the past few weeks favorite things! 11/25/12 - 12/29/12

I haven't done a collected links post in a while- I've been adjusting to my new work job, experiencing away-from-home-for-the-holidays-sadness, and got way too backed up. I was going through a lot of my liked posts and felt like sharing them, so here we are again! Some of these posts aren't recent at all, I just happened to find them the past few weeks.

diy x this faux polaroid frame is wonderful! Since getting my Instax I have fallen in LOVE with the look of instant photos- I think this will be an easy way to get it without spending $14 on 20 film pieces and allow me to easily decorate my fridge in the process!

e-course x fitocracy founders are hosting a free e-course on developing and keeping fitness habits! It goes from 1/15/13 to 1/24/13. I love using Fitocracy when I go to the gym to log my workouts, so I'm going to set a reminder for myself to check this out!

diy x this bokeh camera hood/filter is great! I love the look of adding hearts and other designs to my photos. I don't have any black card stock but will probably pick some up this weekend to do this. I've also been wanting some pretty paper punches so this works out well! (Have to remember to hold to my one day of superfluous shopping rule!)

food x i always need a reminder for the eat right rule. :)

recipe x in love with this cinnamon roll coffee cake with cream cheese glaze recipe from Averie Cooks! I used her Overnight Pumpkin Cinnamon French Toast with Vanilla Maple Butter for Christmas morning and it came out great, so I am excited to try out some of her other recipes. May try this out tomorrow morning if I make it to the grocery store today. 

fashion x i am starting to change my closet direction a bit, and posts like this one on closet staples is always a good starting place!

funny x this post on being super blogger brings a smile to my face!

diy x since I got a new sewing machine for Christmas I have been looking for some sewing projects, and I really like this lace scarf tutorial. I need to make it over to a fabric store so I can pick up supplies!

art x love this feature from Pony Chops on Art and Ghosts. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

photos x in love with these pictures of frosty plants! Now that I live somewhere where it gets cold enough for frost to build up, and for there to be snow I find it all even more beautiful.

photos x this is a great feature on Cari Wayman, a photographer who takes the most gorgeous photos in lots of different abandoned places. A really great find.

diy x love this project from Free People, a Dream Jar! I think it will look great on my nightstand. I also posted about this in my New Years Resolution post from yesterday.

diy x how great is this paper umbrella painting tutorial? I don't think there is really room in my life for paper umbrellas, but I may adapt this to lanterns or doilies or something.

Review, Masa Japanese Restaurant in Manchester, NH

Tuesday night Jack and I went on a double date to the restaurant I have most wanted to try since I moved here- Masa Japanese Hibachi! I have had hibachi/teppanyaki before and love the meat, the rice, and the show. I also knew they had a sushi bar and wanted to get my sashimi on.

Pictures originally from the restaurants website, Masa Japanese Hibachi. I forgot my camera! :(

The first thing I noticed about this place, which you can see from the pictures, is that it is gorgeous. In an area of family restaurants Masa really stands out to me for it's adult oriented and well, sexy decor. While some parts do feel a bit kitschy, the lighting underneath the bars at the hibachi tables and tiled everything really stands out. Even Masa's hours are more adult oriented- on a Tuesday night we were there until 10:30 with no rush from the staff, and on weekends they are open until 11:30.

When we walked in we were sat down at a Hibachi table, but they also have booths and a sushi bar. I ordered salmon sashimi, a bottle of Kirin Ichiban beer and steak for my meat. Everyone else in our party ended up ordering the filet and chicken meats. (You can see the full menu here, prices are between $15 - $45 for most entrees.) First the normal waitress brings out a salad which was delicious, and used some kind of house sauce as dressing. She also brought out a clear broth which the other girl with us enjoyed, but I didn't enjoy it at all. She also started to get the griddle hot.

I didn't catch the name of our chef for the night, but he was pretty young and energetic! We were the worst audience ever, since everyone was a little on the tired side and the birthday party sharing our table was headed by the most apathetic 20-year old ever. Poor guy, I still feel bad! He worked with what he had though. He did have tricks up his sleeve- juggling eggs on the cooking apparatus, making the chicken do the worm, accidentally spilling on one of the girls with a trick sauce bottle, throwing broccoli off the spatula into our mouths (I failed at this, miserably.), and squirting sake into the mouths of those who were up for it. I was very entertained, and so was everyone else despite the lack of energy.

First he prepared our fried rice, which was amazing. The fried rice was perfect. I would eat the fried rice for dinner for a week if I could. Next were vegetables, also insanely good! And finally the meat. My steak was medium-rare and I really loved it, the flavor was really great and it was actually medium rare! The filets were fantastic as well, and I probably should've just ordered filet but I am crazy. I did not try the chicken, but from all accounts it was awesome as well. I also got green tea fried ice cream as a desert and it was fantastic. I love fried ice cream, fried cheesecake, all fried deserts. I ate it all by myself! So proud.

