Just Jodi Style

Crop Top Central

September 22, 2016

Happy Thursday everyone! Crop tops are always something that I never used to wear. I always I felt weird showing off my stomach especially when I was going out at night, but I have recently found some crop tops that still cover the majority of your stomach. This amazing navy crop top is not only off the shoulders which was all the rage this season but it covers my stomach enough so it doesn’t show off too much skin. It looks great with a great pair of denim shorts or high waisted jeans. This top is from Bloomingdales in the Aqua section and it was part of the 100% Bloomingdale’s collection. When looking for crop tops, if you are like me, look for ones that are flowy or even may have a tie in the front. It will make you less self-conscious if your stomach is showing too much but also for some people it makes you look thinner. I have also seen a lot of fellow shoppers who have been purchasing tops sometimes in a size smaller than they normally would and then it fits them as a crop top! Who knew if you went one size down in some shirts you can make it a crop top without it being intended for that? Just remember when buying a crop top you have to feel comfortable in it so don’t just buy it because you think you will wear it to the beach sometime. You want to be able to wear it for multiple looks for it to be worth your money. It may be the first day of Fall, but its still warm outside so go and wear a crop top while its still warm outside before the fall weather really starts to hit us. Hope you all enjoy it!

Hump Day Treat: Cheesy Zucchini Sticks

September 21, 2016

Happy Last Day of Summer Everyone! Anyone that went to college with me knows that I love cheese sticks especially the ones from Papa John’s. They come in what looks like a pizza pie and with many sides of dipping sauces. It is one of my weaknesses that if it is put in front of me I would not be able to resist, but I wanted to find an alternative way to have something that is similar but healthier alternative. Thanks to Buzzfeed I found this amazing recipe for cheesy zucchini sticks.

INGREDIENTS

4 medium zucchini
⅓ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
⅓ cup cheddar cheese
½ cup mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF
2. Grate zucchini into a mixing bowl.
3. Transfer grated zucchini into a larger mixing bowl and add garlic powder, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and egg. Mix it all together.
4. Pour the mixture onto a small towel and wring the excess fluid from mix.
4. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread mixture evenly into a square about a ½-inch thick.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until middle has thickened.
6. Remove from oven and spread cheddar and mozzarella cheese over top .
7. Place back in the oven at 350ºF/175ºC for 10 more minutes or until cheese melts and is bubbling.
8. Let cool for 5 minutes, and enjoy with marinara, ranch, or any sauce of your choosing!

Here is a video of it being made step by step. Hope you all enjoy!

(image taken from google / buzzfeed)

Fitness Tuesday: Fhitting Room

September 20, 2016

fhitting_room_outside-e1430793667746 fhitting-room-flatiron-800x470-1430927115

I know that on Sunday I wrote about SoulCycle and my love for doing spin classes, but I have decided that every Tuesday I am going to share some fitness tips and will be calling it Fitness Tuesday! Something that my brother Ira has taught me about working out (he is my gym inspiration) he said that you need to make sure that you switch up your workouts. I spin at least 4 days a week, but in between spinning and doing cardio I try to add different work outs. My best friend Shayna told me about Fhitting Room back in July and I will admit I was a little scared to try it at first. Before I went to the class I obviously googled it and saw a video of one of the classes. I have done cross training type classes before, but not ones that involved this many circuits in one class. I reluctantly signed up for my first class and now I am hooked. I know a lot of people are concerned that especially in a group class like that you won’t get a lot of personalized attention especially since you want to make sure your form is right in order to not hurt yourself, but there is no reason for anyone to be worried! There are always two instructors in each class and they are constantly walking around checking everyone’s form. There have been times I have been screamed at in my face saying to keep going when I was at my breaking point, but they pushed me through it. I have been in the class with even women that are PREGNANT believe it or not and if they can make it through this class so can all of you. They give a deal to first timers where you get two classes for the price of one and then after those classes run out you can buy a 3 class pack at a lower rate. If you are in NYC and haven’t tried them out already you need to get yourself over to either one of their locations and try it out for yourself.

(images taken from google)

Pant Romper Chambray Style

September 19, 2016

Happy Monday Everyone! Jumpsuits or rompers whatever you like to call them are something that me, since I’m short don’t always work, but recently I have discovered all kind of pant rompers that have made me look even taller than I am! This amazing chambray romper that I got at Bloomingdale’s this summer has become one of the staple pieces in my closet. I love the color and it works for multiple occasions. I have worn this to fun brunches in the city and even to my best friend’s rehearsal dinner for his wedding. Funnily enough he was also wearing a chambray colored suit so it looked like we were matching on purpose ☺ . I have seen this romper worn on other bloggers and some have even taken the belt off on it all together. Honestly, I thought about doing it myself but it gives such a great shape when it is belted with a bow in the front that I don’t see why you need to remove it, it’s mostly a preference thing. I did have to get it hemmed for my height, but unlike other rompers I got it hemmed for the wedges I am wearing and not for flats. Some pant rompers that I own work with flats because if the bottoms are straight it doesn’t look weird since I am so short, but with a wide leg like this one,flats it just didn’t look right. When getting something hemmed you can show a little bit of your shoe, but when it’s a wide leg pant you want to make sure that when you walk, you aren’t stepping on it. The worst thing that can happen to anyone is tripping over a pant romper because then it can pull down your romper in the wrong places. This is a great piece that I think everyone should add to their closets.

