Sunday, March 18, 2012

A Great Bargain

hey guys!  since jessica is on her fabulous caribbean cruise right now, she asked a few of her fellow bloggers to keep things that she loves warm until she returns.  so today, you get me... erin!

some of my favorite times with our favorite mary have been shopping.  anthropologie.  jcrew.  nordstrom rack.  banana republic.  ideeli.  gilt group.  we have yet to meet a store (or a website) that we couldn't manage to spend gobs of money at.  

we also both love a great bargain. 

to me, there is nothing more satisfying than snagging a designer item on sale or finding a more affordable version of a pricier piece.  you know the columns in glamour, marie claire, etc. about splurge vs. steal?  well, in honor of my lust for a deal, I've found a few examples to share in this post.  enjoy!

bright skinny pants
jcrew toothpick jeans ($125) vs. h&m skinny pants ($25)

 textured ceramic vase
michael wainwright truro vase ($99) vs. michael's everyday vase ($6)

red/coral espadrille sandals
ugg 'lauri' sandal ($139) vs. target mossimo 'perri' ($29)

tortoise sunglasses
ray ban 'new wayfayer' ($169) vs. warby parker 'everett' ($95)

men's navy gingham shirt
jack spade ($195) vs. jcrew ($65)

Thursday, March 15, 2012

the bachelor finale

i realize i'm a little late with this one, but it's been a crazy week over here.  jeff and i are leaving for vacation tonight and i've spent all my free time running around trying to get everything together. 

but, back to the bachelor.  this season was one of the worst we've had in awhile.  i just found ben to be kinda blah.  and seriously, cut.that.hair!  obviously courtney stirred up a lot of drama, but i wonder what the show would have been like without her?  the bottom line is that i just didn't find the girls or ben to be that interesting.  the only hope i had was emily (shout out to chapel hill) and she ended up leaving way too early, most likely because she was smart and interesting.  needless to say, i was glad to say goodbye to ben, the roses and all the heartbroken ladies, but we still had to have fun while bidding adieu...

{the ladies love the drama}

{jeff made an incredible homemade pasta sauce for us}



{this is how the boys feel about the bachelor and his choice}

Friday, March 9, 2012

thankful for ... all the supportive people in my life

yesterday i had one of those days where all i wanted to do was crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head.  i just felt extra melancholy from the minute i woke up, but throughout the day i was reminded of how much love and support i have around me and it actually made me end the day smiling.  i'm just so very blessed to have all of these amazing people in my life.  so this week i'm very, very thankful for ...

friends that won't let you cancel dinner just because you're feeling sad.  instead, they stop by your house with a beautiful orchid,  treat you to a lovely meal and encourage you to get that glass of wine


moms that know you'll always be their baby and have a way of making it all better


sisters that know you better than anyone else on earth and even though you are all grown up now, they continue to look out for you


husbands who still make you giddy with excitement when they return home after a very long work week in orlando


little girls that remind you of the beauty of wonder when they find it ever so exciting to look in a babar book for flamingos.  and it gets even cuter when they look at you and giggle, making the most adorable flamingo sound every single time they see the "flees" 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

dim sum

last saturday jeff and i finally took advantage of living so close to arcadia and went to dim sum!  i was looking on yelp for suggestions and i came across din tai fung that had four of out five stars and 2,285 reviews.  apparently this place usually has a very long wait, but it paid off to roll up for lunch at 2:30.  everything was delicious.  they were out of the steamed pork buns, which was disappointing, but the steamed pork dumplings and garlic green beans were my favorite.  if you are in the area, i definitely recommend stopping in!



{pork dumplings}

{hot & sour soup}

{sesame noodles}

{garlic green beans}

{chicken dumplings}

Friday, March 2, 2012

thankful for ... (food!)

menchie's froyo --  i am a froyo connoisseur and i'm always on the lookout for it whenever i go to a new neighborhood.  i found menchie's in studio city, and although my first love is studio city yogurt, this is definitely a close second.  the best thing about this place is that they have warm peanut butter topping.  they have this chain on the east coast people, so i strongly recommend checking it out.


cupcake lasagna -- about a month ago we went over to our good friends' tim & michael's for dinner and whenever i get invited to experience a meal cooked by michael i spend days in anticipation of what we'll be eating, because  michael is a true chef.  i always leave their house blown away by his skills in the kitchen.  this time he made veggie sausage and kale lasagna cupcakes.  one word: incredible.



thyme cafe & market's chicken salad -- leah and i went to this adorable lunch spot after reading a post on my favorite blog, cup of jo.  we went there for the chocolate chip cookies, but i discovered this little gem of a sandwich.  this was probably one of the best chicken salad sandwiches i have ever eaten and i wholeheartedly attribute that to the hazelnut raisin bread.


jeff's seared ahi tuna -- the first time i went over to jeff's house for dinner (very early in our courtship) he wooed me with this mouthwatering meal.  it just wasn't the sesame crusted sear on this gorgeous steak that made me fall deeper in love with the man, but he also pickled the cucumber.  how many men do you know that pickle their own cucumber?  i heard it as soon as it came out of my mouth, but you get the point.  and years later i had forgotten all about it, until last week when i was craving ahi.  i called him up last friday and put in a request. the result:  i got home friday night and he had everything prepared.  it was just like old times.


julienne's chocolate espresso cookie -- my mom and i discovered this cookie last fall and we both say that this is, hands down, our favorite cookie ever.  chocolate. espresso. walnuts.  that's all you need to know.  if you are in san marino, you must check out this little drop of gourmet heaven.  in addition to the restaurant, there's a cafe and a lot of pre-packaged goodies.  they have a quince vinaigrette that is to die for.