Skirt- J.Crew; Tshirt- Le Petit Bateau; Cardigan- Express; Flats- Steve Madden; Nails- Essie Ballet Slipper. This was last Wednesday, when it got up to 63 degrees! I take any excuse to have bare legs. Though please excuse my wet hair. I can’t be bothered to dry it if it’s not going to freeze to my head.

Dress- Madewell; Sweater- J.Crew; Belt- H&M; Flats- Steve Madden. Another warm-weather outfit. This was actually the same dress I wore on my birthday- I love how it’s so easy to dress up or down.

Jeans- Seven for All Mankind; Sweater- J.Crew Men’s; Shoes- Sperry Topsider; Jacket- Barbour. A rainy, casual Friday. I thought the outfit was cuter with the coat- it made me feel Kate Middleton-esque.

Jeans- Seven for All Mankind; Top- J.Crew; Cardigan- J.Crew; Flats- Tory Burch; Nails- Essie Luxedo. For shopping/drinks with my friend Lauren. I think I picked out my bridesmaid dress for her wedding, too!

Skirt- H&M; Top- J.Crew; Belt- H&M; Boots- J.Crew. When I went shopping this weekend I picked up a few new work-appropriate pieces at H&M. Laur told me I have “nautical” taste, and I never thought about it that way, but she’s right!

Pants- H&M; Shirt- Madewell; Flats- J.Crew; (very weirdly placed) Headband- J.Crew. These are my favorite flats EVER and it kills me that they’re falling apart. I’ve had them since my senior year of high school, so for suede ballet flats they’ve had a great run, but I keep looking for a replacement pair and nothing compares.

Speaking of Kate Middleton, who are your style inspirations/icons? I love Kate, Grace Kelly and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. All three had/have incredible, unique style, but always look classic and ladylike. Several older people (like my grandmother and random moms in department stores) have told me I look like Carolyn, which creeps me out a little bit.

You know the song “Banana Pancakes” by Jack Johnson?

Because of that song, I associate banana baked goods with lazy weekend mornings, surfer guys and ukeleles. Which sounds very appealing in the dead of winter.

So, I went through my NGI recipes and found one for banana muffins. A little tweaking and de-healthifying, and out came this cake- it’s super simple and the perfect thing to cut into on a Sunday morning.

Banana Cake

Yields one 9″ cake

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 large ripe banana, mashed
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• banana slices, for decorating

It’s been years since I ate meat lasagna, so even though I thought it was great, I wasn’t sure how it would stack up for Italian food aficionados. So I had my dad, mom, grandparents and – the true test- my brother try it. The verdict? Turns out this really is the world’s best lasagna. My brother said he wanted to swim in it…I thought I was the only person who felt that way. (For me it’s about frosting though.)

What’s your favorite Italian dish?

Jeans- Seven for All Mankind; Top- J.Crew; Vest- J.Crew; Flats- Tory Burch; Necklace- Kate Spade. Side note: I’m obsessed with down vests and wish I had one in every color. And also that the marshmallow look were in.

Skirt- J.Crew; Sweater- J.Crew; Tights- Target; Boots- J.Crew; Bangles- Kate Spade. Side note: I actually bought that skirt at Plato’s Closet when I was there selling some stuff last week. For six bucks. Yesss.

Jeans- Abercrombie & Fitch; Sweater- J.Crew; Scarf- bought off an NYC street vendor; Flats- Tory Burch. Side: I get a little annoyed with myself every time I type that my jeans are from A&F, because I can’t stand the a) smell, b) music, and c) wall pornography in the store. But their jeans are freaking awesome. 

Cords- J.Crew; Shirt- Madewell; Loafers- J.Crew; Headband- Goody. Side note: I’ve had those loafers since I was 15. I bought them my sophomore year of high school and wore them pretty much every day, and they’re still in great condition. 

Jeans- Citizens of Humanity; T-shirt- Gap; Blazer- J.Crew; Flats- Steve Madden; Necklace- Forever 21. Side note: I cannot freaking wait for spring and warm-weather dressing. My hot pink jacket today was blatantly inappropriate for mid-winter, but I do. not. care. Thursday is supposed to get up to 63 degrees!

 What’s the most embarrassing thing in your closet? The best deal?

The segment was about a recent study that gave both males and females the same menu, then asked them to pick what they’d like to order. Apparently, men tend to shy away from terms like “yogurt,” “fresh” or “white wine” when it comes to food, even if it’s not a main component of the meal- say, a yogurt sauce on a spicy dish, or seafood in a white wine sauce. Instead, if something has the words “hearty” or “gravy” in the description, they’ll go for it.

It got me to thinking, and I realized that in my experience, those generalizations are often true. There are always exceptions and I have no problem with this scenario myself, but when was the last time you saw a group of guys all ordering a salad with strawberries and fancy goat cheese for their entree, dressing on the side? Even if a man eats healthfully or is watching his weight, his choices will typically be markedly different from those of a woman with similar goals.  It’s a shame that so much of what we eat is influenced by social cues, and gender is a huge part of it. I’m not making an argument for or against anything here, I just think it’s kind of funny. In the end it’s all just food, right? So why do I think of my brother when I’m cooking a meat-heavy lasagna, and not one of my burger-loving female friends?

