New Wheels

Ava got her first set of wheels this week.

And mastered steering in about 5 minutes. {obviously gifted in the skill of driving :: she gets that from me}

It comes with a cellphone. 

She may be a little young, but really, why bite the hand that fed us for so long?

It also "starts" the car so a necessity really.

We were all dressed up to visit her nonna.
I won't show you how the leaving the car at home went.

Those may or may not be dachshund's on her tights.
OK, they are.

 And she's happy about it.
...and her new wheels. thanks Anna!...
On Ava:
Dress, Tights & Hair Bow - all Gymboree
Shoes - Robeez First Stepz

P.S. Enter our pendant giveaway here if you haven't already!
~ Linking up with Morgan for Small Style ~ 

What.I.Wore : Navy Love

I have mentioned before my love for all things navy.

Top - H&M
Jeggings - Forever XXI

Even more so when paired with camel. Predictable, yes. But oh so classic.

Cross Necklace  - Forever XXI

Boots - Miss Sixty

And that's what I'm wearing on Wednesday.

Don't forget to enter our pendant giveaway!

Things my M.I.L. Taught Me ~ Week 3

If you've been following along the last few week's...you will now be able to prepare a full {and fabulous} italian dinner that is sure to impress your own mother.in.law

Today's entree is one of my son's favorites. 
For good reason.


Veal Parmigiano (veal parmesan)
Ingredients:
thinly sliced veal cutlets (I use 8-10 slices for my family of 4)
bread crumbs
2 whole eggs
grated parmigiano cheese
grated mozzarella cheese
1 batch of Rita's sugo 

In a bowl, beat two eggs with one tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese.
Prepare bread crumbs. (I always lay them on aluminum foil for easy clean-up)
Salt and pepper the cutlets to taste.
One by one, dip the veal into the egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs until all of the veal is prepared.
At this point, you have 2 options. 
a. fry the veal for approximately 2-3 minutes (max) per side in canola oil over medium heat.
b. drizzle olive oil on both sides of the meat and bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 7-8 minutes turning over at halfway mark.
(in an effort to fry less.bake more - I opt for option b most times. That said, option a {and anything fried for that matter} will almost always sadly be tastier)
Once cooked, layer each slice with a good amount of sugo and some grated mozzarella cheese.
Place in oven on broil until cheese is melted.

I served mine with a radicchio salad this evening.The bitter flavor of this leaf offsets the meat very nicely. Sauteed spinach would be lovely as well.
Buon Appetito!

 P.S. Don't forget to enter our giveaway!

A Lovely Giveaway

My dear bloggy friend and swap sponsor, Steph, is offering all of you a chance to win one of her lovely handmade pendants ~ customized just for lovely you.

Here are just a few of my favorites...

So hard to decide when each one is so pretty and so unique.

Giveaway is for any single layer pendant {excludes necklace} of your choice.

To enter:

You must be a GFC follower of this blog.

For additional entries (please leave a separate comment for each):

Follow Steph's blog here.

Like her on facebook here.

Visit her blog sidebar and tell me which pendant you would choose if you won.

Follow me on twitter here.

Like my new facebook page here.

Tweet about the giveaway tagging @avagracescloset and let me know that you did. 

**Winner will be chosen by random.org and announced next Monday. Open to US & Canadian residents. 
Entries close at midnight on Sunday, December 4th.** 

The perfect Christmas gift.

For yourself. Shhhh.

Photo Challenge :: Smile!

This week's photo challenge at The Paper Mama's blog is smile.

Not always the easiest to get from this little girl.

I had her at my mother's for a little while this morning while I ran a few errands.

She kept picking up an old camera and mumbling something each time she held it up to her face.

'mile, 'mile, 'mile

I may take a few too many pictures of her. Maybe.

I am BLANK because...

You may have seen a few of these posted around the blogosphere.

I'll call this one The Fashion Edition.

Because I can.

I am weird because...

I will not mix metals. 

I prefer the highest heels possible to flat comfortable ones.

I will suffer in said heels in the name of fashion.

If I have on dark undergarments on the bottom, and then decide on a light colored top...I will completely change to match. 

I have a hard time getting rid of items I spent a lot of money on. Even when they are on the do.not.wear.ever list.
I am a bad friend because...

I might ditch you in favor of reading the fall issue of Vogue when it arrives. You know the one - it goes on for days.

I might be too honest about your fashion choices. I expect the same in return. That makes it ok, right?
I am a good friend because...

I will shop WITH you, FOR you for as long as it takes.

I'll let you know where I got what. And how much it really cost. I will encourage you to get one too if you love it.
I will happily make fun of critique celebrity {or other} fashion choices with you. 

I am sad because...

I don't get dressed up as often anymore since I'm home. Thank goodness for What.I.Wore
Ava is growing up too fast. Yes I realize this has absolutely nothing to do with fashion. I'm still sad about it.
I am excited for...

