Quit Washing Your Hair

Even in this god-awful cell phone picture, my hair still looks good. I haven't washed it in five days...

When was the last time you washed your hair? Yesterday? Two days ago?

Three days ago?  ::GASP::

Well, let me tell you something. I have not washed my hair in five days. FIVE DAYS!

And, at this rate, shampoo and water may never grace my scalp again.

Because, I have discovered Klorane Dry Shampoo. 

It has changed my life. Or, at least, my mornings. To the tune of 45 additional minutes of shut-eye. 

I know, I know. It seems too good. But, I swear, it's the real deal. Just spray on, let set for two minutes and brush out. 

BOOM. Soft, shiny hair full of sexy volume. 

I used it after working out last night, drenched in sweat.

I recently ordered  The All Nighter, which is a competing product. It should arrive soon and I will post a comparison. 

In the meantime,  go buy yourself some Klorane and sleep in tomorrow.

Weekend Link Roundup

Dressing up on a Sunday; my attempt to combat winter blues.  
Sweater, Banana Republic. Skirt, J. Crew. Blouse, Target. Tights, Calvin Klein. 

I am going to get a sun lamp. I have decided.

Every year I forget that I think that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, only to greet mid-January by pestering the Mister about how irritable I am (for no reason!) and how I think that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Maybe I am being melodramatic.

Seriously though, when I lived in Portland, where the sun shows its face far less than in the (dreary) Midwest, I basically went catatonic for a year.

Fat and catatonic.

Something has got to be done. And, since I have resolved not to make unnecessary purchases this month, I can't just drown myself in expensive bubble bath...or something.

Has anyone out there ever bought a sun lamp? Thoughts? Recommendations?

Some links:

I die for this All Saints dress.

I'm digging the fringe bikinis for 2012.

Sweet Tea Cocktails.

A digital measuring cup. Brilliant.

I can't wait to get my All Nighter styling powder in the mail. (And quit washing my hair...)

Kim Noorda for Ellery Resort Campaign.

A DIY I might actually do: copper leaf candles.

A cupcake shortcut.

Exercises for hard-to-tone areas.

11 beauty pick-me-ups for under $11.

Slow-cook tomato-basil parmesan soup.

Meal Planning For The Hopelessly Disorganized

Via

Chicago is doing Chicago today, at a balmy nine degrees, snow shooting down in sheets. Days like this, the streets are just magical. What with the hundreds of cursing commuters, waddling to their trains in sleeping bags masquerading as coats.

Let me tell you something: Life slows down when the city hits single digits. We stop working out eating out, in favor of stuffing ourselves with industrial-sized boxes of macaroni and cheese and watching regrettable television. For days--maybe months--on end.

This year, I've vowed to be prepared. Because, if I don't start planning meals, I will be an elephant by the first thaw. It's happened before, people.

It should be noted that, as a working woman, I have been rather anti-meal planning. Who needs the additional stress? At my house, on any given day, you might be fed an expertly roasted, Spanish chicken with sauteed garlicky greens...or cold cereal. 

Because, like my approach to  most everything in life, my cooking style is stubborn All or Nothing.

Anyway, I've noticed a lot of chatter around the blogosphere about meal planning. Folks offer a myriad of tips and tricks for doing it successfully, some of which are probably useful. Yours truly, however, was not swayed to meal plan until she found How Does She Do It.

Here's how the site works:

• Select recipes for the week from a giant database or input your own. 
• Add selected recipes to your calendar.
• Print your shopping list--which is generated FOR you based on the recipes that you select. 

Genius, no?

Here's what really sold me on this site: The shopping list is organized by sections in the grocery store. Hours of my life have been saved. Because, as a nearly 25 year-old woman, I have yet to master the proximal difference between milk and shaving cream. 

Goat Cheese and Cranberry Egg Bake with Thyme

Breakfast rarely graces my table in the form of anything but garlic bagels. And, maybe a wayward croissant or two, purchased at the cafe across the street by the Mister after much bemoaning of hunger pangs by yours truly.

I am awful at mornings. I require, at least, half a french press to begin speaking in complete sentences. It follows then, that cooking is totally beyond my scope of a.m. ability.

BUT, egg bakes hardly necessitate any real cooking. Requiring no knives or stove-top maneuvering, they're safe for the morning-impaired. Just plunk in the ingredients and bake.

