Rainy day risotto

Today was a rainy day, and I felt like some comfort food. I remembered a recipe I'd seen on EatLiveRun for mushroom risotto, and it sounded delicious. I happened to have everything on-hand except for the mushrooms, so I went to the store for a quick trip and came home to make some creamy deliciousness.

Confession: I'd never made risotto before! I had no idea just how time-consuming it would be, how much my arm would hurt from the constant stirring, as I added chicken stock to my rice little-by-little. I think I got a risotto facial from the steam. The picture doesn't do it justice... served with some warm focaccia bread, it really hit the spot. Mmmm, comfort.

This would be a great side dish with some chicken, but today it was good enough on its own for lunch!

UPDATE: For dinner? Rigatoni in meat sauce. A heavy food day but DELICIOUS.

Last day without shopping!

(WARNING: Rambling to commence now!)

So one of my New Year's Resolutions was to give up shopping for clothes/shoes/purses for the month of January. I know, what a sacrifice, right? But for those who know me, it really was a challenge. I even visited one of the country's biggest malls during my trip to Arizona, with an amazing H&M (and post-Christmas sales!). There were times I thought I would cave and buy something, but because no one believed I could go a month without new clothes, I wanted to prove myself. (Yes, I'm ridiculous.)

What I did find is that if I think more about what I'm going to wear, I have a closet full of great options already. I have dozens of shoes I rarely wear, so why buy another pair when I can try to use those? I have clothes with the tags still on them, so I need to wear them, or donate them away to make space. I worked hard to put outfits together this month, based on what I already had, which was definitely the smarter way to do things than buying new items.

I saved myself many times from shopping sprees. After a one-time yoga class, I felt the urge to run out and buy tons of workout/yoga clothes; I haven't done yoga a single time since. I've filled shopping carts online with clothes I want, but never clicked "Buy", and I completely forgot about wanting them. I've seen something that I wanted, then went into my closet to see if I already had something similar, and lo and behold I did! So I'm starting to see that I need to do a better job controlling myself while shopping, or at least remembering what I do have to put outfits together instead of buying a ton of random trendy pieces.

That being said, this month was not without some retail therapy in other areas, so I'm pretty sure I didn't save myself money.

Rambling about the stuff I bought this month.... It felt like I could justify buying other things if I wasn't buying clothes. Since I cut my hair short, I splurged on a really nice Chi straightening iron. I also put an amazing in-dash touchscreen system in my car that includes a Garmin GPS, Bluetooth for phone, iPod hookup, DVD player... I went into the store only needing an iPod hookup and new GPS, but when I found out my car would need an entirely new radio (the model wasn't very adaptable) I went all out. Was it worth it? Absolutely, the system is amazing; I had money set aside from the past year of working to pay for it, so even though it was a huge cost, I was ready. Other purchases? Souvenir Native American earrings in Arizona, a Cuisinart Griddler for the kitchen (replacing the late George Foreman grill), a few Sephora items, and a whole bunch of fabric for future sewing projects. The fabric is amazing and will likely last me all year, at the rate I'm sewing, but I got some great deals online and have no regrets about it.

But now that the shopping freeze is over tomorrow, I'm actually not in a hurry to go out and buy more clothes. I did do another sweep of the closet to donate items to Goodwill, creating a bit more space. But now I think I'll think more before I buy, and have an idea in mind of pieces I actually need.

Rock the Casbah

I did end up going out last night, and enjoyed an absolutely delicious Moroccan dinner at Casbah! I had the Sultan's Kabob Feast, which had beef, lamb, and chicken skewers served with jasmine rice. I also ordered the couscous, which was great!

One of the fun things about Casbah (aside from the belly dancer trying to make you dance) is that they wash your hands at your table, and you eat your meal with your fingers! I will admit that it was a bit strange at first (using bread to scoop rice/couscous did help) but very fun and different.

Afterwards, my friends and I headed over to Club One to catch the end of the drag cabaret, which I love to see when I can. Moroccan food and drag queens make for an awesome night out! And as NM pointed out to me, going out on Friday (even after a tiring work day) means you have Saturday to recover and Sunday to relax.