This one's for you, Mom!

Happy Oh-Colin-You're-So-Dreamy Day. 

Did you watch the Oscars?

Chasing the Food Trucks

When I used to think of street food I would imagine gross hot dogs, roasted peanuts that smell infinitely better than they taste, and soft serve ice cream. Not. Any. More. DC food trucks have completely revolutionized how I feel about street food.

The DC food trucks, which look like old US mail trucks donning fresh coats of paint and large food windows, serve almost everything, from pulled pork sandwiches to lobster rolls to slices of pie. They park themselves in different neighborhoods everyday, and as they arrive, you can watch people pour out of the surrounding office buildings to wait in line.

I know so many people who have become loyal to one food truck or another; they wait for days for the food truck to show up within a half-mile radius of their office and then they make the trek. On the website Foodtruckfiesta.com you can track the location of all DC food trucks. This website is frequented by 81,000 different people EVERY MONTH.

As for me, I am currently stalking the CapMac (The Capital of Macaroni) truck. I am prepared to wait in line for 30+ minutes for this baked ooey gooey Cheez-it topped meal served in a cardboard container.

(Via Capmacdc.com)

Do you guys have food trucks in the cities in which you live? Any particularly delicious ones?

The Friday Find

Ahhhh, Friday.  If the weather where you are is anywhere near as bad as it is here (read: snow, sleet, ice, cold, wind...the usual) you, like me, may be looking forward to curling up with a good glass of wine tonight and watching the white stuff pile up from the warmth of your couch.  That's where this week's Friday Find comes in:

This Carmenere was discovered recently by my dad (a wine lover) and he has been raving about it.  The best part - it retails for just $6.99 a bottle (or $5.99 per bottle if you buy a case of 24). Keep an eye out for it in your local market!

Spring Silhouette

Have you been seeing these everywhere like I have?  I think high-waisted skinny jeans are part of the new spring silhouette.  I happen to own this pair, and can vouch for how comfy and flattering they are.  (In fact, I am wearing them right now.) 



Jcrew

Gap



Madwell



Café Au Lait

Today it is so windy in DC that it kind of feels like we're in the movie Twister. Makes for a good day to sit on the couch, watch a movie, and drink some café au lait. If you enjoy lattes and foamed milk as much as I do, I suggest you invest in this Aerolatte milk frother that turns your ordinary cup of joe into an awesome treat. They cost about $15 and are well worth it.

(Via Williams-Sonoma)

Have a relaxing weekend :)

The Friday Find

Today's Friday Find is delicious. And with a few friends and and a bottle of wine, it should only cost you $4-$6 each. Thus, it made the cut for an inexpensive and awesome find.

(Also, my friend Rachel really really wanted me to post this recipe, and considering it's her birthday tomorrow, how could I resist? Happy birthday Rach! We love ya!)

Lemon Goat Cheese Veggie Pizza (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

I made this pizza last week with a few friends. We started off with Smitten Kitchen's lemony zucchini goat cheese pizza recipe, but decided we weren't in the mood for loads of zucchini. We quickly learned, however, that this pizza is ROCKIN as long as it has that key element of lemony goat cheese. Throw on whatever veggies you'd like. We sauteed some mushrooms, threw on some red peppers and yellow zucchini, and opened up a delicious bottle of red wine.

The mix of lemon juice and goat cheese on this pizza is truly awesome. Go eat some.

Best of Breed

Today I was told by multiple people, including Anna, that I just had to see the New York Times "Best of Breed" behind the scenes photos shot by Fred Conrad at the Westminster Dog Show. And they were all SO right. You have got to check them out for yourselves.

While all the photographed pups are technically champions, my favorite picks are below.

Ziggi the Puli

Snoop Dogg the Bedlington Terrier

Kiss the Bloodhound

Maddox the Chow Chow

Major the Komondor

Bruno the Neopolitan Mastiff

(Via the New York Times)

Happy Wednesday!

Looking for Cheap Designer Shoes?

Meet Jessie, a shoe-lover and our first guest blogger!

Before I met Anna and Liz, I knew nothing of the online shopping world.  Every piece of clothing or accessory I owned was store-found and bought.  I remember our Sophomore year walking in on the two of them, hovered around Liz's desk, gawking at Frye boots online.  My life hasn't been the same since.  Now I can safely say I spend 75% of my free time perusing store websites, sifting through online blogs and making aimless wish-lists.  I can even proudly admit that I have a username and login at Kleinfeld's Bridal.  And no, I am not planning to marry anytime soon.

So, I found myself participating in one of my favorite online activities--searching for shoes on Piperlime.  I have never purchased a pair of shoes from this website (read: bank account LOW) but this particular day I fell in love.  This love was true and real and I couldn't say no to it.  

This simple shoe by Seychelles had my heart beating until I looked at the price.  Let's just say it was far beyond my price range and it was a poor decision on my part to even tempt myself.  But as the day went on, I couldn't get her out of my mind.  In a desperate attempt, I used the skills Anna and Liz instilled me with, and I googled the shoe name, size and color to see if someone offered it for less and LO AND BEHOLD I discovered 6PM.  

This website offered my beloved shoes for 40% the original cost.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  Two quick clicks and they were mine.  Why stop there?  For 40% off, I purchased the grey Tretorn rain boots that Anna unknowingly blogged about just a couple days later.  I spent the rest of the afternoon browsing hundreds of brand-name shoes at 50-60% the original sale price.  You have to see this to believe it.  Go! GO NOW! 

