Floral Circle Skirt

I have been wearing nice(-ish) outfits lately! Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to post them here until now. Settling into my son's school schedule + nonstop reading + weekly workout regimen have taken up lots of energy. It's easier for me to just veg out with a book at night than to process photos and upload them. BUT I'll try to put up more outfit posts before the weather gets really cold and it looks weird that I'm posting about wearing summer dresses in the middle of October.

Speaking of which, it's October tomorrow! It's almost Halloween and I have no clue what to do for my costume. Very different situation than last year. Is it finally time to get back into sewing?

Dress: Ginger Lamb via ModCloth | Cardi: GAP | Shoes: Fluevog Amie via Amazon

Anyway, I really, really like this dress. It's all cotton and quite comfortable. (I just need to iron the bodice fold.) The twirly circle skirt is also lined, which is why it looks so full. What luxury! I'm loving it with the cardigan. I wore this outfit to have a sushi dinner -- hence the indoor nighttime photos, sorry -- with one of my favorite people, MP, who recently got a new job. (Woohoo! It's only part-time, but this is BIG; she's been looking for a long time and finally has a foot in the door to her chosen career. I'm so excited for her!)

Here's what the dress looks like without the cardi. Check out the pockets and shirred back. :-) As you can see, it's actually a summer dress, but the muted reds and blues are perfect for the fall. Add a warm pair of navy tights with the cardigan and it'll even work for the wintertime here in Southern California. Purchased at ModCloth during their 70% off summer sale a month or so ago. Win!

xo, Gladys

Goodbye, Summer 2013

The weather here has cooled off a bit this past week -- a welcome change -- and it reminded me that summer will officially end this weekend (tomorrow, to be exact). I know I haven't been posting very much lately, but the last month of summer didn't go completely undocumented. I spent a lot of time with family (and friends, too, although I don't have many photos with them). Here are some of my favorite shots. SPOILER: Babies and cutie-pie kiddos galore!

My sister-in-law, my mom, and my delicious twin nephews

My kiddo's new trick and new souvenir tee shirt from his maternal grandmother (she went on a Scandinavia/Baltic Sea cruise)

The kiddo beating on a cloud piñata -- go get 'em!!

Delicious nephew napping on his dad, my brother

The twins again -- these two are not identical, but you can DEFINITELY tell that they're brothers.

Part of my growing family at Oxnard State Beach Park. Missing from the photo are myself, my husband, my mom, and my parents-in-law.

My favorite photo of me with not only my godson, who totally killed it with this pose, but also my Doctor Who paraphernalia (see the top of the TARDIS peeking out of my hand and my shirt?) LOL

Playing hilarious water games at my twin second cousins' (twin nieces') birthday party

The lovely bell peppers are from our backyard garden; the rest of the produce is from our CSA box.

A fantastic homemade meal with my mom and older sister: crab cake with tartar sauce, and crab-and-lobster omelet

Paleo chocolate cake with chocolate icing for my dear friend MP's (belated) birthday. We celebrated on Labor Day, and yes, I made this! It was yummy, but I'll note that the icing melts FAST in summer heat. Recipe here. I doubled it to make two layers.

xo, Gladys

Recipe: Bacon Broccoli Casserole

This is a different take on the Breakfast Casserole recipe I've shared before, this time with more veggies and less cheese and also no potatoes. My husband said it's his new favorite way to eat broccoli, but I'll note that it's best eaten hot out of the oven rather than after reheating the next day (however, I personally liked the leftovers). So if you'd like to avoid leftovers, cut the recipe in half and use an 8x8-inch baking dish or similar.

Bacon Broccoli Casserole
Serves 8 (570 calories per serving: 8g carbs, 42g protein, 44g fat)

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon
• 5 cups broccoli, chopped and steamed lightly
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1 tsp ground mustard spice
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 12 oz cheddar cheese, chopped or shredded

Method

Fry bacon until just crispy (or to taste); drain on paper towels. When a little cooled, chop roughly into bite-sized pieces. (You can be lazy like me and use kitchen shears.) While bacon is cooking, steam the chopped broccoli on the stove or in the microwave until bright green but still crunchy. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Whisk eggs, half-and-half, and ground mustard together. At this point you can saute the onion in 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease left in the pan, if desired. To the egg mixture, add the onion, bacon, broccoli, and cheddar cheese. Mix well.

Pour mixture into a lightly-greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake 30-40 minutes until cheese is melted and toothpick comes out clean. Check at 30 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Enjoy!

xo, Gladys

Black A-Line

Top: Banana Republic | Skirt: H&M (hand-me-down from my older sister) | Ballet flats: Fluevog Imagine (ON SALE, coral and aqua too)

I wore this to my twin nieces' birthday party a week ago. The full skirt made the outfit a little formal, but I wanted to wear it out. It's a little big -- you know how much I prefer super-cinched waists -- but I liked how it was partly lined in tulle. I should have ironed it, but I always seem to run out of time when getting ready for parties. Anyway, another plus was getting to wear my art-deco Imagine flats. I think these shoes are so lovely. (If you want to get them, they run really small. So go 2 full sizes up!) I was overdressed for the kid party, but, sadly, opportunities to dress up these days are few and far between. I haven't had a ladies' night out in a while, so I was almost desperate to wear something fancy-ish last weekend! No one in my life has been getting married or having fancy birthday celebrations lately. Kinda sad, no? Come on, family and friends, get on it!

xo, Gladys