cucumber salad

this cool simple salad is one of my favorites and perfect for summer. first off, this is not a meal salad. i guess you could eat it as a meal, but the strong garlic flavor (and resulting garlic breath) might be overwhelming in large quantities. i like to use it as a side dish with noodles or as a refreshing crunchy snack.

the recipe i used was adapted from here. the recipe asks you to smash the cucumbers with a meat cleaver but as i do not own one, i found that a regular chef's knife worked perfectly well. you could also slice them into more uniform spears but the craggy edges make me feel nostalgic. another change i made was adding red pepper flakes (or fresh thai chilis if you have those available!) because i like a little heat with my veggies.

today's nails: starry sky

i've been seriously into nail color lately. every hue, layering, textures.. there are so many options out there these days! summer is coming to and end and even though it's still in the 90's outside, i thought i would break out one of my fall colors for a test drive. i love this deep teal color* and how the gold sparkles resemble stars against a night time backdrop but with more glam. i will definitely be using this combination again!

took this with a flash so you could tell how blue it is in the light

colors used:

ulta dance teal dawn

sally hansen xtreme wear set the stage

essie good to go topcoat

*i apologize for the horrible lighting.. kind of rushed on this one

spinach mushroom quiche.

 

i love quiche. i mean i looooooove it. it has all the things you could want in a dish and it looks like a pie. if it didn't consist of 53 eggs and 8 gallons of heavy cream, i would eat it every day. i've always been reluctant to make one on my own because for some unknown reason, i felt like it would be too difficult. but really? easiest. dish. ever. what was i scared of? after finally taking the plunge and making it, i have no effing clue. i made this veggie one for a bake brie night the girls were having. gone in minutes.

i like how the mushrooms all floated to the top but the spinach lingers throughout

will definitely be making this again but with different fillings. awesome fact number 2 about quiche. you can pretty much put whatever you want in it. recipe adapted from here. i only used spinach and baby bella mushrooms, added chopped green onions, and used swiss instead of cheddar. bonus easy points for using a premade pie crust.

gimme some sugar.

chambre de sucre - sucre assortis

how sweet are these (pun totally intended!)?? i always imagine coffee tasting that much better when cubed sugar is involved. they seem so elegant and dainty, reminiscent of ladies at tea.

perfect scrambled eggs.

 

confession: i cannot make scrambled eggs. or.. i couldn't make scrambled eggs until about a month ago. they were eggs and they were scrambled, but they weren't something i necessarily wanted to eat regularly. for the life of me, i couldn't figure out how to get them to that nice fluffy quality you find in restaurants. they always came out rubbery and browned on the outsides.. what was i doing wrong?! 

then one day i happened upon a link showing how gordon ramsay makes perfect scrambled eggs. life. changed. apparently my technique was all wrong (you mean you don't just let the eggs sit there and break apart as they are setting?) but this mean british chef showed me the way. now my eggs always come out perfectly soft and fluffy. my favorite way to eat them? over buttered toast with salt and pepper. simple and satisfying!

today i want.. bellbottoms!

i'm loving these wide leg trouser jeans from the gap. i'm digging the retro look and the cut looks both forgiving and flattering. i haven't shopped at the gap in years because when i was younger, i felt the style was too preppy/yuppie/soccer mom-ish. but now i'm ready to accept my old age of 28 and just let it happen.

image from the gap