I hope everyone’s Labor Day weekend is off to a fabulous start! I wanted to share with you some great sales that are going on this weekend in honor of the contributions and achievements of American workers, the real reason for Labor Day!
Here are a few of my favorites from the sales. Enjoy the last official weekend of summer and happy shopping!
Ann Taylor: 50% off select full-price styles & all sale styles. No code needed.
Banana Republic: 40% off purchase. Ends Monday {9/1} at 11:59 p.m. EST. Code: BRLABOR
Gap: 20% off purchase. Ends Saturday {8/30} at 11:59 p.m. EST. Code: HAPPY
J.Crew: 25% off selected fall styles & 40% off final sale items {select final sale items at 50% off} Ends Sunday {8/31} at 11:59 p.m. EST. Code: WEEKEND
J.Crew Factory: 40%-60% discount on marked items. Ends Monday {9/1/} at 11:59 p.m. EST. No code needed.
Nordstrom: Clearance Sale – up to 40% off. Ends September 7th.
Old Navy: Everything up to 50% off. Ends Monday {9/1}. No code needed.
For the next couple of weeks, I am going to be featuring a special wish list each Friday with different fall must-haves. This week…fall heels. Shoes are by far my favorite accessory, so I figured we should start there 🙂 I have so many pairs, it has truly become an obsession. I truly love all styles of shoes, but you can never go wrong with heels. Fall is a great time to break out the heels because they are so versatile. You can wear them with dresses and skirts and even wear them with jeans to dress the outfit up! I like to wear heels as much as I can in the fall because come winter {I know, but it will be here before we know it!} I rarely wear heels…I’m not taking a chance of slipping on the snow or ice! Hope everyone has a fabulous Labor Day weekend!
1 pound pasta {I used Bucati Rigati but penne would work too!}
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas {garbanzo beans}, drained & rinsed
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Begin by cooking pasta according to package instructions. {I saved about a cup of the pasta water in case I needed to add it at the end, although I didn’t use it} Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat and add the red onion, season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas; cook for 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes {just long enough so the tomatoes don’t burst!} Stir in the spinach just until the spinach begins to wilt. Transfer vegetable mixture to large bowl and toss with cooked pasta.
The red and black combination is all too familiar to me. My school colors from kindergarten through high school were red and black and it became the staple colors for Fridays. I took a break from this color combination throughout college {although not by much, our colors were red and navy!} but now I’m back to loving this combination! I think this top is the perfect transitional piece — you can dress it up or down {I love it with these black jeans!} and the pop of color is so striking with the black accessories. And of course I had to include one of my favorite prints, leopard 😉 I am also in love with the gold accessories — the large earrings with a delicate necklace match the gold on the Modalu bag. This top will definitely become a staple throughout fall and I am so excited to pair it with different accessories! As always, thanks for stopping by!
Last Friday night, I posted a teaser picture of this pizza on my Instagram account just as it was going in the oven. I promised to share the recipe this week so here it is! For those who have been following A Blonde’s Moment, it’s no secret I’m super excited for fall. And one thing that screams fall to me is brussels sprouts. It is one of my favorite vegetables no matter what season, but it just seems to be the perfect fall vegetable. For those that don’t like brussels sprouts, the flavors of eggplant, pesto and goat cheese combine to make you forget that you are even eating brussels sprouts! This was one of my favorite pizza creations, as evident by the fact there was only one slice left {and only two of us eating it!!}. Next time I make this pizza, I will try the fresh brussels sprouts route — it was great with the frozen, but I can’t even imagine how delicious it would be with the fresh, right off the stem, brussels sprouts!
Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
P.S. Don’t forget to follow A Blonde’s Moment on social media!
16 ounces brussels sprouts, halved {I used frozen because it was a weeknight, but you can definitely use fresh!}
1 eggplant, diced into bite-sized pieces
2-3 tablespoons basil pesto {I used store-bought} 4 ounces goat cheese 2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1 store-bought pizza dough 3 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat broiler. Cook brussels sprouts {if frozen} according to package directions. Place cooked brussels sprouts {that have been halved} and diced eggplant in a large bowl. Stir in olive oil, salt and pepper. Distribute brussels sprouts and eggplant evenly on baking sheet {that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray} and roast in broiler. I roasted mine for a total of 12 minutes, and every 3 minutes I removed them from the oven and moved them around. Roast until just beginning to brown. Decrease the heat to 450 degrees. To assemble pizza, spread the pesto on the pizza dough and then top with the roasted brussels sprouts and eggplant. Slice the goat cheese into thin circles {I placed my goat cheese in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes to make sure it was firm enough to slice}. Place the goat cheese slices on top of the vegetables and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the goat cheese begins to brown and the crust turns golden brown.
Top: Ann Taylor, love this | Pants: J.Crew Factory, but I love these | Pumps: C. Wonder, similar here | Sunglasses: Tory Burch {similar here} | Necklace + Earrings: Sabika {fall 2013} | Bracelets: here, here, here | Watch: Kate Spade | Clutch: Bottega Veneta, similar here | Lipstick: YSL {No.26 Violin Surreal}
Happy Monday, everyone! For those that read Friday’s post, I gave everyone a glimpse of my pre-fall wish list. One of the highlights of the list was the YSL lipstick {No.26}. So this entire post is dedicated to that lipstick! My husband surprised me and brought home the YSL lipstick, NARS nail polish{Chinatown} and the Smashbox eyeshadows! I was BEYOND excited. I couldn’t wait until fall to wear this beautiful purpley color, so I had to find something to wear with it now. I really love this combination…the leopard pants are striking but not too outrageous and the eggplant color top is a great way to compliment the pants without just wearing black. I’m obviously SO excited for fall! Thanks for reading!!
