Saturday, January 28, 2012

Mid-Century Magic

If you have not already made the trip to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) you must make the excursion to view the exhibit "California Design - Living in a Modern Way" that runs through June 2012.  I'm a huge fan of Mid-Century Modern design and try to incorporate as much of the look and feel as I can into my home.  It was so fun to see and read about the design elements and the surge of Modernism that swept through Los Angeles after WWII.  Eichler Homes, Eames furniture & so much more... It was just heaven.
Coffee table book - Great colors to add a pop to your living room.
A perfect collage of awesome simplicity!!
They had little vignettes of fashion displays.  Love this bathing suit design - pretty timeless.
My favorite space was this little outdoor patio set-up.  Shag carpet and all!!
We ventured into another building and much to our surprise found this beauty!!
Another fun discovery...  We call this "Dish Count".

Friday, January 27, 2012

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Paris Cafe Day!

One little theme you may notice for this year is my love for all things Parisian.  2012 happens to bring a "milestone" birthday and with that a long standing dream trip is to visit Paris this summer... Working hard to achieve this goal!!  Until I reach the City of Lights, I am practicing on bringing a bit of their culture to my life in LA... Today, incorporating two of my favorite things - strong, rich coffee & sweets!
I recently received a sampling of some coffee, Organo Gold from a dear friend that has began to rep. the brand here in Los Angeles.  I had never heard of it before and it's an instant coffee which was different for me and my normal ways of brewing with a French press, but I made a delicious latte worthy of any high end cafe ~ and it's my understanding it has some amazing health benefits as well...  And so to combat anything too healthy (isn't that SO French :-), I paired my beverage with a few little treats from a fantastically minimalist French macaron shop in Old Town Pasadena called, 'lette.  Not only do I love the gooey-chewiness if these cookies, I was totally taken by the sweet little packaging you receive with just a little purchase of 2 macarons.  The flavors offered are spot on and I had a hard time choosing...  I settled on Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mint and maybe their gorgeous color had a bit to do with it as well.

One packet, then pour in 6 to 8 ounces for hot water and stir...
Use a hand held frother and make some since foam peaks (skim milk works best).
Place a few dollops of the milk froth on top of your coffee and enjoy!
What did I tell ya about the packaging!!  ADORABLE, right?
Inside view is even better!
Avoir un merveilleux après-midi du dimanche! (translation here)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Rainy Day Agenda

Our Summer in January has finally ended and we are enjoying a nice, rainy day in LA.  With that always come the need to cuddle up with a good book or a movie you've been dying to see.  One of my absolute favorites (I'll now say "all time" favorites) is the Woody Allen movie that released last year, Midnight in Paris.  It was nominated at the Golden Globes in all the important categories and took home Best Screenplay which is perfect as this movie took a fantastic turn that was unexpected and reeled me in closer and closer each time the clock struck 12am.  Put it in your cue, rent it from Redbox... Buy the DVD like me... It was a very fun and magical movie.  And if you are in love with Paris as I am, the time you spend enjoying the city through the characters is reason enough to book your flights and see where time takes you...
Did I mention the star-studded cast?

Monday, January 16, 2012

Peruvian Rice Salad

This has to be one of my all time favorite salads and perfect for Winter as it mixes the hot & a bit spicy rice with the crisp greens for a bold tasting meal good for a light lunch or easy dinner.  It's super simple and the key element is found in the frozen section at Trader Joe's.  Below is a little step by step for putting this together:
Ingredients you'll need: Peruvian Rice (1 bag) from Trader Joe's, Herb Mix salad greens, cherry tomatoes, lemon, olive oil, salt & pepper and sour cream (optional).
Found in the freezer section at TJ's - Before you prepare the greens, follow directions on the package for a quick stove tope saute.
Once you have the rice going, start getting the salad together.  Key is to use a salad blend with herbs (this can also be found at TJ's).  You want all the extra flavors from the arugula, dill, radicchio to come out when you add the hot rice.  Squeeze in about a half lemon, a couple light swirls of extra virgin olive oil and some salt and fresh ground pepper.  Give a light toss.
I added in some tasty cherry tomatoes while the rice was cooking - It's just another burst of flavor that I love.
Finally, add a nice scoopful of the rice (straight from the stove top) to your salad and top with a dollop of sour cream (or not if you want to avoid the calories)  I like it as it adds just a touch of cream to the rice and all the flavors mix well together.
Hope you like it!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Seeing Stars

A second installment to my love of the Red Carpet Season and a design crush from this past Fall, I am still loving all things star-patterned for winter looks.  Dolce & Gabbana came out like gang busters with tons of fun & festive looks for the holidays along with Trina Turk in a colorful smattering of blouses I could not resist.  It's a quirky & playful add to a layered up look and maybe a little reminiscent of my favorite decade - Awesome 80's...
Trina Turk - this goes with everything!
Forever 21
Dolce & Gabbana
A favorite find from H&M
D&G... These are super fun... Would I wear them?  Not sure.
Simple little CZ's from Overstock.com

Friday, January 13, 2012

Hooray For Hollywood!

Hooray For Hollywood!

Nancy Gonzalez envelope clutch bag
£2,418 - matchesfashion.com

Michael Kors clutch hand bag
$445 - stylebop.com

Michael Kors envelope clutch bag
£160 - harveynichols.com

Foley Corinna metallic clutch
$184 - nordstrom.com

Lodis handbag
$119 - nordstrom.com

Lodis envelope clutch bag
$178 - nordstrom.com

Clare Vivier clutch hand bag
$145 - seevivier.com

Steve Madden genuine leather handbag
$118 - piperlime.gap.com

Steve Madden genuine leather handbag
$118 - piperlime.gap.com

Envelope clutch bag
$78 - macys.com

Envelope clutch bag
$31 - lulus.com

Clutch handbag
$30 - dsw.com

Dorothy Perkins white clutch
$29 - dorothyperkins.com

Clutch hand bag
$28 - yesstyle.com

TOP CHOICE envelope clutch bag
$28 - nordstrom.com