Christian and I are not huge on Valentine's Day, but we do buy cute cards and make sure to have a delicious meal to celebrate. When Valentine's Day is during the week that usually means I make one of our favorite meals or we grab takeout. I'm always up for trying new things, so this year we're including some delicious treats from Wildgrain.
Wildgrain offers an artisanal bread subscription box ($89 + free shipping) for you to liven up meals at home. They are the first bake-from-frozen delivery service for breads, pastries and pasta! And the best part? Everything is made by small-batch bakers and pasta makers across the country so you'll be supporting small businesses. Each month you'll get a delicious selection of goodies to keep in your freezer until you are ready to enjoy them.
One of our usual date night spots is a fancy Italian restaurant so I decided to recreate that experience at home with help from the items in our Wildgrain box. I started by baking the sourdough spelt loaf right out of the freezer - it only took 24 minutes. This was my first time having spelt bread and it was very good. I couldn't see a huge different between regular flour, but it definitely had the sourdough flavor. I had only recently heard of spelt, thanks to the Great British Bake Off. Spelt is an ancient grain that was one of the first species of wheat used to make bread. Wildgrain bakers also use wild yeast meaning making these crusty loaves can take days from start-to-finish. A labor of love that you can see, feel and taste! We enjoyed the bread with butter and pesto, yum!
Our main course used fresh tonnarelli pasta. Since it's a special occasion I decided to make shrimp scampi, such a simple dish but feels very fancy. Or is that just me? Anyway, I made a sauce with butter, olive oil, garlic and chicken broth before adding in the shrimp, some red pepper flakes and finishing it off with lemon juice and parsley. Delish!
Our meal ended with two ooey gooey giant chocolate chunk cookies. They were loooooaded with chocolate, my favorite kind of cookie. I under-baked them just a little so they were nice and soft and full of chocolate flavor.
We can't wait to try the rest of our box! There's still a plain sourdough loaf, fettuccine, 4 croissants, 2 more cookies and a cranberry-pecan loaf (so excited for this!) Plus we still have 2 more portions of tonnarelli pasta in the freezer. So much food!
Wildgrain is a great way to get homemade sourdough without all the effort. I love making bread, but I am far too lazy for sourdough. There is so much that goes into the process that I don't have the patience for. I also haven't mastered shaping my non-sourdough doughs yet. Maybe one day I'll get the hang of it! But for now, I have Wildgrain to provide tasty, crusty, delicious bread that I just have to pull out of the freezer and bake!
February boxes can include a sourdough loaf, rosemary garlic sourdough loaf (YUM!,) fettuccine pasta, english muffins, cherry pie bites and more! The Mixed Wildgrain Box includes sourdough bread, hand-cut pasta, and artisanal pastries. The Bakery Box includes breakfast baked goods, sourdough bread, and artisanal pastries. The subscription works much like other meal delivery service. You order your box, it's delivered for free each month and you can pause, adjust frequency or cancel at any time. Rescheduling your delivery is also possible if you'll be away. They even warn you 4 days before you will be charged in case you forget to skip a month. Right now you can receive four free croissants with each box (for the life of your membership.)
We all know I love a brand that gives back, and for every new Wildgrain member, 6 meals are donated to The Greater Boston Food Bank. Over 120,000 meals have been donated so far! If you'd like to try out Wildgrain, use code MEGB10OFF for $10 off your first box!
*This post was made in partnership with Apogee Agency. All opinions on the product are my own and have not been influenced by this sponsorship. Thank you for supporting brands I feature* #WildgrainFebruary #sponsored
Looks like it's Madewell sweater week on the blog, this is another one I've had for quite some time (since 2011!) I keep it around for occasions where I need a punch of red. These jeans are getting closer to being out of my closet, there is a small hole on the butt area that I'm having my mom put a patch behind but not sure how much longer they'll last. That's why I bought a similar pair by J Brand last month. I still want another pair of this cut from FRAME because they fit like a dream!
Sweater: Madewell (more Madewell sweaters), Jeans: FRAME 'Le Skinny de Jeanne' (Shopbop), Leopard Loafers c/o Joie 'Dylan' leopard loafer (more Joie shoes)
A few weeks ago, the folks over at Shari's Berries emailed to ask if I would be interested in hosting a Valentine's Day get together with my friends, aka 'Pal'entine's Day! Obviously, since I love desserts, I said yes. I figured the best time to have this little gathering was on my trip to Orlando with friends Kat, Kristen, Leah, Zack and Eric. Yes, we celebrated a little early, but who doesn't love chocolate any day of the year?! And the great thing about 'Pal'entine's Day is you can celebrate any time you want!
