football ready: turkey burgers & sweet potato fries

as we finish up January, there's only one thing on many people's minds..  Super Bowl!

it's easy to get together for a football viewing party with beer, chips, some wings, and some easy and delicious turkey burgers.

Turkey Burgers [serves about 8-10]

• 3lbs ground turkey
• 2 slices of wheat bread, crust removed, torn into pieces
• 1 Tbls milk
• 2 eggs
• 6 garlic cloves smashed and minced
• 2 tsp cayenne
• 1 Tbls worchestshire sauce
• salt & pepper to taste
• olive oil
• hamburger buns
• cheese slices
• tomato slices
• lettuce

1. soak wheat bread in milk
2. add soaked wheat bread, eggs garlic, cayenne, worchestihire sauce, and salt & pepper to ground turkey
3. mix with your hands until fully incorporated
4. let the ingredients co-mingle for a couple of hours, if you have enough time.
5. Preheat oven and bake your sweet potato fries according to package directions. I opted to buy frozen sweet potato fries from the store that were on sale.
6. coat your pan with some olive oil and heat on medium heat.
7. form your turkey patties, and cook for approximately 10 minutes, flipping half way through.  *note: this will vary depending on the thickness of your burger.  your burger should no longer be pink on the inside, and the juices should run clear.
8. add your cheese to melt for the last minute.
9. toast your hamburger buns, if desired.
10. Plate, throw on your condiments, and chow down!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

not new, but definitely improved

i'm keeping this simple. no deadlines, timelines, or specifics.  just a simple way to remind me what i want to work on throughout the year.  i've currently saved my resolutions to my desktop and i have a framed photo of it on my desk to remind me what i want this year to be about.  you can read more details about my resolution here.

What are some things you want to work on this year?

Thank you for stopping by!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

cozy in boots

where did the time go?? sorry for the unplanned hiatus.  looks like we let life get away from us, again.  in that time, Autumn seemed to creep up on us.  i've had days filled with brisk and cold mornings and evenings bundled in sweats, with the warm summer afternoons making it nice enough to bare some legs.

with the cold mornings i've been staying in bed just a little bit longer and turning to my Fall uniform minutes before i have to make a mad dash out the house.

sweater dress.  boots.  and on especially brisk days, like today, tights.

i'm loving this look, it's so easy and effortless, and keeps me warm and cozy throughout the day.

{outfit}

Sweater Dress: Asos

Boots: Corso Como

Necklace: JewelMint

Purse: 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target (loving this one in blue)

Thanks for reading!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

paris adventure!

My boyfriend and I went to Paris to visit his family couple weeks ago - so much fun! It was filled with lots of touristy and family times which included a lot of home cooked meals. I've always wondered what French food consists of and discovered that it's lots of baguettes, steak, pasta, pastries, etc. I love croissants and the boyfriend made sure I had some every morning (they were so fresh and yummy!) :)

we had a plate of croissants and eggs with lardons (taste like ham) almost every morning 

ribs with potatoes, steak, baguettes, carbonara pasta with lardons, and salad

at the concorde

It was pretty hot in Paris so my outfits consisted of summer/maxi dresses, tank tops, and shorts.

One of my favorite highlights of the trip was going to Pont Neuf - where couples from around the world visits to place a locket on the bridge that symbolize their love and throws the key into the river to symbolize eternal love.

We're gonna try to find our locket the next time we visit - hopefully next year. :)

Thanks for reading!

