A few weeks ago, I was reading one of my fave local blogs, District of Chic, when I spotted a post about a new meal delivery service called ScratchDC.  The concept is simple, instead of ordering takeout, ScratchDC delivers everything you need to make a delicious, healthy meal at home.

photo found on ScratchDC’s Facebook page

Here’s how it works: Scratch delivers Monday through Thursday.  Each night, the dinner is different.  The night I ordered, the meal was chicken shawarma wraps (pictured above).  Everything comes pre-chopped, marinated and separated out so the entire “cooking” process takes less than 30-minutes.  The food was delish, and being able to feed two people generous portions for $26 is a pretty good deal.

I love to cook, but when you usually cook for one, trying new recipes is prohibitively expensive.  You have to buy full size bottles of spices, order tons of products that you might not otherwise have or need and spend an hour slaving away in the kitchen, only to be stuck with a ton of leftovers.  With Scratch there’s no huge up front cost and no pile of leftovers to throw away.

I think Scratch would be perfect for a dinner party, a casual date at home or just a night when you want to treat yourself without going out.  If you want to try Scratch, use promo code CapitolHillStyle to save 15% off your order.

 Rugby Stripe Dress (J.CREW, $88)

Why not keep it casual for your meal at home with a jersey, t-shirt dress?  It’s simple and relaxed, but still feminine.  And you splatter a bit of sauce or grease on it, it can go right into the wash.

I’m a huge fan of t-shirt dresses for warm weather weekend wear.  There a great “I want to look nice, but I do not have the energy to dress up” item.  Toss one on with a fun sandal (love these Chloe’s, and these Madden’s) and a chunky bracelet or a long necklace, maybe a scarf.  Style your hair a bit and grab some chic sunglasses, and you’re done.

Also in the under-$100 category, I found this basic, slouchy Alexander Wang dress.  I like this geometric tie-dye dress and this watercolor stripe dress.   I also like this slightly-fancy ruffled dress from Modcloth.

Need a petite option? Try this graphic print dress or this striped dress. Plus size? Try this tweed stripe dress or this twisted dress.

P.S.: I originally failed to mention that the fine folks at ScratchDC let me try this service for free.  But, as usual, if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have said good things about it.  My bad for leaving this off originally, I do so few freebie critiques, I forgot. Consider the FEC regulation complied with.