Fall Boots: The Rundown

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I've been searching for a pair of tall flat black boots with a motorcycle or riding style for the season, and I think I'm finally nearing a decision.  {Hubs will certainly be relieved to no longer have to comment on which boots look better as well as having all returns processed so we can get our money back... What - this is critical for my fall/winter wardrobe!  I have to make my decision very carefully, ya know?}  The ones above are my absolute favorite.  I know, I know.  They're not black.  But they're still my favorite.  Unfortunately, we're not meant to be {see reason 1 below}...

My struggle is two-fold.  First, I have "athletic" calves as many people like to call them.  {How many times have I heard, "you should've been a gymnast." or "were you a soccer player?"}  Why, oh why?!?!  I know it's not the end of the world, but it's such a pain.  Those Madewell boots just call to me {the color, the shape, the details}, and yet they're too stiff and narrow to pull on and expect to get jeans and such under there...  Which brings me to my second point, I'm pretty picky.  Honestly, I have yet to see a fashion list come out on boots for bigger calves that has anything on it that I consider to be stylish.  I know I'm not alone here, right? 

Thank goodness for reviews on Zappos and Endless - I would be lost without them!  My quest started with scouring the sites for pairs that struck my interest and then reading all the reviews I could find about them.  I finally narrowed it down to a purchase from both companies as well as a pair in the "extended calf" from J.Crew. 

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Now JCrew's were light, comfortable and attractive.  I dare say a regular would've actually worked better.  The leather is thinner and kind of floppy so having extra room in there is not a good idea.  They immediately start to slouch.  I decided they're not really what I'm looking for so they went back.

So I got the ones on the left from Zappos, and I like them a lot, but Jamie says - "ehh - they're ok."  I guess it's what I think that matters most, but it's hard to be psyched about my decision when my husband doesn't think they're that special.  Especially for $350!  Then I saw the ones on the right at Target while perusing earlier.  They're only $60!  But I'd have to order them because they're online only, and they're on pre-order two - three weeks out.  I really don't want to wait that long; it's already well into fall.  And what if they're not good either?

Then I found the ones on the right, and they should be waiting at home for me now {love how quick Zappos is} so that I can compare them to the Frye Paige Tall Riding.  But I found the two others {left and middle} at Target as well.  These are available in the store though.  So maybe I should go and try them on too?  The prices are MUCH better.  But I do intend for these to be an investment purchase as opposed to a trendy piece.

What to do...  I realize that I started this post saying that I was nearing a decision, and this may not have sounded like it, but trust me.  Much closer than before... :)

Have a great weekend!

Question  for Blogger users - Why does it say that my Polyvore images are centered when they are clearly not?
Polyvore.com

Frye Boots
$348 - thefryecompany.com

Women's Merona® Kasia Tall Leather Boots - Black : Target
$60 - target.com

Women's Xhilaration® Karima Leather Boots - Black : Target
$50 - target.com
Leather boots »

Mossimo Supply Co. Black Kaden Buckle Boot - 8.5 : Target
$35 - target.com
Black boots »

The Frye Company
$328 - thefryecompany.com

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Target StyleBoutique could be the next big thing!

I've loved shopping at Target since my sophomore year of college when the store finally came to Connecticut!  So many cute things at reasonable prices for clothes and home decor.  But seriously - "Tarjay" brings up some issues too.  I usually end up spending about an hour more in the store than I had intended, which leads me to buy a ton more than I had intended.  And then as I reconsider my purchases later, I end up returning half of it.  What a waste of time!  And then I start to get discouraged with Target, thinking that maybe a more "designer" purchase would've been the right choice, but let's be honest - how fancy can I be sometimes?  Who really has the money for that? 

I just found out from today's Daily Candy that they have this blog called Target StyleBoutique where the style team gives not only recommendations on products but also style information on how to use them and how to chose the right item for your needs.  For example, today's post has a video of one of the experts discussing how to warm up your decor for the season by mixing plaids, florals, rich textures and deep colors.  They also bring in designers and outside experts like my fave - Nina Garcia {of Marie Claire magazine, Project Runway and many other awesome things...} - to give advice on how to turn some simple Target pieces into an outfit that looks on trend and works for you.

And they also have a group on Polyvore, which I may be the last person to know about, but still - NICE!

Ok, I swear I don't work for Target.  I just thought this was awesome!  I'll be checking out all the prior posts as soon as I can.  :)  And I'll probably be hitting up the local Target at lunchtime.  More about that in a later post...

{Side note - so far, the only downside I've noted is that they only show the first two lines of each post in Google Reader - so annoying.  I read all my blogs in that, and how can I possibly read ALL of them if I have to go to 50 different sites???}

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Sweet Valley, WHAT?!

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There are truly few things that will turn me into a screaming teenager faster than Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, and the less popular but still exciting Sweet Valley University {I like to think of this as the original SVU, but I digress}.  I mean I thought they were just the prettiest girls EVAH!  I wanted to look just like them, of course. :)

Well, I just read that Francine Pascal has written a follow-up to their lives 10 years later called Sweet Valley Confidential, and according to the synopsis, it promises to be just as drama-filled as ever with the now-estranged twins living on separate coasts. 

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I'm definintely pre-ordering.  I can't wait to see what their lives are like after so long!  Do you think Elizabeth is a journalist?  Is Jessica still a bad-ass?  Did she cause their feud?  Do they still wear their lavalier necklaces???  I wanted one of those so badly!!!  And ohhh to go on a date with Todd Wilkens!

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Remember the tv show?  When they actually assigned real girls to them?  That was strange, but I couldn't help but love it...

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And the college years...I remember seeing this picture and thinking, I can't wait for college so I can wear a cool sweatshirt like that - of course, my college sweatshirt wouldn't ever say Sweet Valley University, but whatev...

