Current Obsession...

Jurlique Natural Skincare! A few months ago, I posted about my skincare regimen (here).  I thought I really had it figured out, but then the summer came and went, my melasma started to rear its ugly head and I went into mild panic mode after being left with slight redness and dark spots.  I've tried a few things to correct or hide the issues over the past couple of months (including Bobbi Brown's Extra Repair Serum and Armani's new Maestro Makeup), but just wasn't completely satisfied.  But then I was recommended Jurlique's Purely Age-Defying Facial Serum and Herbal Recovery Eye Cream - and fell in LOVE!  The smell is amazing and I've already seen a huge improvement in the evenness of my  tone, texture of skin and elimination of the redness.  It's a miracle!  (wink, wink)  Another change I made (which I thought I would never do) was changing my tinted moisturizer to By Terry. I still love Laura's, but Terry's is infused with rose petals, which is also helping to combat my redness.  Any-who, just thought I'd share my latest current obsession!  Let me know what yours is... xoxo

Jurlique's Purely Age-Defying Facial Serum, $65

Jurlique's Herbal Recovery Eye Cream, $40

House Tour: from our neighbors!

Just thought I would share this little "feature" from the blog The Hollywood Housewife on our friends Eric & Katie's (and coincidentally, our neighbors) house! Fun! Here is a little sneak peak, but see the rest HERE. Hope you enjoy! xoxo

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Fall Pasta Primavera

I will admit, I'm spoiled by my husband.  On most nights, he's the one whipping up a tasty dinner after work while I watch trashy television and "rest my feet".  And each and every time I ask him if he needs any help, his response is always, "I've got it, my love". I know, I know.  Like I said, I'm terribly spoiled.  Lately, one of my favorites of his concoctions is his Pasta Primavera with Fall veggies inspired by a recipe from Giada. It's super simple and you can basically use any veggies and any type of pasta.  The secret to making this especially tasty is the herbes de Provence used to roast the veggies. This magical blend of lavender, fennel, etc makes this super-simple vegetarian dish feel kind of fancy!  (And in case you are wondering, we are still on our mostly-meat-free diet.  Almost a year now!) xoxo



Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 1 small head of broccoli, cut to bite size
• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut to bite size
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips
• 4 medium sized tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
• 1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• *** Other variations we love: yellow zucchini and mushrooms! 
• 
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence to coat. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite. Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixture in a large bowl to combine. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the parmesan and serve immediately.

Floral Fever

When I started my new job a couple of months ago, my mom was super-excited and wanted me to text her pictures of what I was wearing.  Since this new job is a bit more "corporate" than my last, I'm required to make more of an effort in my daily wardrobe.  Looking back on some of the pictures, it seems I had quite the floral fetish during the late summer!  Good news for me: winter florals are quite a big trend for Fall and Winter 2012, so I can continue rockin' the florals even though the temperature slowly starts to drop. Here are some of my favorite winter floral ensembles from the F2012RTW shows.  Unfortunately though, I'm not (yet) a multi-millionaire, so Burberry and Valentino will have to wait.  For now, I'll stick to my trusted favorites like Zara and Asos to get my fashion fix. xoxo

Fall 2012: Valentino, Burberry, Erdem, Burberry

Who knew I was such a floral freak?! 

Trusty Go-to Zara:  1,  2,  3,  4

Some other goodies: 1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7

Resort Review: Terranea

View from our room on Sunday morning.

For my recent birthday, I thought myself lucky to be surrounded by good friends and good food.  No gifts needed.  But to my delight, my husband also booked us a stay-cation at Terranea in Palos Verdes. Never visiting this region before, we weren't sure what to except.  It could have been the overcast skies or the looming storm, which made the resort pretty quiet, but the overall aura of the property was peaceful and serene and exactly what the doctor ordered.  Upon arriving on Friday afternoon, we went down to our room (which opened to a lovely patio, overlooking the bluff and ocean!!!) and then off to explore the grounds.  During our little adventure we 1) journeyed down to the natural cave site from The Lost Boys and 2) spent some one-on-one time with a couple birds-of-prey (as usual, pictures below).  After that, it was a casual dinner - alfresco, of course - at Nelson's and then a cozy Irish coffee on the terrace, complete with a fire pit and live jazzy-music.  And just when I thought life couldn't get any better, we woke up on Saturday and did it all over again!

The day unfolded with a hike along the coast to the lighthouse (really!?!), a beautiful brunch, one of the best spa days I've ever had (a couples massage basically in the ocean and a glorious swim in the heated lap pool - also basically in the ocean), tasty cocktails on the terrace, a fabulous dinner at Mar'sels and even a little dancing!  Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and I couldn't be more thankful.  Terranea is a beautiful property in a gorgeous area with lots of restaurant and entertainment choices and is also pet and family friendly.  I'm already looking forward to our next visit, hopefully with family, friends and a casita!  xoxo

Final Rating:

(Had to take a bit off due to price.  You'll spend some dough, but so worth it!)

Terranea Resort, Palos Verdes

I really enjoyed our bathroom and patio...

Falcons & Albert (the owl) live on the property to keep seagulls away. Ha!

The Lighthouse, north side of Terranea

"The Lost Boys" cave, south of Terranea

The "Shot in the Dark" had my name written all over it!  Hamachi from Mar'sels.

Our massage room at The Spa. Gorgeous!

The Casitas - fingers crossed we're in one of these next time!

OMG! Baby & Child: Restoration Hardware

Whoever is responsible for the current holiday catalogue for Baby & Child by Restoration Hardware deserves a big, fat promotion! Although we don't have any children of our own, I'm determined to buy everything in this catalogue for anyone we know who has little ones under the age of ten. Some of my favorite items are:

The "kid's table" never looked so chic! 

I might just get one of these tent for myself...

PS: the RH Holiday Source Book is jam-packed with must-have gifts and stocking stuffers as well, many of which I will be including in our Holiday Extravaganza. Hehe! Xoxo

Simply Delicious: Figs & Ricotta

Recently a friend of ours was visiting from Hong Kong (or is it Sweden, not sure what's correct here.  You see, he's an Italian from Australia who lives in Hong Kong, but has been living in Sweden for the past several months with his wife and children while on familial maternity leave.) Anyway... after a tiresome day at the beach during his visit, we headed home for a delicious dinner of seared ahi tuna salad and a Pimm's cocktail.  Super-tasty! But the highlight was the ever-so-simple dessert our trans-continental friend quickly whipped up: fresh figs and ricotta cheese drizzled with premium raw honey.  It was that understated, rustic-y chic I just love!  Recipe (as if you really need one) below.  It's literally as easy as 1,2,3!  xoxo

Literally one, two three!