Thursdays are crazy around here.  I’m picking up one kid, dropping off another and I’m not home in time to cook dinner.   Instead of a drive-thru meal, I make dinner on Thursday morning in my crockpot.   It’s so nice to come home to a delicious-smelling house after such a hectic day.  This is what I made last week.  It was rainy and cold outside and this meal was like a warm hug.

AUTUMN SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

Adapted from the book: Make It Fast, Cook It Slow

Ingredients

3 cups cooked rice (I used brown basmati that I made the night before)

1 pound sausage, sliced (Use cooked sausage; I used nitrate-free, no-pork casing, chicken apple)

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 large apple, chopped

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

3/4 teaspoon ground allspice (the recipe calls for 1/2, but I use more)

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (the recipe calls for 1/2, but I use more)

3/4 teaspoon black pepper (the recipe calls for 1/2, but I like my food more seasoned)

1/2 cup chicken broth (you can use water instead)

assembled and ready to cook

Directions

I use a 6 quart slow cooker and it’s 3/4 full, but the recipe calls for a 4 quart slow cooker.  Put the rice in the pot and add the sliced sausage (assuming that you are using cooked sausage; if not then cook it first).  Add the onion, apple, carrots, raisins, brown sugar, parsley, allspice, cinnamon and pepper.  Pour in the broth and stir.  Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

I have found that this recipe burns easily because except for softening the vegetables, you are really just heating the other ingredients.  The first time you make it, cook for the shortest amount of time and ideally stick around to check on it.  I wouldn’t keep it on warm for too long either.  I cooked mine on low for 5 hours and if I was at home, I might have just done 4.5 hours.

It’s really good!  It’s sweet, from the apples and raisins, and the pumpkin pie-like spices make it taste like autumn.  You can create different flavors by using different sausages.

let’s eat!

© 2012, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Last weekend I had to go to a function where I was required to wear–gasp!–pantyhose.  Can you believe it?  It’s been so long since I wore a pair of pantyhose, that I didn’t know they made them anymore.  In case you think I mean tights or black stockings, no, I am talking about flesh-colored pantyhose.   I didn’t even know where to buy them, so I had to ask around; a friend told me where to go and what brand to buy.   It took me a full 30 minutes in the hosiery department at Macy’s, sticking my hand in and out of those hose swatches, to find a color suitable for my flesh.  It was hard to find an exact match because my flesh is sort of tan/orange/green and wouldn’t you know, they don’t make flesh-colored hose in that color.   I finally found a pair that looked decent enough:

My daughter was fascinated; she had never seen pantyhose before.  She said that my legs didn’t look real, but like legs in a magazine.  They looked too perfect.  She compared them to Luke Skywalker’s prosthetic hand (she had just seen Star Wars the previous night and that scene left a big impression on her).  I couldn’t disagree.  Have you worn pantyhose lately?   Those things are really uncomfortable.  The crotch was hanging low all day.  (Is this how sagging pants-wearing young men feel?  If so, why would anyone want to walk around like that all day?  Try doing that in heels!)   Because I could only find a pair with control top, using the bathroom–pulling them up and down–was a nightmare.  I tried not to drink too much liquid that day.

I was also required to wear a black dress with pearl accessories.  If you know anything about me, that is not really my stylo.  This costume–black dress, pearls, pantyhose–was seriously messing with my Funkidivagirl style!  The challenge before me:  how can I look conservative enough–ladylike, if you will–but still maintain my funkiness?

First: the dress.  AllSaints, my favorite brand, makes black clothes, so I looked there while on vacation in NYC.  I had fun shopping at the gorgeous store in the Meat Packing district and found a dress that could work for the event, but that I could also wear in my real life.

