The Search for the Ideal Brown Boots

The search for the ideal brown boots has taken over my life. Months and months and many visits to Nordstrom, Macy's, Target, zappos.com, piperlime.com, amazon.com, shoemail.com, dillards.com, you-name-it.... have resulted in utter boot-less-ness. I've actually purchased two pairs of boots online at different times and ended up returning them because they just weren't what I was looking for.

Living in New York City had taught me the value of well-made shoes. When your primary and most reliable mode of transportation is your feet, paying the big bucks for great shoes just makes a lot of sense. If you're also someone like me, who suffers from small-feeted-ness, you have all the more reason to be extremely picky with your footwear. Well-crafted shoes truly go a long way - they support the foot well and prevent injury and can even improve posture.

Here's a picture of the latest pair of brown boots that I'm eyeing: Enchanted by Arturo Chiang, a Chilean-born Chinese designer.


















Could this be the one?


Now, onto the granola recipe I raved about. I have made several batches of granola in the past few months, and some were too sweet, too buttery, too dry, or too boring. This one, I do believe, is a keeper of a recipe. Andy thinks so too, so that makes the two of us. It's adapted from this online recipe.

Ingredient List:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 tbsp butter plus 1/4 tsp butter
  
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
  
• 1/4 cup raw slivered almonds
  
• 1/4 cup raw pepita (pumpkin) seeds
• 1/4 cup raw chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• a titch of salt
  

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oats then cook and stir until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool.
2. Melt the 1 tbsp butter in the same pan over medium heat. Stir in the honey and brown sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Return the oats to the pan. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. Add vanilla. Pour out onto the cookie sheet and spread to cool.
3. Melt the remainder butter in the same pan and add maple syrup. Toast nuts for 3 minutes or so and add to the granola mixture. Add cinnamon and salt.
   
4. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and stir in the golden raisins. Serve with milk or yogurt or eat as is.

I <3 granola