Pink Champagne Cake

A great cake for celebrating a birthday, New Years of anything worthy of a celebration. The cake was inspired from the film, 16 Candles. I found this recipe on the Cabi Blog.
Just reading the recipe will make you happy and want to celebrate something.
http://cabicanary.com/?recipe-details=1&rec_id=176

Vacation...Hiatus? I am back.

After what appears to be a year but only about five months, I am back. It was a busy summer. In fact, this is the first summer that I have worked full time in 10 years. Navigating child care, camps, play dates and trying to maintain a home while working was challenging. But..I managed and learned a few life lessons.
1. Summer child care can be a nightmare. I was prepared with nine possible sitters on stand-by and I used all nine.
2. I think I spent more on child care, camps, activities, etc. than I actually made working.
3. It wasn't so bad.

My family has three months of the fall and the school year behind us and I think we finally found our routine. So, with that said, I will be blogging more regularly. Look for information about fashion, beauty, entertaining, cooking and other lifestyle topics.

It's good to be back!

Norma Kamali at Walmart -- What???

Today, I met my daughter and husband at the pool. My daughter was instructed to bring my bathing suit and pool bag. I arrived at the pool, grabbed the pool bag and proceeded to change into my suit...only, my daughter forgot to pack my bottoms. My husband said, "Is that a big deal?" WHAT, are you kidding me? Yes, that is a huge deal!

I drive home to retrieve the bottoms of my swimsuit only I cannot find them anywhere. I searched everywhere, for the sake of time I grab a black bottom from another suit and drive back to the pool. While driving back I am becoming angry, because that bathing suit fit me really well and I paid more a than usual for the suit.

Eventually, the next day the bottoms appear, hidden under stuffed animals in my daughter's room (don't ask). I had assumed the bottoms would never surface so I started searching the web for Norma Kamali bathing suits hoping to find last year's suit on Ebay or something. In my search results was a link to "Norma Kamali for Walmart". WHAT??? Is this a joke? So, I clicked on the link and to my delight, Norma Kamali created a line for Walmart. Quite nice I might add. I ventured off to my local Walmart to find just a few items from the line. I purchased the black sleeveless dress for $19.99. I am browsing the site to order several pieces on line. Give it a look over, the line is amazing.
http://www.normakamalicollection.com/catalog/NK_WMT_SPRING_2009.aspx

J Crew and Shelly O

I have always been a fan of J Crew since Emily Cinader took over her father's company in 1986. I find J Crew classic with a twist and affordable. It appears that Michelle Obama is a J Crew fan as well. We saw Michelle wearing J Crew throughout the campaign and she has carried the trend to the White House.

Great news for J Crew although I doubt the company could ever forecast for the amount of sales the company is generating, thanks to Shelly O. I have tried to order a couple of cardigans to no avail - - in fact, I don't know when they will ever be available. I know that J Crew is not a publicly owned company but we may see that change with growing sales and interest since the First Lady took them public.

I have included my favorite ensemble from Mrs. Obama's trip to London.
Enjoy!

I Am Back

It has been a while since my last post. I have been on hiatus with good reason, I returned to work in a full time role. My husband and I were both self employed and given the recent economic turmoil it made sense for me to return to work. This transition has been difficult to navigate but I am finally stearing the ship. It has honestly taken three months for my family and I to adjust.

I had to up my game and become more organized and plan, plan, plan. I get everything organized and ready for show time for the week on Sunday. I have been laying out my clothes for the week as well as my daughters, my husband is on his own here. Whatever I can do in the evening to make the mornings run smoothly helps too!

I am back and ready to post and tweet. Follow me on twitter too!

Thanks for your supportive emails! :)

Bamboo Floors

We are in the planning stages of refurbishing and redesigning our kitchen. My home is a 1922 English Tudor with all original wood floor except for the kitchen. A kitchen renovation was done in the 70' s with a Brady Bunch influence. The geniuses that renovated the kitchen did harm to the original wood floor. I am toying with replacing the floor entirely as trying to have planks milled to match is almost a nightmare. I feel very good about using bamboo in lieu of pine. I also like that the bamboo planks are so long which will lend itself to my kitchen 24 x 24. The blogger in the attached link is using the bamboo planks for a renovation in the UK http://kaybar007.blogspot.com/2008/12/house-of-bamboo.html

Favorite Things from Real Simple Magazine

Well...it's almost the New Year time for reflecting and REORGANIZING. In my fair opinion no one does it better than Real Simple Magazine - - always, a great go to for some inspiration. Reorganizing and some old fashioned pitching and donating is very zen for me. The link below from Real Simple can get you started to http://simplystated.realsimple.com/home/2008/12/a-few-of-my-fav.html

Liz Claiborne CEO Flies Coach

Take note Chrysler, GM and Ford and follow the fashion industry. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Liz Claiborne, CEO, William L. McComb consistantly flies coach. In addition, McComb rents his own car and drives to his destination. WOW! You think corporate America will take note and we will see a bunch of corporate jets on Ebay? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123058397854440471.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace

Fashion Editors Ditching Couture Shows Due to Recession

If you follow fashion, you live for the "Couture Shows" in Paris, Milan, Tokyo and New York. I enjoy looking at the footage on Getty Images, various blogs, vlogs and magazines that feature highlights of the shows. In truth, I would love to have a front row seat to any show at Bryant Park. This week several tony retailers in the U.S. gave statements to the press regarding their decision to not attend the Paris shows the end of January. In particular, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf's and now maybe Saks. Click on the link for more info http://www.wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/the-pursuit-of-happiness-the-couture-pack-or-not-role-model-1905688?src=nl/mornReport/20081230#/article/media-news/fashion-memopad/the-pursuit-of-happiness-the-couture-pack-or-not-role-model-1905688?page=2

Luxe For Less

Do you recall Elisabeth Hasselbeck's show, The Look for Less? It was Elisabeth's first foray into television after Survivor. I paid special attention to what Elisabeth was doing after Survivor because of her connection to my hometown. Elisabeth's in laws are from Cincinnati, her father in law went to my husband's alma mater, LaSalle High School. Anyway, regardless if you are a fan of Elisabeth politics or not, Elisabeth is a shoe designer and has knack for fashion. After she left The Look for Less only, the show pretty much died. I have found a blog called "Luxe for Less", that searches out knock off designs with quality in mind, sort of the Look for Less for bloggers. http://blog.stylefeeder.com/tag/luxe-for-less/

Fashionista The Blog

Hi-Low, a term used in the fashion industry referring to pairing hi-end with much lower priced garments. Think Kate Moss mixed with Forever 21. There is a great blog that pays homage to the Hi-Low, the way I dress...well actually it is probably more low. The blog creator Faran Krentcil is devoted to, clearly, all things fashion. Krentcil, no stranger to the industry, worked at The Daily, a fashion publication, and wrote for the anonymous blog Imaginary Socialite.

Even though Fashionista is at the center of the fashion world, Krentcil writes the blog with a tone of voice aimed at everyone from fashion editors who see shows in Bryant Park to “the girl from Omaha who read one article in a Nylon that she stole from one of her cousins in Chicago.” http://www.fashionista.com/

Jackson Pollock

I am a doodler. Most of the time when I am on the phone I am doodling, I doodle in meetings, I doodle at very inappropriate times, like church. If I am on a business call, I try not to multi-task and answer emails, IM, twitter to name a few because I know you can hear the distraction in my voice. So, I am forced to doodle and turn away from my computer. I have found a great answer to doodling using my computer - - which also saves paper. It is a Jackson Pollock application. To quote Nike, "just do it". Click on the attached link and "just do it", start moving your mouse around, it is truly fun. http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

Costco vs Sams

Costco vs Sam's Club, come on is there really any comparison? It is like comparing Walmart to Target, there is clearly no contest there. Where I live there is a Costco and Sam's Club in very close proximity. I converted to Costco in 2000, as soon as the doors opened in my neighborhood and I have never looked back at Sam's Club, except maybe for these gallon jugs of water sold in cartons of 8. ...otherwise it's Costco all they way. I found an article from "thebudgetfashionista" that supported my position on the Costco vs. Sam's argument. http://www.thebudgetfashionista.com/archive/costco_vs_sams_club2/

Tea Scented

I adore anything tea scented. There is something very comforting about tea in general but when infused in cooking it is delightful. This summer I made Earl Grey ice cream with apricots, delicous! Another summer favorite in my home was darjeeling tea steamed alaskan salmon. I'll post more tea infused recipes but for now, while pumpkins are in season I suggest this wonderful soup from appetite for china. http://appetiteforchina.com/recipes/tea-scented-pumpkin-soup

Savory TV Cooks Turkey

Savory TV is a favorite of mine, especially when I am having trouble sleeping at night. I am very familiar with preparing and cooking a turkey but I am always open to trying a different method. Take a look at the attached link, Scott Cataneo, chef from LePetit Chateau gives his spin on cooking a turkey. http://www.shopbop.com/sale-30-percent-off/br/v=1/2534374302029885.htm?extid=affprg-2209714

Michelle O - Inagural Gown

What should Michelle O wear to the Inaugural? Several favorite Project Runway designers post designs for Michelle as Barney's creative director, Simon Doonen weighs in. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-06/the-ball-gown-challenge/

Project Runway on QVC

I am addicted to Bravo's (or is it Lifetime's yet) Project Runway. Laura Bennett is one of my favorite designers. The boys at Project Rungay accompanied Laura and Chloe Dao to the latest taping at QVC. http://projectrungaypagetwo.blogspot.com/2008/11/behind-scenes-at-qvc.html

Jim Lahey of NYC's Sullivan Street Bakery

I first heard of the no knead bread method from an article I read in Vogue (May 2007), written by Vogue's Food Editor, Jeffrey Steingarten. I love Jeffrey, especially his appearances on Iron Chef. Induldge yourself this weekend and bake a couple of loves of the no knead bread developed by Jim Lahey of NYC's Sullivan Street Bakery. I have seen recipes for Lahey's bread on many blogs but I think the instructions from the Seattle Times would do Julia proud. http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/allyoucaneat/2008/05/your_weekend_assignment_bake_t.html

One of my favorite foodie/cooking blogs is Not Eating Out In New York. For two years the blogger went AWOL on dining out in New York. Can you imagine, New York city of all places. The results of her journey are delicious and inspiring. Enjoy! http://noteatingoutinny.com/about-me-and-what-youll-see-on-this-blog/