<3, phu

brunch: banh tom

again, with all the traveling we've been doing, we changed it up a bit.  instead of making something, we gave each other the option of either making something, or sharing with you all the brunch we had.  

when i think about brunch, i don't often think about Vietnamese food.  so i thought to myself, if i was having a Vietnamese brunch, what would i eat?  the first thing that comes to mind is chao, porridge, which is probably because i will eat that any time of day.  i then thought about what my mom would make when we got to sleep in a little bit on the weekends.  the first thing that came to mind was banh tom, which is a sweet potato shrimp cake.  so that is exactly what i ordered when i met some friends at Minh's Restaurant in Milpitas, CA

Banh Tom (sorry, we dug in before i could take the picture)

if you'd like to make your own, which i definitely recommend, i found the recipe here on Sea Salt with Food.  This recipe looks exactly how my mom used to make them, the thinly sliced sweet potatoes patties with the shrimp nested in the middle.  a shrimp nest, if you will.  i remember walking into the kitchen and seeing the thin slices of the orange sweet potatoes and shrimp bathing in their batter, as my mom was tending over the hot frying pan.  she made platefuls of these little guys for me and my brothers to chow down on.  she made sure we ate our greens by showing us that we would need to wrap it in lettuce before we ate it.  i miss sitting down with my mom and siblings and enjoying a good home cooked meal.

i hope you try making these yourself, i know i definitely will the next time i get.

thank you for stop by and joining!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

travel diary: nuptials in San Diego

FLAN has been and will be jetsetting all month, so we decided to share with you our travels instead.

earlier this month i had the honor of attending and taking part in my friend's wedding.  a long time high school friend met the love of his life in San Diego, and we travelled all the way down there to share in their special day.  if you read my personal blog, you would've seen a quick snap shot here.

the Friday before the wedding, we rounded up the posse that was driving, left around 9:15pm, and didn't arrive in San Diego until 4:30am.  remind me never to drive to San Diego, again.  i did not have the luxury of sleeping in.  3hrs later i was up and getting ready.  since i had the honor of placing the veil around the couple during the ceremony, i had to get to the church on time!

Bride & Groom with their parents.

our gorgeous bride during their vows

after the Church ceremony at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, we went on a hunt for food and a little necessity shopping.  once we got to our beautiful hotel, Hotel Palomar, i proceeded to knock out for an hour.  then it was up again, to get ready to enjoy the reception at Jasmine Seafood Restaurant.  it was a beautiful event, from the sweets & treats, to our spotlighted couple.

"love is sweet" dessert bar & "Mr. & Mrs." treat bags

i love, love.  and couldn't be happier to see two people who care about each other so much. hope you all feel the love!

we ended the night lighting up the sky

the next morning, we checked out, went to Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop for lunch (review to come), then hit the road again back to the Bay Area.  9-10hrs later, we were finally home, and i ko'd in my bed.

thank you for joining me on this short trip to San Diego.  I hope you all felt the love!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

H&M Home!

I'm sure many of you have seen it, and if not, I'm happy to share it.

H&M Home is finally available for us!

it couldn't come at a better time, since i've been looking to get new pillows for my living room. here are some of my favorites

some solids and prints in a mix of neutral and bright colors

maybe some sequined pillows for some glam fun?

and definitely a postcard pillow to keep my travel bug going


i can't wait to browse some more and see what good finds come about it.

what are some of your favorite finds?

Thanks for stopping by!
<3 roe [a roesy life]

watermelon coconut water

Hello readers!

Due to unfortunate circumstances, I wasn't able to do a style remix but I will give you my food remix. :)

This recipe is perfect for anyone who loves watermelon and coconut water. It's so simple and refreshing.

1. Scoop watermelon into blender
2. Pour coconut water into blender
3. Blend (if you want chunks of watermelon, blend for only 10 seconds or less)
4. Drink and enjoy!

<3, phu

Summer Time

I've just returned from a weekend trip to NYC where the weather's mid 90's and humid. You'd think I'd be juiced to pull out tiny sundresses and shorts. (Fog City summers aren't the warmest.) Unfortunately, a week prior, I took a huge butt flop off a bridge into a river that left both thighs and my behind black and blue. So I turned to maxis with a high-low hem for cool, effortless travel with coverage.

This sheer coral maxi from Urban Outfitters is lined with t-shirt material. So comfy! (And it was on sale ;)

Another thing that's kept me cool in the rare summer heat is this simple watermelon salad. It's similar to the Fresh Peach Side Salad from last year's July post.

