Unexpected Surprise

Top: Target ($7)

Cardigan: NY&Co, thrifted ($3.50)

Jeans: AE ($17)

Shoes: Smashion.com ($10)

I got this yellow cardigan some time ago and had planned to take the buttons off and change them.

I never did get around that...oops.

BUT.

This resulted in a fantastic discovery this morning when I realized they're a perfect match for the colors on this shirt I got from Target. 

Score.

Oreo Reeses Overload

 A few weeks ago I made these things at the suggestion of a friend. I just happened to have the right ingredients and it only took 15 minutes, so I absolutely had to share this!

What you need:

Oreos

Reeses (I used white chocolate ones)

Chocolate coating (I used vanilla/white chocolate bark)

Sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc for topping (optional)

Directions:

Split oreos in half, careful to keep the cream in one piece, on one half of oreo. Take two cream halves and sandwich a peanut butter cup in between. 

Melt chocolate bark, dip the oreo sandwich in the bark. Place on wax paper to cool. Decorate with desired toppings before coating hardens. 

I had leftover white chocolate bark, so I took all of the non-cream oreo halves that I had accumulated and crumbled them into the extra excess and poured it out into cookies and cream bark.

These were a hit, and they're really not that hard to make! Maybe a good Valentine's Day treat for this upcoming week? 

Update

Hi everyone...just checking in to reassure you that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I think. I've been outrageously busy these past two weeks with the new semester...as in leaving home and not coming back for 14 hours busy. So bear with me, I'll do my best to pick back up in the next week! It also hasn't helped that it's been freezing cold and thus all I want to wear is sweatpants...

Hope everyone is having a good week so far, and don't catch that nasty flu that's going around!

Stripes

Top: Old Navy ($10)

Jeans: Ross, ($7)

Boots: Bandolino, via Amazon ($98)

Necklace: Forever 21 ($3)

Apple Cider Pancakes

I saw apple cider pancakes on Pinterest the other day and decided to make some of my own! I chose to use mainly whole wheat flour and some flaxseed and cornmeal to make them more healthy and rich in flavor and texture.

Apple Cider Pancakes

3/4 cup whole wehat
1/4 cup white
1/4 cup flax
1/4 cornmeal
1/2 cup water
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup milk
1/4 oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg

Just mix together the dry ingredients, and the wet ingredients. Then mix together until fully combined. You could even add some diced apples if you wanted! I'd suggest browning them a bit in a skillet first.

Tribal Prep?

 Top: Target, thrifted ($3.50)

Blazer: Target, thrifted ($4)

Jeans: TJ Maxx ($7)

Boots: Adi Designs, via Amazon.com ($20)

Pardon the wet hair, this is what happens when you're on a super tight schedule and don't have time to deal with the hairdryer. Not to mention it was raining out anyway...so it would've gotten wet again anyway. At least that's what I'm going to tell myself! 

Both the blazer and the top are recent finds from Goodwill. I'm quite happy with both of them!

Lime Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

I made these for dinner tonight and they were absolutely incredible. If you like Mexican food, you've got to try this out. They were inspired by this recipe, but I made quite a few alterations. 

Lime Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

• 6 medium flour tortillas
• Rotisserie chicken or 3 whole chicken breasts, shredded
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup salsa verde
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tomato, chopped
•  2 avocados
• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 jalapeno, seeded
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded

Shred cooked rotisserie chicken or approximately 3 chicken breasts. Cook diced onions in frying pan until lightly browned. Combine all bold ingredients in a blender until smooth. Combine onions, half of the cheese, and chicken, and add half of the blender mixture. Separate into 6 servings and roll up into tortillas inside of a prepared non-stick pan. Pour remaining blender mixture over the rolled enchiladas and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. 

I also put mango-peach salsa on top, which was an amazing addition to the flavor. This is easily one of  my new favorite dishes.

