What I Wore To Comic Con

Comic Con just ended. I will have a three part recap (it was going to be two, but as I wrote it out today, it turned into three. It became its own beast. Sorry!) next week. But for now, let’s talk about the fun outfits you can wear at Comic Con. I admire those who dress up for the convention. I am not that brave. I chose a more subtle approach.

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The first day of Comic Con, I wore my Outta This World Skirt from Modcloth. I paired it with my purple Splendid shirt from Nordstrom Rack. I also wore my Anthropologie layering necklace, Calvin Klein belt, and sandals.

Reach for the stars!

This skirt has robots on it. It goes up to a size 3X. Which is another reason I adore Modcloth. I am wearing a size medium. The waistband is snug.

I felt flirty and fun in this outfit.

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Sorry this picture is so blurry. We were in a hurry that morning. Or my super powers are just showing through.

The next day did not go so well. I was so excited about these Pros and Comic Leggings also from Modcloth. I purchased the large, because the description said these ran small. They were not kidding. As I would walk, the leggings would slide down. I wore them as tights. Because, well, I’m thirty six.

I almost felt too “dressed up” in these. Like I was wearing a costume. Which I never want to do. I did meet George R.R. Martin in this outfit. So, I guess it was lucky.

I paired the leggings with an Anthropologie dress from six years ago. And boots. I am also wearing my Buddha head necklace from Bauble Bar.

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I skipped Friday. I was not feeling well. I was going to wear my Martha’s Air of Adorable dress from this post. But, imagine me in my pajamas. Because that is what I wore. All day. Doing housework. Making beef stroganoff. It was my “super housewife” outfit. Able to do two tasks at once! It is my husband’s favorite.

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Saturday came. This was the day I was dressing entirely to meet Sean Astin. I wore a dress I had seen on Modcloth, but I had tracked it down to the original artist. She is at La Casita De Wendy. She had it on sale. In Spain. I took a chance and purchased the XL. Yes, I am an XL in Spain. And yes, I am cool with that.

It is the neatest dress. It has flying rats, fairyland creatures, a giant head. I mean, come on, it’s perfect.

I paired the dress with my painted shoes I bought on sale from Anthropologie for $22.50 last year.

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The last day of Comic Con, I wore my Nanette Lepore dress I had purchased at Marshall’s for 75% off. It has dragons on it! I paired it with a Free People crochet sweater from The Nordstrom Rack. The earrings are from World Market.

What outfit should I definitely wear again next year (fingers crossed we get tickets)? What have been some of your wacky fun outfits this year?

Restaurant Tablets

Have any of you been out to eat lately and seen these new devices on your table? This week, we ate out three times (because we were away from home at Comic Con). At two of the restaurants, they had these tablets on the table. You basically order your own food.

I do not know how I feel about this new fad.

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At the first restaurant, appetizers, desserts, and drinks were the only things you could order on the device. When I wanted another drink, I simply ordered it on the little tablet. I could see the bartender get my order on her screen. She quickly made my drink and it got to me within three minutes.

“This is so cool,” I thought.

We also paid for our meal directly through the device. It was neat.

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A few days later, we went to a different restaurant. Here, you ordered 100% of your meal through the system. It looked like a lot of fun.

Hmmm.

My order was lost. My food came out twenty minutes after my family’s. Their food came out sporadically before this. Our drinks were never refilled. The waitress was relying heavily on this little gadget.

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My children loved this device.

Loved.

My kids were very entertained by the new electronic menus. They wanted to order everything. And I can see, after looking at how much money the shakes they each “made up” on the tablet cost me, why the restaurant is doing this. Over $7 for a shake? Ouch.

I left this restaurant feeling very disgruntled with this new ordering system.

At both restaurants, I felt the tablets took away from the “eating out” experience. It felt more casual. Less special.

So, have you seen these? What did you think?

Tyler Florence’s Mexican Pot Roast Tacos

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I have been making this beef taco recipe for years. It is so simple. So easy. And you will look like a hero when you are finished. Seriously, you will not believe how very quickly you can throw this together and be crowned “Queen of the kitchen.”

