Please please please please click this link to help my best friend meet One Direction

I’m personally not a One Direction fan but I do know how much my friend Laura loves them and it would mean a lot for her to meet them

ALL IT TAKES IS A CLICK OF THE LINK, FRIENDS

No voting, no filling out forms, no entering emails or contact information. NONE of that. Just clicking the link is all it takes. It couldn’t get any easier guys

If you would share this just to help her out I would be so grateful

Thank you guys so much!

Hello again! The only section of my blog that I’m capable of bringing you guys this week is the fashion part, and that’s probably only because I literally have to put clothes on every day. Finals are next week and this time of year is always touch and go with me. Food-wise, sanity-wise, and basically anything-wise BUT I did manage to pull myself together for the last day of classes. 

Of course the nice weather comes out to play when I’m forced to stay inside and study for days on end but that doesn’t mean I can’t put as much Spring into my outfits as I possibly can

Dress: Old Navy
Leggings: Ulla Popken
Lipstick: MAC “Girl About Town”
Hairstyle: Side dutch braid with a sock bun

I received some particularly lovely flowers the other day and they served as a little source of inspiration 

Orchids are my absolute favorite flowers 

I call this a “subtle” cat-eye but my Mom would beg to differ…

I love this dress because it has SLEEVES. Like many plus size girls, my arms are not my favorite feature. Anything with sleeves is an instant plus for me. The dress is also light and breezy which isn’t always the case with long sleeve dresses. Hearts in my eyes for this dress.

And I ended my last day of classes at my favorite coffee shop and just a little bit of sunshine.

Now it’s time to buckle down and descend into the depths of hell that is the law school finals experience. Hopefully I’ll be back in two weeks… hopefully

Happy Friday!

Love,
Andrea

Tonight I’m going to see a Sons of Anarchy panel in Milwaukee! I never in a million years thought that I would get into a show about big bearded bikers but man, was I wrong. I think I watched the first two seasons in one week. My social life is awesome guys, don’t worry. 

Dress: Target
Top: Urban Outfitters
Tights: Assets
Belt: Forever 21+
Boots: Kohls
Lipstick: Revlon “True Red”

I did my best to cutesy up the whole biker theme. I think the long sleeve shirt underneath is an edgy look which goes surprisingly well with the abstract print of the dress. 

These boots have been a Godsend this Fall/Winter/Spring… ish. My calves have always been prominent and finding boots has always been a challenge for me but when my mom found these babies at Kohls, it was love at first sight. They’re PERFECT to wear with jeans, dresses, leggings, going out, traveling, doing anything. Seriously. In love.

My go-to eyeliner is the dark brown liquid liner by Prestige and I use Scandaleyes mascara by Rimmel

And the best part about the dress besides the flattering waste line and insanely soft material? POCKETS!

So hopefully I won’t stand out too much tonight unless everyone there is a bunch of girls waiting to see the one cute guy, in that case I better stand out. I need to get rich and famous somehow… duh.

Have a good weekend!

Love,
Andrea

Believe it or not, Spring is on the horizon. Between the downpour this week and last we had a few beautiful days of 50 degree weather and sunshine (this is Wisconsin, we take what we can get). On these beautiful days I tend to find myself more motivated to get outside and do things just a little healthier. I restarted my Couch to 5k program because it was too beautiful outside not to go for a run… and let’s be real here, by “run” I mean jog. Either way, it was really nice to get outside and it inspired me to look into some healthy options for dinner.

Let me start by saying that I am not a vegetarian. Normally hearing the word “vegetarian” included in a dish, automatically crosses it off as an option for me. But not this time. Not this time. I’ve converted to the quinoa loving side fairly recently and I’ve been scouring the interwebs for some good quinoa recipes. This one, my friends, is no exception. You won’t believe how fulfilling a taco can be without ground beef. The black beans and spices come together perfectly while the quinoa adds a great texture (and TONS of protein). The best part about the black bean and quinoa mix is that you can use it for tons of different things. I used it for tacos last night and added it to a salad for lunch today. Even my mom, who isn’t a big fan of quinoa, was a fan of this recipe!

Black Bean & Quinoa Tacos
Original recipe from Cooking Classy

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups broth (either chicken or vegetable)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with chilis, undrained
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (I added more because I LOVE cilantro)

1. Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the packaging.

2. Add olive oil to a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is warm, add the onions and sautee them until they are golden in color. About 3 minutes. Add the garlic and let it sautee for 30 more seconds. Then add the broth, cooked quinoa, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Bring this mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, allowing the mix to thicken.

3. Stir in the corn and black beans and simmer, uncovered for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the lime juice and cilantro. 

4. Serve warm with desired fixings!

Stuff you can fix it up with!: 
Tortillas
Sour cream
Shredded cheese
Avocado
MORE cilantro
Lettuce
The possibilites are endless really…

Hope you guys like the recipe and happy cooking!

Love,
Andrea

Well hello there. It’s time to start a brand new week with a brand new earful of some awesome new music. If you can’t tell, I’ve been gravitating towards bands that are mostly mellow with distinct little features. This is me getting into exam mode. Yikes. At least the music is good right? Today’s featured band is Milagres

Milagres is a 5 piece ensemble that knows how to make music and make it well. The band formed in Brooklyn in 2011 and has been playing at big music festivals and touring with bands like Ra Ra Riot. They’re heavily piano based with some fun touches of synth and other electronic elements which makes their music perfect for basically any occasion… unless you’re at a rave… that probably wouldn’t work. But really, what do I know? Add a little dubstep and you can “dance” to pretty much anything right? But I digress… To me, they sound like a perfect cross between Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, and MGMT. I mean what more could you really want?

This first song is the title track off of their 2011 album Glowing Mouth

This next song is called Lost In The Dark and it’s my favorite so you better like it … or else

They’re not currently on tour but I’m hoping to see them live at some point. They seem like plenty of fun!

Happy Listening!

Love,

Andrea

The weather is finally clearing up (for a few minutes at least) and I felt like wearing something bright today! Oh and ignore my crazy face…

Dress - American Eagle
Vest - Old Navy
Leggings - Ulla Popken 
Belt - Forever 21+
Headband - Handmade

Happy Friday!

Love,

Andrea

Hey guys! I’m back this week with more great music. I spent the entire weekend pounding out a paper and working at the theater which I guess was good as far as getting stuff done goes but it definitely wasn’t very fun. Normally, to make studying and paper writing a little more bearable I’ll listen to music. The type of music will depend on my mood and the kind of stuff that I have to do. This weekend was full of calm and low-key Lord Huron

They’re an indie folk band originating in Michigan but operating out of L.A. Their music is so great and full of different dimensions. Their sound is reminiscent of big open spaces and late dusky nights. They have the charm of Benjamin Francis Leftwich and the grandeur of Band of Horses. They released their debut album Lonesome Dreams in January of last year and I’m sure we can expect more great things from them in the future.

This first song is Ends of the Earth and I basically had it on repeat all weekend long

This one is called She Lit A Fire 

Hope you guys like them, happy listening!

Love,

Andrea