Winter's Last Hurrah :: Signature L.L. Bean Boot

Or at least I hope so. This past weekend we were taken by unexpected snow storm that left us stranded in our apartment for yet another weekend. About a 1/4" of ice and 4-5 inches of snow later, we ventured outside.

 So...White...Must...Get...To...Beach...

Quite frankly, I am really tired of the snow. So tried. But I am really hoping that this is the last one. And on the plus side, it did give me an excuse to wear my Serious Business L.L. Bean Boots. Remember the 16" Shearling Lined Boots from L.L. Bean Signature that I was talking about in this post? Well here they are!

Sweater :: J.Crew | Pants :: Express | Scarf :: Anthropologie | Bag :: Coach | Boots :: L.L. Bean Signature | Necklace :: GroopDealz

These boots are SO WARM. It is incredible. I've never owned a pair of boots that worked this well! And considering that I now live in a place where it was -45 DEGREES this winter (!!!) and the average snow fall is 95 INCHES, warm, tall boots are a necessity. However, as some other reviewers have commented, they do take a while to get on. There is no zipper so you really do have to lace them all the way up each time. I'd say it takes a good few minutes to get each boot on. I'm okay with this because my theory is once I get them on, I'm not taking them off until I'm home for the day. But, on the down side, they really aren't a pair of boots you can throw on just to get the mail at the end of the drive. Oh, and I also think that L.L. Bean could make the laces a bit longer. Either way, I'd call them amazing, because my toes have never been this warm. I find that they run fairly true to size (I am a six and the six fits me just fine).

Sorry for the poor lighting- these are the Brown Boots (they also come in Black)

Oh, and I think Tony is getting a lot better at being my fashion photographer. Thank god for patient boyfriends. Although we both agree I'm not really this white and there was just terrible lighting that day. I mean, if we were to go by these pictures, I think we could all agree I'd give any vampire a run for their money. Either way, I'm pretty sure I need to get myself a tan asap.

When Life Gives You Lemons

Some day the sun will return to New York, in the meantime, I have had to content myself with Kate Spade's Lemon Shop. Ladies, I love everything in this pattern.Would you judge me if I stepped out head to toe in Capri Lemon Espadrille? To make sure that I'm not going completely overboard with Kate Spade (if you recall, I'm kind of in love with this bedding, too), I've thrown in a few other limoncello themed lovelies, including a couple delicious recipes.

Clockwise: Kate Spade Lyric Dress :: Acqua Di Parma Colonia Cologne :: Kate Spade Pointer Sneakers in Painterly Lemon :: Make your own delicious Limoncello :: Essie Funky Limelight :: Kate Spade Capri Espadrille Maise :: A refreshing Limoncello Fizz Cocktail :: Kate Spade Via Limoni Coin Purse :: Kate Spade Vita Riva Tote

Do you share my love of lemons? Or maybe just my love of Kate Spade?

An Afternoon with the College Prepster and Tony Walker & Co.

I know it's been ages since I've updated. I've been in this weird place where my personal life (job, living situation, etc) have all been up in the air and it just felt next to impossible to blog about shoes and candles when I was dealing with so many serious and life changing evens. However, I had a really interesting experience yesterday that has me feeling motivated and optimistic.

As a few of you know, I'm splitting my time between two different cities right now - one of which is Williamsville. I happened upon Tony Walter & Co, the local upscale shop in town, a month or so ago thanks to Allison at Clearing Preppy's Name, who was kind enough to direct me to the nearest purveyor of Lilly. Well fast forward a few weeks and I find out Carly from The College Prepster is doing an event at TW&Co. for the grand opening of their Nantucket Shop. How could I pass up the opportunity to chat with such a successful self made woman?

Top [Lilly Pulitzer via The Pink Paddock - similar] ::  Jeans [Express] :: Flats [Ann Klein - similar] :: Clutch [Lilly Pulitzer - similar] :: Bracelet [Kate Spade]

I arrived at the start of the event and milled about the store before recognizing Allison, who was already chatting with Carly. I joined them and we had a great conversation for the better part of half an hour or so. We chatted about all sorts of odd things - the fact that we're crazy pet parents, whether or not to send our non-existent future children to private school (probably not), the terrible state of middle school fashion (too much makeup, too little fabric on 13 year old girls), and the joys of being a coxswain and getting up at ungodly hours for practice (I rowed for 7 years, so I could commiserate). Carly was gracious and open in answering all our questions, giving some great perspective on some of our more serious questions. One of which I wanted to share -

 Picture Credit: Tony Walker & Co.

When I asked Carly if she ever found it difficult to blog when other things in her life were going on, she brought this point - For her, things are a little different. She has to blog, it's her job after all. If she takes a break then she won't be able to survive in the city. Blogging is also a great escape and distraction; at the same time, it helps her put life's problems into perspective - because of her business and the nature of blogging, even if the weather is cold and snowy (which is still is here!), she has to move on and force herself to think and act like it's spring.

So, with that advice in mind, I thought I'd start putting together some blog posts. How is spring going for you so far? Any potential spring or summer adventures on the horizon?

Skinny Baked Lemon Dill Mahi Mahi :: Recipe

I travel back and forth quite a bit, so Tony and I only spend 3-4 nights at home together. Lately, I've been making a real effort to cook at home more often. What I've been doing is planning meals at the beginning of the week, giving Tony a grocery list, and then I do all the cooking on the weekends. It's been a good system so far. This week, one of the meals I made was Baked Lemon Dill Mahi Mahi, inspired by Skinny Mom's Skinny Lemon Tilapia.

It is SUPER easy to make and very delicious. Both Tony and I loved it and are going to put it into the regular recipe rotation. I served it with spinach sautéed in garlic, salt and butter and brown rice. Very delicious, healthy, and filling. I apologize for the lack of photos, I just wasn't thinking a head!

Skinny Baked Lemon Dill Mahi Mahi

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Makes 4 smaller sized servings

Ingredients
For the Fish

• 4 4ounce Mahi Mahi fillets (or any fish of your choice)
• Zest of 1 Large Lemon
• Juice of Half a Large Lemon
• 3 T of Melted Butter or Olive Oil (just realized original recipe called for tsp not T, oops lol)
• 4 tsp Fresh Dill
• Fresh Pepper

For the Sauce

• 1 ounce of Lite Cream Cheese
• Juice of Half a Large Lemon
• 1T Fresh Dill

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray, or do what I do, which is just put some foil down (I curl up the edges to keep the butter and seasoning in). Place fish fillets on pan.
2. Pour melted butter or oil and lemon juice over fish. Sprinkle evenly with lemon zest and dill. Add a few turns of the pepper mill if you like.
3. Place in oven and back approximately 20 minutes or until fish is white, fully opaque, and flaky. 
4. While fish is baking, put cream cheese, lemon juice, and dill into a microwave safe bowl and cook for 1 minute, stirring at 30 seconds. You may need to do some extra cooking and mixing to make it smooth. Mixture will thicken as it cools.
5. Place fillets onto place and garnish with sauce.

This recipe would be great with any white fish or even salmon. Please let me know if you try it out!