Easter Inspiration

 Easter is this Sunday and since most of my family that lives nearby has other plans, I'm preparing to make an incredible Easter dinner.  The dishes I am most looking forward to are either salmon or chicken in a lemon beurre blanc sauce that I recently discovered and am seriously in love with.  Also, I'm doing mashed potatoes, salad, etc. but the real kickers are the deserts.  I have a cupcake decorating cookbook (What's Up Cupcake?)  and I absolutely adore it.  The recipes are so creative, fun, and even if you don't copy them verbatim, the techniques that they use can help to create your own inspiration (for example, instead of making fake baked and stuffed turkeys on top of my cupcakes for Thanksgiving, I made fake living turkeys).  Anyway, for this holiday I'm planning on making colorful eggs out of sugar to nest on top.  This particular recipe is one of the hardest in the book, so I'm hoping everything doesn't go up in flames. My second desert will be my famous apple pie.  It is without a doubt one of my best recipes and I can't wait to devour it.  I'll be sure to post pictures of everything so you can see how it all turns out.  For now, here's a little Easter inspiration to get you in the festive spirit.

 This pink cracked egg Easter basket from Paper Source is absolutely adorable.  They come in different colors, so everyone can have their own special one.  ($3.95)

These owl lip balms aren't quite Easter eggs, but they are positively perfect goodies for spring. (Paper Source, $9.95)

These chick place cards are only $12 for a set of 12 and are perfect for your table. (Paper Source)

These pieces of paper make for the perfect Easter craft to do with kids to hold their beautifully dyed Easter eggs.  The package comes with both bunnies and chicks and while it may take some time, you'll have a wonderful finished product ($12.95, Paper Source)

Way better than the supermarket peeps (although I do have a sweet tooth for those), these duck cookies from Epicurious are too sweet to handle.

The two goody baskets above are also from Epicurious.  The top one is a world tour of chocolate, while the bottom one is from Di Bruno Bros Chocolates (based in Philadelphia).  See the egg in the little green basket?  It's white chocolate, splattered with dark chocolate, and filled with a passion fruit ganache.  Yeah, I was drooling too. 

These vanilla-coconut cupcakes from my personal favorite blog Cupcakes and Cashmere, were too cute not to post about. 
So there you are, some Easter inspiration for your upcoming weekend.  Hopefully my food will look as good as the things pictured above (fingers crossed) but until then, I'm planning to relax and enjoy the wonderful weather right outside my window.

Kisses,
Anonymous

P.S.I'd like to clarify that in my last post, I stated that BOBS do not donate to charity like TOMS do.  This is untrue, and I am terribly sorry for misrepresenting the brand.

TOMS

TOMS are a type of shoe, sort of resembling wrapped bandages, that have grown quite popular (especially among teens) in the last year or so.  When I first saw them, the design didn't really appeal to me, but now that they've added more high end, intricate patterns (not to mention heels), I am seriously starting to fall in love.  You might have seen TOMS copycats such as BOBS, but, at least in my opinion, they are not nearly as good.  Not only are the wannabes made at a lower quality, but they don't donate to charity every time you buy a pair.  In contrast, TOMS gives a pair of shoes to a child who needs them with every purchase. Plus, many of the styles sold are vegan. 

As you can see, the styles include much more than the classics (some of the silhouettes aren't even pictured).  Anyway, I have a serious crush on the black and white Moroccans (star next to picture).  Hope this gave you some inspiration.
Kisses,
Anonymous

Patterned Nails

Lately I've been seeing a ton of tribal print nails, but I don't really own any "earth tone" colors, so I've been struggling on which polish to use.  I finally decided to do a sparkly version, that while it's not quite tribal, it borrows some of the same designs.  I used the same black thin brush that I used on the Hunger Games nails I previously posted about (the black is a miracle worker; Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint).  The pink is a new color I just bought called "Power Play" by Santee Plus, while the gold is my all-time favorite "Rising Star" by O.P.I. and the red sparkles are "Destined" (found at Tilly's).

Surprisingly, even my right hand turned out well even though I am completely incapable with my left hand.  I really like this gold-pink-red combo, it has a certain fun but it's still sophisticated and dressed-up.  Not to mention the sparkles draw a billion compliments when they hit the sunlight.  Overall, this is one of my favorite manicures I've done in a while.
Kisses,
Anonymous

Alexander McQueen Fall 2012 Ready To Wear (Paris)

I love Alexander McQueen.  Sometimes the designs get a little out there, but Sarah Burton is truly one of the most creative designers on the market.  Even royalty loves her, Kate wore her dress when she married Prince William.  Anyway, this new collection is really cool, even though I usually am not a fan of fur.  It had a very futuristic vibe with the glasses (at least I think they're glasses, I don't know how you would see through them).  Overall, a total A+.

