Planning for the Work Week Ahead

I'm so fortunate to have gotten enough groceries and recipes to last me for almost 2 wks, when I went to the grocery store last week. Do you understand what a huge relief it is not to go grocery shopping??? It brings back memories when I thought it was so 'cool' to go to the store for my mom. When I'm on my own, it's not that fun anymore... and it takes A LOT of time! And then, what if you forget something? You have to go back to the freaking store! UGH! Maybe I should have a kid so they can do all of this stuff for me.

For dinner I made Gluten Free Goddess's- "Roasted Corn Chowder." It was totally not a hot soup kind of night in the BFlo/JFlo household. After eating my first bowl (yeah, I ate 2 and 1/4 bowls- I'm such a pig!) I was sweating so much that I had to get a napkin to wipe my face. Note to self- "There might be fall-like temperatures elsewhere, but not in Texas, where it's still summer!"

Credit- GlutenFreeGoddess.blogspot.com

Here's the recipe: "Roasted Corn Chowder"

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 to 1 teaspoon curry or chili powder or paste, mild or hot, to taste

4-5 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

1 medium sweet onion, diced

3 ears of corn, roasted, kernels removed

1 large sweet potato, peeled, diced

1 14-oz can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles

1 cup seeded, chopped fresh heirloom tomatoes- I used yellow and pink

4 oz. chopped roasted green chiles

1 quart light vegetable broth

1 14-oz can coconut milk

2 rounded cups torn cooked chicken pieces

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

A quick drizzle of organic raw agave, to taste

To serve:

3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Fresh lime juice from 2 juicy limes

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and stir in the cumin and curry or chili powder; cook for one minute to infuse the oil with spice.

Add the chopped garlic and onion. Stir and cook for five minutes. Add the roasted corn, sweet potato, canned fire roasted tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, green chiles; stir for a minute. Add in the broth.

Cover and bring to a high simmer. Lower the heat and simmer gently, until the sweet potatoes are tender, about twenty minutes or so.

Add the coconut milk and cooked chicken pieces. Stir and season with sea salt and ground pepper; and add a drizzle of organic raw agave to taste. Heat through gently- please don't boil it.

Just before serving, add the chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. Stir. Taste test. Adjust seasoning. The lime juice brightens the taste and accents the spice. Agave cools the hotness.

Garnish with a lime wedge and pass out the spoons. Slurp. Smile.

Serves 6-8.

What I changed- because I didn't have all of the ingredients. I used frozen corn instead of roasted, regular tomatoes instead of heirloom, chicken broth instead of vegetable, no agave and no cilantro (I pulled out my cilantro and it was brown, slimy and stinky! EWWW!) This was so delicious! I can't wait to make it when the weather is much cooler.

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On Mondays I usually get up at 5am so that I can beat the traffic into the office for my weekly 9am meetings. So, I try to prepare ahead of time as much as possible. I showered and washed my hair tonight- Sunday night. And I ironed my outfit. Here's my outfit:

Basic Smock Top that I got today @A'Gaci for $16.50

This $118 BCBG skirt that I got at Marshall's for $29

And these shoes that I got @Nordstrom Rack

How do you finish out the last night of your weekend? 

Do you make work preparations?

Wrinkles & Booties

I'm definitely sounding like a grandma with a title like that! :)

If you would have asked me a year ago about open-toed booties, I wouldn't have had a very confident position as to how I felt about them. This year, I am totally digging them. They're perfect for fall, and especially for fall in the South. It will take a while to get cold down here in Dallas, especially after our 3 months of no rain and 110 degree bliss. Why not show off those cute little pedicured piggies as long as possible? Here are some cute steals (I'm obviously a little in love with the ruffled look...)


$17.99 @A'Gaci

$28.20 @Urbanog.com

$25.90 @Urbanog.com

$25.90 @Urbanog.com

$28.90 @Urbanog.com

Now onto the wrinkle segement-

My mom recently told me about Argan Oil and how it's supposed to help with wrinkles. Welp, 30 isn't too far away, so I definitely need to start looking into wrinkle prevention products. I did some research on Argan oil, and really liked what I found out. The oil comes from kernals of the Argan Tree which are native to Morocco. The oil is used in cooking, for salad dressings and also in cosmetics. Today, all Argan oil is produced by a women's cooperative and the profits are shared amongst the women of the Berber tribe. You can read more about the history here.



Last week LivingSocial offered the biggest daily deal in history with a $20 credit at Whole Foods for only $10. They sold one million coupons at a rate of 115,000 an hour. I bought one!!! And guess what I used it to purchase at Whole Foods? Argan Oil!!! Yeah buddy! So, the test has begun. I started using it on my wrinkles every night, and expect good results. I told some friends about it so they can give me honest feedback as to if I look more like I'm 18 or 28. It better work :)

What's your best kept beauty secret?

And what do you think about Booties? Do you have any?

Shopping Frees My Soul

Bethany Hamilton is known as the "Soul Surfer." You can call me the "Soul Shopper," I mean, I'm being very honest, and it comes from my heart and soul! :)

Last week was a really hard week. Very emotional and taxing to say the least, both professionally and personally. I'm looking forward to this week making up for all of the sadness from last week and making this my best week yet both professionally and personally. That's exercising the power of positive thinking right there!

In order to move on and put last week behind me, I needed a good shopping experience. We were in San Antonio for a family reunion, and nothing makes family time better than getting dropped off by myself, in one of my favorite stores, in a beautiful outdoor mall! The Shops at La Cantera.

Must start the day with some café! And it even matches my dress...

