sparklemotion

good morning! i hope everyone is feeling chipper and well-rested as we face the day before the day before the weekend. obviously, i'm counting down the days.

last night my friend came over and we ate popcorn, sipped bellinis, and just chatted about life. somewhere along the way i threw together dinner for us, which was tasty, colorful, and just happened to match today's outfit.





beet & heirloom tomato orzo

i'm not sure when i started cooking orzo as if it's risotto, but it works really well and i think it's a lot easier to get the texture you want from it.

about 1 1/2 cups orzo
1 large beet, roasted in the oven until soft, peeled, and cubed
2 small heirloom tomatoes, cubed
a couple of pinches of tarragon
about 2 cups of chicken stock (add as needed)
1 T butter
salt to taste
about 2 oz goat cheese (half a small log)

melt the butter on medium heat in a large pan, and add the tomatoes. toss them around a bit, then add the orzo; let it brown a tiny bit in the pan, stirring it around, then add about a cup of chicken stock and turn the heat down to low. let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is almost gone; taste it and add more chicken stock if still al dente (which it should be.) add the tarragon and continue to cook on low, tasting and adding chicken stock occasionally, until the liquid is almost gone and you have the texture from the pasta you want. add the beets and cook for another minute or two; add salt and goat cheese, stir to coat the pasta, then take off the heat and serve. voila!





after dinner we played dress-up in my closet for a little while, and ashlee pulled out this dress that i haven't worn in ages; it's inspired me to do some diving back into my closet, because it is jam-packed with gems that i have completely forgotten exist.

dress: h&m
scalloped slip: thrifted
tights: c/o stylefind
shoes: thrifted

i feel like a modern-day flapper in this outfit! i love it, although it's the first sunny morning in ages and when i got on the bus this morning the light kept hitting my dress and sending blinding pink light into everyone's eyes. no one else loved it.

and, i need to take a vote. i think the epic placecards/favors battle comes down to three ideas: little potted plants (probably either a flower or strawberry plants,) little jars of homemade jam or curd, or little bottles of home-infused olive oil. i love the plants idea, and i think strawberry plants would be so pretty and fit in with everything else really well, but lots of people are traveling for the wedding and probably wouldn't be able to take the plant with them; of course, lots of people probably have no interest in infused olive oil or jam, either. help!

xo audrey

h&m dressing room

went out last night long and hard and woke up super late this morning, kept my hair in the ponytail i slept in, put on an old reliable outfit and dashed off to work. feeling extremely hungover today and so instead of posting anything new, here is something else that i'm waiting for: i've seen this jumpsuit on a mannequin in the h&m window every day when i walk by (there's a shop across from my office) and wanted it, but haven't stopped in to try it on; i finally got in last night, but the only size they had left was an 8, and it's a little baggy. lucky for me, the mannequin is wearing a 4, and they've promised it to me when they change her outfit.



the jumper i posted a couple of days ago came, but it's a little big and i can't decide if i should get a smaller size or just exchange it for something else all together. hard to determine how much a small will fix.

off to champaign for the weekend to visit my beautiful sister esther. hope everyone has a good one!

xo audrey