Christmas Time is Here!

Steaming mugs of peppermint hot chocolate, secret Santa’s and holiday music on the radio. The feeling has finally sunk in: Christmas time is here! After a few family gatherings, some gift exchanges and one too many renditions of “Baby, it’s cold outside!” I have come to a conclusion. Amid all of the tinsel and trimmings, there is one thing that adults and children alike both wish for during the holiday season:

Presents.

Don’t deny, you know it’s true. Everyone wants presents. You can say Christmas has become too commercialized, or children nowadays are only interested in material goods, but there is something more to the present than just the actual gift. I’m not talking about the impersonal Starbucks gift cards here, I’m referring to the old fashioned “thoughtful gift.” The present represents a thought someone had for you. The gift giver needed to know you well enough to think of a gift you would like, then go out and obtain the gift for you. Gifts like these can be funny (like a creative cursing book for the potty mouth) to sweet (like a bow necklace with your initial engraved on the back).

But, there is a time when material gifts may not be appropriate. Next fall, I’m going to college and my parents are paying my tuition, so I really don’t want to ask for anything because I am so fortunate already. So, I decided that I don’t want any material things this year, which is the truth. I honestly just want three simple things. None of them cost a dime, but I’d really like them in the upcoming year.

Without further ado, here is my 2011 Christmas List:

1.       Extend my curfew to midnight

2.       One day where I don’t have to do anything

3.       Complete my senior list (but that’s another blog post…)

However, in light of the more traditional, commercial aspect of Christmas, I’ll include one thing I really want, but know I won’t get. At a cool $388, it’s not exactly a steal, but it’s more of just the “dream dress” for winter formal. It’s formal name is the “PolishedPlatinum Dress” but I prefer “Dream Dress.” It has everything I’m looking for, a classic silhouette, a beautiful color, wonderful quality, a flattering neckline, the belt hits right at my waist. Did I mention how the back plunges into a V? Classy with a drop of sexy if I’ve ever seen it. Dearest Anthropology, why do you tempt me with such a beautiful dress, but such a tough price?

from anthropologie

from aeva coutrure

Anyway, back to holiday gifts. Some gifts you forget, some are useful, but there are very few that are really memorable and have a impact on your life. In honor of all those secret Santa’s, holiday gift parties and hectic Christmas mornings, I’ve compiled a list of my top five gifts for Christmas:

1.       A plane ticket for a trip to New York City a few years ago with Mummsies

2.       Getting accepted to Wake Forest University (my top choice, and even though it happened a few weeks ago, I still count it as an early Christmas present)

3.       The Playmobile Royal Castle when I was 4

4.       A day of shopping with my Grandma

5.       A new board game or a new set of cards, because that means my family and I will spend the whole day playing it

Well, darlings, it is time to wrap up this post (get it? Wrap like a present?)  because I’m in the mood for more Parisian hot chocolate.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Rainy Day Staples

I didn’t think that it would ever come. It had been taunting me little by little, sometimes in the morning when I left for school, sometimes when I came home after rehearsal, but I never really thought it would last more than an hour or two.

Then came Friday, and as it started to downpour in 50 degree weather while I was cheering at the football game, I knew my suspicions had been confirmed.

The cold has come.  And by cold, I mean 49 degrees, which is freezing by my standards. Good thing I want to go to college on the East Coast…

But, I digress. Personally, I love cold weather. Everything feels crisp and fresh. It only comes around once in a while around here, so when it does, I take full advantage of oversize scarves, putting on the fireplace and drinking outrageous amounts of Parisian hot chocolate.

Which brings me to the next order of business:  chilly weather staples. This whole weekend has been filled with patches of rain, sun and clouds, but in honor of the torrential downpour this morning, I thought I would give you my list of rainy day staples:

1.       A warm boyfriend sweater like this

2.       The Holiday with Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black

3.       Chicken Pot Pie or French Onion Soup

4.       A warm fireplace

5.       Lady Grey tea  

What are your cold weather staples?

The Dog Days are Over

Summer has officially ended. School is starting, college applications are looming and days at the beach are slowly becoming a wistful memory. My brother has been talking about baking éclairs (using this recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chocolate-frosted-eclairs) since the beginning of summer. For some reason, we decided that they were much too difficult to just try to whip up and would require many hours of planning and executing. This morning, seeing as we had a few free hours, we decided to make this dream into a reality.


David took the lead on this challenge. When I woke up (at 12:30pm, I might add), he immediately asked what he could do to get everything set up so when I came downstairs after getting ready, we could start baking. I just said to read the directions and get all the ingredients ready.

