Wedgies, flashing, and other romper dangers.

Morning, all.

I know it's not morning, proper, but I'm enjoying that brilliant everything-is-wonderful-because-I-only-require-fun-things-today feeling. So... I'm continuing to think of it as morning.

That... also allows to me have breakfast for dinner, should I so choose, even though I've done brunch.

Anyway, I've dealing with a very serious need to create a style blog again. I say "again" because I've had one. My style wasn't great in 2009, but I tried to maintain a wardrobe blog nonetheless. There is a reason I'm not linking it for you now. But… my previous style blog failures won’t keep me from dabbling now.

Romper: thrifted, vintage Express

Sweater: Mossimo

Braided leather belt: Maurices (on clearance for $3!)

Purple bow flats: $8 at DSW more than five years ago (holla at a serious bargain)

Combat boot pendant: Cato

Now, you should know that this was my first time in public in a romper since, possibly, my 11th birthday when my dad took me to the skating rink. That romper was straight, had a blue kangaroo pocket and hood, and boasted vertical rainbow stripes. It. Was. Brilliant. And I loved it.

But I didn't seek out this second romper. No, no. It found me.

Last fall, while touring Goodwill, I found what I believed to be the most gorgeous little v-necked, button down, summer dress. I carried it around Goodwill while I collected other possible gems. (Secret: There may have been a plaid school uniform skirt that really insisted upon itself in the pile.) Once inside the dressing room, I eagerly grabbed the dress to try on first.

But.

There.

Was something wrong.

Maybe the skirt was caught up... Maybe the thrift store tag had snagged the front AND back of the thing. What... is...

Ooooh... It was a romper.

I'd heard all the romper horror stories. I'm sure you have too. Things like "those ONLY look good on girls who are a size 0" and "no grown adult should be caught dead in a romper."

But... by this point you know that popular opinion holds only so much weight in my court. And where fashion and style is concerned, it holds even less. Most people are too uptight. (Or maybe I'm just extra loose... either way.) So I decided to throw caution to the wind. I've already got it in the dressing room... No one has to know that I'm trying on a romper... It will be my secret, shared only with the individual Goodwill *claims* is watching the dressing room security video.

I felt a little silly stepping into the pleated legs and sliding the sleeveless number up over my shoulders, but I did it. As I pushed the big flat 80's style buttons through their respective holes, I let out a little chuckle before I remembered I was on a mission of utmost sensitivity. I buttoned the last button and looked up.

Huh.

Surprisingly, the back tie and pleated waist created a nice shape. Nipped in at the waist, falling nicely over hip and thigh, and a nice, short length for a Liliputian like myself. This was getting interesting.

I spun around, made Ellen’s that’s-my-ass face, and decided I didn’t hate how the romper looked from the back.

I mean… shouldn’t I have a wedgie? Shouldn’t it pull at my crotch? I mean… let’s just get real with ourselves. We’re all thinking it.

You guys. It didn’t. It laid nicely.

So after some soul-searching, I decided to gamble on this romper. It was $4. If I didn’t wear it, I’d just give it back to Goodwill, no harm done.  I brought it home, tried it on again, questioned all my life choices, and put it in the closet.

I brought it out a couple of times only to put it right back in, but as we all know, outing is complicated. Timing is important.

This morning, when I decided to take myself to brunch, the pieces just fell together. The weather was beautiful. Sunny and 75. My brunch date, Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle, was colorful and slightly floral and just an excellent uhzzezzory. Done and done.

I took myself and my romper to my favorite in town brunch spot. It’s a little divey place that has relocated to an out-of-business coffee shop. The food stayed divey and I appreciate that a lot.

Anyway, I established myself and my book at a little table on the far wall. Tucked into a corner with a sunny glass wall and an inviting (though unlit) fireplace, I was able to calm down and reflect on my morning, my book, and my romper.

And here’s what I came up with.

First, I need to remember to do my mom’s “What happens when you sit down?” test before I leave the house in a new garment. Failure to do this test yesterday landed me at a work conference in a short dress sans stockings or the ability to cross my legs. Luckily one is good at the royal ankle cross. Today though, I didn’t realize until I sat down at my table that the romper gets quite short in the rear and quite long in the front when I sit.

