I promise that these photos will get better, but until I can get my tripod set up, this will have to do.

Cardigan: Banana Republic | Tee: Old Navy | Skirt: Banana Republic | Belt: Target | Shoes: Old Navy | Necklace: Claire’s

I really love this skirt because it’s super comfortable and can be dressed up or down. In the first photo, it’s a little more dressed up with a nice cardigan. I wore this to class so I slipped on some comfy flats that were more suitable for walking, but if I were wearing this to the office, I’d wear my red peep-toe pumps.

Jacket: Gap | Top: Old Navy | Scarf: Banana Republic | Skirt: Banana Republic | Shoes: Payless

In the second photo, I’ve paired the skirt with a fabulous denim jacket, scarf and flats. This a little more casual, and I probably would have worn it to class except that it’s still way too hot out for that jacket and scarf. Maybe in a few weeks!

I’m still having a little bit of trouble figuring out how else to style this skirt. That lone red stripe at the bottom throws me off a bit.

Which is your favorite look? Do you have any other suggestions for styling this skirt?

I’ve never considered myself a fashionista but I do like putting together and wearing cute outfits. I’ve received many compliments on my clothes lately so I’ve decided to start blogging about it. I may never be a fashion blogger per se, but if I can inspire folks to love getting dressed every day, then I’ll consider it a success. My photos aren’t the greatest at the moment, and I promise they’ll get better as I get my tripod set up but without further ado, here are a few outfits I’ve worn recently:

Cardigan: Ross | Top: Banana Republic | Jeans: Banana Republic | Belt and Shoes: Old Navy | Necklace: Hawthorne Collection online | Sunglasses: Target

Not surprisingly, everything in this outfit is from Old Navy | Necklace: Target

Dress: Ross | Sweater: Banana Republic | Shoes: Rocket Dog via Zappos | Belt: Target | Necklace: Hawthorne Collection online

This is a sweater over a dress. Pretty clever, huh?

What do you think about fashion? Do you like following fashion blogs/find them helpful?

To celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of school – I just started the first year of my graduate program in public health – Nick and I decided to go on another foodie “daycation.”  The first, and only other, daycation we had was to Middletown, Rhode Island in 2010. This time, we decided to go to Atlanta, Georgia since it was close to home (only an hour-long flight) and relatively cheap.

We started our daycation at The Little Tart Bakeshop in Grant Park, which was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s ‘The Layover’.

You can see Nick’s reflection in the window to the left!

It was absolutely wonderful. We got there around 9:30 am and ordered a little bit of this and that to share. We had a ham and Gruyere cheese croissant, local sausage, potatoes and collards turnover, and a Cinnamon-Sugar bun.

Ham and Gruyere cheese croissant, turnover with local sausage, potatoes and collards, and Cinnamon-Sugar bun.

The building was very industrial with exposed brick walls and ceilings, and lots of metal and wood accents. The windows along one wall had little poems written in the corners.

Ain’t no sin to take off your skin

A few of our favorite poems that were too high up to get good photos were:

there are times when silence is a poem

if you think you can see with just your eyes you are mad

i had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee

After breakfast, we decided to explore the area around the building and discovered a beautiful cemetery just across the street, the Historic Oakland Cemetery. We wandered in and were amazed at how lovely it all is. We wanted to stay longer, as they were giving tours, and there was much ground that we didn’t get to cover because of the sheer size, but we decided that if we ever get a chance to come back, we’ll definitely spend more time there.

Before lunch, we stopped at Cocoa Atlanta Chocolate Company in Buckhead to sample some sweet treats. We’d heard about this place on Unique Eats and were excited to try some high-quality , pure chocolate that was made in-house from the roasted beans from cocoa pods they have delivered regularly from the Dominican Republic. We also made sure to grab some extras for gift to our family.

For lunch, we visited the Bone Garden Cantina from Travel Channel’s Mexican Food Paradise.

The first thing you’ll notice as you walk in is all of the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) decorations, which was pretty cool, because I happen to love Day of the Dead in Mexican culture. Lots of colorful sugar skulls and playful skeletons everywhere.

According to their website, their food is made from scratch in small batches, using fresh ingredients. We had some tacos, a shrimp empanada, and a shredded chicken tamal, and it was all so yummy! The tamal was the best I’ve had so far.

Chicharron (fried chicken skin, top) taco, carne asada taco at bottom, and chicken tamal (wrapped in a banana leaf). And lots of yummy salsas!

Barbacoa de Chivo (goat bbq) taco, taco al pastor (pork) and shrimp empanada

We also got an amazing queso dip with chorizo, which I’ll be definitely be trying to replicate at home. We ended up stuffing ourselves because we wanted to try as much as possible. Afterwards, we headed back to the airport and the flight home was a full and happy one.

