Monthly Archives: August 2010

Rainy Day Inspiration

Posted on August 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

It is raining again.  Raining really hard in fact, so much rain is expected that there are flash flood warnings.  

Thinking about rain, and weddings (since it’s a Wednesday) makes me think of a scene in The Wedding Planner (you don’t know this yet about me, but I am a big Jennifer Lopez fan).  In the scene the composed (on the outside) wedding planner tells the not composed bride that rain on her wedding day is actually good luck, because a wet knot can be tied tighter than a dry one.  She later admits that bit of advice is just something wedding planners say.  What Mary Fiori, the planner, does not mention is that a rainy day wedding can also be highly glamorous and sophisticated!  Let’s take a look…
I love an outdoor ceremony, and while the setting is simple, it is still grand.  If it is raining during the ceremony the bride and her bridal party can carry their floral designed black umbrellas.  

I wanted to capture the positive side of the rain, the sparkle it creates as it shimmers from the sky and the brooding clouds in silver, and dark gray.  For the cocktail space I played with mirrors for the walls and cocktail tables, as well as a mirror effect on the champagne glass.  The rest of the space is black and white, “black” calla lilly arrangements and place settings. 

For a playful twist, I picked up some oversized chess pieces, after all on the wedding the bride and groom are the closest to a Queen and King.

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Posted in Her Weddings + Events, Wedding Inspiration

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Do You Die for Fashion?

Posted on August 17, 2010 | 1 comment

The other day after reviewing Jennifer Aniston’s Ode to Barbra photo shoot in Harper’s Bazaar, I stumbled upon a Rachel Zoe editorial.  

Zoe, one of Hollywood’s key celebrity dressers, has become a celebrity herself.  She styles Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Garner, Eva Mendes and Demi Moore – all in a style that seems to reflect the star not the stylist.  (Which is the mark of a real stylist – her client always shines.)
Zoe has her own personal look as well, the very petite stylist is a lover of vintage, chunky jewels, oversize baubles, caftans, her wavy hair and super-sized sunglasses.  She also has her own catchphrases, most notably “I Die”.  As in, I die for fashion.  
Rachel Zoe in LA…  in July!
 Harper’s Bazaar held Zoe to her words, and in the most recent issue, she dies a very fashionable death at the hands of good friend Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Vera Wang, Francisco Costa and more.

Good to see fashion taking their craft seriously without taking themselves too seriously.
Harper’s Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar

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Posted in Fashion Inspiration, Her Closet

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Melon Lemon – A Good Mix

Posted on August 16, 2010 | 1 comment

So, this isn’t really a recipe – but it is a must, must, must do.  

See that bowl of watermelon you chopped up the other day?  It’s sitting in your refrigerator.  Maybe you grab a few pieces every now and then as a refreshing snack.  Oh, you don’t have a gigantic bowl of watermelon in your fridge?  Can you please go get one?  It’s a primary ingredient in this non-recipe recipe.

Continuing on…  Remember how you bought a bag of lemons for homemade lemonade, or to throw in a bottle of Corona (depending on the type of weekend you had)?  Take that lemon, cut a wedge and squeeze all of the sour, lemony juice over the chunks of watermelon.  

That little squirt transforms the watermelon.  No joke, like Cinderella style, a “She’s All that That transformation.  The watermelon is no longer simple, juicy fruit, it is now exotic, tart, and full of flavor.  The natural sugars concentrate and it’s like you’re eating chunks of summer, if your summers are spent on the beach in Mexico. 

I have to give credit where credit is due.  This trick – which pretty much changed the watermelon eating portion of my life – came courtesy of my sister’s boyfriend’s housemate.  And now you have it via me.  You can tell your friends you learned this from your favorite blogger’s sister’s boyfriend’s friend. 

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Posted in Appetizer, Dessert, Easy Recipe, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, Snacks, summer

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Singing in the Rain, in Style

Posted on August 13, 2010 | Leave a comment

Yesterday morning I woke up to a thunder and rain storm.  By the time I left for work the rain had stopped and the streets were no longer flooded.  Leaving work I was confident that the rain would be over.  I was wrong.  I own an umbrella, it was at home.  I own a rain jacket too, it was hanging out with my umbrella.

