my birthday, part I

dress- modcloth
olive tights- target
cardigan- f21
belt- old navy
coat- diane von furstenberg

So, to begin with, this is what I wore today! I bought the dress from Modcloth a few months ago, and haven't worn it yet. But everytime I went into my closet I looked at it and thought "birthday dress!" Just look at how amazingly intricate the top is!


That's all embroidered & cut out. I adore it! Also, it was pretty chilly today so I got to wear my new favorite coat :)


We drove into Princeton and got Panera for lunch. I got my favorite, a tomato & mozzarella on ciabatta, without the cheese, and an iced green tea. Stupendous!


Then my parents stayed at Panera for a while & me and my brother walked over to Princeton Record Exchange where I spent a good two hours sitting on the floor going through their discount albums. I ended up getting 24 records! They were all $1 each with one exception, and I just couldn't narrow it down. Some Dean Martin, Nancy Wilson, Pete Seeger, Cleo Laine, lots of soundtrack albums, and a really neat Warner Brothers collection. Also a really cool 60's dance album that I bought just because the cover was so pretty (that'll have to be another post.. I forgot to take a photo)


When we were paying the guy behind the counter complimented my hairdo which kind of made my day ;-D

Then I really just wanted to go home and nap (see, I'm getting old.) so we came home for about two hours before going out for dinner. I got to lay down for a while and get cozy with my cat, which at my age is kind of a pathetic favorite pastime but we'll just let that slide.

After cat nap time (haha.. get it?) we went to Olive Garden for dinner. I swear they have the nicest waiters there! Every time we go we get the nicest people! Anyway, I got capellini pomodoro and chocolate mousse with zeppoli for dessert, and a vanilla Italian soda as the drink. Although, it was too syrupy so I gave it to my brother who could eat raw sugar for breakfast lunch and dinner & not think it was too sweet.


I love that every year I spend a day out with my family. We rarely go out anymore because my parents' finances are kind of on the down-swing, so it's nice to get one day each year to just be extravagant (yes, my definition of extravagant is record shopping, Panera and Olive Garden.) Now my real birthday is tomorrow, and I've got one more tradition up my sleeve. Every year since I was 18 we've been having a kids birthday party with my mom, dad, brother and grandmom. We wear our pajamas and play board games, pin the tail on the unicorn (yup, not donkey), have balloon floating contests and more. We each paint a picture on my birthday, too, always on an 11x14 canvas so that eventually I can have an entire wall filled with artwork from my family on each of my birthdays.

This year I'm having a Halloween costume party, and I can't wait to see what everyone is dressing up as! I'm going as Scully from The X-Files. I made an FBI badge, bought a blazer & white button up shirt & painted a water gun black for effect. I already have the red hair, so it should be pretty cool. I'll take pictures and share that tomorrow! :D

Panera at home

I've been spending WAY too much of my hard-earned income lately on tomato & mozzarella (sans the cheese) on ciabatta paninis from Panera. I put up such a battle with myself spending $7 on something like a headband or much-needed art supplies, but I seem to have no problem dropping that much money on one single sandwich, the traces of which will disappear entirely within half an hour.

I decided I needed to do something to stop this habit, so I went to the grocery store and got the ingredients I'd need to make it at home. The total cost was just under $9, and I'll be getting at least four sandwiches out of it.

I purchased:

4 mini loaves of ciabatta bread
1 can of sun-dried tomatoes in oil
4 tomatoes
1 pack of fresh basil

I just cut a loaf in half and drizzled olive oil over it before layering on some tomato, sun-dried tomato and basil. Then I put it on my mini George Foreman grill and applied as much weight as I could muster to close the lid completely over my sandwich, thus turning the grill into a pseudo-panini-press. The results were almost exactly like the Panera sandwich! The only thing I'd change is adding less olive oil, since it made my bread a little soggy, and I'd definitely choose the ripe tomatoes over the cheap ones next time (hey, I was trying to save money, what can I say?)

I complimented my sandwich with my favorite tomato + chickpea recipe, and it was delicious! And if you're a cheese-eater then just add some mozzarella to the mix & it would be exactly like the one from Panera, without Kate editing :)