Gradient Nails

I did my nails several days ago following a modified version of Celly's nail tutorial: http://www.makeupbycelly.com/2011/02/tutorial-gradient-nails.html
Queen of Blending has a similar nail tutorial with glitter polish and rhinestones which is the one that I used to this point:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTVR1tDoHsc

It is a gradient nail that starts neutral and gets more intense as you get closer to the tip of the nail. I used black as my neutral color and made a fade from purple to red-violet. I used a nail polish by ORLY that has a pinkish micro glitter to tie the colors in with each other and finished off with a black french tip.





Also, dinner was nice tonight. I made chicken with herbs and added it to pasta with feta and a dash of meyer lemon. Once I was finished cooking everything I added some arugula. I had made a winter fruit blend for salad, but I put some of it into the pasta. That's why there's grapefruit and blood oranges in the pasta.
Aaah yeah.

You say potato I say yam... let's call the whole thing off

It's not quite the same as potato /pʰoteɪto/ vs potato /pʰotato/, but the question of sweet potato /swit pʰəteɪto/ vs yam /jæm/ has been one that I've finally admitted I will never resolve. For instance, you have sweet potato pie, sweet potato fries, and candied yams which all come from the same vegetable.



Regardless of the naming issue, I have to admit that this little starchy treat is one of my favorite fall indulgences. It's good in the skin, fried, or in syrup. Just today I decided to use it in a recipe that I had picked up from a friend and modified. The great thing about this dish is that there are many layers of flavor which will only get better with time.

Fall Joys: Food Version

Another gratuitous cat photo (she got a new hat over the weekend and I had to share). Zorro and I have something in common: we love a good meal. Over the weekend I made a colorful rendition of a dish that's based off of the Afghan dish Kadu Bouranee (with lamb sans yogurt). The tomato sauce and pumpkin gives a very beautiful fall color pallet and the black rice made it fun enough for Halloween. Not to mention that the flavor of the black rice and basmati played together in a savory medley with the rest of the dish. Try paring this dish with a rich red wine and you're good to go, but it's also great without wine too.



Oh and just because it fits the color scheme, there is a beautiful rose bush that is in bloom which has colors that are apt for fall.