Victory

I mostly didn't get dressed this week. If you've ever been through potty training then you kind of understand why. At the end of the day I pretty much had to spray my house down with Clorox and incinerate my clothes.

Ok, it wasn't THAT bad, but there were a few times where I found myself whining to Aaron that our house would never be clean again. Especially after Stinky felt the need to play INSIDE his toy box with all his toys and then forgot to climb out in order to go potty. That right there is a germophobe's nightmare.

Aaron told me to stand up straight. This, apparently, is what that means to me.

BUT! It is finished! We have gone through our first potty training experience and lived to tell the tale.

In celebration, I put on my red pants. Sure, I still didn't GO anywhere (still too scary) and I didn't wash my hair (I did put my bangs in a french braid, which counts), and I put on the first shirt I grabbed (probably needs to be tossed, actually) but at least I wasn't wearing yoga pants that smelled vaguely like a public restroom. It's the small victories.

Undershirt- DEB, Shirt- ?, Pants- Gap

Recipe: Plate Lunch BBQ Chicken

We've been a little Hawaii homesick lately. We haven't been back since Christmas 2009 and since Aaron's family moved here at the end of last year we don't have a good reason to plan a trip anytime soon. We used to make it at least once a year but now...who knows?

(what? You have no pity for us??)

One of the things we really look forward to when we go is the food. Mostly, the plate lunches. Hawaii is saturated with these hole-in-the-wall places that serve delicious local type food. There's always a scoop of sticky rice, some macaroni salad (we pass on that and just get double rice) and then your choice of entree. We always end up with gyoza and maybe some chicken katsu. Sometimes we'll get saimin if it's an option. But mostly we just get the BBQ chicken.

A few years ago I found this recipe for a marinade that comes darn close to our beloved plate lunch BBQ chicken. It is in no way whole-foods friendly which made it a special treat yesterday. It was sunny and breezy and we ate outside while basking in the sunshine and pretending we were on Oahu.

Plate Lunch BBQ Chicken

1 cup white sugar
1 cup soy sauce (we are soy sauce snobs and like Aloha Shoyu. You can usually find it at Asian markets)
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground ginger

4 tsp hot chile paste (optional)

In a medium saucepan over high heat, whisk together the sugar, soy sauce, water, onion powder, ground ginger, and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in chile paste, if using. Reserve some marinade for brushing (1/2 cup usually does it for me). I like to use chicken tenders or cut thick chicken breasts in half so the marinade can really get in there. Place chicken in remaining marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least four hours before grilling. Enjoy with sticky rice and pretend you're on the north shore.

The Wednesday Want

I kinda like Alloy. I've ordered a handful of things from them and I've always been happy with the stuff I got. The jeans I got a couple years ago have become particular favorites and I always see a few things I like in their catalog. Here's what I liked from the one I just got:

Trouser Jeans - Love the tabbed detail and the dark wash.
Maxi dress - I have a thing for maxi dresses. Love the floral print and lightweight look. Aaron likes this one too.
Wedges - Suede!
Heels -Such a great pattern on these. And I have a serious weakness for heels, which is weird considering I wear them for 3 hours once a week.
Cork heels -A bunch of the denim models in the catalog were wearing these and I loved the look. Maybe a fun alternative to a nude heel?
Striped A-line -Surprise! I love something with blue and white stripes. So out of character for me...
Ruched tankini- Not really a want since I've already got the J-Crew version, but this is pretty much the same thing, in case you've been eyeballing the more pricey one. Plus, I really love tankinis. All the bathroom convenience of a bikini with the belly coverage of a one piece. In my very professional opinion, tankinis are the perfect swimsuit.
Sparkly ankle sandals- Probably going to get these. I love a good sparkly sandal and I need a replacement for my sad, beaten down Maddens. These are strong contenders. The catalog had a lot of good summer sandal options.

Recipe: Pesto Pizza

Yes, that is a Magic Bullet. And we love it.

If and when I finally get around to planting myself a little garden basil will be the very first thing I plant. That stuff is freaking expensive and between basil balsamic chicken and the occasional pesto sauce we go through a LOT of basil (a mozzarella tree would be really helpful as well, now that I'm thinking about it).

