Keeping Busy

So, today was the first of three days in the field for the husband, but so far I am coping even better than last time - don't get me wrong, I miss him, but I am in a good mood from my day today and don't feel TOO lonely tonight. I think it helps that I spent the entire weekend with him too - and made sure to appreciate it as it was happening. Of course, there's also the long weekend coming up, and our little getaway, for which I am very excited!

Anyway, today I went to the gym and the grocery store, much like I did last Monday, in the morning. In the afternoon, I went on a little shopping spree... I had forgotten the joys of retail therapy. I'm partially kidding, really. But, it had been a very long time since I'd added much to my wardrobe, and I had been feeling the need for augmenting certain parts of said wardrobe. I even warned the husband that I was planning this outing, so I don't feel like he will be shocked!

I spent a total of about three hours in two stores - Dillard's and New York & Company. NY&C is a favorite of mine that I've known about for years, especially as I transition out of teendom (ok, so I haven't been a teen in 3 years) and into more professional/young adult life. I'm even more of a "real adult" now than before, and NY&C fits the aesthetic I want to project in a lot of ways, without totally breaking the bank. Dillard's though... is another story. I knew about it because I'd browsed their dresses (online) many a time before special occasions, but I had never been to one, having spent my life in the northeast which seems to be Dillard's-free. I'm enjoying living near a real, live Dillard's here in my new southern home though, and profited from it quite handsomely this afternoon.

My haul at Dillard's:
- 1 maxidress (bold blue/green flower print) that was on sale for a great price. I benefited from still wanting summery clothing on August 30. :-)
- 1 cottony/summery/dressy knee-length dress, white with brown floral print.
- 1 knee-length cocktail dress, with white bust (square neck) and a black skirt - in a satin-like material.
- Two skirts - one black with white print, the other lime(ish) green with black floral design.
- 1 ivory/lacy camisole
- 1 beige cute jacket:

Source

The jacket was the only one I could find online, so I included it here.

The NY&C stash consisted in the following:
- Two cute collared shirts, one in a pretty blue-green color, the other in good old white.
- 1 black pencil skirt (I've been desiring a pencil skirt for some time now!)
- 1 pair of leggings for wearing to the gym
- Three pairs of earrings and a cool new (sparkly) bracelet. I took advantage of an accessory sale. I love building up my earring collection, because I only just got my ears pierced about a year ago! (Aside from the time I did it when I was 13 under my parents' terms and the holes ended up uneven.)

I can't wait to wear some of the dressy/summery stuff this weekend on our trip! The reason I got some more collared shirts and the pencil skirt, aside from being prepared for any possible interviews, is that I took some action to at least give myself something to do - I signed up to volunteer in the legal office on post. While it would be ideal to be paid for such work, there are many benefits to doing this, least of all giving my weeks more structure. If nothing else, it feels good to take some action and give myself something to do. I haven't worked out my exact hours yet, but I'm excited about this opportunity and I think I'll learn a lot!

To round out this post I think I'll share some culinary adventures!

Going backward, today I made myself gazpacho, using Pioneer Woman's recipe. In the process, I learned that the "liquid fill maximum" line on the food processor is there for a reason. Let's just say there was some tomato juice on the counter. And the floor. But, I wiped it up and the gazpacho was not ruined! I'm glad the food processor and I understand each other better now. :-)

Here is a photo of my gazpacho:

I topped it with greek yogurt, which basically functions as sour cream for me, a mash-up of avocado and cilantro, and some pan-toasted Italian bread. I made the whole recipe and obviously only had a bit of it tonight, so there is plenty more gazpacho sitting in the fridge! Particularly since hubby is in the field both tonight and tomorrow, I opted to just plan on having leftovers tomorrow. Aside from my little food processor incident, it was really easy to make!

Last Friday I was really excited to make Red Curry with Vegetables by Eating Well, yet I found that with even more than the recommended amount of curry paste, it was much too bland (and hubby agreed). It was unfortunate, but we must move on. For me though the hunt is on for better Thai-style curry recipes, since I love it so much! I often order panang curry in Thai restaurants, and making it at home would be lots of fun (to cook and eat).

Last week I also made pasta with sundried tomatoes, greens, and goat cheese, based on Giada's Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese - which was a favorite of mine last year when I used to cook with my roomies at school. Sadly I could not find orecchiette  at the store, so I chose another favorite shape of mine, cavatappi. It was tasty, but I certainly wasn't surprised. For me, with pasta + goat cheese + sundried tomatoes, you kind of can't go wrong... There it is down there, yum!

Last but certainly not least, my baking adventures of the weekend! Since our friend E's birthday is this Wednesday, I had a terrific excuse to indulge my urge to break out the Kitchen Aid and bake. Using tips and recipes from my mother-in-law (whose cakes I always enjoy), and with a lot of help from the hubby, I created a chocolate layer cake filled with coffee mousse and covered with chocolate ganache! It was definitely the most complicated cake I've ever made, and we had a lot of fun making it! Ever the good blogger-baker, I made sure to document the project in photo form:

The final product!

 I've only got two more meals planned for this week - I'll be eating leftover gazpacho tomorrow, making Chicken Tikka Masala (taking inspiration from restaurant faves) Wednesday, and making meatloaf Thursday. On Friday the hubs and I are off on our getaway, which will be a culinary adventure of its own! 

I think that's about all from me today. I'm glad that I'm doing pretty well with having the apartment to myself tonight. I'm trying to work on my plan for tomorrow to keep busy and get things done, and I think before I know it the hubby will be coming back home. :-)