Just Jodi Style

Hump Day Treat: In Honor of Yom Kippur

October 12, 2016

Noodle Kugel

Happy Wednesday everyone! Fun Fact for everyone on this date in 2002 was my bat mitzvah! Crazy that it has been 14 years since that day and this year it falls on Yom Kippur. For all those who celebrate this holiday like me today is the day we fast, but at the end of the day we have a big meal. For today’s hump day treat I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recipes that my mom passed down to me which is my grandmother’s noodle kugel recipe. Now everyone has their own take on doing noodle kugel, but I personally don’t like it with cottage cheese or anything else in it. I also love it when the top of the noodles are a little crispy from cooking in the oven.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

4 TBLS of Sugar

1/4 TSP Salt

1/2 TSP Cinnamon

1 cup grated apples

1/2 cup of raisins

4 cups of cooked and drained noodles (Mueller’s Wide Egg Noodles)

5 TBLS Melted Butter

Baking dish (Preferably a pyrex glass one that you would use to make brownies)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Cook the egg noodles and drain them. After draining the noodles leave them aside in a mixing bowl
Beat eggs, sugar,, salt and cinnamon together
Stir in the apples and then the raisins
Then take the mix and pour it over the noodles and mix it all together
Take your baking dish and coat it with butter so it doesn’t stick
Pour the mix into the pyrex
Personally I love to add on the top some more cinnamon and a pinch of cinnamon sugar in order to cover the entire top (some of my friends like to add corn flakes for some crunch)
Place in the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until brown

Hope everyone who celebrates had an easy fast!

(image taken from google)

Fitness Tuesday: Yoga

October 11, 2016

In high school, I was required to take 2 credits worth of physical education and unlike other schools, if you played a sport that counted towards your credit, and on top of that we had options for PE that were at the time trend setting. One of the classes that was offered at my high school was yoga. Yes, yoga! Ever since then I have enjoyed taken the occasional Yoga class when I really need time to relax and stretch out my muscles. I have scoliosis and wore a back brace for 5 years and my doctor said that yoga was a great form of exercise to help with back problems. If you have never done yoga before make sure you tell the studio where you are going that it is your first time. This is very important because there are different levels of yoga. Also you do not want to go to a studio that only offers hot yoga. Hot yoga is very intense and that is not something you want to do for your first class. I learned this from friends experiences. Even though I did gymnastics the majority of my life and I am pretty flexible, the first time I did yoga I still had a difficult time doing some of the poses. Do not be embarrassed or anything because I still do to this day have difficulty doing some of the poses that they have shown me in class. Most studios provide their own mats for yoga, but ask when you call the studio before going. If you are looking to purchase a yoga mat I got a great one for myself at Target and I even use it in my apartment when I am just doing some ab work outs on my floor so that I have a softer surface to lay on. Here are some great ones on Target’s website. If you don’t have to bring your own mat I suggest you bring a hand towel. Unlike a lot of the exercise studios some don’t provide towels for you and if you are like me you do sweat in these classes so it’s nice to have your own clean towel. Hope you all now go and try your first yoga class because it is amazing and super relaxing.

Happy Columbus Day! Vacation Sandals

October 10, 2016

Now that Hurricane Matthew has finally passed it is finally sunny outside in Miami. For everyone that is away and it warm weather the greatest thing to have for any vacation is a comfortable pair of cute sandals. For years I had been searching for a great pair of white gladiator sandals, but I never could find a pair that fit with what I was looking for. I wanted a pair that was first and foremost comfortable because who wants to wear a pair of sandals that every single time you dread putting them on in fear that you will be getting a blister from them? These white sandals from Louis Vuitton I was concerned, about at first, that I would get blisters all the time because of the material of the white straps. Just like how when I was breaking in my Gianvito Rossi heels for the first time, I wore these shoes around my apartment with a pair of KB socks to just see if the straps rubbed my feet weird in certain spots. The spots that I was concerned about, I put on the small version of the blister band aids that usually are meant to just wrap around your toes on those trouble spots and it really made a difference. I did that for the first few times I wore these shoes and now I don’t need to wear the blister band aids at all. I think it helped, most importantly, to break in the shoes, but also made the areas that may have felt a little rough on my feet soften up so now when I wear them I never get a blister. If you are in the market for white sandals that you can wear all next summer this is the time to do it! A lot of these shoes are now on sale and you can buy them now break them in and then store them until summer 2017.