I am going to go back to Masa, the only real negative for me throughout the night was the clear broth. I think next time I will try to make it more of an event oriented night, so that we can be more lively with the chef and make their night easier! I am sure there are better places in Boston, but with Masa only being a 5 minute drive from my apartment I think it will be my favorite for quite a long time.

this week's favorite things

The backyard at my old house/parents house. It is gorgeous.

As the holidays get closer I'm starting to miss home more and more. How did this reach a head point yesterday? Laundry machines. The laundry machines in our building are terrible! And expensive. :( Either way, I'm trying to figure out how to healthily deal with my home sickness. Yesterday, I was extremely productive, but possibly a bit too neat-freaky. (I washed coins because they'd been sitting out for ~4 years! Ew!) I hope to have more small projects for myself in the future, which I'm able to show off a bit more!

Here are some of my favorite things I have found this week:

clothes x the gingerbread scarf from this ootd pair

food x these autumn salads. I really need to get back into the habit of making salads!

hair x this french braid into a ponytail do. just need to get capable of french braiding!

yoga x these pigeon pose tips. A lot of my night practices focus on pigeon pose, I'm trying to open my hips up a lot. I want to be able to do the splits by my birthday next year!

yoga x these poses for a better nights rest. i've been having some issues sleeping soundly, so i am happy to try out these easy poses at night.

decor x this lovely, feminine desk snapshot. i am constantly redoing my set up and trying to find new decorations and this photo is the dream. 

DIY x this studding tutorial is great, and not intimidating at all! might try this on a pair of flats.

food x this recipe for low calorie sausage, sage, and apple stuffing. NEED I SAY MORE?

feature x this interview with hair guru Chris Dylan. I've been needing some tips, and I think I've found a lot of goo info here.

food x this recipe for the Texas Roadhouse free bread. Which is the best bread I've ever tasted.

I am looking forward to going out for some drinks with friends tonight! I hope everyone is having a great Saturday so far!


❤stephanie
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~*~*~*La Caretta Mexican Restaurant*~*~*~

For my one month in New Hampshire anniversary, I went to La Carreta Mexican Restaurant with a few friends And we had margaritas. Lots of margaritas.

Mango Margarita as big as my head! (not pictured- my previous margarita)

I was really happy with their food. We got the normal chips and house salsa fare- the salsa was not my favorite but still pretty good. I got my normal staple, beef chimichangas. I did not take a picture of my food. :( I was a little let down by their portion sizes, and the lack of rice. My actual chimichangas though? DELICIOUS. Jack ordered a burrito with just chicken, beef and cheese it was so puny on his plate! Also, the plates here? When they say hot, they mean HOT. First time in my life that I got burned after they told me not to touch it. Yelp reviews agree!

The staff was fantastic, drinks were deliciously strong- I will be going back. 

I think I want to rate mexican restaurants on a scale of 5 Super-Mex, the best mexican restaurant. I will give La Caretta 3.5 Super-Mex. A good score- the food was authentic, but as I said before I was surprised by the portion size. 

The next place I've been told to check out for mexican food is in Woburn, I think Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant?

Getting our kitchen "well-stocked"

Picture Originally from Closet-Solutions

One of mine and Jack's struggles after moving in together has been diet planning. Back when I was at home, between my mom and I it was super easy to have veggies, fruit, or salads on hand and just about everything we ate was extremely healthy. Moving into what has always been a place of "vacation diet" has been a bit difficult! Both Jack and I are starting to break out of vacation diet-y mode (for him, bachelor diet) and moving towards cooking at home, and eating less food that comes directly out of a package.
One of the resources we used to help stock our pantry is the Well-Stocked Kitchen list over at FeastOnTheCheap.Com. I like how their recipes work- making sure you have a good base built up in order to make cheaper, well rounded recipes.

Jack is the cook here- I am merely an assistant, and he always asks me for recipes so I've been going pretty crazy with Pinterest lately getting recipes saved. I think having a good kitchen will really help me get over just saying "oh, we don't have that"- Jack keeps trying to break me out of this habit. Partially because I limit myself, and partially because he can't make cool stuff.

Some other great sources I've found for kitchen stocking tips:

• Essential Tools for a Well Stocked Kitchen via BonAppetit.Com
• Well-Stocked Kitchen via DoItDelicious.Com
• The Well Stocked Kitchen: Staple Foods You Should Always Have on Hand via TheSimpleDollar.com
• Well Stocked Pantry via TerisKitchen.com

As I'm getting more used to googling, and searching out what I look for it's been like a gold mine finding resources on all these websites and blogs. 20 years ago I would've been at the library every day checking out organization books!

What is the most important item in your pantry or kitchen?