Rolling With My Homies

Have you ever used a foam roller before? I used one for the first time last week. It felt a little weird at first, but I have to be honest, I felt AMAZING for the next two days. My muscles were as relaxed as could be and my posture was feeling lean and long.

I learned more about the benefits of using a foam roller which are plentiful. Most of my day is spent sitting at a desk typing away and talking on the phone. This causes muscles to shrink and become tight. Foam rolling helps to loosen up those tight muscles, encourage flexibility and reduce the risk of injury.

I'm no health/fitness expert, but I think it's worth checking out.

Images from Pinterest and Dancespirit

Winter Inspirations

It snowed here in Chicago today. No, I'm not joking. It started mid-morning and kept on falling. I better start embracing winter 'cause the Starks were right.  Here are few winter things that make me happy.

Chic fur vests with cozy hats a la Fash N Chips.

Glam plaid for the holidays via Girl Meets Glam.

Winter sangria from Cooking Stoned.

Dreaming of winter in Paris. Image from Pinterest.

A gorgeous leather dress from The Row on the stunning Keri Russell. Image via Pinterest.

Stunning gold party heels from Zara. Image From C to C.

Fresh faces via Everly True.

Stunning coats like this Burberry knock out. Image via Pinterest.

Italian beauty. Image via Nordstrom.

And rich wine hued wrap coat. Image via Nordstrom.

Diptyque's Winter Candle Collection.

Jonathan Adler's Champagne Candle. Great holiday gift.

And a quote that reminds of me to not wish my life, and winter, away. Image from Pinterest.

Gold and Black Obsession

This summer I started to fall in love with the classic mix of black and gold, which you've already seen in my shoe collection.

I think it started when I spotted a gold and black belt on Atlantic Pacific  and immediately fell in love with the look. I loved the juxtaposition of a very elegant idea executed with a touch of edge. It can add the right amount of surprise to an otherwise simple outfit.

So thus began my search for the perfect black and gold belt. They are surprisingly difficult to find, but like all good things, it was worth the wait.

I went with the stunning Reiss Luna Metal Bar and Pony Hair Belt. It bought it about a week ago during a Halloween sale but it is now MIA from their website. You can find it on Polyvore here.

Other options include: the Asos peplum version I spotted on Atlantic Pacific.

The delicate Nicholas Roxanne gold belt worn by Emily on Cupcakes and Cashmere.

And finally, here's a more budget friendly option from Nordstrom.

Crazy Feta Dip

I'm a big fan of bringing my lunch to work since I never have time to go outside to grab something. It's certainly a wallet, and waist, friendly option to make something delicious at home. In the spirit of healthy living I try to make a lot of salads, but find they can quickly veer towards boring if you're not careful.

My secret to making any salad amazing... crazy feta dip! I had something like it at a restaurant once and experimented with it at home.

Everyone I share it with seems to love it, so I'm going to share it with you all too!

Ingredients:
1 block of feta cheese (not the crumbled kind)
1 lemon
1 jalapeño
2-3 cloves of roasted garlic
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

First, grab your jalapeño and garlic. Drizzle a little olive oil on each and pop it in the oven to roast. I usually put the broiler on and leave both in for about 20 minutes.

While that's in the oven, I move over to the feta block and start slicing it up.

Scoop that in to a bowl and zest that lemon whole. This part is my favorite because I never have enough reasons to use my microplane. After you have zested away, squeeze the full lemon over the feta.

When the jalapeno and garlic are slightly blackened, roughly chop both up and add to the mix.

Grab a fork and start mashing. I drizzle in a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. You want the consistency to be a bit chunky but not big ole crumbles. I know, so scientific here.

That's it! Easiest thing to make. You can serve it with crackers or pita as a dip, but I like to add it to my salad. It gives it so much flavor with just a few simple ingredients. Over the past 4 months, I've had a weekly batch sitting in my fridge. It just makes everything better. Trust me.