fashion inspiration

My fashion is all about what inspires me.  I love to pull images from magazines or wherever of outfits that I love.  And for about three years now I've been compiling look books.  I take all the images that I love and put them into a book.  Its a great way to get inspired when you can't find something to wear.....here are some images from my look book, now go make your own!

lasagna rolls

When I was younger and my mom was making what to me was the best lasagna in the world she always used to boil extra lasagna noodles.  And while we were waiting for the lasagna to bake up she would spread some sauce on them, roll them up and we would eat them as snacks.  This inspired me to make a real dish out of lasagna noodles.  Very similar and incredibly simple but actually cooked and fit for a meal.

Ingredients:
4 lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cups pasta sauce
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan

1. Spread a thin layer of sauce across the bottom of a bread loaf pan and preheat oven to 375
2. Lay out a lasagna noodle on a plate
3. Spread a thin layer of sauce across the noodle
4. sprinkle a 1/4 cup of mozzarella across the noodle and top with a sprinkle of parmesan
5.  Roll the noodle up and place it on one end of the loaf pan
6.  Repeat with three other noodles and line them up next to each other in the pan
7. Once all four noodles are in the pan sprinkle remaining parmesan and mozzarella over the top
8.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown

Chichi grilled cheese

Sometimes you just want a grilled cheese sandwich.  They're simple but oh so delicious and super easy to make.  I came up with a slightly more special but just as easy to make grilled cheese sandwich the other day that was simply delectable and fancy enough to eat by yourself or cook up for guests.

What you'll need:
good crusty bread
goat cheese
roasted red peppers
butter

Slice two relatively thin slices of your crusty bread


Spread thinly sliced red peppers across bread and crumble goat cheese on top, however much you would like.  I used approximately a 1/4 cup.


Put your sandwich together, spread butter on one side and put the sandwich buttered side down in a pan over medium heat.  Butter other side of sandwich while first side is cooking


Use a spatula to put some weight on the sandwich for approximately 30 seconds.  Flip sandwich over once first side of bread is lightly browned and use the spatula on the other side of the sandwich as well.


Cook sandwich until bread is lightly browned on both sides and cheese is melted and warm on the inside.


Try these additives:
fresh basil
artichokes
go for broke and put in whatever you like

Dog-o-Ween

In the spirit of all hallows eve Eddie has decided to dress himself in the thing he is farthest from....a guard dog

Outfit of the day

[Blazer- New York & Co, t-shirt and Cropped trousers- Ann Taylor Loft, Scarf- anthropologie]

P.S. I made this

I recently found a fabulous new DIY blog at PSIMadeThis.com.  Pages and pages of fabulous suggestions as to how to DIY the things you already have and turn them into something fabulous and new.  If you enjoy DIY please check it out.  Its quite wonderful.

Some of my favorite blog suggestions.....

Gameday classed up

My room mate Allison and I decided to class up our game time snacks for the Sunday night game this past weekend.  Instead of beer and nachos we opted for some good red wine and delicious cheese.  I added some crackers fruit and smoked almonds to the platter to spice it up a bit....delish!



The cheese are an aged cheddar, pecorino romano, a sharp blue cheese and goat cheese.

fashionable organization part two

Remember that jewelry reorganization project I started months ago?  Maybe not.  If you don't here is a link to the initial entry.

Anyways, the reason it took me so long to finish my jewelry cabinet is because I was looking for ribbon to create a trim and couldn't seem to find enough length of ribbon in a color I liked at a craft store so I had to order ribbon online.

The end result turned out pretty well....very....shabby chic

Closed cabinet:


Opened cabinet:




I think utilizing wall space for organization is a great idea and more people should take advantage.

Other ideas for wall organization:
1.  Floating book shelves
2. Hanging wall baskets
3. Mirror display boxes

Outfit of the day

At the Reston Oktoberfest.  Fall but 80 degrees out!  What to wear


[Top- Ann Taylor Loft, Sunglasses- Ann Taylor Loft, Skirt- Forever 21, Boots- Bakers, Belt and Purse- unknown]

Pesto Lasagna

Great for entertaining or just a good meal at home, something a little more special than your everyday marinara lasagna.  I would highly recommend this pesto lasagna.  It was super easy to make and very tasty.

Ingredients:
15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or pistachio nuts
1 cup store bought pesto sauce
8 lasagna noodles
mozzarella cheese

1. Mix ricotta, basil and nuts.  Set aside in a bowl
2. Cook lasagna noodles to al dente (read instructions on box)
3. spray a 9 x 13 pan or casserole dish with non stick cooking spray
4.  Coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of pesto
5. Lay noodles across bottom of the pan from side to side
6. Cover the top of the noodles in the ricotta mixture
7. Add another layer of pesto over the top of the ricotta mixture

8.  Layer more noodles across the top and repeat step 6 and 7
9.  Sprinkle top of noodles with enough mozzarella to coat
10.  Cook at 350 for approximately 30 minutes or until top is golden brown
11.  Enjoy!

The perfect halloween center piece

Too early?  I think not!  I love seasonal decorations but more chic than the lame ceramic roosters and plastic wreaths that your grandmother used to put up for the holidays.

I decided to make a creative halloween center piece this year to make our living/dining area a bit more festive

What I used:
Skull model from college bio lab
Black spray paint
1 bag of brachs candy corn
Cake Stand

The skull got two coats of black spray paint....follow directions on can




I placed the spray painted skull (after it was dry of course) in the middle of the cake stand and sprinkled the candy corn around it




Other great ideas for halloween decorations:
1. hide plastic rats or mice on top of or around books on a bookshelf
2. A large glass bowl of halloween candy in the living room or on the dining table

Mom's Quiche Lorraine

I attempted to make my mom's quiche lorraine this afternoon, and let me tell you for how delicious it is, it was surprisingly easy.  For about 10 minutes of prep and a 20 minutes at the grocery store I had a delicious couple of BLDs (breakfast, lunch or dinners) at hand.



Ingredients:
frozen pie crust
1 box frozen spinach
2 tbsp chopped scallions
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of half and half
1/2 cup grated swiss cheese
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 packet knorr vegetable soup mix

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Thaw spinach in microwave and drain excess water
3. Saute spinach and scallions in butter until scallions are soft
4. whip three eggs together with half and half and stir in cheese
5.  Mix all filling ingredients together
6. Pour filling into pie crust
7.  Cook for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees until top of quiche is lightly browned

Outfit of the day

For the Shirlington Oktoberfest I chose to go casual fall chic.  It was nice and cool out so I chose to go with my favorite fall trend...faux fur


[Sunglasses- Ann Taylor Loft, Gray sweater- H&M, Faux fur vest- American Eagle, Leggings- forever 21, Boots- Nine west]

And today for volunteering I needed something comfy but warm for the windy outdoor day

[Jacket and fur piece- forever 21, Red t-shirt- Ann Taylor Loft, Jeans- forever 21, Boots- Stetson]