We're in Vegas

Ryan and I are spending the weekend in Las Vegas for my cousin's wedding. Regular programing continues next week. Until then, keep up on Instagram. Enjoy your weekend wherever you may be!

Warm Farro Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes and Bacon Recipe

This week, I've been tearing through the June issue of Eating Well, making so many fresh, delicious, and nutritious meals. This is an adaptation of a recipe I found there. I used orange heirloom tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes, thyme instead of basil, and red onions instead of scallions.

This was my first time making or eating farro, but I've been seeing it on Pinterest a lot, and it looked so good that I was excited to try it. Farro, available in the bulk-foods section of natural food stores, is basically whole grains of wheat that you cook on the stovetop like rice, couscous, or quinoa. It's full of fiber, and it's insanely delicious.

Ingredients:
1 half cup uncooked farro
2 slices bacon
1/4 red onion, diced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 medium orange heirloom tomato (or your favorite variety), diced
A few springs fresh thyme
salt and pepper

01. Cover farro with two inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until tender and chewy (about the texture of rice). Drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
02. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel, reserving bacon fat in the skillet.
03. Add onion to the skillet and cook for about one minute. Stir in vinegar, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat.
04. Crumble bacon over farro. Add tomatoes, oniony dressing, and thyme. Toss to coat. Garnish with more fresh thyme.

Serves 2 as meal, 4 to 6 as a side

Spring recipe: Totally Amazing Mushy Peas

Mushy peas might be a dish you remember fondly from childhood, or they could, just as soon, be terrible childhood memory for you. Either way, you probably don't associate them with class or good taste.

If I were competing on the TV show, Chopped, I might try to trick you by calling this a "purée." But, let's be honest; these are mushy peas!

Now, I can be picky about food, and I definitely can be discriminating when it comes to quality (If you really want to see a person get passionate, ask me about Floridian tomatoes vs. Mexican tomatoes sometime and watch my ears start smoking), but I am not a food snob.

In fact, as I've mentioned before, I have a big soft spot in my heart for food some might call "tacky" or "trashy" but that I lovingly refer to as Kitchen Kitsch. And it's in that spirit that I share my favorite mushy peas with you.

Besides, these are not the mushy peas of your childhood. These are Totally Amazing Mushy Peas.

I've adapted my recipe slightly from a Nigella Lawson one. It was her brilliant idea to cook the garlic along with the peas. I use yogurt instead of her recommended crème fraiche simply because I always have some on hand, which makes whipping these up to accompany dinner super easy. I sometimes add fresh mint as well, but, if I don't have it on hand, I don't sweat it; these are lovely and yummy on their own.

For some reason, I'm always reminded to eat peas in the springtime, even though I almost always cook them from frozen so it doesn't much matter what time of year it is. You can use fresh peas if you want, but it's not necessary; peas freeze remarkably well.

Ingredients:

5 ounces frozen peas

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons nonfat greek yogurt

2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

01. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Cook garlic and peas until tender.
02. Drain. Transfer peas and garlic to a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients, giving a good grinding of pepper.
03. Purée. Taste, and add more salt if needed. 

Warby Parker Home Try-One Program Review

I was excited when Warby Parker reached out to me about reviewing their home try-on program. I'd already heard good things about their glasses, and who wouldn't want the opportunity to try on fives pairs of their choice, delivered to their door, for absolutely no charge?

The way their program works is that you order five pairs you'd like to try on, you get five days to wear them (you can wear a different pair each day if you like), and then you send them back. The program is completely free. They do take your credit-card info just in case you don't return the glasses, and they charge you a dollar to confirm the payment info, but they refund the dollar a few days later.

I like that the program allows you to try on glasses in the comfort of your own home. I, for one, am not very comfortable trying on glasses in stores. I feel rushed, and like everyone is looking at me.

It's also a nice that you get to actually wear them for a few days to get used to the feel of them. It helps you decide which frames best fit with your wardrobe and your lifestyle. That said, the try-on pairs you receive are non-persecription. So, if you're really blind without your glasses, wearing the trial pair all day isn't really a great option.

Also, I found that five days, although it sounds long enough, really wan't as long as I'd have liked. The day they arrive in the mail counts as your first day. And, I didn't even find my package 'til I got home from work late at night. The day you mail them back also counts. So it feels more like three days.

For a busy girl like me, this wasn't enough time to really wear every pair out. But it was definitely a longer, more luxurious time than I would have gotten in a store.

I, for one, love the convenience of online shopping, but I hate it when I buy something that doesn't turn out to be what I expected. The home try-on model Warby Parker has adopted keeps the convenience of online shopping, but eliminates the risks. If only you could buy bathing suits this way!