Ten minutes later I came downstairs and found everything mise en place. For those of you who are not familiar with this term, it basically means that all the ingredients were out, measured in little bowls ready to be mixed, baking sheets lined with parchment paper and the oven was preheated. Needless to say, I was quite impressed.

After reading the recipe about five times to make sure we had a general idea of what we were doing, we went to work. First, we made the pate aux choux, or the pastry dough for the éclairs. 4 ingredients and about five minutes later, we were stuffing the pastry into the bag to pipe it into the éclair shapes. Then, disaster struck.

The pastry bag split right down the seam as we were finishing our second éclair. Thanks to some quick thinking on David’s part, we stapled the pastry bag shut, and then taped the bag together. Finally, we circled blue painters tape around the whole pastry bag for extra reinforcement. Somehow, we made it through piping twenty two éclairs with our invention.

While the éclairs were baking, we made the filling called St. Tropez crème. This step was a little more complicated. It required us to scald milk, pour it over a sugar and cake flour mixture with an egg and an egg yolk, fold it quickly, and then transfer it back to the saucepan to heat it up. Then, empty it back into a bowl to stick in the refrigerator for a few hours. Needless to say, this part involved lots of running back and forth between the stove and counter, with flour flying everywhere and panicked comments about scalding the milk versus boiling it. Somehow, we pulled through, and managed to place a seemingly perfect bit of St. Tropez crème in our refrigerator.

Four hours later, we brought out the pastry and the crème. David made the ganache while I folded some whipped cream into the crème to make it extra light and fluffy. Then, came the assembling of the pastry and crème. One éclair pastry was dipped in the chocolate ganache while the other was spread with the crème. Then, we placed the two together.

David and I looked at each other, then at our little pastry, chocolate and crème confection, then back at each other. We nodded and then took a bite out of our éclairs. Warm chocolate collided with light vanilla crème which was supported by a fluffy pastry. We had done it.

“Sammieo,” David said to me as we licked the ganache off our fingers. “This was the best way to end the summer.”

Chemistry in the Kitchen

Last summer I took a chemistry class. Why am I telling you this? At one point during the class, my professor told us that chemistry has many practical applications. I raised my hand and asked, “such as?” He responded, “Baking. Cooking is science, but baking is chemistry in the kitchen. If anyone wants extra credit, bake something tomorrow and bring it in.”


Due to being a type A student and doing every single extra credit opportunity that has come my way, there I was in my kitchen at eleven o’clock that night, desperately trying to make French éclairs. Looking back, I probably should’ve chosen something a little less ambitious for my first real baking attempt. After three more desperate attempts at the éclairs, I gave up. I just decided to make a cake out of funetti cake mix and cover it with frosting from a jar.

In my flour filled tizzy, I discovered something: I love to bake. From that point on, I decided that I was going to start from that funfetti cake and work my way up to those disastrous éclairs.

This summer, I have been baking up a storm. I’ve tweaked some recipes I had baked last year, like the salted chocolate caramel cookie bars, and tried a bunch of new ones. My current favorites are:

1. Homemade Oreo’s (probably the most requested item by my friends and Mummsies for dinner parties. Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-oreos-flour-bakery-cafe-399813)

2. Salted Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars (the classic. Recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/343294/chocolate-caramel-cookie-bars)

3. S’mores Pie (when real s’mores just aren’t an option. Recipe: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/02/smores-pie/)
4. Salty Caramel Cupcakes (Labor intensive, but oh so worth it. Recipe: http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2010/05/triple-salted-caramel-cupcakes.html)

5. Buttermilk Biscuits with Cheddar and Chives or Gruyere and Thyme (the perfect breakfast biscuit. Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/buttermilk-cheddar-biscuits-recipe/index.html)

Another thing that I’ve noticed this summer is I’ve gotten bored with the whole “cereal for breakfast or maybe toast if I’m feeling extra adventurous” routine. That’s my school routine, and I wanted something different for summer. This has led to bacon scrambles, biscuits in the morning and even breakfast crepes. I’ve tried to vary up the mornings with fun things to eat. It even motivates me to get up before my usual wakeup time of eleven so I can wake up, make a yummy breakfast and get my day started. Honestly, the things a good breakfast can do for you!

Any suggestions on what I should bake next?

A Dead Fish Museum, Bad Poerty and Invisable Alligators: The New Summer Reading

Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend the Juniper Summer Institute for Young Writers at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. One of our activities that we got to partake in were evening readings, which was when Juniper Alumni or University of Massachusetts Amherst Alumni or just up and coming authors read us some of their works, or read us a new piece they were working on.

