I bought a few pieces this month thanks to a gift card from a friend. One was a necessity because my current pair of rain boots is flaking off at the top. I tried to buy a replacement last year but they're doing the same thing so I opted for a full rubber pair from Target that are similar in style to what I had. I also bought a new chunky sweater and some pants. The pants are a little longer on me than the model (short girl problems,) so I'm not sure how much I'll wear them, but they are comfortable and will be good when we're back in warm weather.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
- VERMONT Sweatshirt in light gray via the Weston Village Store ($20, retail $50)
- Nicole Miller abstract floral print shorts ($4 via Marshalls, retail $30?)
- *NEW!* Knox Rose Crewneck Pullover Sweater in Green Striped via Target ($23 after coupon, used gift card)
- *NEW!* Knox Rose Relaxed Fit Tapered Jogger Pants in Blue via Target ($21 after coupon, used gift card)
Basics:
- C&C California Grey Shorts ($6 via Marshalls, retail $30?)
Shoes:
- *NEW! A New Day Vicki Mid Calf Rubber Rain Boots in Matte Black via Target ($21.60 after coupon, used gift card)
Handbags:
- None yet
Accessories:
- Apple Watch 8 Midnight Aluminum Case with Elderberry Sport Band (gift from Christian)
- Aurate Pearl Lariat Necklace (won a gift card on Instagram)
Activewear/Swimwear:
- None yet
Gifted from Brands:
- Aetrex Maui Orthotic Flip Flops in Matte Black
- Aurate Crossover Ring in Yellow Gold
- Aurate Toi et Moi Gemstone Mini Vintage Ring in Yellow Gold with Amethyst and Citrine
- Aurate Birthstone Baguette Studs in London Blue Topaz
- Day Owl "The Backpack" in Jam Red
- Day Owl "The Cord Pouch" in Nocturnal Black
Spent in October: $0
Spent in 2023: $30
Spent in 2023 - counting ad money: $30
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
We've been getting a lot of zucchini in the garden this year and they are HUGE. I've been using some (of one zucchini) for dinner and the rest to try different baked goods. This time it was Jenna's chocolate chip zucchini bread. This recipe has some spices in it so it felt nice for the approach of Autumn. (I made this in the middle of September)
Recreating Trattoria Sostanza's Meringue Cake
When Christian and I were in Florence on our honeymoon we went to Trattoria Sostanza, which I had been to on my first trip to Italy in 2017. I told Christian his life would be changed after eating their pollo al burro (butter chicken.) We also got their "dolce con fragoline" (meringue with strawberries) to share for dessert. It actually came with raspberries but it was DELICIOUS! We didn't know what to expect with that name, but they said it was like a cake. Out came 3 layers of meringue with layers of vanilla semifredo (gelato/ice cream) speckled with chocolate. I was inspired to try and make my own after they kept sharing photos of other diners eating it on their Instagram stories. I already make my version of their butter chicken at least a few times a year, why not this?!
I started by googling Meringata as that is what some of the Italians were calling it in their captions. I found this recipe that seemed pretty good, but it just used whipped cream in the layers. Then I found a simple semifreddo recipe and pulled out my Native Vanilla Madagascar vanilla beans for that perfect vanilla flavor! I also added in a few chocolate chips since I didn't have a chocolate bar on hand. Instead of freezing it in a loaf pan I used a round spring-form pan since I wanted it to be a circular cake. I also made three meringue discs hoping I would be able to slice the semifreddo in half to make two layers (I didn't know how much the recipe would make.) Unfortunately, it was too thin to split so I only used two of my meringue discs. I used the third for something else.
Next time I'll double the semifreddo recipe and buy a chocolate bar to shave into pieces for prettier flecks of chocolate. Perhaps I'll make it for this year's Christmas celebration so we don't have to worry too much about it melting, ha ha! Dye the meringue red or green perhaps??
No Churn Ice Cream
Not exactly baking, but I still include ice creams since they involve using baking tools, haha! We had leftover heavy cream from the above meringue cake so I wanted to try and recreate my favorite Talenti gelato flavor that they have sadly stopped making - Coconut Almond Chocolate. I found a recipe for a simple chocolate chip ice cream and also added some sweetened coconut flakes and chopped up almonds. Super easy, the hardest part is whipping up the heavy cream.
Conchas
I'm on the King Arthur Baking email list and this month they're focusing on Mexican Pan Dulce ("sweet bread") recipes. Fany Gerson, a Mexico City-born pastry chef created this recipe for the series. They look so fun and pretty so I had to make them! The recipe for the dough was pretty simple, a starter and then a brioche-type method for completion. They're topped with a simple cookie dough, much like craquelin for cream puffs, which I have been wanting to try making for quite a while (I'm not a cream puff fan so the motivation for that particular version was low, ha ha.) I made the topping a little big but they turned out alright after I peeled off the excess. Next time I may make some more slashes in the topping but these came out pretty good for my first try!
Double Chocolate Halloween Cookies
I couldn't go through October without making a Halloween-themed recipe.These were part of Handle the Heat's October Baking Challenge so it was fun to know I was baking these cookies along with the rest of her community. They were super easy and came out great! Christian especially enjoyed them because they tasted like Oreo cookies thanks to the black cocoa. Totally worth the splurge for Halloween colored M&Ms, ha ha. I did have a coupon so they weren't full price, but still expensive.
