Category: fashion

Shades of Green: My Zara Dress and Pasta and Wine Pairings Made Simple 

mommyteacherfashionista68 Comments

I have to admit I would have never picked out this Zara “Cut Out Back” dress for myself. It was a gift from a fabulous fashionable friend that clearly knows me well. As soon as I put it on I knew I loved it and immediately wanted to… well…blog about it. It is available now in this khaki shade and black. http://m.zara.com/us/en/woman/knitwear/cut-out-back-dress-c0p4115050.html


 At first I thought I should keep it very simple with plain grey booties and not a lot of accessories because I didn’t want to ruin the look of it. After consulting with a very trusted and stylish dear friend I decided that it would be ok to add a little flair. 


I found this camouflage scarf years ago at Claire’s, back when my daughter, Angelina was just starting to be intrigued by the wonderful world of accessorizing. I remember trying it on with my daughter looking at it with excitement and I also recall buying a cap and handbag with the same funky print. William was asleep in the stroller, by the way, which made shopping quite easy for me and my girl.



The shoes are from Target and I’m sure many of you remember them from the endless number of Instagram/ Twitter/Facebook/ Blog posts I’ve featured them in. Yes, I have them in fuschia and leopard too. 


The bracelets are all from http://www.alexandani.com which is an amazing line that began right in my hometown of Cranston, RI. They not only make extraordinary jewelry but give back immensely to the community. 

The color of my much appreciated Zara dress reminded me of a rich olive oil. Because of this, I initially decided to share my favorite recipes that involved olive oil. When I began searching my memory,calling my mom, and going through my old fashioned card catalog of recipes I realized that a lot of the recipes I wanted to include involved pasta.


 This got me to thinking that since pasta is such a popular food staple for many I should share some of my favorites and also include the proper wine pairings. I included recipes as practical as possible but also flavorful and interesting and easy for weeknight entertaining. 

Tomato Based Pasta 


http://philosokitchen.com/ragu-barese-apulian-meat-sauce/


http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/strozzapreti-with-tomato-pancetta-sauce

Wine suggestions: 

Medium – Bodied Red Wines 


http://winefolly.com/review/medium-bodied-red-wines/

Cheese Pasta 


http://ilcorvopasta.com/2015/01/23/tonnarelli-with-cacio-e-pepe/


https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/cheesy-baked-tortellini/0a89db0c-a582-4739-bdd5-595f015f78c0

Wine Pairings:

Full-Bodied White and Light Bodied Reds


http://www.hellovino.com/wine/pairing/pasta/pastacheese

Seafood Pasta 


http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/linguine-ai-frutti-di-mare-238646


http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1940/20minute-seafood-pasta-

Wine Pairings:

Light Bodied and Medium Bodied White Wines


https://www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/pairings/what_wine_to_match_with_different_pasta_sauces/

Pesto (Herb) and Vegetable Pastas


https://www.blueapron.com/recipes/fresh-pasta-with-arugula-pesto-fingerling-potatoes-green-beans


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pasta-primavera-recipe

Wine Pairings 

Light Bodied White Wine 


http://uncorkingcharacter.weebly.com/light-bodied-dry-white-wine.html


Thank you so much for visiting my blog today. I hope you found it worthwhile and inspiring. 

I’m making some changes to my blog and excited to say I will soon relaunch and hope you will like what you see! 

Please feel free to leave a comment or question. I always reply in a timely manner. Also, if you have a blog or link you’d like to share I would be happy to check it out.

I always appreciate your time and attention. 

Yours truly,

Jennifer

Xoxo


Ps.

I can also be found on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mommyteacherfashionista/

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Breakfast At Sydney: Style, Dining and Avocado Inspiration 

mommyteacherfashionista101 Comments

I was absolutely thrilled when owner, Jordan N.Boslego, invited me to visit his new Australian inspired restaurant in the Waterplace Condo complex in Downtown Providence. Sydney was designed in homage to the coffee shop culture in Australia ( mostly in Sydney and Melbourne) with its logo evoking the famous Sydney Opera House. According to one of my amazing Australian friends, Mandy Arisa of Sydney, Australia http://instagram.com/ministryforstyle “Yesssss coffee is amazing here” although the always classy Vivian of Melbourne, Australia http://instagram.com/theblacklayers states “Coffee is more amazing in Melbourne!!!! Cafes everywhere compared to Sydney…I would say it’s best in AU!” According to the girls, independent coffee shops do really well there, with hardly many Starbucks or larger chains taking over.

Boslego has certainly captured the charm of the culture in this brilliant and  delightful yet elegant and modern restaurant. My daughter and I took advantage of Boslego’s invitation by having a breakfast date there last Sunday. We enjoyed every moment of our experience and our meal. 

I absolutely adored the Avocado Toast. It was served with feta, cherry tomatoes and micro greens. I also asked for smoked salmon and a poached egg. It was incredibly perfect. The espresso was divine and the lovely Allie and adorable Michael could not have been more accommodating and pleasant while attending to me and my daughter. 


I happily noticed that Sydney uses so many local establishments for their ingredients. The eggs are from Baffoni’s Poultry Farm, the milk from Guida’s Dairy, and they purchase their honey from Full Bloom Apiary, keeping the businesses here in RI flourishing. 


Angelina enjoyed the ricotta toast. They offer both a savory version ( served on olive bread with fresh herbs) or sweet (served on country Pullman with English preserves and fresh berries). She choose the sweet and was really happy about her selection! 


We both decided we would visit again soon and try out one of their pastries.


I was also interested in coming back for one of their grab and go choices, since I work nearby in the city.




I assured both Allie and Michael I would be back soon and I will let you all know how it goes!


I wore this cute little tunic dress I found at http://www.journeyfive.com/ I discovered Journey Five on Instagram over a year ago and purchased many items from the site. The owner is a mom of 5 with a whole lot of style who keeps lots of ladies looking their best no matter how busy they are. Truly, a woman after my own heart. 

My hat and tights are from target.com and the boots were a recent find from macys.com. They are the INCinternationalconcepts line and I’ve been wearing them nonstop since I got them. 

My necklace is called “Fringe Benefits” and is from the Lulu Avenue Collection. http://instagram.com/meredithholdman

After visting Sydney and enjoying the awesome avocado dish I decided I would try to incorporate more avocado into my recipes. Not only does it contain heart heathy mono saturated fatty acids, it is loaded with fiber and proven to lower cholesterol and triglycerides levels. Having it prepared so well at Sydney certainly inspired me to take advantage of the healthy benefits. 

I found quite a few ideas I want to try in the next couple of weeks.

http://www.rd.com/health/healthy-eating/9-delicious-avocado-recipes/


http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/avocado-fries

http://m.food.ndtv.com/lists/10-best-avocado-recipes-745515


http://glaminati.com/avocado-recipes-ideas-to-cook/

http://www.food.com/ideas/recipes-with-avocado-6339

http://www.quericavida.com/recipes/collections/by-course/the-sweet-taste-of-avocado-unique-avocado-dessert-recipes


http://m.food.ndtv.com/lists/10-best-avocado-recipes-745515

Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I hope you found it entertaining and worthwhile. I truly appreciate your time and attention. 

Let me know if you have any favorite avocado recipes, dining suggestions or style ideas of your own. I’d love to hear from you. If you have a suggestion for something you would like to see here or a blog link you would like to share, feel free to drop it in the comment section. 

Follow me on Instagram, where I try to inspire creativity and and originality daily.

https://www.instagram.com/mommyteacherfashionista/

Thank you so much!

Yours truly,

Jennifer

Xoxo