Domesticity

Yesterday: Blue, White, and.....Green?

My instinct was to match the navy and white with some shade of red, of course, but I decided to try something different.  (Recent posts have made clear to me just how much I fall back on that combination.) 

I used my common strategy of using a coordinating scarf to bring disparate colors together.  (This is basically my only personal dressing pro-tip.)  I liked the subtle pattern mixing of stripes with the flowery print.  (Sorry for the cruddy photo.)

New items:
*Navy striped shirt from Lands End
*Pleated navy skirt from Lands End (from their school uniform collection, mega-cheap)
*Green cardigan from Liz Claiborne

Wearing this outfit reminded me of two people:

(1)  It had that RB cool weather compensatory dressing thing going -- you know, if you wear enough long layers on the top, even in winter you can wear shorts.  (Note: this is related to, but distinct from, what I think of as Colorado compensatory dressing, in which putting a heavy sleeveless ski vest on top of any clothing combination makes it cool weather compatible because you are keeping your core warm, after all.  This is especially awesome when it involves a t-shirt, hiking shorts, and a down ski vest.)  (And it is light-years more valid and stylish than the weird Austin thing wherein people wear jeans, a coat, a hat, mittens, etc., in winter with flip flops.  For the love of Christ, people.  Buy a pair of real fucking shoes already.)

(2)  I never really understood my mom's abiding love of the 3/4 length sleeve until I started doing a lot of cooking and washing up for myself, but now I get it.  It was pretty sweet wearing this cardigan yesterday while cooking -- no bunching up of long sweater sleeves followed by the almost immediate un-scrunching, ensuring that the ends of the sleeves get wet and/or gross.

What was I cooking?  A variant on a favorite recipe, made acceptable on my neo-paleo diet with a few revisions.  I think it's just as good as the original version.

Chicken Junot, Neo-Paleo Style
Serves 4

1 - 1.5 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Italian seasoning, to taste
Garlic salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
2-3 portabello mushroom caps, sliced [and cut into smaller chunks]
1/2 red onion, sliced [I cut each long strip into thirds or so]
4 T. butter
1/4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. red wine

1.  With kitchen shears, cut chicken breasts lengthwise so that each chicken breast becomes two thinner pieces.  (You can also pound them to make them thin, but I think cutting them is MUCH easier.  My cheat method does not do any tenderizing but whatever.)

2.  In a large skillet, cook mushroom and onion in 2 T. butter until tender; remove from skillet. 

3.  In same skillet, melt 2 T. butter, add chicken pieces, and sprinkle with herbs/spices.  Cook chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through, turning to brown evenly.  Remove from skillet.

4.  Return mushrooms and onion to skillet.  Add broth and wine.  Cook, uncovered, for about 3 minutes or until mixture heats up/thickens slightly.

5.  Serve chicken with wine sauce.

Note:  I find that the chicken heats up just fine in the microwave later, cooking about 2 minutes.  I always add more butter (actually butter/olive oil spread) after re-heating to moisten things up a bit.  Mmmmm....butter and red wine and more butter.  Love it.

I actually made a double recipe (two skillets) at once because I don't mind eating the same thing a couple times a day if I need to.  At the very least I mind that less than having to spend more time cooking more different things.

Today:  Unseasonably Warm

I had hoped that it would be warm enough again to wear this new dress before the fall weather really set in for good.  I wanted the chance to wear it on its own, rather than under/over a bunch of layers, because I think the details are simple but pretty.  Today, with a high of 79 degrees, seems a good day for it.

New item:
*Pink dress from Lands End

Of course, it won't be that warm until afternoon, so I'm wearing it with a lightweight cardigan for now.