Raise your glass

Left to right:
Segura Viudos Brut Reserva Cava, $9
Zonin Prosecco, $10
Sophia Blanc de Blancs, $18
Oregon Flute, $6

The holidays flew by and tonight as I look forward to another evening with family and friends to close out the season, I hope that all of you are having an equally joyous and toast worthy night. Like many others who are holding onto the last moments of holiday shimmer and choosing to pretend that credit card bills don't exist for a tad bit longer, I too am curbing a bit of the spending spree. Instead of forgoing the new year's bubbles I've pulled together a selection that is equally as effervescent as it is economical (including the flute). While none can call themselves champagne, the clink of the glasses at midnight sounds pretty close to the real thing.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe new years... Cheers!

Mix & match

Forever 21 dress, J.crew blazer, Tory Burch clutch, Prada booties, H&M sunglasses

I try to pack with care when I'm coming home because I know that I won't wear half of the things I cram into my suitcase (and with a 50lb limit I'm left with a pretty strict packing list), so this year I devised a plan that listed every item I would pack and the outfits I would make with them...ok, a little crazy, but it worked! It forced me to pair items that I never thought would go together or I had never tried as an outfit. With the help of a few items I raided from my mom's closet, I paired a particularly summery dress with my new favorite combo of heels and socks, making an outfit I had never tried, but will surely move into the rotation.

Slightly obsessed with

Images from www.agentbauer.com

These watercolor paintings from illustrator Stina Persson. All of the colors and dripping are perfectly placed to make a beautiful image.

Holiday snapshots

Nothing feels better then spending the holidays in a house filled with decorations, music, and of course an endless supply of gifted sweets (my breakfast...and lunch... today may have been cookies). This weekend, after a drawn out flight home, I finally returned to a house with just that. Armed with a holiday playlist that lasted well throughout the day and a few wrapped gifts to add to the pile below the tree I was ready to tuck into one of the chairs and enjoy the sights.

Christmas Eve dinner with roasted tomatoes

Well used candles nestled among the garland

A growing collection of wrapped gifts under the tree

The family gathering that completed the night

Tea length pleats

Vintage skirt, Target shirt, H&M scarf, Urban Outfitters shoes and socks, London Fog coat

The other day I decided to trick the cold weather and wear a skirt I had bought specifically for the chilly days. Although I had a little shiver as I walked outside, the heavy pleats gave the perfect warmth and the mid-shin length was almost as good as wearing pants...sort of. I've started falling in love with these tea length skirts that fall somewhere between the knees and the ankles. They're not too dressed up and formal, but the an entire day listening to classic Christmas carols made me feel a little polished and retro.

A dream of a night

All images from agentbauer.com

I'm always searching for websites, magazines, and other blogs that give me inspiration for anything from daily life to frivolous dreams. My bookshelves and bedroom floor used to be filled with the torn pages of magazines and even today I find myself trying to hold onto amazing photos I find. On one of those nights of searching I came across the amazing interior stylist Lo Bjurulf. Her sets of well celebrated parties and vibrant interiors got me instantly excited for next weeks gatherings and celebrations. The scattered dishes and cups paired with decorations that look like they've lasted through a few hours of commotion are a perfect way to showcase an exciting gathering. I might even steal her idea for a fuchsia pink barn party, complete with chiffon curtains and miniature horses.

Weekend recap

This Christmas Paul and I will be heading back home for a little family and friend's time so we decided to celebrate our own holiday night this past weekend and make use of the tree, stockings, and hours of carols I had stored on the computer. The day was spent wrapping gifts, testing out a few indulgent treats, and ending the night with a movie curled up next to the Christmas lights.

Gifts tied with silk bows and tissue paper belts

Smoked salmon blinis

Creme brule for a mid movie treat

Daytime fringe

Paul and Joe Sister vest, Zara blouse, Forever 21 jeans, vintage booties

I bought this vest earlier in the year on an impulse, but I never really found a good way to wear it and it was therefore shunned to the back corners of my closet. Every time I would get dressed I would see the little sequined collars pop out or catch a string of fringe, thinking, this would be great for a night out. Finally, in a rush to get ready for work and nothing to wear, I pulled the vest out and turned it into a daytime outfit that actually worked quite better. Although the whole day I felt as though I looked a little like a magician, the sheer fabric and rust colored sequins gave the right amount of shine and my walk up and down the hallways was infinitely more fun with fringe.

Dark chocolate mendiants

Last night while falling into my nightly game of procrastination I decided that instead of finishing my work I should bake something. Of course this idea only sounds good until the point you're on your third dirty bowl and the counter is covered with flour. Attempting to be a little responsible, I decided to make something that only took 15 minutes to complete and was a perfect sweet treat for the holidays, mendiants. These chocolate disks are well known in the South of France and round out the holiday sweets table with a savory and rich flavor. I mixed semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate together to give the circles a deep flavor that wasn't loaded with sugar.





Dark chocolate mendiants

-1 1/2 cup combined chopped 60% chocolate and unsweetened chocolate disks
-1/2 cup combined walnut, pistachio, cranberry, pecan, almonds (try Trader Joe's trek Mix)
-Parchment paper

Place 1 cup chocolate mixture in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and continue to microwave for 30 second intervals until all chocolate has just melted.

