Bougie Girl Life

Here's to the recently arrived chilly Fall days which drive us indoors to conjure up cozy vibes via day long cooking sprees, lighting candles, and sipping on hot spicy drinks. This chilly weather has forced me to face the long list of somewhat stalled DIY  organizational projects in my queue.  As I putter around my townhouse, new prospective projects jump out and I am forced to write them down. In some cases, I have consult the Internet to confirm both how much money and time these lofty projects will require. 

There is something a bit surreal about a perfectly sliced strawberry.  Its versatility to be served either alone, atop a cake, or with a mix of dark chocolate and whipped cream.   

Generally, I am stickler for only using fruits and veggies that are in season.  However, it's 2020 and most of the rules have gone out the window. I opted to use toothpicks for the berries to make them easier to consume while sitting around the fire pit. By the end of the night, there were only a few of these sweet treats left on the serving plate.   

This little lady decided to make her presence known earlier this week. 

I walked past these flowers the other day at the market. Almost immediately, I pictured myself sitting at a quaint bistro table in an outdoor cafe sipping on a spiced apple cider and watching the world go by slowly. Next year, I plan on adding these to my front yard garden...along with that cute bistro table.

Nothing like comfort foods to keep us sustained as the temperature drops. I spent much of this summer practicing my comfort food cooking skills to prepare for my first Fall and Winter season in the new townhouse.  Strangely, comfort food makes me think of those old school TV dinners from my 1980's childhood.  Those TV Dinners contained some type of meat topped with cheese, a veggie, some type of starch, with a dessert that was either cooked fruit or a small brick of cake. My ode to comfort food a la TV dinner is a little different. I opted out of the dessert for this one because the Mac & Cheese went over my preferred meal calorie count.  Ingredients  Entrée  1. 4-6 thinly sliced pieces (cooked) Steak 2. 1 tbsp of Mozzarella Cheese 3. 5 sliced Grape Tomatoes sauteed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil 4.  6 sliced Mushrooms (I used Baby bellas) 5. 1 chopped stalk of Green onions Veggie 1. 1/2 cup of cooked Corn with Black Pepper sprinkled on top. Starch 1. Mac & Cheese (

Anything happen during a brisk walk on an Autumn morning. In this moment, a chilly wind blows through the trees causing the leaves to make a crackling sound. Instinctively, I look up to witness the nuanced colors of these changing leaves.  I slow down and tip my phone upwards to capture this treetop.  I

Baby Bella mushrooms are my key to  successful vegan cooking.  They have both the texture and smoky flavor of meat.  I also appreciate how well Baby bella mushrooms work in tandem with other ingredients.  Ingredients Makes 4 burritos A whole container of  Baby bella mushrooms 4 peeled cloves of Garlic  2 tbsp Cooked Basmati rice Cilantro 2  Mid sized Tortillas 1 tbsp Lime Juice 1/4 of a chopped Green Pepper  3 Tbsps of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Add Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the skillet (I used a cast iron one.) Turn the burner on a low heat. Slowly add  the mushrooms, garlic,green pepper, and lime juice into the skillet. Place a cover on top of the skillet. Cook for 15 minutes and then slowly stir the ingredients. I cook the ingredients for about 45 minutes in total.  Once the ingredients have finished cooking, turn off the burner and place in a glass container. Slowly stir the ingredients and let it cool. (Generally, I wait at least 12 hours before using the ingredients becau

As I was walking into the store, these beauties caught my eye. Nothing says "Fall Is Here" to me like a huge pumpkin display. Pumpkins are great to use as decor  from late September until the day after Thanksgiving. This keeps me from overspending on my Fall decor budget.  I did not purchase any pumpkins yesterday because I have made the choice to scale down my Fall decor. Earlier this Fall, I was gifted a small pumpkin from my sister's garden which I have incorporated into my outdoor tablescape.

Ready to go into the oven.  This is not my first rodeo with vegan pizza. Prior to this recipe, I made the occasional sauced up veggie version with flat bread. However, this  time, I decided to step up my game.  Pizza is all about flavor and texture...especially when it's vegan.  For the flavor aspect of this pizza, I made a semi-homemade sauce along with the toppings the night before. I found the vegan pizza crust and cheese at my local Sprouts.  Finished product. Ingredients Vegan crust Vegan Cheese Black Olives Baby bella mushrooms Red onions Green peppers Pizza sauce (You can make it or purchase a vegan friendly one)

I love decorating for Fall. The colors and textures bring me a sense of comfort. This is my first autumn spent in this townhouse. Originally, I had planned to go all out this on my Fall decor. However, the vibes of 2020 are definitely more low key for me.  I decided to reuse mainly items from last year's Fall decor.  Elements of my low key 2020 Fall decor : Flower Arrangement on the left: 1. Clear vase-I received this years ago as a gift. (Reuse) 2. Sparkly amber ornaments-I picked up these ornaments and a whole bunch more from the "free" table at work last year. (Reuse) 3. Faux flowers- Dollar Tree (Reuse) In the Middle: 1. Orange table runner-Dollar Tree (Reuse) 2. Tray-Dollar Tree (Reuse) 3. Pumpkin (My sister's garden) Flower Arrangement on the right: 1. Orange vase- Dollar Tree (Reuse) 2. Faux flowers-I purchased these from Walmart last month.    

My first time making Baba Ganoush while not a complete failure... was not exactly successful.  My sister offered me eggplants from her garden to use in this recipe. I only took one of the eggplants offered instead of two. Which resulted in the tahini flavor overpowering the eggplant. Speaking of tahini, according to my Internet research it is the cornerstone of an excellent Baba Ganoush. A great tahini sauce starts with  hulled sesame seeds. Alas, said hulled sesame seeds were not available at the local Walmart down the street from my house.  I opted to improvise and used sesame seeds in the spice & herb aisle.  Even as I placed them in my cart, I knew that it would more than likely affect the taste of the tahini sauce. However, the thought of traipsing around yet another grocery store was unappealing.  I feebly reassured myself that it would all work out.  Alas, I was wrong. The original iteration of the sauce came out gritty.  Fortunately, I was able to somewhat rescu

The weather right now is perfect for this front yard sitting area.  I can sip hot tea morning here whilst munching on a breakfast burrito. In the evening,a cup of soup and a spicy lemonade will hit the spot.  I am in the process of adding solar lights to this area to give it more of a hygge feel to it.