Author Archives: Farmgirl Hipster
It Was Mint To Be
A couple weeks ago at work my boss told Mansi and I that there was a big sale going on at Gap. (What else are you supposed to talk about during work hours?) Mansi, being a true friend and understanding my love for mint jeans, came across a pair of mint chinos in longs. They were a little different than the Gap jeans I used to have, but I was really excited about the prospect of them. They were 20-ish dollars and, if I spent more than $50 I got free shipping. So, of course I had to do that. As luck would have it, as I was rifling through the other sales items I got a notice telling me the pants had been removed from my basket because it was sold out. What?! That wasn’t the turn you were expecting the story to take, huh?
Upset, I decided to take matter into my own tentacles: I bought Oxi-Clean MAX to attempt yet again to get the stains removed from my sweet, faithful, old jeans. (P.S. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s the story.) The powers of the Oxi-Clean weren’t strong enough to remove the stains, but at least fade them to a level that I felt comfortable wearing them again. So, that’s why we’re all blessed with seeing the resurrection of the mint jeans today. Oh, and Mansi, again being the friend she is, assured me you couldn’t see the dabbles of pink throughout them (so don’t stare at the picture hard enough to look for them).
Shirt: J.Crew Factory (this season); Necklace: Old…I’m thinking middle school; Belt: H&M (this season); Jeans: Gap; Shoes: Lands End Canvas
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!
Is it bad that my favorite part of going out is getting dressed up? Well, that is if I know what I want to wear. Going out clothes are by far and away the hardest for me to match. I’m terrible at even thinking to buy going out attire when I’m shopping. Then it’s the weekend and I’m bummed because I have nothing to wear. Thankfully I pinned some stuff on Sunday to get some new inspiration from my closet and ensure that never happens again.
Tank: Express; Cami: H&M (this season); Short necklace: Etsy (this season); Long necklace: Forever21 (this season); Belt: H&M (this season); Jeans: Levis (this season); Shoes: Lands End Canvas
Girl’s Night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, so we didn’t get as crazy as all those exclamation points imply, but I had a blast hanging out with Dubs on Friday night. The boys…sorry, the MEN had dinner plans to have lobster. And, no girls were allowed. Not that I like lobster, but it’s the principle, right? We ended up doing some shopping and then going to a Mexican-Indian Infusion restaurant for dinner. We disagreed on who talked more, but I loved every second of it.
This was my inspiration for the lovely evening:
Top: J. Crew Factor (this season); Necklace: China; Bracelet: Target; Belt: J. Crew; Jeans: Mango; Shoes: Lands End Canvas
Completer Piece
I’d read a long time ago that every outfit should have a completer piece – like a belt, necklace, etc. Since I like to take things literally I try to find a completer piece for every outfit. However, sometimes it just doesn’t work very well.
Last week was hot both in SF and in the valley, so I decided I needed to wear a dress for when we went car shopping since it meant I wouldn’t be biking. I have this adorable sundress I pulled out of my piles of clothes from under the bed and decided to wear it. I immediately thought that my completer piece should be a belt, but it doesn’t really work with the outfit. Nor did long necklaces. So, I decided to go without. I think I like it naked.
My look with a belt
My look without a belt
Dress: Lauren Conrad, Kohl’s; Cardigan: Banana Republic Factory; Shoes: Lands End Canvas
Our Legacy
I know I’ve told you before that I was going to India for a work friend’s cousin’s wedding. Then my KISA decided to propose and ruin everything. He’s terrible, isn’t he? Well, he didn’t really ruin anything, but when you’re saving up an insane amount of money for a wedding India isn’t exactly on the forefront. For him, anyhow. Well, the good news is that I like to get what I want. And, I’m good at it. And, my KISA likes to get what he wants. So, why not compromise?
So, you might be wondering what the one thing is he wanted more than anything in life…besides me as his wife. A car. And, not just any car – a Subaru with AWD to take to the mountains in the winter. We’ve been without a car since the end of January and I’ve personally loved it. Yes, we’ll rent a car here and there when needed, but he takes the bus to work and I bike and take the train. In my mind a $500 car payment isn’t worth it. But, I love my KISA and I love to make him happy. Especially when it means there’s a compromise that will also make me happy. 
As most of you know I work in sales training and I know a thing or two about sales. And how to work the system. I’d seen online that they had lease special for a very basic Legacy, with manual drive. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it was a starting point. And, at $185 with $2K down it was also in my price range. I told my KISA we could walk out of there with a Legacy if we could get it for $200/month. He didn’t believe it was possible, but he was hopeful, so he followed my lead.
