BROWN SUEDE JACKET FOR FALL

Its Sunday, which means its time for a brand new Outfit Post. My posts are usually scheduled and go up on time, as I hate missing schedules. But the last few days, have been very adventurous for us. From a family of 3, we became a family of 4. "Blaze," my furry son is home.

It was our first weekend with him, and we enjoyed every bit of it. Now to try and get back to the routine, or should we say create a new routine, for this family of 4. Sundays mean a New Blog Post and since its still Sunday, I thought of sharing about my latest Jacket Crush.

The Brown Suede Jacket is clearly one of my most worn items this Fall. I love how it can make any outfit look so chic. You can pair it with those Summer dresses, and tights and booties, and be ready for Fall. I am more of a denim girl, so I had to style it with denims.


 Its always tricky when you are trying to pair black and brown . For many its a No-No. But I love doing it. I paired my Brown Suede Jacket with a black sleeveless blouse from Express. Its all about the details, in any outfit. The leather paneling on this top, gives it that edge. I carried forward the brown-tan tones in the outfit, with my 90's style Brown Lips , my Jord Wood Watch and my leopard Pumps. Leopard and Black are both neutrals. The black of the top, ties in with the black notes of the leopard . The blue ripped denim adds a much needed pop of cooler tones in the outfit, to balance the warmer tones.

Its effortless and chic and I love it. So are you adding a Brown Suede Jacket to your Black Friday Shopping list? I think you should.

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COFFEE CRUSTED STEAK & BROWN BUTTERED BUTTERNUT SQUASH FOR FRIENDSGIVING

Thanksgiving is just a week away ! How fast did this year fly by. What are your plans for the long weekend? A big Turkey Dinner with the family, or something more intimate. As far as our plans go, Thursday is for the extended family and Friday is for Friends-giving. Isn't that fun !

Friends-giving is celebrated through the month of November, but we do it over the same weekend, with some special friends of ours. Friends who have stood the test of time. Friends whom we are Thankful for. Last year, our Friends-giving party even had Hubby sharing a local TV slot. he was picking our stash of spirits, and made it to evening news, speaking of Friends giving. Yes, that clip is archived for sure. Its not every day that a former TV journalists family members are on air, right.

Coming back to Friends-giving, something special is on the menu for us. Its not Turkey, its Steak. Friends-giving is usually a potluck, with hostess tackling the main protein, and the guests pitching in with the sides. As the hostess, I shall be tackling the protein and one side.

I love Coffee and I love Steak . And my husband brought the two together, to create the most perfect Friendsgiving dinner menu. Its packs such a flavorful punch along with satisfying the soul.

Coffee crusted Steak and Buttered Butternut Squash , make for one luxurious plate.

Trust me, its not your average meat and potatoes kind of dinner. If you are looking for healthier options, when you are hosting your friends, then you are in the wrong page. If dry aged steak was not enough, then there's loads and loads of butter adding to the mix. My Husband is the fancier of the home chefs, between us both. While I cook the mundane, he cooks up the exotic and even the special occasion meals, with panache. And coffee crusted steak is his specialty .

Without much further ado, lets get cooking, shall we.

COFFEE CRUSTED STEAK AND BUTTERED BUTTERNUT SQUASH : 

STEAK: 
Ingredients :  
Strip Steak : 2
Paprika : 1 tsp
Cumin Powder : 1 tsp
Salt
Coffee Powder : 4 tbsp
Brown Sugar : 1 tbsp
Canola Oil
Butter

Procedure :

Make a dry rub of the seasonings

Pat your thawed steak dry with a paper towel to soak up any moisture and generously coat it with the dry rub. Let it marinate for an hour at least.

In a cast iron pan, or a non stick pan, melt your 1 stick of butter . Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Or you can grill it too.

Let the meat rest for at least 5 mins. Then cut the steaks on the bias. Serve with the uttered butternut squash .

SQUASH: 
Ingredients :
Butternut Squash : 1 : Cubed
Butter : 1 to 2 stick
Salt
Pepper
Brown Sugar : 2 tbsp
Scallions/Green Onion : 1/2 bunch : finely chopped

Procedure: 

Add canola oil and butter to a non stick pan .

Add in 1 tbsp of brown sugar. Stir it around.

Add in your cubed butternut squash, season with salt and pepper and add in some more butter. You can alss add in your second spoon of brown sugar at this point.

Once your butter nut squash is cooked, add in your scallions.

Wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving !

Bon Appetit ! 

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TEETH WHITENING FOR COFFEE STAINS

My Smile has always been my biggest asset, so I have been said, for years. Black Coffee is my lifeline. And the two are known to clash !

Teeth Whitening had been on my mind for quite some time now. When you are an avid coffee drinker, your pearly whites can sometimes take a blow. I need my daily caffeine fix, but I knew a teeth whitening session was imminent. That's where Smile Brilliant stepped in, with a brilliant collaboration idea.