Textured

 Top: thrifted ($3.50)

Sweater: thrifted ($3.50)

Jeans: TJ Maxx ($7)

Boots: Bandolini, via Amazon ($98)

Necklace: Groopdealz ($10)

I'm traveling for about a week or so, so I'll gone for a little while. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and week thereafter, and I'll see you soon! 

Black & White

 Top: thrifted ($0.33)

Skirt: Vera by Vera Wang, given (free)

 Leggings: free

Scarf: F21 ($3)

Jacket: Target ($24)

Boots: Bandolino ($98)

Finally splurged on a good pair of boots. I had ordered a pair from Gilt last month, only to have received something in the mail that looked nothing like what I saw online. So I gave it up until I tried again over the holidays, and found these on Amazon for $98. Hopefully they'll last! They're a nice cognac leather and I actually like the design, no excessive buckles or zippers--just a good classic riding boot. Just what I was looking for. :)

Yellow + Sparkles

Mustard yellow and sequins. Two things I love. 

I think they should be a staple in every wardrobe. 

 Top: Old Navy, thrifted ($3.50)

Cardigan: Target, thrifted ($3.50)

Skirt: thrifted ($3.50)

Leggings: free

Boots: Ross ($17)

Better Late Than Never? [DIY Refashion]

First of all, I apologize for the awful quality of the image below.

Secondly, this is embarrassingly late. I got this dress over a year ago. Isn't it funny how fast time goes by? Just as refresher, I got this at a bag sale and the cost came out to be about $0.33 for the dress. So essentially if I messed it up, it wasn't going to be much of a loss.

But there wasn't much room for mistakes; this is a pretty straightforward refashion.

As you can tell from the photos, I simply cut the dress to the desired length (plus about 1.5 inches to take the hem into account), and then used the excess fabric to make three large ruffles for the front of the dress. 

If you'd like to see how to make ruffles, here's a pretty good simple tutorial! I don't even do two rows of stitches like they do...works just fine.

But essentially, each ruffle is a rectangular piece of the fabric with the sides hemmed. I cinched one long side of each one, arranged them as I wanted them tiered, pinned them, and sewed them into place. 

I also made a waist tie with the excess fabric, but I didn't have that with me to take the "after" picture.

That's all! And now, a whole year later, I have a cute $0.33 dress all ready to go. :)

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas day! 

I thought it might be fun to make a hand written typographic poster. I think my idea of fun is a little different from the norm. Just a little.

Just a little way to remember the true reason to celebrate Christmas. :) 

Take care everyone, and I'll see you soon with some outfit posts!

Reunited

It's been a while since my last Goodwill haul! I went this weekend and found some pretty good stuff. 

The numbers are the prices, and the ones that are asterisked are going to altered or adjusted. 

  

This was a pretty good haul! I'm especially excited about the black sparkly dress. The striped Gap cashmere blend sweater was a solid find as well, and I think we've been over how much I love peacoats and trench coats... 

The middle item in the top row is a red velvet skirt. I'm hoping to make it look a little more like this, rather than it's current state:

One thing I failed to find and have never been able to find at a thrift store is a good flannel shirt. It's driving me crazy. So that's my goal this month, to thrift a good, classic flannel button down. We'll see how that goes. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Eve! 

Cookie Innovation

The other week I baked for a friend's birthday...and decided to make him cookies. And then I decided to turn said cookie dough into an airplane.

I also made some oreo stuffed ones. So good...yet so bad for you.

At this rate I'm going to be diabetic soon. Need to work on some self-control. But hey, it's the holidays! That means none the calories count, right? Let's just go with that. :)

Oh, and I just used the Betty Crocker cookie mix for these, didn't have time to go for the from-scratch route!

Classy with Twist

 Top: Old Navy ($7)

Pants: J. Crew, thrifted ($3.50)

Coat: Target ($25)

Shoes: thrifted ($6)

I will forever love the button down and trench coat combination. I don't think you can go wrong with that. Nor can you go wrong with green pants.