Green

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Closing off the week in shades of my favorite color, green.
To say this week has been crazy and stressful will be an understatement. So, taking tomorrow off work to find my way back to life and my family.
Have a blessed weekend!
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  Sweater: H&M (similar here)
Skirt: Asos (similar here, here)
Coat: H&M (similar here)
Clutch: Asos (try this here, here)
Bracelet: F21 (similar here)
Necklace: F21 (similar here)
Shoes: Calvin Klein (similar here)
Watch: Movado 

Inspirational Tuesday


Feeling mistreated, unrecognized or under appreciated by a boss, coworkers or even friends, just remember the saying below.
You're worth every standard you hold yourself to and every aspiration you aim for, so aim high. In due time, a change will come.
Happy Tuesday!
 

Embellished Skirt

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Hi All! Happy Monday!
Hope you're having a great one so far. Glad to see we're having a break from the constant snow. It pretty much snowed all weekend although the temperature was much warmer. So, no complaint there.

It's starting to look like every basic t-shirt I own is one version of stripes of the other. I just can't help it.
I recently picked up this one at Target on sales, and I got the green and yellow one. I decided to pair the green one with this embellished scuba skirt that has been sitting in my closet for a while now. I wanted the skirt to stand out, but still have a well balanced outfit hence the causal t-shirt. Accessorized with some layered pearls necklace for a classic look and finished off with a pair of round toe pumps.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
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  Top: Target 
Skirt: Asos 
Necklace; F21 (similar here, here)
Shoes: Macys (similar here, here)
Watch: Movado

Curry Orzo with Shrimp & Roasted Broccoli

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Hi all, I believe this will be my first official recipe for this year.
I'm going to try to do more food/recipes post this year. I still cook and experiment it's just with a child now, it's harder to pause and document as I go along given all the other things I still have to get done every night. Nevertheless, I'll try. It's orzo pasta again! I love this thing, another alternative to rice. You can find one of my go-to orzo recipe in our house here. This time though, I tried something different. Almost made it the usual way for ease and familiarity before deciding I needed to try something new with it. Hence, Curry Orzo, and I must say, I love the outcome and the shrimp and broccoli just made it even better. I think I've found another staple orzo recipe for my file.
I have never roasted my broccoli in the oven before, but I think I'm about to start doing that and not just with broccoli, but with every veggies I can roast. The magic of salt, peppers and olive oil; it just tastes so much better and crunchy.
I was making this up as I went along so it took a little longer than the usual dinner time. I had an incline it would be a good meal worth sharing so I decided to document it as I went along and here we are.
One new trick I used in this recipe is with the peppers, which I picked up from a friend. Instead of adding ground pepper as usual, I love this new approach because it gives the food just the right amount of kick and a unique flavor. Also, with a kid in mind, I don't have to worry about adding too much pepper to the food. My scotch bonnet peppers were still green so I used two for this recipe. If it was red, I would have used one.
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Ingredients 
Orzo
5 cups of water
1 tsp salt
2 cups of orzo pasta
2 scotch bonnet peppers, sliced in half
3 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small onions, diced
1 1/2 tsp curry
1 1/2 tsp Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp lemon juice

Shrimp
12oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil

Broccoli
3 heads of broccoli
sprinkle salt, pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions
Orzo
1. Add 5 cups of water and sliced scotch bonnet pepper to a pot, cover and bring to a boil
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2. Add 1 tsp salt and orzo and cook uncovered until tender, but still firm, stirring occasionally, about 8 - 10 minutes
3. Drain orzo pasta, remove peppers and set aside
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4. On medium heat, add 3 tbsp olive oil to a large pan, allow to warm up, add minced garlic and diced onions and saute till onions is translucent, about 2-3 minutes
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5. Turn heat to low, add drained orzo to pan, add curry, parsley flakes and knorr powder. Stir to combine all ingredients and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and set aside

Shrimp
1. Combine shrimp, salt, pepper and lemon juice and toss in a bowl
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2. On medium heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil to a skillet. Once hot, add shrimp in a single layer and cook till shrimp turns pink, about 2 minutes per side
3. Remove from heat and set aside

Broccoli
1. Preheat oven to 425 degree F
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2. Cut broccoli into florets, arrange in single layer on a greased or parchment lined baking pan
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and about 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix to coat evenly
4. Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes or till slightly brown
Serve and Enjoy!
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Check Dress

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 Hello beauts! Happy hump day!
Hope you had a great Valentine's day and long weekend. I certainly enjoyed mine. Looking forward to the weekend already.
Wishing you a great rest of the week.
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Dress: Zara (similar here)
Coat: H&M (old, similar here, here)
Shoes: VS (old, similar here)
Bag: Lulu Guinness (old, similar here, here)
Watch: Movado


Inspirational Tuesday


"The first ingredient for happiness is to avoid too much lengthy meditation on the past." 
 
   
Today, focus on now, not then.
Today and everyday, choose happiness!
Today, be thankful!

Belted Trench Cape

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Hi Loves!
Happy almost Friday. Long week for me. Looking forward to the weekend and some sleep.
Have a great day!
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Sweater: F21(similar here, here)
Trench: The Limited (similar here)
Belt: H&M (similar here)
Boyfriend Jeans: The Limited (similar here)
Shoes: Macys (similar here)
Watch: Skagen (similar here)
 

Inspirational Tuesday


No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. 
1 Cor. 10:13 (MSG)

Have you ever wondered how you made it through some things in life or questioned why you had to go through it and not the next person?
This quote along with the passage above answers that questions for me every time.  Whenever I feel like life is giving me an unfair hand, I remember I'm strong enough to live through it by His grace.

God knows just how much we can bare.
So when you find yourself in challenging situations that you feel is just too much for you to bare, just remember, it's not too much as long as He's with you. You can live through it. And, If you've made it through before, you can do it again.
Stay Strong!
 

Floral & Golden Yellow

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 Hello beautiful people.
Hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was pretty eventful and fun. On Saturday, we hooped from a one year old birthday party to a couples only pre valentine's day house party / game night, which was super fun. And on Sunday I helped decorate for a surprise baby shower we attended. It was a weekend surrounded with lots of friends and good food.
Now I leave all that behind to face the 7:30am meetings ahead of me this week. 

I previously posted this scarf on Instagram. It is beautifully made and very fluffy and warm. I particularly love the color. I decided to pair it with this matching black floral set to give some life to it to the outfit.
Have a great day!
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Top: New Look (similar here,  here)
Skirt: New Look (similar herehere)
Clutch: Asos
Scarf:@Bolakrafts
Watch: Skagen (similar here, here)
Shoes: BCBG (similar here, here & here)

Casual in Stripes & Trench

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Hi beauts! Almost Friday, Yay!
It's been a long week so definitely looking forward to the weekend. An activity filled weekend, nonetheless, looking forward to it.

Today's casual look features a simple dress, trench coat, cognac boots and a lunch bag brown bag. With the amount of snow we've been getting lately, evidence in the background, you have a good chance of catching me in my boots, even on work days. I take my heels along with me and change when I get to work. This particular one is one of my favorite, mostly because of the color and fit. Being a skinny foot and skinny calf size 11, it's hard to find affordable nice boots I like that fits well and this one does.
Have a great day and cheers to the upcoming weekend!
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 Dress: F21 (similar here, here)
Coat: H&M (old, similar here, here)
Necklace: F21 (similar here)
Bag: Zara (old, similar white here)
Boots: Gomax (similar here, here)
Watch: LaMer (similar here, here)