Dress Up - Red Shoes for Fall

Scoping out some new red shoes for this fall season. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Stitch Detail Heels from Go Jane
CL from Chinese Laundry
Toulouse Lau-Wedges from ModCloth

Meatless Monday - Sweet Potato and White Bean Soup

Fall is nearly upon us here in the South and what is better in the fall than a warm, filling soup? This one is hearty, thick, easily adaptable, and delicious. I've made it with butternut squash in place of the sweet potatoes, topped it with whatever is on hand - yogurt, feta, sour cream, crunchy edamame, tossed in some sliced onions. It's pretty much no-fail. This serves 2 well with leftovers for lunch the next day.

2 large sweet potatoes, or 3 medium, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 Tablespoon curry powder

2 - 15 ounce cans cannelini beans, drained

salt and pepper to taste

Add sweet potatoes and stock to a large pan. Heat to boiling, then simmer until potatoes are soft, about 25 minutes. Add curry powder and one can of the beans. Using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Add remaining beans and salt and pepper, and heat through. Serve piping hot with a loaf of chewy bread and a salad of field greens, blue cheese, and toasted walnuts.

Fri-DIY

More links from around the internet of great DIY projects!


Chalk board glasses. Perfectly clever and perfect for upcoming party season.


Adorable pom pom balls. I made a ton of these for a party a few months ago, so fun and easy. Start making a ton now and come Christmas use them on the tree, string together as garland, or use to decorate packages.


Awesome felt rosette pillow. Minimal sewing required.


Cool, easy pelmet boxes...made with foam core!! No jigsaw required.

Recipe - Meatless Monday - Pasta with greens and sharp cheese

We've been doing Meatless Mondays for awhile now, and the husband isn't hating it too bad, yet! This recipe was a keeper and a great example of something else to do with greens than boil for hours and douse in vinegar. Greens can be scary at the grocery or farmer's market, big piles with huge sandy leaves and thick veins. They promise lots of work washing and removing the veins. However, a lot of groceries now offer bags of prewashed, pre-chopped assorted greens, which is just right for a quick weeknight dinner.

1/2 lb. shaped pasta (I used medium shells)

1 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
1 lb. assorted greens such as tunip, mustard, or collard

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 15 ounce can vegetable or chicken broth

zest and juice from 1 lemon

1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese or crumbled feta

Go through greens and remove any large pieces of stem or vein that remain. Make sure the greens are spotlessly clean, if not, run through the salad spinner a few times. Chop into 1 inch pieces.

Cook pasta according to directions. While the pasta boils, heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and saute until it just starts to turn golden. Add all of the greens and stir until most of the greens have withered down. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cook 10-15 minutes uncovered until greens are very soft. Add lemon zest and juice with salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine.

Toss greens with hot cooked pasta and top with the cheese.

Travel - Stylish Camping

image from raina kattelson

I am camping with friends this weekend. Desperately hoping it will turn out like these lovely images and not something more like this.

above two images from country living

image from wickse, eric, & sharon

Food - Rev up the freezer!

Great article over at Serious Eats on freezing the last bits of summer's bounty. Make the most of the last few weeks of the farmer's markets and stock up!

Travel - AirBnB

Things have been busy, sorry about the lack of recent posts. Here's a thought provoking post about travel to tide you over - AirBnB. Would you ever stay in a stranger's home while travelling? Would you invite strangers into your own home? I like the premise, most people actually ARE nice, not serial killers. I still think I might be too chicken, though for $190/night, the Pom Pom Beach Villa above might tempt me.