See, my KISA likes to play good cop, bad cop when we are haggling for something, but always makes me be the bad cop for some reason. In this instance it was about to work in our favor. He was the good cop because he really wanted the car and I was the bad cop because I kept reiterating that we didn’t need one. I wouldn’t budge on the price and my KISA knew better than to say anything. Alex, the car salesman, was out to make a deal. It was the end of June, the end of the quarter, and it was the end of the night. Plus, they had 2014 cars on the lot with a bunch of out-dated 2013’s left. If you’re staying late you want to make sure you have a deal. We negotiated hard on the price and made him keep going back to his boss because I put my foot down. I’d prepped my KISA ahead of time, warning him that we needed to plan to walk away if we couldn’t get it for our agreed upon price. By the time we even test drove the car we’d upgraded to the Premium package, automatic transmission, and only $1500 down (instead of $2000) for $212/month for 36 months and 12,000 miles per year. So, he now has a car and I now have a trip to India that I’m planning to book soon. Whoop, whoop!
The Serenading Has Ended
I’ve had a few of you mention that you can no longer view the video of my KISA singing for me in the shower. He wasn’t a fan of the fame that ensued and the ladies throwing their panties at him, I guess. I may have been scolded for it, which is the only reason I haven’t posted the video of him dancing to Backstreet Boy’s “Larger Than Life” music video this weekend…
Concussed
I fell hard-core off the being healthy bandwagon. When I fell off I got a concussion, so I’ve been recovering. Don’t get me wrong – I really want to be healthy and skinny and fit. But why does it have to be so much…work?
I ran on Thursday. And then convinced my KISA that I needed a rest day Friday. Saturday I was just tired. Sunday I just didn’t want to. Monday it was raining. Today? I was tired and it was raining. But, then I remembered that I paid $200 to run a marathon (in the city, and possibly streets, I run in every day for free). Ugh. Why do I get 30 seconds of thinking something is a good idea and then whip out the credit card? I really need to do that whole freezing the card in the freezer so that I really have to think about things before I use it on anything healthy. And require myself in the time in melts to run laps around the block. By the time it thaws if I think I want to pay money to be healthy, then I can use it. If not, I can just go shopping. Preferably at an outlet mall.
Today I did a 5 mile run. Back in the day that wouldn’t have been a big deal. But, being 30 and unfit it was a big deal. Now my legs ache. Oh, and I ate healthy today. I even ate a salad and decided to forgo chocolate. That should make up for me not exercising or eating healthy for the rest of the week, right?
You can’t tell in the picture, but I’m soaked. As in, clothes sticking to me, hating life soaked.
Yipes! Stripes!
As you’ve probably been noticing, I’ve been sucking at using inspiration for my outfits. I promise I’ll get ahead of the game and pick out some outfits to prepare for the week. Maybe next week…
Shirt: J. Crew Factory (this season); Belt: H&M (this season); Jeans: Levi’s; Shoes: Lands End Canvas
Chili-Glazed Pork With Sweet Potato Hash
I was really excited last night when I made dinner and announced to my KISA that sweet potatoes are my favorite vegetable. He decided to stomp all over that excitement over vegetable love by telling me sweet potatoes are a starch, not a vegetable.
This was my recipe inspiration. I decided that two sweet potatoes and two shallots were too much, so I only did half that. Oh, and I didn’t peel it. Who has time to peel a sweet potato? And, I definitely didn’t grate the sweet potato. Ever tried to do that? It’s not easy. Even my KISA with his big muscles thinks it’s a pain. No thank you. I just sliced them and then chopped them. I like things easy. I just wish I would have done it all as prep work ahead of time to make the cooking more seamless. Here’s how I’d change it.
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 1⁄4 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 1 5-ounce package baby spinach, chopped
Directions
- Cut the sweet potato into small pieces and then dice it in the chopper.
- Turn on the broiler. Place the pork on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Mix together 1 teaspoon of the oil, the chili powder, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and rub on the pork. Broil, turning occasionally and basting with the maple syrup twice, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Or, if you do them in smaller pieces, it may only need 8-10 minutes to cook.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, tossing occasionally, until tender, 7 to 9 minutes more. Add the spinach and cook, tossing, until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes more.
I was so excited about how delicious dinner was that I almost forgot to take a picture for y’all.
FarmGirlHipster 