Next: the pearls.  I have a pair of real pearls (a gift), but they are very “proper” and I was trying to interject my style as much as possible into this outfit.  I needed something else…appropriate, but chic.  I thought a long strand of pearls would look fabulous and I found the perfect pair at Henri Bendel.    A skinny patent leather belt pulled the whole look together.   I already had a pair of platform pumps.  I look like quite the lady, yes?

meeting & lunch

dress – AllSaints

pearls – Henri Bendel

belt – Nordstrom

shoes – Miss Sixty, Bloomingdale’s

This is how I will normally wear the dress: with patterned black tights, a funki belt and ankle boots.  This is the real me!

tights – Nordstrom

belt – Antrhopologie

necklace – Nordstrom

boots – Boutique 9, Bloomingdale’s

I’m linking up with What I Wore Wednesday , Real Momma, Real Style and Monday Mingle.
        

© 2012, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

I got to spend a long leisurely brunch on Saturday with a group of ladies; it was my girlfriend’s birthday and she invited 12 friends to lunch.  Since we had a private room, you can imagine the topics of conversation!  I don’t get to spend time like that on a Saturday afternoon, so it was a real treat.  Since my family was gone for the morning, I had an empty house while I got dressed.   I was able to play around a bit with styling and this what I settled on:

brunch with friends

tank – Ella Moss, Bloomingdale’s

sweater – AllSaints, store within Bloomingdale’s

jeans – Hudson, Bloomingdale’s

boots – Boutique 9, Bloomingdale’s

Head to toe, I was styled by Bloomingdale’s!  (Can I get an endorsement deal?)

I’m linking up with What I Wore Wednesday , Real Momma, Real Style and Monday Mingle.
        

© 2012, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

As in “Easy Reader, that’s my name–uh-uh-uh” from The (original) Electric Company.  

These days it seems that I only get to read on vacation.  It’s a good thing that I have been able to vacation often!   Within the last couple of months I have read 2 memoirs and 1 fiction book.

Paris To The Moon by Adam Gopnik

A woman that I met in Paris this summer recommended this book to me.  Since I am fascinated with all things Parisian, I read it.  While I found the author’s account of moving to Paris with his family interesting, I have to say that this was a tough read for me.  I enjoyed the parts about his family life in Paris, but I felt my eyes glazing over during the (very detailed) parts about Parisian politics.  Admittedly, this is my own quirk because I do not enjoy reading about politics in my own country, let alone a foreign one.   I finished the book, but only because I was on a plane to Paris and wanted to immerse myself in the culture.   The writing is solid and it’s a very detailed account of Parisian life from an American lens, but it just didn’t hold my interest.

How To Eat A Small Country by Amy Finley

I saw Justice Fergie discuss this book on her Facebook page.  She was reading it because she loves to read about food.  I wanted to read it because it takes place in France.  While the book was indeed about the author’s move to France, it was more about the break up and restoration of her marriage.  And food–all about French food.   The author recounts her family’s French meals in great detail.   A fascinating read for sure, but now I know that I could not exist on an authentic French diet; there is so much meat and game!  Equally fascinating was reading about the author’s marriage, what happened to cause the break-up and the extraordinary measures they took to restore their marriage.  I really enjoyed this book for both the journey to France and the author’s personal story of love lost and found.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

I was intrigued by the premise of this fictional book: what if you hit your head and forgot 10 years of your life?   I put this book on my iPad for a light-hearted read over the Christmas break and found that I couldn’t put it down, reading late into the night.  It was so much more than I thought it would be.   At first it’s sort of comical when Alice thinks that she is 29 years old and reverts to her 29 year-old personality.   But then it’s not so funny when she learns that she is in the middle of a divorce and leads a life that can’t possibly be hers.   Ten years doesn’t seem like a long time, but as we learn, it can be an entire lifetime.  Although it’s a fictional book, there are interesting themes about marriage, family life and identity that I could relate to in my real world.    Throughout What Alice Forgot, as Alice forgets and then remembers her life, I reminisced over the last 10 years of my own life.  Several life-changing events occurred; would I erase them if I could?   If so, would I still be the person that I am today?

If you have read these books, I am interested to know your thoughts as well; please comment.