Boots!
Coats!
Hats! 
and lots of cozy knee high socks underneath.

How cute are those? 

A 20 month old

Guess who is 20 months old?

I realize how cliche it sounds, but I really don't know where the time went.

I was sitting looking at this jacket the other day. 

And I can't believe how big it is.

Big compared to just last winter when she was in a teeny.tiny one.

Big compared to all of the even smaller baby clothes I am slowly very, very slowly starting to put away.

She looks biggest to me when she's sleeping.

So long.

Knit Hat - Old Navy
Jacket - BabyGap {last season}
Leggings - BabyGap
Shoes - Robeez FirstStepz

I don't know how I got so lucky.

Pure joy this child.

Pure joy.

Dear Ava,
20 months! 20 months. 
I would do just about anything to have you be just a few days old and in our bed again. 
You won't sleep there now, not even for a minute. And you thought you would hate your crib.
You were wrong. 
And sleep? You like it now.
A 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon and a full night (praise God) every night.
You are talking up a storm.
You can say mama.dada.juju.izzy.nana.papa.nonna.what's that.numnum.toast.Dora.park.book.go.up.no.cookie...
You are especially good at the very last one.
And you answer everything I ask with "ok mama". 
Cutest.thing.ever
You still love to be outside. But it's getting cold!
Christmas is on it's way. 
I cannot wait to see the joy you experience.
WE love you sweet girl.
xo
Mommy

What.I.Wore : Charcoal means Business

Shades of charcoal top.to.bottom

Shirt - Maxwell's {custom}
Vest - Geox
Skinny Pants - Gap {$6.99 thankyouverymuch}
Blazer - Mexx

Purple suede flowered shoes add a bit of interest.
Open-toed. November. Canada.
Yes.

Shoes - Enzo Angolini

And that's what I'm wearing on Wednesday.

Things my M.I.L. Taught Me ~ Week 2

My husband {who I have now mentioned twice in two days!} is big into greens.

Seriously, I can make a simple pasta and then this contorni or side dish and he is one happy guy.

My M.I.L. will make numerous side dishes for a family dinner but this one and rapini are my very favorites. And I am SO not a vegetable kind of girl.

Spinaci saltati con aglio (sauteed spinach with garlic)

Ingredients:

Large bunch of fresh spinach (bagged is fine, fresh is best)

3-4 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 

Clean, wash and dry spinach well. 

Place a good amount of olive oil in a non-stick pan along with sliced garlic cloves.

Warm and brown slightly.

Add spinach. It will look like a ridiculously huge amount but once cooked down, will look like a ridiculously small amount.

Saute until garlic is fully browned and spinach is completely wilted. Add kosher salt to taste.

Note: It is equally good cooked slightly less so that the leaves remain intact.
Also note: you can totally remove the garlic pieces since you don't actually eat them or leave them to add some interest to the dish.

Plate and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Sprinkle with a good parmigiano reggiano.

Buon Appetito!

Photo Challenge :: Family

This week's photo challenge at The Paper Mama's blog is family.

I've entered one of my very favorite pictures :: my husband with the newest addition to our little family.

This is one of a few pictures I had printed and framed for her room.
I love it.

I love her.

Stylist for a Day

A dear friend of mine is returning to a "corporate job" after years of working for herself. 

It's a huge life change. 

And requires a huge wardrobe change.

Her standard attire consisted of jeans, cute t-shirts, the occasional blazer and cool boots.

She came to me with a wishlist that included a move to a more elegant look with pops of color.

I recommended purchasing items that could easily work together in different ways to create a variety of elegant but still true to her  looks.


I used Polyvore to pull my vision/s together. With these in hand, I know we will have no trouble at all finding similar and in many cases, less expensive options when we go shopping tonight!

To ensure she gets her "color" fix, I opted for a vibrant dress and skirt with neutral basics that can easily be worked together. The leopard print chiffon blouse works with every.single.piece.
With red skirt, with or without bowed cardigan.
With black skirt.
Underneath yellow shift.
Lots of variety in accessories give her the option of more or less drama. And will allow her to easily transition a daytime look to an evening one.

Her own vision includes cream pants. Colored tops in shades of teal.

I see camel.
Camel shoes. Oh my!
And just one blazer that can quickly be thrown on top of a blouse or turtleneck.
Trousers in cream, black and grey can be paired with virtually anything and will transition nicely from season to season.
A new handbag. She may not need this but this one just pulls it all together, non? And could double as a pseudo-briefcase.
Love.


Here's to good friends and a new beginning! 
Happy FASHION Friday.

Burberry Baby

Let me start by saying that I DID NOT purchase this ridiculously over-priced albeit unbelievably adorable Burberry jacket.

It was gifted to us from one baby Ava to another.

I love it. 

Trench - Burberry Baby
Pants - Old Navy
Shoes - LelliKelly

I think Ms. Ava loves it too.

Linking up with Morgan for Small Style again this week. Serious cuteness to be seen.