aaand we're done

Once again, it was a busy week and I worked close most nights. By the time I got home I didn't feel like blogging or even taking pictures sometimes. So today is my last day of dresses. I made it a whole month. I can and can't believe it. Tomorrow... pants.


Today I wore a dress that I made out of my own little head. I think this one is Becca's favorite of my creations.
The tights are my Gap purple ones.
Coat is a huge chunky awesome Gap one from last year.
The shoes are Steve Madden. I got a lot of compliments at church today. Apparently all I have to do is wear something cute to have people come up and say hi... and maybe look welcoming. I might want to work on that.


Saturday I wore a dress that I made out of a couple of Gap shirts I got on sale over a year ago. I get a lot of compliments on this one too, although I mostly covered it up in this outfit.
The black leggings are the new Gap Maximum Heat ones. They are fantastic. I have both colors and wear them all the time now... at least the past few days, including while I'm typing this. They are super soft inside.
The belt is my old Gap belt that apparently I felt like wearing all week long.
Brown Gap cardigan.
Blowfish falls boots in whiskey.


Friday
Black Gap dress from this year.
Grey Maximum Heat Gap leggings.
Steve Madden Tuxxedo shoes.
Gap belt.
Urban Outfitters blue cardigan... with unfortunate spots I found out from when I had to go to the emergency room when a ladder fell on my head and I had to get staples. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's iodine.


I think I look grumpy in a lot of these pictures, and I'm going to blame it on the fact that it is cold outside. I mean I am in Utah. So I love this outfit. I feel very J Crew kids. Weird I know. Anyway, it made me happy to wear it.


Thursday
Gap Kids dress this season. It just came out a few days ago. If you can fit into kids clothes or you know someone that can, go get it. It's just fun.
Gap navy blazer.
Steve Madden tuxxedo shoes.
gap socks


Like I said, I kind of went a little overboard with the belt. I like it though, so it's okay. I also go overboard with my whiskey Blowfish falls when it gets cold outside. I tend to get attached to things.


Wednesday
Chunky cord Gap coat
Blowfish falls in whiskey
Gap belt
Anthropologie dress
The scarf is one that I picked up in Nepal. It is soooo soft. Cashmere and silk. Mmmmm...


I worked almost a full week this week, which doesn't seem like a lot at all, but when you're used to working about 20 hours, and the actual workload is big (lots of shipment, lots of moving the store around) you get a little worn out by the end of it. I love weeks like that though. You feel good about yourself, and you make more money. It was a good solid week.


Tuesday
Cut off jersey knit navy Gap dress
Gap belt
Gap plaid shirt
Steve Madden tuxxedo shes


Monday was my day off, so there were no shoes required.
Greed argyle Gap tights
cream lace slip dress
Gap brown shawl sweater

black and blue

Today I felt like doing the whole white, black, grey thing apparently. By the way, why can't I spell grey the way I want to without computers always saying it's wrong? I also decided to go with the whole comfy thing the past couple of days as well. Cute and comfy is always a plus.


The dress is one that I made a few years ago. You can't really see it, but it;s cream and has about a four inch wide strip of crocheted lace that drapes in the front and makes the "sleeves" or straps. It's way cute. I've had a ton of compliments on it.
The boots are black Blowfish Falls.
The tights are just solid black gap tights.
The cardigan is a really versatile cardigan I got from Anthropologie. It is grey knit and can button up half the front and the back. It can be worn cape/cardiganish like I am wearing it, like a haltar, or like a scarf. It also has a tie. I just decided to sinch the ties in and tighten them on each side instead of together.


Yestderday I didn't feel much like posting. I don't remember what my deal was, but on well. I had Bert take the pictures for me yesterday. Unfortunately the lighting is bad in the shots and I didnt' feel like figuring out the right settings either. Apparently I was way lazy yesterday.


The outfit was kind of a repeat of Saturday's, just with a different dress. I had an interview that morning and wore the pants with a different shirt and jacket, so it was an easy change. I also opened shipment at work, which meant something comfy and that I didn't care about getting dirty.


The dress is a forever 21 dress that I used to wear to bed allll the time.
The pants are my gap black stretchy pants with the zippers in the back.
The cardigan is my gap boyfriend cardigan with the three pockets.
The shoes are black satin gao flats from oh so long ago.

comfort food

Becca and I usually have people over for Sunday dinner. One day we should probably have other people cook the food, but until then... So today I said I would cook the main dish. Becca loves my chicken and dumplings, so because it's her birthday next week and she won't be here I decided to make them. It is also going to be our friend Leah's birthday next week, so they made pie as well. It was the PERFECT day for chicken and dumplings and pie. It was slightly grey and drizzly and just the right kind of cool for it. Our dinners are usually very lively. This one was toned down quite a bit. I take it as a compliment to the food. We were all still loud and enjoying ourselves, but we were content. All in all I would say it was a sucessful evening.


The dress for today was one that I got for Christmas last year. It is from Anthropologie, made completely of silk, and heavenly to wear.
The cardigan is another Gap one. That's what happens when you work there for five years and have a great discount. I think I have four of that one cardigan in different colors.
The shoes are some of my favorite heels. They are vintage red snakeskin. I found them in a boutique on University. They had been there for months because nobody could fit into them. Luckily I have small feet and a brother who was a cobbler for the first probably four or five years of employment that could give me pointers to make them work.


Now because I'm nice, I'm going to throw in the chicken and dumplings recipe. The picture looks gross I know, but that was when the broth and chicken were being all cooked up. Trust me, it was good. Plus, this is one of the cheapest meals ever. I think I dished out like $6.50 to feed six people and have a massive amount of leftovers.

For the chicken soup I got a chicken (better uncooked. It may be faster to buy a precooked one, but then you have to mess with finding chicken stock and all that jazz. Plus it tastes better this way), one large yellow onion or two small ones, a whole garlic, and some flat leaf parsley. You don't have to chop everything up all nice. I basically pulled apart the garlic, chopped the parsley in half, cut the onion into chunks and threw them in the pot. You'll want to put them in the pot with a lot of salt and the chicken, then fill it up with water just to the top of the chicken. After that you just put it on the stove and as we like to say in our family, "boil the snot out of it." This will take about an hour and a half. You know it's done when the meat falls off the chicken when you pull it out of the water. Now it's time to burn yourself. Just take the chicken out and take the meat off of it. At this point I like to take most of the chunks of onion, garlic and parsley out of the pot as well. Now throw the good pieces of chicken (shreaded to whatever size you like) back into the pot with that delicious broth still in it. Viola, you have chicken soup. Yumm.

Now for the dumplings I used my brother's recipe that he actually took from someone else. Anyway, it was good. He warns you NOT to take the lid off the pot and peek at them while they are cooking. DON'T DO IT. I know you want to soo badly. Trust me, it is a bad idea. I once tried to make dumplings in a pot with a lid that didn't fit it and I came out with really thick chicken soup and no dumplings. It was still good, but I wanted to cry a little. You want them to be like fluffy rolls floating in delicious soup. This will happen if you do not look at it.

http://quotidianefficacy.blogspot.com/2008/11/chicken-and-dumplings.html

Now go enjoy the delicious cool weather comfort food. You'll want to add salt and peper to taste when you sit down to eat it. Also, it's the perfect thing to put the chicken soup in a bag and freeze and then whip up some more dumplings when you want it again. That's another reason why I love it.