FASHUN

When I was doing the photos for my last Remixology post, I had Dan tag along so I wasn't alone while I was changing behind the car, and while I was changing, he started playing around with the camera.  This guy.  Clearly, he's a natural.  I like him.

bertha's kitchen // skillet italian chicken

I've been working on transitioning to a more local, plant based diet, but I still have some frozen chicken in my freezer I'm trying to use up.  On my two trips up to Juneau to spend time with my grandparents I got a lot of traditional grandma home-cooking, which meant lots of "square meals" with meat and veggies, bread and pasta.  One of the meals she cooked was this one!  I liked it a lot and she mentioned that she thought she'd put the recipe it in my recipe box, and when I got home I found it!  My grandma has dozens of recipe books and files.  I took one home from my last trip, called "Out of Alaska's Kitchens" which looks like it's from the 50's.  Thousands of recipes were sent in from Alaskans and compiled into the recipe book.  I love how some recipes and foods can be so regional.  It's so obvious when you think about Italian or French or Chinese food.  And in less obvious ways, here in the US we have smaller regional menus like Southern, New England, etc.

I love that food can be a way to hold on to home.  How a certain dish can remind you of a person or place.  I mentioned a long time ago on the blog that I wanted to start making more "Alaskan" dishes, and I'm excited to explore this little cookbook!  The blueberry recipes remind me of picking blueberries in Denali, the Salmon recipes remind me of landing on Prince William Sound with my dad in his float plane upon spotting a friend's boat on the water and being gifted a fresh King Salmon to take home, the Crab recipes remind me of the time my dad and I bought the most delicious King Crab legs out of the back of a pickup truck in the parking lot of the Sullivan Arena after an Aces game.


Ingredients:
4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 (14 oz) can Italian stewed tomatoes
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 12 oz package pasta
parmesan cheese, grated
sliced black olives

1. In a skillet, heat olive oil.  Add chicken breasts and saute 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.
2. Add onion, peppers, tomatoes and lemon juice. Cover and simmer 25-30 minutes.
3. Cook pasta according to directions on package.
4. Serve chicken over pasta and sprinkle cheese and olives on top.

Goes great with a nice red wine and garlic bread, mmmm!

remixology // no. 2

So this was supposed to be another 8 outfits from 8 pieces remixology, but when I went back and looked at the photos, I could only find 6 pieces!  For some reason I must've been including the shoes, which I would usually count as accessories, but either way I made 8 outfits out of 6 pieces instead of 8.  Unintentional increased degree of difficulty?  Anyway, for this challenge I styled four items from ModCloth and then pulled four (two?) pieces from my existing closet.
The four Modcloth items: Mint Jeans :: Faux Leather Leggings :: Black Skirt :: Zig Zag Top
The four items from my closet: Lace Top (similar) :: Rust Dress :: Orange & Blue Heels :: Mint Heels (similar)
Accessories: coral belt :: brown belt :: black belt :: moorea seal quartz necklace :: moorea seal chevron necklace :: mint shades :: vintage shades :: mint purse

For these first outfits I used the black hi-low skirt as the base.  I'm normally not a huge fan of hi-low skirts (mullet skirts?) but this one is so casual and comfy and I like the way the fabric hangs.  Because it's black it's super easy to pair with a bunch of different tops.  And depending on what you pair it with, you can either dress it up or go for a more casual, earthy look, like the outfit with the rust top (which is actually a dress).
 
outfit #1: top/courtesy of asianicandy :: skirt/courtesy of modcloth  shoes/courtesy of seychelles :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal :: shades/vintage outfit #2: top + skirt + shoes/courtesy of modcloth :: belt/thrifted necklace/courtesy of moorea seal outfit #3: top(dress)/courtesy of mata traders :: skirt/courtesy of modcloth shoes/courtesy of seychelles :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal
I styled the skirt a fourth way here, wearing it as a strapless dress.  It actually works pretty perfectly as a dress if you just belt it!  You could even remix the dress by adding a cardigan or other top and change the look up a bit.  I feel like that black skirt has so much remixing potential! It felt pretty natural to pair the rust dress with the lace top.  The dress on its own has such a natural, organic feel to it that pairing it with lace just seemed right.  

