Happy Halloween!

Usually, I have the whole Halloween thing on lock months in advance. This year, however, was a bit of a challenge. I threw this little baby lamb costume together last minute and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I was going to go a different route with it and cover myself in cotton balls, but after stumbling upon this article about a man who got second-degree burns from his homemade sheep costume catching on fire, I decided against it. (If you click the link, be forewarned that there is a very graphic photo that might make you throw up in your mouth a little bit).

Needless to say, if you are making your own costume this year, really think about your materials. Yes, covering yourself in cotton balls might look pretty cool, but the risk of catching on fire is really not worth the few hours you will be wearing your costume (that is of course, unless you want to be a burn victim for Halloween every year for the rest of your life).

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! Stay safe tonight!

Color Story: Cream and Coral

Loving these colors together. It's a summery combo (think 50/50 bars) that translates perfectly into fall (think pumpkin patch):

Left: OPI; Pinking of You and Ya'll Come Back Now Ya Hear; Right: Best in Show ribbon picture frames at SOLO on Cedros (I love that store)

source

Martha Streck by Asa Tallgard; Elle Russia, July 2011

Ms. Meester in Marc Jacobs

What's for Dinner: Turkey Brie Burgers

I'm a big cheese fan. In fact, I love cheese so much that I try to incorporate it into every meal and snack for that matter. After all, everything always tastes better with cheese. Watermelon and feta cheese, for example: delicious.

One of my favorite cheeses is brie, especially warm brie. I just can't resist that ooey-gooey, soft, salty goodness. Last night, we had turkey brie burgers for dinner (well I had a turkey brie burger...my anti-bread boyfriend who is on a "paleolithic diet" just had the patty). It's a quick and easy dinner that is super savory. Here's what you need to make it:

1 packet of ground turkey breast, about 1/2 of a medium-sized, white onion, brie, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

Here's what you do:

Dice the onions. In a small bowl, mix together the ground turkey, the onions, and a pinch of salt and pepper respectively.

One packet of ground turkey will yield about 4-5 patties. With your hands, make a thin disc and top with about a tablespoon of brie. Then fold another portion of the turkey mixture around the brie. The key here is to make sure the cheese is completely covered by the meat. This way, when you cook it, you'll avoid "oozage".

These are what your patties should look like more or less. As you can see, I got a little carried away with the cheese. Now, you can either throw these puppies on the grill or cook them in a large skillet. I've made them both ways, and I have to say, they turned out much better when they were grilled. However, we don't have a barbecue, so last night, they were made on top of the stove. Make sure to brush some olive oil on both sides of the patty beforehand. Cook for about 4-5 minutes and then flip. Then cover the pan and cook for about 8-10 minutes more.

In the meantime, you can throw together a salad real quick:

You can also get out some jelly (trust me). In a perfect world, I would have fig preserves in the refrigerator. But this is not a perfect world. I don't have a barbecue and I don't have fig preserves. Apricot had to suffice.

Dish it up! Forget the ketchup and instead, shmear your buns (or your Village Mill Pioneer Bread in this instance) with fig (apricot) preserves. Sounds weird, but please just go with me on this one.

Other burger garnishes to consider: arugula, green apple slices

Enjoy!

Folds

Hope you all had a nice weekend! On Saturday, Noel and I met my parents and grandparents for dinner. We couldn't wait to get back home to watch the season 2 finale of Breaking Bad (we just started watching the series a few weeks ago and we're both completely hooked). Unfortunately, I fell asleep while watching it! Guess I'm getting old...

On Sunday, we had Noel's mom over for brunch at our house. After we ate, we checked out the new Savannah Cat Shoppe and saw some high-class kitties (that are going for 4-5 g's). Yes, Savannah cats are pretty cool, but the only way I would spend 5 g's on a feline is if it was a tiger.

Later that day, we stopped by Anthropologie to pick up a sweater I had put on hold, only to find that the top I've been drooling over since it first hit the racks had gone on sale. I know I said I needed to let my wallet chill out for a little bit, but I just couldn't resist... every once in awhile, there's an item at Anthropologie that I just fall in love with. I have to have it, but I can't possibly pay retail for it, so I end up stalking it for weeks (online, and in the store) until it goes on sale. The good news is, I finally got to bring the hunted home. The bad news is, while shopping, I fell in love with something else...

I swear, it's a vicious cycle.

Today, I need to tackle my to-do list, but first I have to make one! Hoping for a productive day over here, but might be difficult because the weather is so gorgeous!

Humpday Revival: TGIF Edition

With the Jewish New Year and our trip to New York, I haven't been thrifting in San Diego in a couple of weeks. Today was my first day off since I got back and when I woke up this morning, I was hungry for some vintage. Usually, Wednesdays are my thrifting days (because pretty much everything is half off), but once in awhile, you gotta switch things up. Even though you don't get as great of deals on non-Wednesdays, you can actually find parking, effortlessly maneuver through the store, not to mention, the racks aren't already picked over by fellow treasure-hunters.

Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but things can get pretty ugly at the thrift stores. Sometimes, it's really not fun at all. Today, however, was not only relaxing, but rewarding as well. Check out my scores:

A legit Scottish kilt:

Couldn't pass up the print on this button-down:

A 70s flutter sleeve emerald dress:

The cutest 50s navy and white striped dress (vaulting this baby for awhile):

This sweet cherry-red frock that could serve as the perfect Valentine's Day attire:

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Concrete Jungle

Made it back from New York in one piece! We had so much fun exploring the city and spending time with my older cousin. Highlights included a visit to the Brooklyn Brewery, seeing Fuerza Bruta (for the 2nd time), dinner at Diner (where I had the best sea bass of my life), learning how to play Cee-lo at Liza's birthday party ("...and believe it or not, you can roll a bunch of these fuckin' mothafuckin' aces; they can send you home broke"), and walking around Central Park with Noel. Here's a little mosaic I put together from pictures of our trip:

And of course, no trip to New York would be complete without getting some thrifting in (at least for me anyway). Visited Urban Jungle in Brooklyn and all I can say is I wish I had more time (I only had an hour to thrift before we had to leave for the airport). I could've spent a whole day in there. Urban Jungle has the allure of a vintage boutique but without the crazy price-tags. They even have a home section! I was in heaven. The next time I am in New York, I'm definitely gonna have to carve out some more time to do some serious digging there. Here were a few of my finds:

Even though I'm a homebody, it was really nice to get away for awhile. Getting out of your element for a few days is extremely rejuvenating and I think it needs to happen more often (foreshadowing). I got my sights set on Colorado now; I just need to let my wallet chill out for a little bit before I book the ticket. A big thanks to my cousin, Andrew, for being such a gracious host and showing us such a great time in the city!