Tea for 2(sday) -to go

My first tea post of the new year! And honestly it's kind of a snooze. Well for you guys anyway. I started my morning bright and early with a great big thermos of highly caffeinated Matcha. I needed it too. I headed up the mountain with my boss to shop a wholesale bead show. We acquired a lovely selection for the shop and I picked up a few goodies for myself. I'll show them off later this week!

Until then,

Luv

Vanessa*

Lucky (20)13

Happy New Year All! I've been a little bit lax after having an extremely busy holiday season, and then waking up on New Year's day feeling more poorly than just a hangover. I managed to make it all the way through the Xmas season before catching a cold. I haven't really felt up to editing and writing. But I'm feeling better now, and I missed sharing!

On New Years Eve we headed over to our friend's house to have a very low key hang out. We snacked, liquored up (Some of us more than others. I'm a lightweight, but I definitely had more than my usual share), and set off some leftover fireworks. Man we had a Blast (Ha!) or at least I did, but I was probably too drunk to be swinging around that sparkler.

I hope yours was happy and safe, and I look forward to an exciting (lucky) 2013!

Luv,

Vanessa*

You're the Brussles to my Sprout

Brussels Sprouts. The words alone send many a nine year old running from the table. Many, but not this lady. My desire to devour every leafy green food was one part that I was just a really adventurous eater, and three parts I loved eating food that looked like tiny versions of other foods. Basically, I would voraciously devour anything that perpetuated my imagination and my constant need to play dinosaur. Yes, I tried Brussels sprouts because they looked like tiny cabbages. But that is not the reason that I loved them. I loved them because they are friggin' delicious. Geeze are they just the most fabulous vegetable out there. I'm aware this isn't the most popular view, but this recipe is here to change your feelings, views, and hopefully your taste buds for the better. 

Ingredients

• 2 lb Brussel Sprouts
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced(drizzle with a bit of olive oil to keep moist)
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 3 tbsp Gruyere, grated
• sea salt
• pepper

1)Begin by cutting the butts off every single sprout, cutting them in half, and removing the outer layers until you see a lighter green color inside.  This will take FOREVER. it was by far the worst part of this recipe.
2)Add the butter and olive oil to the pan and heat up )Med-High heat) . Before the mix starts to brown add the entire pile of sprouts. Saute 7-8 min on each side. You want the outside to get beautiful and brown and the insides to soften. Your kitchen will smell like heaven. After the first 7-8 min add the minced garlic.
3) Reduce the heat to low and add the salt and pepper to taste.
4) Pour in to your prettiest serving dish and sprinkle with the shredded Gruyere. I added about half and left the rest for my guests to add as they pleased. I also poured the lemon juice and zest into a cute little squeezy bottle as John isn't a big lemon fan. I enjoyed them with and without the lemon, so go with what you like here.

Tada! Delicious friggin' Brussels sprouts. They were divine.
I found the original on Pintrest and you can follow me, if you really want---> HERE
This is the LINK to the recipe which inspired this lovely variation. Check out the Website where I found it: What's Gaby Cooking is simple, beautiful, and full of delightful recipes. I'm thinking about giving her Slutty Brownies a try.
Let me know if you guys try mine out!
LUV,
Vanessa*

Cranberry Sauce

 This dress is one of my very favorites. I found it at an estate sale where I purchased a "lot" of clothing.  Most of the items were too large and have made their way elsewhere, but this dress fit me perfectly. I had to hem it significantly, and I have made multiple repairs on it over time, but this handmade piece has stood the test of time and remains beautiful and comfortable.

Dress: Vintage
Tights: Target
Shoes: Jcrew
Necklace: Corvidae

Special guest alert! John is so stylish but he usually hangs out solely behind the camera. This time he gave me permission to post his outfit too! 

Shirt,
Sweater,
Jeans,
Tie:   Jcrew
Belt: VERY old Abercrombie and Fitch
Shoes: Timberland

Recipes to come soon! I'm also tossing around the idea of some DIY instructionals. Let me know what you think!

Luv,

Vanessa*

Sister Style

 My sister is seriously one of my closest friends. When she "moved" to California for a few months this summer I missed terribly. We typically get along like peas and carrots thought there is guaranteed to be at least one slap fight if we spend more than 8 hours together. (usually less. Sometimes a pea just has to smack a carrot.)

We are 4 years apart and sometimes I feel as though we were raised on different planets. We didn't always get along, like, at all, but over time we came to realize that our core values are the same, and we geek out pretty equally over the same stuff. You know important things like cartoons, cute stuff, comic books and science. And that is really what you build a friendship on. Being a (mostly) good person to one another and obsessing over Gravity Falls together.

One place we definitely (still) don't see eye to eye on is the way we dress. We are completely different in our styles though we both draw inspiration from similar sources. We have been told we both dress like old people, I an old woman, and Alicia an old man. While these outfits are really showing that (though we are both wearing vintage pieces more than 30 years old) I often tend to agree. In any case, we are gonna be some badass old ladies together. 

Luv,

Vanessa*

Thankful

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I mean, I really love Easter and Christmas (and above all Halloween of course) but I love that Thanksgiving is a day intended to celebrate family, love, food, and being grateful for how fortunate we truly are. John and I headed up the mountain for the first half of the day to visit my Grandparents and enjoy lunch with my family. My grandparents provided the traditional fare (turkey, squash, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce), my sister made the all important green bean casserole and my Mom provided amazing sweets (pumpkin bread, snickerdoodle cake and my favorite pumpkin pie). We brought the veggies. My next few posts will be the recipes for my new favorite: Brussels sprouts, glazed bacon wrapped green beans, and John's Spinach balls.

The food was all wonderful, but the best part of the day was spending time with my family! It's not often I get Mom, Dad, Alicia (my sister), and John, but it's a true rarity to also have my Grandparents. While the time was fairly brief, I truly appreciated it.

The gang's all here and ain't we a good looking bunch?  I realized on the car ride home that with the celebration of friendship, family, and decadent food I'm Thankful for Thanksgiving. This was truly a lovely one, and I can't wait for Christmas.

What are you thankful for?

Gobble Gobble,

Vanessa*

Woodswalk

 That title indicates that John and I went hiking well off into some scenic NC wooded barely worn trail. That would be just a touch misleading. We are but a few feet from a small section of the Charlotte Greenway. Not to say that it's not scenic (quite the contrary actually), but it's far from isolated. We had to wait several times over for bikers and curious walkers to pass before we could capture a useful selection of shots. In these first three photos I'm actually very aware of a large pile of dog doo, that I'm attempting (successfully. thank goodness) to avoid while flitting about like a hyperactive 7 year old. We are starting to loose the trees which is such a shame, as I've hardly had the time to take photos of myself in front of them hike and enjoy them, so we jumped at the chance on Sunday. This wasn't even close to the prettiest tree we passed, it was just the easiest one the shoot in front of as there was a convenient little clearing.

Blouse: Penguin  (Boris and Natashas)
Sweater: JCrew (kids sale section)
Dress: BB Dakota
Tights: Target
Boots: Seychelles (Ebay)
Necklace: Corvidae Jewelry

Don't let Fall pass you by without taking some time to enjoy it. It's so easy this time of year to get so focused on what we have to get done that we don't take time to breathe, and enjoy the little things. I'm very excited about Thanksgiving on Thursday and eating Pumpkin pie spending time with my family and John's. Hopefully, I won't lame out on you guys, and I will post a recipe or two this season, as well as some of our adorable family. Cross your fingers!

Luv,

Vanessa*