while patrick and i were looking for a grey suit for his costume at different thrift stores in new jersey, i spotted this bag and couldn't believe my luck. my two new favorite colors AND a long shoulder strap (i like bags that i can wear while riding a bike). set me back a whole $2.87.

new jersey

thrift store finds

i found a few different belts for about sixty cents each, and two pairs of heels that ended up being about $6 altogether. and a black leather fanny pack that has its own sunglasses pocket that i can't wait to use when i'm back on my bike.

spicy sweet potato hash browns

i've only just recently started eating spicier foods and i've been getting more and more daring with what i add chili peppers to. now that autumn is here, i've started substituting sweet potatoes for regular ones when i make breakfast.

per person, you will need:
one sweet potato
a few chili peppers
1 tsp. of brown sugar
and 1/2 tsp. each of:
nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, pepper
maple syrup (REAL maple syrup, not "pancake syrup")






cut the sweet potatoes first and put them in a pan drizzled with olive oil over medium heat. they will take between 15-20 minutes to cook through. while they are cooking, wash and cut your peppers. if you don't eat a lot of spicy foods, you can remove the seeds to lessen the kick. mix together the salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar and set aside. toss the spices and brown sugar and add the peppers for the last five minutes to avoid burning. drizzle with maple syrup (real maple syrup is much better than "pancake" syrup, which is in essence a huge bottle of high fructose corn syrup and maple flavoring).

 

the hash browns are vegan, but the morningstar bacon (has egg white in it) and eggs i had with it wasn't :/

in the half light of morning

halloween

we went as margot tenenbaum and eli cash for halloween. for margot's outfit, i found a $3 pair of loafers, a $0.75 mens polo t-shirt that i slit up the sides and sewed into a dress, a "wooden" finger made out of sculpy, a $10 fur coat that i took in but didn't end up wearing because it was so hot, and a long blonde wig that i cut (a little too short).

for eli, we found a $2 thrift store tie, $20 thrift store suit, a fake rose, a halloween cowboy hat, and about $2.99's worth of makeup crayons. i don't think that i personally make much of a blonde, but the costumes both looked great for the amount of money we spent on them (although i spent a few hours sewing mine).

gimme gimme

     

jeffrey campbell bondi wedge. $168. images via urbanoutfitters.

i love happy endings.

i had almost given up on getting a pair of these t-strap heels. we didn't have my size in my store, all of my size ran out online the day before i was going to order them, and while i was visiting the center city store in philly, i was heartbroken when i found out that they didn't even get the brown color in shipment. luckily, there was a pair left at the university city store. i was so excited that i put them on as soon as i got to patrick's and didn't take them off until i was back in ohio.

 

photo via urbanoutfitters

driving around

found these today for $9.99

photo via urbanoutfitters

bits and pieces from my phone

wherein i upload all of the miscellaneous pictures i have in my cellphone

spinach salad with strawberries and balsamic vinaigrette

breakfast at miel in philadelphia

graffiti on a no parking sign in bordeaux, france

my graduation bouquet on the table at sabrina's in the italian market, philadelphia

crabbing in chincoteague

patrick and i went crabbing with his nana off the docks. they were all little guys so we threw them back in the water. we used traps. nana just used a piece of string and caught about twice as many crabs as patrick and i did.