Perfect for Pampering

I love a pretty bathroom, I really do. For me, the bathroom is where I can really pamper myself with steamy showers and relaxing soaks; With rich and luxurious body oils and creamy, clarifying face masks, and when it's a bathroom as pretty as these below it really makes it feel like your very own glorious, personal, at home, mini spa! 

Happy Fry-Day!

Field Trip to Brooklyn

Tuesday was field trip day for Hillary and me - We bounced over to Brooklyn for the afternoon so that I could get the skinny on an adorable little jewelry store I had heard about - Catbird. If you've been following along you know that when it comes to jewelry I simply cannot help myself, even if it means I need to hop the L train! 

It was chilly and overcast, and I couldn't help but feel a little blue - What gives, Mother Nature?! You grace us with sunny, warm, beyond beautiful days only to follow them up with a series of chilly days with dreary grey skies - Brutal.

Anyway, enough ranting about the weather, let's get back to field trip fun...   

A few short blocks from the Bedford stop on the L train sits Catbird, a tiny wonderland that is was warm and cozy and smells of jasmine inside - It's filled top to bottom with jewelry both delicate and bold, and an assortment of neatly arranged nick-knacks adorn the walls and shelves of this charming establishment.

I scanned case after case, admiring the beauty of each and every piece I laid my eyes on. Rings, bracelets, necklaces; I was in love... with everything! But I paused when I came to a case that held Catbird's very own line - Right up my alley! I really love their delicate, stackable alphabet rings {They even have a little ampersand ring as well - how cute!}, but needed to put a little more thought into which letters I wanted, so instead I left with one of their tiny chain rings that sparkles at every angle, and a rose gold first knuckle ring both of which I promise to share pictures of very soon.

{Alphabet rings, I will be back for you later - I promise!}

After leaving Catbird we did a bit more meandering, stumbled upon a bit of greenery growing in one of the most unlikely places, and saw a man in desperate need of a hug {I tried to oblige}. We completed our Brooklyn field trip with a meal, of course, at the relaxed and super delicious Allswell. 

Hellooo rib sandwich! 

So despite the weather being blue, the day was most definitely a sunny one!

Catbird                                 Allswell
219 Bedford Avenue           124 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY                      Brooklyn, NY

Fairy Tale Nails

As promised, this is Hillary's gorgeous glitter manicure, courtesy of the Valley gals. Using three different glitter colors {rose gold, copper, and bronze} they created this super cool mani that, in my opinion, is straight out of Cinderella, and Hillary is the seriously rad fairy godmother with finger tips adorned with fairy dust! 

"Bippity boppity boo!"

A Breakfast Beaut

I may have said this before but breakfast is my favorite meal of the day,

 and an "egg in a basket" is a classic that I'll never be able to turn down! 

"Egg in a Basket" Recipe

1.  Melt 1 tbsp of butter into a pan on medium heat

2. With your choice of bread use a cookie cutter or a small glass to cut a hole in the center of one slice 

3. Once the butter is completely melted place the slice of bread inside the pan  

4. Add just a smidge of  butter to the hole in the center of the bread, and then gently crack your egg into the hole

5. Sprinkle egg with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

6. When the egg begins to set around the edge of the hole, flip!

7. Finish cooking egg as you prefer (over easy or over medium)

8. The bread cut out can be grilled or toasted as well to sop up the extra yolk!

Voila - An egg in a basket!!

What's All the Hullabaloo About?

If you are a lass like me you've probably watched Sleepless in Seattle countless times. In fact, my husband is always asking me why I seem to watch the same movies over and over again when I already know what's going to happen - "Because they're AWESOME!" I usually exclaim, "And they always will be!!"

It's true though - Sleepless in Seattle, though it's no Gone With the Wind, is one of those classic film romances that people, including myself, will never get tired of. The story is charming, quirky, and completely heart meltingly wonderful - Not to mention the soundtrack is amazing!