So, as I walked/ran in the rain from my bus stop to my house I thought of the ways to brighten up an other otherwise dark and dreary day.  These might do the trick:
3.1 Phillip Lim, Tretorn, Tretorn, Chooka

I love how each piece is a great shot of color.  In DC, color can go a long way amidst a sea of gray and black especially on a rainy day.  

Here’s hoping for a bright, colorful and wonderful weekend!

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Posted in Accessories, Her Closet, Shoes, Shopping

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Plum and Peach Crumble

Posted on August 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

When I woke up this morning (late) it was as though I was back in Florida for a hurricane!  At 7:30 the sky was dark, the trees were blowing and lightning was striking all around the house, and I wish I had this for breakfast…

 

A week or so ago I had lots of peaches from the farmer’s market, and a LOT of plums from Costco and they were just shouting out to me, “mix us with the good stuff!” and so I did. 
Plum and Peach Crumble:
Ingredients:
5 peaches, peeled
6 plums, peeled
1/2 tsp of corn starch
1 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp of white sugar (I grabbed the flour bag by mistake in the picture)
3/4 cup plain oatmeal
5 tbsps of butter
A sprinkle of slivered almonds
A dash of cinnamon

First bring a saucepan to boil and dip the plums and peaches in the hot water for about 20 seconds and then plunge them into their ice cold water bowl.

Then peel the skins right off.  See the white flecks on the plum?  That’s a vegetable wax that was applied to the fruit – removing the skin means no weird white spots.  You can do this with your fingers, but do it gently, especially with the softer fruits.

Then cut the fruit into large chunks.  This is really based on preference but I like to have big fruit bites.  Because I am really into cinnamon I sprinkled a bit on, but you could easily skip it.  This is also when I pore in the corn starch, which magically (not really, this is what it is supposed to do) firms up the juices from the fruits to make a more solid crumble/pie/tart.
In a separate bowl I mixed by hand the sugars, the whole wheat flour, oatmeal and butter.  The butter adds just the right amount of moisture, so a still fairly light crumble topping.  If you’re looking for a more traditional, or more solid crumble I’d add more flour and an egg.  But since I was going for a lighter dessert, I kept it simple and poured it over the fruit in the pie pan.


Then I baked it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the top was nice and browned and the juices were bubbly.  Tip: if you want it to be browner, but not burnt take another tablespoon of butter and break up small chunks for on top. 
 The toughest part was waiting for it to cool…  So we waited, and waited, and then stopped waiting.  
This was delicious warm, and would have been great on top of vanilla ice cream, or with whipped cream but then I guess that whole healthy dessert concept would be out the window.  I would also serve it room temperature at a brunch, or having it for breakfast with some Greek yogurt.

Fruit this summer has been delicious on their own, but sometimes it’s fun, if you’re going to spend time washing and slicing to throw them into a pie pan too!

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast/Brunch, Comfort Food, Dessert, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, summer

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Plum Romance

Posted on August 11, 2010 | 2 comments

Inspiration can come from anywhere, and as summer very quickly winds down it is a reminder that fall is around the corner.  Fall, to me, sparks the beginning of something grand.  The colors, crispness and start of the celebrating season all connote a sense of royalty, grandeur and glamour.

For a bride getting married in the fall, I say go for glamour.  
Four Season Palo Alto Wedding

When I first saw this picture I was in awe.  It is romantic, glamorous, sophisticated, but it doesn’t scream “wedding!”  With a few tweaks it could easily be the setting for another fabulous social event.

In this image, the impact is all in the color.  There isn’t an abundance of flowers, and if working creatively as shown in this wedding you can use fabrics to supplement the visual impact floral arrangements would typically provide.

I wanted to imagine what the rest of this wedding might look like for you.

