Weekly Wrap-Up: Inspiration galore!

Now that the graduations, birthday parties, and national holidays are over, my weekends are just a little bit less packed.  However, we still have lots of invitations and my weekdays are still crazy too!  Here we go with another weekly wrap-up.  :)

Precap:

• Eats: Little Sparrow, ARC food & libations, Seoul Sausage, Beard Papa's, Blockhead's Shavery, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse
• Activities: Running shoe shopping!, furniture inspiration @ OC Mart & IKEA, The Bungalow, Blue Windows

Thursday

This is probably the least exciting lead-in picture ever, but I'm over the moon about my new running shoes!  I have a knee problem that surfaced several months ago, which kept me from running during my gym workouts.  Definitely a bummer...

Well, it's been healing for a while now, so I went to the running store to have my gait analyzed.  The barefoot shoes that I started using before my knee problems surfaced were completely wrong for me!  Actually, I had put 2 and 2 together after realizing that I couldn't even do normal activities in those shoes even after breaking them in.  Also, the knee problems really only showed up once I started using them.  Hmmm...  Waste of money for me.  :(

I probably should have taken a picture of the shoes, but I was just ready to lace them up and run out of the store!

Friday

I actually had a really late meeting again, so I had to skip dinner with my guy and his friends.  Instead, I opted to meet up later with the group at Little Sparrow for dessert and drinks.  It was a really great menu and the cocktails were really inventive!

Delicious rosemary madeleines!  I didn't get a picture of the delish crepe cake.  :(

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Black & White Peplum Top - Version 2.0!

Like yesterday's post, this is another project that I squirreled away for a while now.  I actually completed it right after the peplum skirt, partially because I felt like I needed to get the first challenge in order and partially because the first version was taunting me!

Here's my second crack at the black & white challenge!  While I don't love love it, I think it would be a perfectly cute top under a cropped cardigan during the fall months.

If you want to read about the pattern and fabric, here is the full post on the original.  Last time, I just snapped a low quality picture on my phone of the first top just before my flight to Europe.  This time, I included a close-up of the fabric below!

By the way, I bought for (you guessed it) less than $1 per yard.  The invisible zipper was probably around 20 cents, so this top is less than $2 thanks to my swap meet skills.  :)

See, it's just a little bit of a fuzzy knit, so not the best choice for summer.  Fall's just around the corner though!

As you may remember, these were the problems that I encountered with the first, which are all fixed!

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Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Remember when I told you that I'm a creature of habit when it comes eating at home?  Well, this is definitely by design because of my huge appetite and the fact that I want to eat healthy at home despite eating out A LOT.  This is a staple in my summer repertoire although it can be made year round!

When I first started to cook for myself, I watched the Food Network non-stop.  At the time, Ellie Krieger had her own show and I DVR-ed every single one.  I actually have almost her entire "Healthy Appetite" series recorded to disc because I like cooking along with her.  :)  Her books are awesome and I even went to a book signing when "So Easy" came out!

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Back to the recipe!  This is one of my go-to recipes when summer rolls around because who doesn't like tacos when it's hot out?  I have to admit that this was one of the recipes I made during the pool party when I made the pesto pasta salad, so I've been squirreling this one away for a while.

Even if you don't like the chipotle cream, the toppings suggestions, or corn tortillas, you will LOVE how flavorful the fish is in this taco.  Besides, you can choose your own toppings, and I'll share my favorite combo at the end of the recipe.  :)  You'll have to excuse me if the picture isn't perfectly staged because I was on a mission to eat my taco that day.  Yum!

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream
Adapted slightly from Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

Fish:

• 1 lb. white flaky fish fillet, like tilapia, halibut, or hake (see note below)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• To taste, Freshly ground black pepper

Chipotle cream:

• 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt, Greek or regular
• 2 tsp. chipotle pepper, in adobo sauce

Toppings, etc: (see note below)

• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage or lettuce
• 1/2 cup corn kernels (thawed, if frozen)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• Lime wedges

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Saturday Synopsis!