Have you ever taken a daycation?

Nick drove a race car, then we ate fish tacos. I’d say that sums up our weekend perfectly. But let’s start at the beginning.

For Christmas 2012, I got Nick an awesome racing experience deal where he gets to drive an Indy-style race car around the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for 5 minutes. I didn’t want to hand him a plain envelope with a printed gift card, so I put it in a small, red box underneath a matchbox replica of the style of car he’d be driving. I couldn’t wait to give it to him because I’d expected him to open it, read the card, and go crazy with excitement at the thought of getting to drive a real race car. His reaction, however, was quite the opposite! He opened it, looked at it for a while and didn’t really say anything. I thought he didn’t like it and getting really sad, but, he said he was just shocked and was trying to soak in the fact that he gets to drive a race car. He finally got around to scheduling his driving experience for this past weekend and had a great time.

Nick, suiting up

the next stig

Afterward, we were famished so we found Cabo Fish Taco, in Charlotte, NC, which was featured on Divers, Drive-Ins, & Dives (click that link for video). We hadn’t originally planned to make this part of our TV Food Travels, but figured it would be easy to find something “famous” in the area and it was a great choice.

Featured in the DD&D video linked above are the BBQ Mahi Tacos and the honey wasabi sauce. Each order came with two tacos, so we got two different orders to share, the BBQ Mahi Tacos and the Tavarua Wahoo Tacos.

Grilled Mango BBQ Mahi Tacos

The Mahi tacos were delicious: flash-fried tortillas, grilled mango BBQ Mahi-Mahi tacos stuffed with Cabo slaw, tomato, avocado, cheese and cilantro white sauce. They had a nice spicy tang from the BBQ sauce that paired nicely with the cole slaw and white cilantro sauce. The wahoo tacos were also good, consisting of flash-fried tortillas, blackened lemon-rubbed wahoo in a kiwi-pineapple fajita sauce, stuffed with lettuce, tomato, cheeses, and topped with the honey wasabi  sauce. I was expecting a bold, fruity flavor from the kiwi-pineapple sauce, but it was pretty mild. I almost didn’t even notice it. The honey wasabi sauce, however, was excellent. It had the right touch of wasabi flavor without being overpowering or too spicy. I’m going to try to recreate this one at home.

Tavarua Wahoo Tacos

We also tried the Baja Shrimp and Crab Dip, which I really liked because it reminded me of the crab filling that comes in a good, high-quality crab rangoon. I think they flash-fried the pita bread, too; a very nice touch, as it gave you the texture of a chip but the fullness of pita. I might try to recreate this at home, as well!

I really enjoyed the fish tacos at Cabo Fish Tacos. I would love to go back the next time I’m in Charlotte and take some friends or family. I’d also like to try some of the other tasty menu items, like the Cabo Roll that looks like the shrimp and crab dip rolled up sushi style in a burrito. And I’m sure Nick would just love to drive that race car again!

After sitting empty for several months, the house next door has residents! I actually met them briefly about a month ago when they were looking at the house and they seem really nice. I was about to walk the dogs when they asked me what I thought of the neighborhood and I told them it was great. They said they have two dogs, too! I’m looking forward to getting to know them. And I’m hoping it’s the start of a beautiful friendship.

A while back, after we first moved in, I wrote about welcome casseroles. Remember how women used to make casseroles to welcome new residents to the community and to ease their move-in stress? I questioned whether folks still do that these days because no one did it for us. However, our neighbor at the time, Casey, the previous resident of the newly occupied house, came over to introduce himself and give us his number in case we needed anything. We actually became pretty close neighbors. He even mowed our lawn for us while we were on our honeymoon!

I wanted to do something nice for our new neighbors to welcome to the neighborhood. They’re still settling in so, taking a note from Casey, we mowed their lawn for them this afternoon. Moving can be stressful. And we should know because we’ve moved a million times over the last ten years. My welcome casserole to our new neighbors (I don’t even know their names yet, but it’s a young couple, just like us) is this cute little  housewarming gift in a jar:

Inspired by Pinterest here.

The jar contains a bottle of Meyer’s hand soap, two sponges, and some dish cloths. We also included a little card with a well wishes, and Nick tied the beautiful bow. I thought about dropping off some baked goods or an easily prepared dinner (like spaghetti), but with all the food allergies out there these days, I was afraid it wouldn’t go over very well. But everyone cleans, right? Especially when moving into a new home.

I hope they like it! After they get settled, we’ll invite them over for dinner but for now, we’ll stay out of the way.