Cooking Attempt #2 and my Outfit Of The Day (OOTD)

Last night Isaac and I made fried rice together and then totally cheated and bought egg rolls from Trader Joe’s.

Baby steps.

Anyway I thought I would share the finished product.

Okay it's not beautiful but it was delicious.

We weren’t using any recipe, it was mostly improvised.

We made long grain white rice and then cut a thick slice of ham into cubes and pan fried that.  In a new pan we added the cooked rice, a little oil, salt, pepper and two eggs to the pan.  After frying that we added the ham and soy sauce to taste.  It was way more satisfying than I ever imagined.

After dinner I convinced Isaac to take some pictures of my outfit.

I am in L O V E with these pants.  They are the "Scout" pants from J. Crew in a neon yellow that just screams summertime!

The shirt is also from J. Crew it is one of their "Vintage Cotton" v- necks in a medium gray color.

My sister recently took a trip to New York and got me this scarf (close up later).

And as per the usual I am wearing my Sperry's.  I live in these bad boys.

Here is a close-up of the scarf.  It is a lightweight white scarf with a black bird pattern all over.  It is very fun and perfect for the hot weather.

I also wore my favorite necklace.  It was an anniversary gift from Isaac last year.  It's from Dogeared jewelry and it's a single pearl on a dainty silver chain.  So classic.

Happy Tuesday!

Wifey Material? Toasted Garlic and Sweet Pea Pasta

So a girl can only live on mac and cheese and Trader Joe’s frozen meals for so long right?

I have mastered the art of placing the chicken on the cookie sheet, microwaving the orange sauce, and boiling rice.  And it’s delicious every time. Trader Joe’s you make me seem much more talented than I am and for that I am grateful.

I’m really not a bad cook.  

I can cook some really good dishes and I even used to have my own little baking business in high school.

But…

I am desperately trying to learn new dishes.  I bought that Rachel Ray cookbook this week hoping to get some new ideas flowing and put some creative dishes on the table so here is my first shot.

I chose one of the “Meals for the Exhausted.”

Basically it’s supposed to be the easiest recipes in the book.

The recipes children could make.

Okay… it was harder than planned.

I blame the fact that Isaac put away the groceries…

And that our kitchen (because we have SEVEN roommates) is always a disaster…

And I don’t have all the necessary tools…

It may also be that I am 100% out of practice and new to cooking full-blown meals.

On to the recipe.

salt

1 lb long thin pasta (whatever you have in the cupboard)

1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

5 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

black pepper

3/4 cup white wine

2 cups chicken broth

2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen peas

1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

After reading this I still had hope.  I knew it would be hard but I thought I could manage.

First I cut the garlic.  Then I realized I have serious knife skills to work on.  

It wasn’t bad.  

It wasn’t good.

When the garlic was frying it made the most wonderful aroma in the kitchen. I was starving.

Anyway I went on my merry way chopping onions, adding spices, adding wine.

Drinking wine.

It seemed to come together but was very liquidy for the “sauce” I was promised… but I went on.

I added the peas after making a complete mess.  

I added all the fresh cilantro.

Isaac helped by grating all the cheese.

How great is he?

When I was finished a few things came to mind:

1. A pound of pasta is A LOT.
2. I was missing a protein.  Isaac said he would have liked it better if there were grilled chicken.
3. Cooking is hard.

Here is the finished product.  

Was it edible?  Totally.

Is there still half of it in my fridge?  Definitely.

Would I make it again? Probably not.

It was an okay dish but not anything that I was dying to eat again.

I am determined to try at least one new recipe every week.  

Just Another Manic Monday

Okay so it wasn’t manic

Today was just an average day at the office.

Low point: group project meeting in the morning.

Group projects are the worst part of college.

Fact.

There is ALWAYS one slacker.

One person who doesn’t have the slightest what is going on.

If you have never met this person

You are the slacker.

High Point: I went to Barnes & Noble with Isaac and got a new cookbook.

I’m one of those weird people that will read cookbooks cover to cover

And L O V E every second of it.

I’m really excited about this if you can’t tell.

Anyway on to the outfit.

I really enjoyed my outfit today so I wrangled Isaac into taking photos for me outside our house. 

Enjoy.

How cute is our front porch? I love it.

See that cup in my hand?  Starbucks Iced Passion Tea. 

It's my guilty pleasure.  I usually brew it at home but the Starbucks at B&N sucked me right in.

Here is my outfit from today.

Dress is from Cotton On (close up later)

Tiffany blue belt is from Forever 21

Flats are Dr. Scholl's that are ancient

Tea. Yum.

Here is a close up of my necklace (Forever 21) and the dress.

It's black with this small white aztec pattern.

Dresses are my favorite in the summer.

Comfy. Effortless. Feminine.  

And I always have my Ray Bans.  They are black New Wayfarers.  They were an anniversary gift from Isaac two years ago.

He is awesome.

Anyway... Happy Monday!

July

July 2013 has been good to me.

I spent the fourth with Isaac and friends; we went to the Bee’s game.  After the game they let us go on the field to watch fireworks.

I ate many meals that looked like this.

I don't care.

Delish.

I started the process of going blonde.  More pictures to follow on that one.

I went with friends to Jackson.

And in two short weeks from today I will be graduated.

Finished.

Fini.

It feels so weird to be done with my undergraduate.  

I read blogs of girls heading off to their first year of college and I wish I could do it all over again.

Minus some rogue roommates.

Two weeks.

I can make it.

Wanderlust: Jackson Hole, WY

This last weekend I went with 10 friends to Jackson Hole, WY.

Camping under a sky of a million stars.

I was having flash backs to my Girl Scout days.

So many delicious s’mores and drinks by the campfire.

Y U M.

We white water rafted on Saturday and then snagged some icecream in downtown Jackson.

It was a fabulous little weekend vacay.

Welcome to my little corner on the internet

Welcome to JuliaMariexoxo!

Why a blog?  I've always loved to write and being a twenty something I've decided I want to chronicle my adventures and experiences. I always take pictures and then they sit on my computer.  I never print them. It just never happens.  This is my one-hour photo print.  Enjoy.

For those of you who don't know me:

I'm Julia Marie.

I'm 21 and living in downtown Salt Lake City, UT.

I'm graduating from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication and a minor in Leadership studies in three weeks. (Hallelujah!) 

I LOVE my school.  Go Utes!  Forever.

I have w a y too much nail polish.  and makeup.  and clothes.  and I like it.

I love photography and I see this blog also as a side project to improve my photography skills.

I shoot with a Sony a55 and my iPhone 5 when I'm really lazy.

I have serious wanderlust and the east coast holds my heart.

I have the most wonderful boyfriend of three years, Isaac.

I am going to blog about life, love, lipstick, and everything else along the way.  

xoxo,

Julia Marie