Pretty in Pink

Molly Ringwald’s got nothin’ on me!  
For YEARS I have gazed longingly (a la Andie Walsh in Pretty in Pink)

at tulle skirts on Pinterest, Instagram, and other sites. So this summer I finally decided to bite the bullet and get one for myself! I mean, you’re never too old for a tutu right?! Right. I’ll answer my own question. 

I found the perfect plus sized tutu from Cool Gal Blue and decided to follow the admonition of Donna Meagle to “treat yo self”… 

But now that I have it, I found myself asking, “Can I really pull this off?” and, “How am I supposed to wear it?” I thought you might be asking yourself the same questions. (I use “you” pretty loosely, as I know most of you do not, and will not ever, own a tutu…or even know what tulle is or how to pronounce it for that matter) 

So with the help of my lovely and talentedphotographer friend, Ashley of Copper & Co. Photography, I thought I’d show you a tutu styled 3 ways! I decided on three looks; classic, vintage, and modern and I’m going to share one of them today, stay tuned this week for the other two! 

Look #1 Classic 

   
   
  

   
I paired a delicate Eloqui cream colored cropped sweater with the soft blush color of the skirt. To accessorize I wore my Honora Pearl studs from my momma, then added this beautiful statement necklace from Walmart and cream patent heels from Chinese Laundry. For my lips I puckered up with NYX Butter Gloss in Eclair. I felt girly, and pink, and pretty, and I couldn’t stop twirling. You should try it! 

(Click the links in blue to get your own!) 

 

One pot wonder…

I’ve been in a funk all week. My anxiety has been extremely high and I just haven’t wanted to get out of bed or see anyone. But yesterday afternoon was so gorgeous I decided to lay on the couch on our patio, get some fresh air, and read. The air was warm with a nice breeze gently blowing, birds were chirping, the Spanish moss on the neighbors huge oak tree was swaying in the wind, and the calming sounds of Brazilian singer Joao Gilberto on his guitar (great pandora station, you should give it a try you’ll feel like you’re at a cafe in Rio or on a beach in Bali) were coming from my little Bluetooth speaker. So of course I fell asleep. I woke up to the butcher, who had just gotten home from work, gently stroking my forehead (my mom used to do this as child, he knows I love it) as he lay next to me on the couch. All of the aforementioned conditions combined with a nap must have been exactly what I needed, because I was in a much better mood. After chatting a little bit about his day, he promptly fell asleep as well. But now I was awake and hungry, and I knew he would be too when he woke up. I decided to go in and make dinner. I wanted it to be quick and was in the mood for pasta. 

We very rarely eat pasta so I wasn’t sure if I even had any but I found a box of spaghetti (yes ma, white flour, so shoot me) in the back of the cupboard. I had seen on Pinterest several “one pot” recipes where you throw a bunch of ingredients in with pasta, cook it all together, and you’ve got a meal. So I decided to give it a try. I had some grape tomatoes from the farmers market that needed to be used before they went bad as well as some spicy andouille sausage. The rest is history (see recipe below) and as I came out onto the patio with two steaming bowls of deliciousness, the butcher sat up from his nap and smiled, ready to eat. 

  

Beauty & The Bitcher’s                   One Pot Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 12 ounce package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cups halved grape tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves (just a really good handful, you can never have too much basil) 
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and black pepper, just a good pinch of each 
• grated Parmesan

Instructions

• In a Dutch oven on medium high heat, combine spaghetti, sausage, onion, tomatoes, basil, garlic and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
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• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan.
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• This truly was a “one pot wonder”, SO easy, and really yummy to boot! Enjoy! 
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how much wood would a woodchuck chuck…

Chuck roast. I asked the butcher for a good definition and this is what he sent me…

“This particular cut of meat comes from the sub primal cut known as the chuck, an area located near the neck and shoulder area of the steer. It’s very popular as a ground meat due to its high fat content but is also delicious left whole and served as a roast. The fatty tissue, collagen, (no Botox necessary) melts for the most part during long cooking methods and makes for a delicious meal.”

Smart and funny! I picked a good one, that’s for sure! That may be the technical definition but I, however, define it as the ultimate air freshener and perfect meal on a cold rainy day like today. I decided to combine a few of my favorite recipes and flavors to make the perfect pot roast. Give it a try, I dare you. 

Beauty & The Butcher’s Pot Roast  

Ingredients

• a few tablespoons olive oil
• Chuck Roast apx. 4 lbs.
• 1 good sized yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup good balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (don’t you just love Dijon mustard? I feel it’s an under utilized condiment that adds a tangy distinguished flavor to many dishes. Not to mention the grey poupon jokes.)
•  a handful of thyme. obviously fresh sprigs would be prefered but I only had dry on hand and it’ll do pig, it’ll do.
•  2 cups beef broth
• several carrots (honestly whatever you have on hand and yay! no peeling! just chop off the ends)
• kosher salt & black pepper

* side note: you may have noticed the lack of potatoes in the list of ingredients. this was done purposely. although most traditional roast recipes call for them, I find that after cooking for such a long period of time the potatoes become mealy and mushy. that combined with the fact that I make a pretty mean mashed potato, i prefer to prepare them separately, mash them, and serve the roast atop the delicious spuds.) All that being said, add potatoes if you want, it will still be yummy.

Instructions

•  Preheat oven to 300F.
• Heat oil in a large dutch oven (i love my blessed discounted le crueset dutch oven! If you don’t have one then a crock pot should work too) over high heat.
• Season chuck roast well with salt and pepper, add to pan and brown well on all sides (a few minutes a side.)
• Remove roast and set aside.
• Add chopped onion to drippings in pot and reduce heat to medium.
• Sauté onions until soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add balsamic vinegar, increase heat to medium-high and boil until reduced and slightly syrupy, about 4-5 more minutes. 
• Stir in Dijon. Man I wish you could smell this right now!
• Set roast on top of onions in pot.
• Pour in 2 cups beef broth and add thyme. 
• Cover and place in oven for 2 1/2 hours or until very tender.
  Add carrots and to pot and return to oven. Continue cooking until they are tender, about 30 minutes or more depending on how you like your carrots.
• Season again with s&p, serve over a bed of mashed taters, and enjoy!