Recent Snaps.

For anyone who cares besides me (hi mom!), if I may share some pics from life recently. ;)

Red Mango. Frozen yogurt and Ice cream is back after a long lent season!

Quality time with my anti-social teenage nephew who hates me. And everyone breathing. 

It's a bad situation when you go food shopping and half of your bill is magazines and not actual food. Don't judge me.

Throw pillow avalanche at Homegoods. xo

What I wore....

Jewelry organization. Say hello to my new Kendra Scott Tiger eye earrings!

Panera's new couscous shrimp salad. So incredibly delicious.

Butter's nail polish bar. I'll take one of each, please.

I went to a wedding this weekend and the ceremony was held in this gorgeous church.

I have never in my life been in a church with such detail and color. It was breathtaking.

The pictures did it no justice but I had to try and capture some of that beauty.

What I wore....

What I wore.....

And that's gonna wrap up the last two weeks....roughly....lol

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

 - V.V.

Brand Spotlight: Coach

We all remember Coach, don't we? For many of us, back in the day, owning a leather Coach bag was a big deal. It was our rite of passage into handbags, fashion and all things namebrand.

When I was in my early 20's and started working full time, I spent all of my money on Coach bags and accessories. I remember incessantly visiting the website hounding their new arrivals section looking for my next fix!

For me, it was more than just the name. Coach made gorgeous, buttery leather bags in classic shapes, wallets and shoes with edgy but timeless hardware in rich neutral colors.
That's who I am. While I enjoy and indulge in different fashion styles, "classic" will always be my fashion go to . I am the black turtleneck, I am the denim jacket, I am the striped shirt. And Coach, was my brand.

In the more recent years, Coach changed their stylings. They experimented with their logo's and coloring. I found myself stepping away from their brand the more eccentric they got. In my personal opinion, I thought they were losing who they really were. Easter egg pastel double CC's splattered all over a metallic canvas bag?  I couldn't get on board.  I knew it was time to hang it up when I was 25 and 26 years old carrying the same brand and bag as the 14 year old next to me online at the food court. I broke up with Coach.

Within the last two years, I started to see flashes of brilliance again from the line. I didn't want to get my hopes up....

Well, I'm here on my blogger soapbox to let everyone know, that the Coach has come home to roost!! They are back and better than ever! This is no phase, this is no gimmick. The shapes, the colors, the details, the leather, etc. The pieces are sophisticated  and playful, but not youthful this time. They got it right. They went back to the basics that made them a legendary American brand. I am so excited over the new stuff, I wanted to share my top picks. You bet your bottom dollar that my dollar will be spent at Coach once again. I knew I was home when my heart did double beats (by the way, I call that a fash attack!) at the mere sight of their new arrivals section like it did so long ago. Trends are fun, experimenting is fun too. But nothing will ever beat a gorgeous, quality leather bag or wallet that you purchase with the staying power to last season after season, year after year. Classic will never go out of style. 
Welcome home, Coach.

Faithfully,
V.V.

Coach leather jacket
coach.com

Coach shoes
coach.com

Coach leather handbag
coach.com

Leather handbag
coach.com

Leather handbag
coach.com

Coach leather handbag
coach.com

Coach bag
coach.com

Coach bag
coach.com

Coach watch
coach.com

Coach leather bracelet
coach.com

Retro sunglasses
coach.com

Coach sunglasses
coach.com

Coach key chain ring
coach.com

Coach key chain ring
coach.com

Coach key chain ring
coach.com

Coach perfume
coach.com

Yummy Skirt Steak

Happy hump day! I've been meaning to buy and make skirt steak for a while now and I finally got to it. This was last night's dinner. I think it was delicious and very easy. So for my fellow carnivores, here ya go! 

I dug in my fridge and came up with a marinade. Again, no exact measurements. 
I used a 1/3 measuring cup and did equal parts of these ingredients and tossed it all in a zip lock bag and swished it all around. Talk about professionalism! ;)


1/3 Ken's Asian sesame dressing

1/3 Ken's light options balsamic dressing

Less than 1/3 cup  A1 Steak sauce - this is strong so a little of this goes a long way.

Less than 1/3 cup Kikkoman Less Sodium soy sauce - also VERY strong.

Sliced red onion (the amount id to your liking)

A ton of garlic. If you like garlic obviously, which I do. I used my garlic press and squeezed in about 7-8 cloves. There is nothing better (to me) than the smell and flavor of fresh garlic!
Jarred garlic is fine too!

Sprinkle fresh black pepper and salt on both sides of your skirt steak.

Throw it all in a ziplock bag and mush/swish away! I let it marinate for about an hour. 
You can go as long as you like.

I use this reversible double griddle. Liberally brush olive oil on the grill, heat it up really good and then place the steak (or whatever you're grilling) diagonally across the grill so you get the smokey grill marks that you would from a traditional barbecue. Two things:

1. This grill is fantastic! It's truly like having a BBQ grill in your kitchen. The other side is flat and ideal for pancakes, eggs, veggies, etc.

