Last week while making some ricotta-stuffed shells and homemade tomato sauce I was stirring the sauce and it splattered on my cute, semi-new H&M shirt. This was not the first time that something like that has happened. The more I have been cooking (which I hope not to slow down), the more crap has been getting on my cute clothes (unless I am cooking in my sweats, which certainly happens as well). Therefore, I feel as though it is time to bite the bullet and get a damn apron.

In an effort to look a bit more like Betty Draper and a little less like Betty Crocker, I have been searching for a few cute, somewhat vintage inspired beauties. Now, just take a peek at these picks and imagine a martini in hand and some indie music, old school rock or NPR, depending on my mood, and tell me which is the most flattering coverup.

Adorable vintage apron

Crate and Barrel Doris Apron

Anthropologie Half Apron

I’m leaning toward the first one, but what are your thoughts?

As promised, here she is, my favorite summer meal. This is so easy and quick to prepare. The thing I miss most about the Midwest in the summer is sweet corn on the cob. If you haven’t tried it in the Midwest, you’ve never tasted corn. And nothing pairs better with fresh sweet corn than a BLT with crispy bacon, fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo (Miracle Whip is best in my opinion). I prefer toasted bread, but once in awhile like to switch it up on my third or fourth sandwich and try it untoasted. Although I almost always buy wheat bread, I think BLTs taste best on white. Again, since I don’t eat meat, I subbed Morning Star Bacon Strips as my ‘facon’. It tastes uncannily similar to real bacon. Obviously real bacon is better, but this is a close second for sure.

A good rule of thumb I use when cooking corn on the cob is 3 minutes per ear in boiling water. So my two ears got about 6 minutes. I mean, you just need to warm it up – you could practically eat it straight off the cob.

Add tons of butter, and lots of salt and pepper and you are set.

I love my hair guru Paul. He gives me the best hair cut and style and has convinced me that the line of hair products by Kevin Murphy that  he sales and supports is the shiz. Seriously, I am in love with this new line of products. Check out Amazon for a good variety of products. I use the Angel Wash, Angel Rinse and Motion Lotion.

Yes, they are a bit pricier than drugstore brands at about $20 a pop, but they are well worth it. Natural and lovely and so fabulous for your hair. Plus, if you are like me and only wash your hair 3-4 times a week (don’t be grossed out – it’s good for it!) the bottles will last you for quite a while.

Also on my fave list is this Neutrogena wrinkle wonder. I have been using it on the lovely little lines I have acquired in my 27 yrs and it is making them softer and helping to prevent new ones from popping up. I highly recommend it, especially when you compare its $19 price tag to some of those uber-expensive serums.

I know these Friday drinks are usually alcoholic beverages, but I wanted to try a fun and refreshing summery drink. Plus, who said you couldn’t throw in some vodka. Ooh, Blue UV would be amazing in here…

Anyway, this is one of my favorite drinks to consume, especially in the heat of summer. I had never made it on my own before so I found a recipe online to test out. It came from the restaurant Blue Smoke, I believe. It was good, but a bit tart. Here it is, it’s very simple:

• 2 parts fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 parts water
• 1 part simple syrup

If you don’t know how to make simple syrup, you can look back to my Margarita post to find out where to get it. And trust me, use the lemon juicer found on that post as well – otherwise it will take you years to make a glass. If you have a lemonade recipe you love, please send it my way. I love testing these out!

I am so excited for New York Fashion Week which is exactly two weeks away!! This is the first year I will be participating in a bunch of fun events. And this was just added to the list of many last night…

Another event which I am very excited to attend…

My friend Jess in New York or ‘Brooklyn Jess’, as we call her to distinguish from NoëlMarie’s or ‘Omaha Jess’ (doesn’t help that their last names are set apart by only one letter), will be in attendance with me and I am really excited! Click here for details. I hope to meet all of you NY bloggers (and visiting bloggers) there! More to come…

Well this is the EP, but if you look over to your right, you will see the newly released album by Mew, No more stories Are told today I’m sorry They washed away No more stories The world is grey I’m tired Let’s wash away. Longest album title EVER!! So this is our new album recommendation for all of you lovely readers out there. They are a Danish band and I discovered them on my trip to Copenhagen over the summer. I also had the pleasure of attending their show on Monday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. They have really cool (and some, a little disturbing) animated videos during their shows, and their lead singer, Jonas, does all those illustrations himself. It is a really fun and unique album to listen to, so you should at least go check out a few songs on iTunes to see if it’s for you. Oh, and we will be changing this monthly from here on out, so don’t be a dawdler.

