A trip to the comedy club

It’s good to know that the industry I’m seeking a job in (advertising/PR/marketing) is still powerful… What I mean is, it works.

I’m not a big lipstick girl. I think it makes my downturned lips look a little funny, especially since I think my lower lip is twice as big as my upper lip. Anyways, I saw an ad in Allure for Maybelline’s new 14 hour lipstick in Eternal Rose. In the ad it’s a bright pink lipstick and I was instantly attracted. So much so that I went out and bought the lipstick despite my qualms against it. If I hadn’t seen that ad, I never would have bought the lipstick. And tonight I finally get a chance to wear it!

Maybelline 14 hour lipstick in Eternal Rose

I’m going to Skyline Comedy Club with my friend from Dance. I’ve never been to a comedy club before, so I’m really excited to see what it’s like! I hope I don’t get picked on…lol

Since I don’t go out much, but have a big enough wardrobe to go out every night, I of course dress upped (probably too much). I decided to mix my very dressy gold and silver skirt from Von Maur (in Indianapolis) with a more casual fuchsia long sleeved tee from Loft. Mixing dressy and casual is one of my fav fashion tips. It not only looks more fashionable (not so matchy matchy), but it also allows you to expand the amount of outfits you can get out of your closet. Paired with charcoal tights and black boots, I love the pop of color from my shirt and lipstick!

The complete ensemble

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Paprika Mushroom Pasta

Thanks to Pinterest, I cooked another delicious dinner tonight for Bob and me. Originally from A Chow Life, this recipe appealed to me because of its simplicity. Plus, I bought all the ingredients (and a few extras) for under $16! The whole meal – chopping, sauté-ing, etc. – took about 30 minutes. So it’s easy, quick and tasty!

Ingredients (original recipe at http://www.achowlife.com):

1 and 1/2 tblsp. each salted butter and olive oil

1 bunch scallions, including some green parts, finely chopped

1 lb. white mushrooms, quartered

Salt and freshly milled pepper

1 teaspoon flour

1 tblsp. sweet Hungarian paprika

1/2 cup mushroom stock/ broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1 lb. egg noodles

Directions

Heat the butter and oil in a wide skillet over hight heat.  Add the scallions and mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms begin to color, about 6 minutes.  Lower the heat and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle the flour and paprika over the mushrooms, add the stock, and simmer, covered, for 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the sour cream and gently heat through.

Add the pasta to a pot of salted bowling water. Cook until al dente. Drain. Pour sauce over top and serve in individual bowls.

Take a look at how yummy it looks! (I need to get a better camera…my iPhone takes good pictures but none are “Pin” worthy)

The finished project

The sauce

Causal Date Night

With working over nights at Target my boyfriend and I don’t seem to see much of each other. So tonight we decided to go out for a casual dinner! I’m still searching for a truly delicious Italian restaurant in Green Bay (we don’t have a Spaghetti Factory or Maggiano’s or Buca di Beppos or one of those super authentic “hole” in the wall places…sad face). We decided to try Bilotti’s Pizza and Italian Garden.

New pink blazer in action

For my outfit, I tried out my new pink blazer from the Mall of America. I paired it with a gray ruffled Loft shirt, dark skinny jeans, black boots and a long strand of pearls. For Green Bay and the restaurant, even in this I seemed a little overdressed. But being overdressed is a usual occurrence for me.

As for the food, it was good…not great though. We ordered bruschetta as our appetizer and it was different than any other bruschetta I’ve ever had. Usually it’s some crispy bread, fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil. At Bilotti’s, the bread and cheese were toasted like garlic bread with a slice of tomato on top. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted good but it was not what I expected when we ordered bruschetta.

Bruschetta

Also not what we expected was my boyfriends calzone. You say calzone and you think of pizza dough wrapped around cheese and other pizza toppings. The one that ended up on our table was cheese wrapped in a thin dough and completely covered in meaty marinara sauce. It tasted pretty good, but it’s probably safe to say that we won’t be ordering that again. As for me, I got the stuffed shells.

Stuffed shells

These were very tasty, but not outstanding. Nothing compared to the deliciousness of the Spaghetti Factories’ crab ravioli.

The price points were decent – about $15 for an entree, salad and garlic bread. If we do end up going back, I think we’ll try the pizza!

What do you think are the best Italian restaurants in the Green Bay area?

Taco Dip!

Tonight, the overnight team at Target is having a potluck! Since I was little, my mom’s go to dish for potlucks was this easy taco dip. It’s always a crowd favorite and takes only 7 ingredients plus chips.

Easy Taco Dip

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese

8oz sour cream

1 pack taco seasoning

tomatoes

black olives

lettuce

shredded cheese

Tortilla chips

Directions:

Beat together the sour cream, cream cheese and taco seasoning. Spread on dish. Top with a layer of cheese. Add the lettuce, tomatoes, olives and any other veggies/peppers you like on your tacos! Top with another layer of cheese.