How can this be? I’m not altogether sure, but I think this can be best illustrated through footies. Those of you who’ve worn them recently will understand this best, but the rest of you can refer to your high school babysitting jobs. Or your own babies, I guess. I forget that some of you have/had them. Oops. #childlessbychoice

Ah, right… the short in back, long in front principle. These onefers are all the same. When you sit and create a “C” if you will, the same amount of fabric allowed the outside of the “C” is allowed the inside. The inside bunches and gets roomy. The outside gets tight and either pulls around the neck and shoulders, or as in the case of the romper, rides up high on the leg. It’s not terribly revealing, because like I said, the front grants extra coverage. But… I wouldn’t wear a fitted romper for this reason. There are those who want to see that much of my leg/thigh/butt, but I’ll not share it with the general public. Unless it’s swimsuit season.

Second, each time I stood up, I worried that I had a wedgie. I didn’t. But… the fear was still there. It caused me to do a cursory tug on the back of the romper, just in cases. Wedgephobia. This is new, even for me.

And, third and finally, I faced a serious question once I returned home from my romper outing. Exactly what should I do with my belt and sweater when it comes time to pee?! Think about it.

I was just thanking all that was good that I didn’t make this discovery in a bathroom other than my own.

Comfort Food: Three Ways

because sometimes one is just not going to cut it.

Who has these days? The days when everything is slightly off and nothing is easy? When you have a doctor's appointment and your car breaks down before you get the chance to buy groceries? And the baby's fussy and those pants are getting tight? And that student keeps emailing about that one thing and Netflix keeps pausing to "retrieve" something or other?

No one?

Just me?

Well, now I know you're lying. Because those things happened to me, my boyfriend, me, my BFF, me, me, and everyone who uses Netflix. This week. In that order.

So let's take comfort in food, shall we?

It's the right thing to do.

Let's start with the good ol' American brown bag staple.


The PB & J. Peanut butter and strawberry jam, in this case.

Our first way is simple.


PB & J, sliced on the diagonal (requirement), in a ziploc bag (requirement).

The unrequired elements of overenthusiastic, early morning posing will no doubt provide some level of comfort. But warm up to this advanced placement, day improving activity, please. I don't want you to pull something.

Our second PB & J manipulation came to me direct from the boyfriend.


Well. The idea did. I wish she made it for me, but I had to handle this one myself.

Anyway... enough of that. Grilled PB & J!


It's as easy as it is delicious. Take any ol' PB & J sandwich, butter the outside pieces of bread, and toss that thing into a frying pan or onto your panini grill (my choice).

The bread gets buttery toasty like a grilled cheese and the peanut butter and jam get warm and omgamazing.

Try it tonight with a glass of milk as a late night snack and you will not be disappointed. The comfort will be overwhelming.

Finally, our third PB & J is...

can you guess?


PB & J French toast. : )

Shock and awe, right? Okay... the shock I'll let go. But the awe you should keep. Because it's really, really tasty.

And just like our other manips, super easy to do: Take a PB & J sandwich, soak it (one side at a time) in an egg, milk, vanilla mixture, brown it on both sides in a frying pan, and bake it until it puffs up and is firm to the touch.

Pair it as you would any other sweet, filled french toast. I chose scrambled eggs with some serious hot sauce. And syrup. Because I like it. And butter. Because how would one compose a picture of french toast without a pat of butter?

Mmmm... Are you feeling comforted yet?

In all honesty, I am. These PB & Js might have been made over a week ago, at different occasions, but... just writing about them has calmed down a bit.

So... let me take my small bit of comfort and go back to my busy day. And just maybe, when it's all over, I'll comfort myself with something other than food. Or... maybe not. : )

I'm curious. What's your comfort food of choice?

French toast, the right way?

It's been weeks since I made this French toast.

Maybe even a month. But... boys and girls... my mouth is watering as if I were sitting in front of this decadence right now, after having fasted for a week.


What's so great about it?

