White on White

I love wearing a little white-on-white sometimes!  (Like the white jeans with a white crewneck sweater I wore in Catalina last weekend.)  It’s clean, crisp and screams easy-chic. Pairing it with turquoise, silver or gold jewelry is my favorite as well.  Karl does it!  Do you?

The goddess, Elin.

Kate (obvi)

My other Kate obsession

White bikini = absolute MUST!

Oh, Karl!

Silk Suit? Or...

...Twill Suit?

Glamping!

Today we sent Nick's parents off to El Capitan's Canyon, just north of Santa Barbara for a little "glamping".  We did this trip a couple of years ago and had such a wonderful time, we've been trying to get anyone we possibly can to go experience its beauty!  We call it "glamping" because it's much different than the standard sleeping bag campning.  You have a couple of choices for accomodations at El Capitan's: 1) Safari Tent, complete with a queen-size bed and electricity or 2) Cabinette, a mini structure with a small bath, heating, etc. They also have a "market" that sells evertyhing from firewood to fine wine, spa services, and complimentary beach cruisers. The hiking is out-of-this-world as well.  Wow, I'm starting to wish we could be there now with them!  If you're ever in the Goleta/Santa Barbara neighborhood, check it out!!

Safari Tent

Cabinette

Hiking Trail

Spa Services

I'm a Girl Crush!

What an absolute honor!! Today I'm being featured as the "Girl Crush of the Week" on the blog Tartan & Sequins!. Check it out!! These blonde beauties bring us the best of prep-tastic each and every day. Thanks Julia and Allison for spreading the love! You guys rock my world as well!

PS: we are in Catalina Island with Nick's parents, so look for pictures next week! Have a great weekend everyone!!

The Traditional Fruit Scone

Aaaah, the traditional English scone.  Much different from the calorie-laden, sugar bombs you’ll find in American coffee shops, here’s a virtual sugarless recipe I made inspired by one from Jamie Oliver’s cookbook Food Revolution.  Be warned: because of the no additional sugar, low butter amount and the use of almond milk instead of regular milk, these tend to be a little dry and bland and DEFINITELY need to be eaten warm, with clotted cream or butter and with a good-quality jam.  Of course you can also add more butter and use whole milk for a richer scone experience.  Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1 cup of dried cranberries

100% cranberry juice for soaking the dried fruit (orange juice can be used as well)

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter

2 large eggs

1/3 cup almond milk

•Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

•Soak dried cranberries in the 100% cranberry juice.

•In a large bowl, mix the self-rising flour, baking powder and cubed butter until mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs. (This takes a while if doing by hand, so be patient.  If you have a food processor, that would work best.)

•Beat eggs and milk together in a separate small bowl.

•Drain the cranberries and add to the beaten eggs and milk mixture.  Add a pinch of salt.

•Create a basin in the flour mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the basin and mix, using your hands after all the wet ingredients have been incorporated.  Add more milk if the dough is cracking and is too dry.

•Dust a clean surface and rolling pin with flour.  Roll out the dough until its height is about ¾ inch thick.

•If you have a biscuit cutter, use it to stamp the scones out of the dough.  If not, you can use the rim of drinking glass (like I did).

•After placing on a baking sheet, dip a pastry brush into additional almond milk and brush the top of each scone.

•Bake for 12 – 15 minutes

•Enjoy with good-quality jam (I used apricot) and clotted cream or unsalted butter!

Loving...

Warby Parker Eyewear!  Their product is amazing and their philosophy is even better: “Warby Parker was founded with a rebellious spirit and a lofty objective: to create boutique-quality, classically crafted eyewear at a revolutionary price point.”  That revolutionary price point is just $95 for all of the styles – with prescription lenses!  It’s absolutely fantastic! If you live in LA, they have a showroom in Confederacy (which is where we discovered them).  If not, you can opt for the Try at Home offer - 5 pairs for 5 days, absolutely FREE!  Another reason to love WPE:  the Buy One, Give One program.  In partnership with the non-profit Vision Spring, they give a pair of glasses to people in need for every pair they sell.  What are you waiting for!?  Don’t wear spectacles… they have sunglasses as well!

The Preston

The Jasper

The Winston

The Founders

Favorite Go-To's

Like most people, I have a huge love affair with food.  But not just any food, the good kind.  You know, the high-quality, organic, artisan, Euro-twisted goodness kind that doesn’t make you feel gross after eating it.  Here are just a few of my favorite things that I sometimes crave while out-and-about in our neighborhood.  Just thought I would share!  What are some of your favorites?!

Latte from Broome Street General

Quiche & Roasted Veggies from FORAGE

Salad Plate and Mini-Pellegrino from Deluca’s Deli (the only time I drink sparkling water!)