I died a little when I made this:

• Cranberries
• Goat Cheese
• Organic Eggs (2)
• Thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

Grease two mini-cocottes with butter. Crack one egg in each. Add one tablespoon milk to each. Cover with goat cheese. Add cranberries, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for ten minutes. Remove lids and broil for an additional five minutes.

*You can also use one ramekin in lieu of two mini-cocottes. But I recommend the cocottes. They're adorable and the Le Creuset variety practically cook things themselves. 

NOLA - Anniversary Edition

Just a little stroll down memory lane with these photos - the last time the Mister and I were in New Orleans.

We were dating and yours truly was a dewy 22. That was a good age, no? Old enough for booze, but not so for fine lines and vague feelings of having chosen the wrong career.

Anyway.

We love NOLA. Yours truly, especially. 

Because, people who think they are writers eventually feel the inclination to make a pilgrimage to literary meccas like this. To take hipster grainy photos in front of the Faulkner house and to read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the bar where Tennessee Williams sat and drank. And drank and drank and drank. Much to the chagrin of their more sensible spouses, who just want some Etouffee already. 

We are celebrating our first anniversary on March 26th with five days in NOLA. Also, we are celebrating my 25th birthday. But, no need to dwell on that.

I am currently in search of a photographer to spend a few hours following us around in the French Quarter. I need your recommendations.  Also, your suggestions for eateries are appreciated.

2012 Links

At least I was wearing a great dress...

I threw my back out during New Year's Limbo (which is a thing). Embarrassment. Shame. Just for the record, however, I got low.

I don't know if it is the puke-y looking heating pad I have glued to my lower vertebra, or the fact that I have not been able to combat my holiday poundage with any kind of physical activity since the fatal eve of the limbo, but I am in a New Year's funk. 

There, I said it. New Year's Funk.

I imagine it will pass once everyone starts breaking their resolutions and I stop feeling inferior for having made none.

So, I owe you links:

I could use this Armani bag for spring. How about you?

All little boys should be dressed like this.

How to clean your hair without shampoo.

I made these Proscuitto-Mozzarella Skewers for NYE and they were delish. Top with a little truffle salt to be really decadent.

Rorschach ink blot mugs. I die. 

If you like ice coffee you must have this cold press. My mother-in-law gave me one for Christmas and I am in love.

Monogram cocktail napkins. Yes, I am still on the hunt for some.

Ginger Cranberry Whiskey Sour. Oh bartender...

These French stroller bags are so chic.

Speaking of chic, check out this office made entirely of Good Will items.

What to Eat (And Drink) on NYE

Against all of my better judgement, I volunteered to host New Year's Eve. Many of you are familiar with this holiday as the one which features glitter nail polish and dashed expectations. 

On evenings such as New Year's Eve, which are wont to provoke reflection and self-examination, I find that it is best to distract people with food and booze. If you would like recipes for any of the items found on my menu, email me.

I Survived Christmas 2011

Why yes, that is a 20 ft Christmas tree in my parents' living room.

Christmas can be a harrowing experience, even for the most poised among us. Fortunately, this year was relatively benign. The Mister and I made a quick trip to visit family and exchange gifts in the North Woods. Otherwise Known As, land of bad coffee and intimidating wildlife you didn't think existed. Anyway, the scenery really is something. And, my folks have a "cabin" fit for royalty that they graciously share with us.

5 Indulgent Things

Alas, the Holiday list of indulgences. And, not a moment too soon, either--if another tourist blinded by skyscrapers stops dead on the sidewalk as I'm in route to work, I will die. DIE.

1. Women forever have raved about the Mason Pearson brush. Especially those with difficult hair--it tames the wildest of manes. And, it lasts a lifetime. (A woman on Amazon claims to have had hers for more than 30 years.)

2. YSL lipstick is worth purchasing if only for its luxe design--it's the kind of heavy, gold number that begs to be worn with diamonds and reapplied after a steakhouse dinner.

3. Louboutins are always a festive choice. And, this less than sky-high pair can be worn comfortably all evening.

4. LUSH Buche De Noel is my Christmas tradition. Starting yesterday. Full of almonds and brandy, this cleanser is downright regal. My face is silk. Photo via.

5. I appreciate a woman who drinks bourbon. A H Hirsch Reserve is supposedly the Creme de la Creme--I imagine enjoying a glass while sporting a pencil skirt and fur.  (Calm down, I only have one fur and it was dead long before I was alive. Which, I think, justifies it having wound up in my closet.)

Shabby Apple Giveaway Winner

The recipient of this fantastically preppy frock is, Joelle from Something Charming. Merry Merry, my dear.