The other cool thing about Warby Parker is that they follow the Tom's model, so when you buy a pair of glasses, they provide a pair to someone in need. Definitely a plus!

I wanted to pick a variety of frames, but I wanted them to still be something I would wear. So, I went with a classic wayfarer shape in a non-traditional color, a wayfarer that fades from brown to clear, a more narrow rectangular shape like Ryan wears, gold frames, and some navy wayfarers that are slightly rounder than the classics. 

I liked the "Watts" in Blue Saphire. I found the color to be surprisingly wearable, and I liked the way it contrasted with my green eyes.

The "Fillmore" in Tennissee Whiskey were adorable. Currently I own a pair of classic black wayfarers and a pair of clear-framed super-nerdy wayfarers. I love the way these fade from brown into clear for a different take on a look I love. 

The "Sibley" in Revolver Black were cute; they had a more "academic" look and less of a "hipster" look, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with them. I couldn't tell if they weren't a good shape for my face or if I just wasn't used to wearing glasses that shape. Either way, I just wasn't feeling it. 

I tried the "Sawyer" in Brushed Gold because I loved the idea of gold frames. I still love that idea, but I don't think the Sawyer are the best proportion for my face.

The "Begley" in Midnight Blue were Ryan's favorite. I liked their slightly-rounder-than-traditional wayfarer shape.

One thing I learned from this experiment is that glasses don't have to be a boring, neutral color to be wearable. Whether ombré, colorful, or metallic, a variety of bold looks can work for this everyday accessory. 

I had a lot of fun trying out Warby Parker's home try-on program. My only real complaints are that their selection is a bit limited, and some of their more interesting limited-edition frames aren't available for the home try-on. 

I got pretty obsessed with these for example, but they weren't available to try-on, and they sold out in like two days. 

All in all, though, it's definitely a program I'd recommend, especially if you like the convenience of online shopping and the luxury of taking your time to make an important decision like your next pair of frames. 

Note: This post was solicited by Warby Parker, but all opinions are my own. 

Bullying Post Featured in IFB's Links à la Mode

Last week, I wrote this post about Get Off My Internets and, more broadly, about the differences between constructive criticism and bullying in the blogging community. The post was near and dear to my heart, and I was quite proud of it. I felt that I had a unique opinion that I wasn't seeing expressed in the discussions surrounding GOMI either on IFB or elsewhere. I don't usually use this blog as a platform for discussions about the blogging community, but I felt that this was a piece I needed to write. I took the time I needed to organize my thoughts and layout my argument, and then I posted it, excited and nervous about the response. 

I'm really pleased to say that the response has been large and almost universally positive. It's been really lovely to read your comments and to see you post links to my post on Twitter. Thank you so much for supporting me, sharing my post with others, and engaging in what I believe to be a very important conversation for our community.

This week, IFB featured my post as a part of their Links à la Mode weekly roundup. See the other featured posts below.

Thanks again!

Beauty Positive

Real beauty comes from within. It's an old saying, and generally I find it to be true. Beautiful people have positive souls. But ... it never hurts to have good makeup and style to make your inner beauty shine. This week we have a great mix of beautifying tips on several levels to bring out the very best in you. From positive fashion quotes, owning your age & style, to nixing online bullying in the fashion community... body positive thinking and actual beauty tips galore. As a beauty junkie, I was delighted to read all the beauty tips! Of course, we have loads of style tips to get you started for the coming summer season!

Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup: May 2nd

• Attire Club: Choose Your Glasses According To Your Face Shape
• Beach Living City Loving: Favorite Beauty Products: Part 1- Drugstore
• Cosmolawitain: H&M’s Expansion Into India
• Coverrated: Shoes are the new corsets
• Fashion Files: Interview Style
• Fashion Is Evolution: The Phenomenon of Bullying in the Blogging Community
• [Flash] Frame: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eyeliner Review
• I Am Turquoise: 5 Ways to Wear: Denim Vest
• J'Adore Couture: the one thing: dressing your age
• La Vie en Couleur: How to Dress Like a Parisian
• Nothing to Wear: Say Something: positive and uplifting fashion quotes
• Rose & Pine: Stunning Spring Sunnies for Under $40!
• Romeo Style: Think Outside The Box For Prom. Part 1
• Serving Up Fairy Dust.. The Best Makeup Primer for Sensitive Acne Prone Skin
• Style Vanity: What to Wear to Weddings?
• The Fashionable Wife: Maxi Styling
• The Fitted Frame: The Skinny on Body Image
• The Photogramps: Making a Simple Dress Unique
• Undercover Dress-Up: Porcelain Print
• Wild Beauty World: Peggy Olson at Work? Cosmetic Ads from 1968