Use fresh veggies and not only will it taste great, but it will look great too. I did cheat a little this time and bought a can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh ones to save a little prep time.

You can also customize the dip to fit different tastes! Spice it up with a hot taco seasoning or by adding some spicy peppers. And the best chips to use are the “scoops” because you can get a lot of dip in each bite.

 

My Next Must Read

I was at Barnes and Noble the other day when a little red book caught my eye. It was Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Ines de la Fressange. This is the first sentence of the description on Amazon: “Celebrity model Inès de la Fressange shares the well-kept secrets of how Parisian women maintain effortless glamour and a timeless allure.”

Right up my alley…right?!

Parisian Chic

The book explains how to take a few affordable basics and mix them with high-fashion pieces and accessories. It also expands to creating chic homes and offices as well as her insider tips for the best places to go in Paris. If it hadn’t been $30 I would already have read it and been sharing all Ines’ secrets to fabulous French style.

When I searched for the book on Amazon, a few other titles seemed read-worthy:

All You Need To Be Impossibly French

The Gospel According to Coco Channel

Savvy Chic: The Art of More for Less

These books seem to go right along with the goal of my blog – being incredibly fashionable and well fed (like the French) but in an incredibly inexpensive way. Best believe at least Ines’ book will be joining my library and I’ll be glad to share her wisdom when that time comes!

If you read or have read any of them, tell me what you thought!

Favorite Designer?

Today I was asked an interesting question…Who are your favorite designers? As a broke girl who’s never had the luxury of buying clothes from “real” designers, I’ve never thought about how I’d answer that question. But, as an aspiring fashionista, I definitely need to figure this one out! I think it’s because I know I can’t afford the clothes, that I don’t really think about a favorite designer. They are all kind of lumped together in this fantasy fashion world that I’m not quite a part of. I see designer clothes as inspiration for finding more affordable ones at stores I actually shop at.

I can list my favorite stores – Loft, NY&CO, Target, H&M and Forever 21. And I know I like Channel purses, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo shoes. As I peruse my Marie Claire, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar magazines, I find myself attracted to Jason Wu (who coincidentally is creating a collection for Target!) and Carolina Herrera. And I love all of the Prabal Gurung dresses that Sarah Jessica Parker wears.

But I’ll have to start paying more attention to the designers who make the clothes instead of just the clothes… maybe soon I’ll be able to answer “Who are your favorite designers” with a concrete answer!

Fashion Bucket List

I’m in Minnesota for the weekend and what trip to this Wisconsin neighbor would be complete without a trip to the Mall of America! I didn’t have a lot of money to spend, so a lot of the day was window shopping, but I did come away with a few fabulous things…at great deals!

My first purchase was a new purse. When my boyfriend and I went to Las Vegas for my 21st birthday, I got a black and rhinestone Guess purse. Since it’s been two years since then, it was obviously time for an upgrade! I can’t believe I made it two whole years without buying a new (main) purse. On a side note, I think it would be fascinating to find out why women love purses so much.

I did some research before our trip on the Guess website because I knew I wanted to get a new purse. Luckily, the one I fell in love with online was in the store. Originally priced at $118, marked down to $79.00 with the best yet to come…an additional 40% off! My final total: $51.48! Not only is it cute on the outside, but the inside lining is also a fun, flirty print!

My second purchase was a boyfriend shaped, pink blazer. I have been looking around forever trying to find one of these that I liked and that wasn’t ridiculously expensive. I found a Lauren Conrad one at Kohl’s after Christmas, but on sale it was close to $70. But today, in H&M I found it on sale for $24.95 (originally $29.99).Bravo to Minnesota too for NOT having sales tax!! It’s safe to say that it’s a good thing Green Bay doesn’t have an H&M because even though their clothes are inexpensive, I could do some major damage in there if given the chance.

My third treat at the mall was some Gelati from Paciugo – a gelato and coffee cafe. Even though we had to walk all the way around the mall to get it, it was totally worth it! You got to pick three different flavors (if you wanted) for a small, four for a medium and five for a large. I just got a small with pistachio, wedding cake and chocolate chocolate chip flavors. They had tons of flavors to choose from, so some pre-purchase sampling was definitely necessary to achieve the right combination!

mmmm....gelati

My trip to the biggest mall in America inspired a fashion bucket list. Here are the top 5 fashion items I would buy if I had unlimited monetary funds. A couple of the items might be within my reach in the future !

#5 – A real Italian leather motorcycle jacket, smooth as butter! (Dolce and Gabbana anyone?)

#4 – A Vera Wang  Wedding dress (I might be able to make this happen!)

#3 – This black lace Marchesa dress worn by Sarah Jessica Parker (one of my fashion idols)

#2 – A pair of Manolo Blahniks (also inspired by SJP and on my wedding wish list)

#1 – A classic black quilted Chanel purse

 

What’s on your fashion bucket list?