We live in the general vicinity of a couple Grimaldi's locations. We had heard good things about their pizza but had never been since the closest one is like 25 minutes away. Then my in-laws introduced us a few weeks ago and a love affair began. I am particularly enamored of their pesto pizza. That stuff is gooood.

Since we are cheap and too lazy to drive that far I decided one night to try and make pesto pizza at home. The results have been a perfectly acceptable replacement and we find ourselves falling in love with homemade pizza all over again.

Edit 1/29/11: We went to Grimaldi's last night and, as it turns out, we like my pesto pizza better. Boo-ya.

Crust
Adapted slightly from here

I make my pizza dough in the bread maker. If you are bread maker-less go to the original recipe and read her instructions for making it by hand.

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

 Pour the warm water, olive oil and salt into your breadmaker. Add the flours. Make a well and add the yeast. Turn on dough cycle.



Pesto

2/3 cup packed basil
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup parmesan
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in a blender, food processor, or magic bullet (woot!). Blend.


Assembly:

Place a large baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 450. Stretch pizza dough to desired size and thickness. Top with pesto, slices of fresh mozzarella, and a sprinkling of parmesan. Add any other desired toppings (I want to try artichoke hearts and spinach but Aaron makes gag faces when I talk like that). When the oven is done preheating, pull out the cookie sheet, dust with cornmeal, slide your pizza on and bake for 10 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese is getting bubbly.

Skyscraping

Shirt- Marshall's, Skirt-?, Shoes- Toms

I was super tall yesterday. My bun aspired to great heights when I did my hair. I was very proud. Throw in my favorite wedges and BAM. Towering. I love that feeling... even though I teach five 6-year-olds at church and I'm always the tallest one in the room anyway. Details.


P.S. Potty training attempt number 167 going on today. Pray for me.

P.P.S. Remember how Stinky is obsessed with trains? He keeps waiting for this elusive "potty train" to show up and is getting pretty annoyed that it hasn't appeared yet. Join the club, kid.

Choo-Choo

Stinky is obsessed with trains. Ob.SESSED. Like two nights ago his quesadilla ("coke-a-dilla") was rolling across our kitchen table as a "coke-a-dilla train." My shoes become trains. Puzzle pieces become trains. Our Little People nativity set background was a train all through December and baby Jesus was constantly taking rides around our living room with Lightning McQueen.

So when we woke up this morning and the weather was glorious and the sun was shining we knew we had to finally go check this local train park.

That's not me.

It was AWESOME. The weather was amazing, the trains were huge, Stinky was in heaven. We had a picnic in the (dead) grass, we rode the mini train around the park twice, and it wore the kids out enough that they napped at the same time (miracle!) and I got to take a Saturday nap. My kind of day.

Sweater- American Eagle, Tank- Old Navy, Cords- Old Navy, Shoes- Target, Purse- Miche

Winning

Shirt- Gap, Skirt- Don't remember, Shoes- Target, Necklace- gift from sis

I woke up this morning determined to beat the mediocrity blues.

Actually, I decided last night to beat them today so before I went to bed I did a speed clean, finished a couple loads of laundry, plowed my way through my inbox (I'm down to 4 items!), and made plans for how I was going to win at life today.

I started to make my bed while I was still in it (weird how a made bed makes such a big difference). For breakfast I used a recipe I already knew was stellar.

I took my outfit inspiration from Kendi's Gingham Gang post and Kimmie's skirt/plaid combo and replaced my old dried out mascara. And, honestly, the new mascara probably made the biggest difference in my day. It really is the little things, isn't it?

Come on bangs! Grow, grow, grow!

I got my grocery shopping done and did my meal planning for next week.

AND! I signed up for the next round of 30 for 30. Yup, it's that time again. The next round starts February 1 and you have until January 28 to sign up. Join us! You know you want to do it too. You'll be in really good company (moi). And, seriously, it was so good for me. I'm really looking forward to doing it again!

My point is, I am ROCKING today. And it feels good.


PS Have you played with Picnik yet?? I'm halfway decent at Photoshop but this was way more fun. I spent forever putting all kinds of fun and ridiculous effects on these photos. Plus, it's freeeee. So awesome.

PPS Lots of good links in the comments of my previous post if you need a little pick me up. Go check it out!

Mediocre

Hippo!!

