Everyday Style: Backpacks

Although I started my fall semester last week, the long labor day weekend and the sudden cool weather are really making it feel like "back to school" time. Although it doesn't hold the same excitement that it used to, I still enjoy this time of year. I mean who doesn't love sweaters, boots, lattes, apple picking, and pumpkins? Ahh, Fall. I usually throw a binder into my giant purse, but wouldn't it be cute to carry around a chic, adult backpack? Here are some of my picks from around the web. 

 

Striped Fleece Backpack - Poketo

Ecote Solid Canvas Backpack

Cotton Canvas School Bag - American Apparel

Cotton Duck Backpack - Baggu

Quiche with Spinach & Feta Cheese

Today is the first day of the fall semester. Although not looking forward to the commute this semester, I'm feeling good because after this, I'll have a month off and one semester left before I'm done. Dinner can be challenging on nights I have school, and this semester Mike is back to school as well. On these days we'll often cook dinner around 3-4, and eat around 4:30 (much earlier than our usual 7-8 o'clock dinnertime) before hopping in the car to head to school.

Quiche is one of our go to easy meals on nights like those. We are crazy about eggs in this house so we always have them stocked, add whatever vegetables you have lying around, some cheese, milk, and you got a quiche. But wait, I know some people are weird about eggs. I'm weird about eggs. So I know a quiche might seem like what my brother Eric referred to as an "egg pie" but it's so much better than that. So don't be afraid to give it a go. Also, most quiches rely on butter and heavy cream, which makes it super fatty, but this recipe, which is kind of a mash of a few different recipes that have become our staple, uses olive/vegetable oil, and milk. Here is the recipe for the whole shebang including the easiest crust ever.

Crust

2 cups white flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour and salt together with a fork or just shake it around a bit. Add, oil and water. Form into a ball. Spread it out around the bottom of a cake pan or quiche/tart pan. I know who has a quiche pan? But it's so, so much easier (and prettier) with a quiche pan. With a fork, poke a few holes in the crust and throw it in the oven for about 20 minutes (it makes the crust, thicker and crustier in the end).

Meanwhile:

Filling

4 eggs

1 lb spinach (it cooks way down)

1/2 large red onion or 1 small red onion, diced.

1 cup feta cheese

1/2 cup milk (I use skim, but any kind works)

Heat a large skillet/saute pan over high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil (a couple of swirls or about 2 tablespoons). Add the onions, lower the heat and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add spinach, a few pinches of salt and pepper and give it a good mix with the onion  for about 2 minutes, letting the spinach wilt. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 4 eggs. Add the milk and feta cheese. Add the spinach/onion mixture. Throw in a little more salt and pepper. Pour in crust. Bake for 40 minutes. Give it a wiggle to make sure it is cooked through. It shouldn't wiggle. It'll be a rich, creamy, cheesy little slice of egg pie (wink, wink).

Images by Amynonymous for Domestic Observances

Starved Rock

Starved Rock is an Illinois State Park. All I really know about it is that my parent's used to camp there in the 70s. Anyway, Mike and I decided to spend a day at Starved Rock, hiking, picnicking, and enjoying NATURE. It was not exactly what we expected. At first, there were paved walkways and endless amounts of stairs, not exactly what you think of when you think State Park, but eventually the paved trails led to less busy wooded trails and we felt like we were more in the wilderness.

Starved Rock. We didn't actually climb up, although we could've followed the line up like a roller coaster. We intended on hitting it up on the way back from our hike but Olive was beat.

We climbed up into the hillside, stopped at Lover's Leap (doesn't sound ominous at all) then climbed up to Eagle Point.

We started down the stairs to follow the Lake Trail and Olive stopped to take a breather. Mind you we had only been hiking for like 20 minutes but there were a lot stairs for her (and my) little legs.

Olive was so tired after the stairs that she decided to stretch out right on the trail to cool her belly. After this, we decided to let her illegally wade in the river to keep her from overheating.

Here's us in all our sweaty, bug sprayed glory.

Far and away my favorite place on the trail were these rock formations. They towered above us, and you literally felt like you were in another world.

Following the rock formations we headed way up to the Bluff Trail and traveled through Lone Tree Canyon. Pretty, though not as sexy as "Asswood Canyon"

We let Olive cool off one more time. Clearly we choose the cleanest water we could find.

After her muddy romp, Mike helped Olive out for a bit. I know you're thinking, "why would you carry a dog", but there were some treacherous grated metal steps, that Olive seriously refused to walk on. Also Boston Terriers tend to overheat very easily and this was at the end of our long hike (although, not as long as we thought). Finally, look at her face, she's clearly beat. So shut up, it's not like she's in a stroller.

River House Bedroom Design

We have the privilege of having our own room at the family River House. We spend as much time there as possible and do our best to chip in with the housework and exterior maintenance. Now I'm working on the fun part, and began by designing a mood board for the room. It all started with the 7 dollar midcentury modern nightstand (# 10) that we scored from Goodwill (along with some sweet beer steins). From there, we tried to find a matching piece of furniture and managed to find an almost matching dresser at the antique store in town. We wanted to maintain a simple, Michigan inspired, slightly beachy vibe, so we picked out the striped nautical-ish bedding from West Elm and the streamlined white lamps. Still on the list is some Michigan inspired artwork, white drapes, pillows and DIY decor (mirror and wall hook).

1. Mid Century Modern Dresser
2. Milk Glass Bowl—for phones, keys, wallets and other accessories, the one we found was from Goodwill for $2.50
3. Wood starburst mirror—We DIYed our own with craft store supplies. Still needs to be stained. Tutorial to come.
4. Wood hook rack—Anthropologie, with a hefty price tag. We’re planning on DIYing this with some store bought hooks, scrap wood, and stain.
5. Kulla Table Lamp—IKEA
6. Gauzy white curtains—can be found anywhere, IKEA has some good options.
7. Michigan Great Lakes State Print—Mandipity on Etsy
8. ALANG Floor Lamp—IKEA
9. Striped Duvet Cover and Shams—West Elm
10. Mid Century Modern Nightstand
11. Fuzzy Pillow Cover—West Elm
12. Owl Pillow Cover—Classic by Nature on Etsy
13. Oversized Glass Vase—Available everywhere, we grabbed one from Hobby Lobby for 50% off

P.S. Check out some of my other mood boards here and here

Weekly Meal Plan

Image via Mehan's Kitchen

Salmon Cakes

Creamy Pesto Pasta

Image via The Kitchn

Udon noodle stir fry

Sub Sandwiches

Image via Smitten Kitchen

Sour Cream Pancakes

Spinach & Feta Quiche

Image via t magazine

Ham Banh Mi Sandwiches

Spring Rolls

Image via Real Mom Kitchen

Grilled Margherita Pizza