This project has been long in the making, but I did not want to do a half hearted effort in giving teeth whitening a try. Two long trips , from Texas to Iceland, a bad tooth injury, student life and Murphy's Law in general, delayed my honest intentions.

Finally I could give it a try. My heartfelt apologies to the Smile Brilliant team for the delay and thank you for being patient with me.

Smile Brilliant is a Teeth Whitening service which you can easily do at the comforts of your home. No more appointments at your dental hygenist's office. Cue on some Netflix and let the whitening begin.

When you first receive your care package, it comes with three tubs of Catalyst and Base each, two Dental trays, and a few syringes of Teeth Whitening Gels and DeSensitizing Gels .

The First task on hand is to create your Custom Dental Impressions. Brush and floss your teeth. Mix equal portions of the Base and Catlalyst , to create a solid blue putty . Place the putty in the middle of the tray and bite into it, to create your impression. Work on one tray at a time. 

Once the impressions are done, its time to mail them back to Smile Brilliant, so that they can create your custom dental trays. Your care package comes with a pre-paid envelope to take care of the dental trays. 

Once you receive your custom trays back, its time to get Whitening. Brush teeth with water(no tooth paste). Remove the cap of the teeth whitening syringe and apply gel to trays. Insert trays and whiten. Start with a whitening time of 45 minutes and you can gradually increase to 3 hours. 

Brush your teeth with tooth paste after you have finished your whitening session and now its time to use the De- sensitizing Gel for 15 to 20 minutes. It reduces sensitivity and prevents future staining. Make sure your trays are washed and dried in between each of the two sessions. Both sessions need to happen back to back  for effective whitening . 

Time wise you are looking at 45 minutes of Whitening + 15 minutes of De-Sensitizing = 30 minutes of waiting to prevent re-staining. So make sure you plan out your sessions accordingly. 

BEFORE TEETH WHITENING WITH SMILE BRILLIANT 

AFTER USING SMILE BRILLIANT TEETH WHITENING 

I did experience some slight sensitivity when I used the teeth whitening gel, but that's normal with any teeth whitening procedure. The sensitivity reduced as I went along the process. I started off with 45 minutes per session and went up to two hours. I whitened my teeth for a week : 7 individual sessions. I made sure that I whitened my teeth before bed, so that the de-sensitizing gel could work on it while I slept. It also gave my teeth a chance to re-hydrate . For me , the biggest challenge was continuing the session back to back. I had started a month or more back, and then I had a minor accident. So I had to give the sessions a break. Then I started the sessions from scratch and did it for a week back to back. 

I am aware that no teeth whitening procedure can work miracles. All whitening products work by removing stains. Each whitening session removes years worth of stains. The idea is to be patient with the procedure. I am very happy with the initial progress and would want to continue it again. If you see my teeth, then the whitening procedure has been able to lift away the yellow stains in general, and give it a whiteness, which I was looking for. I want to repeat the procedure in 6 months. 

What I loved about Smile Brilliant was that how simplified the whole procedure was. I could order the kit online,and everything reached home. There were detailed instructions for every step to be followed, which made it so convenient. The custom trays reached me within a week of mailing them and I was all set to start whitening. 

So do you want to give Teeth Whitening a try ? If so, then I could help you out, along with Smile Brilliant . I have an Exclusive Giveaway for a full set , and a Coupon Code , for $20 off Trays. Go ahead, and try your luck . 

Giveaway Link :  https://www.smilebrilliant.com/g/journotalk  

$20 off Trays Coupon Code : journatalk20

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NOT YOUR AVERAGE GREY SWEATER

Cooler days and greys have an instant connect. Whenever I feel I am running out of outfit ideas for Fall -Winter, I rummage through my stash of greys. I love monochromes and greys fit into the color scheme just perfect. Almost every outfit in my closet, has a story with it. An anecdote, a tale, of how it became a part of my closet, or something significant which happened when I was wearing the outfit. We were a few days away from our Iceland trip, and I must add that I have enough sweaters in my stash already. It was a school night but classes had ended early. I knew Hubby and kiddo were doing some last minute shopping. When I reached, this grey sweater, literally jumped into my cart. Along with an emerald green chenille sweater, which I plan to wear during the Holidays. 

When I call this Sweater, not your Average Grey Sweater, I mean it. Can't miss the details ! The Bell Sleeves, the Elbow Cutout, the Knit, you cant miss them. Cutout details have been a rage in Spring-Summer, and this is a great way of bringing these details ,right into Fall. 

I love my slouchy sweaters. I love that silhouette paired with my skinny jeans. Its my comfort zone. I keep adding to my sweater collection, but don't usually stray away from it. This time, it was different . I loved both the new sweaters, but they were slightly on the cropped side. I love dhow they draped me. There was no highlighting areas, that I wanted to camouflage, which was a winner  in my eyes. I decided to go the monochrome route. Black skinnies, black chiffon top and my black booties. These are basics, and I love how much wear I can get out of my basics. 

So what's your go to Fall Sweater ?! Sweater Weather is here to stay ! 

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