Gun Show

{American Sniper}

I think history teaches us so much about where we are today and where we want to go in the future. Examining the things we once knew, or that are new to us, is like a gallop through the gargantuan layers of time, peeling them back delicately one by one, and capturing the translucency of the intentions of mankind. If you are able to permit that vulnerability to what is the truth of the past you can then transform the future. My infatuation with military history goes way beyond having been a military wife for a brief moment. I have an unending desire to understand the human mind when the transition is made from the average man to military warrior. To be stripped of any distinctive persona, and become a part of the cohesive collective of the military machine. I am completely saturated with undeniable emotion in the absorption of these epic tales of valor and bravery.

These are my favorites. 

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

1. 

PLATOON

2.

GLORY

3. 

FULL METAL JACKET

4. 

BLACK HAWK DOWN

5. 

LONE SURVIVOR

6. 

PEARL HARBOR

7. 

MEMPHIS BELLE

8. 

THE HURT LOCKER

9. 

AMERICAN SNIPER

10. 

What I've Been Crushing On

{New travel mug}

{Taekwondo test day}

{My buddy and baseball}

{Dessert for breakfast}

{Small ish}

Waiting Game

I waited such a long time for this kimono to go on sale. I think I checked on it every day for weeks waiting for the perfect affordable price. When it happened I hopped on it immediately. I love a beautiful kimono with the movement it brings to every outfit making you feel like you're floating on air. The rich jewel tones seemed perfect for colder weather, and perfect for a lazy weekend Sunday. Perfect for me. Thankful I finally know who that is.

Kimono is The Oxford Trunk. Shirt is Good hYOUman. Vintage vegan leather jacket. Vintage denim. Booties are Steve Madden (old).

Delish

{These are your ingredients}

My grandmother was notorious for her version of  Hungarian chicken paprikash. There was no duplicating that recipe. In fact, I have never actually tried. I just grew up and moved on believing I could never ever have it again. Then I was sitting looking over the recipes I wanted to try for 2015 and just knew that this had to be on my list. It is one of those things that includes probably most of the things that you already have in your pantry and makes the perfect cold weather comfort food meal. I tip my babushka to you Mary. Well done.

Take 2 1/2 cups of flour and three beaten eggs along with a 1/2 cup of water and mix until the batter is stiff and gooey.

Boil water in a sauce pan and drop the batter by spoonfuls into the pan and when they float they are done. Drain and set aside. Keep warm.

Take your 1 pound of chicken and saute' it in butter with a medium chopped onion until lightly browned. Take out the chicken and set aside. Keep warm.

Add paprika (2 tbsp or to taste) and some salt and pepper to the pan. Include the mixture of 2 cups of sour cream and 2 tbsp flour and simmer for ten minutes or until the sauce thickens.

In the end it looks a lot like this. Some recipes call for more oil which makes the sauce more red and less creamy. I have also seen people skip making the dumplings all together and just add pasta. I think that if you're going for a more authentic taste and texture you have to make the dumplings.

I served it along side a light salad of spinach with berries and a glass of wine. 

Let's call this my cheat day. Worth it.

2015

{Happy New Year}

The New Year celebration has come and gone and I have just now, weeks later, decided to sit down and write my resolutions (goals) for this upcoming year. Last year I was pretty successful with them all but the one where I promised to travel somewhere new...no big surprise. I will begin this year with that one. I never get upset if some of them are never realized, because these are just a promise to myself to be a better person, and grow in some way whether big or small with every year. I can't lose.

1. To travel somewhere new either alone or with someone special

2. Live in this body and be proud of it

3. Give more hugs

4. Make my time on social media more productive

5. Try new local pizza 

6. See more live music

7. Save for a vacation

8. Take better care of my health

9. Spend more time outside

10. Fall in love

The last one is fairly lofty but I figure I have nothing to lose. 

What are your goals/resolutions??

