Dressy

So the other day I was goofing off online and I did something I rarely ever do. I went to Ebay. Furthermore, not only did I look at Ebay, I bid on a dress. It was a Betsey Johnson dress and the highest bid was $15. I thought "What the heck" and bid $15.50, thinking that there was no way I'd actually win the dress. (I'd misread the dress as having 24 hours rather than 24 minutes left for bidding, which explains why I would think this.)
So I won the dress, and with shipping it came out to like $23. I kind of had buyers remorse about the whole thing because spontaneously spending money isn't the best of habits, and I generally don't like the way things I order online fit.
Well. The dress came in yesterday and it fits like it was made for me. It's also this really nice light weight silk that feels wonderful for summer. But the best part is that I looked at the price tag (It's an unworn dress with price tags still attached) and saw that the dress was originally $370!
I'm not sure why I was able to get the dress so cheaply- I went back and looked at the other Betsey Johnson dresses on the seller's site and they go for closer to $100, so I guess it was just a fluke. I do think it's not really the style I associate with Betsey Johnson so maybe that partially explains it.
Regardless, I really like my new dress. The fit is comfortable and flattering and I'm a sucker for a flutter sleeve. And I had to take a picture to show mom so I thought I might as well blog about it. :)

Houseboat

This weekend, along with my darling fiance and four of or good friends, I will be spending two nights on a houseboat in the Atchafalaya Basin Swamp. I am looking forward to reading, relaxing, and hopefully catching some fish!
As for reading, I just finished A Reliable Wife (for bookclub) and am in the middle of the Elegance of the Hedgehog. Up next is Orphan's Tale- In the Night Garden. Other recent reads have been Skinny Legs and All, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight. Last month's bookclub book was also terrific- In Other Rooms Other Wonders. I also traded in a bunch of my old book at a used bookstore this weekend, and have a ridiculous amount of store credit now, so I'm sure I'll be picking up some more books soon.
Any personal favorites y'all think I should keep an eye out for?

Packing for a Work Trip

When I travel for work, it's usually with my boss- who hates to waste time waiting for checked luggage to come off the plane. For that reason, I've become adept at fitting my laptop, flat iron, clothes, and toiletries into only a large purse and a small carry on. I've managed to fit outfits for two days, plus workout clothes and shoes into the bags shown here when necessary, but my most recent trip was less complicated. I needed a set of work clothes, plus clothes to go out to dinner in Houston at a local restaurant called Cyclone Anaya's (which was really good) with my boss, our colleague, and his wife.
I though it would be fun to document what I wore, because this is pretty typical for a work trip. In the summer in Houston, I have to consider two factors- that I will be miserably hot the second I set foot outside, and that I will be freezing indoors. So the business clothes I wore on the plane and to work on day one were charcoal dress pants, black flats, a black tank top and a pull over light weight sweater. (Excuse my death glare, I tend to look fairly evil when I'm not smiling- really I'm just concentrating. Also, my hair is usually a lot nicer, but I have to get up really early during my work trips so I wash my hair the night before and just haphazardly flat iron it while chugging coffee the next morning.) For dinner that evening, I kept the tank top and topped it with a knit dress. I wore black flip flops (had the restaurant been dressier, I would have worn the flats instead and maybe packed a dressier dress), and brought along a khaki jacket. (Does the jacket look familiar :), Amanda?)
Finally, for work the next day, I wore the same charcoal pants and black flats, topped with a short sleeved sweater. I also wore the khaki jacket most of the day because it was cold inside the office.
As for where I put everything- my laptop, flat iron, clothes (which I rolled), and flip flops fit easily into my carry on. My wallet, toiletries, a notepad, and a book fit into my red purse. However, on trips when I bring workout clothes, I usually keep my laptop in my purse to make room for my running shoes.
These outfits actually represent pretty typical work clothes for me. I tend to live in black, charcoal, and brown dress pants, topped with dressy sweater or knit shirts (button downs don't fit me very well.) I tend to wear small pieces of jewelry as well because I think big bright accessories overwhelm me. And I almost always wear flats, even though I sit at a desk most of the day and could probably wear heels pretty comfortably.
What are you work staples? How do you pack for a trip?

Brevity

Sorry for the silence, dear readers. I'm actually working on a post about packing for a work trip, so expect something servicey (and lengthy) with pictures (albeit ones taken with my lousy blackberry camera) soon.
So for now I'm quickly going to post about the nice time I had on Monday evening. I got to see my good friend Kathleen, who was in town for a conference. I was lovely to catch up. I don't get to see my friends from high school as often as I would like, so it's always a treat when they come down to New Orleans!
We had an excellent meal at Dragos, which, by the way, still offers their famous chargrilled oysters. I'm so happy that their oyster beds have thus far been spared!
Before dinner, Kathleen was kind enough to accompany me on another fruitless search for a reception dress. This BCBG dress looked so amazing online, but is only flattering on a stick person in real life.
I'm not even kidding when I tell you that the skirt is secretly sticking out about 6 inches on either side of her hips. (Also, does anyone else notice the weird lighting angle and that her shadow only has 1 leg? Photoshoperiffic!)
It's a pity because the fabric was amazing- a slightly metallic ecru with a waffle texture. I also really loved the black ribbon at the waist- I think it was such a sophisticated touch. *Sigh*
This dress, on the other hand, was adorable in white, but more along the lines of something I would wear to someone else's reception (though not in white, obviously).
I also re-tried on the White House Black Market dress I had my eye on. It's now on sale for $80, but I swear it gets more shear every time I try it on. So the search continues!

Pancake Loves Yogurt

Spoiled rotten kitty.

Polka Dots

I got a new headband. :) In this picture you can also see one of the two lovely walls of windows that make up my little cube. It's the little things.

Deliciousness

I know I'm on some sort of blogging binge (4 times in 2 days, egads!) but I just had to post that my paprika scrambled eggs over broiled portobellos were insanely good. And so easy.
I brushed the portobello caps with olive oil, added a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, the broiled them for 5 minutes, flipped them over, and broiled them for another 4 minutes (5 would have been too long).
I then scrambled eggs using a technique I looked up on the internet. I have to say that Gordon Ramsey is a genius because these eggs were amazing- they were perfectly done (not too dry!) and the texture was incredibly velvety. I'll leave it to the video to explain how it's done- basically you add the eggs and butter at the same time, don't start scrambling until the eggs are on the heat, stir constantly while taking the eggs on and off the heat, and add a little milk or cream and your spices when the eggs are nearly done. The only thing I did differently was use 2 eggs instead of 3 and use milk instead of creme fraiche. I also added some (a good sized pinch) of my paprika when the eggs were nearly done cooking.
But seriously, go make this if you like mushrooms at all. It's the best 10 minute meal ever. And of course, bad blogger that I am, I was too busy stuffing my face to take a picture.

Paprika?

I bought some paprika at Greekfest on Friday because it smelled wonderful- however, I have actually never cooked with Paprika before. I used to think it was the colorful but flavorless stuff ubiquitous to deviled eggs and never bothered stocking my pantry with it. If a recipe called for it, I just omitted it, and the recipe usually turned out fine without it.
Now I've known for a while that there is more to Paprika than the low quality stuff languishing in the back of my mom's spice rack, but I never quite got around to smelling or trying good Paprika. Subsequently, I have no idea how to use the Paprika I just bought. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that it is smoked Paprika. Currently I'm planning to sprinkle it over a scrambled egg filled portobello (#68 on Mark Bittman's excellent list of easy summer meals)- hopefully this will be a good idea.
Does anyone have any good recipes involving Paprika for me to try?