Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Look for Less~Mila Kunis

Hey everyone! Happy Hump day! I hope everyone is having a good week. Mine is dragging but thats what happens!!

So, Mila Kunis is hot. Just agree with me. As much as you don't want to just do it. It will make you feel better! This look comes from Celebrity Style Guide. I know I know. So does everything else. This is a great going out look. Would be great for date night. Not that I know what that is of course.

Her blouse is by Balmain and retails at $7,770. I'll wait while you pick your jaw up off the floor. Good news is it is on sale for $1,554. Great price right? You can buy that top here, if you have that kinda cash under your mattress. Her shoes are by Giuseppe Zanotti. I really do love his shoes but I can't afford his price. These ones are $695. They too are on sale for $399.97. You can buy those shoes here. Or just drool over them. That's what I do.

So, I am going to be honest with you. I had a hell of a time finding a top that was like this one. And I didn't really ever find one. But I already committed to this outfit so I am going to keep going. I found a few tops that could be used and would make great looks. The first is a more fitted top but it has the sparkle that the original top does. You can get it here for $40. The next is a plain black top but it has the wrap look that the Balmain look does. You can get it here for $24. I personally like the second option. I would pair it with a great necklace! Such as this one for $14.80 and this one for $6.80.

I am sure most all of you have a pair of black pants that you could throw on. And I also am sure that most of you have some black pumps that would look great with this!

I hope I didn't fail you on this outfit. I was going to go back but I had gone too far. Anyone ever feel like that?

Have a great rest of the week!!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

White Chicken Chili

Hello there! Is it cold out there or is it just me? I mean here in NC it went from 77 to 40 so I think I am a bit shell shocked. 

Something that is perfect for cold weather is soup. My husband also told me that he could eat it every night. And generally soup is easy to make so I am happy to oblige.

Tonight's recipe is for White Chicken Chili. This come from How To:Simplify

You will need:

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1medium onion, diced
2 cups cooked chicken (You can use a supermarket rotisserie chicken to save on time)
2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed (I used White Kidney Beans)
1 can corn, drained
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 box (32 oz) chicken broth
Salt and Pepper to taste
Juice from 1 lime

Directions:

In a large pot, sauté onion until it starts to be come translucent. (I skipped this step because the hubby doesn't like onions, or more, they don't like him)

Once the onion is done cooking, add shreds of chicken, beans, corn and chills (with the juice from the can). Also add the spices at this time. Stir to combine all ingredients and then add the chicken broth. 

Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the broth to reduce. Add salt and pepper to taste and the lime juice. 

We both thought this was a great chili! It was very good the day after as well. I let the broth reduce a lot so there wasn't a whole lot left for the left overs. That was fine. I just made some rice and topped it with that. 

I hope that if you make this chili you love it. It was a nice change from the tomato based chili that we usually have! 

Do you have any favorite soup recipe?

Friday, January 25, 2013

DIY Friday: Valentine Mantel

Hello all! I know Valentine's day is still awhile away but Pinterest and other bloggers have me wanting to decorate!! So I'm doing it darn it!!

Valentine's Day is not really something my husband and I care that much about. My birthday is 2 days before so it all just gets wrapped into one. Which is fine. But I am a sucker for all the pretty holiday decorations that are out there!

For this project I decided to make a mantel display. I saw the idea for this garland on Pinterest and you can buy a fancy one like it on Etsy but I decided to make my own!

For the garland you will need:
Ribbon (I used 3 kinds but you could use as many or as few as you wanted)
A deck of playing cards
A hole punch

First thing I did was go through the deck and get all the heart cards out. Next I punched two holes at the top of the card. I couldn't find a standard hole punch in any store I went to (don't ask me why we don't have one) so I just used a heart shaped one! The hearts were upside down but it doesn't really matter!

Next, I secured one end of my ribbon to the mantel. I used tape but whatever works to keep it up there go for it! I begain stringing my cards onto the ribbon leaving a little space between them. I then measured how much I wanted the garland to hang and cut off the ribbon and taped it down to the other side! I made my fairly short because we have little hands that grab!

Next, I cut the other two ribbon into about 7in sections. 10 of each color. I tied them in a knot in the space between the cards. And voila! The garland is done!! You could use a lot more ribbon to make it more full if you choose but I liked this look.

