I am insatiable, but my hunger has never kept me from exulting in pleasure for the moment or hour or day... however long it lasts.

One raspberry, one kiss, one emerald... one macaroon will never be enough.

- Gaile Greene

High End, Low Cost Shopping!

I move into my new apartment in one month and recently I've been stressing over redecorating. This summer, I've looked EVERYWHERE for the perfect comforter, and I seriously mean everywhere. My main problem is that my college budget is a little too low for my taste in... everything really. Finally, I was on ideeli.com Friday and got an excellent deal on this Tommy Hilfiger comforter and sham set (more on ideeli later).

I absolutely love it. I also bought a chunky white lamp to go on my night stand. It's very traditional, but the heaviness of it makes it a little more modern and it compliments the damask pattern perfectly. I found it at TJMaxx for only $29.00!

My new bedroom has a little corridor where my closet's located with a window at the end, and I think it's going to be the perfect place to hang these Lilly Pulitzer Party Pom Poms I bought on sale in December and still haven't opened! I've got a cute little white chandelier that they'll look perfect with.

So anyway, back to what this post's all about - shopping on a budget. This summer I finally discovered the wonder of online shopping. You can get so many great deals online that you can't get in the store.

Take Kate's Paperie for example. I found this NYC Stationary Heaven while I was in SoHo and fell in love. I bought a few things while I was there, but came home wishing I'd gotten more. So I was browsing through the sale items online, and I started finding amazing deal after amazing deal! I ended up with over $200 worth of Lilly Pulitzer stationery, wrapping paper, and home items for only $60!

And now, back to Ideeli. Ideeli's a site for online discount shopping, much like Hautelook, Gilt Groupe, and RueLaLa. For most of these sites, you have to be invited to join. Once you join, you get daily emails around 11:30 letting you know about all the sales going on that day, and they open up at noon. You have to be quick if you want something though - it goes fast. These sites are great, because you can get clothes from top designers, jewelry, home items, and even vacation packages at unbelievable prices. If you'd like an invite to any of them, let me know and I'll send you one!

So the moral of the story is, if you're like me (expensive taste with a not-so-expensive budget) you can still get the best of both worlds! You just have to be a little creative about it. Check out discount stores like TJMaxx and Marshalls for home goods and don't forget to look online either!

"Oh, what I wouldn't give for a plate of fried green tomatoes..."

If you have a garden, or if you're just an avid farmer's market shopper, you know that it's tomato season - the best time of the year! So to make use of those 1029831 tomatoes before they go bad, try frying them green.

Ingredients

• 2 small green tomatoes
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 egg
• Vegetable oil for frying

1. In a cast iron skillet begin heating 1/4 inch of oil at medium-high.

2. Slice tomatoes just under half an inch. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Combine corn meal, flour, cayenne, and salt in a tupperware container. Close the lid and shake until well mixed.
4. In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with a little water to create an egg wash.
5. Dip the tomato slices in the egg wash then place them in the flour mixture. Shake until well coated.
6. Fry the tomatoes on one side until golden brown, then flip.

7. Cool the tomatoes on napkins to soak up excess oil.

Lunch from the Garden - Tomato and Cucumber Sandwich with Fried Green Tomatoes

Sidenotes

• If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can use any heavy pan with a high rim.
• To test the oil and make sure it's the right temperature, sprinkle a little flour in the pan. If it starts frying immediately, but doesn't burn, you're just right.
• Don't fry all the tomatoes at once. Crowding the pan will cause the oil temperature to lower. You'll end up with greasy, mushy tomatoes - not good!

My Return to the Blog World

I've been away so long, I don't even know what to write! I have some new recipes, but right now I just want to talk about New York.

It was wonderful. For the first time in my life, I was completely alone. The strange thing is that it wasn't a scary experience at all. Not the twenty times I got lost. Not when I got off at the wrong subway stop and ended up in Chinatown. Not when I was walking down the streets at night. Not when I audited a culinary class. Not when I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner alone for five days. It was liberating.

So here are a few of my favorite photos from my trip. I hope you enjoy.

Rockefeller Center

Handmade, Solid Chocolate Wedding Cakes

Culinary Institute of America

French Culinary Institute

Delicious Sandwich in SoHo

Perfection.