Well... in addition to the fact that it is French toast made with PUMPKIN BREAD (I knoooow!), it is French toast that I actually made the right way.

I didn't know I was making it wrong all these years, but I was.


The right way starts out as I thought... A couple of eggs, some milk, and whatever flavoring sounds good to you. This time I shook in some cinnamon and splashed in some vanilla.

But... then... you let the bread soak in it. Now... this... for me... is different. I've always been a dunk, dunk, pan person myself, but... no longer! Let that jank soak!

When it does make it to the pan, just brown it. Don't worry about the innards, they'll get their due in a minute, when you...


bake it.

That's right, kittens. This is where the magic happens.

All that cinnamon vanilla custardy mix that crept into the the crevices of that soaking bread earlier, is now going to souffle up and make for the most wonderful, fluffy/firm French toast experience you've ever had.


Just look at that heft! That crumb! That sweet, pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla, eggy goodness!

Ugh. Ima need a minute.

Rainbow French Toast (and a Moral)

Things happen.


But when they do... you usually have new options. (Like removing the icing and starting again...


By soaking cupcake slices in a custardy, almond flavored mixture.



And frying them up. And baking them for a few minutes after that.)


This time, I found out that though rainbow cupcakes are tasty, rainbow cupcake French toast is amazingly, woah Nelly delicious.

So, I guess what I'm saying is... it gets better.

(I'm also saying that this happened on a lazy weekend morning that demanded brunch. My cabinets, however, were ridiculously bare... so the cupcakes had to stand in for breads.)

Sausages, of link and patty

Alright, so there are no links... but patties! I made sausage patties! ME... the girl who doesn't like to touch meat!

INCONCEIVABLE! (you say)

Not so, kittens! (now we're back to me again)

Here's the sitch: I had 1/2 lb of leftover ground pork from the meatloaf meat-rubbing experience you read about a bit ago. (Don't worry... this post is a little late. The meat was very much still fresh when I sausaged it.) So I thought about what ground pork on its lonesome was actually good for. And... I had no idea. So I consulted allrecipes.com's ingredient search.

Are you familiar with this tool, kittens? Because it's awesome and you should be.

You just list the ingredients you do and don't want (I wanted neither a breakfast casserole or liverwurst) and voila! It gives you options. I saw sausages popping up all over the place, so I went in that direction.

I read a bunch of sausage patty recipes and decided that few of them had everything I wanted. And as far as the ones that did... well, I didn't have everything they wanted. (Such is life, right?) So I finagled and guessed... and came up with this:


To my 1/2 lb of ground pork, I added:

1/3 teaspoon thyme
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon crushed red pepper
few shakes of hot sauce
a good drizzling of butter maple syrup

Then I put my hand in a Ziploc bag...


(Aren't those things versatile?!*) And I mixed up the meat without having to touch it or thoroughly devastate it with a spoon.

After spending some quality time in a skillet on medium high heat...


My sausage patties were ready for action. And they were quite good! Spicy and sausagey without being too greasy or heavy. I loved them. So much so that I...


cut up a patty the next morning, cracked an egg over it, and made a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich that made my work lunch. And, let's be honest, my whole day.

* My mom, who is of the I'm-not-going-to-look-so-you-just-narrate-for-me camp of scary movie watchers, has come up with a particularly genius way of watching scary movies through a ziploc bag. I'd explain... but she might never forgive me to putting just this part on the interwebs. Point is... ziploc bags are the bomb.

Bagel Brunch!

I don't know what it is about bagels, but I love them.

Love, love, love them.

What else do I love?

Well, a lot of things. But for the purposes of this post... BRUNCH!

So, this week I picked up some bagels and this weekend, I had an Aha! moment.

Why can't I french toast a bagel?! Well... boys and girls... I can now tell you without any hesitation that there is no good reason why I (or you) can't french toast a bagel.

Walk this way.



Step 1: Turn on Grey's Anatomy (oh hai, Arizona!) and slice your bagel at least once. I sliced mine into 4 pieces. 3 would be perfect... but my bagel was pre-sliced. So... 4.