Movie Mondays: The Human Experience

We stumbled across this little documentary last night while perusing Netflix and looking for something “soothing” to watch before heading to bed.  Little did we know how powerful and moving it would be!  The Human Experience is a documentary following a group of brothers/friends in their quest for why we, as humans, search for purpose and meaning – no matter what culture, country or religion we belong to.  Their journey takes them to Peru, Africa and the streets of New York City and sheds light on the one humanistic goal we all strive to achieve.  Recommend?  Yes!

Ghana

NYC

Peru

Ghana

Loving...

Ela Handbags!  I don’t know why it has taken me so long, but I am just now discovery Ela Handbags and it’s thrilling!  These gorgeous, yet simple bags come in a variety of colors and finishes (suede, studded leather and fur) and are the perfect addition to any outfit or for any event.  My favorite is the MILCK, which has just enough room to carry exactly what you need for a night out: money/identification/lipstick/cell/keys.  This is pure genius!  Check out their blog as well.  Talk about being ridiculously good-looking!  Have a greeeeaaaaaaatt weekend, everyone!

MILCK by Ela

Chibi by Ela

Ela and Martin, creators of Ela Handbags

Recap: Preljocaj Ballet

Last Friday we attended an AMAZING, modern interpretation of the classic story Snow White, performed by the Preljocaj Ballet (French) at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angles.  With music by Gustav Mahler and costumes designed by the legendary Jean Paul Gaultier, it was a true treat for the visual and audible senses.  The dancing was modern (not the traditional “ballet” one would think of) and seductive and we absolutely love it.  I don’t want to reveal too much about it (such as how they interpret certain key elements in the story), but I would definitely recommend going if you’re lucky enough to be in a city on their tour list.

Outside the Dorothy Chanlder Pavilion

Inside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

It even smells old... love that!  So throwback!

He's so handsome!

Homemade Curry Time!

As I’ve hinted in some of the other posts, we LOVE a good curry.  Usually, Nick is in charge of whipping one up, but recently I gave it a shot and created this very tasty veggie delight based on a recipe I saw by Jamie Oliver.  I must say, I was quite proud of myself!  Here’s my recipe, but feel free to experiment with any type of vegetable.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

1 vine-ripened tomato

1 medium yellow onion

1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (no salt added)

3-4 cloves of fresh garlic

2 heaping (and I mean heaping) tablespoons of Patak’s Madras Curry Paste

1 yellow bell pepper

Splash of good quality balsamic (optional, but adds something special)

1 small bunch of fresh cilantro

1 ½ cup of quartered button mushrooms

1 cup of Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Medley (dry)

1 14.5 oz. can of garbanzo beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pat of unsalted butter

Step 1, The Prep:  Chop/cube all of your vegetables into 1-inch bits (or whatever size you desire).  For the onion, dice half and roughly  chop the other half – keeping the two halves separate (you’ll see why later).  Mince the garlic and 6-7 springs of cilantro – including the stems.  Soak the rice in a shallow bowl.

Step 2, The Base:  Heat the olive oil and the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add the DICED onions (reserving the chopped for later), garlic and cilantro.  Cook until translucent, making sure not to burn the garlic.

Step 3, The Veggies: Add the eggplant cubes and brown for about 10 minutes.  Then add the mushrooms, peppers, garbanzo beans and curry paste – mixing and making sure to coat all of the veggies. 

Step 4, The “Sauce”: After about five minutes of cooking that down, add the chopped fresh tomato, the can of diced tomatoes and about ¾ can of water to the pot and mix.  Bring that all to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 10-15 minutes.

Step 5, The Rice: After 15 minutes, drain and rinse the rice and add it to the pot.  Cook an additional 20 minutes, covered.

Step 6, The Finishing Touch:  Remove the lid and add a splash of good balsamic and the remaining chopped onions.  Cook for a final 10 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked.

Step 7, To Serve:  Spoon a generous helping into a shallow bowl, add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to the top and sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves.  Enjoy!

Bathroom Redo!

The one room in our house that has yet to be updated is our main bathroom.  As you can see in the photo below, original 1960’s attributes are intact – including the original light fixture and tiled counter top.  While we kind of like our retro, casual bathroom, I’ve been starting to think of how to update it.  The vanity is a bit low (especially for my 6’5’’ husband) and the random medicine cabinet on the back wall can probably go, but all-in-all it definitely works.  I’ve always been drawn to the clean & classic white bathroom, but am thinking maybe something more spa-like might be order? Or perhaps it a combination of both: modern classic!   

Our bathroom now...



Clean and Classic?

Spa-like?

A combination of both: modern classic!