sneaky sneaks

June 22, 2015

There was a time in my life that the thought of throwing on sneakers over heels or flats was absolutely not going to happen. (Exercise excluded of course.) That’s one of the amazing things about fashion though – it opens our minds to things we never thought we’d say yes to. Not only am I saying yes to sneakers but I am drooling over…can’t believe I am saying this…slip-on sneakers. Between those and culottes I don’t even know who I am anymore, and that can be a good thing.

Now before we get ahead of ourselves, I need to put it out there that besides my running shoes I only own one pair of “fashion sneakers”. It took me a long time to find just the right sneak. Low profiles and a swoosh were requirements. (I have been wearing Nikes since my first grade school track meet. It’s a loyal relationship.) I also wanted something that would go with everything and of course, there needed to be a deal had. Enter those cute little 80’s inspired Nikes below. They make me and my tootsies very happy. A classic shoe that goes with literally everything (because you can wear sneaks with skirts and dresses right now and look pretty darn cool).

My favorite pair and a few others worth checking out (those navy New Balances, oh my…):

fashion sneakers 20151Steve Madden Ecentrcq/2Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Low Top Sneaker/3Nike Genicco/4New Balance 420 Vintage Sneakers/5Adidas Original Adistar

What brand fashion sneaks are you rocking this summer?

xo,

brandyjsig

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the best old man

June 21, 2015

The first night that Sticky and I met he said to me “Let’s get married and have kids.” Granted there may have been an abundance of homemade wine involved when he said it, but he said it nonetheless. And wouldn’t you know 3 years later we were married…4 years after that we had a Jettie Jean. Throw in a Bing and we are one happy little family.

I should of bought a lottery ticket that night…but then again I had already won and didn’t even know it yet.

Fathers DayI have always been proud to be Sticky’s wife. From his genuine heart to his magnetic energy, he is everything I had ever hoped to have in a man and everything I never knew was missing. Grateful does not begin to describe what it means to have him in my life.

There was never a doubt that he would be amazing at the role of dad…he kills it in fact. The kids feel lucky to call him dad (or da-da-da-da in Bing’s case) and I don’t know how it’s possible, but that alone makes me love him even more. Watching him at this role is a beautiful gift. They just don’t stop coming with this man.

Fathers Day

Thank you for being who you are and what you are to our kids, Sticky. “Let’s get married and have kids” was your best plan ever.

We love you!

brandyjsig

 

 

 

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avocado toast with cherry tomatoes

June 18, 2015

Avocado Toast with Cherry TomatoesIn the last couple of years social media has been blowing up with everyone’s favorite way to eat toast. We are not talking butter and jam here…(which is a perfectly acceptable way to throw down some toasted bread – let’s just make that clear). We are talking about slices topped with everything from radishes to  marinated cucumbers to prosciutto – all setting on a bed of creamy avocado. You can get super fancy by roasting or keep it to the minimum but simply topping your avocado with a little sea salt. Bottom line is that toast, it’s yum. Avocado, it’s really yum. Put the two together – best idea ever.

Avocado Toast with Cherry Tomatoes Avocado Toast with Cherry TomatoesThere’s literally a million ways you can prepare avocado toast. All good and all delicious. I don’t necessarily have a favorite but acid (such as lemon juice), sea salt and red pepper flake are always involved. This pretty little number involves said items with some chopped fresh parsley and halved cherry tomatoes. (Looking at them I am realizing those are actually grape tomatoes but I already made the text on my first image so we need to pretend they are cherry.)

Crispy bread topped with creamy avocado topped with itty bitty tomato bursts. Yeah, I want some now too.

Avocado Toast with Cherry TomatoesThis is one of the recipes you can go even simpler with by only slicing the avocado and sprinkling with sea salt and red pepper flake. Or get fancy but roasting the tomatoes before piling on top. As for bread use whatever you have on hand – bagel, croissant, rye – all fine choices. Mostly have fun with your avocado toast and enjoy it for what it is meant to be. Easy. Unassuming. And satisfying.