Step 2: Crack two eggs into a big, shallow bowl. Whisk them up with 1/2 tablespoon of milk, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon extract, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.


Step 3: Dip a slice-o-bagel in the egg mixture, and fry it up.


Step 4: Reassemble the bagel as the slices are fried. Place in front of Grey's Anatomy episode still in progress.


Step 5: Add butter and syrup to taste. Enjoy the bagelly goodness.

Mmmm... I wholeheartedly approve.

What would be better? Some sort of fruit topping. Or filling. Or cream cheese filling with a fruit topping. Just saying.

Those bagelly layers are just screaming for something colorful and tasty. Hmm... I'll keep you posted.

Carry on, brunchers!

Strawberry Shortstacks

Mmmmm... delicious sleep of the weekend. How I love it.

I meant to put together an overnight yeast pancake batter before I went to bed last night, but I forgot about it when I decided to turn in around 11pm. No worries though! This morning, I met some friends at the farmer's market and before I ran out the door, I mixed up this recipe for Yeast Pancakes* so it could do its thing while I browsed.

Please note the little yeasty beasts in the dry ingredients.


So you don't get worried if you make these yeast pancakes on your own, I'll tell you that the batter (when it first comes together) is extremely thin and liquidy.



See?

Ah, but after a couple of hours, the batter is a bit thicker and definitely weirder. After I gave it a quick stir, it looked like normal pancake batter.


While I fried up the pancakes in the usual way, I cooked down some strawberries in a little bit of sugar. I threw in some cornstarch at the end to thicken the juices and... voila!


Strawberry Shortstacks.

I layered the strawberry sauce between the pancakes too... just because I felt like it. It was a delicious Spring-is-here-and-Summer-is-around-the-corner! breakfast.

*If you use this recipe, I'd recommend cutting the amount of salt in half. I thought it looked like too much when I was adding it, but I checked the recipe again and decided to trust it. The pancakes were a bit saltier than I'd prefer. This was another reason I schmeared the strawberries throughout. I also made some subtle Amanda changes to this recipe by swapping out the whole milk in favor of soy and replacing a third of the white flour with whole wheat flour. It's how I roll.

A Baby for Breakfast?

Good grief, did this week get busy.

Going back to school after Spring Break was enough of a task, but add in a visiting friend, countless student essays, and the most beautiful weather Smalltown has seen in a while and I was... a busy (tired) girl. For all these reasons, I still have not gotten dressed in real clothes yet today. And it's 3:42pm.

Let's just say that Frankie said "Relax" and today I listened.

You, of course, know that this means a brilliant homemade breakfast. While still in bed this morning, I pulled my laptop in to join me and started nosing around for something new. What I found was...

The Dutch Baby


A Dutch Baby is a large, custardy pancake that is baked in a skillet. Sounds good, right?

Well, it is. I followed the Baking Bites recipe for a Browned Butter Dutch Baby Pancake. It took just about five minutes to put the batter together. And since my oven runs hot, it took only 15 minutes to bake at 425.


It came out looking very souffle. Just as the recipe explained, the Dutch baby fell as soon as it left the oven but it didn't fall far.

There are many options for topping a Dutch baby. Like a pancake, a Dutch baby can be finished off with powdered sugar, fruit, whipped cream, any number of syrups, or really anything you can imagine. I'm sure there is someone out there who would appreciate a Dutch baby with peanut butter on it. I'm just not that person.


I didn't have any fresh fruit, so I drizzled my Dutch baby with maple syrup. It was really delicious, and I'm still in awe of how perfectly it turned out the first time. Sure the top is immaculate and golden, but look at that bottom... I will never make another one like this again. I just know it.

But I'm going to try.

(And I'll top that one with strawberries & cream.)

Blueberry Pancakes with a Crunchy Twist

Recently, I ate an amazing brunch at J. Christopher's in Savannah. My life was changed a little bit by what they call "Blueberry Crunchcakes." The menu describes these wholesome gems as their "delicious blueberry pancakes made with crunchy granola mixed in," and that just seemed way too simple to not try to duplicate at home. My version isn't perfect... but it's definitely something I'll make again.

