GROWN-UP LESSONS

I was pretty proud of the way this meal turned out. I cooked for the parents of my charges as a Christmas gift, delivered the meal to their door, and whisked the kids off for a night of pizza and movies at my house.

I served rosemary roast chicken on a bed of barley bean risotto with roasted, spiced carrots. I also made martinis as an apératif and added a French bâtard and a bottle of wine. For dessert, crème caramel with a dark chocolate triangle.

I was worried that the chicken would be too dry because even though it was less than 4 lbs., I cooked it for over an hour but basted constantly with butter and drippings. I was really happy with the color and crispiness of the skin and was later assured that it was succulent! I also tried something new, separating the chicken skin from the flesh and stuffing fresh rosemary in between before replacing the skin. The way the leaves showed through the skin was really pretty.

I’d really like to experiment more with crème caramel. It wasn’t actually that hard to make but it took several tries to remove it cleanly from the ramekin. I had to eat about two-and-a-half of them that I ruined. Boy, my life sure is tough.

In my giant closet clean-up, which is taking me ages, I uncovered this beautiful cashmere sweater, which is one of the most luxurious hand-me-downs I own. Unfortunately I have an abundance of simple sweaters, and since this one has a bit of a looser fit on me, I decided to make it more feminine by doing a bit of embellishing around the neckline.

I bought some glass pearls and beads and strung a necklace-like collar to give it a really whimsical quality. I was really pleased and had spent quite a lot of time first stringing the beads and then sewing the collar on with one stitch between every other bead but the very first time I put it on, pearls flew everywhere! I guess I didn’t tie a tight enough knot. Oh no! The upside is that I have other projects in mind for the beads and plenty of other ideas for the sweater.

THE OCCASION: SISTERS GO ON A DATE

Hannah and I are having a “romantic” night tonight. We made homemade calzones with homemade marinara to dip them in, dressed up in startling similar outfits, and are going to see a movie.

Our outfits weren’t exactly coincidentally alike. We both decided to rock a hippie headband (though it’s more her look than mine) and our fringe booties with leggings and button downs for a indian-princess-meets-indie-band-member kind of look. Yeah. Let’s call it that.

Blouse, borrowed from Mama’s closet; long-sleeve shirt, Gap; velvet leggings, Forever 21; fringe booties, Étam; headband, homemade.

Ben was kind enough to humor Colin and I by shooting some photos of us on New Year’s Eve. This after we complained that we have very few photos of the two of us together because usually our photo experiences are shared from opposite sides of a camera lens. It took us a surprisingly long time to get this one usable shot because we kept closing our eyes, making unappealing faces, having bad hair and being otherwise unphotogenic.

I should also mention that we were a little bit dolled up not because it was New Year’s Eve, but because Colin took me out for a delicious Indian meal to celebrate the third anniversary of our first date. Lucky girl!

I wanted to post this photo yesterday but then changed my mind when I decided to be in a huff with Colin. This just goes to show that just as all couples have their moments, I’m also occasionally apt to not act like a real grown-up at all but actually more like a petulant child. Colin sticks with me anyway, which is further evidence of how lovely he is.

TWO WAYS: NEUTRALS GALORE

When I was living in France I couldn’t help but notice the amazing ability of French girls to wear tons of neutral shades in one outfit without a single splash of color. Admirable though this feat may have been, it always inspired in me a certain gloom. I occasionally find myself falling prey to this bland outfit recipe. Today is a perfect example. This sweater, which I bought during the seasonal sales in Bordeaux, is actually the same shade as this skirt, which I picked off a rack in my favorite secondhand store this summer, even though the picture makes them look different. I think the near exact pairing of these shades is the only reason this outfit even comes close to working. I’m still not sure if it does.

I also couldn’t decide whether I liked the cardigan tucked in and buttoned or open and not tucked in. What do you think?

Sweater, Kookaï; cardigan, Gap; belt, Forever 21; skirt, thrifted Liz Claiborne; tights, Express; headband, drugstore.

THE OCCASION: ERRANDS, WORK, BRAVING COLD AND DEPRESSING WEATHER

I recently bought my very first trench coat, and I already adore all of the fun outfits I can make with it! This morning all of the roads were covered in a thin sheet of ice. I had to take my car to be serviced and didn’t have time to wash my hair, so I resorted to an old high school standby - the ponytail. I always wrap several strands of hair around the ponytail holder to hide it, making it a slightly-more-chic-than-average ponytail. Or at least, that’s how I justify the lack of effort.

I really love this outfit because it’s a little bit gamine because of the striped shirt, a little bit beatnik (this picture doesn’t show my cowboy boots tucked into cuffed jeans), and the high ponytail and neckerchief make it just a little bit 1960’s mod. It’s also undeniably comfy and laid back.

On a weather-related note (I know, fashion bloggers are always on about the weather, but it does have a lot to do with how we dress), I’m so sick of this rainy/sleety cold without snow. I don’t even care whether we get spring or more winter because I’d be just as happy to pull out skirts and dresses and pretty ballerina flats as I would be to squeeze my multiple pairs of socks back into snow boots. I just want something more inspiring than this dull, wet gray and brown landscape.

Trench and jeans, Gap; striped tee, borrowed from Mama’s closet; neckerchief, secondhand.