five for fall

these rainy days we've been having are making me want to just crawl back into bed and take a nap.

but there are definitely some reasons to get out of the house in the fall. i make one of these lists every season (here's winter, spring and summer), so here's my list for right now. 

photo credits: one | two | three | four | five

1. segway tour. i've done this four times now. i totally snobbed out the first time my out-of-town friend suggested we do this (i live here. why would i do that?), but i ate my words quickly after this was one of the most fun things i've done here. the segways are a blast to ride around on,  and since that first time, i've done it with a few other couples. it's seriously awesome. even if you're local.

2. rose's luxury. this recently opened place on barracks row looks interesting. it's built in a rowhouse, serves family-style meals and small plates and from the looks of it, seems super charming. 

3. dc reynolds. this place isn't new, but it's really close to where we live, they have killer bogo drink specials SIX DAYS A WEEK, a roofdeck and some awesome-sounding food. plus, i hear it's a caps bar.

4. petworth citizen. this is also really close to our house, and i'm excited to check this place out. the copper bar and somewhat more reasonably priced cocktails don't hurt either.

5. parts & labor. this place hasn't opened yet, but i can't wait to eat some delicious charcuterie from the guys behind red apron butchery. it'll be in penn quarter.

just drop it

chandelier/drop earrings are everywhere right now. i see it as a natural progression from these cluster earrings and larger-than-average studs. 

oscar de la renta and dannijo both have some pretty major ear wear in this style right now. but since most people can't afford those price points, i found a bunch of equally dazzling pairs you can grab.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

the thing i like about this new breed of dangly earrings is that they have a post backing. they're not the kind that hook through your ear and weigh down your earlobe.

my third grade teacher used to wear these enormously long and heavy earrings and i remember always looking at her earlobe and how long and stretched out it looked. shudder.

these would be great to pair with a little black dress for the upcoming holiday party season. they'd be fun for new year's eve or could be paired nicely with a black turtleneck for the office.

dinner time

even though i have grocery shopping down to a science, planning meals for the week still feels like a task. i hate sitting there, trying to remember what our go-to meals are and hoping to use up any odds and ends left in the fridge. i hate throwing out food.

to help jog my memory, i bought an spiral-bound index card packet from cvs and started writing down meals we make at home frequently. it has 100 cards and i only came up with about 40 meals, so there's room to keep adding to it as new recipes become regulars.

on the flip side of each card, i wrote the ingredients. that way, we can easily check our pantry/fridge situation to see whether we already have stuff and don't go buying duplicates at the store. i didn't include things like salt, pepper and parmesan since i almost always have those things on hand.

so here's what mine looks like. 

i can easily flip through this when we're about to make a grocery store run and get meal ideas for the week. i find that it helps me avoid getting stuck in a rut and making the same meals all the time.

oh and if you want that carbonara recipe, here it is. so fast and so easy. healthy? not so much.

sale time

shopbop added a bunch of things to their sale today.

if you can ignore the hundred pairs of underwear on there, you can find some pretty good deals on pieces that you can wear right through fall. everything here is less than $50.

jacket | cotton dress | bracelet | sunglasses | long-sleeved tee | faux leather dress | wallet

the faux leather cutout dress is probably the most expensive-looking of the bunch. i also love a striped long sleeved tee for the fall.

get it while it's still in stock. seems to be going pretty quickly.