2. It's a BITCH to clean up, but if you love BBQ like I do, it's worth it.

I usually enjoy my steak well done and crispy. The same can't be said for skirt steak. I enjoy it medium inside where it takes on that "shredding" quality it's known for.

I cooked mine for about 15-20 minutes. 

That was the end result. I served it with a hefty side of asparagus and that sweet red onion.

I saved and froze the rest of my skirt steak for another meal in the coming weeks. If I had any leftovers from dinner (which you know I didn't!) , I would have sliced the steak up and put that on top of a nice big salad for a decadent lunch. You could even make skirt steak sandwiches!

I think I was intimidated by skirt and maybe that's why it took me so long to try it at home.

I'm glad I tackled this one.  I hope you try it and think it's delicious and easy as well!

Save me some!


 - V.V.

Skinny Blueberry Pancakes

Happy Saturday! Have you had breakfast? I found a homemade recipe for blueberry pancakes but I tweaked it to to make them "skinny".  I made them for breakfast this morning and I was truly pleased. Figured I'd share....

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup milk ( I used 1% - You can use skim or low fat or even regular if you choose)

1 tablespoon of sugar (substitute of your choice)

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg (I added this in because my friend Clascy told me she puts apple pie spice in her French toast so I thought....why not?)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of butter (I use Brummel and Brown Yogurt Butter)

1 egg

Fresh blueberries (the amount is to your liking)

MIX!

*Side note: My aunt got me this stand mixer for my bridal shower with a bunch of fun attachments and today was my first time using it. I love this thing! I am very grateful to have received one of these.

The end result. I topped mine with a fresh banana and light agave syrup.
Perfect way to start my weekend.

Enjoy your weekend!

It's Raining Dumplings!

Tuesday was my day off and it was pouring out....(of course. The sunny days are reserved for work days!) Whatev.

Rainy day agenda:
1. Sleep in
2. Pretty Little Liars (catching up on season 4)
3. Take some blog pix
4. Lunch with my husband at Joe's Shanghai 
5. Car Accident (true story! I didn't plan that one but it did happen!  lol 
We're totally ok so I can now joke about it!)
6. Stay under the covers for the remainder of the evening!

I wanted a traditional YELLOW rain coat. Old school.....something Mr. Rogers would wear? 
Or the Gorton's fisherman.....but you get my drift. I guess I wasn't the only person with that idea because I literally saw 6 yellow (maybe more) rain coats out and about. Do you know, someone had the nerve to doubt my rain fashion? A woman in a yellow trench coat was walking by with a few gentlemen and one of them said to her..." looks like you have yellow coat competition"......I responded to him ( I assume he didn't think I heard or would dare answer.....OBVI doesn't know who the hell I be!) "I win!" and they kept walking. It was about to be a yellow raincoat showdown on the mean streets of Queens!

Old Navy Raincoat: Sold out. Similar Here and Here // Gap Striped Sweater: (3 years old)
Old Navy Jeans: Here // Helly Hansen Rain Booties Here // Felix Rey Umbrella Here

*Since I promise to always keep it real on the blog, I should tell you....the Felix Rey umbrellas are adorable but the quality is terrible. I would NOT buy another one. If you'd like something fun to use in a VERY light rain with no wind, I suppose you could get away with using this. If function is what you're after, I hate to say, this isn't it!

  


































I felt like I was standing outside trying to pose in a monsoon!  My neighbors must have been like....what the hell is she doing?! The things we do for fashion.....

These are super cute. I originally wanted these in navy but they sold out so I ended up with the white. Next time I'll try these with my navy jacket and bootcut jeans for a different look.


Onto the dumplings!

Joe's Shanghai in Flushing

Known for their famous soup dumplings. My husband had been here with his friends and always talked about taking me. We had the day off together so it was the perfect time.

I don't know if my review will help or hurt but overall, I thought the dumplings were very good. Messy. Prepare to have "soup" everywhere.  I guess the word that keeps coming to my mind is "good". I don't want to say great? But I'm not a dumpling aficionado so what the hell do I know?!

If you enjoy dumplings and soup, then you'll like these. Check it out!

Beware - cash only!

So I had a smidge of bad luck with the fender bender but I can say that my rainy day wasn't a total wash! <3 

Happy Drip-Droppin'!

Tangerine Dream

Utility Jacket: Old Navy Here // Sweater: Asos (Last season) //Scarf: Vince Camuto Here
Jeans: Old Navy Here // Sandals:  Piperlime  Similar // Bag: Tory Burch  Several years ago
Sunglasses: Michael Kors Here // Watch : Michael Kors Here // 
Lipstick: M.A.C. "Morange" Here // Nails: Essie "Tangerine" Here //
Gold Necklace: Helen Ficalora Similar