This was probably my favorite outfit in the collection, mostly because it was simple (or, at least the simplest), but it still had a futuristic vibe.

Okay, the outfit directly above was one of the few ones that made me want to gag.  Personally, I think it looks like a dirty mop (or perhaps a dead wolf).  Regardless, I just don't get it, nor do I think that any reasonable person would wear it.

This one was beautiful.  I especially love the fabric, somehow it reminds me of an ice queen.  Also, the semi-transparent fabric helps to tone down the extreme shapes, leading to an overall well balanced look.

This ones similar, but I had to mention the amazing hidden pockets.

It's a flower petal!!!! This was the other outfit I didn't really understand.  Sure, it's new and fresh, but I'll take smaller shoulders (and ones that weren't made of tissues) any day. 

Hands down, this was my favorite dress in the entire collection.  The red is so vibrant, the silhouette so creative yet strangely familiar, and then we get to the damn darn fabric.  I had a mini fashion heart attack when I saw it.  In the previous post I talked about my fear of feathers, but this dress left that fear in the dust.  Should I ever find a fairy godmother to turn me into Cinderella for one night, this would be the dress I'd ask for.

Okay, so I raved about the red, and it's not really the texture of this fabric that I mind.  Somehow, though, the color and the silhouette mixed together make me think of a duster.  Still, I sort of have this weird crush on the dress.  Must be those silver blindfolds.
Overall, mixed reviews, although I do truly believe that the collection was incredible.  Alexander Wang continues to push the envelope, and I can't wait (no seriously, I'm going to pee my pants with anticipation) for next season.
Kisses,
Anonymous

The Hunger Games, Unicorns and Other Random Stuff I Want to Talk About

Yeah, so it's kinda a weird title, but I (unfortunately) haven't been on in a while and I have about a billion ideas spinning in my head.  So, here it goes, sorted into categories for your viewing pleasure.
The Hunger Games
True, I've already posted about this AMAZING series, but since it just premiered yesterday, I figure I should do a little follow up.  Not to mention, I decked out my nails in Hunger Games style (don't laugh, I thought it was pretty cool).

They're kind of hard to read here, but they say, "I HEART THE GAMES."  And I do.  I was kind of surprised when I first read the series, since it seems more like a topic that would appeal to adults.  However, the novels have successful bridged the gaps that often separate the reading market (genders, age), making for a bestseller and box office superpower.  I'm planning to see the movie tonight, so I'll tell you about it later.
Unicorns (And Fairies And Other Magical Creatures)
 So, the point of this part is should people dress like they're five.  The common answer in the fashion world would be no way, but I think from an editorial standpoint it might be okay.  Take these collections (pictures courtesy of style.com)
Giles

All of these dresses had an air of the otherworldly, but my personal favorite is the last one.  If you look closely, the tapestry is covered with unicorns and other imaginary beasts.  Adorable right?
Wunderkind

This Wunderkind collection is really cool and has a sense of being a little girl again.  It was covered with cherries and checkers, and while usually I wouldn't condone this combination, I think that it worked beautifully.
Sinha-Stanic

I definitely think this collection was interesting, if not slightly confused.  It was filled with feathers and sheer, a got a little bit wild, but these two outfits were for me the standouts.  Usually people shy away from feathers (me included), but with the right accessories, these dresses just might work. 

Start of Spring Purple Manicures

Okay, sorry for the lack of posts in the past week, I've just been crazy busy.  One thing I am sorry not to have posted about, though, is the Oscar's.  I won my family's Oscar pool (I only missed three categories), and I think it would have been really fun to post some predictions/Oscar dress opinions for you guys.  Anyway, that's over and done with, but I promise to try and make those posts next year.

Today, I want to talk about nails.  I love to paint my nails at home, and since I chip my manicures/pedicures far too quickly to make salon versions practical, I've had a ton of time to practice.  Lately I've become obsessed with putting sparkles on top of otherwise refined colors to give them a new flair.  The nails above were my salute to the start of spring, the color just reminds me of lush lavender fields and Easter eggs.  The camera didn't pick up on it very well, but there are silver sparkles on top, and the extra layer actually kept them pristine for a while.   (The Color To Watch by O.P.I. with Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Sparkles on top)

Yes, these nails really are purple.  It's one of the things that I like about the color, it has more than one dimension.  It's probably the darkest purple in my vast collection, and for a long time I refused to wear it (I have a fear of black nail polish).  Eventually, though, I gave it a try and fell in love.  I paired it with the same Sally Hansen top coat as in the nails above, but in this mani it gave off a certain grey, disco-ball effect instead of fairy shimmer.  Both types of sparkle are equally appealing in my opinion.  (Give Me Moor! by O.P.I. with Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Sparkle Polish)
Kisses,
Anonymous