Weekend trip: Columbus

Over the weekend, a group of us went down to Columbus to celebrate our friend's birthday. We went to Easton for shopping, Martini for dinner, and the Big Bang to watch the dueling pianos. It was a really good time. How was your weekend?

Feet first into the weekend!

As you get ready to jump feet first, or head first, or face first, into your weekend, take a look at photographer, Tom Robinson and his girlfriend's feet as they travel all over the world.

Happy Friday!

Jade has met its match

Remember my post a little while ago about Chanel's nail color Jade? It is completely sold out and even if it wasn't, I don't know if I would want to spend the $27 to get it. So I searched high and low for a cheaper alternative. And a few weeks ago when I was getting my hair cut I found the perfect match at my hair salon, OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape. At $9 this is much more affordable and it is basically the same mint green color. 

Classic Baked Acorn Squash

I don't like chips and I don't like cookies. I am not saying I completely rule out sweet and salty, but as I have gotten older I have enjoyed more natural ways of satisfiying these cravings. One of my favorite salty dishes is squash. Every year my grandma makes amazing acorn squash with a lot of salt and butter. So this year I tried integrating acorn sqaush into a meal by following this recipe. I liked it ok, but with acorn squash I would rather have salty than sweet. And this recipe included a lot of brown sugar and maple sugar. So if I try it again I will just include the salt and butter. But for those of you who enjoy sweet and natural, this is the perfect recipe for you. Recipe courtesy of Simply Recipes.

Ingredients

1 Acorn squash
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
Dash of Salt

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Using a strong chef's knife, and perhaps a rubber mallet to help, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.

3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.

4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.

Got to try it: Modern Family

Modern Family is quickly becoming one of my favorite new shows. After last night's episode when Jay and Claire reenact their figure skating days by doing their program in the playground, I think I am sold. As a former figure skater, I can tell you that programs are often times practiced off-ice. It has something to do with helping you visualize your program before competition. Whatever it does, you end up looking a little crazy trying to pretend to do spins and crossovers on land. That craziness was achieved on Modern Family last night. Bravo!

The Rachel and Clogs

I get that with the right outfit, a pair of tights or leggings, clogs can be ok. I am still reeling from the fact that we are already trying to bring back a 90s trend. I guess it kind of looks like an ankle boot. Damn—why didn't I keep my clogs?? But don't you think another 90s trend should be dusted off and brought back? I think the Rachel would be the jealous middle sister if we brought back clogs and didn't even consider donning her again.

MOBAMA Style

It has been a while since I posted a Michelle Obama style photo. I saw this originally on the New York Times homepage and then again when I went rooting through the Michelle Obama LookBook on New York Magazine's Web site. I just love her use of colors here. Ok, I'm done.

The oxford

I am very much in love with the new trend in shoe-wear, the oxford—which is actually a very old trend. Anyways, I love these Steve Maddens that are now on sale for $69.95. Which would you buy? The brown? Or the funky white and black? Those would be a lot of look! I am actually wearing a pair of tan/gray trouser pants today that would go really well with the brown pair. 

Carving and costumes

We handed out candy and carved pumpkins before we went out as Bob Barker and his assistant, Candy. Oh and that pumpkin to the left weighs 90 pounds.

Chagrin Falls

Chagrin Falls is very quaint. It has cute shops, boutiques, charming restaurants, and a big-ass waterfall. We just went to see the waterfall, but then somehow we got roped into lunch at Rick's Cafe and some antique-ing that took us all over town. We ended up with some cool vintage jewelry though.