For on top of the mantel I didn't want to go too crazy or expensive so I just decided to go with candles. I filled the holders with festive candy. You could use any kind you want! I placed a ribbon on the bottom of each candle holder to tie them in with the garland!

So, how much did this all cost? The ribbon was on sale at $1 each and the playing cards came from the dollar store so they were, you guessed it, a dollar! So the garland cost me $4! The candles and candle holders came from the dollar store also! The candy was $3.19. Kinda expensive since I am not going to be eating them but oh well. I tried to find something cheaper that I liked but nothing really looked right. So, my candles cost me $9.19! All told, the project cost mea little over $13! Not bad if you ask me!!

Here is a picture of the whole mantel! Don't mind the cords. We are trying to figure out a way to hide those better. But I did tie some ribbon around them!!

I hope you liked this week's DIY!! Hope you all have an awesome weekend!!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Kate Beckinsale--Look for Less

Hello all! Who loves neon? Anyone? Well I do!! I love it! If I was more tan it would be all I would wear. Ok maybe not but I would wear a lot more of it!

Today we are taking a look from Kate Beckinsale. I love her. So pretty. Damn it. Anyway, I'll stop hating on the pretty people.

This look comes from Celebrity Style Guide. Kate is wearing a great sweater by T by Alexander Wang. You can get it here S Sense. If you want to get it though it will set you back $155. Not very affordable. Kate is pairing her sweater with dark blue jean leggings for $225! You can get them here Couture Candy.

I found a really great look alike at Gap for $59.95. It is a little chunkier knit than the more expensive one and has an open knit. Kate is wearing dark blue jeans but I personally like the idea of black jeans with this color. Either way, I am sure most of you have both of those in your closet! She is wearing boots with her jeans. I also like black flats.

I hope that you all like neon as much as I do. Or maybe give it a second look.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Buffalo Pretzels

Oh football. Will you ever end? Nah, I don't mind it that much. The thing I like the most though is the snacks. You can't watch football without some kind of snack. Course I can't do much without some kind of snack so ya know.

I am obsessed with these pretzels. I think I ate them all. The hubs tried a few but he is not really into pretzels so ya know. Thats ok. More for me. I found these babies on Pinterest. Where else right? The link from there takes you to A Taste of the Best.  

You will need:

12 cups pretzels (I used the sticks and just a one pound bag)
5 ounces of butter, melted
1 package of ranch dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
2 tablespoons buffalo wing sauce 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (I think I actually used waxed but it worked all the same) Pour pretzels in a large bowl and set aside. (I used a 9x13 dish because it was easier to mix them around in)  In a small bowl, melt butter. Add the ranch mix, celery salt and buffalo sauce. Mix it all up. Pour over pretzels. Stir to coat. Transfer to baking sheet. (I used two because my large one was dirty...ooops) Spread out the pretzels. Bake for one hour stirring every 15 min. Let cool. If you can.

Like I said I ate pretty much all of these myself. When I wanted some I would pour some in a bowl and warm it up for about 15 seconds. I like them warm. Seems to make the flavor come out more. Now like it says in the blog it is not much of a buffalo flavor. Next time I make them, which will be once the chex mix is gone, I am going to try and add a bit more to bring out more of that flavor.

Thats it! Easy, easy! I can't wait to make more football snacks for the Super Bowl. Best part other than the commercials. Oh and Beyonce will be preforming this year. Time to put on my black leotard and do some dancing!!!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

New year...better blogger?

Hello friends!! Long time no chat I know! I was not as good as I thought I was going to be with the whole blogging thing. I LOVE it don't get me wrong but I may have been a bit too lazy to go to the office and do it every night.

Well my personal new years resolution was to be better about it. Buuuut then our computer died so I was a little screwed. Thankfully I have an amazing husband who got me an awesome MacBook! So now I can blog to my hearts content! That and since it is a Macbook I can still sit on my butt on the couch and blog while we watch West Wing!! What could be better!! 

So, starting Sunday there will be blogs! I vow to be better! Much better! Hope you are along for the ride. And if not, thats ok too. I don't mind hearing myself speak. Or reading myself type. Or whatever.