Fresh Watermelon Side Salad

• Watermelon, cubed
• Feta, crumbled
• Arugula
• Mint, finely chopped
• Red onion, thinly sliced
• Olive oil
• Apple cider vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper

The key is to let the red onion slices marinate in the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper before dressing the rest of the ingredients.

Happy Summer!
<3 C

refreshing (spiked) watermelon lemonade

one word. REFRESHING.

4th of July week was HOT. And the one thing that can cool my buns were watermelons, so I decided to share and make everyone at the BBQ some fresh watermelon lemonade.  Thanks Martha for the inspiration.  I mashed, blended, strained, mix, and eventually spiked the watermelon lemonade.  My friend called it "crunk juice", I think he liked it.  We spiked it with vodka, my rule of thumb, pour until you taste it, or with what you're comfortable with.  We don't need drunken skallywags running around, or we might.  No.. definitely not.

Cool down with a glass of watermelon lemonade, and let me know if you have any special twists to it.  I have a feeling I'll be drinking this a lot this summer.

Thanks for reading!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

fresh and easy summer steezy

Top: Forever 21 // Shorts: Zara // Sunnies: Kate Spade via Nordstrom Rack // Sandals: Vince Camuto via Nordstrom Rack

Summer is in full swing and my shorts are in full rotation.  I wore this to our friend's annual 4th of July BBQ.. you might recognize the door step from D's post last year.  Had to make sure I had something comfy, and stretchy for all the good eats we'd be having throughout the day.  

I can't really say if I've ever really been a shorts person, outside of athletics, but for some reason, this season I've been shorts crazy.  Maybe it's the little details on these faux leather shorts.  I'm in love with the quilted detail on these shorts, and bonus.. elastic waist.  The peplum was a perfect pair to hide the elastic waist, too.  On hot days where I have to eat, I need no fuss, which means no jewelry sticking to me and getting in the way as I fight people off for food.  Too bad I was only half patriotic this day, but I did have a red cup that I conveniently left somewhere.

Thanks for stopping by!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

You Wear What You Eat

I love food so much that I want to wear it. Here's an outfit I picked up from Lulu's in anticipation of summer weddings. Peach and mint combo, yum! A big floral print on a shift dress looks mod and feminine but leaves lots of room for hors d'oeuvres, entrees, and wedding cake ;)

Through the Looking Glass Brown Tortoise Sunglasses

Mirror-est and Dearest PEACH Floral Shift Dress

Mavis 03 MINT D'Orsay Pointed Heels

As much as I love food, eggplant isn't my favorite, but I figure that anything is delicious roasted, right? So I sliced up a Chinese eggplant, brushed it with some olive oil, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and threw it in an oven set at 400 degrees. Meanwhile, I caramelized onions and sautéed morel mushrooms. 15mins later, after a flip, the slices were browned on both sides, and I was ready to assemble. I brushed olive oil on pieces of garlic naan and arranged the cooked veggies over a handful of shredded mozzarella. I put the naan in the oven, lowered to 350 degrees, for roughly 10 minutes until the cheese was golden brown. After a little time to cool, I topped everything with some arugula and enjoyed. Quick, easy, and delicious.

This would be amazing grilled. Who's got a grill? I'm coming over!

<3 C

vegetable tian

According to Roti n Rice, a tian is "a composite of roasted vegetables sometimes with cheese on top, layered attractively in a shallow dish.  The vegetables are usually sliced into coins and arranged in an alternating manner to form a colorful display".

With summer approaching and eggplants in season, I decided to use the vibrant colors to make a delicious meal.

I originally wanted to use puff pastry to make a flaky crust for the vegetable tian, however, Safeway's The Market, didn't carry it, so I turned to Phu's cauliflower crust as an alternative.  Slicing the beautifully colored vegetables got me all giddy inside.  I was more excited to see the finished product, than to eat it.  That's a first.