outfit #4: top/courtesy of asianicandy :: dress/courtesy of mata traders shoes/courtesy of seychelles :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal outfit #5: dress(skirt)/courtesy of modcloth :: shoes/courtesy of seychelles belt/thfited :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal

I think these three outfits are my favorite from this Remixology challenge.  I've seen those mint jeans at ModCloth for over a year, but never really felt like I could pull them off.  I was still skeptical when I ordered them, but when they arrived, I fell in love and they fit great (though they are suuuper long on me, hence the bunching at the ankle.  I might alter them to be shorter).  The color is just the best shade of mint.  After seeing this outfit I really wanted to get my hands on some leather-esque leggings, and the ones featured here are great.  I had a pair quite a few years ago but I must've gotten rid of them when my style shifted towards a more girly look.  Now that I'm swinging back towards, well, whatever it's swinging towards, these leggings are definitely something I'm loving to rock.  I wore them out on the town Friday night with one of Dan's plaid flannel shirts and my leather moto jacket and felt pretty badass.  
 
outfit #6: lace top/courtesy of asianicandy :: jeans + shoes/courtesy of modcloth belt/thrifted :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal :: bag/courtesy of handbag heaven outfit #7: top + leggings + shoes/courtesy of modcloth :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal belt/thrifted :: shades/vintage outfit #8: top + jeans + shoes/courtesy of modcloth :: bag/courtesy of handbag heaven necklace/courtesy of moorea seal :: shades/courtesy of lulu's :: jacket/courtesy of asianicandy

life lately

Looking forward to... Finishing the trim on the front of the house!  We had a break in the rain and were finally able to prime it, so now we just need another couple days to throw on a second coat of primer and then paint!  It looks so great now that it's all primed.
Excited about... Going to my friend's bridal shower today!  Yay!  She was one of my bridesmaids, so it's fun seeing her on the other side.
Watching... Dan & I just started Supernatural the other day.  So far it seems all right.  We're always on the lookout for shows that have lots of seasons so we don't run out or catch up too fast.  We've been looking for something less... intense.  We stopped watching The Walking Dead because it's just so emotionally draining too be that tense!  We'll pick it up again sometime, but for now it's on hiatus.  The same thing happened with Game of Thrones.  Emotionally draining and intense.  We keep thinking about getting back into that one (I don't think we even made it through season 1), every time we over hear someone talking about how awesome it is.  I have a feeling Supernatural will be draining in the same way, but we'll see.  It'd be nice to find something like Doctor Who, which is engaging and awesome, but not so intense.  Anyone else feel like that about certain shows?  I couldn't make it through the first season of Breaking Bad because it was just too dark.  Maybe we're just pansies.  
My new favorite thing is... This single serving chocolate cookie recipe.  So perfect for when you're craving a chocolate chip cookie, but you don't want a whole batch of cookies sitting around the kitchen to tempt you.  Two big, gooey, delicious cookies that are hot and fresh out of the oven in less than ten minutes?  Such a great evening treat.
           
a sea star on the beach in Juneau // dinner at home // good hair day easter brunch with gpa // and gma // climber hands sending off a disc of family photos! // before priming the trim, looks so much better after! growing veggies indoors // found this pic of my bro and dad at gma + gpa's house! fishtail braid with extensions! // a pic from years ago in NYC.  holding a snake. my sweet love on a record store shopping trip

remix archives // southwest skirt

I made this skirt quite a few years ago after I'd found the fabric and decided to try my hand at replicating a skirt I already owned which fit me just right.  I'd say it was a pretty successful first try!  I haven't worn this skirt in the past year, but I still have it and I think I might pull it out once summer hits.  It's a bit on the short side, but it's a great summer skirt.  The top outfit is actually one of my all time favorite outfits.  It has always felt like an outfit that is totally "me," regardless of what style phase I'm in.  Moccasins, funky prints, scarf, cardigan, aviators.  So perfect.  I need to get my hands on a pair of aviators before summer.  They are hands-down my favorite style of sunglasses.