This week has been so very painfully mediocre. All the new recipes I've tried? Mediocre. All my outfits? Mediocre. My hair and skin have been mediocre (aren't I too old for breakouts??). Even my sleep has been mediocre. It has just been one of those weeks where I can't keep on top of the cleaning and laundry and nothing has been turning out as well as it should (with the exception of these cinnamon rolls. They are stinking good and were a perfect thank-you treat for all the people who helped me out during my Week of Pain and Illness. Plus that recipes makes a ton so I have a whole 'nother pan in the freezer for a rainy day).

So now I am feeling rather dull and uninspired and very grateful that it's almost Friday. So in honor of the impending weekend, would you share something inspiring or funny with me? Something that's making you smile and feel good? It could be anything...a recipe, a picture, an article, a blog post. Big, small, whatever it is I'll appreciate it.


Also, a mini html lesson for you that I recently learned and have found infinitely valuable-

This is the html code for adding links to comments (or anywhere) without posting the whole long link. Copy and paste your link between the quotation marks and whatever text you want there at the end.

<a href="your link here">your text here</a>

For example:

<a href="http://frecklesinapril.blogspot.com/">Freckles in April</a>

becomes

Freckles in April

Awesome right? Ok, now share!

The Wednesday Want

I did finally decide on some bedding for our master bedroom but we are STILL in need of a headboard. I thought I knew what I wanted but then I kind of changed my mind and now we're back to square one which is mostly me doing a LOT of online window shopping and bookmarking about a hundred different ones.

Belinda over at the happy home posted about this headboard today and I yelled "DANG IT!" Because now there is yet another direction I want to take our bedroom. This one even comes with a tutorial.

New! Diet! Plan!

How to lose a lot of weight in just one week!

1. Through a combination of busyness, laziness, and illness, don't go grocery shopping for couple weeks. Start subsisting solely on love and the few frozen dinners you can find crammed in the back of your freezer.

2. Get a cold that makes everything taste really weird and makes you feel vaguely vomitous. Subsist on water and a sleeve of saltines for three days while your family digs for food in the trash cans and finally goes out to pizza without you.

3. Less than 48 hours later, get food poisoning/stomach flu/something else that renders you incapable of eating or drinking anything for a couple days. Try to eat saltines and water. Fail miserably. Get really dehydrated while your family goes to get your favorite Mexican food without you.

And that's it! So easy! So slimming! Sure, you might feel like you got hit by a truck, but eh. A little pain is good for you. The thing I'm really depressed about is missing out on the pizza and Mexican food. Blergh.

ANYWAY, I am feeling much better today and looking forward to being able to actually eat this week. After a month and a half of iffy eating (for which I am blaming my illnesses) Aaron and I are really ready to dive back into healthy eating. There is not a single piece of meat on our menu for the week. There are lots and lots of veggies. There is quinoa! I am excited.

There are several new recipes on the docket for the week so hopefully I'll have some good ones to share. Plus, there will be outfit blogging. Because that's how I roll.

It has nothing to do with this post but I love it. From here.

Happy Monday!

Recipe: Mulled Cider

I started writing this back in December but got distracted and never got around to finishing it. Now that I'm coming back from death's door (mad props to Aaron for stepping up and taking over care of the babies this week, by the way) this sounds SO wonderfully soothing and delicious. And yes, it should have been posted before Christmas, but there's still a lotta winter left, my friends. Bust out that crockpot!

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When I was growing up, there was a weekend each November when our home became a holiday boutique. It started off small, only taking over our front room. Eventually, as more people added in their own crafty efforts, it grew to fill most of the house.

These are sparkly, warm, cinnamon scented memories for my sister and me. I'm sure it was a ridiculous amount of work for my mom but for two little girls that weekend was always heaven. Our house was transformed and filled with white tablecloths and  beautiful things. A dear family friend always made her blue ribbon caramels to sell and we spent most of the weekend snatching samples. There was jewelry and handmade dolls and beautiful Christmas decorations among many many other things.

My mom always made this mulled cider for people to sip while they shopped. It has been at least twelve years since the last boutique but the smell of this cider still feels like a bit of a time warp for me. One whiff and BAM. I'm 10 and lusting after something glittery and appliqued with lace.



Mulled Cider

This can be made in a large saucepan or in a crock pot. I prefer the crock pot, but mostly because it's tradition (and it keeps it nice and toasty).