I took the liberty of adding a classic and very glamorous wedding cake, and picking out the wedding attire, and outfitting a black and white post wedding lounge party.  Also, how great are the bow topped candles? I think they would be great as a favor.
Purple is the color for royalty, and on a wedding day every bride is a queen.

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Posted in Her Weddings + Events, Wedding Inspiration

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A Few of My Favorite Things

Posted on August 10, 2010 | 1 comment

It’s probably clear by now where on the fashion spectrum I fall.  I think of myself as a real “classic” kind of a girl.  I live in neutrals, love my denim, and keep my makeup and jewelry on the simple, and of course classic side.

These are my favorites, some are aspirational (ahem, custom DVF), and some are within reach with a visit to the makeup store.
Laura Mercier Cake Liner in Black Ebony
I don’t wear makeup everyday, and even less in the summer.  While, I have never been and don’t foresee becoming a total face makeup wearer, I can never go wrong with the Cake Liner.  The girls got it for me for my birthday, and after it met and untimely death by falling in a toilet – tragic – I treated myself to it.  It’s an instant glamour pick me up.
Essie Mademoiselle

It might be because I am not a risk taker, but I can never pick up the hot picks, purples, blacks when that was current.  No matter the season or the event I go for Essie Mademoiselle, or Sugar Daddy.  It’s seen me through my first manicure to my wedding day.  No sense in changing up a good thing.

DVF Sketch for First Lady Michelle Obama

If I could start collecting any premium designer it would be Diane Von Furstenberg.  I think her designs exemplify the modern woman, how she works, how she celebrates and how she travels.  It’s timeless, and she’s classic.

Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses

I can’t wear the traditional aviator sunglasses, they interfere with my cheekbones and segment my face in a weird way.  But, it doesn’t mean I don’t love them.  This modified shape is perfection.

Burberry Double Breasted Trench Coat
To me, nothing says classic outerwear like a Burberry trench.  Other than updates on fit, the silhouette and style have remained the same for years – it’s a timeless must have.  Don’t believe me, it ranks up there with the classic white shirt, red lipstick, and a well fitting pair of jeans as seen in every style guide from In Style to Nina Garcia.
Elsa Peretti Diamonds by the Yard – Tiffany & Co

This is the true aspirational piece.  I have loved the look of Diamonds by the Yard since I was a little girl.  It looks like raindrops, snowflakes, a smattering of sparkle.  One day…

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Posted in Fashion Inspiration, Her Closet, Shopping

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New Vintage for an Old Home

Posted on August 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

This weekend we  went on a home filling “road trip”.  We drove out of DC to Leesburg, VA to visit the famed Old Lucketts Store, purveyors of the vintage and hip.  Settled on a large piece of land there is a main house that is open 7-days a week and on the first weekend of the month they host a Design House Event.  Both “homes” feature antique, salvaged, and made to look antique home furniture, decor, and accessories.  I am a sucker for the accessories and knick-knacks.


This weekend was a design house weekend and as I kept exclaiming to Mark I loved each room more than the one before it – which is to say, my love kept growing and growing.  
A few styles ran through out the house, there were some breezy, rooms with “by-the-sea” cottage inspired accessories and colors, some with brilliant colors and swaths of bright fabrics, and others still with a more sophisticated and romantic finish balanced with masculine, dark furniture.
Image from Lucketts Blog
Image from Lucketts Blog
Image from Lucketts Blog
It’s hard to explain how I could have loved  each room, as on the surface their styles were each so different.  However, their unifying theme was that they were all “just right” without being perfect.  Rarely did more than two pieces match, and often the accessories challenged and enhanced instead of just filling space, and most of all each room gave the feeling that there was a story behind each piece, and that is what I love.  There was no one-stop-shop feel of going to a catalog and ordering everything on the page and being done with the house. 

On this trip we picked up a nailhead leather chair, that perfectly fit the bill for what Mark wanted for the living room, and a possibly antique iron soap dish.  Pictures of the chair later, but since I am sure you are dying to see a soap dish, ta da!

