maritime shift

Dress, J. Crew; Belt, ASOS; Shoes, Cynthia Vincent for Target (available on eBay); Ring and Clutch, UO; Earrings, Piperlime

I bought this Maritime Shift Dress from J. Crew a while ago, at the start of summer, but for some reason never got around to to wearing it for photos. I can't think of a better setting to wear this nautical outfit than alongside the Inner Harbor on a beautiful, sunny day. I found the dress to be shapeless without a belt, so I added this skinny camel version from ASOS. These wedges are one of my favorite purchases ever; they're Cynthia Vincent for Target and cost me a whopping $22. The last picture shows a couple of other ways I have accessorized this dress in the past: a cheerful yellow belt that offsets the blue perfectly, and a subtly nautical sand dollar gold necklace. I even made an attempt at a semi-messy ponytail that I actually quite liked. Ahoy!

a story of lifelong love

Perhaps I've become a little sappy about love, life, and marriage since our recent engagement, but I saw this video today and thought it was the sweetest, most inspiring thing I've seen in some time. It's the touching story of a Brooklyn couple's twenty-seven year relationship, and the deep love they have shared. I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did, whether you're a big softy like me or not.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

the perfect accompaniments

I was so excited yesterday to see that Adam returned home from work with homemade pepper jelly, a gift from a gourmet foodie member at his country club. He may have unnecessarily stuffed the pantry with five jars that I'm not sure I'll get to immediately, but it's still awesome. My favorite way to eat pepper jelly is with crackers and cheese, specifically mascarpone or brie, which got me to thinking about my beloved cheese trays (check out my charcuterie spread here). I find that most people can't tell the difference between good cheese and very good cheese, so the spread really depends on the accompaniments:  crackers, bread, crostinis, olives, fruit, jams and jellies, spreads, cured meats... I could go on forever. The Cheddar & Scallion Twists (Target find) and the Sundried Tomato Mustard are both delicious; the others I'm still looking forward to trying.

1. Fig and Olive Crisps, 2. Cheddar and Scallion Sourdough Twists, 3. Sundried Tomato Mustard, 4. Assortment of Cured Meats, 5. Harissa Spread, 6. International Olive Assortment, 7. Rosemary Mini Flatbreads

where oh where has my little blog gone?

I'm aware that I already posted a warning of temporary hiatus, but I feel like I need to have a little update to let all of my AMAZING readers know what's going down in the near future. I am excited about our engagement beyond reason or measure, and will certainly be posting throughout this amazing experience about engagement, wedding planning, weddings and l-o-v-e. However, I promise that Gingersnaps will never become a mushy gushy blushing bride wedding blog. Ever. I love food entirely too much, as well as fashion that doesn't involve lace, beading, and 723 subtly different shades of Ivory (oh, excuuuuse me if this is more of a Vanilla Buttercream, ha!).

Also, I am in the middle of a 3 week stint in Perryville, MD, which is essentially a bloody massacre horror movie setting in the middle of nowhere. Their internet hates me, and refuses to let either Picnik or Blogger do their thang.

THEN (have you checked out of this convo yet?), on Sept 15th I leave for a 3 week journey to Ireland. I will be taking my laptop on this venture, and will absolutely be beefing up the travel (and fashion) sections throughout my trip. So get ready for a LOT of green pastures, castles, sheep, redheads, and other shamelessly stereotypical Irish things that I can't think of right now.

That's where we're at. Phew.

oh happy day!

Gingersnaps is back with a bang... and a ring! Yesterday, what started as my birthday ended up being so much more. In fact, it was the happiest day of my life. Adam and I are getting married! I knew that covert plans for birthday gifts and a nice dinner were in the works, but had no idea what would unfold. To my delight, Adam informed me that I did not have to worry about over-dressing for dinner (yay!), so I wore a gorgeous ivory dress from London that I'd been meaning to sneak in before summer's end. After a heartfelt card and gifts, he suggested that we walk somewhere nice to take a few photos together on our lovely day. He suggested we walk to the top of Federal Hill, overlooking the harbor near our first happy little home. Then, with shaking hands, teary eyes, and beautiful loving words, Adam took one knee and asked me to marry him. It was the most abundantly joyful, overwhelming, and memorable moment I could have ever imagined, and I'm so happy to share it with all of you as the future Mrs. Slagter. 

Before: of course I had to include my cute dress from Instant Vintage, nude Steve Madden Rrrush pumps, and completely sub par stackable rings from UO.

After:  my beautiful ring and FIANCE. Unfortunately, the super macro camera setting shows every one of my grubby little finger marks and spots from fondling my ring for the past 12 hours or so. Ignore those, please ;)

 

temporary hiatus

Gingersnaps will be on a miniature hiatus starting today, and extending on and off for the next few weeks. I'm currently stuck in bum-f$&* Maryland amidst spiders, cows, and dormitory style living. This would be fine, except the internet is incapable of handling photo uploads or editing of any kind. I'll be rectifying this situation ASAP. Thanks for your patience!

grilled asparagus & roasted mushroom salad

The actual title for this recipe is Grilled Asparagus and Roasted Mushroom Salad with Toasted Pecans, Blue Cheese, and Red Chile Mustard Vinaigrette, but that seemed a bit wordy to use for my post, no?  Leave it to my ginger brother, Bobby Flay, to get all fancy. I'll be up front with you:  this salad was way too much work for a random weeknight. I personally don't really have time to be whipping up a first course at all, let alone a fancy-pants one, on a Tuesday. However, the salad was extremely tasty, and I would definitely make it for a special occasion, date night, or dinner party. It was bursting with an interesting mix of flavors that blended together just stupendously. The pictures don't really do it justice because, well, mushrooms are ugly. In real life, it was quite lovely and I was pleased with myself for the effort.