I initially only wanted to buy one or two books, thinking that since I hadn’t really ever heard of any of the other authors, I wouldn’t be purchasing any of their goods. Well, after the first night when Charles d’Ambrisio and James Tate read to us, let’s just say that I had to limit myself to buying only one book per author. The authors were phenomenal. We had everyone from Pulitzer Prize Winner James Tate to up and comer Rachel B. Glaser to wildly inappropriate Steve Almond. All were incredible authors who brought their own unique voice to each of their works.

My New Favorite Book

I ended up purchasing a variety of books (the quantity shall remain ambiguous), and would highly encourage all of you to check them out. Unfortunately, they are not the most mainstream books, so popping over to Barnes and Noble is not an option to pick up these treasures. I would suggest amazon.com or perhaps even eBay. Here are a few of my favorites:


James Tate: The Zoo Club (specifically look up “Invisible Alligators”)


Noy Holland: What Begins with Bird


Joy Williams: The Quick and the Dead


Charles d’Ambrosio: The Dead Fish Museum


Steve Almond: Bad Poetry and Letters from People Who Hate Me (wildly funny and self deprecating)


These are not chick lit (like, romantic comedies in literature) nor would I call these "beach reads", but if you want interesting books that make you pause and wonder at the meaning behind the words, definitely check these out. You will be pleasantly suprised how much you will love these books. 

Summer Checklist

Dearest Summer,


I’m so happy you decided to come back into my life again. It’s been far too long. I’m very excited to get reacquainted with you.

Love,
Sam



Ah, summer! Just the word makes me thing of sun, bonfires at the beach and the spending time with friends. It’s a few months out of the year when all time stops, days lazily float by and the day isn’t over until you’ve made at least one s’more. Days are spent driving up and down PCH in a convertible blasting California Girls, going to the beach and there isn’t a care in the world. All of the school year pressure and stress is replaced by a carefree feeling as easygoing as the ocean breeze.

At the start of each summer, I put together a little list of things I hope to accomplish. I’m not talking about something ridiculously challenging or anything, but just some fun things that I’ll look back on and remember. Then, I write it on my chalkboard in my room, put it on my phone and write it on a pretty piece of paper to put in my car so I can cross it off as I go. So, without further ado, here’s my Summer Checklist:

1. Take a long walk on the beach and watch the sunset



2. Buy some cheese and bread from Sapphire Pantry and have a picnic on the beach



3. Eat a Balboa bar while walking around Balboa island / Ride a bike ride along the Balboa boardwalk



4. Try at least 1 new recipe a month



5. Try a new café or restaurant spot I haven’t been before



6. Put up the projector screen in my backyard and watch a movie under the stars



7. Spend a day up in LA and visit an art museum



8. Have at a few bonfires a month with the bonfire crew



9. Go to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna



10. Spend as much time as possible outside (with sunscreen generously slathered on, of course)

Bonfire Crew

I can’t wait to get started on this! I’ve been looking forward to this summer since last year’s September 1st. Sunshine, surf and sand, here I come!  What does everyone else hope to accomplish?



Perfectly Pretty Prom

It’s that time of the year again. No, it’s not the Christmas season, and it’s not even bonfire season yet, but it is time for Prom season! Leave Miss “Foxy Formal” at home, this week’s article is all about Miss Prom Princess! In a time when “short, tight and overly revealing” seems to apply to almost every dress on the market, this weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to see that many ladies have decided to adopt the classier, more sophisticated and overall chicer look for this year’s prom.

 The color palette of choice this year seems to be bright colors, such as turquoise, magenta and canary. While some might still feel a little shy about color after all these drab, grey months, May is the perfect time to embrace your inner Fauvist and unleash the brightest color your heart desires. What better time that to try it at Prom? A little daunting, I understand, but it’s surprisingly easy to find a bright colored dress and pair neutral shoes with it. My go-to places for dresses like these? Phoebe Couture for darling cuts in spiced up color combinations, Betsey Johnsons for some offbeat, quirky looks and BCBG Max Azria for their fantastic selection and spot-on trendiness.

Perhaps color blocking isn’t quite your style? I would try a fun print or a different texture on your dress than you would typically wear. Lilly Pulitzer is an excellent source for dresses that could pass for a luncheon dress, but also work as a fun, flirty prom dress. I’m particularly fond of their Regency dress, which has a navy background with massive daisies printed on it and basically yells “I’m a strong, confident woman with an eclectic side.” Flower appliqués, vibrant hues, and sizzling textures are some guaranteed ways to stand out from the crowd and be remembered (in a good way) at Prom. Some might be too shy to embrace the colors or the prints, but not you, Miss Fabulous Fashionista!

