Suzanne Carillo

More Maxi Style & Fresh Strawberry Salad Recipe

August 24, 2014 by suzanne carillo

I'm pretty darn proud that I controlled myself when on vacation in the Netherlands and only bought 3 things…1 vintage dress, 1 maxi dress, and one boho cross body bag. It was easier to control my shopping impulses when the Euro is almost twice the value of the Canadian dollar.

This is the maxi I just had to have. Greetje and Anja were nice enough to take some impromptu photos while I was showing off my purchase of the day to Greetje. My hair is up because I was preparing supper.

I'm wearing the maxi dress with flats here but you can see it is quite long. I haven't decided if I will have it hemmed since it does look very nice with my wedge heels and of course makes my legs look longer.

This is another one of those dresses you can scrunch up in a ball and pull out of a suitcase looking perfect 7 days later. Even one that has been lost for 5 days like mine was.

Also, because it has an empire waist it is perfect for a fat day.

Here we are in Anja's garden enjoying the salad I made. I am wearing my "cooking clothes", which apparently is a maxi skirt paired with a tiger shirt. Next time I really need to bring an apron with me. I am so 1950's.

Photos courtesy of Anja from The Curly Traveller

This is my own recipe for salad I make all the time. Greetje loved it and wanted the recipe so here it is:

Suzanne's Strawberry Goat's Cheese Pecan Summer Salad

salad dressing

4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar ( you can also use balsamic vinegar, if you do, you might not need as much honey)
1 tsp grainy mustard
1.5 – 2 tbsp good quality honey
salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together in bottom of large bowl. Taste to make sure it is balanced. If you need you can add a bit more honey or a bit more vinegar.

salad

1 bunch cooked al dente asparagus cut into bite size pieces
2 bags washed mixed greens (or one bag, depending on how many people you need to feed)
1/2 package of fresh strawberries washed, hulled and cut into slices
1 small package of goat's cheese
1/4 cup of toasted pecans

Toss the greens and asparagus into the large bowl and mix to coat with vinaigrette. Plate greens. Add strawberries, pecans and goat's cheese artfully on top of each plated salad.

This was an outfit post that morphed into a recipe post. I must be hungry.

Linking up with the lovely Patti at Visible Monday

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What To Wear When Cruising The Canals Of Amsterdam

August 20, 2014 by suzanne carillo

I need to fit a regular outfit post in here amongst my travel photos, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, or as they say in the Netherlands, "kill two flies with one swat" and show off some photos of the canals in Amsterdam and also my outfit of the day on that day.

This is one of those brilliant travel dresses that you can bunch up in a ball, leave in the suitcase, pull it out 5 days later and it still looks great.

I need to thank Anja from the Curly Traveller for this wonderful shot in her garden.

It got a little cooler on the water so I added the blue jean jacket. The hat was to protect from the sun.

I really lucked out with the weather the whole time I was there. It only rained once for about 30 minutes when we were out in Haarlem one day. Otherwise, beautiful blue skies and sunshine.

Here I am thanking the captain of the boat, Greetje's husband and all around great guy, Ron.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to show you what the other three bloggers wore while cruising the canals for the day…

Here is Greetje from No Fear of Fashion looking all kinds of hip chic with the white jeans and nautical striped blazer.

And the lovely Sylvia of 40+ Style whom I can thank for some of the photos here, also a big fan of white.

Did you notice that they both have the same running shoes? Twinsies!

After a full day of cruising the canals Ron docked at a pier for this fabulous restaurant in an old converted boat.

So cool!

Look at Charlie, Ron's dog peaking out from under the table!

Also we didn't get a really good shot of what Anja was wearing but you can see it was leggings, a tunic and some bright jewelry. I thought I had lots of jewelry…but Anja's collection is massive. I am a very small player compared to her. Now when my husband says something about how much jewellery I have I can just say,

"Well I don't have nearly as much as Anja!"

That's what friends are for.

And here are some shots I took while cruising along the canals…

Cruising the canals really is the best way to see Amsterdam. Even better when it is in a private boat with personal tour guides, refreshments and fuzzy warm companion.

I'm talking about Charlie, the dog…not Ron!

I've made a little movie so you don't have to feel left out. Enjoy!