I went to Forever21 and this is what I got (interchangeable work outfits too)-

Can be worn under a blazer

High Neck Woven Top- $15.80

Possibly wear with a sleeveless dress shirt or
cami/tank underneath (the sleeves are SUPER tight!)

Long Sleeve Lace Cardigan- $14.50

This skirt is actually at my knees and Super-Comfy

A-Line Knit Skirt- $11.80

I need shoes and perhaps a different belt for this dress

Shirt Length Ruffle Dress- $27.80 (couldn't find online)

This would look very cute with a black or tan pencil skirt

PiNK/Gold Lace Top- $17.80 (couldn't find online)

This looks cute with anything because OWLS are Awesome! Let's go Owling in honor of Owls! (:

Owl Charms Necklace- $3.80

You think that dusty rose might be my favorite fall color? I only got 3 things in that color...

Did you find anything good over the weekend?


Is shopping a natural stress relief for you?

UrbanDictionary.com

Checking out UrbanDictionary.com's word of the day can be pretty amusing sometimes. Sometimes it's a little too vulgar. But for me, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

Here's how UrbanDictionary.com can be used in the work place (this is the actual email that I sent to my customer):

According to UrbanDictionary.com’s word of the day, today’s word is “Naff” (definition is below). I wanted to confirm with you that this is indeed true British slang. Very important topic of conversation… :)

Please advise.

naff
September 1
British slang, describes something that is stupid, lame or unpalatable.
That party was naff — they ran out of beer, and the people were way too uptight.

This was my Customer's response:

That’s very accurate. It can also be used in the form off ‘naff-off’, when you’d quite like someone to go away :)

Moral of the story - UrbanDictionary.com can provide a deeper level of understanding customers and their culture.

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Staying on the British topic- Did you hear that John Galliano escaped jail and fines for making "public anti-Semitic and racist remarks?"

Check out the full Article here

The designer apologized and "blamed his behaviour on overwork, the pressures of the fashion industry and a triple addiction to alcohol, Valium and sleeping pills. He said that his racist remarks were completely out of character."

Hmmm... Next time BFlo and I get into an argument, I'll just have to tell him not to blame me, blame it on my "other character" because I was out of my normal one.

Thoughts? We have Freedom of Speech in the US, so his apologies were nice...

My Hair is Racist

I only let Asians cut my hair... so, I guess I'm racist.That's pretty random, right? But seriously, they always do the best job, aren't expensive, cut like they're using chopsticks and quite frankly, I believe it's a beautiful form of art that only they have mastered :)

Sothsai is my #1 favorite hair stylist, and by far my favorite Laotian- lady. Only problem, she lives in Kansas and I don't :( Today I met Song, who is now my favorite Korean hair stylist! I am positive that I'm the only white girl that has been in that salon. They were all going gaga over my hair, saying "it's so pretty", "do you have highlights?", "I like your eyeliner." The attention was great! I'll definitely be back! Haha! And no, I don't have highlights. I have virgin hair- I've never colored it.

Keeping up with the Asian theme, I headed over to Shoe Mart, (owned by the sweetest Asians EVER) and picked up 2 pairs of sandals for a total of a whopping $20! It's hard to find black sandals with black bottoms, and same for the silver too.



Next I went to Sam Moon, (also Asian owned), I picked up 2 scarves. They were only $5.99 a piece.

They are perfect for fall and cheaper than anything I can find at Forever21- definitely a steal of a deal. I even wore one of them!



B.Flo- "Really, the weather drops 20 degrees and you're wearing a scarf?" Me- "Yes, 85 degrees feels almost chilly when compared to 105! Plus, I'm preparing for the Fall!"

Lastly, check out my Asian leopard cats aka Bengals, fighting:

I LOVE Asian influence, I love Asians too! But don't worry, I love every race and every culture! :)

Giada's Spring Rolls

One of my VP's recently recommended that I watch "Giada at Home," the cooking show on Food Network. Apparently I fit the profile of one that should be watching this show. So what did I do? I dvr'd it, of course! The first show that I watched featured fruit spring rolls, and they were adorable, looked easy and super healthy! So what did I do? Attempted to make my own of course (:

I found the rice paper at WalMart, and then used what I had on hand to make my own version of the spring rolls. Here's the recipe that I worked from and the link: Fruit Spring Rolls by Giada

Rolls:

1 1/2 cups cooked Pad Thai noodles, cooled and drained*
1/4 cup honey
1/4 packed cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
6 (8-inch) rice paper rounds
6 medium strawberries, stemmed
1 mango, halved, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
6 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
Dipping sauce:
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 to 3 large limes)

Directions
For the rolls: Put the noodles in a medium bowl and add the honey and the mint. Using 2 forks, toss the ingredients together until the noodles are coated. Lay a damp kitchen or paper towel on a work surface. Soak a rice paper round in warm water for 20 to 30 seconds until softened. Put the rice paper on the damp towel. Add 1/4 cup of the noodle mixture in the center of the rice paper and form into a 3 by 2-inch rectangle. Using a paring knife, slice a strawberry lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange the slices over the noodle mixture. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon almonds on top. Arrange 2 to 3 mango slices on top of the almonds. Roll the rice paper around the filling and seal the ends with a little water. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Wrap the finished spring rolls in damp paper towels and store in the refrigerator.

For the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, combine the mint, honey and lime juice. Pour into a serving bowl.

Arrange the spring rolls on a platter and serve with the dipping sauce.

I used spinach, strawberries and goat cheese and rolled it all up in rice paper. I made a quick dipping sauce of agave nectar, red wine vinegar and poppy seeds. The results?

Not bad for my first time! ;) BFlo LOVED them! I can't wait to make all different types of spring rolls down the road, they were super-fun! I def plan to actually make Giada's recipe one day as well.