1 gallon apple cider
1-2 pints cranapple juice
2 sticks cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
honey to taste
Orange slices

Heat apple cider and cranapple juice in a saucepan/crockpot. Add cinnamon, cloves, and honey. Simmer 20-25 minutes. Strain out the cinnamon and cloves. Add orange slices. Serve.

The Wednesday Want

I discovered these boots ages ago and had a brief moment of, "Hey, neat!" and then promptly forgot about them. Mostly because it was 109 degrees outside at the time and I couldn't fathom putting anything more than the very lightest of flip flops on my feet just then.

Now, however, my feet are always cold and I want to wear thick socks and boots with everything. And I have some mighty love for my Toms wedges, so I imagine I would have a whole lotta love for these babies as well.

I think the boots just wrapped normally are pretty cool but the banner at the top of the Toms website shows a bunch of different ways to wear them, which I never would have been creative enough to think of on my own.

Such a cool concept. And for people like me who have toothpick calves or those who actually have muscle on their legs and thus have trouble finding boots that fit properly these are a really good option.

Dust + Cruise Attire

Pardon the dust around here. I completely broke my blog TWICE yesterday because I was messing with the HTML. And the fun's not over yet. Sorry if you come over today and there's just a crater where my blog used to be. It's a learning process over here.

Also, I'm fighting a cold (as is everyone around here except Baby 2. Seriously crossing fingers he escapes it) and will probably be laying low for a couple days. In the meantime, here's what I wore on our cruise that was like 2 months ago and I made Aaron take pictures of what I was wearing every day for blogging purposes but somehow am only just now getting around to posting. Ahem.

Dress- NY&Co, Cardigan- Charlotte Russe, Sandals- Soda

Dress- Banana Republic via Goodwill ($6!), Cardigan- Charlotte Russe, Cocktail ring- Charlotte Russe, Sandals- Soda

And a hair shot. It didn't weather the darn wind on deck real well but I loved it.

Grand Cayman. Shirt- Hanes, Skirt- Me, Sandals- Soda

Nasty cold, windy Cozumel. Hoodie- Aaron's, Shorts- Target, Shoes- Asics

Belize, on top of a Mayan temple. Same as Cozumel (more coldish rainy weather, though not as bad)

Roatan, Honduras. Shirt- Charlotte Russe, Shorts- Alloy, Flip flops- Locals

And a few more pictures, just for kicks and giggles:

Lalala, what? Oh him? Ya, he's just my monkey friend who tried to eat the beads off my shirt.

I let Aaron borrow him.

Aaron looking super cool on the zip line in Roatan

Me, not looking quite so cool (the guy behind me worked there and was bouncing the line. I thought I was going to die)

The Mask Temple at Lamanai in Belize

It's supposed to be a jaguar face. Can you see it?

We were SUPPOSED to be scuba diving. Stupid Cozumel.

That's our ship on the left

Zip line lovin'

That right there? That's my date. In his wedding tux, no less. Smokin'.

Swimsuit- J. Crew. All the seats on this beach were SWINGS. We are absolutely going back there.

Recipe: Chocolate Haupia Pie

At Matsumoto on the north shore in 2008

You would never it know by looking at him but my Photographer was born and raised in Hawaii. He's a surf-loving, spam-eating, cold-weather-hating Hawaiian to the core which means that I have actually married a foreigner. They will tell you that Hawaii is a part of the United States but I am telling you that it is a totally different country down there.

When Aaron gets together with his friends they speak a different language. Sure, it vaguely resembles English but that junk is not English. They serve spam, eggs and rice as a breakfast option at McDonald's and you can get sushi at the gas station. People will kiss you hello and goodbye which will be really awkward for you if you're not expecting it (I think it's kind of nice now that I know it's coming). A lot of places only give you chopsticks and you have to request a fork if you're not coordinated enough to eat your gyoza without one.

There has been some food related culture clash in our marriage over the years but, for the most part, I've learned to accept and love the things he has brought in. We eat a lot of rice. Sometimes there is spam in the house. And for major holidays (and sometimes just for kicks) we have chocolate haupia pie.

I never much cared for coconut until this pie entered my life via my first Hawaiian Thanksgiving. I am now a coconut convert and look forward to this pie just as much as my haole husband does.