Sunday Best – Cocktail Wedding

October 9, 2016

Happy Sunday Everyone! We are now gearing towards fall weddings, but one of the hardest things that I have found for me to shop for is that cocktail wedding. The reason I feel it is difficult for me is because it isn’t always the case now that everyone is required to wear short dresses to a cocktail wedding. I have also always been under the impression that if there is any hint of white in your dress that you can not wear it to a wedding, but that isn’t necessarily true. This beautiful white with black lace detailing Alice and Olivia dress if perfect for any cocktail wedding and is also appropriate to wear even though it technically is a white dress. I wore this dress to a wedding a year ago in California and it was absolutely perfect! I also plan on wearing it to an upcoming wedding this February in Arizona :-). Some people may think that this dress is only good for a summer wedding, but I disagree. I think that there is a common misconception for what to wear to summer and winter weddings. Yes, the light hues / colors are more for summer / spring weddings and the darker colors are for winter / fall, but a dress like this that is white and black together I think works for all year round. When purchasing a dress that has mostly white in it like this one, make sure that there is a pattern that is incorporated into it that isn’t white or nude. The last thing you want is to purchase a white dress with nude / beige pattern in it and then when you take pictures it looks like you are wearing a white dress. That happened to a friend of mine’s sister. She was a bridesmaid and the bride picked out dresses that are beautiful in person and are a nude color with beading, but when everyone was looking at pictures online the next day that they all took because of the lighting and flashes they all looked like they were wearing white dresses. The bride thankfully didn’t care or mind, but if you are one of those people that would have cared, make sure to take some pictures with a flash to make sure that this doesn’t happen to you. For some amazing cocktail dresses for this wedding season check out the beautiful Alice and Olivia dresses online.

Saturday Night Vibes – Wallet On A Chain Purse

October 8, 2016

It’s Saturday night and you are about to go out with all of your friends and for us girls there is always the dilemma of what purse are you going to wear with your outfit. The reason why this is such a dilemma, at least for me, is because I don’t want to be carrying around a huge bag the entire night, but I also want to make sure that I have all of the necessities that I need for my night. Enter: the wallet on the chain purse. This bag is honestly the most amazing purse that I have ever purchased. It has closure that can only be opened when you press on the two silver buttons so you know it secured. I love the details on this bag and the pop of color of orange to offset the traditional Louis Vuitton pattern. When you open the bag, the purse part has slots for all of your credit cards and a pouch in the back for all your cash. It also has a zipper pouch in the front which I normally put my keys in so they don’t fly out when I open my bag. On top of that, it isn’t too long on me when I wear it just as a shoulder bag and not necessarily as a cross body bag. That is always my problem with being short; if I don’t wear bags like this cross body they will lay almost next to my knees, but not this one. When purchasing a wallet on a chain purse my biggest suggestion it to make sure that the bag is able to close fully. I have had too many friends who have gone out and they think that their wallet on the chain bags are closed and nothing is falling out to them coming home and noticing that either their phone is gone or someone stole it from their purse when they weren’t noticing. As my mom always says keep your whits about you and have fun, but also make sure that all of your things are secure.

Steals & Deals: Columbus Day Sales

October 7, 2016

Happy Columbus Day weekend everybody! When it comes to holiday weekends, we know that this is the time for major department stores to load up on sales before the upcoming season. They all want to get rid of the old merchandise from summer in order to make room for all the new goodies for fall! We all have seen the endless amounts of Macy’s commercials for their Columbus Day weekend savings and personally I always check department store’s out first. I always want to see what is on sale in all the major department stores before I go anywhere else because they usually have the greatest savings for me. The other big ticket items that all of the message boards have been saying are good buys for this holiday weekend, are electronics and appliances. The reason why everyone is saying electronics are the best buy this holiday weekend is so that all of us can get a jump start on our holiday shopping. Yes a jumpstart on holiday shopping when it is barely even October! This is something I know that I have a seen a lot of people do in the past and just store away gifts for the future. Staples has some great ticket items including laptops and printers at over 30% off on their website now. Another great place to shop this weekend for electronics is Best Buy. They are having great deals on their televisions and also on their appliances such as washer dryers. My family last year got a great washer and dryer from Home Depot during Columbus Day weekend, but my suggestion to everyone is do your research first. A lot of these large retailers like Sears, Home Depot, Best Buy and Staples will do some price matching on specific items. It is worth making a list from all the different sites and also seeing if you maybe order your item online it may be cheaper than going to the store and picking it up in person. Hope you all have a great holiday weekend and for those, like myself, that are currently in Florida stay safe from Hurricane Mathew <3

Staples

Best Buy

(Image taken from google)

How to pack light with everything you want this Holiday Weekend

October 6, 2016

With Columbus day weekend coming up a lot of people are trying to get away before the craziness of the holidays sets in. In the past, I have been told by my circle of friends that no matter what if they forget something, whether it be at work or on a trip, I probably have it in my bag. Fun Fact:I used to be an over packer for all of my vacations. However, recently for the past couple of years I have learned to simply bring a carry on onto the plane and I don’t even check a bag when I am going away for a week! How do I do this you might ask? Well there are a few things that I do when I pack. For example when I was going away to Dallas for my good friends wedding weekend I laid out all of the clothes that I needed for each event ( total of 3 outfits + accessories) and then I pulled out what I would need to fill in the gaps between those 3 events. When packing, try and see if you can re-wear items. Like Kate Middleton does often, you need to be able to recycle your items, especially on the same trip. Whether that be wearing the same jeans twice and just bringing different tops, it truly does make a difference when packing! Here is a checklist that I always have when packing for a long weekend:

