Fall Fashion

Plaid, fringe, deep florals, majestic purples, booties, sheath dresses, flared jeans, cozy and versatile….that’s what we can be expecting this fall! This means that I can finally take out some of plaid flannels from my wanna be grunge days and have fun mixing things up a bit. Who isn’t going to be excited to be rocking those flared jeans?!?!

Last week, we went to the Grove’s Nordstrom Fall Trunk show hosted by Who What Wear’s co-founder, Hillary Kerr…and I definitely left inspired and have my eyes set on a few items. My favorites are from Ted Baker. Their deep purples and florals are both fun, elegant and clean. Enjoy some of the shots I took and get excited…fall is officially here!

Oh my… OPI!

OPI Sweet Memories

The responsible hedonist in me loves a great mani-pedi…but sometimes, I just have more important things to do and don’t have the patience (and am not detail oriented enough) to paint my nails pretty. My left hand shakes and trembles and the end result just isn’t pretty.

Fortunately, my friend Soraya gifted me this beautiful nail polish by OPI. The color is called “Sweet Memories.” How fitting as these were part of her favors for her baby shower. I love, love, love everything about this polish! Fresh, clean, forgiving, feminine and presentable enough for that power appointment. Ideal for a stocking stuffer (and for yourself).

Roasted Bell Pepper Soup Recipe

It’s official. It’s fall. I have a secret love affair with Fallon…oops, I mean fall. I have a love affair with fall (and  I love Jimmy Fallon too…hmm, funny how his name has the word fall in it). What’s not to love about fall and Fallon? Mock turtle necks, dramatic wreaths, pumpkins, the coziness from the smell of cinnamon based baking recipes and…soup! Ohhh la la. I love soup. Growing up, dinner was not complete without a serving of soup.

In honor of fall and the six bell peppers I bought from Costco, I thought I would try a new soup recipe. I have never made a roasted bell pepper soup and this one is such a treat!

Enjoy fall and enjoy this delicious recipe…it’s Paleo friendly, super healthy and it’s definitely a keeper as it’s made by yours truly:

Sammy’s Roasted Pepper Soup:
Preheat the oven at 375
Line a baking sheet with foil

Ingredients

• 3 bell peppers* (I used yellow, orange, and red) remove the middle & cut into chunks
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 4 Roma tomatoes, quartered
• ½ or 1 whole yellow onion, cut into chunks
• 1 shallot, chopped (this is not necessary, but I had some on hand and wanted to use it)
• 2 T of minced garlic
• 2-3 T of Avocado Oil (EVOO or any oil will do, but I stick to the high fat oils)
• salt to taste
• 2 C of Chicken broth (I used the broth I made and had in stock, but you can use any broth)

Directions:

• Mix lay the top 4 items onto the lined baking sheet
• Add oil, mix
• Mix in the minced garlic
• Add salt to taste
• Put it into the 375 degree oven, roast for about 35 min. (20 minutes into it, give it a good shake/ mix)

Lay all the vegetables on to the baking sheet and set it into the oven at. Aren’t these colors so pretty?

While all that good stuff is in the oven, embrace the smell of the roasted vegetables. Tony yelled, “My eyes are burning from all those onions!” Just smile back if this happens, some people just don’t appreciate such deliciousness percolating. Put the broth in a pot and bring to a boil. When the vegetables are done, remove from the oven and transfer to your food processor, I use my Vitamix. Add the broth. Set to soup mode or blend until thoroughly pureed. Ladle into your favorite fall bowl…my go to fall soup bowl is this dainty bowl by Royal Stafford from Anthropologie. You can top it off with some truffle salt or some cheese (which wouldn’t make this Paleo friendly).  Enjoy your soup and your fall.

*Serious fact that I learned tonight: Red peppers pack the most nutrition (compared to other bell peppers) since they’ve been on the vine the longest. Green peppers are harvested earlier, before they have a chance to turn yellow, orange, and then red. Compared to green bell peppers, the red ones have almost 11 times more beta-carotene and 1.5 times more vitamin C. Yay for bell peppers!!

Losing it

“Do we really need two bags of Chicharrones?” asked Tony as he reached over the conveyer and grabbed the second bag to return it. I explained that I thought it would be a good idea to stock on one of the few snacks I can have and share. He assured me, “Oh no babe, I won’t have any…one bag should be fine.”

I survived Costco, food prepped for the entire week, and roasted more broccoli and cauliflower than you can imagine. I have become a slave to this whole NSNG thing. My feet are swollen and I’m beat. I try to psyche myself out by looking at the bag of two pounds of celery and convince myself of how savory my celery stir-fry will be. Who am I kidding? I want nachos. What I would do for nachos right now.

To satisfy my need for something savory and crunchy, I headed to the pantry for my Chicharrones…I don’t even like them, but they’re low carb and satisfy the immediate craving, so it works. I heard a crunch. Crunch…crunch, crunch, CRUNCH!!! This made me cringe and completely aggravated my misophonia. The sound was coming from the living room. Tony. Sitting there, inhaling my bag! WHAT?! Something took over me. My fists curled and I was ready to throw blows. He utters, “Only six….I ONLY got six, I counted.” WHAT? Hmmm, well. I am no mathematician BUT ISN’T THAT SIX MORE THAN THE ZERO YOU VOWED YOU WOULD HAVE?!?! Of all the millions* of other snacks he can have from the pantry, he had to choose one of my two snacks?

I am tempted to host a potluck at my office and grab his entire stash of protein powder barrels and have a smoothie party! Empathy can be taught right? To prevent a repeat, I had to take some serious measures into my own hands. My only two snacks are now safe in my office and away from him.

What is it about being so focused on a diet that makes me crazy? I am doing things I normally wouldn’t do and am losing it (the pounds and my marbles). I know I am supposed to focus on all the stuff I can have versus the poison I can’t and shouldn’t have…but that’s all I can think about…the things I can’t have! Classic case of Greener Grass Syndrome I suppose.

I still want nachos. Just saying!!!

I will not take easy. Repeat, I will not take easy. I will not take easy.
The struggle is real.

*I don’t have a real count and can be a bit dramatic sometimes. This is just an estimate.