Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Leather & Bouclé

Heeeeey leather-j! 
Hi there bouclé! 
Welcome back to the rotation.




photos by jenny
{Outfit}
Theory Leather jacket (similar here)
Nanette Lepore skirt
Belt from Albertine
Christian Louboutin pumps
vintage Persol sunglasses

Monday, September 24, 2012

Manicure Monday

It's just another MANICure Monday - Oooooo-waah-ooooo!

I've been really excited to bring back dark and moody nail polish colors for the Fall {not that they weren't totally rockable during the Spring and Summer, but I often found myself reaching for brighter colors during those months. Something about warm weather and sunshine for whatever reason makes me shy away from darker hues}, and I have wanted to give the whole 'cosmic' nail look a whirl. Unfortunately my talents aren't quite up to par with that of a real nail artist, with all the swirls and star clusters they manage to execute, but hey - I gave it my best shot!



{Nail Polish}
RGB Sea
Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Skin Care Switch-up


Autumn. Crisp cool breezes; crunchy fallen leaves; rich red, yellow and orange hues adorning tree tops; cuddling up in comfy knits and cozy scarves while sipping pumpkin lattes - There's really not much that I don't absolutely adore about this time of year, but as the days grow shorter and the weather becomes cooler, my skin is yearning for a little extra attention.

Skin is a finicky thing, no? {And if yours isn't, well then we can't be friends... Just kidding. Though I do envy you in a major way!}


Each season seems to require a little something different when it comes to achieving a happily balanced epidermis. In the Summer I wrote about my battle to keep my skin looking acceptably "dewy" and not entering the land of plain ol' greasy and gross. Now, with the coming of Fall, right on par with my skin's schizophrenia, it's begging for more moisture and frequent exfoliation. Therefore, it was time to make some changes to the routine, and here they are:

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Sprout, the savior.

Recently I experienced some massive skin chaos.
 
I had been trying out a new product for about a week - It was heavy on rosehip oil and it was the only product that was new to my regimen. I can't say for sure that this was the catalyst to the chaos so the product shall remain nameless, but I definitely have my suspicions. I woke up one morning, went about my normal skin care routine and after getting out of the shower I was greeted by cheeks that were on fire with the likes of an angry, bumpy, red rash. By the end of the day the rash had spread to my chin and forehead. I was at a loss. I popped an antihistamine and hoped for the best. 
The following day I tried to go about my normal routine, ignoring the now skin colored bumpy rash that remained, but again my skin became red, irritated and inflamed by anything and everything I attempted to put on it. I was a mess and pretty dang close to tears of absolute frustration.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Casual Friday





photos by jenny
{Outfit}
Theory blazer
T by Alexander Wang tee
Citizens of Humanity jeans
Manolo Blahnik heels

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Black + White

Last week I wrote about the return of the flannel, and why I'm particularly pumped about breaking those babies out of the closet again, but today I'm gonna attempt to class it up a notch. There's something about the Fall that inspires me to look more polished and a bit more put together, where as the Summer was all about keeping it casual and relaxed. And I don't know about you, but these cooler days feel like they're practically begging me to break the blazers out and re-introduce all things leather, and hey, the Dude abides... or the Dudette if you're not in to the whole brevity thing. 





photos by jenny
{Outfit}
Robert Rodriguez jacket

Friday, September 7, 2012

The Return of the Flannel

As the seasons shift and Fall begins to emerge there are a few things that I'm particularly pumped to break out of 'closet hibernation' - One of those things being my flannel shirts. That's right, I said shirtssss - As in plural. Flannel is a weaknesses of mine, and there's not much I can do about that. With just one touch my senses are calmed by it's soft, cozy wear-able texture. If I could line my walls in the stuff you'd most likely find me frequently stroking them, Get Him to The Greek-style {sans the "jeffrey", obvi}. Alas, I have several flannel shirts in my repertoire, and thanks to Urban Outfitters I added a new one yesterday. So instead of going 100% 90's grunge with this look, I opted for a slightly more polished approach... and I stress the word "slightly". Either way, the outfit felt very apropos as we segue from 'Summer vacation' into 'back to school'. Not that I'm going back to school, but you know what I mean. September days will always be reminiscent of back to school. Tell me I'm not alone on this one... Bueller? ... Bueller? ...




photos by jenny
{Outfit}
Elizabeth & James flannel
Current Elliot cut offs
Freeman's neck tie

*CHECK ME OUT* in The New York Times' Street Style pics rockin' the Panama!
& a big shout out to Gabrielle @ Look Sharp, Sconnie for makin' the reco!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Homemade Caramelitas Experiment

A couple of weekends ago I experienced my first Caramelita. I bit into this chewy, moist, square of chocolate, oatmeal and caramel and was instantly in heaven. I promptly found myself losing all self control and reaching for another, and then another, and then another! In my defense the maker cut them into the tiniest squares EVER {at least that's what I've been telling myself}. I had never heard of a Caramelita, so the first opportunity I got I googled the recipe and once I saw that it was relatively simple and straight forward I decided to brave an attempt. So here we go - Keep in mind, my baking skills are spotty at best:

I first started by making some homemade caramel:

Ingredients
1 CUP of sugar
6 TBSP butter
1/2 CUP heavy whipping cream


If you've never made caramel before, it's a super speedy process, so. . .

1. Gather and measure out all of your ingredients and have them lined up and ready to roll.

2. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on.

3. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted, immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.


4. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. {Note: When you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will begin to bubble up considerably and quickly. This is why you should definitely use a pan that is at least 2-quarts.}

5. Whisk until the caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool. 






Onto the main event. . .

Ingredients
3 CUPS, plus 3 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 1/2 TSP baking soda
1/2 TSP salt
4 STICKS unsalted butter, softened
3 CUPS quick-cooking rolled oats
2 1/4 CUPS light brown sugar
16 OZ caramel
1 1/2 CUPS semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 CUP chopped pecans



5. Preheat the oven to 350° and butter a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan. 

6. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups of the flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the butter, oats and brown sugar and mix until combined. 

7. In a small bowl, mix the caramel with the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour.

8. Pat half of the oat mixture into the baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. 

9. Remove from oven and first begin by scattering half of the chocolate chips and pecans over the crust. Then, drizzle half of the caramel mixture on top. Continue to layer by crumbling the remaining oat mixture evenly into the pan. Cover with the remaining chocolate chips, pecans and caramel. 

10. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the edges are set. Let cool to room temperature before cutting. 







Survey says: A crowd pleaser for sure! While mine were a much thicker than the originals, they were just as delicious. If I could do it over again I think I would use an extra 1/2 cup of caramel. I also intentionally let them stay in the oven for an extra 5 minutes and that resulted in a much crunchier bar, but I'm more of a chewy fan so I probably wouldn't do that again. 

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