Tuesday, December 28, 2010

UPDATE: I kept the purple bag and I love it!

My husband is usually pretty good to me and he rocks at picking out purses! What can I say...he has an eye for pretty awesome leather bags (with a little help from Erin). Coach is one of my favs, so he can't really go wrong.

Under the tree was this little beauty:

Coach's Madison Leather Sophia Satchel



Now the dilemma is...do I keep this beautiful purple color or do I trade for a more neutral color? I'm scared that I'll easily tire of this color. Even thought it made my heart skip a beat when I saw it in the Coach window (everything looks better up on that white block...as does the Ann Taylor and Banana dressing rooms, what kind of lighting trance do the have in there?) The only other colored bag I own is red... 
Here is another color that I'm thinking, which is more boring than the purple, but would work with everything and for years, but will also get dirty quickly. I wish it came in a more tan color.


Help me readers....what should I do?

Monday, December 27, 2010

Say Yes to the Dress...or not?

I do not think I have ever spent so much time, energy, and resources on dress for New Year's Eve. I seriously did not spend this much time on my wedding gown (it was the third dress I tried one!) Usually I do not have big plans but this year we are going to get all "dolled up" and head to the Hilton, and party like it's 1999. I returned the silver sequin dress from ASOS.com seen here and went on a hunt for something different with a better fit.

Option One is this Banana Republic Dress:

Seen here on the Banana Model
  
and here on Me


Close up to see that awesome necklace! Love, love, love it!


Back View (with a little Boxer on the side)




Option Number Two is the Victoria's Secret Moda Sweater Dress:


Seen here on the Sexy Alessandra

and here on Me
 
Back view...which Victoria's Secret does not show...so this was a complete surprise to me


Now, I need your help. Option One, Option Two, or Neither...which translates to me starting all over with only a few days to spare. I personally think I like number two, the VS dress better than the Banana Dress. Not sure I am busty enough to pull off the Banana Dress. HELP!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Not in Love...

First off, I apologize for the crappy iPhone picture. So...after two weeks of patiently waiting for my sequin ASOS dress to arrive...I finally received it and was ready to put the suspense to an end. My hopes and dreams of a sequin dress were quickly crushed as I was impressed with the quality, but disappointed in the fit. There was not a lot of shape to this dress up top. Maybe if I'd ordered a smaller size (but then I think it would've been way too short and tight in my booty) and maybe if it had more spandex in it to give it shape....Oh, the "What If's".

Decision: RETURN...


Sunday, December 12, 2010

Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes

I am gifting to you my friends a little holiday cheer in the form of a cupcake! Enjoy!

What it is:
Peppermint Buttercreme Icing
Dark Chocolate Cake

What you need:
Icing for 24 cupcakes
  • Two sticks of softened butter (I use Blue Bonnet...not sure that it really matters)
  • 2 teaspoons of Peppermint Extract (in the spice aisle)
  • 5-6 cups of powdered sugar (more if you want a stiffer icing)
  • 2 tablespoons of Heavy whipping Cream
  • Pillsbury Dark Cake Mix (eggs, oil, water)
  • Small Candy Canes
What to do:
Use a mixer to whip your butter. If the butter is not soft...this does not work. about 45-60 seconds will do the trick. Once your butter is whipped, add in sugar about 2 cups at a time. If you dump it all in at once, trust me, you will have a powdered sugar MESS! Once you have all the sugar mixed in and blended with the butter, add your whipping cream and then you peppermint extract. Taste test to see if you need more extract. 2 teaspoons seemed to be plenty to me, especially since you are going to add crushed up candy canes to the top. Less is more in this department.

Cake:
I will be quite honest....there are lots of good start from scratch cake mixes, but the Blue Pillsbury box mix is pretty awesome all in it's self. It is moist and delicious. If you don't want to deal with all that from scratch mess then go with the box. For the sake of time, I used the Dark Chocolate Cake Mix from Pillsbury. Make as directed on the box. I only cooked for 18 mins on 350 degrees and it was perfect. You do not want to over cook or the cake will be dry. Go for 18 mins and test with a toothpick. If it comes out clean then you are good to go and they are done.

I let my cupcakes cool for a good hour or overnight if possible. The icing will melt if you put it on hot cake. I store them in the refrigerator overnight and put the icing on the next day.

Final Touches:
I get a Wilton's Tip 1mm from Michael's to pipe with. There are lots of tutorials online on how to pipe using a 1mm tip. Get the piping bags, they work way better than a baggie. People will "Ooh" an "Aahhh" over your cupcakes if you pipe them rather than just slopping some icing on. So if you are going for the "wow" factor...invest in a tip. You will use that one a lot. You can make swirls or rose looks with this tip.

After you have piped the icing onto the cakes it's time for the Candy Canes. I used the small ones. Cut the hook portion of the candy cane off. Keep the top as you will crush these in a baggie and sprinkle on each cupcake. Take the stick part and push into the icing and cake with a little sticking out of the top. Put the cut off end in first not to be seen. Then sprinkle your crushed up (very finely crushed) candy canes onto the cupcakes.

Finished Product:

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Life is Better in Sequins

Everyone needs something sparkly and shiny to ring in the new year. This New Year's Eve I am actually going to be at a fancy dancy party....which means....PARTY DRESS!!! I have searched 1,967 websites for the perfect New Year's Eve dress I have come up with the following options. Have I mentioned I'm so over the dress options from the Limited and Express...plus everyone will have them. A lot of my options are from this awesome new site, Asos (disclaimer: I haven't actually ordered from but most everything looks amazing and is reasonably priced with free shipping).

Which dress would you go with? One of the sequined? One of the purple jewel tones? or the meshy VS one? Ugh, at first I couldn't find any....now there are too many! Help me pick.
ASOS Sequined Dress $68.96
ASOS Folded Origomi Dress $79.30
VS Long-Sleeved Sweaterdress $59
Lulu's Gold Party Dress $79

ASOS Slinky One Shoulder $65.51


ASOS All Over Sequined Keyhole Back Dress $68.96