Spice-rubbed Chicken & Gratin Dauphinois

It's officially summer around here and it finally feels like it!  We've been hovering right around ninety degrees here in the tri-state area all week.  And I love it.  Love!  Of course my hair has been all sorts of crazy in this high humidity, but since I don't have a job right now, who cares! 

I've fallen into a pretty good routine through my unemployed weeks.  Generally Monday is my cleaning house day.  I'll do the laundry, vacuum and dust the apartment, run boring errands and cook the fanciest meal of the week.  By Tuesday I've run out of task-oriented things to do and tackle projects that have been sitting around for a while.  I'm talking scrapbooking, closet organizing, de-cluttering.

When Wednesday rolls around I don't really have much to do around the house, so I text some OSI friends and get together for brunch or lunch.  (This week we're heading to Clinton Street Bakery for brunch and then shopping for interview clothes in SOHO!)  Wednesday night used to be Boyfriends night to cook, but since I'm home already and he doesn't really like to cook, I've taken it back.

By the time Thursday comes, I'm starting to get a little bored at home.  I usually will jump on my bike and head to the local park for relaxing and reading in the sun.  Thursday usually also means I've run out of fruits and vegetables and a Whole Foods run is necessary. 

Friday is Treat Yourself! day.  This week that consists of an orthodontist appointment!  Thrilling.  Generally it means I hang out at Starbucks then head across the street to the nail salon.  Mostly I'm just excited for Friday because it means the weekend is here and I get to spend time with BF.  It's his job to entertain me through the weekend!

Stitch Fix #2 - June 2013 Review

 It's Stitch Fix time!   You still haven't heard of Stitch Fix?  It's like Birchbox for clothes, kinda.  If you haven't heard of it, stop by my last fix post and get the details!  The quick explanation is this...  You fill out a lengthy personal style questionaire.  You pay a $20 styling fee and they send you a box of 5 items of clothes/accessories.  You keep what you want and send back the rest.  The $20 styling fee goes toward whatever items you decided to keep!  They explain it much better than I could - Stop by and check them out!

Now let's get to this months fix!  In my message to my stylist, I asked for cute tops to go with my new black jeans.  All of the tops went well with the pants, but some of them just didn't go well on me!

1. Aryn K. Izabela Sheer Panel Button Front Top - I really liked the idea of this top.  The sheer panels were lots of fun, but I didn't really like the button down detail in the front.  Also, it was super boxy.  This one went back, though I was mildly tempted to keep it.

2. Another Aryn K top, the Giana Open Blazer - When I pulled this jacket out of the box I wasn't really loving it.  I was thinking it was a little too "Dynasty".  But once I put it on with my previously mentioned black jeans, I loved it!  I also didn't have anything like it in my closet, which is where this jacket now lives.

3. I've seen this brand Eight Sixty at Saks off 5th a few times before.  I knew I wasn't going to like this top (Aubree Printed Hi-Lo Sheer Blouse) as soon as I picked it up.  I really don't like the mullet shirt.  Not only was this one a hi-lo shirt, but it was really wide and blah.  You can see I was bored with it.  Back to San Francisco with you terrible shirt.  Also, it had a hole in it.  Boo.

4. I love cheap-o jewelry.  This one wasn't cheap, but it was too fun to turn down.  Enjoy this picture of my neck.  It's not super weird or anything...  The only problem is, it gets tangled up a bit and since I'm kinda OCD, it bothers me and I have to stop and fix it.

5. This Under Skies Cory Shoulder Stud Short-Sleeve Top was the winner of the box.  The fabric is really nice and the black color is quite rich.  Plus it has golden studs on the shoulders.  I look like a tough guy.  Be afraid of me!



I wound up keeping three out of the five things they sent me this time!  I tossed those two boxy tops in the pre-paid mailing bag and dropped them in the mailbox.  I set up my next Fix for July and asked for no more black and white clothes.  Send me color Stitch Fix!  It's summer and I crave color!

Have you tried Stitch Fix?  What did you get this month?  I'd love to see!

What else have I gotten?
Fix #1 - May 2013
Fix #2 - June 2013
Fix #3 - July 2013
Fix #4 - August 2013
Fix #5 - September 2013
Fix #6 - October 2013
Fix #7 - November 2013
Fix #8 - December 2013
Fix #9 - January 2014
Fix #10 - February 2014

Wilde Week #17

It's been a few weeks since I've done a Wilde Week post.  Actually I haven't written one since before my company closed!  It's not because I've been super depressed and sitting around at home.  Quite the opposite, I've been really busy!  What have I been up to?  Read on, it's been a fun unemployment so far.

1. Almost right after the site shutdown, Boyfriend and I went on vacation in Morocco.  If you go to Morocco I highly recommend booking a climbing excursion in the Atlas mountains.  See how awesome and tough I look while scaling that wall!

 2. While in Morocco, you should also head out to the middle of no where!  Shockingly, I was able to get internet and GPS out in the middle of the desert.  We're living in the future!

3. The best part about being unemployed?  Weekday brunches!

4. And weekday lunches with your girlfriends.  Lunches that include massive plates of chocolate cake!

5. And the time to wait in line to see THIS GUY!

6. I'm perfecting my golf game.  Kinda.  I'm mostly terrible and can hit the ball only 120 yards.  But I wear a golf glove and look super professional.
 

7. The hot summer weather has finally arrived and we found a Dairy Queen near a park.  DQ + Park = awesome Saturday!

8. Summer in NYC is amazing.  There are so many festivals going on all through the summer that I can't be bored.  If I have a slow day, all I need to do is head to Manhattan.  Thank you NYC for keeping me entertained!

9. What have I been doing the past two weeks?  Prepping for job interviews.  Have you ever been on a scientific on-site interview?  It takes all day.  From 9am to 4pm usually.  They include meeting with just about everyone on your prospective team and giving an hour long seminar about your previous experience.  It's exhausting, but totally worth it.