I started with my go-to pancake recipe:


Wet
I cup of water
1 egg
2T canola oil

Dry
1 cup flour
4T buttermilk powder
1t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
1/4t salt

For these crunchcakes I added a glug (no, I can't be more specific) of vanilla extract to the wet. I also smashed up a bunch of Kashi granola cereal and pulled some frozen blueberries out of the freezer.


My workstation, clockwise from top: water boiling for much needed coffee, skillet of fantastic squareness, canola oil and silicon brush for surface of skillet of fantastic squareness, frozen blueberries, crushed granola.


Now this picture is more of a tease and, I guess, a hurdle to those who just look at the pictures without reading the text. Because... well... the process that you see laid out so carefully here... well... failed. Sprinkling granola on the griddle before topping it with batter, blueberries, and more granola results in burned granola on the top of the pancake. Hmph. So, I learned that only having crunchies on one side (the bottom side once flipped) was better than having crunchies on both top and bottom, half of them burned black.


Like I said before, my attempt at Blueberry Crunchcakes was successful only to a point. The pancakes were tasty and the granola provided a textural contrast that pancakes don't usually have. However, J. Christopher's Blueberry Crunchcakes were better, and given the chance, you should try them for yourself.


That said, I am not going to complain about saying good morning to something this gorgeous.

(And, no, I don't know how I managed to line up four blueberries in four different pancakes and slice directly through all of them. If you asked me to do it again, I wouldn't be able to.)

Now for some honesty and a question: I love breakfast and brunch foods soooo much, but even writing this post felt like deja vu. I think I need some new material... What is your favorite breakfast or brunch food?

Sunday Brunch (for Two!)

Yes, yes, I know. Sunday brunch is quickly becoming a habit with me.

But, ya know, there are most definitely worse things.

So here's what I had for brunch today and what I recommend you make for brunch at the next available opportunity (Sunday?).


4 strips of bacon, baked for ease and smoke detector testing (mine's fine, by the way). 4 eggs, slow scrambled with milk, a slice-o-Kraft American cheese, salt and pepper. And a holy mess of fried potatoes.

Mmm... let's spend a minute with those potatoes, shall we?!


My grandmother (mom's mom) made the best fried potatoes. They were perfectly browned in just the right amount of oil. Seasoned only with salt, pepper, and onions, the potatoes were simple and comforting and absolutely amazing. Breakfast-for-Dinner at Mammaw's house was a rare treat that we ALL got excited about. Honestly, boys and girls, I don't even remember the other dishes served at those breakfast gatherings. The potatoes were just that good.

So... that's the nostalgia... now here's the joke:

My aunt (mom's sister, Mammaw's daughter) set out to make these fried potatoes this summer. She reached back into the recesses of her mind and did her very best to recreate Mammaw's fried potatoes. What she ended up with was disastrous and she came to me wondering what went wrong. After she talked me through her process, I asked a question: "Hmm... how much oil did you put in the skillet?"

(Ready yourself for the punchline.)

She replied, "Oh... about this much" raising her right thumb and pointer finger to show about an inch and a half. (O_O)

Too much! Too much!

Anyway... since then I've been trying to make those fried potatoes on my own. And, I think I've got it. Today, I spiced them up Creole-style because I didn't have any onions but the basic idea is the same.


Mammaw's (Creole) Fried Potatoes

Vegetable Oil
Potatoes (red-skinned, cubed)
Minced Garlic
Creole Seasoning (Tastes Great on Everything!)

1. Take a turn of the pan with the vegetable oil. (Just a turn, more than that and you'll be deep frying your potatoes. You just want to brown them. Right, Anita?)

2. Add the chopped potatoes to the hot oil, spread them out, sprinkle garlic and Creole seasoning over them, and walk away. Seriously. Let them brown.

3. Flip them a few times as they brown, but give them several minutes between flippings. This the most important part of the deal. Just do it. After flips, season again if you want.

4. Taste test along the way. Stop when they are perfect.


Finally, take all your food stuffs to the table, share them with your house guest (No? That's just me? Well... aren't I just the lucky girl?), and then please go on to seize carpe the diem day.