Au Revoir 2011

e

via ban.do

via ffffound

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year's and a water cooler full of Moet. I have BIG hopes for 2012 and I cannot wait to see what this year has in store. I have some resolutions already penned out, some life changes already in mind, and know this year will be even better than the last.


I'm off to ring in the New Year in style and hope you all have a fantastic night.


Chin, Chin!


xo,
L

All That Glitters

Wow where did the time go? I am sorry I have been distracted by my staycation and have negectled my lovely (and favorite) blog. I have been busy jetting off to SF for ladies days, up to Sonoma for wine tasting around the square, and busy pampering myself with hair and nail appointments. I don't know how I am going to go back to my real (aka work) life after this wonderful week off. 

With NYE happening tomorrow (yikes!!) I started thinking about what the heck am I going to be wearing for my fun festivities? I came to the conclusion that sequins would be the most appropriate thing to do. Here are some of my favorites, and there are all kinds of styles one could choose from: dresses, pants, tops and purses.

via The Glitter Guide

via Peacock Feather Events

via Runway Chic

via Pinterest 

via A Catalogue of Sorts

via Sow Kindness. Grow Love

via Karla's Closet

via Lesapea Musings

via Viva Magazine

via Pinterest

via All The Things I Love, We Love

How oh how, am I going to choose?  What are you planning to wear to ring in the New Year? Will sequins make an appearance at your festivities?

xo, 

L

Merry Christmas

via Miss Class

via The Book of Secrets

via The City Sage

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,

The gladness of Christmas give you hope,


The warmth of Christmas grant you love.


~Author Unknown

There is something magical about Christmas. I don't know if it's all the time with family, or eating all those extra Christmas treats, or even if it's listening to all that cheery music, but it's a nice time of year. And with a fresh start of New Year's just around the corner, it feel like it's a time of possibility.  

Wishing you all the most wonderful time of the year, Merry Christmas lovelies.

xo, 

L

LSL {Foodie Friday} - Eggnog Martini

It's officially the start of the Christmas weekend and nothing says Christmas more to me than a spiked eggnog drink. I do find it a little weird that this is the only time of year we are allowed to drink eggnog, so I figure why not make it a stiff one to celebrate the long holiday weekend.

Eggnog Martini

{Adapted by Miss Martha}

Yield
Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice, plus more for garnish

8 cups whole milk

6 large egg yolks

3 cups brandy

Directions

1. Set a large fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl. Place bottom of bowl in an ice bath; set aside. Off heat, in a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, and pumpkin-pie spice. Gradually whisk in 4 cups milk, taking care to incorporate the cornstarch. Whisk in egg yolks.

2. Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until the first large bubble sputters, 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute more. Remove from heat; immediately pour through sieve into bowl. Stir in remaining 4 cups milk. Let cool completely in bowl still set in ice bath.

3. Just before serving, stir in brandy, and ladle into glasses; garnish with pumpkin-pie spice.

What's your favorite Christmas-time drink? Hot buttered rum? Peppermint mochas? Hot Toddy? Spread that holiday cheer and break out the booze! 

Cheers!

xo,

L

Golden Giltz

I think that gold in the winter is so regal. Really brightens up any outfit, room, or tabletop. Wouldn't you agree?

  

Even just a pop of gold peeking out of a dress can really make an outfit. What's your favorite regal winter color? Are you like me and use gold to dress or liven up an outfit or space? And, lastly, how spectacular is that golden bicycle? I can see me on it now...


xo,
L


*Credits - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

LSL {The Lovely List} - New Girl

Do you guys watch the Fox show, New Girl? It's that relatively new show with Zooey Deschanel? Well, it's one of my favorite things on TV, I laugh every single time I watch it. I highly suggest you check it out. Found this fun clip and thought it was too funny not to pass on. 

Yes this is a shameless plug and no I was not paid or perked for this(too bad though). Small confession, I might be developing a small crush on Schmidty.


Enjoy!


xo,
L


*Credit: YouTube

LSL {The Lovely List} - Wallpaper

I am pretty much smitten with Hermes. I usually can't walk by one of their stores without taking a picture of their windows. I don't really know why I do it, but I think it's that iconic orange it gets me every time. I own two things Hermes, a twilly and an enamel bangle, both which I absolutely adore. Those beautiful small orange boxes sit proudly on my bureau for me to admire everyday. As I was on the Hermes website today, you know just checking to see if I need anything, I found an option to "wallpaper" my desktop. What the heck you ask? You select the option of 'Hermes Wallpaper,' there you are able to choose between six different wallpaper styles, paint them any way you would like and download to your desktop. I am currently enjoying Herringbone in a mustardy yellow. Thankyouverymuch.

What wallpaper style best suits you? Do your knees also get weak every time you see one of those orange boxes like mine? It's weird, I know.