It is up to you if you want your family to curtsy or bow.

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Ingredients:

3 lbs. boneless top sirloin (I use a different cut of meat than him. I also used almost four pounds for the batch shown here, because I made beef enchiladas with the leftovers.)
1/4 cup of diced onion (I add less than him)
2 cloves of minced garlic
3 Tablespoons of Olive oil
1 Tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon ground Ancho Chili Pepper
1 Tablespoon cumin
3 bay leaves
28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes (and one can full of water)
Salt and pepper to season
A good amount of vegetable oil to fry tortillas in
Corn tortillas

Optional Ingredients:

Shredded cheese
Cilantro
Sour cream
Lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Refried beans to serve with
Mexican rice to serve with

I followed Tyler’s recipe here. Please see his recipe for full details on how to make these.

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It will take about seven minutes to slightly brown all of your meat and throw the ingredients in the pot. And then you just wait three hours. It will smell divine in your house, in the meantime.

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Browning meat. Easy peasy. I used my frozen diced onions and all ready minced for me garlic.

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All put together, about to simmer for three hours. Here is a tip: check your meat and stir every thirty minutes or so. I was lazy during this batch, and I did not do that. Some of the meat had been sticking out of the mixture, unbeknownst to me. Talk about a tough piece of meat! That piece ended up having to be tossed. Which is really sad. All of the meat should be simmering prettily in the water, getting nice and tender.

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When it is all done, the first thing you are going to do is, remove all of the pieces of meat to a bowl. The very next thing you will do is fish out the three bay leaves from the pot and throw them away. It might take a moment to find them. This is really important. Years ago, I did not do that and later found out one of the bay leaves was stuck to a piece of meat. I accidentally served that piece to my husband. He bit into the bay leaf and his whole mouth went numb. I had to relinquish my title that day. Be better than me and keep your throne.

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Shred meat. Add enough liquid from pot until it is moist.

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Here is the finished product. They were so yummy! I made my beef enchiladas with the remaining meat. I will show that recipe in a post to come. If you are in a hurry to make these (And why wouldn’t you be?), See my cheese enchilada post for my enchilada sauce recipe and follow my directions, but fill enchiladas with beef instead of cheese.

Enjoy!

I shared this on Savvy Southern Style

And My Romantic Home

Jenni’s Multicolored Dreamvest

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Oh yes. A rainbow vest. A crocheted rainbow vest. A rainbow fest.

I digress.

What a mess. (Don’t drink and blog.)

I purchased this 1960s multicolored vest off of Etsy. Can you believe it had been posted for a year and nobody had purchased it? I think it was waiting for me.

I wore it to the Rose Bowl Flea Market last Sunday. I ended up wearing it with the yellow dress below. I wanted to wear something vintage. But also something cool. As in, “not hot.” Of course, I believe this fits both labels. I also wanted my husband to be able to quickly find me in a crowd. I think this was pretty hard to miss.

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First, I paired it with my Free People dress that I got from The Nordstrom Rack. The necklace was gifted to me from Simply Livly. It is perfectly bohemian. The shoes are my favorite. They are Deirdre Lace Wedges. I bought them during Anthropologie’s additional 20% off sale. Making these 52% off. Not my best discount, but I love them. They have actual crocheted looking lace on the sides of the shoes. The lace is very well incorporated.

I did not wear these shoes to the dusty flea market.

I wore my tried and true everyday ten year old sandals. The shoes I can run in. From zombies. Different story. (Please see don’t drink and blog above.)

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I took a nap before these pictures. Hence the lines on my arm.

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The other way I styled this vest was with my yellow Target dress that was $25. The necklace is an Anthropologie layering necklace. It is on sale. I purchased mine during the additional 20% off sale for $12. But it is still a good price at the $15 it currently is. It is called Bijouterie Layering Necklace in Medium. It is sold out online. My local store had ten in stock last week. If you cannot find one, maybe, just maybe, I have a couple for a giveaway in a few months. ; ). Anyway, I know they are in the stores. I have worn this necklace four times this week. Great find!

Do you have a piece of clothing that makes you smile?