You will do quite the opposite. And why is that? First off, you will know how to pick the correct color for your skin tone. Confusion regarding this? Quick tip: check out your veins on your wrist. If they are blue-ish, you look best in cool tones, like blues and greens and purples. More on the greener side? Stick to the warm colors, like orange, yellow or pink. Decide you look fantastic in both a blue dress and a pink dress? Congratulations! You are one of the few lucky people who can pull off warm and cool colors. Embrace it! Find the color that looks good on you, but most importantly, makes you feel pretty, and go from there.

I have absolutely no doubt that you will fall in love with your prom dress for this year. When in doubt, remember the cardinal rules

1.Pick one area to show off. Love your back? Go for a backless dress with longer sleeves and a longer bottom hem.

2.Keep your hemline lengthy enough so your entire thigh is not exposed when you sit down.

3.Pick a color that works for you (see above) or your favorite color

4. Epitomize Coco Chanel’s saying, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous!” and wear a beautiful dress with an interesting detail and a classy cut.

5.Most importantly, buy a dress that you feel amazing in. You’ll look incredible no matter what, so no worries there, but it’s how you feel that you are going to remember.

I have complete confidence in you that you will find the prom dress of your dreams and have a magical evening. Adieu, my Prom Princesses!

P.S. Remember that pink dress from BCBG that I was absolutely in love with during Winter Formal season? Well, thanks to a 30% off sale and my babysitting money, I was able to finally get the dress of my dreams. And the best part? I felt like a princess!

Fabulous, Fashionable Formal!

It all began with an arrangement of pink roses on my dining room table with a note asking, "Will you please go to formal with me?" Yes, fabulous fashionistas, winter formal is here. Winter formal is a time for more exuberant, sparkly and a little more out there dresses, while prom is usually a bit more reserved. I follow the rule of look like a fox at formal (relatively) and a princess at prom (definitely).

With that in mind, finding the perfect formal dress is essential to the experience. Hopefully, you won't make the mistake I made last year and buy a dress that is rather clingy, not tight, but very fitted and it required me to not eat for the three weeks leading up to formal so I would look amazing in it. Let me explain: Last year, I desperately wanted a date. Desperately! I even asked a guy, but he turned me down, which might deter some people from even going to formal, but not this lady. I decided that I wanted to look incredible so I could show all those guys what they were missing. Here's a few dresses to sift through:

I ended up deciding on this beautiful black clingy dress with a bit of ruffles and gold trim and matching gold sandals. The only downside to the dress: I had to be stick thin to pull it off. Let me just say that I am a naturally thin person, but for some reason, I wanted to be even skinnier. I still don't quite understand why. Skinny does not equal beautiful, ladies, please remember that.

Anyway, I opted for the delicious smokey eye, nude lips and bouncy curls to tie it all in with the ruffles. I can't say that I didn't feel beautiful, (I felt gorgeous!) however, this year, I have decided on a dress that I can eat plenty of girl scout cookies in the weeks leading up to it, (oh, that time of the year has come again!) and still look good in it! Here are some tips and tricks to looking the best you can on formal:

1. Pick a dress that showcases what you love about your body! If you love your shoulders, go with a strapless or a thin strap. Love your legs? Maybe a touch shorter on the bottom and more covered up on top. Have a fabulous back? Show it off in a backless dress!

2. Pick a dress that doesn't require you to make any lifestyle changes, whether it be that you can't afford to eat for a month to pay for it or you can't eat for a few weeks to fit into it. A few alterations at the tailor to ensure fit and length are completely fine, encouraged even, but the dress should fit you and not the other way around.

3. Stay true to your style. I love the princess, classy girl look, so I drift toward fuller skirts, sweetheart necklines and cocktail length. If you're more of a hipster, maybe a dress with an eclectic print or a long dress would be more of your style. You'll feel better, but most importantly, you'll feel like yourself.

4. Please please PLEASE keep it classy. If you have more than one of these components: short, tight, shiny, cleavage, backless or see through, then you know you are veering into "tramp stamp" territory. A short cocktail dress is fine, but a backless, tight, see through and short cocktail dress is a no-go. Opt for perhaps a dress with an interesting detail if you feel so inclined to be a non conformist.

5. Be yourself. You are beautiful! Winter formal is your night to get all dressed up and look as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside.

This year, I am wearing the black strapless Marc by Marc Jacobs dress featured in the left picture. It's darling, classy and oh-so-pretty. I'm sure most of you are wondering, how in the world is she going to add her signature dash of pink to this dress? Fear not, I am wearing a pink, black and white headband that is like a tiara a princess would wear, in addition to painting my nails and toes a light pink and getting a pink corsage, courtesy of my lovely date. I'm also having him wear a pink tie and getting him a pink boutinier. I wish you all fabulous formal season, stay safe, and when in doubt, remember the words of Coco Chanel, "A girl should be two things: Classy and fabulous".