SoulCycle x Apple Watch

September 18, 2016

Today is Sunday so it should be a day of rest right? For me, I enjoy working out especially on Sunday’s because it makes me feel that my week ended on a high note. I have always loved working out and taking classes, but while I was home in Miami there wasn’t as many options as I would like. In New York, there are work out classes almost on every block, but I wanted to find something that was close to my home in Miami and also in NYC. I had tried SoulCycle in the past, but never got into it that much. I always thought it was just a fad and it would pass. Boy, was I wrong. I started to go when I was home since they opened a SoulCycle studio 10 minutes from my house. I figured why not get back into the gym slowly… Now I am addicted. I go a minimum of 4 days of week. It is addicting, but something that people may not realize is when you look at a SoulCycle schedule when it says SoulSurvivor that means the class is not the general 45-minute class it is an HOUR LONG, but for the same price! So why not go for an hour vs 45 minutes if you can? I try to go every Sunday for a SoulSurvivor class to just prepare myself for the week ahead. One of the things that I can’t go to class without is my apple watch. I have the first generation of the watch that my brother Ira gave to me as my graduation gift from Graduate School. I use this to track my workouts and even though sometimes it isn’t 100% accurate it has been really helpful through my workout journey. I have done the recent software update that came out this week for the watch and it has fixed a lot of the issues with my watch that I was having before. Another thing is if you have an apple watch just remember if your phone is nearby make sure to put your watch on sleep mode. It will still track everything to your phone, but from experience the last thing you want is your watch to start ringing on your wrist in the middle of class because someone is calling your cell phone. Happy Sunday Everyone!!

Frose: Frozen Rose

September 17, 2016

frose_big

Saturday’s are for having fun and spending time with your friends. Tonight I am going to watch with my friends one of the shows highlighting the JonBenet Ramsey case. One of my friends, who helped with the production of one of the many specials highlighting this case, has been working so many hours on this and we all decided we had to watch it together. So what better way to hang out with friends than to drink some fun drinks? Now we all know that frose was the drink of the summer, but did you know that it is really easy to make? Thanks to Purewow.com I was able to make it for all of my friends. All you need is 1/3 cup sugar, ¼ cup water, zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 bottle of dry rose wine.

Directions:

In a small pot bring the water, lemon, sugar all to a boil over medium heat. Make sure that the sugar is dissolved. Once that happens then put it to the side to get to room temperature.
In a 13 x 9 baking dish pour the rose into it. Put it into the freezer for about 3 hours.
Remove the pan and it won’t be entirely frozen, but scrap it all around and pour in the water / lemon and sugar that you had set aside to become room temperature.
Then return it to the freezer.

What I do since sometimes it isn’t as frozen as I would like it to be is I put it in a blender with some ice cubes to make it thicker. It is super easy and really delicious when you drink it.

Enjoy with all of your friends!

(image taken from purewow)

Steals & Deals: H&M Belt

September 16, 2016

It’s Friday so it’s time for some Steals and Deals! Summer may be over, but it is still feels like it here in NYC. I am hoping that the cold weather comes soon. So, I am not a big belt person. I have not worn one since middle school when it was required to wear a belt every day to school because of our strict uniform guidelines. Ever since I have been eating healthier and working out more I have lost a great deal of weight, but from past experience I know that you have to wait at least a few months to see your body stabilize. I am finally starting to see that and just starting to really tone my muscles. I didn’t want to buy all new shorts this summer so instead I went to H&M and got two belts (one black and one brown) to help my shorts from falling down. If I told you this belt was less than $10 would you all believe me? Well it’s true! It looks like genuine leather, but it isn’t and I love how the buckle in some lightings looks like a rose gold finishing! I do have nicer belts than these that are genuine leather, but when it comes to being outside all summer and sweating, you don’t need to be wearing your good nice belts to the park on a Saturday afternoon. No one would even know this belt was from H&M unless I told them. So if you need a belt that is just to add something to your outfit or if you aren’t sure you want to make an investment in that beautiful Italian leather belt you saw at the department store, get some amazing quality belts at H&M. These can also help you test out a bunch of styles that you may be thinking about buying. These belts are also great for traveling because if you lose one it’s not hard or expensive to replace it with a new one.