Mix And Match

I have gone through phases with my sense of style. There was the all North Face, yoga pant wearing, Nike phase; the Abercrombie and Fitch phase; the Forever 21 phase and the so beloved I wear nothing but JCrew phase. I think that now I am truly experimenting with what I love in spite of the fact that it may not agree with what the people around me are wearing. Try walking into a store like Dick's on the weekend...it is like a North Face convention. Through social media sites like Instagram I have been exposed to so much fashion, from as far away as Australia. I have evolved and from all that I am having the best time throwing together outfits that I can truly call my own. So don't be afraid to mix up things in an unexpected fashion. Life is for living, and fashion is the best accessory. 

Pom tuc and coat are The Oxford Trunk. Shoes are Joe's (last years version). Clutch is Herschel Supply. Dress was 13$ at Choies. 

PS. the dress is VERY short. I would pair it with dark flares to wear out for a girls night.

What I've Been Crushing On

{Ramen}

{Sunday coffee run}

{Pop of color for my desk}

{Quiet mornings}

{Softest fur ever}

Baby Me

When you are at that stage of life where all your friends have gotten married and now they have begun having children, the idea of the perfect gift can be hard to come by. Even attempting to buy something off a registry can be a disaster, as is seems as though nobody can get the gifts you have now purchased removed, to save the new parents from returning duplicates. Especially parents who are on to their second or third child, who may or may not need the essentials, but new things are forever a welcome sight. Over the years I have transformed my baby gift giving to the most important thing that I, as a preschool teacher and mother, feel is paramount. Reading has become somewhat of a lost art with all the uber quick snippets of information being thrown at us from every possible social media angle. I myself have struggled to make the time to keep my mind sharp and heighten my vocabulary, along with slowing down to appreciate the true art of the written word.  Thank goodness Kohl's has given us more than one good reason to give the gift of the love of reading. When you purchase these books at a mere 5 dollars each and also the plush animals at the same price, you not only help parents educate their own children, but you are giving to a great charity that is for children as well. 100% of the proceeds go to this charity. Everybody wins.

Kohl's stores have at least 2 displays very much like this with revolving themes.

I never include a card but instead write a note to the new baby in one of the books.

Kohl's Cares

Dream A Little Dream

{We love you.}

Having grown up in a fairly homogenized neighborhood as a child, and even to a certain extent also in college, I had not been exposed to a very diverse community of people. People of color or other religions were not in any sort of acceptable abundance in my life. Regardless of this, as a parent, I have made every possible effort to teach my family to accept people for who they are and not what they look like. We are all exactly the same on the inside, and it was so important to me that I be able to convey that to the people I love the most even against societal stereotypes. So along came this beautiful person, who has filled our lives with such joy and pride, who has loved my family as much as it loves him. He has captured my heart. When there are so many things that we can feel we have fallen short on as parents...in this my dream has come true <3

Citrus Salad Cleanse

{These are the ingredients you will need}

After the holidays were over I just couldn't bring myself to eat another heavy meal. Feeling like a beached whale is not my idea of a good time. Salad seemed like the perfect alternative, but I sometimes feel like the options remain the same. Then you slather it with some heavy, creamy dressing, and there goes the healthy meal alternative. Baking the oranges and lemons brings out a much more rich and robust flavor. After being tossed throughout the salad with a bit of olive oil, they give it a light and delicious hint of citrus that negates the need for anything else. Simply delicious.   

Toss the slices in some olive oil with salt and pepper. Lay on baking sheet.

1 small red onion sliced. Add salt and pepper.

Char the oranges and lemons at 425 degrees turning once or twice.  

After cooled completely, combine 2 tbsp lemon juice and onion. Toss and let stand 10 minutes.

Add a bunch of leafy greens of your choosing and toss with an additional 3 tbsp olive oil. Add fresh slices of avocado and serve. You can also add some fresh mint but I omitted that from my version.

Not a bad way to begin the new year.

Caped Crusader

Upas capes were huge this past fall. A hybrid between a more formal blazer and a tradition cape that hasn't any sleeves. This seemed like the perfect idea to me. They have taken two more traditional wardrobe staples, and managed to make them new again. Refreshed for a new generation, we can now feel like a superhero any day we choose and at any price point. Leave it to fashion to have us all feeling a little bit more powerful if only for a night.

Cape is Windsor. Shoes are Zara. Clutch is Nene California. Jeans are vintage. Sunnies are CRAP. Top is old JCrew. Necklace is HRH. Watch is Fossil.