Happy Weekend!
xo,
L

LSL {Foodie Friday} - Christmas in a Bowl

I love chocolate, I love brownies and I love peppermint. This Foodie Friday I found the best of all worlds; a recipe that includes chocolate, brownies and peppermint! Christmas in a Bowl. And it sounds fantastic. The Faux Martha created this delicious recipe and I definitely need to get to trying to make, so I can get to trying it. This may be a little more complex than most of the recipes featured here, but I believe it's well worth it for this Christmas treat.

Christmas in a Bowl


{adapted from The Faux Martha via Martha Stewart}

(note: trifle must rest 12 hours before serving)

Serves 20

MOUSSE


-2 1/2 c. heavy cream


-10 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped


-1/2 c. peppermint candies, crushed

PUDDING


-8 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped


-2 c. heavy cream


-3 large egg yolks, room temperature

BROWNIES


-1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter


-8 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped


-1 1/2 c. sugar


-4 large eggs


-1 tsp. pure vanilla extract


-3/4 c. all-purpose unbleached flour


-1/2 tsp. sea salt

GARNISH

1/4 c. peppermint candies, crushed

1. Make the mousse: Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Place white chocolate in a bowl. Bring 1 cup cream almost to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate and stir until smooth. Set in ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to hold ribbons on surface, about 15 minutes. Beat remaining 1 1/2 cups of cream to nearly stiff peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture until smooth, then fold in candies. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thickened and almost firm, 4 to 6 hours.


2. Make the pudding: Put chocolate into a large bowl; set aside. Bring cream almost to a boil in a small saucepan. Whisk yolks in a bowl. Pour 1/2 cup of hot cream in to the eggs in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Pour mixture back into pan, whisk well. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Set bowl in ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to hold ribbons on surface, about 15 minutes. Place plastic wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.


3. Make the brownies: Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8-inch square baking pan or heatproof glass dishpan
with overlapping parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Set aside. Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or large heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water; stir frequently until chocolate and butter are melted, about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat; let cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture until combined. Whisk in eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Gently fold in flour and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until cake tester inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. They will be fudgy. Using parchment, lift brownies out of pan and onto a wire rack to cool completely.


4. Assembly: Spread one-third of the mousse into bottom of a glass trifle bowl that is 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Crumble brownies, and top with 1/2 of the brownies. Top with half the pudding, then another third of mousse. Place remaining brownie crumbles on top. Top with remaining pudding, then mousse. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 12 hours. Garnish with peppermint candies just before serving.

Faux Martha puts it into words nicely about her Christmas in a Bowl, "...don’t judge her book by the cover. You wont be able to put her down. And when you’re done, you’ll wish there was more."  It might not be the prettiest dessert in the book, but it sounds like one of the tastiest. Also head to FM's website for more helpful hints on where to buy the best and cheapest ingredients for this recipe, here.

Bon Appetit!

xo

L

Girly Gift Ideas

Now that it's mid-December and the Christmas shopping (at least for most people) is under way. I am completely stressing myself out thinking of what to get people and it's now December 14th and I have done very little gift shopping. Yikes! So while procrastinating attempting to find the perfect gifts for my favorite friends and family, I was looking at my dailys to see what my favorite bloggers recommend. It seems like gift guides are all over and I have to say, in true LSL fashion, I am coveting most items. But my favorite and most extravagant gift guide is by the lovely Mrs. Lilien. She paired up with Juicy Couture to make not one, but 12 fabulous lists.


Instead of giving you yet another gift guide, I thought I would share illustrations from a very sweet Esty artist, Kristina Hultkrantz. She makes the loveliest prints. So for the girly girl that has everything, here is one thing that she will soon need adore.

'Coco Chanel'

'Miss Dior Cherie'

'Audrey Hepburn'

'Hermes Tray'

'30 Lipsticks'

'Jackie Kennedy'

'Marilyn Monroe'

Happy gifting!


xo, 
L
*Psst these prints may or may not be on my "I've been so good this year" Christmas list. (wink)

LSL {Foodie Friday} - Holiday Cookies

It's that time of year, Christmas is quickly approaching and the annual baking of holiday cookies is soon to be underway at my house. I love this tradition, my roommate (who by the way is an extraordinary baker) makes all the dough ahead of time, and then I do what I know best and help her fancy them up with icing. Last year I think we probably made close to 100 cookies. Not only was it fun to hang out, drink champagne and wine while we decorated, it was also fun to pass them out and see the looks on our friend's faces when they received a bundle of our goodies.  


While looking for fun cookie decorating ideas I came across Glorious Treats' holiday cookies and cupcakes. I was instantly drawn to them, 1. because I have a small affinity for snowflake designs and 2. because they were not the traditional red and green holiday colors. I am a fan of changing it up and trying new colors on Christmas and I may have decorated my tree in just turquoises, silvers, and golds last year. If you're in the mood for a little holiday baking this weekend, below is an easy sugar cookie recipe and a pretty picture to along with it for lovely decorating inspiration. 