© 2012, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

My friend Darcie of Such The Spot challenged me to do this, so here it goes:

1. I found an exercise that I loved, causing me to exercise several times a week.  Finding kettlebells and working out consistently allowed me to get into the best shape of my life.  I’m finally getting my husband on board too!

2. I had fun blogging.  Towards the end of the year, I started participating in several link-ups, Wore I Wore Wednesday and Monday Mingle, that I really enjoyed.  I love writing about fashion and beauty so this was fun and natural for me.

3. I took my daughter to Disneyland, just the two of us.   Since my son was the first born, we have had many outings together, but I think this was the first time my daughter and I did an activity so grand together.  My family goes to Disney often, but as a group the activities skew towards big kid/adult and my daughter keeps up.  At Disneyland I let her set the pace and did whatever she wanted to do.  That meant no roller coasters, but standing in line to meet the fairies in Pixie Hollow.   I loved seeing Disney through her 9 year girly eyes.  We had a fantastic day together and her “thank you Mommy” and big hug at the end of the day was priceless.

4. We took my son to a broadway show.  We went to NYC in October to celebrate my daughter’s 10th birthday and my son’s 16 1/2th (his birthday was back in April).  Our gift to him in April was a broadway show in NYC, since he loves musical theatre. We go to musicals and plays all the time in Atlanta, but there’s something about seeing a production in NYC on broadway–it’s magical.  We used to take him to broadway all the time when he was younger, when we used to live in New Jersey, but they were family musicals like The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan.  This was his first big production, adult broadway musical.  We saw Follies and the look on his face during the musical was pure joy.   That experience was better than any tangible gift we could have given him.

5.  I recorded less and stayed in the moment more.   While I do enjoy sharing my experiences on my blog, sometimes it best to enjoy the moment and be fully present–not thinking about how this would make a good blog post or even how a photo of this moment would look great in the family scrapbook.  During our holiday trip to NYC a few weeks ago, I was trying to take photos of the beautiful holiday window displays on 5th Avenue, but it was difficult because of the reflection.  My daughter said, “Mommy, you can’t get a good photo, so just enjoy the window now.”  She was so right.  I put down my camera and fully enjoyed the windows while I was looking at them.  I may not remember them exactly years from now, but I will never forget that “Christmas in NYC” day with my children.

6.  I traveled often with my family.  We went to Disney World, Club Med Sandpiper, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, London, Paris (twice!), and New York City (twice).   It was the first time that we have traveled to Europe as a family and I was thrilled to show my kids the adventure of traveling internationally.  I think they are hooked and are already talking about our next international trip.

7.  I fell in love with Paris.  I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, but somehow during my European travels as a college student I made it to (southern) France, but missed Paris.   We spent a week in Paris as a family in July and I went again with my husband in December.  Both times I was in heaven.  Isn’t it great when you finally get to experience a place that you’ve been longing to visit and it exceeds your expectations?   I know that some people don’t care for Paris, but for me it was love at first sight (and frankly I just don’t get those people).

8.  I surrendered to motherhood.  This seems silly right?  I’ve been a mother now for over 16 years, so I should have done this long ago.  Well, I did the moment my son was born….and I must continue to surrender all the time.  It’s an on-going process.  Somehow I thought this motherhood thing would get easy with time, when it fact it doesn’t; it just changes.   But as challenging as it is (and it really is right now), I wouldn’t change a thing.   Raising my kids is absolutely without doubt the greatest thing that I have ever had the privilege of doing.

9.  I started taking French lessons.  See, Paris had a huge effect on me!  I plan to go back often, so I figure I should know how to speak the language.

10.  My husband and I celebrated 18 years of marriage.  It’s not a milestone number like 25 years, but 18 seemed like a big deal to us.  It’s a long time!  We woke up that morning and felt the bigness of the number and took the family to an impromptu big, fancy celebration brunch.  It was a really good day.  My husband was even inspired to write a blog post about marriage.

Why was 2011 a good year for you?

© 2012, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.