{the weekly} college cooking for one

Remember this pasta and this chili? In case you haven't noticed, I usually try to cook a huge meal with a ton of leftovers once a week. While it may be difficult to cook in college, home-cooked meals are absolutely essential if you want to eat delicious & healthy foods on a budget. I have a lot of friends that live on eating out and processed foods because they think cooking requires too much planning and tedious effort. It's really not so bad when you do the majority of your cooking every Sunday afternoon. I hope these posts will inspire you to do some cooking of your own!

Here are the general guidelines I follow when I'm cooking:

1) No cans, powders, or packaged foods. Fresh ingredients only.

2) A one-stopper for nutritional needs: veggies, proteins, & whole grains!

3) Easy to store leftovers

4) Easy to modify- if you don't like/have the veggies/meats I use, feel free to substitute!

This week I made whole wheat sauteed noodles with portobello, carrots, asparagus, shrimp & scallops.

30 for 30 Week 4: Recap

Click on the picture to enlarge!

So crazy- one more week and I'm going to be done with my first 30 for 30! Note that I said "first", meaning there for sure will be more.

I think it's so funny that I started Monday with jeans, a sweater, scarf & shoes and finished off the week with skirt, t-shirt, bare legs & flip flops on Sunday! My favorite this week was Day 22. I felt so smart casual and cool in my dress and button downs in contrast to the leggings & oversized tees worn by everyone else on game day morning. However, I do have to admit that I changed into my very own oversized tee & jeans later that afternoon for the actual game. 

This is my favorite of Jennifer's this week. I love getting extra outfits of dresses by wearing them as shirts or skirts- which is what she did here with her floral dress!

{confused by} crop tops & cutoffs (day 23)

J Crew tee, land's end canvas skirt, f21 belt

Are you going to the pool? Is your name Miranda Kerr? Am I in 90 degree weather in LA? The answer is no, no and no! So can someone please explain to me why today I saw not just one, but a slew, of girls wearing crop tops that show off the pooch on their bellies & cut offs that don't cover their buttcheeks? I get that it was 80 degrees outside. And I am definitely not bashing daisy dukes & crop tops- in fact I think they're hot & exude Califoria cool when worn correctly. Key word: correctly.

A little modesty goes a long way. It is completely okay to skip the mini-skirt & the curve hugging bandage dress for a knee-length full skirt. The longer hemlines on the runways this fall created such a refreshing change from the neon minis that forced us into gyms last year. I especially adore the way Andy from Style Scrapbook works her flowy floor-skimming skirts into her daily outfits. Sometimes, less is really more.

{completely wiped out by} football saturday (day 22)

land's end canvas shirt, ali ro belt, h&m dress, rocket dog flats

While I loved the maize & blue, tailgating, and the beautiful sunny weather today, I did not love waking up at 7:30am, being on my feet for 5 hours straights, & practically falling asleep standing up during the game. What I especially did not love about today was losing. If you're a boy/sports fan, please skip the rest of this paragraph because I might offend you. Anyway, I still don't get the huge deal about rivalries! I hate how mean people are during sports games & how much trash talk goes down. Seriously, chill out- no matter how much trash you say- it does not affect who wins, I promise!

This photo was taken in Jennifer's livingroom because we were both too lazy to go outside- & she was still in PJs. ;-) So excuse me for the awkward lighting.

{contradicting} summer weather & fall hair (day 21)

J Crew shirt, Banana Republic chinos, J Crew belt, 9 west flats

It might be difficult to tell from these pictures, but I got my hair re-highlighted today! It looks much more reddish in real life- which suits fall wonderfully. I was joking with my stylist as she finished blow drying my hair, saying that I am compelled to go read some books and put on my glasses now that my hair is so much darker. In fact, without even doing any of that, I feel smarter already. Hopefully that will translate to my exams in the upcoming week...

The funny part is that as I got my hair ready for fall, the weather decided to hit 75 degrees. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining! But still, Michigan weather you totally have ADD!

Happy Friday!

PS, today's outfit number 21. Dear number 21, you're so cool & exclusive, I want you bad. Really bad.

{adventures with} a fellow foodie pt 2

Butternut squash tortellinis, browned cherry walnut & sage butter sauce, side of garlic sauteed broccolinis

baked pink lady with cinnamon stuffing, vanilla bean ice cream

Homemade butternut squash tortellinis? Check. Browned cherry pecan & sage butter sauce? Check. Baked apple a la mode? Check. Amazing company to share this entire experience with? Check check check!

Sometimes I am also amazed by how fabulous my life is. Could you imagine this for a Wednesday dinner? These tortellinis are probably one of the best things I've had in a long while. And if you knew me, that means a lot because I'm not so generous with compliments.

Thanks so much Emily for the inspiration! Your blog is absolutely amazing in that it truly inspires me in all aspects of life- from fashion to cooking to interior decorating. I really could not imagine my blogging world without you!

{running out} of ideas (day 20)

Gap tee, f21 skirt, liz claiborne flats

I know there're still 10 days left! But I had a mini-crisis this morning trying to decide what to wear, as I thought that my outfits have become too formulaic as of late. But what's wrong with pretty feminine if it works and just feels and looks right on me? So I thought screw it and reached for my tights and skirt. Although I do love this dolman tee that Angie so smartly recommended. Oversized, drapey, & a scoopneck- so incredibly flattering for a plain old tee!