Happy Valentine's!

To our Valentines...

Thanks for putting up with us! You're the best.

xoo

Anna and Liz

The Friday Find

Even though we are broke post-grads living in a rather unfortunate economy, Liz and I still make an effort to make our homes as cozy and nice as possible.  This week's Friday Find is all about craigslist, our go-to for cheap furniture.  Even though it takes some patience to sort through some of the junk, you can also find some great pieces for pretty cheap.  They might need some TLC along the way, too, but that's okay.  (We've done our share of DIY home-improvement, which we will post about in the warmer, more project-friendly months to come). 
I've been looking for a desk recently, and this one caught my eye.  $150 seems a bit pricey, but considering a brand new desk could cost upwards of $300 and this desk has a particularly unique look, I think it's a pretty good deal.

Liz found this awesome table on DC's craigslist.  The picture surely doesn't do it justice, but for just $120 (four chairs included!) that is a steal!

Even when I'm not looking for anything in particular, I like to check craigslist regularly just to make sure I'm not missing out on something amazing. :)

P.S. For more about reupholstering furniture, check out Little Green Notebook.  She does it all herself!

P.P.S.  It's almost Valentine's Day...If you're looking for something tasty to make for someone you love (yourself included!), I would highly suggest going here or here. 

Sweet & Silly Stickers

Every Valentines Day morning up until I went to college, my mom would always prepare a love-themed breakfast for my family before school.  There were usually strawberries, and always some cute (and slightly nerdy) cards that my mom had made up the night before.  (I specifically remember one with an owl saying "Be Mine?")

These stickers are right in that same vein - a little cute, a little nerdy, a lot loveable.

(via twig & thistle, as seen on A Cup of Jo)

Valentines

How nice would this color look...

(Via Sephora.com)

...with your new shoes?

(Via JCrew.com)

I actually like these shoes best in the cobblestone color, and Anna likes them in black, but red seems more appropriate this time of year :)

The Friday Find

Happy happy Friday!

Just in case Fridays weren't awesome enough, Anna and I have decided to start a Friday tradition. You see, while we Oooh and Ahhh over fancy boots and cool radios, chic blankets and totally awesome homes, we can't afford most of 'em. We are twenty-somethings living in urban (and expensive) locations, the economy is, well, kind of crappy, and we haven't planted any money trees.

Thus, we are starting "The Friday Find." We will scour our favorite stores, restaurants, websites, and neighborhoods for the best food, clothing, knickknacks, and excursions that you can find on a budget.

So here it goes!

Latte Bowls
(Via Anthropologie)

Anthropologie sells these bright and beautiful microwave and dishwasher safe bowls for only $5 each! These bowls are the perfect size for everything!

Yogurt and cereal? Check.
Soup? Check.
Ice cream? Check.

You could get several in one color, or one in every color. You could even buy some matching Mini Latte Bowls for half the price!

The Perfect Homemade Bread

Even though I love to cook, bake, and eat, there is one food that has always seemed like too much of a pain in the butt to make myself: bread.  I don't have a KitchenAid mixer or a bread machine, so kneading a ball of dough for 15 to 20 minutes is usually at the very bottom of the list of things I want to do on any given day.  Luckily, my sister recently introduced me to The Easiest Bread Ever (read: you only have to pay attention to it for about five minutes).  It's delicious, too--my boyfriend has proclaimed it the "best bread in the world" and we have eaten almost the entire loaf since I made it on Saturday (if you saw the size of it, you would find this quite alarming).

(Photo by Elspeth)

Rather than post the recipe here, I thought I'd just send you over to my sister's blog to see for yourself.  The Easiest Bread Ever can be found here.  Don't be fooled by the name, though--if you don't like rye bread, you can substitute the rye flour with whole wheat flour (like I did).  Finally, if you don't have a broiler pan in your oven, you can fill a casserole with a few inches of water and put it on the lowest shelf of the oven, a few levels below the bread.

Before you run over there, though, here's a more formal introduction to Elspeth's blog.  She started Diary of a Locavore when she graduated from Middlebury and moved to the (very sparsely populated) Outer Cape to live with her now-husband.  Every Monday and Thursday, Elspeth writes about healthy, seasonal, local food and posts a yummy recipe.  These are some of my favorites:

Portuguese Kale Soup...I make this twice a week.  I'm not joking.

The Hay Wedding Cupcakes

Farro Salad with Feta, Squash and Red Onion

The Best Cornbread Ever

You can also hear her radio show, the Local Food Report, here.

Hi Elspeth!  I love you!

Massachusetts Snow Update

Do you remember this? Well I wanted to give you a New England snow update. (Sadly, no snow in DC this week. I am living vicariously through my parents and friends in Massachusetts.)

Deck and table, central Massachusetts

Happy Wednesday :) Half way through the week! xo

Looking towards spring...

Even though it's dumping snow like crazy outside, I found myself browsing the rainboot selection at Zappos while I was eating lunch. 

I love winter, but all of a sudden I can't wait for spring and the puddles that come with it (and with all this snow, there are gonna be a LOT of puddles). 

Hope you're staying safe and warm!

(from top to bottom, left to right: crocs, tretorn, hunter, bogs, bogs, hunter)