Fancy Iron Soap Dish – personal photo
The design house also inspired us to find some vintage/old world oversized maps for our walls, and a coffee/occasional table to pair with our new chairs!  This is definitely a work in progress as I think any truly great home should be.

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Posted in Decor, Her Home

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Pizza Party

Posted on August 6, 2010 | 1 comment

The weekend is usually a great time for a pizza party, this week in our house a Tuesday was also a great time for such an event.  Our friends were coming over and we wanted to have a dinner that was fun to put together, easy to prepare in advance and a favorite for everyone.  Pizza was the winner.

I have made pizza with my mother-in-law, but mainly the sauce and into the oven stage, never the dough stage.  She is currently in Italy, had she been in town I would have used her recipe, but I made to with what was called the “Best Pizza Dough Ever” Recipe by Peter Reinhardt.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups water, ice cold
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting 
The ingredients are simple, and what is easy more simple is how to do it.

Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, yeast) in one bowl and then add the olive oil and water, and get to mixing with a large chilled metal spoon.

I could have used my stand mixer for this recipe, and so can you, but I figured for the first time I wanted to know what it felt like.  After about 5-7 minutes of turning the bowl and working the dough it should be “tacky” not “sticky” and able to peeled from the sides of the bowl, but not so much the bottom.  If it’s too dry, add a teaspoon of water, if it’s too sticky add a little more flour – but this is something you can just judge by your eye.

Pour some flour out onto the counter top and just gently work the dough is a soft, smooth ball, and then divide into six just about even chunks.

Mist the dough balls with olive oil, or like me put oil on your hands and then drizzle onto the dough.  The original recipe calls for putting the dough on parchment paper, which I don’t have, misting the parchment paper, and then wrapping it with a food safe bag. I put some semolina flour on the pan and covered it with a tea towel – I think our results were the same.

Two days later…

Time to get cooking on a Tuesday night!  The dough has grown and now the question is how to top it.
I have a pizza stone in the oven preheating to 450 degrees for 45 minutes.

Our toppings included:
Grilled peppers
Grilled chicken sausage
Sauteed mushrooms
Oven dried tomatoes
Homemade Tomato Sauce
Truffle Salt
Fresh Basil
Parmigiano Reggiano
Mozzarella


I rolled out the dough to about 1/4 of an inch in an uneven pattern – no need to strive for perfection here.
And then I kept the toppings simple, the thin dough doesn’t really want to be weighted down with a lot of heavy toppings.  And then, we ate – and it was delicious!

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Posted in Comfort Food, dinner, entertaining, Her Home, Her Kitchen

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Fancy in the Daytime

Posted on August 5, 2010 | 1 comment

I have always had a thing for a white button down shirt. It seems classic, always in season, stately and sometimes regal if you have that kind of neck, that’s long and statuesque.  My dad’s mom has that kind of neck.

What I really love is the pairing of the classic, menswear piece with feminine standards. 

For the longest time the outfit Sharon Stone wore to the 1997 Academy Awards was the vision of pairing daytime with evening, and working with the unexpected.  She did it again with a GAP t-shirt at a different Oscar ceremony.

Sharon Stone, 2007 Academy Awards

While, I do not currently have in invitation to an award show, I do think that the pairing of a formal skirt can be transformed into the maxi skirt and evening wear can become street wear, as evidenced by Michael Kors – the master of American day wear.

Michael Kors for Fall 2010, Saks
Michael Kors

It’s feminine, it is cut to flatter the curves, but it’s surprising.  It is cashmere, ultimate luxe, but it’s ribbed for a more casual finish. I love, love, love this skirt  – but not the price.

The idea behind this look is clean, modern, neutral, tailored and crisp.  It is not bohemian, tiered, ruffled, bright, or too sunny.  I think for Summer it’s perfect with a basic tank and bold silver/modern jewelry, and for fall the options are limitless – but keep it neat, and not overly heavy or loose with fabrics, so you don’t get lost.

Bassike, Alexander Wang, Warehouse, Only Hearts Club

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Posted in Fashion Inspiration, Her Closet, Shopping

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