Sugar Cookies

{adapted by: Glorious Treats}

Recipe yields about 30, 2 1/2 inch cookies or 16, 3 1/2 inch cookies.

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

Parchment paper

Directions:

-In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

-In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  This should take about 3 minutes. 

-Add the egg and vanilla and beat another minute or so.

-Add the flour mixture slowly. (Be careful not to add too much at a time or you will have a snowstorm of flour.)

-Blend until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

-Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a piece of parchment paper. 

-Using your hands, knead the dough a few times.

-Place the dough in a large plastic ziplock bag and refrigerate for about 2 hours. If you want to speed up the chilling process, place the bag of dough in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes.

-When it's almost time to remove the dough from the refrigerator (or freezer), preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

-When the dough has chilled and is firm, take out about half of the dough, leaving the rest in the refrigerator (until your ready to work with it). 

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. 

Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. This helps you roll out the dough without adding additional flour (adding too much flour can make the dough a bit tough, and can create little pockets of flour in the dough that cause bumps to form on your cookies during baking, making it more difficult to decorate later).

Roll out the dough to about 1/3 of an inch thick. 

Cut the dough with your choice of cookie cutters. 

Place cookie shapes on a prepared baking sheet. 

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookie.  

Cool for just a minute or so on the pan, then carefully remove cookies from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack.

Once cooled, start decorating those cookies.

Bon Appetit!

xo,

L

Pantone Colors

Just announced today is Pantone's Spring 2012 top color, Tangerine Tango. Which reminds me of this post and my love affair with a similar color, poppy. This Spring's fashion color report is chock-full of great colors. Solar Power, a mustard-y yellow, Cockatoo, a minty-ish green, Soladite, which is simlar to a navy, Caberet, a fushia pink, a lavender Bellflower, and much more. 

Pantone based these top color choices on September's Spring Fashion Week in NY. Pantone took some of the best designers' showcases and based this upcoming season's choice on what seemed to encompass the true colors of Spring. Below are a few designers creations using Pantone's hot colors and their own sketches from pieces off their Spring runway.

Cockatoo
Tracy Reece

Sweet Lilac & Tangerine Tango
Nanette Lapore

Caberet
 Peter Som

Solar Power
Rachel Roy

Tangerine Tango & Starfish
Elie Tahari

Driftwood
Rebecca Minkoff

Bellflower
Rafael Cennamo

To check out the entire lookbook, which is full of beautiful designer sketches and colors, go here. 


What would be your top color for Spring? I think they hit the nail on the head for me with Tangerine Tango, and maybe add a little of that Solar Power and Driftwood in for good measure. And is anyone wanting to try that beautiful Rebecca Minkoff number on? It looks so fabulous.


xo,
L

LSL {Foodie Friday} - Lavender Hot Chocolate

Happy Foodie Friday! So, I don't know if it's the weather finally changing and cooling way down here, but I woke up today feeling slightly under the weather. I am just telling myself that I am over tired mixed with a combination of allergies from all the wind we have been having. I don't get sick, that has to be it. Right? 

Today I thought it would be fun to feature a classic comfort holiday drink. I drink a lot of tea at home, but at times that gets old and lately all I have been craving is a cup of good ol' fashioned hot chocolate. However, I was interested in mixing up the tried and true recipe and stumbled upon this beauty. Here you go, how good (and comforting) does a lavender hot chocolate sound?

Lavender Hot Chocolate 

Yields: 2 servings

{via Une Deux Senses via original recipe here}

Notes: since the lavender is fragrant, adjust the amount according to your preference. For a creamier hot chocolate, a 1:1 ratio or dark to milk chocolate can be used. 

For the hot chocolate:

2 cups whole milk

3 oz. dark chocolate (70% cacao)

1 oz. milk chocolate

1/4 tsp. lavender buds

For the whipped cream:

1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract or seeds from 1/4 of a vanilla bean pod

1/2 tbsn. sugar

For the whipped cream, place the cold cream, vanilla and sugar into a cold mixing bowl. Beat the mixture with a whisk or mixer until stiff peaks form. Keep refrigerated until ready for use. 

For the hot chocolate, beat the milk and lavender over medium heat, whisking occasionally until the milk begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and let the lavender steep for 5 minutes. Strain the lavender and return the milk to the saucepan. Over medium heat, add the chocolate and mix until the chocolate is melted and incorporated. Whisk the milk mixture for 10 - 20 seconds or until frothy. Pour into a large mug and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Can't wait to get into some warm comfy clothes find a good girly rom-com, and sit in bed with a piping hot mug of lavender hot cocoa. I may just have to find my copy of The Holiday and get myself in the Christmas spirit. Much to my amazement it is already December!  

Wishing you a lovely weekend

xo,

L

*Credit -  Recipe and photos by Michelle via Une Deux Senses