Author Archives: Alexis

Fewer better things.

Posted in Style by

leather tote

I fell in love with the Cuyana brand after finding their website through their Lean Closet Movement. The premise is “Challenging us to collect fewer, better things”, which is exactly the mission I’ve been on lately. I’ve been getting rid of piles and piles of clothes and thinking super hard about anything I buy to add to my closet. The site gave me a lot of inspiration for my journey of a more minimalistic closet.

I stumbled back on the site when I was looking for a big leather tote and discovered they had exactly what I was looking for. I bought it in brown and spent the extra money to get it monogrammed in a pretty simple gold. I’ve used it to carry my laptop (and everything else) to work, take it shopping (to put my purchases in and keep my hands free!) and for day trips. I also splurged and bought the monogrammed makeup bags which are perfect for traveling! All in all this is a great company. I love their products and what they stand for, check them out!

Downward facing dog.

Posted in Fitness, Life by

yoga

Finding a way to fit in exercise will probably always be a challenge for me. I’ve accepted that. But in my attempt to live the life I want (which happens to include getting exercise) I’m going to share different ways I try until hopefully I find something (anything) that sticks.

This week I set a goal to do yoga twice, in my living room to a 20 minute Youtube video [yogamazing] that I’ve been using on and off since college and actually really enjoy doing. It seemed like an easy enough goal but I succeeded in doing it only one time on Monday morning. For some reason I always seem to be motivated to do yoga at home while dog-sitting which results in what you see above. I’ll try again next week.

The simpliest white bean soup ever.

Posted in Eat by

white bean soup This was my first attempt to make a soup ever. I decided to make it for a dinner with guests (never a good idea) and surprisingly it turned out very well, with only a couple breakdowns along the way (which is why it’s important to have the dinner ready BEFORE your guests arrive ;)) Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:
3 cups white beans
olive oil
1 yellow onion
3-4 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried basil
salt
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
5 cups shredded kale
red pepper flakes tomatoes (optional)

So this recipe originally called for cashews, that were supposed to be blended to make the soup thicker. I decided (probably because it seemed too hard) not to get the cashews and attempted to make it anyways (cue first breakdown). I chopped the onions and garlic and sautéd it in a large pot in some olive oil until translucent. Add the basil, salt, broth, beans (drained) and optional tomatoes. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes covered. Since I didn’t have the cashews I blended up some of the beans to add a little thickness. It worked ok but it certainly wasn’t a creamy soup. I added the kale, covered the pot, turned the heat off and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Overall it was a great success with plenty of compliments!

Recipe adapted from here.