Wow, this just totally took me back...  Anyone have any fave memories of the twins?

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Foodie weekend recap #1

Happy Tuesday! 

What a gorgeous weekend!  So I can confirm that I was in fact a baking/cooking fiend.  On the one hand, I'm pretty impressed with myself, and it was so fun!  But on the other hand, I probably {read definitely} did too much.  I mean besides that I gained about 5 pounds, I was so exhausted by Sunday night...  I can see why chefs wear those comfy-but-you-have-to-admit-not-so-cute clogs and stand on cushy mats! 

My husband {Jamie} and I decided to cook dinner in on Saturday night.  I made Open-Faced Spinach Pie Bites as an appetizer and Simple Slow-cooker Beef Stew with homemade noodles for dinner, both of which are recipes from the lovely ladies, Cara and Phoebe, at Big Girls, Small Kitchen.  

Now my first step was to get the beef stew cooking before I started on the app.  Jamie sweetly performed the role of sous chef and prepped all of the vegetables for me so that I could just measure and toss.  {While a great cook himself, he is much faster at prepping veggies than I am!  He also generally makes the homemade noodles since my first attempt was not so successful.  By the way, now that we have a food processor, I'm much more confident!}  I actually doubled the stew recipe so that we could have extra for dinner mid-week, and I cut the appetizer recipe in half since there were only two of us.  It was still way too much, but I didn't feel comfortable trying to downsize from there.  Perhaps the bites could be frozen to be reheated later, but I am not very experienced with the whole "make extra and freeze it for a quick meal later" idea.  If anyone has tips about that, please send them my way! 

So here are the results {'scuse the pics - we're not professionals at staging and such}:

 my bites

  

the pic from Phoebe's and Cara's blog

my pic

the pic from Cara's and Phoebe's blog

Pretty close, if I do say so myself!  Although in hindsight, I should have browned the bites under the broiler a little before removing them from the oven as the recipe suggests.  They would've been a little crispier, and I suspect that Cara's and Phoebe's are.  And their stew picture really makes me hungrier than mine does.

  

Verdict:

The spinach pie bites were really easy to make and absolutely delicious - as confirmed by Hubs while popping them into his mouth one-by-one...  I will definitely make this for a party; it's a great alternative to the standard {yet generally still delicious} spinach dip.  They're easy to eat since they're bite-sized and, save for a little greasiness, not at all messy.  The only down side I can think of would be the potential for some spinach-in-teeth incidents, but I think sometimes you just have to be aware of your mouth when you're eating in public.  I mean I'd rather eat something delicious and run to the bathroom to check my teeth with a peice of floss than eat something less exciting that has little chance of getting stuck in my teeth.  Wouldn't you?! 

The beef stew was a good basic stew.  I don't have a slow-cooker so I took the dutch oven route that they mention at the top of the recipe.  I should've cooked it down so there was a little less broth in it, but the meat is very tasty, and I think I'll put potatoes in it next time. 

Ridiculous:  The instructions recommend that you crumble the dried thyme between your pinched fingers as you sprinkle it into the pot.  I'm sure I'm the first person in history to have experienced this, but wow - I got a SPLINTER {evidence below}!  How in the...?!?!  I have no idea.  I can't remember the last time I had a splinter.  

ouch!

So embarrassing.  I've realized that I tend to blindly follow recipes rather than critically assessing them as I go {attribute this to my previously-admitted inexperience}, and now that I think about it, it probably would've been a great opportunity to use the mortar and pestle that we received for our wedding recently.  So this led to the rest of my cooking over the weekend being mildly painful since it happens to be at an integral point on my finger.  Jamie tried digging around in my finger with tweezers, but I had to stop him.  It's still in there now, but thankfully, it doesn't hurt anymore.

So two excellent recipes down; to be continued with recaps on the cookies and other weekend tasties!

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A Delicious Weekend Ahead

One of my favorite parts of fall and winter is that I always have this desire to cook stuff.  I mean in general, I like cooking, and I LOVE eating, but for some reason, I just like to cook more.  And usually, new things.  So assuming I get sufficient time outside to enjoy the weather and have no unexpected plans come up, I've decided to make some recipes from one of the blogs I've come across more recently: Big Girls, Small Kitchen.  A couple weeks ago, I made their lemon sugar cookies and finally had some time this week to check out their blog and peruse their other recipes.

 

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I'm not a die-hard sugar cookie fan, but trust me - this picture sold me on them, and they were so worth it {and shockingly easy to make}!  The fresh lemon zest makes them just so special.  Now if only I could get that Liberty of London box to display mine in!

So what's on the menu for this weekend you ask?  Well I just happen to have that on hand... ;)  I'm thinking open-faced spinach pie bites, beef stew with homemade noodles, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies two-ways.  {And depending on whether we eat in or out on Saturday night, perhaps also turkey chili with jalapeno corncake toppers. There may or may not be a salad or other veggie tossed in there...  }  Recipes - and hopefully pictures - to come next week along with my thoughts of course. 

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Rainy Friday

Happy Friday! 

This pouring rain makes me want to snuggle in bed all day with my husband, a good book and some tea.  But thankfully, it gives me a perfect excuse to wear my favorite navy wellies while I'm out and about!  Gotta love that!

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And apparently, this weekend should have gorgeous weather for pumpkin-picking, sipping hot-mulled cider while watching the UConn game, and enjoying the colorful leaves before they all fall to the ground, which = perfection because it's one of those weekends where we really have no major plans.  I can go out and take some pictures with my new DSLR camera that my husband got me for my 30th birthday last month.  {Thanks, Hubs!} I'm still in the early stages of learning how to use it, but it's so cool!  Perhaps I'll be able to capture some like this...so picturesque!

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