Homesick for Houstons

There were a few food incentives to moving to Boston. For one, being on the coast equals better sushi. And I made Scott promise that he would start eating sushi if I moved for him. He kept up the end of the deal quite nicely.

The other one- Houstons- my favorite restaurant. I've been eating here with my family for as long as I can remember. Hillstone is the restaurant group and there is a Hillstone not far from us. Whenever I feel slightly homesick, or sad, or stressed, I crave Houstons. And it never fails to cheer me up. The service, the ambiance, the music, and the food. There's something so homey about it all. When we're there, it's like the table is our own little world for the evening. We also love the decor and architecture of the restaurants. It's just a classy place to be, any day of the week.

The chicken tenders are my favorite. Something about the tempura batter and the amazing honey mustard just makes them beyond any other chicken. Tonight, I went with the salad version- the club salad with buttermilk garlic dressing. Scott had the double cut pork chop which has a nice wood grilled flavor. And I ate most of his fries. Love the fries.

We shared some starters; the ahi pressed sushi- layers of tuna, rice, spicy tuna and avocado. Perfect texture, perfect balance. Amazing. This was the first time I've gone and not ordered the Spinach and Artichoke dip. I thought it was just a little too filling tonight but on a side note, it is one of my favorite dishes of all time. So, try it.

We also tried something new- the "Heavenly Biscuits" and I honestly can't describe them in any better terms. I couldn't even wait to eat them while Scott snapped photos....

Romanticle

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm not a big fan of the holiday, but any excuse for a meal like this one and I am on board. Scott cooked the most amazing dinner tonight. Chicken breasts stuffed with asparagus, havarti cheese, and prosciutto. They were pan fried with flour and butter and were cooked to perfection.

On the side we had pappardelle with a walnut cream sauce. Absolutely decadent and so easy to make:

-2 cups walnuts
-1/2 oz. roughly chopped parsley
-1 3/4 oz butter
-3/4 c olive oil
-1 crushed garlic clove
-1/3 c grated parmesan
-1/3 c thick or heavy cream
-14 oz pasta (such as tagliatelle)- we used pappardelle

-Lightly toast walnuts in dry frying pan over moderately high heat for 2 minutes or until brown. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
-Put walnuts in food processor with parsley and blend until finely chopped. add butter and mix.
-Gradually pour olive oil in steady stream with motor running. Add garlic, parmesan, and cream. Season with salt and black pepper.

He used chicken as a substitute




Picture perfect




so romantic


Coming home from work to a set table and a dozen pink roses makes me wish everyday was Valentine's Day. I understand the hatred for the holiday, but it's nice in our busy lives to have an excuse to be romantic.

And to top it all off, I got the world's most giant box of chocolates from my dad. Anyone wanna help me out with these?







Recipes from The Food of Italy: a Journey for Food Lovers by Kay Halsey and Lulu Grimes

Stylish Work Wear

I have a couple go-to pieces for the job interviews I've been going on, but I'm starting to get bored with them. I loved the special that Shopbop sent out today which included looks for different events, one of which- the job interview.

I've tried on suits, but just never seem to find the right fit and look for me. It just doesn't feel natural when I look in the mirror and see myself in a suit. However, something tells me I might feel differently if I had this fabulous Georgie suit....



And even more so than that suit...the Be & D oversized clutch is amazing.

Now for the problem, how to afford these fabulous interview clothes before getting the fabulous job? Tough one. Guess I'll have to hold off.

I have a great pair of black pants, but I could use a lighter colored jacket to still achieve a stylish and professional look, without the whole suit look. And some special tops help to keep it young and illuminate personal style.

Some of my other favorites (I'll have to keep an eye out on Gilt for some discounts):







All photos from Shopbop

January Blues

The city is covered in snow, but not the beautiful, fluffy, blanket kind...more of the slushy, icy, muddy kind. And something tells me its not going anywhere for a loooong time.

I'm starting to look forward to Spring. Bright electric blues are seriously catching my eye. Both in fashion, and in decor. We're talking about painting one wall in our bedroom and this is quite inspiring to me.

5 Dollar Tapas

Tapeo, I love you. Seriously. This place is amazing. After moving to the area, we discovered that you can sit at the bar at Tapeo, and the tapas are all only $5. I kept thinking it was too good to be true, like only a select few would be $5. But no, they're all really $5 (except for a few of the more expensive ones which are $7.50; still a great deal).

