Month: January 2016

New Things at Ann Taylor

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Since Ann Taylor is the DC uniform, I keep pretty close tabs on their merchandise. Recently, there as been a noticeable change in the aesthetic. In case you haven’t heard, the Creative Director over at The Loft’s Lou & Grey line took over the creative directing at all three brands. Austyn Zung is definitely breathing some new life into the brand. I don’t think it’s a dramatic change but we are definitely seeing different fabric, color, and silhouette choices. Looking though the preview of the collection, I’m interested to see what they release in stores next.

There are a lot of two piece outfits:

Sadie Dishes- Ann Taylor Outfit

Ponte everything:

Sadie Dishes- Ann Taylor Outfit

And palm frons:

Sadie Dishes- Ann Taylor Dress

Bold separates:

Sadie Dishes- Ann Taylor Stripe Pants

And some solid work wear basics:

Sadie Dishes- Ann Taylor Sheath

Let’s see what they do next!

Last Five

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Songs I downloaded from iTunes.

  1. Break Up in a Small Town by Sam Hunt. I think I have a quota of at least one country song a quarter and I was overdue. I don’t think there’s such thing as a Sam Hunt song that isn’t catchy.
  2. Big Rings by Drake and Future. Ciara child support battles aside, this is a great victory song. It’s great to listen too after you’ve had a good day, it makes you feel like a baller.
  3. When We Were Young by Adele. I’m going to be honest, I do not love every single song on Adele’s new album, but I love this song. I do wonder, however, how at 27 she has had this many epic romances.
  4. WTF (Where They From) by Missy Elliot feat. Pharrell. I love that Missy Elliot comes back every few years and puts out a really fun out of box song. This song is definitely outside the box and it took some time to warm up to it, but after a couple listens I thought it was awesome! I also love this YouTube choreography video to it.
  5. Perfect (stripped version) by One Direction. One last hurrah before the hiatus!

Sadie Dishes- Last Five, WTF (Where They From)

Cranberry Nut Bread

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For whatever reason, I think the seasonal quick bread in the winter is cranberry nut bread. Maybe it’s because cranberries are a fall/winter fruit. I also like to think of cranberry nut bread as a little fancier than the standard banana bread, so I send it to family and friends with Christmas cookies.

I’m actually not sure where I got this recipe, but I’ve had great success with it (if I do say so myself). The one hitch is that it includes orange juice and buttermilk which takes extra brain power when I’m at the grocery store (I forgot them, and I had to postpone the baking until after my next grocery trip).

Cranberry Nut Bread

Yields 1 9 x 5 loaf or 3 mini loaves

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 2 tsp orange zest
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk
  • 6 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup and 2 Tbs sugar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup cranberries, chopped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 375. Prepare loaf pan(s) with non-stick spray.
  2. Combine orange juice, zest, buttermilk, butter, and egg.Sadie Dishes- Cranberry Nut Bread
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda.
  4. Combine wet and dry. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.Sadie Dishes- Cranberry Nut Bread
  5. For 9 x 5 loaf, bake for 20 minutes at 375 then reduce to 350 and bake for 45 minutes. Reduce time for smaller loaves. Use the toothpick test.

Sadie Dishes- Cranberry Nut Bread