This recipe is extremely simple, but be forewarned it can be a little tedious with the slicing, but it's not that bad if you throw in a glass of wine to keep you company. ;)

Vegetable Tian [will need 2 oval baking dishes]

• 1 large eggplant, sliced
• 2 yellow squash, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 5 crushed and chopped garlic gloves
• half a bunch of parsley, chopped
• couple dashes of cayenne
• Phu's cauliflower crust

1. Preheat the over to 450 degrees F.
2. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and set aside to draw out the water for about 15 minutes.
3. Place the bell peppers on a lightly greased baking pan and roast in the oven for approximately 30 minutes.
4. Spread the crust evenly in the two baking dishes.
5. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, and saute the garlic until lightly browned.  Take the pan off the heat and add the chopped parsley into the hot pan so that it just barely wilts, then add a couple dashes of cayenne.
6. Spread this garlic-parsley-cayenne mix evenly at the bottom of each baking dish.
7. When the bell peppers are done, let cool.
8. When the bell peppers are cooled, alternate the sliced vegetables in any pattern you like.  I divided the baking dish into 4 quadrants and used a different direction for each quadrant. *See picture below.
9. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and place in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Then turn the oven up to 450 degrees F and finish off in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.
10. Remove from heat and serve warm.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Happy Summer!

Thanks for stopping by!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

summer weddings

'Tis the season!! For wedding bliss!! One of my favorite seasons. I'm a sucker for love and romance and everything wedding related.

Summer weddings call for light layers and lots of colors! 

Wanna know a secret? I slipped on some water and almost did the splits.. I didn't hit the floor, but needless to say I ripped the side seam on the bottom of my dress just before I took these pictures... Yikes! Need a repair. :P

{outfit}

Blazer: Gap

Dress: old

Shoes: Corso Como

Sunnies & Earrings: Kate Spade

Clutch/Purse: vintage Chanel

Thanks for joining me today! What will you be wearing at your next summer wedding?

<3 roe [a roesy life]

lace-trim shorts & cauliflower crust pizza

This DIY is pretty simple - taking some plain jean shorts and adding a little accessory to it. :)

supplies:

2 feet lace/trim

cut off shorts

scissors

needle and thread

pins

Cut the lace into two pieces that will be used as the trim to your shorts.

Pin lace onto the shorts and sew with needle and thread.



Yay! :)

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

2 cups of cauliflower

2 eggs

1 cup of almond meal 

1 tbsp coconut oil

1. Preheat oven 450 degrees 

2. Steam cauliflower until soft and mash in food processor or with a fork into small pieces

2. Combine eggs, coconut oil, and almond meal with mash cauliflower 

3. Form pizza shape and bake in oven for 12-14 mins or  until edges are brown

Take the pizza crust out and add your desire pizza toppings (I mixed 2 tbsp of Italian seasoning into the tomato sauce then add bacon, mushrooms, and two eggs on top) then bake for another 5-10 mins. 

Sorry no picture of this yummy pizza. =/

Thanks for joining me today! :)

<3, phu

Tart to Dye For

This might be the tastiest thing I've made in a really long time. I shared it with the Mushroom Lady, and she actually ate it... ALL! Usually, she asks a bunch of questions, takes a few bites, and hides it somewhere in her van, I'm sure to dispose of later. I'll definitely be making this one again... and sharing with the Mushroom Lady.

Caramelized Onion & Cauliflower Tart

I followed this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but used a pre-made shell.

I suggest pre-baking the shell a bit before adding the innards to avoid a soggy bottom.

Crochet Dress Turned Ombre Skirt

A while back, I bought a crochet dress that shrunk in the wash... or maybe it was just a tunic to begin with? (That's how long it's been since I wore it.) So I decided to update it with some dye, a pair of scissors, and a hidden zipper. No tutorial for this one, guys. My mom would cry if she saw how messy my sew job was. This is definitely a project to revisit.