Bacon to Break in My New Kitchen

Hi again everyone!

Since we've moved to the new house in Durham we've been able to do more cooking.  Having a working kitchen sink made it better than the old rental already!  Really though, we're thankful to have a nice new kitchen with enough space to cook comfortably allowing us to enjoy cooking again.  It's nothing huge or fancy, but after an apartment and a small older home it feels fantastic.

What have we cooked so far?  Well the first weekend after we closed on the house we made My Mom's Chili, breakfast pizzas (precooked biscuits/english muffins, with sausage, scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese and gravy as components you can mix and match, then just toast it in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese starts to brown), and other favorites like crock pot pork tenderloin, plus new dishes including Bacon Cinnamon Rolls, and Ranch Chicken Club Roll-Ups.

Really the biggest thing was learning to cook bacon in the oven.  I've done it three times in the last week, most recently for the cinnamon rolls.  It makes me happy every time I get to smell it.  Also it's delicious bacon.  The cinnamon rolls were pretty good, and if you're into sweet and savory combinations you should give it a try.  I made sure the bacon was cooked through, but soft enough to roll up into the dough.  Baking the rolls really didn't cook the bacon more so you can get away with making the bacon the way you like as long as you're able to tuck it in the buns, so the strips don't have to be that soft.  I ended up using a half a slice of bacon in each roll.  Here's what ours looked like.

Here's a quick tour of our kitchen too.  Starting from the day we got our keys, a few weeks later we finally got our fridge, and just recently with a fresh coat of paint.  

 

Thank goodness for Memorial Day sales, which allowed us to get a really nice fridge on a budget.  We're so glad to be settling in and making things feel like home finally.

That's all I have to share with you for today, Thursday I'll be making this Cheesy Enchilada Rice Skillet for dinner and next week I'm hoping to tackle some Homemade Maine Style Lobster Rolls for a good challenge.  So more food blogs are in the works.  Check back Friday as I share some reflections on my capsule wardrobe and start making my fashion based blogs a Friday only event.  Thanks for reading!!

Love,

Lydia

The Capsule Wardrobe AKA Fashionyface Things

Hey folks,

So on the good side of things when I tend to stay busy I'm also better able to hold depression at bay.  That's for reasons from being more social, to feeling useful, all the way to simply not having as much time to think and reflect on things.  Over the past few months I've stayed fairly busy and the past couple weeks have been no exception.  I've put together my capsule wardrobe, which comes to a total of 35 pieces.  I found that once I took a good long look at my clothes it wasn't too tough.  I set aside some of my clothes for different seasons by grouping by colors to a certain extent.  So I have 3-4 pieces set aside for spring, about 16 for fall, and around 8 for winter.  Plus I haven't bothered to purge a lot of my winter things just yet so I'm sure I'll add to that number. I've managed to go through most other items in my closet and will try selling a bunch of shoes on either Ebay or Poshmark perhaps.  If anyone has experience with Poshmark let me know what you think if them as I just heard of them and want to hear some reviews.

Now that I've cleared out my closet, on the the Summer 2015 Capsule wardrobe!

So now it's on with the clothes!  Let me know if you want more information, for now I'm sticking with where I got items and a quick descriptor.  I'm happy to provide more info!  I love discussing places to find adorable outfits when I get the chance too so I'd love to hear what some of my reader's favorites are as well.  Let me know what places you love in the comments.

1 -  Serenity Mosaica (Firefly/Serenity) tshirt from Neatoshop
2 - Lace trim cami, Kmart
3 - Ruffled swing top, Anthropologie
4 - Tank with chiffon inset, Catos
5 - Balloon print top, Macy's
6 - Rolled sleeve dolman tshirt, Catos
7 - Striped hi-low top, Anthropologie
8 - Geometric print cami, City Chic
9 - Orange Islands (Pokemon) Tshirt from Neatoshop
10 - Eiffel tower print crop top, Catos
11 - Bubble hem cami, City Chic
12 - Henley tank, Anthropologie
13 - Bubble hem cami, City Chic (I have this top in 4 colors because I caught a great sale and love how comfortable it feels!  I'm saving the purple one for fall as well as a black and white striped one.)
14 - Contrast strap lace front tank, Maurices
15 - Floral print button down, Anthropologie
16 - Lace back hoodie, Target

17 - Zip vent, studded pocket ankle jeans, Torrid
18 - Skinny jeans, Torrid
19 - Roll tab pants, Macy's
20 - Lace maxi skirt, Torrid
21 - Striped terry skirt, Catos
22 - Gauze maxi skirt, Old Navy
23 - Linen drawstring shorts, Lane Bryant
24 - Levis cut off shorts, Modcloth
25 - Levis dark wash, rolled hem shorts, Amazon
26 - Heart print sundress, City Chic
27 - Levis light wash, rolled hem shorts, Amazon
28 - Colored denim rolled hem shorts, Lane Bryant
29 - The Story of Citrus dress, Modcloth
30 - Gallery Cafe sandal, Modcloth
31 - Paisley wedge flip flops (girls size 5=7 womens), Old Navy
32 - Floral print flats, Payless
33 - Corner Bistro sandal, Modcloth
34 - Lauren navy and straw wedge, Macy's
35 - Converse ruffle tongue sneakers (girls size 5), Macy's

I feel pretty great about it all and over the course of this month I've not felt limited at all!  So far items I haven't worn are 2, 4, 10, 20, 22, 29, and 34.  And in the case of 4 & 10 it's because I pulled them out of a box later in unpacking....because I still have some clothes left to unpack.  >.<  Not much though.  I don't have a lot of occasions to wear skirts and dresses in the summer, but I want to wear skirts a bit more often for fun.  I wore the sundress on father's day at least, and the striped skirt out to the movies last Sunday.  I know I also have a couple skirts and dresses left to unpack, so perhaps I'll have more to wear in that department soon!  Also I'll probably incorporate my purses and scarves into my next season's capsule.  Right now I've been using this little shoulder bag all the time, though I have several others too.  (lip balm shown for scale!)

Other than all that I also got a bit of a makeover this month with a nice short haircut for summer.

I've been trying to decide what color I'll do next since last time I did this lovely color transition.

So, this post is completely vain...but not in vain I hope?  haha  Ok, no more puns....
Really though I'll be back soon to show a bit more of our home to you so you all can see what I've been working on.  Also it's past time for a good book review post.  And I've been gardening and trying new recipes too!  Having a kitchen with a working sink is such a blessing after spending the last month at the rental without one.  And having space to cook....it's simply amazing!  I can't wait to share all of it with you.  Til next time!

Love,
Lydia