Often times, singles get depressed around Valentine's Day. I'm the opposite. I actually enjoy hanging around by myself watching movies and eating chocolate. BUT, I have to say, doing that with friends was just as good! We took over a little section of the Cabana Bay Beach Resort in Orlando, complete with red chairs (perfect for the occasion) and feasted on the delicious treats.
The love bugs and conversation heart pops were by far the most popular items with the chocolate covered strawberries and sea salt caramels following close behind! We saved our cheesecakes for another night, but those went like wildfire too! The only disappointment was with the shortbread cookies. While they were adorable, the taste didn't measure up to the rest of the treats, which felt like they were painstakingly created. We found them a little hard and bland. Overall the food is amazing and I would love to try all of Shari's Berries offerings!
Here's the best picture of the night, who wouldn't want to be surrounded by such lovely girls ;) (I may be biased.)
Our friend Eric was stuck in his hotel room while we were living it up, so we made sure to save some snacks for him. He really enjoyed the Love Bug Brownie Pop!
Come back tomorrow for the start of my vacation outfits!
Song of the Day: Valentine's Day by James Taylor
Top: DKNY Jeans (from Lydia), Blazer: Etro (Roundabout Resale), Jeans: Free People, Boots: Cordani (Roundabout Resale), Bag: Etienne Aigner (thrifted, $2!), Necklace c/o Emitations, Watch: Skagen (Rue La La), Rings: vintage, Brilliant Imports snake ring & Mom's
And a couple photos from the event, we had a VIP meet & greet before the show and then were sitting first row!. Alton liked my necklace, he said it was 'glorious.'
Raven + Lily is a socially and environmentally responsible accessories company that uses 100% of their profits from sales to achieve their social cause, which is empowering women through design. This means employing marginalized women with fair trade, sustainable income, launching new partnerships, and funding healthcare and educational needs in their partnership communities.
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Zuriash Scarf, Neary T-Shirt, Uzma Travel Journal, Tiffany Kunz Necklace |
Sseko Designs (who I have featured on the blog before) uses fashion to provide employment and scholarship opportunities to women pursuing their dreams and overcoming poverty in Uganda. Sseko Designs began as a line of sandals, which consists of a leather sandal base and a wide range of interchangeable straps that can be tied hundreds of ways. They now offer a sandal line, wedding line, clutches and sandal accessories.
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| Allya Sandal, Saddle Clutch, Accent Tote, Classic Strap Collection |
31 Bits (another brand I have featured before) also benefits women in Uganda by helping them rise above poverty. They offer handmade bracelets and necklaces made from recycled paper. More recently they have begun to offer a handbag and headbands adorned with the beads.
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| Westerly Clutch, Sweetheart Bracelet, Razzle Dazzle Necklace, Daphne Bracelets (I wear these ALL the time, old colors though) |
I added 31 Bits because I also support their mission.
Speaking of Valentine's Day, the Maximal Art Giveaway ended yesterday and it is time to announce the winner! The winner of this lovely heart charm bracelet is...
Comment #25, Shea of Rocker Chic! I will be emailing you shortly!
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| Silver Mesh Bow Cuff $79, Multi Strand Baroque Pearl & Gold Chain Necklace $199, Tiny Cotton Ball Sparkle Flower Post Earrings $42, Gold Bee Charm Holder Necklace $54, Feather Cuff $85 |
Mandatory Entry: You must be a follower of my blog with google or bloglovin. You must also like Maximal Art by John Wind on Facebook. Make sure to leave your email as well so I can contact you if you win!
Bonus Entries: Leave one comment for EACH additional entry. Each comment counts as an entry so if you put all your extra entries in one comment that only counts as 1 entry...
- Follow Maximal Art on twitter [@JWMaximalArt]
- Visit the Maximal Art website and comment with your favorite item
- Follow Closet Fashionista on Twitter [leave your twitter username so I can check]
- Like Closet Fashionista on Facebook
- Follow Closet Fashionsita with Google AND Bloglovin