Chocolate Haupia Pie
adapted slightly from here

1 nine inch unbaked pie crust (I like PW's but store-bought works too). If you can, you'll want to go with a slightly deeper crust for this one.
1 cup milk
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
scant 1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup white sugar

Prick pie crust with a fork and bake at 350 for 15 minutes (or according to package instructions if you went with the store bought option) or until golden brown. Let cool.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, coconut milk and 1 cup sugar. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in water. Bring coconut mixture to a boil. Reduce to simmer and slowly whisk in the cornstarch. Continue stirring mixture over low heat. It will thicken pretty immediately but you'll want to keep stirring and cooking for 2-3 minutes total (if it doesn't set up right, you probably didn't cook it long enough). 

Pour half the coconut mixture into the pie shell and stick in the refrigerator. While it sets for a few minutes, melt the chocolate chips (in a glass bowl in the microwave or in a double boiler. Whichever works for you) and the chocolate into the remaining half of the coconut mixture. 


Gently pour the chocolate mixture over the coconut mixture. Refrigerate for at least an hour.


Whip the cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Slather over pie and enjoy!

And it was all yellow

Aaron and I have a bit of a dark secret.

He hates most of my clothes.

He's really nice about it...it took me a good four years of marriage to even figure it out. But we have vastly different tastes when it comes to women's clothing. When I first discovered that he never liked anything I wore I asked him to give me an example of someone who dresses the way he likes. He named a woman from our church who is A. over 50 and B. a grandmother. Granted, she is a fairly stylish grandmother, but really??

So I was fairly shocked yesterday morning when I was getting ready and he said, "That looks nice."

Tunic- eShakti, Skirt- old, Shoes- Target, Cuff- Bahamian street vendor

STOP THE PRESSES. Clearly, we had to document this for posterity. He even busted out the wide angle lens. That is some serious shiz right there.

This looks almost exactly like my senior photos. Except my hair was like a foot longer. And I was probably standing up straight.

I don't know what was so special about a yellow top and a dark gray skirt but, golldurnit, my husband liked it. And that's what matters.

This is what happens when Aaron isn't telling me how to pose.

Painting the Park Red

French braided bangs. Boo ya.

On Thursday I had grand plans for impracticality. I was going to forget about the mountain of laundry I had gotten super behind on and the dishes in the sink and the vacuuming and take my kids to the children's museum. And I was going to wear my first impractical purchase of the year and I was super excited about it.

 When Stinky came out of his room I was just about to say, "Guess where we're going today?" when he opened his mouth and vomited. So, um, nevermind on that. A day on the couch with Thomas the Train it was. And I just stayed in my pajamas since the odds of vomit ending up on me were high. I did (most of) the laundry, washed the dishes, and vacuumed and had an entirely practical day.

 So we made up for it yesterday. We went to the park and I?

Shirt- Gap, Pants- Gap, Boots- Kohls, Necklace- Old

I wore red pants.

These, my friends, are stretch red skinny cords fresh off the Gap clearance rack. Completely and totally impractical and I completely and totally love them. I was wearing a different outfit with them before I decided to spend our day at the park and turns out they are surprisingly versatile.

And surprisingly comfortable.

And if you think my outfit's resemblance to a certain beloved mustachioed movie character was lost on us you have another thing coming.

I was wondering if you would like to join me in my quarters this night... for some toast.

I Feel Like I Should Put a "Warning! Boob Related Post!" Kind of Title Right Here

I currently have no clue what my bra size is. I wear a size small nursing bra and there have been a lot of ups and downs (if you know what I mean) since I started having babies and I just...don't know.

So I turned to good ol' Google and found myself a bra size calculator. I busted out my sewing tape measure and input my band and bust measurements and clicked "Calculate your size."

This is what it spit out:

I'm sorry, have you SEEN me?

Is it weird that I'm posting a picture and asking you to look at my boobs?

And that's me on a particularly busty day.

Nice try, Miss "Professional Bra Fitter" Lady. I think your calculator might be just a leeeetle bit off.

From the Archives

The picture makes this one.

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A few months ago Aaron donated $25 to the Mitt Romney campaign. It was a nice gesture and I was just proud of him for caring enough about anything political to put forth the effort.

Mitt hasn't left us alone since.