Immediately stir in remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate and set aside to melt.
(This tempers the chocolate without having the skills of a fancy choclatier...thanks to hours of Barefoot Contessa viewing, I picked up this tip)

Line counter with parchment and drop spoonfuls of chocolate onto paper, smoothing into small disks. Top with a sprinkling of mixed fruit and nuts.

Set aside to harden and pack for gifting...and snacking.

Fun sized

1. Urban Outfitters, Antoinette Fainting Sofa, $578
2. John Derian, Dromedary Loveseat, $1,131
3. Crate & Barrel, Suffolk Settee, $999
4. Jayson Home & Garden, Gertrude Settee, $1,395

I used to mindlessly flip through online stores shopping for clothes and little pieces of jewelry that I didn't really need, but now my time is spent ogling over furniture. Couches, pillows, and coffee tables seem instantly more interesting and worth the splurge...a pretty big splurge at that, but where I always seem to spend the longest amount of my fantasy shopping time is on the pint sized couches known as settees. Perfect for two cozy people or one extended body, the settee is a cute vintage touch to a bedroom, living room, or behind a book stacked table in an office.

Lace, bows, and a toast

As seen in the past, I like to dress up for special occasions and generally will use any nighttime dinner or event as an excuse to pull out a fun dress and indulge in a little pre-party socializing. Now that it is the season of holiday cheer and every weekend seems to be full of get-togethers, open houses, and general gatherings, I thought a little dressed up inspiration was called for. Although I wore this dress a few weeks ago for my birthday, the blue lace and grosgrain bow had me ready for Christmas parties in November and to me, something sweet with a bubbly toast means instant cheer. What are some of your favorite holiday party outfits?

Slightly obsessed with

These vibrant iPhone and iPad covers from Pantone. I don't have either product, but the rich tones may finally convince me to buy one. Perfect last minute holiday gift too...

Holiday vignettes

This past weekend was spent holiday-fying the apartment. The smell of pine and cinnamon always puts me in a Christmas mood and although the ceiling couldn't accommodate my 12ft Douglas Fir dream and the stockings may not have a mantle, the small touches of decor do just as good adding a bit of cheer and are incredibly easy to recreate.

A table full of childhood ornaments

Stockings in front of a backdrop of books held up by silver hangers. Add a few branches to fill in the sparse areas.

Instead of throwing away branches from the bottom of the tree, collect them in a vintage tin to add to the decor and aroma.

A bowl of cinnamon pine cones and a few pumpkins left over from Thanksgiving make a perfect centerpiece.

White button lights add to the soft glow.

Roasted root vegetable salad with goat cheese

To begin, I would like to note that it is incredibly hard to make a salad look good in photos. The lettuce flops onto the plate and any form of dressing just looks odd, therefore, please use your imaginations with this one because the taste really is worth the less than magazine-worthy photography.


Ever since December hit, I've been on a roasting kick. I'll stroll through the grocery story, pulling food from the shelves, asking myself "can this be roasted?" and most of the times the answer is yes. While the method is incredibly easy, it can get a bit boring serving the toasted veggies by themselves, so I decided to take a little inspiration from the holidays and turn the vegetables into a salad. Mixed with toasted walnuts, cranberries, and crumbles of goat cheese, the salad was a perfect way to enjoy a cold weather dinner without branching into boring.



Roasted root veggie salad with goat cheese:
2 cups diced parsnips, rutabaga, and turnips (from Trader Joe's)
3/4 bag mixed lettuce leaves
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped roasted walnuts
1 small circle of goat cheese
1/2 tablespoon chopped rosemary
salt & pepper
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Spread veggies into a shallow baking dish and top with olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine and bake for 30 minutes.
3. In salad bowl combine lettuce, cranberries, walnuts, and crumbled goat cheese.
4. Top with roasted vegetables, top with olive oil and toss. Add pepper to taste.

Caped excursion

Vintage cape, Forever 21 jeans, H&M mittens and scarf, vintage booties

I get pretty nostalgic around the holidays and anything I ever did as a child during Christmas must be recreated every year. This means going to a tree lot to hand pick the best tree possible, shivering next to the makeshift YMCA hut while watching the volunteers hammer on a stand, then slowly driving up the street to saw off the yards and yards of twine holding the fir to the rack of the car. Therefore, being in a new state this Christmas I had a bit more researching to do when it came to picking out this year's tree. I didn't get the Y, but the local farm did it's part in fulfilling my tradition (although that little net thing they shove the tree through was new to me). Since the temperature is dropping (really fast) I winterized my look with a cape, some fuzzy mitts, and a warm cup of peppermint coffee. In the end, the temperature may have been a bit colder, but the Christmas tunes on the stereo were the same that always serenaded me at the YMCA.

Tough girl

Urban Outfitters shoes, Gap Jeans

3.1 Phillip Lim gloves, Chanel bag

Like many other bloggers, I've become slightly addicted to the new website boutiques.com and many of my downtime minutes have been spent browsing the endless designers and inspirers (yes I made that word up), but one of the tougher things to do on the site was to name my style. Classic, edgy, romantic...I wanted them all, not one, which led me to acknowledge my love of the wonderful mix of tough and girly. Take studs and put them on wrist length gloves, chained shoes paired with red polish, or a cocktail dress paired with a soft leather jacket, it's a blend that let's you be one of the guys in spirit, not appearance. What are some other tough girl pieces do you like mixing together?