Girl Crush: Reality Bites

Currently crushing on Winona Ryder in Reality Bites.  Such a great movie and she is such a stylish babe.

 

Coveted Style {Pin}spiration

As I have been busy adjusting to my role as a full time (temporary) teacher, I haven't had much time for anything else.  However, once a week I like to pop on a few style blogs and Pinterest to stay motivated and get new inspiration for my teacher/normal wardrobe.  With the exception of the last outfit (definitely more of a weekend outfit), here are a few favorite looks to go from the classroom to meeting up with friends or grabbing a beer with my husband.

To see more, check out my Style board.

LA Parklet

Image credit: TheEastsiderLA

February is a big month for the city of LA as they are finally catching up with other cities like New York and San Francisco and are opening up their new parklets.  The first one opened this week on York Blvd in Highland Park.   I must admit, I am a little sad/jealous about the two new parklets which are set to open on Spring St downtown later this week (as we just moved out of downtown a couple of months ago), but I am super excited to visit these Friday morning.   For now, it is now my new favorite Saturday morning activity to get coffee and sit on the colorful mosaic tiled benches of the parklet while relaxing with my husband.

Metals

I am loving metallic and metal looking nails right now!

All images via Pinterest. Click here for more nail inspiration!

Vegetarian Green Pozole

 This weekend, we were finally able to have a few friends over for dinner at our new house, but my husband came down with a cold.  I was a little torn because I wanted to make something soothing for him, but filling enough for our friends.  My favorite soup ever is Pozole and I have been dying to make the green kind so I thought may as well try it.  I made guacamole to have with chips as an appetizer and we shared a growler of Black Rye IPA (thanks Haven!), then made a simple chopped Kale and Radicchio salad with pepitas, dried cranberries and blue cheese tossed in a blush wine vinaigrette as a starter while moving on to drinking a Rangeland Syrah.

For the green sauce: Roast peeled Tomatillos, a Jalapeño, Serrano Chiles and
Garlic cloves.  While roasting, blend 1/2 cup of pepitas in a food processor.
Add the roasted veggies (remove all seeds from peppers) and blend until almost
smooth while adding a little olive oil.

On to the main event, my friend sent me her family recipe for a Green Chicken Pozole, which I used for the green sauce, but for the broth I ended up using the Trader Joe's Vegetable Broth. I don't think I completely nailed the green pozole as I wanted to roast the veggies for the tomatillo sauce before blending them, but instead simmered them in water.  Also, next time I am going to make it with chicken for more flavor than the vegetarian broth.  However, it was still very good and we had a great time!!

Once the green sauce is made, put it in a small pot and let it simmer on very low while you take the large pot and toss in diced onions, red bell peppers and garlic with a little olive oil.  Cook on medium heat for 4 minutes, then add rinsed Hominy (maize) and add cumin and cayenne pepper.  After 5 more minutes of stirring, add in vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, then add green sauce and simmer for 20-30 minutes to let the flavors combine and settle.  Right before serving, add oregano, salt and pepper and lime juice.  

The best thing about pozole is adding all the condiments after! We used
chopped onions, radishes, cabbage, avocado, lime and tostadas!

{2012} at a Glance

So 2012 was not my favorite year as bittersweet as it was, but it was definitely a year for growth. We moved downtown and left downtown, we got to take a few trips and visit dear family/friends in Boston, New York, Palm Springs and San Francisco, I chopped off and donated my hair, we celebrated our one year anniversary the same weekend I attended an old friend's funeral, a few close friends/family got married and moved to different countries and I worked my butt off at multiple jobs but finally got a foot in the door teaching!  This last month has been an absolute test of my sanity and but with all the bad things that have happened, it has been getting better and we are so excited to be welcoming in a New Year at just the right time.  Cheers to a new year and new beginnings!

Stressed!!! but....Thankful?

Woah?!? First off, it has been way too long since my last post.  The reason being, life has been a bit crazy as of late.  Within the last month, I went from being the Showroom Coordinator/Production Manager at a fashion startup by day and server by night to being a long-term substitute in which you do  so much work for normal sub-pay.  However, I am so thankful for the random opportunity to be teaching again--seriously, this position literally came out of the blue and I am so thankful!!  On top of that, we moved early from our downtown studio to a cute little one bedroom craftsman and while we are much happier with our living situation, we are stressed about our old place being rented out (never trust big apartment buildings).  Also, my husband was laid off from his job and I'm sure a lot of people can relate to that in this still groaning economy--although there is a hope as "they" say it's getting better?  Let's just say it has been a crazy month full of heartache and celebration.  I promise this will be the only complaint post and the rest I will keep lighter and fun.  I truly am so thankful for some changes but praying for some relief.  

It rained last Wednesday-Monday (long-overdue in LA) and on Sunday afternoon while walking around in the rain, I saw this which gave me hope. 

Oh and look how adorable our new neighborhood is...fall in Southern California is possible!