It wasn't long ago that I was watching Sleepless in Seattle for the millionth time and I realized that I had never seen the film that is so lovingly referenced by the women of Sleepless - An Affair to Remember.

Meg Ryan and Rosie O'Donnell together dreamily mouth the ever famous words of Terry McKay, "Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... we've already missed the spring!" and Rita Wilson emotionally describes the heart wrenching, pivotal moment of the film as the men in the scene, Tom Hanks and Victor Garber, listen on, completely puzzled and clueless as to why she's getting so emotional.

What's all the hullabaloo about, I wondered?

It was clear to me that An Affair to Remember was a must see. So, there I was, snuggled up in bed, laptop in front of me, eyes glued to the screen.

I'm not sure what I was expecting - Actually, I guess I know exactly what I was expecting - A sappy love story that lacked the subtlety that most good films today possess. Wow, was I wrong! I realized I was watching two film legends, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and they shined together on screen with remarklable chemistry and incredible comedic timing.

I laughed {a lot}, I was giddy, I was frustrated, and oh yeah... I cried {Rita Wilson style}! I LOVED IT! A wonderful, WONDERFUL film that you must see {if you haven't already}!! Then you will truly understand what all the hullabaloo is about!

Have you ever Beignet-ed?

I woke up this morning and all I could think about were Beignets. Those square puffs of fried dough lavishly sprinkled with an abundance of powdered sugar make my heart melt and my mouth water! The beignet is pretty much a French-style doughnut - Made to order, these delectable beauties are served fresh from the fryer and piping hot every time. New Orleans is famous for having the best stateside, and if only it were a hop, skip and a jump away I would be there this morning feasting on three of my very own beignets with a latte on the side. Heaven!

{Has anyone found a really spectacular place in NYC that serves beignets? I mean REAL beignets. My quest continues!}

Puddles of Blue

I've always wanted to try an ombré manicure, but I knew it was something that I'd never successfully execute on my own {curses you shaky left hand!} so yesterday my fellow partner in crime and I made our way to Soho to visit Valley, a tiny nail salon notorious for their gorgeous and intricate nail art. With so many colors to choose from I opted for inky blue and off we went!

I must say, the process was pretty dang amazing - The ladies of Valley are, without a doubt,  artists! Layers upon layers of color were used to create a perfectly blended color gradient that when all was said and done looked exactly like I had just dipped the tips of my fingers into a pot of blue ink! LOVE LOVE LOVE! 

{Pictures of my partner in crime's nails coming soon!}

Chalkboard paint, you're my hero!

Perhaps you're already familiar with chalkboard paint, but until 5 days ago I had no idea that it existed. So when I accidentally ruined our brand new and beauteous household chalkboard by using art chalk instead of regular chalk to draw on it, I was completely panicked. 

The chalkboard was a wedding gift and one that I was beyond excited to get my mitts on {hence the extreme impatience involved in wanting to draw on it immediately}. Truth be told, I had no idea that art chalk was any different than chalkboard chalk, so when I got the itch to christen the chalkboard I thought nothing of it when all I had on hand was a box of art chalk - I thought, "How convenient! I don't even need to go to the store!" Well, apparently art chalk, despite it feeling almost exactly like regular chalk, contains a slight amount of oil and thus does not belong on anything that you might want to wipe it off of. Whoops! 

After lots of dish soap, Fantastic, and various Clorox wipes I pretty much realized that this stuff was never going to wipe off completely. With stomach in knots and heart pounding I Googled and in one click my fears melted away and my curiosity was peaked. Chalkboard paint?! Incredible! Did you know that you can paint this stuff on any surface {walls, cabinets, mirrors, etc.} and once it dries the surface has instantly become a chalkboard??? AMAZING!

Not only did it completely rescue me and my lovely chalkboard in our time of need, but I found the images above to be seriously inspiring when it comes to household decor. Whether it's an entire wall, an entire room, a framed accent piece, or a kitschy way of labeling your kitchen, chalkboard paint without a doubt instantly gives tremendous character to something that would otherwise be ordinary. I love it!

