The Comm Ave Strut

Fall favorite: apple pie

I've never been that great in the kitchen (it's much more Alana's domain than mine - ask our other roommates from this past summer), but my roommate and I made apple pie the other night, and it was actually the best I've ever had.

We adapted the recipe from my roommate's Weight Watchers cookbook and then added our own (kind of unhealthy) top crust. It was really simple to make and helped us clean out the fridge a little - we got rid of extra butter and apples that were about to go bad. The entire apartment smelled delicious and the pie didn't even make it through the weekend. I'd call it a success!

It's perfect to make for guests (impress your family over Thanksgiving), to bring to a potluck or just to have tempting desserts around the house. Try pairing it with some homemade hard apple cider for a cozy fall night in!

Spring the recipe!

Outfits in Review: Signature Color

Last Week's Challenge: Signature Color. While Rachel chose blue, I chose purple. Unfortunately, I had to make a quick clothing switch on Thursday to attend Blogtoberfest, and didn't have time to take a photo of my purple outfit. I'm sorry, it won't happen again!

Check out Rachel's looks, and Alana's looks too!

This Week's Challenge: Breaking the Rules. I'm extremely excited about breaking traditional fashion rules, but Rach is a little nervous about it. I'm sure she'll do great!

Weekend Roundup: OPI Essentials

 
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Confession: I'm obsessed with OPI nail polish. I love the bottles, the colors, the names... I own over 20 of their colors, and and have the [lofty] goal of owning all of them one day. I'm not the only one bitten by the OPI bug, though. Joining me in my obsession are: my mother, a few friends, and... Ellen!

On a college girl's budget, I think it'll be awhile until I can own the entire collection. So, for now, here are a few highlights from my list of essentials:

Big Apple Red
Eiffel for the Color
Got the Blues for Red
Charged up Cherry

Spring the whole list!

Makeup Emergency: Lipstick-less on a big night out

 

Last week I received an email from a reader about how she survived a makeup emergency. When she realized she was lipstick-less on a big night out, she came up with a crafty solution that saved the day. That's what we at The Comm Ave. Strut like to hear!

"Hi Alana:

I wanted to tell you about a makeup emergency I had tonight and how I solved it. I had plans to meet friends tonight for dinner and a lecture downtown. I was running late as usual, so had to do my makeup in the car. I grabbed my makeup bag and quickly switched my backpack for a nicer purse. When we got on the road, I realized I had a full-blown emergency: there was no lipstick in either the makeup bag or purse!

I can manage without a lot of things, but lipstick is essential! I whined (a lot) and my date offered to go back for my lipstick, but we were already unacceptably late, so I sucked it up and tried to come up with a substitute.

In the purse I found chapstick, which made my lips feel nice and moist, but I really needed some color. I brushed some powdered blush on top—still nothing. Using my finger, I applied a fairly heavy coating of the blush to my chapsticked lips, then topped it off with more chapstick and actually ended up with a pretty close approximation of lipstick.

And you know what? It stayed on really well! I have used lipstick for blush before, but this was the first time I tried it in reverse."

Thanks for the tip, Donna! Do you have a fashion or beauty tip you'd like to share?  Email Me!

original photo via

Delicious Eats: Other Side Cafe

Last year, my friend and I decided we'd try being vegetarians for two weeks, just to see if we could do it. During our two [successful] weeks, we looked up all of the vegetarian restaurants in Boston and made lists of the ones we wanted to go to. The Other Side Cafe was one of the restaurants on the list that we never made it to. Lucky for me, a family friend was in town this weekend and took me there for Sunday brunch...and it was delicious.

We got there at the perfect time (around 12:15) because after that, the line was huge... but it would definitely be worth the wait. Deciding between lunch and breakfast food is usually hard, but even once I chose breakfast it was hard to pick my actual entree (I hear their omelettes and french toast are equally phenomenal). I had the Huevos Rancheros (fried eggs on top of vegetarian chili, with salsa, guacamole, cheese and cornbread) and it was definitely the right decision.

The food was delicious, the atmosphere was great (very laid back, open and relaxing - even though it was pretty loud), and the service was quick and helpful. I'd definitely suggest checking it out - go for brunch, lunch, dinner, or drinks (they also have a full bar).

Spring the restaurant!

original photo via

Girl on Top: The Tour

Yes, I realize that this sounds like some skanky sex tour...but it's not, it's a book tour! Girl on Top,by Nicole Williams, is a book with great tips for making it as a successful career woman. From the book's site:

" In Girl on Top, career expert Nicole Williams takes 20 tried-and-true dating rules you know (and have probably used) such as "Play Hard to Get" and "Don’t Give Away the Milk for Free"—and shows you how to put them to use when the object of your affection is your job."

As a senior soon to be graduating and entering "the real world," this book sounds perfect for me. Though I don't own it yet, I'm pretty sure I want to check it out at my local B&N...ASAP.

What's even cooler is that Nicole is going on tour across the US and Canada, promoting her book with the help of some fantastic partners like The Limited, Tarte and Vosges chocolate!

Nicole will be in Boston on November 17th and 18th at two local The Limited stores. You'll get to meet her, enjoy FREE drinks, 40% off purchases at The Limited, and a great gift bag. Hope to see you there!

Outfits in Review: Statement Accessory

Last week's challenge: The statement accessory.

You can check out all of last week's outfit in my closet!

And introducing this week's challenge: Signature Color.

We're very excited!

Weekend Roundup: Pink products to support breast cancer research

It seems pink has taken over this October, and I'm ok with it! As you probably know, October is breast cancer awareness month.

From the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Website:

"The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) organization is a partnership of national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies working together to promote breast cancer awareness, share information on the disease, and provide greater access to screening services."

I think this is a fabulous cause. Whether you're participating in breast cancer walks, spreading the word about breast self-exams, or purchasing items whose proceeds benefit breast cancer research, you're making a difference.

I've scoured the web and put together a list of my favorite "pink" products for October. Check it out!

Start of the season: Neiman Marcus' extravagant gifts

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Holiday season is sneaking up on us. Yes, it's only October, but it's supposed to snow in Boston next week and I've already seen some Christmas trees in department stores - and I love it. The happiness, the togetherness, and the gifts - big, small, expected, surprise - they're great! Neiman Marcus publishes a book every year of gifts - their Christmas Book - and the Today Show tipped me off to their list of the most extravagant gifts of the season.

My favorite is definitely the custom cupcake car (beating out the world's fastest electric motorcycle and an Algonquin Round Table experience)... but at $25,000 each, I think it might be a little out of my price range, no matter how much I love cupcakes.

My actual holiday list this year consists of money and travel accessories - prepping for my semester abroad in London! It might be early to start thinking about it, but what's on your list?

Favorite Find: The Pebble Collection

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I must admit, though I love Etsy, I definitely have a hard time navigating the site and finding sellers with products that I like. That's why I'm always excited to:

a) get recommendations from friends of great etsy stores

b) discover jewelry that I like in person and then realize that...hey, it's on etsy too!

...and that's how I discovered The Pebble Collection.

From their facebook page:

"Simple and elegant handcrafted jewelry and accessories. Jewelry with Sterling Silver, Rose Gold, Gold Fill and Semiprecious stones, pearls, shell and wood."

They have a booth set up at the BU farmer's market, which takes place every Thursday. I've already bought a few cute flower hair clips from the collection, and I'm hoping to buy some of their gorgeous, nature inspired pieces as gifts!

The Pebble collection is both local and handmade, so it's definitely a favorite in my book!

  Spring the store!