Blazer: Pim & Larkin | Top: BCBG | Skirt: All Saints | Shoes: Zara (similar) | Necklace: mark. | Bag: Alexander Wang

This leather skirt is my latest acquisition - and I love it. It's a piece that's versatile enough to wear for day or night, and will never go out of style. I sense my cost-per-wear making this very, very worth it! (And thank you to Ray for working so hard to track one down in my size!)

Photos by Lauren

I was never forced to eat brussels sprouts as a kid, so I don't have any horror stories regarding them, but I do remember reading about them in books (anyone remember Baby-Sitter's Little Sister? I'm pretty sure Karen hated brussels sprouts), and had no idea what they were. 

Anyway, since I've been on a healthy-eating kick, I wanted to try this recipe for a side dish - it's got dijon (love!), dried apricot (interesting!), and almonds (crunchy!). If you know me you know I like my food to have a lot of different textures. It just makes eating so much more interesting.  Ok, enough about me - on to the brussels sprouts!

Vinaigrette:

2 tbsps Dijon mustard

2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsps apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp sea salt

Brussels Sprouts:

1lb Brussels sprouts, julienned

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup julienned dried apricots

To make the vinaigrette:

Whisk together all the ingredients. (Easy!)

To make the brussels sprouts:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. In a large bowl, combine the brussels sprouts, almonds, and apricots.

3. Pour the vinaigrette over the brussels sprouts and toss well to combine.

4. Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheet. Roast for approximately 55 minutes, or until the leaves of the sprouts are tender and golden brown. *This is where I messed up - and by "messed up", I mean I didn't check on them at all while they were in the oven. I burned the first batch I made, sadly! And after all that julienne-ing. I was devastated. Luckily, the second time around (a week or two later), I pulled them out after 20 minutes and they were well cooked. The lesson here is to check on them!!

Overall, it was a relatively easy recipe to make. Julienne-ing the Brussels sprouts was the most tiring and took the longest, but once that was done it was fine. I'm not sure if I did it correctly, but I just cut each sprout in half, then chopped them face down from the outside in. I figured it would be fine since the leaves tend to fall off anyway, and I was right. I don't think technique here would necessarily affect the recipe!

Also - if you like a heavier vinegar flavor, I'd recommend adding more apple cider vinegar. The apricots were so sweet that I could barely taste the vinegar or Dijon. Next time I make this I'm going to try adding more in! 

Makes 4 servings.

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Coat: Zara | Shirt: Gap | Pants: AG Jeans | Shoes: Steve Madden | Necklace: Chanel

Just for fun, Lauren and I thought we'd do a bunch of jumping shots. My hair looks so funny in the second shot, but I thought these were all fun and captured the spirit of what we were trying to accomplish! I was in a pastels kind of mood this weekend since it was Easter, hence all the light colors. Hope you had a good Easter!

Photos by Lauren