{Side Note: Make sure you use the shortest nap roller brush you can find when painting with chalkboard paint - It will make a huge difference in the texture of the painted surface. If it's still not quite as smooth as you'd like it to be, sand the surface using sandpaper as fine as or finer than 180.}

A Maxi Dress Sunny Sunday

I don't know about you guys, but to me it felt like a maxi dress kind of day; Sunny and in the 70's, it was an ideal springtime Sunday and a maxi dress just seemed like the perfect garment for today's activities: strolling around the neighborhood, eating shamelessly, and lazily lounging around. I love, love, love maxi dresses! Crazy comfortable, casual and relaxed - Totally parfait! 

{Outfit} 

Splendid maxi dress, J Brand denim jacket, K. Jacques sandals, 

Louis Vuitton "Sofia" bag, Marie Laure Chamorel necklace {wrapped as bracelet}, vintage charm bracelet, 

Jennifer Meyer wishbone necklace, Oliver Peoples sunglasses

Happy Friday!

What's on the horizon for you this weekend?! 

It's supposed to be a beautiful one here in NYC, and I'm very much looking forward to an al fresco brunch with buds, copious amounts of iced coffee, a root beer float-sicle or two, leisurely riding my bike around town, and maybe just maybe {and when I say maybe, I really mean most certainly} I'll make my way back to Love Adorned to snag some Mociun! I just got giddy typing that!! It's gonna be a good one, folks!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Outfit: Theory jacket, Marc Jacobs sweater, Current Elliot cut-offs, Oliver Peoples sunglasses, Oblik Atelier necklace

Dare to Druzy

There's something about the warm kiss of spring sunshine that perks our senses and pushes us toward outfits that are awash of color and jewelry that gleams, sparkles and makes a statement. I certainly can't deny it, my eyes have been drawn, like to magnets, to every jewelry case I come across. My most recent discovery is Dara Ettinger.

Dara uses colorful, cut geodes and druzy agates that sparkle in their matrixed glory as focal points for her earrings, pendant necklaces, rings and bracelets. These sensational pieces are grounded in an awe inspiring elemental beauty; A beauty that I found to be inexplicably alluring. There's something raw and really lovely about the shapes, extreme texture and subsequent sparkle of these stones. The iridescent pieces intrigued me the most, and naturally I couldn't help myself and purchased a pair of these druzy round studs.
I love them!!

Find Dara Ettinger here & here 

Root beer float-sicle

Magic occurs when root beer meets vanilla ice cream - The root beer float is born!

This creamy, frothy and fizzy decadence makes me feel like I should be back in the 1950's, wearing a poodle skirt, sitting in a booth, giggling and gossiping with my best friends at the local diner while coyly sipping my float and making eyes at the cutest boy in school. Good, clean old fashioned fun!

You can imagine my enthusiasm when I stumbled upon a root beer float popsicle! 

It was a steamy day in late spring, and I had been baking in the warm California sun all afternoon when I heard the words, "Would you like a root beer float popsicle?"- "Um, YES!!!" For those of you who have yet to experience this delightful frozen concoction it's icy, creamy and refreshingly sweet - Absolutely divine on a hot day!

Let's be honest, a root beer float popsicle is not something we generally come across in an eatery or even in your typical ice cream shop, which means if we want to indulge we've got a little DIY work to tackle, but what rocks about this treat {other than it being absolutely delicious} is that it is super easy to do and super low maintenance?

Here's what you've gotta do: Grab your favorite root beer, your favorite vanilla ice cream {or chocolate - why not, right?!}, some dixie cups, popsicle sticks and some aluminum foil.
The root beer to ice cream ratio is really up to you and your personal preference. Once you've got that sorted, unless you've got some really cool popsicle molds like the ones below I found from Crate & Barrel, it's key to make sure that you cover each dixie cup with aluminum foil - This is what will hold your popsicle sticks in place until your treat is frozen.

Pop it all in the freezer for a few hours and DUNZO!