Favorite January Beauty Buy > Tom Ford Black Orchid

 

My birthday gift to myself this year was Tom Ford's Black Orchid and I'm over the moon about it. I've been using L'eau par Kenzo for years now, but L'eau is a much lighter, floral scent that's better for summer and spring.

Black Orchid is perfect for the winter months, glamarous, lasts forever, and the notes change slightly throughout the day in a really good way. It's sold as a unisex bottle, which makes sense since I tend to love men's cologne much more than the really sweet women's fragrances.

Next time you find yourself wandering through the fragrance counters avoiding eye contact with the aggressive saleswomen, I'd highly recommend stopping for a spritz of this bad boy. Oh, and I know I'm a packaging/marketing sucker - but the black ridged and gold bottle is absolutely gorgeous too, don't you think?

Hoosier Mama Pie > All Its Cracked Up to Be

I don't know about you, but I'd take pie or any fruit-based dessert over the trendy cupcake any day. Lauren doesn't consider anything a dessert unless there's chocolate involved (fair point), but there's just something I love about the humble pie.

I finally got the chance to try Hoosier Mama Pie Company, bringing three huge pies home for Christmas last month. I used the excuse over the holidays to place my pre-order before they sold out for the season and the wait, and price (around $25 a pie), was still worth it. I grabbed a classic apple, coconut cream and a sour cream dutch apple, with the dutch apple being my favorite. 

The storefront is teeny tiny with two itsy tables, but it's adorable, friendly, and they offer pie flights! 

Happy Holidays and Hello, 2013

 

After a bit of a break from blogging, we wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and a belated happy holidays!

Heading to my uncle's in the burbs has become a tradition for my family and I love to take photos of his beautiful home, my fam, and of course, all the good eats. 

2012 was a bit of a rough year for me, but given lots of recent positive changes, let's just say I'm sprinting into 2013 with a big fat smile on my face. I have a feeling it's going to be a great one.

Crispy Parmesan Garlic Fries > Baked!

These aren't the fastest things you'll ever make in the kitchen, but trust me when I say these are amazing and wonderfully crispy. I've tried oven-baked fries before that tasted fine but they never had that satisfying crunch like that of a deep golden browned french fry. These have that crunch - plus grated cheese and garlic oil... all from the oven. 

The secret? Soaking the potatoes in a bit of cold salted water to remove the starch and dry them out before they hit the oven. My family gobbled them up. Next time, I'm doubling the recipe.

Recipe adapted from Purple Foodie.

Ingredients: 

• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each) 
• 3 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
• 1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• freshly shaved parmesan 
• chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 440° F.
2. Parboil the potatoes about 5 minutes until you can stick a fork in them (potato should still be fairly firm).
3. Remove potatoes, let cool for a while.
4. Combine the garlic and oil in a large bowl, warming it in a pan over the stove until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Transfer 1-2 tablespoons of the oil (leaving the garlic in the bowl) to 1 or 2 foil lined baking sheets, coating it well. I also sprayed the foil lined baking sheets with some non stick spray just to be safe.
6. Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside. (I may have added in more garlic powder since I love garlic, so don't afraid to be liberal with that!)
7. Cut cooled potatoes into wedges. Don't worry if some of the spud's skin comes loose.
8. Secret to making crispy oven fries - do not skip this step! Rinse wedges two or three times in cold water. Then soak the potatoes in ice water with 1-2 Tbs of salt for 5 minutes or so.
9. Remove wedges and thoroughly pat dry with a towel as much as you can.
10. Toss wedges in the garlic oil and then the garlic powder mixture to coat.
11. Place wedges in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Make sure you don't place them too close together or the potatoes will steam. Use another baking sheet if you need to.
12. Sprinkle any remaining garlic powder mixture left over from the bowl to the top of the wedges. The clumpier the better.
13. Shave fresh parmesan to the top of the wedges, as well as parsley if you wish.
14. Bake in the oven turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp, about 40-45 minutes. Keep an eye on them in the oven and don't be afraid to remove earlier or keep in the oven for longer depending on how crispy you prefer them.
15. Remove from oven, taste and season with a dash of fresh shaved parmesan or even truffle salt (I love my truffle salt from Dean & Deluca).
16. Serve with ketchup or garlic aioli!

Cubicle Love

 

When I recently moved floors to a new desk space (with more natural light, hooray!) I took the opportunity to make my work home a little brighter. Considering I spend most of my waking hours at work and how easily my mood is affected by my environment, it seemed like the perfect time to make my desk be more than just file folders and stacks of papers. Like my happy new digs?

My desk musts:

1. Glossy white floating frames. A few photos, a bright travel calendar from Etsy, and a stamped pennant from when I climbed Mount Fuji. Nothing says "I can do it!" like a physical "I climbed a mountain!" reminder, right?
2. Sunny lamp from West Elm
3. Cubicle wallpaper. I found discounted fabric from Jo-Ann Fabrics and hung it up by folding and pinning the borders of my wall with tacks like a hem.
4. Living things. Nothing brings life to a ho-hum desk more than a cute terrarium from Etsy and my favorite cyclamen plant.
5. Grass charging station to reign in and tame cords.
6. Monogrammed mug from Anthropologie, a great Christmas present from a colleague! 
7. Japanese paper trays and boxes to organize pens, paper clips and for me, all my errant bobby pins. 
8. Voluspa candle. Beautiful, and it smells great even if you can't light it.