Well, not Mitt per se, but you know what I mean. Aaron has gotten nonstop unsolicited phone calls from Team Romney saying things like, "I see that you donated $25 and I've got you down for $75 more, will you be paying by check or credit card?"

They have sent him mail solicitations almost on a weekly basis, special "Hooray you donated!" certificates, and the like. They've probably spent 6 times what he donated just trying to get him to donate more.

Then, today, in what I felt was the boldest move yet, they came to our house. I was napping with Stinky and ignored the doorbell. After I got up, I found a manila envelope shoved in the door crack.

Inside the manila envelope was an extensive list of names, addresses, and phone numbers along with a cover letter explaining that we are to call all these people (there are at least 100) and tell them why we are voting for Mitt and urge them to vote for him as well. We are asked to "please call the names on this list between now and Sunday, or if some calling spills onto Monday that's OK." How magnanimous of them, giving us that extra day.

Next, they will be showing up at our door (possibly dressed like missionaries?) asking us to donate our souls to the campaign. And when we refuse, they will request our first born. Because they are shameless like that.

And so, I offer this word of wisdom to you: do not let any candidate know you exist, must less that you support him/her. Don't make eye contact. They can smell that $10 bill in your wallet and. they. want. it. Just back awaaaay from the political process. Show up to vote (I suggest wearing large sunglasses), then go home, lock your doors and close your blinds.

Because once they know where you are, they will not leave you alone. They will be watching. Mitt will be watching.

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies

After taking this picture I was forced to eat this cookie for breakfast. It was difficult, but I managed.

The search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe is so universal that the New York Times did a feature on it (you can also read about it here). They interviewed Very Important People of the baking world and published something that many considered The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. It's a pretty fancy pants recipe involving some pricier ingredients (um, Valrhona feves? Not something I keep on hand in my pantry) but there was a lot of good technique stuff in that article.

Which is how my Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe came to be. I took bits and pieces from other recipes and used some of the stuff I learned from the NYT article and have ended up with a darn good cookie recipe.

In honor of Stinky's 3rd birthday this week, for which I made these cookies, I will share the recipe with you.

Don't be scared of the salt sprinkle before baking. That salt makes this recipe (and will elevate just about any chocolate chip recipe, I swear to you). Most desserts are woefully under salted. The sweet needs something to play off and that's where the salt comes in. Trust the salt, my friends.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (Aaron likes semi sweet but I prefer something a little darker and more bitter. Personal preference. You can also use M&Ms or cinnamon chips or....)
flaky sea or kosher salt

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended and light in color (this takes a few minutes. Be patient). Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

Refrigerate for at least 24 hours but preferably 36 hours. The dough will be dry.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Take a large spoonful (1.5 ounces) of dough and drop on to the cookie sheet (you might need to use your hands to make a cohesive ball). I usually only fit about 6 to a sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with a small pinch of sea salt or flaky kosher salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

NOTES (added April 2018): If you can't wait and want to make the cookies right after making the dough, you'll need to bake them at a higher temperature. The temperature I bake them at kind of depends on how hot it is outside, which affects my dough. If it's really warm I'll bake at 375*, which prevents them from spreading like crazy. If it's not super warm I'll do 350*. Bake time varies, obviously. I just keep an eye on them.

To make browned butter chocolate chip cookies: Increase the butter by half a stick. Brown only one stick, then beat both the softened and browned butter with the sugars. They won't really come together until you add the egg- that's fine! Give it a good long beat after adding the eggs, until it's nice and pale.

Shirt- DEB, Sweater- American Eagle, Pants- H&M, Shoes- Steve Madden, Necklace- Gift from Sis

I'm a total sucker for shawl and stand-up collars and the like. I think it's because my mom's wedding dress had a stand-up lace collar and what little girl doesn't grow up thinking their mother's wedding dress is the epitome of gorgeousness?

See? Preeeetty.

 So pretty much if it goes up at the back of the neck, I'm sold. I have quite a few shirts and sweaters with this kind of neckline and I love them all.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood oh please won't you beeee my neighbor?

I got this sweater this week. Um, and the pants. And a bunch of other things.

The sales, dude. They're killing me.

Also, the sooner my bangs finish growing out, the better. Vomit. In other news, I have finally learned how to french braid. I taught myself. On my bangs. That was interesting.