I've been to Tapeo with friends a couple times, and this was Scott and my second time going back together. I'm slowly working my way through the whole menu. So far, everything is insanely delicious.



New A.B.S dress (worn as top), bought from Rue LaLa. Balenciaga clutch.


Sizzling garlic shrimp (this is the only dish that I've gotten every time I've been here). It's amazing....and it comes out really sizzling.


Goat cheese with honey and sweet onion- AMAZING


We also ate a delicious duck breast with foie gras and red cabbage dish. This was my favorite. I'm not always the biggest fan of duck, but this was so tender with a rich gravy. It was a special so I'm praying they have it again next time. And yes, it was only $5.





We're getting buried in snow over here. People keep saying to me "you must be used to it, you were in Colorado". Well, no. In Boulder it snows and then the sun comes out and it all melts away. But here, it doesn't melt, and when the sun comes out, there is no warmth in the air. I'm really starting to get sick of the piles of snow all over the city. It makes it quite difficult to walk around in my heels.

And my car is officially stuck. Good thing we can walk everywhere!

Just looking...

I took a stroll down Newbury and had a moment of weakness walking by Intermix. Since the store is only a block from my apartment, I have this conflict frequently. But tonight, I just had to look....







Since I was just looking (and I hate trying clothes on), it took motivation to actually make it to the dressing room. Enter this gorgeous Proenza Schouler dress at 70% off. Luckily, it wasn't as perfect on. Even at 70% off, I can't afford it. But now I feel motivated to find an amazing printed dress...



Also tried on this cute, romantic, lacy top by Twelfth Street Cynthia Vincent. It was really cute, but I remained strong and walked out empty handed. Still hunting for the perfect lacy camisole.

Space Saving

I never finished the tour of my apartment, and many people have been asking me where I keep all my stuff in a one bedroom apartment. So, I thought I would share some tips about making the most of a small space when renting. We have certainly learned a lot on the subject.

I professed my love for IKEA here, so it should be no surprise that our apartment slightly resembles an IKEA catalogue. And though the weeks spent assembling furniture were among the most tedious and relentless days, it's all worth it in the end to have matching furniture that fits perfectly, just the way we planned it.

Tip 1: You can never have too many Billy Bookcases

The Billy Bookcases from IKEA were one of my first discoveries. I had initially gone looking for a good shoe storage solution and knew as soon as I saw these that they were perfect. I have the distinct memory of taking my shoe off my foot and placing it on the display shelf, right in the store. Perfect fit, like Cinderella.

My shoe corner in our bedroom:


Soon after, we discovered the versatility of these book cases. Height extensions, glass doors, half glass doors, corner units, different widths, different finishes, lights, the possibilities are endless. And the depth of these is perfect. They are not bulky. As seen above they are the perfect depth for a shoe.

Clear doors to display my purses:






Height extension unit (perfect for dust bags, and things I don't need to reach regularly):


In our living room (we keep files and things we don't necessarily want to display in the bottom half. Perfect for displaying our books/dvds while adding extra, hidden storage space):


Tip 2: Drawers, drawers, and more drawers

We finally decided to get matching night stands and a real bed frame. A low platform frame and lower night stands can create the illusion of a bigger space. We made sure we had sufficient drawer space in our night stands, and we even have drawers in the bed frame too! (Not shown below, but can be seen here)



We could never sacrifice a TV in our bedroom, so we made sure to find the perfect fit for everything:



Our coffee table in the living room. I photographed it here as well, but could you tell these drawers were on the sides?:


Tip 3: Room Screens to conceal

A big source of stress when moving into a one bedroom- where to put my cat's litter box. I had the idea of a room separating screen to hide this as well as cleaning supplies like our Swiffer and vacuum. We all know that I was not about to sacrifice a closet for these things.

Room screen, from Crate and Barrel:


Nothing is built into the wall, and everything is versatile enough that we can rearrange it and bring it to wherever we might live next.

Fringe

We ventured back to Union Square in Somerville this weekend for old time's sake. Actually, the building where Scott works had a party. The work space, called "Fringe" is a warehouse containing many small businesses and artist studios. It was a great time, and of course a very different scene than what we now get in the Back Bay area.

Show me an old school photo booth and I'll be having a good time. Great idea for an event.

Scott and I have been together for over five years, so we don't get many "firsts" these days. This was a fun one...