Bras ( normally one nude color and if you need one black)
Socks
Underwear
Pajamas
Contacts
Make up / makeup brushes
Hair brush
Toothbrush / toothpaste / floss
Chargers (phone/ tablet / ipad etc.) and headphones

Once you have these basic necessities down then you can go into the nitty gritty of your outfit. The style of how I pack depends on which items I actually need to pack. For example when I went to Dallas, I rolled all of my clothes in my suitcase including my dress for the wedding! Then when I arrived in Dallas took the dress immediately out and steamed it in the bathroom the next morning. There is also the classic trick of putting your socks and underwear inside your shoes to not only keep its shape, but to save space in your bag. In the past I have also used the spacebags travel bags when I am trying to really fit a lot more clothes in my carry on bag. Basically, unless I am going away for more than 10 days I refuse to check a bag. I hope this helps you all out when you are packing for this holiday weekend.

Hump Day Treat: Sugar Cookie Fries

October 5, 2016

Its Wednesday which means it’s time for another Hump Day Treat from #ChefJodi. Anyone that knows me knows that I love cookies and I am always looking for a new take on a cookie recipe. I found these delicious sugar cookie fries from delish.com while searching on facebook and they are exactly what I was looking for. They are such a cute and unique spin, in terms of presentation, of the traditional sugar cookie way.

Side note: If you are looking for french fry boxes you can find them in any cooking store or even online like these ones that I found on Amazon. Just to add a little something to your presentation. Hope you guys enjoy this new and fun take on the classic sugar cookie!

French Fry Box Via Amazon

Ingredients:

2 Sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 c. granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Funfetti frosting, for serving
Strawberry jam, for serving
Nutella, for serving

(If you have other dipping choice options you like, the more the merrier!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until evenly incorporated. Beat in vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix on low until just combined.
Divide dough into 2 balls and flatten into discs. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll out dough into a large, thin rectangle. Using a pizza cutter (or sharp knife) cut dough crosswise into 3/4″-1″ thick strips. Cut the strips in half lengthwise and trim the edges to create straight sides. Sprinkle with sugar and transfer cookie cutouts to baking sheets. Let chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cookies are starting to turn golden around the edges. Let cool completely.
Serve with desired dipping sauces.

ENJOY!

Full Recipe from Delish

images taken from google

Fitness Tuesday – Fitness at your desk

October 4, 2016

Now, I know I am fortunate enough that I can sit on my couch and be able to write my blog posts, but I know what it feels like to have to sit at a desk all day feeling like you aren’t getting your workout in for the day. I have seen all the different ideas from the standing desk with the treadmills attached, to sitting on the big bouncy balls, but sometimes you don’t have the space for those things. This got my brother and I thinking about our mom. We wanted to get something one year for her to use in her office, that was small enough that it wouldn’t take up so much room for her. This under desk foot pedal from amazon is a great alternative to all of these big bulky items. It allows you to still have a little work out while you are sitting at your desk. Since my brother and I got this for my mom, I have seen and heard of so many other people that have gotten this for themselves to have at work. Especially with winter approaching, we may not have the energy to trek to the gym with it being so cold out, but this gives you no excuse. This is a great alternative to not working out at all and keeping your blood flow moving. It may not be the same as attending a 45 minute workout class, but it will keep you energized throughout your entire day at work. Check out Amazon for some great options for under the desk pedals. There are a few that are pretty pricey, but just look at the reviews and see what others are saying about them before buying. I hope you all are loving the fitness tuesday posts and that they have inspired you to hit the gym!

(image is from Amazon)

Amazon Options

Gianvito Rossi- Most comfortable shoe according to Eva Chen

October 3, 2016

The other day I came across an article from “Who What Wear” that quoted Eva Chen saying that Gianvito Rossi shoes are the most comfortable heels in existence. I then went into my closet and realized that one my favorite pair of shoes is by this designer and I couldn’t agree with Eva more! I wore these lace up black leather shoes to one of my best friends engagement parties last year and the moment I posted a picture of me wearing them on social media the attention I got was overwhelming. I wore them for over 4 hours that evening and at the end of the night I took them off without one single blister and my feet didn’t even feel swollen or anything. Normally when I buy a pair of new heels, especially ones I am going to wear for a special event, I try to break them in prior to that evening to avoid any problems with my feet afterwards. Unlike other shoes my normal techniques for these shoes didn’t work. Since they are lace up I couldn’t put on a pair of thick socks to break them in without potentially stretching them out. Instead I put on a very thin pair of KB socks from costco and wore them around my apartment the entire week prior. I know it may sound silly but even just sitting on my couch with them was helpful because my feet got used to the shoes and molded to my feet. I know what a lot of you are thinking “of course the most comfortable shoes are super expensive,” but my mom found these shoes on Neiman Marcus last call at the end of the season and they were a steal! I know I say this a lot, but check all of these sites like Neiman Marcus Last Call and Saks Off Fifth for amazing deals on designer gear.

WhoWhatWear Article