2 Hour Fastest No Knead Bread
It's been a while since I've made this no knead bread so I decided it was time to skip making sandwich bread this week and turn to this crusty deliciousness! I always double this recipe because I like it to be nice and tall and we have a larger dutch oven. This recipe is great because all you need is a bowl, a couple bowl scrapers (to help shape the dough) and a dutch oven.
On day two of our Vermont trip we headed up to Woodstock, but not before a stop at the King Arthur Baking flagship store! I behaved and only bought a few different types of flour (bread, all purpose and Italian-style) and a new cambro dough rising bucket for when I want to see how much my dough has risen or brining something. I wanted more fun ingredients, but refrained for now. I still had a lot of things back home to use up first.
We walked around the Woodstock Green and took some photos and a Reel in front of the Woodstoock Inn, a very popular tourist spot. Then we took a little stroll around the town to Faulkner Park before heading to the Apples & Crafts Fair & Food Truck Festival where I spent too much money on things I didn't need, hah! Bought a super cute sheep ornament made from sheep wool from a local Woodstock farm and a ceramic tree with a black bear climbing up it. So adorable.
Blazer: Paul Smith Velvet Book Print Blazer (Roundabout)
Jeans: J Brand Maria High Rise in Purple Velvet (The RealReal)
Boots: Miu Miu Chelsea Boot - in dark brown suede (Roundabout)
Bag: Emm Kuo 'Calle Bahia' (Roundabout)
A couple weekends ago Christian and I headed up to Vermont for the weekend to camp and see the Autumn foliage. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas so we ended up sleeping in the car and not being able to have a fire or make s'mores. At least we still were able to enjoy the changing leaves in between breaks in the rain on Saturday (and no rain on Sunday!)
Saturday we spent the morning/early afternoon in Manchester where we had lunch at Thai Basil. We intended to go to the North Meadow Farms Fall Festival but it was pushed back by a day because of the rain so we headed back to our campground in Jamaica after a pit-stop at the Newfane Heritage Festival. We had hoped for another break in the rain to grill up some hamburgers and hot dogs but ended up having to go out again for dinner. We chose the Workhorse Cafe and got some of their Saturday night barbecue special. It was okay, but we wished we chose another location for what we spent.
I had just gotten new rain boots in the mail the day we left for the trip, which was ideal! My dav rain boots I have had for years have been showing their age by peeling up at the top so it was time for a replacement. I searched multiple higher end stores for the style I wanted but nothing really matched my needs. Then I saw Target had a Circle offer for 30% off shoes and decided to look and found these A New Day rain boots. They also had a coupon for sweaters so I took the opportunity to grab this fun striped sweater. The colors matched all the leaves and green grass perfectly, ha ha.
Sweater: Knox Rose Green Striped Pullover via Target
Jeans: rag & bone 'Nina' high rise ankle skinny jean in burgundy
Rain Boots: A New Day via Target
Bag: Emm Kuo 'Calle Bahia' (Roundabout)
Super delayed post, incoming! Ha ha. After our last trip in September 2022 (when our annual passes expired) we said we were going to "take a year off" Disney. Fast forward to March when Christian had to go to Orlando for work and they offered to fly me down too so we could do a day at Disney before he had to work (they know I'm obsessed.) We flew with Avelo airlines and discovered how easy it was to fly from New Haven vs Hartford so Christian "joked" that we should just take random trips to Disney on the weekend with the $50 and under flights.
Next my friend convinced me to do the Wine & Dine 5K this November so we planned on doing that as a quick weekend trip with minimal park days. THEN when annual passes went back on sale in April Christian and I said screw it, bought them and planned a Labor Day weekend trip the same day. So technically we did take a year off official Disney trips, just not all of 2023. Finally, I have a December trip planned so Christian can see Disney decorated for the holidays! That trip is still up in the air as I may have a conflict for the days we booked (I have a backup hotel booked for a couple weekends later, but we'll see.)
TLDR; Christian and I weren't going to go to Disney this year, but then we threw that out the window and planned 3 trips from September - December, haha! Technically we did take a year off, our last official trip was September 2022.
I've recently bought some PowerStep ankle compression sleeves for walks with Christian in the morning. I also have some of their insoles that I use on my less-supportive sneakers. We are in the middle of "training" for the runDisney Wine & Dine 5K so my legs are getting a little more exercise than they've been used to these past few years. The Cubii seated elliptical I have been using since March was step one in my newfound fitness routine. Step two is getting outdoors on a more regular basis to walk, almost every morning.
I use the word training lightly because it's not too extensive. We walk every day but on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays we are following Jeff Galloway's 5K program which slowly ramps us up to do a 5K with a run/walk method.We started the official schedule at the end of August and will continue until our run in November.
I have never been a runner so this has definitely been a learning experience for me. I said to myself that I wasn't going to buy any special running gear but I ended up buying a pair of running shoes and a few different pairs of running socks to test out (PowerStep also carries taller compression socks!) At least once the 5K is over I can continue to use the shoes as walking shoes. But who knows, maybe I'll learn to enjoy running.
(ignore if I have bad form, running for a camera is weird, haha!)