Lucky for us, our lovely neighbors have tomatoes in their garden. Big ones, not the little guys like we have and they share them with us often. Last week, I came home and found a large bag of gorgeous tomatoes sitting on our porch. It was awesome.

That being said, I needed to find a good use for our abundance of tomatoes and thought of making gazpacho. I had never made it before, but it turned out delightful and we ate a giant batch in two days!

On a small side note, my husband yelled across our backyard fence to thank our neighbors for being so generous and our neighbor’s response was, “No problem. The dog only pees on every other tomato.” I died laughing.

Tomato (Basil) Gazpacho:

2 lbs tomatoes, halved

I red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 of a large cucumber, chopped

1 cup of red onion, chopped

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1-2 garlic cloves (depending on your love of garlic), minced

1 cup cold water

dash of cumin

dash of red pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Handful of fresh basil, torn

Handful of fresh parsley, torn

1. Squeeze the tomato halves to get the juice out. Don’t use the seeds, so strain into a bowl. You might have to mush the tomatoes in your hands to get all the juice out. Throw away the seeds. Chop the tomatoes and add to the juice.

2. Add all ingredients to the bowl.

3. Puree ingredients with 1 cup water in a blender. You might want to work in batches. Pour back into bowl.

4. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The longer the ingredients blend the better. Serve cold with a couple of basil leaves as garnish.

When your shoes start to look like this (yes, that’s a whopping size 10)…

…it’s time for a new pair. Or two. With as much walking as I do in this city, I go through shoes very quickly. And yes, you can get them resoled, but flats are tricky. By the time you walk a few times in them, the back part starts dragging and you have irreparable holes before you know it (see above). And if it rains, you are screwed because then the inside gets all wet from the holes in the bottom.

My last pair of black flats that I bought on sale for $8 at the Gap seemed to be a popular item on here. A lot of you were disappointed that they were no longer available. Have I got some good news for you. I found two, yep two, new pairs last week. They were both inexpensive and still available. They are even available online if you are as lazy as I am, though I do like to try on a bunch of shoes in the same size at the store because they all fit a little differently. Black flats Take 1, Kmart….

Take 2, Old Navy….

A couple other tips from some feet who have taken a beating – unless you are walking for days, this stuff…

…is amazing. I also like these two products below. I found a $2 coupon for you on their website if you’d like to test them out.

I will try to get some pics of these shoes paired with outfits soon so you can see what they look like. I am very happy with my new purchases.

For me, finding a quirky, adorable item at a thrift shop with a wonderfully inexpensive price tag is what I assume it must be like for a crackhead to take their morning rip off the pipe… simply euphoric. Seriously, I cannot tell you how excited I get when I find pieces that seem so perfectly meant for me and my home.

Let’s start with a basic.

My favorite vintage baskets. I use this one to store vegetables and I use another one for office supplies. I bought them at a second-hand store for $6 apiece.

Movin’ on Up.

Yes, you all have seen this guy before, but come on – how can I not brag about the awesome fixture I got from World Market’s going out of business sale?

A little bit cooler now.

I always wanted a bar cart. I think they are so sexy and glamorous. So when I stumbled upon this beauty at another second-hand store for just $40 I thought I had died and gone to Heaven.

The pièce de resistance.

This vintage set of booze decanters stopped both my husband and myself dead in our tracks. The glass is etched with Gin, Scotch, Vodka and Bourbon. For again, just $4o we found a really unique accessory that is a wonderful conversation piece at parties. Love it!

I never thought about infusing vodka with basil before! I’m on it now that I found this recipe. We have so much in our backyard billowing out and attacking the other herbs, so I am excited for something else to do with it. On the mission this weekend.

Basil Martini:

Fill a shaker with ice, add a dash of vermouth, shake, and strain. Add 2 jiggers basil-infused vodka. Shake vigorously; strain. Note: 1 jigger equals approximately 1 1/2 ounces. (Recipe Via: Better Homes and Gardens)