I have a new love in my life, and it's called Americone Dream...  Unfortunately, I need to squeeze into a bathing suit (and sew it too!) before next weekend.  Hopefully, I'll have time in the next couple of days to get it started (and finished!)

Here are last week's posts in case you missed any.  :)

Saturday Synopsis!

Monday:  My family's version of Vietnamese-Style Fresh Spring Rolls.  Yum!

Tuesday:  Finally, a finished sewing project!  My "Golden Goddess Draped Top," which deserves a second version.  :)

Wednesday:  This week's wrap-up, with a few fun activities and more than a few yummy restaurants.  :)

Thursday:  A guest post from Amy of SewsNBows!  Her thoughts on Fast Fashion and some facts about the fashion industry.

Friday:  My mini-rant about being called a girly girl, and 17 reasons why I disagree!

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Me? A girly girl?

Today, an acquaintance said that I was a "girly girl."  Now, while I don't consider that an insult, I have absolutely no idea why he would say so!

First of all, you see all of the feminine things that I do, like sew, bake, and craft.  These are my private creative outlets at home, but I am much different in my professional life and otherwise.  I suppose it's the perception that I'm girly that mystifies me, because I don't see myself that way, even if I appreciate it in others.  When I was a child, I idolized feminine, elegant ladies like Grace Kelly, Ginger Rogers, and Jane Powell.  Definitely the best of of vintage "girly-ness."  :)

Being girly nowadays doesn't necessarily mean the same thing, although I don't see myself in this category either!  I even Googled "characteristics of a girly girl" just to make sure that I wasn't jumping to conclusions.  This may be a little rant-like, but here's a few reasons why I wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. Acquaintance.

Disclaimer: Some of my best friends are girly, so please don't take offense to this list.  They didn't!

1. I don't wear excessive amounts of pink.

The one and only garment with pink that I have sewed.  See here!

2. I could not care less about the Kardashians, The "Real" Housewives of anywhere, or the royal family.

3. I am anything but ladylike to bad drivers.

4. When I go to the gym, I actually work out.  I can even do real push-ups and pull-ups.

I lift a lot of weight!

5. I never liked playing with dolls, pretended to be a princess, or planned my future wedding when I was a kid.

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Guest Post: Amy from SewsNBows on Fast Fashion

Hi everyone!

Last week, I sent out word that I would love you guys, my readers, to share some of your favorite posts and spread the inspiration and creativity.  The response was overwhelming!  I'm seriously excited about all of the posts we have coming up.  Everything from fashion, travel tips, sewing tutorials, to amazing recipes.  Nice!

Our first guest poster is the amazing Amy from SewsNBows, whom I'm sure a bunch of you are familiar with.  A super fun girl to have in our sewing group and she always has the nicest comments!  :)  Read below for her thoughts on fast fashion (a definite eye-opener!) and then pop over to check out her blog!

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Hi ya'll!  I'm Amy from SewsNBows, and I'm thrilled to be hanging out with Diane today! I love sewing children's clothing and toys, and I joined Diane's Facebook sewing group Stitch Once Rip Twice to motivate myself to sew more women's wear. The more I sew, the more I get tired of "fast fashion". I thought I'd share my last experience with fast fashion, and see if you guys have similar stories!



Recently I posted about fabric shopping in Dallas. I ranted (only a little!) about the sorry state of our textile industry. Thanks in advance for indulging me in another rant. I promise not to become one of those angry bloggers. It's a tiny rant. Really. Bear with me?



My dear husband was kind enough to drive 3 hours to Dallas, and follow me aimlessly through warehouses full of fabric. That's probably the equivalent of me shopping for power tools. Absolute torture. So, I hit the Galleria mall and made his sexy butt try on some casual summer clothes. I felt guilty for dragging him all over. He's so good to me, and patient. He never bats an eyelid when I get a wild hair up my....you know.

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