There is no doubt that I am ready for fall to get here. I am in a total fall state of mind, apart from the pink blooms I have throughout the house 🙂 Fall is by far my favorite season, not only because of the clothes, but for the cool, crisp air. {Although, that “cool and crisp air” probably won’t be arriving in D.C. until at least the first part of October!}
There is just something about the richness of fall colors that I love. Here are a few things at the top of my wish list for pre-fall, most of which can be worn as great transitional pieces {one of my favorite looks for the transition from summer to fall can be seen here}. What are some of the items on your wish list? Leave me a comment below telling me what you can’t live without this fall!
Although pasta is one of my favorite {if not my favorite!} meals, we rarely eat it in our house. Earlier this week, I decided I needed a quick and simple meal with an easy clean up to start off the week. I had seen the Baba ghanoush dip at Wegmans during a previous visit and had been wanting to try it. I grow tired of the typical pasta with red sauce and thought why not use a dip for the sauce? For those that don’t know, baba ghanoush is a mixture of eggplant, onions, tomatoes, olive oil and various seasonings. Typically served with pita bread or veggies, I found this to be a great substitute for pasta sauce.
Unfortunately, I can’t label this pasta as “healthy” after looking at the ingredients on this store-bought dip. But, every once in a while it’s alright to go with the prepared version {although this would be delicious with a homemade baba ghanoush — when I have more time!}. I wanted to add Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors to the dish so I decided to go with the chickpeas, capers and lemon juice. For those that don’t like capers, you can definitely leave them out 🙂 This was a super-quick dinner and something out of the norm for us. And it made a ton, so I have had leftovers for lunch, which is always a plus!
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed & drained {I used organic} 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed & drained 1 pound pasta {I recommend using something similar to penne} ½ lemon, juiced 1-2 tablespoons parsley
Cook pasta according to package directions. Before draining, reserve ½ cup pasta water. While pasta is cooking, place prepared Baba ghanoush in a large skillet with chickpeas and capers on low heat. Squeeze half of a lemon into the Baba ghanoush sauce. Once pasta is drained and pasta water is reserved, transfer pasta to skillet, stir to combine. Add pasta water slowly to loosen sauce {I probably only used a 1/3 or the ½ cup of water}. Stir to combine and top with 1-2 tablespoons parsley for some color.
It’s no secret that I love animal print {leopard in particular}. Look through my closet and around our home and this love for leopard becomes pretty apparent. So, of course Ella would also have to love leopard. {As a side note, I really think Ella does love leopard. She seems to gravitate to leopard blankets, toys, you name it.} Anyways, I’ve been watching a pair of J.Crew leopard flats for roughly a month now…I’m completely obsessed with them {click here to see these gorgeous shoes!} But at roughly $300, I just could not justify the purchase.
I was at Target this past weekend looking for a new skillet when I walked by the shoe section. And then, I saw these. Although not a perfect match, at $21.99 {can you honestly believe that?!} I thought this was a much more savvy purchase. These shoes are the star of this outfit, so pairing them with simple and plain accessories is the way to go. But the real star of this post is our sweet Ella. She was not too happy about all the pictures, {hence why she is only in a few!} put she is just too cute not to post, right??
When it comes to food, there aren’t many things that I enjoy more than crab cakes. I’m very particular about my crab cakes, {which no doubt comes from my Grandmother who grew up in the crab-eating state of Maryland} so I’ve found it very difficult to find good crab cakes out a restaurants. Most restaurants seem to use way entirely too much “filler” and not enough crab. In the past, I have made them just with a few spices {of course Old Bay}, mayo, bread crumbs and lemon. But after having Founding Farmer’s {in my opinion, one of the best restaurants in D.C. & the only exception to my eating out search for good crab} crab cakes, I decided to try to recreate their delicious dish. I love the added texture and flavor of the vegetables with the crab — it definitely adds a little something to this always fabulous dish! And the spicy remoulade compliments the flavors of the crab cake so perfectly, you will want to eat the remoulade by itself , with a spoon…it’s that good.
Maryland Crab Cakes + Spicy Remoulade
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 red pepper, diced 1 yellow pepper, diced 2 celery stalks, diced 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons olive oil ¼ teaspoon Frank’s Red Hot sauce ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce ½ tablespoon Old Bay seasoning {I probably put more in, we love Old Bay!} Salt and pepper to taste 1 pound lump crab meat, drained & picked to remove shells ½ cup panko bread crumbs ½ mayo {I used low fat} 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard 2 large eggs, beaten 3-4 tablespoons olive oil (for frying)
For the Spicy Remoulade:
½ cup mayo {I used low fat} 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard ½ tablespoon whole grain mustard 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 dashes Frank’s Red Hot sauce
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium heat; add red onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, celery, Frank’s Red Hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.
Vegetable Mixture
Allow vegetables to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, mix the crab meat with the panko, mayo, both mustards and eggs. Add the vegetable mixture to the crab mixture and stir to combine. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Shape into 3-inch diameter cakes. Heat the remaining 3-4 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the crab cakes and cook for 4 minutes {or until golden brown} on each side. Make the crab cakes in batches so as not to crowd the skillet. Place the completed crab cakes on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the warm oven. For the Spicy Remoulade sauce: place the mayo, Dijon and whole grain mustards, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Frank’s Red Hot sauce in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Below you will see a very artistic wine photo, taken by my husband {the official A Blonde’s Moment photographer}. My husband is quite the sommelier and always picks the best wine for our meal. The chardonnay was a perfect addition to the crab cakes!
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