Long Heels Red Bottoms

September 15, 2016

My favorite pair of shoes to wear in general are wedges. Being 5’2 ¼ of an inch (Yes that ¼ of an inch is very important to me) during the summer it is too hot to wear heels in the city, but I am too short to not wear heels when I go out because who wants be the shortest of the bunch? Instead, I prefer to wear wedges for several reasons: #1 they are comfortable / very easy to walk in especially if they have a platform #2 they are great for summer and #3 they make me taller than some of my heels do! One of my best friend’s Mom has said the same thing to us since we were young. She said there are things in life and in fashion that you don’t spend your money on, but one of the things you should always spend money on is shoes. Why? you may ask, Because if you hurt your feet then you will have problems walking and we use our feet every single day, so we should treat them like gold. As I have said in the past on Just Jodi Style I love a good bargain. I found these amazing Christian Louboutin heels on GILT of all places. Usually on those flash sale sites, a lot of the shoes are sometimes slightly worn, final sale or even just styles that are too crazy for everyday wear. When I saw these on GILT I knew I had to have them. Shockingly, they weren’t even final sale so if I had to return them I could. With wedges I tend to go a size smaller in some brands depending on the shoe. With all of the Christian Louboutin shoes I have tried on, it varies from shoe to shoe. Some of their wedges I am a 6 and in some of them I am a 6 ½ and even some I fit into a 7 . It just depends on the style of the shoe and how it is made. If you are unsure of your size for the shoe, make sure it isn’t final sale so you aren’t stuck with something that doesn’t fit. If you can, go to the store and try them on. I was lucky enough that these were a perfect fit for me, but that isn’t always the case. Another fun fact for everyone about these red soled shoes: if your soles lose their red lacquer from all the times you have worn them, you can send them back to Christian Louboutin and they will repaint the soles for you! I mean if that’s not customer services I don’t know what is!

Hump Day Treat – BANZA

September 14, 2016

454400-799d996db33069765233f7f97134413152425342

It’s Wednesday so you know what that means? Hump Day Treat! I have truly become Chef Jodi these past few months and have challenged myself to try all different kinds of recipes and vegetables that I normally wouldn’t have tried in the past at all. I have always been a big pasta girl and I love making spaghetti, lasagna and everything in between. I would use whole wheat pasta when I was in the mood, but sometimes I just didn’t feel like it or didn’t want to run to the store to get some. My new obsession and alternative to eating pasta has been chickpea pasta! You heard me correctly: chickpea pasta! It looks like pasta but it is made from chickpeas.I heard about Banza (chickpea pasta) months ago while shopping at Fairway when they were giving out free samples, but I wasn’t really interested in it at the time. This time when shopping the store, I saw that it was on sale: 3 boxes for $5! What a steal!!! Another healthy tip I have learned is instead of using extra virgin olive oil I use coconut oil. Not only is it a healthier substitute, but honestly you can hardly taste the difference. With certain things I still use extra virgin olive oil, but the majority of the time when I cook I use coconut oil. A staple dish I make now with my chickpea pasta is this one below.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Banza pasta

1 tomato (sliced into small cubes)

1 thin chicken breast

some garlic

¼ sliced Vidalia onion

¼ cup of sliced mushrooms

½ of sliced zucchini

Coconut oil

In a frying pan I put coconut oil and a spoon full of garlic that I buy in a glass jar from Fairway. I let that heat up a little in the pan and then I saute the cut onions. My favorite thing is grilled onions so I am sucker for putting it in the majority of my dishes. Then I add the mushrooms and the sliced zucchini and I saute it all together until it has little golden brown all over it. While I am cooking the vegetables in the pan, I am also boiling the water for the banza pasta which takes about 8 minutes to cook. Once all the veggies are done I add the sliced chicken which depending on your personal preference you can cut into strips or into cubes. In a separate bow,l I put the cooked banza pasta with the sliced tomatoes and then once the chicken is done pour all of the ingredients in the pan into the bowl and mix it all up!!! Sometimes I will add a little bit more of coconut oil if it needs it to cover everything or you can also add from Trader Joe’s this Honey Thyme Balsamic Vinaigrette (1 tsp.) of it and just mix it all together!
Hope you all enjoy!

(image taken from google)

White Jeans After Labor Day

September 13, 2016

160731-asharris-just_jodi-6334-look2

Labor day weekend has passed which truly means it is end of the summer season. I know what everyone is thinking “that was my last chance to wear white pants!!” But don’t get ahead of yourself there! I think you can wear white all year round as long as you wear the right style of pants. For example, these amazing white cropped jeans from Frame Denim were my white jeans of summer. They are great to wear with sandals, sneakers and even heels. They are the perfect length for someone who is short like me.I have found that sometimes other cropped jeans make me look shorter than I already am. A washing tip for white jeans: if you are going to wash them yourself, you should always wash them alone in cold water and use oxi clean pods instead of regular detergent. I have noticed that when I wash my jeans, even after wearing them a few times before, they look almost brand new with these oxi clean pods. Another suggestion I have is if you are wearing a dark colored shirt with your white jeans make sure that it isn’t a brand new shirt. I am a prime example of wearing a new navy shirt with white jeans and having the color from the shirt come off on the white jeans. The amount of times I have done that in my lifetime is embarrassing, but I have finally learned my lesson. So make sure that no matter how badly you want to wear a new shirt if it hasn’t been washed, then wearing it with white jeans or pants is not a good option! If you so happen to get it on your pants another trick to get it off, other than the oxi clean pods, is to soak your item in cold salt water. You can also do this with color items to help get out some of the dye from your clothes that won’t come out in general washing. Clothes sometimes, no matter how much you wash them, some dye still comes out, but don’t’ over wash the item because you don’t want it to lose its coloring all together.