Enjoy!

brandyjsig

 

 

 

avocado toast with cherry tomatoes
 
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Prep time
Total time
 
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 slices toasted bread of choice
  • 1 small avocado - halved, pit removed and flesh scooped out
  • ¼tsp crushed red pepper flake
  • pinch of sea salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 1tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 to 6 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions
  1. Place the avocado flesh in a bowl. Mash with a fork. Add pepper flake, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Stir until combined.
  2. Place half the mixture on each piece of toast. Top with halved cherry tomatoes (cut side down). Enjoy!

 

Posted in breakfast, brunch, healthy eats, recipes, vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

margarita melon salad

June 17, 2015

Margarita Melon SaladThe other day I thought “What about a healthy dessert for the blog?”. Brilliant idea, right? Okay, next step – chose a dessert I often make that could be considered “healthy”.

Crickets…

No, I do not make healthy desserts. If you ask me that part of the meal is reserved for indulgence, which is why I do not end every dinner with dessert. (Although trust me, I want to.) Now I realize a bowl full of melon does not come close to replacing a piece of chocolate cake…that is unless the bowl full of melon is marinated in booze and served in a margarita glass.

Olè!

Margarita Melon SaladAnyone else exhausted after peeling, seeding and cubing melon? It’s a lot of work…the kind that should be rewarded with a couple shots of tequila. Sounds perfectly natural to me.

Margarita Melon Salad Margarita Melon SaladIf you are thinking “ewe, I don’t like tequila”…no worries, you do not really taste it. What you do taste is ice cold refreshing melon brought alive by hints of lime, orange and oh so smooth liquor. What about the kids? No worries – simply divide the recipe in half and toss theirs with lime only. Just don’t forget to mark which is which on the containers.

Cheers!

brandyjsig

 

 

 

margarita melon salad
 
Print
Prep time
Total time
 
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 cantaloupe - peeled, seeded and cubed
  • 1 honeydew - peeled, seeded and cubed
  • ½ watermelon - peeled, seeded and cubed
  • 2oz silver tequila
  • 2oz orange liquor
  • juice of 1 to 2 limes
Instructions
  1. Throw all fruit in a bowl. Toss with booze and lime juice (use 2 limes if you like extra zestiness).
  2. Chill overnight and enjoy. (Just be sure to keep it away from the kidlets.)

 

Posted in cheers!, healthy eats, recipes, vegetarian | Tagged | 3 Comments

humidity helpers

June 16, 2015

The PPJ shop has been gaining major momentum since last December and this month I decided to set myself a rather lofty goal. Not wanting to jinx anything, I’ll spare the details of the goal for the moment…but guys, not only is it on track, but it’s ahead of the flipping schedule. Needless to say I am excited. (And slightly busier but in the good kind of way which doesn’t really count as officially being that nasty “b” word.)

Another nasty word is humidity. I am glad this act of nature was given an “ugh whatever” name because it is a silent, evil pain in the ass hair. What does it do to my hair? What does it not do is more like it.

First there’s the time when one spends a solid 30 minutes curling their hair. Better take a selfie now because as soon as you step out of the bathroom your beautiful creation is over. All that fabulous curl will act like you used a popsicle to set it. Annoying.

Then there’s the growth factor. And I don’t mean in the “my hair grows beautiful and long like Rapunzel” way. No, no. This is where the bottom 3/4s of your hair decides to expand outwards while the locks near the roots lay like you slicked them down with motor oil. Not cute.

The absolute worst though is the frizz. Even the tightest bun can’t hide the frizz on top of frizz on top of frizz. Those little curly regrowth hairs from postpartum – yep, those too. It’s a frizzfest.

I have tried many, many products to fight the humidity with little to no success. This monsoon Ohio weather we have going on has me desperate though, and I am ready to seek some new products. I’ve been doing some research with the first 3 below being highly recommended. As for the last 2…those are my ultimate “fight the humidity” products. A bun with a head scarf to hide the frizz or a ball cap to keep the crazy contained. You can’t go wrong with either:

061615_humidity_2015

1ALTERNA Haircare bamboo smooth anti-humidity hair spray/2John Freida Frizz-Ease expert finishing polish serum/3Redkin Outshine 01 anti-frizz polishing milk styling hair serum/4Forever 21 headwrap/5Old Navy baseball cap

If you know how to successfully fight the freeze please do not keep that a secret…us humidity victims need to stick together!

xo,

brandyjsig

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