One listener called in and made a really great point: a lot of this comes down to advertising. Think about Yoplait commercials; they always feature a young, attractive woman in pastel clothing, usually eating her yogurt like it’s the time of her life. They never show a group of men spooning out of their little cups while watching the Super Bowl. It goes both ways, too- ever notice how commercials for things like Bagel Bites or  Chunky Campbell’s usually feature young guys? The irony is that in my experience men actually prefer women who will eat a full meal without whining about calories. It’s like girls are expected to stop having an appetite at 12, but men are expected to keep stuffing their faces with junk. Neither approach is rational. And for the record, both the Yoplait Chocolate Mousse yogurt and Bagel Bites are delicious.

So that’s my random diatribe for the day.

What are your thoughts on the girl food v. guy food issue? And what’s one “manly” food you absolutely love?

source

In case you’re a bit discriminatory with your movie choices, The Vow tells the story of a young married couple, Paige and Leo, whose perfect nuptial bliss is interrupted when Paige loses her recent memory in a car crash. She wakes up from a coma remembering nothing from the past four years, which happens to be the time frame in which she stopped talking to her parents, ditched law school, became a hipster and met Leo. The movie basically chronicles Leo trying to win Paige back. Complicated.

The verdict? Meh. Like I said, I set the bar pretty low for this one, and in some ways, it did pleasantly surprise me. The first half of the movie was pretty funny and romantic- lots of deadpan sarcasm and loving glances from a shirtless Channing Tatum. Can’t complain. I really liked that the couple was kinda weird; that’s what makes relationships fun, and I think a lot of chick flicks gloss over the goofy stuff. However, the movie took a pretty bad nosedive in the last half hour, becoming insanely cliched and boring. The ending isn’t hard to predict, but I felt like the buildup could have been a little more interesting. The Vow does get major props for being based on a true story, though. I’m a sucker for real-life fairy tales!

So, overall? Go see it with a girl friend if you’re in need of a chick flick outing, but don’t get too psyched. And I wouldn’t advise bringing your male significant other unless you’re ready to go see Ghost Rider in return…

Have you seen The Vow? What’s your favorite “chick flick”? If you need to ask me what mine is, then you’ve somehow overlooked my passion for for shipwrecks and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The cardinal rule of dinner party cooking is that you’re never supposed to use a new-to-you recipe. So, since I’m throwing a dinner party for some friends in a few weeks, I saw that as an opportunity to bake a cake- never mind the fact that I’ve actually already made it before. I used this recipe for tiramisu cake, only using a homemade cake instead of a boxed mix and doubling the coffee content, then decorated it with a generous amount of coffee liqueur whipped cream frosting (I’m thinking of changing it to buttercream, since whipped cream means it has to stay refrigerated) and edible glitter. It’s amazing.

By the way, let’s just pretend it’s totally normal to spend your Saturday morning being OCD with a piping bag…

Apparently it’s slacker week on Une Vie Saine.

All of the “recipes” I’ve posted have been basically childproof. Infused vinegar? Melted chocolate and graham crackers? And now, rice? 

Pay attention, though. Though this rice is ridiculously simple to make, it’s by far my favorite way to eat the stuff. You see, I don’t really care for it in Asian restaurants, when they bring you a big ball of it to go along with your entree. Cooked grains in general are kind of meh to me; I’d rather have bread or sweet potatoes than quinoa or rice. But this cooking method, albeit incredibly simple, turns boring old rice into an insanely delicious side dish or even breakfast. And with only one ingredient!

(By the way, I realize that I’m not the first person to come up with this concept. This is just the technique and ratios I’ve found work best.)

Coconut Rice

Yields about 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 14 ounce can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk (do NOT use light!)
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup short grain white or brown rice

1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the coconut milk and water and bring them to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low. Add the rice, stir once, cover, and let sit for about 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid has cooked in. The rice should have the consistency of cooked oatmeal.
3. Eat immediately. The leftovers store really well in the fridge, and actually taste better the next few days- the coconut makes things kind of gooey and sticky.

Grains- take ‘em or leave ‘em? I think one of the reasons I failed at vegetarianism was because I just don’t love beans or grains…

Yuengling + fig & goat cheese pizza (At Uno’s, of all places. Who knew?) + fries + a giant peanut butter cup sundae*, all shared with one of my best and oldest friends. It’s the best Valentine’s date I’ve ever had. Romance is overrated.

*Cookie crust bottom, peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough filling, dark chocolate exterior with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Do itttt.

Tell me the BEST thing you’ve eaten recently…

Sweater dress- BCBG; Tights- Target; Boots- Steve Madden from DSW; Nails- Essie Bachelorette Bash

Jeans- Citizens of Humanity; Top- Jason Wu for Target (last one when I went last Sunday night!); Sweater- J.Crew Factory; Boots- Banana Republic

Jeans- Abercrombie & Fitch; Shirt- J.Crew (I wish the picture had turned out better, because it’s one of my favorites…navy blue silk with buttons and ruffle detail); Blazer- J.Crew; Flats- Tory Burch; Bangles- Kate Spade

Skirt- Banana Republic; Shirt- Ralph Lauren; Tights- Hue; Boots- J.Crew; Watch- gift from my madre; Earrings- gift; Nails- Essie Mademoiselle

Pants- Anthropologie; Sweater- Ann Taylor; Tank top- J.Crew; Pumps- bought in Italy in 2005; Headband- drugstore

My favorite part of this week’s outfits? These shoes. They’re kind of ridiculous and extremely impractical, so I only break them out at Valentine’s. What, you don’t have holiday shoes?!

Do you tend to dress for holidays? I was out to dinner last night and noticed that every woman was wearing red or pink in some way.