide with me having my camera on me.) hope you all are having a relaxing weekend:)